He said the most reliable study to date was on 420 patients with ulcerative colitis and 142 patients with Crohn's disease in South Eastern Norway.

BBC: Seasonal variation in Crohn's risk

The standard treatment for inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's and ulcerative colitis is through steroids, which help reduce the inflammation.

BBC: Bowel disease linked to vitamin

The widest experience that most have in this area has been in the treatment of traveler's diarrhea, antibiotic-associated diarrhea and the inflammatory bowel diseases (ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease).

CNN: Could I become dependent on probiotics?

Geography and the gut: Women who live in northern U.S. states in their early adulthood are more likely than their southern counterparts to develop Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, according to a study in Gut.

WSJ: The Research Report: Slapping On a Skin Patch to Combat Hay Fever

Among the 175, 000-plus women who reported their residence in 1992, there were 257 cases of Crohn's and 313 cases of ulcerative colitis.

WSJ: The Research Report: Slapping On a Skin Patch to Combat Hay Fever

Women who lived in northernmost states at age 30 were twice as likely to develop Crohn's, and 60% more likely to develop ulcerative colitis, than women who lived in the southernmost states at that age.

WSJ: The Research Report: Slapping On a Skin Patch to Combat Hay Fever