INPUT ARTICLE: Article: As with many conditions, trying to understand if your physical experience is unusual or out of the ordinary is sometimes difficult to determine. For example, if a person always has GI issues after meals, then that is their established normal and they likely assume others feel the same way. But experiencing bloating, flatulence (passing gas), cramps, nausea and loose stool (diarrhea) after meals is not considered normal and always represents signs of digestive problems. A variety of conditions and diseases cause similar GI symptoms and diagnosing can be tricky, but the first step is realizing that your digestive experience is not normal and it needn't be accepted as unavoidable. Lactase splits lactose into two smaller sugars, glucose and galactose, which are absorbed by the small intestine and used by the body as energy. Not all people with lactase deficiency have digestive or GI symptoms they produce low levels, but it's enough to handle their dairy (lactose) consumption. The typical signs and symptoms of lactose intolerance (bloating, abdominal pain, passing gas and diarrhea) often begin between 30 minutes to two hours after eating foods or drinking beverages that contain lactose. As such, try to link your GI symptoms to consuming dairy products. Start first thing in the morning by eating a breakfast devoid of any lactose (read labels if you're unsure) and see how you feel. Contrast that to eating lunch with some dairy, such as cheese, yogurt and/or milk. If there is a significant difference in how your GI system feels, then you may very well be lactose intolerant. If you feel bloated and flatulent after both meals, then you may have a stomach or intestinal issue such as inflammatory bowel disease or Crohn's disease. If you feel pretty good after both meals, then maybe you have a food allergy to something else in your diet. This sort of approach is usually called an elimination diet, meaning that you eliminate dairy products from your diet in efforts to narrow down the cause of your GI problems. Lactose intolerance is essentially an enzyme deficiency disease, which leads to an undigested sugar (lactose) ending up in the large intestine (colon). Once there, normal intestinal bacteria feast on the sugar and produce hydrogen gas (and some methane) as a byproduct, which explains the bloating and flatulence associated with lactose intolerance. In contrast, a milk allergy is an abnormal response by the immune system to milk products and often occurs within a few minutes of being exposed to the causative protein (casein or whey). Symptoms of a milk allergy can include wheezing, hives (severe rash), swollen lips/mouth/throat, runny nose, watery eyes, vomiting and digestive problems. Cow milk allergy is one of the most common allergies that affects children. Cow's milk is the usual cause of an allergic reaction, but milk from sheep, goats and other mammals can also trigger a reaction. Adults with hay fever or other food allergies are more likely to have a negative reaction to milk products. Although the amount of lactase produced in your small intestine becomes less with advancing age, it is also linked to your genetics. In fact, the prevalence of lactase deficiency in certain ethnic groups is quite high. For example, about 90% of Asians and 80% of African-Americans and Native Americans are lactose intolerant. The condition is least common among peoples of northern European ancestry. As such, if you're of Asian or African-American ancestry and commonly experience GI symptoms after meals, there's a very high probability it's caused by lactose intolerance. Lactose intolerance is unusual in all babies and infants, regardless of ethnicity it's typically a condition that appears in adulthood. However, babies born prematurely may have reduced ability to produce lactase because of their underdeveloped intestines.

SUMMARY: Pay attention to GI symptoms. Try to link your symptoms with consuming dairy products. Distinguish between lactose intolerance and a milk allergy. Realize how lactose intolerance is linked to ethnicity.

INPUT ARTICLE: Article: Wrap up from the base at least 3 feet (0.9m). This will keep the beavers from being able to eat or use the trees. You will need to check your trees to make sure that the beavers are leaving them alone. You can also make wire fences to prevent beavers from entering a specific area (especially around a pond). You can also put mesh coverings over culverts and the like to keep beavers away from them. Sometimes completely destroying the beaver's dam or lodge, as well as eliminating access to its habitat can discourage the beaver. You have to make sure that you carry away all of the dam, so that the beaver can't access it in order to rebuild. Use a sturdy potato rake and work from the downstream side, to completely destroy the dam or lodge. You will want to keep checking the dam or lodge area to make sure that the beaver is not rebuilding and that there is no material available for rebuilding. There is only one repellant that has been proven to be effective in eliminating beavers and beaver damage. This is Thiram. You'll need to apply the repellant directly to the leaves and shrubs that the beaver has been using as a food source. Again it's good to use this method in conjunction with the other methods, such as destroying the dams and lodges and then spraying the food sources with Thiram. There are other repellants and sprays you can use to discourage beavers from coming into the area if they haven't already, but only Thiram gets rid of them if they're already there. There are a couple different ways to control the water level so that it doesn't become conducive to beaver habitation. You can create a drain so that the water level stays down or you can keep the water clear of debris or anything that might prevent water flow. Get a drain pipe by fitting two plastic sewer pipes together and perforate one of them. Depending on the volume of the water in the stream the diameter of the pipes can be 10, 15, 20 or 25 cm (4, 6, 8 or 10 in.). Dig a hole in the beaver dam along the original stream channel. Set three-quarters of the pipe at almost any level in the dam, and extend the perforated edge into the beaver pond (upstream). Attach a weight to one end of the pipe. Allow around one quarter of the pipe to extend out on the downstream side of the dam. Add about a 1 inch elbow or turndown to the perforated side of the pipe so that you discourage plugging of the upstream end of the pipe.

SUMMARY:
Wrap trees with chicken wire or other heavy metal sheeting or wire. Destroy the dam or lodge. Use a repellant. Control the water level.