Dale Prokupek, MD

Board Certified Internist & Gastroenterologist

Dale Prokupek, MD is a board-certified Internist and Gastroenterologist who runs a private practice based in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Prokupek is also a staff physician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and an associate clinical professor of medicine at the Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr. Prokupek has over 30 years of medical experience and specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the liver, stomach, and colon, including chronic hepatitis C, colon cancer, hemorrhoids, anal condyloma, and digestive diseases related to chronic immune deficiency. He holds a BS in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and an MD from the Medical College of Wisconsin. He completed an internal medicine residency at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and a gastroenterology fellowship at the UCLA Geffen School of Medicine.

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Q&A Comments (43)

How do I prepare for a colonoscopy?
So, the most important part of a colonoscopy is to make sure your colon is completely clean. If there's still food left in your colon, the doctor is not going to be able to see the walls and therefore could miss something important. A week before the procedure, decrease the amount of fiber in your diet so that the bulk of the volume of your stool will be much less when you begin the actual preparation. Also, eat foods that will get your bowels moving, like berries or prune juice, so that when you take the actual prep, things will just go much, much easier. Then on the day of the prep, you want to eat only clear liquids. Then you begin a prep which is a prescription medication that you drink and you wash it down with lots of water. It's a very, very strong cathartic or laxative, and the purpose of it is to clear all this fecal matter out of your colon. So if you do those things before that prep, you'll be very successful in having an excellent prep and therefore a high-quality colonoscopy results
What are some exercises I can do for a healthy gut?
Exercise, in general, is imperative for a healthy gut because when we exercise, the motility of our GI tract increases. In other words, people who don't exercise get very constipated because not exercising and leading a sedentary lifestyle paralyzes your GI tract. So, it's very important for people that are constipated to exercise because it'll stimulate their colon It also can be very healthy for your GI tract to do certain yoga poses (for example, a lot of the twisting poses in yoga stimulate forward propulsion of your GI tract which the goal is to clear out your colon every 48 hours or so, and those twisting types of yoga poses will help you do that).
What to eat if you have IBS with diarrhea?
The first thing you want to do is make sure you consume foods that have lots of good bacteria in them, called probiotics. The next thing you want to do is to make sure you eat lots of foods that have a high fiber content, because the fiber in your food will normalize the activity of your GI tract. The third thing you want to do is avoid eating foods that naturally produce gas in your intestines such as beans, vegetables like broccoli or cauliflower, what we call cruciferous vegetables, cabbage. You also do not want to drink carbonated beverages.
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Co-authored Articles (18)

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Make Yourself Poop

Infrequent bowel movements lead to abdominal pain, a drop in appetite, and bloating. If you haven't had a stool, there are some ways you can help your digestion and make yourself poop. Start with the gentler methods and ...

How to Take a Stool Sample with a Stool Collection Kit

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Get Rid of Diarrhea Fast

Stomach cramps, frequent trips to the bathroom, and loose, watery stools - diarrhea can cause anyone's day to come to a screeching halt. Fortunately, you can try to treat diarrhea at home with simple diet changes, and ov...

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Soften Hard Stools

Passing hard, dry stool is painful. It hurts when it blocks your bowels and when it is difficult to pass. There are several dietary and lifestyle changes that will likely help solve the problem. If they don’t work, see...

How to Stop & Treat Rectal Bleeding (And When to See a Doctor)

Plus, how to determine what might be causing your rectal bleedingAs scary and surprising as it can be to find blood on your toilet paper or in the toilet bowl, rest assured that this almost always indicates a minor issue...

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Poop Less Often

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Settle your anxious stomach with these pain-relieving tipsIf you deal with nerves or anxiety on the regular, you’re probably familiar with the feeling of a nervous stomach. Churning, cramping, and bloating are never ea...

How to Treat & Prevent Diarrhea at Home

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What to Do if You or Someone Else Has Swallowed Gasoline

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Reduce Bloating and Gas

Gas and bloating are a natural result of the digestion process, but too much gas can be painful or embarrassing. Luckily, you can often reduce those unpleasant symptoms by making a few simple changes to your diet. Keep r...

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Treat a Bleeding Ulcer

When the lining of your stomach becomes compromised, normal stomach acids that aid in daily digestive functions eat away the protective layer of mucus in your digestive tract. This results in an open sore—called an ulc...

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Poop More

Having regular bowel movements is important for maintaining your digestive health. Luckily, there are a lot of things you can do to help keep your body regular and increase how often you have to go. We’ll start with so...

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Check Your Health by Poop or Stool Colors

Colors of poop can indicate a number of illnesses, suggesting specific, possible problems that may need attention. Stop being puzzled by amorphous colors of bowel movements. By learning how to scan the specific color ind...

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Get Tested for HIV

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Knowing your status is vital, especially if you are at a higher risk for contracting the virus (such as from engagin...

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Keep Your Pancreas Healthy

While it’s often overlooked, the pancreas is an important, hardworking organ. It makes enzymes that help digest food and regulate blood sugar levels. The most important steps to keeping your pancreas healthy are to eat...

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Analyze Poop

Stool analysis is an extremely common diagnostic tool used by health professionals. The information gained from these tests helps to diagnose a variety of digestive diseases, ranging from parasitic infections to colorect...