With its white beaches, cool seas and stunning ruins, Greece could slide on its looks. Yet this magical country has long been a hub of intellectual energy, since the time of Socrates. That greatest of philosophers would no doubt have had something to say about probiotics, the healthful microbes growing in his yogurt which remained […]
Can Probiotics Unsweeten the Deal?
Blood sugar levels can take a beating during pregnancy. The stress of incubating a new human is considerable. While recent studies show probiotics may help with control for normal weight pregnant women, little is known how probiotics may affect obese pregnant women. Researchers at the National Maternity Hospital, Dublin, Ireland recruited 175 pregnant women with […]
Miso More Than Soup
If as far as you’ve ever gotten with miso was a simple soup before sushi, get ready to enchant your taste buds. Miso sounds straightforward: a paste made from fermented soybeans, used by Chinese people over 2000 years ago. Later, the Japanese got creative and added rice to make a sweet miso or barley to […]
Gardnerella Not as Pretty as They Sound
Vaginal infections are one of the most common reasons women head to the doctor or pharmacy. Antibiotics can challenge the culprit—most often Gardnerella vaginalis, a bacterium named for its home invasion address—but all too often the infection returns with a vengeance. Healthy premenopausal women predominantly host lactobacilli which produce antimicrobial substances such as hydrogen peroxide, lactic acid […]
Probiotics Are Picky Eaters
Like children, probiotics must be fed. That’s where prebiotics come in. With technical names like inulin, dextrin and oligosaccharides, prebiotics sound less than appetizing, akin to feeding a human a carbohydrate and amino acid sandwich. Yet all sorts of delicious foods stack up as great feeders for your microbes: artichokes, bananas, garlic, and asparagus are just […]
Caesarean Delivery Linked to Obesity
Each person’s microbial map is unique. Some lead to excess kilos on the scale. From the beginning: Your mother’s earliest choices design your blend. If delivered naturally, your mother’s birth canal is the first place microbes jump aboard. But if delivered by caesarean, newborns miss out on the mother’s mix of microbes and instead populate with pirate […]