The numbers are staggering: 650 million people on the planet are obese, nearly triple the number in 1975, reports the World Health Organization. Moreover the Food and Agricultural Organization reported that more people are suffering from overweight/obesity than from undernutrition. Obesity — a big problem Obesity can lead to heart disease, diabetes, skeletal problems, cancers […]
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Tempeh Tempts with Benefits
One of many fermented soybean foods popular in Asia, tempeh is finding its way into supermarkets worldwide. (Natto, miso, sufu, douche, soy sauce and doenjang partially round out the list.) A traditional Indonesian food, tempeh is made by fermenting boiled soybeans with a starter culture of a fungus called Rhizopus oligoporus at room temperature for several days. […]
A Role for Probiotics in Multiple Sclerosis?
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. More than 2.5 million people worldwide live with MS. Women are nearly three times as likely to suffer and it is most common in North America and Europe. This article relates how researchers are exploring the role of altering the gut microbiome […]
Criteria to ensure the proper use of the word probiotic
For a microorganism to be considered probiotic, it must, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) be “live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host.” Now a new paper has translated this general definition into “four simple and pragmatic criteria allowing […]
Must-read: Global analysis of clinical trials with probiotics
Clinical studies supporting beneficial characteristics of microbes are mandatory for establishing relevant use of probiotics in target populations. A new study investigated which clinical studies with probiotics have been registered and where, and if the design, characteristics and quality of the studies are comparable to the overall registrations in ClinicalTrials.gov. In addition, an analysis was made […]
Probiotics Seed Hope in Autism
Gut microbes may offer clues to a potentially devastating and confounding disorder named autism. Whereas the causes of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are unclear, genetic anomalies, nutritional deficiencies, toxins and infections are suspected. Now scientists are looking more closely at gut microbes and complex interactions along the gut-brain axis. Quick review: Autism is a developmental […]