Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have proven value that is widely accepted across the arc of human health. Whether involved in infections, immunity, chronic diseases metabolism, LAB are generally regarded as safe and beneficial. Also, numerous animal, human and epidemiological studies have revealed the effects of LAB on colon, bladder, liver, breast, and gastric cancers. […]
Microbiome Environment
Microbes Matter in IBS
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a challenge; it is the most common reason for referral to gastroenterology clinics. Researchers in Malaysia published Microbiome and Irritable Bowel Syndrome – A Review on the Pathophysiology, Current Research and Future Therapy. The excellent overview appeared June 2019 in Frontiers in Microbiology journal. Highlights for our purposes were the […]
Probiotics May Reduce Tolerance to Morphine
By acting directly on the central nervous system, morphine blocks the worst kinds of pain. Its cousins in the opioid family include heroin and OxyContin which have spawned an epidemic of addiction, overdoses and deaths in the United States in the last several decades. Backstory: Morphine was first isolated in the early 19th century […]
Microbes Target Mid-life Brain Crisis
Middle age is hard to nail down. It really demands a psychic ability to predict how long one may live. A better gauge may be when a new spouse or a sports car appears. For scientists, naturally, there is a definition: “Male middle age is a transitional period where many physiological and psychological changes occur […]
Food Additive Titanium Dioxide Impacts Gut
If yogurt contains titanium dioxide, should we care? As a whitening agent, titanium dioxide (TiO2) is added to more than 900 common foods. Considered mostly safe (if highly unregulated), “…the vast majority of an oral dose of TiO2 is eliminated unchanged in the feces,” according to a panel tasked by the European Food Safety Authority […]
Synbiotics Improve Biomarkers in Prediabetes
Type 2 diabetes doesn’t start overnight. Over time measured in months or years, blood sugars creep higher as resistance to insulin swells. Gut microbes may be involved in this scenario—for better or worse– as insulin resistance progresses to full-blown Type 2 diabetes. Animal studies already support such interplay and clinical studies with humans are coming […]