“The brain is wider than the sky.”-Emily Dickinson Protecting such a wonder is no easy task but the blood-brain barrier (BBB) does a good job of it, most days. Both the endothelial and epithelial barriers close ranks around the brain and are reinforced by complex junctions. The blood-brain barrier: Acts as a gatekeeper between the […]
Articles
Probiotics Tackle Candida
Fungi like warm, dark places to set up shop. Enter the vagina, a perfect home for intruders such as Candida of all stripes including albicans and lesser known varieties. Women have been dealing with the uncomfortable side effects of such an invasion with few options. Medications are effective however a natural restoration of healthy microbes […]
Bypass to Healthy Microbes
Surgery altering the organs of digestion to achieve weight loss is called bariatric. The most popular types: Laparoscopic Gastric Bypass: The stomach is cut to the size of a walnut and then attached in the middle of the small intestine. According to the Mayo Clinic, the stomach goes from a three pint capacity to one […]
Probiotics for Your Pores
Acne strikes just when clear skin is most coveted: the teen years when dating begins. Pimples are a normal rite of passage, some say, but a look across the globe disputes that. In a new book titled 10% Human: How Your Body’s Microbes Hold the Key to Health and Happiness, author Alanna Collen writes that […]
Stool Supplies for Fecal Transplants
The success of fecal transplant in treating certain infections including the deadly Clostridium difficile is approaching 100%. As was reported in an earlier IPA blog, stool from healthy people is delivered to the intestines of the sick, either through an enema or via a tube inserted into the nose. A recent study from the Netherlands […]
Allicin’s A Wonderland in Garlic
Garlic may prevent more than successful social interaction. Long considered of benefit in atherosclerosis, scientists now think they may know one reason why. Garlic contains a secret weapon in its phytochemical called allicin. It is an antimicrobial. It fights the formation of substances called trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) which promotes the narrowing of arteries. In […]