True or false? If a diet soda takes the place of a regular one, calories are cut out of the diet. By replacing sugar with an artificial sweetener like saccharin, aspartame, or sucralose, our blood sugars levels should benefit. These bits of accepted wisdom are surprisingly false. While people often choose these products to lose […]
Articles
Probiotics May Keep Children in Preschool
Children pick up more than toys and social skills at preschool. They are three times more likely than children who stay home to contract a respiratory infection. Antibiotics are routinely given but not always helpful. Could probiotics prevent some of the runny noses and aching coughs? Researchers in Slovakia and the United Kingdom asked if […]
Probiotics Score on Gut-Brain Axis
Our bodies react immediately to stress. One effect is the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis which then cascades through the intestines causing: Altered barrier function Dysbiosis These changes in the gut loop back and then can negatively influence behavior such as damaging memory and inducing anxiety. For a long time, colitis was associated with an […]
Nectarine of the Gods
Fruits and vegetables rarely mess up. Meats can be loaded in bad fats, fish may swim in mercury, some grains inflame with gluten and milk may spark allergies. But our perfect palette of fruits and vegetables offers not only beauty but super nutrition, especially if grown organically. We also look to this group to supply […]
Gut Inflamed in Cystic Fibrosis
Gut disturbances are common in people with cystic fibrosis (CF). Research into pathways for which gut inflammation in CF may be a “driver for systemic inflammation” may present new control strategies for this devastating disease which affects about 70,ooo young people worldwide . The underlying mechanisms are explored in this review by Anne Munck at Université Paris in France […]
Probiotics May Fight Candida in Dentures
As the folks in the massive baby boomer generation slip into old age, they hope to take their teeth with them. Probiotics may help as they compete with harmful bacteria– primarily streptococci mutans which feast on leftover food morsels and cause cavities which can lead to loss of teeth. Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus reuteri have been […]