Most of us are familiar with lactose intolerance. In this common condition, the milk sugar is poorly absorbed and causes uncomfortable side effects in the bowel. Other short-chain carbohydrates which are naturally present in normal diets including fructose, sorbitol, fructans and galactooligosaccharides may also be poorly digested leading to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). These and more umbrella […]
Alcohol: One More for the ‘Gut-Brain’ Road
Alcohol is a favored emollient in many cultures. Unfortunately, excessive intake is tolerated and even encouraged in venues including college campuses and wedding celebrations. So it is no surprise that dependence, disability and death (nearly 6% of all deaths worldwide) are epidemic. Prevention is absolutely the best approach but treatment is vital to reverse the addiction. While […]
Alcohol: One More for the 'Gut-Brain' Road
Alcohol is a favored emollient in many cultures. Unfortunately, excessive intake is tolerated and even encouraged in venues including college campuses and wedding celebrations. So it is no surprise that dependence, disability and death (nearly 6% of all deaths worldwide) are epidemic. Prevention is absolutely the best approach but treatment is vital to reverse the addiction. While […]
Short-Chain Fatty Acids: Colonic Infusion Could Fight Obesity
Imagine a trash collector paying you for the privilege of hauling away the junk. Not happening. But that’s what our gut microbes do: they digest the stuff we can’t—fiber—and then create short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) which are absolute manna for our metabolic health. Note: Counterintuitively, SCFAs are handled differently than fatty acids with long carbon chains, thus […]
Melatonin Unlocks a Microbial Key in Obesity
A natural hormone in the body, melatonin has long been supplemented by frequent flyers to ease circadian rhythms into new time zones. A newer and potentially more valuable finding is its role in weight gain and metabolism. Indeed, melatonin reduces body weight, liver steatosis, and low-grade inflammation and improves insulin resistance in high fat diet (HFD)-fed […]
Scenes from Vitafoods Europe 2017
George Paraskevakos, Executive Director of IPA chaired a panel at Vitafoods Europe 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland on Tuesday, May 9. Speaking on the KEYNOTE PANEL DISCUSSION: Bridging the knowledge gap in probiotics and prebiotics were: Bradley Saville, PHD, Chief Science and Technology Officer – Prenexus Health Dr Chin-Kun Wang, President – International Society for Nutraceuticals […]