Bacteria defend their turf with powerful weapons: bacteriocins. These peptides kill off competitors and maintain space and food for themselves. Not a foreign concept for us. Yet this ammunition is much less costly—it comes free of charge with fermented foods. (Short chain fatty acids and hydrogen peroxide are also produced by bacteria for defense) Bacteriocins […]
Articles
Prebiotics Change Recipe of Gut Genome
We are what we eat. A high- fat will change microbiota of the gut. Prebiotic-rich foods will also change bacterial species which in turn can improve gut function. But which genome material changes are responsible? Researchers recently subjected mice to either a high-fat diet or a prebiotic diet for 8 weeks. Results showed that the […]
Can Probiotics Impact Liver Disease?
In recent research conducted in India, 160 men and women with cirrhosis without signs of hepatic encephalopathy were assigned randomly to receive probiotics or placebo three times a day. Results: Three months of probiotics reduced levels of arterial ammonia and improved other biomarkers. Seven in the probiotic group developed overt hepatic encephalopathy but twice as many […]
Bathing in Bacteria
A biotech startup near MIT wants us to quit using deodorant and most other personal hygiene products. Instead, they want us to restore our healthy skin bacteria which in the end will–they promise– take care of grime and odors. Author Julia Scott took the challenge and hilariously reports the results in the New York Times Magazine […]
Probiotics Get to the Heart of the Matter
High blood lipids can lead to blocked arteries and stroke. Often the fastest treatment is medication, most notably of the statin variety. However, as lipids reflect a slew of risk factors including genes, metabolism and environmental, other modes of prevention and treatment are used somewhat effectively: Low cholesterol diet Low fat diet Decreased simple carbohydrates […]
Probiotics and Obesity
The world’s children are fat in record numbers. From Kuwait to Mexico to the UK and beyond, families and health departments are struggling with costly and dangerous health problems related to overweight and obesity in children. Many young people are swallowing statins for high cholesterol and taking pills or even injecting insulin for what was once […]