Allergies are nothing to sneeze at. Their epidemic growth worldwide has public health officials scrambling for answers — not to mention tissues. Simply put, allergies are immune system malfunctions: harmless allergens including food, pollen, mold or dust are seen by the body as threats. Symptoms are triggered. Some are merely annoying as in the itch […]
Articles
Honorable Discharge
Clostridium difficile is a killer. Tens of thousands die each year worldwide from this stubborn infection. The bacteria set up shop after a course of antibiotics. Stronger antibiotics including vancomycin are given but sometimes people cannot permanently expel the tough spore-making bacteria. Extreme weight loss and death can follow. Now there is a cure. […]
The Big Picture
Researchers from Egypt and Saudi Arabia have collaborated on a comprehensive review of probiotics and their role in health improvement, infection control and disease management. Download the PDF here .
Mind The Gap
Probiotics are the future– with a hidden past. Despite their being essential to life for all of history, we are only now waking up to their major role in health. Much like vitamins were in the early 1900s when each new discovery flirted with a Nobel Prize, probiotics and their thousand shades of purpose will […]
Statins, Step Aside
How do probiotics lower cholesterol? Scientists say there are at least two ways: the inhibition of intestinal cholesterol absorption and the suppression of bile acid reabsorption. The authors of this review discuss recent research as well as future directions for treatment for hypercholesterolemia. Read more in Clinical Lipidology.
Fighting Fat with Probiotics
The microbiome plays a big role in obesity. Eating behavior, energy harvest, energy expenditure and fat storage are all discussed in this review as mechanisms for inducing obesity and related inflammation. the team of researchers from China and USA cities challenges in finding the specific mix of microbiota and diet to promote leanness and metabolic […]