In most countries, cardiovascular disease (CVD) causes more deaths than any other disease. And those numbers are growing as commonly implicated risk factors such as obesity and metabolic syndrome continue to soar. Search for alternate strategies in microbes Our microbiota is linked to these risk factors also as well as diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol and […]
Articles
New Study on Fecal Transplant in Obesity
The obesity epidemic continues unabated in spite of many decades of treatment efforts. Attention is turning to the microbiome whose composition may contribute to obesity. Earlier research showed that certain microbes control fat storage. In a groundbreaking experiment by Peter Turnbaugh and colleagues at Washington University in Missouri, obesogenic microbes transferred into germ-free mice found […]
Pharmacists Talk Probiotics
Pharmacists dispense more than prescription drugs. They also dole out recommendations on dietary supplements including probiotics. As a group, these front-line healthcare specialists have a powerful voice when it comes to what is known as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), a category separate from conventional types. A recent survey explored what pharmacists had to say […]
Constipation and Dysbiosis: Clues to Chronic Pain
Pain comes in two flavors. The acute version tells us to snatch a hand away from a hot flame. On the same hand, chronic pain would last interminably; our neurochemical pathways perceive that heat long after the fire dies. Chronic pain is frustratingly difficult to treat. Pain and perception of pain are actively managed in […]
Probiotic Foods Linked with Less Depression
Depression exacts a high cost. In addition to quality of life issues, it may increase risk for suicide as well as diseases including cancer and heart disease. Treating depression with medications has been less than successful. The proof of that appears in the soaring numbers suffering with this disorder. Alternate therapies are urgently needed. Evidence […]
Probiotics Plus Meds Impact IBS
As probiotics move into mainstream healthcare, typical first-line drug treatments are being questioned. But old habits die hard in the juggernaut that is the medical-pharmaceutical complex. One particular disorder appears ripe for disruption. The role of gut microbiota in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is amassing evidence-based research attesting to its importance. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) […]