MRSA are no friendly bacteria. Less well known as Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, they kill tens of thousands each year. MRSA is a wily and resistant strain of a very common staphylococcus which usually does no harm. But if MRSA escapes from the nose or other cozy habitat into the blood where toxicity floods the body, little can […]
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Probiotics: Tasty Tummy Flatteners
Want a flat tummy? Well, listen up. Fried foods should be nowhere near your plate. Ditto for sugary desserts and baked goods. But here’s the good news: one thing you don’t have to cut down on are foods rich in probiotic cultures such as creamy yogurt and fizzy kefir which can realign gut bacteria. Luckily, […]
Sweet Vita of Probiotics
Probiotics may be ancient history but human awareness of them is frightfully nascent. A look back only a few decades shows just how green our grasp remains. Every two years in Rome, Italy since 1999, a throng of physicians, nutritionists, and microbiologists gathers along with industry leaders as well as consumers and regulators to discuss “Probiotics, […]
Stalking the Craigslist Kefir
Craigslist is great for furniture, bikes, books and sports swag. It’s pretty good for apartments and jobs. But for dating and massage services it can end badly. What about kefir grains? This recent ad (above) looks legit, probably some health nut looking to share the probiotic goodness while scoring a few entrepreneurial bucks. On the other hand, […]
Probiotics Breathe Life into Respiratory Research
We must dial down the antibiotics, global health officials agree. Heroic lifesavers since their discovery in the 1920s, antibiotics in their overuse have created highly adaptable creatures. These organisms know how to resist our medicine chest, allowing infectious diseases to thrive and kill. Forward thinkers believe probiotics may be one way out of the mess. […]
Safety of Probiotics in Pregnancy*
Pregnant women expect big changes. No more alcohol, tobacco or other harmful substances; healthy meals and exercise are a given. When it comes to supplements however, recommendations and usage are not so clear cut. Sure, most women will choke down the horse tablet called a prenatal vitamin but with probiotics, most decline, for reasons that most […]