Poor blood sugar control is not only the province of the full-blown diabetic. New evidence shows that a brief bout of high-fat, calorie-laden foods can lead to insulin resistance, a biomarker of the disease. A small study out of the United Kingdom has pitted a popular probiotic against insulin resistance brought on by diet. The […]
Articles
Probiotics Enrich the Poor
As obesity engulfs the planet, we may forget that many millions of children still go hungry. Nearly one in five children (115 million) under five years was underweight according to World Health Organization 2011 estimates. Stunting, also a result of undernutrition, affected 178 million that year. The fallout can be dire: reduced immunity can lead […]
Probiotics Light Up Liver Cancer Detection
Finding cancers early is easy in body parts like breasts, skin and the prostate. In fact, early discovery sometimes leads to unneeded treatment and excisions that go along with the diagnosis. Liver cancer though often remains hidden until the dread diagnosis: “It has metastasized to the liver.” Go home and get comfortable. The sooner the […]
Probiotics Ease into Convenience Stores
Busy lives mean convenience becomes more attractive. For example, convenience stores, whether attached to gas stations or wedged between urban housing, still flourish in spite of high pricing compared to supermarkets. What is new is that these small stores—whether called WaWa or Spar—are ramping up the food offerings. The potato chips and donuts still sell, […]
Malnutrition May Alter Microbes Permanently
Swollen bellies don’t always mean obesity, a body distortion we have come to accept in affluent nations. Abdomens too can swell when protein and calories are insufficient to rid the body of excess fluids. This is malnutrition too. Hunger still claims millions, most often the young in the poorest of countries. Food interventions can save […]
Microbes: Emerging Talent
Microbiology is like Hollywood: a few stars get all the attention. Expand your view however and the talent pool deepens. Well-known probiotics are usually of the lactobacillus or bifidobacterium genus while one yeast stands out– Saccharomyces boulardii, for its skill in staving off various infections. Researchers are finding probiotic roles among others including Enterococcus, Streptococcus […]