Meet Enterococcus faecium – An Ammunition Expert When facing adversaries, having an ally who can supply you with good ammunition is really helpful, such as the probiotic, Enterococcus faecium. But, what’s truly mind-blowing is how closely related this ally is to pathogenic species. Reading that might spark judgement, but you can’t judge a book by […]
probiotics
Interplay of Viruses, the Microbiome and Probiotics
Viral infections — such as SARS-CoV-2 causing this pandemic — have long threatened life on earth, most likely for billions of years. In the 21st century, respiratory tract infections, HIV and infectious gastroenteritis are some of the leading causes of premature death across the world. Because few solutions have been developed to combat viral infections, […]
Probiotic Supplements: Single-strain or multi-strain?
The current marketplace is flush with multi-strain probiotic formulations. At first glance, the rationale for these types of products is compelling: more strains may hit more targets and maybe even add up to more than the sum of the single-strain parts. But is there any evidence that this notion is valid? In 2018, Dr. Arthur […]
Probiotics & Cholesterol Levels: An Update
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) — the leading cause of death across the globe —takes an estimated 17.9 million lives annually. CVD, in brief Though cardiovascular diseases encompass a wide range of heart and blood vessel disorders, 80% of deaths are due to heart attacks and strokes. Risk reduction is crucial. Hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, increased low-density lipoproteins (LDL), […]
Role for Probiotics in GERD?
As gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) soars globally, alternatives to traditional therapies are welcomed. An excellent review — described below — looked at the ability of probiotics to alleviate symptoms in GERD. GERD, a little background Gastroesophageal reflux disease commonly known as GERD affects an estimated one billion people worldwide with large variations between regions and […]
Probiotics and Obesity: An Update
The numbers are staggering: 650 million people on the planet are obese, nearly triple the number in 1975, reports the World Health Organization. Moreover the Food and Agricultural Organization reported that more people are suffering from overweight/obesity than from undernutrition. Obesity — a big problem Obesity can lead to heart disease, diabetes, skeletal problems, cancers […]