Multiple sclerosis is a life-long, potentially disabling, neurological disease. We know that the human microbiome has a relationship with a variety of conditions and illnesses, such as asthma, allergies, diabetes, gut disorders and obesity, but at first-glance it seems hard to believe that the cause of MS has anything to do with the microbes in […]
Is the Key to a Longer and Better Old Age Found in the Gut?
The world population is getting older, with average life-expectancy creeping up across the globe. By 2020, the number of elderly people will outnumber the number of young people globally, and this demographic shift has already occurred in many countries in the developed world. With the rise of the number of older people, medical focus has […]
Your Mother Was Right: Fiber Is Vital, but Why?
Fiber Essential, but Why? Those who read about health in the news, may have noticed quite a few articles in the last several years about the beneficial health effects of the microbiome. As the medical community has begun to understand the importance of microbes to the human body, the scientific consensus has become that […]
Research: Is breastmilk designed to nourish a baby’s gut bugs?
What if our breastmilk has evolved not only to nourish human infants, but also equally importantly to feed a very important microbe? From an evolutionary perspective, this makes sense. The healthy commensal bacteria living in human digestive tracts provide us with valuable benefits that we cannot provide ourselves. Nourishing probiotic bacteria helps grow healthy babies. […]
The Top 3 Chemicals found in Food that Harm our Guts and our Health
It would be nice to believe that the food that we eat, including any colors, flavor enhancers, preservatives or other chemicals (including pesticides and herbicides) that are added to it, is perfectly safe for us to eat. We trust that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (and comparable international governmental agencies) have thoroughly evaluated […]
We sent poop samples into a lab to get our microbiomes analyzed. Here’s what happened.
Sequencing your microbiome is a great way to find out more about the particular microbes living inside of you. You can read more about what microbiome sequencing is and why it is done in Part 1 to this article. Analyzing a poop sample can provide a unique one-time snapshot into the bacterial composition of the gut at […]
What is Personalized Microbiome Analysis and Should I Have One?
Yes, I am obsessed with microbes. Viruses, bacteria, fungi are amazing and powerful critters. I think about them, write about them and try to lead my life in a way that encourages healthy ones to make my gut their home. So, naturally, I am very curious to know more about the particular gut bugs that […]
The Critical Role of Bacteria in a Strong Immune System
Over eons, the human immune system has evolved to keep us to keep us healthy. When harmful viruses, bacteria, parasites or fungi enter our body, the immune system recognizes them as potentially dangerous invaders and then attacks to neutralize them. The immune system can also identify human cells that have gone awry, such as mutated […]
The Fascinating Connection Between Autism and the Bacteria in our Gut
It has become virtually impossible these days to find anyone who is not personally if not indirectly touched by autism in one way or the other. The dramatically rising rates of autism rates constitute nothing short of a public health crisis. In the 1970’s and 1980’s the diagnosis rate was one out of every 2,000 children in the US. […]
How Your Gut Bacteria May Be Making You Feel Anxious
Summary: Probiotics may be a possible treatment avenue to explore for patients with anxiety disorders who have intestinal issues along with their anxiety, taken antibiotics prior to the anxiety starting, or achieved very little relief from traditional treatments such as anti-anxiety medication, psychotherapy or behavioral therapy. Published: January 23, 2014 Updated: July 20, 2015 – […]
The Fascinating Link Between Type-1 Diabetes and the Human Gut
It has been widely reported that auto-immune diseases, including Type-1 Diabetes, are on the rise world-wide. In an auto-immune disease, the immune system goes awry and launches an attack against the person’s own cells, misidentifying them as a threat to attack. So why is it that in our developed world, where we have better access […]
5 Reasons Why Bacteria is the Hottest Topic in Human Health
Despite the best efforts of people like my middle school Biology teacher who tried to teach us otherwise, most of us have been raised to be alarmed by the “alien life” of bacteria teeming in our eyelashes and hair, on the surface of our skin, in our mouths and even in our digestive tracts. Let’s […]
Everything You Wanted to Know About Fecal Transplants
Fecal Transplants. Perhaps you have seen headlines or read about them. You may be curious about what a fecal transplant involves and why on earth anyone would want one, while simultaneously struggling to overcome a deep-seated revulsion over the word “fecal.” Fecal transplants have been in the news quite a lot recently, hailed as an […]
Could the Active Ingredient in Roundup be Causing a Health Epidemic?
Fact 1: Glyphosate is the active ingredient in the world’s most common agricultural herbicides. Fact 2: The mechanism that glyphosate uses to kill plants is the same mechanism by which it kills the beneficial bacteria and yeasts found in the human microbiome that are necessary for good health. Fact 3: Glyphosate consumption has been shown […]
Digestive Disorders & Autism: Can a Healthy Microbiome Offer Relief?
Digestive disorders are simply awful. Chronic constipation and diarrhea are painful, anxiety-provoking and harm the quality of life for anyone who suffers from them. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which is characterized by impairment in social interaction and communication, makes life challenging for the children who have it and for their family members who love them. […]
What is a Baby’s Microbiome and Why Should Expectant Mothers Care?
My mother’s generation, who gave birth during the 1950’s and 1960’s, had a less-stressful, less-worrisome time of it than those of us giving birth in the 21st century. A parenting book in the 1950’s actually advises expectant mothers to limit themselves to only two highball cocktails a night! Whereas we are given strict prohibitions on […]
Preventing and Treating Food Poisoning with Probiotics
If you’ve ever suffered from food poisoning (sometimes known as “traveller’s diarrhea”) you probably know that absolutely horrible feeling when you’d do almost anything to stop the stomach cramps, diarrhea and vomiting. Food borne illness is caused when parasites, bacteria, viruses or toxins contaminate food through unhygienic food handling techniques, insufficient cooking, inadequate refrigeration or excessive age. […]
So You’ve Decided to Make Milk Kefir: How to Care for and Feed your Milk Kefir Grains
By far the most common question that I get from people after they’ve read my article “Kefir: A Wonder Beverage from the Ancient World“ is “How do I get started making my own kefir?” Here’s my step-by-step guide on how to ferment your own kefir in your own home. As an avid home “brewer” of milk kefir, […]
Probiotics: A Promising Treatment for IBS Symptoms
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is the most common intestinal disorder in the US – affecting 30 million Americans and 15 – 20% of people in the Western world. The majority of sufferers are relatively young and are female. Even though it is so prevalent, medical science does not yet fully understand the condition and does […]
How to Choose the Right Probiotic Supplement
One of the most common questions that we at Healthy Gut Bugs get asked is, “Now that I am convinced that I should be taking probiotics, which probiotic should I choose?” While we’re fans of eating prebiotic and probiotic containing foods, probiotics supplements are another option to promote gut health. However, it can be daunting to know […]