As a woman, knowing that there is a multitude of bacteria inhabiting my vagina used to make me feel squeamish. However, upon learning that the majority of the bacteria typically found “down there” are health-promoting rather than disease causing, I have learned to appreciate them. Good vaginal bacteria help to keep us disease free. Bad […]
Allergies: A First World Problem with a Bacterial Solution?
The rates and severities of allergies have risen very quickly over the last twenty years and are much more prevalent in the industrialized world than they are elsewhere. Some estimates have stated as many as one in five Americans has some sort of allergic condition. The current prevailing scientific theory is that changes to the […]
Bacterial Esperanto: How Bacteria Communicate and Affect Us
In this Ted Talk, molecular biologist, Bonnie Bassler, talks about how microscopic, single-celled bacteria can act collectively to influence their environment. Since we are 90% bacterial (there are 10X as many bacterial cells as there are human cells in and on our bodies at any time), they are actually influencing us and this bacterial influence […]
Kefir: A Wonder Beverage from the Ancient World
The people who inhabit the Caucasus Mountains of the former USSR are very long-lived, remaining healthy, vital and, legend has it, even becoming parents well into advanced old age. There are stories about some people living into their 160s. However, when researchers went there, looking to verify some these claims, it seemed that Shirali Musilov, […]
Probiotics: The Best Anti-Aging Elixir for Your Skin?
If you’ve checked out my picture on this site, you may have noticed the gray, Elvira-esque white streak in my hair or the crows’ feet radiating out from the corners of my eyes. The all-natural look that I have long relied on is starting to become harder to pull off. As a woman of a […]
People in Northern Latitudes Harbor Bacteria That Increase Fat
The University of California at Berkeley, reported on a study recently published in the online journal Biology Letters by one of its graduate students, Dr. Taichi Suzuki and University of Arizona evolutionary biology professor, Dr. Michael Worobey. This study, which examined the microbiomes (mix of gut bacteria) of thousands of volunteers worldwide showed that people […]
Research Shows Antibiotics Can Cause Obesity
I had always known that commercial farmers put antibiotics into their livestock feed, and generally have tried to buy free-range, organic or antibiotic-free chicken and beef, even though it was much more expensive and the chickens were noticeably smaller. I’ve wanted to avoid meat raised this way not because of a fear that there were […]
The Connection Between Obesity and Bad Gut Bacteria
I can still remember being overweight as a young adult and I would have given anything to be able to take a pill to make the pounds fly away. So, I guess it’s no surprise that get-slim-quick pills and miracle fat burning creams are a mainstay on late-night TV advertising. Although losing weight will never […]
Could a Fecal Transplant Be In Your Future?
The Atlantic Magazine published an article by Dr. Robynne Chutkan on Dec 12, 2013, entitled The Future of Probiotics. Her vision, although high on the yuck factor, is actually supported by recent research and very exciting. This is an interesting article in which the author, a gastroenterologist, imagines a future where we will be […]
6 Ways We Can Upset Bacterial Balance in Our Guts
There’s mounting evidence that maintaining a healthy ecosystem of gut bacteria in our microbiome can have a wide range of health benefits. And there are many things we can do (and eat) to help create and maintain a favorable composition of gut bacteria. But, how do our microbiomes get out of whack in the first […]
Prebiotics, Synbiotics & How to Feed Your Gut Bugs
In biology class, when I was a child, I saw a movie showing some of the critters, magnified in horrifying detail, that inhabit our eyelashes, skin and scalp. I was disgusted, even though our teacher described them as harmless, even as she simultaneously played up their “ick” factor. I couldn’t stop scratching for a week. […]
NPR Reports That Probiotics May Help With Colic
Colic is the term used to describe intense, uncontrollable crying in a healthy young baby. It is quite common, affecting sixteen percent (16%) of infants studied. It is difficult, if not impossible, to soothe a colicky baby and the crying jags can continue for several hours. A great friend sent me the link to a […]
Is Picky Eating Caused by Gut Bacteria?
Preface: Much of this article on the connection between picky eating and gut bacteria is based on observation by health practitioners rather than hard scientific research. So far. Perhaps this is because many of the other healthy conditions related to gut bugs are diagnosable medical conditions (such as allergies, asthma, eczema, diaharrea, obesity etc.), while picky eating […]
C-section babies missing crucial gut bacteria, study finds
Published: February 11, 2013 Author: Paul Taylor Source: The Globe and Mail Experts Cited: Dr. Anita Kozyrskyj, Dr. Meghan Azad Bacterium Named: Bacteroides, Escherichia-Shigella, Clostridium difficile Condition: asthma, type 1 diabetes, celiac disease, food allergies, obesity Our Take:This article is an overview of the research published by Dr. Kozyrskyj and Dr. Azad who studied the […]
Mouth Bacteria (not sugar) Are Rotting Your Teeth
Can you imagine a world without flossing? Until I heard the radio announcer on BBC say that a new type of gum could make flossing a thing of the past, I’d always assumed, based on the conventional wisdom, that evil mouth bacteria that thrived on plaque ate holes in your teeth. And I’d learned that […]
Surprising Ways Mouth Bacteria Impacts Our Health
When I was a child, my mother had to have gum surgery because she had periodontitis, a serious condition of the gums surrounding the teeth. The way she described it horrified me. She had to healthy gum tissue removed from one part of her mouth and the tissue was then grafted onto the diseased area. […]