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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]