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 […]
Best of: Bacteria In The News
There’s been a lot of great media coverage on the human microbiome and the impact on our health. Here is a shortlist of a few of our favorite longer-form pieces (so far!). These pieces are great for anyone who is keen on going deeper into the wonderful world of human bacteria. Germs are us The New Yorker […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]