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 – […]
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 […]
How Bacteria Cause, Prevent and Cure Vaginal Infections
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]