You Are What You Eat
Delving into the nutritional differences of food sourcing On a daily basis, we are challenged to make decisions about the foods we eat. Not only are we challenged by the food choice itself (salmon burger or beef? fruit or vegetable?) but we also are continuously faced with countless options on the shelves of the…
Does the Paleo Diet Really Work?
A critical review of the evidence One of the most controversial diets in recent times is the Paleolithic (“Paleo”) diet, also known as the Stone Age diet. The Paleo diet seeks to address 21st century ills by revisiting the way humans ate during the Paleolithic era, more than 2 million years ago. As a…
Probiotic Benefits of Saccharomyces boulardii
Natural support for gut health from a probiotic yeast Probiotics are “live microorganisms which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host.”[1] You may be familiar with probiotic supplements that contain lactobacilli and/or bifidobacteria, which are families of beneficial bacteria.[2] However, there is also a yeast species that qualifies as…
How Gut Health Keeps Kids Healthy
A blend of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli supports pediatric respiratory and skin health Achoo! Sniffle, snort! Scratch, scratch, scratch. Is allergy season here again? Or are we stuck in the dregs of cold and flu season? Wait, is there a season where kiddos aren’t dealing with some kind of infection or allergy? Could probiotics help?…
Leaky Gut = Fatty Liver
How poor digestive integrity can cause liver disease The concept of the “gut-liver axis” is not a new one: it was first described in 1987 when a group of researchers found that patients with cirrhosis had high rates of antibodies in their blood against foods like egg, whey, and casein.[1] Since that time, the…
The Probiotic-Cholesterol Connection
How a specific strain of Lactobacillus reuteri, NCIMB 30242, supports cardiovascular health The relationship between increasing levels of LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) and the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) has long been established.[1] With CAD on the rise – not to mention the chest pain and heart attacks it can lead to – the importance…
Building a Better Gut Microbiota
Prebiotic, probiotic and synbiotic strategies for success “Happiness for me is largely a matter of digestion.” ― Lin Yutang, The Importance of Living[1] As Chinese scholar Lin Yutang observed, a healthy gut is a core component of a happy life. Each person’s gut contains approximately 38 trillion microbes, comprising hundreds of different species (collectively,…
Bouncing Back After Antibiotic Use: Probiotics to the Rescue!
Restoring balance and healthy function to the gut and beyond Chances are if you are the owner of a human body, you’ve taken at least one course of antibiotics in your lifetime. Whether it was bubble-gum flavored amoxicillin for that ear infection in childhood or penicillin for the case of strep throat that roared…
Gut Microbiota Diversity in the Young and Old
A factor in disease conditions and aging? In recent decades, there has been an explosion of information regarding the role that the human microbiota plays in both health and disease. Projects such as the National Institutes of Health Human Microbiome Project,[1] and similar collaborative efforts in other countries, have focused on the collection of…
It’s Not Just Antibiotics that Potentially Harm Gut Health
Which of these prescription medications are YOU taking? Most people are aware that antibiotic medications can alter the balance of good and bad bacteria in the gut. In addition to the science we have proving this, many of us have personally experienced upset bellies and changes in stool patterns upon taking an antibiotic. However,…
Stomach Acidity, Dietary Intake, and the Microbiome
The gut microbiome, stomach acidity, sloths, and you. In recent years we’ve seen an explosion in the research on the importance of the collection of trillions of bacteria, viruses, and fungi living in the human body, collectively known as the microbiome. We now know that a vast array of health conditions such as obesity,[1]…
Grape Seed Polyphenols and the Gut Microbiota
Digestive health affects the healing potential of these potent antioxidant polyphenols Grape seed extract (GSE) by no means is new to the nutraceutical world, yet we are still unveiling the myriad of benefits from the antioxidant-like nutritional compounds found within it. We are also gaining broader knowledge of the mechanisms by which individual responses…
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