March 27, 2024

Probiotics May Improve Your Quality of Life

Probiotics are trending as a hot topic this year because these good bacteria are gaining more scientific evidence that they support human health. Linked to aiding gut health and supporting good bacteria in the lower gastrointestinal (GI) tract, probiotic foods are growing in popularity. Read on to learn more about the role of probiotics in your health and how to include them in your diet today. Probiotics are live organisms used to increase good bacteria in the lower gut. Common probiotics include lactobacillus, bifidobacteria, and saccharomyces which are all strains that can be found in a variety of foods you […]
August 11, 2020

Using ‘Good Bugs’ for Beautiful Skin

Today, research on probiotics and the microbiome—the millions of bacteria and biomes found in and on the human body supports the fact that certain bacteria types are actually good for us. Although we most often associate this concept with digestion and gut health, a newer body of science points to the fact that your skin has its very own microbiome, too. “At the cellular level, skin represents a complex set of ecosystems composed of skin cells and their associated microbiome,” says William B. Miller Jr., MD, author of “The Microcosm Within” (Universal, 2013). This microbiome varies based on a range […]
January 3, 2018

Garlic Compound Fights Harmful Bacteria

Findings published on August 29, 2017 in the journal Scientific Reports support the ability of garlic to combat undesirable bacteria. Professor Michael Givskov of the University of Copenhagen and colleagues found that ajoene from garlic interferes with communication systems in the bacteria Staphylococcus aureusand Pseudomonas aeruginosa byinhibiting small regulatory RNA molecules. The sulfur-rich compound also inflicted damage on the bacteria’s protective biofilm, rendering it more susceptible to attack. “The two types of bacteria we have studied are very important,” noted first author Tim Holm Jakobsen of the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Immunology and Microbiology. “They are called Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. They actually belong to two […]
September 11, 2016

Nanobots Could Be Used For Attacks On Cancer

While chemotherapy can be effective against some cancers, the highly toxic drugs cause damage to healthy tissue and can be the source of significant, occasionally life-threatening side effects in patients — but researchers in Canadamay have a solution to both problems. Nanorobots containing anti-cancer drugs are capable of taking a direct route through the bloodstream to attack tumors at their most vulnerable points, researchers at Polytechnique Montreal, the University of Montreal and McGill University report in a study published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology. “This innovative use of nanotransporters will have an impact not only on creating more advanced engineering […]
September 23, 2014

Warning: Gut Bacteria Can Cause Dangerous Heart Disease

For a long time, it was believed that too-high cholesterol was the cause of dangerous, artery-narrowing plaques.  So, giving cholesterol-lowering statin-drugs were thought key in reducing these plaques. It was soon realized that people with low cholesterol levels were also having heart attacks.  Clearly, something else was contributing to heart disease besides cholesterol. That’s when we learned that inflammation played a big role in why plaques develop as well. In the last year, cardiac researchers have pinned down another key piece of the heart disease puzzle. You’ll want to know more about it and how you can reduce your risk of heart […]