The hygiene hypothesis states that a lack of exposure to microorganisms—both beneficial and potentially harmful—during early childhood increases susceptibility to development of allergic diseases by creating an imbalance in immune system development. Brenda has blogged on the topic before, and I’ve blogged about immune balance. A recent study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology has found…
Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are one of the most commonly prescribed medications in the United States, earning billions of dollars for pharmaceutical companies. PPIs markedly decrease the production of stomach acid as a treatment for conditions in the upper digestive tract such as acid reflux, ulcers, and Helicobacter pylori infection. While these medications are sometimes necessary in the short term,…
The intestinal tract is a main source of health-care associated pathogenic infections, not surprisingly due to the high concentration of microbes residing there.1 The GI tract is also considered to the primary reservoir for the emergence of antibiotic resistance of such infections.2 In patients with prolonged critical illness, the risk of developing a gut-derived sepsis (blood infection) is increased. In…
Attempting to shed pounds but feeling a bit discouraged? I read some fascinating research that I hope will motivate you. Please give the healthy choices you’re making a bit more time! The study itself was published last week in the journal Cell Host & Microbe and was conducted by a team led by Jeffrey Gordon, Director of the Center for Genome…
A report in Science Daily entitled “Autism symptoms improve after fecal transplant, small study finds” caught my eye immediately. You see, in one of the episodes of my recent PBS special, Natural Health Breakthroughs with Brenda Watson, I interviewed a woman who had undergone fecal transplant with great success. She had been extremely ill with recurrent C. difficile bacterial infections…
“Give a sh!t. Save a life.” Literally. If you have yet to make end of the year charitable contributions, I have just the organization for you. OpenBiome’s slogan, although crude, couldn’t be more true. In an effort to raise funds the nonprofit organization is educating the public about the use of fecal transplants for treatment of refractory (resistant to treatment)…
The diversity of your gut bacteria refers to the abundance of different types of microbes. As a rule, the more diverse your gut microbes, the healthier you are. A recent study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism further supports this idea. Researchers from the National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute discovered that gut bacterial diversity may…
There is a distinct connection between changes in gut bacteria and autism, a topic I have written and blogged about before. A recent study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology found that children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have different concentrations of bacterial metabolites, or chemicals produced by bacteria, in their stool when compared to…
The gut bacteria composition of people at risk for colorectal cancer differs from that of healthy people, according to a recent study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.1 Researchers from the New York University School of Medicine analyzed stool samples from 141 patients—47 of which had colorectal cancer—and found lower bacterial diversity in patients with colon cancer.…
Gut inflammation is known to be a risk factor for the development of colon cancer. A recent study published in the journal Science has traced back the steps from colon cancer only to discover that gut inflammation triggers a decrease in gut microbial diversity that allows pathogens to flourish and damage intestinal cells, leading to the development of cancer. The…