Showing posts with label HealthyGut. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HealthyGut. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 13, 2026

The Gut Healing Ingredient That Can Reduce Inflammation

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Fancy prebiotic yoghurts and expensive kombuchas are often touted as the best way to help improve your gut health. But scientists are now bidding for us to analyse our rubbish bins, revealing one often discarded ingredient that can provide the same benefits while helping you make the most of your vegetables. Leafy greens on the top of radishes are usually thrown in the bin in favour of the vegetable’s zesty root. But a new study, published in the Agricultural and Food Chemistry journal, suggests the leaves contain more gut-boosting nutrients than the commonly used tuber……..Continue reading….

By: Nicole Wootton-Cane

Source: The Independent

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Critics:

The microbial composition of the gut microbiota varies across the digestive tract. In the stomach and small intestine, relatively few species of bacteria are generally present.The colon, in contrast, contains the highest microbial density of any human-associated microbial community studied so far with between 1010 and 1011 cells per gram of intestinal content. These bacteria represent between 300 and 1000 different species.

However, 99% of the bacteria come from about 30 or 40 species. As a consequence of their abundance in the intestine, bacteria also make up to 60% of the dry mass of feces. Fungi, protists, archaea, and viruses are also present in the gut flora, but less is known about their activities. Over 99% of the bacteria in the gut are anaerobes, but in the cecum, aerobic bacteria reach high densities.

It is estimated that these gut flora have around a hundred times as many genes in total as there are in the human genome. Many species in the gut have not been studied outside of their hosts because they cannot be cultured. While there are a small number of core microbial species shared by most individuals, populations of microbes can vary widely.Within an individual, their microbial populations stay fairly constant over time, with some alterations occurring due to changes in lifestyle, diet and age.

The Human Microbiome Project has set out to better describe the microbiota of the human gut and other body locations. The four dominant bacterial phyla in the human gut are Bacillota (Firmicutes), Bacteroidota, Actinomycetota, and Pseudomonadota.Most bacteria belong to the genera Bacteroides, Clostridium, Faecalibacterium, Eubacterium, Ruminococcus, Peptococcus, Peptostreptococcus, and Bifidobacterium.

Other genera, such as Escherichia and Lactobacillus, are present to a lesser extent. Species from the genus Bacteroides alone constitute about 30% of all bacteria in the gut, suggesting that this genus is especially important in the functioning of the host. Fungal genera that have been detected in the gut include Candida, Saccharomyces, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Rhodotorula, Trametes, Pleospora, Sclerotinia, Bullera, and Galactomyces, among others.

Rhodotorula is most frequently found in individuals with inflammatory bowel disease while Candida is most frequently found in individuals with hepatitis B cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis B. Archaea constitute another large class of gut flora which are important in the metabolism of the bacterial products of fermentation. Industrialization is associated with changes in the microbiota and the reduction of diversity could drive certain species to extinction; in 2018, researchers proposed a biobank repository of human microbiota.

An enterotype is a classification of living organisms based on its bacteriological ecosystem in the human gut microbiome not dictated by age, gender, body weight, or national divisions. There are indications that long-term diet influences enterotype.Three human enterotypes have been proposed, but their value has been questioned. Due to the high acidity of the stomach, most microorganisms cannot survive there.

The main bacteria of the gastric microbiota belong to five major phyla: Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Fusobacteriota, and Proteobacteria. The dominant genera are Prevotella, Streptococcus, Veillonella, Rothia , and Haemophilus. The interaction between the pre-existing gastric microbiota with the introduction of H. pylori may influence disease progression.When there is a presence of H. pylori it becomes the dominant of the microbiota.

The small intestine contains a trace amount of microorganisms due to the proximity and influence of the stomach. Gram-positive cocci and rod-shaped bacteria are the predominant microorganisms found in the small intestine.However, in the distal portion of the small intestine alkaline conditions support gram-negative bacteria of the Enterobacteriaceae. The bacterial flora of the small intestine aid in a wide range of intestinal functions.

The bacterial flora provide regulatory signals that enable the development and utility of the gut. Overgrowth of bacteria in the small intestine can lead to intestinal failure. In addition the large intestine contains the largest bacterial ecosystem in the human body. About 99% of the large intestine and feces flora are made up of obligate anaerobes such as Bacteroides and Bifidobacterium. Factors that disrupt the microorganism population of the large intestine include antibiotics, stress, and parasites.

Bacteria make up most of the flora in the colon and accounts for 60% of fecal nitrogen.This fact makes feces an ideal source of gut flora for any tests and experiments by extracting the nucleic acid from fecal specimens, and bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences are generated with bacterial primers. This form of testing is also often preferable to more invasive techniques, such as biopsies.

Five phyla dominate the intestinal microbiota: Bacteroidota, Bacillota (Firmicutes), Actinomycetota, Pseudomonadota, and Verrucomicrobiota – with Bacteroidota and Bacillota constituting 90% of the composition. Somewhere between 300 and 1000 different species live in the gut, with most estimates at about 500. However, it is probable that 99% of the bacteria come from about 30 or 40 species, with Faecalibacterium prausnitzii (phylum firmicutes) being the most common species in healthy adults.

Research suggests that the relationship between gut flora and humans is not merely commensal (a non-harmful coexistence), but rather is a mutualistic, symbiotic relationship.Though people can survive with no gut flora, the microorganisms perform a host of useful functions, such as fermenting unused energy substrates, training the immune system via end products of metabolism like propionate and acetate.

Preventing growth of harmful species, regulating the development of the gut, producing vitamins for the host (such as biotin and vitamin K), and producing hormones to direct the host to store fats. Extensive modification and imbalances of the gut microbiota and its microbiome or gene collection are associated with obesity.However, in certain conditions, some species are thought to be capable of causing disease by causing infection or increasing cancer risk for the host.

A Biologist Explains How Aging Changes Your Gut Bacteria Inverse 16:08 Mon, 08 Apr 

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Saturday, August 15, 2026

Suffering With Acid Reflux? Here’s How To Fix It, From a Gastroenterologist

ANTONIO_DIAZ/GETTY IMAGES

You’ve just enjoyed a great meal, maybe with a few drinks. Suddenly your throat is on fire, there’s a bad taste in your mouth, and you’ve got heartburn. This is known as acid reflux, and is one of the most commonly diagnosed digestive disorders in the U.S. Everyone experiences acid reflux every now and again, but if it is a regular occurrence it can have a significant effect on daily life, and could be a sign of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).. …Continue reading…

By:

Source: NewsWeek

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Critics:

The most common symptoms of GERD in adults are an acidic taste in the mouth, regurgitation, and heartburn. Less common symptoms include pain with swallowing/sore throat, increased salivation (also known as water brash), nausea, chest pain, coughing, and globus sensation. The acid reflux can induce asthma attack symptoms like shortness of breath, cough, and wheezing in those with underlying asthma.

GERD sometimes causes injury to the esophagus. These injuries may include one or more of the following:

  • Reflux esophagitis – inflammation of esophageal epithelium which can cause ulcers near the junction of the stomach and esophagus
  • Esophageal strictures – the persistent narrowing of the esophagus caused by reflux-induced inflammation
  • Barrett’s esophagus – intestinal metaplasia (changes of the epithelial cells from squamous to intestinal columnar epithelium) of the distal esophagus
  • Esophageal adenocarcinoma – a form of cancer

GERD sometimes causes injury of the larynx (LPR). Other complications can include aspiration pneumonia. GERD may be difficult to detect in infants and children since they cannot describe what they are feeling and indicators must be observed. Symptoms may vary from typical adult symptoms. GERD in children may cause repeated vomiting, effortless spitting up, coughing, and other respiratory problems, such as wheezing.

Inconsolable crying, refusing food, crying for food and then pulling off the bottle or breast only to cry for it again, failure to gain adequate weight, bad breath, and burping are also common. Children may have one symptom or many; no single symptom is universal in all children with GERD.

Of the estimated 4 million babies born in the US each year, up to 35% of them may have difficulties with reflux in the first few months of their lives, known as ‘spitting up’. About 90% of infants will outgrow their reflux by their first birthday. Acid reflux into the mouth can cause breakdown of the enamel, especially on the inside surface of the teeth.

A dry mouth, acid or burning sensation in the mouth, bad breath and redness of the palate may occur. Less common symptoms of GERD include difficulty in swallowing, water brash, chronic cough, hoarse voice, nausea and vomiting. Signs of enamel erosion are the appearance of a smooth, silky-glazed, sometimes dull, enamel surface with the absence of perikymata, together with intact enamel along the gum margin.

It will be evident in people with restorations as tooth structure typically dissolves much faster than the restorative material, causing it to seem as if it “stands above” the surrounding tooth structure. GERD may lead to Barrett’s esophagus, a type of intestinal metaplasia, which is in turn a precursor condition for esophageal cancer. The risk of progression from Barrett’s to dysplasia is uncertain, but is estimated at 20% of cases. 

Due to the risk of chronic heartburn progressing to Barrett’s, EGD every five years is recommended for people with chronic heartburn, or who take drugs for chronic GERD. A small amount of acid reflux is typical even in healthy people (as with infrequent and minor heartburn), but gastroesophageal reflux becomes gastroesophageal reflux disease when signs and symptoms develop into a recurrent problem.

Frequent acid reflux is due to poor closure of the lower esophageal sphincter, which is at the junction between the stomach and the esophagus.

Factors that can contribute to GERD:

  • Hiatal hernia, which increases the likelihood of GERD due to mechanical and motility factors.
  • Obesity: increasing body mass index is associated with more severe GERD.[34] In a large series of 2,000 patients with symptomatic reflux disease, it has been shown that 13% of changes in esophageal acid exposure is attributable to changes in body mass index.

Factors that have been linked with GERD, but not conclusively:

  • Obstructive sleep apnea
  • Gallstones, which can impede the flow of bile into the duodenum, which can affect the ability to neutralize gastric acid

In 1999, a review of existing studies found that, on average, 40% of GERD patients also had H. pylori infection. The eradication of H. pylori can lead to an increase in acid secretion, leading to the question of whether H. pylori-infected GERD patients are any different from non-infected GERD patients.

A double-blind study, reported in 2004, found no clinically significant difference between these two types of patients with regard to the subjective or objective measures of disease severity.The diagnosis of GERD is usually made when typical symptoms are present. Reflux can be present in people without symptoms and the diagnosis requires both symptoms or complications and reflux of stomach content. Other investigations may include esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD).

Barium swallow X-rays should not be used for diagnosis.  Esophageal manometry is not recommended for use in the diagnosis, being recommended only prior to surgery. Ambulatory esophageal pH monitoring may be useful in those who do not improve after PPIs and is not needed in those in whom Barrett’s esophagus is seen. Investigation for H. pylori is not usually needed.

The current gold standard for diagnosis of GERD is esophageal pH monitoring. It is the most objective test to diagnose the reflux disease and allows monitoring GERD patients in their response to medical or surgical treatment. One practice for diagnosis of GERD is a short-term treatment with proton-pump inhibitors, with improvement in symptoms suggesting a positive diagnosis.

Short-term treatment with proton-pump inhibitors may help predict abnormal 24-hour pH monitoring results among patients with symptoms suggestive of GERD. Endoscopy, the examination of the stomach with a fibre-optic scope, is not routinely needed if the case is typical and responds to treatment.It is recommended when people either do not respond well to treatment or have alarm symptoms, including dysphagia, anemia, blood in the stool (detected chemically), wheezing, weight loss, or voice changes.

Some physicians advocate either once-in-a-lifetime or 5- to 10-yearly endoscopy for people with longstanding GERD, to evaluate the possible presence of dysplasia or Barrett’s esophagus. Biopsies performed during gastroscopy may show:

  • Edema and basal hyperplasia (nonspecific inflammatory changes)
  • Lymphocytic inflammation (nonspecific)
  • Neutrophilic inflammation (usually due to reflux or Helicobacter gastritis)
  • Eosinophilic inflammation (usually due to reflux): The presence of intraepithelial eosinophils may suggest a diagnosis of eosinophilic esophagitis (EE) if eosinophils are present in high enough numbers. Less than 20 eosinophils per high-power microscopic field in the distal esophagus, in the presence of other histologic features of GERD, is more consistent with GERD than EE.
  • Goblet cell intestinal metaplasia or Barrett’s esophagus
  • Elongation of the papillae
  • Thinning of the squamous cell layer
  • Dysplasia
  • Carcinoma

Reflux changes that are not erosive in nature lead to “nonerosive reflux disease”.

Wednesday

Heart flutters and acid reflux: is there a connection? Knowridge Science Report 03:59 Fri, 22 Mar 

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