Showing posts with label HolisticHealth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HolisticHealth. 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.

Carbon beads could reduce liver disease progression caused by unhealthy gut bacteria University of Brighton 15:25 Mon, 15 Apr 

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

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Tuesday, October 6, 2026

Probiotics Gastroenterologists Recommend: Top Strains

Gastroenterologists often recommend probiotics for digestive health, especially for restoring gut flora during or after antibiotic use. While many products are available, experts emphasize choosing supplements with clinically studied strains rather than relying on general marketing claims. Commonly recommended strains include Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, Bifidobacterium longum, Bifidobacterium lactis, and Saccharomyces boulardii. These strains are frequently cited for supporting gut health and helping manage symptoms like bloating, constipation, and diarrhea……….Continue reading…

Source:  Top Vitamine

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Critics:

Probiotics are live microorganisms promoted with claims that they provide health benefits when consumed, generally by improving or restoring the gut microbiota. Probiotics are considered generally safe to consume, but may cause bacteria-host interactions and unwanted side effects in rare cases. There is some evidence that probiotics are beneficial for some conditions, such as helping to ease some symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). However, many claimed health benefits, such as treating eczema, lack substantial scientific support.

The first discovered probiotic was a certain strain of bacillus in Bulgarian yoghurt, called Lactobacillus bulgaricus. The discovery was made in 1905 by Bulgarian physician and microbiologist Stamen Grigorov. The modern-day theory is generally attributed to Russian Nobel laureate Élie Metchnikoff, who postulated around 1907 that yoghurt-consuming Bulgarian peasants lived longer.

A growing probiotics market has led to the need for stricter requirements for scientific substantiation of putative benefits conferred by microorganisms claimed to be probiotic. Although some evidence claimed benefits are marketed towards using probiotic, such as reducing gastrointestinal discomfort, improving immune health, relieving constipation, or avoiding the common cold, such claims are strain-specific and cannot be extrapolated to other strains.

As of 2019, numerous applications for approval of health claims by European manufacturers of probiotic dietary supplements have been rejected by the European Food Safety Authority for insufficient evidence of beneficial mechanism or efficacy. Live probiotic cultures are part of fermented dairy products, other fermented foods, and probiotic-fortified foods. Lactic acid bacteria (LABs), which are food fermenting bacteria, have the ability to prevent food spoilage and can improve the nutritive value of the foods they inhabit.

Acid fermentation (as well as salting), remains one of the most practical methods of preservation of fresh vegetables, cereal gruels, and milk-cereal mixtures due to its low cost and energy requirements. Fermented products that contain lactic acid bacteria include vegetables such as pickled vegetables, kimchi, pao cai, and sauerkraut; sourdough bread or bread-like products made without wheat or rye flour, amino acid/peptide meat-flavored sauces and pastes produced by fermentation of cereals and legumes; fermented cereal-fish-shrimp mixtures and fermented meats.

soy products such as tempeh, miso, and soy sauce; dairy products such as yogurt, kefir, buttermilk; and non-dairy products such as bee pollen. More precisely, sauerkraut contains the bacteria Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Lactobacillus plantarum, Pediococcus pentosaceus, Lactobacillus brevis, Leuconostoc citreum, Leuconostoc argentinum, Lactobacillus paraplantarum, Lactobacillus coryniformis, and Weissella spp. Kimchi contains the bacteria Leuconostoc spp.

Weissella spp., and Lactobacillus spp. Pao cai contains L. pentosus, L. plantarum , Leuconostoc mesenteroides , L. brevis, L. lactis, and L. fermentum. A list of many other bacteria found in several Asian fermented fruits and vegetables also is available. Kefir contains Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. 

bulgaricus, Lactobacillus helveticus, Lactobacillus kefiranofaciens, Lactococcus lactis, and Leuconostoc species. Buttermilk contains either Lactococcus lactis or L. bulgaricus. Other acidic bacteria, said to be probiotic,can be found in kombucha, including Gluconacetobacter xylinus, Zygosaccharomyces sp., Acetobacter pasteurianus, Acetobacter aceti, and Gluconobacter oxydans.

The manipulation of the gut microbiota is complex and may cause bacteria-host interactions. Though probiotics are considered safe, some have concerns about their safety in certain cases. Some people, such as those with immunodeficiency, short bowel syndrome, central venous catheters, and cardiac valve disease, and premature infants, may be at higher risk for adverse events.

In severely ill people with inflammatory bowel disease, a risk exists for the passage of viable bacteria from the gastrointestinal tract to the internal organs (bacterial translocation) as a consequence of bacteremia, which can cause adverse health consequences. Rarely, consumption of probiotics by children with lowered immune system function or who are already critically ill may result in bacteremia or fungemia (i.e., bacteria or fungi in the blood), which can lead to sepsis, a potentially fatal disease.

Probiotic supplements typically contain between one and ten billion colony-forming units (CFUs) per dose. A higher number of CFUs does not provide additional probiotic effects, but may have unintended consequences of causing digestive discomfort, such as bloating, gas, and diarrhea. Lactobacillus species have been suggested to contribute to obesity in humans, but no evidence of this relationship has been found.

As food products or dietary supplements, probiotics are under preliminary research to evaluate if they provide any effect on health. In all cases proposed as health claims to the European Food Safety Authority, the scientific evidence remains insufficient to prove a cause-and-effect relationship between consumption of probiotic products and any health benefit. There is no scientific basis for extrapolating an effect from a tested strain to an untested strain. Improved health through gut flora modulation appears to be directly related to long-term dietary changes.

Claims that some lactobacilli may contribute to weight gain in some humans remain controversial.Only limited, low-quality evidence exists to indicate that probiotics are helpful for treating people with milk allergy. A 2015 review showed low-quality evidence that probiotics given directly to infants with eczema, or in infants whose mothers used probiotics during the last trimester of pregnancy and breastfeeding, had lower risk of eczema.

Antibiotics are a common treatment for children, with 11% to 40% of antibiotic-treated children developing diarrhea. Antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) results from an imbalance in the colonic microbiota caused by antibiotic therapy. These microbial community alterations result in changes in carbohydrate metabolism, with decreased short-chain fatty acid absorption and osmotic diarrhea as a result. A 2015 Cochrane review concluded that a protective effect of some probiotics existed for AAD in children.

The known risks of using probiotics for treating Clostridium difficile outweighs the uncertain benefits. Probiotic treatment might reduce the incidence and severity of AAD as indicated in several meta-analyses. For example, treatment with probiotic formulations including L. rhamnosus may reduce the risk of AAD, improve stool consistency during antibiotic therapy, and enhance the immune response after vaccination.

The potential efficacy of probiotics to treat AAD depends on the probiotic strains and dosage. One review recommended for children L. rhamnosus or Saccharomyces boulardii at 5 to 40 billion colony-forming units/day, given the modest number needed to treat and the likelihood that adverse events are very rare. The same review stated that probiotic use should be avoided in pediatric populations at risk for adverse events, such as severely debilitated or immune-compromised children.

Probiotics market worth $105.7 billion by 2029 Dairy Industries International 14:05 Mon, 16 Sep 
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ProbioticsBenefits ,GutHealth ,HealthyLiving ,DigestiveHealth ,WellnessJourney ,Microbiome ,HealthTips ,HolisticHealth ,WellBeing ,ProbioticPower ,NaturalRemedies ,BoostYourHealth ,ImmuneSupport ,HealthyGut ,BalancedPersonality ,FeelGood ,Nutrition ,MindBodyConnection ,DigestiveWellness
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Thursday, August 6, 2026

Your Brain Can Anticipate Illness Around You 

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If you’re in a crowded room with someone who starts coughing  not a “clear your throat” cough, but a gross, phlegmy one  you might respond by moving away from them, covering your mouth or donning a facemask. But it turns out that external reactions to someone nearby indicating that they might be sick aren’t the only ways in which your body responds to the possibility of infectious disease nearby…….Continue reading….

By Tobias Carroll

Source: InsideHook

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Critics:

The signs and symptoms of an infection depend on the type of disease. Some signs of infection affect the whole body generally, such as fatigue, loss of appetite, weight loss, fevers, night sweats, chills, aches and pains. Others are specific to individual body parts, such as skin rashes, coughing, or a runny nose.

In certain cases, infectious diseases may be asymptomatic for much or even all of their course in a given host. In the latter case, the disease may only be defined as a “disease” (which by definition means an illness) in hosts who secondarily become ill after contact with an asymptomatic carrier. An infection is not synonymous with an infectious disease, as some infections do not cause illness in a host.

Infection begins when an organism successfully enters the body, grows and multiplies. This is referred to as colonization. Most humans are not easily infected. Those with compromised or weakened immune systems have an increased susceptibility to chronic or persistent infections. Individuals who have a suppressed immune system are particularly susceptible to opportunistic infections.

Entrance to the host at host–pathogen interface, generally occurs through the mucosa in orifices like the oral cavity, nose, eyes, genitalia, anus, or the microbe can enter through open wounds. While a few organisms can grow at the initial site of entry, many migrate and cause systemic infection in different organs. Some pathogens grow within the host cells (intracellular) whereas others grow freely in bodily fluids.

Wound colonization refers to non-replicating microorganisms within the wound, while in infected wounds, replicating organisms exist and tissue is injured. All multicellular organisms are colonized to some degree by extrinsic organisms, and the vast majority of these exist in either a mutualistic or commensal relationship with the host. An example of the former is the anaerobic bacteria species, which colonizes the mammalian colon, and an example of the latter are the various species of staphylococcus that exist on human skin.

Neither of these colonizations are considered infections. The difference between an infection and a colonization is often only a matter of circumstance. Non-pathogenic organisms can become pathogenic given specific conditions, and even the most virulent organism requires certain circumstances to cause a compromising infection. Some colonizing bacteria, such as Corynebacteria sp. and Viridans streptococci, prevent the adhesion and colonization of pathogenic bacteria and thus have a symbiotic relationship with the host, preventing infection and speeding wound healing.

The variables involved in the outcome of a host becoming inoculated by a pathogen and the ultimate outcome include:

  • the route of entry of the pathogen and the access to host regions that it gains
  • the intrinsic virulence of the particular organism
  • the quantity or load of the initial inoculant
  • the immune status of the host being colonized

As an example, several staphylococcal species remain harmless on the skin, but, when present in a normally sterile space, such as in the capsule of a joint or the peritoneum, multiply without resistance and cause harm. An interesting fact that gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, 16S ribosomal RNA analysis, omics, and other advanced technologies have made more apparent to humans in recent decades is that microbial colonization is very common even in environments that humans think of as being nearly sterile.

Because it is normal to have bacterial colonization, it is difficult to know which chronic wounds can be classified as infected and how much risk of progression exists. Despite the huge number of wounds seen in clinical practice, there are limited quality data for evaluated symptoms and signs. A review of chronic wounds in the Journal of the American Medical Association’s “Rational Clinical Examination Series” quantified the importance of increased pain as an indicator of infection.

The review showed that the most useful finding is an increase in the level of pain [likelihood ratio (LR) range, 11–20] makes infection much more likely, but the absence of pain (negative likelihood ratio range, 0.64–0.88) does not rule out infection (summary LR 0.64–0.88). For infecting organisms to survive and repeat the infection cycle in other hosts, they (or their progeny) must leave an existing reservoir and cause infection elsewhere. Infection transmission can take place via many potential routes:

  • Droplet contact, also known as the respiratory route, and the resultant infection can be termed airborne disease. If an infected person coughs or sneezes on another person the microorganisms, suspended in warm, moist droplets, may enter the body through the nose, mouth or eye surfaces.
  • Fecal-oral transmission, wherein foodstuffs or water become contaminated (by people not washing their hands before preparing food, or untreated sewage being released into a drinking water supply) and the people who eat and drink them become infected. Common fecal-oral transmitted pathogens include Vibrio cholerae, Giardia species, rotaviruses, Entamoeba histolytica, Escherichia coli, and tape worms. Most of these pathogens cause gastroenteritis.
  • Sexual transmission, with the result being called sexually transmitted infection.
  • Oral transmission, diseases that are transmitted primarily by oral means may be caught through direct oral contact such as kissing, or by indirect contact such as by sharing a drinking glass or a cigarette.
  • Transmission by direct contact, Some diseases that are transmissible by direct contact include athlete’s foot, impetigo and warts.
  • Vehicle transmission, transmission by an inanimate reservoir (food, water, soil).
  • Vertical transmission, directly from the mother to an embryo, fetus or baby during pregnancy or childbirth. It can occur as a result of a pre-existing infection or one acquired during pregnancy.
  • Iatrogenic transmission, due to medical procedures such as injection or transplantation of infected material.
  • Vector-borne transmission, transmitted by a vector, which is an organism that does not cause disease itself but that transmits infection by conveying pathogens from one host to another

The relationship between virulence versus transmissibility is complex; with studies have shown that there were no clear relationship between the two. There is still a small number of evidence that partially suggests a link between virulence and transmissibility. Infectious diseases are sometimes called contagious diseases when they are easily transmitted by contact with an ill person or their secretions (e.g., influenza).

Thus, a contagious disease is a subset of infectious disease that is especially infective or easily transmitted. All contagious diseases are infectious, but not vice versa. Other types of infectious, transmissible, or communicable diseases with more specialized routes of infection, such as vector transmission or sexual transmission, are usually not regarded as “contagious”, and often do not require medical isolation (sometimes loosely called quarantine) of those affected.

However, this specialized connotation of the word “contagious” and “contagious disease” (easy transmissibility) is not always respected in popular use. Infectious diseases are commonly transmitted from person to person through direct contact. The types of direct contact are through person to person and droplet spread.

Indirect contact such as airborne transmission, contaminated objects, food and drinking water, animal person contact, animal reservoirs, insect bites, and environmental reservoirs are another way infectious diseases are transmitted. The basic reproduction number of an infectious disease measures how easily it spreads through direct or indirect contact. Techniques like hand washing, wearing gowns, and wearing face masks can help prevent infections from being passed from one person to another. 

Aseptic technique was introduced in medicine and surgery in the late 19th century and greatly reduced the incidence of infections caused by surgery. Frequent hand washing remains the most important defense against the spread of unwanted organisms. There are other forms of prevention such as avoiding the use of illicit drugs, using a condom, wearing gloves, and having a healthy lifestyle with a balanced diet and regular exercise.

Cooking foods well and avoiding foods that have been left outside for a long time is also important. Antimicrobial substances used to prevent transmission of infections include:

  • antiseptics, which are applied to living tissue/skin
  • disinfectants, which destroy microorganisms found on non-living objects.
  • antibiotics, called prophylactic when given as prevention rather as treatment of infection.

However, long term use of antibiotics leads to resistance of bacteria. While humans do not become immune to antibiotics, the bacteria does. Thus, avoiding using antibiotics longer than necessary helps preventing bacteria from forming mutations that aide in antibiotic resistance.

In the last month

How a fungal spy protein silences apple’s immune alarm system

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If Sugar Is So Bad For Us, Why Is The Sugar In Fruit OK?

Shutterstock/Dulin We hear regularly from health organisations and experts that we should eat less sugar. But we’re also told we should eat...