THE BIOME BUZZ
BUGS AND WORMS AND OTHER GREAT STUFF
Category: Human Biome
Since Things Already Stink in This COVID-Ridden World, We Might as Well Talk Gas
I posted this story up on Facebook a few weeks ago, but have decided – since the issue is so endemic – it’s worth a blog post, for those of you who missed it. When I was working as a nutritionist, the single most…
Multiple Sclerosis and Propionic Acid: A Potential Treatment?
I’ve illustrated this post with a picture of Janus, the Roman god of, among other things, duality. Every time I read about short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), I think of him. Over the years, I’ve written about the benefits of SCFAs many times. (Here’s…
Gut Bacteria and Diabetes: Progress on Several Fronts
Several new studies have recently been published examining the relationship between gut bacteria and diabetes. With one in ten people in the United States suffering from diabetes (which doesn’t include those with metabolic syndrome/insulin resistance, which would greatly inflate that number), we desperately need…
A Metabolite Direct Link Between the Gut and the Brain: Think Autism, Parkinson’s, etc….
Today’s post describes what may be a critical finding in defining at least one mechanism whereby gut microbes directly affect the brain. Those interested in developmental disorders, like autism; Parkinson’s; Alzheimer’s; chronic fatigue; etc. should pay particular attention as, according this article, this information…
Response to Prebiotics Depends on Your Existing Gut Bacteria
This is a small, but I thought really interesting, study and I guess I’m not alone in finding it significant: it was published in a premier medical journal, Gut.[i] It’s a great illustration of the complexity of gut biome optimization because of the individuality…
Babies, Anxiety and the Gut Biome
Remember last Thursday, when I wrote about the relationship of the gut bacteria to the structure and function of the brain? I mentioned in that post that, “In Western populations, Bacteroides and Prevotella species tend to dominate, with the former outnumbering the latter…
Your Brain and Your Microbiota…Which Forms Which?
This is a great follow up to my post on Tuesday about the relationship of personality to the gut bacteria. Today I’m covering a new study from UCLA which looks at how the gut bacteria affect the actual structure and function of the brain.[i]…
Your Personality and Your Gut Bacteria: Mirror Reflections?
I posted the news last week on the Biome Buzz’ Facebook page, about research out of Oxford University in the UK[i] which connected personality type to specific microbiome patterns. The story has gotten huge coverage in the world of the biome, so I reckon…
Coming Soon: Sports-Specific Probiotics?
Last September, the big news in the wonderful world of the biome was that Harvard was taking on designing probiotics to improve athletic performance: “The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University has announced that its athlete microbiome-based technology will be commercialized…
Fiber: And You Thought This Was Simple (ha!)
Many times over the years I’ve written about prebiotic fibers and gut health. What seems so simple at first glance (i.e. “eat more fiber”) turns out to be anything but…just like everything else having to do with the gut biome! I just finished reading…
