Diabetes – THE BIOME BUZZ

The Prophylactic Use of Probiotics (to Combat Microbiome Alterations Due to C-section and Early Life Antibiotic Use)

December 11, 2018

The article I read yesterday was a natural follow-on from my last post, about autism and its relationship to perturbations in the gut microbiome. This one was about a double-blind, placebo-controlled study using probiotics to restore normal gut microbiota in infants who were either born via c-section or given antibiotics early in life.[i] Before I … Read more

Senescence, Aging…and the Microbiome: Part 2

December 4, 2018

As I promised last Thursday, I’ll finish talking about the article[i] on aging, the microbiome, and senescence today. A quick summary of my last post: the evidence currently available points to a depletion of the microbiota as we age (from diet (for example, older people – who may have dental issues – may not eat … Read more

Senescence, Aging…and the Microbiome: Part 1

November 29, 2018

Yesterday evening, I read about a study[i] done by scientists at the University of Salford, in Manchester, UK, that fascinated me enough that it sent me into one of my I-can’t-stop-reading jags. First, a brief explanation: senescent cells are old cells that have lost the ability to divide. Once a cell enters senescence, it pumps … Read more

Staying Young, Healthy and Chock Full of Akkermansia

November 20, 2018

You know how whenever you learn a new word, for example, suddenly it appears everywhere? I have been having that experience of late with all kinds of tie-ins to recent posts. Coincidences or…is it just that the Biome Buzz is so trending that I’m on top of stories before they happen?! Akkermansia. Suddenly it is … Read more

The Negative (Biome) Side of Moving to the USA

November 8, 2018

Last week, a really interesting new study[i] was published in the journal, Cell, detailing how immigrating to the USA negatively impacts the gut bacteria. Researchers looked at people from Southeast Asia and found that there was a significant reduction in the diversity of gut microbes with each subsequent generation, culminating with their microbiota resembling those of … Read more

Boosting Levels of Akkermansia to Improve Glucose Metabolism

October 18, 2018

After my last blog post about microbiome changes in Alzheimer’s, including a depletion of the bacteria, Akkermansia, I became curious. It is not as yet included in any commercial probiotic so I got to wondering if there were any known ways of boosting levels. I found an article[i] from just last year, a commentary actually, … Read more

Autism and the Early Bacterial Microbiome

September 11, 2018

Last month, a review paper[i] came out on the implications of the disruption of the bacterial microbiome in autism. I was hoping to find something new in it and was not disappointed. A few highlights. As the bacterial microbiota are crucial for the production of many important vitamins, they “…can exert an important influence over … Read more

Stress, Inflammation and the Human Biome

August 16, 2018

Today’s post hits a little too close to home. I just read about a fascinating study done at Ohio State University that highlights something about which I am only too personally aware: the effects of stress on health.[i] In this particular case, researchers were looking at the connection between marital problems and health issues, and … Read more

GMO Probiotics?

July 19, 2018

A corollary truth to the conclusion of my last post, “Mother Nature knows best,” is that tinkering with her finely tuned system can cause massive changes downstream. There’s definitely a biological butterfly effect to consider. (For those not familiar, the Butterfly Effect is defined as “The scientific theory that a single occurrence, no matter how … Read more

2 New Helminth Papers: IBD and Obesity

March 20, 2018

Two new papers have just come out that provide yet more proof of the importance helminths play in health and a modulated immune response. The first paper[i], published in the American Journal of Physiology, looked at using Hymenolepis diminuta (HD) to prevent inflammatory bowel disease. Researchers at the University of Calgary exposed young mice to … Read more

THE BIOME BUZZ

BUGS AND WORMS AND OTHER GREAT STUFF

Tag: Diabetes