PROBOTICS - THEIR ROLE IN SUPPORTING OUR HEALTH

In recent years there has been a lot of conversation about the gut flora and this thing called the gut brain connection. Never before have people been so concerned about the trillions of bacteria that reside in our gut. The trillions of bacteria inside your body make up your microbiome. A majority of these bacteria reside in your gut and are referred to as the gut microbiota.

Pre-existing science used to think the gut had but one single purpose, to break down our food into fuel for our body. This is no longer the case.  In the past few years science has discovered that the gut plays a vital role in our psychology, in regulating inflammation, and in protecting immunity.

The gut microbiota plays a major role in our psychology through the 100 million nerves that line the gut called.  This neurological superhighway is called the enteric nervous system (ENS).  This system allows the brain and the gut to communicate through a series of hormones, neurotransmitters, and electrical pulses. The pathways of nerves that these two organs communicate through include endocrine, immune, and neural pathways. The discovery of the connection between the gut and the brain explains why emotions and psychological factors can show up in the stomach.

 Related: The Gut Microbiome? How Does It Affect Our Health.

Just as we might take care of the brain by eating antioxidants and omega-3, we should take the same precautions for the stomach. How? By introducing adequate amounts of live microorganisms into our system that incur health benefits on the host, also known as Probiotics. 

9 WAYS TO A HEALTHIER GUT

Two thousand years ago, Hippocrates is said to have noted, “All disease begins in the gut.” As I see it, he was right: Our intestines contain trillions of microbes of many species that metabolize food and make vitamins accessible to us. Adding up to about 4 pounds of body weight, these good bugs protect us against “bad” microbes like tetanus and E. coli, the culprit behind traveler’s diarrhea. They are central to our health.

“Probably one of the most important services your microbes provide is immunity,” says Martin Blaser, director of the Human Microbiome Program at NYU Medical Center and chair of the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria. But for decades, researchers say, we’ve been inadvertently annihilating microbes through various behaviors: excessive use of antibiotics, scrubbing ourselves with antibacterial soap, and more. The microbes that live inside us amount to a vast community, Blaser explains, and when its balance is disrupted, the bad guys can flourish.

What can we do to support our beneficial bacteria? The single quickest way to change gut microbes for the better is to be selective about the foods we eat. Certified organic, high-fiber, and fermented ingredients show promise in helping to bolster gut health. But so does plenty of exposure to dirt, like you get through gardening. Conversely, processed foods and products like hand sanitizers include chemicals that harm good bacteria.

ESSENTIAL TIPS TO BE AWARE OF BEFORE TAKING PROBIOTICS.

There are foods with health halos. And then there are probiotics, which have practically been canonized. The word itself means—no big whoop—"to give life." 

Probiotics are now a nearly $37 billion industry in the U.S. Sales of probiotic-rich yogurt and kefir surged nearly 30 percent in the past three years. And just slapping "contains probiotics" on a product helps it sell better, says San Diego attorney Tim Blood, who specializes in consumer protection in advertising. Not too shabby for bacteria, right?

Indeed, their initial claim to fame was hardly sexy: soothing digestive disorders such as diarrhea, constipation, and acid reflux, which plague 70 million people (mostly women). But that take on pro-b's now feels as dated as a Jamie Lee Curtis Activia ad.

TOP 13 PROBIOTIC FOODS

Really good video about probiotic foods that can boost your gut microbiome. Let us know if you found it useful.

Related: What Are Probiotics And Why Are They So Good For You.

4 THINGS THAT MAY TRIGGER FOOD ALLERGIES AND SENSITIVITIES.

You can’t open a health magazine these days without reading story after story about gluten.

But while our collective gluten obsession has probably gone a little overboard, the science on gluten helps underscore the complexity of our digestive systems and how food-related gut issues emerge. 

While there’s no question some people have an allergy to gluten, which is known as celiac disease, there’s a great deal of expert debate regarding the existence of “non-celiac gluten sensitivity”—a condition separate from celiac that’s linked with abdominal pain, headaches, fatigue, and other symptoms.

Throw in the concept of a food “intolerance,” and it’s hard to keep all the terminology straight—let alone the triggers. 

5 THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU DRINK KOMBUCHA.

Do a quick search of kombucha online and you'll find that the fizzy drink (produced by fermented tea, sugar, fungi, and bacteria) supplies sky-high energy, quells pain, fends off certain cancers, detoxes your body, helps you shed weight, and turns your immune system into a fortress.  Guzzlers of the health beverage preach these promises, too.

But is our beloved kombucha really a health elixir in a bottle? Here are five things to keep in mind before you take a swig. 

ACCORDING TO DOCTORS - YOU MAY NOT NEED TO TAKE A FULL COURSE OF ANTIBIOTICS

When you last took antibiotics, your doctor probably told you to “complete the course”—that is, take the pills for the length of time prescribed, even if you felt better before the end. But there’s growing evidence that this old-school approach does more harm than good. 

You might assume prescribing lengths are standardized, based on solid scientific principles. Not so, says Professor Jack Gilbert, PhD, faculty director of the Microbiome Center at the University of Chicago. “The length of time we use an antibiotic for is pretty arbitrary.” He says most doctors opt for five to 10 days, but there’s no consensus about where these figures came from.  

“They may reflect long-standing convention or be based on a manufacturer’s decision during an initial drug trial,” according to an opinion piece by infectious diseases specialist Professor Lyn Gilbert.

Related: 5 Natural Powerful Antibiotics You Should Consider

HOW TO BOOST YOUR GUT HEALTH

Conventional wisdom says that if you’re dealing with a touchy gut, you should just start taking probiotics and eating more yogurt and sauerkraut. But when British nutritionist Jeannette Hyde hears this kind of advice, it makes her cringe.

“If you just throw a ton of prebiotic and probiotic foods at somebody who’s got gut problems, you can actually make things worse,” she says. “I get a little bit shocked when I see scientists say things like, ‘Lentils are prebiotic—they feed the good bacteria in the gut and everybody should eat loads of them.’ That is the absolute last thing I would do with somebody with gut problems. They could be on the toilet for days.”

To set the record straight, Hyde wrote The Gut Makeover, a four-week, systematic plan for rebalancing the bacteria in the digestive tract with minimal misery. All of the hacks within are backed by science, yet laid out in a way that’s been proven to work outside of the lab, based on Hyde’s years of clinical practice.

Could Your Gut Health Affect Your Sleep?

Almost 60 million Americans spend their nights in fitful slumber; tossing and turning, wrestling with the need to get to sleep, and yet torturously being unable to do so.

We all know those nights when no amount of counting sheep will work and each hour stretches by with increasing frustration.

Yet there are many options to help you sleep better, ranging from meditation to aromatherapy. But what if the solution was actually in your gut of all places?  

 

Tell Me About The Sleep-Gut Connection! 

Believe it or not, what’s happening in your belly right now will play a factor in how well you sleep tonight. 

Why? Because the gut influences our brain, and the brain regulates our sleep.

Previously, it was thought that the gut simply oversaw the digestion of our food. As it  turns out, our gut does a whole lot more than digestion. 

Our gut actually has a profound impact on many neurological functions. In fact, your gut contains so much neural tissue that it has been called ‘the second brain’. 

Furthermore, our gut plays host to over 30 types of neurotransmitters (like the ones found in your brain). The gut also contains 100 million neurons, which is higher than the amount found in our spinal cord! And if you need more proof of your gut’s brain-like properties, at least 95% of serotonin - an important neurotransmitter for cognitive function - is produced in your gut! Whoa, right? 

The Gut Microbiome? How Does It Affect Our Health.

We can carry up to 2 kg of microbes in our gut. Within the tens of trillions of micro-organisms that live there are at least 1,000 species of bacteria consisting of over 3 million genes. What is more, two thirds of the gut microbiome - the population of microbes in the intestine - is unique to each individual. But do you know how your gut microbiota could be influencing your health?

Most of us are aware that the bacteria in our gut play an important role in digestion. When the stomach and small intestine are unable to digest certain foods we eat, gut microbes jump in to offer a helping hand, ensuring we get the nutrients we need.

In addition, gut bacteria are known to aid the production of certain vitamins - such as vitamins B and K - and play a major role in immune function.