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It’s all about what you’re feeding your gut microbes! Processed foods that are low in fiber and typical of a Western diet (think packaged chips, cereals, and sugary snacks) are rapidly absorbed in your upper GI tract – providing maximal calories for you, and minimal for your gut bacteria. Less processed high-fiber foods like lentils, […]
40% of postmenopausal women in the U.S. take HRT. While previous studies have explored the association between HRT and reproductive cancers, this is the first study to look at long term HRT and the likelihood of developing GI cancer. The study analyzed medical records of over 11 million women who took HRT for at least […]
The most common side-effects of the weight-loss drug Ozempic are gut related. Here’s what you need to know. Ozempic, also known as Semaglutide, is a synthetic form of a human hormone called glucagon-like peptide one (GLP-1), that’s secreted in our gut and helps our body know when we’re full. The drug causes the stomach to […]
How do you know if you’re constipated? Is it just based on how many times a week you have a bowel movement? There are lots of different criteria for diagnosing constipation. Most are based on the number of stools you’re having—fewer than three per week being the standard textbook definition. But the fact is you […]
Regular laxative use may be a risk factor for dementia, according to a research study published in the journal Neurology. The study involved over half a million people and compared regular laxative users to those who used laxatives infrequently or not at all. Regular laxative users were 51 percent more likely to develop dementia than […]
Previous studies have assessed the relationship between antibiotic use and childhood obesity, but these studies didn’t take into account the possibility that the infections themselves (and not just the medications used to treat them) may also increase childhood obesity risk. This study followed over 61,000 children over a 4-year period and assessed infection frequency and […]
I’m fond of pointing out that “you are what you feed your microbes”, and more and more scientific evidence is bearing that out. A recent Washington Post article highlights just how important it is to feed your gut bacteria what they need, which is lots of indigestible and hard-to-digest plant fiber. But it turns out […]
These results seem odd; why men and not women? Let’s take a closer look at this study. Researchers from Tufts University assessed the influence of ultra-processed foods (including sugar-sweetened beverages, ready-to-eat meat-containing meals, baked goods, etc.) on cancer risk in three groups of men and women. Food consumption was measured using a dietary intake form […]
Fecal microbiota transplant (FMT), plus anti-inflammatory diet leads to remission in ulcerative colitis (UC). In a randomized trial, researchers split ulcerative colitis patients into two groups: an FMT group who was also eating an anti-inflammatory diet, and a standard medical therapy group with no dietary recommendations. 66% of patients in the FMT group showed a positive […]
Eating within an early 8-hour window is more effective than a 12-hour fast. Eating within a 12-hour window (for example, eating breakfast at 8am and ending your last meal at 8pm) is typical for most of us. To test whether or not timing matters when practicing restrictive eating, researchers split people into two groups – a control […]
Half of all cancer deaths are preventable. Yes, you read that correctly! A new study found that close to half of all cancer deaths worldwide are associated with preventable risk factors. The behaviors that contribute to the majority of preventable cancer deaths include: • Smoking• Alcohol consumption• Elevated body mass index (BMI) Other notable risk factors included […]
Microbial imbalance ages your skin. Microbial health is intimately connected to age-related physical and intellectual decline, but the relationship between the gut microbiome and how your skin ages is less known. New studies show a direct link between cellular senescence and microbial imbalance (dysbiosis). Cellular senescence is simply the process of getting older. As cells age, they […]
