A Nestec-sponsored meta-analysis of 14 trials found probiotics cut whole gut transit time by 12 hours and added 1.3 bowel movements a week. Bifidobacterium lactis helped; Lactobacillus casei Shirota did not. The authors flag high bias and heterogeneity.
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Biotics
Probiotics, prebiotics and the gut microbiome.
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Biotics
Probiotics prevent diseases
A review in the Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association reports probiotics may help prevent or treat gastrointestinal infection, inflammatory bowel disease, lactose intolerance, allergy, urogenital infection, cystic fibrosis, cancer, dental caries and periodontal disease.
Biotics
Probiotic helps prevent breast cancer
In rats exposed to the carcinogen DMBA, the probiotic Lactobacillus plantarum LS/07, with or without inulin, significantly suppressed tumor frequency, raised CD4+ T cells in tumor tissue and lowered serum TNF-alpha. The authors credit immunomodulatory mechanisms for the effect.
Biotics
Probiotics may prevent type 2 diabetes mellitus
Chinese researchers report that Lactobacillus casei Zhang suppressed high blood sugar in rats made insulin resistant by a high-fat, sucrose diet, and suggest the probiotic works through a microbiota-based bile acid and chloride exchange mechanism.
Biotics
Probiotics help irritable bowel syndrome, constipation
A review of 43 trials found irritable bowel syndrome symptoms were 21 percent less likely to persist in patients taking probiotics, with reported benefits for stomach pain, bloating and flatulence, plus benefit for chronic idiopathic constipation.
Biotics
Bacillus Coagulans help irritable bowel syndrome
In a trial of 85 IBS patients given a Bacillus coagulans synbiotic or placebo for 12 weeks, the supplement cut abdominal pain and diarrhea frequency but not constipation. Nine months later, the pain reduction held while constipation frequency had risen.
Biotics
Soluble fiber helps irritable bowel syndrome
A meta-analysis of 14 trials covering 906 patients found soluble fiber helped people with irritable bowel syndrome, while bran did not.
Biotics
Consuming probiotics for a month helps diminish fat accumulation in the liver
University of Granada researchers report in PLOS ONE that giving obese rats three probiotic strains for 30 days reduced fat accumulation in the liver, the first stage of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Biotics
How a versatile gut bacterium helps us get our daily dietary fiber (PR)
University of British Columbia researchers report in Nature the gene sequence that lets the gut bacterium Bacteroides ovatus break down xyloglucan, a dietary fiber in vegetables from lettuce to tomatoes. About 92 percent of people carry bacteria with a variant of the sequence.
Biotics
Probiotics Linked to Reduced Risk of Allergies, Psoriasis, Colitis, Periodontal Disease and More
Mercola argues that 80% of the immune system sits in the digestive tract and that gut bacteria teach it to distinguish pathogens from harmless antigens - a failure he links to allergies. He urges women to address gut health before and during pregnancy, and recommends cultured foods or supplements.
Biotics
Probiotic beverage, soy isoflavone consumption help prevent breast cancer
A Japanese case-control study comparing 306 breast cancer patients with 662 controls found that drinking a Lactobacillus casei Shirota beverage four or more times a week was associated with 35 percent lower risk, and the highest quartile of soy isoflavone intake with 52 percent lower risk.
Biotics
Are Probiotics the New Prozac?
A UCLA proof-of-concept study of 36 women found that probiotics altered participants' brain function. Mercola reads it as support for the gut-brain link and for feeding gut flora as a route to mental health.
Biotics
How Tumors Exploit Gut Flora to Fuel Growth, and the Surprising Finding that Chemotherapy Boosts Resistant Cancer
Findings in Nature describe microbial-dependent mechanisms that let some cancers provoke an inflammatory response fuelling their own growth. Chronic inflammation precedes 15 to 20 percent of cancers, and long-term users of drugs such as aspirin show up to 45 percent lower cancer death rates.
Biotics
In Emergency Situations, a Fecal Transplant May Be a Lifesaving Option
Kaitlin Hunter developed a C. difficile colon infection while on antibiotics after a car accident, and doctors treated her with a fecal microbiota transplant from her mother during a colonoscopy. The CDC attributes about 14,000 U.S. deaths a year to C. difficile.
Biotics
The Wide-Ranging Influence of Gut Microbes on Your Mental and Physical Health
Dr. Mercola reviews research suggesting gut bacteria influence gene activity in the brain. Mice raised without gut bacteria engaged in what researchers called high-risk behavior, with neurochemical changes to match, and the authors say microbiota help set HPA axis activity.
Biotics
Probiotics fight irritable bowel syndrome
An Iranian review finds meta-analyses show benefits of probiotics, most often Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus, in irritable bowel syndrome, though studies varied in dose, species and endpoints. The authors say current evidence almost suffices to convince experts, and more studies are needed.
Biotics
The Type of Food that Will Slow Nearly EVERY Inflammatory Disease...
Mercola describes enzymes as the catalysts behind energy production, oxygen absorption, wound healing, inflammation control, cholesterol regulation and clot dissolution. More than 3,000 have been identified, each matched to one reaction, and they speed reactions without being used up.
Biotics
Lactobacillus bacteria may reduce toxicity of aflatoxins or liver cancer risk
Egyptian researchers fed female rats aflatoxin-laced feed and found the toxin cut food intake, weight and antioxidant capacity while raising liver and kidney damage markers. Giving the rats L. casei or, more effectively, L. reuteri improved those measures.
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