Showing posts with label gut health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gut health. Show all posts

Tuesday, 28 November 2017

9 RESEARCH BACKED AND PROVEN BENEFITS OF APPLE CIDER VINEGAR - (ACV)


Benefits Of Apple Cider Vinegar

1. Helps Lose Weight

A way to stay fit, lose weight, or even maintain weight is always on the radar for most of us. When taken before meals, even high-carb ones like white bread, ACV lowers the glucose and insulin levels in the blood after the meal. This has a threefold effect of keeping one full, reducing fat storage, and improving risks of heart attacks caused by glucose spike.1
On the one hand, ACV can keep your appetite in check and lower your calorie consumption by 275 Cal. On the other, it influences some of your genes to burn fatter and make or store less fat. That’s how it reduces the waist circumference and the harmful visceral fat around vital organs.This is the right way to have ACV for weight loss.




2. Offers Cosmetic Benefits For Skin And Hair

ACV is popular as a natural hair and skin care remedy. Here are some ways you can use it. Remember, these are home remedies that have been used by individuals, but until scientific study backs up wider use, you may want to try these with some caution – and only if your skin and hair aren’t too sensitive. Always test a small patch of skin first to ensure you don’t have an adverse reaction to the remedy.
  • Skin Toner And Facial Cleanser: Mix a tablespoon of ACV into a cup of clean water and dab onto your face with a clean cotton ball. You should feel your skin tighten and your pores should close up. Rinse off once dry.
  • Sunburn Remedy: If you’ve been out in the sun and end up with a sunburn, applying diluted ACV – about half a cup to every four cups of water – can help heal the skin and may even prevent blistering.
  • Dandruff Remedy: If your scalp is itchy and dandruff leaves you with unsightly white flakes on your hair and shoulders, ACV can come to your rescue. Rinse your hair and scalp with ACV that’s been added to your regular shampoo. You could also just rinse it through with a mix of plain water and ACV, with both in equal amounts.
  • Natural Deodorant: The acetic acid in ACV kills the bacteria on your skin that decomposes sweat and creates body odor. Dip a cotton ball in a 1:1 ACV and water mixture. Swab your armpits with it. Let it evaporate. Then powder the armpits with a 1:1 cornstarch and baking soda mixture to keep dry. If you are worried about the vinegary smell, just add a few drops of your favorite essential oil. Here’s more on how to use ACV as a deodorant.
  • 3. Detoxes Your Body
  • ACV also features in detox regimens. That’s because it may bind to toxins that have accumulated in your body and help expel them. As toxins build up in your body, its ability to function at its best also declines. Taking ACV may help offset some of that.

4. Improves Insulin Sensitivity In Diabetics

Insulin resistance and diabetes have the uncomfortable ability to make life that extra bit challenging. Which is why the antiglycemic effect of ACV is so important. ACV can improve insulin sensitivity in those who have type 2 diabetes. It ups the glucose intake in the tissues of your body and prevents the complete digestion of complex carbs. The result – blood glucose levels dip, enabling you to avoid spikes and fluctuations that diabetics dread. With better control over diabetes, you’re that much closer to getting your health back on track.
But here’s where it gets tricky. Taking ACV with blood glucose-lowering medicines may dip your sugar levels below normal, leading to hypoglycemia. So always ask your doctor.

5. Lowers Blood Pressure

ACV may also have benefits for those with high blood pressure. Animal studies have proven the hypotensive action of the vinegar, showing that it can lower blood pressure possibly due to the acetic acid in it. However, human studies must be done before it can be suggested as a treatment for the problem. It also helps that the potassium in ACV eases tension in your blood vessel walls, lowering blood pressure.

6. Reduces Bad Cholesterol And Increases Good Cholesterol

Another area in which ACV makes a mark is heart health. If you’re hoping to ward off cardiovascular illness, taking some ACV can help. The antioxidant polyphenols in it can help lower the “bad” LDL cholesterol levels in the body. Chlorogenic acid, one such polyphenol, also does not allow the LDL to oxidize and form fatty deposits in the arteries. This helps keep your blood pressure in check and your heart in better shape.

By improving your heart health, you boost overall fitness. You may, therefore, be able to stay active and build up the stamina to work out – good signs if you want to lose weight.
Even if you eat a cholesterol-rich diet, like fatty meats and dairy, drink a little with warm water before all meals to improve digestion and reduce serum cholesterol levels.1

7. Stimulates Growth Of Helpful Gut Bacteria

ACV is a functional food that helps you keep a favorable balance of gut flora. Considered a prebiotic, ACV can also help stimulate the growth of good bacteria in your intestine. These are needed not just for good digestion but also for health and well-being and enable the body to fight off infections better. A tablespoon of ACV mixed with water is a good aid for digestion too. Apple cider vinegar can also treat acid reflux.

8. Alleviates Plaque Psoriasis

Plaque psoriasis causes red raised patches and silvery skin to develop in those afflicted. Besides the knees, elbows, and lower back, it can also leave you with a scalp that’s itchy and painful. According to the National Psoriasis Foundation, using ACV as a rinse on the scalp can relieve symptoms like itching and associated pain or discomfort. It can also soothe an irritated scalp.

9. Protects You From Fungal Infections

ACV has antifungal properties. This is invaluable when dealing with common problems caused by the growth of the yeast candida, also responsible for oral thrush. Research has shown it to be an effective antifungal agent with therapeutic potential in problems like denture stomatitis, which is the inflammation and redness of the area beneath a denture. Ever used apple cider vinegar toothpaste?
There are a lot of popular claims about how ACV can cure a common cold, treat eczema, and get rid of warts. But we don’t yet have any scientific pieces of evidence to prove these, so we can’t recommend ACV for these purposes. But you can, of course, go right ahead and drink ACV for all its other goodnesses.

How To Have ACV For Health Benefits

Whatever your purpose, ACV can be consumed in a few popular ways.
Plain ACV: If you have a stomach for it, simply drink up the dosage suggested by your naturopath or specialist, or have a therapeutic dose of about a teaspoon before each main meal as most people do.
ACV With Warm Water: Another popular way is to mix the apple cider vinegar with a glass of warm water so it goes down easy.

ACV In Drinks: Simply add ACV to water, add some honey, and you have a refreshing drink. You can also add some to smoothies or juices.

ACV In Food: You can also add it to salad dressings and marinades. Also, use it as a glaze or baste meat and vegetables with it.



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  • Should You Have Raw Or Organic ACV?

    Raw or organic apple cider vinegar usually refers to the unfiltered version of the vinegar. It has a cloudy appearance and contains some of the bacteria involved in the fermentation process as well as enzymes and protein strands – also called the “mother.” Non-organic ACV is pasteurized and its nutrient content is thought to be lower than organic ACV.
    While some people believe that the “mother” is responsible for all the health benefits of ACV, this hasn’t been proven adequately via scientific research. Also, the high bacteria content in the unpasteurized organic version may not agree with everyone.
    On the other hand, the acetic acid in both organic and non-organic ACV has been found to have some marked benefits. Depending on your constitution and needs, your healthcare provider will be best equipped to recommend one of the two.

    Who Should Avoid ACV

    Taken in small dietary amounts, as part of a balanced diet with plenty of fluids, ACV is usually fine for anyone to consume. However, there are some who may be better off avoiding it.
    • Pregnant and breastfeeding mothers: Not enough research has been done to study the effect this natural remedy has on women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. You are better off avoiding having it at this phase of your life.
    • Diabetics: While ACV can improve insulin sensitivity, combining it in therapeutic doses alongside existing medication for diabetes can cause glucose levels to fall suddenly – a condition called hypoglycemia. Doses of insulin administered will, therefore, need to be adjusted accordingly in those with insulin-dependent diabetes. If you have type 2 diabetes, do check with your doctor about possible drug interactions. Also, diabetics who have gastroparesis, or incomplete stomach emptying, should avoid ACV.
    • People on blood thinners: ACV has blood-thinning properties, so people on such medication should check with their doctor to avoid any interaction.

  • source: cure joy

Saturday, 16 September 2017

Do Probiotics Really Work?
Do Certain bacteria help treat some gut disorders?



Friendly Microbes: Bacteria such as these lactobacilli, which are often added to yogurt and probiotic supplements, help to maintain a healthy environment in the intestine. Credit: Kari Lounatmaa Science Source

Walk into any grocery store, and you will likely find more than a few “probiotic” products brimming with so-called beneficial bacteria that are supposed to treat everything from constipation to obesity to depression. 

In addition to foods traditionally prepared with live bacterial cultures (such as yogurt and other fermented dairy products), consumers can now purchase probiotic capsules and pills, fruit juices, cereals, sausages, cookies, candy, granola bars and pet food. 

Indeed, the popularity of probiotics has grown so much in recent years that manufacturers have even added the microorganisms to cosmetics and mattresses.
The majority of studies to date have failed to reveal any benefits in individuals who are already healthy. The bacteria seem to help only those people suffering from specific intestinal disorders, like IBS, constant constipation, or bloating.
THE NUMBERS GAME
According to a National Institutes of Health survey, the number of adults in the U.S. taking probiotics or their cousins, prebiotics (typically nondigestible fibers that favor the development of gut bacteria), more than quadrupled between 2007 and 2012, from 865,000 people to nearly 4,00 00 million. 

San Francisco–based business consulting firm Grand View Research estimates that the global probiotics market exceeded $35 billion in 2015 and predicts that it will reach $66 billion by 2024. 





The popular frenzy surrounding probiotics is fueled in large part by surging scientific and public interest in the human microbiome: the overlapping ecosystems of bacteria and other microorganisms found throughout the body. 

The human gastrointestinal system contains about 39 trillion bacteria, according to the latest estimate, most of which reside in the large intestine. 

In the past 15 years, researchers have established that many of these commensal microbes are essential for health.



Collectively, they crowd out harmful microbial invaders, break down fibrous foods into more digestible components and produce vitamins such as K and B12.

The idea that consuming probiotics can boost the ability of already well-functioning natural bacteria to promote general health is dubious for a couple of reasons. 

Manufacturers of probiotics often select specific bacterial strains for their products because they know how to grow them in large numbers, not because they are adapted to the human gut or known to improve health. 




The particular strains of Bifidobacterium or Lactobacillus that are typically found in many yogurts and pills may not be the same kind that can survive the highly acidic environment of the human stomach and from there colonize the gut.
Even if some of the bacteria in a probiotic managed to survive and propagate in the intestine, there would likely be far too few of them to dramatically alter the overall composition of one's internal ecosystem. 
Whereas the human gut contains tens of trillions of bacteria, there are only between 100 million and a few hundred billion bacteria in a typical serving of yogurt or a microbe-filled pill. Last year a team of scientists at the University of Copenhagen published a review of seven randomized, placebo-controlled trials (the most scientifically rigorous types of studies researchers know how to conduct) investigating whether probiotic supplements—including biscuits, milk-based drinks and capsules—change the diversity of bacteria in fecal samples. Only one study—of 34 healthy volunteers—found a statistically significant change, and there was no indication that it provided a clinical benefit. 
“A probiotic is still just a drop in a bucket,” says Shira Doron, an infectious disease expert at Tufts Medical Center. “The gut always has orders of magnitude more microbes.”

REAL BENEFITS

Despite a growing sense that probiotics do not offer anything of substance to individuals who are already healthy, researchers have documented some benefits for people with certain conditions.

In the past five years, for example, several combined analyses of dozens of studies have concluded that probiotics may help prevent some common side effects of treatment with antibiotics. Whenever physicians prescribe these medications, they know they stand a good chance of annihilating entire communities of beneficial bacteria in the intestine, along with whatever problem-causing microbes they are trying to dispel. 

Usually the body just needs to grab a few bacteria from the environment to reestablish a healthy microbiome. But sometimes the emptied niches get filled up with harmful bacteria that secrete toxins, causing inflammation in the intestine and triggering diarrhea. Adding yogurt or other probiotics—especially the kinds that contain Lactobacillus—during and after a course of antibiotics seems to decrease the chances of subsequently developing these opportunistic infections.



A 2014 review by Cochrane—an independent network of experts who serve as rigorous arbiters of medical research—found that probiotics may be particularly useful in a hospital's neonatal intensive care unit. The addition of beneficial bacteria to a nutritional regimen seems to significantly reduce the likelihood of developing necrotizing enterocolitis, which is a devastating, poorly understood and often fatal gut disease that primarily afflicts preterm infants—especially the smallest and most premature among them. 

Researchers think that many cases of the disease begin with an opportunistic bacterial infection in the not yet fully developed intestine of an infant. As the illness progresses, gut tissue becomes increasingly inflamed and often starts to die, which can, in turn, rupture the intestine and flood the abdominal cavity with pathogenic microbes that proliferate to dangerous levels.

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Researchers estimate that 12 percent of preterm infants weighing less than 3.3 pounds will develop necrotizing enterocolitis and that 30 percent of them will not survive. Standard treatment involves a combination of antibiotics, feeding via intravenous tubes, and surgery to remove diseased and dead tissue. 
Probiotics probably prevent the disorder by boosting the numbers of beneficial bacteria, which may deter the harmful ones.

Probiotics also seem to ameliorate irritable bowel syndrome, a chronic disease characterized by abdominal pain, bloating, and frequent diarrhea or constipation (or a mix of the two). A 2014 review of more than 30 studies, published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology by an international team of researchers, determined that in some cases, probiotics help to relieve the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome for reasons that are not entirely clear, although it may be that they impede the growth of harmful microbes. 

The researchers concluded, however, that they did not have enough data to recommend any particular strains of bacteria. Microbiologists often caution that a promising study on a single strain of a particular species of bacteria should not be taken as proof that all probiotics work equally well. “Bacterial strains are so genetically different from one another, and everybody has a different gut microbiota,” Allen-Vercoe says. “There will probably never be a one-size-fits-all probiotic.”

But what if investigators could design probiotics to treat specific individuals? Many researchers think personalized probiotics are the most promising path forward for patients with compromised gut microbiomes. Last year Jens Walter of the University of Alberta and his colleagues published a study that gives a glimpse of this potential future. 

The researchers decided to see what it would take to get the bacteria in a probiotic to successfully colonize the intestines of 23 volunteers. They chose a particular strain of Bifidobacterium longum that earlier studies had indicated could survive in the human intestine. In the study, the volunteers consumed either a drink containing 10 billion live B. longumbacteria or a placebo in the form of a glucose-based food additive (maltodextrin) each day for two weeks. Periodic fecal samples revealed higher than typical levels of B. longum in participants who did not consume the placebo.
In seven people, however, these bacterial levels persisted for more than five months after the treatment ended. “We never expected they would survive more than a few weeks,” Walter says. 
A follow-up analysis determined that these seven people had begun the experiment with lower levels of B. longum in the first place. In other words, their gut ecosystems had a vacancy that the probiotic filled. 

That is exactly the kind of insight that clinicians need to create and recommend more effective probiotics. If a doctor knows that an individual with severe diarrhea has an undersized population of a particular beneficial microbe, for example, then prescribing the missing strain should increase the chance of a successful treatment.
“The key is taking an ecological perspective,” Walter says. “We need to think about which microbes have the right adaptations to survive in a particular gut ecosystem.” Put another way, treatments for microbe-related disorders are most successful when they work in tandem with the human body's many microscopic citizens, not just against them.













source: Probiotic 

Sunday, 25 June 2017

Special cells explain why cabbage and stress churn your guts


Have you ever needed to hurry to the toilet during times of stress or after eating a spicy meal? This may be because taste buds lining your intestine can sense inflammatory chemicals and warn your brain to move things along.

We know little about these taste buds, known as enterochromaffin cells. 
They first provoked curiosity when it was discovered that they produce 90 percent of the body’s serotonin, a chemical is mostly known for regulating mood, appetite and sleep in the brain.

To find out why gut cells are releasing such large amounts of a brain chemical, David Julius at the University of California, San Francisco, and his colleagues have been studying these cells in mini-intestines, grown from mouse cells in the lab.

They have discovered that enterochromaffin cells have receptors for sensing dietary irritants, stress hormones, and bacterial byproducts. When exposed to these substances, the cells pump out serotonin molecules, which activate intestinal nerve endings that connect back to the brain.

The brain responds by speeding up bowel movements, or – if the situation is really bad – inducing diarrhoea or vomiting. “It might also give you a general sense of discomfort as a way of letting you know you’ve got some kind of inflammatory episode going on in there,” says Julius.

Wasabi woes

The team found that the dietary irritant that activated this response most strongly was allyl isothiocyanate – a sulphur-containing compound found in wasabi, horseradish, cabbage, and broccoli. 
These foods are known to affect gut movements and cause abdominal grumblings when eaten in excess.

Stress hormones – including adrenaline and noradrenaline – also had an activating effect. Levels of these chemicals in the gut rise in response to local inflammation there, but may also increase in response to general stress, says Julius. More research is needed, but this may be part of the link between stress and digestive issues, he says.

The other major activator of the cells was a bacterial byproduct known as isovalerate. This substance is thought to be a marker of bacterial imbalances in the gut, and has been linked to abdominal pain.

Irritable bowels

All the substances that stimulated enterochromaffin cells have been implicated in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) – a condition involving alternating episodes of constipation and diarrhoea. “We’re now looking into whether these cells might be hypersensitive in people with IBS,” says Julius.

Already, there is evidence that antidepressants that boost serotonin levels – selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) – help relieve constipation for some people with IBS, says Waliul Khan at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. “This is consistent with increased serotonin causing increased gut motility,” he says.

Drugs that lower serotonin levels, like the anti-nausea drug ondansetron, are sometimes used to reduce gut motility and relieve diarrhoea in people with IBS, says Julius.

“But this drug acts on serotonin receptors all around the body, so it’s not very targeted,” he says. 

His team’s findings may lead to more targeted treatments for IBS and other gastrointestinal disorders, he says.









Wednesday, 31 May 2017

5 Ways To Boost Your Gut Health & Fight Inflammation


Whether you're struggling with stubborn belly fat or the starting twinge of knee pain, you're likely dealing with low-level inflammation's effects upon your body.
Inflammation is a necessary part of our immune system — without it, we would not heal. Acute inflammation is the response in your body you might notice when dealing with a cut on the finger or a sprained, swollen ankle. The best part about acute inflammation is that it goes away.
However, our immune system can go a bit haywire and create low-level inflammation that not only stays but spreads throughout the body. Low-grade inflammation is associated with many chronic diseases as well as faster ageing and weight gain. 
A critical component to cultivating optimal health is to reduce low-level inflammation in the body. And what research is now showing is that our gut is the core centre of optimal wellness. The health of our gut flora is crucial if you want to live a healthy, vibrant life.
Here are five key steps that will help you create optimal gut health to reverse inflammation in the body and put you on the path to wellness:
1. Plant your gut garden with probiotics.

We have roughly 100 trillion bacteria in our gut. Unfortunately, because of the types of unhealthy foods, the majority of people are eating, our gut bacteria balance favours the harmful microbes that are promoting inflammation and weight gain.
Adding cultured and fermented foods or as a supplement, also called probiotics, actually "plants" healthy, friendly gut microbes to help create optimal health and reverse inflammation. Probiotics are cultured or fermented foods that colonise our guts with health-boosting micro-organisms. Add a probiotic or cultured and fermented food to your daily diets such as yoghurt (without sugar), kefir, natto, kimchee, sauerkraut, pickles, and cheeses.


2. Fertilise the gut garden with prebiotics.

Our gut garden needs fertiliser for optimal results. That fertiliser is called prebiotics. Prebiotic foods contain different nondigestible plant fibres such as inulin and oligofructose that help your healthy bacteria flourish.
Foods that are high in prebiotics include garlic, beans, bananas, artichokes, oats, jicama, avocado, leeks, onions, chicory root, asparagus, or any green leafy vegetables. Friendly bacteria need these particular foods to thrive and help reverse inflammation.


3. Enrich the gut garden with nutrients.

Further support your gut garden with nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids, which are powerful in reversing low-level cellular inflammation. Add anti-inflammatory herbs and spices to meals or smoothies such as turmeric, rosemary, quercetin, and ginger.


4. Pull the weeds in your garden by removing toxins.

Unhealthy gut bacteria require refined foods such as sugar (especially sugar), junk foods, sodas, white rice, and white bread to flourish and promote inflammation. Gut microbes outweigh our cells 10 to 1 — so imagine the power they wield in our food choices and our cravings. These unhealthy gut bacteria need these foods, extract more calories from these foods, and store them as fat. Remove these refined, unhealthy foods from your diet to create optimal health, lose weight, and reverse inflammation.


5. Add digestive enzymes.

Enzymes are critical to every cell and every physiological process in your body, including digestion. Unfortunately, our natural enzyme production begins to decline by age 20, so by the time you reach middle age, your body is operating with much lower enzymatic activity. 
And what is more, even the healthiest of foods are of little use if they are not digested and assimilated properly. Digestive enzymes not only help promote optimal digestion and health, but they also help avert inflammation. Add a digestive enzyme supplement between meals to help reverse inflammation, or before a meal to aid in digestion.

Taking care of your gut, and the friendly bacteria that reside there may be one of the single most important things you can do for your health. Remember to plant, fertilise, and enrich your gut garden to reverse inflammation.

                                                                                                                                                                                                      source: HealthyTips365Days





Saturday, 13 May 2017

Gut bacteria spotted eating Brain Chemicals for the first time.

By Andy Coghlan


Bacteria have been discovered in our guts that depend on one of our brain chemicals for survival. These bacteria consume GABA, a molecule crucial for calming the brain, and the fact that they gobble it up could help explain why the gut microbiome seems to affect mood.
Philip Strandwitz and his colleagues at Northeastern University in Boston discovered that they could only grow a species of recently discover gut bacteria (<<Click) called KLE1738, if they provide it with   GABA  (<<click) molecules. 

“Nothing made it grow, except GABA,” Strandwitz said while announcing his findings at the annual meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in Boston last month.

 GABA  (<<click) acts by inhibiting signals from nerve cells, calming down the activity of the brain, so it’s surprising to learn that a gut bacterium needs it to grow and reproduce. Having abnormally low levels of GABA is linked to depression and mood disorders (<<click) and this finding adds to growing evidence that our gut bacteria may affect our brains.

Treating depression

An experiment in 2011 showed that a different type of gut bacteria, called Lactobacillus rhamnosus, (<<click) can dramatically alter GABA activity in the brains of mice, as well as influencing how they respond to stress.

In this study, the researchers found that this effect vanished when they surgically removed the vagus nerve – which links the gut to the brain – suggesting it somehow plays a role in the influence gut bacteria can have on the brain.


Strandwitz is now looking for other gut bacteria that consume or even produce GABA, and he plans to test their effect on the brains and behaviour of animals. Such work may eventually lead to new treatments for mood disorders like depression or anxiety (<<click).

“Although research on microbial communities related to psychiatric disorders may never lead to a cure, it could have astonishing relevance to improving patients’ quality of life,” said Domenico Simone of George Washington University in Ashburn, Virginia.


                                                                                                                                                                  source: GutBacteria