Health & Wellness Blog – EndoMune Probiotic

The July issue of the Journal of Gastroenterology discusses the recent findings of a post-gastric bypass surgery weightloss study. The physicians and researchers administering the study were interested in whether gastrointestinal bacteria and gut health plays an impact in the weight loss of individuals.

Both a control and a probiotic group were on the same counseling and diet regimen, with the probiotic group receiving 2.4 billion colonies of Lactobacillus daily.

At both 6-weeks and 3-months, the probiotic group had a statistically significant increase in weight loss over their counterparts in the control group. However, at 6-months, the significance had decreased.

With more research studies in the future, researchers may be able to determine if probiotics do have an impact on post-gastric bypass weight loss.

View the article at: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/706023

Interest in probiotics and their healthful links to gastrointestinal ailments has spurred the recent launch of the National Institute of Health’s Human Microbe Project. Baylor College of Medicine in Dallas, Texas is heavily involved in many of these studies; they received $3.7 million to map human bacteria genome.

Most recently, Dr. James Versalovic, a genetecist with the college, received a $750,000 grant to research the impact of bacteria on IBS in pediatrics. His studies are expected to explore methods of treating children without the use of invasive surgery. Dr. Robert Shulman, a pediatrics professor at Baylor College of Medicine and a practicing gastroenterologist, believes bacteria composition plays a major role in adult and child abdominal pain.

This is all very exciting and interesting news in the intestinal bacteria and probiotic front!

Read the entire article from the Houston Chronicle:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6526164.html

The 2009 Digestive Disease Week in Chicago presented numerous findings with regard to the GI tract and associated diseases. Among those findings is the usefulness of DNA testing of stool samples for the presence of cancer.

Previously, stool DNA testing was used for the early detection of colorectal cancer; recently scientists and physicians have discovered this screening is also a useful source of detection for other cancers such as pancreas, stomach, bile ducts and esophagus. This is a tremendous shift from the single organ approach to screening of such cancers. DNA sampling provides a “whole-body” approach to screening for multiple cancers at one time, potentially paving the way for early detection of cancers previously not screened.

According to the U.S. News & World Report, “The test developed by Mayo Clinic researchers, which checked a patient’s stool for the DNA of cells regularly shed from the surface of several types of tumors, detected 65 percent of esophageal cancers, 62 percent of pancreatic cancers, 75 percent of bile duct and gallbladder cancers and 100 percent of stomach and colorectal cancers. The test was equally successful at detecting early-stage and late-stage cancers.”

The report goes on to note, “One in four cancer deaths are the result of gastrointestinal cancers, the news release notes. These cancers are quite curable if detected at an early stage, but the only one widely tested for is colorectal cancer, generally through colonoscopy.”

Research and news with regard to GI disease continues to move in a positive direction.

In the past I’ve discussed short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and the ability of probiotics to combine with prebiotics to assist in the production of SCFAs. The harmonious nature leads to numerous healthful impacts on your colon and gut. Along with this production is the need for resistant starches, another topic I’ve discussed at length.

I recently stumbled upon a great article that helps pull all of these items together into healthful advice: Don’t Resist Starch

Enjoy!

The Spanish National Research council has concluded individuals who follow a gluten-free diet are more likely to experience a decrease in gastrointestinal health.

Although a recent study of 10 people was a small sampling, these otherwise health individuals experienced a decrease in Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus; these naturally-occuring bacteria have been linked to gastrointestinal health and increased immunity. The declining presence of these bacteria could lead to a decrease in the individual’s overall immunity and digestive disorders.

A surge in gluten-free products has been experienced worldwide. Although intolence to the gluten in wheat is experienced by only 1.2 percent of adults and 1 percent of children, a growing interest in health and the consumption of packaged foods has grown exponentially. The implications of gluten-free foods may have a less than desirable effect, according to this study.

More research is needed to address this study’s finding thoroughly. For now, if you are consuming gluten-free foods, it would be advisable to include a probiotic supplement in your daily dietary intake.

Source: Food Navigator