Diet Archives

The Probiotic Benefit For Gastric Bypass Patients

With greater numbers of people struggling with a myriad of health issues surrounding obesity, the popularity of gastric bypass procedures that help patients shed extra pounds has grown exponentially over the past three decades.

Although gastric bypass isn’t for everyone who suffers from severe weight-related health problems, this procedure can be an important catalyst toward better health outcomes.

Losing the weight with the help of gastric bypass is merely the first step. It takes a great deal of work and mental determination to follow a healthier diet plan rather than a nutrient-poor Western diet which is often the reason many patients consider gastric bypass in the first place.

However, taking a probiotic formulated with Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains may be a very safe, gut-friendly solution that eases some of the issues gastric bypass patients face, according to a recent study.

The Gut-Brain Connection At Work

A team of Brazilian researchers conducted a clinical trial with 101 gastric bypass patients to assess the gut-brain benefits of prescribing a probiotic containing Bifidobacterium lactis and Lactobacillus acidophilus, targeting symptoms of binge eating and food addictions.

(These strains of beneficial bacteria are among the 10 formulated in every bottle of EndoMune Advanced Probiotic.)

Patients received a multi-strain probiotic or placebo for three months, starting seven days after their gastric bypass surgeries, then were evaluated at the 90-day and 1-year marks to assess outcomes.

Both patient groups experienced decreases in symptoms at three months. But, the real benefit of taking a multi-strain probiotic showed up a year later as patients still experienced significant gut-brain relief from binging and food addictions.

What If Gastric Bypass Isn’t An Option?

For many people, gastric bypass may not be the best option to lose weight. You may not be keen on weight-loss surgery, especially if the amount of weight you need to lose is a much more manageable number that can be aided by eating nutrient-dense foods and increasing your exercise.

If you want to lose weight safely and more slowly but need some extra help, you may want to consider EndoMune Metabolic Rescue, a probiotic that can help you maintain the healthy balance of bacteria in your gut and jumpstart your weight loss plan.

EndoMune Metabolic Rescue contains a proven blend of Bifidobacterium lactis and the prebiotic XOS (Xylooligosaccharides) that stimulates the release of hormones in your gut that reduce your appetite naturally by promoting a greater sense of fullness.

If gastric bypass isn’t in your future, it’s good to know you have gut-healthy options in the EndoMune family of probiotics that can make your weight-loss journey a good experience.

References

ABCD (Arquivos Brasileiros de Cirurgia Digestiva)

Nutra Ingredients

Mayo Clinic

Porto Biomedical Journal

Medline Plus

Are Tomatoes Good For Your Gut?

Diet / By @drHoberman

Are Tomatoes Good For Your Gut?

You’d be surprised by the number of calls we get every time a story pops up on the evening news about the latest probiotic food “discovery.”

Suggestions — whole foods like walnuts — make some sense, but others — beer or kombucha tea — are more challenging and depend on factors largely out of your control.

Recently, tomatoes joined that growing list of foods based on a joint study from a research team at Ohio State and Penn State University specializing in food, crop and animal sciences and the microbiome

Their focus made sense, given that tomatoes make up more than 20 percent of the vegetable intake in the average Western diet and their consumption has been associated with reduced risks for the development of some forms of cancer and cardiovascular disease.

However, there’s always caveats when it comes to evaluating the efficacy of most foods in the laboratory for their microbial benefits, and this case is no different.

How Tomatoes Affect The Gut

To measure the benefits, scientists fed two sets of recently weaned pigs either a standard diet or one that was fine-tuned slightly to include a 10 percent mix of freeze-dried powder made from tomatoes for two weeks.

Gut changes were measured from fecal samples taken before the study started, then seven and 14 days after the tomato-laden diet started. Then, researchers used shotgun metagenomic sequencing, a technique used to sequence genomes to calculate the composition of microbes, to compare those samples.

Overall, the pigs eating a tomato-based diet experienced increased gut microbial diversity, and higher ratios of beneficial bacteria linked to good health outcomes. For example, previous research has linked tomato consumption with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and some cancers.

Although the results were positive and measurable among animals eating tomatoes, scientists did not learn how or why that change occurred.

That said, pigs have GI tracts that more closely resemble those in humans than mice, which suggests a future trial in humans could happen, says Dr. Jessica Cooperstone, senior study author and an assistant professor at Ohio State.

The Takeaway For Your Health

Still, the real unknown is understanding how foods like tomatoes make an impact on human gut health, says Dr. Cooperstone.

Even taking these positive results into account, the real test for any food is to consume enough of it to have a positive impact on the balance of bacteria in your gut without creating more health problems, like worsening conditions like GERD (gastroesophageal reflux) or migraines.

Very simply, it’s hard to eat enough of a single food to make a gut healthy difference, but a diet rich in dietary fiber can do a lot of good and only takes about 1 ounce of fiber a day to notice a difference.

But there’s more you can do to give your health a gut-friendly boost every day, especially if you have a hard time eating enough fiber.

Taking a multi-strain probiotic formulated with beneficial bacteria from the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium families and a proven prebiotic (FOS) contained in EndoMune Advanced Probiotic every day can make a gut-healthy difference in your health.

And, you can save the tomatoes for a salad or your favorite sandwich…

References

Microbiology Spectrum

Ohio State News

Health

News-medical.net

Your Gut or Your Blood: What Affects Your Health More?

Diet / By @drHoberman

Your Gut or Your Blood: What Affects Your Health More?

We posted an article last year that asked a provocative question about what affects your health more: Your gut or your genes.

From that report, we learned once again how the quality of our daily diets shaped the diversity of our microbiomes in ways that can leave us more vulnerable to serious health problems or protect us from them.

That’s not all, according to a pair of recent studies conducted in Sweden and America.

The human gut exerts its influence through diet and even the medications you take on the composition of metabolites that drive countless functions throughout your body’s bloodstream.

But how much does your gut really affect your health? Much more than you would ever assume…

The Connection Between Your Gut and Your Blood

Two recent studies conducted in Sweden and America came to strikingly similar conclusions. In both cases, gut microbiomes drove variances in blood metabolites.

After examining the presence of 930 blood metabolites in more than 1,500 patients, researchers from the Institute of Systems Biology (ISB) in Seattle concluded more than 60 percent of those metabolites were tied directly to the gut microbiome, a patient’s genetic makeup or both.

Of that number, 69 percent of those connections were driven solely by the microbiome and an additional 16 percent were controlled by a genetic-microbiome hybrid. Only 15 percent of the metabolites tracked were associated with a patient’s genetic makeup.

Swedish researchers from Lund University and Uppsala University came to similar conclusions, estimating as much as 58 percent of the variances of individual blood metabolites are linked to the microbiome.

Moreover, this team documented more than 546,000 associations between specific gut species and blood metabolites.

The Main Takeaway

So, in simple terms, what does this knowledge really mean for our understanding of the gut microbiome and your own health?

For one, understanding the variances between the composition of bacteria in the gut and metabolites in the blood can help scientists find more targeted approaches to health problems, says Dr. Sean Gibbons, an ISB faculty member and study co-author.

Also, these findings suggest that our gut health drives a majority of the metabolites in our blood, and that they can be treated and enhanced by basic lifestyle interventions.

For example, eating a diet rich in dietary fiber can make a huge difference. Just adding one ounce of fiber is all it takes, and it’s doable if you enjoy nutrient-dense foods like lentils, green beans, oats and mushrooms.

Researchers also suggested taking a probiotic could provide a healthy boost to your metabolites.

To the end, be sure that any probiotic you take is formulated with multiple strains of beneficial bacteria from the Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus families as well as a prebiotic (that feeds the good bacteria in your gut) like EndoMune Advanced Probiotic.

Resources

Nature Metabolism

Institute for Systems Biology

Gut Health News

Uppsala University

Nature Communications

ScienceDirect

Reduce Inflammation With Multi-Strain Probiotics

Diet, Healthy Aging / By @drHoberman

Reduce Inflammation With Multi-Strain Probiotics

If you’ve experienced a cut, low-grade fever or a broken toe, you know what inflammation feels like.

Inflammation is a very necessary signal from your body’s immune system in the form of pain, warmth, swelling or redness that lets you know healing is on the way. Fortunately, much of the inflammation our bodies experience is acute and gets resolved pretty quickly.

However, chronic inflammation is a much more serious problem that can be triggered in the very same ways, but it often doesn’t go away, even after the initial problem gets resolved.

The real challenge, especially for seniors, is preventing chronic inflammation, and there’s many lifestyle modifications you can make to lower your risks.

Maintaining a healthy weight.
Managing your stress.
Eating a healthier diet.
Making time for exercise.
More relaxing sleep.

Adding a multi-strain probiotic and an omega-3 supplement (with vitamin D) every day to your anti-inflammatory to-do list may help too, according to a recent study appearing in Nutrients.

Curbing Chronic Inflammation

A team of European scientists were eager to study simple, non-drug ways to curb the effects of inflammaging, a chronic, low-grade form of inflammation that develops as seniors age, increasing their risks of health problems.

Over the course of eight weeks, researchers tracked the health of 76 elderly patients (ages 65-80) who took placebos or a multi-strain probiotic containing Bifidobacterium lactis and Lactobacillus acidophilus, along with an omega-3 supplement (consisting of fish oils and vitamin D).

(These probiotic strains tested in this trial are among the 10 featured in EndoMune Advanced Probiotic for adults.)

The benefit for seniors battling inflammation came from an upward trend in levels of the anti-inflammatory chemical cytokine IL-10 and a big increase in beneficial short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) among patients taking the multi-strain probiotic/omega-3 combo.

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time we’ve talked about the benefits of fish oil when taken with a multi-strain probiotic like EndoMune, fortified to maintain and protect your immune system by increasing the good bacteria in your gut.

Resources

Nutrients

Nutra Ingredients.com

WebMD

Cleveland Clinic

Harvard Health Publishing

Middle aged man holding bag of groceries overstuffed with produce

How Men Can Avoid the Colon Cancer “Diet”

Diet, Digestive Health, Healthy Aging / By @drHoberman

How Men Can Avoid the Colon Cancer “Diet”

There’s no doubt in the world that one of the easiest things you can do to protect your health and avoid serious disease — eating a nutrient-dense diet packed with lots of unprocessed whole foods, fiber and natural sugars — is one of the best things too.

Unfortunately, we see the old adage, You are what you eat!, play out every day in rising mortality rates on a global scale due to poor diets than smoking and car accidents.

A recent study appearing in The BMJ underscores the risk of poor diets, concluding that men raise their risk of developing colon cancer by 29 percent just by eating highly processed foods.

Rising Rates of Colon Cancer

You’ve probably read similar reports we have about the rising rates of colon cancer, leading scientists to predict it will become the leading cause of death for patients under age 50 by the end of this decade.

Researchers at Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy already had assumed diet was a major contributor in a colon cancer diagnosis, but who was more vulnerable and why.

Scientists reviewed data from more than 205,000 patients across three large studies that tracked dietary intake along with how often people consumed a list of some 130 foods for more than 25 years.

During that time, men were far more susceptible to colon cancer than women, largely due to eating diets full of highly processed meats, poultry, pork and fish, ready-to-eat meals and sugar-sweetened drinks.

These results led researchers to consider the possibility that other factors could be responsible for rising colon cancer risks among men, like the role food additives play in harming the balance of bacteria in the gut and promoting inflammation.

Reduce Your Colon Cancer Risks

Eating a healthier, fiber-rich diet made up of fewer highly processed meats along with incorporating some movement into your daily routine will go a long way toward reducing your colon cancer risks. However, we recommend adding a couple of things to your to-do list.

For one, get screened for colon cancer as soon as you’re able. Although the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force recommended lowering the age for a first screening to age 45 last year, if you have a family history of colon cancer take the initiative and do it sooner.

Also, given what we already know about the health-harming use of antibiotics and their effect on raising your colon cancer risks, we recommend taking a daily probiotic with multiple strains of beneficial bacteria and a proven prebiotic (that feeds the beneficial bacteria in your gut).

You can get the protection you need with the proprietary blend of 10 proven strains of beneficial bacteria from the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium families and the prebiotic FOS contained in each serving of EndoMune Advanced Probiotic.

Resources

Tufts Now

The BMJ

People

Are Sugar Substitutes Safe For Your Gut?

Diet, Digestive Health / By @drHoberman

Are Sugar Substitutes Safe For Your Gut?

The challenge for many people trying to lose weight often comes down to the tradeoffs they make along the way.

For example, low-calorie sugar substitutes are some of the most popular tools people use to satisfy their sweet tooth and keep their weight-loss goals on track.

However, we’ve seen plenty of evidence that sugar substitutes like sucralose, saccharine, aspartame and stevia create lots of gut health problems.

Could you be swapping one set of serious health problems for others by using zero-calorie sweeteners?

Sugar Substitutes Alter the Microbiome

Israeli researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science recently showed how a variety of sugar substitutes alter the microbiome negatively, even when consumed briefly in small amounts, according to a study appearing in Cell.

Scientists screened some 1,400 healthy patients before selecting 120 people (ages 18-70) for this project who had one thing in common: Each patient avoided artificially sweetened foods and drinks in their daily life.

Then, patients were divided into groups who consumed prescribed amounts one of four sweeteners (saccharin, sucralose, aspartame or stevia) and two control groups (glucose or no sweetener at all) for two weeks.

Compared to those in the control groups, patients who consumed any sugar substitute experienced unique changes in the composition and functionality of their microbiomes.

Also, patients in the sucralose and saccharin groups had experienced even more significant alterations in how their bodies metabolized these chemicals, a warning sign of metabolic disease, by altering their glucose tolerance.

As one last check, researchers transplanted gut bacteria from 40 “sugar” patients into germ-free mice that had never consumed it to observe any changes. No surprise, the changes in glucose tolerance among mice consistently mirrored those of their human donors.

“These findings reinforce the view of the microbiome as a hub that integrates the signals coming from the human body’s own systems and from external factors such as the food we eat, the medications we take, our lifestyle and physical surroundings,” says lead researcher Dr. Eran Elinav.

Losing Weight Safely

Although consuming sugar substitutes in amounts big or small can harm your gut and the way your body breaks down glucose, you still have healthy options that are pretty easy to follow to keep losing weight and protect your gut.

For one, drinking plenty of clean water keeps you hydrated. (Add some flavor to your water with slices of lemon along with a dash of turmeric or cinnamon.)

If you can’t give up your favorite “diet” soft drink, be sure to protect the balance of bacteria in your gut by taking a multi-strain probiotic like EndoMune Advanced Probiotic.

And, if you want some extra help to lose those extra pounds, consider EndoMune Metabolic Rescue, a probiotic uniquely formulated with Bifidobacterium lactis and the prebiotic XOS that promotes a sense of fullness and protects your gut health.

References

Cell

Weizmann Institute of Science

Food Navigator-USA.com

Woman running along a street. Running away from camera.

Should Long-Distance Runners Take Probiotics?

Diet, Digestive Health / By @drHoberman

Should Long-Distance Runners Take Probiotics?

There’s no doubt exercise is one of the best things you can do for the health of your body and your gut.

However, some forms of exercise can be more taxing on the gut. For example, as many as 90 percent of long-distance runners experience “runner’s stomach,” the gastrointestinal distress associated with cramping, constipation, bloating, nausea, urgency and pain.

There are lots of ways for athletes to ease symptoms of runner’s stomach, including staying hydrated to paying closer attention to their diets.

Taking a multi-strain probiotic could be another important tool competitive runners use to avoid gut-related distress, based on a recent Polish study appearing in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

How Probiotics Affect Running

Sixty-six active long-distance runners between ages 20-60 were assigned to take a multi-strain probiotic or a placebo twice a day for three months while running at least 3 miles for five or more days a week, participating in strength training and completing food diaries.

(Participants in the probiotic group received proprietary strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Bifidobacterium bifidum and Bifidobacterium lactis similar to those contained in EndoMune Advanced Probiotic.)

After the study period ended, scientists uncovered some beneficial gut health changes that were related to taking multi-strain probiotics, but not with diet.

Female runners enjoyed many probiotic benefits, including higher levels of iron, good HDL cholesterol, potassium, sodium and triglycerides (often depleted by high levels of intense physical activity).

Generally, higher percentages of men and women in the probiotic group reported overall improvements in their health along with sharp drops in alternating symptoms of constipation and diarrhea that are often associated with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Can Probiotics Help Runners?

While researchers discovered some new benefits for distance runners associated with multi-strain probiotics, even they admit that their work is just beginning. More time to conduct the study plus a deeper dive into the gut health of each patient could’ve revealed even greater benefits.

The good news keeps growing for probiotics with multiple strains of beneficial bacteria like EndoMune Advanced Probiotic that are better equipped to treat a wider range of problems, like treating Long COVID symptoms to protecting your gut when taking an antibiotic.

Resources

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Nutra-Ingredients.com

Runner’s World

Inside Tracker

Healthline

Jar of peanut butter with peanuts next to it.

Can Probiotics Help Peanut Allergies

Diet, Probiotics / By @drHoberman

Probiotics: The Gut Solution to Peanut Allergies

Food allergies remain some of the most common and challenging health problems people face throughout their lifetimes.

More than 170 foods have been found to trigger allergic reactions, with peanuts topping the list among children (affecting 1 out of every 50 kids in America) and ranking third among adults (below shellfish and milk).

Avoiding foods containing peanuts can be really tricky, requiring you to pay close attention to food labels and menus. Even with close vigilance, you may still find peanuts as an ingredient in some unusual places, like chili, pizza, sauces, candies, ice creams and even lawn fertilizer.

For people who come in contact with peanuts, either through skin contact or eating them, the possible symptoms can range from the very uncomfortable (diarrhea, skin rash, cramps, swelling) to life-threatening (anaphylaxis).

Researchers at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute have been testing the use of probiotics as a viable treatment for peanut allergies with much success, as we’ve shared with you previously.

A new study from the Australian-based institute has concluded a sizeable number of children treated with probiotics and oral immunotherapy achieved total remission and were able to eat peanuts safely.

Here’s how…

It’s All In The Genes!

Based on her previous work on peanut allergies, Dr. Mimi Tang and her Australian research team discovered the mechanism that facilitates the remission of these immunological problems via activity at the gene level.

For this latest randomized study, 62 children between ages 1-10 received a placebo or a probiotic containing a proprietary strain of Lactobacillus rhamnosus (one of the 10 strains of beneficial bacteria contained in EndoMune Advanced Probiotic) plus oral immunotherapy (the gradual introduction of peanuts) for 18 months.

After this first trial, 74 percent of the patients receiving a probiotic and oral immunotherapy achieved relief from their peanut allergies compared to just 4 percent of the placebo group.

Later on, a follow-up trial found about half of the children treated with oral immunotherapy and probiotics or oral immunotherapy alone achieved total remission and were able to eat peanuts safely.

“What we found was profound differences in network connectivity patterns between children who were allergic and those who were in remission,” says Dr. Tang, an immunologist/allergist and a well-known expert in food oral immunotherapy.

This molecular connectivity and communication triggered changes in allergen-specific Th2 cells (essential components in the development of food allergies) that “turned off” signaling in children whose peanut allergies were in remission.

Not So Fast…

While these latest results are great news for people who suffer from peanut allergies (while promoting good gut health), it could take a while before a final, rock-solid protocol to treat food allergies is put in place.

Until then, if you or your child suffer from an allergy to food like peanuts, we strongly recommend discussing any strategies with your doctor first.

Resources

Allergy

Murdoch Children’s Research Institute

Cleveland Clinic

Food Allergy Research and Education

Fruits and vegetables spread out on a table

Can Dietary Fiber Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease?

Diet, Disease / By @drHoberman

Preventing Alzheimer’s Disease: Dietary Fiber on Your Brain

How much dietary fiber you eat each day reveals a lot about how healthy your body and your gut really are…

Unfortunately, less than 10 percent of all American adults eat the amount of dietary fiber their bodies need to maintain their good health, according to recent findings from the American Society For Nutrition (ASN).

This dietary fiber deficit has led to serious health problems related to the heart (inflammation and circulatory issues), not to mention diabetes, that often start in the human gut.

Add an elevated risk of Alzheimer’s disease to the growing list of health problems related to a lack of dietary fiber, according to researchers at LSU Health New Orleans.

The Inflammatory Path to Alzheimer’s

LSU scientists recently discovered the pathway that a potent neurotoxin — lipopolysaccharide (LPS) — takes from its creation in the gut to the brain in a study appearing in Frontiers in Neurology.

Considered the most inflammatory class of neurotoxic chemicals in the human body, many laboratories have detected different forms of LPS in the neurons of brains harmed by Alzheimer’s disease, says Dr. Walter Lukiw, co-lead researcher on this study and a professor at the LSU Health School of Medicine.

Based on their work with human and animal brain cells, scientists learned LPS generates a “messenger molecule” that travels from the gut through the bloodstream and to the brain, where it shrinks cells, increases inflammation and robs neurons of their signaling abilities, Lukiw says.

Although this new information has the potential to offer new treatments for neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s, the better news here is that we can lessen the production of LPS in our bodies very simply by increasing the daily amount of fiber we eat in our daily diets.

More Fiber and Healthier Brain

So, if eating more fiber is good for your gut and your brain, how much do you really need and where do you get it?

Generally, men need a bit more dietary fiber (30-38 grams) than women (21-25 grams) depending on their ages (people over age 50 require a little less fiber).

Eating about 30 grams of fiber may sound challenging, but it really amounts to 1 powerful ounce of protection for your health. And, it’s very doable if you enjoy nutrient-dense whole foods like fruits (raspberries and mangoes), vegetables (green beans, cauliflower), legumes (chickpeas and lentils), oats and mushrooms.

But that’s not all you can do, especially if you want to give your gut and your health some extra protection…

Taking a probiotic with proven strains of beneficial bacteria from the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium families and a prebiotic like EndoMune Advanced Probiotic does a lot of good behind the scenes by enhancing the natural fermentation of fiber that feeds your gut and protects your brain!

References

Frontiers in Neurology

NOLA.com

LSU Health New Orleans

American Society For Nutrition

Five people toasting a "cheers" with glasses of beer

How Beer Affects The Human Gut

Diet, Digestive Health / By @drHoberman

How Beer Affects The Human Gut

The football season has officially (and finally) arrived and along with it comes the tradition of drinking beers at a game, local bar or in front of your TV.

But, is drinking beer actually good for your gut? Lately, the health results have been mixed, with studies testing non-alcoholic beers or alcoholic beers but few with both.

That changed when a research team from Portugal recently launched a small trial that monitored the health of 19 healthy men who were randomly assigned to drink 11 ounces of an alcoholic (5.2 percent) or non-alcoholic lager beer with dinner for 28 consecutive days.

Based on analyses of stool and blood samples collected before and after the testing period, standard health markers — weight, BMI, heart health and metabolism — for patients didn’t change but their microbiomes did for the better, according to the study that appeared in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Scientists observed increased diversity in each patient’s microbiome, plus higher levels of fecal alkaline phosphatase that show an overall improvement in intestinal health.

Those benefits would make some sense in the short-term, given that beer is brewed through fermentation just like kombucha tea.

But, more diversity doesn’t necessarily mean increases in the healthiest kinds of gut bacteria. Microbial functionality wasn’t evaluated in this small study, so some boosts in gut diversity could come from unhealthy bacteria that could harm your health in the long run.

Plus, some experts are concerned that people could use these results to justify chasing gut health improvements in a beer bottle rather than working on their cleaning up their Western lifestyles and adding more fiber-rich foods to their daily diets.

Want to give your gut some extra help that works safely and reliably?

Consider taking a probiotic that contains multiple strains of beneficial bacteria from the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium families and a proven prebiotic (FOS) that keeps the bugs in your gut well fed like EndoMune Advanced Probiotic.

The moral of the story: Enjoy that beer you’re drinking (responsibly) while watching football at home or at the game and don’t count on it to help you protect the health of your gut… Doctor’s orders!

Resources

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

American Chemical Society

Inverse

Healthline

WebMD