Studies say that the community of microorganisms that live in the gut are associated with athleticism. A week before the 2015 Boston Marathon, Jonathan Scheiman, then a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of geneticist George Church at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, was racing around the city in a hire car collecting faeces. He gathered stool samples from runners planning to participate, as well as those from non-runners — mostly fellow postdocs. After the race, he revisited his donors to collect more samples. Four years later, his efforts were rewarded with a paper describing one of the first...
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Studies suggest a possible link between insomnia and a lack of diversity in gut bacteria. The scientists say there is plenty in this for them to chew on. Bad night’s sleep? It’s not uncommon to crave the comfort of a full-fat, sugar-encrusted doughnut. Equally, a large dinner of fried food might leave you tossing and turning in bed and waking drained the next day. But food isn’t necessarily the common denominator here. Increasingly, evidence suggests that the gut microbiome – the bacteria and other micro-organisms in our digestive tract – can influence the quality of our sleep. Research into the microbiome and...
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Following a diverse diet, rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fermented foods, could play a protective role against severe forms of COVID-19. A new review presents the hypothesis highlighting the link between a less diversified microbiota, a high intake of processed foods and refined sugars and severe Covid-19 cases in Western countries. How can it be that wealthy countries such as the USA or Western European nations that have good medical infrastructures are among the hardest hit by the virus? That is the question the microbiologist Heenam Stanley Kim, from Korea University’s Laboratory for Human-Microbial Interactions in Seoul, kept...
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A new study suggests that the gut microbiota may be a novel avenue for exploring heart disease prevention. This article explains how a diet higher in plants and lower in animal products may decrease heart disease risk thanks to the reduction in certain metabolites produced by the gut microbiota. A new study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, highlights how certain diets can decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease. Researchers have found that following a diverse and healthy diet, rich in plants can decrease the risk of heart disease by reducing levels of a molecule called...
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In light of IBS Awareness Month, digestive health expert Emma Wells shares some simple dietary and lifestyle tweaks that could help ease the symptoms of IBS.For many of us, the thought of discussing our toilet habits with a stranger is daunting to say the least, which is why we might be tempted to keep it to ourselves if we notice a change. But if you are experiencing symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) – such as constipation, diarrhoea, bloating, or gassiness – know that you’re not alone.IBS affects between 10 and 20 per cent of the population and is twice...
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The gut microbiome is constituted by millions of microbes. It is dominated by two main groups of bacteria, Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes. The amount and types of bacteria vary from person to person, like a unique fingerprint. Bacteria are present in the entirety of your gastrointestinal tract but are mostly present in the colon. Diets affect our gut microbiome. For example, a diet rich in protein and fat will result in more Bacteroidetes being present in your gut microbiome. Studies show that one day only of a vegan diet can alter you’re your microbiome community. However, it quickly reverts back to...
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