November 9, 2019
It’s normal and healthy to produce some gas in the GI tract. Many people who think they have excess gas actually fall within the normal range. Gas in the intestines comes from the air we swallow and from bacterial fermentation of food, which happens with some foods during digestion and is meant to keep us healthy.
June 4, 2019 A new study found that meat-heavy diets can lead to premature death. How much meat per day is too much? How does eating meat lead to illness? Does the kind of meat consumed matter? How will cutting back on meat affect one’s health? What are ways to reduce meat intake? I discuss…
March 20, 2019
March is colorectal cancer (CRC) awareness month. What are some things you should know about prevention and getting screened?
December 17, 2018
Recently, two studies published in Cell on probiotics have been getting a lot of attention.
I’ve written previously about probiotics, including when it would be appropriate to take a supplement, how to pick a supplement if you are going to take one, and the problems that can be associated with probiotics. Here are additional takeaways from the new studies.
September 11, 2018 Table sugar, or sucrose, is made of glucose and fructose. The same glucose and fructose is also found in fruit, like apples. So why is table sugar so much worse for you? It all comes down to how your body reacts to the sugar. Your body processes digestible carbs and absorbs sugar,…
May 25, 2018 Fasting to improve health has been around for thousands of years, with early support from Hippocrates and Plato. From an evolutionary perspective, our habit of having three meals a day (plus snacks) is abnormal. For much of human history, access to food was sporadic, especially for hunters-gatherers. We have fat tissue with energy…
Below is a surprisingly bare list of foods that can get you through a wide variety of plant-based eating. You can make nearly any type of cuisine with these ingredients.
December 23, 2017
Developed nations with thriving, modern economies and ultra-clean environments have the highest rates of autoimmune diseases. But in countries where sanitary conditions are extremely poor, there are higher incidences of diarrheal diseases and bacterial infections. We need to find some sort of middle ground—an optimal level of sanitation while exposing our immune system to a variety of microbes. How do we do that? The bugs that live inside you, which make up the gut microbiome, are one of the keys to finding this balance.
November 27, 2017
We know that antibiotics can be life-saving, but they can also wreak havoc on your gut microbiome. Antibiotics can wipe out bacterial species and decrease the diversity of the gut microbiome, so don’t take them unless there’s a good reason to do so. Discuss the risks and benefits with your doctor. There are a lot of questions you can ask your doctor.
September 15, 2017
Probiotics are good bacteria. They can restore the biodiversity within the microbiome, fight pathogenic organisms and help heal the gut mucosa.