Diet & Nutrition

Every time we consume food, we’re also feeding the bacteria that call our bodies home. The human body plays host to trillions of microorganisms, including thousands of species of bacteria, fungi and viruses. These microorganisms actually outnumber our own cells, and the vast majority of them reside in our digestive system. Referred to as the gut’s microbiota or gut flora...

Resveratrol is powerful phytoalexin, a group of naturally occurring antimicrobial and antioxidant compounds produced by plants, that can be found in red wine, raw cacao, pistachios, peanuts, and dark berries such as red grapes, blueberries and muscadines. Like other antioxidants, resveratrol can help the body to fight and repair cellular damage. Research over the past decade has indicated that resveratrol...

Previous research has demonstrated that deficient levels of vitamin D may increase the risk of developing diabetes. The most recent study on the subject, which was published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE, offers support for this significant connection between vitamin D and diabetes. Vitamin D Deficiency Poses a Greater Risk of Developing Diabetes In a recent study carried out by a team...

Rates of autoimmune diseases are increasing in the developed world. These diseases, which include diverse illnesses such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and Crohn's disease, can be devastating to one's health, even causing lifelong disability or death. There are many theories about why these illnesses are increasing in prevalence. According to several new studies on gut bacteria and autoimmune...

Breakfast is often regarded as the most important meal of the day. As famed nutritionist Adelle Davis said, “breakfast gets the day’s work done.” New research on meal size and weight loss gives credence to this conventional wisdom by showing that eating a larger, high-energy breakfast aids weight loss and blood glucose control when compared to having our largest meals...

Due to the rising threat of antimicrobial resistance, antibiotics have received an increasing amount of attention in recent years. It is well-known that antibiotics interrupt the millions of microorganisms that make up our body’s natural gut flora. Recent research has shown that the microbiota in our gastrointestinal tract plays a crucial role in maintaining immune function, hormonal balance and even...

While it may not be entirely fair to blame an expanding waistline on our partners, there is growing evidence suggesting that our lifestyle choices have a domino effect on those who we share our lives with. With this in mind, a group of researchers asked themselves, “are weight loss efforts contagious in couples outside of highly-structured clinical settings?” The results of...

A recent study led by a team of Japanese researchers and published in the British Medical Journal adds to mounting evidence that adequate levels of vitamin D may provide protection against cancer. The research was conducted by a team from the National Cancer Center in Tokyo and was the first study to investigate the link between vitamin D and cancer within an...

Omega-3 fatty acids have risen to fame for their proven ability to promote healthy mood, support a healthy heart, improve mental health and reduce system-wide inflammation. However, when it comes to the topic of omega-3 and multiple sclerosis (MS), there has been an ongoing debate among experts. Researchers at Kaiser Permanente Southern California recently set out to examine if an increase...

There was a time when bacteria were seen by the medical community as unwanted invaders and causes of serious disease. While some microbes are dangerous, there are several species that we actually need for optimal health. Our skin, our gastrointestinal tract and many areas of our bodies flourish when colonized in large numbers by certain kinds of bacteria. A new...