Tag Archives: Gut Microbes

Research Preview: Nature Magazine – Sept 15, 2022

Volume 609 Issue 7927

Monkeypox, COVID-19, AIDS: have we progressed so little?

Deaths and sufferings are not a failure of technology or knowledge, but a failure of will.

The world’s reservoirs are ageing — and belching out more methane

But carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the global reservoir-building spree in the 1960s and 1970s are falling.

The Jurassic vomit that stood the test of time

A fossilized pile of small bones is probably a meal that an animal heaved up 150 million years ago.

Rarest of elements yield their secrets with help from mighty metals

Surrounding an ion of curium with radiation-resistant clusters of other ions allows scientists to study the scarce substance.

Why some female hummingbirds mimic males: it’s all about nectar

Some female white-necked jacobins nab good feeding spots by adopting the flashy plumage of their bigger, brasher male counterparts.

A sugary diet wrecks gut microbes — and their anti-obesity efforts

A high-sugar diet unbalances the microbiome, so the body makes fewer of the gut immune cells that help to prevent metabolic disorders.

Health: ‘What Influences Gut Microbiome’ (Video)

The microbiota is a dynamic community that evolves through the lifetime of an individual, being influenced by multiple factors. Nutrition is essential in the process of establishing a healthy gut microbiome, with a key role of breastfeeding in early months, and important role of diverse diet to stimulate maturation of diverse gut microbiome.

Prebiotics, probiotics and synbiotics are key tools to boost the development of an age-appropriate microbiota and its related benefits, like healthy immune development and a basis for a resilient microbiota throughout life.

Healthy Diets: Probiotic- and Prebiotic-Rich Foods

With a focus on maintaining a healthy gut by incorporating probiotic- and prebiotic-rich foods into your diet, Chef Jeffrey Held at NYU Langone makes plant-based miso soup with wild mushrooms, bok choy, and soba noodles, topped with boiled eggs.

Health Videos: “You Have The Gut Microbiome You Deserve” (Cambridge)

Do you have good or bad microbiome? Or do you have the microbiome you deserve?

Gut Microbiome, the new Open Access journal from Cambridge University Press and The Nutrition Society has published its first papers, including the animated abstract above from the paper: Hill, C. (2020) “You have the microbiome you deserve,” Gut Microbiome, Cambridge University Press, 1, p. e3.

Access the paper here: https://bit.ly/3bFOjc7

Podcast: “MedDiet” Alters Gut Micriobiome In Older People, Improves Frailty, Cognition, Inflammation

We observed that increased adherence to the MedDiet modulates specific components of the gut microbiota that were associated with a reduction in risk of frailty, improved cognitive function and reduced inflammatory status. 

Dr Philip Smith, Digital and Education Editor of Gut and Consultant Gastroenterologist at the Royal Liverpool Hospital interviews Professor Paul O’Toole; who is Professor of Microbial Genomics, Head of School of Microbiology and Principal Investigator in APC Microbiome Ireland, an SFI funded centre at University College Cork, Ireland, on “Mediterranean diet intervention alters the gut microbiome in older people reducing frailty and improving health status: the NU-AGE 1-year dietary intervention across 5 European countries” published in paper copy in Gut in July 2020.

Read article in BMJ Journal “Gut”

Heart Health Video: “Beta Blockers” Lower CVD Risks Of Harmful Gut Microbes

Hazen and colleagues find that gut bacteria play a central role in the conversion of dietary proteins into a compound, phenylacetylglutamine ( PAGln), which not only is associated with future cardiovascular disease risk in humans but also promotes platelet responsiveness and blood clotting potentially via adrenergic receptors, according to mouse models.

Read study

Study: “Med-Diet” Alters Gut Microbiota, Lowers Frailty & Inflammation, Improves Cognition (BMJ)

From BMJ Journal “Gut” study (February 17, 2020):

BMJ Journal GUT Februrary 2020We observed that increased adherence to the MedDiet modulates specific components of the gut microbiota that were associated with a reduction in risk of frailty, improved cognitive function and reduced inflammatory status.

Objective Ageing is accompanied by deterioration of multiple bodily functions and inflammation, which collectively contribute to frailty. We and others have shown that frailty co-varies with alterations in the gut microbiota in a manner accelerated by consumption of a restricted diversity diet. The Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) is associated with health. In the NU-AGE project, we investigated if a 1-year MedDiet intervention could alter the gut microbiota and reduce frailty.

Design We profiled the gut microbiota in 612 non-frail or pre-frail subjects across five European countries (UK, France, Netherlands, Italy and Poland) before and after the administration of a 12-month long MedDiet intervention tailored to elderly subjects (NU-AGE diet).

Results Adherence to the diet was associated with specific microbiome alterations. Taxa enriched by adherence to the diet were positively associated with several markers of lower frailty and improved cognitive function, and negatively associated with inflammatory markers including C-reactive protein and interleukin-17. Analysis of the inferred microbial metabolite profiles indicated that the diet-modulated microbiome change was associated with an increase in short/branch chained fatty acid production and lower production of secondary bile acids, p-cresols, ethanol and carbon dioxide. Microbiome ecosystem network analysis showed that the bacterial taxa that responded positively to the MedDiet intervention occupy keystone interaction positions, whereas frailty-associated taxa are peripheral in the networks.

Conclusion Collectively, our findings support the feasibility of improving the habitual diet to modulate the gut microbiota which in turn has the potential to promote healthier ageing.

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