Gut Bacteria Prevents Obesity

Posted on 10/09/2013 by sbonham

Breaking news from North America’s most prestigious scientific journal called Nature regarding obesity. Scientists have discovered that gut microbes play a significant role in obesity! In fact, scientist found that the “good flora” (flora is science word for bacteria) in obese individuals intestines actually played a role in their weight gain. Have no fear though, this can be reversed 🙂

What are gut/intestinal bacteria?

Well, they are the kind of bacteria that help you stay healthy and build up strong immunity (i.e. help fight off the flu and come to your aid when you feel worn down or a bug coming on). The ever-so-popular yogurt, Activa actually contains good flora bacteria called acidophillis and bifidobacteria. If you don’t like Activa, you can always take acidophillis or bifidobacteria as a supplement. It can be found at your local health food or grocery store, such as Natures Emporium (refer to main banner link above). Note: I provided a link to the one I take everyday below – you can buy it on Amazon in five seconds – super easy and great deal!

How Was Gut Bacteria Linked To Obesity? Prove It!

Scientists from a research group at Washington University in Missouri took gut bacteria from four sets of human twins (one twin being obese and the other thin), and put the bacteria into mice bred to be germ-free. Interestingly, the mice that were given bacteria from an obese twin quickly gained weight, even though all the mice ate about the same amount of food.

What Happens When You Intermingle the Lean Mice with the Obese Mice?

Answer: The Mice All Became LEAN!

One interesting result found was when the scientists intermingled the obese and lean mice, they all became LEAN. At first, they knew the mice would exchange microbes and were just genuinely interested to find out what would happen. Surprisingly, the obese mice who were originally injected with “obese human gut bacteria” started to become thin like their neighbouring lean mice in the cage.

Apparently, the gut-bacteria in “lean mice/people” is much more diverse and is able to colonize a lot better than the less-diverse bacteria found in the guy of obese people. Thus arose the question as to “why isn’t there a lean epidemic in America??” The answer came down to diet.

Gut Bacteria Work In Your Favour To Keep You Slim When Presented With The Right Diet

If you want your bodies “good gut flora/bacteria” to work in your favour (i.e. colonies to be very diverse) and ultimately KEEP YOU SLIM, you have to present them with the most optimal environment. These bacteria will do there job correctly IF you don’t put too much crap in your body. Scientist found they responded best in terms of keeping weight off and working for your body overall when you eat a diet low in saturated fat.

When the mice were fed a diet low in saturated fat and high in fruit and vegetables, the transfer of gut microbes from mice with the lean type to those with the obese type still occurred. Hence, a human that ate along the same lines would still have their gut bacteria working IN THEIR FAVOUR to keep them slim.

On the contrary, when the mice were given a high-fat, low-vegetable diet this did not happen, and mice with the obese-type bacteria gained weight. “There’s an intricate relationship between our diet and how our gut bugs work,” says Gordon. “You have to have the right ingredients.”

Conclusion: Gut Bacteria Keeps You SLIM and Stops Working When You Eat High Saturated Fatty Foods

Moral of the story is to make sure to get lots of good bacteria and don’t eat foods high in saturated fat. Hence, eat lots of yogurt or take probiotics (i.e acidophillus and bifidobacteria supplements) as they can play a role in both maintaining your weight and shedding those unwanted pounds.

Reference

Nature. Bacteria From Lean Cage-Mates Help Mice Stay Slim. Brian Owens. (09-05-13). Available: http://www.nature.com/news/bacteria-from-lean-cage-mates-help-mice-stay-slim-1.13693

Consumer Report: Sulphites In Popular Fruit Snack

Posted on 07/09/2013 by sbonham

Was shocked today when I found “sulphites” in the popular “Scooby- Doo!” Fruit Snacks. How disappointing! Sulphites have been scientifically linked to asthma and are a preservative.

Is Chai Tea Good For You?

Posted on 06/09/2013 by sbonham

So many people’s favourite tea is the “chai latte” from Starbucks, but is chai tea really good for you? Well, obviously not the latté syrup but regular chai tea (from a tea bag) IS VERY GOOD FOR YOU!

Chai tea is essentially black tea but with additional spices/ herbs and milk. What many do not know though, is that black tea is very good for you… and with the added benefits of the spices in chai tea, it makes for a very healthy tea! If you want to read more about the health benefits of black tea, refer to our earlier article here.

Black Tea Benefits

black tea benefits

Overall, black tea is rich in antioxidants, after all, it’s a cousin of green tea- specifically catechins and polyphenols. Antioxidants prevent free radical formation and cellular damage. If you read Eco-Savy’s article on Black Tea Health Benefits, we even referenced study that correlated women drinking black tea to a lower risks of ovarian cancer. Furthermore, black tea lowers cholesterol and is thus good for the heart.

Chai Tea Health Benefits

On top of the black tea ingredients in Chai tea, there are a series of series of spices, which are also very good for you. These spices include ginger, cloves, fennel seeds, allspice, cardamom and black pepper. Overall these spices help stimulate and support digestion, calm the stomach and combat nausea and diarrhea. Chai tea’s herbs also help with reducing inflammation in the body (i.e. the ginger does this). Also, an added bonus is that chai tea has less caffeine than coffee! Having chai instead of coffee provides health benefits and satisfies the taste buds.

Below you will find an infographic of the benefits of chai tea’s spices for your health.

Aloe Vera Uses – Wound Healing

Posted on 04/09/2013 by sbonham

Aloe Vera uses are endless, however one of the more well known uses is for wound healing. What many do not know is that Aloe Vera is just as effective for wound healing when taken orally as when applied topically. For example, one scientist found that when mice drank Aloe Vera (100mg/kg/day) for 2 months, compared to those that did not (just had water), their wound diameters were reduced by 62.5%! On the contrary, when mice applied Aloe Vera topically (25% w/v concentration) in a Eucerin cream, they experienced a reduction in wound diameter by only 50.8%. That’s an 11.7% difference!

Triclosan Toothpaste

Posted on 02/09/2013 by sbonham

Seems like every product on the market today has an “antibacterial” claim, as if we are all trying to fight the flu (or a runny nose) like the plague. However, did you ever think these antibacterial chemicals were being put in your toothpaste?! I sure didn’t!

What Is Triclosan?

What makes a product “antibacterial” is the active ingredient called triclosan. Triclosan can often be referred to as “Mircoban” (tradename). Considering the extent to which it is being use today (antibacterial liquid soap bars, toot pastes, deodorants and moisturizers) it can be problematic. I mean it is even in towels and hair accessories!

Why does everything in our culture have to be in such excess? I wish there was an extent (percentage) to the amount of products these chemicals could be allowed in our products.

Why Is Triclosan Harmful?

According to Health Canada, “anti-bacterial soaps/toothpastes are not recommended because they destroy good bacteria as well as bad, and can add to the problem of “antibiotic resistance.” Translation: they breed superbugs. Also it is important to note that colds and the flu are caused by viruses and antibacterial’s don’t work on viruses! In a nutshell, the main reason why we are washing with antibacterial soaps come cold/flu season is, simply, MARKETING.

Triclosan in Toothpaste

Many of you are concerned about triclosan in your toothpaste. It has been put in only certain toothpastes (*cough*, *cough* – Colgate Total Toothpaste). The main reason triclosan is there is to fight plaque, however scientist find that triclosan only offers minimal plaque inhibitory properties. However, there are other toothpastes out there like Crest Pro Health which have other antibacterial ingredients (i.e stannous fluoride), which are just as good as triclosan but don’t increase your risk of antibacterial resistance.

Triclosan Banned In Europe – But Not USA or CAN

The European Union and other countries have banned or restricted triclosan. Still, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says it is investigating the health issues, but doesn’t yet have enough evidence to recommend changing consumer use of products that contain triclosan.

At the same time, the FDA says it has no proof that washing with soap containing triclosan is actually better than washing with regular soap. The FDA advises that if you are concerned about using hand and body soaps with triclosan, you should wash with regular soap. To get the same effect, just wash your hands for 20 seconds (pretty simple solution -without all the chemicals).

Triclosan In Our Bodies

As a result of Health Canada and the FDA, not banning triclosan the level in our bodies are rising. For example, since 2004 the level of antibacterial triclosan coursing through our bodies has jumped by 50%.

Progress In Canada To Ban Triclosan

Fortunately, in 2009, none other than the Canadian Medical Association asked the feds to ban it from consumer products and a decision should be made soon.

So until triclosan is banned from your toothpaste and antibacterial products, try to limit your use and opt for a healthier option (i.e. regular soap, natural toothpaste or crest).

Alternative Options To Triclosan Toothpaste

Have no fear! You can buy toothpaste without triclosan (note: Nature’s Emporium – refer to link at top of blog, has a variety of options you can choose from). Regular Colgate doesn’t have it, but Colgate Total toothpaste does, and Tom’s of Maine sells many triclosan-free options. Crest Pro-Health toothpaste contains another antibacterial, stannous fluoride, also to help protect against gingivitis.

To learn more about triclosan in dish soap, refer to an earlier article. Also, here is what the FDA has to say about triclosan.