[News release] An International Team of Researchers Discover Strong Association Between Lifestyles of Indigenous Communities and Gut Microbial Ecologies

From the 25 March 2015 University of Oklahoma news release

…the team presents an in-depth analysis of the gut microbiome of the Matses, an Amazonian hunter-gatherer community, which is compared with that of the village of Tunapunco, who are highland small-scale farmers, as well as with urban city-dwellers in Norman, Okla.

In comparing the three groups to previously published studies in Africa and South America, the team observed a striking trend.  Human gut microbiota cluster together based on subsistence strategy more than geographic proximity.  Thus, hunter-gatherers in South America and Africa are more similar to each other than either are to rural agriculturalists or to urban-industrialists, even from neighboring populations.

It is now well accepted that human gut microbiomes are actively involved in health and that changes in our gut microbes from living more sanitized, industrialized lifestyles, has led to susceptibility to certain autoimmune disorders like asthma and allergies.

Also, it has become clear that industrialization has led to a decrease in gut microbiome diversity.  Moreover, in the gut of industrialized peoples, one particular bacteria genus is conspicuously absent, Treponema.  These bacteria have co-existed with humans and other primates for millions of years, so their absence in industrialized people is disconcerting.

…

Food Allergics Beware: Herbal Products May Contain Surprise Ingredients Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2013/10/12/food-allergics-beware-herbal-products-may-contain-surprise-ingredients/#ixzz2hge0IfdB

From the 12 October 2013 article at Time- Health and Family

New research for the University of Guelph shows that the majority of herbal products on the market contain ingredients that are not listed on their labels.

The study, published in the journal BMC Medicine, used DNA barcoding technology to assess the components of 44 herbal products from 12 companies. They found that 60% of the products contained plant species that were not listed on the label, and 20% used fillers like rice, soybeans, and wheat which were also not divulged on the bottles.

For instance, products sold as St. John’s wort supplement, which is sometimes used to treat depression, contained Senna alexandrina, which is a plant that spurs laxative symptoms. Other products contained Parthenium hysterophorus (feverfew), which is known to cause swelling and mouth numbness. One ginkgo product contained Juglans nigra (black walnut), which should not be consumed by people with nut allergies — but this warning was not noted on the label.

“It’s common practice in natural products to use fillers such as these, which are mixed with active ingredients. But a consumer has a right to see all of the plant species used in producing a natural product on the list of ingredients,” lead author Steven Newmaster, an integrative biology professor at the Guelph-based Biodiversity Institute of Ontario said in a statement.

 by Taboola

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2013/10/12/food-allergics-beware-herbal-products-may-contain-surprise-ingredients/#ixzz2hgeN2Srs

 

 

Allergies? Pollen also appears outside flowering season

Allergies? Pollen also appears outside flowering season

This is a pollen trap. (Credit: AeroUEx)

From the Science Daily March 19 news article

Researchers have shown that the pollen levels of certain plants, such as grasses and cupressaceae, can appear before or after the peak moment of flowering. This phenomenon is caused by the “resuspension” of pollen, and its dispersal over large distances, and this is of great use in predicting allergies….

Related Articles

• Is Itchy Skin a Symptom of Pollen Allergies? (everydayhealth.com)
• Pollen Begins Exploding Across Tri-State After Cold, Wet Winter (newyork.cbslocal.com)