Category: Probiotics

Probiotics Posted on

Probiotics Provide Anti-Cancer Effect

Differences in the bacterial make up of breast tissue in those with breast cancer point to the existence of a “microbiome” within the breast as well as the prospect of probiotic use in the battle against this disease. There are over 400 species of bacteria in your belly right now that can be the key to health or disease. Health care of the future may include personalized diagnosis of an individual’s “microbiome” to determine what probiotics are needed to provide balance and prevent disease. Findings from the US study reveal healthy breast tissue contains more of the bacterial species Methylobacterium, a species known to produce phytohormones that exert an anti-cancer effect. “To my knowledge, this is the first study to examine both breast tissue and […] Read More

Probiotics Posted on

The Health Benefits Of Glucoamylase

Glucoamylase (also known as amyloglucosidase) is a type of digestive enzyme that cleaves or breaks off a free glucose molecule from the complex sugar-based chains that form starch or from the simpler sugar, maltose. The glucose that is freed can then be used as a source of energy for the body. Glucoamylase helps to break down starch that occurs naturally in most vegetables that we eat (in very high amounts in common foods like potatoes, corn, rice, and wheat) or is added as filler or processing additive in many prepared food products. It is a specific type of amylase (starch-digesting enzyme) that our bodies produce in the mouth and pancreas, but it may also be derived from non-animal sources. Glucoamylase is often described separately from […] Read More

Probiotics Posted on

2008: Adding a Little Culture to Your Life

By Corinna Richards As recently as just several years ago, consumers faced few choices when it came to probiotics, or beneficial bacteria, those “good little bugs” that keep the “bad bugs” living inside us in check. Beyond live-culture yogurt, not many people knew where to find friendly bacteria. For those who did, there were relatively few products from which to choose. Although the term probiotics was, in fact, first used in scientific literature in 1965 (in Science magazine), these days we know much more about these beneficial bacteria and how essential they are to our health. (For a good overview, read “Probiotics: An Old Story Takes On New Meaning,” Issue 44/November 2001.) At the most basic level, probiotics help maintain the proper balance and functioning […] Read More