My interview on essential oils for the Healthy Gut Thinner You Summit was just released. You can find out how to access it and get some additional resources on essential oils quality here.
Since I covered essential oils for the main page blog, my favorite topic, I thought I’d cover some more updates on some of the articles I’ve been reading about healthy bellies and gut bugs.
Your Heredity Influence of Your Microbiome
The first study was really cool and reported on Science Daily on October 3rd. It discussed how our microbiome was influenced by our genetics! Here’s the excerpt:
Our genes determine to some extent which bacteria live in our intestines. Studies on human twins and experimental work with animals have both confirmed that our microbiome is partly hereditary. But so far, there was only limited information about the host genes that affect the microbiome. Now a new study has associated genetic loci and specific genes in human DNA to bacterial species and their metabolic signatures. (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161003113009.htm)
Still, remember nature versus nurture is always at play and we can modulate and optimize our belly bugs with lifestyle choices, most importantly a healthy diet. Here’s a link to other factors.
Probiotics, Fiber, and Peppermint Helpful for Bowel Disorders
A recent analysis of various natural modalities to support bowel disorders found evidence for several therapeutic interventions that were natural. Here’s the abstract that includes my two favorite things:
Functional bowel disorders (FBDs), mainly irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and functional constipation (FC, also called chronic idiopathic constipation), are highly diffused worldwide. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, although less common, has a strong impact on patients’ quality of life, as well as is highly expensive for our healthcare. A definite cure for those disorders is still yet to come. Over the years, several therapeutic approaches complementary or alternative to traditional pharmacological treatments, including probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, fiber and herbal medicinal products, have been investigated for the management of both groups of diseases. However, most available studies are biased by several drawbacks, including small samples and poor methodological quality. Probiotics, in particular Saccharomyces boulardii and Lactobacilli (among which Lactobacillus rhamnosus), synbiotics, psyllium, and some herbal medicinal products, primarily peppermint oil, seem to be effective in ameliorating IBS symptoms. Synbiotics and fiber seem to be beneficial in FC patients. The probiotic combination VSL#3 may be effective in inducing remission in patients with mild-to moderate UC, in whom Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 seems to be as effective as mesalamine in maintaining remission. No definite conclusions can be drawn as to the efficacy of fiber and herbal medicinal products in IBD patients due to the low number of studies and the lack of RCTs that replicate the results obtained in the individual studies conducted so far. Thus, further, well-designed studies are needed to address the real role of these therapeutic options in the management of both FBDs and IBD. (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.13632/abstract;jsessionid=D72AEB8F83C317107EDBB8C79E32A32E.f03t04)
Intestinal Diversity and Allergy Risk Linked in Children
The theme of the summit was that having a healthy gut means a healthy body. Here’s a study that demonstrates how a belly full of good bugs influences asthma and allergy risk in the young:
Children who develop asthma or allergies have an altered immune response to intestinal bacteria in the mucous membranes even when infants, according to a new study. The results also suggests that the mother’s immune defense plays a role in the development of asthma and allergies in children. (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/10/161010052647.htm)
You can also learn how essential oils support your gut health more here. Happy and health guts to you all!
