Probiotics

We relate well to body markers we can see and quantify because they make sense. So, many fitness- related studies are focused on muscle, bone, endurance, and so forth. But there is a vital, essential feature about you that gets little credit. It’s...

Dear Pharmacist: I heard you recommend a drug called Lactulose as a laxative, but you said it helped with brain fog too. How can it work at both ends? — J.C., Decatur, Ill. Dear J.C.: It's true. The prescription medication called Lactulose is...

Something special comes along this time of year to remind many of us about the joys of parenting. It usually kicks in about 3:30 a.m. or so, when a little one stumbles down the stairs moaning about how he just threw up in his bed. So you do what any...

Dear Pharmacist: I have your "Diabetes Without Drugs" book and it has helped me, but I'm still on two of the original five medications for this condition. Which nutrients should I take with my medicine? — B.B., Micanopy, Fla. Dear B.B.: For my new...

The yards of dank tubing in our midsections form a complex, amazing and absolutely pivotal foundation for human health. And the more that scientists come to appreciate this, the more they anticipate that future medical discoveries will come from the lowly...

A fascinating, if disconcerting, fact: More than 100 trillion so-called good bacteria thrive in or on the human body. A sizable chunk of them maintain residence in the human digestive tract. Probiotics, live microorganisms that benefit their human host,...

If you're interested in seeing whether eating probiotic-infused foods might improve your digestive health, look for foods (or supplements) with one of many species of lactobacillus or bifidobacterium. "There are something like 400 different probiotics,...

Your family doctor doesn't work with a teleprompter. And there wasn't a live studio audience the last time you put on a hospital gown — thankfully. Television is great for sports, reality shows and reruns of "The Big Bang Theory," but if you're...

Now that we're deep into the cold and flu season, it's safe to assume that germs are hiding pretty much everywhere — the keypad at the grocery store checkout, the handrail on the bus, the air around that miserable-looking co-worker. Avoiding...

Modified probiotics, the beneficial bacteria touted for their role in digestive health, could one day decrease the risk of Listeria infection in people with susceptible immune systems, according to Purdue University research. Arun Bhunia, a professor...