GIT

[Jo Bowyer]

Gut reaction: Repeated mild food poisoning triggers chronic disease

https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...1221143041.htm

Small bacterial infections that may go unnoticed and which the body easily clears without treatment, such as occurs during mild food poisoning, nevertheless can start a chain of events that leads to chronic inflammation and potentially life-threatening colitis.

[Jo Bowyer]

Bifidobacterium or fiber protect against deterioration of the inner colonic mucus layer

https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0102103308.htm

[Jo Bowyer]

New pill tracks gases through your gut

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/...-newsletter-v1

[Jo Bowyer]

How the Victorians help explain our obsession with the microbiome

https://theconversation.com/how-the-...e%20microbiome

[Jo Bowyer]

Mouse study reveals what happens in the gut after too much fructose

https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0206140645.htm

Evidence from previous animal and human studies has shown that excessive sugar ingestion can be harmful, especially to the liver. Chronic over-consumption can lead to obesity and foster insulin resistance that can progress to diabetes; it also can contribute to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which can lead to cirrhosis or liver cancer.

"There is a fundamental physiological difference in how smaller and larger amounts of sugar are processed in the body," explains Joshua D. Rabinowitz of the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics at Princeton University, whose laboratory led the study. The prior view was that the liver processes all ingested sugar. But this study showed that more than 90 percent of the fructose was cleared by the small intestine in mice.

"We can offer some reassurance -- at least from these animal studies -- that fructose from moderate amounts of fruits will not reach the liver," he says. However, the small intestine probably starts to get overwhelmed with sugar halfway through a can of soda or large glass of orange juice.

In the study, Rabinowitz and his colleagues studied the path of isotope-labeled fructose through the digestive systems of laboratory mice. The researchers observed that excess fructose that is not absorbed by the small intestine continues through the intestine into the colon. As a consequence, it also comes into contact with the natural microbiotic flora of the large intestine and colon, known as the microbiome.

"The microbiome is designed to never see sugar," Rabinowitz says. "One can eat an infinite amount of carbohydrates, and there will be nary a molecule of glucose that enters the microbiome. But as soon as you drink the soda or juice, the microbiome is seeing an extremely powerful nutrient that it was designed to never see."

While the study did not show that fructose influences the microbiome, the authors suggest an effect is likely and should be studied further to learn more about the biological consequences of high sugar intake.

The investigators also found that the small intestine clears fructose more efficiently after a meal. "We saw that feeding of the mice prior to the sugar exposure enhanced the small intestine's ability to process fructose," said Rabinowitz. "And that protected the liver and the microbiome from sugar exposure." The researchers theorize that in a fasting state, such as upon awakening or in the mid-afternoon, one is extra vulnerable to fructose due to a lessened ability to process it in the small intestine.

Although the study was conducted in mice, Rabinowitz encourages "the most old-fashioned advice in the world" for humans. Limit sweets to moderate quantities after meals, and do not have sweet drinks away from meal time.

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[Jo Bowyer]

Causal effects of the microbiota on immune-mediated diseases

http://immunology.sciencemag.org/con.../eaao1603.full

The mammalian immune system has evolved in the presence of a complex community of indigenous microorganisms that constitutively colonize all barrier surfaces. This intimate relationship has resulted in the development of a vast array of reciprocal interactions between the microbiota and the host immune system, particularly in the intestine, where the density and diversity of indigenous microbes are greatest. Alterations in the gut microbiota have been correlated with almost every known immunological disease, but in most cases, it remains unclear whether these changes are a cause or effect of the disease or merely a reflection of epidemiological differences between groups. Here, we review recent efforts to demonstrate a causal role for the microbiota in health and disease, outline experimental advances that have made these studies possible, and highlight how changes in microbial composition may influence immune system function.

[Jo Bowyer]

Drinking kefir may prompt brain-gut communication to lower blood pressure

https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0425131909.htm

[Jo Bowyer]

Gut check: Metabolites shed by intestinal microbiota keep inflammation at bay

https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0504103743.htm

[Jo Bowyer]

Walnuts impact gut microbiome and improve health

https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0503175033.htm

[Jo Bowyer]

How the Gut Influences Neurological Diseases

http://neurosciencenews.com/gut-neur...diseases-9065/

[Jo Bowyer]

Stem-cell niche for 10 billion colon cells a day

https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0606132737.htm

[Jo Bowyer]

Gut Bacteria Influences Metabolism Through the Immune System

https://neurosciencenews.com/microbi...e-system-9432/

[Jo Bowyer]

Gut microbes are tiny sensors of your general health

https://theconversation.com/gut-micr...neral%20health

[Jo Bowyer]

Probiotic Use is a Link Between Brain Fogginess and Severe Bloating

whttps://neurosciencenews.com/probiotics-brain-fog-bloating-9659/

[Jo Bowyer]

Cannabis link to relieving intestinal inflammation explained

https://www.sciencedaily.com/release...0813173521.htm

This is the first-time scientists have reported a biological mechanism to explain why some marijuana users have reported beneficial effects from cannabis on intestine inflammation conditions such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Researchers hope that their findings will lead to the development of drugs and treatments for gut disorders, which affect millions of people around the world and are caused when the body's immune defenses mistakenly attack the lining of the intestine.

The findings appear in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

"There's been a lot of anecdotal evidence about the benefits of medical marijuana, but there hasn't been a lot of science to back it up," said Beth A. McCormick, PhD, vice chair and professor of microbiology & physiological systems at UMass Medical School. "For the first time, we have an understanding of the molecules involved in the process and how endocannabinoids and cannabinoids control inflammation. This gives clinical researchers a new drug target to explore to treat patients that suffer from inflammatory bowel diseases, and perhaps other diseases, as well."

The researchers discovered that gut inflammation is regulated by two important processes, which are constantly in flux and responding to changing conditions in the intestinal environment. The first process, identified in previous scientific research, promotes an aggressive immune response in the gut that destroys dangerous pathogens, but which can also damage the lining of the intestine when immune cells attack indiscriminately.

The second pathway, first described in this paper, turns off the inflammation response via special molecules transported across the epithelial cells lining the gut by the same process already known to remove toxins from these cells into the intestine cavity. Crucially, this response requires a naturally-produced molecule called an endocannabinoid, which is very similar to cannabinoid molecules found in cannabis.

If the endocannabinoid isn't present, inflammation isn't kept in balance and it can run unchecked, as the body's immune cells attack the intestinal lining.

McCormick and colleagues believe that because cannabis use introduces cannabinoids into the body, these molecules could help relieve gut inflammation, as the naturally produced endocannabinoids normally would.