Probiotics are living micro-organisms that can only been seen by a microscope. They are also referred to as "good" bacteria and are similar to the beneficial micro-organisms that are normally found in the gastrointestinal tract. Lactobacillus and...
Culturelle is a probiotic supplement that contains high levels of Lactobacillus GG, bacteria normally present in the human digestive tract. The idea behind probiotics is that the "normal" bacteria push out disease-causing bacteria, preventing...
As a lifestyle choice, many people wish to avoid foods containing high amounts of chemical preservatives, such as benzoates and sorbates. Cultured dextrose is a method of digesting the sugar dextrose in a way that naturally produces chemicals that...
Probiotics, often called friendly bacteria, are live organisms similar to those found naturally in the human colon. Widely used within the naturopathic community, probiotics may offer benefits for digestive, immune and reproductive health....
Probiotics serves as a way of colonizing the gastrointestinal tract with non-pathogenic microorganisms to discourage the growth of the disease-causing bacteria. Its uses include the enhancement of the gastrointestinal tract barrier function and...
Probiotics are bacterial species that don't cause infection in humans, but instead provide some sort of benefit to the digestive tract or other organ systems. While there are some well-documented uses and benefits of probiotic organisms,...
Lactobacillus acidophilus is a non-pathogenic -- meaning noninfectious -- bacterial strain that naturally grows in the digestive tracts of humans and in the vagina of women. Because of some of the specifics of the bacterial species' metabolism, L....
Lactose is the chemical name for milk sugar--it occurs naturally in milk and other dairy products. While your cells can use the chemical building blocks of lactose as a source of chemical energy, lactose doesn't have any special biological...
Your body changes in many ways during pregnancy. One of the changes that might be quite apparent from the very beginning of pregnancy is that your digestive tract slows down significantly to help you extract nutrients from your food....
Bananas are one of the foods known to be gentle on the stomach. Although bananas may be an excellent choice if you're recovering from a stomach bug, research is mixed on whether bananas reduce the feeling of intestinal bloating. Your doctor may be...
Lactose intolerance is a digestive difficulty in which you aren't able to tolerate milk and many other dairy products. It occurs as a result of a deficiency in the digestive enzyme that helps you break down the sugar in milk, but while the...
The human digestive tract is home to a large and dynamic microbial habitat which consists of over 500 different species of bacteria. These "healthy" or "good" bacteria serve a variety of purposes from digesting foods to preventing disease....
Lactobacillus acidophilus is a strain of bacteria that can digest lactose, the sugar in milk and other dairy products. If you're lactose intolerant and experience digestive complications upon consuming dairy, you may be wondering whether...
Saccharomyces boulardii is a non-pathogenic yeast and it is manufactured and sold as a probiotic supplement in capsule and powder form. Saccharomyces boulardii is used to help colonize the gastrointestinal tract with healthy flora. Many diseases...
It takes approximately six months to make an effective flu vaccine. In every case, the first step is to identify the virus or viruses the vaccine is intended to target. This is a complicated process. According to the World Health Organization,...
Pasteurization is a method used to increase the shelf life of many products from milk to canned vegetables. Flash pasteurization treats foods and liquids at high temperatures for a short amount of time to slow microbial growth. Advances in food...
Kombucha is a naturally carbonated beverage made by fermenting yeast and bacteria with sugar. Kombucha is not a mushroom, nor is it a tea, although it's commonly called both. Kombucha is a mild drink that is often consumed for its purported health...
The first step in making a vaccine is identifying the virus it is intended to target. In the case of influenza, there are several strains, each of which mutates frequently. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), laboratories around the...
Candida glabrata is a relatively non-pathogenic fungus that is part of the normal flora of many healthy individuals. However, the recent widespread use of immunosuppressive and antifungal drugs has lead to an increase in the number of infections...
Acne is caused by overactive sebaceous glands in your skin. When excess oil builds up faster than it can exit your pores, it hardens and fosters overgrowth of normally harmless bacteria. Dermatologists at DermNet NZ.org identify the acne bacillus...
While some babies appear more irritable than others, all babies cry. However, some babies will cry continuously for hours on end. The intense crying in an otherwise healthy newborn is known as colic. Colic is when a baby cries for more than three...
According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, the cranberry was originally used as both a food and medicine by Native Americans to treat bladder and kidney infections, digestive problems, blood disorders, scurvy and a loss of appetite....
Enterococcus faecalis, or E. faecalis, normally inhabit your gastrointestinal tract. However, as opportunistic pathogens, E. faecalis can cause serious problems. Laboratory studies suggest E. faecalis are fastidious, requiring very specific...
Anaerobic bacteria are organisms that are capable of surviving and growing in an atmosphere of little or no oxygen. Anaerobic bacteria can be further broken down based on their relationship to oxygen: obligate, aerotolerant or facultative...
Prostatitis is an infection or inflammation of the prostate gland. When symptoms such as pelvic pain, problems urinating and sexual dysfunction develop gradually and persist of a period of many months or years, the condition is considered chronic....
Your immune system helps protect you from infection by invading bacteria and viruses, parasites, worms and a variety of other infectious agents. The system depends upon organs and cells, but also upon many different proteins that work with the...
It is a common misconception that jewelry can be sterilized by boiling or using alcohol or hydrogen peroxide. The only way to completely sterilize, or remove all viable microorganisms from, your jewelry is with an autoclave, a machine that does...
North Carolina’s state parks span the southeastern state’s three regions--coastal, Piedmont and mountain--and provide visitors with diverse tent camping opportunities. The most difficult part about planning a healthy tent camping trip...
Beta-glucan is a polysaccharide, or sugar, that has antioxidant properties enabling it to scavenge free radicals that may negatively impact your health. Beta-glucan is a naturally derived compound found in the walls of yeast cells. It is well...
