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Tag: microbiome

Additives In Your Food Can Be Harming Your Health

Increasing rates of dementia, auto-immune diseases, cancer metastasis, eczema, asthma, and autism are among a growing list of diseases that have been linked to soaring exposure to nanoparticles found in common food additives.

If you’re not up on your label lingo, you’re probably not even aware of how many additives are in our everyday foods.

The study out of the University of Sidney in Australia investigated the health impacts of food additive E171 (titanium dioxide nanoparticles) which is commonly used in high quantities in foods and some medicines as a whitening agent. Found in more than 900 food products such as chewing gum and mayonnaise, E171 is consumed in high proportion everyday by the general population.

The microbiome refers to the population of bacteria, flora and fauna that live in our gut and play a crucial role in human health.

“It is well established that dietary composition has an impact on physiology and health, yet the role of food additives is poorly understood,” said Associate Professor Chrzanowski, a nanotoxicology expert from the University of Sydney’s School of Pharmacy and Sydney Nano Institute.

“There is increasing evidence that continuous exposure to nanoparticles has an impact on gut microbiota composition, and since gut microbiota is a gate keeper of our health, any changes to its function have an influence on overall health.”

“This study presents pivotal evidence that consumption of food containing food additive E171 (titanium dioxide) affects gut microbiota as well as inflammation in the gut (edit: emphasis mine), which could lead to diseases such as inflammatory bowel diseases and colorectal cancer,” he said.

Health: It’s all about inflammation.

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Could Your Gut Bacteria Be Making You Anxious or Depressed?

New research from neurobiologists at Oxford University shows there could be a link between the health of your gut microbiome and your emotions. The study suggests that using probiotics to populate your gut with good bacteria together with eating enough prebiotics –carbs that nourish your bacterial population– can help lift your mental state.

Gut xray

Foods high in probiotics

Foods high in probiotics include yogurt, keffir, kim chee, sourkrout, and other fermented foods.

Foods high in prebiotics

Foods high in prebiotics include asparagus, onions, leeks, grains, legumes, and cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower, broccoli, kale, kohlrabi, radish, and rutabega.

It seems the bacteria inside us might affect us more than we ever could have imagined.

Yet another checkmark against the” Paleo”-style diet as being the ultimate diet for humans.

My motto: Be wary of fad diets that advocate elimination or extreme reduction of an entire food group.