Health Conditions
Will Probiotics Help Asthma?
Are Probiotics the Key to Helping Asthma? Did you know approximately 25 million Americans have asthma? That's about 1 in 12 people, with numbers increasing every year. Asthma is a medical condition that affects your airways, making breathing difficult and triggering...
Can Improving Gut Health Help Asthma?
Asthma and Gut Health: What You Should Know Are you one of the 25 million Americans living with asthma? Asthma makes breathing difficult because the body's airways swell. While science hasn't advanced a cure for asthma, some things help these troubling symptoms....
Can Probiotics Alleviate Asthma Symptoms?
Asthma is one of the most common chronic conditions in both adults and children. It affects about 1 in 13 Americans and nearly 340 million people worldwide. For some people, asthma is nothing more than an occasional inconvenience. For others, symptoms are...
Which Probiotics are Best for Seasonal Allergies?
What Causes Seasonal Allergies? Spring is just around the corner, but for every blooming flower and singing, the bird is a running nose and an itchy throat. That’s right, it’s allergy season. Seasonal allergies are a natural result of your body’s immune system...
Are Seasonal Allergies Related to Gut Health?
Does Poor Gut Health Increase Seasonal Allergies? Are you getting ready for spring? Unfortunately, for people with seasonal allergies, spring pollen is a huge enemy. But if you're one of these people, you can still enjoy the new season without the itching, sneezing,...
Can Probiotics Help Ease Seasonal Allergies?
Seasonal Allergies: Can Probiotics Help? With spring comes picnics, beautiful hikes and, unfortunately, seasonal allergies. To combat allergies, many people turn to antihistamines and decongestants that leave them feeling tired and dehydrated. If you'd like to...
Can You Take Probiotics with Allergy Medicine?
Why are seasonal allergies so common in the spring? Spring is a time for celebration in many parts of the world where snow and slippery ice give way to sunshine and blooming flowers. I’m as excited as the next person for warmer weather, but there’s an aspect of spring...
Can You Prevent the Flu with Probiotics?
Taking Probiotics to Fight Against the Flu Did you know that 60 - 70 percent of the human's immune system is in their stomach? The best way to prevent flu symptoms is to increase your intake of probiotics. A probiotic is a live organism consumed through fermented food...
Will Probiotics Help the Stomach Flu?
Probiotics and the Stomach Flu Norovirus is one of the most common causes of the stomach flu, affecting an estimated 685 million people globally each year. When you have the stomach flu, you're undoubtedly desperate to find anything that will decrease the longevity or...
Why am I Gassy and Bloated?
Whether we like to admit it or not, we all pass gas. We do it when we sleep, we do it when we’re on our feet, and sometimes, we do it when we eat. While it can be embarrassing to do in the presence of others, it’s a very normal part of the digestive process. Knowing...
How is Fatigue Connected to Gut Health?
Are you tired all the time? Do you often have trouble thinking straight throughout the day? Do you feel apathetic about your work? If any of these apply, you might be suffering from fatigue. Millions of Americans suffer from fatigue each year. A survey conducted in...
How is Stress Connected to Gut Health?
If there’s one feeling I can count on experiencing at least a little bit every day, it’s stress. Stress seems more prevalent than ever in our internet-connected, social media-centric times, but it has always been an inescapable facet of life. A little stress is good...
Can Probiotics Help with Depression?
Depression is one of the most common disorders worldwide. Major depressive disorder (MDD) is estimated to affect nearly 20 million American adults, but less severe forms of depression are much more common than that.1 Commonly known symptoms of depression include...
How is Crohn’s Disease Connected to Gut Bacteria?
Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel condition that affects millions of people around the world. It causes inflammation of the digestive tract and can lead to a wide array of symptoms, including diarrhea, fatigue, and abdominal pain. There is currently no known cure for Crohn’s disease, but there are therapies to help lessen symptoms, such as anti-inflammatory drugs or specific diets.
Can Gut Bacteria Reverse Food Allergies?
Peanuts, soy, dairy, gluten… there are so many allergens to worry about these days. Oral immunotherapy (ingesting small amounts of an allergen to increase the threshold that triggers a reaction) is successful for some patients, but it only works for the specific allergen that is targeted and can be accompanied by some unpleasant gastrointestinal side effects. Researchers are continuing to look for treatment options for preventing or reversing food allergies in patients, but the best option currently is to avoid them altogether. Thankfully, a new study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital suggests that may not be the case for long.
Does Food Tracking Really Help You Lose Weight?
As modern society trends toward lifestyles that are decreasingly reliant on physical activity, and process foods are cheaper than ever, obesity continues its reign as one of the most alarming global health-related topics. This is especially true here in the USA, where obesity rates in adults are nearing 40% in several states. Recent statistics indicate that obesity-related diseases and disorders are responsible for 18% of deaths in Americans ages 40 to 85.
Side Effects from Probiotics
If you’ve kept up with the Humarian Blog for long, you know that we talk about probiotics all the time. Whether they’re improving your digestion, boosting the body’s immune capabilities, helping infants with diarrhea, or reducing the severity of IBD, probiotics offer...
Gut Bacteria Could Help Against Autoimmune Diseases
Autoimmune diseases – conditions in which the body attacks itself by mistake – are some of the most common kinds of illnesses in the United States with over 23 million Americans affected. There are close to 100 known autoimmune diseases, many of which have similar...
Healthier Heart Equals Healthier Gut
If there’s one universal truth that medical and health professionals of all varieties seem to agree on, it’s that exercise is the one true miracle drug. It improves mood, fuels weight loss, strengthens muscles and bones, increases energy levels, improves memory,...
Probiotics and Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia. It causes serious problems with memory, thinking, and behavior that can negatively impact daily life for those affected. There is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s, but research is ongoing to find ways to treat and...
Food Allergies
Food allergies are serious, potentially life-threatening conditions that have been on the rise over the past two decades. Rates among children have risen by over 50% since 1997, with 1 in every 13 children in the United States currently affected. Food allergies occur...
Celiac Disease
Gluten-free is “in”. From restaurants to grocery stores to popular snack foods, everyone is cashing in on the gluten-free craze, largely due to a growing public perception that going gluten-free is healthier. While a gluten-free diet has not been shown to offer...
IBS May Be Caused by Changes in Gut Microbiota
Spring is upon us, and with it comes Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) Awareness Month. IBS is a common gastrointestinal disease that affects the large intestines of over 30 million people in the United States. It is a chronic condition without a cure, but it can be...
Colorectal Cancer Overview
March marks the beginning of National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, a time when people across the country join together to advocate for the importance of regular colorectal cancer screenings after age 50. Colorectal cancer is the third most common kind of cancer...
Heart Health and Probiotics
February is coming to a close, so let’s end Heart Health Month with something distinctly Humarian… probiotics! That’s right, probiotics are great for heart health, and if you read our blog on coronary artery disease, you know that as the leading cause of death...
Coronary Artery Disease Overview
It’s American Heart Month! That means it’s time for us to draw attention to our hearts and what we can do to keep them beating strong. Heart health is a big concern for Americans, as heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States...
Graves’ Disease
As we near the end of Thyroid Awareness Month, let’s take some time to discuss another disease associated with the thyroid, Graves’ disease. While hypothyroidism disorders (such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis) result in an inability to produce sufficient quantities of...
Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis
January is Thyroid Awareness Month, so let’s bring some much-needed attention to one of the body’s most under appreciated organs. The thyroid gland is located at the front of the neck below the larynx. It produces two important hormones, thyroxine and...
Food Poisoning and Crohn’s Disease
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), such as Crohn's disease, are chronic, life-long conditions that can be treated, but not cured. According to 2011 estimates, they affect as many as 1.6 million Americans. The number of people that suffer from human bowel diseases...
Can diet alone cure Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis?
According to a recent study, yes! Dr. David Suskind, a gastroenterologist at Seattle Children’s Hospital, led a study demonstrating that pediatric patients with active Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis (UC) were brought into clinical remission through dietary...
Probiotics and Healthy Skin
It seems like probiotics are everywhere nowadays. Take a stroll through the grocery store, and you’ll see them advertised in milks, juices, and pickles, in addition to the usual suspects of yogurt and kefir. The oral probiotic supplement market is booming, and skin...
Type 1 Diabetes and your Gut
“All disease begins in the gut”. This is one of the most famous quotes from Hippocrates. It may seem like a bit of a stretch to say that all disease originates from one place, but here we are again with yet another study linking a common disease to the gut. Perhaps...
Leaky Gut and You: Part 3 of 3 – Leaky Gut and Autoimmune Diseases
Welcome back to the final part of our Leaky Gut series. In part 1, we learned that the gut barrier protects the body from bad foods and harmful substances passing through the digestive tract. In part 2, we learned that leaky gut allows unwanted antigens to get passed...
Leaky Gut and You: Part 2 of 3 – Leaky Gut and the Gut Barrier
Welcome back to the second part of our Leaky Gut series. In this section, we will be talking more about the third key concept from Part 1 (that approximately 60-70% of the body’s immune system surrounds the GI tract) and how it relates to the negative effects of Leaky...
Leaky Gut and You – A 3 Part Series: Part 1 of 3
Part 1 of 3: Leaky Gut and the Gastrointestinal (GI) Tract Leaky Gut Syndrome. There’s a good chance you’ve heard of it, but you probably don’t know exactly what it is. After all, despite increasing popularity, it is not recognized by most conventional physicians. Is...
Constipation is Common Among Children
At one time or another, every child experiences constipation. But if your child routinely exhibits symptoms such as straining and pain when going to the toilet, abdominal pain, stomach aches, soiling, or diarrhea, it could be a serious issue. When your child is...
Can probiotics help with inflammatory bowel disease?
If you suffer from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), you know how brutal it can be. The two main types of this chronic inflammation of the digestive tract are Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). It presents with symptoms such as severe pain, diarrhea,...
Probiotics can help to prevent diarrhea in infants
You’ve done your homework. You know about the many benefits of probiotics – how they can help strengthen the immune system, overcome indigestion, and so much more. But did you know that they can actually help to PREVENT diarrhea in infants? Prevent infant diarrhea?...
Diarrhea: Probiotics Counter the Effects of Antibiotics
Antibiotics can do some amazing things, but they can also have some rough side effects on your digestive tract. The job of an antibiotic is to target and destroy bacteria in your body – but unfortunately, they can’t tell the difference between good and bad bacteria....
Can Probiotics Help Premature Babies with NEC – A Deadly Tissue Disorder?
According to a recent study, yes they can! A paper published in the Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (JPEN) lays out some promising findings about how probiotics can help with one of the most dangerous health risks for premature babies – necrotizing...
Have a child that suffers from UTIs?
It might take some teamwork to prevent them. While urinary tract infections can affect anyone, they are most common in children, especially girls. According to research, by the age of seven, 8.4 percent of girls and 1.7 percent of boys have already suffered at least...
Eczema: Protect Your Baby’s Skin with Probiotics
If you are pregnant, taking probiotics during your pregnancy and during breastfeeding has been shown to reduce the chance that your baby will suffer from eczema. And even if your baby still contracts eczema, it is likely to be more mild than cases in children whose...
Celiac Disease and Probiotic ‘Gluten Free’ Labels
Do you have Celiacs Disease? Are you paying attention to the ingredients in your supplements? If you suffer with Celieac Disease it is probably safe to assume that your answer to the second question is "yes". For you and others with this disease, the smallest bit of...
Probiotics Combat Infantile Eczema
Probiotics could be an easy solution to infantile eczema. Eczema is a frustrating, often painful, skin condition that plagues millions of people everyday. It is characterized by patches of dry skin, intense itching, and recurring rashes, and in severe cases there can...
Type 1 Diabetes Predicted by the Gut
Can the gut predict future health problems? The human microbiome comprises trillions of microorganisms that reside in the body. Most bugs in the microbiome are beneficial and harmless. Shifts in the microbiome have been connected to different diseases such as...
Fecal Microbiota Transplant Resulting in Obesity
Fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) is a promising cure for relapsing Clostridium difficile infection, a usual cause of antibiotic-related diarrhea in which serious cases can result in death. However, a case published in the Infectious Diseases Society of America,...
Respiratory Tract Infections Reduced in Athletes
Athletes who are undergoing intense and severe exercises are more at risk of upper respiratory tract infection and gastrointestinal disease. It is vital for active athletes to to maintain a healthy lifestyle while training and competing. Gastrointestinal diseases and...
Prediabetes and Probiotics
Could probiotics help patients diagnosed with prediabetes and aid them in the prevention of type 2 diabetes? Is it possible for something as simple as a probiotic supplement to improve the blood pressure of a prediabetic patient? Probiotics are proving their worth...
Allergic Rhinitis reduced with Probiotics
Allergic Rhinitis is a known allergic reaction of nasal airways, and research is showing that probiotics could be an great treatment alternative. Allergic rhinitis occurs when allergens such as dust, pollen, hair or animal dander is inhaled by a person with sensitized...
Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Fight with Probiotics
Probiotics may be beneficial in patients suffering with inflammatory bowel disease. By producing inhibitory substances, blocking adhesion sites, competing for essential nutrients, degrading toxic receptors, stimulating immunity, and promoting gut integrity if you...
Diarrhea Prevented with Probiotics
People all over the world are becoming aware of the many health benefits associated with regular use of the good bacteria known as probiotics. Studies are proving that you can prevent diarrhea by supplementing with probiotics. Bifidobacteria and lactobacillus can keep...
Obesity Reduced with Probiotics!
Probiotics are proving to reduce glucose intolerance and fat mass as shown in a study conducted with obese mice. In a study conducted on diabetic and obese mice which used Bifidobacterium animalis ssp. Lactis as daily supplements helped reduce glucose intolerance. In...
Constipation Possibly Alleviated with Probiotics
Constipation is quite common among children. The signs that a child may be suffering from constipation vary. Symptoms include straining and pain when going to the toilet, abdominal pain, stomach aches, soiling, or diarrhea. Other problems include poor concentration,...
Eczema Treatment with Probiotics During Pregnancy
Eczema is one of the most common skin diseases in the world. The number of people affected by this disease is growing because of our increased exposure to chemical substances and pollutants. Eczema is a constant inflammation that manifests in recurring dryness and...