Image published with permission.

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Gastric Health Over the Holidays

I can’t find information on what bacteria they are using (would be good to know what they’re putting in your food, wouldn’t it?) and what this organic material shell is made of. If this material is so tough to withstand baking and other processing, as well as stomach acids, I wonder whether the bacteria are ever released into the gut at all. What good would it do in a tough casing like that?

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New on the Market: Pop Culture Probiotic Bars

Yo-Plus and is the only yogurt available that contains Optibalance™, a blend of special probiotic cultures and a natural fiber. Yo-Plus is a good source of calcium, fiber, Vitamin A and Vitamin D. When compared with Dannon™’s Activia™, only Yo-Plus has the added benefit of dietary fiber for added digestive health benefits, plus vitamins A and D.

Have you tried Yo-Plus yet? No? You can print some coupons for some discount.

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Discount Coupons for Yo-Plus Probiotic Yogurt with Fiber

A new study indicates that its powers extend to liver health, too. According to the results of an animal trial, resveratrol, a compound naturally found in grape skin and berries, may also help treat fatty liver, a condition associated with excessive alcohol consumption. It is characterized by the build-up of excess fat in the liver cells, which may lead to inflammation and liver damage.

Could the resveratrol in red wine protect the liver form the negative effects of the alcohol in the same drink? The alcoholics will rejoice if it were so, but I doubt it.

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Resveratrol May Help Against Fatty Liver

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Yakult: Probiotics and Your Health (Video)

Quaker, a trusted name for anything oatmeal, has come up with Oatmeal To Go, a snack bar that provides 40% of the Daily Value of fiber (10g of dietary fiber)!

It’s like having a bowl of oatmeal in a snap! It’s the convenient choice, especially for you busy bees, snacking on the go… or on your desks!

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New in the Market: Quaker Oatmeal-To-Go

A recent small scale study involving 18 patients indicates that like other probiotic bacteria, the Lactobacillus strain Shirota found in Yakult may also be a safe and effective alternative for the management of irritable bowel syndrome.

After 6 week of treatment with 1 x 65 mL dose of Yakult daily, 9 of 14 patients (64%) completing the study had reversal of ERBHAL, with the median time of first rise increasing from 45 to 75 min (P = 0.03). Furthermore, symptoms improved in those in whom ERBHAL was corrected. The results indicate that Yakult(R) alters fermentation patterns suggesting a reduction in SIBO. ERBHAL can also indicate rapid small intestinal transit and therefore, in order to confirm the effect of Yakult(R) on SIBO, future studies will include monitoring of transit time in addition to placebo control.

ERBHAL stands for early rise in breath hydrogen with lactulose, a breath test that is used to indicate small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), which is a characteristic of IBS. One bottle of Yakult daily for six weeks was found to elicit reduced SIBO, associated with reduced symptoms. These results offer a promising probiotic alternative IBS treatment, but need to be confirmed with larger scale trials.

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Yakult and Irritable Bowel Syndrome

This cooler contains probiotic milk, milk with omega-3, lactose free milk, lactose free milk with vitamin A and D, lactose free milk with chocolate, and milk fortified with calcium. Click on the image and see the notes to find out which is which.

I don’t know about you, but they are starting to sound less like milk, and more like an artificial chemical solution to me. No wonder some unscrupulous manufacturers are “fortifying” milk with melamine!

Image from Flickr, credit: tuchodi

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Fortified Milk

But there’s more to flax than these. I’ve received permission to reprint this from the Flax Council of Canada:

Flax is an ideal, functional food ingredient. It is added to many products on today’s grocery shelves because of the omega-3 fats, lignans, and fiber found in the seed, which all help deliver a extra health boost to food’s original nutrient content. Flax also adds a mild, nutty flavor and provides a powerful health punch to your favorite foods. Its primary health benefits include the following:

Flax’s healthy fatty acid profile is one of the richest sources of omega-3 fatty acids, ALA (alpha-linolenic acid), a polyunsaturated fat that offers unique heart health benefits including lowering cholesterol level
• Flax is one the best plant sources of lignans, natural antioxidants that helps prevent cancer and may reduce the activity of cell-damaging free radicals that slow the aging process
• Flax is an excellent source of both soluble and insoluble fiber, providing three grams of fiber per tablespoon. The fiber in flax is good for heart, colon, and digestive health, and can ease the effects of type-2 diabetes

Flax is an easy ingredient to add to your recipes. It’s also already an ingredient in many packaged products, such as snack or energy bars, cookies, crackers, breads, muffins, butter, on today’s grocery shelves. It’s also easy to add to foods you already eat every day. Sprinkle it on your morning cereal, in your smoothie, and over salads or fruit. It also can be added to soups, pasta sauces, or your favorite baked goods.

Want to know more about flax– its health benefits and how to incorporate it into your lifestyle? HealthyFlax has all the info you need!

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Health Benefits of Flax

In the lab study which also included negative controls, the scientists looked at 18 food-related products including coffee beans, carrot, mango, fermented soya, and food stabilizers such as locust bean gum and konjac gum. All were subjected to in-vitro exposure to various bacteria which were allowed to attach themselves to the test products. The levels of bound bacteria were determined in a microplate-based method specifically developed for this purpose.

The results showed that sesame seed extract and konjac gum had the greatest number of adhered bacteria, leading to the conclusion that they may have a part to play in preventing certain E. coli and Salmonella from latching onto the host.

What in the world is konjac gum?!? Never heard of it before, but apparently konjac a good source of soluble dietary fiber and is used in various food products as gelling agent, thickener, stabilizer, emulsifier and film former.

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Sesame Seed Extract and Konjac Gum May Help Prevent Gut Infections