Your digestive tract is the primary place of interaction between your immune system and foreign cells. The 3-5 pound mass of foreign cells that exist at any one time in your gut actually contain more cells than your body! In essence, this foreign cell mass is a type of "metabolic organ" that is vital to your digestion and health.  Much of your immune...

After birth your child's digestive tract begins working for the first time. In the adult digestive tract, there are hundreds of millions of foreign bacteria and yeasts that hopefully form an ecological "rain forest" of friendly non-self organisms working to help digestion and support immunity. The proper evolution of digestion in the first few years of...

Constipation is a common problem during pregnancy, partly due to elevated progesterone levels, partly due to thyroid struggles, and partly due to the digestive tract being compressed by the growing baby. Iron and calcium, both important for pregnancy, can also tilt one in the direction of constipation. Of course, if you are prone to constipation the...

At least one good bowel movement per day is necessary for health. Two or three bowl movements per day are fine, but not required. If you get constipated, it is a major plumbing problem and consequently stresses all aspects of detoxification. Many times adequate fiber (Fiber Helper™) is enough to keep your bowels moving along and suggestions given in the...

Our bodies have evolved in relationship to the environment for three billion years. We have developed symbiotic and synergistic relationships with other living organisms. Our digestive tracts are a great example of this relationship, since the intestinal tract is lined with trillions of bacteria and yeasts that are totally foreign (non-human living cells)...

One of the biggest causes of heartburn after meals is poor digestion. Low stomach acid, stress, a back-up of bile, constipation, large meals, and a lack of digestive enzyme power can cause a slowed emptying of the stomach’s contents, thus pushing the content of food upward on the muscle that usually holds the stomach contents down. Acid reflux occurs...

A particular strain of friendly flora, Lactobacillus plantarum, has recently been shown to prevent weight gain from a high fat diet. High fat diets are notorious for disturbing the digestive bacterial populations in a manner that promotes weight gain and makes weight loss difficult. I recently explained this in my article, How Digestive Problems Prevent...

A double-blind placebo-controlled study shows that a daily supplement of friendly flora (lactobacillus acidophilus and bifidobacterium) significantly reduced infections and duration of illness in children ages 3 to 5 years of age.

Good news: red wine is good for digestive health. Study shows red wine can increase digestive friendly flora with corresponding lessening of inflammation, blood pressure, total cholesterol, and triglycerides.

A new study shows that a lack of friendly flora in the digestive tract can set the stage for developing incorrect immune system training that in turn causes the immune system to attack the pancreas, leading to Type I Diabetes. This problem can be prevented by having adequate friendly flora in your digestive tract.

A new study using two friendly flora strains, Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus plantarum, discovered that they can communicate to intestinal cells involved with the absorption of cholesterol and thereby influence genes to reduce cholesterol absorption.

Swiss researchers have discovered that the friendly flora so helpful for a newborn baby’s digestive tract somehow travel from the mother’s digestive tract, into her breast milk, and then to the baby. This is a major new finding that further emphasizes the importance of both a mother’s digestive health as well as nursing her child.

Innate immunity and intestinal microbiota in the development of Type 1 diabetes

Synbiotic supplementation in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study

Alterations of the gut microbiota in high-fat diet mice is strongly linked to oxidative stress.

Recognition of peptidoglycan from the microbiota by Nod1 enhances systemic innate immunity

Probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics.

Distinct composition of gut microbiota during pregnancy in overweight and normal-weight women.