The Food Revolution
Amongst the many dramatic technology- driven changes such as self driving electric cars and artificial intelligence going on in the world we live in, the Food Revolution is happening almost unnoticed. While the majority of people living in the US and many parts of the world continue to stick to their traditional Western diet consisting […]
Sensory Deprivation for Relaxation
I am always amazed how things that first became popular in the 60’s and 70’s as counterculture or “new age” beliefs and practices like organic food, vegetarianism, sustainable agriculture, meditation, and even the use of psychedelic drugs like ketamine (now evaluated as a miracle drug for refractory depression) have returned, this time as mainstream businesses. […]
Sex as a Biological Variable: NIH Workshop
The NIH held a workshop on the topic “Sex as a Biological Variable” recently. Women make up half of the world’s population, but the great majority of medical research studies have been performed in males. It has erroneously been assumed that the results and recommendations from these male only studies equally apply to women. In […]
A Miracle Weight-Loss Molecule?
An interesting study describing the development and testing of a molecule first identified in obese laboratory animals and humans, which appears to play a role in modulating the brain-gut axis in a way to prevent further weight gain. The scientists at the pharmaceutical company Amgen modified the molecule so it stays in the circulation longer […]
Vegetarianism May Be Linked To Depression, Study Suggests
This large and well designed clinical study performed in men confirms results previously reported from surveys in women by showing that people who identify themselves as vegetarians or vegans are more likely to be depressed. Previous studies had shown that such an increased risk also applies to anxiety disorders. Like all published studies, the current […]
Is The Secret To A Healthier Microbiome Hidden In The Hadza Diet?
Even though they represent different races, live in very different parts of the world with different climates and plants, the few remaining hunter gatherer tribes in the world – including the Hazdas in Tanzania, the Yanomamis in Venezuela and the Asmat people in Irian Jaya – they have one important thing in common: their gut […]
The Human Microbiome: Emerging Themes at the Horizon of the 21st Century
There is an impressive assembly of the leading microbiome scientists attending the conference “The Human Microbiome: Emerging Themes at the Horizon of the 21st Century” which has been going on at the Natcher Conference Center on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) campus. The presentations about the latest analytical and computational techniques makes it clear […]
Detox: Does it Help Our Brain-Gut Health?
People love the concept of “detox” and a lot of different strategies such as juicing and fasting, and “cleansing” have been proposed to achieve this goal. Even though the concept goes back thousands of years, most are based on unsubstantiated pseudoscientific concepts that “cleansing” your digestive tract has health benefits over and beyond a general […]
American Psychiatric Association (APA) Meeting 2017
I was invited to speak at the Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA) recently in a debate addressing the question: Can Gut Microbiota Affect Mental Illness? The event was organized by Erika Nurmi, MD from the Semel Institute at UCLA and had a prestigious panel of discussants including James McCracken, MD (UCLA), Chadi […]