“WHERE THINGS SO SMALL CAN HAVE A MASSIVE IMPACT ON YOUR HEALTH.”
Herbsprout is a webblog and podcast dedicated to sharing the health benefits of herbs, food, innovations related to our gut microbiome. Herbsprout seeks to bridge the vast chasm dividing the mainstream medical community and alternative medicine.
To maintain a healthy gut, it begins with the food you eat. With proper health professional support, herbs can be valuable supplements to your daily food diet and medicinal remedies.
While Herbsprout is not in the business of endorsing herbal supplements, Primal Herb’s website provides valuable information/ research about herbs they use in their product which support a healthy gut.
For example, studies confirm that wormwood contains antimicrobial and antifungal properties that keep dangerous bacteria and fungi at bay, such as the well known e. coli and salmonella. Other gut related disorders that could benefit from wormwood are SIBO (or small intestinal bacteria overgrowth), Candida, and Crohn’s disease.
One reason for its efficacy, wormwood contains a powerful ingredient called artemisinin. Studies by Mateon Therapeutics confirmed that artemisinin effectively inhibits COVIC-19 from multiplying, while also having a high safety index. In addition to wormwood, artemisinin is a natural derivative from the Asian herb Artemisia.
A clinical study led by Kings College London Professor of Dietetics Kevin Whelan investigated how gut microbes break down almonds to produce butyrate, a specific microbiota product associated with several health benefits.
This new research found that consuming almonds significantly increases butyrate, a type of beneficial short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) produced by microbes in the colon when they digest fiber. Butyrate is the primary fuel source for colonocytes, the cells that line the colon, according to the study funded by the Almond Board of California. 87 healthy adults participated in this 4-week study.
Results from the study showed significant differences in stool frequency as well as significant increases in butyrate in the colon. Other measured outcomes from the study included relative abundance of fecal bifidobacteria, fecal microbiota composition and diversity, fecal SCFAs, whole-gut transit time, gut pH, stool output (both frequency and consistency), and gut symptoms.
The influence of genetic variation on the rate of depression ranges from 37% to 48%, showing a strong relation between family history and depression. The gut microbiome can be a promising approach for managing depression.
Gut dysbiosis is associated with major depressive disorder (MDD) by involvement with various aspects of Gut-brain axis (GBA). It promotes neuroinflammation and causes behaviour alteration, according to the September 07, 2022 Science Direct report.
There are three diet metabolites - kynurenine, tryptophan, and propionic acid - that greatly influence the activities of the gut microbiome and the deficiencies of which can contribute to depression. Researchers found that depression disorder also shows gut-brain dysregulation, an increase in inflammatory cytokines in the blood of depressive patients, dysregulation in fatty acid metabolism, neuropeptide, gut hormone and neurotransmitter synthesis, and abnormal immune system activation, as reported by Science Direct.
Subhajyoti De, associate professor of cancer systems biology at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey together with RWJBarnabas Health, found that microorganisms may be new targets for earlier diagnosis or treatment of pancreatic cancer (1).
According to the October 10 2022 Rutgers University press release, they were able to identify tumor-associated microbes and measure the activity of the host cells at the same time. They examined the microbiome of pancreatic tumors and identified particular microorganisms that are associated with inflammation and poor survival (2).
Short of two weeks earlier, research by Lian Narunsky Haziza, a cancer biologist at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, found that tumors contain millions of microbes and fungi, representing dozens of species, according to a September 29 2022 New York Times article (2).
So-called tumor microbiome is proving so distinctive in each type of cancer that some scientists hope to find early signs of hidden tumors by measuring the microbial DNA they shed into the blood, says the study led by Dr. Haziza.
Stool with healthy microorganisms inserted into a person’s digestive tract has been shown to reduce abdominal stress and tiredness in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), according to a September 13, 2022 article in Everyday Health.
The efficacy of this inexpensive treatment has shown to last three years for over 90% of patients, and beyond three years for over 70% of patients, according to the report by author Magdy El-Salhy, MD, a gastroenterologist at Stord Helse Fonna Hospital in Norway. Her team found that dysbiosis, a gut micriobiome imbalance, was lower among those receiving active treatment after two to three years.
A worthwhile digression from Herbsprout’s standard health topics, Seattle-based biotech Adaptive Biotechnologies Corp. (Nasdaq: ADPT) came up with up to $250 million in innovative/ creative financing during the current economic downturn. The deal mix of business development revenue share with financing.
According to a September 14 2022 Puget Sound Business Journal report, the company inked a royalty financing agreement with health care investment firm OrbiMed. Adaptive is developing an immune system platform to build a data-driven, “clinical-product development engine”. With the immune system as the “source code”, Adaptive says it can develop diagnostics and therapeutics for almost any disease, according to the company.
Through the agreement, Adaptive will receive an initial $125 million in exchange for OrbiMed receiving 5% of Adaptive's revenue. Adaptive can receive an additional $75 million for 8% of its revenue and another $50 million, earmarked for potential merger and acquisition deals, for 10%.
"This was a really nice creative structure because for us, we didn't want to raise equity capital and dilute the shareholder base when our stock is trading significantly below historical levels," said Chad Robins, co-founder and CEO of Adaptive is quoted Puget Sound Business Journal. “Debt will have a balloon payment or an amortization where if for any reason the markets aren't there and you can't recapitalize or you can't repay that debt, that provides a lot of risk to a company."
Adaptive will have to pay OrbiMed back 1.65 times whatever it takes, but the rate decreases if Adaptive can pay the firm back in 18 or 24 months, Robins said. He added that although there is a $50 million tranche reserved for M&A, Adaptive isn't targeting anything specific right now. According to Robins, the company will lay out a path to profitability in its third quarter earnings, and this money will help Adaptive reach that goal without having to raise equity capital.
source: sleep apnea occurs in 40% of cardiovascular disease patients.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is one of the most common and serious sleep-related breathing disorders with a strong connection to patients with cardiovascular (CV) diseases.
Despite its prevalence, OSA is often underdiagnosed and untreated, even though it can increase risk of heart failure, arrhythmias, hypertension, and coronary artery disease, according to an August 11 2022 report by Handawi journal. The report claims that sleep apnea occurs in more than 40% of CV patients.
In addition to CV diseases, sleep apnea can result in repetitive upper airway collapse during sleep and insufficient oxygen.
The gut microbiome can be a promising approach for the management of depression. A September 7, 2022 Science Direct report suggest that the gut microbiota control the host epigenetic machinery in depression.
Gut dysbiosis causes negative epigenetic modifications via mechanisms like histone acetylation, DNA methylation and non-coding RNA mediated gene inhibition.
The diet and dietary metabolites like kynurenine, tryptophan, and propionic acid also greatly influence the microbiome composition and the physiological activities.
Science Direct point out that stress is one of the important risk factors for depression that results from chronic or early life stress, in the range of 37% to 48% showing a strong relation between family history and depression.
Distinguished doctor and medical researcher Dr. Steve Gundry says polyphenols aid in everything from heart health to gut health and weight loss. Why? Based on his research, Dr. Gundry discovered these polyhenols facilitate caloric bypass, enabling the mitochondria in our body to ignore excessive amounts of food, and bypass converting them into stored fats (1).
More than 8,000 polyphenols are out there, and they are divided into four main categories: flavonoids, stilbenes, lignans, and phenolic acids, according to a May 24, 2022 Wellandgood.com article (2).
Ketones created by our liver are even more effective than the polyphenol foods, in fact the most effective at signaling caloric bypass, but helps all your cells work better, according to the National Institute of Aging.
Dr. Gundry discovered medium chain triglycerides (MCT) naturally found in certain foods, can never be converted to fats and can only be converted to ketones. Both Columbia and McGill Universities confirmed studies that individuals who consume increasing amounts ketones showed significant decreases in body fat and weight. He found that communities that consume large amounts of — goat cheese sheeps milk, acacia, and coconut oil — each of which are among the largest sources of MCTs, are also among the longest living communities in the world (1).
Top sources of MCTs are coconut and coconut products - coconut oil, coconut butter and full fat coconut milk; palm kernel oil; and in lesser amounts- butter, milk, yogurt and cheese 3).
Top sources of polyphenols include Herbs and Spices such as ginger and turmeric, Cocoa, and berries such as blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries (2).
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HERBSPROUT ADVISORY BOARD:
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●Jenny Pandol, Co-owner/founder/ COO, Microbiome Learning Center;
●Dr. Sabine Hazan, Founder and CEO, Progenabiome and Ventura Clinical Trials;
●Naveen Jain, Founder & CEO, Viome
●Hans Parge, ex-Pfizer director;
●Rob Greenlee, VP, Libsyn;
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●Cindy Postma, essential oils;
●Chris Kenji Beer, herbs & microbiome;
●Ely Diana, translation/ support services.
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Cindy Postma has been a writer and editor across all disciplines. She has been an instructor of Asian studies at Kings College (Cambridge), Columbia, and Cornell. She received her PhD from Kyoto University, Masters from Columbia University, and undergraduate from The University of Washington. She is proficient in four Asian languages and French.
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I am Chris Kenji Beer, Herbsprout writer and editor. I come from a family of health nuts. My mom was a psyche major and shared her Japanese culinary tradition. Uncle Tetsuo was and cousin Satoru Harada is a surgeon. Aunt Shigeko was a dietitian in Hiroshima before complications from the nuclear fallout took her life.
I am currently enrolled at Bastyr University's Ayurvedic Health Advisor program. In the past, I spent many years researching health care. I was published on the topic "Japanese Health Care for the Elderly" by the U.S. - Japan Foundation, and as co-author of health care reports for National Conference of State Legislatures Health Services Program, NW Asian Weekly, & as Editor/ co-Publisher of Asia Pacific Economic Review. Email us with questions or comments @ sales@mzinger.com.
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The contents of this webblog is not intended to be used to treat, cure, mitigate, or diagnose any medical condition. The readers must consult your doctor before you make any changes that could affect your health.