Firmicutes tagged posts

c Decaf even improved learning and memory, while caffeine boosted focus and reduced anxiety. Together, they show coffee works through multiple pathways beyond just caffeine.

Researchers at APC Microbiome Ireland, a leading research center at University College Cork, have taken a major step toward understanding how coffee benefits the body. For the first time, scientists have closely examined how coffee interacts with the gut-brain axis, the communication network that links the digestive system and the brain.

The findings, published in Nature Communications and supported by the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee (ISIC), show that regularly drinking both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee can shape the gut microbiome and influence mood and stress.

How Coffee Affec...

Dr. Turner’s lab team, most of who are shown here, were instrumental in the research relating to the health benefits of dried plums. (Texas A&M AgriLife Research photo)

A diet containing dried plums can positively affect microbiota, also referred to as gut bacteria, throughout the colon, helping reduce the risk of colon cancer, researchers report. According to the American Cancer Society, colon cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. when men and women are considered separately, and the second-leading cause when the figures are combined. During 2015, colon cancer is expected to cause about 49,700 deaths nationwide.

“Our research explored the potential cancer-protective properties of dried plums using a well-established rat model of colon cancer,” she sai...