Two Studies in Europe have concluded that gut microbes can affect mood and/or depression. One , a study led by Jeroen Raes, a microbiologist at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium, studied 1054 people. Within this group 173 people either had been diagnosed with depression or had done poorly on a quality of life survey.  The microbiomes of these people were compared to those of the other participants. Two kinds of microbes Coprococcus and Dialister were missing from the microbiomes of the depressed subjects but not from the others.

     Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) consists of Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. Both are the result of dysregulation of the immune system leading to intestinal inflammation and microbial dysbiosis.

16:8 is a form of daily fasting wherein people eat whatever they choose for 8 hours and fast for the next 16 hours. A new study published in the journal Nutrition and Healthy Aging evaluated this strategy for obese individuals and found that the diet works and lowers blood pressure.

In 1918 an Influenza outbreak (Spanish Flu) began which would eventually infect 500 million people (1/3 of the world’s population) and prove fatal to 50 million making it far more deadly then even World War I (estimated 15-19 million dead) which would end that same year.

The name “Spanish Flu” is misleading and results from Spain’s neutrality during World War I. While the Spanish media dutifully reported on the extent of the pandemic on its citizenry the press in Germany, France, UK and the US downplayed, even censored, the same in their own countries (while reporting on the flu in Spain) in the interests of maintaining morale and patriotism in the face of war.

According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), nearly 2.5% of all children in the US live with the peanut allergy.

One peanut kernel has about 300 mg of peanut protein, exposure to which can lead to anaphylaxis and even death to a person afflicted with this allergy. According to Dr Steven Tilles, past president of the ACAAI and consulting advisor to the biotech company Aimmune Therapeutics, A new treatment has recently emerged which aims to build up tolerance to peanuts so that people suffering from the peanut allergy can handle accidental exposure ie eating food with a peanut in it.