When waking up in the morning, many of us yearn for that first cup of coffee, not only for the caffeine kickstart, but also to tame the worst of the morning breath. Contributing to the foul taste in your mouth, no doubt, were the activities of more than 700
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the devastating effect a virus can have on the world’s population. Other familiar viruses that affect people are the influenza virus, the Ebola virus, and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The human body is no stranger to viruses and there is indeed a viper’s nest
Microscopically small organisms, consisting of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other single cell organisms, live in and on our bodies. Some are found on the skin, in the mouth, the nose, the urogenital system, but the vast majority are found in the gastrointestinal tract (known as the gut), particularly in the
The terms prebiotics, probiotics, and recently postbiotics, are being bandied about in relation to improving gut health. The distinction is not always clear and the term postbiotics is not widely known. The term “biotic” is derived from the Greek word “biōtikós”, which means pertaining to life and is generally used
The functioning of the human body can be compared to a chemical factory, where many individual chemical processes are integrated into a single unit with a common purpose – to keep us alive. Just like any factory, the body needs raw materials to fuel these chemical production processes. The body’s
We may not be aware that we live with 2 kg of microscopically small bacteria in our gastro-intestinal tracts (gut), which play a vital role in the functioning of our bodies. Bacteria are found on the skin, in the mouth, the nose, the urogenital system, but the vast majority are
Conflicting opinions in articles available on the internet about the best time to take probiotic supplements can easily lead to confusion. One school of thought claims that probiotics should be taken first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Another school of thought claims that the absolute best time
Health Insight has requested Bioflora, the manufacturers of Intestiflora (widely used by our clients) to shed some light on the claim that this strain of probiotic bacteria is from human origin. We received the following response from Dr Ela Johannsen: “Why should the probiotic bacteria be of human origin? Human
Antibiotics are similar to highly motivated soldiers, armed to the teeth, which hunt down and kill the enemy – the enemy being “bad” (harmful) bacteria that cause infections in the human body. Antibiotics very effectively wipe out whole colonies of bacteria. When the battle cry runs out, these soldiers attack
1. What are gut bacteria Our bodies are crawling with bacteria! In the gastro-intestinal tract alone (starting with the mouth and ending at the anus) there are trillions of microorganisms, about 2kg worth of bacteria, lining this 8m long tube. And rightly so, as they are doing an excellent job
