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The dreaded and omnipresent “PFAS” (per and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a real and ever present threat to our health, linked to delayed development in children, increased risk of cancers, and decreased fertility, according to a June 04 2025 report by the Independent.

 

They are everywhere; in non-stick cookware, cosmetics, stain-resistant fabrics, firefighting foams, food packaging, and waterproof clothing, remaining in the environment for hundreds of years.

 

It is believed that fiber molecules in oats, barley and rye can bind to PFAS in the digestive system.

 

A study of 72 Canadians who consumed a steady diet of oat fiber over four weeks found a nearly 10 per cent drop in two of the most dangerous PFAS types. The two forever chemicals, known as PFOA and PFOS, have been detected in drinking water, food packaging and cosmetics, and they can build up in the body over time, according to the Independent.

 

In a recent study of mice published in Nature March 31 2025, found that microbiome is associated with multiple “health parameters, including body composition, immune components and frailty, but not lifespan.”

 

The study analysed 2,997 metagenomes collected from 913 genetically diverse mice. They investigated interactions between the microbiome, ageing, dietary restriction (caloric restriction and fasting), host genetics and a range of health parameters.

 

They found that the majority of microbiome features show small but significant connection to inherited genetic factors, and the amount of variation explained by host genetics is similar to ageing and dietary restriction.

 

We also find that while dietary interventions lead to larger microbiome changes and dietary restriction does not rejuvenate the microbiome, but not longevity.

 

MCTs are a type of saturated fat found in certain foods. They are made up of medium-length fatty acid chains, which are easily digested and absorbed by the body, more so than LCTs (long chain triglycerides).

 

Natural Sources of MCTs: 

Coconut oil 
Palm kernel oil 
Full-fat dairy products (e.g., butter, cheese, milk) 
Breast milk 
 
MCTs support a balanced gut microbiota, promoting healthy bacteria, reducing inflammation, and improving digestion and nutrient absorption.

 

There are four types of MCTs: caproic, caprylic, capric, and lauric acid. Each has a slightly different chemical structure. You can find MCTs in coconut oil, cow’s milk, and palm kernel oil, according to an April 15 2025 Health.com report.

 

The Health.com report highlights how MCTs can alleviate different types of mental disorders, including epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, and autism. MCTs have also shown to prevent digestive disorders and blood sugar levels.

 

 

 

According to an April 30 2025 study by the North Carolina State University, our diet not only affects our gut microbiome and health, it influences our susceptibility to diseases and even life expectancy.

 

Protein sources in an animal’s diet can have major effects on the human gut microbiome, both in population and function. Alfredo Blakeley-Ruiz, an NC State’s postdoctoral researcher, set out to learn how diets affect our gut, particularly protein diets using an integrated metagenomics-metaproteomics approach. Metagenomics analyzes the entire genetic makeup of a microbial community (DNA) while Metaproteomics, the entire protein.

 

“The composition of the gut microbiome significantly changed every time we changed the protein source.” In their mouse study, protein sources showed extreme effects, the biggest effects being brown rice, yeast and egg whites, adds Blakeley-Ruiz.

 

These proteins caused microbes in the gut to change the production of enzymes that break down glycans, long chains of sugar. One bacterium took over and activated a bunch of glycan-degrading enzymes, which are potentially damaging to our gut lining. 

Recent findings show that milk consumption is connected with an uptick in several helpful bacteria which help lower inflammation and improved gut barriers, according to a study led by Dr. Li Jiao from Baylor College of Medicine. Cheese on the other hand, may have the opposite effect.

 

Dr. Jiao and his team caution against sweeping conclusions because participants in the study involved a small group of 34 older men, and their average dairy intake was lower than national averages. It merely identifies a connection between dairy in this age group and the presence of certain healthy gut microbes.

Milk for example, supports the presence of Faecalibacterium, Akkermansia, and Bifidobacteria, each known to support a healthy, balanced gut.

 

Research at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York suggests that the microbiome may go even further than improving our immune system and lowering risk of chronic diseases — by “turning bile acids into immune-boosting compounds that help the body fight cancer”, according to an April 17 2025 report in Discover magazine and Cell.
 
Said researcher Chun-Jun Guo, he and his team found that gut bacteria can transform bile acids, more than fifty different bile acid molecules modified by the microbiota. Among the 56 bile acids his team discovered and altered, they found four bile acid molecules that interact with sex hormones like androgen to regulate many aspects of human development.
 
Previous studies have shown that blocking these receptors can enhance the ability of these immune cells to fight tumors. The teams’ mice studies have proven this to be the case, enhancing T-cell responses within tumors and killing cancer cells.

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1080622
 
https://www.discovermagazine.com/health/the-gut-microbiome-could-help-our-bodies-fight-cancer
 
 

Methane-producing archaea, or methanogens produce methane from hydrogen and CO₂ for example, and contribute to the microbial metabolic processes as well as in the human gut, according to Christine Moissl-Eichinger, Professor of Interactive Microbiome Research at Medical University of Graz, reported in an April 17 2025 issue of Phys.org. 

 
Archaea were originally discovered above all in extreme environments such as hot springs or salt lakes, but they are also found in the human body, especially in the gut.

 

Dr. Moissl-Eichinger believes that archaea may play a significant role in the development or progression of certain disease. She and her team’s discovery shows archaea thriving under strictly anaerobic conditions, producing methane, and surprisingly large amounts of succinic acid, a metabolic product that is associated with inflammatory processes in the human body.

 

 

 

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New research combines artificial intelligence (AI), genetics, and multi-omics analyses to explore how metabolites produced by gut bacteria might influence Alzheimer’s disease (AD), according to a May 28 2024 Cell Report and PsyPost.

There is a noticeable change in the gut microbiome of AD patients. AD is marked by the accumulation of amyloid-beta plaques and tau protein tangles in the brain, which interfere with neural function and lead to cell death, according to the PsyPost report.

 

The study, conducted by Feixiong Cheng and his team from the Cleveland Clinic Genome Center, the Luo Ruvo Center for Brain Health, and the Center for Microbiome and Human Health, demonstrate a systems biology framework to uncover the GPCR (G-protein-coupled receptors) targets of human gut microbiota in AD and other complex diseases.

 

Gut metabolites are the key to many physiological processes in our bodies, and for every key there is a lock for human health and disease, says Cheng. Cheng and his team decided to map out the interactions between these metabolites and the human receptors they affect using Ai. They successfully predicted the interactions between over a million metabolite-receptor pairs, refining our understanding of the gut-brain axis.

 

 

Research at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York suggests that the microbiome may go even further than improving our immune system and lowering risk of chronic diseases — by “turning bile acids into immune-boosting compounds that help the body fight cancer”, according to an April 17 2025 report in Discover magazine and Cell.

 

Said researcher Chun-Jun Guo, he and his team found that gut bacteria can transform bile acids, more than fifty different bile acid molecules modified by the microbiota. Among the 56 bile acids his team discovered and altered, they found four bile acid molecules that interact with sex hormones like androgen to regulate many aspects of human development.

 

Previous studies have shown that blocking these receptors can enhance the ability of these immune cells to fight tumors. The teams’ mice studies have proven this to be the case, enhancing T-cell responses within tumors and killing cancer cells.