Lots of scientific proof spurring much conversation with bacteria....I know you don't hold your breath to this Tex...but could there really be something in it for our future?
E
http://sciencenordic.com/gut-bacteria-w ... -239820761
Gut bacteria will revolutionize medicine
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Gut bacteria will revolutionize medicine
To Succeed you have to Believe in something with such a passion that it becomes a Reality - Anita Roddick
Dx LC April 2012 had symptoms since Aug 2007
Dx LC April 2012 had symptoms since Aug 2007
Hi Erica,
Definitely. IMO "future" is the key word. Currently, researchers are beginning to recognize their potential, but they have many years of dedicated work ahead of them before we're likely to see many significant benefits. Why? Because pharmaceutical companies currently pay for most research, and they're not going to finance research that doesn't result in an increase in the use of expensive prescription drugs. That will limit the type of research that's likely to be done in the near term. There are surely a lot of ways that could be discovered that would provide cheap and simple ways to manipulate/exploit gut bacteria to provide benefits without the use of drugs, but those techniques will probably remain undiscovered until drug companies can find a way to patent the process so that they can make another pile of dough.
Case in point — the article in the MCF newsletter published last October 1 about marijuana research. Researchers have provided proof that certain components of marijuana can help to relieve the symptoms of IBDs, but big pharma's approach is to develop a synthetic substitute for the natural ingredient that provides the relief, so that they can patent the product and make piles of money. They can't patent natural ingredients, and their lobbyists will do everything they can to make sure that government regulations prevent or at least limit the use of the the natural ingredients so that most doctors will only prescribe the synthetic version — sorta like the synthetic thyroid treatments (synthroid) in lieu of using natural thyroid products such as Armour.
I truly believe that this type of research has a lot of potential. I have some reservations about how we're going to tap into that research, though. I'm afraid that it's likely to be dominated by big pharma, and that's always going to benefit big pharma far more than it will benefit patients.
But this type of gut bacteria-based research can provide other insights. Take a look at this short article, for example:
http://www.waynepersky.com/2017/03/03/a ... ontagious/
And thanks for the link. I hadn't seen that article yet.
Tex
Definitely. IMO "future" is the key word. Currently, researchers are beginning to recognize their potential, but they have many years of dedicated work ahead of them before we're likely to see many significant benefits. Why? Because pharmaceutical companies currently pay for most research, and they're not going to finance research that doesn't result in an increase in the use of expensive prescription drugs. That will limit the type of research that's likely to be done in the near term. There are surely a lot of ways that could be discovered that would provide cheap and simple ways to manipulate/exploit gut bacteria to provide benefits without the use of drugs, but those techniques will probably remain undiscovered until drug companies can find a way to patent the process so that they can make another pile of dough.
Case in point — the article in the MCF newsletter published last October 1 about marijuana research. Researchers have provided proof that certain components of marijuana can help to relieve the symptoms of IBDs, but big pharma's approach is to develop a synthetic substitute for the natural ingredient that provides the relief, so that they can patent the product and make piles of money. They can't patent natural ingredients, and their lobbyists will do everything they can to make sure that government regulations prevent or at least limit the use of the the natural ingredients so that most doctors will only prescribe the synthetic version — sorta like the synthetic thyroid treatments (synthroid) in lieu of using natural thyroid products such as Armour.
I truly believe that this type of research has a lot of potential. I have some reservations about how we're going to tap into that research, though. I'm afraid that it's likely to be dominated by big pharma, and that's always going to benefit big pharma far more than it will benefit patients.
But this type of gut bacteria-based research can provide other insights. Take a look at this short article, for example:
http://www.waynepersky.com/2017/03/03/a ... ontagious/
And thanks for the link. I hadn't seen that article yet.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Great article Tex,
Glad you are blogging/creating articles so to speak
Have you ever read the book Pottenger's Prophecy 'How Food Resets Genes for Wellness or Illness' by Gray Graham?
I am 1/3 of the way thru it and my oh my does it speak to me in terms of how our conditions react upon us, and it may not have been all my fault! We could have been predisposed to our colitis journey from 2 or even three generations ago. It definitely speaks about how diet change and of course removing ourselves the best we can from toxins will and does change how health is and can be changed for the better.
It is a very interesting read for me.
Glad you are blogging/creating articles so to speak
Have you ever read the book Pottenger's Prophecy 'How Food Resets Genes for Wellness or Illness' by Gray Graham?
I am 1/3 of the way thru it and my oh my does it speak to me in terms of how our conditions react upon us, and it may not have been all my fault! We could have been predisposed to our colitis journey from 2 or even three generations ago. It definitely speaks about how diet change and of course removing ourselves the best we can from toxins will and does change how health is and can be changed for the better.
It is a very interesting read for me.
To Succeed you have to Believe in something with such a passion that it becomes a Reality - Anita Roddick
Dx LC April 2012 had symptoms since Aug 2007
Dx LC April 2012 had symptoms since Aug 2007
Thanks, Erica. No, I haven't read that book, but I am indeed a strong believer in the consequences of epigenetic effects on subsequent generations. I can't even imagine the effects that our current food supply and the health issues it imposes will have on the grandkids of young people growing up today. That would probably be a good topic for a novel, but I don't have time to write it.
Tex
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Way back in the day when I was in college (1970's) the idea that the environment could affect inheritance of traits was considered ridiculous. Inheritance was only through the coding in the the DNA. The idea that the expression of these genes could be impacted in a major way by modifications to the DNA in response to environmental factors wasn't even considered. The Russian geneticist, Lysenko, in 1930's Stalinist Russia, believed that the environment was the most important factor in inheritance. He even rejected the whole idea of DNA and Mendelian inheritance, and was widely mocked by other scientists. But because this idea fit in well with Communist ideology, he was supported by Stalin. It is rather ironic that some of his "wild" ideas are now accepted. For example, he believed that fertilization was not random, and that there was selection of the best sperm. This has been shown to happen in some insects and birds that mate with multiple males. So both sides of the "DNA vs environment" were partly right and partly wrong. Nature always seems to get more complicated the closer we look and the more we learn!
Rosie
Rosie
Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time………Thomas Edison