The AliB and Gut Flora story.

Last year we published a post called ‘Maybe AliB was right all along’ we have posted it again below. Graham, John and myself, started to read AliB’s posts on the forum DCUK some years ago. Ali believed gut flora played a very big part in many diseases, including type two diabetes. Ali was not the average run of the mill forum poster, she had some theories and ideas that were controversial, she could think outside of the box.. Our team did not agree with some of her posts, but she was always polite, she went to great trouble to explain her ideas, never losing her temper or rude to anyone. For me she was a very interesting person, and brought real debate to the forum. To the grey matter impaired and those of little imagination, she was a crack pot and talking nonsense.

As reported below she was railroaded off at DCUK, the same was repeated at the ETYM forum. Ali doesn’t give up easy, but how much grief can you take from the dullards before you walk. The post below is self explanatory, two readers of this blog commented on the post yesterday, they had remembered Ali. I think their memories were jogged when another post went up regarding gut flora and cholesterol. I’m beginning to think Ali was way ahead of the game, and it is sad that she no longer posts. With all this in mind, I have started this thread, and will bump it up each time, another item comes into the news regarding gut flora, and it’s effects on our health.  It’s the least I can do for Ali, after all, I invited her to join ETYM, I did send her an apology when she left, I had hoped her unique talents would be appreciated on the new forum, I was wrong.

Maybe AliB was right all along ! First posted 27th. September 2012

View the post and comments here

Type 2 diabetes breakthrough: Imbalance in gut bacteria likely cause.

But breakthrough research just published in the journal Nature strongly indicates another, bottom line cause has been discovered - an imbalance of "good" versus "bad" bacteria in the intestinal tract appears to trigger type 2 diabetes.

The research team pointed out the 1.5 kilograms of bacteria that each of us carries around in our intestines have a huge impact on our well-being. If the equilibrium of what is known as this "microflora" in the gut is disrupted, health can suffer. For their study, the scientists zeroed in on the intestinal bacteria of 345 people from China. The 171 research subjects who had type 2 diabetes were found to have "a more hostile bacterial environment in their intestines" than those not suffering from the disease. The study suggests this kind of out-of-balance gut flora could increase resistance to different medicines as well as likely be the trigger for type 2 diabetes. The scientists identified specific biological indicators in the gut flora that could eventually be used to identify those at risk of type 2 diabetes as well as to diagnose the disease

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More on this article here.

Gut Bacteria Linked to Cholesterol Metabolism.

Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, show that cholesterol metabolism is regulated by bacteria in the small intestine. These findings may be important for the development of new drugs for cardiovascular disease.

The influence of gut bacteria on human health and disease is a rapidly expanding research area. Fredrick Bäckhed's research group is a leader in this field and is investigating how gut bacteria are linked to lifestyle diseases such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

'If future research can identify the specific bacteria that affect FXR signaling in the gut, this could lead to new ways to treat diabetes and cardiovascular disease', says Fredrik Bäckhed, professor at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, who led the study.

More here.

Eddie