A Baffling Brain Defect is Linked to Gut Bacteria, Scientists Say

 

Researchers have made a surprising link between a brain disease and a bacteria in the gut. Scientists believe the microbiome, or the body's vast community of bacteria play a role in the development of a vast variety of diseases. New research suggests that bacteria found in the gut can initiate diseases in the most unrelated organs, with no obvious link to the gut and in the most unexpected ways. One particular linkage came to finding when scientists studied hereditary cerebral cavernous malformations or blood-filled bubbles that protrude from veins in brain. Scientists found that the malformations in the blood vessels of the brain were caused or initiated by bacteria growing in the gut, and it was this finding that has stimulated a lot of research in the bacteria of the gut and different body diseases. 

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Gut Microbes Gobble Cocoa

In this article, Microbes like bifidobacterium and lactic acid bacteria that reside in the human gut feast on chocolate. It was said that when you eat dark chocolate, these bacteria grow and ferment it, producing compounds that are anti inflammatory. In the human digestive tract, food scientists tested three cocoa powders. Researchers found that within the mock gut, cocoa is fermented and the large polyphenolic polymers are metabolized to smaller molecules. Gut microbes could help reduce a persons feeling of hunger after digesting cocoa. The fiber is broken down into short fatty chain acids, which are absorbed and could have an affect on satiety. Researchers have yet to confirm results meaning do not go to your local candy store and start eating all the chocolate bars in sight, many of these products contain sugar and fat which is not good for you.

http://www.landesbioscience.com/journals/gutmicrobes/