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Resilience and a Healthy Gut May Help Us Handle Life’s Ups and Downs By Jasmine Reblando When we think of stress, it’s usually in terms of its downsides—headaches, tension, sleepless nights. Stress contributes to nearly $300 billion in healthcare costs and missed workdays in the United States! Dr. Church herself wanted to flip the switch […]

The Impact of Adversity on the Gut Microbiome: Navigating Stress and Resilience By Jasmine Reblando Ah, adversity! It is an unavoidable part of life, whether it comes in the form of personal loss, health challenges, or the everyday stressors that leave us feeling overwhelmed. More specifically, stress is a main disruptor in the delicate balance

A Satellite for your Microbiota By Hongbo Danny Zhu Artificial Intelligence has come a long way in the last few years, evolving from conversations with ChatGPT into various platforms that can generate artistic content and analyze data. As AI progresses, could it even serve as a healthcare advisor? Imagine the gut microbiome as a dense

From Soil Microbiome to Gut Microbiome By Jasmine Cap As natural and anthropogenic pressures on the pedosphere rise, so do concerns about climate change’s impact on our health. Dynamic shifts in temperature and weather patterns affect the biological and physical properties of the soil that grows our food. Thus, climate change may impact the nutrients we consume

Plastic as a Detrimental Culprit to an Unhealthy Gut? By Jasmine Reblando Plastic water bottles, plastic take-out containers, plastic utensils and more are all common plastic essentials many of us implement in our everyday lives. It does not take a well-seasoned, educated scientist to tell us that plastics are affecting the environment poorly, at a

The Gut-Brain Axis: What is it? By Jasmine Reblando Nowadays, society and media have given great power to the links between gut health and mental health. There has also been a lot of attention surrounding information and products to ensure great gut health through the exposition of probiotic supplements and gut healthy foods. But often,

A-B-Cs: Always be Counting Making it Easy to Boost Microbiome Diversity! By Jasmine Cap People often use tools to help them stay accountable for daily responsibilities and activities that significantly impact their lives. That is why after experiencing the pain of forgetting school essentials at home—my laptop charger and headphones—I created a packing list that

Not Just For Constipation: The Magical Role of Fiber By Hongbo Zhu Why does the gut need fiber？ The body lacks enzymes that can directly process complex carbohydrates. Thus, gut bacteria do the job of metabolizing fibers into short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) through anaerobic fermentation. Fibers become crucial food sources for the microbiome, while SCFAs

Eating Your Way to Longevity By Danny Zhu At first glance, Loma Linda resembles yet another picturesque Southern California city. However, it holds the title of America’s only blue zone— an area where the average age expectancy is 10 years higher than the national average of 77.5 years. What habits make Loma Linda residents stand

Disparities in Obesity By Jasmine Cap With over two-fifths of the adult population in the U.S. classifying as obese, it makes sense to see a growing discussion about obesity interventions on multiple platforms, from schools to federal programs to social media. While taking inspiration from personal testimonies on weight loss may be helpful, it is also essential