Soluble vs Insoluble Fiber - Why MicrobeFiber Works So Well

By Alex White, MD

Image courtesy of wikimedia.org

While most people know they need fiber in their diet, what they don’t know is that all fiber is not created equal.  More to the point, there are actually two different kinds of fiber: soluble and insoluble.  While this might sound like splitting hairs, having a better understanding of fiber can make a big difference to your wellbeing.

The Goo in You

Soluble fiber is hydrophilic, which means that it attracts fluid in your body, which causes it to form a goo that slows digestion.  This gives your intestinal tract the time it needs to absorb essential vitamins and minerals.  Foods loaded with soluble fiber include asparagus, barley, beans, Brussels sprouts, carrots, citrus fruit, flaxseeds, lentils, nuts, oats and sweet potatoes. 

Don't Be a Turkey

By Alex White, MD

Image courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org

The Pilgrims started off the tradition of Thanksgiving back in 1621.   Evidence suggests that the 1st Thanksgiving dinner offered everything from deer and duck, to squash, carrots, beans, spinach and mussels.  (Nobody is sure if turkey was included.) While there was no cranberry sauce, the feast surely featured wild blueberries, gooseberries and grapes.

Far from having pumpkin pie, the settlers had not yet built an oven.  However, according to some accounts, early English settlers improvised by hollowing out a pumpkin, before filling the shell with milk, honey and spices to make a custard by roasting the gourds in hot embers.  Yum!

You're Only Human

By Alex White, MD

Image courtesy of pixabay.com

They look like alien lifeforms straight out of a sci-fi movie.  Hideous creatures sporting huge teeth or covered with slime, that slither or lurch through dark corridors that never see the light of day.  They’re the stuff of our nightmares and yet they are all too real.  Living inside all of us is a zoo of microscopic organisms that call our body home.

More than 100 trillion tiny creatures inhabit each and every one of us, going about their business without our knowledge.  There isn’t a place in us or on us that these critters don’t inhabit.  A number of them like the view from our eyebrows and eyelashes.  Some prefer to spend their days burrowed head first in your skin pores, while others live in the depths of your bowels.  I know what you’re thinking…Ewwww!

Gut Bacteria: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

By Alex White, MD

Image courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org

Mention the word “Bacteria” and most people associate it with sickness and disease.  Yet the fact of the matter is that if it were not for bacteria, we would not be able to function.  Believe it or not, everyone of us carries in our gut around 1,000 species of bacteria.  They do everything from help us digest food, to regulating blood sugar, to keeping our heart healthy.  In fact, there is a lot of evidence that suggests that a person’s health is in large part determined by the health of their body’s gut bacteria.