Will a fig a day keep diabetes away?

Diabetes is on the rise worldwide. One in 3 US adults will get diabetes in 2050. A new health water will be launched in the US next year under the Pervida brand name that helps to maintain healthy glucose levels. The Pervida health water contains the natural ingredient abscisic acid that is present in figs, […]

Latest overview regarding prebiotics in early life published in Agro FOOD Industry Hi Tech – vol. 27(2)

Breast milk provides a great amount of bioactive compounds and the benefits of breast-feeding are well established. Therefore, it remains the best way to feed the newborn. Nevertheless, circumstances might lead mothers to consider formula-feeding. Feeding infants on standard formula results in a different gut microbiota than with breastfeeding. There is accumulating evidence that infant formulas with added […]

Visit Probiota Conference in Amsterdam Feb 2-4, 2016

The first workshop will focus on: Prebiotics – a return to true science. Recent thinking on prebiotics has been coloured by concerns about the commercial demands imposed within a complex regulatory environment. In this free-thinking, free-wheeling workshop we’ll cut free from all regulatory restraints to return to the true science that’s driving innovation and demonstrable […]

To demonstrate health benefits of prebiotics, look beyond their effect on the microbiota and include metabolomics

This paper describes very adequately where we stand regarding demonstrating of health benefits of prebiotics. It highlights the main challenges and opportunities from a European health claim perspective. The main challenge is: Given the complex composition of the microbiota, demonstration of beneficial effects of prebiotics is difficult if one only looks at changes in microbiota composition. The main opportunity is: The exploration […]

Gut colonization with an ancient bacterium is associated with childhood obesity

The larger the numbers of the predominant archeon, Methanobrevibacter smithii, in the human gut, the greater the risk of obesity. This is the conclusion of scientists at the Maastricht University Medical Center from a cohort study of almost 500 children aged six to ten years. These findings confirm an earlier study in rats showing a […]

Innovation intelligence

Nowadays we live in a world where information is available everywhere and knowledge is created with increasing speed. This book about innovation describes the drastic changes in the way companies deal with innovation to adapt to the landscape change. It proposes new tools to help companies improve their performance in terms of innovation intelligence The […]