Why Yoghurt & Honey Is A Surprising Gut Health Combo…

If you have a sweet tooth, then adding honey to your yoghurt won’t just ease your cravings but can also potentially improve your gut health…

Researchers from the University of Illinois have found that adding a tablespoon of honey per serving of yoghurt (~170g) has probiotic benefits.

They found in their research that this small serving of honey helped to support the survival of Bifidobacterium animalis (B. animalis), which is a specific strain of bacteria usually found in dairy items.

Researcher tested four types of honey; alfalfa, buckwheat, clover, and orange blossom—across 66 participants.
It was found that the clover honey was most effective in two rounds of tests at preserving the probiotic value of yoghurt.

When we consume probiotic supplements or probiotic rich food, the enzymes in our mouth, stomach and intestines can reduce the viability of these live microbes – which is obviously great when it’s a nasty pathogenic bug we don’t want to set up shop in our guts, but not so handy when its beneficial bacteria we try to consume.

Based on this limited study, there is some suggestion that honey can help to support probiotics as they transit our digestive tracts. A positive study and an easy to implement action in someone’s daily life.

If you’re looking for other ways to support your gut, just like yogurt, other effective ways of upping your probiotics intake include fermented foods and beverages like kefir, sauerkraut, miso, kombucha, and kimchi, pickled vegetables!

P.S if you want easy, evidence based methods to overhaul your gut health, poop better or just feel better… order my book “This Book May Save Your Life” and feast on an entire chunky chapter dedicated to my favourite collection of organs.. the gut!

P.P.S if you’ve already read or listened to the book then drop a cheeky review on Amazon (every little helps!)

Medieval Memes…

We see memes as a modern invention to mock popular culture or take the place of a large scale “inside joke” but could these just be a new iteration from history.

I tumbled into a deep rabbit hole of the history of art and this ended up sparking my interest on medieval art and a hypothesis which suggested that there remains medieval memes hidden in plain sight!

For example, in the picture you see above, what is the role of the snail?

Snails were seen as pests even in the dark ages so was this an inside joke about the monk’s struggles against this shelled foe?

Or was it a social commentary of the knights who were portrayed as the elite but often taking on lowly foes?

The idea about our medieval ancestory memeing about snails is somehow quite heart warming.

Also farts. Farts are always funny as you can see in the second picture. This meme-like humour is present in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and it says it all when the oldest recorded joke in the world is a fart.

So whatever you do now, and think it’s something new… chances are it’s not.

You are just one point in an endless repetitive loop of recycled fart jokes and memes.

You are welcome.

Are Your Gut Bugs Causing Your Constipation?

I have a bone to pick with constipation. Or rather the many healthcare professionals who treat it.

As a surgeon I’ve had countless referrals ove the years with someone being diagnosed as constipated. But that’s not quite right.

Constipation is NOT a diagnosis. It is a symptom.

What is driving the constipation?

Is it bad toilet hygiene and habits?

Low fibre diet?

Lack of hydration?

Medication side effects?

Some bowel issue?

Without getting to the root cause, we are just reaching our hands into the dark and at best papering over the cracks with laxatives, pills and potions and vague advice.

Anyway, that rant is for another day.

I did however come across an interesting new study which suggested that our gut microbes may play a role in constipation.

A study conducted by researchers at Cedars Sinai published in the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology found that an overgrowth of a type of microbe called archaea (a microbe that produces methane) could be a contributing factor. And disrupt the gut flora balance.

In fact patients with intestine methanogen overgrowth (excessive archaea growth in intestines) were more likely to have constipation, especially a severe type.

So with this knowledge is there a future role for personalised management of constipation in certain patients?

Perhaps a combination of microbiome manipulation with targeted probiotics, a specialised diet with reduced archaea overgrowth or even targeted antibiotics?

The insects are dying…

New research from Rutgers University in which 1500 fields of crop across 6 continents were analysed found that production of nutritionally dense foods like fruit, vegetables, nuts and legumes are being limited due to a lack of pollinators.. aka insects!

This phenomenon of a low crop yield due to insufficient insect visits is known as pollinator limitation and is especially worrying as a trend given the concerns about a global decline in insect abundance.

However all is not lost and doom and gloom. Although there are crop yield deficits worldwide… through more investment in increasing the number of pollinators with active concerted efforts the efficiency of existing crop fields can be raised to match the requirements of the global population

Just think for a moment, 88% of the world flowering plants and 76% of leading global food crops are reliant on pollinators, particularly bees (they can carry more pollen than most insects and make more flower visits)

Save the insects, save the world!

Penis Size And Mental Health…

You probably didn’t think you’d start the week off with chat about the size of men’s floppy noodles did you? Yet here we are.

There is a growing body of research suggesting that as a man’s self perception of his genitals deteriorates, their chances of depression and anxiety increases.. which then in turn can affect sexual function and quality of life.

We know body image plays a crucial role in anyone’s mental and emotional well being and can influence self esteem, social interaction and sexual satisfaction too.

Unfortunately for many men, the size and appearance of their member is intimately linked to self confidence, worth and sexual adequacy

Men all over the world fear their most private of parts are simply not big enough.

Whilst the issue of size is certainly not of any biological importance… it is still worthwhile noting that a 2014 review that took data from 15,000 men and measured penis size reported that surprisingly the average length of a flaccid penis was 3.6 inches and an erect at 5.165 inches.

Interestingly according to one study, most men think the average penis size is at least 6 inches when erect. Most men tend to believe they’re smaller than average and there’s a distortion about what reality is which heightens anxieties

Worryingly, these self perceived anxieties can often lead men to seek surgical solutions to extend the size of an already normal sized member and end up with unecessary complications..

It is worthwhile men knowing the amount of variation for 85-90% of the male population penis size is all centred around basically the same number…

3 Things I Wish I Knew Earlier…

1.     Work for happiness, not money: I know happiness in this day and age shares parallels with how much money you have, but only to a degree. I had dinner with a friend a few months ago who really made it big on social media and was earning a crazy amount but he said nothing about his life had changed. He didn’t want a fancy car, an expensive Rolex or expensive goods… he just wanted to continue being happy with what he had. He said his fulfilment was enough to keep him happy and if he continued to chase more money, it would be adverse in the long run.

2.     Done is better than perfect: Don’t wait, do. I am a very top tier level procrastinator. I used to obsess for the perfect moment to start something. Writing a script for a video, starting my Youtube channel, taking up a new hobby, a new diet… but these were just delays in my journey. The most important thing you can do is take the first step, no matter how terrible it is.

3.     Create your life: Don’t worry I’m not going all pseudo life guru on you. What I mean by this is don’t subscribe to the expected or the normal that society entrains you to believe in. If you enjoy reading and writing, do more of that in your life. If you enjoy teaching, find a way to do more of that. If you don’t curate your own life, no one else will