benefits of fermented foods article

Health Benefits of Fermented Foods

December 19, 2016. Health Benefits of Fermented Foods: Microbiota and Beyond was published today as an outcome from a discussion group led by Bob Hutkins PhD and Maria Marco PhD at the 2016 ISAPP meeting. This paper explores the health benefits attributed to both the microbes and the transformations they bring about in the making […]

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It Needn’t End Up Toxic

December 2016. By Gregor Reid PhD FRSC, Lawson Health Research Institute and Western University, London, Canada –  November was a dramatic month with the shock Trump US Presidential victory, Earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan, and the “Prophet of Doom” in South Africa finally brought to justice for spraying pesticides in the faces of the […]

probiotics and fermented foods flow cytometry

Alive or active? Active and alive! Flow cytometry has arrived.

November 8, 2016. By Bruno Pot, PhD, Vrije Universiteit Brussels, Belgium – Probiotics need to be alive and confer health benefits for the host (Hill et al. 2014; FAO/WHO 2001). There are no further specifications as to the mechanisms underpinning these health effects. A large number of papers currently describe the wide diversity of the probiotic […]

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ISAPP publishes probiotic recommendations for at-risk populations

November 10, 2016. – ISAPP, in collaboration with IPA, publishes paper on use of probiotics in at-risk populations. This paper gives healthcare providers information about using probiotic dietary supplements in at-risk populations. Probiotics should be used in cases where the research shows a benefit for patient populations. But we need to work with industry to […]

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A Tipping Point for Probiotic Use? A Clinician’s Perspective

November 2016. By Daniel Merenstein, MD, Georgetown University Medical Center – As a clinician and clinical researcher in the probiotic field, I am beginning to think we have reached a tipping point for clinical use of probiotics. This month, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) published three articles dealing with probiotics. I heard […]

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Consumer Reports: Helping or Hurting Consumers?

October 2016. By Mary Ellen Sanders, PhD, Executive Science Officer ISAPP – In July, a well-respected source of unbiased product ratings, Consumer Reports (CR), published a damning article on dietary supplements. The article begins with an account of a premature infant who died from intestinal mucormycosis believed to be caused by a mold contained in […]

Gregor Reid, ISAPP Board of Directors

Reid Named Fellow of Royal Society of Canada

Prof. Gregor Reid, PhD, a founding board member of ISAPP, a former President of ISAPP and the current advisor to the ISAPP Students and Fellows Association (SFA), was recently named a Fellow by the Royal Society of Canada.  This honor was bestowed by his peers in recognition of outstanding scientific achievement. Prof. Reid has been […]

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Got gas? Blame it on your bacteria

September 2016. By Prof. Robert Hutkins, PhD – When I tell friends and family that I study gut bacteria and gut health, the most frequent question I am asked is why some foods cause intestinal gas.   The next question is almost always whether or not gas is such a bad thing. Bloating, constipation, indigestion, and […]

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ISAPP files comments with the FDA on their partial stay of sections of their guidance for INDs

June 28, 2016 – ISAPP disagrees with the approach FDA has taken to address their overreach of requiring investigational new drug applications for most human research on foods or supplements in the United States. In response to criticism of their 2014 final guidance, Determining Whether Human Research Studies Can Be Conducted Without an Investigational New Drug Application, the FDA filed […]

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European Union ruling may interfere with communication about probiotics and prebiotics

July 25, 2016 – A European Union court ruling may impede direct communication on scientific substantiation of health benefits of (probiotic and prebiotic) foods to healthcare providers. From the Court ruling:  “Article 1(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods, as amended […]