Whole grains can strengthen your gut
We’ve known that whole grains boost heart health, and now a tightly controlled study shows that they can help fortify good gut bacteria, strengthen your immune system, reduce inflammation and help you burn more calories.
In the study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, each participant ate the same meals, except one group’s food was made with refined grains while the other’s food used whole grains. After two weeks, people on the whole-grain diet had more diverse gut bacteria; T cells with stronger memories, increasing protection against infection; and were burning more calories while at rest. The grain’s dietary fiber made other calories more digestible.
Do your own experiment, and try these whole grains: amaranth, barley, buckwheat, bulgur wheat, corn, farro, Kamut (a branded form of ancient wheat), millet, oats, brown rice, rye, sorghum, teff, triticale (hybrid of durum wheat and rye) and, of course, whole wheat. NEW IMMUNIZATION GUIDELINES FOR KIDS
There are effective vaccines against many diseases (smallpox was declared eradicated in 1979), and in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issues an annual update to help people use them most effectively. The 2017 advisory for kids and teens is out, and we recommend all the inoculations. (Your chance of having a problem versus preventing a life-threatening disease is one in 40,000.)
For the Hepatitis B vaccine: The birth dose of HepB should be administered within 24 hours of birth.
For human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine: Children 9-10 years old may be vaccinated (even in the absence of a high-risk condition). And the HPV vaccine has been updated to include the new two-dose schedule for persons initiating the HPV vaccination series before age 15. The bivalent HPV vaccine has been removed from the schedule.
For the flu vaccine: Live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) has been removed from the schedule. Hiberix has been added to the list of vaccines that may be used for the primary vaccination series.
For the meningococcal vaccine: The CDC stresses the need for a meningococcal conjugate vaccine booster at age 16.
For an unabridged list of changes, go to www.cdc. gov and search for “2017 Immunization Schedules.” Email questions for Mehmet Oz and Mike Roizen to youdocsdaily@sharecare.com.