August 08, 2017
As you may have seen in the news lately, there is national concern about the plight of the honey bee. Honey bees are responsible for more than just the local honey sold at farmer’s markets. You might call them ambassadors of agriculture. They are one of the most important natural assets in existence because they pollinate crops all over the world whether they are growing in your garden or are part of the seasonal harvest for farmers. The American Beekeeping Federation explains that around one-third of the food you and your family eat relates in some way to honey bee.... [Read More...]
The post Probiotics Could Help Honey Bees Exposed to Pesticides appeared first on Natren Probiotics Blog.
May 29, 2017
It might surprise you to know that the zebrafish is becoming the go-to model species for neurobehavioral studies. This is why researchers at the University of Missouri turned to this tropical freshwater member of the minnow family to determine if probiotics offered any help to people dealing with anxiety. Probiotics are proven effective in many avenues of health, especially when it comes to digestion. More and more, medical science is making connections between gut microbiota and the central nervous system, as well, which is where the little zebrafish comes into play. Why Zebrafish? In biological studies, zebrafish provide some real.... [Read More...]
The post What do Zebrafish, Probiotics and Stress Have in Common? New Research! appeared first on Natren Probiotics Blog.
January 11, 2016
It’s been a while since we mentioned probiotics in the animal kingdom, so to BEEgin the New Year, we want to let you know about an exciting project taken on by a team of 20 engineering and science students who spent their summer developing a probiotic for honey bees, which they’ve coined “pro-bee-otic”. Honeybees pollinate more than $15 billion worth of crops in the U.S. every year and similar to some of the animal topics we’ve written about, they’re dying off in alarming rates. It’s alarming because we rely on the honeybees for our food. According to the USDA, one.... [Read More...]
The post Can Honeybees Benefit from Probiotics? appeared first on Natren Probiotics Blog.
September 21, 2015
Ever since we wrote how probiotics are helping save endangered Chinese Panda Bears and fish, we’ve stumbled upon even more interesting research on how probiotics may help the animal kingdom – this time it’s about how probiotics may help save frogs from extinction! Why do we want to save frogs? Whether they are endangered or threatened, these slippery, slimy amphibians need to be protected just as much as the pandas and fish. They’re definitely not as cute as pandas, nor are they a major food source, at least not here in the U.S. like trout or salmon, but they’re very.... [Read More...]
The post Can Probiotic Bacteria Save an Endangered Frog? appeared first on Natren Probiotics Blog.
August 24, 2015
The benefits of probiotics have been flooding the news for several years, but it’s not been until fairly recently that we’ve started to read about their many benefits in the animal kingdom. Last month, we wrote how scientists discovered that by supplementing Panda Bears with probiotics, they ate significantly less of their staple bamboo diet. This is a tremendous finding especially when bamboo is scarce, as it not only helps them to better adapt to their environment, but also potentially saves them from extinction. Another really important article was published even more recently on probiotics being fed to salmon and.... [Read More...]
The post There’s Nothing Fishy about Probiotics appeared first on Natren Probiotics Blog.
July 06, 2015
An interesting article came across our desk recently about a group of scientists studying the metabolic pattern of the giant Panda Bear in relation to their food source, and the findings were quite unexpected. Giant pandas are black and white Chinese bears and they’re becoming an endangered species. Eating exclusively bamboo, they have the most specialized diet of any of the bear family. Analyzing the pandas’ fecal matter, the scientists revealed they were missing two essential gut microbes, Ruminococcaceae and Bacteroides. These are plant-degrading bacteria found in the guts of bears. This puts the pandas in a dilemma, according to the.... [Read More...]
The post Could Probiotics Save Panda Bears? appeared first on Natren Probiotics Blog.
October 21, 2013
There is a growing appreciation for the health benefits of probiotics for both adults and children, but did you know that probiotics are also important for the health of our furry family members? Holistic veterinarians have been supporting their animal patients’ gastrointestinal health with probiotics for pets and livestock for years. As in humans, the gastrointestinal tract of an animal is home to a diverse population of beneficial bacteria that help maintain general health and wellness. The proper balance of healthy bacteria is very important to dogs, cats, livestock, and even birds. A pet with a healthy, well functioning.... [Read More...]
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