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If you, along with many others, have ever dealt with day-ruining digestive health issues (ahem: constipation and gas) and had to unbutton your pants after eating out (hello bloating), you may want to ask yourself: “should I be taking a probiotic? The answer is YES. Nathalie Rhone gives us the lowdown on the obvious and not-so-obvious clues that our digestive system could use a lift from a probiotic. Okay, so when you’re dealing with bloating (or worse) shortly after mealtime, the gut-and-wellness connection is pretty obvious. But, when your body is sending you hints that your gut is out of balance through...

  A new study has found that taking probiotics during pregnancy could lower a woman’s risk of preterm birth and preeclampsia, a complication characterized by high blood pressure. Published in the journal BMJ Open, researchers analyzed data from over 70,000 births in Norway and found taking probiotics — especially the period of time in the pregnancy when they were taken — was beneficial. It was found that probiotic milk consumption in late pregnancy was associated with a 20-per-cent reduced risk of preeclampsia, while it accounted for an 11-per-cent lower risk of preterm birth when taken in early pregnancy and a 27-per-cent lowered risk when taken in late pregnancy. The women studied consumed...

A new review of research into fish oil consumption in pregnant women has found that eating fish and taking supplements are both equally likely to protect children from developing asthma. Carried out by researchers at the University of South Florida in Tampa, the scientific review looked at two studies before concluding that children whose mothers consumed high-dose omega-3 fatty acids daily during the 3rd trimester, whether from fish or supplements, were less likely to develop breathing problems. The first study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, looked at 346 pregnant women in their 3rd trimester who took omega-3...