Use prebiotics to de-stress

A list of movies said to be in pre-production sounds like a formula for disaster: “Black Hole,” “Rampage,” “Uncharted,” “Monster.” But a list of prebiotics – well, that’s a setup for feeling calm and sleeping well, according to the latest lab study published in the BMJ’s Archives of Disease in Childhood.

Researchers in Spain and Scotland tested the ability of a prebiotic protein, lactoferrin, to reverse stress-response damage to your gut biome and to see whether it could help restore normal sleep patterns, which can be disrupted by stressful events. It seems that cranked-up levels of stress hormones and other stress-related physiological responses, affecting everything from blood flow to the innate immune system, can make it hard for healthy gut bacteria to thrive.

Their discovery: Although you get most of your prebiotics from nondigestible fiber found in veggies, cereals like steel-cut oats and beans, both lactoferrin and nondigestible fiber nurture beneficial gut bacteria and protect you and your gut bugs from stress-induced disruptions. That helps explain just how soothing mother’s milk can be to an infant (breast milk is packed with lactoferrin; cow’s milk ranks No. 2) and why prebiotics are essential for overall good health and a good night’s sleep throughout your life.

So here’s a preview of the prebiotics that’ll help you sleep well and keep your stress response in check.

Veggies: Jerusalem artichokes, garlic, onions, leeks, asparagus, beets, fennel, green peas, Savoy cabbage, legumes

Fruits: nectarines, white peaches, persimmon, watermelon, grapefruit, pomegranate

Nuts and seeds: cashews, pistachios

Hip-spine pain syndrome

When African-American songwriter James Weldon Johnson and (perhaps) his brother J. Rosamond Johnson penned the spiritual “Dem Bones,” they wrote: “The thigh bone’s connected to the hip bone/Hip bone’s connected to the back bone.”

True enough! Just ask folks with what’s called complex hip-spine syndrome. They have lower-back and hip pain with no clear source of their discomfort.

Researchers from New York University’s Langone Medical Center in New York City suggest a checklist for determining whether low-back pain that radiates to the butt, groin, thigh and even knees starts with problems in the hip or the spine.

They recommend doctors take a detailed medical history and assess a person’s gait and range of motion through the back and hips. Then look at posture, lower limb and spine alignment, check for limb length discrepancy, previous surgery scars and use scans to get more info.

If you’re suffering from lower-back pain that lasts more than six weeks (most lower-back pain is due to muscle strain that affects the nerves and goes away within six weeks), discuss those diagnostic steps with your doc.

The causes of hip-spine syndrome include arthritis in the hip, a blockage of blood flow in the hip, a stress fracture or a tear in cartilage around that joint. If the spine is the trigger, it may be from a herniated disc, pinched nerve, narrowed spinal canal or joint problems in the sacroiliac.

Fortunately, there are effective treatments for hip and spine pain, including acupuncture, physical therapy, medications and surgery.

Great grains

Going with the grain can help your health take wings.

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. You’ll likely feel the difference, and we predict you’ll become a grain fanatic.

New immunization guidelines

The 2017 immunization 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.)

1. For the Hepatitis B vaccine: The birth dose of HepB should be administered within 24 hours of birth.

2. For human papillomavirus 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.

3. For the flu vaccine: Live attenuated influenza vaccine has been removed from the schedule. Hiberix has been added to the list of vaccines that may be used for the primary vaccination series.

4. For the meningococcal vaccine: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 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.”

This story was originally published March 5, 2017 at 7:37 PM with the headline "Use prebiotics to de-stress."