Health experts urged the public to maintain a healthy balance between “good” and “bad” bacteria in their bodies after a study showed that Taiwanese have more bad bacteria in their digestive system than people in other Asian countries.
The study, released on Thursday by the Association for Lactic Acid Bacteria (TALAB), found that Taiwanese schoolchildren have up to 30 times more Escherichia coli and 15 times more Clostridium perfringens — two of the “bad” bacteria — than kids of the same age in Japan.
The report said that E coli and C perfringens are two common microbes that can directly or indirectly cause gastroenteritis and a slew of other digestive tract infections.
On the other hand, Taiwanese schoolchildren only have between one-third and one-fifth of the “good” bacteria Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium compared with their peers in Japan, the study showed.
Association officials said that since the bacterial composition of adults is likely to be similar to that of children, the public should take steps to ensure a healthy balance of microorganisms in their bodies.
The study was conducted among children aged eight to 10, in 10 cities in five Asian countries, said Tsai Ying-chieh (蔡英傑), a professor of microbiology and honorary chairman of the association.
Research teams collected stool samples and used DNA testing to screen for microorganism species, Tsai said.
“We found that Taiwanese children have all the major aggregate problems of populations in other Asian cities. In comparison with Japan, we found that Taiwanese children have much lower good bacteria, as well as a wider variety of microbe species, than Japanese children,” he said.
Besides E coli and C perfringens, more than 50 percent of Taiwanese have Helicobacter pylori, the bacteria responsible for stomach and duodenal ulcers, Tsai said.
More than 1.42 million people in Taiwan were treated for these two conditions last year, Tsai added.
Daily eating habits and physical activity are critical to maintaining a healthy balance of good and bad bacteria, he said.
“A large number of Taiwanese eat out. People here also tend to have ‘predator eating habits’ — oil-fried, barbecued or roasted food, dishes high in fat content, and lots of meat, but few vegetables and fruit,” Tsai said.
“This is compounded by stress from daily life and work. Many people ignore the importance of normal bowel movement. Once the bad bacteria outnumber the good ones, people’s intestinal microbial ecology becomes imbalanced and they become more susceptible to gastroenteritis, digestive diseases or even colorectal cancer,” he added.
Formosa Cancer Foundation joined the association in raising public awareness about the importance of taking good care of one’s body.
Foundation chief executive Lai Chi-ming (賴基銘) said stomach and colorectal cancers have affected an increasing number of Taiwanese over the past 10 years, and the trend is still rising.
Lai urged people to eat at least five types of vegetables and fruit each day, cut down on meat consumption and exercise more.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai