Latest news with #SaintLouisUniversity
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The No. 1 sign you're not eating enough fiber, according to a dietitian
Fiber is the unsung hero in our food, quietly supporting digestion, heart health and blood sugar stability. Yet, despite its importance, a staggering 95% of Americans fall short of the recommended daily intake of 25-38 grams. Chronically low fiber intake can cause digestion, cholesterol, hunger and weight management issues. But neglecting fiber for even a few days can affect your health and cause an uncomfortable and unfortunate side effect: constipation. If you're not sure how much fiber you really need and whether you're getting enough, read on to learn more about this important nutrient. Your digestive system will thank you. Fiber adds bulk to stool and helps it retain water, facilitating smooth passage through the digestive tract. Without adequate fiber, your bowels move slowly, leading to discomfort and straining. There are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber dissolves in water and helps transport waste through the gut. 'Soluble fiber will swell in water, and will make the meal move more slowly through the intestines,' Whitney Linsenmeyer, Ph.D., assistant professor at Saint Louis University and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, previously told In doing so 'glucose molecules will get trapped in the fiber gel and get absorbed more slowly into the bloodstream,' said Linsenmeyer. The slow absorption of glucose contributes to blood sugar control. Insoluble fiber adds bulk to the stool and aids in the transport of food through the colon. Insoluble fiber also helps you feel full, controls appetite and plays a part in weight management. Both types of fiber are found in whole plant foods, like fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, legumes, nuts and seeds. Diets rich in animal products and processed foods tend to be lower in fiber. Clearly, fiber is vital for regular and healthy bowel movements, but most Americans only eat about 16 grams per day, a little over 50% of the daily value. The most pressing and common side effect of skimping on fiber is constipation. The clinical definition of constipation is: having fewer than three bowel movements per week, stool that is difficult to pass, or hard or dry stools. But everyone has different bowel movements, and only you know what is abnormal for your body. In addition to the No. 1 sign of constipation, a chronic low fiber diet can also have these side effects: Frequent hunger: Fiber-rich foods promote satiety and stabilize blood sugar. If you find yourself hungry or tired soon after meals, it might be due to low fiber consumption. Elevated cholesterol levels: Soluble fiber binds to cholesterol in the digestive system and helps clear it from the body, which lowers LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. Difficulty losing weight: High-fiber foods keep you fuller longer and prevent overeating later in the day. The constant hunger that accompanies a low-fiber diet contributes to weight issues. If you've increased your fiber intake but still experience chronic constipation, consult a health care professional. Chronic constipation may indicate an underlying health condition that requires medical attention. Incorporating more fiber into your diet shouldn't be difficult. Here are some simple dietitian-approved tips for eating more fiber: Start your day with oats, like oatmeal or muesli. Oats have a special fiber called beta-glucan, which has been shown to lower cholesterol. Snack on a high-fiber fruit, like a pear. One pear has 20% of your daily fiber needs. Replace refined grains with healthy whole-grains like quinoa, bulgur, or whole-wheat pasta or bread. Add beans and legumes to your diet. Beans, lentils and chickpeas can be easily tossed into salads, soups and main dishes, like tacos, burgers and casseroles. Prioritizing fiber in your diet is a simple yet effective way to support overall health and keep your digestive tract running smoothly. By recognizing the signs of a fiber deficiency and making conscious dietary choices, you may prevent short and long-term health article was originally published on
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Get paid $3,425 to get the flu at SLU clinical trial
ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis University wants to pay you to catch the flu. The university's Center for Vaccine Development is recruiting people for a study into pre-existing flu immunity in healthy adults. 'By the time we are adults, we have been infected with the flu many times,' said Daniel Hoft, M.D., Ph.D., director of SLU's Vaccine Center and principal investigator of the study. 'While we have learned a lot about how the flu infects people, it is hard to know exactly when someone is exposed to the flu, and what happens early on after they are exposed to the flu but before they become sick.' Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now The vaccine center will recruit 12 healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 45 who have not received a vaccine within 30 days prior to enrolling in the study. Participants will be infected with influenza A H3N2 virus via a nasal spray and stay at the university's Extended Stay Research Unit for at least 10 days. Researchers will test the participants' antibodies both before and after receiving the nasal spray to see how their immune systems respond. The subjects cannot leave until discharged and visitors will not be permitted. Participants must live within 60 miles of St. Louis. 'Flu 'challenge' studies, where we give a strain of the flu virus to a participant, allow us to follow people closely before and after infection. We learn about the flu virus and the body's reaction to it,' Holt said. 'This study may help us to design better flu vaccines or better drugs to treat the flu.' Participants will be compensated for their time and receive up to $3,425 for all study visits and phone calls. Anyone interested in participating in the clinical trial should contact the SLU Center for Vaccine Development at 314-977-6333 or by email at vaccine@ The clinical trial is funded by Saint Louis University's Stephen C. Peiper and Zi-Xuan Wang Institute for Vaccine Science and Policy. The institute was launched in 2020 following a significant financial investment from the couple. Peiper is a graduate of the SLU School of Medicine (Class of 1977). Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hindustan Times
20-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
HT interview: Over 2,000 Indian students call SLU home, says Robert Reddy, Interim VP, Saint Louis University
During his recent visit to India, HT Digital caught up with Robert Reddy, Interim Vice President for Enrollment Management at Saint Louis University (SLU), USA. He spoke about the university's strong connection with Indian students, popular STEM programs, scholarship offerings, and how SLU ensures international students feel at home. Reddy: SLU is a Catholic Jesuit university, but you don't have to be Catholic or even religious to study here. What sets us apart is our commitment to cura personalis — care for the whole person. Education at SLU is not just about academics, but also about personal, spiritual, and emotional development. We focus on nurturing globally responsible individuals. Reddy: About five years ago, we made a focused effort to internationalise our campus. India was one of our first major outreach markets. Today, international students make up about 20% of our student body, and a majority of them are from India. We now have over 2,000 Indian students across our two campuses — St. Louis and Madrid. Reddy: We don't presume what international students need — we ask them. For example, Indian students told us that celebrating cultural events was important to them. Now, our Holi celebrations have become major campus-wide events, growing from 500 to over 1,100 participants, including non-Indian students. There's also strong Indian community support in the surrounding area — a new Indian supermarket just opened near campus, and we've even added Indian cuisine to our dining options. Reddy: At the graduate level, which sees more Indian enrolment, the most popular programs are in STEM fields — computer science, data analytics, cybersecurity, AI, and engineering. Public health and project management are also in demand. Undergraduate interests are more diverse, including health sciences and humanities. Reddy: Over 90% of eligible international students secure OPT positions after graduation. Degree completion rates are also high, well above 90%. We're proud of our employer satisfaction rates, which are also over 90%. These are strong indicators that our graduates are prepared and performing well. Reddy: Most master's programs cost around $42,000 total, which can be completed in three to four semesters. Many students prefer the accelerated 13-month track to reduce living expenses. We offer merit-based scholarships ranging from 10% to over 40% off tuition. While the top bracket is competitive, many students receive aid in the 15–25% range. Reddy: Yes, starting this fall, we're piloting a work program for about 165 international master's students. The program allows them to work 8–10 hours a week on campus to help with living expenses. It's not meant to replace scholarships but to ease some day-to-day costs. Reddy: SLU is located in St. Louis, Missouri, a mid-sized American city that offers everything from cultural and professional opportunities to excellent medical facilities. It's big enough to provide resources, but small enough not to feel overwhelming. Students can easily find Indian groceries, restaurants, and community groups, making it easier to adjust and feel at home.
Business Journals
15-05-2025
- Science
- Business Journals
How Posie Pots founder Kay Wells makes plant care easier with 3D printing technology
Covered in dirt and mosquito bites, Kay Wells knew there had to be a better way. Not long after moving back to St. Louis in 2012, Wells, who was working in the aerospace sector at the time, decided to start digging in her garden — until the mosquitoes arrived. 'I was fresh from California, with no bug spray, shorts and a T-shirt,' Wells remembers. 'I look down and there was a scene of mosquitoes tearing me up. I ran inside and in an instant was like, 'I only need to water my plants once a month.' It was this obsession, idea and creation, all in that moment.' Armed with some 30-gallon storage totes, PVC plumbing tubes and Computer Aided Drafting software, Wells got to work fashioning grow boxes. In the first, she grew a two-foot-tall tomato plant; in the second, five bushels of asparagus. Those would soon become the prototypes for Posie Pots, Wells' line of innovative self-watering planters now made on 3D printers. Posie Pots combines Wells' lifelong passion for horticulture with her professional background in mechanical and manufacturing engineering. She holds bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from Saint Louis University and Missouri Institute of Science & Technology, respectively, and has worked in product development, R&D and six sigma methodologies for Amazon, Bayer and Boeing, among other companies. 'I've always had a very deep and intense curiosity for aerospace, aeronautics and really overall design — how we as human beings can create something that did not exist before,' Wells says. 'I learned all about rapid prototyping, 3D printing, additive manufacturing and composite engineering. I knew everything about materials science, how structures and strengths come together and also the art in it — how to make it aesthetically beautiful and pleasing, how air actually flows in and out of different angles and concave and convex curves and all of these different mathematical equations. Art meets science meets gardening with the Posie Pot.' Wells spent five years on R&D before acquiring her first 3D printer in 2018 and officially launching Posie Pots the next year. Her planters feature a patented water system that helps with drainage, aeration and circulation of the plant's root system so that plants only need to be watered once a month. Posie Pots require just one third of the soil and 95% less water than a typical pot, making them less susceptible to pests, root bound and root rot. expand In 2022, Posie Pots was named to the third cohort of the University of Missouri–St. Louis' Anchor Accelerator. She received $50,000 in non-dilutive funding and an eight-week business development program that enabled her to scale the business by buying more 3D printers to increase production, expanding marketing efforts and broadening Posie Pots' footprint outside of St. Louis. Wells has continued to find support from St. Louis' startup community in the years since. In 2024, the company was named to the first cohort of Saint Louis University's New Venture Accelerator, which gave it the opportunity to receive up to $50,000 in non-dilutive funding and mentorship. Later that year, Posie Pots received $75,000 in non-dilutive funding from Arch Grants. Wells says the support from the St. Louis community has been vital to the success of Posie Pots, which are available for sale on the brand's website and through retailers, including the gift shop at the Missouri History Museum and Dierbergs Markets. All of the pots are produced in Wells' space in the Wellston Business Incubator. Wells is also working closely with the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Center St. Louis to advance her 3D printing work, including a giveback component working with students and the community. She has also partnered with Lincoln University of Missouri's St. Louis Urban Impact Center to teach kids about 3D printing, CAD software and plant science. In 2024, Wells was selected as one of 500 entrepreneurs out of nearly 15,000 applicants across the country to be invited to Walmart's 11th-annual Open Call pitch event. Posie Pots are currently available for sale on the Walmart website and in 100 Walmart stores; the more items Wells sells, the greater her chances of securing a permanent placement with the retailer. But while Posie Pots continues to grow across the country, Wells remains firmly rooted in St. Louis. In 2023, her pots were featured on Good Morning America's 'Deals & Steals' segment, and Wells was particularly thrilled to hear host Tory Johnson note that the pots were 'made in America — St. Louis, to be specific.' STLMade is a movement within the St. Louis metro that shines a light on the amazing things our innovative, tenacious, big-hearted people are doing. It's supported by a region-wide collaboration of residents, local leaders, institutions, organizations, businesses and nonprofits helping to tell our story — that St. Louis is a place where you can start up, stand out and stay.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
SLU President signs public statement condemning Trump administration
ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis University President Fred Pestello and hundreds of higher-education leaders have signed a public statement condemning President Donald Trump's administration. The statement, titled 'A Call for Constructive Engagement,' comes as higher education leaders warn of 'unprecedented government overreach and political interference,' threats they say endanger the future of American higher education. Pestello was one of more than 300 higher-education presidents to sign the statement. According to the Associated Press, the Trump administration is withholding billions in federal funding from universities in response to pro-Palestinian demonstrations, urging schools to align more closely with the administration's political agenda. 'We are open to constructive reform and do not oppose legitimate government oversight,' the statement reads. 'However, we must oppose undue government intrusion in the lives of those who learn, live and work on our campuses.' The statement marks the first collective response from sitting university presidents since the beginning of Trump's second presidential term. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
