Health & WellnessS


Fish

Your brain on omega 3

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One of the major differences between our post-industrial diets and the evolutionary and traditional foods of our past is in the kinds of fat we eat. One huge change has to do with the polyunsaturated fatty acids (or PUFAs), which come in several varieties, but most commonly omega 6 and omega 3. PUFAs are "essential fats," meaning we can't make them from other types of food, and we must eat them. However, never in the history of humankind have we eaten novel omega 6 fatty acids in such massive quantities.

Corn oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, cottonseed oil, peanut oil and/or soybean oil are ingredients in pretty much all processed food. Just check the list on the back of breakfast cereals, bread and other baked goods, fried items, salad dressings, margarine, mayonnaise, and sauces. Vegetable oils are used (along with canola oil) in the fryers at most restaurants. They are cheap and relatively tasteless, which make them perfect for certain industrial and restaurant food applications. They are also universally high in omega 6 fatty acids, and therefore we eat a ton of them in the Western diet, especially since throwing out butter, lard, and beef tallow 30-40 years ago.

Why does it matter if we eat lots of vegetable oil? Omega 6 PUFAs are used by the body to make certain hormones and signaling molecules. Roughly speaking, the omega 6s are the precursors for many of the molecules that make up our body's inflammatory response. As an example - the omega 6 linoleic acid (corn oil is mostly linoleic acid) is a precursor for many molecules, but among them the prostaglandins that the enzymes COX-1 and COX-2 work on. If you have ever taken ibuprofen or another NSAID painkiller, you have blocked the effects of COX-1 and COX-2, decreasing inflammation and therefore the easing experience of swelling and pain in the body. If you want the nitty gritty details, Wikipedia has a very good and understandable review of these inflammatory signaling molecules.

Here's the real problem - too much inflammation mediated by a high dietary percentage of the omega 6 fatty acid linoleic acid can be reasonably associated with coronary vascular disease, insulin resistance, cancer, hypothyroidism and other autoimmune diseases, thrombotic stroke, headaches, asthma, arthritis, depression, and psychosis. So you can see that such a massive change in our diets in the short term of the past 50-70 years could potentially have equally massive effects on our health.

Gold Seal

Best of the Web: The REAL source of cavities and gum disease

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Prehistoric Man Had Much Healthier Teeth and Gums than Modern Humans

Our modern stereotype is that - until recently - people were plagued with rotting teeth, cavities and gum disease.

But the truth is that prehistoric people had much better oral health than we do today.

As NPR reports:

Ambulance

Flu epidemics have killed 50 million people

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American policeman wearing a mask to protect himself from Spanish flu, ca. 1918.
Despite gaps in the historical record, it is believed that flu pandemics have occurred throughout human history, when especially nasty strains of influenza virus spread far and wide, sometimes affecting humanity on a global scale.

In the past 100 years, four flu pandemics have spread across the earth. It is estimated that the worst of these pandemics killed 50 million people, and the other outbreaks, while less serious, have still left millions dead.

While flu season appears to be winding down this year, it remains a serious disease that has wreaked havoc on humanity in the past century. Here is a look at each of those pandemics.

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© en.wikipedia.org
1918 - 1919, "The Spanish Flu"

According to flu.gov, the 1918 strain of the flu infected between 20 and 40 percent of the worldwide population and killed approximately 50 million people - with nearly 675,000 dying in the United States alone. The pandemic was also notable for disproportionately striking down the young and healthy - as opposed to other flu strains, which are typically most dangerous to the very old and very young.

The disease was so exceptionally deadly that there was originally, according to the CDC, debate that the disease was even the flu at all, and the disease struck in three "unprecedented" waves in 1918 and 1919, with only brief intervals between them.

Comment: Some scientists suspect that flu epidemics may be the result of viruses from outer space coming from dust deposited high in the atmosphere by passing comets:

Leading astrophysicists: Flu viruses arrive here on comets from outer space
New Light on the Black Death: The Viral and Cosmic Connection


Attention

Plastic packaging containing chemical BPA 'harming brain and nerve cell growth in babies'

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A chemical widely used in plastic packaging and food containers may be toxic to the central nervous system by interfering with a key gene involved in the development of nerve cells, a study suggests.

Scientists have found that bisphenol A (BPA), which is used in a variety of consumer products ranging from fizzy-drink cans to food mixers, affects the function of a gene called Kcc2 which is involved in the growth of neurons, or nerve cells, in the brain and spinal cord.

The study, based on rats and human neurons grown in the laboratory, found female nerve cells more susceptible to BPA than male neurons. This might explain why certain neurodevelopmental disorders in humans are more common in females, such as Rett syndrome, a severe form of autism found only in girls, the scientists said.

Comment: For more information about the correlation between 'BPA and a higher incidence of certain health concerns' read the following articles:

President's Cancer Panel Warns of Toxic Effects of BPA
Study: Human Exposure to BPA 'Grossly Underestimated'
BPA Report Details Chemical's Hazards
Human Placenta Cells Die After BPA Exposure
BPA Should Be Avoided, Federal Official Says
The Real Story Behind Bisphenol A


Syringe

IV Drips the latest rage but safety is questionable

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New Yorkers get hooked up to IVs for a sunburns, hangovers, and even a quick energy boost, but is receiving intravenous medication for a common ailment a good idea?

Most people might expect to see IV drips in hospitals, and emergency rooms, but they are routinely showing up in spa settings as well.

"You walk in and you get it and you're relaxing in a chair," Valerie Yost said.

Yost, a patient at an IV clinic, recently told CBS 2′s Kristine Johnson that she was looking for an energy boost.

"When you walk out you're just fresh and ready for what the day brings you," she said.

Other patients said they hope that the combination of vitamins and minerals will help cure their exhaustion.

"I've been really feeling very fatigued," Elwanda Young said.

Yost and Young are part of a growing trend of people who seek out customized, intravenous cocktails at wellness centers and spas across the country. Experts told CBS 2 that the formula of vitamins and minerals could provide instant relief for a number of ailments.

"It's applicable to many different ailments; dehydration, sunburns, poor nutrition, extreme activity, or even hangovers," said Dr. Johnny Parvani of Reviv Medical Spa.

Experts say IV therapy was introduced 50 years ago. Today it is used as a complimentary treatment for everything from arthritis to asthma, Dr. Marcia Harris explained.

Cheesecake

Sugar is behind global explosion in type 2 diabetes, study finds

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© Wolfgang Flamisch/Zefa/CorbisThe study provides evidence that 'not all calories are equal from a diabetes risk standpoint', researchers said.
Researchers say link between consumption of sugar and diabetes is independent from obesity

Sugar is behind the global explosion in type 2 diabetes, say researchers who claim it plays a uniquely damaging role in causing a disease that experts fear could overwhelm the NHS.

Obesity is usually cited as the main driver of diabetes. But a new study by US medical researchers identifies sugar as a predictor of diabetes separately from obesity.

The findings, published in the scientific journal Plos One, do not claim that sugar causes obesity. But they are significant because they pinpoint it as being closely associated with diabetes, a disease that at least 2.7 million Britons already have.

Researchers led by Sanjay Basu, an assistant professor at Stanford University school of medicine, examined the availability of sugar and diabetes rates from 175 countries worldwide over the last decade.

"We're not diminishing the importance of obesity at all, but these data suggest that at a population level there are additional factors that contribute to diabetes risk besides obesity and total calorie intake, and that sugar appears to play a prominent role," said Basu.

Cheesecake

Cancer & Sugar - Strategy for selective starvation of cancer

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According to researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, sugar poses a health risk - contributing to around 35 million deaths globally each year. So high is sugar's toxicity that it should now be considered a potentially toxic substance like alcohol and tobacco. Its link with the onset of diabetes is such that punitive regulations, such as a tax on all foods and drinks that contain "added'' sugar, are now warranted, the researchers concluded. They also recommend banning sales in or near schools, as well as placing age limits on the sale of such products.

Sugar's harmful effects do not stop at diabetes, metabolic syndrome, hyper- and hypoglycemia, GERD and heart disease. Sugar and cancer are locked in a death grip, yet oncologists often fail to do what's necessary to stop their patients from feeding their cancers with sweets.

Whereas many within the mainstream medical community insist on promoting the belief that the link between certain types of food with an increased risk of cancer is "weak" or only "nominally significant." They believe that research "linking foodstuffs to cancer reveals no valid medical patterns." We also find such superficial attitudes promoted in the medical press - all of which lack any kind of medical depth.

Life Preserver

Wheat and endometriosis

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Female followers of the Wheat Belly arguments who have endometriosis often report marked relief with wheat elimination. I, too, have witnessed this, though it is outside of my day-to-day experience (in heart issues).

There is a recent study that, while retrospective, suggests that the success we have been observing is not an accident. Here's what they found (full abstract here):
Gluten-free diet: a new strategy for management of painful endometriosis related symptoms?
Marziali M, Venza M, Lazzaro S, Lazzaro A, Micossi C, Stolfi VM.

Pelvic pain affects 4% to 39% of women and accounts for 10-40% of all outpatient gynecologic visits. The etiology of painful endometriosis has not been fully delineated. No studies have been published concerning gluten-free diet administered to achieved relief of painful symptoms endometriosis-related. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the effectiveness for the outcomes of endometriosis-related pain and quality of life of gluten-free diet in a follow-up of 12 months in patients with chronic pelvic pain endometriosis-related.

Two hundred seven patients with severe painful endometriosis-related symptoms entered the study. At enrollment, the baseline values of painful symptoms were assessed by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for dysmenorrhoea [painful menses], non-menstrual pelvic pain, and dyspareunia [painful sexual intercourse]. According to VAS, pain severity was scored from 0-10; 0 indicating the absence of pain, and 1-4, 5-7 and 8-10 mild, moderate and severe, respectively. A gluten-free diet was submitted to all patients and a new evaluation was performed after 12 months of diet. Student's t-test was used for statistical analysis.

At 12 month follow-up, 156 patients (75%) reported statistically significant change in painful symptoms (P<0.005), 51 patients (25%) reported not improvement of symptoms. No patients reported worsening of pain. A considerable increase of scores for all domains of physical functioning, general health perception, vitality, social functioning, and mental health was observed in all patients (P<0.005).

Conclusion: In our experience, painful symptoms of endometriosis decrease after 12 months of gluten free diet.

Heart - Black

Common colds tied to short telomeres

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A shorter telomere was associated with a 50% increased risk for developing cold symptoms.
The latest, and most likely program theory of aging is the telomere shortening theory. Telomeres are the end-cap segments of DNA (our genetic material). Each time a cell replicates, a small piece of DNA is taken off the end of the chromosome. The shorter the telomere gets, the more it affects gene expression. The result is cellular aging and an increased risk for immune dysfunction, heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and other degenerative diseases.

Background information

The key to extending maximal human lifespan will ultimately involve preserving or restoring telomere length to the DNA (as well as decreasing chromosomal damage, cellular oxidation and many other factors). Several measures have already been shown to achieve this goal:
  • Simply adopting a comprehensive dietary and lifestyle change consistent with good health has been shown to preserve telomere length.
  • Physical exercise has been shown to be associated with preserving telomere length.
  • Meditation has been shown to preserve telomere length by reducing the negative effects of stress.
  • Higher vitamin D levels are associated with longer telomeres
  • Since levels of inflammatory markers in the blood correlate with telomere shortening, natural strategies that reduce inflammation are very important in reducing the rate of telomere shortening.

Life Preserver

Missed, wrong diagnoses common in primary care putting patients at risk of serious complications

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Missed or wrong diagnoses are common in primary care and may put some patients at risk of serious complications, according to a U.S. study.

Mistakes in surgery and medication prescribing have been at the center of patient safety efforts, but researchers whose findings appeared in JAMA Internal Medicine said less attention has been paid to missed diagnoses in the doctor's office.

Because of how common they are, those errors may lead to more patient injuries and deaths than other mistakes, according to David Newman-Toker from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, who co-wrote a commentary on the study.

"We have every reason to believe that diagnostic errors are a major, major public health problem," Newman-Toker told Reuters Health. "You're really talking about at least 150,000 people per year, deaths or disabilities that are resulting from this problem."

For the study, researchers used electronic health records to track 190 diagnostic errors made during primary care visits at one of two healthcare facilities. In each of those cases, the misdiagnosed patient was hospitalized or turned up back at the office or emergency room within two weeks.

Comment:
Oops! U.S. doctors screw up surprisingly often