Part of the possible connection between diet and mental illness is how a bad diet can lead to a generalized inflammatory state. The theory goes like so: first you eat a ton of vegetable oil in processed food that fills the body with inflammatory molecules derived from the omega-6 fatty acids, then you add a lot of grains or legumes with lectins and immunoreactive proteins, and top it off lots of modern chronic stress. Do this for a long period of time, and your body gets irritated - obesity, cardiovascular disease, and autoimmune diseases are all related to inflammation. Turns out your brain can get pretty irritated too.

It is well known that symptoms of clinical depression are likely mediated by inflammation in the brain. A number of lines of evidence support this idea, including that depressed people, old and young, have elevated levels of certain inflammatory proteins in the plasma and cerebrospinal fluid. Anti-inflammatory agents treat depression, and pharmacologic agents such as interferon, that cause depression, also lead to increases in the inflammatory proteins IL-6 and TNF-alpha. In addition, when someone who is depressed responds to an antidepressant treatment, these same inflammation markers decrease ¹. People with generalized inflammatory syndromes (such as acute viral illness, rheumatoid arthritis, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular disease) have higher rates of depression than the general population too. I also notice in my clinic that people who have had bone surgery tend to get depressed for a few weeks after the operation, more so than people who had other kinds of surgery. I always wonder if sawing through the bones releases an enormous wave of inflammatory cytokines.

. . . or beans, or brown rice, or sweet potatoes? Or how about amaranth, sorghum, oats, and buckwheat? Surely corn on the cob is okay!

These are, of course, non-wheat carbohydrates. They lack several crucial undesirable ingredients found in our old friend, wheat, including no:

• Gliadin - The protein that degrades to exorphins, the compound from wheat digestion that exerts mind effects and stimulates appetite to the tune of 400 additional calories (on average) per day.
• Gluten - The family of proteins that trigger immune diseases and neurologic impairment.
• Amylopectin A - The highly-digestible "complex" carbohydrate that is no better - worse, in fact - than table sugar.

So why not eat these non-wheat grains all you want? If they don't cause appetite stimulation, behavioral outbursts in children with ADHD, addictive consumption of foods, dementia (i.e., gluten encephalopathy), etc., why not just eat them willy nilly?

Dr. Eric Westman has been a vocal proponent of carbohydrate restriction to gain control over diabetes, as have Drs. Richard Bernstein, Mary Vernon, Richard Feinman, and Jeff Volek.

Several studies over the years have demonstrated that reductions in carbohydrate content of the diet yield reductions in weight and HbA1c (glycated hemoglobin, a reflection of average blood glucose over the preceding 60-90 days).

Among the more important recent clinical studies is a small experience from Duke University's Dr. Eric Westman. In this study, obese type 2 diabetics reduced carbohydrate intake to 20 grams per day or less: no wheat, oats, cornstarch, or sugars. Participants ate nuts, cheese, meats, eggs, and non-starchy vegetables.

• Charred bits of plastic shrink wrap found in some vials of Merck vaccines
• Merck said it is still working to resolve the problem
• Company said it isn't aware of any adverse health events from the issue

Charred bits of plastic shrink wrap have been found in vials of Merck & Co. (MRK) vaccines, the latest quality problem identified by U.S. regulators at the company's biggest vaccine-making plant and an issue the drug maker said it is still working to resolve.

Merck said it isn't aware of any adverse health events associated with the problem, and that it is confident in the safety and efficacy of its products. The affected vaccines included Gardasil for the prevention of HPV infection, Varivax for chicken pox, Pneumovax for pneumococcal disease, Zostavax for shingles and MMR II for measles, mumps and rubella.

In 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a formal warning letter about deficiencies at Merck's West Point, Pa., plant. Since then, FDA inspection reports have cited more problems: the presence of metal particles in certain products, cracks in vaccine vials and delays in Merck's reporting to the FDA of adverse events from products made at the plant.

As Grist readers know, "mythbusting" Scientific American blogger Christie Wilcox took on organic agriculture recently in "Mythbusting 101: Organic Farming Conventional Agriculture." Now, I do agree that there should be no sacred cows - we should examine everything with a critical, if not jaundiced, eye. And indeed Wilcox brings up issues surrounding organic ag about which many people may not be aware. But sadly, her analysis goes quickly and seriously off the rails.

First the good points: Organic ag does use pesticides, sometimes in large quantities. This is not a new revelation: There are a set of pesticides approved for organic use, including copper and sulfur anti-fumigants and the naturally occurring Bt toxin. Copper and sulfur in particular are often overused, especially among fruit growers. While these chemicals can be used by any scale of farmer, it's a particular problem among so-called "industrial organic" farmers.

As the organic industry has taken off, many large-scale farmers have in essence adapted the industrial agriculture mindset - with its monocropping, its focus on inputs and outputs and maximizing productivity -- if not all its techniques. Tom Philpott has written about the problematic nature of this phenomenon; for a deep dive on the subject, I recommend Sam Fromartz's excellent Organic, Inc.

We are confronted with the most powerful technology the world has ever known, and it is being rapidly deployed with almost no thought whatsoever to its consequences." - Dr Suzanne Wuerthele, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) toxicologist.

Most Americans are unaware that they eat a steady diet of genetically modified food. This is mainly because the GMO giants, as if ashamed of their creation, refuse to allow labels on food that contains genetic engineering.

Consumers are also generally distracted by all the other things on food labels that they're supposed to be concerned about. And when they are exposed to information on GMOs, it's usually from a mainstream source featuring "philanthropist" Bill Gates beaming a smile while expounding the "benefits" that GMOs bring to starving people.

They typically don't hear about studies that show crop yields with GMOs are actually lower than with non-GM crops, or that they require far more pesticides than heirloom seeds, or that some are patented "terminator" seeds that don't re-germinate, which ensures an eventual monopoly over food. Or, perhaps one of the worst findings, that hamsters in one study became completely infertile, among other disturbing effects, after only 3 generations of eating GM soy.

Could omega-3 fats, the kind most often found in fish oil, help reduce stress?

A new study from Ohio State University sought to answer that question, by looking at how omega-3 fats could help decrease anxiety among university students.

Inflammation and Anxiety Reduced by Omega-3 Fats

Consuming more fish oil showed a marked reduction both in inflammation and, surprisingly, in anxiety among the healthy young people in the study.

The findings suggest that if young participants can get such improvements from specific dietary supplements, then the elderly and people at high risk for certain diseases might benefit even more.

For many people, old-fashioned tools like maps, cameras, books, and even iPods have been replaced and integrated into one small device, the smartphone.

But now, there's concern among psychologists that the growing number of people who favor smartphones over face-to-face interaction, might be suffering from a form of addiction, CBS News correspondent Betty Nguyen reports.


New York City public relations executive, Matthew Berritt, 32, admits he's hooked.

"To be honest, I'm never without it. I know I'm addicted, because I know without it, I do have withdrawal," he said.

Study shows building muscle can lower person's risk of insulin resistance.

A recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) found that the greater an individual's total muscle mass, the lower the person's risk of having insulin resistance, the major precursor of type 2 diabetes.

With recent dramatic increases in obesity worldwide, the prevalence of diabetes, a major source of cardiovascular morbidity, is expected to accelerate. Insulin resistance, which can raise blood glucose levels above the normal range, is a major factor that contributes to the development of diabetes. Previous studies have shown that very low muscle mass is a risk factor for insulin resistance, but until now, no study has examined whether increasing muscle mass to average and above average levels, independent of obesity levels, would lead to improved blood glucose regulation.

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has published its draft changes for the fifth edition of its internationally influential Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM5), due for final release in May 2013. Along with other worrying changes the APA seems determined to further loosen its already absurdly broad diagnostic criteria for ADHD.

Four more ways to display ADHD

The most obvious of the changes is the inclusion of four extra ways of exhibiting ADHD. For a diagnosis of the primarily hyperactive subtype instead of children having to display 6 of 9 (67%) impulsive/hyperactive diagnostic criteria, 6 of 13 (47%) would be sufficient. The four additional criteria are;

1- Tends to act without thinking, such as starting tasks without adequate preparation or avoiding reading or listening to instructions. May speak out without considering consequences or make important decisions on the spur of the moment, such as impulsively buying items, suddenly quitting a job, or breaking up with a friend.

2- Is often impatient, as shown by feeling restless when waiting for others and wanting to move faster than others, wanting people to get to the point, speeding while driving, and cutting into traffic to go faster than others.

3- Is uncomfortable doing things slowly and systematically and often rushes through activities or tasks.

4- Finds it difficult to resist temptations or opportunities, even if it means taking risks (A child may grab toys off a store shelf or play with dangerous objects; adults may commit to a relationship after only a brief acquaintance or take a job or enter into a business arrangement without doing due diligence).1

(The full list of the proposed DSM5 behavioural criteria are listed at the end of this blog or from dsm5.org)

All of the new DSM5 criteria are normal human behaviours. I for one never read instructions, am often impatient, frequently give into temptation, sometimes speed (and occasionally get angry with those who don't and sit in the passing lane). I do these things because like the other 7 billion odd people on the planet I am far from perfect.