Frequently seen during November.
Author: Sima
Modest Lifestyle Changes Can Lower the Risk of Developing Diabetes
Being overweight increases the risk of developing diabetes. So a British study finding that modest lifestyle changes could lower the incidence (by over 40%) of developing type 2 diabetes is very encouraging. These were persons who had been diagnosed with prediabetes, thus they were at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
What are the beneficial lifestyle changes? Losing a modest amount of weight (4 1/2 to 7 pounds) and increasing the amount of exercise to 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity exercise.
Excerpts from Science Daily: A few kilograms weight loss nearly halves the risk of diabetes
Losing a few kilograms in weight almost halves people's risk of developing Type 2 diabetes -- according to a large scale research study led by the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital and the University of East Anglia. ...continue reading "Modest Lifestyle Changes Can Lower the Risk of Developing Diabetes"
Pesticides Linked to Parkinson’s Disease
Study after study finds all sorts of negative health effects from exposure to pesticides, including cancers, endocrine (hormone) disruption, and neurological effects. Pesticide exposures can occur in the home, at work or school, in the air (drift), and in food and water. A recent study found that higher chronic pesticide exposure, such as occupational exposure (e.g. farm worker), is linked to developing Parkinson's disease.
University of California San Francisco (UCSF) researchers found the higher rates of Parkinson's disease both in people who have genetic susceptibility to developing the disease, and also in those who don't have a genetic susceptibility. Meaning everyone is at risk for developing Parkinson's disease with enough chronic exposure.
Studies find that chronic exposure to some pesticides has a higher risk for Parkinson's disease than others, and especially strong links are with the pesticides 2,4-D, chlorpyrifos, paraquat, glyphosate, and rotenone. Some countries, including in Europe and Canada, ban the use of some of these chemicals due to concerns about links to Parkinson’s, but the U.S. only restricts the use of some of them (e.g. paraquat).
Many pesticides are neurotoxins. Dr. Ray Dorsey (publisher of book: Ending Parkinson's Disease: A Prescription for Action ) said studies show a dose-response effect between chronic pesticide exposure and Parkinson's disease: "an almost perfect correlation between the amount of pesticides used in certain communities and the rates of PD. He points out that Parkinson's disease is the world's fastest growing brain disease with a lifetime risk of about 1 in 15. (That's high!)
Bottom line: Try to minimize your exposure to pesticides. Organic farms don't use the pesticides implicated in neurological harm - because organic standards don't allow it. Also, use organic or least-toxic Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for pest control in your home. Avoid using pesticides in your yard, especially the lawn. Stay away from recently pesticide treated areas. Eat organic foods as much as possible.
In the following article: sporadic Parkinson's disease means it happened spontaneously, which is different from someone having a genetic risk factor. From Beyond Pesticides: Pesticide Exposure Increases the Risk of Developing Gene-Specific and Sporadic Parkinson’s Disease Incidences
Research at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) finds that pesticide exposure increases the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease (PD), regardless of whether disease onset is idiopathic (spontaneous) or genetic (GBA genetic risk variant). Although the exact etiology [cause] of PD remains unknown, epidemiological and toxicological research repeatedly identifies exposure to pesticides, as well as specific gene-pesticide interactions, as significant adverse risk factors that contribute to PD. Furthermore, this study, “Gene Variants May Affect PD Risk After Pesticide Exposure,” suggests that environmental triggers like occupational exposure to pesticides can prompt PD in individuals with or without the genetic precursor. ...continue reading "Pesticides Linked to Parkinson’s Disease"
Vitamin D Levels During Pregnancy Associated With A Child’s IQ
Pregnancy is a time when one should try to eat as well as possible, especially for the health of the developing baby. Included in this is the baby's brain development and later intellectual functioning (neurocognitive development). A recent study found that a mother's vitamin D levels during pregnancy are associated with the IQ of the child - that is, higher levels of vitamin D during the second trimester of pregnancy were associated with higher IQs at age 4 to 6 in the child.
Just keep in mind that it's an association - it does not mean that lower vitamin D levels cause lower IQ. Vitamin D levels go hand in hand with other things - for example, vitamin D levels are lower when a person has chronic inflammation or an underlying health condition. Other studies have had mixed results - some had similar findings of effects on intellectual development, but others did not. Black women are at higher risk of vitamin D deficiencies due to their skin melanin content (harder to get enough vitamin D from the sun).
However, these results do add support for trying to correct vitamin D deficiencies and keeping vitamin D levels higher during pregnancy - by taking supplements and getting sunlight. Note that it's very hard to get enough vitamin D through food. The researchers said that prenatal supplements typically contain 400–600 IU vitamin D, but this is probably insufficient to correct vitamin D deficiencies, in which case they recommend daily supplementation of 800 to 1000 IU vitamin D.
From Medical Xpress: Vitamin D levels during pregnancy linked with child IQ
Vitamin D is a critical nutrient and has many important functions in the body. A mother's vitamin D supply is passed to her baby in utero and helps regulate processes including brain development. A study published today in The Journal of Nutrition showed that mothers' vitamin D levels during pregnancy were associated with their children's IQ, suggesting that higher vitamin D levels in pregnancy may lead to greater childhood IQ scores. The study also identified significantly lower levels of vitamin D levels among Black pregnant women. ...continue reading "Vitamin D Levels During Pregnancy Associated With A Child’s IQ"
Try To Relax a Little
It's hard to relax and be calm when we are bombarded with negative news from all sides, every single day. But try. Take a deep breath and try to relax.
A white-tailed deer just hanging out.
An American Dies of COVID-19 Every 107 Seconds
Holy mackerel! Currently COVID-19 kills someone in the United States every 107 seconds! And the U.S. is reporting more than 70,000 new coronavirus cases each day.
Wear a mask! Wearing a mask protects us from others exhaling the virus, protects us from inhaling the virus, and lowers how much virus we are exposed to (cloth and surgical masks protect us from most virus particles, but not all). There is evidence that wearing masks so lowers the amount of virus a person is exposed to (viral load), that if a person gets the infection, the body can deal with it much better and the infections may be asymptomatic or minor. This is huge - the possibility that up to 95% of infections could be asymptomatic!
Excerpts from Medscape: US Cases Spike as COVID Kills Every 107 Seconds
The U.S. is reporting more than 70,000 new coronavirus cases each day, and 41 states are reporting at least 10% more cases this week than the week before, according to CNN. ...continue reading "An American Dies of COVID-19 Every 107 Seconds"
Normal Body Temperature Is Lower Than We Thought
For many years we have viewed 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (37.0°C) as the normal body temperature of a healthy adult. It turns out that is no longer true. The average body temperature has been falling for the last few decades. Studies find the temperature decrease in different parts of the world, in both rural and urban areas. Looks like it's somewhere between 97.5°F (California), 97.7°F (among the Tsimane in the Bolivian Amazon), and 97.9°F (United Kingdom).
An international team of researchers studied the body temperature of the Tsimane of the Bolivian Amazon using 16 years of data and compared the findings to the US and UK studies. The Tsimane live a subsistence lifestyle without access to running water or sanitation, have high exposure to diverse pathogens (e.g. parasites), and many infections. During the last 2 decades they have had increased access to health care (including vaccinations), and to markets, and there has been an improvement in health and lifestyle. So it was surprising that their average body temperature also declined in the last 2 decades.
The researchers think the temperature decline among the different populations is due to a combination of factors, which include improved lifestyle, better medical care and treatments, increased use of antibiotics which alter the gut microbial communities (microbiome), fewer parasitic infections, changes in physical activity, and increasing body weight.
From Science Daily: Average body temperature among healthy adults declined over the past two decades
In the nearly two centuries since German physician Carl Wunderlich established 98.6°F as the standard "normal" body temperature, it has been used by parents and doctors alike as the measure by which fevers -- and often the severity of illness -- have been assessed. ...continue reading "Normal Body Temperature Is Lower Than We Thought"
Plastic Baby Bottles Shed Tiny Plastic Particles
It turns out that plastic baby bottles shed millions of tiny plastic particles (microplastics) into the breast milk, formula, or water in them. At this point we don't really know what ingesting multitudes of microplastics every day does to a person, but assume that it is not beneficial and we should try to lower how much we ingest. (Microplastics are turning up in foods and water, especially bottled water - we are ingesting them, excreting them, and there is some concerning health research.)
Trinity College researchers found that the greatest number of microplastics are shed into the baby bottle contents when polypropylene bottles are heated, especially during bottle sterilization. The research team estimated that current guidelines for infant bottle sterilization and formula preparation result in an average daily ingestion by European and American babies of more than 2 million microplastics every day! Yikes!
What to do? Absolute best would be to use glass baby bottles - no plastic there. But if plastic baby bottles are used: 1) first sterilize the bottles. 2) Then rinse the sterilized bottles 3 times in water that has been sterilized (boiled and cooled) in a stainless steel or glass pot. 3) Same with the formula - heat in a non-plastic container (glass or stainless steel) and then pour it into the plastic baby bottle.
Also: do not heat formula in plastic containers or microwave ovens. Do not vigorously shake the formula in the bottle at any time. Do not use sonication to clean plastic baby bottles.
Shedding of microplastics is a property of plastic polypropylene bottles, and the hotter the bottle - the more is shed. Shaking also releases microplastics. The only way to avoid the problem of microplastics in the formula or other liquid is to use glass baby bottles.
From The Scientist: Baby Bottles Can Shed Millions of Microplastic Particles: Study
Plastic has long been a major source of pollution in landfills and in oceans, especially as it degrades into pieces smaller than 5 millimeters, termed “microplastics.” Experimental studies have shown that these particles and the cocktail of chemicals they carry can wreak havoc on physiology, reproduction, development, and behavior in a number of nonhuman species. ...continue reading "Plastic Baby Bottles Shed Tiny Plastic Particles"
Routine Dental Checkups Not Necessary Every Six Months
Many routine checkups have been postponed during this pandemic, including routine dental checkups every 6 months. But is it OK to put off such visits? A recent review of studies found evidence that traditional six-month visits are not necessary in healthy individuals without dental problems. The 6 month checkups don't improve oral health when compared to persons getting them every 24 months.
The researchers found that in adults there is no difference in the number of cavities (caries), gingival or gum bleeding (gum disease), and oral health whether one gets a six-month dental checkup versus a 24 month check-up. This review is published on the prestigious Cochrane reviews web-site.
In other words, it is OK to put off a routine dental visit in healthy adults. However, the researchers stress that this is in adults without any dental issues, and that if there are dental problems to go to the dentist.
From Medical Xpress: Study shows traditional six-month dental check-ups not necessary for healthy adults
A new review provides reassurance to patients who have missed routine dental check-ups due to COVID-19 restrictions by showing that six-monthly check-up appointments do not improve oral health. ...continue reading "Routine Dental Checkups Not Necessary Every Six Months"
Chronic Wasting Disease Is Spreading In the United States
If you're a hunter or eat wild-caught game (deer, elk, moose, reindeer), then you should be concerned with chronic wasting disease (CWD). Chronic wasting disease is an always-fatal prion disease similar to "mad-cow disease" (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) in cattle.
In chronic wasting disease there is a long incubation period, followed by the brain become progressively like a sponge - riddled with holes, along with deterioration in brain function, behavioral changes, and eventually death. A horrible slow death. There are no treatments or vaccines.
It turns out that chronic wasting disease is slowly spreading and infecting wild game across the United States (26 states) and 3 Canadian provinces. [Also detected in Finland, Norway, South Korea, and Sweden.] The concern is that this disease will jump to humans, especially in people who eat contaminated meat.
A research center monitoring the situation and publishing information and research on its site is CIDRAP (Center for Infectious Disease and Policy). Make sure to look at the Tweets (Twitter).
One scary thing about CWD is that once it gets into the soil, it stays there for years, and high heat, disinfectants, and radiation don't kill it. Yikes! Dr.Zabel at the Colorado State Univ. Prion Research Center suggested a few years ago that controlled burns (fires) of infected fields or areas could eliminate the prions left behind by infected animals (from animal mucus/saliva, urine, and feces, and decaying carcasses) on plants and soil.
An article with advice for how hunters can protect themselves, and a map of where CWD is found in the US.: 5 Ways Hunters Can Prevent Spreading Chronic Wasting Disease
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has several chronic wasting disease pages, including prevention and transmission.
Here is some of what CIDRAP says on their site about CWD:
Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a prion disease that affects several cervid species: deer, elk, reindeer, sika deer, and moose. CWD was first identified in 1967 in a captive mule deer living in a Colorado research facility. In 1981, CWD was detected for the first time in a wild cervid. Since these initial detections, CWD has been identified in 26 states and three Canadian provinces. It has also been detected in Finland, Norway, South Korea, and Sweden. ...continue reading "Chronic Wasting Disease Is Spreading In the United States"