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Category: healthy living

Published on Leave a comment on Pregnant Women Are Exposed To More Chemicals and Pesticides

Some depressing news for pregnant women - they are exposed to and contaminated with more harmful industrial chemicals than ever before.

Thousands of chemicals are used in numerous consumer products and in food production (on farms, and in packaging). Not only can we get exposed to industrial chemicals from foods and products, but also from contaminated water, air, and dust.

Researchers looked for the presence of 103 industrial chemicals in the urine of pregnant women across the Unites States. The chemicals included plastics, pesticides, parabens, PAHs, as well as some of the "replacement chemicals" for BPA and phthalates. They found that most women had some of the chemicals in their bodies. Some chemicals were found in almost or ALL of them, including 3 insecticides, 2 parabens, 10 phthalates, and 1 PAH. Yikes!

Keep in mind that replacement chemicals (e.g., BPS for BPA) can be the same or even worse to health than the original chemicals.

Also, the researchers did NOT look for the presence of some commonly used chemicals (and which are linked to health harms) such as 2,4-D, pyrethroids, chlorpyrifos, and glyphosate. These are pesticides commonly used on (non-organic) farms, but also in our homes and yards. Other studies find the amounts of these pesticides are increasing in humans over the last 2 decades, and that some of these pesticides can be detected in the majority of humans.

Pregnancy is an especially important time in the life of the developing baby, and many chemicals are much more harmful then than at any other time in life. Chemicals to which pregnant women are exposed to cross the placenta - thus getting to the fetus. So it is really important to lower the amount and number of chemicals that a pregnant woman is exposed to.

How to lower your exposure to harmful chemicals: [From list of quick tips]

1) Eat as many organic foods as possible.

2) Avoid using pesticides in your home and garden, and instead look for nontoxic, organic, or least toxic IPM (Integrated Pest Management) solutions.

3) Read labels to avoid phthalates, parabens, "antimicrobial", anti-odor in personal care items.

4) Don't use dryer sheets (not needed!) or detergents or other products with fragrances.  [ Complete list of quick tips.]

Two good, but different write-ups of the research: 1) From Medical Xpress: Study of pregnant women finds increasing exposure to chemicals from plastics and pesticides

A national study that enrolled a highly diverse group of pregnant women over 12 years found rising exposure to chemicals from plastics and pesticides that may be harmful to development. ...continue reading "Pregnant Women Are Exposed To More Chemicals and Pesticides"

Published on Leave a comment on Certain Gut Bacteria Are Linked to Strokes

There is growing evidence that the presence of certain species of bacteria in the gut microbiome are associated with a higher stroke risk, while other bacteria are associated with a lower risk and health. Two recent studies went further and found that the presence (or higher levels) of certain bacteria are associated with severe ischemic strokes and a poorer recovery.

Ischemic strokes are the most common type of stroke. They occur when a clot or other blockage blocks the blood supply to the brain.

Both study researchers presented their findings at the European Stroke Organisation Conference (May 2022). They found that 26 species of bacteria were linked to strokes (in other words, you want less of the bacteria that increase stroke risk in your gut microbiome). Some examples of bacteria associated with strokes or poorer outcome included: bacteria of the genus Ruminococcus, species Prevotella copri, and Paraprevotella xylaniphila.

What does this mean for you? The researchers felt that changing your community of gut microbes (the gut microbiota or microbiome) could be a potential way to decrease stroke risk or stroke severity. A main way to accomplish this is by nutritional changes.

One of the researchers (Cyprien Rivier) said about the results:  "This suggests a delicate balance in the gut microbiota which can change the risk of stroke when altered."

To improve your gut microbes and lower stroke risk: most important is to improve your diet (eat a healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, some fermented foods, and try to avoid highly processed foods). Also, good for gut microbes: increase your physical activity or amounts of exercise, don't smoke, and try to maintain a healthy weight. Another option is getting a fecal microbial transplant.

By the way, the beneficial microbes are NOT in dietary supplements. Must eat real food! Interestingly, an earlier study found that people who have ischemic strokes tend to have lower amounts ("depletion") of Lactobacillus sakei in the gut than healthy people.

Excerpts from Medscape: Gut Bacteria Linked to Stroke Severity, Risk

Two new studies identifying strains of gut microbiota associated with more severe strokes and worse post-stroke recovery point to a possible role for the gut microbiome in preventing stroke and improving outcomes. ...continue reading "Certain Gut Bacteria Are Linked to Strokes"

Published on Leave a comment on Focus On Eating Healthy Food, Not Vitamin Supplements

Americans spend enormous amounts of money on vitamins and mineral supplements in an effort to stay healthy or to improve their health. Unfortunately, unless a person has an actual vitamin or mineral deficiency, studies are just not finding health benefits. Sometimes there are even harms.

Physicians at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine weighed in on this issue. Their view: For most non-pregnant healthy Americans vitamin and mineral supplements are a "waste of money". There is no "magic set of pills to keep you healthy". Instead, a healthy diet and exercise are key.

However, they also say a pregnant women should consider taking a prenatal vitamin, especially folic acid. There are health benefits to folic acid supplements during pregnancy.

Basic conclusions: For non-pregnant persons without vitamin or mineral deficiencies, there is no evidence supporting the consumption of vitamin and mineral supplements in preventing cancer or cardiovascular (heart) health. Avoid beta carotene supplements (health harms) and vitamin E supplements.

What to do to maintain or improve health? Eat a healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes (beans), seeds, and nuts. Get enough exercise or physical activity. Don't smoke. Maintain a healthy weight.

Doing these things will also improve the gut microbiome (the community of microbes living in the gut), which is so important for good health.

From Science Daily: Vitamins, supplements are a 'waste of money' for most Americans

Drawn to the allure of multivitamins and dietary supplements filling nutritional gaps in their diet, people in the U.S. in 2021 spent close to $50 billion on vitamins and dietary supplements. ...continue reading "Focus On Eating Healthy Food, Not Vitamin Supplements"

Published on Leave a comment on Coffee and the Kidneys

Some good news for coffee drinkers - daily consumption of coffee is linked to a lower risk of acute kidney injury.

John Hopkins Medicine researchers found that daily consumption of coffee (at least 1 cup of coffee per day) lowered the risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) by 15%. But those who drank 2 to 3 cups of coffee each day had a 22% to 23% lower risk (compared to non-drinkers)

The researchers pointed out in their paper that the risk of chronic kidney disease and other diseases is also lower in daily coffee drinkers.

"Habitual coffee consumption is associated with the prevention of chronic and degenerative diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and liver disease.

 ARIC, a large population study of 14,207 participants aged 45 to 64 years, revealed that higher self-reported daily coffee consumption was associated with a lower risk of incident chronic kidney disease after adjustments were made for demographic, clinical, and dietary factors. Thus, habitual coffee consumption has a strong potential for reducing the risk of progressive kidney disease."

From Science Daily: Coffee consumption link to reduced risk of acute kidney injury, study finds

If you need another reason to start the day drinking a cup of joe, a recent study by Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers has revealed that consuming at least one cup of coffee a day may reduce the risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) when compared to those who do not drink coffee. ...continue reading "Coffee and the Kidneys"

Published on Leave a comment on Body Copes Well With One Time Overeating

Summer is when many of us indulge ourselves at barbecues or other social gatherings. Fabulous grilled foods, fresh fruits, pies, whipped cream! You may wonder what gorging yourself until you absolutely can't eat one bite more at one meal does to your body. It turns out it's OK!

A study of young men who either ate pizza till "comfortably full" or "maximal eating" (eating so much that they couldn't eat one more bite) found that the bodies of the men coped very well. Just note, these were normal weight men who normally did not overeat like this (about twice as much food as "comfortably full").

Their metabolism adjusted to overeating the meal, levels of nutrients stayed within normal range, but there was an increase in "prolonged lethargy" and sleepiness several hours after the meal. Yup, many of us know the feeling - just want to take a nap while we digest.

Unfortunately it is unknown how the bodies of women, overweight, and older persons would handle maximal eating of 1 meal (that study not done). But hey! - it's summer, and we can just pretend the study results apply to all of us. Just don't do it all the time...

From Medical Xpress: Pizza study shows body copes surprisingly well with one-off calorie indulgence

A new study, which involved participants eating pizza well after feeling 'full' in order to test what immediate effects this had on the body, finds that our metabolism is surprisingly good at coping with over-indulgence. ...continue reading "Body Copes Well With One Time Overeating"

Published on Leave a comment on The Foods We Eat Contain Live Microbes
Credit: Wikipedia

Every month there is more evidence of the importance of the human microbiome or microbiota - the community of microbes that live in and on us. Trillions of microbes! When we eat food, we eat all the microbes that are in the food, and this has effects on the microbes living in the gut (intestines).

How many microbes do we eat daily? An interesting study was published in 2014 that tried to answer this question. The researchers found that the average American adult ingests between 1 million to over 1 billion microbes every day! It depended on food choices.

Another study just published looked at more than 9000 foods in the US health and dietary database (from 74,466 persons). The researchers estimated the number of live microbes present in all the foods. From that they estimated that the intakes of foods with live microbes were pretty low (about 85 grams/day for children and 127 grams/day for adults). Their results were similar to the earlier 2014 study mentioned above.

They found that around 20% of children and 26% of adults consumed foods with high levels of live microorganisms in their diet. Also, American children and adults have steadily increased their consumption of foods with live microbes over an 18 year period of time - but it still didn't meet guidelines.

The researchers found that fruits, vegetables, and fermented dairy foods were the main sources of microbes, as well as 3 important nutrients which Americans generally do not get enough of: calcium, fiber, and potassium. They also mention that fruits and vegetables have more diverse microbes than fermented dairy foods (yogurts have mainly lactic acid bacteria).

Bottom line: Eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and live fermented foods (e.g., yogurt, kefir, fermented pickles, and kimchi) are good ways to increase the number and variety of microbes in your diet. This study did not mention organic foods, but some studies have found more beneficial bacteria in organic produce (e.g., apples).

From Medical Xpress: Quantifying the live microbes on your plate

Many have hypothesized that bacteria and other "friendly" live microorganisms consumed through the diet can play an important role in health. Reduction in dietary microbe consumption has likely contributed to an "impoverished" gut microbiota, which may lead to improper immune system development and an increase in chronic diseases, among other negative health outcomes. ...continue reading "The Foods We Eat Contain Live Microbes"

Published on Leave a comment on Blocking Inflammation After An Injury Can Result In Persistent Pain

The usual medical advice to take non-prescription anti-inflammatory drugs (e.g., Advil, Aleve, aspirin) or steroids for pain and inflammation from an injury may actually backfire down the line. A recent study found that blocking inflammation from an injury actually causes an increase in pain and inflammation 3 months later (may become chronic pain), and which is harder to treat.

The McGill University researchers found that drugs that inhibit inflammation interfere with the natural recovery process, thus increasing the odds for chronic pain.  They found that neutrophils (a type of white blood cell that helps the body fight infection) play a key role in resolving pain.

"Neutrophils dominate the early stages of inflammation and set the stage for repair of tissue damage. Inflammation occurs for a reason, and it looks like it's dangerous to interfere with it," said Professor Mogil, one of the researchers.

The researchers looked at lower back pain and temporomandibular disorder (TMD) and found that the results appeared to hold for both mice and humans.

Bottom line: After an injury such as lower back pain, non-prescription medicines that only block pain are OK to take, for example, Tylenol (Acetaminophen) . It's the anti-inflammatory medicines that could lead to persistent (chronic) pain three months later. View inflammation as part of the healing process - don't want to interfere with that.

Excerpts from Medical Xpress: Discovery reveals blocking inflammation may lead to chronic pain

Using anti-inflammatory drugs and steroids to relieve pain could increase the chances of developing chronic pain, according to researchers from McGill University and colleagues in Italy. Their research puts into question conventional practices used to alleviate pain. Normal recovery from a painful injury involves inflammation and blocking that inflammation with drugs could lead to harder-to-treat pain. ...continue reading "Blocking Inflammation After An Injury Can Result In Persistent Pain"

Published on Leave a comment on Plant-based Diets and Lower Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes

Some good news. A recent large study found that a healthy diet rich in plant-based foods can lower your risk of getting type 2 diabetes.

Researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that a healthy diet rich in plant-based foods (fruits, vegetable, legumes, nuts, whole grains, coffee) resulted in plasma metabolite profiles that were associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.

In other words, differences in the chemical make-up of foods means that what a person eats is reflected in their metabolite profile. The 200+ plasma metabolites include lipids, cholesterol, glycerides, phospholipids, fatty acids, inflammation, amino acids, and these give a metabolic profile.

Bottom line: A diet rich in plant-based foods is good for your health in many  ways, including lowering your risk of type 2 diabetes. One such example of a good way to eat (dietary pattern) is a Mediterranean style diet (rich in whole grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, fish, and olive oil).

From Medical Xpress: New study reveals that healthy plant-based diets are associated with a lower risk of developing diabetes

New research published in Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes [EASD]) finds that the consumption of healthy plant-based foods, including fruits, vegetables, nuts, coffee, and legumes, is associated with a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D) in generally healthy people and support their role in diabetes prevention.

...continue reading "Plant-based Diets and Lower Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes"

Published on Leave a comment on Ordinary Daily Activities Can Have Health Benefits

The studies are coming fast and furious about how all daily physical activity has health benefits. Ordinary daily activities that cause a person to move, such as housework, vacuuming, washing dishes, gardening, walking, cooking, even showering - all count. (On the other hand, reading and computer use do not.)

A recent study by University of California researchers found a higher rate of heart disease, stroke, and death in older women who have less than 2 hours each day of "daily life movement" (daily physical activities) compared to those who have more than 4 hours per day. At the start of the study 5416 women (63 years or older, and without heart disease) wore an accelerometer to measure their daily movements for 1 week, and then their health was followed for more than 6 years.

The researchers found that higher amounts of daily life movement or "being up and about" were associated with a lower risk of major cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, stroke, and cardiovascular death in older women. In other words - all movement (and not just exercise) counts towards cardiovascular disease prevention.

From Science Daily: Daily activities like washing dishes reduced heart disease risk in senior women

Seniors take note, running or brisk walking is not the only way to reduce the risk of heart disease. Simply being "up and about" performing routine activities, referred to as daily life movement, including housework, gardening, cooking and self-care activities like showering can significantly benefit cardiovascular health. ...continue reading "Ordinary Daily Activities Can Have Health Benefits"

Published on Leave a comment on Vitamin D Supplements and Autoimmune Disease

Yesterday's post was about how several well-done large studies did not find the health benefits from vitamin D supplements that the researchers had hoped for. In one of the studies (the VITAL trial) discussed yesterday, Vitamin D supplements did not prevent cancer or cardiovascular events (e.g., stroke, heart attack), which was the focus of the study.

But... one positive finding (in a separate analysis of the study results) did come out of the study: vitamin D supplements reduced the incidence of autoimmune disease by 22% over the 5+ years of the VITAL trial. This included rheumatoid arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, autoimmune thyroid disease, and psoriasis.

The more than 25,000 participants (all older than 50 years) took vitamin D 2000 IUs daily or 1 g marine omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) daily,  or both, or none for more than 5 years. Only the vitamin D supplementation (whether taken alone or with fish oil) had a statistically significant health effect.

From Medical Xpress: Study finds vitamin D supplements with or without Omega-3s decreased risk of autoimmune diseases

Autoimmune diseases (AD) such as rheumatoid arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, autoimmune thyroid disease and psoriasis, are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality as people age. Few effective treatments are available for AD, but some preclinical studies have hinted that supplements, including vitamin D and omega-3 (or n-3) fatty acids, may have beneficial effects. In a new study published in BMJ, investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital evaluated whether taking vitamin D and/or omega fatty acid supplements could affect rates of AD.  ...continue reading "Vitamin D Supplements and Autoimmune Disease"