Many people to this day avoid eating nuts because they view them as high calorie and high fat (umm...probably because the medical establishment said that for years). However, studies in the past decade repeatedly found that frequent nut consumption has health benefits.
A recent study found that high consumption of nuts is associated with a lower risk of dementia (about 12% lower risk than in those not consuming nuts). The researchers found that the protective effect was strongest in those who consumed up to a handful of unsalted nuts daily, especially if they were unsalted. However, consuming more than a handful of nuts per day did not have additional benefits.
A new study, published in the journal GeroScience, highlights a promising link between nut consumption and a reduced risk of dementia. The findings suggest that middle-aged and older adults who regularly consume nuts have a 12% lower chance of developing dementia compared to non-consumers. This protective effect was particularly strong for those who consumed up to a handful of unsalted nuts daily, which appeared to yield the most significant cognitive benefits....continue reading "Eating Nuts Daily Associated With Lower Risk of Dementia"
Americans now consume all sorts of ultra-processed foods daily. In fact, they now are the majority of the daily diet of Americans. What many people don't really understand is that ultra-processed foods involve all sorts of laboratory derived chemicals and ingredients. In fact, some (Crisco, saccharine, etc.) were developed to deal with industrial waste!
In the UK and US, more than half the average diet consists of ultra-processed foods. For some people, especially those who are younger, poorer or from disadvantaged areas, a diet comprising as much as 80% UPFs is typical, and this has been linked to a myriad of harmful effects to health.
Neelam Tailor traces the surprising journey of ultra-processed foods from their origins in industrial waste to today's complex ingredient lists and the regulatory loopholes that paved the way.
More worrisome news about high-fructose corn syrup. Researchers found that high fructose corn syrup actually speeds up and fuels the growth of cancer tumors in animals who already have cancer.
While this study was done in mice (with either breast cancer, melanoma, or cervical cancer), it is actually a scary finding because so many foods that Americans ingest daily contain high-fructose corn syrup. It is a sugar derived from corn starch and found in many foods: baked goods, soda, fast food, cereals, ice cream, etc. If you see it in an ingredient list, it means it is an ultra-processed food.
Bottom line: Read food ingredient lists and try to avoid eating foods with high-fructose corn syrup.
High-fructose corn syrup, a sweetener commonly used in soda and ultra-processed foods, accelerates cancer tumor growth via the liver, according to research published last week [Dec. 4, 2024] in Nature.
Many people suffer from gout, with it being the leading cause of arthritis in men. Two recent studies looked at who gets gout (is it genetics or lifestyle?), and another study examined what kind of diet is best for treating symptoms.
Gout is a type of inflammatory arthritis that causes sudden, severe attacks of pain, swelling, and tenderness in one or more joints. These attacks, which can last a week or two, frequently start in the big toe or a lower limb.
The first study found that genetics, and not lifestyle, determines who gets gout. Lifestyle is frequently blamed (rich foods!, being overweight!). From Science Daily: Study busts myths about cause of gout
".. eating red meat, can trigger gout attacks, the fundamental cause is high urate levels, crystals in the joints, and an immune system primed to 'attack' the crystals -- genetics plays an important role in all of these processes."
Another study found that a Mediterranean style, whole foods, and plant-based diet improves gout symptoms, but a low-calorie or animal-based, and low-carbohydrate diet does not. The Mediterranean style diet also lowered serum uric acid (a cause of the symptoms). It is thought that this is because animal meat and ultra-processed foods are pro-inflammatory, while plant-based foods are not.
For those with a sweet tooth, maple syrup appears to be a healthier choice than sugar. A recent study found a number of health benefits in individuals who consumed some maple syrup daily in place of refined sugar.
Canadian researchers found that replacing just 2 tablespoons of refined sugars with 2 tablespoons of maple sugar daily for 8 weeks had significant beneficial health effects. Regular ingestion of maple syrup resulted in their bodies handling sugar after meals better (improved glycemic response), their blood pressure was significantly lower, their abdominal fat was reduced, an increase in beneficial gut species (bacteria linked with health), and a decrease in some gut bacterial species linked to inflammation and metabolic disorders.
In other words, there was a significant reduction in key cardiometabolic risk factors. By the way, similar results have been found in animal studies. This could be because maple syrup is a minimally processed sweetener rich in a number of beneficial nutrients and polyphenols. It's just boiled maple tree sap, with nothing added.
What made this study convincing was that persons were randomized to different groups (maple sugar or placebo), it was double-blind (no one knew what they were ingesting), and it it was a crossover study (meaning all participants were in both groups for 8 weeks with a gap in the middle). All participants were overweight adults with mild cardiometabolic alterations at the start of the study.
A study published in The Journal of Nutrition reveals that replacing refined sugars with two tablespoons of maple syrup can significantly improve several cardiometabolic risk factors, such as blood sugar levels, blood pressure, and abdominal fat composition. This was the first placebo-controlled human clinical trial exploring the potential health benefits of maple syrup consumption....continue reading "Health Benefits of Maple Syrup"
Drinking moderate amounts of coffee each day is associated with a number of health benefits. It turns out that the coffee is also feeding a particular strain of gut microbe - Lawsonibacter asaccharolyticus.
Researchers found that more people who drink coffee daily have Lawsonibacter asaccharolyticus in their gut microbiome (the community of microbes, bacteria, and viruses that live in the intestines) than people who don't drink coffee. Additionally, the more a person drinks coffee daily, the higher the levels of the bacteria.
Newborns and children rarely have this bacteria in their gut microbiome. The bacteria is mainly found in adults living in places with an urbanized Western-lifestyle. Further research showed that the coffee stimulates the growth of L.asaccharolyticus.
By the way, it appears to be a beneficial bacteria. And yes, many other studies find that what you eat (your daily diet) influences the composition of microbes living in the gut.
Well, well, well...small American organic farms get crushed again. A hazelnut famer sued on behalf of himself and other organic farmers regarding the fact that organic imported foods don't have to meet all the organic requirements that American grown organic foods have to meet. Things like inspections, bookkeeping, and evidence that the foods grown are actually organic.
The judge threw out the lawsuit after the USDA (US Department of Agriculture) challenged it. The federal judge said that American organic farmers were not being economically hurt. Hah! Think about it - do consumers pick the more expensive American grown organic or the cheaper foreign product? Consumers buy the cheaper product. And soon stores start to just carry the cheaper products.
The lack of oversight and not having to meet American organic standards (USDA organic seal) is why so many of the "organic" food imports aren't actually organic, and why they are so cheap compared to American organic foods. Several countries are especially notorious in flooding the American market with fake organic foods, such as China and Turkey.
Bottom line: Imported so-called organic foods don't have to meet federal requirements that American small organic farms have to meet. Buyer beware.
A federal judge has found in favor of arguments made by USDA lawyers and dismissed alawsuit brought by an Oregon hazelnut grower who claimed he, along with other US organic farmers, was being competitively injured by imports that are allowed into this country from farms that haven’t been certified and inspected as federal law requires....continue reading "Small Organic Farms Get Crushed Again"
People everywhere are dismayed by the sheer quantity and number of "forever chemicals" that contaminate our environment and our bodies. Unfortunately, we all have forever chemicals (PFOS, PFAS) in us (but in varying amounts). It turns out that the US government played a role in the forever chemicals found in our food, and why so many farms are now forever contaminated.
Decades ago, the US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) started encouraging the use of biosolids or black sludge (the sludge that is left over at wastewater treatment plants) as a fertilizer on farms in the United States. That the use of this biosolid sludge could cause problems and harms has been known for decades.
The sludge contains heavy metals and PFOS and PFAS chemicals (forever chemicals because they bioaccumulate and persist in the environment). The chemicals are linked to all sorts of health harms (e.g., cancers, reproductive problems). [Note: We are exposed to forever chemicals in many products and in the environment daily.]
Well.... of course, applying this sludge across farms has now resulted in persistent contamination of both the soil and water at those farms, but also in the animals being raised on those farms. Estimates are up to a fifth of farms are contaminated. And yet the EPA still feels this practice of applying contaminated sludge is OK!!!
Very few mass media articles actually discuss the government's role in contaminating farms (and in this way our food). So the following 2 articles were a pleasant surprise - horrifying to read, but all true.
Bottom line: Eat as much organic food, or what you grew yourself, as much as possible. The biosolid sludge is not allowed on organic farms. Also, when buying top soil (dirt) or fertilizer for your garden, avoid any product that says "biosolids" in it. (e.g., Milorganite - known to contain PFAS and PFOS) Buy organic soil and fertilizer, if you can.
Until recently, very few mass media articles actually discussed the government's role in contaminating farms (and in this way our food). So the following 2 articles are horrifying to read, but all true.
For decades, farmers across America have been encouraged by the federal government to spread municipal sewage on millions of acres of farmland as fertilizer. It was rich in nutrients, and it helped keep the sludge out of landfills.
But a growing body of research shows that this black sludge, made from the sewage that flows from homes and factories, can contain heavy concentrations of chemicals thought to increase the risk of certain types of cancer and to cause birth defects and developmental delays in children.
Known as “forever chemicals” because of their longevity, these toxic contaminants are now being detected, sometimes at high levels, on farmlandOpens in a new windowacross the countryOpens in a new window, including in Texas, Maine, Michigan, New York and Tennessee. In some cases the chemicals are suspected of sickening or killing livestock and are turning up in produce. Farmers are beginning to fear for their own health.
Recently, another well done study of vitamin D and cancer resulted in disappointing results. Vitamin D supplements showed no benefit in persons with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC). It did not result in a difference in overall survival outcomes.
In the study, 455 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer were assigned randomly to either high daily vitamin D3 or standard dose vitamin D3, in addition to receiving standard chemotherapy. The high dose vitamin D group received a loading dose of 8000 IU per day for 2 weeks, followed by a maintenance dose of 4000 IU per day until the end of the study. The standard dose vitamin D group received 400 IU per day.
However, there was no difference in "significant progression-free survival benefit". There also was no significant difference in how long people survived in the 2 groups (a median of 25.6 months in the high-dose group, and 27.0 months in the standard dose group).
The study results were disappointing because in laboratory studies vitamin D has anticancer properties. Critics of this study pointed out that vitamin D supplementation may have a role in cancer prevention - but at this point, that is unknown.
The addition of high-dose vitamin D supplementation to standard chemotherapy plus bevacizumab did not result in a significant progression-free survival benefit in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) in the SOLARIS study....continue reading "Another Vitamin D Study With Disappointing Results"
We all have some pesticide residues in our body, and the levels vary. One way that people are exposed to pesticides is from the foods they eat, specifically non-organic foods. Pesticides that people are exposed to can be measured in the blood and urine.
A recent review of 72 scientific studies found that people who eat an organic diet have lower pesticide levels in their urine. (Other pesticide exposures are from the environment around us, for example, garden and lawn pesticides.)
The study authors specifically looked at pesticide residues and metabolites of common pesticides such as organophosphates, pyrethroids, 2,4-D, and glyphosate. The most commonly mentioned pesticide residue was from pyrethroids, with 34% of studies finding it in urine. Keep in mind that only a limited number of pesticide residues were looked for. In reality, people are exposed to many more in life, including from non-organic foods that they eat.
Looking at the studies, the researchers found a massive reduction in pesticide residues when an organic diet is adopted. For example, phenol and phosphonate herbicide levels drop 41% to 100% in the studies, and pyrethroid metabolites dropped 16% to 100% [Note: each study had different drops in pesticide residues.]
And yes, you want lower levels of pesticide residues in your body for health reasons. For example, pyrethroids have been associated with numerous health harms, including cancer, endocrine disruption, and reproductive effects.
Bottom line: To lower pesticide levels in your body, eat as many organic foods as possible.