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Published on Leave a comment on Problems With Gut Microbiome Tests Available to Consumers
Oral microbiome Credit: Wikipedia

People have questions about the direct to consumer (DTC) gut microbiome tests that are now available from at least 31 companies. What do the results mean and can we believe them?  Well... according to a recent article in the medical site Medscape, the tests may be appealing to the consumer, but right now they don't mean anything at all.

This is because the tests are both unreliable and unregulated. Results of microbes found in the stool will vary from day to day, and from test to test. The same stool samples sent to different companies or even to the same company come back with different results. Generally the tests are offered by companies that want to sell you something - their supplements or other products in order to "improve your gut health."

However, there is no evidence backing up their claims. The tests are also not consistent - some do genetic sequencing, but others are just culture or a microscopic analysis (which find only a few of the microbes in the microbiome). Researchers stress that standardization of these tests is needed.

Yes, the gut microbiome has a tremendous effect on health and disease, and microbiome therapies definitely have potential. But right now it's buyer beware!

Excerpts from Medscape: Are Direct-to-Consumer Microbiome Tests Clinically Useful?

Companies selling gut microbiome tests directly to consumers offer up a variety of claims to promote their products.

"We analyze the trillions of microbes in your gut microflora and craft a unique formula for your unique gut needs," one says. "Get actionable dietary, supplement, and lifestyle recommendations from our microbiome experts based on your results, tailored to mom and baby's biomarkers.…Any family member like dads or siblings are welcome too," says another. ...continue reading "Problems With Gut Microbiome Tests Available to Consumers"

Published on Leave a comment on Climate Scientists Are Very Worried About Our Future

The world is heating up quickly and climate scientists are very worried and scared about what's in our future. A recent survey conducted by The Guardian finds that climate scientists are very pessimistic about our ability to limit future temperature increases.

By the way, this past April was the 11th straight month of global record-breaking heat, and it looks like this trend will continue. Most of the scientists surveyed felt that we will blow past the internationally agreed 2.7 degrees F and will hit at least a 4.5 degrees F increase in this century. Almost half thought there would be a 5.4 degrees F increase.

This uncontrolled temperature increase will result in catastrophic changes for the world. Famines, mass migrations, heatwaves, wildfires, extreme storms! It's on us, especially our governments, to take action. Now!

Excerpts from The Guardian: World’s top climate scientists expect global heating to blast past 1.5C target

Hundreds of the world’s leading climate scientists expect global temperatures to rise to at least 2.5C (4.5F) above preindustrial levels this century, blasting past internationally agreed targets and causing catastrophic consequences for humanity and the planet, an exclusive Guardian survey has revealed. ...continue reading "Climate Scientists Are Very Worried About Our Future"

Published on Leave a comment on The EPA Reverses Course and Now Proposes Banning Toxic Pesticide

Update to the toxic pesticide acephate story of last week. Well, well, well.... Due to the big outcry after ProPublica's story exposing EPA's recent decision to relax standards and so allow much more of the toxic pesticide acephate in our food, the officials at the EPA changed their minds and now propose banning it! 

Acephate is an insect killer commonly used on celery, lettuce, cauliflower, tomatoes, peppers, and other fruits and vegetables, and residues stay on produce that we eat. It also contaminates drinking water. (It's used on non-organic crops, but it's not allowed to be used on organic crops.)

Propublica's story broke on April 24, 2024, and immediately afterwards there was outrage over the EPA's relaxing of the pesticide standards decision. This is because the FDA was totally ignoring years of scientific and medical research showing harms to humans, and only accepting and believing what the pesticide industry told them. It even ignored its own scientists and advisory groups.

Acephate is a pesticide known to be so harmful that it was BANNED in Europe more than 20 years ago, yet allowed in the US. A major reason: harmful effects on the developing brains of fetuses and children, and linked to autism, hyperactivity, and reduced scores on intelligence tests. In 2023, the CDC said that autism spectrum disorder rates have now increased to 1 out of every  36 births.

Now we wait and see: Will the FDA (once again) cave to industry or actually do what they are supposed to do - protect consumers? 

ProPublica is a non-profit investigative journalism site. The following are excerpts from their May 1, 2024 story on the FDA reversal. From ProPublica: EPA Proposes Ban on Pesticide Widely Used on Fruits and Vegetables

The Environmental Protection Agency unveiled a proposal this week to ban a controversial pesticide that is widely used on celery, tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables. ...continue reading "The EPA Reverses Course and Now Proposes Banning Toxic Pesticide"

Published on Leave a comment on Has Deer Chronic Wasting Disease Occurred In Humans?

Well, it finally might have occurred. The always fatal neurologic disease known as chronic wasting disease (CWD),  which occurs in deer, elk, and moose, and is slowly spreading throughout the US and Canada, may have finally made the jump from deer to humans. This is very worrisome.

CWD is a prion disease similar to "mad cow disease" (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) in cattle and Creutzfeldt-Jakob's disease in humans. There is no vaccine, treatment, or cure for the disease.

In the recently published study, two friends, who hunted and consumed venison from an area known to have chronic wasting disease in the deer population - both died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in 2022. Doctors think this is might be a case of "cross-species prion transmission".

So far CWD has been detected in 33 states and several Canadian provinces, and so far nothing has been found to eliminate or slow down the spread of the disease. High heat, disinfection, radiation - these don't kill the CWD prions.

How is it spread? Scientists believe CWD prions spread between animals through body fluids (e.g., feces, saliva, blood, or urine), either through direct contact or indirectly through environmental contamination of soil, food or water. Once introduced into an area or farm, the CWD prion (protein) is contagious within deer and elk populations and spreads.

Once CWD gets into the soil, it stays there for years, and so animals can contract it even after infected deer and elk have died. Recent research found that plants uptake the prions, where it remains infectious.

From Medical Xpress: Consumption of contaminated venison suspected in cases of deer hunters with prion disease

A small team of medical workers and researchers in the U.S. has published a case study of two men, both deer hunters, who developed a rare prion disease. In their study, published in the journal Neurology, the group describes the symptoms of the two patients and how they died.

...continue reading "Has Deer Chronic Wasting Disease Occurred In Humans?"

Published on Leave a comment on The EPA Proposes Relaxing Standards For A Toxic Pesticide

Once again the EPA is about to let us down - by not protecting us (the consumers) and giving in to big business. Against the advice of scientists and scientific advisory panels, the EPA is about to really relax standards for the toxic pesticide acephate.

This pesticide is an insecticide (kills insects) used on food crops, such as celery, lettuce, peppers, and tomatoes. So when you eat non-organic produce, you will also be ingesting the pesticide. But... studies find it is linked to neurological harms (e.g., autism, reduced scores on intelligence tests, hyperactivity). It also causes harms to bees and other pollinators, fish, and other mammals.

How could this happen? The EPA is only relying on industry studies (notorious for being biased) and ignoring independent studies that find harms. The EPA is proposing allowing 10 times more on foods  than is now allowed. Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) banned acephate 20 years ago!

The EPA also proposed relaxing standards for a similar pesticide - malathion. Nope, nope, nope - for all the same reasons .

Excerpts from the investigative news site ProPublica on April 24, 2024: 10 Times as Much of This Toxic Pesticide Could End Up on Your Tomatoes and Celery Under a New EPA Proposal

When you bite into a piece of celery, there’s a fair chance that it will be coated with a thin film of a toxic pesticide called acephate.

The bug killer — also used on tomatoes, cranberries, Brussels sprouts and other fruits and vegetables — belongs to a class of compounds linked to autism, hyperactivity and reduced scores on intelligence tests in children. ...continue reading "The EPA Proposes Relaxing Standards For A Toxic Pesticide"

Published on Leave a comment on Welcome To Global Weirding

There's a new word that describes all the weird weather we've been having recently. It's global weirding. It describes the weird weather extremes that we've been experiencing - for example, the extreme heat in Arizona last summer (more than a month of over 110 degrees F), extreme wildfires (Canada last year), extreme torrential rains.

All sorts of weather records are being broken each year. This weird and extreme weather is occurring because our climate is changing. Thomas Friedman described global weirding years ago. He wrote in the NY Times:

"Avoid the term “global warming.” I prefer the term “global weirding,” because that is what actually happens as global temperatures rise and the climate changes. The weather gets weird. The hots are expected to get hotter, the wets wetter, the dries drier and the most violent storms more numerous."

From Discover: As Weather Extremes Increase in 2023, Global Weirding Becomes a Better Term

While temperatures in Phoenix soared above 110 degrees Fahrenheit for a record-shattering 31 straight days in July, people began turning up in emergency rooms with third-degree burns they’d suffered after falling — their skin seared by blistering hot pavement. Although not unprecedented, burn specialists said the number and severity of injuries were much higher than ever before. ...continue reading "Welcome To Global Weirding"

Published on Leave a comment on Meat and Poultry “Product of USA” Labels Will Soon Be Accurate

Finally there will be truth to the label "Product of USA" when it comes to meat and poultry. Starting in 2026, the USDA will soon only allow Product of USA labels on meat, poultry, and egg products from animals that were actually born, raised, slaughtered, and processed in the USA. This eliminates a loophole that big producers use and which hurts American farmers and ranchers, and is also misleading to consumers.

It all comes down to money, of course. It's cheaper for the big producers to raise, slaughter, and process animals in other countries, and then only do final packaging in the US - which is why current regulations allow meat and poultry to say Product of USA, even though it's not. This hurts American farmers and ranchers who have higher expenses, and which gives the big companies even bigger profits. Too bad the rules only take effect by Jan. 1, 2026 - almost 2 years from now!

From Investigate Midwest: USDA will implement long-awaited change to country-of-origin labeling rules

A long-awaited rule that changes which meat and poultry goods can bear the label “Product of U.S.A.” will give consumers better information and result in fairer compensation for U.S. farmers and ranchers, agriculture experts predict. ...continue reading "Meat and Poultry “Product of USA” Labels Will Soon Be Accurate"

Published on Leave a comment on Oral Vaccine for Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections
E. coli bacteria Credit: NIAID

Soon there may be an oral vaccine for recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs). That is wonderful news for millions of women suffering from frequent urinary tract infections, who wind up taking repeated courses of antibiotics. Yet they keep getting UTIs.

In a small study, 54% of the persons who took the vaccine remained UTI free for the entire 9 year follow-up period, with the average UTI free period in the group (72 women and 17 men) of 4 1/2 years. The researchers said the results were a "game-changer" for the study participants.

In this study, the vaccine was given "off label" in the UK. 40% of the group had repeated doses after 1 or 2 years. Please view the study as having preliminary results, especially because the study did not have a control group that didn't receive the vaccine. There were no notable adverse effects from the vaccine .

The vaccine, called Uromune (MV140), was developed by Immunotek in Spain. The vaccine is composed of inactivated whole bacteria commonly associated with UTIs: E.coli, K. pneumoniae, P. vulgaris, and E. faecalis. It is taken every day - 2 sprays of a pineapple flavored liquid under the tongue for three months.

The vaccine is not approved by the FDA in the US at this time. It is currently pending approval in Canada and available off-license in 26 countries, including Mexico. Clinical trials are now going on. It has been in use for several years (more than 40,000 patients).

What to do now? While you're waiting for US FDA vaccine approval, why not try D-mannose for UTIs? It's non-prescription, safe, available as capsule or powder, works well for most species implicated in UTIs (such as E. coli),  and readily available. Studies support its use as either a preventive or a treatment for UTIs, and as a replacement for antibiotics.

The vaccine results were recently presented at a European medical conference. From Medical Xpress: Oral vaccine for UTI is potential alternative to antibiotics, finds 9-year study

Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) can be prevented for up to nine years in more than half of people given an oral spray-based vaccine and is a potential alternative to antibiotic treatments, finds research. ...continue reading "Oral Vaccine for Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections"

Published on Leave a comment on Pesticides and Other Chemicals Stored in Home Garages Linked to ALS Risk

For a while now researchers have been finding that certain environmental chemical exposures are linked to the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which is commonly called Lou Gehrig's disease. Frequent exposure to pesticides and heavy metal and VOC exposure in solvents (e.g., in woodworking) are linked to ALS.

A recent study found that storing chemicals such as gasoline, kerosene, gasoline-powered equipment, lawn care pesticides, paint, and woodworking chemicals in an attached home garage is also linked to a higher risk for ALS. These are toxic chemicals that are volatile - get into the air.

The researchers felt that not only did the persons with ALS have a history of exposure by working with the chemicals, the chemicals also leach into the air when stored in the home (the attached garage). Every time the door to the garage is opened, the chemicals in the garage air rush into the home.

Earlier studies found higher amounts of pesticides in people with ALS, as well as faster disease progression. Certain pesticides show up repeatedly in studies, including 2,4-D, glyphosate, carbaryl, and chlorpyrifos. Note that 2,4-D is in popular feed and weed products (and was in Agent Orange), and glyphosate is in the commonly used Roundup.

ALS is a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disease. There is progressive loss of motor neurons, the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord that control voluntary muscle movement and breathing.

From Science Daily: Chemicals stored in home garages linked to ALS risk

Over the last decade, researchers at University of Michigan continue to find that exposure to environmental toxins -- from pesticides used in agriculture to volatile organic compounds in the manufacturing industry -- is linked to the development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. ...continue reading "Pesticides and Other Chemicals Stored in Home Garages Linked to ALS Risk"

Published on Leave a comment on Certain Gut Bacteria Are Associated With Lower Cholesterol Levels
Intestines Credit:Wikipedia

New discoveries about our gut microbiome (the community of viruses, bacteria, fungi) keep occurring. There is growing evidence that certain bacterial species in the gut are associated with cholesterol levels and heart disease.

Adding to the evidence, a recent study found that people with higher levels of several species of Oscillibacter bacteria had lower cholesterol levels than people without or diminished levels of these bacteria. The researchers than  found (in the lab) that these species of Oscillibacter bacteria actually take up and metabolize artery-clogging cholesterol, which could explain the lower cholesterol levels.

By the way, other species (e.g., Eubacterium coprostanoligenes)  were also associated with lower cholesterol levels in the study. The same people with higher levels of beneficial bacteria also had greater diversity of gut bacteria, which is considered a sign of gut health.

Species of Oscillibacter bacteria are not available in any supplements at this time. You'll just have to eat a diet that feeds and nurtures beneficial gut microbes.

And what is a health-promoting diet? A recent study found that a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, and olive oil promotes healthy bacteria in the gut, which are associated with good health. This also is a diet high in fiber. Think along the lines of a Mediterranean diet.

From Science Daily: Scientists link certain gut bacteria to lower heart disease risk

Changes in the gut microbiome have been implicated in a range of diseases including type 2 diabetes, obesity, and inflammatory bowel disease. Now, a team of researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard along with Massachusetts General Hospital has found that microbes in the gut may affect cardiovascular disease as well. In a study published in Cell, the team has identified specific species of bacteria that consume cholesterol in the gut and may help lower cholesterol and heart disease risk in people. ...continue reading "Certain Gut Bacteria Are Associated With Lower Cholesterol Levels"