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Published on Leave a comment on Life Expectancy Gap Between Men and Women Is Widening

Women have been outliving men for more than a hundred years. But a recent study found that this gap in life expectancy has been widening for more than a decade. This gap is now 5.8 years. Life expectancy (combined for both men and women) was 78.8 years in 2019 (pre-Covid 19), but was 76.1 years in 2021.

Why is this gap widening? The main reasons for men's life expectancy decreasing are Covid-19 and opioid overdoses. Other reasons are suicide, accidents (unintentional injuries), heart disease, and alcoholic liver disease.

On the other hand, the gap may be shrinking since the development of Covid vaccines and better treatments, as well as widely available overdose treatments (Naloxone).

From Science Daily: US men die 6 years before women, as life expectancy gap widens

We've known for more than a century that women outlive men. But new research led by UC San Francisco and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health shows that, at least in the United States, the gap has been widening for more than a decade. The trend is being driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and the opioid overdose epidemic, among other factors. ...continue reading "Life Expectancy Gap Between Men and Women Is Widening"

Published on Leave a comment on Promising New Approach For Treating Deadly Brain Cancers

There may be new treatments on the horizon for the most aggressive and deadly brain cancer known as glioblastoma. The median survival is less than one year, so this is very exciting news.

Two studies, using slightly different approaches, were tested on a very small number of patients (3 in one study, 6 in the other). Both approaches used the patient's own modified T-cells (part of immune system) to attack the brain tumor. Initially there was amazing shrinkage of the tumors, but unfortunately this effect was only temporary for most.

The ultimate goal is to make treatments that have long-lasting effects. By the way, glioblastoma is the brain cancer that killed President's son Beau, as well as Arizona Senator John McCain.

[Click on the article link to see amazing MRI scan images of brain tumor shrinkage.] From Medical Xpress: A new strategy to attack aggressive brain cancer shrank tumors in two early tests

Scientists took patients' own immune cells and turned them into "living drugs" able to recognize and attack glioblastoma. In the first-step tests, those cells shrank tumors at least temporarily, researchers reported Wednesday. ...continue reading "Promising New Approach For Treating Deadly Brain Cancers"

Published on Leave a comment on Firearms and Elevated Lead Exposure In Children

Lead is harmful, especially for children. Lowered IQ, learning disabilities, behavioral problems - all from lead exposure. There are no safe lead levels in individuals, so you want to avoid lead and lead-containing products whenever possible. So it shouldn't be a surprise that a study found that owning guns (firearms) is correlated with elevated lead levels in children.

The cause is the lead ammunition (bullets) and primer used in the firearms. Lead styphnate is commonly used in the primer, which is the explosive that ignites the gunpowder. When a bullet is fired, fumes and fine lead particles are released into the air.

The researchers point out: When lead bullets are used, and the guns are discharged, then lead dust is produced. This lead dust gets everywhere, including on clothes, the body, personal items (e.g., phone, bags, laptop), and in vehicles. The lead dust is brought home, where it further settles on toys, the floor, rugs, and upholstery.

By the way, for hunters bringing home meat they killed with lead bullets - the lead (from tiny fragments or microscopic pieces) gets into the meat far from the bullet. So they are eating meat contaminated with lead. And the more of this meat is eaten, the higher the blood levels in the person.

Bottom line: Use non-lead bullets in firearms. 

From Science Daily: Firearm ownership is correlated with elevated lead levels in children, study finds

Childhood lead exposure, primarily from paint and water, is a significant health concern in the United States, but a new study has identified a surprising additional source of lead exposure that may disproportionately harm children: firearms. ...continue reading "Firearms and Elevated Lead Exposure In Children"

Published on Leave a comment on Over 30 Health Harms Associated With Ultra-Processed Foods

The studies finding health harms from ultra-processed foods keep coming. Ultra-processed foods are food products manufactured with all sorts of ingredients (additives) not normally found in our kitchens. Examples of such ingredients are: emulsifiers, carrageenan, mono- and diglycerides, soy lecithin, polysorbate, cellulose, colors, titanium dioxide, high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, dextrose, whey protein, nitrates, flavors (artificial and natural), colors, etc.

A large review of studies (none of which were affiliated with companies producing ultra-processed foods) found that eating ultra-processed foods are linked to over 30 health harms. Some of the health harms had especially strong associations: early death, death from heart disease (cardiovascular disease), type 2 diabetes, adverse sleep outcomes, wheezing, and obesity. In general, the more ultra-processed foods one ate, the higher the risk for harms.

Bottom line: Read ingredient lists, and try to avoid ultra-processed foods. Even foods such as cereals can have one that is ultra-processed (a formulation of ingredients that result from industrial processes) next to one that only has natural real ingredients without any additives.

From Medical Xpress: Consistent evidence links ultra-processed food to over 30 damaging health outcomes

Consistent evidence shows that higher exposure to ultra-processed foods is associated with an increased risk of 32 damaging health outcomes including cancer, major heart and lung conditions, mental health disorders, and early death. ...continue reading "Over 30 Health Harms Associated With Ultra-Processed Foods"

Published on Leave a comment on Food Additives and Higher Cancer Risk

Most Americans eat highly processed or ultra-processed foods every single day, with most of their daily calories from them! There are all sorts of health risks from these foods, with a recent study finding an overall increased risk of cancer, as well as prostate and breast cancer.

Emulsifiers are food additives found in many ultra-processed foods. A large French study found that higher intakes of the emulsifiers carrageenan, mono and diglycerides are linked to an overall increased risk of cancer, as well as an increased risk in prostate and breast cancers.

Bottom line: Read the ingredients listed on labels! As much as possible, try to only buy and cook foods with ingredients that you would find in a kitchen. For example, flour, sugar - yes, chemical sounding names - no.

From Medscape: Are Food Emulsifiers Associated With Increased Cancer Risk?

...continue reading "Food Additives and Higher Cancer Risk"

Published on Leave a comment on Why Many “Organic” Foods From Other Countries Are So Cheap

There is a huge problem in the organic foods industry, and it's a problem that our government refuses to address. The issue is that many of the imported foods into the US are actually not organic, and are not complying with organic standards. The result is that crops grown in the US, from farms following organic standards, can not compete with the low prices of fraudulent "organic" imports.

Now there is a follow-up to the lawsuit filed last October 2023 by Organic Eye and others about this "organic" fraud and lack of oversight by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) of foreign organic imports. It turns out that big business and industry lobbying groups are just fine with the lack of oversight and fraud - because it's great for their bottom line (billions of dollars!) And so they are opposing the lawsuit!

Many organic imported foods from places like China, Brazil, and Turkey are actually not organic, and this is why their "organic" foods are so inexpensive.  (The Washington Post and others have written about the fraud.)

Instead, try to buy organic foods grown and produced in the US, Canada, the European Union - and also from local farmers.

The following are excerpts from a follow-up article from Organic Eye - the investigative watch-dog group, who are trying to make sure that organic food really is organic. Go check out their site and read the full article, as well as others on the site.

Excerpts from Organic Eye - Organic Civil War: US Farmers Face off in Court Against Importers of Potentially Fraudulent Food

Last fall an Oregon organic hazelnut farmer filed a federal lawsuit against the USDA alleging the agency’s complacency in allowing massive imports that do not meet the federal statutory requirement that all certified farms be inspected on an annual basis. The lawsuit suggested this opens up a large percentage of the US organic food supply to wholesale fraud.

Instead of collaborating with the farmer-plaintiff and the nonprofit farm policy research group backing the effort, OrganicEye, to tighten up oversight on international organic production, a consortium of business interests has now filed an amicus (“friend of the court”) brief on behalf of the USDA and the status quo, worth billions of dollars in international commerce. ...continue reading "Why Many “Organic” Foods From Other Countries Are So Cheap"

Published on Leave a comment on Winter Warmth Broke Records

It's March 1, which means meteorological spring is here. Cold winter is over, yet it didn't feel that cold for most. In fact, the last year has been unprecedented and shocking with all the warm records that were set.

This past winter was the warmest on record for the lower 48 in the United States - when looking at records going back to 1880. January was the eighth straight month Earth set a new warm record - a streak that started in June 2023.

Makes you wonder what's ahead for us this year. Will we keep breaking records for warmth? Probably yes.

From Weather Underground: It Was America's Warmest Winter On Record, Preliminary Data Shows

Winter was the warmest on record in the contiguous U.S. since the late 19th century, and was particularly warm from parts of the upper Midwest into the Northeast.

M​eteorologists group seasons into tidy three-month buckets that more closely follow average temperatures, rather than astronomical seasons that follow the changing sun angle. Meteorological winter follows the typically coldest months of the year from December through February.

E​xcept for some, it didn't feel all that cold this winter. 

Published on Leave a comment on Hidden Ingredients In Tattoo Inks

Tattoos are incredibly popular these days. But do persons getting a tattoo actually know what's in the tattoo inks? Are they safe?

Unfortunately, the answer is that the inks are underregulated. A recent study found that many of the ingredients are not listed on the tattoo ink label. Only since 2022 has a law been passed giving the FDA oversight, but so far nothing much has happened.

A recent study by Binghamton Univ. researchers found that found that when they examined 54 tattoo inks from 9 manufacturers in the US, they found that 45 of them contained unlisted additives and/or pigments. More than half contained the unlisted ingredient polyethylene glycol, which can cause organ damage through repeated exposure. Other unlisted ingredients were propylene glycol, 2-phenoxyethanol (health risks to nursing infants), and azo containing dyes. Many of the unlisted ingredients posed possible allergic or other health risks.

The researchers only looked at additives present in large amounts (2000 parts per million or ppm). Once again European regulations are stricter with oversight down to 2 ppm.

Much is still unknown about health effects from the inks in tattoos. But it is known that there is persistent inflammation and also that some particles in dyes migrate to the lymph nodes in the body. Colorful tattoo inks can contain toxic elements such as nickel, chromium, cadmium, aluminum.

From Ars Technica: Caveat emptor: 90% of tattoo inks have unlabeled or mislabeled ingredients

If you live in the US and are planning on getting a tattoo any time soon, we've got some potentially unwelcome news. Many common commercial tattoo inks have either different ingredients than those listed on the label or additional substances that are not listed at all, according to a new paper published in the journal Analytical Chemistry. And there are other scientific studies suggesting that some of those ingredients could have adverse health effects, either in the form of allergic reactions or skin or other cancers.

...continue reading "Hidden Ingredients In Tattoo Inks"

Published on Leave a comment on Artificial Sweeteners Alter the Gut Microbiome
Small intestine Credit: Wikipedia

It turns out that artificial sweeteners alter the gut microbiome, specifically the duodenum (the first part of the small intestine after the stomach). And not in a good way.

The gut microbiome is the community of microbes (bacteria, fungi, viruses) that lives in the small intestine - and it looks different in persons who use artificial sweeteners compared to persons who don't.

Researchers found that artificial sweeteners lowered microbial diversity (not good), and increased numbers of harmful bacteria in the duodenum. They also alter inflammation markers that circulate in the blood in a negative way. The use of non-aspartame artificial sweeteners (sucralose, saccharin, stevia) had slightly different effects than aspartame, but both overall had negative effects (when compared to gut microbiomes of persons not ingesting artificial sweeteners in their diet).

From Medical Xpress: Could artificial sweeteners alter your microbiome?

You may think that artificial sweeteners can help you lose some weight, but a new study finds they are no good for your gut's microbiome. ...continue reading "Artificial Sweeteners Alter the Gut Microbiome"

Published on Leave a comment on A Five Day Fasting-Mimicking Diet Has Health Benefits

Another recent study found numerous health benefits in persons following an intermittent fasting-like diet for 3 months. It resulted in changes in blood and liver markers indicating a lower risk for several diseases (e.g., diabetes), and it reduced biological age 2.5 years.

Researchers found that following a diet that mimics fasting 5 days, then a normal diet 25 days for 3 monthly cycles improve a number of cardiometabolic risk factors such as reduced insulin resistance and other pre-diabetes markers. It also decreased abdominal fat and liver fat, and improved immune system functioning.

What did they eat during the 5 fasting-like days? They ate plant-based, low-calorie, and low-protein foods such as vegetable-based soups, energy bars, energy drinks, chip snacks, chamomile tea, and a supplement providing high levels of minerals, vitamins, and essential fatty acids. The foods were prepackaged and provided by an outside company to ensure the diet was followed.

But more importantly, the participants didn't really fast the 5 days - they just really cut back on calories, and ate plant-based foods. In other words, this type of diet is much easier to follow than a total fast, especially for several months. After the 5 days, the participants resumed eating their normal diet for the next 25 days.

From Medical Xpress: Fasting-like diet lowers risk factors for disease, reduces biological age in humans: Study

Cycles of a diet that mimics fasting can reduce signs of immune system aging, as well as insulin resistance and liver fat in humans, resulting in a lower biological age, according to a new USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology-led study. ...continue reading "A Five Day Fasting-Mimicking Diet Has Health Benefits"