Articles of the Week

Health Benefits of Oregano by Jillian Kubala, RD
The antioxidant properties of oregano has been known for quite a while. This gives information in a quick read.

If it feels too hot to run, maybe it is – Catharina Giudice
A good article about exercising outside in our heat waves. You may think you are beyond having to stop in the heat, but I have seen healthy, strong, young people collapse this summer.

Scientists discover cause of IBD, potential treatment transformation
In my practice many times Irritable Bowel Disease [IBD] is caused by not eating enough and/or a variety of fiber. The client are terrified of lentils and beans or salads. Their dining history shows they almost never had these foods on a daily basis growing up or as budding adults. But, I see that they have a sleeping gut – a risk for colon cancer and depression. Their GI tract needs to be woken up, but slowly. That means including these foods, sometimes a tablespoon a day. This research discusses the “gut desert”. Please read the original article in Nature if you can for more info.

Emulsifier Chemicals Are Everywhere in Foods. Could They Raise Diabetes Risk?
This is preliminary data about a possible connection between emulsifiers in packaged foods. An Emulsifier is something that keeps two ingredients together. An example is mayonnaise. The protein in an egg yolk keeps the oil and any water [like from pickle relish in tartar sauce] together. My take from this is to minimize your intake of emulsifiers. As the data comes in from other researchers, we may find than it is dose dependent, meaning, a couple of times a month is fine, but not on a daily basis. There are some common emulsifiers that you can see on the ingredient labels listed in the article.

The impact of non-nutritive sweeteners on fertility, maternal and child health outcomes: a review of human and animal studies
Most of us know about sugars not being great during pregnancy, but with the maternal and birth mortality rates soaring, maybe we need a refresher course.

Weight loss, bariatric surgery, and novel antidiabetic drugs effects on diabetic retinopathy: a review
With Type 2 Diabetes and bariatric surgery, we are looking to lower A1c levels. But another thing that occurs with T2D is the eye condition Diabetic Retinopathy, or damaging the vessels in the eye. Bariatric surgery may exacerbate decrease risk for this.

Women Are More Prone to Autoimmune Disorders Than Men, and Scientists May Know Why
Do you know any women having Lupus, Rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and scleroderma or another autoimmune disease? This may be important research demonstrating a contributing factor as to why women are affected at a higher rate than men. Remember, it’s just another book in the library of better understanding how the body works. It is NOT the complete answer. Lifestyle still has determinants on disease progression.

The anabolic response to protein ingestion during recovery from exercise has no upper limit in magnitude and duration in vivo in humans
This article has promise and problems. I am writing a blog about it. Two main points – 1) If protein absorption is higher than thought, this could be good news for people who need to build tissue. 2) They use a product that increases risk of prostate and breast cancer.

Adding key foods to a diet will help restore gut health
This gives a little more depth as to which foods FEED the gut biome. FYI – tempeh and shelf stable pickles in the US are pasteurized or put through a heat processing, so the microbiome promoting bacteria are killed. Pickles found in the refrigerated section Do have the goodies your gut loves.

Public health history course holds lessons for today
Think the debate about COVID vaccines is new? Nope. This sheds light on health issues throughout history.

Why weight loss drugs stop working and how to break past the Ozempic plateau
You may get the weight loss you need, but you are going to need to keep taking these drugs to maintain it. If you need to talk about your goals, contact me. Sometimes we just need a sounding board.

Could coffee grounds be the key to preventing Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s?
I’m posting this to make you read the article and better understand how research works. The researchers are very clear that this is in the works and has a long way to go to move from research to clinical use by people.

New Study Shows That Fish Oil Can Help Women 60+ Build Muscle
This study says NOTHING useful. The number of participants is 20. What does 20 people really show? Also, you can get Omega-3 oils from the original, non-contaminated source – microalgae. Fish DO NOT make O-3. They eat microalgae and store it in their flesh. And just in case you miss it, the website has a number of ads to purchase fish oil and physical activity training through them. We have NO idea how the fish oil increases anything. The researchers state that they did not test O-3 levels or body composition. So how do we know that the participants were not simply low in O-3 and taking a supplement increased their level to a point that helped their overall health. Absurd article purported to be science-based. This is an ad. Don’t be fooled.

Researchers Say Ammonium Is the Sixth Basic Taste: Here’s What to Know
This new discovery of another basic taste may have helped us stay alive as a species.

This isn’t NEW material, but it may be new to you. The European Commission, Directorate-General for Health and Consumers is clear that fluoridated water is not safe, especially for pregnant women, but fluoride toothpaste is due to not being ingested. Read it for yourself. This is support by a LOT of research, but best explained in their review.

Plant-Based Diets Rich In Vegetables, Nuts, And Tea Lower Risk Of Parkinson’s, Study Finds

This is an article for the average reader about how adding nuts and tea decreased Parkinson’s Disease risk by 18-25% in older adults.

Click here is the original article.

Abdominal Fat Linked to Lower Brain Volume in Midlife
What is new in this study is the look at specific types of body fat that appear to increase risk for volume decrease. The article also mentions an on-going Alzheimer’s study that may prove very useful for lifestyle protocols.