When I was in Medical school in the early 80s only one in 2,500 children had Autism. It’s a lot more than that now. Why? Have our genes mutated? Are we better at diagnosing the problem? The answer is the same as every other disease: poor diets, toxic environments, and unrelenting emotional and physical stress. Unfortunately, these factors are seldom addressed by our dysfunctional Health Care system. It is too busy with the other ten percent of issues that influence our health.[1] As you know, this newsletter is dedicated the neglected ninety percent, the only instance my wife says I side the majority. Hugo Rodier, MD.
One in 40 U.S. children have autism
“This figure was derived “from one of three periodic surveys the government uses to assess autism rates.” The figure is “higher than a different survey’s estimate published earlier this year…the surveys use different methods and measure different populations of kids so the results aren’t really comparable.” The findings were published online in Pediatrics. The estimate “comes from parents of 50,000 children nationwide who completed the 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health.” It is estimated that 1.5 million American children ages three to 17 have been diagnosed with autism, for a prevalence rate of 2.5%.”
Prenatal exposure to traffic-related air pollutant may be tied to autism
“CNN (11/19, Scutti) reports, “Prenatal exposure to ambient air pollution was associated with an increased risk of autism spectrum disorder.” HealthDay (11/19, Reinberg) reports researchers found that prenatal exposure to nitric oxide, “a common” traffic-related “air pollutant…was tied to higher odds of a child being diagnosed with autism by age” five. The findings of the 132,000-child study were published online Nov. 19 in JAMA Pediatrics.” Comment: Vaccines? It is likely part of the problem. But, putting all the blame on them is not realistic. Autism is a multifactorial problem: too many toxins with an additive effect, and poor diets leading to poor detoxification in the gut bacteria and liver.
Effects of childhood trauma may be associated with mental illness, addiction in adulthood
“NPR (11/9, Blakemore) reports research published online Nov. 9 in JAMA Network Open “shows how the effects of childhood trauma persist and are linked to mental illness and addiction in adulthood.” For this reason, “researchers say…it might be more effective to approach trauma as a public health crisis than to limit treatment to individuals.” In arriving at this conclusion, researchers “drew on the experiences of participants from the Great Smoky Mountains Study, which followed 1,420 children from mostly rural parts of western North Carolina, over a period of 22 years.”
Comment: Trauma overwhelms the HPA axis: The hypothalamus, Pituitary, and Adrenals may be set for life to hyper-respond to life’s challenges. All medical problems may be helped by Stress Management Techniques like Yoga, and herbs like Ashwaghanda.
PUFAs for Anxiety, Medscape – Sep 21, 2018.
“Treatment with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) may decrease symptoms of anxiety in patients with a range of conditions, including borderline personality disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), new research suggests. In a systematic review and meta-analysis, both placebo-controlled and non-placebo-controlled trials showed that omega-3 had at least some effect on patients with anxiety. This treatment may provide a safer option than “highly addictive” anxiolytics in some patients, lead author Kuan-Pin Su, MD, PhD, vice dean and professor, College of Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan, told Medscape Medical News. “For patients who are not responsive to traditional anxiety treatment, such as antidepressants or psychotherapies, omega-3 PUFAs might be a promising alternative and adjunctive treatment with a great safety profile.”
Comment: Yet, Big Pharma continues to plant negative articles on Omega oils, hoping you spend a lot more on their pharmaceutical version.
Dioxins in Food More Harmful Than Thought, Medscape 11/20/2018.
“LONDON, Nov 20 (Reuters) – The European Food Safety Authority on Tuesday slashed its recommended limits in food of dioxins and related toxins – chemicals that have been linked to problems with reproductive health, the immune system, hormone levels and tooth enamel. Dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs are by-products of industrial activities and can accumulate in the food chain, notably in fatty fish, cheese, eggs and farmed meat. New data and techniques for modelling how long dioxins stay in the body convinced EFSA that the maximum weekly intake should be cut to just 2 trillionths of a gram per kilogramme of body weight – one seventh the previous limit, set in 2001.” Comment: Dioxins are still found in some tampons. It was also in Agent Orange.
Common Household Chemicals Tied to Language Delays in Kids MEDSCAPE Oct 29 2018
“The risk for language delay was as much as 30% greater in children whose mothers were exposed to twice the levels of dibutyl and butyl benzyl phthalate, two chemicals commonly found in such everyday items as cosmetics, plastic toys, and food.” Comment: Phthalates are not the only problem with plastics. Bisphenol A has also been associated with health problems like diabetes, obesity and cancer.
Compounds common in dark roast coffee may reduce risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases
“USA Today (11/7, May) reports researchers found that “phenylindanes prevent two protein fragments common in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.” The article explains that phenylindanes are compounds that result from the process of roasting coffee, and that “dark roast coffee yields the highest quantities of phenylindanes.” The findings were published in Frontiers in Neuroscience.” Comment: this is because of the high antioxidant content of coffee, the same reason it has been shown to help with circulatory issues (“Aortic stiffness predicts the incidence of dementia,” J. Alzheimer’s Disease, Oct 16 2018.)
Differences in microbiome among different ethnic communities
“The New York Times (11/8, Yin) reports researchers are “studying the relationship among ethnicity, migration history and the digestive system’s microbiome” with the aim of gaining “insights on health disparities in diverse communities.” In one study published in Nature Medicine, researchers “compared the gut microbiomes of adults from Amsterdam’s six largest ethnic groups,” and “discovered significant differences in overall gut microbe composition.” In another study (PDF) published in Cell, researchers in Minnesota studied “how migration alters the human gut microbiome” in local communities of migrants.”
Comment: this is a major factor in disease patterns, not race. Think of Epigenetics.
Diet rather than age causes blood pressure to increase
“The New York Times (11/14, Bakalar) reports researchers comparing “two communities in a remote area of the Venezuelan rain forest” found that “diet, rather than advancing age,” is “a cause of higher blood pressure. JAMA Cardiology.”
Comment: more than ninety percent of the elderly end up with hypertension. Since many of us do not have this problem, it cannot be due to ageing. The treatment of choice is ACE inhibitor drugs like Lisinopril. Unfortunately, they increase the risk of with lung cancer (BMJ 2018;363:k4209.) And you thought that the cough you may get from those drugs was bad. Speaking of coughing and the Microbiome…
Obesity linked to childhood asthma
“The New York Times (11/26, Bakalar) reports research published in Pediatrics found that as many as 10 percent of childhood asthma cases may be connected to obesity. The retrospective study “included 507,496 children followed for an average of four years.” The research team estimates that “23 to 27 percent of asthma cases in obese children can be attributed to the obesity itself.”
Comment: the Microbiome is where we metabolize (obesity and diabetes.) It is also where the inflammation that afflicts the bronchioles is generated. What can you do about it? See below.
Reducing carbohydrates, increasing fat intake may rise metabolism
“The New York Times (11/14, O’Connor) reports that a study published in the BMJ has “found that overweight adults who cut carbohydrates from their diets and replaced them with fat sharply increased their metabolisms.” Researchers found that “after five months on the diet, their bodies burned roughly 250 calories more per day than people who ate a high-carb, low-fat diet, suggesting that restricting carb intake could help people maintain their weight loss more easily.” The Chicago Tribune (11/14, Schoenberg) reports, “Those on the low-carb diet burned 209 to 278 more calories per day than those on the high-carb diet, a difference that would lead to an estimated 22-pound weight loss over three years if researchers weren’t intervening to maintain weight.” The study indicated that “the effect was even larger for those who produced high levels of insulin in response to carbohydrates; they burned 308 to 478 more calories a day on the low-carb diet than they did on the high-carb diet.”
Comment: I recommend non-animal fat first and foremost, in addition to fish, nuts, and avocados. If you are going to consume animal fats, get them from organic farms.
AMA wants warning labels for foods high in added sugars
“Reuters (11/13, Mersie) reports the AMA wants the FDA to develop warning labels for the front of packages “for foods high in added sugars.” Albert J. Osbahr, III, M.D., a member of the AMA’s Board of Trustees, said, “When consumers have access to the amount of sugar they are consuming they may choose foods with less sugar,” which might “help prevent debilitating chronic medical conditions, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease which affect millions of Americans.” Sugar Association CEO Courtney Gaine said the step “does nothing but mislead consumers because it is an idea not grounded in science and does not support FDA’s rationale for setting the daily value in the first place.”
Comment: better yet—don’t eat food with labels
More calories burned at rest in late afternoon
“TIME (11/8, Ducharme) reports that in a study focusing on “calorie burning at rest,” investigators found that “humans burn about 10% more calories in the late afternoon than they do late at night, laboratory experiments found.” The findings were published online in the journal Current Biology.”
Comment: take naps.
- “Raising Health Care Quality,” JAMA 2002;287:177 ↑
