If you have been to my little office you will have noticed that literature books are a big part of the décor. Some may agree with my BBF who thinks I am just being pretentions. But there is a method to my madness: literacy has a significant impact on our health and longevity. (See below). If you are looking for a good book to read, send me an Email for suggestions.
Hugo Rodier, MD
U.S. adults with a college education may live longer lives
“U.S. News & World Report (8/27) reports, “Having a college education may help you live longer in the U.S. despite an overall decline in life expectancy among U.S. adults in recent years,” researchers concluded after examining “U.S. National Vital Statistics System data on more than 2.2 million deaths in 2010 and 2.4 million in 2017 among white and black non-Hispanic adults to estimate the impacts of sex, race and different levels of education on life expectancy at age 25 in the United States, based on American Community Survey midyear population estimates.” The findings were published in JAMA.”
Comment: college is not necessary to be literate. See article below.
Narrative Medicine: a model for empathy, reflection, profession and trust
JAMA 2001;286:1897
“…Close understanding if illnesses… The teaching of literature in medical schools has become widely accepted as primary means to teach about the patient’s experience and the physician’s interior development…Students already gifted with narrative skills are better able to develop into effective physicians than are students deficient in them.”
“Unlike logico-scientific knowledge, narrative medicine leads to an understanding of particular situations…to establish a therapeutic alliance… If the physician cannot perform these narrative tasks, the patient might not tell the whole story…The resultant diagnostic workup might be unfocused… The physician’s most potent therapeutic instrument is the self, which is attuned to the patient through engagement…Physicians have learned to practice medicine through detachment.”
Comment: serving on the UU School of Medicine’s Admissions’ Committee, I felt the best prepared premed student were those with a B average in English, Public Health, Philosophy and other humanities studies.
Plant Protein in Diet Tied to Lower All-Cause Mortality
Medscape August 27 2019, Veronica Hackethal, MD
August 27, 2019
“Our study suggests that plant protein may provide beneficial health effects and that replacement of red and processed meat protein with plant or fish protein may increase longevity.” August 26 in JAMA Internal Medicine. High-protein diets such as the paleo diet have become popular, and some short-term studies seem to support the health benefits of high-protein diets. These include more weight loss, preservation of lean muscle mass, and even improvement in cardiovascular risk factors such as cholesterol and blood pressure.”
Comment: most people still think animals are the only source of protein because of longstanding brainwashing by the Meat Industry. See next article.
Infants and children can meet nutritional needs on vegan diet, experts say amid ongoing debate
“The New York Times (8/24, Fortin) provided coverage of the debate around raising infants and small children on a vegan diet, in light of the news that “a judge in Australia said a couple had left their baby ‘severely malnourished’ on a strict vegan diet” and sentenced the parents to “300 hours of community service after they pleaded guilty to failing to provide for their daughter.” However, “experts said that, with proper guidance, children can be on a totally plant-based diet.” Similarly, “according literature from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the British Dietetic Association and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, vegan diets can meet the nutritional needs of infants and children, ideally with the participation of a pediatrician and a dietitian.”
Comment: they also develop strong bones off of dairy products.
The gut microbiome in food allergy
J. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2019 Mar;122(3):276-282.
“Gut dysbiosis likely precedes the development of food allergy, and the timing of such dysbiosis is critical. Gut microbiota associated with individual food allergies may be distinct. Murine models support the importance of gut microbiota in shaping immune maturation and tolerance. Gut microbiota may affect food allergy susceptibility by modulating type 2 immunity, influencing immune development and tolerance, regulating basophil populations, and promoting intestinal barrier function. Ongoing and future interventional trials of probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, and fecal microbiota transfer will help translate our understanding of the gut microbiome in food allergy to clinical practice. Future work in this area will include deepening of current research foci, as well as expansion of efforts to include the virome, mycobiome, and interactions between the microbiome, host, and environment. Robust and consistent study designs, multidimensional profiling, and systems biology approaches will enable this future work. By advancing research on the microbiome in food allergy, we can further our understanding of food allergy and derive new approaches for its prevention and therapy.”
Comment: balance your microbiome with good nutrients that feed probiotics (prebiotics). If your food allergy does not go away, you may need to see an allergy specialist for desensitization.
Hormones in menopause increase breast cancer risk for years
“CNN (8/29, Howard) reports that “certain hormone replacement therapies have long been tied to an increased risk of breast cancer,” and a new study published in The Lancet “suggests that in some cases, that risk can persist for more than a decade.” Investigators “found that risks increased steadily the longer the hormone replacement therapy was used, and were greater for estrogen-progestogen hormone therapies than for estrogen-only hormone therapy.” The data indicated that “every type of hormone replacement therapy, except for vaginal estrogens, was associated with excess breast cancer risks.”
Comment: menopause changes are tolerable in women who eat a plant-based diet, exercise, avoid xenoestrogens in the environment and take care of themselves. Unfortunately, less that five percent of them are able to do so.
Alternate-day fasting healthy benefits
“Reuters (8/27, Rapaport) reports, “People who start fasting every other day may lose more weight than they would if they stuck to their usual eating habits,” investigators found in a 60-person, four-week, randomized study. Medscape (8/27, Lewis, Subscription Publication) reports, “Alternate-day fasting…had positive effects on body weight, cardiovascular measures, and molecular markers of aging when assessed in a randomized controlled trial among healthy adults without obesity or diabetes,” research indicated. The findings were published online in the journal Cell Metabolism.”
Comment: even more benefits are seen when we eat a plant-based diet free of processed foods.
High-fat diet during pregnancy may decrease Alzheimer’s risk in offspring
“Newsweek (8/27) reports a study in mice indicates “eating a high-fat diet during pregnancy could prevent offspring from developing Alzheimer’s disease later in life.” The study, published in Molecular Psychiatry, found “the high-fat diet appeared to preserve the memory of the mice, as well as the functioning of their synapses” and “was also linked to less of a build-up of amyloid beta.”
Comment: only if you eat healthy fats like avocados, fish and nuts.
Excessive napping may be early warning sign of Alzheimer’s disease
“USA Today (8/17, Hines) reported researchers found that “increased, excessive napping could be an early warning of Alzheimer’s disease, AD.” The findings were published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia.”
Comment: Yes and No. It is true that a nap induced by excessive sugar for lunch makes us sleepy. Such a meal triggers a rise in insulin, which is very inflammatory to the brain, hence the increase risk of AD. However, a healthy plant-based meal does not do that. Hundreds of articles prove that naps are good for you. This is one of the many reasons why Mediterranean people are healthier. Disclaimer—I was raised napping on account of my Chilean-French background. I still take naps.
Link between maternal fluoride intake, IQ reduction
“The Washington Post (8/19, Guarino) reports a study published in JAMA Pediatrics suggests that children “whose mothers drank fluoridated tap water while pregnant had slightly lower IQ scores than children whose mothers lived in non-fluoridated cities. USA Today (8/19, Alltucker) reports the study evaluated children aged three and four with cognitive tests and “researchers reported a small drop in IQ scores among kids whose moms had higher levels of fluoride exposure when pregnant.” USA Today adds, “Experts not involved in the limited observational study say that one research paper should not change public policy on the widespread use of community fluoridated water. Reuters (8/19, Emery) reports the study “did not examine whether drinking fluoridated water or getting the mineral from other sources after birth suppresses a child’s intelligence.” The findings also differed by gender, as “the effect was clear for boys. Girls, on the other hand, showed an increase in I.Q., but it wasn’t statistically significant.”
Comment: this is a very emotional issue. I am going to punt and ask you to study this issue in depth by reading The Fluoride Deception by Christopher Bryson.
