INTEGRATIVE HEALTH EDUCATION
Volume 21 Number 8 August 2020
This month’s editorial highlights the book below.
Read it and weep. Hugo Rodier, MD
Gut dysbiosis contributes to amyloid pathology, associated with C/EBPβ/AEP signaling activation in Alzheimer’s disease mouse model
J. Science Advances 2020;6:eaba0466
“The gut-brain axis is bidirectional, and gut microbiota influence brain disorders including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). CCAAT/enhancer binding protein β/asparagine endopeptidase (C/EBPβ/AEP) signaling spatiotemporally mediates AD pathologies in the brain via cleaving both β-amyloid precursor protein and Tau. We show that gut dysbiosis occurs in 5xFAD mice, and is associated with escalation of the C/EBPβ/AEP pathway in the gut with age. Unlike that of aged wild-type mice, the microbiota of aged 3xTg mice accelerate AD pathology in young 3xTg mice, accompanied by active C/EBPβ/AEP signaling in the brain. Antibiotic treatment diminishes this signaling and attenuates amyloidogenic processes in 5xFAD, improving cognitive functions. The prebiotic R13 inhibits this pathway and suppresses amyloid aggregates in the gut. R13-induced Lactobacillus salivarius antagonizes the C/EBPβ/AEP axis, mitigating gut leakage and oxidative stress. Our findings support the hypothesis that C/EBPβ/AEP signaling is activated by gut dysbiosis, implicated in AD pathologies in the gut.”
Comment: the brain-gut connection at work, again. See article below. If you want to lower your risk of getting AD, stop eating sugar and load up on vegetable fiber to keep your gut bacteria happy. Then, the inflammation battering your brain will subside.
GI symptoms in Parkinson’s correlate with less microbial diversity
J. Neurology News, July 2020, p20. Am Acad Neurology
Comment: a poor microbiome has also been associated with pesticides, which are a factor in developing Parkinson’s.
Evidence has doubled in last five years about the negative health impact of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in U.S. products.
“CNN (7/21, LaMotte) reports that “evidence has doubled in the last five years about the negative impact on our health of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in plastics, pesticides, flame retardants and other merchandise, according to a new review” published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology. The review “lists recent studies that have linked endocrine-disrupting chemicals with weight gain in women and polycystic ovary syndrome, a significant cause of infertility.” Additionally, “these chemicals have…played a role in semen damage and prostate cancer in men, along with a host of other health concerns.”
Comment: they left out these chemicals’ role in breast and prostate cancer.
Cinnamon may improve blood sugar control in people with prediabetes
Washington, DC July 21, 2020
“Cinnamon improves blood sugar control in people with prediabetes and could slow the progression to type 2 diabetes, according to a new study published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society. It is estimated that nearly 90 million people in the United States have prediabetes, which occurs when blood sugar levels are higher than normal and often leads to type 2 diabetes. Identifying strategies to prevent the progression from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes is challenging, yet important for a large population.
“Our 12-week study showed beneficial effects of adding cinnamon to the diet on keeping blood sugar levels stable in participants with prediabetes,” said the study’s corresponding author, Giulio R. Romeo, M.D., of Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, Mass. “These findings provide the rationale for longer and larger studies to address if cinnamon can reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes over time.”
Comment: No, cinnamon buns don’t count.
Proton pump inhibitors tied to COVID-19 risk
Publish date: July 16, 2020 Medscape. By Laird Harrison. The study was published online on July 7 in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.
“People who use proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) may be more likely to get COVID-19, researchers say. In light of this finding, physicians should consider which patients truly need these powerful acid-lowering drugs, said Brennan Spiegel, MD, MSHS, professor of medicine and public health at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Calif.
“All it means is that we’re going to have a conversation with our patients,” he said in an interview. “We don’t normally have that conversation because we don’t live in an environment with a high risk of enteric infection. But now we’re in a pandemic.” SARS-CoV-2 uses the angiotensin-converting enzyme–2 receptor to invade enterocytes. Dr. Spiegel theorized that an increase in stomach pH above 3 as a result of use of PPIs might allow the virus to enter the GI tract more easily, leading to enteritis, colitis, and systemic spread to other organs, including the lungs. “There is a reason we have acid in our stomachs,” Dr. Spiegel said.
The surveying firm, Cint, contacted 264,058 people. Of the 86,602 eligible participants who completed the survey, 53,130 said they had experienced abdominal discomfort, acid reflux, heartburn, or regurgitation. These survey participants were subsequently asked about PPI and H2RA use. Of these, 6.4% reported testing positive for SARS-CoV-2. The researchers found that those who took PPIs up to once a day were twice as likely to have had a positive COVID-19 test result than those who did not take the drugs (odds ratio, 2.15; 95% confidence interval, 1.90-2.44). Those who took PPIs twice a day were almost four times as likely to have tested positive for the disease (OR, 3.67; 95% CI, 2.93-4.60).”
Comment: shutting off acid alters our microbiome and messes with absorption of nutrients. Both have a negative impact on our immune system.
Women who eat fish or shellfish may consume enough omega-3 fatty acids to counteract effects of air pollution on brain
“CNN (7/15, Kent) reports researchers found “eating more than one to two servings a week of fish or shellfish may allow older women to consume enough omega-3 fatty acids to counteract the effects of air pollution on the brain.” The findings were published in Neurology.”
Comment: our brains are 80% fat. Some people’s brains are 100% fat…
The association between dietary and skin advanced glycation end products: the Rotterdam Study
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2020;112:129–137
Comment: you want to look younger? Stop eating sugar. See below.
Mediterranean diet intervention alters the gut microbiome in older people reducing frailty and improving health status: the NU-AGE 1-year dietary intervention across five European countries.
J. Gut Feb 17 2020. “Ageing is accompanied by deterioration of multiple bodily functions and inflammation, which collectively contribute to frailty. We and others have shown that frailty co-varies with alterations in the gut microbiota in a manner accelerated by consumption of a restricted diversity diet. The Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) is associated with health. In the NU-AGE project, we investigated if a 1-year MedDiet intervention could alter the gut microbiota and reduce frailty.”
