Studies linking “disparate” health problems appear in medical journals rather frequently. They also appear to confound patients and some doctors. Rather than pursue an integrative view of such results, the latter dismiss them as “controversial.” This is understandable, if we consider their unbalanced left-brain approach. Readers of this newsletter are familiar with the pitfalls inherent in that view of the world. See the article below. Hugo Rodier, MD
Allergy history associated with greater risk for coronary heart disease, hypertension
Healio Minute, April 15, 2022
“Adults with a history of allergic disorders faced an increased risk for hypertension and coronary heart disease, according to a study presented at ACC Asia Together with the Korean Society of Cardiology Spring Conference. ‘We discussed the risk [for] cardiovascular disease (CVD) among patients with inflammatory skin disease, which is an important allergy disease.’ Further, recent studies suggest an association between allergic disorders and CVDs. However, the findings remain controversial.”
Comment: the evidence showing that heart disease and hypertension are inflammatory problems—as allergies are—is overwhelming. Said inflammation is unleashed by an overwrought immune system. You know by now where 70% of your immune system resides. So, eat your veggies and quit sugar so that your microbiome doesn’t trigger allergies. If you don’t listen to it, you may be on your way to heart disease.
“Stanford Accelerated Intelligent Neuromodulation Therapy (SAINT), a form of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), reduced severe depression symptoms in 90% of participants in a small trial, researchers reported in The American Journal of Psychiatry.”
Comment: magnet technology for the treatment of mood disorders is finally mature enough to recommend. Make sure you find a reputable practitioner, though.
Is Acupuncture for Pain Control Just an Elaborate Placebo?
F. Perry Wilson, MD, MSCE. Medscape, February 28, 2022
“Most good randomized trials of acupuncture compare “real” acupuncture with “sham” acupuncture. In these designs, needles are placed in the body regardless – but in the real acupuncture arm they go in those traditional energy spots, and in the sham group they go in other spots. Meta-analyses of acupuncture trials that include a sham of this type tend to conclude the same thing: Real acupuncture is better than usual care, but sham acupuncture is just as good. In other words, it’s not where you stick the needles; it’s just sticking needles, or the whole experience surrounding the sticking of needles.”
Comment: this makes a lot of sense. The “science” of where to stick the needles and the elaborate, ancient maps of the body always struck me as imprecise and impractical.
Can Fermented Foods Boost Mental Health?
Drew Ramsey, MD. Medscape, March 22, 2022
“Over 17 weeks, investigators conducted a two-arm intervention. In one arm, they took individuals from eating about 21.5 g of fiber a day all the way up to 45 g of fiber a day. In the other arm, they increased the amount of fermented foods that individuals were eating, including things like kombucha, kefir, yogurt, and kimchi. At the beginning of the study, these individuals were eating about 0.4 servings of fermented foods per day, which they increased all the way up to 6.3 servings of food a day. Should we be eating that much fermented food? Well, the results of this study were quite interesting. Let’s talk about the fiber group first. As so many of our patients are moving toward plant-forward or plant-based diets, they’re eating a lot more fiber. In general, that’s a great idea and one that we often consider key to having a good, healthy, diverse microbiome.
But it turns out in this study that that’s not exactly what happens. By eating more fiber and plants, you don’t actually change immune status, microbiome diversity, and immune function in the same way you do with fermented foods.
In the fermented-food group, however, there were significant findings in terms of decreasing biomarkers like interleukin-6, finding every measure of microbiome diversity increased, and showing an overall modulation of immune status.”
Comment: we have to question the quality of the probiotics used in the study. The field is riddled with ineffective products. Still, the findings are a ringing endorsement of fermented foods, which our ancestors consumed liberally.
Greater exposure to PFAS endocrine-disrupting chemicals increases diabetes risk for women
Healio, April 12, 2022
“Middle-aged women exposed to higher levels of the endocrine-disrupting chemical class of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, have an increased risk for developing diabetes, according to study data. ‘Given that almost all people are exposed to these known ‘forever chemicals’ as well as innumerable alternatives and substitutes, such as short-chain PFAS, through drinking water, foods, air and consumer products, reduced exposure to PFAS, even before entering midlife, may be a key preventive approach to lowering the risk of diabetes,’ Sung Kyun Park, ScD, MPH, associate professor in the departments of epidemiology and environmental health sciences at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, told Healio. Park and colleagues analyzed data from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN) Multi-Pollutant Study, which was conducted to evaluate the roles of multiple environmental pollutants in chronic diseases during and after the menopausal transition. The findings were published in Diabetologia.”
Comment: it used to be anathema to bring up this issue. Now it is finally ready for prime-time. But we still have aways to go. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals are also behind thyroid problems and some forms of cancer.
Artificial Sweeteners Linked to Breast and Obesity Cancers
THE PRESS ASSOCIATION (Jane Kirby, PA Health Editor). March 24, 2022,
“Some artificial sweeteners may not be a good alternative to sugar and could push up the risk of cancer, scientists have suggested. Experts from the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research, and Sorbonne Paris Nord University, analyzed data and suggested a potential increased risk for breast cancer and obesity-related cancers. The new study, published in PLOS Medicine, examined data for 102,865 French adults.”
Comment: Whence artificial sweeteners? Pesticides. Artificial sweeteners don’t help you lose weight. They have been associated with a higher risk of diabetes, too.
Heartburn Drug Shows Promise Against COVID-19
“NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – In adults with mild to moderate COVID-19, treatment with a high-dose of famotidine led to early resolution of symptoms and inflammation in a randomized placebo-controlled trial. ‘”We found that famotidine is safe at the higher doses used and see molecular and clinical evidence that it improves the recovery of symptomatic patients of diverse ancestries diagnosed with COVID-19,’ lead investigator Dr. Tobias Janowitz, at Northwell Health and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York, said in a news release. ‘We closely monitored patients in this fully remote clinical trial while protecting their safety and that of health care providers in pandemic conditions.’ Famotidine also improved the COVID-19 outcomes in some retrospective studies and a case series, but evidence from a controlled clinical trial was lacking, until now.”
Comment: interestingly, famotidine works by suppressing acid in the stomach. Is it affecting our microbiome in a positive way? It most surely does not in the long run.
Gut microbiota in patients with COVID-19 syndrome
J. Gut March 22 02022
“At 6 months, 76% of patients had [chronic symptoms] and the most common symptoms were fatigue, poor memory and hair loss. Gut microbiota composition at admission was associated with occurrence of [those symptoms]. Patients without [them] showed recovered gut microbiome profile at 6 months comparable to that of non-COVID-19 controls. Gut microbiome of patients with [chronic symptoms] were characterized by higher levels of Ruminococcus gnavus, Bacteroides vulgatus and lower levels of Faecalibacterium prausnitzii. Persistent respiratory symptoms were correlated with opportunistic gut pathogens, and neuropsychiatric symptoms and fatigue were correlated with nosocomial gut pathogens, including Clostridium innocuum and Actinomyces naeslundii (all p<0.05). Butyrate-producing bacteria, including Bifidobacterium pseudocatenulatum and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii showed the largest inverse correlations with [chronic symptoms] at 6 months.”
Comment: this is why people eating poorly are severely affected by infections.
Midlife antibiotic use in women linked to cognitive decline
Healio Minute, April 01, 2022
“Women who reported at least 2 months of antibiotic exposure in midlife experienced small decreases in cognition, which may be due to changes in the gut microbiome, data published in PLoS One showed. Researchers conducted a population-based cohort study among women nurses who reported lifestyle, medications and health-related factors in the Nurses’ Health Study II starting in 1989. In 2009, participants (mean age, 54.7 years) reported their antibiotic use over the past 4 years, which was considered their midlife antibiotic use. Then, between 2014 and 2018, participants self-administered the CogState neuropsychological battery. The results were used to assess cognitive decline in 14,542 women.”
Comment: the brain-gut connection. We continue to take antibiotics like there is no tomorrow. Many of them are necessary, but some are not. Be glad when your doctor tells you that you don’t need an antibiotic. The more we use them, the more we weaken or microbiome. It is always sending messengers to the brain, which may include inflammatory signals. Moreover, the microbiome provides energy and nutrients for your brain.
