Hugo Rodier, MD

“Free sugars” linked to increased cardiovascular disease

“CNN (2/14/23, Rogers) reports, “Eating a lot of free sugars – also known as added sugars – might feel harmless in the moment, but it could increase your risk for getting cardiovascular disease, a new study” published in the journal BMC Medicine found. Researchers “assessed diet and health data from more than 110,000 people who participated in U.K. Biobank.” Study participants completed “two to five 24-hour online dietary assessments, logging their food and beverage intake multiple times within each 24-hour period.” After more than nine years of follow-up, they “found total carbohydrate intake wasn’t associated with cardiovascular disease.” However, when researchers “analyzed how outcomes differed depending on the types and sources of carbohydrates eaten, they found higher free sugar intake was associated with a higher risk for cardiovascular disease and greater waist circumference.”

Comment: nothing wrong with natural sugars found in all foods; it’s the processing of sugar that leads to cellular dysfunction and microbiome imbalances.

Sugar substitute linked to blood clotting, heart attack

“CNN (2/27/23, LaMotte) reports, “A sugar replacement called erythritol – used to add bulk or sweeten stevia, monk-fruit, and keto reduced-sugar products – has been linked to blood clotting, stroke, heart attack and death, according to” new research. The study, published in Nature Medicine, found that “people with existing risk factors for heart disease, such as diabetes, were twice as likely to experience a heart attack or stroke if they had the highest levels of erythritol in their blood.”

Comment: we have been duped into consuming artificial sweeteners. They have been shown to be toxic on cell membranes and other parts of our cells.

Ultra-processed foods linked to higher cancer risk, mortality

Healio Minute, February 01, 2023

“Greater intake of ultra-processed foods was associated with an increased risk for overall and site-specific cancer, particularly ovarian cancer, as well as cancer-related mortality, a study published in eClinicalMedicine found. According to Kiara Chang, MSc, a faculty member of medicine at the Imperial College London School of Medicine, and colleagues, cancer cases are expected to reach 28.4 million by 2040. “However, at least 50% of cancer cases could be potentially preventable and an unhealthy diet is a key modifiable risk factor,” they wrote.

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are among the most concerning dietary habits contributing to cancer burden, Chang and colleagues noted. UPFs, they added, are often “liable to overconsumption,” high in fat and low in whole foods. “Besides their poorer nutritional composition, UPFs may additionally increase cancer risk through neo-formed contaminants during industrial processing, use of some controversial food additives, and certain materials of packaging implicated in exhibiting carcinogenic and/or endocrine disrupting properties,” they wrote.”

Comment: they have more sugar and less water and micronutrients. They also unbalance our microbiome, which is 2/3 of our immune-detox system. Remember that 85% of cancers are environmentally driven.

Phthalates tied to higher incidence of T2D (Type II Diabetes)

“MedPage Today (2/8/23, Monaco) reports, “Exposure to phthalates…was linked with a higher incidence of type 2 diabetes” (T2D) “among women, but only those who were white, researchers” concluded. The study “of over 1,300 women without diabetes” revealed that “certain phthalate metabolites were associated with a higher incidence of diabetes during six-year follow-up in a crude model,” but “these associations disappeared after adjusting for age, race and ethnicity, location, education, menopausal status, physical activity, smoking status, and dietary energy intake.” The findings were published online in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. “Among white women,” however, “for every doubling of the concentrates of mono-isobutyl phthalate, monobenzyl phthalate, mono-carboxyoctyl phthalate, mono-carboxy isononyl phthalate and mono-(3-carboxypropyl) phthalate, there was an associated 30% to 63% higher diabetes incidence…the researchers wrote.” In spite of this, however, “phthalates were not associated with diabetes incidence among Black or Asian women.”

Comment: Toxic chemicals affect cellular function, mostly by making cell membranes less receptive to insulin. They also compromise our microbiome’s cell membranes.

Daily higher-dose vitamin D supplementation may help stave off T2D in people with prediabetes

“MedPage Today (2/6/23, Monaco) reports, “Daily higher-dose vitamin D supplementation may help stave off diabetes in an at-risk population, researchers” concluded. In a three-study meta-analysis totaling 4,190 individuals, researchers found that “vitamin D reduced the risk for type 2 diabetes” (T2D) “by 15% in people with prediabetes…in a model adjusted for age, gender, body mass index…race, and HbA1c,” translating “to a 3.3%…absolute risk reduction over the course of three years,” according to findings published online in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Middle-age workers who earn low wages have elevated mortality risk, study indicates. CNN (2/21, McPhillips, Wallace) reports, “Middle-age workers who tend to earn a low wage have an elevated mortality risk, especially when they experience unstable employment, according to a study.” Investigators “tracked employment and health metrics for about 4,000 workers in the U.S. across a 12-year period, using data…collected between 1992 and 2018.” The data indicated that “workers who had a sustained history of low wages – annual earnings below the poverty line for a family of four – were 38% more likely to die over the course of 12 years than those who had never experienced low-wage earnings.” The findings were published in JAMA.”

Comment: vitamin D is not a vitamin; it’s a pre-hormone involved in many cellular functions. Keep your vitamin D levels between 50-70.

Higher vitamin B levels associated with less metabolic syndrome for young adults

Healio Minute, January 31, 2023

“Vitamin B status was inversely associated with incident metabolic syndrome among Black and white young adults in the U.S., according to an analysis of the CARDIA study published in JAMA Network Open. “To the best of our knowledge, data remain unavailable on the longitudinal association of these B vitamin intakes with the development of metabolic syndrome among the general population of adults in the U.S.,” Jie Zhu, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the nutrition and foods program at the School of Family and Consumer Sciences at Texas State University, and colleagues wrote.”

Comment: B vitamins are crucial for practically all cellular function, including how our DNA works (see article above). Given our poor microbiomes, which limits absorption of B vitamins, and food processing, we do well to supplement B Complex.

Adequate hydration slows biological aging, reduces disease

Healio Minute, January 03, 2023

“Adults with elevated serum sodium in middle age, a marker of inadequate fluid intake, were more likely to be biologically older than their chronological age and develop chronic diseases compared with adequately hydrated adults, data show. “There has been a shift in thinking about the roles of good hydration,” Natalia Dmitrieva, PhD, senior research scientist in the Laboratory of Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine at the NHLBI, told Healio. “Traditionally, the focus has been on short-term effects of big water losses that occur, for example, during prolonged exercise or exposure to heat. In recent years, a growing number of epidemiological studies show links between poor hydration and adverse long-term health outcomes such as HF, diabetes and kidney function decline, and now also with chronic diseases in general and premature mortality.” Researchers found that a serum sodium of more than 142 mmol/L in middle age was associated with a 39% increased risk for developing chronic diseases (HR = 1.39; 95% CI, 1.18-1.63), whereas a serum sodium of more than 144 mmol/L was associated with a 21% elevated risk for premature mortality (HR = 1.21; 95% CI, 1.02-1.45).”

Comment: it is well to drink water to avoid thirst and avoid eating dehydrated, packaged foods that add to the problem.