Our culture is obsessed with youth. Most people will do anything to live longer, except the only thing that has a significant impact on our longevity—get rid of ultra-processed foods. (See article below) Ironic, isn’t it? It gets more ironic when we see that most people who want to live longer fear getting older!
Hugo Rodier, MD
Long-term study shows higher intake of ultra-processed foods increases mortality risk
Healio Minute, May 09, 2024
“Meat, seafood and poultry ready-to-eat foods had the strongest associations with mortality. The findings support limiting the consumption of certain ultra-processed food types. Greater intake of ultra-processed foods, like sugary drinks and ready-to-eat products, was associated with a slightly higher risk of all-cause mortality, according to results of a 30-year study published in BMJ Open. Previous research has shown that ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) are tied to higher risks of cancer and cancer-related mortality, as well as mortality in people with type 2 diabetes.”
Plant-based diets not tied to hip fracture risk for postmenopausal women
“Healio (3/1/24, Welsh) “Long-term adherence to healthful or unhealthful plant-based diets was not associated with risk for hip fracture among postmenopausal women, according to Network Open.” In the study, “overall, 2,038 hip fracture cases occurred during the study period and during follow-up of 30 years. Long-term diet adherence was not associated with hip fracture risk in this cohort.”
Comment: the dairy industry would have you believe that you must consume milk to have strong bones—not true. Vegetarians and this study prove it. The main thing is to maximize absorption of calcium through a strong microbiome. It does best with a plant-based diet.
Prepare meals at home to limit PFAS endocrine-disruptors
Healio Minute, February 28, 2024
“Young adults who drink more tea and eat more pork and processed meat had higher serum PFAS levels. Preparing more meals at home was associated with lower PFAS exposure to higher levels of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, according to study results published in J. Environmental International.”
Comment: PFAS are also dubbed “forever chemicals.” I like better what the European Union calls them: “eternal pollutants.” Once they are released in the environment, we cannot get rid of them. They are another reason why we do well to avoid processed foods. Eating a plant-based diet boosts your body’s ability to detoxify them through your microbiome and liver. See below.
Women with fatty liver disease twice as likely to die as men
“HealthDay (1/29/24, Mundell) reports, “Fatty liver disease can cause liver damage and can be one health effect of long-term heavy drinking. Now, research shows that the illness can prove even more deadly for women who drink than for men.” In a study published in the Journal of Hepatology, “about a fifth of the study group developed some form of fatty liver disease over time, the researchers found, and men were twice as likely to have the condition as women. However, over a follow-up period averaging about 27 years, women with fatty liver disease had twice the odds of dying compared to men.”
Comment: fatty liver curtails proper detoxification of chemicals like “eternal pollutants.” They are also dubbed “endocrine disruptors.” They also disrupt metabolism, which is why they are also called “obesogens,” and diabetogens.” You can take it from here as to how they increase mortality.
Study finds physiological differences in patients with a chronic fatigue condition
“The New York Times (2/21/24, Belluck) reports that seven years ago, the NIH “began a study of patients with” myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), during which 17 participants “engaged in a series of tests and evaluations of their blood, bodies and brains.” The study found “notable physiological differences in the immune system, cardio-respiratory function, gut microbiome and brain activity of the” patients with ME/CFS “compared with a group of 21 healthy study participants.” The study’s “findings may have implications for patients with long COVID, which often includes symptoms that are similar or identical to those of ME/CFS.” The findings were published in J. Nature Communications.”
Comment: we are seeing the same physiologic differences in Long-COVID patients. Notice the microbiome is involved. We must stop telling these patients that “it is all in their heads.”
FDA allows Florida to import prescription drugs from Canada
“The New York Times (1/5/24, A1, Jewett, Stolberg, Longman) reported the FDA “has allowed Florida to import millions of dollars worth of medications from Canada at far lower prices than in the United States, overriding fierce decades-long objections from the pharmaceutical industry.” Notably, “Florida has estimated that it could save up to $150 million in its first year of the program, importing medicines that treat H.I.V., AIDS, diabetes, hepatitis C and psychiatric conditions.”
Comment: all states should be permitted to do it. Big Pharma has been fighting these efforts claiming that Canada’s drugs are not safe.
People who mostly sit at work have higher risk of mortality
“CNN (1/25/24, Hetter) “People who predominantly sit at work have a 16% higher risk of mortality from all causes, and a 34% higher risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease,” a study has found. According to researchers, “individuals who sit a lot at work would have to engage in an additional 15 to 30 minutes of physical activity per day” to counteract the increased risk. The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.”
Comment: get off your butt for two minutes for every thirty minutes of sitting. Get your own damn coffee.
Prenatal fluoride exposure tied to increased risk of neurobehavioral problems in children
“The Los Angeles Times (5/20/24, Kaplan) reports, “Adding fluoride to drinking water is widely considered a triumph of public health.” However, “new evidence from Los Angeles mothers and their preschool-age children suggests community water fluoridation may have a downside.” Published in JAMA Network Open on Monday, a new study “links prenatal exposure to the mineral with an increased risk of neurobehavioral problems at age 3, including symptoms that characterize autism spectrum disorder. The association was seen among women who consumed fluoride in amounts that are considered typical in Los Angeles and across the country.” NBC News (5/20/24, Edwards) reports, “Kids whose mothers had higher levels of fluoride in their urine were 83% more likely to exhibit a range of neurobehavioral issues, including anxiety, emotional reactivity and physical complaints, such as unexplained headaches and stomachaches, according to the forms the mothers had completed.”
Comments: fluoride used to be a hot issue. If you want to read more about it, I recommend “Fluoride Deception” by Bryson.
Utah flouts FDA with new placental stem cell law
J. Science 4/4/24. MEREDITH WADMAN
“The state of Utah is challenging the authority of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with a new, unusually bold law that allows patients to receive unapproved placental stem cell “therapies.” Observers predict that the law, which takes effect on 1 May, could significantly undermine FDA’s authority to regulate drugs and other treatments. The new statute, passed almost unanimously by both houses of the Utah legislature in February and signed by Governor Spencer Cox (R) last month, declares that Utah health care providers “may perform a [placental] stem cell therapy that is not approved by [FDA]” so long as they prominently note it is unapproved and obtain signed patient consent forms. Providers are defined as anyone in a long list that includes, in addition to physicians, naturopaths, chiropractors, podiatrists, pharmacists, nurses, and midwives—as long as their “scope of practice includes stem cell therapy.”
Comment: the wild west. Utah often leads the nation in economic parameters. At what price, though? Stem cell therapy does help some patients. It’s worth a try if you have money to lose.
