5G’s Crime Against Humanity

Richard Gale and Gary Null PhD

Progressive Radio Network, November 3, 2020

For those who may have watched last Sunday’s NFL games, they would have noticed a preponderance of advertisements hearkening the wonderful promises that the large variety of 5G technologies will bring into our lives.  The ads tout the interconnectivity of all things and the technological miracle underway.  For the casual viewer, it would seem as if life can never be the same without it. It is the new, essential and life-enhancing technology.

However, there are urgent facts solely missing from the networks’ commercials.  Fiber optic technology to increase Internet speed has been with us for over a decade. Therefore, speed is not the primary issue on the table. People could have high connectivity and yet not be exposed to 5G’s high EMF levels. Nor would thousands of satellites orbiting the earth be required. No, there is a far more nefarious agenda behind 5G in order to usher in the international globalists’ Fourth Industrial Revolution.  The World Economic Forum’s slide presentation, “Why is 5G Important for the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” outlines the multi-trillion dollar impact advanced connectivity will have on manufacturing, wholesale and resale, smart cities and homes, public services, transportation, real time banking, finance and insurance, agriculture and forestry, real estate, education, mining, health and medicine.

Sadly, 5G is destined to be a permanent fixture across the nation. At present, there is barely a chance to prevent it. The thousands of medical and environmental studies warning of high EMF’s dangers and the thousands of international scientists signing petitions to halt its deployment are unequivocally ignored or worse ostracized and cancelled.  Despite the pandemic, lockdowns and social distancing have not hindered 5G’s progress to connect every American into its spider’s web.  Last December, T-Mobile reached its goal of nationwide coverage of over 1.3 million square miles (34 percent of the US) for its 5G network and AT&T reached its milestone in July, which reaches 179 million people.  Nor will tribal lands and federal parks and historic sites be exempt. Trump’s FCC czar and ALEC insider Ajit Pai has pathologized the agency to assure 5G infrastructure build-outs will be expedited in these vulnerable areas.

There are no fundamental differences between Biden and Trump for accelerating the 5G roll out. Both argue that the global race to establish the Internet of Everything is critical for the US to maintain its leadership in the world.  Both are also committed to funding and expanding 5G’s high speed broadband into rural areas. Last year, the Trump administration awarded over $744 million “to support more than 80 broadband projects benefiting more than 430,000 rural residents in 34 states.”

In 2016, while running in the shadow of becoming the American Legislative Exchange Council’s president, Trump’s campaign, as expected, won the financial support of the primary 5G players: AT&T, Verizon, Charter Communications, Comcast, Intel and Qualcomm.  However, this year the tides tipped enormously toward Biden, who has received $97 million from the Communications/Tech sector versus Trump’s $18 million.  Alphabet (Google), Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, AT&T and Comcast overwhelmingly contributed to Biden’s war chest.

Amidst all of the hype and endless advertisements to woo Americans into the 5G dream of electronic comforts and efficiencies, the results thus far are rather dismal. There may be more hype than fact.  US Today reported that although the telecomm companies are rapidly deploying transmission “lanes,” they must use lower frequencies, which means that speeds are little different than 4G.  To gain access to 5G’s speed capabilities requires users to have a technology called mmWave that permits data to be transmitted at higher frequencies. The caveat is that mmWave signals don’t travel far and are highly sensitive to multiple interferences, including walls and windows. You would have to be outside, standing still and in the absence of moving people and vehicles, the article states, to even benefit from it. Verizon relies solely upon mmWave, which are only functional for short distances such as dense urban cities and require more installations; however, measurements seem to indicate that people were only accessing real 5G service 0.4 percent of the time.  Furthermore, 5G phones “haven’t been any better than 4G phones.”  Or course, in order to undermine these apparent flaws, articles advocating 5G’s benefits are quick to note that the technology is still being developed.

The only major difference is that users are being exposed to more dangerous electromagnetic frequency radiation.

No discussion, no open dialogue and no debate is permitted to conscientiously evaluate this Orwellian phenomenon.  Criticisms are censored across the left-right spectrum in network and cable news.  Yet for the older generations they have witnessed this charade before. During the first half of the 20^th century medical journals and associations advertised tobacco’s benefits. Whether physicians’ preferences were Chesterfield or Lucky Strike did not matter. The message was that smoking was good for us. However, neither a federal agency or the nation’s Surgeon General exposed this lie; rather it was from a whistleblower within the tobacco industry. All of the corporate executives knowingly lied under oath before Congress.  Only after this scandal became public did a light bulb switch on about the decades illness and death these lies had perpetuated.  Best estimate may be 10 million preventable deaths.

Everyone will be affected by 5G’s radiation. But it will not require three decades to observe its injurious effects. Unlike cigarettes, nobody has a choice whether she or he wishes to be exposed to 5G or not. It is all-pervasive.

This is a consequence of what happens when an entire nation is trapped into carelessly trusting a media empire ruled by serial liars and masters of disinformation campaigns for private corporate interests.

High homocysteine, vitamin deficiencies more common in cognitively impaired adults

Medical University of Havana (Cuba), December 28 2020. 

The October 2020 issue of MEDICC Review published the finding of Cuban researchers of a greater incidence of high homocysteine levels and low levels of several vitamins among older men and women with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer disease.

The study included 43 Alzheimer disease patients, 131 individuals with mild cognitive impairment and 250 subjects without cognitive impairment who participated in Cuba’s Aging and Alzheimer Study. Blood samples were analyzed for levels of vitamins A, B1, B2, B12, C and folate, and homocysteine.

Compared to the cognitively healthy group, Alzheimer disease patients had over five times the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency, nearly two times the rate of being deficient in vitamin B1, nearly three times the rate of B2 deficiency, more than double the rate of vitamin B12 deficiency, nearly four times the rate of vitamin C deficiency, three times the rate of folate deficiency, and more than three times the rate of elevated homocysteine levels. Subjects with mild cognitive impairment also had a greater risk of having high homocysteine and deficiencies in vitamins A and B2.

“This is the first study in Cuba to examine vitamin and homocysteine levels in older adults with Alzheimer disease or mild cognitive impairment, and results show a relationship between these nutritional indicators and the cognitive disorders,” authors Yeneisy Lanyau-Domínguez, MS, PhD, and colleagues announced.

They remarked that the availability of antioxidant vitamins is decreased in cognitive disorders due to oxidative stress, which increases the body’s antioxidant requirement. Furthermore, deficient B vitamin levels due to insufficient intake is a cause of high homocysteine in older adults, which can contribute to cognitive impairment and Alzheimer disease through several mechanisms.

“Longitudinal studies are needed to further understand the relationship between different nutritional biomarkers and dementia,” they recommended.

Junk food linked to sleep problems in teens

University of Queensland (Australia), December 23, 2020

Eating too much junk food has been linked with poor sleep quality in teens, a University of Queensland-led study has found.

UQ School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences researcher Associate Professor Asad Khan said frequent consumption of soft drinks and fast food was strongly associated with sleep disturbance in adolescents around the world.

“This is the first study to examine unhealthy diets and stress-related sleep disturbance on a global scale in high school students from 64 countries,” Dr. Khan said.

“Overall, 7.5 percent of adolescents reported stress-related sleep disturbance, which was more common among females than males.

“Sleep disturbance increased with more frequent consumption of carbonated soft drinks, that often contain caffeine, and/or fast foods, that are traditionally energy-dense and nutrient-poor.

“Teens who drank more than three soft drinks per day had 55 percent higher odds of reporting sleep disturbance than those who only drank one soft drink a day.

“Males who ate fast foods on more than four days per week had 55 percent higher odds of reporting sleep disturbance than those who only ate fast food once a week, while the odds were 49 percent higher in females.

“Frequent consumption of soft drinks more than three times a day, and fast foods more than four days per week, were significantly associated with sleep disturbance in all but low-income countries.”

Data was collected from the World Health Organization’s Global School-based Health Surveys between 2009 and 2016, which included 175,261 students aged 12 to 15 years from 64 low, middle, and high income countries across South East Asia, Africa, parts of South America and the Eastern Mediterranean.

“Teens in high-income countries had the highest association between frequent intake of soft drinks and sleep disturbance,” Dr. Khan said.

“Females in these countries showed the biggest connection between regularly eating fast foods and sleep problems.

“Adolescents in South-Asia showed a high connection between drinking soft drink and sleep disturbance, while those in the Western-Pacific region showed the greatest link between both soft drink and fast food consumption and sleep issues.”

Dr. Khan said the findings were of particular concern as poor quality sleep adversely impacted on adolescent wellbeing and cognitive development.

“The targeting of these unhealthy behaviors needs to be a priority of policies and planning,” he said.

“Strategies need to be customized and tailored across countries or regions to meet their local needs.

“As stress-related sleep disturbance was more common among girls than boys, girls should be a priority target group for associated interventions that could target stress management and sleep quality.

“Creating school environments to limit access to carbonated soft drinks and fast foods, and introducing a sugar tax to lessen the sales of soft drinks may be beneficial.

“Family can also be instrumental in promoting healthy eating as the adoption and maintenance of children’s dietary behaviors are influenced by their familial environments.”

Antimicrobial activity of rosemary leaf extracts and efficacy of ethanol extract against testicular damage caused by 50-Hz electromagnetic field

Minia University (Egypt), May 27, 2020

Rosemary is a restorative plant that has numerous utilizations in traditional medicine. In this investigation, rosemary leaf extracts were examined for their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. The antimicrobial activity was tested against 8 bacterial strains. The antioxidant feature of rosemary extract on rat testicular tissue after exposure to the electromagnetic field. Sixty adult male albino rats weighing 180-200 g (aged 2 months) were divided into six groups: control group, rosemary group (receiving rosemary extract at a dose of 5 mg/kg b.wt), EMF (2 h) group (exposed to 50 Hz and 5.4 kV per meter of magnetic field for 2 h), EMF (4 h) group (exposed to 50 Hz and 5.4 kV per meter of magnetic field for 4 h), EMF (2 h) + rosemary group (receiving both magnetic field for 2 h and extract), and EMF (4 h) + rosemary group (receiving both magnetic field for 4 h and extract). After 30 days, the rats were sacrificed, and some estimates were determined. Results exhibited that the ethanolic extract of rosemary leaves was active against pathogenic bacteria. Results also demonstrated that exposure to EMF diminished level of male hormones (e.g., follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), testosterone, and luteinizing hormone (LH)) in serum and catalase (CAT) activity remarkably and increased the malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in comparison to the control group. Signs of improvement in the male hormones, CAT activity, and MDA levels were noticed during the treatments with rosemary. Histological results showed that the rosemary extract inhibited the destructive effect of electromagnetic fields on testicular tissue. This research reveals that the ethanolic extract of rosemary has many beneficial effects that can be compelling in supporting individuals living with EMF ecological contamination.

Research conducted at University of North Texas has provided new information about food science

University of North Texas, December 26, 2020

According to news reporting out of Denton, Texas, research stated, “Botanical supplements derived from grapes are functional in animal model systems for the amelioration of neurological conditions, including cognitive impairment. Rats fed with grape extracts accumulate 3’–methyl-quercetin-3–b-d-glucuronide () in their brains, suggesting as a potential therapeutic agent.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the University of North Texas, “To develop methods for the synthesis of and the related 4’–methyl-quercetin-7–b-d-glucuronide (), 3–methyl-quercetin-3’–b-d-glucuronide (), and 4’–methyl-quercetin-3’–b-d-glucuronide (), which are not found in the brain, we have evaluated both enzymatic semisynthesis and full chemical synthetic approaches. Biocatalysis by mammalian UDP-glucuronosyltransferases generated multiple glucuronidated products from 4’–methylquercetin, and is not cost-effective. Chemical synthetic methods, on the other hand, provided good results; , and were obtained in six steps at 12, 18, and 30% overall yield, respectively, while was synthesized in five steps at 34% overall yield.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “A mechanistic study on the unexpected regioselectivity observed in the quercetin glucuronide synthetic steps is also presented.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

One psychedelic experience may lessen trauma of racial injustice

Ohio State University, December 28, 2020

A single positive experience on a psychedelic drug may help reduce stress, depression and anxiety symptoms in Black, Indigenous and people of color whose encounters with racism have had lasting harm, a new study suggests.

The participants in the retrospective study reported that their trauma-related symptoms linked to racist acts were lowered in the 30 days after an experience with either psilocybin (Magic Mushrooms), LSD or MDMA (Ecstasy).

“Their experience with psychedelic drugs was so powerful that they could recall and report on changes in symptoms from racial trauma that they had experienced in their lives, and they remembered it having a significant reduction in their mental health problems afterward,” said Alan Davis, co-lead author of the study and an assistant professor of social work at The Ohio State University.

Overall, the study also showed that the more intensely spiritual and insightful the psychedelic experience was, the more significant the recalled decreases in trauma-related symptoms were.

A growing body of research has suggested psychedelics have a place in therapy, especially when administered in a controlled setting. What previous mental health research has generally lacked, Davis noted, is a focus on people of color and on treatment that could specifically address the trauma of chronic exposure to racism.

Davis partnered with co-lead author Monnica Williams, Canada Research Chair in Mental Health Disparities at the University of Ottawa, to conduct the research.

“Currently, there are no empirically supported treatments specifically for racial trauma. This study shows that psychedelics can be an important avenue for healing,” Williams said.

The study is published online in the journal Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy.

The researchers recruited participants in the United States and Canada using Qualtrics survey research panels, assembling a sample of 313 people who reported they had taken a dose of a psychedelic drug in the past that they believed contributed to “relief from the challenging effects of racial discrimination.” The sample comprised adults who identified as Black, Asian, Hispanic, Native American/Indigenous Canadian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander.

Once enrolled, participants completed questionnaires collecting information on their past experiences with racial trauma, psychedelic use and mental health symptoms, and were asked to recall a memorable psychedelic experience and its short-term and enduring effects. Those experiences had occurred as recently as a few months before the study and as long ago as at least 10 years earlier.

The discrimination they had encountered included unfair treatment by neighbors, teachers and bosses, false accusations of unethical behavior and physical violence. The most commonly reported issues involved feelings of severe anger about being subjected to a racist act and wanting to “tell someone off” for racist behavior, but saying nothing instead.

Researchers asked participants to recall the severity of symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress linked to exposure to racial injustice in the 30 days before and 30 days after the experience with psychedelic drugs. Considering the probability that being subjected to racism is a lifelong problem rather than a single event, the researchers also assessed symptoms characteristic of people suffering from discrimination-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

“Not everybody experiences every form of racial trauma, but certainly people of color are experiencing a lot of these different types of discrimination on a regular basis,” said Davis, who also is an adjunct faculty member in the Johns Hopkins University Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research. “So in addition to depression and anxiety, we were asking whether participants had symptoms of race-based PTSD.”

Participants were also asked to report on the intensity of three common kinds of experiences people have while under the influence of psychedelic drugs: a mystical, insightful or challenging experience. A mystical experience can feel like a spiritual connection to the divine, an insightful experience increases people’s awareness and understanding about themselvess, and a challenging experience relates to emotional and physical reactions such as anxiety or difficulty breathing.

All participants recalled their anxiety, depression and stress symptoms after the memorable psychedelic experience were lower than they had been before the drug use. The magnitude of the positive effects of the psychedelics influenced their reduction in symptoms.

“What this analysis showed is that a more intense mystical experience and insightful experience, and a less intense challenging experience, is what was related to mental health benefits,” Davis said.

The researchers noted in the paper that the study had limitations because the findings were based on participant recall and the entire sample of recruited research volunteers had reported benefits they associated with their psychedelic experience – meaning it cannot be assumed that psychedelics will help all people of color with racial trauma. Davis and Williams are working on proposals for clinical trials to further investigate the effects of psychedelics on mental health symptoms in specific populations, including Black, Indigenous and people of color.

“This was really the first step in exploring whether people of color are experiencing benefits of psychedelics and, in particular, looking at a relevant feature of their mental health, which is their experience of racial trauma,” Davis said. “This study helps to start that conversation with this emerging treatment paradigm.”

Is there such a thing as an emotional hangover? Researchers find that there is

Rice University, December 26, 2020 

Emotional experiences can induce physiological and internal brain states that persist for long periods of time after the emotional events have ended, a team of New York University scientists has found. This study, which appears in the journal Nature Neuroscience, also shows that this emotional “hangover” influences how we attend to and remember future experiences.

“How we remember events is not just a consequence of the external world we experience, but is also strongly influenced by our internal states—and these internal states can persist and color future experiences,” explains Lila Davachi, an associate professor in NYU’s Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science and senior author of the study.

” ‘Emotion’ is a state of mind,” Davachi continues. “These findings make clear that our cognition is highly influenced by preceding experiences and, specifically, that emotional brain states can persist for long periods of time.”

We have known for quite some time that emotional experiences are better remembered than non-emotional ones. However, in the Nature Neuroscience study, the researchers demonstrated that non-emotional experiences that followed emotional ones were also better remembered on a later memory test.

To do so, subjects viewed a series of scene images that contained emotional content and elicited arousal. Approximately 10 to 30 minutes later, one group then also viewed a series of non-emotional, ordinary scene images. Another group of subjects viewed the non-emotional scenes first followed by the emotional ones. Both physiological arousal, measured in skin conductance, and brain activity, using fMRI, were monitored in both groups of subjects. Six hours later, the subjects were administered a memory test of the images previously viewed.

The results showed that the subjects who were exposed to the emotion-evoking stimuli first had better long-term recall of the neutral images subsequently presented compared to the group who were exposed to the same neutral images first, before the emotional images.

The fMRI results pointed to an explanation for this outcome.

Specifically, these data showed that the brain states associated with emotional experiences carried over for 20 to 30 minutes and influenced the way the subjects processed and remembered future experiences that are not emotional.

“We see that memory for non-emotional experiences is better if they are encountered after an emotional event,” observes Davachi.

How earthing saved one man’s life from EMF sickness

Natural Health 365, December 28, 2020 

For Stephen Sinatra, discovering a “new frequency” literally made the difference between life and death, and he credits “earthing” – a movement spearheaded by his father, noted integrative cardiologist Dr. Steve Sinatra – for his dramatic recovery.

Proponents of earthing, or “grounding,” say that the technique of contacting the earth in order to absorb its electromagnetic energy can help re-establish our primal connection, reverse harmful electrical charge in the body – and dramatically improve health and well-being.

What earthing can do for YOU – “I immediately got better…”

Step Sinatra agrees wholeheartedly, maintaining that his former lifestyle on Wall Street exposed him to massive radiation due to electromagnetic frequencies originating from the urban cityscape and his almost-constant cell phone use. Sinatra’s adverse effects from EMFs included nasal problems, coughing, congestion, fatigue, and a troubling sensation that something was “not right.”

These effects grew so severe that the younger Sinatra was hospitalized for forty days. After his father, author of “Earthing: The Next Great Medical Discovery,” suggested earthing – which included a program of walking barefoot and sleeping on sheets woven with silver – Step noted that he could feel a “new frequency” restoring him to health.

However, he suffered a relapse when a WIFI system and several cordless phones were installed in the house in which he was staying – demonstrating for him the difference between” good” and “bad” frequencies, and confirming his determination to continue earthing – while avoiding excessive EMFs.

Modern life physically disconnects us from the earth’s natural energy

Earthing proponents say that we are isolated from earth – and its supply of beneficial negative electrons — by our use of non-conductive materials such as rubber and synthetics in the soles of our shoes, as well as rubber-wheeled cars and bicycles, insulated homes and carpeted floors.

Human beings are already positively charged, and we pick up more voltage when our bodies act as antenna for electrical wiring, WIFI networks, cell phones, TVs and microwaves in the vicinity. This high voltage interferes with the body’s abilities to repair itself during sleep, and can cause unhealthy physiological changes – such as increased cortisol.

How “caveman medicine” can help

Walking barefoot on cool, damp sand, or running shoeless over warm, springy summer grass… there’s a reason that these actions feel so undeniably good – to the point that children, and many adults, intuitively seek out these activities and sensations.

According to Dr. Sinatra, putting bare feet to the ground – what he calls “caveman medicine” – is the cheapest, easiest way to soak up the earth’s negatively-charged electrons and combat destructive free radicals in our bodies. Benefits from “draining the charge,” says Dr. Sinatra, can happen within seconds – and are signaled by the sympathetic nervous system shifting to a more tranquil state.

This relaxed state is accompanied by decreases in muscle tension, changes in EEG brain waves and skin conductance.

Various studies performed by the National Institutes of Health have shown that the simple act of making contact with the earth can impart profound and measurable physiological benefits. And, these benefits seem custom-designed to help ward off the chronic degenerative conditions – including heart disease, diabetes and cancer — that currently plague many aging adults in the United States.

Earthing decreases levels of the stress hormone cortisol, reduces inflammation, enhances immune response, improves glucose regulation, and helps oxygenate the blood while reducing its viscosity – thereby helping to curtail risk of cardiovascular disease.

Earthing also delays the onset of muscle soreness after exercising, reduces the perception of pain, and regulates rates of pulse and respiration. Finally, there is evidence that grounding while sleeping – with the use of specialized grounding sheets – can reduce or eliminate sleep dysfunction.

Watch Dr. Steven Sinatra discuss the benefits of grounding – below:

Small lifestyle changes can add up to better health

In addition to grounding whenever possible, you can make lifestyle changes that reduce your exposure to positively-charged EMFs. Step Sinatra advises techniques such as disabling the WIFI button on the laptop when not in use, leaving cell phones on airplane mode for the majority of the day, using the speaker phone option on cell phones, and using a landline – whenever possible. As leather conducts the energy of the earth, wearing leather-soled shoes is also beneficial.

Many devotees of earthing report that they can physically feel a unique, gentle and life-affirming energy charge released during contact with earth – and they have christened it “vitamin G.”  If you feel you have a deficiency of “vitamin G,” the solution – contacting the earth – is free, devoid of side effects, completely natural and simple to employ.

Slash risk of cancer by eating more citrus, according to research

Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Harvard Medical School, December 16, 2020

According to the American Cancer Society, 1 in 125 men and 1 in 417 women will be diagnosed with esophageal cancer. While smoking significantly increases the risk of this potentially deadly disease – which has a 5-year survival rate of less than 50 percent – even people who have never smoked can develop it, especially if they drink a lot of alcohol, have a family history, have chronic acid reflux, or have other recognized risk factors.

While esophageal cancer accounts for just 1 percent of all U.S. cancer cases, you still might be wondering how to reduce your cancer risk for this and other conditions.  The good news? Protecting your health might involve something as sweet (and delicious) as simply eating more citrus fruit.

Eating citrus fruits may LOWER your risk of cancer by nearly 40 percent

Eating more oranges, clementines, grapefruits, tangerines, and other citruses may “significantly reduce [your] risk of esophageal cancer,” concluded the authors of a meta-analysis published in the peer-reviewed journal Medicine.

To come to this conclusion, the team of researchers assessed data from 19 studies looking at the link between esophageal cancer and intake of citrus fruits. By design, these studies (cohort and case-control) cannot be used to prove causation, but they are able to clarify the correlation between these two factors.

Specifically, it was determined that there was a significantly reduced esophageal cancer risk in people who reported eating more citrus fruits.

The researchers’ statistical analysis revealed an odds ratio of 0.63.  Odds ratio is used to measure the relationship between exposure to a given variable (e.g., citrus intake) and a given outcome (esophageal cancer).

In this case, an odds ratio of 0.63 means that the group who reported the highest level of citrus fruit intake had only 63% of the chances of developing esophageal cancer compared to people who report the lowest amount of citrus fruit. In other words, they were about 37 percent LESS likely to develop the deadly disease.

This research is corroborated by plenty of other studies, by the way, including one paper published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention which found that a high intake of green veggies in addition to citrus fruits was also cancer-protective.

Citrus fruit has also been shown to reduce the risk of other types of cancer as well, including cancers of the prostate, breast, and pancreas.

Studies suggest 4 vitamins to lower risk of severe cases of COVID-19

Eastern Virginia Medical School, December 24, 2020

The latest studies show an arsenal in your medicine cabinet could be quite simple, in the form of vitamins.

We get all types of medical tests to evaluate everything from blood pressure to cholesterol.

After dozens of studies have recently shown the importance of Vitamin D when fighting COVID-19, Dr. Peter Osborne with Origins Nutrition Center suggests, you consider a blood test to check your vitamin levels.

“I think that’s probably one of the smartest things that a person could do right now, with an unpredictable role of a relatively unknown illness. What we do know at this point about vitamin therapy, particularly about vitamin D, a new study has come out and a new analysis has come out on what we know about vitamin D and COVID. So far, here’s what we know: people with low vitamin D who get COVID have a greater tendency toward dying, have a greater tendency toward hyper-inflammation in the cytokine storm that comes with COVID, and have a greater tendency toward getting on ventilators, which are very bad because ventilators don’t work very well for COVID. When a person’s on a ventilator with COVID it’s not a good thing. So, the outcomes aren’t great, so if we can keep people off of ventilators and we can keep their immune system supported really well with nutrition, that ideally that makes the most sense,” explains Dr. Osborne.

He also says the most recent studies show that nine out of 10 COVID-19 deaths could be prevented if people had adequate Vitamin D levels.

Vitamin D in our bodies often goes down in the wintertime, because fewer people are outside and not soaking it up from the sun. You need at least 20 minutes of sunlight every day to get an adequate amount, which is why a supplement is often needed to get to a healthy level.

Some hospitals around the country are even using vitamins as a treatment for COVID-19, not just prevention.

“A lot of doctors are now learning this and coming out and saying it! The East Virginia School of Medicine actually has a COVID protocol that includes Vitamin D. So if you’re a patient who gets hospitalized for COVID, they’re automatically putting you on between 20,000 and 60,000 units of Vitamin D. This is part of their standard of care protocol in that hospital system,” says Dr. Osborne.

Dr. Osborne believes Vitamin D is one of the most simple and affordable ways to help you stay healthy.

“Vitamin D is very inexpensive. You can buy it at the local nutrition store, and it might just save your life, should you get sick. With vitamin D, there’s a therapy that can be done that I recommend, and it’s 1000 international units (IU) of vitamin D per pound. So if you’re 100 pounds, you would take 100,000 international units of vitamin D for three days. After that, you don’t have to keep taking those higher doses, but three days of high dose vitamin D will elevate your serum vitamin D levels to adequate levels,” states Dr. Osborne.

If you have a condition called sarcoidosis ? Dr. Osborne says this many vitamins would not be safe for you.

Along with following the CDC health guidelines, he encourages everyone to think of boosting their immune systems as a four-pronged approach, using four different supplements.

Number 1: Vitamin D, get your levels up, and you can also ask your doctor to test your levels, a very easy blood test.

Number 2: Vitamin C, we know it’s working well. There have been some studies on COVID where vitamin C has shown to have very good benefits in the outcome of an illness.

Number 3: Zinc stops viral replication multiple ways, so it prevents the virus from hijacking your DNA, prevents the virus from replicating. It also prevents the virus from entering the cell, so zinc is very important right now.

Number 4: Quercetin, which is what’s called a natural bioflavonoid. Quercetin opens up the cells in your body so that zinc can get inside your cells, where it works. So think of quercetin as the key. Think of zinc as the repairman, that is allowed into the house, so-to-speak,” says Dr. Osborne.

Some hospitals are treating COVID with all four of those supplements. Dr. Osborne says these are the ones to focus on to cover your bases, nutritionally. There are only a few dietary sources of vitamin D like cod liver oil, fatty fish, and mushrooms that could help you reach the recommended daily allowance, but you would have to eat a lot of it.

The Secret to Longevity? 4-Minute Bursts of Intense Exercise May Help

Including high-intensity training in your workouts provided better protection against premature death than moderate workouts alone

Norwegian University of Science and Technology, December 22, 2020

If you increase your heart rate, will your life span follow?

That possibility is at the heart of an ambitious new study of exercise and mortality. The study, one of the largest and longest-term experimental examinations to date of exercise and mortality, shows that older men and women who exercise in almost any fashion are relatively unlikely to die prematurely. But if some of that exercise is intense, the study also finds, the risk of early mortality declines even more, and the quality of people’s lives climbs.

Scientists have known for some time, of course, that active people tend also to be long-lived people. According to multiple past studies, regular exercise is strongly associated with greater longevity, even if the exercise amounts to only a few minutes a week.

But almost all of these studies have been observational, meaning they looked at people’s lives at a moment in time, determined how much they moved at that point, and later checked to see whether and when they passed away. Such studies can pinpoint associations between exercise and life spans, but they cannot prove that moving actually causes people to live longer, only that activity and longevity are linked.

To find out if exercise directly affects life spans, researchers would have to enroll volunteers in long-term, randomized controlled trials, with some people exercising, while others work out differently or not at all. The researchers then would have to follow all of these people for years, until a sufficiently large number died to allow for statistical comparisons of the groups.

Those obstacles did not deter a group of exercise scientists at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway, however. With colleagues from other institutions, they had been studying the impacts of various types of exercise on heart disease and fitness and felt the obvious next step was to look at longevity. So, almost 10 years ago, they began planning the study that would be published in October in The BMJ.

Their first step was to invite every septuagenarian in Trondheim to participate. Mortality studies involving older people are the most likely to return useful data, the scientists reasoned, since, realistically, there will be more deaths among the elderly than the young, making it possible to compare differences in longevity between study groups.

More than 1,500 of the Norwegian men and women accepted. These volunteers were, in general, healthier than most 70-year-olds. Some had heart disease, cancer or other conditions, but most regularly walked or otherwise remained active. Few were obese. All agreed to start and continue to exercise more regularly during the upcoming five years.

The scientists tested everyone’s current aerobic fitness as well as their subjective feelings about the quality of their lives and then randomly assigned them to one of three groups. The first, as a control, agreed to follow standard activity guidelines and walk or otherwise remain in motion for half an hour most days. (The scientists did not feel they could ethically ask their control group to be sedentary for five years.)

Another group began exercising moderately for longer sessions of 50 minutes twice a week. And the third group started a program of twice-weekly high-intensity interval training, or H.I.I.T., during which they cycled or jogged at a strenuous pace for four minutes, followed by four minutes of rest, with that sequence repeated four times.

Almost everyone kept up their assigned exercise routines for five years, an eternity in science, returning periodically to the lab for check-ins, tests and supervised group workouts. During that time, the scientists noted that quite a few of the participants in the control had dabbled with interval-training classes at local gyms, on their own initiative and apparently for fun. The other groups did not alter their routines.

After five years, the researchers checked death registries and found that about 4.6 percent of all of the original volunteers had passed away during the study, a lower number than in the wider Norwegian population of 70-year-olds, indicating these active older people were, on the whole, living longer than others of their age.

But they also found interesting, if slight, distinctions between the groups. The men and women in the high-intensity-intervals group were about 2 percent less likely to have died than those in the control group, and 3 percent less likely to die than anyone in the longer, moderate-exercise group. People in the moderate group were, in fact, more likely to have passed away than people in the control group.

The men and women in the interval group also were more fit now and reported greater gains in their quality of life than the other volunteers.

In essence, says Dorthe Stensvold, a researcher at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology who led the new study, intense training — which was part of the routines of both the interval and control groups — provided slightly better protection against premature death than moderate workouts alone.

Of course, exercise was not a panacea, she adds. Some people still sickened and died, whatever their workout program. (No one died while exercising.) This study also focused on Norwegians, who tend to be preternaturally healthy, and most of us, perhaps regrettably, are not Norwegians. We also may not yet be in our 70s.

But Dr. Stensvold believes the study’s message can be broadly applicable to almost all of us. “We should try to include some exercise with high intensity,” she says. “Intervals are safe and feasible for most people. And adding life to years, not only years to life, is an important aspect of healthy aging, and the higher fitness and health-related quality of life from H.I.I.T. in this study is an important finding.”

In shaky times, focus on past successes, if overly anxious, depressed

Emotionally resilient people better at exercising sound judgment when things get chaotic

University of California at Berkeley, December 23, 2020

The more chaotic things get, the harder it is for people with clinical anxiety and/or depression to make sound decisions and to learn from their mistakes. On a positive note, overly anxious and depressed people’s judgment can improve if they focus on what they get right, instead of what they get wrong, suggests a new UC Berkeley study.

The findings, published today, Dec. 22, in the journal eLife, are particularly salient in the face of a COVID-19 surge that demands tactical and agile thinking to avoid illness and even death.

UC Berkeley researchers tested the probabilistic decision-making skills of more than 300 adults, including people with major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. In probabilistic decision making, people, often without being aware of it, use the positive or negative results of their previous actions to inform their current decisions.

The researchers found that the study participants whose symptoms intersect with both anxiety and depression — such as worrying a lot, feeling unmotivated or not feeling good about themselves or about the future — had the most trouble adjusting to changes when performing a computerized task that simulated a volatile or rapidly changing environment.

Conversely, emotionally resilient study participants, with few, if any, symptoms of anxiety and depression, learned more quickly to adjust to changing conditions based on the actions they had previously taken to achieve the best available outcomes.

“When everything keeps changing rapidly, and you get a bad outcome from a decision you make, you might fixate on what you did wrong, which is often the case with clinically anxious or depressed people,” said study senior author Sonia Bishop, a professor of neuroscience at UC Berkeley. “Conversely, emotionally resilient people tend to focus on what gave them a good outcome, and in many real-world situations that might be key to learning to make good decisions.”

That doesn’t mean people with clinical anxiety and depression are doomed to a life of bad decisions, Bishop said. For example, individualized treatments, such as cognitive behavior therapy, could improve both decision-making skills and confidence by focusing on past successes, instead of failures, she noted.

The study expands on Bishop’s 2015 study, which found that people with high levels of anxiety made more mistakes when tasked with making decisions during computerized assignments that simulated both stable and rapidly changing environments. Conversely, non-anxious study participants quickly adjusted to the changing patterns in the task.

For this latest study, Bishop and her team looked at whether people with depression would also struggle to make sound decisions in volatile environments and whether this would hold true when challenged with different versions of the task.

“We wanted to see if this weakness was unique to people with anxiety, or if it also presented in people with depression, which often goes hand in hand with anxiety,” Bishop said. “We also sought to find out if the problem was a general one or specific to learning about potential reward or potential threat.

The first experiment involved 86 men and women aged between 18 and 50. The group included people diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, people who showed symptoms of anxiety or depression, but no formal diagnoses of these disorders, and people with neither anxiety nor depression.

In a laboratory setting, study participants played a game on a computer screen in which they repeatedly chose between two shapes — a circle and a square. One shape, if selected, would deliver a mild to moderate electrical shock, and another would deliver a monetary prize. The probability of a shape delivering a reward or a shock was predictable at some points in the task, and volatile in others. Participants with high levels of symptoms common to depression and anxiety had trouble keeping pace with these changes.

In the second experiment, 147 U.S. adults, with varying degrees of anxiety and depression were recruited via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk crowdsourcing marketplace and given the same task remotely. This time, they chose between red and yellow squares on a screen. They still received monetary rewards, but instead of being penalized with electric shocks, they lost money.

The results echoed those of the in-laboratory outcomes. Overall, having symptoms common to both anxiety and depression predicted who would struggle most with making sound decisions in the face of changing circumstances, regardless of whether they were rewarded or punished for getting things right or wrong, compared to their emotionally resilient counterparts.

“We found that people who are emotionally resilient are good at latching on to the best course of action when the world is changing fast,” Bishop said “People with anxiety and depression, on the other hand, are less able to adapt to these changes. Our results suggest they might benefit from cognitive therapies that redirect their attention to positive, rather than negative, outcomes.”

Exposure to These Metals May Alter Pregnancy Hormones

Exposure to metals such as nickel, arsenic, cobalt, and lead may disrupt hormones during pregnancy, according to new research

Rutgers University, December 23, 2020

Exposure to metals has been associated with problems at birth such as preterm birth and low birth weight in babies, and preeclampsia in women. However, little is known about how metals exposure can lead to such problems. The new research shows that some metals may disrupt the endocrine system, which is responsible for regulating our body’s hormones. These disruptions may contribute to children’s later health and disease risk.

“A delicate hormonal balance orchestrates pregnancy from conception to delivery and perturbations of this balance may negatively impact both mother and fetus,” says lead author Zorimar Rivera-Núnez, an assistant professor in the department of biostatistics and epidemiology at the Rutgers University School of Public Health.

The researchers analyzed blood and urine samples from 815 women enrolled in the Puerto Rico Testsite for Exploring Contamination Threats (PROTECT) study. Initiated in 2010, PROTECT is an ongoing prospective birth cohort studying environmental exposures in pregnant women and their children around the northern karst zone, which includes urban and mountainous rural areas of Puerto Rico.

They found that metals can act as endocrine disruptors by altering prenatal hormone concentrations during pregnancy. This disruption may depend on when in the pregnancy exposure happens.

Prenatal exposure to metals can have enormous consequences even beyond health at birth. Alterations in sex-steroid hormones during pregnancy have been associated with inadequate fetal growth, which leads to low birthweight. Birth size is strongly associated with a child’s growth and risk of chronic diseases, including obesity and breast cancer.

“Puerto Rico has one of the highest rates of Superfund sites of any of the US jurisdictions with 18 active sites, which can contribute to the higher rates of exposure to toxic metals,” says Rivera-Núnez.

Among pregnant women, metal exposure is higher in those living in Puerto Rico than in those in the continental United States.

“This is important because, compared to the US overall, women in Puerto Rico have significantly higher rates of preterm birth [nearly 12%] and other adverse birth outcomes. Additionally, exposure to environmental pollution is exacerbated by extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, droughts, and flooding, which may result in elevated exposures to Superfund sites,” she adds.

According to the study authors, future research should investigate how changes in markers of endocrine function affect birth and other health outcomes. Future studies also should look at essential metals in relation to maternal and fetal health, and metals as mixtures in relation to markers of endocrine function.

The study appears in the journal Environment International.

High antioxidant fruits top list for lung protection

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, December 27 2020. 

The December issue of the European Respiratory Journal published the results of a study that found protective effects for tomatoes and other high antioxidant fruits against the decline in lung function that can occur during aging.  “In the present study, we sought to investigate whether a higher intake of dietary sources of antioxidants in middle-aged European adults could attenuate ageing-related lung function decline over 10 years,” explained lead researcher Vanessa Garcia-Larsen of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and her associates.

The current investigation, which is part of the Ageing for Lungs in European Cohorts study, included 680 adults that participated in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey.

A high intake of fruit and apples was associated with a decrease in the decline in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) over ten years of follow up. Consuming more apples, bananas, tomatoes, herb tea and vitamin C was associated with a reduction in the decline of forced vital capacity (FVC), another measure of lung function. Further statistical analysis found significance for tomato intake as protective against FVC decline. When smokers, nonsmokers and ex-smokers were separately considered, higher apple, banana and tomato intake were associated with a reduction in FVC decline in ex-smokers.

“This study shows that diet might help repair lung damage in people who have stopped smoking,” Dr Garcia-Larsen stated. “It also suggests that a diet rich in fruits can slow down the lung’s natural aging process even if you have never smoked. The findings support the need for dietary recommendations, especially for people at risk of developing respiratory diseases such as COPD.”

Supplement Recently Discovered To Help PTSD Better Than Ssris

University of South Carolina, December 23, 2020

A new study coming out of the University of South Carolina shows extremely promising results for a new treatment for PTSD and substance abuse.

Although the new treatment is being misbranded as a pharmaceutical intervention – the substance being used is actually quite natural and has been known to many in the natural health world as a very beneficial supplement for quite some time.

N-acetylcysteine (NAC) when combined with group Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) was demonstrated in the study to be more effective than CBT alone as well as more effective than FDA-approved SSRIs at treated PTSD cravings and depression.

The trial conducted by Dr. Peter Kalivas, Professor and Chair of the Department of Neuroscience at the Medical University of South Carolina and Dr. Sudie Back, Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at MUSC involved a group of Viet Nam veterans suffering from PTSD.

Veterans in the group treated with NAC showed a 46% reduction in PTSD symptoms.

A placebo group showed a 25% reduction.

The percentage scale was measured by the clinical administered PTSD scale (CAPS) – a scale in which the threshold score is 50.

“As a group, the NAC-treated veterans were below diagnostic level for PTSD at the end of treatment,” said Back. “For PTSD, these are some of the best outcomes we have seen in the literature for a medication.”

According to the press release,

Craving and depression were also reduced in the NAC-treated group. The amount of craving was reduced by 81% and the frequency of craving by 71% in the NAC group, compared with 32% and 29% in the placebo group. “Craving is a key component of substance use in relapse,” said Back.

“If you have a medication that can really reduce craving, that will go a long way to helping people stay clean and sober.” Depression, gauged using the Beck Depression Inventory, was reduced 48% in the NAC group vs. 15% in the placebo group.

The researchers, however, were quick to point out that NAC alone should not be used as a substitute for traditional behavioral treatment but that it might be seen as an adjunct, enhancing therapy.

Krill oil extract inhibits the migration of human colorectal cancer cells

Victoria University (New Zealand), December 18, 2020

According to news reporting from Victoria University , research stated, “The currently available treatments for colorectal cancer (CRC) are often associated with serious side-effects. Therefore, the development of a novel nutraceutical agent may provide an alternative complementary therapy for CRC.”

The news editors obtained a quote from the research from Victoria University: “Overexpression of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) associates with a range of cancers while downregulation of EGFR signalling can inhibit cancer growth. Our previous studies have shown that the free fatty acid extract (FFAE) of krill oil exhibits anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic properties. This study determines the effects of krill oil extract on the migration of human CRC cells, and its potential role in modulating EGFR signalling pathway and the expression of programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1). Human CRC cells, DLD-1 and HT-29 were treated with FFAE of KO at 0.03 and 0.12 mL/100 mL for 8 or 24 h. Cell migration was determined by Boyden chamber migration assay. The expression of EGFR, phosphorylated EGFR (pEGFR), protein kinase B (AKT), phosphorylated AKT (pAKT), extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK1/2), phosphorylated ERK1/2 (pERK1/2) as well as PD-L1 were assessed by western blotting and immunohistochemistry. The FFAE of krill oil significantly inhibited cell migration compared to ethanol-treated (vehicle control) cells (P < 0.01 to P < 0.001). At the molecular level, krill oil extract reduced the expression of EGFR, pEGFR (P < 0.001 for both) and their downstream signalling, pERK1/2 and pAKT (P < 0.01 to P < 0.001) without altering total ERK 1/2 and AKT levels. In addition, the expression of PD-L1 was reduced by 67 to 72% (P < 0.001) following the treatment with krill oil extract.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “This study has demonstrated that krill oil may be a potential therapeutic/adjunctive agent for CRC attributed to its anti-migratory effects.. The potential anti-cancer properties of krill oil are likely to be associated with the downregulation of EGFR, pEGFR and their downstream pERK/ERK1/2 and pAKT/AKT signalling pathways along with the downregulation of PD-L1.”

Increased meat consumption associated with symptoms of childhood asthma

Mt Sinai School of Medicine, December 22, 2020

Substances present in cooked meats are associated with increased wheezing in children, Mount Sinai researchers report. Their study, published in Thorax, highlights pro-inflammatory compounds called advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) as an example of early dietary risk factors that may have broad clinical and public health implications for the prevention of inflammatory airway disease.

Asthma prevalence among children in the United States has risen over the last few decades. Researchers found that dietary habits established earlier in life may be associated with wheezing and potentially the future development of asthma.

Researchers examined 4,388 children between 2 and 17 years old from the 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a program of the National Center for Health Statistics, which is part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is designed to evaluate the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the United States through interviews and physical examinations.

The researchers used NHANES survey data to evaluate associations between dietary AGE and meat consumption frequencies, and respiratory symptoms. They found that higher AGE intake was significantly associated with increased odds of wheezing, importantly including wheezing that disrupted sleep and exercise, and that required prescription medication. Similarly, higher intake of non-seafood meats was associated with wheeze-disrupted sleep and wheezing that required prescription medication.

“We found that higher consumption of dietary AGEs, which are largely derived from intake of non-seafood meats, was associated with increased risk of wheezing in children, regardless of overall diet quality or an established diagnosis of asthma,” said Jing Gennie Wang, MD, lead author of the study, and a former fellow in Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

“Research identifying dietary factors that influence respiratory symptoms in children is important, as these risks are potentially modifiable and can help guide health recommendations. Our findings will hopefully inform future longitudinal studies to further investigate whether these specific dietary components play a role in childhood airways disease such as asthma,” said Sonali Bose, MD, senior author, and Assistant Professor of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine and Pediatrics at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Nanoplastics Alter Intestinal Microbiome And Threaten Human Health

University of Barcelona (Spain), December 22, 2020

A revised study led by the Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona (UAB), the CREAF and the Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM) at the University of Aviero, Portugal, and published in the journal Science Bulletin, verifies that the nanoplastics affect the composition and diversity of our intestinal microbiome and that this can cause damage to our health. This effect can be seen in both vertebrates and invertebrates, and has been proved in situations in which the exposure is widespread and prolonged. Additionally, with alteration of the gut microbiome come alterations in the immune, endocrine and nervous system and therefore, although not enough is known about the specific physiological mechanisms, the study alerts that stress to the gut microbiome could alter the health of humans.

The health effects of being exposed to nanoplastics was traditionally evaluated in aquatic animals such as molluscs, crustaceans and fish. Recent in vitro analyzes, using cell cultures of fish and mammals, has allowed scientists to analyze the changes in gene expression associated with the presence of nanoplastics from a toxicological viewpoint. The majority of neurological, endocrine and immunological tracts in these vertebrates are very similar to those of humans, and therefore authors warn that some of the effects observed in these models could also be applied to humans. Understanding and analyzing the process through which these plastic fragments penetrate the organism and harm it is fundamental, as is determining precisely the amount and typology of nanoplastics polluting the environment. For this reason, researchers highlight not only the need to further study the specific mechanisms and effects on human cell models, but also unify analysis methodologies in order to conduct correct measurements of the quantity of nanoplastics present in different ecosystems.

Mariana Teles, researcher at the UAB, in collaboration with other researchers such as Josep Peñuelas, CSIC lecturer at the CREAF, comments that “this article does not aim to raise the alarm, but it does seek to warn about the fact that plastic can be found in almost everything surrounding us, it does not disintegrate and we are constantly exposed to it. At the moment, we can only speculate on the long-term effects this can have on human health, although we already have evidence in several studies describing hormonal and immune alterations in fish exposed to nanoplastics, and which could be applied to humans.”

Invasive and Toxic

The study presents the main environmental sources through which nanoplastics enter the human body and summarizes how they are able to penetrate the body: by ingesting them, occasionally inhaling them, and very rarely by being in contact with human skin.

Once they are ingested, up to 90% of the plastic fragments that reach the intestine are excreted. However, one part is fragmented into nanoplastics which are capable, due to their small size and molecular properties, to penetrate the cells and cause harmful effects. The study establishes that alterations in food absorption have been described, as well as inflammatory reactions in the intestinal walls, changes in the composition and functioning of the gut microbiome, effects on the body’s metabolism and ability to produce, and lastly, alterations in immune responses. The article alerts about the possibility of a long-term exposure to plastic, accumulated throughout generations, could give way to unpredictable changes even in the very genome, as has been observed in some animal models.

The team in which Mariana Teles (Evolutive Immunology Group, IBB-UAB) is member also recently published a second article analyzing the effects of nanoplastics in fish. The study, which is the result of Irene Brandts’ Ph.D. thesis directed by Nerea Roher, was published in Environmental Science: Nano and analyzes the consequences of being exposed to nanoplastics to the immune system of a zebrafish (a small tropical fish widely used as a model organism for research). The scientists conclude that the nanoplastics can accumulate both in the cells and in the embryos of the zebrafish, additionally causing changes in the levels of genes relevant to the correct functioning of the animal’s immune system. Despite this fact, the capacity of zebrafish embryos to survive a bacterial infection was not affected by the exposure to nanoplastics. The team of researchers nonetheless defend the need to continue research in this field, given that the presence of microplastics and nanoplastics in our ecosystems is an extremely crucial environmental issue which needs answers in order to understand how far-reaching any possible consequences may be.

Responsible usage

The review study acknowledges that different techniques are being tested to eliminate nanoplastics from the water, such as filtration, centrifugation and flocculation of wastewater, and the treatment of rainwater. Although the results are promising, they are limited to treating larger particles of plastics, and therefore until date no effective solution has been found for the elimination of nanoplastics from the environment.

“To solve this problem of plastic pollution, human routines must change and policies should be based on informed decisions on the known risks and available alternatives. Individual actions such as the use of more environmentally-friendly products and an increase in recycling indexes are important,” Mariana Teles comments.

“The authorities can promote these pro-environmental actions through economic stimuli, such as tax benefits for reusing plastic as industrial raw material, as well as bottle deposit schemes for consumers,” researchers recommend.

Cocoa compound linked to some cardiovascular biomarker improvements

Brown University, December 14, 2020

To the tantalizing delight of chocolate lovers everywhere, a number of recent studies employing various methods have suggested that compounds in cocoa called flavanols could benefit cardiovascular health. Now a systematic review and meta-analysis of 19 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of cocoa consumption reveals some further pieces of supporting evidence.

The meta-analysis in the Journal of Nutrition, an assessment of the combined evidence from all 19 RCTs, focused on whether consumption of flavanol-rich cocoa products was associated with improvements in specific circulating biomarkers of cardiometabolic health as compared to consuming placebos with negligible cocoa flavanol content. In all, 1,139 volunteers were involved in these trials.

“Our meta-analysis of RCTs characterizes how cocoa flavanols affect cardiometabolic biomarkers, providing guidance in designing large, definitive prevention trials against diabetes and cardiovascular disease in future work,” said corresponding author Dr. Simin Liu, professor and director of the Center for Global Cardiometabolic Health at Brown University who worked with epidemiology graduate student and lead author Xiaochen Lin. “We found that cocoa flavanol intake may reduce dyslipidemia (elevated triglycerides), insulin resistance and systemic inflammation, which are all major subclinical risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases.”

Liu noted some limitations in the trials. All studies were small and of short duration, not all of the biomarkers tracked in these studies changed for the better, and none of the studies were designed to test directly whether cocoa flavanol consumption leads to reduced cases of heart attacks or type 2 diabetes.

But taking into account some of these heterogeneities across studies, the team’s meta-analysis summarizing data from 19 trials found potential beneficial effects of flavanol-rich cocoa on cardiometabolic health. There were small-to-modest but statistically significant improvements among those who ate flavanol-rich cocoa product vs. those who did not.

The greatest effects were seen among trial volunteers who ate between 200 and 600 milligrams of flavanols a day (based on their cocoa consumption). They saw significant declines in blood glucose and insulin, as well as another indicator of insulin resistance called HOMA-IR. They also saw an increase in HDL, or “good,” cholesterol. Those consuming higher doses saw some of the insulin resistance benefits and a drop in triglycerides, but not a significant increase in HDL. Those with lower doses of flavanols only saw a significant HDL benefit.

In general, Lin said, where there were benefits they were evident for both women and men and didn’t depend on what physical form the flavanol-rich cocoa product was consumed in —dark chocolate vs. a beverage, for example.

“The treatment groups of the trials included in our meta-analysis are primarily dark chocolate—a few were using cocoa powder-based beverages,” Lin said. “Therefore, the findings from the current study apparently shouldn’t be generalized to different sorts of chocolate candies or white chocolates, of which the content of sugar/food additives could be substantially higher than that of the dark chocolate.”

The authors therefore concluded, “Our study highlights the urgent need for large, long-term RCTs that improve our understanding of how the short-term benefits of cocoa flavanol intake on cardiometabolic biomarkers may be translated into clinical outcomes.”

Remnant cholesterol more strongly associated with cardiovascular events than LDL in study

Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (Spain), December 18 2020. 

The December 8, 2020 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology published the results of a study that examined the association of the occurrence of major cardiovascular events with triglyceride levels and cholesterol fractions in older men and women at risk of cardiovascular disease. The investigation uncovered a greater association of these events with remnant cholesterol [which is composed of very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) and intermediate-density lipoprotein (IDL)] than with low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, which is believed to be the primary driver of cardiovascular disease. Triglyceride levels were also found to have a significant association with the development of major cardiovascular events.

The investigation included 6,901 participants in the PREDIMED (Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea) trial, which compared the effects of a Mediterranean diet enhanced with extra-virgin olive oil or nuts to a control diet for the prevention of cardiovascular disease among at-risk individuals. Blood samples collected upon enrollment beginning in 2003 were analyzed for total, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and other factors. Remnant cholesterol was calculated by subtracting LDL and HDL cholesterol from total cholesterol levels.

Major adverse cardiovascular events occurred among 263 participants during the follow-up period, which concluded at the end of 2010. While LDL and HDL cholesterol were not significantly associated with major adverse cardiovascular events, each 10 milligram per deciliter increase in triglycerides, non-HDL cholesterol and remnant cholesterol was associated with 4%, 5% and 21% respective increases in risk.

In an accompanying editorial, John Burnett, Amanda Hooper and Robert Hegele predicted that “One could envision a future where in addition to the routine lipid profile, newer analytes such as remnant cholesterol as well as lipoprotein(a) and apo B are reported to improve prognostication and help guide preventive treatments.”

Vitamin C deficiency linked to pneumonia

University of Helsinki, December 23, 2020

For over 70 years, forward-thinking physicians have noted the association between vitamin C deficiency and pneumonia – a serious health condition that claims over 50,000 lives a year. For example, in medical literature written as early as 1936, physicians credited the vitamin with “favorably influencing” outcomes for pneumonia patients.

However, the attitude of Western medicine towards high-dose vitamins has deteriorated since the 1970’s – when poorly designed, low-dosage studies appeared to show a lack of vitamin C benefits for respiratory conditions. Fortunately, a surge of recent studies and reviews are shedding new light on the preventive and therapeutic powers of vitamin C against pneumonia – and other respiratory diseases.

Mild and severe vitamin C deficiencies alike are linked with an increased risk of infectious disease

In the 1930’s, scientists made a connection between scurvy – severe vitamin C deficiency – and pneumonia. Not only is pneumonia one of the most frequent complications of scurvy, but it is a common prevailing cause of death.

People in good health have vitamin C blood concentrations of about 70 micromoles per liter. Moderate vitamin C deficiencies can occur at around 23 micromoles per liter, while severe deficiencies – and risk of scurvy – appear at concentrations under 11 micromoles/liter.

Startling new research shows that 14 percent of males and 10 percent of females in the US have vitamin C levels below 11 micromoles/liter – the clinical threshold for severe deficiency.

Not only are severe vitamin C deficiencies strongly linked with pneumonia, but milder, or “marginal,” vitamin C deficiencies are also associated with increased risk and severity of infections.

Avoiding vitamin C deficiencies can dramatically slash pneumonia risk

In a review published in Nutrients, Dr. Harri Hemila of the University of Helsinki noted that three different controlled trials found that vitamin C significantly protected against pneumonia – reducing risk by up to 80 percent.

Dr. Hemila also reported that two separate studies had found a treatment benefit of vitamin C for pneumonia patients.

In one study involving pneumonia patients, researchers found that a dosage of vitamin C ranging from 500 to 1600 milligrams a day cut hospital duration by a third. The patients also experienced benefits that included normalization of chest X-rays, temperature, and ESR, or erythrocyte sedimentation rate.

According to Dr. Hemila, 148 animal studies show that vitamin C may alleviate or prevent infections caused by bacteria, viruses and fungi – including tuberculosis, strep infections, diphtheria and Candida albicans.

In addition, the regular administration of this essential nutrient can shortens the duration of colds.

Vitamin C levels decline with illness – making supplementation a must

Researchers have found that white blood cells have vitamin C levels up to ten times higher than those of blood plasma, indicating a functional role in the immune system. In fact, they have discovered that cells have active vitamin C transporter molecules in their membranes to help the vitamin gain access.

Scientists believe that vitamin C stimulates the immune system and promotes the functions of disease-fighting phagocytes. But the increased need for vitamin C in times of illness can create shortages in the body that must be corrected.

For this reason, integrative healthcare providers have long insisted that intake of vitamin C should be drastically raised when illness is present. In addition, the nutrient’s antioxidant properties can help curtail the oxidative stress that is created by the immune system in response to pathogens.

Top Five Traditional, Fermented Anti-Aging Foods

GreenMedInfo, December 17th 2020 

Want a simple way to boost your brain power, heart health, digestion, disease resistance and energy level? If that all sounds too good to be true, it’s time you got acquainted with the top five traditional, fermented antiaging foods

If you are interested in optimizing and maintaining your health and vitality, eating a nutrient-dense diet is a critical piece to the puzzle. Consuming foods with high levels of essential vitamins, minerals and micronutrients provides cells with the building blocks for regeneration and disease prevention and is essential to long-term wellness.

One of the most potent sources of nutrition, bite-for-bite, are fermented foods. An ancient method of food preservation, fermentation is a natural process in which microbes, such as bacteria or yeast, convert sugars into acids or alcohol under anaerobic conditions. Fermentation produces “good” bacteria called probiotics, which confer a wealth of benefits to intestinal flora when consumed, enhancing the health of your gut microbiome and boosting your immune system.

Is Fermented Food the REAL Fountain of Youth?

With nearly 35% of the U.S. population aged 45 and older,[i] medical researchers are on the hunt for a real fountain of youth. Thanks to the enzymatic boost provided by living microbes in fermented foods, the secret to lifelong vitality may lie in adding these nutritional powerhouses to your dinner plate. The scientifically backed health benefits of eating probiotic-rich fermented foods include:

• Improved digestion[ii]
• Boosted immunity[iii]
• Enhanced weight loss[iv]
• Treatment and prevention of gastrointestinal diseases[v]
• Faster healing from colds and flus[vi]
• Reduced risk of heart disease[vii]
• Improved symptoms of anxiety and depression[viii]
• Antiaging effects[ix]

There are many delicious options for adding fermented foods and beverages to your diet. Fermenting foods imbues them with a complex flavor profile and a tart, tanginess that can be enjoyed at breakfast, lunch and dinner. If you’re new to fermented foods, start by adding a couple of teaspoons to your plate as an addition to regular meals.

You can work up to enjoying fermented foods as mainstays of your diet, and even create new recipes for you and your family to enjoy. Your body — and your microbiome — will thank you for it for years to come.

Top Five Traditional Fermented Foods

1. Yogurt

Yogurt is a popular fermented milk product with a sour taste and creamy texture. Most yogurts contain bacterial cultures, however products can vary in the amount of probiotics they contain, so be conscious when reading labels. If you purchase yogurt, look for “live and active cultures” on the container or a guaranteed minimum viable bacteria count, and avoid the many heavily sugared brands.

Yogurt is also remarkably simple to make at home, requiring only a saucepan or pressure cooker to boil the milk, and starter cultures to begin the fermentation process. Most commercial yogurts contain acidophilus bacterium or bifidobacterium lactis, which you can add using liquid or powdered probiotics or by adding a small amount of an existing batch of yogurt.

If you can’t drink milk without digestive upset and think yogurt is off limits, fermented dairy products may be an exception. Fermentation helps break down lactose, the natural sugar in milk, so even individuals with lactose intolerance may be able to digest yogurt and kefir without difficulty.[x] Kefir is a yogurt-like drink with a thinner consistency and higher protein than yogurt but possessing the same digestive benefits.[xi]

The benefits of fermented milk products are not exclusive to dairy milk. Vegans and dairy-averse individuals can find several varieties of non-dairy yogurt in most health food stores, including soy, almond, and coconut milk yogurts.

2. Fermented Vegetables

Fermenting vegetables is a great way to get the health benefits of probiotics in a way that suits your personal taste. Cultures from around the world have been fermenting native varieties of produce for centuries as a way to preserve food before modern refrigeration. While freshly picked vegetables may only be viable for a matter of days, fermenting vegetables in brine and storing in air-tight jars can increase shelf-life to several months.[xii]

You can find easy inspiration for your fermentation adventures from traditional multicultural recipes like Korean kimchi. A spicy pickled condiment made from cabbage and red chili, kimchi has been associated with anticancer properties.[xiii] Kimchi is also credited with antiaging effects due to its ability to decrease free radical production.[xiv]

Other traditional options for fermenting vegetables include raw sauerkraut and pickled cucumbers, cauliflower and even leafy greens like mustard and collard. Don’t forget to add flavorful spices such as dill and coriander, or for a spicier mix include garlic, ginger and chilis or hot peppers.

3. Kombucha

Kombucha is a tart, fizzy, fermented tea beverage that has become something of a cultural zeitgeist. Popular with health enthusiasts of all ages, you can step up to a kombucha bar in many urban centers and take classes on how to brew your own Instagram-worthy bottles in a multitude of exotic flavors.

Kombucha is brewed using a batch of sweetened tea and a bacteria and yeast pancake called a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast). Both green and black tea can be used, however black tea and white sugar are considered the finest mediums for traditional kombucha.[xv]

The SCOBY floats in the tea, feeding on the sugary elixir, growing in size and eventually sealing off the liquid at the top like a raft. This keeps potential harmful bacteria at bay and creates the ideal anaerobic conditions for fermentation. A ratio of 50 grams of sucrose per liter of purified water has been used in traditional recipes and is considered the optimal concentration of ethanol and lactic acid.[xvi]

Leave the brew in a lightly covered jar at room temperature (70° to 80°F) for one to three weeks; the longer the tea is allowed to ferment, the stronger and tarter it becomes. Once the brew has achieved desired strength, transfer the liquid into individual bottles where it can be flavored with fresh or candied fruits, ginger slices, raisins, vanilla and the like.

Transfer the now-larger SCOBY (it will add a layer with every batch) to a new container to begin the process again, or store it in a small amount of tea in a sealed jar in the refrigerator to slow the growth process. The bottled tea can be stored at room temperature for one to two weeks to encourage carbonation, after which time it should be refrigerated.

Experimenting with flavors and potency is part of the fun, and recipes can be modified to suit individual taste preferences. Be sure to use impeccably clean equipment in your process to ensure that no harmful bacteria are introduced.

Besides being delicious, healthful and fun to make, there are at least 18 healthy reasons to sip kombucha. Kombucha’s antioxidant activity has been found to be 100 times higher than vitamin C and 25 times higher than vitamin E.[xvii]Kombucha’s high levels of vitamin C boost immunity, and its antioxidant power protects against cell damage, inflammatory diseases, suppressed immunity and tumors.[xviii] Kombucha has also been shown to be effective for prevention against broad-spectrum metabolic and infective disorders.[xix]

4. Apple Cider Vinegar

Made by fermenting apple juice with yeast, apple cider vinegar, or ACV, is a staple of health food kitchens the world-over. Used to make salad dressing, marinades and baked goods, ACV is also used in many food-based personal care recipes due to its ability to add shine to hair and clarity to your complexion. Good bacteria from the yeast convert alcohol that develops during fermentation into acetic acid, which is responsible for ACV’s distinctive sharp, sour smell and taste.[xx]

ACV is attributed with antidiabetic and antioxidant effects that make it a useful ally in the fight against diabetes,[xxi] a common problem in the developed world. A 2017 study of obese rats found that a daily dose of ACV attenuated oxidative stress and reduced the risk of heart attack associated with obesity-related cardiovascular disease.[xxii]

Other beneficial metabolic effects attributed to small, daily doses of ACV include balancing cholesterol[xxiii] and offering natural antimicrobial activity,[xxiv]especially useful in our age of growing antibiotic resistance.

Because of its high acidity, consuming too much ACV can be irritating to your teeth, throat and stomach. As a supplement to daily health maintenance, it’s recommended to start with no more than 2 tablespoons of ACV diluted with equal parts water, taken on an empty stomach immediately upon waking as a jump-start to your daily digestive processes.

5. Miso

A traditional staple of the Japanese diet, miso — fermented soybean paste — is credited with saving the lives of 21 health care workers stationed less than 2 kilometers from ground zero, Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945.[xxv]

Dr. Tatuichiro Akizuki, a physician, credited this miracle to the fact that everyone was consuming daily cups of miso soup garnished with wakame seaweed.[xxvi] A 2003 study from the Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine at Hiroshima University showed that miso does, in fact, have the ability to prevent radiation injury.[xxvii]

Made by combining a mash of soybeans and grains with sea salt and koji (a mold starter), the mixture is fermented for three months to three years, depending on the strength of flavor desired. The resulting enzyme-rich paste contains vitamins, salts, minerals, plant proteins, carbohydrates, fat and living microorganisms. The potent, salty flavor of miso makes it a great base for soups and sauces and for flavoring meat substitutes like tempeh.

Proof that not everything that’s good for you has to be bland, frequent, long-term consumption of miso soup has been associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer[xxviii] and reduced risk of heart disease.[xxix] Fermented soy products have also demonstrated effectiveness at staving off bone diseases like osteoporosis

Protective effect of curcumin against bone trauma 

People’s Liberation Army (China), December 10, 2020

According to news reporting out of Shandong, People’s Republic of China, research stated, “Bone fracture, a common injury to bones leads to various biophysiological changes and pathological responses in the body. The current study investigated curcumin for treatment of bone fracture in a rat model of bone trauma, and evaluated the related mechanism.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from People’s Liberation Army, “The rats were separated randomly into 3 groups; sham, model, and curcumin treatment groups. The fracture rat model was established by transverse osteotomy in the right femur bone at the mid-shaft. The osteoblast count was determined using hematoxylin and eosin staining. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression were measured by western blotting. The rpS6-phosphorylation was suppressed and light chain 3 (LC3II) expression elevated in the curcumin treated group of the fracture rat model. In the curcumin-treated group, mineralization of fracture calluses was markedly higher on day 14 of fracture. The formation of osteoblasts was observed at a greater rate in the curcumin treated group compared to the model rat group. Treatment of rats with curcumin significantly (P <0.05) promoted expression of PCNA and VEGF. The decrease in CD11b+/Gr-1+ cell expansion in rats with bone trauma was alleviated significantly by curcumin treatment. A marked increase in arginase-1 expression in rats with bone trauma was caused by curcumin treatment. In summary, curcumin activates autophagy and inhibits mTOR activation in bone tissues of rats with trauma. The curcumin promoted myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) proliferation and increased expansion of MDSCs in a rat model of trauma.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Therefore, curcumin may have beneficial effect in patients with bone trauma and should be evaluated further for development of treatment.”

Efficacy and Safety of Tetrahydrocurcuminoids for the Treatment of Canker Sore and Gingivitis

Stress in adolescence leads to learning and memory difficulties and increased anxiety in adulthood