Videos:
- – Gerald Celente – Rage Against the War Rally in DC
- TUCKER ON WHY IT’S NOT SAFE TO FLY TODAY (3:30)
US plans plunder of Africa for “green” revolution (10:00)
Jordan Peterson Exposes The World Economic Forum | With Joe Rogan (12:21)
Why You Should Hate Corporate News Even More Than You Do (3:24)
Tackling skin inflammation with vitamin D
Northwestern University, February 15, 2023
High-dose oral vitamin D reduced skin inflammation and increased immunoprotection in patients with chemical-induced skin rashes, according to findings from a Northwestern Medicine clinical trial published in JCI Insight. The investigators, led by Kurt Lu, MD, also discovered in these patients a new molecular signature that may help physicians identify which patients have an increased risk of developing severe allergic reactions to treatments including topical chemotherapy. In the randomized, double-blinded clinical trial, investigators analyzed skin tissue samples from 28 healthy participants whose inner arm skin was exposed to a test amount of topical nitrogen mustard, an FDA-approved medication with known chemical irritant properties, to produce an experimental rash. Participants then received either a high-dose oral vitamin D intervention or placebo. Overall, skin tissue in participants that received vitamin D supplements demonstrated less irritation and inflammation than the placebo group. Subsequent multi-omic analyses of skin tissue and blood samples from the vitamin D group also revealed suppression of the pro-inflammatory IL-17 signaling pathway. This establishes IL-17 signaling as a promising biomarker, which is important because severe reactions to topical chemotherapy and other medications can either delay or prevent patients from receiving adequate treatment, according to Lu. Moving forward, Lu said his team wants to further investigate the anti-inflammatory potential of oral vitamin D supplements in treating rashes caused by other types of treatments and medications, building off their previous findings published in JAMA Dermatology that found that vitamin D can help treat severe rashes caused by chemotherapy, also known as toxic erythema of chemotherapy.
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Alternate-day fasting could be a good option for patients with fatty liver disease
University of Illinois at Chicago, February 14, 2023
Nutrition researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago studied 80 people with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and found that those who followed an alternate-day fasting diet and exercised were able to improve their health. Publishing their findings in Cell Metabolism, the researchers report that over a period of three months people who exercised and alternated feast and fast days—eating without restriction one day and eating 500 calories or fewer the next—saw increased insulin sensitivity and decreased liver fat, weight and ALT, or alanine transaminase enzymes, which are markers for liver disease. Study author Krista Varady called the findings “pretty amazing.” “When we compared the results of our study groups, we saw clearly that the most improved patients were in the group that followed the alternate-day fasting diet and exercised five days a week,” said Varady, professor of nutrition at the College of Applied Health Sciences. “The people who only dieted or only exercised did not see the same improvements, which reinforces the importance of these two relatively inexpensive lifestyle modifications on overall health and on combating chronic diseases like fatty liver disease.” Participants in the clinical trial were randomized to one of four groups: an alternate-day fasting group, an aerobic exercise group, a combined group and a control group in which participants made no changes to their behaviors. Participants in the diet groups tracked their food intake and participants in the exercise groups used an elliptical machine in Varady’s lab for one hour, five days a week. In addition to seeing improved metabolic indicators, the study authors also noted there were no serious safety events during the trial—the patients were able to safely maintain the diet and exercise for the three-month study, which Varady thinks is an indicator the intervention may be a good option for people with fatty liver disease who want to improve their health without pharmaceuticals, which can have side effects.
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Barley helps improve blood sugar levels and reduce appetite
Lund University (Sweden) February 9, 2023
A study from Lund University in Sweden shows that barley can rapidly improve people’s health by reducing blood sugar levels and the risk for diabetes. The secret lies in the special mixture of dietary fibres found in barley, which can also help reduce people’s appetite and risk for cardiovascular disease. “It is surprising yet promising that choosing the right blend of dietary fibres can – in a short period of time – generate such remarkable health benefits”, says Anne Nilsson, Associate Professor at the Food for Health Science Centre and one of the researchers behind the study. The study was conducted with healthy middle-aged participants who were asked to eat bread largely made out of barley kernels for three days – at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Approximately 11–14 hours after their final meal of the day participants were examined for risk indicators of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The researchers found that the participants’ metabolism improved for up to 14 hours, with additional benefits such as decreases in blood sugar and insulin levels, increases in insulin sensitivity and improved appetite control. The effects arise when the special mixture of dietary fibres in barley kernel reaches the gut, stimulating the increase of good bacteria and the release of important hormones. “After eating the bread made out of barley kernel, we saw an increase in gut hormones that regulate metabolism and appetite, and an increase in a hormone that helps reduce chronic low-grade inflammation, among the participants. In time this could help prevent the occurrence of both cardiovascular disease and diabetes”, says Anne Nilsson. In a previous related study conducted with a team from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden researchers also found that dietary fibres from barley kernel generate an increase of the gut bacteria Prevotella copri, which have a direct regulatory effect on blood sugar levels and help decrease the proportion of a type of gut bacteria that is considered unhealthy. The effects from barley kernel are influenced by the composition of the individual’s gut microbiota, meaning people with low concentrations of the Prevotella copri bacteria experienced less effect from their intake of barley products. Eating more barley could, however, help stimulate growth of the bacteria.
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Sweet potatoes may be the secret ingredient for making healthy gluten-free flour
University of Sonora (Mexico), February 14, 2023
The versatility of potatoes seems to be never-ending. From fries to mashed potatoes to breakfast hash, it’s as if they can do anything. Recent research further confirms this notion, reporting that sweet potatoes could serve as the perfect gluten-free flour for baked goods! In recent years, the gluten-free options have skyrocketed, and scientists are continuing to explore different options like banana peel, almonds, and other grains like sorghum. Sweet potato-based flour may completely change the game. Not only does it bring a welcoming sweetness, but its nutritional profile is one to boast about. This flour would contain gut-loving fiber and an abundance of antioxidants. One barrier to widespread sweet potato flour production, however, is figuring out how to implement best practices for processing it. Previous studies have yet to determine how different steps involved in potato drilling and milling can produce flours that can be easily used for common products and goods. To investigate this, Ofelia Rouzaud-Sández and her colleagues wanted to explore how two drying temperatures and grinding processes affected the properties of orange sweet potato flour. In order to create flours, researchers from Universidad de Sonora prepared samples of orange sweet potatoes dried at either 122 or 176 degrees Fahrenheit before grinding them once or twice. They studied the parameters closely, comparing them to sweet potato flour from stores and a traditional wheat-based flour. They found that at both temperatures, grinding just once damaged enough starch to make it a good option for use in fermented products like gluten-free bread. Grinding twice further disrupted the starch’s structure, which could make a good choice for use as a thickening agent for porridges or sauces. When baked into a bread loaf potato dried at 176 degrees and ground once, it had a higher antioxidant capacity compared to the store-bought sweet potato flour and the wheat flour.
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Most health claims on infant formula products seem to have little or no supporting evidence
Imperial College London, February 15, 2023
Most health and nutrition claims on infant formula products seem to be backed by little or no high quality scientific evidence, finds an international survey published by The BMJ. Common claims are that products benefit brain development, immunity, and growth in young infants, but the researchers say “transparency is still lacking” and that revised regulations are needed “to better protect consumers and avoid the harms associated with aggressive marketing of such products.” Health and nutrition claims on infant formula products are controversial because they can enhance the perceived benefits of formula over breastfeeding and thereby undermine breastfeeding. Yet data on the frequency of claims and their scientific substantiation are limited. To address this, researchers reviewed health and nutrition claims for infant formula products in a group of high, middle, and low income countries and evaluated the validity of the evidence used to support these claims. They searched websites of infant formula companies and identified 757 infant formula products, each linked to an average of two claims (ranging from one in Australia to four in the US) and 31 types of claims across all products. Of 608 products with one or more claims, the most common claim types were “helps/supports development of brain and/or eyes and/or nervous system” (53% of products, 13 ingredients), “strengthens/supports a healthy immune system” (39% of products, 12 ingredients), and “helps/supports growth and development” (37% of products, 20 ingredients). In all, 41 groups of ingredients were identified that had one or more claims linked with them, but many claims were made without reference to a specific ingredient (307 or 50% of products). The most common groups of ingredients cited in claims were long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (46% of products, 9 different claims); prebiotics, probiotics, or synbiotics (37% of products, 19 claims); and hydrolyzed protein (20% of products, 9 claims). Across all countries, 161 out of 608 (26%) of products with at least one claim provided a scientific reference to support the claim. No scientific reference was provided for most (74%) of products making specific health claims. When references were provided, 56% reported findings of clinical trials while the rest were reviews, opinion pieces, or other types of research including animal studies. Only 14% of citations that referred to clinical trials were prospectively registered, and 90% of claims that cited registered clinical trials carried a high risk of bias. What’s more, 88% of registered trials had authors who either received formula industry funding or were directly affiliated with industry.
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Nightly sleep is key to student success
Carnegie Mellon University, February 3 2023
College is a time of transition for young adults. It may be the first time students have the freedom to determine how to spend their time, but this freedom comes with competing interests from academics, social events and even sleep. A multi-institutional team of researchers conducted the first study to evaluate how the duration of nightly sleep early in the semester affects first year college students end-of-semester grade point average (GPA). Using sleep trackers, they found that students on average sleep 6.5 hours a night, but negative outcomes accumulate when students received less than six hours of sleep a night. The results are available in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.Previous studies have shown that total sleep is an important predictor for a broad range of health and performance outcomes. Sleep guidelines recommend teenagers get 8 to 10 hours of sleep every night. Many college students experience irregular and insufficient sleep. The study evaluated more than 600 first-year students across five studies at three universities. The students wore wrist Fitbit devices to monitor and record their sleep patterns. The researchers found that students in the study sleep on average 6.5 hours a night. More surprising, the researchers found that students who receive less than six hours of sleep experienced a pronounced decline in academic performance. In addition, each hour of sleep lost corresponded to a 0.07 decrease in end-of-term GPA. “Once you start dipping below six hours, you are starting to accumulate massive sleep debt that can impair a student’s health and study habits, compromising the whole system,” said Creswell. “Most surprising to me was that no matter what we did to make the effect go away, it persisted.” “A popular belief among college students is value studying more or partying more over nightly sleep,” said Creswell. Our work here suggests that there are potentially real costs to reducing your nightly sleep on your ability to learn and achieve in college. There’s real value in budgeting for the importance of nightly sleep.”