Renew You Challenge

Let’s start this week off right!

Weekly challenge (I mean opportunity!) to help set you off on the right foot and in the right direction for bringing health to your week. You could even add it to your calendar.  Join us! 

A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) has found that women who consume rice have higher levels of arsenic detected in urine than those women who do not eat rice. Arsenic is a heavy metal that naturally occurs in the environment, but at higher levels can be detrimental to human health.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has set limits for arsenic in groundwater at 10 mg/L. The rice plant has the ability to extract arsenic and store it in the rice grain. Currently, there are no regulations for arsenic levels in rice, so this presents a potential problem. This new study will hopefully lead to more studies that examine the potential health risks of arsenic exposure in rice. For now, no recommendations are made to avoid rice, as it is thought to be an important nutrient in the diets of many people.

Scientists do recommend having well water tested, as 10 percent of the women in the study were drinking well water that exceeded the current WHO limits for arsenic. The senior author of the paper stated, “Arsenic exposure during pregnancy is a public health concern due to potential health risks to the fetus.” Though they do not recommend pregnant women avoid rice at this time, I would say it’s probably not a good idea to eat rice every day. It’s too early to know much, but it might be prudent to cut back on rice if you are expecting.

This week, if you have well water, get it tested for arsenic to be sure you are well under the 10 mg/L limit.

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In pediatric medicine, antibiotics are among the most commonly prescribed medications, with more than 30 million prescriptions written each year. A recent study analyzed antibiotic prescribing patterns in outpatient visits in the United States between 2006 and 2008. Antibiotics were prescribed in 21 percent of visits. Respiratory conditions accounted for most of the prescriptions (72 percent).

Prescriptions for broad-spectrum antibiotics, those that target a broad range of bacteria, were prescribed in 63 percent of those cases, but they were prescribed for infections for which antibiotics were not indicated. That means they were inappropriately prescribed for conditions for which antibiotics don’t work, conditions like bronchitis, viral pneumonia, and influenza.

Though overall rates for antibiotic prescriptions in outpatient pediatric care have declined, it is obvious from this report that antibiotics are still being overprescribed. Certainly, antibiotics play an important role in helping to stop harmful, and even deadly, infections, but when they are prescribed for conditions for which they are not helpful, they only serve to increase antibiotic resistance, a considerable health threat to modern medicine.

Not to mention, inappropriate overuse of antibiotics can contribute to gut imbalance that can have health effects that extend throughout a lifetime. Remember that digestive health is the foundation upon which total-body health is built.

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Every year, the United Health Foundation publishes its state health rankings, a report of data collected on 23 measures of health compiled by different federal agencies. The rankings take into account behavioral, socioeconomic, and other factors that predict good health of a state, like rates of binge drinking, smoking and obesity, and factors like air pollution, violent crime, childhood poverty, and low rates of health insurance.

Between 1990 and 2000, health measures improved, but over the last decade that improvement slowed. In 2011 there was no improvement. The poor economy has been blamed, a factor that may influence poor health habits. Overall the report finds that 27.5 percent of the population is obese, 17.3 percent smoke cigarettes, and 8.7 percent have diabetes, all preventable contributors to poor health.

The five most unhealthy states:

50. Mississippi

49. Louisiana

48. Oklahoma

47. Arkansas

46. Alabama

The five healthiest states:

1. Vermont

2. New Hampshire

3. Connecticut

4. Hawaii

5. Massachusetts

For the full report, click here.

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During pregnancy, mothers-to-be generally try to eat better and take better care of themselves in the hopes of improving the health of their infants. Pregnant moms may also try avoiding certain chemical exposures like cigarette smoke and even harsh cleaning products. This can be a tricky task, however. One recent study has found that flame retardant exposure—a difficult exposure to avoid—is linked to lower birth weight in babies.

The study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, found that for every tenfold increase in PBDE (polybrominated diphenyl ether) levels in the mother’s blood, there was a 4.1 ounce drop in the baby’s birth weight. Lead researcher Kim Harley, from the University of California, Berkley’s School of Public Health, stated, “What we saw was a shift toward lighter babies among women with higher PBDE exposure rather than a dramatic increase in the number of low birth weight babies.” For babies already at risk for low birth weight for other reasons, 4.1 ounces would make a big difference.

The PBDEs tested for in the study were actually phased out of use in 2004, but because they are found in many household items, their persistence is still widespread. These chemicals leach from furniture, upholstery, carpet, electronics and more (even baby products and children’s pajamas!), and are stored in fat cells. Flame retardants have been linked to reduced fertility and thyroid dysfunction in women.

How do we get out of this toxic soup? Well, we can’t. But the researchers do recommend wet mopping when dusting since flame retardants are concentrated in dust, and frequent hand washing to avoid ingesting these chemicals.

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babies, chemicals, dust, exposure, fire retardant, Health, infants, low birth weight, mothers, PBDE, polybrominated diphenyl ether, pregnancy, pregnant, toxic

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has done it again. EWG is a public health non-profit organization on a mission to use the power of public information to protect public health and the environment. That’s a tall order for any organization, and EWG is doing a fine job.

Their latest project involves the assessment of 84 breakfast cereals marketed to children. What they found was that some cereals had more sugar than a Twinkie, which contains 18 g of sugar. More than half of all cereals assessed contained more sugar than three Chips Ahoy! cookies, which contain 11 g of sugar. The report summed it up well: “Most parents say no to dessert for breakfast, but many children’s cereals have just as much sugar as a dessert—or more.”

Here is a list of the 10 worst children’s cereals:

Kelloggs, Honey Smacks

Post Golden Crisp

Kellogg’s Froot Loops Marshmallow

Quaker Oats Cap’n Crunch’s OOPS! All Berries

Quaker Oats Cap’n Crunch Original

Quaker Oats Oh!s

Kellogg Smorz

Kellogg’s Smorz

Quaker Oats Cap’n Crunch’s Crunch Berries

Kellogg’s Froot Loops Original

So this week, it’s time to assess your breakfast pantry. If you happen to eat these cereals, or feed them to your children—STOP! But don’t stop there. Check the sugar content—and the carbohydrate and fiber content for that matter—on your breakfast foods. The problem with most breakfast cereals is that they are high in carbohydrates and low in protein and fiber. Protein helps give you brain power that lasts throughout the day, and fiber helps reduce the absorption of sugar in the body. Try eggs for breakfast instead of cereal, or a protein shake.

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The human gut is home to thousands of different bacterial species, totaling 100 trillion bacterial cells—that’s about four pounds of bacteria, or the weight of a brick. The composition of this bacterial population (also known as the gut microbiota), is currently being studied. Dr. Smith recently blogged on it.

A new study by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, published in Science, takes the findings further. This new study found two major gut types—Bacteroides and Prevotella—based on gut bacterial population groups in 98 healthy volunteers who were asked to fill out questionnaires that assessed dietary habits. Stool samples were collected to determine their gut microbiota composition.

The researchers found a link between dietary habits and gut types. People who ate a diet high in meat and saturated fat were higher in Bacteroides bacteria, and people who had a diet high in carbohydrates had more Prevotella bacteria. Researchers then took ten volunteers and fed half of them a diet high in fat and low in fiber, and fed the other half a low-fat, high-fiber diet. By the end of ten days the bacterial populations had begun to change, but were still predominantly the same Bacteroides and Prevotella groups. This indicates that it’s possible to change the gut microbiota with diet, but it will take more than a short term change to see any major difference.

Next steps will be to replicate these findings to confirm them, and to take the studies further by looking at whether these gut types are associated with health or disease. It’s an exciting area of research, working out the details of what I have said all along—your gut is the foundation of the health of the rest of your body. It all begins in the gut.

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Fish high in omega-3 oils provide a rich source of the fatty acids EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). DHA is a physiologically-essential nutrient in the brain and retina where it is found in high concentrations. For this reason fish oil rich in DHA is particularly beneficial for the eyes and brain. EPA is especially helpful for reducing inflammation. Together, EPA and DHA have been found to be helpful in a host of health conditions.

Recently, a couple studies have been published highlighting the visual benefits of fish oil. In one study involving 38,022 women, regular consumption of the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA found in fish was associated with lower risk of developing age-related macular degeneration, which is a condition in older people that gradually destroys central sharp vision. Women who regularly consumed fish had a 42 percent lower risk.

The second study evaluated the way that omega-3 fatty acids work. The study found an effect that promotes healthy blood vessel growth while inhibiting abnormal blood vessel growth. Both retinopathy and macular degeneration involve abnormal blood vessel growth. Researchers isolated the compound which exhibited this effect—a metabolite of the omega-3 DHA.

Currently, an ongoing study through the National Eye Institute is underway looking at the benefits of fish oil supplements in people with age-related macular degeneration, and another study in Sweden is investigating the effects of omega-3 supplementation in premature infants who are deficient in omega-3 to determine if the supplement reduces the development of retinopathy. If so, this will lead to more studies.

The science behind EPA and DHA from fish oil span a wide range of health conditions, which highlights the importance of these oils for the body’s optimal function.

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The human genome was fully mapped in the year 2000, a feat thought to be one of the most important medical science breakthroughs in history. As it turned out, there were only 25,000 genes, and the research did not yield the medical advances anticipated. In 2008, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) began to fund a different genetic initiative; one that sought to understand the epigenome.

The epigenome is described as the expression of the genome. Literally, epigenome means “above the genome.” Epigenetics is the study of changes in gene activity that do not involve changes to genetic code. One example of epigenetics is the addition or subtraction of small molecules called methyl or acetyl groups, which attach/detach to certain genes in processes known as methylation or acetylation. In methylation of the genome some genes are silenced, and others are turned on. Methylation determines how genes will be expressed, and it is the expression of genes that has an effect on our health. Think of your genome like a piano, and methylation like the pianist’s fingers, playing in tune to your health—or not.

Scientists have long known that epigenetics existed, because it explains how certain cells have the potential to develop into different cell types, depending on what is needed at the time. But what scientists didn’t know then that they know now, is epigenetics plays a major role in our health, and the health of our children. Lifestyle factors, like what we eat, what we are exposed to, and how we live, can affect our gene expression, and even the gene expression of our children for at least four generations.

Randy Jirtle PhD, a radiation biologist at Duke University, was among the first to experiment with DNA methylation in ways that gained much attention. His team conducted an experiment in pregnant mice that found methylation of a particular gene, the agouti gene, by administration of a diet rich in the B vitamins folic acid and B12 (both critically involved in methylation), resulted in offspring that were lean compared to obese offspring of pregnant mice not fed the diet.^1,2

Dr. Jirtle stated, “The epigenome is most sensitive to perturbations in programming during the embryonic and the perinatal stages of development,”³ a statement highlighting the importance of healthy lifestyle of the mother before and during pregnancy and breast feeding, and of the children as they grow.

Puberty is another period when the epigenome is sensitive, especially in boys in whom sperm are beginning to develop (as opposed to in girls who carry eggs from birth). Toxin exposure plays a big role in epigenetics. Very early cigarette smoking in boys before age 11 has been found to later increase obesity in the sons of those men, illustrating the effects of the epigenome on the next generation.⁴

The message of epigenetic research is that we have more control over our genome, and thus, our health, than we once thought. Even small lifestyle changes can positively affect the expression of our genes in a way that results in positive health effects, in ourselves, in our children, and in our children’s children out several generations.

References

1. R.A. Waterland and R.J. Jirtle, “Transposable elements: targets for early nutritional effects on epigenetic gene regulation.” Mol Cell Biol. 2003 August; 23(15): 5293–5300.
2. R.J. Jirtle and M.K. Skinner, Environmental epigenomics and disease susceptibility.” Nat Rev Genet. 2007 Apr;8(4):253-62.
3. B.M. Kuehn, “Randy L. Jirtle, PhD: Epigenetics a window on gene dysregulation, disease.” JAMA. 2008;299(11):1249-1250.
4. M.E. Pembry, et al., “Sex-specific, male-line transgenerational responses in humans.” Eur J Hum Genet. 2006 Feb;14(2):159-66.

Leonard Smith, M.D.
Dr. Leonard Smith is a prominent Board-Certified, general, gastrointestinal and vascular surgeon who had a successful private practice for 25 years. In addition to his active surgery practice, he also incorporated lifestyle, diet, supplementation, exercise, detoxification, and stress management into many of the therapies he would prescribe. Many of his patients with cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other serious illnesses did so well under his treatment regimes that he began to devote most of his career to foundational health care and preventive medicine.

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The benefits of omega-3 oils from fish were first noticed in Inuit populations of Greenland. Researchers noticed that these people consumed high amounts of fat, yet did not develop heart disease or experience heart attacks like people in the Western world. Thus began studies of the Inuit diet in which beneficial omega-3 fatty acids from fish—EPA and DHA—were found to be the heart-protective components.

Many thousands of studies later, the benefits of omega-3 fish oil are still being found in many different areas of health. In a new study of Yup’ik Eskimos in Alaska, researchers evaluated the effects of a high-fat fish-based diet on disease markers in obese Eskimos. The rate of obesity in these people is similar to that in the lower US—the difference is the source of dietary fat. In the US, saturated and trans fats are high in the diet, and healthy polyunsaturated fats, like omega-3s, are low.  

In obese Yup’ik Eskimos with the highest blood levels of EPA and DHA, blood triglyceride and C-reactive protein (a measure of overall inflammation) were the same as normal weight people. In those Eskimos with the lowest EPA and DHA levels, however, blood triglyceride and CRP levels were high. High triglycerides and CRP levels are risk factors for the development of cardiovascular disease and possibly diabetes.

Results of this study suggest that omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA found in fish may have health protecting effects even in obese people. More studies are needed to confirm these results, but this study is promising.

Now, don’t get carried away and think you can eat all the fatty foods you want and just pop a fish oil supplement. Instead choose healthy fats as part of your diet with plenty of fish on the menu, and supplement that with omega-3s from fish oil to be sure you’re getting enough of these great fats. Just be sure to look for a fish oil that meets International Fish Oil Standards (IFOS—look for the IFOS seal on the bottle).

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The gut-brain axis involves the connection of the gut to the brain. This connection goes in both directions—from the brain to the gut and from the gut to the brain. In one way, the gut-brain axis is connected by the vagus nerve—a large nerve connecting the brain to the intestines and other organs. The vagus nerve both sends messages to various organs, and also receives messages from these organs—including the gut—to send to the brain. A new study has established the vagus nerve as a main form of communication from the gut bacteria to the brain.

In an animal model, researchers were able to show that mice fed the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus JB-1 showed less stress-, anxiety-, and depression-related behaviors than did mice not fed the bacteria. Further, the probiotic mice had lower levels of the stress hormone corticosterone, and they also experienced changes in the expression of receptors of the neurotransmitter GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) in the brain—highlighting the ability of probiotics to directly affect brain chemistry under normal conditions.

This is an early study that will need to be replicated in humans, but studies like these pave the way for our understanding of the complexities of the gut connection. Did you ever think your gut could have such an effect on your health? If you read my blog regularly, I sure hope so!

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