Top 10 Medical Events of the Decade (Dr. Dean Ornish, MD)

• Synthetic Genome Assembly in 2008 from Mycoplasma genitlium
• Epigenetics provides clues on how environment effects genetic expression
• Integrative Medicine Becomes Mainstream (Summit of Integrative Medicine & Health of the Public in Washington, DC)
• COURAGE trial concludes that angioplasty and stents don’t fair any better than drugs alone in stabilized heart patients
• Recommendations for Mammography and PSA screenings to detect cancer get revised due to their limitations, financial impact, and possible health consequence
• The Globalization of American Food leads to Globalization of Heart Disease and other Chronic Illnesses diverting attention from other diseases that require more expensive therapies acutely
• Health Care Reform–stay tuned..
• Epidemic of Obesity and Childhood Obesity spreads worldwide with diabetes in 30 year olds rising 70%
• Limb Regeneration study on a salamander concludes that stem cells from limbs only create cells from the tissue they came from, not dedifferentiated pluripotent cells.
• Folkman discovers how Angiogenesis, how cells such as cancer create their own blood supply, can be used to create treatments which inhibit growth of unwanted cells. Drugs and certain nutrients have been made and discovered which are angiogenesis inhibitors.

My Take on the New Year’s Resolutions of Weight loss on my saratoga.com blog

HIGHLIGHT: TAMIFLU ACCORDING TO BMJ:

Conclusion:

Neuraminidase inhibitors have modest effectiveness against the symptoms of influenza in otherwise healthy adults. The drugs are effective postexposure against laboratory confirmed influenza, but this is a small component of influenza-like illness, so for this outcome neuraminidase inhibitors are not effective. Neuraminidase inhibitors might be regarded as optional for reducing the symptoms of seasonal influenza. Paucity of good data has undermined previous findings for oseltamivir’s prevention of complications from influenza. Independent randomised trials to resolve these uncertainties are needed.

Good News on H1N1: Science researching elderberry which has shown to inhibit its viral replication! Other high flavonoids include other fruits and vegetables, including the golgi berry (NXR).

Mercola’s Top 12 Articles of 2009

This link provides articles on: The dangers of prescription drugs, Vitamin D, thyroid health, MSG (nervous system issues/toxicity), tumeric (anti-inflammatory, brain health, cancer prevention), splenda (chlorinated sweetness that kills good bacteria in the gut, weight gain and side effects), Apple cider vinegar, insulin’s link to common diseases, Alpah lipoic acid (antioxidant that helps blood sugar), lowering blood pressure, kidney stones (water!), brain damage and cell phones, and flu prevention

Mercola’s Top 10 Health Tips

Stress management, Optimal Vitamin D and sunshine, Eat for your Nutritional Type, Eat Raw, Exercise, Optimize your Insulin and Leptin, Consume Healthy Fats, Limit your Toxin Exposure, Drink Pure Water as your primary beverage, and get your zzzssssss.

Comment: Stress, mind-body techniques, and regaining your belief in your body’s innate wisdom are as vital as consulting the right “experts” . I recently attended a PBS taping of Dr. Northrup’s, “Women’s Body’s Women’s Wisdom.” She explained the importance of viewing the body as a vehicle for health vs. disease.

UK to Return Vaccine Supply (FT.com)

The mild nature of the swine flu virus, the need for only a single rather than a double dose of vaccine and public suspicion and indifference to vaccination have led to lower take-up than anticipated in the UK and other countries.

True closer to home in NYS too (My fox NY)

What’s Bad About Trans Fats? (Dr. Mercola)

The end result of the hydrogenation process is a completely unnatural fat that causes dysfunction and chaos in your body on a cellular level.

Trans fats have been linked to:

• Cancer: They interfere with enzymes your body uses to fight cancer.
• Diabetes: They interfere with the insulin receptors in your cell membranes.
• Decreased immune function: They reduce your immune response.
• Problems with reproduction: They interfere with enzymes needed to produce sex hormones.
• Obesity
• Heart disease: Trans fats can cause major clogging of your arteries.

Trans fat is also known to increase blood levels of low density lipoprotein (LDL), or “bad” cholesterol, while lowering levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL), or “good” cholesterol.

Trans fats even interfere with your body’s use of beneficial omega-3 fats, and have been linked to an increase in asthma.

And……Careful of those “trans-fat” free foods, they could still be processed:

There are three ways to modify natural fat:

1. Fractionation
2. Hydrogenation (the process used in trans fat production)
3. Inter-ester-ification

Interesterification acts on compounds in oil known as esters. The process combines a natural vegetable oil with stearic acid and alkylinic catalysts. Either enzymes or chemicals are used to modify the molecular structure of the oil in order to make it perform like a fat. The end result is a fat rich in stearic acid.

Interesterification is similar to the process that creates trans fats. Like hydrogenation, which generates unnatural trans fats, interesterification also produces molecules that do not exist in nature.

The highly industrialized process of interesterification may result in a product that is trans-free, but that product will still contain chemical residues, hexanes, and other hazardous waste products full of free radicals that cause cell damage.

Body mass index and waist circumference predict both 10-year nonfatal and fatal cardiovascular disease risk: study conducted in 20,000 Dutch men and women aged 20-65 years. (European Journal of Cardiovascular Preventive Rehabilitation)

On the population level, one-third of all fatal CVD cases could be attributed to overweight and obesity (population attributable risk=35%, 95% CI=14-52), and about one in seven of nonfatal CVD cases. CONCLUSION: The associations of BMI and WC with CVD risk were equally strong. Overweight and obesity had a stronger impact on fatal CVD than on nonfatal CVD.

PMID: 19809330

Depressed People Can’t Hold Onto Happiness (Medline)

Excerpt:  (Note: funded by Pharmaceutical)

It’s not that depressed people can’t feel good, it’s that they can’t hang on to that feeling, a new study claims… What we found is that normal controls are able to do this and show activation in areas of brain that we know are important for positive emotion, especially the nucleus accumbens, which is critical for reward and positive emotion,” Davidson said. “The depressed patients showed activation in this area comparable to healthy controls in the beginning but were unable to sustain this activation over time

Healing Hormone for Brain Injury (Life Extension)

Progesterone is being researched for its effects on alleviating symptoms of brain injury. According to Dr. Stein, progesterone has many actions on brain function.

Progesterone lowers excitability in the brains, helps decrease retrograde degeneration (nerves dying connected to damaged neuron pathways), increases myelin, up regulates genes that inhibit cell death, alleviates cerebral edema by up regulating aquaporins, and decreases inflammation.

Dr. Mercola’s comment on progesterone (I concur):

Progesterone cream is one common alternative that achieves this. However, since progesterone is fat soluble, it can build up in your fatty tissues and lead to having too much progesterone in your body. This in turn can disrupt other hormones such as DHEA, cortisol, and testosterone. It’s also near impossible to accurately determine the dose when using a cream.

What I have noticed is that many women do really well when they initially go on the progesterone cream but after a few months that start to deteriorate again. This is most likely related to the deposition in fat stores.

Sublingual drops offer the best of both worlds, as it enters your blood stream directly and will not build up in your tissues like the cream can. It’s also much easier to determine the dose you’re taking, as each drop is about one milligram.

My comment: pregnenolone cream is not in the same category and is sometimes very useful for short term hormone repletion when nutrients and herbal support are not strong enough for symptoms during rejuvenation.

Hand Sanitizers or Tea Tree? (Dr. Mercola)

“Yes, but you’ll need to become an avid label reader to find them. Look for natural, organic varieties that do not contain triclosan or other harmful ingredients, and instead contain safe plant-based ingredients such as rice bran extract, aloe vera, chamomile and tea tree oil.

Again, hand washing with plain soap and water is an ideal way to keep germs off your hands, but a safe hand sanitizer is a great back-up plan for those times when you can’t get to a sink.”

My comment: Thieves hand sanitizer!!

Controlling Pests by Death Can Harm You! (Dr. Mercola)

Excerpt:

The more difficult a pesticide is to break down, the more damage it can cause to the environment and living beings, because it is more susceptible to soil runoff and evaporation into the air. In addition, measurable amounts can move through the atmosphere and accumulate in more distant locations.

Furthermore, most pesticides contain unregistered and untested “inert ingredients.” These so-called inert substances can be more dangerous (or can contaminate an area longer) than the active or “registered” poisons in the pesticide formula itself.

Ironically, while bugs and other pests have very short life spans and can easily become resistant to these toxic chemicals. You live much longer than these pests and are unable to develop resistance in your lifetime.  So the poisons in pesticides, which are often stored in your fatty tissue, can become carcinogenic, or they can emerge later to cause further harm.

My Thoughts: Furthermore, they are accumulating in our water, polluting our fish. They are neurotoxic and may cause infertility. Yuck. Try cinnamon or peppermint oil, please!

The Scientific Explanation of  a Brain Fart (Dr. Mercola)-fun!

To put it simply, researchers explain that the default mode network (DMN) of your brain is responsible for your inward-focused thinking, such as daydreaming. But this is far from a passive activity, and actually uses up a lot of energy. The DMN competes, in a sense, with other areas of your brain for resources, and in order for you to carry out a task that requires focused attention, your brain must inhibit the DMN.

But remember, the DMN is the default setting of your brain, meaning that you will probably revert back to it while performing many tasks of your daily grind. Your brain perceives many of these tasks as patterns; they’re activities you’ve done many times before so your brain may take a quick time out.

Hawaii Resolution for Right to Choose! (Dr. Mercola)

People of Hawaii issued a first amendment resolution to allow for philosophical, religious, and medical exemptions for flu vaccinations.

Excerpt:

The Hawaii Resolution is printed in full here at bigislandchronicle.com. What I find very interesting is that the Resolution is not just about the H1N1 vaccine, which prompted it, but is about ALL vaccines.

It quotes the Hawaii statute which, like the other US states’, shields the pharmaceutical industry from lawsuits stemming from injuries of vaccines given during a state-declared emergency, but then it goes on to say:

“WHEREAS, there is insufficient scientific evidence proving that vaccines are safe or effective, therefore it is not in the best interest of public health to impose mandatory vaccinations without exemptions; and

WHEREAS, swine flu and the flu vaccines both contain Thimerosal, a preservative for vaccines composed of mercury, one microgram of mercury is considered toxic and flu shots contain 25 micrograms. By age two, most United States children have received around 237 micrograms of mercury through vaccines; and

WHEREAS, the fast tracked government vaccines contain a substance called squalene that is suspected of causing serious long-term damage to the body; and

WHEREAS, in the wake of potential harm to the individual and the public from vaccinations, and the vacillating interpretation of “vaccine science,” it is in the public’s best interest to amend the vaccine laws, to include the right of medical, religious, and philosophical exemptions from mandated vaccination programs; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED BY the COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF Hawai‘i, that it recommends that state and federal elected officials who represent the people of the State of Hawai‘i amend vaccine laws to include medical, religious, and philosophical exemptions from mandatory vaccine programs that contain thimerasol or squalene.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that any vaccine known to contain harmful viruses or any materials known to prompt autoimmune diseases or cancer risks shall provide cause for exemption for any person in the State of Hawai‘i who so desires such exemption.”

Link to legally avoid vaccinations for children

The Danger of the US Food Supply (Dr. Mercola)

Excerpt:

“The concentrated production techniques that go with Big Food can help propagate pathogens. The crowded chicken houses, pig farms and cattle feedlots that produce most of the meat eaten in America are viewed by scientists as potential breeding grounds for dangerous bacteria and viruses.”

Despite this, there is no federal requirement for meat grinders to test their ingredients for E.coliprior to selling them. And most retailers do not test either.

US Government Encouraging Farmers to Use Coal Waste (which contains heavy metals that are toxic) (Washington Post)

The Problem with GM Foods (International Journal of Biological Science)

Compared to non-GM corn varieties, rats feed GM corn exhibited toxicity to their excretory organs, mainly their liver and kidneys.

Regular Exercise: The Latest Anti-Aging Pill (Medpage Today)

Middle-aged marathoners and triathletes who had been training for decades had significantly less telomere erosion than their more sedentary counterparts, according to Ulrich Laufs, MD, of Saarland University in Hamburg, Germany, and colleagues.

Both younger track-and-field athletes and the older runners had upregulation of telomere-stabilizing proteins and decreased expression of vascular apoptosis regulators in circulating leukocytes compared with individuals who did not exercise frequently, the researchers reported online in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Why Eat Organic? (OCA)

• Levels of antioxidants in milk from organic cattle are between 50% and 80% higher than normal milk. Organic wheat, tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, onions and lettuce have between 20% and 40% more nutrients than non-organic foods.
• Organic food contains qualitatively higher levels of essential minerals (such as calcium, magnesium, iron and chromium), that are severely depleted in chemical foods grown on pesticide and nitrate fertilizer-abused soil. UK and US government statistics indicate that levels of trace minerals in (non-organic) fruit and vegetables fell by up to 76% between 1940 and 1991.

How to Know If It’s Really Organic (OCA)

Look for the USDA Organic Seal or the Words “Made With Organic Ingredients”

When you see the USDA Organic seal, you know that the food is at least 95% organic, does not contain genetically modified organisms, was not irradiated, and comes from a farm that:

• Employs positive soil building, conservation, manure management and crop rotation practices.
• Provides outdoor access and pasture for livestock.
• Refrains from antibiotic and hormone use in animals.
• Sustains animals on 100% organic feed.
• Keeps records of all operations.
• Is inspected annually by an accredited Third-Party Organic Certifier.

If it is a multi-ingredient product, it was made at a certified organic processing plant that takes strict measures to avoid contamination of organic products.

Products that are “Made With Organic Ingredients” are at least 70% organic and are also free of genetically modified organisms and food irradiation.

Why Whole Food Supplements? (Dr. Cameron, DVM)

Spices & Breast Cancer (Vital Choice)

Study details how the spices stop rogue stem cells

The University of Michigan team exposed stem cells from human breast tissue to the spice compounds (Kakarala M et al. 2009).

The results showed that curcumin – a powerful antioxidant and yellow pigment from turmeric – and piperine from black pepper each decreased the number of abnormal stem cells while having no effect on normal, “differentiated” cells.

Fortunately, the results also detailed how the spice extracts halted growth of the rogue stem cells.

First, they targeted stem cells carrying the risky ALDH1 genetic marker associated with a failure to differentiate into useful body cells.

Second, they blocked a dangerous “cell signaling” pathway called Wnt, which allows stem cells to “self-renew” … that is, the Wnt signal lets stem cells keep dividing without ever differentiating into the cell types needed by the body.

Toxins in Our Children (EWG)

A two-year study involving five independent research laboratories in the United States, Canada and the Netherlands has found up to 232 toxic chemicals in the umbilical cord blood of 10 babies from racial and ethnic minority groups. The findings constitute hard evidence that each child was exposed to a host of dangerous substances while still in its mother’s womb.

Government, academic and independent biomonitoring studies, including those by EWG, have detected up to 358 industrial chemicals, pesticides and pollutants in the cord blood of American infants. Exploring the so-called “additive” effects of possible carcinogens, hormone disrupters and neurotoxins is a new and urgent priority for environmental health scientists. EWG supports this very important work. But as this science moves forward, we need to act now to reduce exposures that present the greatest health threats based on what we know today, even as scientists struggle to understand how the cocktail of chemicals in the womb could harm current and future generations.

Research teams around the world are exploring the mechanisms by which environmental pollutants may trigger genetic changes that can affect a person’s health and that, in some cases, may be passed on to future generations.

Dr. Mercola:

Of the 287 chemicals EWG detected in umbilical cord blood, it’s known that:

208 cause birth defects or abnormal development in animal tests

180 cause cancer in humans or animals

217 are toxic to your brain and nervous system

Gentle Detox Suggestions (D’damo newsletter)

Excerpt: By eating beneficial foods and taking supplements that are compatible with your blood type or GenoType®, you will be cleansing and detoxifying your body and allowing all the body’s systems to function at their very best. Purchase organic when possible and stick to buying whole foods, rather than processed foods from a box, bag or can.

Oxytocin-the human bonding hormone-alleviates heart inflammation (pubmed)

The hormone stimulated by human closeness-skin-to-skin contact-oxytocin was found to decrease inflammatory markers and decrease cell death in rat hearts post heart attack. Of course, wouldn’t you prefer a hug to an injection—is that the point??

Fearless Decisions in 2010 (NVIC)

We, who are critical of one-size-fits all mandatory vaccination policies because those policies fail to acknowledge biodiversity and do not respect the informed consent ethic, welcome a new, more rational and substantive conversation about vaccination in 2010. As President Franklin Roosevelt said “The truth is found when men are free to pursue it.”

Hopefully, 2010 will be the beginning of a fearless and fierce search for the truth about health and vaccination that will enlighten us all.

Vitamin C and Aging (FASEB Journal)

Vitamin C shown to reverse several markers in againg…

Vitamin C supplementation rescued the shorter mean life span of Wrn mutant mice and reversed several age-related abnormalities in adipose tissues and liver endothelial defenestration, genomic integrity, and inflammatory status. At the molecular level, phosphorylation of age-related stress markers like Akt kinase-specific substrates and the transcription factor NF-B, as well as protein kinase C and Hif-1 transcription factor levels, which are increased in the liver of Wrn mutants, were normalized by vitamin C.

Natural Substance Used to Treat Hepatitis C (Science Daily)

Quercetin, a bioflavonoid found in various foods such as onions and apples, was studied for its antiviral effects..

French and his team set out to identify the cellular factors involved in hepatitis C replication and, using mass spectrometry, found that heat shock proteins (HSPs) 40 and 70 were important for viral infection. HSP 70 was previously known to be involved, but HSP 40 was linked for the first time to hepatitis C infection, French said. They further showed that the natural compound Quercetin, which inhibits the synthesis of these proteins, significantly inhibits viral infection in tissue culture.

The Not so Sweet Response of Sugar Substitutes (New Science)

Sucrose produced stronger activation in the “reward” areas of the brain that light up in response to pleasurable activities such as eating and drinking. Sucralose didn’t activate these areas as strongly, but it synchronised the activity in a whole constellation of taste-associated brain areas – and it did this more strongly than sucrose did (NeuroImage, vol 39, p 1559). Frank suggests that sucralose activates brain areas that register pleasant taste, but not strongly enough to cause satiation. “That might drive you to eat something sweet or something calorific later on,” he says.

Both drinks evoked similar patterns of brain activation, except that the calorie-free blend failed to light up a cherry-sized lump of tissue within a reward area called the caudate nucleus.

Green Tea & Depression (AJCN)

Green tea consumption was associated with less depression in the elderly.

Honoring the Wisdom of the Body (Dr. Northrup)

Now more than ever, it’s critical that all women tune into their inner guidance and the fact that their bodies were designed to stay healthy for life. It has long been my experience that what we call women’s health in this country has very little to do with actual health. It’s simply disease screening. Instead of viewing symptoms as indicative of underlying imbalances, we prescribe drugs to quell them. This is not the same as health either. Rather, it disconnects our intellect from the wisdom of our bodies (what I call the mind/body split).

When I look back at the top women’s health stories of the last decade, I’m cautiously optimistic that they will bring change. Not only do they point to the limitations of the current model–drugs, excessive screening, and surgery are not better health care–they also support something every woman knows deep down inside of her. Whether she admits it or not, whether she is in touch with it or not, she can always improve her health by working with the wisdom of her body.

Technology has its place, but it doesn’t replace a woman’s wisdom. Here are some key stories from the last 10 years that highlight the innate wisdom and intelligence of a woman’s body.

The Top 10:

1. End of one size fits all hormone replacement (Premarin and Provera)

2. Electronic fetal Monitoring not shown to improve birth outcomes related to deaths and cerebral palsy (In fact infant mortality rate has doubled in the past 25 years.

3. Re-vamp on Early Breast Cancer Detection (Self-exams, mammography,

4. Fish oil helpful for health (heart, immune, joints, development, hormones, nervous system, and well-being)

5. Sun and Vitamin D found to be vital for health

6. Stem cells found in Menstrual Blood

7. Iodine taken in 100x RDA important for Breast Health (and thyroid)

8. Natural Progesterone Helpful for Heart

9. Breastfeeding

The study reported that the longer women breast-fed, the more their risk dropped. It’s no wonder that the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American Academy of Family Physicians all recommend that mothers breastfeed exclusively for six months. WHO and UNICEF recommend that mothers continue nursing (along with giving age-appropriate foods) until age two or longer.

10. Education is powerful for overall health

The Top 10 Game Changers (Huffington Post)

Includes Dr. Mercola, Ken Cook, Patel, and more…

Dr. Oz Endorses Reiki (The Examiner)

While the medical field is slowly beginning to embrace CAM therapies, some doctors like Dr. Oz are paving the way for the integration of CAM therapies with traditional Western medicine. One CAM therapy Dr. Oz endorsed on “The Dr. Oz Show” which aired January 6, 2010 is reiki, a form of energy healing or laying on of hands.

The Importance of Magnesium (Dr. Northrup)

CALCIUM HAS RECEIVED an enormous amount of attention. It’s likely that every woman reading this article has been told by her doctor to get enough calcium (advice that is woefully incomplete, by the way). If asked what role calcium plays in health, nearly every woman would answer that calcium is necessary for strong bones. But what about magnesium? Did you know that this mighty mineral may be even more essential for health?

Magnesium and calcium work together, but magnesium may actually play a more important role. It controls the entry of calcium into each and every cell—a physiological event that occurs every time a nerve cell fires! When it comes to building healthy bones, magnesium is just as important as calcium and vitamin D are! Without adequate magnesium, too much calcium gets inside the cell. This can cause cramping, blood vessel constriction, and even set the stage of kidney stones and excess tissue calcification under the right circumstances.

Obstetrical problems: Magnesium can prevent premature labor (because it calms contractions) as well as eclampsia.

In short, living without adequate levels of magnesium is like trying to operate a machine with the power off. And like a machine, it’s likely to malfunction. Here are some health conditions associated with the cramping and constrictions that can be attributed to a magnesium deficiency:

• Anxiety and panic attacks: Magnesium helps keep adrenal stress hormones under control and also helps maintain normal brain function.²
• Asthma: Magnesium helps relax the muscles of the bronchioles in the lungs.
• Constipation: Magnesium helps keep bowels regular by maintaining normal bowel muscle function.
• Heart disease: Magnesium deficiency is common in those with heart disease. Magnesium, a natural calcium channel blocker, is an effective treatment for heart attacks and cardiac arrhythmias. An astounding number of studies have documented the effectiveness of IV magnesium in helping prevent cardiac damage and even death following a heart attack. The reason for this is that 40 to 60 percent of sudden deaths from heart attack are the result of spasm in the arteries, not blockage from clots or arrhythmias!³
• Hypertension: Without adequate magnesium, blood vessels constrict and blood pressure increases.
• Infertility: Magnesium can relax spasms in fallopian tubes that prevent the implantation of a fertilized egg in the uterus.
• Nerve problems and muscle spasms: Magnesium helps eliminate peripheral nerve disturbances that can lead to migraines, leg and foot cramps, gastrointestinal cramps, and other muscle aches and pains.

“Yummy, Mommy! Iron Fillings For Breakfast!!” (Dr. Mercola)

Yup, fortified foods contain yummy iron fillings…nice thought to chew on with your corn flakes and toxic form of fortified Vitamin D milk in the morning!! (my apologies for the cynicism.) Check out the video link.

The Gift of the Human Imagination (TED-Ken Robinson) – Video (approx 19 min)

Nurturing the whole body intelligence, “not just head up to one side”, Another view of ADD

How Antacids and Vioxx can Hurt You. (Dr. Mercola)

Antacids decrease absorption and assimilation, surpress the stomach’s protection against microbes,  and doesn’t get to the root cause. Vioxx increases risk of cardiac death.

Top 10 Foods for Skin (Webmd)

Omega 3s, antioxidants, green tea, selenium, vitamin c, vitamin A, vitamin E, coQ10, healthy oils and water!

10 Common Triggers for Psoriasis (Webmd)

Stress, allergies, medications, cold, alcohol, hormones, smoking, cuts, and tattoos.

Problems of Genetically Modified Alfalfa and How to Take Action (OCA)

A 2009 study showed that, over the last 13 years, Roundup Ready crops have dramatically increased herbicide use by 383 million pounds!

Consumers who ingest Roundup Ready alfalfa genes are risking their health; according to the EIS, “acute toxicity in mice was observed.”

According to the EIS, consumers who ingest Roundup may experience “general and non-specific signs of toxicity from subchronic and chronic exposure to glyphosate includ[ing] changes in liver weight, blood chemistry (may suggest mild liver toxicity), liver pathology, and weight of the pituitary gland.”

The EIS warns that, “Based on upper estimates of exposure … infants consuming fruit and all age groups consuming vegetables may be at risk of adverse effects associated with acute exposure to glyphosate residues.”

More Good News with Vitamin D and Cancer (BMJ)

Olive leaf for Diabetes?? (CJO)

Links on Epigenetics:

Methylation Gone Wrong: Epigenetics Research Takes Aim on Cancer, Alzheimer’s, and Other illness (Washington Post)

It turns out that their varying traits are controlled by a mediator between nature and nurture known as epigenetics. A group of molecules that sit atop our DNA, the epigenome (which means “above the genome”) tells genes when to turn on and off. Duke University’s Randy Jirtle made one of the mice brown and one yellow by altering their epigenetics in utero through diet. The mother of the brown, thin mouse was given a dietary supplement of folic acid, vitamin B12 and other nutrients while pregnant, and the mother of the obese mouse was not. (Though the mice had different mothers, they’re genetically identical as a result of inbreeding.) The supplement “turned off” the agouti gene, which gives mice yellow coats and insatiable appetites.

When a gene is turned off epigenetically, the DNA has usually been “methylated.” Biologists have known for decades that methylation is involved in cell differentiation in utero, making one cell a skin cell, another cell a liver cell, and so on. Cell differentiation is also what happens when scientists prompt an embryonic stem cell to grow into a specific type of cell. But five years ago, when Meaney submitted a paper suggesting that DNA methylation happens throughout life in response to environmental changes, he was told, “This just can’t happen.” (Most DNA methylation occurs prenatally and during infancy, puberty and old age, Jirtle says. Research suggests that epigenetically, humans are pretty stable during adulthood.)

All this data collection was designed from the outset to show how the individual’s genotype combines with environmental pressures to influence health and development. ALSPAC data have offered several important insights: baby lotions containing peanut oil may be partly responsible for the rise in peanut allergies; high maternal anxiety during pregnancy is associated with the child’s later development of asthma; little kids who are kept too clean are at higher risk for eczema.