Sodium Nitrate: A Pink-tinted Warning

Do you love meat? A burger or a hot dog on a hot summer day? Bacon and eggs a classic morning breakfast? Maybe you’ve noticed your favorite brands of processed meat adding things like, “Nitrates free” or “No nitrates added” to their labels. Maybe you’ve wondered what that means and why it is important. Here’s what you need to know to understand what those labels really mean. 

Sodium nitrate is a common meat additive that is also used in explosives, glass and fertilizer. It is used in cured meats as a preservative but notably it is used to produce the pink color we are used to associating with our processed meats. Have you ever thought that it was odd that a chunk of fresh ham or beef was pinkish, light brown especially when cooked but somehow a hotdog (fully cooked as well according to the packaging) was still a bright, two-shades-down-from-pepto pink? Sliced ham as well is known for that pink, deli meat vibe and would be virtually unrecognizable if it were light brown instead. This is mostly due to sodium nitrate and it is a big reason despite the nutrition and science communities’ misgivings of the last three decades, it is still used in curing processed meat today. 

Now, you may be ready to point to my earlier statement about your “No nitrate added” label and say, Why is this even a concern if nitrates are being left out of processed meats today? Unfortunately, the truth is a little more complicated. Synthetically derived nitrates are in fact limited in meat today and a lot of companies are touting “no added nitrates,” as the weight of the evidence shows that nitrates may be linked pretty closely to a few very deadly forms of cancer. The sticking point is that nitrate can also be and is derived from celery, a natural source that isn’t regulated in the US. Now, you might think that because celery is natural, there is no issue? The difference is that when you eat celery, there is a balance of nutrients that keep any small amount of celery from forming the same pre-cancerous cell stimulating nitrate variants that synthetic nitrates promote. This balance is destroyed, however, when celery is processed into a concentrated powder and used as a preservative. Because celery powder is not regulated in the US, it causes the same issues as synthetic nitrates and meat producers do not have to explain that. They can claim that something is “all natural” and that there are no added nitrates even while adding and using celery powder which health-wise is just as detrimental. 

So, if you are a lover of meat and frequently enjoy processed meats like hotdogs and bacon, keep in mind that more than likely, you are still consuming the cancer linked nitrates health conscious scientists have been warning about for over 20 years. Most health professionals aware of this issue suggest reducing your meat consumption altogether. Additionally, similar to sourcing fruits and veggies, the closer you can get to a privately owned rancher or responsibly sourced butcher shop, the better!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX1KUPZC3Ck 

https://www.foodnetwork.com/healthyeats/news/is-nitrate-free-uncured-meat-healthy 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKlPj9vHcRo

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Cortisol: The Stress Police

Cortisol floods the body during times of intense stress and is key in regulating metabolism and blood pressure. You might think about it as the hormone that controls many of the mitigating systems of the body which allows us to respond to stress. Say you are being chased by someone legitimately scary and you need to run away or make a plan to escape. Cortisol is the chemical that optimises the body for those functions only. Like a plane, going down it pulls resources from other areas of the body and throws them into supporting flight or fight. You get a shot of adrenaline if you need to run and the digestive, reproductive and growth systems and processes are dialed down. Your fear and motivation based brain functions light up and you are ready for combat. 

Now, normally, once the danger has passed, cortisol will be released less and the levels with the body will return to normal and life goes on. Now imagine your cortisol levels remained high. Your bodily processes geared towards functions that don’t support fight or flight would still be suppressed and your adrenal glands would continue to be triggered. Adrenaline is driving up blood pressure and in the long term would probably cause an increase in weight and could even contribute to heart disease.

Cortisol secretion is handled by the HPA axis, which is made up of the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland and the adrenal gland. High cortisol levels can be caused by a wide variety of things. For women, one of the most common causes seems to be a high level of circulating estrogen. High levels can also be caused by tumors on the pituitary gland or the adrenal glands. This is often common in Cushing syndrome which is a disorder characterised by higher than average levels of cortisol. Symptoms of this disease include weight gain around the midsection, a fatty hump between the shoulders, a rounded face and pink or purple stretch marks. If you have these symptoms, you should check in with your doctor to get a formal diagnosis as any grouping of these could be attributed to a wide variety of other things. As always, this blog is for informational purposes only, not diagnosis. 

If you suspect that your cortisol levels may be a bit unbalanced, see a doctor. Additionally, make sure you are supporting your health in all the foundational ways we’ve discussed in previous articles. Make sure you are getting enough good quality sleep. Stay hydrated and eat a nutritious diet.  Caffeine stimulates the production of cortisol so perhaps reducing the number of days you start with a cup a joe would be best along with reducing stress in general. Exercise regularly and make sure you are getting the omega fatty acids you need! Things like meditation and yoga are often helpful in mitigating a stressful schedule and therapy can help you learn tools to cope with long term or historical stressors as well!

Resources:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK538239/

https://medlineplus.gov/lab-tests/cortisol-test/

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Chocolate, Health & Healthy Chocolate

You’ve probably seen the jokes floating around that go something like, “I want a salad…but a salad that is mostly tomatoes and cheese, no lettuce, on a really, really big crouton. A pizza…I want a pizza.” Or, “chocolate comes from cocoa, which grows on trees so it’s basically a fruit. Chocolate is a fruit salad.” While these memes might stretch the truth a little bit, chocolate at least should not be relegated to the junk food pile just yet. 

Chocolate or more specifically the cocoa chocolate is made from, is linked to a reduction in heart disease and lower blood pressure. It contains many bioactive components like vitamins, minerals, polyphenols and fatty acids. It is also supportive of mental health and has been documented to improve the mental state of expecting mothers. One article stated that because there is a high level of flavanols in chocolate, it has antiallergic, anti-viral, anti inflammatory and anticancer properties. It even reduces the chance of a woman developing type 2 diabetes by reducing their insulin resistance. It would seem that the benefit of chocolate is more significant for people assigned female at birth, possibly because of their hormonal makeup or maybe some other feature we don‘t totally understand yet. 

Historically, chocolate was used in many cultures for its medicinal purposes and was even referred to as the “food of the gods”. With Nestle and the introduction of ingredients like condensed powdered milk and large amounts of sugar, chocolate’s common usage as a medicine started to see a significant decline. 

Polyphenols could have a discussion all their own but the presence of their flavanols subset in chocolate pushes chocolate into an almost superfood tier when it comes to cognitive function. In fact, one study made their entire purpose to figure out if chocolate consumption in a country resulted in a higher cognitive function on average for that country! They did this by taking the chocolate consumption for the country and examining it with regard to how many Nobel laureates there were in each country. The results supported the hypothesis that chocolate consumption enhances intelligence. 

As you might imagine, milk chocolate yields less of these beneficial characteristics and white chocolate isn’t really chocolate in the strictest sense. The addition of milk and sugar undercuts a lot of the benefits so if you are eating chocolate for your health as well as your enjoyment, dark chocolate, minimally processed, is the way to go.

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Healthy Habits for the Holidays!

The holidays are rolling in and everyone is wondering what that’s going to look like with covid and the flu looming in the background. You might feel like all of that is out of your control but there are some small things we can all do that make a big difference! We might not be able to help you arrange your travel plans or survive TSA after securing your Thanksgiving PTO but we can help you mitigate the strain red eye travel and staying with your in-laws might put on your body. 

There is a lot of advice floating around out there but we’ve picked our favorite pieces and given you our top highlights here. These are simple steps we can all do to stay well. 

1. Stay hydrated. This is a rule for everyday life as well as the holiday season but it's even more important when your body is dealing with additional stress. Traveling or just the blur of holiday plans can be exhausting. Make sure you are giving your body what it needs to purge any unwanted toxins weighing you down.  

2. Prioritize your sleep. This is a hard one but if you are able, sticking as close to your normal sleep schedule will help you balance out those additional stressors on a hormonal level. Sleep not only helps maintain you energy level and brain function so you can tackle the challenges of the holidays but it also keeps your cortisol levels in check!

3. Don’t forget exercise. You might be tempted to just put your entire workout regime on hold once you start getting busy but even a reduced exercise regimen is better than nothing! Make sure you set aside some time to take a walk or stretch. Once the rush is over, it will be so much easier to pick your regular workout schedule back up if you don’t completely quit for two months!

4. Enjoy the food in moderation. This is a good rule of thumb for everyday life as well but while you enjoy the holiday favorites, don’t buy into the “stuffed as the Thanksgiving turkey” mindset. Listen to your body and let the only thing overly full of stuffing be the bird. 

5. Drink responsibly. This one is more about the impact alcohol has on other parts of your body. Alcohol can impact your ability to get quality sleep (yes, even when it makes you sleep) as your body works to metabolize it. We also know that alcohol can have a negative effect on the endocrine system which helps to regulate the immune system as well as the regulation of your hormones overall. Best practice is to give yourself a margin between drinking and going to bed so you can still get that quality sleep to offset some of the other negative impacts of alcohol. 

6. Practice Excellent Hygiene! We can’t stress this one enough. As you travel from place to place or just spend a little more time in several different grocery stores to get the kind of pickles your great aunt likes and the only brand of cranberry sauce your son will eat, make sure you wash your hands and limit touching your face! Even if you have sworn off of public bathrooms, there’s no way to know if the person before you has and washed their hands before using your cart. Wash off the world before preparing food or eating!

7. Make a little time for yourself! Last but not least, make sure that you set aside some time for yourself. This is a time of group plans and social engagements but don’t forget to take a little time for yourself. Journal, do some yoga, or just touch some grass. Do something to just decompress from all the rush about. It will help your stress level and allow your to continue to do without being done in. Self care for the win!

We hope you enjoy this holiday season whether you are able to head home or connect with those you love, or if you are splitting a TV dinner special with your cat. Prioritizing you health as we head into the end of this year is paramount! Happy holiday everyone!

Resources: 

Rachdaoui, N., & Sarkar, D. K. (2013). Effects of alcohol on the endocrine system. Endocrinology and metabolism clinics of North America, 42(3), 593–615. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecl.2013.05.008

Receipts and BPA: A Sneaky Truth

There’s nothing quite as mundane as having a waiter hand you several receipts to wade through and sign at the end of a meal or a cashier asking if you want your receipt in the bag with your groceries. It’s a common occurrence most of us think nothing of. We’d probably never assume that such an everyday miscellaneous item was endangering us and our entire families? The receipt has become a vehicle for one of the most potent doses of Bisphenol A(BPA) that the average person encounters on a regular basis. Let’s take a look.

Chances are you have heard of BPA. Maybe you don’t know what all the talk is really about or fully understand the details but you’ve probably noticed that over the last decade, a lot of plastic products have gone out of their way to announce and advertise the fact that they have eliminated BPA in their products. BPA-free might be on a water bottle you have or maybe a set of tupperware. BPA-free would suggest that BPA is something no one would want to store their food in and without even knowing it, you might now look for that assurance when picking up a new dish. 

Indeed, BPA is a pretty serious culprit. It’s been categorized as an endocrine disruptor which in turn alters the proper balance of a person’s sex and thyroid hormones, which as you might know, control a vast array of other systems within the body. Unsurprisingly, it’s linked to infertility and low sperm quality as well as miscarriages and preterm birth. In adolescents, it’s linked to the impaired development of genitalia and improper sexual function. In some cases, BPA has triggered early puberty. Asthma and imparited immune function have been noted as well.

 In addition, BPA is detrimental to cardiovascular and metabolic health, ushering in ailments such as Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, obesity,high cholesterol and poor liver function. Not to be left out, there are also strong ties between BPA and breast, ovarian and prostate cancer. With so many consequences of BPA exposure, it’s little wonder companies are working so hard to eliminate it from their products. 

Unfortunately, the discovery of BPA in thermal receipt paper is a big blow to those who have been trying to steer clear of this chemical for years. Receipts were found to contain 250 to 1000 times greater than what was found in the liner of food containers!! Even holding a receipt for 60 seconds results in a measurable increase in BPA in the blood. Researchers have also found that if your hands are damp or wet with lotion or sanitizer or even water, the speed of BPA absorption into the skin is significantly higher. 

So, what to do? Well, for starters, anytime you are posed with the question of whether or not you want the receipt for something you know you will not return, decline! Take a picture for your records if you need to keep track and touch the actual receipt as little as possible. Wash your hands directly after handling a receipt and especially before preparing food. Keep your kids away from them altogether if you can! Advocate for your favorite places to switch totally to electronic receipts that you can recieve on your phone! Let’s make this a win-win for every business in the US!

The Omegas: Consumption and Class

Last time we talked about what omega 3, omega 6, and omega 9 do in the body! They are fantastic at supporting cardiovascular health and reducing chronic inflammation when in the correct balance! Now that we know how important they are, let’s dig a little deeper and look at where we can get each different type so we can attain the ideal balance! 

Omega 9 is the only category that is produced in the body so we are a little less concerned with ingesting it in a certain amount. However, foods like olive oil, avocado oil, peanut oil and even the same oily fish foods that support omega 3 will also provide some omega 9! 

Similarly, Omega 6 can be found in oils but instead of olive oil, corn, sunflower, safflower, sesame and grapeseed oil are going to be the best sources. The reason that the American diet has such an unhealthy imbalance of omegas is because omega 6 is in a ton of processed foods and is much easier to obtain. Corn chips, tofu, peanut butter, cured meats, fast food and even cake have considerable amounts of Omega 6. It's very likely that you won’t have to focus on getting Omega 6 but rather limiting it to some extent in order to get into that sweet spot of a 1:1 or at least 1:4 ratio (Omega 3 : Omega 6).

Omega 3 comes from foods like green leafy veggies, avocados, fish and other seafood. It is especially high in fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, tuna, herring and sardines. It is also present in nuts and seeds like chia and flaxseed as well as the oils made from these foods. 

There are 3 main types of Omega 3s: Alpha-linolenic acid(AHA), Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and Docosahexaenoic acid(DHA). AHA is the simplest form of Omega 3. It is less essential than EPA and DHA but is found in high amounts in some plant based foods like walnuts, chia seeds, flaxseeds, etc. It also converts to EPA and DHA through a low efficiency process so the high amounts found in these foods are an advantage. ALA’s biggest benefit is it’s link to the decreased risk of heart disease by helping to maintain normal heart rhythm and pumping. It’s also used to reduce the hardening of blood vessels and high blood pressure. 

EPA is found in cold-water fish like tuna, mackerel, salmon, and even the blubber of bigger animals like seals and whales. It is most commonly used to reduce triglyceride levels. It is also instrumental in supporting heart health. Additionally, EPA is used in treating depression and recovering from the side effects of chemotherapy. Also, EPA has been effective in treating the symptoms of menopause. Not only is it useful in treating the low moods that are sometimes associated with this life change but it also reduces the frequency of hot flashes. EPA like DHA is anti-inflammatory and is also effective in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. It’s also thought that EPA is instrumental in the mental development of children and may even support the burning of excess fat before it is stored. 

DHA, like EPA, is found in the highest amounts in seafood. The highest foods include salmon, tuna, herring, mackerel and sardines. DHA makes up about 97% of the omega-3 in the brain and so it’s no surprise that eating it is helpful for things like ADHD and dementia. It also carries most of the same health benefits as EPA, but also supports cancer prevention and some eye conditions. 

Both EPA and DHA can also be obtained with a supplement made from algae, grass fed meat, dairy or enriched products. If you do pick up a supplement, it is important that you get your product tested by a third party as omega supplements are vulnerable to mercury contamination (due to the mercury content in their source fish/algae) as well as adulteration. 

https://fullscript.com/blog/epa

Fatty Acids: The Omega Family

Let’s talk about fatty acids! You’ve probably heard in passing that Omega 3 fatty acids are good for you but maybe you haven’t had a chance to find out what they are all about and how they are different from Omega 6s and Omega 9s. Let’s hit the basics! Omega 3s are polyunsaturated fats that are not naturally produced in the body but have to be absorbed from one’s diet. They are named after the fact that their last double bond (chemical bond) is positioned three carbon atoms from the end of the molecular chain (or the omega). Thus, Omega 3! The same is true of Omega 6 and 9! The main difference being, as you probably guessed, the position of that last double bond. Omega 9 has two additional significant differences in that it is monounsaturated, possessing only one double bond AND it is actually produced in the body so there’s less need to focus on getting it through supplements or your diet. 

Now, what you might not know is that while Omega 6 is good for you, it, like many things in life, is only good for you in moderation. There is a specific ratio recommended for Omega 6 and 3 that should be maintained. Ideally, you should get as close to a 1:1 ratio as you can but a 1:4 ratio is thought to be acceptable (Omega 3: Omega 6). It’s thought that Americans typically eat foods that equate to a ratio closer to 1:17 or higher. This unbalance basically reverses a lot of the beneficial effects of Omega 6. Some of the side effects include elevated cholesterol levels, weakened immune systems, and a significant increase in inflammation. This increase in inflammation creates the perfect environment for chronic inflammatory diseases such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis,  inflammatory bowel disease, metabolic syndrome and even Alzheimer’s. 

Now, inflammation is not bad on it’s own. In fact, we need inflammation to respond to attacks on the body. However, being in a constant state of inflammation is bad and that’s what an unbalanced ratio of omega 3 and 6 contributes to. Balanced properly, the Omega fatty acids reduce harmful levels of inflammation and improve brain function and blood flow and are overall very supportive of heart health. They may even play a role in preventing certain forms of cancer! Omega 9 also supports the reduction of harmful inflammation with a specific focus on the skin. It adds to the positive effects of balanced omega 3 and omega 6 supporting an increase in HDL cholesterol while lowering LDL, improving heart health. Together Omega 3, 6, and 9 promote the healthful functioning of many of the body's most vital systems.

Next time we will dig a little deeper and discuss how to support and include all three omega fatty acids in your diet!

 Resources:

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/omega-3-6-9-overview

https://www.onhealth.com/content/1/omega_3_foods

Got Milk...Problems?

Got Milk…Problems? 

Whether you are a 13-year-old pug taking the world by storm or a young, human athlete trying to build a solid physiological foundation for success, everyone wants strong bones. If you grew up in the 90s, milk was touted to be the best way to strengthen bones as it contained high amounts of calcium. The iconic “Got Milk?” commercials were in their prime, presenting a spectrum of unlikely events hinging on the need and lack of milk! Many probably remember the fateful commercial where a mom in her two kids witness their older neighbor who never drinks milk comically losing both arms while lifting a heavy wheelbarrow. It was “common knowledge” that milk supported bone health and was necessary for healthy kids! Even now there are a number of experts that still believe milk is the fastest way to get a spectrum of nutrients, including calcium, quickly and easily. When research came out discussing how milk leaches some calcium from your bones, the pro-milk group claimed that while milk leaches some calcium from the body, it also adds significantly more, having an overall positive impact.  So, what does the research actually show about the consumption of milk?

Research shows that while excellent for baby cows, cow's milk is not particularly healthy or necessary for growing humans. It is, in fact, linked to vascular congestion and weight gain. Additionally, while human breast milk is an important part of human nutrition, cow’s milk is instead an integral part of the development of gastrointestinal issues. More than half of the global population is thought to have some level of lactose intolerance. It’s also been tied to several different types of acne and other types of dermatitis. 

What about bone health? Well, for one notable group, older women, research shows that there is no real link between milk and protection against osteoporosis. Additionally, in another study, drinking milk increased the frequency of broken bones (brittleness) in men by 9%! The research as a whole seems to agree that limiting milk is best for bone health. Even if one cup a day doesn’t hurt your bones significantly, more is shown to be measurably detrimental. Besides that, higher dairy consumption has been linked to several forms of cancer, including ovarian cancer, and is thought to be a possible trigger for Type 1 diabetes. It’s also known to raise cholesterol and increase a population's risk of multiple sclerosis. 

What about all that calcium? Not only does milk leach calcium from your bones but it isn’t the best form of calcium for the human body to absorb! There are many other better sources of calcium that don’t carry as many deleterious side effects. Leafy greens, tofu, plant-based milk or even a clean supplement might be a better source of the calcium you need. Additionally, as far as strong bones go, the research also found that more than taking calcium or drinking it, exercise is the best way to support strong bones! So maybe give that 2% a break and instead eat well and keep moving! 

Resources: 

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190408-should-we-drink-milk-to-strengthen-bones

https://www.pcrm.org/news/blog/white-lies-five-myths-debunked

https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2018/08/christopher-gardner-busts-myths-about-milk.html

Milk intake and risk of hip fracture in men and women: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20949604/

Milk consumption during teenage years and risk of hip fractures in older adults https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24247817/

Got milk commercials https://youtu.be/0PAj5X4oYro 

Neonicotinoids: Death in the Dirt?

The agricultural industry in this country has always been a bulwark of our economy. We not only grow food for the United states but our crops are a huge part of our export industry as well. We ship products all over the world as well as providing food aid to a number of countries which increases and maintains the steady demand of products in our own market. This high level of demand requires a consistent and bountiful supply of goods and that necessity has contributed to the development and industrialization of the growing process over the last century.

In the last few decades in particular, we’ve used a number of chemicals to overcome what was once an unpredictable challenge when growing bulk amounts of food. That challenge being pests or more specifically insects. Insects are easily one of the main negative factors a grower must consider when planting and maintaining a crop. A specific insect is capable of wiping out an entire season's produce which could cripple and even bankrupt the grower. Some insects are named after the plant they devour as it is truly their only purpose in life. For this reason, millions of dollars in research and innovation is dedicated each year to combating the threat of pests. Plants have been modified to be less appealing to their common pests or more resistant to their attacks. They are made to be more resilient to their attacks and more capable of producing a larger crop that could more easily take the hit of some loss due to pests. Even with all of this, the biggest preventative measure most growers take to protect their crop is pesticide or insecticide use. Insecticides like Acetamiprid kill an insect after ingestion of the chemical-treated plant. Acetamiprid works by interrupting the brain signals within an insect's body causing an over-excited stage, a paralysis stage and finally death. Acetamiprid belongs to a class of insecticides known as neonicotinoids. 

Neonicotinoids are one of the most widely used classes of insecticide taking up more than 25% of the global insecticide market. They are chemically similar to nicotine which has raised a few questions within the scientific community. In rodents, the effects of acetamiprid in particular were seen to cause a similar neurological response as nicotine and it has been noted that in insects the effect of neonicotinoids can be several thousands times the strength of nicotine. While more research is needed to definitively say what this means for human ingestion, the formal recommendation is that, at the very least, neonicotinoids should be removed from the supply chain for baby food as the highest risk category observed was that of developing children. Neonicotinoids are absorbed through the roots and travel to every part of the plant so this risk could not be mitigated by peeling or washing the fruit or veggie. This fact is also the reason they are so detrimental to bees and other beneficial insects as they do not discriminate between victims and are a major contributing factor in our perilous losses in the bee population.

In addition to developmental risks for children, neonicotinoids or neonics have also been linked to erectile dysfunction, a decline in overall male fertility with neonics impacting sperm quality and quantity, shifting levels of estrogen in women, and a wide range of neurological illnesses such at autism and Alzheimer's disease. 

While industry leaders try to convince the public that neonicotinoids are completely safe for human consumption, the research suggests that regularly consuming any of these toxins will have negative results. As one expert pointed out, most industry research supporting their safety has done so by isolating each chemical and demonstrating how that one chemical's exposure alone is unlikely to exceed the recommended threshold for neonicotinoid exposure. However, the research shows that it is highly improbable that a person will only be exposed to one neonicotinoid at a time. More likely, an individual is exposed to 4 or 5 different chemicals at one time and this combined impact is strangely missing for industry reports. 

As always, we suggest buying local and getting to know where even your local food is coming from as a way to mitigating this issue. Take special care if you are expecting or feed a small child and get to know your local fruit stand seller. Maybe consider organic produce as you strive to eliminate or reduce the amount of neonicotinoids you consume. Not all organic produce is created equally but some will specifically be avoiding the use of synthetic chemicals. Dig a little deeper and eat better!

For more information on neonicotinoids and their diverse impacts on the human and bee populations, check out the resources listed below. 

Resources: 

Here is the link to "Potential pathways of pesticide action on erectile function – A contributory factor in male infertility": https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2305050015000305

Neonic Pesticides: Potential Risks to Brain and Sperm, https://www.nrdc.org/experts/jennifer-sass/neonic-pesticides-potential-risks-brain-and-sperm

Cimino, A. M., Boyles, A. L., Thayer, K. A., & Perry, M. J. (2017). Effects of Neonicotinoid Pesticide Exposure on Human Health: A Systematic Review. Environmental health perspectives, 125(2), 155–162. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP515

Kimura-Kuroda, J., Komuta, Y., Kuroda, Y., Hayashi, M., & Kawano, H. (2012). Nicotine-like effects of the neonicotinoid insecticides acetamiprid and imidacloprid on cerebellar neurons from neonatal rats. PloS one, 7(2), e32432. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0032432

Quan Zhang, Zhengbiao Lu, Chi-Hsuan Chang, Chang Yu, Ximing Wang, Chensheng Lu,Dietary risk of neonicotinoid insecticides through fruit and vegetable consumption in school-age children,Environment International,Volume 126,2019,Pages 672-681,ISSN 0160-4120,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.02.051.

Bacteria: The Unsung Hero

You might be tempted to think that all bacteria are bad bacteria but the truth is that we depend on a certain amount of bacteria for our bodies to function properly. Bacteria helps us break down food, fight infection, process vitamins and minerals and absorb nutrients. It also boosts our immune system and helps fight off infection. Some bacteria are harmful to the human body but ironically, we often use other types of bacteria to fight them and keep them under control. The human body is all about balance and the level of bacteria in our bodies is no different. 

Most people have had the need to take antibiotics at one point or another to combat an illness or infection. Sometimes, a doctor or nurse will tell you to eat yogurt after your pills. Why? It is because an antibiotic does not discriminate between the helpful bacteria in our bodies and the detrimental bateria. It wipes it all away as aggressively as possible. Then, you might feel nauseous or experience bloating afterwards for a week or more as your good bacteria slowly comes back. Yogurt, particularly greek yogurt, contains probiotics, a set of helpful bacteria, that may give you a push as your natural gut bacteria is recovering from the onslaught of antibiotics. Unfortunately, antibiotics are not the only things that can upset this balance of bacteria we need to thrive. Just consuming a poor diet can be detrimental to your microbiome, the combination of your beneficial bacteria and the other microorganisms that live symbiotically within the body. Not getting enough sleep, or experiencing too much stress can also have a negative impact. Smoking, daily or frequent alcohol consumption, and even a lack of physical activity can all contribute to an imbalance and lack of the bacterial support system we need to survive. 

While the best practice would be to fix some of these lifestyle issues in order to naturally balance and support your bacteria levels, supplemental probiotics are designed to give you an extra push when you need it. A probiotic supplement is often used when you know you will be under a lot of stress and want to support your body through it or when you are recovering from something like a two week round of antibiotics. There are refrigerated supplements as well as shelf-safe capsules and you might want to speak to your doctor to find out if either would be useful for you. Most importantly, you want to use a reputable company and test your probiotics to make sure you are getting what you paid for. A good supplement should come temperature protected if it needs to be refrigerated and all types should have a “best by” date guaranteeing their quality for a specified range of time. Probiotics should be live as their value is in what they “do” more than what they “are.” A dead probiotic cannot facilitate any of the beneficial processes we value them for so find a provider who protects their product and when in doubt, reach out! We would, as always, be happy to test a specific product for you. 

Resources:

Quick Facts about the Microbiome

Cleveland Clinic on Probiotics

A NIH “Need to Know” for Probiotics (Fantastic Resource for Continued Research)

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