2024 Articles
Processed Food / Health / Nutrition
Ultra-processed food linked to 32 harmful effects to health, review finds
An umbrella review of 45 distinct pooled meta-analysis that included 10 million people concluded that consumption of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) increases the risk of death and disease. The studies included the impact of increased exposure to UPFs such as cereal, ready to eat meals, protein bars, and soda. Heart disease, cancer, metabolic disease, respiratory illness, obesity, and diabetes were among the diseases with increased prevalence. Rates of anxiety and depression also increased dramatically. The researchers concluded “It is now time for UN agencies, with member states, to develop and implement a framework convention on ultra-processed foods analogous to the framework on tobacco.”
Why it matters: We’ve been told for too long that ‘calories in and calories’ out is all that matters. This review proves that the type of calorie is key. Ultra-processed foods are stripped of their nutrients and fiber and contain toxic ingredients that are banned in other countries. Up until now this has mostly been ignored by the “experts.” Perhaps now they will take it seriously and work to introduce legislation to make the food we eat be more like food.Processed Food / Corporate Greed / Health
Let them eat Flakes: Kellogg’s CEO says poor families should consider ‘cereal for dinner’
The CEO of Kellogg’s took to TV this past week to tell Americans, particularly those struggling to put food on their tables, that they should eat cereal for dinner. The backlash was quick as many people pointed out that it’s very unlikely that the CEO making close to $5 mln per year is feeding his children cereal for dinner. He of course also missed the fact that cereal (as the next article points out) is not food.
Why it matters: This is the second time I’ve read about the CEO of a major food corporation telling people to eat processed foods. It continues to amaze me how people in positions of power are allowed to lie and omit facts on TV or in print without any real repercussions. The idea that while 44 million Americans face food insecurity, and millions more face nutrition insecurity, the CEO of Kellogg would make a statement such as this one tells you where we are in society.
Health / Weight-Loss / Pharmaceutical Drugs
The Science Behind Ozempic Was Wrong
It turns out that they don’t know how the new class of weight-loss drugs that millions of people are taking actually works. They just know that they do. Initially they thought the drug reduced appetite by mimicking the GLP-1 hormone produced naturally in your gut. It’s now believed that the high concentrations and extended half-life (how long it takes for the hormone to be absorbed by your body) of the manufactured GLP-1 drug allows it to cross the blood brain barrier and penetrate deep into the brain.
Here’ a direct quote from the article that should make you feel better: “The latest drugs succeeded not because we fully understood the hormone, they’re based on but because we got lucky. And drug development, for all the careful research required, does sometimes come down to luck.”
Why it matters: It’s just the latest example of pharmaceutical companies chasing profits over safe treatments. The expected utilization of Ozempic and Wegovy has been enough to make Novo Nordisk, the company that manufactures both drugs, more valuable than the country, Denmark, it’s based out of. It makes you wonder what all those clinical trials are for.
Agriculture / Factory Farming / Health
9 charts that show US factory farming is even bigger than you realize
Factory farms, not farming, is contaminating the water we drink, polluting the air we breathe and causing an increased rate of climate change, as well as causing the inhumane treatment of billions of animals each year. Like so many other industries in recent years (i.e. healthcare, retail, housing, banking), large scale factory farms have benefited from consolidation, absorbing there would be competitors into their business, and concentrating too much of where our food comes from into the hands of a few. A few key takeaways:
¾ of chickens raised for meat live on farms that house 500,000 or more chickens.
Egg producers are sometimes housed with millions of other hens in one place, increasing the likelihood of disease and making the transmission of bird flu even more likely.
2/3 of dairy cows live on farms with 100,000 or more cows.
1/3 of U.S. River miles have been contaminated by farm run off consisting of waste from high concentrations of animal manure.
40 percent of corn grown in the U.S. is used for ethanol (it takes 100 acres of corn to produce the same amount of energy as 1 acre of solar).
Why it matters: Relying on a shrinking number of growing farms to supply our food means, in addition to the harm to the planet and animals it causes, our food system is losing it’s resilience. During times of disaster (i.e. COVID) or disease (i.e. bird flu) the potential for our food supply to be disrupted is greatly increased. Small local farmers by contrast offer sustainability across communities.
Health / Exercise
Aerobic exercise for Parkinson’s disease
Add Parkinson’s to the list of diseases that exercise has been shown to improve. Parkinson’s is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that effects dopamine producing neurons in the brain which impacts both motor and non-motor skills, and mood. Historically treatments for Parkinson’s have focused on dopamine supplementation which only masks the symptoms and is not a sustainable solution long term. Exercise, by contrast, has been shown to not only slow the deterioration of the dopamine neurons but even to reverse it in some cases. The type of exercise required is moderate-high intensity aerobic exercise, like HIIT, performed 3 or more times per week. Weight training may also have benefits, but it has not been studied.
Why it matters: Exercise is the one supplement that has been shown to improve nearly every disease across the board. Adding a degenerative and debilitating disease such as Parkinson’s to the list is further evidence of just how powerful exercise can be. If it can help treat Parkinson’s, what can it do for a healthy brain and body?
Health / Alcohol
More and more data is being released showing the ill effects of drinking, and no benefits, not even from moderate drinking. Alcohol is actually classified as a “Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer,” but you’d never know it. That means its grouped with things like smoking, coal, and formaldehyde. Breast cancer risk in particular is impacted by even less than one drink a day.
Drinking has also been associated with loss of brain function, and decreasing amounts of grey and white matter in the brain. In my 2+ years since giving up alcohol I can say that improved brain function has been the main benefit I’ve experienced.
It might seem like I’m on a war path with alcohol, but really I want to bring awareness to people so that they can understand what the implications of drinking are. We all deserve to feel our best and it’s being shown time and again now that your best self is an alcohol free version.
Health / Sugar
A Practical Guide to Cutting Out Sugar
There’s two pieces of advice in particular that I like from this article. The first is to “Take it slow and steady.” I think too many people think that when it comes to sugar cold turkey is the way to go. But a lot of people fail to realize just how toxic sugar is and therefore how bad withdrawal from sugar can feel. Going cold turkey can be really hard, so when I need to cut sugar from my diet I take a different approach.
In my normal life sugar represents close to zero percent of my calories consumed, exception for fructose from an apple or a handful of berries. But when I travel I like to indulge, which makes returning home to my normal diet a real challenge. Rather than quitting on day one, I feed my sugar cravings with healthier options. In the first couple of days it might be with things like dates or bananas, but as the week goes on I transition to lower glycemic fruits like blueberries or raspberries. And I don’t limit how much I eat of them. I eat enough to knock out the craving, and slowly decrease the amount as the week(s) goes on.
The second is “Pay special attention to mornings.” For months now I’ve been eating what would be considered lunch or dinner for breakfast. A filet of salmon with brussels sprouts, peppers, and avocado. I used to eat oatmeal or other “breakfast” foods but it would always lead me to crave more sugar and carbohydrates later in the day. By eliminating “breakfast foods” I’ve found that it’s much easier to control my cravings. If I want to indulge in something sweet or a refined carbohydrate, like pasta, I save it for the evening.
Health / Food System
7 Additives in our Processed Food That Are Banned Outside the U.S.
The list of illness causing ingredients and reasons why we face a catastrophic health epidemic in this country are many and complex. But if we can’t even get this right, having an FDA with a backbone to stand up against Big Food in this country and ban ingredients KNOWN to cause cancer, neurological problems, and metabolic disease (the main culprit of obesity and diabetes), then what chance do we have? Credit to California, the first state, to pass a law that will ban 4 of the additives on this list from being used in food sold in California.
But even they fell short. The law, which passed in 2023, doesn’t go into effect until 2027 to give companies time to "revise their recipes to avoid these harmful chemicals," said Governor Gavin Newsom. Said another way, “corporate profits are more important than your health.”
Our politicians are constantly faced with the decision: do I support the public that supports me, or the companies that line my pockets? And without fail, they choose the latter. We deserve so much better.
Healthcare
Colon Cancer is Rising in Young Americans. It’s not Clear Why.
This article, caught my attention because of the last line, “Its not clear why.” This is same line that exists in one form or another in every article written about the declining health of our population and increased prevalence of disease.