news for all who want to learn
Nutrition
Articles dealing with nutrition
Multiplying our Pain
0827 days
Is it really the Egg?
There is no arguing that allergies are a fact of the human existence. You are truly beating the odds if you make it to adulthood without an allergy of some sort, be it pollen, dander, food, or chemical.
What most people do not realize is that allergens have the potential to act synergistically, that is, they multiply each others effects. A study by Johansen et. al. established that when individuals were exposed to two known allergens, instead of adding their effects, the allergic reaction tripled or quadrupled in intensity! Therefore a person who is mildly allergic to yellow 5, may experience an asthmatic reaction when its paired with another common mild allergen, caffeine. Mountain Dew anyone?
Taken a step further, there are some foods or allergens that do not effect us unless you are also exposed to their concomitant allergen. Let me explain. Many people are tested as egg allergic, however they exhibit an allergic reaction to eggs only at certain times of the year. This is Continue reading “Multiplying our Pain” »
Is the Mercury in Thiomersal Dangerous
2839 days
Is the Mercury in Thiomersal Dangerous?
Thiomersal is a preservative that is added to vaccines to prevent contamination. It contains roughly 49% mercury; therefore a vaccine containing the standard Thiomersal dosage of 50mcg contains 25mcg of mercury. For adults, there are thiomersal free and preservative free vaccines. Thiomersal-free has no thiomersal, while preservative free contains trace amounts, or about .3mcg per dose. Although childhood vaccines can no longer contain thiomersal (as of 1999), the government considers the trace amounts in preservative free versions acceptable, plus, any vaccine that was produced prior may be still be used (assuming its shelf date has not expired).
The FDA set the daily safe limit of mercury at 1.0mcg per kg of bodyweight per day to avoid neurological damage. However, paying attention to the weekly average tends to be a more accurate indicator.
The ultimate question of course is, “Is it Safe”? Continue reading “Is the Mercury in Thiomersal Dangerous” »
Hi, My name is Christopher, and I’m a grainaholic.
1
Addicted to sweet wheat.
Hi, My name is Christopher, and I’m a grainaholic. True story. Luckily, I am also addicted to fruits and vegetables, to exercise, and to feeling good and being happy. I am thankful everyday for these things. The problem is the grains, meaning the pastas and breads, the candy, the cheese, and the dairy. They are not good for me. Luckily, I enjoy the “good’ things enough that I don’t fall off of the grain wagon very often, or is it on the wagon? You get the point.
Most people don’t understand how certain foods people eat, mainly the breads and pastas, are addictions, just like any drug addiction one might have. Most also don’t understand why breads and pastas are unhealthy. Yes, the list goes like this: marijuana, cocaine, heroine, and pasta and bread. The same nerve pathways that are lit up when people use these drugs are also lit up when eating foods especially high in calories and carbohydrate. The reason this occurs is because our body has evolved to crave these foods when available, satisfying a temporary need in the form of storing large amounts of energy in body fat. Historically, human beings didn’t have food markets with low priced carbohydrates and candy available 24 hours a day, everyday, for an entire lifetime. Thousands of years ago, we lived off of the land, hunting game and gathering fruits and vegetables. When food sources were low, it was necessary to eat the high calorie foods in large quantities because you never knew when you were going to get another meal. Our brains got smart and created this addiction pathway that caused us to “feel good” after consuming foods like this. The chronic diseases of Western civilization have proven that the human body needs more than just calories to sustain life.
Continue reading “Hi, My name is Christopher, and I’m a grainaholic.” »
Lutein and the cancer connection
2840 days
Is it only good for our eyes?
One of the major avenues of nutrition based research of the past couple decades has been antioxidants’ role in cancer formation. Although observational studies had been very promising, experimental studies continued to fail to find a correlation. Thus experimenters began searching deeper into the subject of antioxidants and came out with a possible solution, Lutein.
Lutein, a highly unstable xanthophyll, has been a rare case in that most experimental data has thus far shown some sort of link between it and cancer, especially in the realm of colon cancer. However, recent supplemental research trials have uncovered Lutein’s possible dangerous effects and have shown that we have only begun to scrape the surface of this potential link. Continue reading “Lutein and the cancer connection” »
ADHD and nutrition: finding an alternative treatment that works
2
What’s on the horizon for today’s ADHD youth?
(Flickr user: Broma)
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affectes 3-7% of children in the United States. Interestingly, ADHD is more common in non-hispanic, English speaking kids, who have health insurance. With the exception of males, income has no significance on who gets ADHD and who does not.
Many parents are concerned about the longterm effects of ADHD drugs like Ritalin and are looking for alternative healthcare options. Direct medical costs for each ADHD individual is estimated at $1,574 per child leading parents of ADHD children to spend almost double for healthcare than what families without ADHD children spend. When food agencies are allowing health claims on sugary cereals like Fruit Loops, parents of ADHD kids are desperate for answers on not only what they can do for their children but who they can trust.
Debate on ADHD Diagnosis and Treatment
The diagnosis of ADHD has increased substantially over the past decade. This has led to debate as to whether the condition is really increasing or whether just the diagnosis is increasing. When big players like the pharmaceutical industry are involved, the public is becoming increasingly weary. Continue reading “ADHD and nutrition: finding an alternative treatment that works” »