Nutrition Research Findings

New Year’s Res-Illusions: Food Shopping in the New Year Competes with Healthy Intentions

How do the holidays – and the possible New Year’s resolutions that follow – influence a household’s purchase patterns of healthier foods versus less healthy foods? This has important implications for both holiday food shopping and post-holiday shopping.

Gut microbiota and COVID-19:  Possible link and implications

Summary:  Gut health may help determine whether a COVID patient is able to mount an effective and appropriate immune response, versus one that is either too weak or too inflammatory.

Source:  Dhar D, Mohanty A. Gut microbiota and Covid-19- possible link and implications. Virus Res. 2020;285:198018. doi:10.1016/j.virusres.2020.198018

Alterations in gut microbiota in patients with SARS-CoV-2 during time of hospitalization.

Summary:  The SARS-CoV-2 virus may cause gut dysbiosis.  Gut microbes observed in fecal samples taken from 15 patients showed that dysbiosis set in during the time that they were hospitalized for COVID-19.  Fewer “friendly” microbes and more pathogenic microbes were observed over time, and remained after the virus cleared.

Source:  Zuo T, Zhang F, Lui GCY, et al. Alterations in Gut Microbiota of Patients With COVID-19 During Time of Hospitalization. Gastroenterology. 2020;159(3):944-955.e8. doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2020.05.048

Association of Frequency of Organic Food Consumption With Cancer Risk: Findings From the NutriNet-Santé Prospective Cohort Study

Summary:  In a study of about 69,000 French adults, higher consumption of organic food was associated with 25% lower rates of cancer diagnoses.  The strongest findings were for post-menopausal breast cancer and lymphomas.  This held when they controlled for many factors such as demographics, health behavior and socioeconomic status.  The authors hypothesize that exposure to toxic pesticides accounts for the findings.

Source:  Baudry J, Assmann KE, Touvier M, et al. Association of Frequency of Organic Food Consumption With Cancer Risk: Findings From the NutriNet-Santé Prospective Cohort Study [published correction appears in JAMA Intern Med. 2018 Dec 1;178(12):1732]. JAMA Intern Med. 2018;178(12):1597-1606.

Thyroids, chemicals and cabbage: Have we been worrying about the wrong thing?

Another recent study shows how thyroid autoimmunity can be caused by common environmental pollutants such as BPA, flame retardant chemicals and formaldehyde.  The gist is that chemicals can bind to proteins in the bloodstream, causing them to change into a new shape that the immune system may recognize as an antigen to attack. In some unlucky people, the molecular shape of the antigen is very similar to that of some thyroid tissue or thyroid hormone.  So the antibodies created to attack one will also attack the other.  It’s a case of mistaken identity between molecules that look too much alike.

The article is linked.

As someone with an autoimmune condition of the thyroid, I take these two studies to suggest I should be less concerned about cabbage and more concerned about chemicals.  

Sources:

Petroski W, Minich DM. Is There Such a Thing as "Anti-Nutrients"? A Narrative Review of Perceived Problematic Plant Compounds. Nutrients. 2020;12(10):E2929. Published 2020 Sep 24. doi:10.3390/nu12102929

Kharrazian D, Herbert M, Vojdani A. Cross-Reactivity between Chemical Antibodies Formed to Serum Proteins and Thyroid Axis Target Sites. Int J Mol Sci. 2020;21(19):E7324. Published 2020 Oct 3. doi:10.3390/ijms21197324

Is There Such a Thing as “Anti-Nutrients”? A Narrative Review of Perceived Problematic Plant Compounds

Summary:  
Goitrogenic foods are those thought to affect the thyroid by raising risk of hypothyroidism or goiter.  They include a number of healthy foods—especially cruciferous vegetables—such as kale, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, turnip greens, broccoli and millet.  Boiling or steaming reduces goitrogens, but the authors of this research review suggest that iodine deficiency is the real problem; not these healthy foods.  For people at high risk of thyroid problems, they suggest steaming or boiling high-goitrogenic foods with a bit of iodized salt.

Source:
Petroski W, Minich DM. Is There Such a Thing as "Anti-Nutrients"? A Narrative Review of Perceived Problematic Plant Compounds. Nutrients. 2020;12(10):E2929. Published 2020 Sep 24. doi:10.3390/nu12102929

Cross-Reactivity between Chemical Antibodies Formed to Serum Proteins and Thyroid Axis Target Sites

Summary:  This study shows a new mechanism by which autoimmunity can be triggered by exposure to environmental chemicals, such as BPA in plastic, benzene in cigarette smoke and flame retardant chemicals in our homes. The chemicals can bind to proteins in our blood, altering the shape of these proteins.  Our immune systems may no longer recognize them as safe and can make antibodies to help attack these new Franken-proteins.  The antibodies can cross-react with thyroid tissues, making our immune systems attack healthy thyroids.  One more reason to avoid chemicals.

Source: Kharrazian D, Herbert M, Vojdani A. Cross-Reactivity between Chemical Antibodies Formed to Serum Proteins and Thyroid Axis Target Sites. Int J Mol Sci. 2020;21(19):E7324. Published 2020 Oct 3. doi:10.3390/ijms21197324

Leaky Gut and Autoimmune Diseases

Summary:  Excessive intestinal permeability (aka “leaky gut”) contributes to autoimmune disease because it allows more antigens into the bloodstream, setting off an immune response in some people.

The Prevalence of Antibodies against Wheat and Milk Proteins in Blood Donors and Their Contribution to Neuroimmune Reactivities.

Summary:  When people with sensitivities to gluten or dairy produce antibodies to these foods, they may also get autoimmune damage to brain or neural tissue.  

Detection of Gluten in Gluten-Free Labeled Restaurant Food:Analysis of Crowd-Sourced Data

Summary:  Restaurants are very often NOT accurate when they claim their food is gluten-free, especially when it comes to pasta and pizza.

Dietary Intake Regulates the Circulating Inflammatory Monocyte Pool

From the conclusion:  “Fasting improves inflammatory diseases without compromising antimicrobial immunity”

Artificial Food Colors and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Symptoms: Conclusions to Dye for

Artificial food colorings have not been conclusively proven to cause ADHD or other behavior problems, but there seems to be a deleterious effect that needs more research.  From the conclusion:  “Until safety can be determined, we suggest minimizing children’s exposure”.

High cocoa polyphenol rich chocolate may reduce the burden of the symptoms in chronic fatigue syndrome

High-quality 85% cocoa dark chocolate helped reduce fatigue, anxiety and depression in 10 patients with ME/CFS, and they didn’t gain weight.

Dietary Sources and Bioactivities of Melatonin

Melatonin is a hormone produced in the brain at night, and it helps promote sleep (and many other aspects of health).  Natural sources of melatonin include milk, raspberries, almonds, goji berries, cranberries and other foods.

Measures of Poor Sleep Quality Are Associated With Higher Energy Intake and Poor Diet Quality in a Diverse Sample of Women From the Go Red for Women Strategically Focused Research Network

Poor sleep was associated with overeating and lower quality food

Pilot Study of Tart Cherry Juice for the Treatment of Insomnia and Investigation of Mechanisms

Drinking 240ml of tart cherry juice in the morning and again 1-2 hours before bedtime improved sleep duration and efficiency in people over 50 with insomnia.

Effect of Kiwifruit Consumption on Sleep Quality in Adults With Sleep Problems

Eating 2 kiwi 1 hour before bedtime improved sleep, even increasing average sleep time from 6 to 7 hours.

Fiber and Saturated Fat Are Associated with Sleep Arousals and Slow Wave Sleep

Eating junkier foods, with less fiber and more sugar and saturated fat, was associated with worse sleep.

Is insulin resistance the cause of fibromyalgia? A preliminary report

This study suggested that insulin resistance from chronically high blood sugar may help drive fibromyalgia. 

It found that treating the insulin resistance with the drug Metformin reduced pain levels.  The study was later retracted, but not for any problems with the findings or conclusion.  It was retracted because the authors didn’t follow proper procedures to obtain ethics approval and permission to use medical records.  Shame on the authors, but I’m still interested in their hypothesis:  That high blood sugar can cause insulin resistance and damage to small blood vessels in the brain, causing widespread pain.  If they are correct, in addition to medicines for blood sugar control, lifestyle changes to reduce insulin resistance may help.  This would mostly mean reducing the intake of carbohydrates, especially processed or high-glycemic carbohydrates.

An Insight and Update on the Analgesic Properties of Vitamin C

This review was not specific to fibromyalgia pain but found that several different forms of vitamin C were effective at reducing different types of pain.

Fibromyalgia Syndrome Improved Using a Mostly Raw Vegetarian Diet: An Observational Study

A mostly raw vegetarian diet helped, but this study is quite old and only 20 subjects completed the trial.

Double-blind, Multicenter Trial Comparing Acetyl L-Carnitine With Placebo in the Treatment of Fibromyalgia Patients

Supplementing with acetyl L-carnitine helped patients in this study.

The Effect of Dietary Glutamate on Fibromyalgia and Irritable Bowel Symptoms

• Dietary MSG can make fibromyalgia symptoms worse, so avoiding it may help.

Saffron ( Crocus sativus) Versus Duloxetine for Treatment of Patients With Fibromyalgia

• The spice saffron helped patients as much as the drug duloxetine (and, as a bonus, has been shown to help with depression)

Palmitoylethanolamide in Fibromyalgia: Results From Prospective and Retrospective Observational Studies

• Supplementing with Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) while taking the pain medications pregabalin and duloxetine helped more than just taking the medications alone.

Coenzyme Q10 Supplementation Alleviates Pain in Pregabalin-Treated Fibromyalgia Patients via Reducing Brain Activity and Mitochondrial Dysfunction

• Supplementing with CoQ10 helped reduce pain “possibly via improving mitochondrial function, reducing inflammation, and decreasing brain activity.”:  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31387429/

Extra Virgin Olive Oil Improves Oxidative Stress, Functional Capacity, and Health-Related Psychological Status in Patients With Fibromyalgia: A Preliminary Study

This study showed that Extra virgin olive oil may help.

Effects of Vitamin D on Patients With Fibromyalgia Syndrome: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial

In this study, supplementing with vitamin D3 reduced perceptions of pain.

Intake of Raw Fruits and Vegetables Is Associated With Better Mental Health Than Intake of Processed Fruits and Vegetables

Eating raw fruits and veggies reduced depressive symptoms and improved mood, life satisfaction and “flourishing”

Weight-loss surgery may release toxic compounds from fat into the bloodstream

Weight loss surgery may release toxic compounds into the body.  The rapid loss of fat after surgery may release high levels of environmental pollutants that your body had been accumulating and sequestering in fat cells:

General practice consultations: is there any point in being positive?

Your doctor’s attitude and positivity may affect your recovery.  In this study, 64% of patients who had a supportive and upbeat doctor felt better after 2 weeks, whereas only 39% of patients felt better after seeing a doctor who was grumpy or dismissive.