Monday, November 22, 2021

Plant-based diets, pescatarian diets and COVID-19 severity

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8219480/pdf/bmjnph-2021-000272.pdf 

After adjusting for important confounders, participants who reported following ‘plant-based diets’ and ‘plant-based diets or pescatarian diets’ had 73% (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.81) and 59% (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.99) lower odds of moderate-to-severe COVID-19 severity, respectively, compared with participants who did not follow these diets. 

Compared with participants who reported following ‘plant-based diets’, those who reported following ‘low carbohydrate, high protein diets’ had greater odds of moderate-to-severe COVID-19 (OR 3.86, 95% CI 1.13 to 13.24).


Neil E. Levin, CCN, DANLA


Thursday, September 16, 2021

Macrobiotic Diet lecture presented in 1996

Originally presented on 1/24/1996 In Chicago for Nutrition for Optimal Health Association, a non-profit educational charity. I recovered this from a floppy drive today. This was one of my early lectures. As the buyer for the leading Midwestern retailer of macrobiotic foods in the late 1980s, I was the person to whom the Kushi Institute referred people with questions or seeking dietary staples (like sea vegetables, soba pasta, condiments, etc.) in that era. 

NOHA CLASS on The MACROBIOTIC DIET

JAN. 24, 1996

Presented by NEIL EDWARD LEVIN, CCN

           Macrobiotics is the group of diets which reflect balance between natural forces to promote health and normal body-mind function. Using the unifying principle of yin and yang to describe the expansive or contractive properties of foods, one can correct the diet for any number of imbalances. Such a balanced diet is shown to reduce and reverse chronic diseases such as cancer and food allergies, while reducing social problems such as crime and violence.     

       Adhering to a macrobiotic diet is an environmental act. One chooses to eat foods appropriate for one's climate and past imbalances. Organically-grown wholesome foods are preferred. Locally grown foods eaten in season are preferred. Animal products are a rarity, including mostly seafood.     

      All traditional diets are macrobiotic with a small "m". The so-called Standard Macrobiotic Diet is a remnant of traditional Japanese diet. It is high in grains, vegetables from sea and land, some non-stimulant spices, and beans.

      The new Food Pyramid of the Mediterranean Diet is fairly similar to the Standard Macrobiotic Diet. Both rely on grains as the main staple, vegetables as the main side dish, and beans, animal products and fruits used sparingly. Olive oil vs. sesame oil. Brown rice vs. wholegrains and pasta. 

      Yin foods are expansive, leafy, and watery. They tend to be high in sugars and potassium, low in calcium. They are fairly perishable. They tend to be eaten fresh (in season), dried, or pickled in sea salt. Salads and fruits are yin. Yin foods tend to be acidic. 

      Yang foods are contractive, compact, drier. They tend to be high in contractive minerals like calcium, low in expansive ones like magnesium. They have a longer shelf life than yin foods. They can travel farther and still be fresh and wholesome. Salt is very yang, but sea salt is more balanced, due to some yin minerals comprising up to 5% of the total weight. Gray sea salt has a lot of magnesium, and can possibly be too strong for some, leading to constricting effects like kidney stones. Many root vegetables and small grains and beans are yang. Yang foods tend to be alkaline.

      Of course, foods are rarely all yin or yang. These are relative terms. 

      We can select foods for their properties to compensate for seasonal and daily changes. Breakfast should be somewhat yin, with more water used to cook breakfast grains. This will help us to expand our energy. Lunch should be similar. Supper should be larger, more yang, and cooked more, as befits the contractive energy of the day as it is condensing inward. 

      Grains, esp. brown rice, should be eaten daily, preferably at nearly every meal. White rice is never used, as it is far inferior to the wholegrain brown rice. Smaller grains are more yang than larger. Short or medium grain rices are preferred for daily use. Long grain and basmati for occasional warm weather use only. Rice is high in every B vitamin plus a host of other nutritional factors. 

      This emphasis on grains is based on history, biology and anatomy. The 20 molars in an adult mouth are named for the Latin word for "millstone". They are used to grind plant foods to a pulp. The eight incisors are for cutting, and the four canine teeth are for ripping. They are nothing like a cat or similar carnivore's teeth, which consist largely of large canine-type teeth. Our digestive tract is similar to plant-eaters rather than like predators, who eat a low fiber diet. These factors indicate the ideal ratio of 7 to 1 for plant to animal foods, or carbohydrates to protein. This is shown as 5 parts grains and other fibrous foods, 2 parts vegetables and 1 part beans or animal food. Meat is suited to cold climates, and is associated with many diseases such as cancer. Traditional cultures in temperate zones use meat sparingly. As a culture shuns their traditional diet for the modern, processed foods, the rate of degenerative diseases increases greatly.

      Grains have always been the historical dietary staple. The word "meal" means ground grains as well as general eating. In China, people used rice, millet, and buckwheat. In India: rice and wheat. In the Mideast: wheat and barley. In lower Africa: sorghum. In the Americas: corn. And in Northern Europe: wheat, barley, rye, and oats. Grains provide steady fuel. Brown rice releases 2 kilocalories of glucose per minute into our bloodstream versus over 30 for a candy bar. This is due to the starches, or complex carbohydrates, in the grains. For athletes, the amount of glycogen reserves doubles using a starchy diet versus a high-protein one. Americans use an average of about 2,000 pounds of grain per year apiece for our animal-based diet. Plant food-based cultures get by very well on 400 pounds per person. 

      Food is nutrition: energy and components of our bodies. Food choices are the largest controllable variable to create healthy body cells. Eating one extreme will create a desire for the opposite, to create a rough balance. This balance of extremes is not very healthy. The classic example is of meat eaters craving alcohol, sweets, potatoes, and other very yin foods. This leads to an excess of fats, protein, carbohydrates, and water.

Poor diet often includes refined table salt, white sugar, animal protein, saturated fats, and poor-quality water. Mixing meat + dairy + sugar + cold drinks will lead to sticky deposits and kidney stones.

      These principles often lead to natural remedies. Kidney stones represent excess yang energy. Warm ginger compresses over the painful area will expand the ducts and allow the stone to pass more easily. Hot green tea will help internally. For a fever, one can use a fresh green leaf to the forehead or a tofu plaster. These will more reliably ease a fever within minutes than ice, which is too cold and may trap the excess in the body as the fever tries to force it out. 

      Dietary diversity is also important. We must try to eat a variety of foods to enlarge our supply of nutrients. Other general factors apply:

Men can tolerate more meat than women. Women can tolerate more salads and sweets. Babies, small and compact are more yang than adults, which creates a need for soft, sweet, low salt yin foods to allow proper growth. However, if children eat lots of sugar, they will tend to be hyperactive, emotional, and cry easily. Mother's milk is very yin, the perfect small baby's food. Milk is made even more yin when it contains antibiotics and bovine growth hormone. 

      Meat is yang and leads to aggressive tendencies. It is appropriate for nomadic, isolated people. Grains lead to mental conditions of cooperation, community, support, and family life. Look at our Big Mac diet versus the Japanese rice-based diet, and consider the degree of community cooperation in each culture. Tomatoes and other nightshade plants are very yin, and contain nicotine-like substances which are addictive and depress the mind. 

      The Standard Macrobiotic Diet consists mostly of cooked foods. The food enzymes are largely provided by fermented foods such as miso, naturally brewed tamaris, tempeh, umeboshi plums, etc. The balance of foods and the amount of cooking depends on the coolness of the climate. 

      Like all substances, food has a vibrational energy. As in homeopathy, you can activate the energy in a food by cooking, dilute the foods by chewing with saliva to increase the power of the food, and thus liberate the nourishing, healing powers of our diet. 

      Yang energies activate the nerves, while yin dulls the sensations. Grains are high in serotonin enhancers, leading to calmness and thoughtful behavior. Animal foods activate acetylcholine, which leads to impulsive behavior linked to low blood sugar and low serotonin levels. Testosterone, being yang, is increased by animal foods. An explosive discharge of yang energy is likely to lead to violence. Refined sugar, in a Yale U. study, dramatically increases adrenaline levels. When children were given the amount of sugar in two cupcakes, their adrenaline levels increased tenfold; leading to rapid heartbeat, shallow/quick breathing, nervousness, and aggressive/hyperactive/erratic behavior. Excess sugar can deplete minerals, leaving white spots on nails, low zinc, manganese, magnesium, sodium, chromium, vanadium, and the like. 

      These same forces influence depression. Late in the day and in the year the air is contractive, yang. Depression is linked to hypoglycemia, produced by an imbalanced diet, esp. meat and animal foods. Yang accumulation in the pancreas inhibits secretion of glucagon, the yin hormone which increases blood glucose. The pancreas gets hard and tight. The more yang hormone insulin still secretes and reduces blood sugar, but the new imbalance lowers blood sugar to the point of craving. The yang, stimulating neurotransmitters are reduced, which can lead to depression. Short of its blood sugar for fuel, the higher brain functions decrease and alcohol and sugar cravings increase. 

      Schizophrenics usually have chronic low blood sugar, leading to cravings for refined sugar, alcohol, chocolate, and drugs. These yin substances expand the brain and nerve cells. These expanded cells are overly sensitive to yang stimuli, including dopamine. Chronic overstimulation makes one ignore external, more distant factors. In schizophrenics this leads to overload, loss of abstract thought, and the breakdown of the yang powers of concentration and thought coordination. A niacin deficiency is linked to some 10% of schizophrenic cases, and may be linked also to glucose tolerance factors. 

      High blood sugar is likewise linked to excess yin foods in the diet, so the pancreas releases more of the yang hormone insulin to rebalance. This also increases the stimulating, yang neurotransmitters to arouse motor activity. 

      Too many animal foods can lead to graying hair, baldness on the top of the head, being oversexed and short tempered, a tendency to brain hemorrhage, heart attacks, rheumatism, and arthritis. Cutting out the sugar in the diets of teen offenders reduced their violent episodes between 45 and 80%. Animal foods and excess dietary fats and calories are all linked to cancer. About 10-15% of our caloric intake should be healthy types of fats and oils, compared to 30-50% in our modern diet. Excess fat blocks the energy flow in the body. Plant foods tend to inhibit cancers. Soybean foods are specifically linked to low cancer rates. Miso eaters have much lower cancer rates than the control groups. 

      Some of the staple foods of the Standard Macrobiotic Diet include: 

*Brown Rice for the main grain, also appearing in rice milk, rice cakes, mochi cakes, amazake drink, and pastas. Brown rice should be organic, be rinsed until the water is clear, and can be pre-soaked for higher digestibility. It is normally cooked with at least 2 parts water for about an hour. As the rice cooks, the water drops below the surface. Do not stir the rice after this point or it will get very sticky. Poke down into it with a wooden spoon occasionally to check the water level. 

*Soy products, often fermented, including tofu, tempeh, miso, shoyu & tamari, and soy milks. 

*Sea vegetables, mostly cooked in soups, stews and bean dishes. These foods are extremely rich in minerals. For example, kelp has 150x the iodine of any land plant; while dulse has 200x the iron of beet greens, the richest land source. Other types are wakame for soups, stews and beans; hijiki and arame for beans and soups; nori for sushi rolls. 

*Soups and stews

*Beans, esp. small ones which are more yang and meat-like. Look for aduki, chickpeas, lentils, soy, peas, and kidney beans. Sea vegetables help us to digest the beans.

*Pickled foods to stimulate digestion, provide beneficial bacteria for the gut, and provide a source of lactic acid.

*Nuts and seeds can be used in moderation, best if from your climate/continent. This is the main oil source in the macrobiotic diet. Avoid tropical items.

*In season: fruits and land vegetables.

*Whole grain pastas. This is one of the few products using flour. Whole, unground grains are healthier than flours. Flours are stickier, more mucus-forming, more acidic, and harder to digest.

*Rolled and cracked cereals.

*Fish should be used at most 1-2 times a week.

*Sea salt and foods pickled with sea salt. For flavor and digestion. Do not overuse! Signs of overdose include:   fluid retention, thirst after meals, overeating, craving for fruits, sweets, and alcohol, and emotional tension. Signs of too little salt include:

weak muscle tone, poor circulation, and mental spaciness. 

*Condiments:     sesame salt, horseradishes, mustards, rice and cider vinegars, Ume plums.

*Fresh water and green teas. Grain beverages.

*Fermented dairy products like yogurt, kefir, etc.

      It is good to eat a variety within each of these food categories. Cooking methods include boiling, steaming, sautéing, frying, and pressure cooking. The heat intensity and cooking techniques affect the yin/yang energy in the food. 

      Organic foods are so important because the microorganisms in both the human gut and the soil aid digestion and assimilation of nutrients to either us or plants. Vitamin B-12 is made only by these types of bacteria. The traditional Japanese diet provides different, simpler intestinal microbes than average Americans (Western J of Med, 1974), and such simpler populations were associated with lower rates of bowel cancer (Cancer Research, 1975).

     Illness is a symptom of imbalance. Look for the lesson of how your energies are affecting that manifestation. Sickness becomes inevitable if our foods and actions are out of harmony with nature.

      If the skin is pale, you may be eating too much fruit. Bad skin indicates excess sugar. Gluten and grain allergies indicate an excess of dairy and sugar in the past. Diets high in meats, fats and sugar show increased rates of tooth decay and weakened bones.

Lotus root tea reduces mucus in the lungs. 

      Yang foods are salts, hard cheeses, eggs, and meat. Illnesses from excess yang foods include:   duodenal ulcer, hepatitis, appendicitis, jaundice, gout, liver cancer, and headache in the back of the head.

      Yin foods include most dairy, sweets, juices, alcohol, spices, coffee and tea.

Illnesses linked to excess yin include: colitis, hernia, diabetes, asthma, pleurisy, leukemia, meningitis, detached retina, varicose veins, gum disease, stomach ulcers, cystitis, frequent bloody noses, and headaches in the front of the head.

      More balanced foods include grains, beans, vegetables, seeds, nuts, and seasonal fruits. When one eats at the extremes there are other associated illnesses including:

arteriosclerosis, gallstones, arthritis, breast cysts and cancer, lung cancer, cataracts, and pneumonia.

      It is recommended to not eat for 3 hours before bedtime.

      Cancer is yin, expansive. Avoid overeating and indigestion by chewing foods to liquid. Avoid all fruit, animal fats, and greasy foods.

In studies, macrobiotic-type diets are very healthful:

 Lowering and stabilizing blood pressure (AmJ of Epidemology, 1974)

 Lowering blood cholesterol and triglycerides (NEJ of Med, 1975)(Atherosclerosis, 1982)

 Lowering cancer rate by 60% and death rate by 40% in Denmark during a blockade and shortage of animal and dairy foods (JAMA, 1920)

 Sea vegetables removed most of the strontium 90 from contaminated subjects (McGill University, 1964)

 Daily eaters of miso had 33% lower rates of stomach cancer (1981, Nat. Cancer Center of Japan)

 Mice fed naturally fermented soy sauce had a 26% lower rate of stomach cancer and a 75% drop in tumors (1991, U. of Wisconsin)

 Patients with pancreatic cancer. 24 on macrobiotic diet survived an average of 17.3 months vs. 6.0 months for matched controls. The one year survival rate was 54.2% vs. 10% for controls. (1984-85, Tulane U.)

 Macrobiotic Diet is a healthful way of eating (AmerMedAssn Family Medical Guide, 1987)

 A high fat diet is linked to higher breast, lung, and skin tumors in mice. (CancerResearch2)

 A 41 country study linked high intake of refined sugar with high breast cancer rates (BritJ of Cancer, 1976)

 Soy protein reduces serum cholesterol and triglycerides (JAMA, 1982)

 People who regularly eat cheese have a 50% greater risk of breast cancer than those who don't. With milk it's an 80% increase (Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 1986)

 A diet high in meat and animal products is linked to colon cancer    (NCI, 1974 in CANCER) (JAMA, 1920)  (Gut, 1969) (Journal of the NCI, 1975)

 Macrobiotic eaters versus the Framington Heart Study participants: the macro eaters had average cholesterol readings of 126 mg./dl. compared to 184 for the normal diet. Harvard study in the New England Journal of Medicine, 1975)

 Fermented soy sauce shows anti-tumor activity (Science News, 1991, U. of Wisc.)

  21 Macrobiotic eaters added 250 grams of beef a day to their diets for 4 weeks. Within 2 weeks their serum cholesterol levels were up an average of 19%. Harvard study in JAMA, 1981)

 Wakame and hijiki seaweeds, also shitake mushrooms lower serum cholesterol Atherosclerosis, 1972)

 A high sucrose diet (20% of daily caloric intake) linked to liver cancer Huntington Research Centre, Huntington, England, 1978)

 Diet should consist of Carbs (50-60% of caloric intake), with glucose, sucrose, and lactose restricted. People should eat natural foods with unrefined carbs. High levels of fats should be restricted. (Journal of the ADA, 1979)

 Shitake mushrooms showed almost complete regression of tumors (Cancer Research, 1970)

 Kombu given to mice with implanted sarcomas: 89-95% inhibited. Also good results with leukemia (Japan Journal of Experimental Med, 1974)

 Leukemia in chickens was reversed by feeding them whole grains and salt (Tokyo Red Cross Blood Center, 1972)

USDA recommends partial replacement of animal foods with cereals and legumes, esp. soy. (Am J of Clin Nutr, 1983)

 Tofu as a substitute for meats and dairy products is closer to the national dietary guidelines than beef, chicken, eggs, or cheese. It is also preferred by preschoolers in taste tests (Journal of the ADA, 1990)

 Men with AIDS put on macrobiotic diet stabilized, did better than other patients. (Boston U. School of Med in Lancet, 1985)

 Chewing thoroughly (saliva) inhibits HIV-1 infectivity (Journal of the American Dental Assn, 1988)

 

Wednesday, September 15, 2021

JAMA posted my comment yesterday on a study reviewing vitamin C and Zinc for Covid-19 patients

JAMA edited my comment and changed the final sentence (adding ‘or some other dose’, which doesn’t make sense), but the gist is there.  

Effect of High-Dose Zinc and Ascorbic Acid Supplementation vs Usual Care on Symptom Length and Reduction Among Ambulatory Patients With SARS-CoV-2 Infection: The COVID A to Z Randomized Clinical Trial | Complementary and Alternative Medicine | JAMA Network Open | JAMA Network

My original submission:

It is unclear what dose of elemental zinc was used in this study from the text provided. Fifty mg of 'zinc gluconate' is described, but that is 50 mg of a compound that is only about 1/7 elemental zinc. PubChem lists the molecular weight of zinc gluconate at 455.7 and of elemental zinc at 65.4; so zinc gluconate contains about 14.35% elemental zinc (a maximum value since 'as is' measurements include impurities, including moisture). If 50 mg. of ‘zinc gluconate’ was used, as described in the text, it would represent only about 7 mg of actual zinc; not a "high dose" since it would be below the FDA's current (and recently lowered) Daily Value of 11 mg. 

If 50 mg of elemental zinc from a much larger amount of zinc gluconate (typically 350- 400 mg) was used, it should have been described more precisely as that to avoid any confusion. The amount of zinc used was either a low dose erroneously described as a high dose or the authors mistakenly used the compound name (zinc gluconate) in place of the element's (zinc) when describing the 50 mg amount. 

Either way, how the supplement was described in this paper leads inevitably to confusion. The amount of actual zinc should be clearly specified, but the authors did not do so; nor did they relate the amount of this mineral to its RDA, Daily Value, or Upper Limit as a relevant reference point. The implication from the description of a ‘high dose’ is that the amount of zinc was 50 mg, not the amount of zinc gluconate, and that the authors misstated the description of the supplement. But they just as plausibly mistook 50 mg of zinc gluconate for 50 mg of elemental zinc, and then inaccurately described both the supplement and the dosing. 

How did this pass peer review without catching this internal conflict of description that would be obvious to chemists who work with mineral compounds and understand how to appropriately label them by either compound or element? And exactly which dose of elemental zinc was used; 50 mg or 7 mg?


Thursday, July 08, 2021

 My half-hour presentation on Essential Oils will be aired on Wednesday, July 14th at 7pm Central time (6pm Mountain time)

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/choosing-essential-oils-understanding-labels-standards-tickets-161158512449

Thursday, June 10, 2021

Is There L-Glutamine in Pea Protein?

Reputable sources only list glutamic acid, a nonessential amino acid, in pea protein, which the body readily synthesizes and that readily converts into l-glutamine inside our bodies. Glutamine and glutamic acid typically comprise between 5% and 15% of dietary proteins, but we require so much of these two amino acids that most of our fairly large body stores are actually synthesized endogenously (internally). 

Glutamine is used to make glucosamine and is required by the immune system, for wound healing, for acid-base balance, for brain function, and for gluconeogenesis. Both amino acids are conditionally essential during pregnancy, lactation, and growth phases. 

Commercially produced MSG is related to, but not identical to, glutamine because it is a salt of glutamine; a glutamate, rather than an amino acid found in common proteins. Glutamate has been classified as an excitotoxin that can overexcite our nervous systems; but that is dependent on the brain lacking proper controls, such as can be provided by the essential nutrients magnesium and antioxidants. 

This study indicates that pea protein contains glutamic acid, not l-glutamine:  

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6245118/

Protein content and amino acid composition of commercially available plant-based protein isolates (nih.gov)

Friday, May 14, 2021

Lecithin extraction

All lecithin is chemically extracted from bulk oils. For organic lecithin (not available in all forms and grades and very expensive due to limited supply and manufacturing capacity) organic ethanol (alcohol) is the solvent. 

All lecithin extraction processes currently employ solvents, such as hexane, to extract the oils. Hexane extraction is the most common method used in the industry to produce lecithin due to its high oil recovery and lower production cost; also, lecithin is actually defined as hexane-soluble components. These solvents are commonly recovered during the extraction step of edible oil processing through distillation and evaporation. 

To remove the hexane from lecithin, the material is treated in a vacuum distillation process because hexane is volatile and vaporizes at a relatively low temperature. The hexane evaporated during the distillation is condensed and separated from water in a decanter. The recovered hexane is then reused in the extractor. 

The European Union standard for hexane in bulk oils is a maximum residue limit (MRL) of 1 mg/kg by weight. One study published in the Journal of Experimental and Clinical Toxicology reported that the detected mean amount of hexane residue in product samples tested was 0.56 mg/kg; only 56% of the allowable amount. The EFSA Journal published a 2017 safety review concluding that there was no safety concern; even for infants and children using lecithin for special medical purposes. 

https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2903/j.efsa.2017.4742

https://openaccesspub.org/ject/article/622#ridm1841927052 

Liquid Chlorophyll as Sodium Copper Chlorophyllin

Chlorophyllin is a water-soluble analog of the green plant pigment chlorophyll. Liquid chlorophyll products containing chlorophyllin are a mixture of chlorophyll and copper. Chlorophyllin is produced by extracting natural chlorophyll from mulberry leaves (post silkworm feeding) or the traditional alfalfa source (which today is mostly genetically modified/GMO) and reacting the chlorophyll to copper. Today chlorophyllin is compliant with the USP monograph as Sodium Copper Chlorophyllin and is water-soluble; chlorophyll in plants is a fat-soluble substance. Solubilized chlorophyllin is dispersible and stable in water, unlike the original plant chlorophyll, making liquid chlorophyll products possible. 

It is best to test each lot of chlorophyll for identity, microbial burden (including pathogens), and heavy metals to assure product safety. The sodium content of chlorophyllin is negligible; about 9.5 milligrams per 100 gram serving.  

Chlorophyll as Sodium Copper Chlorophyllin can function as a free radical neutralizer and may help to support the body's detoxification processes. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7788866/  and https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12628519/ 

Specifically, chlorophyllin ‘has potent antioxidant ability involving scavenging of various physiologically important ROS’ [reactive oxygen species]. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11767414/ 

Chlorophyllin has been traditionally used as an internal deodorizer, both medically under FDA authorization (21CFR357.850) and as a dietary supplement, and it promotes cleansing and freshens breath. It has also been found to be a safe and effective detoxification agent suitable for use in individuals unavoidably exposed to dietary aflatoxins. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12628519/ 



Friday, May 07, 2021

Vaccine Mandate Musings

Should vaccine passports, or vaccination itself, be mandatory? I can only share my opinions, which are conflicted. Here are my thoughts:

Because of federal medical privacy laws, vaccine passports would have to be issued only on request of the patient/person waiving such privacy, so disclosure is in one sense inherently controlled by the individual and would be voluntary. Additionally, the state and the CDC are routinely notified of your COVID-19 vaccination, so it is not hidden from them; governments already know if you’ve been vaccinated. Another argument is that apps can track your location, but of course location tracking can be disabled for any app or phone, and mandates can also limit tracking to when the app is opened. Many people post their vaccine status on social media and then inconsistently worry about privacy after sharing it with massive companies that have access to their personal data.

Private companies can already mandate vaccines, including medical and nursing home staff, or college campuses (which now offer remote classes), and require masks and distancing unless such private company requirements are banned by law. Some people may want to show these verifiable proofs and find them useful; for example to travel overseas without needing quarantines or invasive testing.  

There are also issues of whether to restrict private companies from offering incentives for people to show vaccination proof to open cruises, concerts, airline or restaurant seating, etc. A government mandate prohibiting private businesses from doing things that are perceived as helping their sales recover faster and protect public health can also be perceived as anti-capitalist and anti-libertarian. The protection of public health often conflicts with normal civil rights in troubled times; both are mandates of governments. In this case, the government in prohibiting private businesses from using customer safety as a competitive selling point is different from a government mandating essential safety practices. This is actually the opposite of asserting a state mandate to protect public health; by legislating a government monopoly on whether/how to do that, rather than trusting the private sector, as most conservatives would normally prefer. 

As businesspeople, if you felt safer during an epidemic or pandemic by requiring masking and distancing, would you want the state prohibiting you from doing what makes you feel safer or from doing what makes your customers feel safer? In Illinois, the state has said it won’t require a vaccine passport, but did not prohibit local governments or private businesses from doing so, and Chicago may require them short-term for concerts and full restaurant capacity so businesses can reopen faster while protecting public health and safety. Is a business offering incentives discriminating against ineligible customers, or is it a justifiable practice; similar to offering private events or other perks for preferred customers?

I know this is more nuanced than social media and news outlets present the issues to us, but there are both plusses and minuses to government mandates and vaccine passports/proof, and winners and losers. 

It also doesn’t address the issue of some people who can’t get vaccinated: the young, people with autoimmune diseases or other medical conditions, those who have had serious reactions to previous vaccines; even pregnancy is an unknown safety factor. Vaccine mandates without reasonable exemptions are going to harm some people; maybe far fewer than might get seriously ill or die from the disease if everyone was unvaccinated, but they would needlessly sacrifice some people for the perceived greater good instead of fine-tuning to make vaccinations even safer. Vaccines aren’t perfect; why pretend that they are?

My problem with routine vaccinations is that there is no willingness or incentive to track a minority that may be harmed by vaccines in order to make them safer by identifying people or traits that are unsuitable for a particular vaccine. The ingredients are also a problem for some; including mercury and aluminum, preservatives, allergens, and other chemicals. Why is there no good study on the safety of the complete vaccination program of some 16 vaccines; some with additional boosters? Why are vaccine critics quickly attacked as anti-science, rather than honestly assessing their claims? Why are calls to fine-tune the vaccination program to make it even safer quickly shut down as anti-vaxxers? I appreciate the elimination of TB, smallpox, measles, etc. But why ignore a minority for whom some vaccines - or some ingredients - may be contraindicated to reduce the criticism? 

Sorry, but I seem to have more questions than answers. 


Wednesday, April 28, 2021

Aspergillus Niger Safety


Fermentation is a process where a microorganism is utilized as a factory to produce certain nutrients or other biologically useful substances for humans. The culture, environment, and feed can encourage production of various products including enzymes and organic acids that are commonly used in foods and supplements. Some molds are benign; think of Saccharomyces boulardii (related to the yeasts in bread or beer) or blue cheese. 

While Aspergillus niger is a black mold, it is not the black mold that contaminates homes. As with the enzymes produced by A. niger, inhalation of mold or enzymes is not healthy for the lungs, and precautions are taken during production. In addition, A. niger is considered GRAS (generally regarded as safe) by the FDA and has been used for a century to produce citric acid and enzymes. Enzymes produced by A. niger do not contain significant amounts of the culture after isolation and purification to USP monograph standards of purity. Just as milk does not contain a cow, enzymes produced by A. niger do not inherently contain black mold. 

The U.S EPA has reported: 

“Exposure to Aspergillus must be nearly universal but disease is rare. The physiological condition of the exposed individual thus appears to be of paramount importance. Patients exhibiting aspergillosis are generally immunocompromised, and thus susceptible to otherwise common and usually harmless microorganisms. Factors that may lead to immunosuppression include an underlying debilitating disease (e.g., chronic granulomatous diseases of childhood), chemotherapy, and the use of supraphysiological doses of adrenal corticosteroids (Bennett, 1980)…A. niger is not a significant human pathogen. Throughout years of use and widespread exposure to A. niger in the environment, there are only several reports of aspergillosis with A. niger, and in Nigeria, one report of a number of cases of otomycosis. There have been only several reports of allergic reactions, which are not uncommon for aspergilli in general, and not unique to A. niger. A. niger is capable of producing several mycotoxins. However, mycotoxin production appears to be controlled by the conditions of fermentation.”  

EPA’s Final risk assessment for Aspergillus niger https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-09/documents/fra006.pdf

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12172605/

Monday, April 26, 2021

Blood pH and diet

Blood pH is relatively constant at around 7.4 because the body will strip calcium from bones, if necessary, to buffer it in the absence of alkaline-forming food components. That is not homeostasis. But blood pH does vary (typically within a range of 6.8 to 7.8, with potentially lethal effects beyond that range) and affects urine pH, which we can easily measure. 

Dietary compounds formed in the body affect blood pH; not the contrasting pH levels in the digestive tract (acid in the stomach and neutral in the small intestine) or the apparent acidity of foods, but what happens after digestion. The minerals or weak acids (citrates, et al) in alkaline-forming foods are used to make alkaline compounds in the body, which won't happen efficiently with a processed food or a non-plant-derived diet. Scientists have measured this effect and doctors have utilized it in practice, so it's not theoretical or based on pH limited to areas of the digestive tract. https://www.drrusselljaffe.com/7-principles-eating-alkaline-way/ 

"An advanced understanding of acid–base physiology is as central to the practice of critical care medicine, as are an understanding of cardiac and pulmonary physiology. Intensivists spend much of their time managing problems related to fluids, electrolytes, and blood pH. Recent advances in the understanding of acid–base physiology have occurred as the result of the application of basic physical-chemical principles of aqueous solutions to blood plasma. This analysis has revealed three independent variables that regulate pH in blood plasma. These variables are carbon dioxide, relative electrolyte concentrations, and total weak acid concentrations. All changes in blood pH, in health and in disease, occur through changes in these three variables. Clinical implications for these findings are also discussed." https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC137247/ 




Thursday, February 04, 2021

Mayo Clinic researchers: vitamin B12 deficiency can cause premature graying of hair (PGH), which could be reversed thru supplementation. Low vitamin & mineral levels have also been associated with PGH, reversed by supplements: B5, PABA, D, copper, (iron). PMID: 30607038