How to Minimize Eczema Flare-ups at the Gym and on the Job
May 11, 2024 by admin
Filed under treatments
Morning exercise offers many benefits, but for people with eczema, hitting the gym and then going to work presents a complex set of challenges. Getting hot and sweaty can lead to flare-ups. The breakfast you eat for post-workout energy may do more harm than good. And after a heavy workout that taxes your body, the stress of deadlines and other workplace pressures can be a trigger as well.
Bottom line: If you like to jump-start your workday at the gym, you need a smart strategy that will keep eczema at bay.
Enter Matt Knight, one of London’s most sought-after fitness experts. Inspired by a book by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Knight became serious about bodybuilding as a teenager (his training partner nicknamed him “Diesel”) and gained instant success as a personal trainer at a gym in his early 20s. But then the gym closed. On top of that, he suffered a shoulder injury that prevented him from exercising. His stress levels soared, and soon Knight was dealing with severe eczema all over his body, including foot flare-ups that made it difficult to walk.
“I used to stay awake at night scratching,” he recalls. “I had it so bad on the soles of my feet, they were cracked and bleeding, and I was on antibiotics.”
Knight went from doctor to doctor but didn’t find much relief – until he figured out on his own which foods sparked his flare-ups. When he changed what he ate, the flare-ups subsided. Meanwhile, Knight found ways to exercise without bringing on a bout of eczema, and that allowed him to revive his career, which greatly reduced his stress levels.
Now in fantastic shape, he’s eager to help others who want to work out, go to work, and avoid skin issues. Here, he offers three keys to managing your eczema at the gym and then heading off to a productive and itch-free workday.
1. Keep Cool and Clean
When Knight realized that constant patch tests didn’t solve the problem, he read up on his condition, noted what seemed to bring on flare-ups, and tried to eliminate his personal triggers. Becoming hot and sweaty is a big one for him, but it’s unavoidable if you’re exercising, as Knight does, to get results. So he came up with a post-workout solution: “What I do is to get as cool and clean as possible after a workout. I think a quick shower with cool water is great if you have heat-aggravated eczema. The key is, don’t let it go on for too long.”
The National Eczema Association recommends the “soak and seal” method:
- Shower for just 5 to 10 minutes, using a gentle, soap-free cleanser.
- Gently pat your skin dry, leaving it a little damp.
- Use any topical skin medication you are prescribed.
- Within 3 minutes of getting out of the shower, put moisturizer all over your body.
- Wait a few minutes before getting dressed, to give your skin time to absorb the moisturizer.
“You don’t want to wash away all your skin oils and leave your skin dry,” Knight says.
2. Reboot Your Breakfast
By analyzing his diet, Knight became aware that certain foods made his condition worse. “Make sure you are keeping inflammatory foods to an absolute minimum,” he says. Although there isn’t a clear link between eczema and food allergies, avoiding foods that spark an allergic reaction may reduce flare-ups, according to Cleveland Clinic. Common allergies include peanuts, gluten, and alcohol. Knight recommends limiting red meat, dairy, whole grains, flour, and sugar in your diet, and eating more fish and veggies. “Also, be mindful of certain so-called health foods,” he adds. “That whey protein shake and all those eggs can be doing much more harm than good.”
3. Amp Up Your Attitude
After you leave the gym, exercise the power of positive thinking. On your way to work, instead of worrying about a potential flare-up, remind yourself that you’ve done your best to prevent one. Breathe deeply, and tell yourself that whatever happens during the day, you can handle it. Look for ways to reduce your stress on the job. If you’re a manager, for example, you might learn to delegate.
And never throw in the towel. “Whether it’s stress, environmental, or food related, keep hunting for the answer and don’t disregard any possibilities,” Knight says, adding, “There is always an answer. Don’t quit searching for it.”
Putting a Hole in Our World
May 10, 2024 by admin
Filed under treatments
May 10, 2024 – When we’re young, we take our macula for granted. At the center of our retina – the deepest layer of the eye that’s chock-full of photoreceptors and that confers color to our world – the macula is like a high-resolution camera. As light hits our eyes, the retina’s macula recasts our world in a bloom of color with astoundingly high visual sharpness.
But as you age, your vision dulls. What once stood out sharply becomes foggy, like condensation on a windowpane. After some time, a coal-black smudge or cloudy circular area begins to affect your central vision.
This effective blind spot widens over time if left untreated. What remains is a “macular hole” in the center of your retina.
This unfortunate series of events marks the advanced stage of age-related macular degeneration, a dangerous retinal disease that affects about 20 million people in the U.S., and nearly 200 million people worldwide.
And it’s not getting better. Estimates are that by 2040, the disease may affect nearly 300 million people worldwide. We are very limited in our ability to treat or prevent it. Read on for what to know.
First, What Causes Age-Related Macular Degeneration?
AMD’s causes are varied, and whether it will affect you is mostly determined by age and genetics, said Marco Alejandro Gonzalez, MD, an ophthalmologist and vitreoretinal specialist in Delray Beach, FL.
Because of the different cocktails that we have in terms of our genetic makeup, some people’s photoreceptor cells in the macula “basically start to shut down,” he said.
AMD’s development involves over 30 genes, and if you have a first-degree relative – parent, sibling, child – who has the disease, you’re three times more likely to get it, too.
Gonzalez explained how the expected rise to 300 million cases by 2040 is due mostly to improved diagnostic tools, along with the fact that the world is getting older and living longer. (Usually, an optometrist can detect signs of AMD during a routine eye exam.)
Eye experts still struggle to stop AMD’s most harmful sign – the cause of those muddy, milky, or even coal-colored circles in your central vision: geographic atrophy.
Geographic atrophy can occur in either of the two forms of age-related AMD: “dry” AMD and “wet” AMD.
Nearly every case of AMD begins as the dry kind, affecting 80% to 90% of AMD patients.
Retinal disease expert Tiarnán Keenan, MD, PhD, offered a vivid image of geographic atrophy for those who have dry AMD.
“As time passes, the circular patches of GA expand like a brushfire, taking more and more vision with it, often to the point of legal blindness,” he said.
A researcher in the Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications at the National Eye Institute, Keenan recently led a study that tested the efficacy of the antibiotic minocycline in slowing geographic atrophy expansion in dry AMD. The study operated on the grounds that the body’s immune system could be at play in developing the disease.
When your body’s immune system is overactive, microglial cells (central nervous system immune cells) can get into the sub-retinal space and possibly eat away at the macula and its sensitive photoreceptors.
Though minocycline had been shown to reduce inflammation and microglial activity in the eye in diabetic retinopathy, it didn’t slow the expansion of geographic atrophy or vision loss in patients with dry AMD during Keenan’s study.
When asked if microglial activity could have very little to do with the atrophy expansion, Keenan said it’s something to consider: “Maybe microglia are just there as bystanders clearing up the debris … so inhibiting them is less likely to slow down progression.”
In future drug trials, “maybe it’s possible the minocycline or another approach to target microglia would be helpful, but it would be needed in combination with some other therapy and be ineffective by itself,” he said.
Two Sides of the Same Disease
In dry AMD, Gonzalez compares macular degeneration to the loss of pixels on a screen. “Some of those pixels burn out … and that’s the way you lose vision classically in the dry form.”
Wet AMD is a more progressive form of the disease. It causes abrupt vision loss due to abnormal blood vessel growth.
“If you don’t treat wet AMD quickly, it’s game over,” warned Gonzalez. “Wet macular degeneration is the quicker process of vision loss because these blood vessels wreak havoc.” These new blood vessels bleed, causing fluid to build in the macula, which ultimately leads to scarring.
Gonzalez shed light on why wet AMD develops. “The wet form, for some reason, is the body’s last-ditch effort to try to kind of ‘help’ a dying macula. … When these blood vessels start to grow under the retina, they quickly destroy the architecture of the macula.”
Stopping the Bleeding in Wet AMD
Though wet AMD is rarer, it’s more treatable than dry AMD. Signs and symptoms can be eased with various therapies injected into the eye.
Putting it simply, Gonzalez said these therapies to treat wet AMD “all basically do the same thing. They make these new blood vessels regress temporarily before they cause damage to the macula.”
The injected medication clears away those blood vessels and restores the architecture of the macula. People can recover some vision in this way, but it’s only a temporary tune-up, and shots must be given as often as once a month.
“Degeneration of the cells is still the main problem. You’re not stopping that. But degeneration itself is a lot slower than actual vision loss associated with these blood vessels.”
The Struggle in Developing New Treatments
According to Keenan, “nobody has been able to stop geographic atrophy from happening” in either form of AMD. “So, that’s the main work in the field with trials.”
In December 2023, the FDA approved two new drugs: Syfovre and Izervay, both of which only slow geographic atrophy. Degeneration still happens, regardless.
Keenan explained how these two new drugs are “complement inhibitors … given by injection into the eye once a month or so.”
“Complement” refers to the body’s complement pathway, a trigger that activates a cascade of proteins in enhancing immune response.
Clinical trials showed Syfovre slowing the rate of geographic atrophy by up to 22% over 2 years, and Izervay up to 14% over 1 year.
Though these drugs are a new weapon against this troublesome affliction, they aren’t without their complications.
“Anytime you give an injection in the eye, there’s always the risk of an infection because you’re introducing something from the outside. So that’s the biggest risk,” explained Gonzalez.
An infection is uncommon, but potentially devastating, as you can lose your eye altogether. There’s also the chance of a damaging reaction to the shot.
“You have to pick and choose your patients,” said Gonzalez. “Not everybody is a good candidate for those new shots … and the patient is never going to see better. … It’s a harder sell than the ones for wet AMD.”
A Common Protective Measure
Keenan and Gonzalez both have a fair degree of confidence in reducing the risk of AMD with vitamin therapy.
As a bit of background on how vitamins were found to act as a sort of preventive measure, Gonzalez said, “In the early and late ‘90s, there were series of studies which were called the age-related eye disease studies.” These are now referred to as AREDS 1 and AREDS 2.
Researchers proved that a certain cocktail of vitamins slowed down degeneration. The most is a combo of antioxidants: vitamins C and E and lutein and zeaxanthin, all of which are in the AREDS 2 formula.
People who took these vitamins had a lower chance of losing their vision over the next 2 to 5 years. “[The combo] seems to be complementary and additive … with a combined treatment effect of 55% to 60%, an excellent safety record, and very low cost,” Keenan said.
Gonzalez recommends the AREDS 2 formula of vitamins to every patient of his. “It’s such an easy thing to take, and the downside is minimal.”
Unfortunately, if your genes make you more likely to have the condition, a change in diet or vitamin use could have no effect.
Dire? Possibly. But not all is lost in this fight.
Vigilance with AMD and What to Do Next if You’re Diagnosed
Gonzalez is adamant in educating his patients before time has run out on treating AMD. Recognition is key. “The most common reason a lot of these people get to me ‘too late’ is they don’t realize there’s a problem.”
He explained a typical scenario: “Let’s say you have macular degeneration in both eyes at different stages. One of your eyes starts developing wet macular degeneration … so the better eye takes over and you may not notice there’s a problem.”
Even after a patient is diagnosed with AMD, they usually see a specialist only twice a year. Gonzalez often tells his patients to cover one of their eyes to make sure their vision is intact in both eyes. “You’ll be able to pick up on subtle differences” in each eye, he said.
This type of self-care and vigilance can be the difference between successfully living with and treating the disease for the rest of your life, and trying to get help when it’s simply too late.
For wet AMD, as mentioned before, a round of injections is basically what everyone does. Without quick, invasive treatment, the point of no return approaches rapidly.
Cows Are Potential Spreaders of Bird Flu to Humans
May 10, 2024 by admin
Filed under treatments
May 10, 2024 — Cow udders have the same receptors for flu viruses as humans and birds, raising concerns that cows could become “mixing vessels” that help the bird flu virus spread between people.
That’s according to new research conducted by scientists at the University of Copenhagen and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis and published as a preprint study in bioRxiv.
The scientists examined samples of brain, respiratory, and mammary gland tissue taken from a small number of cows and a calf. They stained the tissues and put it under the microscope to see what kind of receptors would be found.
They discovered that the sacs of the cows’ udders were loaded with the kind of flu receptors associated with birds as well as those found in people. These receptors are the kind that bird flu viruses like H5N1 can attach to. Tissue from the brain and respiratory tract of the cows had far fewer of the receptors.
“These results provide a mechanistic rationale for the high levels of H5N1 virus reported in infected bovine milk and show cattle have the potential to act as a mixing vessel for novel [influenza virus] generation,” the researchers wrote in the study.
When an animal acts as a mixing vessel, different flu strains can swap genetic material to form new kinds of diseases.
Pigs can be infected with human and bird flu viruses and have previously been thought of as possible mixing vessels for viruses that could pose a pandemic threat, Stat News reported. The new study suggests that cows could become mixing vessels for a bird flu pandemic.
“The new pre-print shows convincingly that cows harbor both human-flu and avian-flu receptors in their mammary glands,” Sam Scarpino, PhD, director of artificial intelligence and life sciences at Northeastern University, said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “As a result, dairy cattle *may* have similar potential as pigs to serve as evolutionary intermediaries between avian and human flus.”
Since late March, bird infections have been found in 42 herds across nine states, according to the USDA.
Symptoms of Diverticulitis and How to Treat It
May 10, 2024 by admin
Filed under treatments
Diverticulitis is an inflammation or infection of small pouches called diverticula that can develop along the walls of your intestines. The formation of these pouches is known as diverticulosis, a common condition that typically causes few or no symptoms. However, when these pouches become inflamed or infected, it leads to diverticulitis, which can be painful and may lead to serious complications.
Diverticulosis is common in the U.S. and other parts of the world where heavily processed diets are the norm. It’s estimated that 30% of Americans over 50 have diverticulosis, which rises to 50% of those over 60% and 75% in people over 80.1
Most often, the condition affects the sigmoid colon, a section of the large intestine near the end of the digestive tract. Among those with diverticulosis, about 4% develop diverticulitis.2
What Are the Symptoms of Diverticulitis?
You can have diverticulosis and not know it, since it often causes no symptoms. But in the case of diverticulitis, it’s typically a different story. Common symptoms include:3
• Abdominal pain — When diverticula become inflamed, they cause the surrounding tissues in the intestinal wall to also become inflamed. This inflammation can lead to pain that’s typically felt in the lower left side of the abdomen and may be severe.
The pain may also spread to your pelvis and back. In people of Asian descent, diverticulosis may occur more often in the first part of the colon, so diverticulitis in that region may cause pain in the upper right abdomen.4
• Bowel changes — The inflammation associated with diverticulitis can affect the movement of the bowel, leading to disruptions in the normal rhythm of digestion. This can result in constipation or diarrhea, along with bloating and gas. Feelings of fullness can also occur.
• Nausea and vomiting — Gastrointestinal irritation may lead to nausea while increased movement of the intestines in an attempt to expel irritants and bacteria may lead to vomiting. In more severe cases, the inflammation can lead to a partial or complete blockage of the intestine, which can trigger vomiting.
• Fever — When diverticula become inflamed, they can also become infected, usually by bacteria. The fever is a sign that your body is actively fighting an infection.
• Rectal bleeding — As diverticulitis progresses, the inflamed diverticula can cause small blood vessels to stretch and rupture, leading to bleeding. This can result in blood appearing in the stool.
Diverticulitis can be classified as acute, which occurs suddenly and often causes intense abdominal pain, fever and nausea, or chronic, with persistent symptoms due to the ongoing inflammation.
More severe cases can lead to serious complications, which are sometimes the first sign of the disease. Each year, about 200,000 people are hospitalized due to diverticulitis, while 71,000 are hospitalized with diverticular bleeding.5 Complications may include:6
- Abscesses
- Perforation, or a hole, in your colon
- Fistulas, an abnormal tunnel between your colon and another area of the body, such as your bladder
- Intestinal blockages
- Peritonitis, an infection of the abdominal cavity
What Causes Diverticulitis?
Certain genes may increase your risk of diverticulitis, but lifestyle factors also play a role, including:7
- Eating ultraprocessed foods
- Inactivity
- Using certain medications, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and steroids
- Obesity
- Smoking
While a number of factors contribute to diverticulitis, a disrupted microbiome and eating a highly processed, low-fiber diet are chief among them. Dietary fiber is crucial for maintaining a healthy digestive system. It helps to bulk up your stool and softens it, making it easier to pass through the colon. This reduces the strain and pressure in your colon during bowel movements.
When your diet lacks sufficient fiber, your stools become harder and smaller, requiring your colon to exert more pressure to move them along. This increased pressure can cause your colon’s muscular wall to develop weak spots.
Over time, the continuous pressure may force the inner lining of your colon through these weak spots in the muscle layer, forming diverticula. Further, a diet low in fiber keeps the intra-colonic pressure elevated because of the harder, smaller stools and the greater effort needed to expel them.
This sustained high pressure is believed to not only contribute to the formation of diverticula but also increase the risk of these diverticula becoming inflamed or infected, leading to diverticulitis. As noted in Cureus:8
“Many theories have been suggested for the different etiologies of diverticular disease, and the most common cause is believed to be a low-fiber diet. It is believed that diets low in fibers are associated with increased intra-colonic pressure, which leads to diverticula formation.”
Diverticulitis Linked to Gut Microbiome Composition
Researchers with Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in collected stool samples from 121 women with severe diverticulitis and compared them to stool samples from 121 women without the condition.9 They conducted a detailed analysis of the overall microbial community structures and metabolomic profiles in the collected samples, revealing significant differences between the groups.
Women with diverticulitis had more pro-inflammatory agents such as the microbe Ruminococcus gnavus, 1,7-dimethyluric acid and various histidine-related metabolites. There was also a notable depletion of butyrate-producing bacteria, which are known for their anti-inflammatory properties, as well as a reduction in anti-inflammatory ceramides.
The study highlighted how microbial composition may influence the protective association between a fiber-rich diet and diverticulitis, suggesting that dietary fiber’s protective effects can be significantly altered by a person’s existing gut microbiota composition. A review published in the Journal of Personalized Medicine further described gut microbiota’s potential role in diverticulitis, noting:10
“Changes in microbiota composition have been observed in patients who were developing acute diverticulitis, with a reduction of taxa with anti-inflammatory activity, such as Clostridium cluster IV, Lactobacilli and Bacteroides.
Recent observations supported that a dysbiosis characterized by decreased presence of anti-inflammatory bacterial species might be linked to mucosal inflammation, and a vicious cycle results from a mucosal inflammation driving dysbiosis at the same time.
An alteration in gut microbiota can lead to an altered activation of nerve fibers, and subsequent neuronal and muscular dysfunction, thus favoring abdominal symptoms’ development.”
Restoring Your Gut Microflora and Cellular Energy Production Are Key
Dysbiosis, or an imbalance of microbial communities, in your gut plays a central role in the development of diverticulitis.11 A balanced gut microbiota helps reduce inflammation in the colon. Certain beneficial bacteria produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate, which have anti-inflammatory properties. These SCFAs help maintain the health of the colon lining and prevent inflammation that can lead to diverticulitis.
A robust intestinal barrier can also prevent bacterial fragments from entering your bloodstream, whereas a compromised barrier allows these harmful fragments through while blocking SCFAs. However, most people have dysfunctional mitochondria, and if you don’t have enough mitochondria, you can’t create cellular energy efficiently enough to ensure a healthy gastrointestinal tract.
Your gut contains primarily two types of gram-negative bacteria: beneficial and pathogenic. The beneficial ones include obligate anaerobes, which cannot survive in the presence of oxygen and are essential for health. They do not produce harmful endotoxins and contribute positively by producing SCFAs like butyrate, propionate and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1).
Proper gut function requires energy to maintain an oxygen-free environment in the large intestine, where 99% of gut microbes reside. Insufficient energy leads to oxygen leakage, which harms obligate anaerobes while not impacting the facultative anaerobes, thereby disrupting the balance of the microbiome.
Pathogenic bacteria, or facultative anaerobes, can survive in oxygen and are harmful, as they possess endotoxins in their cell walls. In short, enhancing mitochondrial energy production is crucial for maintaining a healthy gut environment. When you do that, it helps suppress the growth of pathogenic bacteria and support beneficial microbial populations, which in turns reduces your risk of diverticulitis.
Widespread use of antibiotics can also disrupt the microbiome by killing both beneficial and harmful bacteria, leading to a dominance of pathogenic bacteria which produce harmful endotoxins. Optimizing your mitochondrial function is, however, one of the most important strategies you can do to optimize your cellular energy, so it’s at the core of almost everything that you do to improve your health.
How to Restructure Your Microbiome
Akkermansia, highly beneficial bacteria in your large intestine, plays a crucial role in maintaining gut health and should constitute about 10% of the gut microbiome. However, it is absent in many individuals, likely due to inadequate mitochondrial function and resultant oxygen leakage in the gut.
Eating foods that support Akkermansia, such as polyphenol-rich fruit, and other beneficial bacteria, and avoiding foods like linoleic acid — found in vegetable and seed oils in most processed foods — that destroy these bacteria, will help to restructure your microbiome in a positive way. You can also use an Akkermansia probiotic supplement.
One of the reasons Akkermansia is so important is because it produces mucin, a thick, protective gel-like substance that lines various parts of the body, including the gastrointestinal tract. Mucin forms a protective barrier on the gut lining, shielding the epithelial cells of the intestinal wall from mechanical damage, chemical irritation from stomach acids and digestive enzymes, and pathogenic organisms like bacteria and viruses.
Mucin also supports the immune system by trapping potential pathogens and other foreign particles, which are then expelled from the body through the digestive process. It also contains antibodies and antimicrobial peptides that help fight off infections.
Lastly, mucin serves as a food source for other beneficial gut bacteria. This relationship is essential for digestive health, as the bacteria fed by Akkermansia aid in digestion, produce essential nutrients and help maintain an overall balance of gut flora.
Increasing CO2 Likely Beneficial
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a driver of energy production, as it improves the delivery of oxygen into your cells. While CO2 is typically thought of as nothing more than a harmful waste product of respiration, and a “pollutant” that endangers the planet, the reality is that it’s essential for most life on Earth. In fact, CO2 appears to be a more fundamental component of living matter than oxygen.12
“Really, every condition you can think of, both physiological and mental, can be remediated, and in many cases cured, by increasing endogenous CO2 production and decreasing degradation,” Georgi Dinkov says.
Importantly, CO2 allows for more efficient energy production in your mitochondria, which is why people who live or spend time at higher altitudes tend to be healthier and have fewer chronic health problems such as asthma. The reason for this is because the pressure of CO2 relative to oxygen is greater at higher altitudes.
In order to have sufficient CO2 production, you need healthy mitochondria, because CO2 is produced exclusively in the Krebs cycle in the mitochondria. If you have mitochondrial dysfunction, if you’re hypothyroid or have high levels of inflammation, as is the case in diverticulitis, then you will not be producing enough CO2.
While it’s important to optimize your endogenous (internal) production of CO2, exogenous delivery or supplementation will produce the greatest benefits, as you can deliver far greater amounts than your body can produce. Such strategies include:
- Breathing into a paper bag
- Drinking carbonated water and other carbonated beverages
- CO2 baths
- A special suit into which CO2 is pumped
- Taking small amounts of baking soda in your drinking water
A book written in 1905 by Achilles Rose, M.D. discusses delivery by rectal insufflation. During rectal CO2 insufflation, a small tube or catheter is inserted into the rectum, and a controlled amount of CO2 is gently infused. This is a highly effective way to deliver CO2.
I am currently in the process of setting up an IRB (Institutional Review Board) approved study that will be exploring the therapeutic value of administering CO2 gas rectally to reverse the damage caused by decades of excess LA consumption that caused a radical decrease in mitochondrial function and cellular energy production resulting in a compromised oxygen gradient differential in the large intestine that allows pathogenic bacteria to become squatters and occupy the spaces of the obligate anaerobic species like Akkermansia that provide benefits and do not produce toxic endotoxin.
‘Ozempic Face’ — A Troubling Side Effect of Weight Loss Drugs
May 10, 2024 by admin
Filed under treatments
Prescriptions for weight loss medications have skyrocketed in recent years. By the end of 2024, the market valuation is expected to grow to a whopping $21.09 billion.1 Today, one of the most popular options are GLP-1 agonist drugs that are sold under two names, Ozempic and Wegovy. Both are from the Novo Nordisk drug company — Ozempic is sold as a diabetes drug, while higher-dose Wegovy is approved for weight loss.2
The popularity of GLP-1 agonist drugs for weight management has boomed in recent years, and it shows — quite literally. Today, more users are struggling with a side effect dubbed the “Ozempic face”3 — a condition that occurs when a person loses too much facial fat, leading to a hollowed, gaunt appearance, as a result of taking these drugs.4
How Do GLP-1 Mimetics Work?
Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists work by boosting the hormone GLP-1. The drug was first approved in 2017 to manage blood sugar levels in diabetics, and, in 2021, the FDA approved Wegovy to address obesity.5 Semaglutide is the active ingredient in both.
Your body naturally makes GLP-1 in the small intestines,6 and its primary function is to slow down digestion, increase satiety, block glucagon secretion (a hormone used to control blood sugar levels) and trigger the pancreas to release insulin.7
When used as an injectable medication, semaglutide mimics the hormone, so the medication binds to the receptor and triggers the same effects. As a result, the passage of food through your stomach slows down, making you feel fuller longer. According to an article published in El Pais:8
“Ozempic gives the feeling of being forever full, so that you can say goodbye to snacking, and be satisfied with smaller portions of food. Soon, though, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or constipation can appear. After a few months, the ‘Ozempic face’ may show up in the form of prematurely aged skin.”
Trims Inches Off the Waist, but Adds Years to Your Face
When you take semaglutide, it doesn’t just cause you to shed fat from specific body problem areas; it can also deplete your facial fat resulting in lost volume.9 When your body slims down very rapidly, the elasticity of your skin, especially on the face, can be severely affected.10 The result — sunken eyes, fine lines, indents and wrinkles, drooping cheeks, sagging skin (including under the chin) and changes in the size of the lips and chin.11,12
Semaglutide has helped some to slim down, but at the cost of ageing skin, particularly in your face. In a Forbes article, Mojgan Hosseinipour, D.O., a board-certified dermatologist, says, “Subcutaneous facial fat provides structural support; with volume loss, there is an accelerated aged appearance of the face with noticeable lines and wrinkles.”13
These physical effects may be more apparent in people with thin faces who have experienced drastic weight loss. Aesthetic doctor, Mar Mira, explains in an El Pais article:14
“[I]n overweight or obese patients, weight loss does not usually result in significant facial skeletonization.
However, shadows underneath the cheeks may be accentuated by reabsorption of fat compartments, and facial flaccidity can become more pronounced around the jowls and jaw line due to the loss of temporal and preauricular fat compartments, which are usually the first to be reabsorbed during the aging process.”
Skincare Companies Are Taking Advantage of the Ozempic Face
A 2023 study15 notes how the increasing number of people with Ozempic face are impacting the field of plastic surgery. According to the researchers, “As the popularity of Ozempic grows, facial plastic surgeons must be aware of both the impact on facial appearance and perioperative considerations.”
The study also mentions that methods like dermal fillers, skin tightening techniques and surgery may be needed to manage excess skin and restore a patient’s facial volume. This has prompted some skincare companies to prepare for the surge of people who may want to address the aging effects caused by Ozempic.
In a Bloomberg article, skincare firm Galderma’s CEO Flemming Ornskov said their Sculptra skin treatment, which boosts collagen production, and other fillers can help “restore” patients’ facial features.16
Some physicians have also commented on the changes they see among people who took Ozempic. In an article published in Allure, Julius Few, MD, a Chicago-based, board-certified plastic surgeon, says, “I have seen a number of patients for facelifts who are on Ozempic, and the way their tissue behaves is not the same. The skin has more of a doughy consistency.”
What’s more, Few comments that people in their 20s and 30s are now going beyond fillers — they’re also inquiring about procedures like facelifts, which are usually tailored for those over 50 years old.17
Ozempic’s Side Effects Can Be Alarming
But aside from the facial changes, Ozempic and other GLP-1 drugs can have other more disturbing side effects. A Woman’s World magazine article,18 for example, demonstrated the drastic weight loss that Sharon Osbourne underwent after taking Ozempic. The 70-year-old TV personality lost a whopping 42 pounds.
The change to her facial appearance is noticeable and has become one of the most startling examples of the Ozempic face. However, the article quotes an interview with Piers Morgan that Osbourne did back in September 2023, where she further shared her unpleasant experience after using the drug:20
“At first, I mean, you feel nauseous. You don’t throw up physically, but you’ve got that feeling. It was about two, three weeks where I felt nauseous the whole time. You get very thirsty and you don’t want to eat. That’s it.
You can’t stay on it forever. I lost 42 pounds now and it’s just enough. I didn’t actually want to go this thin, but it just happened, and I’ll probably put it all on again soon.”
Reality TV personality Scott Disick has also spoken up about his dramatic weight loss courtesy of Ozempic, and that he is “seeking help” to get off the drug after fans raised their concerns over his alarming transformation, including his gaunt face and sunken eyes. He has stopped taking the drug and is now working with a nutritionist to manage his weight.21
Others who have been prescribed GLP-1 agonist drugs to address other health issues have also spoken up about the nasty effects of Ozempic. In a Today article,23 hospital worker Jeannine DellaVecchia said she took the drug to “treat symptoms related to insulin resistance caused by congenital adrenal hyperplasia and polycystic ovary syndrome.”
Despite losing 30 pounds, she opted to stop using Ozempic because the side effects were “just too much.” Aside from the noticeable facial changes, DellaVecchia also struggled with appetite loss, nausea and vomiting.24
Using Weight Loss Drugs Can Have Disastrous Consequences on Your Gut Health
The problem with GLP-1 agonists is that if they cause food passage to slow too much, it can lead to health issues, particularly gastrointestinal disorders. One 2023 study26 noted that people who are taking GLP-1 agonists had an increased risk of pancreatitis, bowel obstruction and gastroparesis (stomach paralysis).
A study27 using data from Eudravigilance, Europe’s system for analyzing adverse reactions to medications, also found that aside from gastrointestinal concerns, metabolic, nutritional, eye, renal, urinary and cardiac disorders also occurred in people who took semaglutide.
One study notes28 the effects on the kidneys occur more often in people who also have adverse gastrointestinal disorders when taking the drug. And, as with DellaVecchia’s experience noted above, many people developed “cyclic-vomiting syndrome” — a condition where a person vomits multiple times in a day. According to a CNN article:29
“Emily Wright, 38, a teacher in Toronto, started taking Ozempic in 2018. Over a year, she said, she lost 80 pounds, which she’s been able to keep off. But Wright said she now vomits so frequently that she had to take a leave of absence from her job. ‘I’ve almost been off Ozempic for a year, but I’m still not back to my normal,’ Wright said.”
Instead of Ozempic, Increase Your GLP-1 Naturally With Akkermansia
Taking medications to lose weight is one way to endanger your health. Ozempic was designed as a long-term drug. In other words, to maintain your weight loss, you must stay on the drug. One study30 found that a year after stopping semaglutide, participants gained back two-thirds of the weight they lost — a condition called the “Ozempic rebound.”31
Instead of relying on GLP-1 agonists, consider colonizing your gut with Akkermansia muciniphila to boost your GLP-1 levels naturally. Akkermansia is a type of bacterium that naturally secretes a GLP-1-inducing protein, which raises systemic levels of GLP-1. Research32 confirms its ability to improve glucose homeostasis and ameliorate metabolic disease through this mechanism. According to the researchers:33
“A. muciniphila increases thermogenesis and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) secretion … by induction of uncoupling protein 1 in brown adipose tissue and systemic GLP-1 secretion … [An] 84 kDa protein, named P9 … is secreted by A. muciniphila. [We] show that purified P9 alone is sufficient to induce GLP-1 secretion …”
How to Restructure Your Microbiome
Akkermansia, highly beneficial bacteria in your large intestine, plays a crucial role in maintaining gut health and should constitute about 10% of the gut microbiome. However, it is absent in many individuals, likely due to inadequate mitochondrial function and resultant oxygen leakage in the gut.
Eating foods that support Akkermansia, such as polyphenol-rich fruit, and other beneficial bacteria, and avoiding foods like linoleic acid — found in vegetable and seed oils in most processed foods — that destroy these bacteria, will help to restructure your microbiome in a positive way. You can also use an Akkermansia probiotic supplement.
One of the reasons Akkermansia is so important is because it produces mucin, a thick, protective gel-like substance that lines various parts of the body, including the gastrointestinal tract. Mucin forms a protective barrier on the gut lining, shielding the epithelial cells of the intestinal wall from mechanical damage, chemical irritation from stomach acids and digestive enzymes, and pathogenic organisms like bacteria and viruses.
Mucin also supports the immune system by trapping potential pathogens and other foreign particles, which are then expelled from the body through the digestive process. It also contains antibodies and antimicrobial peptides that help fight off infections.
Lastly, mucin serves as a food source for other beneficial gut bacteria. This relationship is essential for digestive health, as the bacteria fed by Akkermansia aid in digestion, produce essential nutrients and help maintain an overall balance of gut flora.
Avoiding Linoleic Acid Can Help With Weight Management
The abundance of linoleic acid (LA) in our diet is another reason why many are struggling with obesity or are overweight. This omega-6 fat is found in seed oils like sunflower, soybean, rapeseed (canola), cottonseed, corn and safflower, and reducing your intake can help support a healthy weight.
Make sure to avoid all processed foods, as these also contain high amounts of LA, as well as grain-fed chicken and pork. Ideally, cut your LA consumption down to below 5 grams per day, which is close to what our ancestors used to get before chronic health conditions became widespread.
LA is found in nearly all ultraprocessed foods, fast foods and restaurant foods as well. This is why it’s best to prepare the majority of your food at home. For more information on linoleic acid, read my article “Linoleic Acid — The Most Destructive Ingredient in Your Diet.”
Why You Should Always Use Organic Red Onions
May 10, 2024 by admin
Filed under treatments
Editor’s Note: This article is a reprint. It was originally published June 26, 2017.
Have you ever sat in a restaurant and smelled the tantalizing sizzle of sautéed onions moving past to another table? You may wonder why you didn’t order the same thing, and resolve to get out some onions and other veggies for your next evening’s meal.
But did you know there’s a difference between all the onion varieties in the way they impact your health? Besides the fact that both red and white onions are a low-glycemic food,1 a study has determined that red onions are superior in many ways, one of the most important being the dramatic influence they had on study participants’ cancer risk.
It also turns out that, among five onion varieties, red onions kill between three and four times more cancer cells than the yellow and white ones.
The Canadian study,2 no doubt prompted at least in part because cancer is that country’s leading cause of death, noted that the high levels of flavonoids, specifically quercetin, myricetin and kaempferol, in the five onion types were shown to “exert potential anticancer activities.” Further:
“All onion varieties exhibited antiproliferative activity similar to purified flavonoids. The cytotoxic effects of the Stanley and Fortress onion varieties were strongest among the selected cultivars.”3
What other nutritional benefits do red onions have compared to white onions? Besides being milder, one advantage is antioxidant activity, which is one reason they have a greater ability to protect against cancer.
One study4 lists stomach, colorectal, oral, laryngeal, esophageal and ovarian cancers as being types the properties in red onions help reduce. In fact, stomach cancer risk was cut in half. While both red and white onions help to thin your blood, red onions are better at it due to their rich flavonoid presence.
One more bit of wisdom — the outside skins of onions contain the highest nutrients. If you should remove the two outermost layers, you’d also be removing 75% of the anthocyanin content, which you do not want to do. Scientists suggest eating at least one red onion per week to get the most nutritional benefit. There are numerous delicious ways to do this — cut them up in cold salads or toss them into your sautéed veggies.
More From the Canadian Onion Study
To test the capabilities of the different onion cultivars, the researchers utilized a newly developed technique to extract quercetin and other compounds, then placed them in direct contact with human colorectal cancer cells.
All five onion species were deemed “excellent” at exterminating the cells, according to co-author Suresh Neethirajan, Ph.D., associate professor at Dalhousie University. However, it was the Ruby Ring, a red onion variety, that contained the highest total phenolic content, natural compounds produced by plants.
The onions used in the study that had the highest concentrations of quercetin compared to other onion varieties from around the world happened to be grown in Ontario, but the authors of the study say it’s likely that the same findings would take place if the same type of red onions were grown elsewhere. Funding for the study came from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.
The scientists who used the quercetin-extraction technique, involving heated water in a pressurized container, say they hope their work will soon lead other scientists to use this or similar methods for quercetin extraction. Stressing that the technique did not utilize toxic solvents or chemicals like other methods use for this purpose, they also hope quercetin from red onions “will one day be added to a variety of fortified foods and even medicines.”
However, rather than waiting for that day, you can extract the same healing compounds by eating them whole. Studies like this one are helpful because, when you’re getting ready to make a large green salad with all the good greens and other veggies, you’ll know which type to put in your shopping cart, or better yet, which onion seeds or bulbs to plant in your garden.
Quercetin, Anthocyanins and Other Disease-Fighting Compounds
A plethora of studies have already determined that quercetin can help lower heart disease, diabetes, atherosclerosis and high blood pressure risks. It can also help reduce the rate at which cancer cells grow, particularly ovarian, prostate, endometrial, breast, colon and lung tumors. If you’re an onion lover, you’ll be happy to know that red onions provide 25% of the flavonols you need per day, according to a chart produced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).5
A study notes6 that onions contain about 25 different anthocyanins. This is the plant pigment that supports the onion’s free radical-scavenging activities. Free radicals are partial molecules responsible for inflammation leading to other health damaging conditions, as they steal electrons from many of your body’s proteins, damage your DNA and cause numerous aspects of other serious disease.
Anthocyanins are the compounds responsible for the dark red, purple and blue colors in fruits and vegetables. In fact, they are so powerful that many scientists recommend eating dark-hued vegetables — red cabbage, purple grapes, blackberries, kale, strawberries, blueberries and beets, for example — for this very reason; they contain more of this compound. As an article in Time explains:
“The researchers recently found that onions are effective at killing breast cancer cells, as well. They say that onions appear to disrupt communication between cancer cells and promote an unfavorable environment for their growth, encouraging them to die. The next step, they add, will be testing these theories in human trials.”7
Allicin is another compound found in members of the allium family, which includes onions, leeks, shallots, scallions and the herbs garlic and chives. When they’re cut or crushed, the allicin produced has also been found to be heart-protective, to lower blood pressure, and both prevent and treat cancer.
Organically Grown Onions: Are They More Nutritious?
In 2013, a huge group of studies — more than 200, actually — were scrutinized to see if organically grown foods had any more to offer compared to those produced conventionally. Many scientists ultimately concluded they were not. Others begged to differ.
Since then, further reviews have determined just the opposite. In the longest-running study ever on the issue, organic foods were found to contain more health-benefiting phytochemicals, and that flavonoid levels and antioxidant activity in organic onions are higher than in conventional onions. According to Science Daily:8
“The authors propose that the conflicting results from previous research on organic and conventional crops’ phytochemical content could be a function of short study periods and the exclusion of variables such as weather … Over the six-year study, measurements confirmed that weather could be a factor in flavonoid content, regardless of whether they were grown under organic conditions.”
Experts determined that flavonols from the Red Baron onion decreased in 2010 when temperatures were lowest, and increased in both 2011 and 2014 when the climate had both higher temperatures and lower moisture. Researchers reported that antioxidant activity was higher in Red Baron and Hyskin organic onion varieties, and the flavonols were as much as 20% higher in the organic veggies.
Naturally, it’s good to know what other nutritional benefits come from red onions. Heal With Food9 says that just half of a red onion has antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties that can help prevent several disorders and diseases, many of them related, such as:
- Prevention and control of intestinal polyp formation
- Inhibiting the rhinoviruses that cause the common cold
- Treating psoriasis
- Slowing the replication of such viruses as the herpes simplex virus that leads to cold sores
- Reducing the risk of stomach cancer by 50%
In Case You’re Looking for More
Chromium, a trace mineral, is yet another compound contained in onions that is able to control glucose levels, Heal With Food10 says.
“This is great news for those who suffer from insulin resistance as chromium is an essential for insulin activity in carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism. A lack of chromium-rich foods, such as onions, in diet may lead to insulin resistance and impaired blood sugar control and may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
Furthermore, there is some evidence suggesting that severe chromium deficiency may make weight loss more difficult or even cause weight gain.”
Fiber is a very important component to your diet, and onions don’t disappoint. While you need both soluble and insoluble fiber, and most foods provide both, red (or purple) onions contain more soluble than insoluble fiber. Week& has a good explanation for why it’s so important:
“Soluble fiber attracts fluid in your gut, creating a slow-moving gel. This slows digestion, which allows vitamins and minerals to absorb through intestinal walls. Insoluble fiber from the skins of onions sweeps out your gut like a broom and helps you have regular bowel movements.
According to the Colorado State University Extension, you need 14 grams of dietary fiber for every 1,000 calories you consume. Based on a 2,000-calorie diet, you need 28 grams of daily fiber. Purple onions offer about 1.5 grams per 1/2-cup raw serving.”11
Minimal heating keeps most of the healthy compounds in onions, but the more they’re heated, the more of the nutrition they lose. The George Mateljan Foundation,12 dedicated to the healthiest ways to cook and eat, says that sautéing or steaming onions, the most recommended methods, follow three basic guidelines from the annals of food science research in terms of retaining the most nutrients possible, and they’re very simple and straightforward:
- Minimal heat exposure
- Minimal cooking duration
- Minimal contact with cooking liquid
One more thing — vitamin C, another abundant nutrient in raw red onions, does several important jobs throughout your body. It helps wounds heal and allows for greater elasticity, helps to build collagen and has antioxidant capabilities that expand the free radical-fighting job done by flavonoids.
Women need 75 milligrams (mg) per day, but men require 90 mg a day. Luckily, it’s not a difficult task, no matter how you prepare your onions, as you get about 12 mg in a single half-cup serving.
A Healthy Lifestyle Can Add Years to Life, Despite ‘Bad’ Genes
May 9, 2024 by admin
Filed under treatments
May 9, 2024 – Were you born with family genes that predict a short life? Fear not; it turns out that having such genes is not a death knell but an opportunity.
In fact, new findings suggest that adopting and sticking to a combination of lifestyle changes may be one of the most important ways to defy these “bad” family genes.
The study, which was published in late April, looked at the combined effect of lifestyle and genetics on human lifespan based on the records of over 350,000 people of European ancestry who were followed for an average of 13 years.
After dividing the people in the study into three groups based on predicted lifespan (long, intermediate, and short), the researchers found that those who had a high genetic risk for short lifespans faced a 21% increased risk of early death, compared with those with low genetic risk, regardless of lifestyle. Moreover, people with lifestyle habits considered unhealthy had an increased risk of dying early by 78%. But following a healthy lifestyle appeared to change the genetic odds by as much as 62% and add 5.2 years to life.
“We identified an optimal lifestyle combination of four lifestyle factors that offered better benefits for prolonging human lifespan: no current smoking, regular physical activity, adequate sleep duration, and a healthy diet,” said Xue Li, PhD, a study co-author and professor of big data and health science at the Zhejiang University School of Medicine in Hangzhou, China. “Our advice is to focus on building and sticking to healthy habits, no matter what your genes say.”
The Early Bird Gets the Worm
For the study, the researchers used an index called the polygenic risk score (PRS) to arrive at a person’s overall genetic tendency to have a short or long life. The score combines multiple changes in DNA (known as variants) that influence life expectancy. Li said using this tool with screening and genetic counseling might help people make informed decisions about their health.
But it might be difficult to mimic this approach; not only is the PRS not part of routine clinical practice, but genetic counseling is also not routinely offered. And testing through private companies can be costly. But take heart; there’s still a lot of steps you can take.
“There’s an enormous amount of literature that has looked at lifestyle and longevity and genes and longevity,” said Pam Factor-Litvak, PhD, a professor of epidemiology at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health in New York City. She said that gene expression can be changed by environmental factors (for example, smoking or diet). Factor-Litvak also explained that markers of healthy aging called telomeres (DNA and protein structure responsible for cell division) are also impacted by lifestyle factors. A healthy lifestyle lengthens telomeres and prolongs a cell’s life and ability to divide, and an unhealthy one shortens them, causing the cells to die and tissues to age.
“The earlier you start a healthy lifestyle, the better off you are,” she said.
To Factor-Litvak’s point, the cutoff used in the study was 40 years, with findings showing that people with good lifespan genes and healthy lifestyle habits had an average gain of 6.69 years of life expectancy, compared with people with bad lifespan genes and unfavorable lifestyle habits.
But older adults can still benefit; like dominoes, the effects of lifestyle changes add up.
William Samuel Yancy Jr., MD, an internist and medical director of the Duke Lifestyle and Weight Management Center in Durham, NC, said that he treats a lot of people in their 70s and 80s who start to feel better and become stronger when they add one of the four lifestyle factors cited in the research: healthy eating.
“They’re more energetic, get stronger, and are less likely to get injured or have falls; you get pretty immediate benefits,” he said. “And obviously, there are some long-term benefits over the following years, depending what kind of changes they make.”
Yancy also said that as people age, they are able to make their health a priority, which helps them stick to healthier lifestyles.
Selvi Rajagopal, MD, MPH, an assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and an obesity medicine specialist in Baltimore, said she’s also had older patients who’ve benefited from lifestyle changes, especially when it comes to strength and resistance training. “We know that falls are one of the major risk factors for early mortality,” she said.
Bad Behaviors Go Together
One bad habit tends to lead to another, which leads to another, and so on.
“That’s one reason why the combination of the big four – smoking, physical activity, sleep, and healthy diet – is bigger than the individual effects,” said Factor-Litvak.
The study authors referred to those for habits as “the optimal lifestyle combination.”
Notably, these big four were also shown to convey better benefits for a longer lifespan than other combinations, according to the study results. But just as bad behaviors go together, so do healthy ones.
“Typically, when people lose 10% to 15% of their initial body weight, they start to experience significant improvements in their mobility and joint function. And so, they feel more inclined to engage in higher levels of physical activity, where there’s a really positive cascade effect,” Rajagopal said.
The challenge is that few people are able to stick with a composite healthy lifestyle like the one tested in the study. “My recollection is that about 25% of people are doing all of these healthy lifestyle practices simultaneously,” said Yancy. Toward that end, there may be something to be gained by starting small.
“It’s unrealistic and unsustainable for someone in the modern age with lots of life commitments and stressors to do all of the things right. Instead, start with a few small, meaningful, actionable items that you can do. Then make it part of who you are (it usually takes 8 to 10 weeks to form a habit),” said Rajagopal.
Then? “Once you’ve nailed it, make a checkbox for the next thing, and have an accountability partner who can walk this journey with you,” she said.
How Hugs Heal – Have You Had a Hug Today?
May 9, 2024 by admin
Filed under treatments
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Disclaimer: The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of Dr. Mercola, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Mercola and his community. Dr. Mercola encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your health care professional before using products based on this content.
If you want to use an article on your site please click here. This content may be copied in full, with copyright, contact, creation and information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Dr. Mercola is required.
Key Strategies to Reduce Your Cortisol Levels
May 9, 2024 by admin
Filed under treatments
Mercola proudly supports these charities and organizations. View All
Disclaimer: The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of Dr. Mercola, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Mercola and his community. Dr. Mercola encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your health care professional before using products based on this content.
If you want to use an article on your site please click here. This content may be copied in full, with copyright, contact, creation and information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Dr. Mercola is required.
Nanoplastics Linked to Heart Attacks and Stroke
May 9, 2024 by admin
Filed under treatments
Nanoplastics — particles less than 1 micrometer in size, or 1,000th the average width of a human hair — have emerged as a significant environmental concern due to their widespread prevalence and potential health hazards to humans and wildlife alike. These microscopic fragments result from the degradation of larger plastic debris and can also be manufactured directly for various applications.
Nanoplastics have become ubiquitous in ecosystems around the world, from urban waterways to remote oceanic and terrestrial environments. Their pervasive presence is attributed to the widespread use and disposal of plastic materials globally.
Environmental Hazards
Nanoplastics pose several environmental hazards, including:
- Biodiversity loss — Nanoplastics can harm aquatic and terrestrial organisms, leading to reduced biodiversity. They have been found to cause physical and chemical stress in marine life, affecting growth, reproduction, and survival rates.
- Ecosystem disruption — Their presence in water bodies and soil can alter the chemical composition and physical properties of these environments, disrupting ecosystems’ balance.
- Food chain contamination — Nanoplastics can accumulate in the food chain, potentially leading to higher concentrations in top predators, including humans.
Microplastics Found in Food, Including Infant Formula
The environmental contamination is so severe, many foods now contain them, including chicken, pork, seafood, beef and plant-based meat alternatives, whether processed, minimally processed or unprocessed.1 The more processing a food has undergone, however, the more plastic it contains.
Researchers estimate that Americans consume up to 3.8 million pieces of micro- and nanoplastics per year from protein alone.2 The reason for this is because meats are packaged in plastic.
Recent research has also confirmed the presence of microplastics in all samples of infant formula tested (30 in all).3 The most frequently identified plastics were polyamide, polyethylene, polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate. According to the authors, children fed exclusively infant formula likely consume an average of 49 microplastic particles per day.
Nanoplastics Linked to Heart Attacks and Stroke
The potential health impacts of micro- and nanoplastics on humans have long been debated, but a recent study4 published in the New England Journal of Medicine marks a significant step in understanding the health implications of microplastic and nanoplastic exposure.
Microplastics and nanoplastics, defined by their minuscule size, can migrate through body tissues, potentially causing oxidative stress, tissue damage and inflammation.
The study in question analyzed tissue from 257 individuals undergoing carotid endarterectomy to identify plastics in arterial plaques, revealing the presence of polyethylene (associated with asthma, hormone disruption, reproductive issues and dermatitis5) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC, linked to liver and reproductive damage6), among others. As reported by the authors:7
“Polyethylene was detected in carotid artery plaque of 150 patients (58.4%), with a mean level of 21.7±24.5 μg per milligram of plaque; 31 patients (12.1%) also had measurable amounts of polyvinyl chloride, with a mean level of 5.2±2.4 μg per milligram of plaque.
Electron microscopy revealed visible, jagged-edged foreign particles among plaque macrophages and scattered in the external debris. Radiographic examination showed that some of these particles included chlorine.”
Disturbingly, individuals with microplastics or nanoplastics in their carotid artery tissues were found to have fourfold higher risk of suffering a cardiovascular event such as heart attack or stroke over the next three years compared to those without such plastics. They were also more likely to die from any cause. As reported by the authors:
“Patients in whom MNPs [microplastics and nanoplastics] were detected within the atheroma were at higher risk for a primary end-point event than those in whom these substances were not detected (hazard ratio, 4.53).”
A hazard ratio (HR) of 4.53 means that people with microplastics in their arteries have a 353% higher risk of suffering a potentially lethal cardiac event than those without microplastics.
Should Microplastic Exposure Be Considered a Cardiovascular Risk Factor?
Lead author Raffaele Marfella emphasized the need for further research to confirm these findings,8 although the study already suggests a strong association between plastics and cardiovascular events in people with atherosclerosis.
The study’s implications are significant, according to pediatrician Dr. Philip Landrigan, who stressed the importance of addressing the potential cardiovascular risks posed by microplastics and nanoplastics in an accompanying editorial:9,10
“Although we do not know what other exposures may have contributed to the adverse outcomes among patients in this study, the finding of microplastics and nanoplastics in plaque tissue is itself a breakthrough discovery that raises a series of urgent questions.
Should exposure to microplastics and nanoplastics be considered a cardiovascular risk factor? What organs in addition to the heart may be at risk? How can we reduce exposure?”
Nanoplastics Pose Severe Hazards for Animals and Humans
CNN, which reported the findings, also highlighted research linking nanoplastics and microplastics to other potential harms, such as:11
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Chronic inflammation — The presence of microplastics and nanoplastics in arterial plaques was linked to increased inflammation. Chronic inflammation, in turn, is a hallmark of most chronic diseases, not just cardiovascular disease, suggesting that plastic exposure could exacerbate or increase susceptibility to a wide variety of conditions. |
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Dysfunction of cells, organs and endocrine system — Nanoplastics, due to their small size, can migrate through tissues of the digestive tract or lungs into the bloodstream, invading individual cells and tissues in major organs. This can potentially interrupt cellular processes and deposit endocrine-disrupting chemicals, affecting the body’s normal functions. |
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Oxidative stress and tissue damage — Studies in animals have shown that exposure to micro- and nanoplastics may cause oxidative stress, tissue damage, and inflammation in cells. These effects could lead to various health issues, depending on the extent and duration of exposure. |
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Impaired cardiac function — Animal studies have also indicated that micro- and nanoplastics can alter heart rate and impede cardiac function, posing additional risks to cardiovascular health. |
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Risks to fetuses and young infants — Research in pregnant mice has found plastic chemicals in the brain, heart, liver, kidney, and lungs of the developing fetus within 24 hours after the mother ingested or inhaled plastic particles. This suggests that plastics can cross the placental barrier, potentially affecting fetal development. Previous studies have also found microplastics in the human placenta12 and human breast milk13 — clear evidence that a mother’s plastic exposure can be directly transferred to her child both before and after birth. |
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Microbiome alterations — Studies have also found that microplastics can alter the makeup of microbial communities, reducing diversity14 and increasing the exchange of antibiotic-resistant and metal-resistant genes.15 |
Progesterone Counteracts Xenoestrogen Exposure From Plastics
In the featured video at the top of this article, best-selling author and high-performance coach Siim Land reviews the research linking arterial nanoplastics to a near-fourfold higher risk of cardiovascular events.
As noted by Land, microplastics contain xenoestrogens, which have been linked to obesity, infertility, cancer and more. Indeed, estrogen is a known carcinogen,16 and plastics is perhaps one of the most ubiquitous sources of estrogen for men and women alike.
Estrogen is also antimetabolic and radically reduces the ability of your mitochondria to create cellular energy in a form of ATP by depending on aerobic glycolysis (the Warburg effect) which radically impairs oxidative phosphorylation.
To counteract the hazards of this estrogenic exposure you can use progesterone, which is a natural estrogen antagonist. Progesterone is one of only four hormones I believe many adults can benefit from. (The other three are thyroid hormone T3, DHEA and pregnenolone.)
As a general recommendation, most adult males and non-menstruating adult women would benefit from taking 25 to 50 mg of bioidentical progesterone per a day, taken in the evening one hour before bed, as it can also promote sleep. For optimal bioavailability, progesterone needs to be mixed into natural vitamin E. The difference in bioavailability between taking progesterone orally without vitamin E and taking it with vitamin E is 45 minutes versus 48 hours.
Pre-menopausal women can also take progesterone but it is the last half of their cycle, approximately 14 days after the last day of their period and stopping when period returns. Another good reason for taking progesterone with vitamin E is because it binds to red blood cells, which allows the progesterone to be carried throughout your body and be distributed to where it’s needed the most.
Simply Progesterone by Health Natura is premixed with vitamin E and MCT oil. You can also make your own by dissolving pure USP progesterone powder into one capsule of a high-quality vitamin E, and then rub the mixture on your gums. Fifty milligrams of powdered progesterone is about 1/32 teaspoon.
Do not use synthetic vitamin E (alpha tocopherol acetate — the acetate indicates that it’s synthetic). Natural vitamin E will be labeled “d alpha tocopherol.” This is the pure D isomer, which is what your body can use. There are also other vitamin E isomers, and you want the complete spectrum of tocopherols and tocotrienols, specifically the beta, gamma, and delta types, in the effective D isomer.
I do not recommend transdermal progesterone, as your skin expresses high levels of 5-alpha reductase enzyme, which causes a significant portion of the progesterone you’re taking to be irreversibly converted primarily into allopregnanolone and cannot be converted back into progesterone.
Preventing Exposure Is Key
Of course, prevention — minimizing your exposure — really needs to be your first line of defense against microplastics. While that sounds easy enough, it can be tricky business, for the simple reason that micro- and nanoplastics are all around us, in our food, water, household dust, clothing, household and personal care items and even the air we breathe.
That said, making a concerted effort to rid your household of plastic can go a long way toward minimizing your and your children’s exposure. Here are a few pointers to get you started:
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Filter your tap water and avoid water bottled in plastic — If you need to buy bottled water, opt for glass bottles. Also make sure the filter you use to purify your tap water can filter out microplastics. |
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Boil hard tap water — If you have hard tap water, consider boiling it before using it for cooking or drinking, as hard water traps more microplastics. Recent research shows boiling hard tap water for five minutes removes up to 90% of the microplastics in the water.17 |
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Choose alternatives to plastic packaging — Opt for products packaged in glass, metal, or paper instead of plastic. This can significantly reduce the amount of plastic waste that potentially breaks down into microplastics. At home, use wax paper, parchment paper or paper bags to store foods rather than plastic wrap. |
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Use reusable containers — Replace single-use plastic bottles, cups, and containers with reusable alternatives made from safer materials like stainless steel or glass. |
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Never microwave plastics — Heat can cause plastics to leach chemicals into food. Use glass or ceramic containers for microwaving. |
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Avoid plastic cutting boards — Opt for wood or glass cutting boards instead. |
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Opt for natural fibers — Whenever possible, choose clothing and other textile products made from natural fibers like cotton, wool and linen, as synthetic fabrics such as polyester shed microfibers and leach xenoestrogens. |
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Wash synthetic clothes less frequently — When washing synthetic textiles, use a microfiber filter in your washing machine to trap synthetic fibers and prevent them from entering the water system. |
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Opt for food grade cosmetics and personal care products — Some cosmetics, toothpastes, and personal care products contain microbeads or other plastic particles. Look for products free of these materials. Ideally, opt for all-natural, food grade products. |
How to Detox Microplastics
Even if you’re diligent about avoiding plastics, some exposure will likely remain, so detoxing is another important strategy. Land cites research showing that blood donation can lower the levels of certain plastic chemicals in your blood, such as PFAS. If your iron levels are high, getting regular phlebotomy would help you kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, as blood donation is also the only way to lower your iron level.
One of the most effective ways to excrete microplastics from your tissues though is through sweating. I recommend using a near-infrared sauna with low EMFs for this purpose, as the near-infrared rays can penetrate far deeper into your body than far-infrared.
Other benefits of sauna use include improved cardiovascular fitness and reduced all-cause mortality, lower blood pressure, reduced dementia risk, improved mental health, strengthened immune function, improved athletic endurance, reduced inflammation, stem cell activation, improved insulin sensitivity and a reduction in stress hormones.
General Guidance for Sauna Use
Classical Finnish saunas are typically heated to 170 degrees F. or higher. An infrared sauna will rarely get that high, however, which means you may need to stay in a bit longer to get a good sweat. A benefit of SaunaSpace’s near- and mid-infrared bulbs is that you’re heating up from deeper within, so the air temperature doesn’t need to be as high as a traditional sauna for you to sweat.
As a general recommendation, stay in the sauna for 20 to 30 minutes, or until you reach subjective fatigue, which is a sign that you’ve maxed out the benefits you’re going to get. It’s not about reaching a point of suffering — just that point where you’re feeling mildly anxious and tired and want to get out.
As for the frequency, research has consistently shown that it’s dose-dependent, so the more often you do it, the greater the benefits. The sweet spot seems to be right around four times a week, because you’ll also be losing minerals along with toxins. So, you need to rehydrate and replenish those minerals to avoid mineral deficiencies.
For more details, including how to build your own near-infrared sauna, see “Near-Infrared Sauna Therapy — A Key Biohack for Health.”
