How The FDA Can Let Potentially Dangerous Chemicals Into Your Food
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If you’ve been paying attention to the news, you might have noticed the FDA being more than a bit beleaguered this year, for example:
After The Recent Wave Of Food Recalls…
So, it’s not the all-powerful regulatory titan it was once popularly considered, and its resources are getting thinner.
This is part of why we are seeing such stories as: Is Your Medication Made in a Contaminated Factory? The FDA Won’t Tell You.
So, what’s going on with food ingredients?
Hear no, see no, speak no…
The crux of this comes in two parts:
- Companies rely on the “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) labelling system, created in the 1950s, which allows ingredients considered obviously safe (such as salt or vinegar) to be used without formal FDA review.
- Manufacturers can declare their own ingredients safe without notifying the FDA, meaning regulators may never examine the scientific evidence behind some additives.
So in other words, there are a lot of cases where FDA didn’t find a problem with the ingredients because they simply didn’t look!
You may be wondering whether this is more of an issue for obscure brands, but as it turns out substances lacking FDA review appear in foods from brands sold at retailers such as Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods.
So, how much of an issue is this?
It can vary wildly. For example, food products containing tara flour, previously treated as GRAS, were linked to more than 300 illnesses and 113 hospitalizations over the course of a year.
And there are a lot of mysteries, for example, a review of US regulatory records by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found 111 food substances used in common products that were never reviewed for safety by the FDA.
Of those, cross-referencing with the USDA FoodData Central database (that’s what we use for our “This or That” comparisons, by the way, we pull the numbers from that database), found that 49 of those 111 substances had not even been reported to regulators. That is to say, they went a level lower than liberally self-certifying as safe, and just went with a “what they don’t know can’t hurt them” approach, and just proceeded as if they weren’t putting them in their foods.
Sometimes, the ingredient itself is not the problem, ontologically. Rather, it’s what’s happened to it along the way!
For example the EWG report identified 22 plant extracts—themselves perfectly innocuous and even healthful things such as green tea, mushroom, cinnamon, cocoa, and aloe vera—whose extraction processes can alter their chemistry and can introduce solvents or toxins.
So it matters not just what the thing is, but also how it got to be there.
You can read about this from the EWG itself, here: Secret GRAS: How 100+ food chemicals bypassed government safety review
And for background context: Almost all new food chemicals greenlighted by industry, not the FDA ← this is from last year
Want to keep yourself safe?
Or for a much deeper dive into the broader topic of avoiding the toxins the industrial world is keen to throw our way, you might like this book that we reviewed a little while back:
Healthy Living in a Contaminated World – by Dr. Donald Hoernschemeyer
You might also consider this simpler, practical guide: Unprocess Your Life – by Rob Hobson
Take care!
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A Surprisingly Accessible Treatment For Migraines
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…and other items from this week’s health news:
Cannabis’s very good stats for migraine relief
Migraine attacks are thought by many people to be “just a bad headache”, but in fact, there’s a lot more to it than that, and they’re also famously resistant to a lot of usual headache-relief medications and other remedies.
So, what’s new? Researchers (Dr. Dawn Buse et al.) tested cannabis vs placebo for the treatment of migraine, and got great results:
How it worked: 92 participants used vaporized cannabis containing 6% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and 11% cannabidiol (CBD), which are considdered relatively low potencies.
And the results?
- 67% of participants experienced a reduction in migraine pain within two hours of treatment
- 35% of participants became completely pain-free after treatment
These benefits lasted for up to 48 hours across 247 treated migraine attacks, and in terms of safety, no serious adverse events were reported during the study.
Read in full: Cannabis shows anti-migraine benefits
Related: Migraine: When Headaches Are The Tip Of The Neurological Iceberg
Alcohol use disorder: what are the key factors affecting relapse?
Long-term relapse in alcohol use disorder was most strongly linked to a gradual reduction in recovery focus or vigilance, making it the most prevalent and potent risk factor. As for what this looked like, it often involved deprioritizing recovery-related attitudes and routines, alongside disengagement from mutual-help groups and other recovery supports.
In other words, rather than a sudden failure as such relapses are generally assumed to be, it was usually more of a slow erosion of commitment to ongoing recovery maintenance.
That, perhaps, explains why psychological and social factors also play a major role, particularly worsening mental health symptoms, loneliness, social isolation, and increased exposure to alcohol-related environments, generally increasing in the year leading up to relapse:
Read in full: Key risk factors identified for long-term relapse in alcohol use disorder
Related: Which Addiction-Quitting Methods Work Best?
Not “basically just steam” after all
Vapes have enjoyed a (so far, it seems, well-earned) reputation of being less harmful than cigarettes. One of the ways in which they are considered less bad healthwise is when it comes to passive consumption, i.e., second-hand smoke/vapour. In the case of smoke, it’s smoke, and whatever else is in it, everyone knows smoke is bad to inhale, right? Whereas vapour… Steam inhalation is good for the health, no?
And in this case: no
As it turns out, secondhand vape plumes can contain ultrafine particles loaded with metals and reactive peroxides that interact to form lung-damaging free radicals. Additionally, volatile organic compounds in vape vapor can react with indoor ozone to form peroxides, which then interact with metals to generate reactive radicals.
It gets worse: because ultrafine particles can penetrate deep into your lungs and reach fluid-lined alveoli, they may damage lung tissue and impair lower respiratory function. And, paradoxically, ultrafine particles carry higher proportions of metals and peroxides than larger particles.
Read in full: Secondhand vape plumes could form lung-damaging radicals
Related: Vaping: A Lot Of Hot Air?
Take care!
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Cherries vs Figs – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing cherries to figs, we picked the figs.
Why?
Both have their merits! But…
In terms of macros, figs have 50% more carbs and about 2x the fiber, making for an overall win in this category.
In the category of vitamins, cherries have more of vitamins A, B9, and C, while figs have more of vitamins B1, B2, B5, B6, E, and K, winning a second round for figs.
Looking at minerals next, cherries have more copper and phosphorus, while figs have more calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, selenium, and zinc, winning figs’ third round in a row.
In other considerations, cherries are much higher in polyphenols and have a number of additional beneficial properties (see the “learn more” section below for details), so cherries win a round finally.
Adding up the sections nevertheless makes for a clear overall win for figs, but by all means do enjoy either or both, as diversity is good!
Want to learn more?
You might like:
Cherries’ Very Healthy Wealth Of Benefits!
Enjoy!
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Wouldn’t It Be Nice To Have Regenerative Superpowers?
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The Best-Laid Schemes of Mice and Medical Researchers…
This is Dr. Ellen Heber-Katz. She’s an internationally-renowned immunologist and regeneration biologist, but her perhaps greatest discovery was accidental.
Unlike in Robert Burns’ famous poem, this one has a happy ending!
But it did involve the best-laid schemes of mice and medical researchers, and how they did indeed “gang gagly“ (or in the English translation, “go awry”).
How it started…
Back in 1995, she was conducting autoimmune research, and doing a mouse study. Her post-doc assistant was assigned to punch holes in the ears of mice that had received an experimental treatment, to distinguish them from the control group.
However, when the mice were later checked, none of them had holes (nor even any indication there ever had been holes punched)—the experiment was ruined, though the post-doc swore she did her job correctly.
So, they had to start from scratch in the new year, but again, a second batch of mice repeated the trick. No holes, no wounds, no scarring, not disruption to their fur, no damage to the cartilage that had been punched through.
In a turn of events worthy of a superhero origin story, they discovered that their laboratory-made autoimmune disease had accidentally given the mice super-healing powers of regeneration.
In the animal kingdom, this is akin to a salamander growing a new tail, but it’s not something usually found in mammals.
Read: A New Murine Model for Mammalian Wound Repair and Regeneration
How it’s going…
Dr. Heber-Katz and colleagues took another 20 years of work to isolate hypoxia-inducible factor-1a (HIF-1a) as a critical molecule that, if blocked, would eliminate the regenerative response.
Further, a drug (which they went on to patent), 1,4-dihydrophenonthrolin-4-one-3-carboxylic acid (1,4-DPCA), chemically induced this regenerative power:
See: Drug-induced regeneration in adult mice
Another 5 years later, they found that this same drug can be used to stimulate the regrowth of bones, too:
And now…
The research is continuing. Here’s the latest, a little over a month ago:
Epithelial–mesenchymal transition: an organizing principle of mammalian regeneration
Regrowing nerves has also been added into the list of things the drug can do.
What about humans?
Superpowered mice are all very well and good, but when can we expect this in humans?
The next step is testing the drug in larger animals, which she hopes to do next year, followed eventually by studies in humans.
Read the latest:
Regrowing nerves and healing without scars? A scientist’s career-long quest comes closer to fruition
Very promising!
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Unbroken – by Dr. MaryCatherine McDonald
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We’ve reviewed books about trauma before, so what makes this one different? Mostly, it’s the different framing.
Dr. McDonald advocates for a neurobiological understanding of trauma, which really levels the playing field when it comes to different types of trauma that are often treated very differently, when the end result in the brain is more or less the same.
Does this mean she proposes a “one-size fits all” approach? Kind of!
Insofar as she offers a one-size fits all approach that is then personalized by the user, but most of her advices will go for most kinds of trauma in any case. This is particularly useful for any of us who’ve ever hit a wall with therapists when they expect a person to only be carrying one major trauma.
Instead, with Dr. McDonald’s approach, we can take her methods and use them for each one.
After an introduction and overview, each chapter contains a different set of relevant psychological science explored through a case study, and then at the end of the chapter, tools to use and try out.
The style is very light and readable, notwithstanding the weighty subject matter.
Bottom line: if you’ve been trying to deal with (or avoid dealing with) some kind(s) of trauma, this book will doubtlessly contain at least a few new tools for you. It did for this reviewer, who reads a lot!
Click here to check out Unbroken, because it’s never too late to heal!
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The Smartest Way To Get To 20% Body Fat (Or 10% For Men)
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20% body fat for women, or 10% for men, are suggested in this video as ideal levels of adiposity for most people. While we certainly do have wiggle-room in either direction, going much higher than that can create a metabolic strain, and going much lower than that can cause immune dysfunction, organ damage, brittle bones, and more.
This video assumes you want to get down to those figures. If you want to go up to those figures because you are currently underweight, check out: How To Gain Weight (Healthily!)
Look at the small picture
The main trick, we are told, is to focus on small, incremental changes rather than obsessing over long-term weight loss goals (e.g. 20% body fat for women, 10% for men).
Next, throw out what science shows doesn’t work, such as restrictive or extreme dieting:
- Restrictive dieting doesn’t work as the body will try to save you from starvation by storing extra fat and slowing your metabolism to make your fat reserves last longer
- Extreme dieting doesn’t work because no matter how compelling it is to believe “I’ll just lose it in this extreme way, then maintain my new lower weight”, the vast body of research shows that weight loss in this way will be regained quickly afterwards, and for a significant minority, may even end up putting more back on than was originally lost. In either case, you’ll have put your mind and body through the wringer for no long-term gain.
The recommendation comes in three parts:
- Shift your mindset: detach motivation from timelines and vanity goals; focus instead on lifelong health and sustainable habits.
- Use an analytical approach: apply engineering principles: collect honest data and identify bottlenecks. Track food intake consistently, even during slip-ups, to identify areas for improvement. You remember the whole “it doesn’t count if it’s from someone else’s plate” thing? These days with food trackers, a lot of people fall into “it doesn’t count if I don’t record it”, but a head-in-the-sand approach will not get you where you want to be.
- Tackle bottlenecks incrementally: focus on one small, impactful change at a time (e.g. reducing soda intake). This way, you can build habits gradually to prevent willpower burnout and sustain your progress.
As an example of how this looked for Viva (in the video):
- > 30% body fat stage: she focused on reducing processed foods and portion sizes.
- 29–25% body fat stage: she prioritized nutrient-dense foods and reduced dining out.
- 24–20% body fat stage: she added strength training, improved sleep, and addressed her cravings and energy levels.
In short: look at the small picture; adjust your habits mindfully, keep a track of things, see what needs improvement and improve it, and don’t try to speedrun weight loss; just focus on what you are tangibly doing to keep things heading in the right direction, and you’ll get there 1% at a time.
For more on all of this, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like to read:
Lose Weight, But Healthily ← our own guide, which is also consistent with the advice above, and talks about some specific things to pay attention to that weren’t mentioned in the video
Take care!
Don’t Forget…
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5 Self-Care Trends That Are Actually Ruining Your Mental Health
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Ok, some of these are trends; some are more perennial to human nature. For example, while asceticism is not a new idea, the “dopamine detox” is, and “bed rotting” is not a trend that this writer has seen recommended anywhere, but on the other hand, there are medieval illustrations of it—there was no Netflix in sight in the medieval illustrations, but perhaps a label diagnosing it as “melancholy”, for example.
So without further ado, here are five things to not do…
Don’t fall into these traps
The 5 things to watch out for are:
- Toxic positivity: constantly promoting positivity regardless of the reality of a situation can shame or invalidate genuine emotions, preventing people from processing their real feelings and leading to negative mental health outcomes—especially if it involves a “head in sand” approach to external problems as well as internal ones (because then those problems will never actually get dealt with).
- Self-indulgence: excessive focus on personal desires can make you more self-centered, less disciplined, and ultimately dissatisfied, which hinders personal growth and mental wellness.
- Bed rotting: spending prolonged time in bed for relaxation or entertainment can decrease motivation, productivity, and lead to (or worsen) depression rather than promoting genuine rest and rejuvenation.
- Dopamine detox: abstaining from pleasurable activities to “reset” the brain simply does not work and can lead to loneliness, boredom, and worsen mental health, especially when done excessively.
- Over-reliance on self-help: consuming too much self-help content or relying on material possessions for well-being can lead to information overload, unrealistic expectations, and the constant need for self-fixing, rather than fostering self-acceptance and authentic growth. Useful self-help can be like taking your car in for maintenance—counterproductive self-help is more like having your car always in for maintenance and never actually on the road.
For more on all of these, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like to read, and yes these are pretty much one-for-one with the 5 items above, doing a deeper dive into each in turn,
- How To Get Your Brain On A More Positive Track (Without Toxic Positivity)
- Self-Care That’s Not Just Self-Indulgence
- The Mental Health First-Aid That You’ll Hopefully Never Need
- The Dopamine Myth
- Behavioral Activation Against Depression & Anxiety
Take care!
Don’t Forget…
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