From eNewsletter 7/31/2023
DID YOU KNOW the World Health Organization just deemed the artificial sweetener aspartame (Nutrasweet and Equal brands), which is used in thousands of products like Diet Coke, a possible carcinogen (cancer-causing substance)?
When it was leaked a few weeks ago that the WHO was going to deem aspartame a carcinogen, they backed down from industry pressure and deemed it a "possible carcinogen if consumed in extreme amounts". The FDA disagrees with the WHO and says aspartame is safe. Don't buy it. It is a carcinogen plain and simple.
A study from this month's Advances in Nutrition links artificially sweetened beverages with higher risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, all-cause mortality, hypertension, cancer, and cardiovascular disease incidence.
Let this be a reminder that the only non-caloric sweeteners we support are organic stevia (no added ingredients) and organic monk fruit extract.
Regarding all beverages, a study from Frontiers in Nutrition found that intakes of sugar-sweetened and artificially-sweetened beverages were significantly associated with risk of hypertension, stroke, and all-cause mortality. Moreover, even fruit juice intake was linked to higher risk of type 2 diabetes.
Thus, the best beverage choice for your wellbeing is filtered water. And there are many creative ways to make it more palatable.
NOTE: Today is a special issue dedicated to autoimmune disorders.
 
Announcements
Services Update
Double Sale Ends Today!
Today is the last day to get both July and August sale items. See website shop for details.
Steve Minsky MS, HWC
As a Health and Wellness Counselor, Steve analyzes and offer solutions to optimize human functioning not only with food, but every aspect of your lifestyle, whether for prevention or healing. More info on Steve's services.
Text Us If It Is Convenient at (847) 497-0902
Text is quickest way to get communicate with us. Type (847) 497-0902. Questions for Bonnie do not apply.
Pet Wellness
Our dietary supplement line for dogs and cats, ThorneVet, has an impeccable reputation among veterinarians. Carolyn Martinelli "Coach Care" can answer your questions about ThorneVet pet supplements at nutroconpet@gmail.com. Please leave detailed contact information as well as the name, age, sex, breed, and/or health issue(s) and med(s) of your pet so Carolyn can respond accordingly. To order from our wellness shop, please visit here (for prices, enter the Guest Area password: discount2018).
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Upcoming Wellness Screenings
Food Intolerance Blood Draw
Options to set up a Biotrition food intolerance test blood draw. By appointment only:
One Saturday per month at Biotrition in Glenview - next date September 9th
MON-FRI 9AM-3PM at NICL Labs in Northbrook
Text, email, or call us to set up your appointment.
Infection Section
Prevention
Year-round infection is the new normal. We are exposed to many endemic viruses including SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), influenza (flu), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), norovirus (stomach flu), adenovirus (common cold), monkeypox, and four other coronaviruses (common cold), among others. Support your immune system with our Free Prevent and Fight Viruses 2.0 Protocol here.
Have a happy, healthy day! Steve and Bonnie Minsky
 
In Today's Issue
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Autoimmune Disease Toll
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Autoimmune Disease Toll
Steve: Approximately 1 in 10 people, more women than men, are now suffering from a diagnosed autoimmune condition, according to research compiled over 10 years and published in the May issue of The Lancet.
As staggering as this statistic may be, it excludes those that have been impacted by the COVID pandemic, which experts now approximate that 6 in 10 may have a diagnosed autoimmune condition.
To date, there are 100 officially recognized autoimmune disorders, the newest being Post-Acute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 Infection (long COVID). For many, the groundwork is laid early in life.
For example, adverse childhood experiences, lack of exercise, and malnutrition and/or poor dietary habits each contribute to the risk of autoimmune disease as adults. As adults, social isolation, socioeconomic and political adversity, food and housing insecurity, sleep disturbances, continued malnutrition and/or poor dietary habits, increasingly sedentary lifestyles, and greater separation from healthy ecosystems, forests, and soils, each add to the fragility of health.
It is not just the absolute numbers of those with chronic illness that are growing. The fraction of people affected is increasing. Despite advances in medicine, we are becoming sicker because we refuse to work on the fundamentals for preventing autoimmune disease.
The health care costs associated with the rising tide of chronic disease, much of it autoimmune related, are staggering. Even before the COVID pandemic, the annual health care cost of chronic illness in the US was $3.4 trillion, which was 90% of the total health care budget in 2019. In 2022, the cost was $4.1 trillion and is predicted to reach $5.5 trillion by 2025. If the current trends continue, the cost of caring for chronic illness in the US will reach 20% of the US gross domestic product within the next five years.
Growing concern for the epidemic of chronic disease in the US prompted the creation of a National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion in 2021. We would hope the majority of the budget would be earmarked for prevention as much as cures, but we have yet to see it. We would also hope that they would have come up with simple, targeted, economical treatment protocols. We have yet to see this also.
For example, keeping vitamin D levels in range lowers risk for developing autoimmune disorders, as well as improve symptoms for those who already have them, as reported in a new study from Medrxiv.
Moreover, when it comes to fatigue-related autoimmune disease like myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome, an NIH funded study appearing in Cell Host & Microbe connects disruptions in the gut microbiome and autoimmune disease. Thus, probiotic intervention would be an option, according to a study from Journal of the American Nutrition Association.
We don't have to wait for miracle cures to produce effective public health results. Decades have passed and there still is no cure for Alzheimer's disease. Yet, the one gold standard for prevention, borne out of a plethora of research studies, is adhering to positive diet and lifestyle habits. And while it is not always the answer, for the majority it is.
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