From eNewsletter 7/13/2020
DID YOU KNOW that in a new study in eLife, researchers showed that getting the flu early on in life reduces the risk of needing to seek medical attention for infections with the same subtype of flu later in life? The researchers also revealed that the effectiveness of flu vaccines varies with both age and birth year, suggesting that this effectiveness also depends on early exposure. "We hope the findings from our study will improve our understanding of influenza epidemiology and the low and variable effectiveness of the seasonal flu vaccine," concludes senior author Sarah Cobey, Principal Investigator at the Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Chicago. "This would lead to better forecasting and vaccination strategies to help combat future flu seasons." STAYING SAFE AMIDST A PANDEMIC
Continue with extra immune support until summer of 2021. We don't know how virulent SARS-CoV-2 will be this summer or if there will be a second COVID wave during fall and winter. Besides, SARS-CoV-2 is not the only virus we fight. There is influenza (flu), norovirus (stomach flu), adenovirus (common cold), and four other coronaviruses (common cold), among others. Prevent and Fight Coronavirus 2.0 is our must-read protocol.
IT REALLY IS THE CARBS
Steve and Bonnie: The 80th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association highlighted three prominent food researchers who in different ways pointed the finger at carbohydrates for poor health, with the first speaker suggesting that consumption of carbohydrates increases lipids and consumption of saturated fat doesn't. The second speaker nuanced this by saying that it could be the type of carbohydrate that is the problem, and the third speaker directly confronted processed food as the culprit in fat gain, if not metabolic disease. They are all correct and support what we have said for years. Let us put it simply.
Excess consumption of carbohydrates does increase lipids (cholesterol and triglycerides). However, it is more about the type of carbohydrate. In this case refined carbohydrates do most of the damage. Fruit and vegetables are carbohydrates, but they are not the culprit. Processed food is the main culprit, and carbohydrates are very often processed. The worst offending processed fat, trans fat, has been virtually eliminated from the food supply. So the danger from fat has been minimized. That's not to say that some cannot genetically tolerate huge amounts of saturated fat, because many cannot.
A new study from BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine implicated carbohydrates and suggested reducing the number of refined carbs and total number of carbs in general would reduce coronary events in those with familial hypercholesterolemia, which is the most difficult type of high cholesterol to treat.
It comes down to, as always, individual needs. But when public health officials look upon assisting our population as a whole, carbohydrates need to be the focus.
OPTIMIZING DETOXIFICATIONS
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