SUMMARY: Sunscreen Safety. A JAMA study posted a few days ago (May 6, 2019) that investigated if the active ingredients in sunscreen of FOUR commercially available products gets absorbed into the human blood stream. Spoiler alert: ALL 4 of the sunscreen chemicals tested (avobenzone, oxybenzone, octocrylene, or ecamsule) were absorbed into the blood stream within one days use and in amounts greater than ever thought, exceeding amounts the FDA considers as Generally Recognized as Safe and Effective (GRASE) which is 0.5 ng/mL. This post details –> –>WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW and provides LINKS TO TWO RESOURCES YOU CAN USE FOR CHOOSING SAFER SUNSCREENS<– <– I won’t unduly burden this post with the [Matta et al 2019] study results, but you need to to know that the researchers tested different formulations for the chemicals: two different sprays, one lotion, and one cream to see if formulary mattered for skin absorption. It did not. SYSTEMIC CONCENTRATIONS GREATER THAN 0.5 ng/mL WERE REACHED FOR ALL 4 PRODUCTS AFTER 4 APPLICATIONS ON DAY 1. CNN reported on this study and said that “the amount used was twice the amount that would be applied in what the scientific community considers real-world conditions.” But the authors of the study say the amount they used is in accordance with the product usage instructions, and it is an amount that is commonly used at the beach. The authors note that it is not known what the clinical effect of plasma concentrations for these active ingredients in excess of 0.5 ng/mL means for health, so further research is needed. The FDA agrees and has proposed a new rule which requires evaluation of suncreen chemcial absorption considering reproductive, developmental, and carcinogenic effects. The authors of the study note that the study results do not indicate that individuals should refrain from the use of sunscreen despite the absorption amounts exceeding the threshold established by the FDA that permits potentially waiving some nonclinical toxicology studies for sunscreens. Hmmm… So, if you going to continue to use sunscreen, what sunscreen ingredients are you going to USE, or AVOID? I am also interested in what products you TRY and your thoughts about them! LMK in the comments below!
Healthy Pregnancy Diet. Melody Trial is now recruiting
Summary. If you are a pregnant mom (less than 27 weeks pregnant), or planning to become pregnant and wondering about a healthy pregnancy diet, please consider participating in the MELODY Trial, ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03850600, WHICH IS NOW RECRUITING! I am super excited about this trial because it is recruiting pregnant aged women to participate in a study that will evaluate the efficacy of a diet intervention during the third trimester of pregnancy. The study’s goal is to determine if manipulation of the mothers microbiome, through diet, would benefit their baby. The diet aims to promote a healthier immune system during a critical time of immune system development. I am helping to recruit for the trial which will have 396 participants, having and not having autoimmune Crohn’s disease. Details for the trial are below. Guys, if the MELODY Trial works for IBD, to improve the microbiome and baby’s immune system, will this strategy work for other diseases?!? Please, do your part and share this info with your friends, daughters, gynecologists, GI docs, doulas… Lets load this cohort quickly and move the needle to make the future better for our next generation! We’ve messed so many things up microbiome-wise, WE OWE OUR CHILDREN THIS!
2019 Wellness Conference Diet, Microbiome, and the Aging Brain
Summary: Please join us for 3 wonderful talks Friday, April 12, 2019, 8:30 AM to 11:55AM, at Caritas Christi, 129 DePaul Center Rd., Greensburg, PA. I will be speaking about diet, microbiome and the aging brain! Much of my talk will feature key points that I presented at the 2019 Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioner (VCNP) Annual Conference! You’ll learn that the Western Diet is aging the brain FASTER than the Mediterranean Diet, and that the MIND diet, a hybrid diet of the heart healthy Mediterranean Diet, DASH, and aging brain literature, decreases the risk of Alzheimer’s Disease and slows cognitive decline better that its constituent diets.
This is information you don’t want to miss! Please join us as ALL of the talks presented April 12th encompass keys to grateful and healthy aging, resilience, and holistic health.
SCD French toast Using Lois Lang Bread. Gluten-free, Grain-free, SCD, UMassIBD-AID, PRODUCE, and some PALEO camps
SUMMARY. It took over a decade, but today I finally can scratch off my recipe bucket list, making Lois Lang’s Luscious Breadfrom the BTVC book. This bread is as very near to conventional wheat breads as it gets. It can be sliced and used for sandwiches, and of course here, we make it into redic delic EASY SCD French Toast. I freeze this bread in slices, separated with unbleached parchment paper. It makes for quick breakfasts AND fabulous travel food! Enjoy French Toast alone, with a shake of cinnamon, or a slug of honey. Maple syrup is also perfect if eating PRODUCE version of SCD, (now in study at 12 facilities across the U.S.) or PALEO. This recipe is GLUTEN-FREE, GRAIN-FREE, SCD, UMass IBD-AID, PRODUCE, and it is permitted in PALEO CAMPS that allow lactose-free aged cheeses. There is nothing not to luv about this recipe. Give it a try and let me know what ingredient additions you make using the basic Lois Lang Bread recipe!
Diet, Dementia, Cognition, Alzheimer’s
SUMMARY: We’re excited to be presenting what the evidence finds for WHAT TO EAT, and WHAT NOT TO EAT, for BRAIN HEALTH! We will be at the beautiful Blue Ridge Region for the 2019 Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioner (VCNP) Annual Conference! IN the meantime, you win too because we decided to share a bonus here –>\0/ the prelude videoto our presentation, which is called “Add 7.5 yrs to Brainspan with MIND diet and SAGE Cognition Assessment Tool”. We also want to let you know that your response has been overwhelming for wanting us to bring our DIET, DEMENTIA, COGNITION, ALZHEIMER’S presentation to you! We’re here to dispel the brain age MYTH –> Those in their 40s and 50s realize that brain changes are occurring in the midlife time-frame. By 2050, 20% of the US population will be over age 65. One fifth will have mild cognitive impairment, increasing risk of Alzheimer’s. The Western diet is aging the brain faster than the Mediterranean diet as found on both MRI and PET imaging. You need to learn all about this! We’re booking now, so if you are interesting in having your group learn this powerful information, click here to contact us! And, just adding… they are also including our other Therapeutic Diet presentations for (1) Hypertension, Atherosclerosis, and Obesity, (2) IBS and Autoimmunity, and of course (3) Dementia, Cognition, and Alzheimer’s. You can learn about all of those programs here! Let’s hear from you today. Let’s move off DiseaseSpan and onto HealthSpan!
Brain, Cognition, Diet, CE (Nursing). March 2019 PRESENTATION!
SUMMARY: Our upcoming CE presentation at the 2019 Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioner (VCNP) Annual Conference, March 7th, dives deep into BRAIN, COGNITION, DIET, CE, ALZHEIMER’S! We are going to share what the evidence finds for WHAT TO EAT, and WHAT NOT TO EAT, for BRAIN HEALTH! Our presentation is called “Add 7.5 yrs to Brainspan with MIND diet and SAGE Cognition Assessment Tool”. What you need to know –> A LOT of research is looking at specific diets and brain health. At this time, the MIND diet rises to the top for reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive impairment both with strict and moderate follow. It is this latter finding that makes the MIND diet BETTER than the Mediterranean and DASH diet for brain health because those had NO significant impact on AD risk reduction for moderate follow! ♥–> Diet has incredible systemic reach, including all the way to crossing the blood brain barrier! BAM–> Diet is perhaps the biggest determinant of the microbiome constituents. The major focus of recent research is on the microbiome and its by-products (called metabolites) because those can be changed up by diet and lifestyle. Thus diet can alter the microbiome towards health (anti-inflammatory) or towards being more disease-prone (inflammatory). \o/ If you are a Licensed Nurse Practitioner (in any state), or student enrolled in a NP program, plan to attend this Brain, Cognition, Diet CE! Those unable to attend, or not nurse practitioners, message us for information on how you too can see this presentation! \o/ The bottom line is that everyone needs to hear this information because recent studies find that eating a Western-style diet literally SHRINKS the brain, even in middle age. The results accounted for the effects of all other lifestyle factors, indicating that, when people are in their 40s and 50s,diet exerts a stronger influence on Alzheimer’s disease than exercise or intellectual activity do. “Alzheimer’s doesn’t just turn on when you reach a certain age,” explains Lisa Mosconi, PhD, associate director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian. “Instead, it’s a very long process that starts with changes in the brain when people are in their 40s and 50s. So we have a good 20 years to do something about it. The question is, what can we do in terms of prevention?” This Brain, Cognition, Diet, CE Alzheimer’s information is key to mitigating those risks! ♥
IBS, New Blood Test!
SUMMARY: There is a SIMPLE IBS new blood test in town that can diagnose the IBS sub-type that is due to a previous food-borne illness with 95% certainty, in 5 to 10 business days after blood draw. It is for those with IBS-D (diarrhea predominant) OR IBS-M (mixed type: diarrhea and constipation) symptoms. The test is called Ibs-smart ™ (from Gemelli Biotech) and it costs $220 (insurance may cover it in part). IBS is an umbrella term, and up until now, diagnosis was by method of exclusion, when all other $$$$ and mostly very uncomfortable tests (like colonoscopy, upper endoscopy, CAT scan, and MRI) have ruled out other potential causes for symptoms. 15% of the population contracts food borne illnesses each year putting many at risk for developing this IBS sub-type! Further, this IBS sub-type is being considered to be AUTOIMMUNE so it is important to get it into remission. Otherwise, you open up Pandora’s box to developing other disease(s) and of undergoing inappropriate surgeries. Ibs-smart™ is B-I-G news for IBS because IBS affects 10 to 15% of the population (according to credible reporting agencies). Not surprising, those stats are LOW for many reasons (mostly people suffer in silence and doctors don’t correctly diagnosis IBS). [Canavan et al 2014]. Heck, only about 50% of patients with IBS are provided with a definitive diagnosis after seeing a physician. [Halpert 2018]. The beauty of Ibs-smart™ is that if it is positive, you know you have IBS, that it is from a previous food poisoning, and you should think about this condition as autoimmune so get it into remission! Further, you know that IF you get food poisoning AGAIN, you are more susceptible to increasing those antibodies and making your IBS symptoms worse! Learn more about all of this below!
Melody TRIAL- Can Maternal Diet Reduce Disease Transmission to the Newborn?
SUMMARY: I am beyond excited to begin 2019 with the announcement of a groundbreaking microbiome study that I’ve been asked to help spread the word on! The study, called the MELODY trial, peels back the layers of microbiome influence further than any study I’ve seen to date because it moves the needle for microbiome manipulation PAST the immediate host to hopefully influence and alter the health of the newborn! HOW? The MELODY Trial will recruit childbearing aged women to investigate if changing the maternal diet can reduce transmission of disease to the newborn! The Melody Trial will focus on Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) because children born to mothers with IBD have increased risk of IBD. Participant recruitment is targeted to begin mid-January, 2019. Its website is coming soon, and I’ll post that info ASAP! However, to start this discussion and catch all up to speed, this post explains another study called the MECONIUM Study (see the link here) and its EIGHT publications are below! MECONIUM stands for Exploring MEChanisms Of disease trasmission IUtero through the Microbiome. I’m starting here because the MELODY trial is based on the preliminary findings of the MECONIUM Study! The primary investigating lab for both studies is Peter Lab, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The MECONIUM Study was a prospective study that explored the role IBD plays in the composition of the maternal and infant microbiome. The MECONIUM Study found that the dysbiotic microbiome seen in infants born to mothers with IBD can be improved when ENVIRONMENTAL factors known to have a negative effect on the microbiome are ABSENT in early life. In particular, the sub-optimal microbiome of babies born to IBD mothers were MITIGATED in early life when the baby was born vaginally, was not exposed to antibiotics, and was exclusively or partially breastfed. Because of these findings, and since DIET is also considered an environmental factor that can change the gut microbiome, the MELODY Trial investigates if IBD mothers consuming the UMass IBD-AID diet (a diet shown to change the gut microbiome to anti-inflammatory, aid in repair of the gut, and help restore balance to the immune system to help induce remission for IBD), also alters the vaginal microbiome and reduces the risk of transmitting the dysbiotic disease-prone microbiome to the newborn. Guys, if the MELODY Trial works for IBD, will this strategy work for other diseases?!? Please, do your part and share this info with your friends, daughters, gynecologists, GI docs, doulas… Lets load this cohort quickly and move the needle to make the future better for our next generation! We’ve messed so many things up microbiome-wise, WE OWE OUR CHILDREN THIS!
Guacamole Avocado Mash, PALEO, SCD GAPS
Summary: This is the third of five family favorite VEGETABLE redic delic recipes I’m posting –> Guacamole Avocado Mash, PALEO, SCD GAPS! The other two recipes posted at SCD PALEO Cucumber Salad and SCD PALEO Cauliflower Mock Potato Salad! These salads meet all healing diet tenets be it: Mediterranean Diet, Whole Foods, SCD, GAPS, PALEO, AIP… I’m posting these recipes because so many stumble over how to make vegetables taste fabulous! I was there too ⇒ These recipes evolved over a decade of trialing what our friends and kidos loved vegetable-wise! Increasing consumption of many different colorful vegs is vitally important to your health ⇒ The American Gut Data finds that a target of 30 different vegetables each week increases microbiome diversity, and that is thought to be correlated to improved health because most all chronic diseases have reduced microbiome diversity! The beauty of all of these recipes are that they top leafy greens deliciously which further increases vegetable diversity, and this Guacamole Avocado Mash ALSO is a great topper on salmon or chicken! ♥ Four take-aways from this recipe include use of fermented apple cider vinegar for probiotics, use of garlic and onion for prebiotics (or FODMAPs) to feed the microbiome (and hacks to those if intolerant), and the benefits of avocado which includes its fiber and high monounsaturated fat content for heart and brain health! Here’s my Instagram recipe card:
6 Healthy Halloween Trays, Avocado Ranch Dressing Dip, PALEO, SCD
SUMMARY: Candy corn is a vegetable! And its all about the candy, right!?! With parents AND schools increasingly saying NO, instead, serve up these 6 Healthy Halloween Trays with Avocado Ranch Dressing Dip ⇒ your kidos (and adults) will ♥ them! You also do your gut, brain, and heart good because all those colorful eat—the—rainbow vegs boost the beasties in your gut that bloom the health promoting short chain fatty acids! And nothing makes better great big green eyeballs than the Avocado Ranch Dressing Dip on these 6 Healthy Halloween Trays ⇒ That recipe is redic delic (a staple in healing fridges), and it’s really healthy (unlike that crap Ranch dressing you buy at your market) since my recipe uses avocados, a brain and heart healthy monounsaturated fat! So instead of candy, processed foods and chips, serve these veg tray gems (anytime of the year really) to draw your children to chomp more microbiome supporting, less toxin loaded, foods. Be sure to use EWG Dirty Dozen lists for guidelines on buying organic! And wash them with a 15 minute soak in water having a small handful of baking soda for 15 min followed by a rub and rinse! Wishing you a night full of frights and a bag full of delights that is buffered by these vegs! In the spirit, “Shadows of a thousand years rise again unseen. Voices whisper in the trees, ‘Tonight is Halloween!'”— Dexter Kozen. If you’re thinking ahead to Christmas, here is my Roundup of Healthy Holiday Trays! Happiest of Holiday all ⇒ PLEASE share, especially with teachers ♥ SUPPORT BRAINS FROM ALL ANGLES!