September 3rd, 2022
1) Looking for a new sweetener that is natural and less toxic to your body? Usher in Allulose which is the enantiomer of fructose, is much less sweet to taste and does not spike blood glucose or insulin levels. In the British Medical Journal we find: "This is the largest study assessing the effects of D-allulose in Westerners demonstrating an early dose-dependent reduction in plasma glucose and insulin levels as well as decreased postprandial glucose and insulin excursion in subjects without DM. These pilot observations set the basis for large-scale investigations to support the anti-DM effects of D-allulose." (Franchi et. al. 2021)
D- Allulose is a monosaccharide with 70% of the sweetness of table sugar or sucrose which is 50% glucose and fructose (the sweet part). The great news is that it does not trigger uric acid formation or metabolic derangements like its cousin fructose. This is a possible new addition to your pantry. We will follow this data over the coming decade.
2) Diets with lots of plant material slow cognitive decline as people age past 65 years according to a European Study. 842 people from France were followed for 12 years. The fascinating part of this study is that the participants had their blood analyzed for metabolites of the food type and how the body uses them in association with cognitive decline over the study period. The data noted a protective association from the metabolites derived from cocoa, coffee, mushrooms and red wine as well as the microbial metabolism of polyphenol-rich fibers from apples, cocoa, green tea, blueberries, oranges and pomegranates and cognitive decline in the study population. (Gonzalez-Dominguez et. al. 2022)
These types of analysis are going to start to paint the picture that we have been looking for. Certain food types are used by our body and the microbes within to produce chemicals that have effects of neurological cellular activity. When the foods are fiber based and full of polyphenolic compounds, the metabolites are neuron sparing and longevity associated.
3) Kids that play sports are more likely to have grit and determination according to a new study from the Ohio State University. Grit is defined as the combination of passion and perseverance that helps people achieve their long-term goals. Sport offers a robust failure and bounce back platform week to week. The old win some and you lose some mentality drives many to dig deeper, week after week, to achieve. That reality becomes ingrained in many children as they move into school and career choices. It is not surprising to me that sport is a net positive for grit and life. Grit has always been the determining factor in a high quality employee for our practice. Those employees that have grit succeed over the long haul much more than those that do not.
Sport also offers: a) team understanding which equates to reducing the I and increasing the us which is great for a work environment b) lots of movement which is a MASSIVE net positive for cellular metabolism c) learning from a coach mentor d) give a child a sense of belonging.
"In fact, we found that playing organized sport continually led to higher levels of adults’ grit than never playing sport at all. However, respondents who participated in organized youth sport but dropped out—a potentially meaningful turning point—actually demonstrated lower levels of grit (after accounting for perceptions of athletic experiences on work ethic), suggesting that a deterioration of grit could be a consequence of quitting an activity, such as organized sport. Quitting an activity could be a turning point that reifies a lack of perseverance, and perseverance is a crucial component of grit" (Nothnagle et. al. 2022)
For me, this last piece is key. To quit anything, in general, sends a strong signal to self. I can't make it. Carol Dweck's work here is crucial. We don't worry about failure. It is the process that is key. THE GRIT. Teach your kids grit and do not allow quitting mid sport, club etc.. If they start, they should finish the season, cycle or whatever it is.
4) What happens to emotion and cognition when toddlers meet American Academy Pediatrics guidelines? 2 year olds that consumed at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables, were physically active, refrained from sugar-sweetened beverages, and limited screen time to less than 60 min each day are said to be at guideline. Toddlers meeting the screen time guideline had greater Executive Functioning (EF), inhibitory self-control and emergent metacognition. Those with more minutes of screen time had poorer overall EF inhibitory self-control, cognitive flexibility and emergent metacognition. Being physically active every day was associated with greater emergent metacognition. (McMath et. al. 2022)
5) Fruit and vegetable intake is inversely associated with severity of inattention in a pediatric population with ADHD symptoms: the MADDY Study. (Robinette et. al. 2022) Enough said here.
6) Sexually transmitted disease are on the rise. Mycoplasma genitalum is an organism that is the smallest prokaryote capable of independent replication. It causes acute and chronic non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU) in men and cervicitis and pelvic inflammatory disease in women. Most people infected remain asymptomatic and clear the infectious organism without developing disease, making baseline screening useless in the absence of symptoms of burning with urination. Overtreating asymptomatic carriage has resulted in antimicrobial resistance and the risk of an untreatable future for resistant strains. (Gnanadurai et. al. 2020)
The simple answer here is the hard one. Avoid the risk in the first place. Treat those with the organism present AND symptoms.
7) The newly released 2020 STD Surveillance Report found that at the end of 2020:
• Reported cases of gonorrhea and primary & secondary (P&S) syphilis were up 10% and 7%, respectively, compared to 2019.
• Syphilis among newborns (i.e., congenital syphilis) also increased, with reported cases up nearly 15% from 2019, and 235% from 2016. Early data indicate primary and secondary syphilis and congenital syphilis cases continued to increase in 2021 as well. (CDC Report)
This doesn't bode well for newborns born to infected mothers or men and women that could lose fertility over time. Add this to the risk of sexual endocrine fertility failure from chemical exposure and we are heading in the wrong direction for a healthy population.
Dr. M
Franchi BMJ Open Diab Res Care
Gonzalez Dominguez Molec Nutr Food Res
Nothnagle Leisure Sciences
McMath J Pediatrics
Robinette Nutritional Neuroscience
Gnanadurai Microbiology
