A study published by Genome Medicine has shown that antibiotic usage in young animals increases their likelihood of developing inflammatory bowel disease when they are older.

This evidence furthers supports the idea that using antibiotics in children under the age of one disrupts the gut microbiome. A healthy gut microbiome is essential for a healthy immune system and the prevention of disease.

Related: How To Heal Your Gut 

This study provides experimental evidence strengthening the idea that the associations of antibiotic exposures to the later development of disease in human children are more than correlations, but that they are actually playing roles in the disease causation.

 -Study co-author Martin Blaser, director of the Rutgers Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine.

Related: How to Eliminate IBS, IBD, Leaky Gut

Researches examined the effects of dextran sulfate, a chemical that injures the colon, in mice that received antibiotics, mice that had disrupted microbial contents transplanted into their intestine, and a control group. The results showed that the mice who received antibiotics or disrupted microbial contents had noticeably worse colitis than those in the control group.

This study is a continuation of Martin Blaser’s hypothesis that disrupting the microbiome early in life is one of the large factors in modern epidemics.

A salmonella outbreak linked to onions has caused more than 500 people to get sick in the U.S and Canada, starting in early July. So far 59 people have been hospitalized in 34 different states, according to the CDC.

The outbreak was first linked to red onions, however, the recall currently included red, white, and yellow onions due to concerns of cross-contamination. The CDC has yet to disclose whether or not cases are more linked to restaurants or home cooking.

Recommended: How To Heal Your Gut 

Recall efforts will extend far beyond the removal of whole onions from supermarket shelves. Much of the potentially contaminated product was likely used in prepared foods, meaning restaurants and retailers will have to examine their sourcing and identify everything that might have contained onions from Thomson International.

–Onions recalled in all 50 states after Salmonella sickens 500

The current outbreak is the largest Salmonella outbreak in America in the last decade. The outbreak is linked to Thomson International, a grower, packer, shipper, and supplier based in California.

The onions have been sold to wholesalers, retailers, and restaurants in Canada, and the US, as well as stores including Kroger and Food Lion.

Throughout the world, many countries in some form of lockdown have seen a drastic drop in premature birth as well as SIDS. Denmark reported a 90% decrease in premature births, a 73% drop in Ireland, and a near 50% decrease in Canada. America, Australia, and the Netherlands have also reported reductions in SIDS and premature deaths.

During the 11-week period following the emergency declaration (through May 30) there were 1465 fewer deaths in US children compared to 2019 (5923 vs 7388). The difference is statistically highly significant.

-Striking Decline of Premature Births and SIDS During COVID

Related: Circumcision Linked to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

Doctors have not come to a conclusion as to why premature births and SIDS rates have dropped so much, but they have one theory.

One theory is that pregnant women may have been under less stress than before lockdown. Staying at home may have allowed some pregnant women the opportunity to get more rest and prioritize prenatal care.

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This seems highly unlikely. Many of the women who are susceptible to premature births and SIDS are women who work lower-income jobs (service industry, or retail jobs, for example) many of these women worked through lockdown and may have been under more stress. Women who were more likely to have time off, and to prioritize prenatal care were likely already doing so before lockdown.

Natural health practitioners tend to feel that conventional medical intervention often does more harm than good. One possibility that seems a likely contributor, but is unlikely to be addressed by the mainstream media, is the drop in vaccines, both prenatal and infant. Childhood vaccine rates have dropped since the beginning of the lockdown. In California childhood vaccine rates decreased 40% weeks after the lockdown began. Most non-emergency medical appointments were canceled during lockdown.

With childhood vaccines dropping it is unconfirmed but not unlikely that maternal vaccines have dropped as well. Some studies have suggested that maternal vaccines can increase the risk of premature birth, with one study saying maternal vaccines could raise premature births on average 14%.

Data has suggested that infant vaccinations could be increasing SIDS rates. America has the highest vaccination rates and the highest SIDS rates of any other comparable developed country. For comparison, Japan has banned vaccines for children under the age of two and has virtually eliminated SIDS. A 2011 study noted that out of 34 nations, those that require the most vaccines have higher infant mortality rates, compared to those who require the fewest vaccines that had the lowest infant mortality rates.

Currently, there is not enough data on recent vaccination rates to draw solid conclusions as to what has caused the sudden drop in SIDS and premature births. However, as is often the case, it is likely a combination of many different causes.

Germany has seen a 64% decrease in plastic bag usage since 2015. Recently Germany agreed to ban the sale of single-use plastics, including plastic straws, cutlery, cotton buds, and food containers by July 2021.

Many disposable plastic products are superfluous with no sustainable use of resources. In addition, plastics end up too often in the environment or in the oceans. We are taking an important national step in the fight against the plastic flood.

–Federal Environment Minister Svenja Schulze

We throw away 1.3 billion tons of trash worldwide every year, and Germany alone produces 3 million tons of plastic waste annually. Germany’s recent bill to ban singe-use plastic is in accordance with the EU’s directive to reduce plastic waste.

Related: How to Detox From Plastics and Other Endocrine Disruptors

Many of the single-use plastics we go through a day are full of toxins like BPA and BPA alternatives. A study published by the Journal of Environmental Science and Technology examined 34 everyday plastics made of 8 different types of plastic and showed that 74% of the products were toxic in some way.

With a healthy gut and a healthy lifestyle, the chances of experiencing health problems from plastic toxicity are extremely unlikely. Still, for the environment and your health, you’re better off avoiding single-use plastics and using reusable alternatives.

Related: Many Hand-me-down Plastic Toys Are Toxic for Kids

A new study has been published in the American Heart Association (AHA) Journal examining how cannabis affects the heart. Data indicates that smoking cannabis can trigger cardiovascular problems like heart attacks and strokes. The data shows that heart rhythm abnormalities like tachycardia or atrial fibrillation can occur within an hour after cannabis containing THC is smoked. THC may also cause a faster heart rate, increase the heart’s need for oxygen, or disrupt artery walls.

In comparison, CBD, or cannabidiol, one of the other 80 chemicals in cannabis, does not give the “high” typically associated with THC. Nor does it appear to cause harm to the heart.

-Weed is not good for your heart, studies say

Related: What Causes Chronic Inflammation, and How To Stop It For Good

Using cannabis in topical or oral form is better for your health than smoking it.

Research done on the effects of cannabis and the heart is observational and retrospective. Current studies identify trends but are not able to prove cause and effect. Because cannabis is still a Schedule 1 controlled substance by the DEA, research is limited.

Related: How To Heal Your Gut 

The medical group recommended cannabis to be part of the US Food and Drug Administration’s tobacco control and prevention efforts, which may mean that there would be age restrictions on who can purchase weed, retailer regulations and even excise taxes.

-Weed is not good for your heart, studies say

Data from a recent study shows that young men between ages 18-24 are having less sex than years previous. From 2000 to 2018, around one in three U.S men between the ages of 18 to 24 in the study reported no sexual activity within the previous year.

Additionally, there was a decrease in sexual activity in men and women ages 25-34, although not as drastic as men age 18-24. Data was collected from 10,000 men and women between the ages of 18-44. Between 2016-2018, 16.5% of respondents reported less sexual activity compared to 9.5% of respondents reporting less sexual activity between 2000-2002.

There are now many more choices of things to do in the late evening than there once were and fewer opportunities to initiate sexual activity if both partners are engrossed in social media, electronic gaming, or binge watching.

-Jean Twenge, department of psychology in San Diego State University 

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The decrease in sexual activity is likely due to a number of factors. Likely factors include increased usage of social media and electronic gaming, as well as the stress of managing work and intimate relationships.

Men with lower income, or who were unemployed, along with both male and female students were more likely to be less sexually active. Unmarried women, as well as gay men, saw no notable decline in sexual activity.

Given a preference for men of higher socioeconomic status and the larger number of college-educated women than men, some young men may find it difficult to form heterosexual relationships, the researchers note.

–Young U.S. men having a lot less sex in the 21st century, study shows

During the Influenza pandemic of 1918, it was common practice for sick patients to be treated outside in tenets or open wards. This is known as the open-air method. The English physician John Coakley used the open-air method in 1791 to treat children suffering from tuberculous.

A combination of fresh air, sunlight, scrupulous standards of hygiene and reusable face masks appear to have substantially reduced deaths among some patients and infections among medical staff.

-20% of COVID Patients Caught Disease at Hospital

Sunlight increases vitamin D levels, which boosts the immune system. Additionally ultraviolet light renders viruses like COVID-19, and the flu, inactive. During the Influenza pandemic, in a typical hospital that had 76 cases, 20 patients would die in a three day period while 17 nurses would become sick. Adopting the “open air” method brought fatalities down from 40% to 13%.

Related: Data Shows How to Protect Against Coronavirus and We Address Conspiracy Theories

Related: Data Shows How to Protect Against Coronavirus and We Address Conspiracy Theories

Today, our modern hospitals are severely lacking in the “open-air” method. It’s been estimated by several different studies that a large portion of COVID-19 cases are being contracted within hospitals. Numbers from NHS England indicate that up to 20% of hospital patients with COVID-19 became infected at the hospital.

Nurses and other staff have inadvertently passed on the virus to patients because they did not have adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) or could not get tested for the virus.

-20% of COVID Patients Caught Disease at Hospital

In Wuhan, China it’s estimated that hospital-related transmission is associated with 41% of cases. In the U.S., it’s estimated that 1.7 million healthcare-associated infections occur in hospitals each year. In past outbreaks, SARS, which is similar to COVID-19 has been said to be a “super spreader” in Ontario in 2003, 77% of SARS cases were contracted in a hospital.

Related: How to Breathe

Dr. John Loannidis recommends not going to the hospital with COVID-19 if your symptoms are mild. Many people are able to spread COVID-19 to those who are immune-compromised. A study analyzed the mortality rates of 5,700 patients in New York City who were placed on ventilators. The mortality rate of these cases was anywhere from 76.4% to 97.2% depending on age.

If you’re worried about COVID-19, having a healthy gut is the best thing you can do to avoid getting sick, and of course sunlight and fresh air are great too.

Recommended: How To Heal Your Gut