New research shows that the application of three of the most common herbicides used on GM herbicide-tolerant crops (glyphosate, glufosinate, and dicamba) increases antibiotic-resistant genes in the microbiomes of the soil.

Similar to plants, the soil bacteria are becoming resistant to weedkillers. Additionally, bugs that are most resistant to pesticides were found to have a genetic mutation that made them resistant to antibiotics.

Dr. Jack Heinemann, Professor of Molecular Biology and Genetics at the University of Canterbury has published two papers that suggest herbicides are “accelerants when it comes to the evolution of antibiotic resistance”. His research is supported by recent findings from the University of York and Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University in China.

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When plants are sprayed, though, plenty of weed-killer gets into the soil – where there is an array of bacteria vital for healthy soil ecology. This is where a funny thing happens. Soil bacteria, like plants, are becoming resistant to weed-killer – and the bugs that are most resistant were found to carry a genetic mutation that also makes them resistant to antibiotics

Weedkillers are accelerating the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Researchers from Edith Cowan University in Australia recently looked at the benefits of eating a diet high in nitrate-rich vegetables. The team analyzed the diets of more than 50,000 Danish citizens over 23 years and found that those who consumed a diet with a consistent intake of leafy greens were 12-26% less likely to develop heart disease later in life.

Our results have shown that by simply eating one cup of raw (or half a cup of cooked) nitrate-rich vegetables each day, people may be able to significantly reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease,

Eating This One Thing Daily Slashes Your Heart Disease Risk, Study Says

The research shows that eating nitrate-rich foods resulted in the greatest reduced risk for hypertension, as it lowered systolic blood pressure by 2.5mm Hg.

The team did not see further benefits in those who ate higher amounts of nitrate-rich vegetables, they found that one cup of fresh leafy greens was sufficient.

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A new poll by CNBC suggests 44% of older millennials (people born between 1981 and 1988) have at least one chronic health condition.

Migraines, depression, and asthma were the most common conditions with type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure closely following.

The poll found older millennials had a higher rate of chronic illness compared to the general public, including the age group older than them.

Among the survey group, cancer was almost as common among older millennials as it was in the general population. About four percent of the 33- to 40-year-olds said they’d been diagnosed with cancer, compared to five percent of the overall survey group. 

Nearly half of older millennials have at least one chronic health condition such as depression, high blood pressure or asthma by the time they turn 40, poll suggests

Obesity is an increasing problem for Americans of all ages but even more so for the younger population. Only 10% of the 4,000 survey respondents reported being obese, which is lower than the general population, with an obesity rate of 13%. Obesity can lead to a higher likelihood of chronic health conditions that millennials are more likely to suffer from.

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Research has shown that the Mediterranean diet may lower your risk for dementia by interfering with the build-up of amyloid, and tau. These are proteins that turn into plaques and tangles often resulting in Alzheimer’s disease.

The true diet is simple, plant-based cooking, with the majority of each meal focused on fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans and seeds, with a few nuts and a heavy emphasis on extra-virgin olive oil. Fats other than olive oil, such as butter, are consumed rarely, if at all. And say goodbye to refined sugar or flour.

Mediterranean diet may prevent memory loss and dementia, study finds

Researchers found that for every point of higher compliance with the diet participants had one less year of brain aging. The study was published in Neurology, and examined 343 people who were at high risk for Alzheimer’s and then compared them to 169 “cognitively normal” participants.

Researchers tested cognitive skills, (language, memory, and executive function), used brain scans to measure brain volume, and tested spinal fluid from 226 people for amyloid an tau protein biomarkers.

Participants were then asked how well they were following the diet and found that those who did not follow the diet closely had more signs of amyloid and tau buildup than those who did.

This study is not the first of its kind. A previous study of nearly 6,000 older Americans showed that those who followed the Mediterranean diet or similar lowered their risk of dementia by a third.

The Mediterranean diet is one that closely follows OLM’s own recommended diet. With staples of whole grains and legumes, fresh fruits and vegetables, and no flour or refined sugar those who follow the Mediterranean diet are going to be much better off than those who follow a traditional western diet.

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The American Heart Association (AHA) examined the findings of 14 different studies that looked into the effects of air pollution particles on more than 350,000 children from the US, China, Europe, between the ages of five and 12.

The AHA found that short-term and long-term exposure to common air pollutants like nitrogen dioxide could raise the blood pressure levels in children significantly. Professor Yao Lu, the study’s lead author, says that this link between air pollution and high blood pressure puts children at a greater risk for heart disease as adults.

They found that short-term exposure of less than 30 days to larger, coarse particles was enough to significantly raise systolic blood pressure – the pressure in your arteries during the contraction of your heart muscle. The same result was found for those children who were exposed to longer-term fine particles and nitrogen dioxide from traffic pollution.

Air pollution puts children as young as FIVE at greater risk of high blood pressure and heart disease, study warns

To learn more about high blood pressure and how to correct it, check out this article.

New research has shown that getting between six and seven hours of sleep a night may reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke.

Researchers collected data from 14,079 people who participated in the 2001-2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Participants were tracked for eight years to determine if they had fatal heart attacks, heart failure, or strokes.

The average participant was 46 years old with less than one in ten participants having a history of heart disease, stroke, or heart failure.

Participants were split evenly between gender and divided into three groups based on the average amount of sleep they got. Based on age, race, gender, blood pressure, and cholesterol risk scores for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease were calculated.

Participants who sleep less or more than six to seven hours have higher ASCVD risk scores, which is likely driven by heightened inflammation as measured by CRP, which was found to be higher among those who had less or more sleep.

For a healthy heart, sleeping 6 to 7 hours each night is best

The overall average risk was 3.5%, a score of lower than 5% is considered low risk. The risk was lowest amongst those who slept between six-seven hours, a night, or more, with an average of 3.3%. For those who slept less than six hours a night the average risk was 4.6%.

Getting a good night’s sleep is just as important for overall health as a healthy diet. To improve the quality of your sleep, check out this article.

As greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise many people are looking for an easy one-size-fits-all solution to our climate problem. One of the trendiest options is going vegan. Over recent years people have raised questions about the impact of eating massive amounts of meat and suggested that everyone going vegan could solve our climate crisis.

So, what’s the real environmental impact of our meat, and can going vegan really save the environment?

Many are concerned about the amount of water and food it takes to produce a pound of beef, but the reality is a typical cow’s water footprint is 94% green water. This means that 94% of a cow’s water footprint is just rainwater, and of course, once that water is used it’s not gone forever. It’s urinated out and cycled back into the environment. In fact, almonds end up using less green water than beef.

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Additionally, many are worried about the amount of food it takes to produce a pound of beef. Couldn’t we be feeding more people with all that food? More than 85% of livestock feed is non-human edible, and in the end, 4.3 billion kilograms of non-human edible food gets fed to livestock.

In a recent “What I’ve Learned” video the narrator goes into many of the common problems with the carbon footprint of our meat and why it’s actually more nuanced than you might think.

At the end of the day, the government and big businesses need to be held responsible for their role in destroying the environment. The role of fixing the environment does not fall on the individual consumer, but rather, the producer. If you’re curious about how eating sustainable agriculture stacks up against going vegan check out this article.