CRISPR Edited Cells May Cause Cancer According to Two Studies

Gene editing changes an organism’s DNA. The technology allows genetic material inside a cell to be added, removed, or altered at specific locations within the genome.  Many different gene editing technologies have been developed, including CRISPR-Cas9, short for “clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and CRISPR-associated protein 9.” This gene editing method has generated tons of excitement in the scientific community because it was believed to be faster, less expensive, and much more accurate than other existing genome editing methods.

CRISPR-Cas9 was a much-hyped gene editing tool that was going to be a breakthrough for medicine. A Newsweek title read, “…Could Stop Cancer, Diabetes and Bioterrorism.” But there’s a problem. Editing a cell’s genomes with CRISPR-Cas9 could have unintended consequences. According to two studies published in Nature Medicine, the CRISPR-Cas9 edited cells may seed tumors inside a patient. Those same cells that were intended to treat disease could be triggering cancer. Even though the stocks tanked upon the news, researches don’t want to sound the alarm bells. Bernhard Schmierer, a researcher with the Karolinska Institutet, said that CRISPR-Cas9 is a “powerful tool with staggering therapeutic potential,” before he went into possible risks,

Like all medical treatments however, CRISPR-Cas9-based therapies might have side effects, which the patients and caregivers should be aware of. Our study suggests that future work on the mechanisms that trigger p53 in response to CRISPR-Cas9 will be critical in improving the safety of CRISPR-Cas9-based therapies.”

Related: How to Avoid GMOs in 2018 – And Everything Else You Should Know About Genetic Engineering

Dr. Emma Haapaniemi, a researcher at the Department of Medicine, Huddinge, Karolinska Institutet and co-first author of the study stated,

By picking cells that have successfully repaired the damaged gene we intended to fix, we might inadvertently also pick cells without functional p53. If transplanted into a patient, as in gene therapy for inherited diseases, such cells could give rise to cancer, raising concerns for the safety of CRISPR-based gene therapies.”

P53 mutations are responsible for nearly half of ovarian cancers; 43 percent of colorectal cancers; 38 percent of lung cancers; nearly one-third of pancreatic, stomach, and liver cancers; and one-quarter of breast cancers, among others.” – STAT

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Whole Foods Delays GMO Labeling Policy

Whole Foods Market executives emailed suppliers last Friday to announce that the company will delay the rollout of its GMO Labeling Policy. The company’s comprehensive labeling policy was slated for September 1st. They have not announced a new timeline for the policy.

In a copy of the announcement obtained by The New Food Economy, Gallo and two vice presidents write that the pause is a response to suppliers’ concerns about having to comply with two competing sets of rules: Whole Foods’ own GMO labeling requirements, and rules newly proposed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which are currently open for public comment.”

The confusion is understandable. As currently proposed, the USDA policy would make several substantive changes to the way GMOs have traditionally been defined by the food industry—starting with the terminology itself. The government’s preferred nomenclature is “bioengineered” (BE), which only refers to a food that has had another organism’s genes spliced into it by a process called transgenesis. Other types of genetic modification, including some produced by gene-editing tools like CRISPR, would not need to be labeled. – New Food Economy

Whole Foods previously announced that it soon would require food suppliers to “label products that contain genetically modified (GMO) risk ingredients and were not third-party verified as non-GMO or organic.”

Whole Foods stated in a separate memo that all suppliers still must acquire third-party verification by a Whole Foods-approved program for any “non-GMO” claims on the food labels.

Be sure to check out How to Avoid GMOs in 2018 – And Everything Else You Should Know About Genetic Engineering.



Study Links Restaurant Food To Higher Levels of Plastic-Based Chemicals In Blood

Some reports indicate that Americans eat more and more of their meals at restaurants. Other reports say restaurant eating is on the decline. Most reports say that millennials are eating out more and that they don’t know how to cook. We’re not sure where the truth lies, but we’re pretty sure it’s not normal for twenty-year-olds to be cooking most of their own meals. And, more importantly, young consumers are growing more concerned with finding healthier food choices, whether they are eating out or not.

On that note, the single most important thing you can do for your health is to prepare your own food from scratch. Now, a new study published in the journal Environment International states that Americans’ are getting more than they bargained for when they eat out. Eating out restaurants frequently is correlated with higher body levels of phthalates.

Phthalates are not food additives; at least, they’re not intentional. Phthalates are chemicals that are mixed with plastics to make them more pliable or flexible. They are also linked to reduced semen quality, diabetes, lower IQ, cancer, and more. The chemicals can leach into food as they are stored in restaurant-style plastic containers, handled with food-handling gloves, and processed through plastic processing equipment.

Related: How to Detox From Plastics and Other Endocrine Disruptors

George Washington University, UC-Berkeley, and UC-San Francisco analyzed urine sample data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which is a government-backed health survey that is performed every two years. Data from more than 10,000 Americans (between 2005 and 2014) included urine analysis along with what they ate the day before and where they got the meal. Approximately two-thirds of the respondents reported having eaten restaurant food the prior day.

We found that people who eat out more at full-service restaurants, cafeterias, and fast-food restaurants have nearly 35 percent higher phthalate exposures than people who bought their food from a grocery store, and are presumably eating at home,” – Ami Zota, senior author on the study, Mother Jones

The reports also states that people who ate restaurant-made meat sandwiches (including hamburgers) saw increased phthalate levels higher than that of people who ate homemade meat sandwiches. Fast food consumption showed a big increase in phthalate exposure.

Our findings suggest that eating fresh, less processed foods at home can potentially reduce biologically-relevant phthalate levels in your body, and that’s something you could do tomorrow,” – Julia Varshavsky, lead author on the study

Phthalates last in the body for about a day, so the good news is that it’s not too hard to detoxify oneself of most of them by not eating out, but it begs the question, what other plastic and chemical contaminants are we getting from restaurant foods? Not to mention rancid industrial cooking oils, GMOs, and extreme cooking temperatures that cause Advanced Glycation End Products.

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Why Is Candida So Hard to Kill?

There are a lot of reasons why Candida is so hard to kill.

From Best Supplements To Kill Candida and Everything Else You Ever Wanted To Know About Fungal Infections.

Candida mutates and develops resistance towards treatment. It has been found that Candida Albicans has the ability to rearrange its genes and adapt to many methods of eradication that may be used against it, including antifungal medications, oxidative stress, and temperature increases.

When Candida has access to the bloodstream (which happens with a leaky gut), it can colonize in the sinus cavities, glands, and organs in the body, including the skin and the brain. When areas of the body have less blood flow it’s harder to fight off infection.

The cell wall of Candida is made up of mostly sugars and proteins. One of the sugars that make up the cell wall of Candida is called beta-glucans. Beta-glucans are also used as a structural building block for Candida biofilm. The beta-glucans can stimulate and suppress the immune system of the host.

Candida can bind to certain hormones, altering their shape so they’re no longer able to fit into their target hormonal receptors. This is one way Candida can manipulate the endocrine system and disrupt hormonal balance.

A healthy gut has a healthy biofilm made up of beneficial bacteria with a little bit of yeast. Healthy biofilm has a beneficial symbiotic relationship with our body. Candida also develops a biofilm.

Candida biofilm is the resilient, gelatinous matrix that Candida creates around itself when it colonizes tissue around the body. This biofilm allows Candida to grow while protecting it from the immune system. In other words, Candida uses its biofilm to suppress or activate the immune response of the host to adjust its environment.

Some Candida proteins look similar to gluten protein molecules, which also look similar to the proteins that make up our thyroid. This causes autoimmune disease.

Candida needs an alkalinity to survive. When it finds itself in an environment that is too acidic, like your gastrointestinal tract, Candida will release ammonia to lower the PH of the environment.

An abundance of Candida causes anxiety, depression, ADHD, and other a plethora of other mental health disorders. The toxins released by Candida can impair neurotransmitter production and neurotransmitter function an disrupt brain chemistry. Your thoughts, feelings, moods, and your way of seeing the world can be profoundly influenced by Candida.

Yeast needs energy. Sugar supplies this energy. If oxygen is low or non-existent (like in the middle of a ball of dough, or inside much of our body), yeast will produce carbon dioxide and ethanol, also known as alcohol. Alcohol levels can be so high in the body that the individual may actually be drunk, fail a breathalyzer test, and experience a hangover after the sugar is used up.

Fungal Supplement Stack – Knock Out Yeast, Candida, Mold, Fungus

The first three should be plenty for most people, but for really prominent fungal issues or for impatient people with a bigger budget I’d recommend all of these:

I recommend taking the SF722, Berberine, MycoCeutics, and Microdefense with meals, and the Abzorb and Syntol separately, on an empty stomach (like in the morning and before bed). The Abzorb and the Syntol are a bit redundant, but I find good results using both if the budget can afford it. If money is really tight, just get the SF722 and put your money into your diet.



Microplastics In Tap Water and Beer Around the Great Lakes, and Everywhere Else

A new study sampled twelve different beers in the Great Lakes area and found all to be contaminated with microplastics. Researchers also surveyed tap water from the same region and found microplastics in eight of the nine samples as well.

The study was published in the online journal PLOS ONE last month. Most microplastics discovered were 5 millimeters in length or shorter, according to the researchers. For reference, a penny is 19 millimeters in diameter.

Related: Drinking Bottled Water Means Drinking Microplastics, According To Damning New Study

The study was led by UMN School of Public Health graduate student Mary Kosuth. Sherri Mason, of the State University of New York at Fredonia, is a revered expert in microplastics contamination. She assisted with the study. UMN School of Public Health associate professor Betsy Wattenberg oversaw the study.

Wattenberg found it interesting that the amount of plastic in the beer samples did not coincide with the amount of plastic found in the tap water used to make the beer.

The amount of microplastics detected in the beer didn’t necessarily match the amount of microplastics detected in the water that was used to make the beer. And that sort of suggests that the plastics can be introduced at different steps in the process of making the beer.” – Wattenberg

Related: How to Detox From Plastics and Other Endocrine Disruptors

The same team also collected 159 tap water samples from 14 countries and discovered that 81% of the samples tested also had microplastic contamination.

I think what was surprising was the widespread contamination, that the contamination was detected in tap water throughout the world in many sources of tap water from both urban sources and rural sources, in both developing countries and developed countries,” – Betsy Wattenberg told Wisconsin Public Radio.

There was also a German beer study from 2014 that found microplastics in all 24 brands of beer analyzed.

 



In Canada There Is More Autism Where Vaccine Coverage Is Highest

Rates of autism continue to increase worldwide. An estimated 1 in 66 children are in the spectrum (0.0151515152%). Canada reported in March of this year that autism as of 2015 affect 1.52% of youth, putting Canada among the “top ten” for autism among developed nations.

The World Mercury Project reports that there is more autism in regions where vaccine coverage is most prevalent.

What might explain the variation in ASD prevalence within Canada’s borders? … autism prevalence is highest in the Canadian provinces that also have the highest vaccination coverage.”

ASD prevalence by province and territory

NASS gathers data from the health, education, and social services sectors for youth aged 5-17 years who have a confirmed autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis. Six provinces (British Columbia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Quebec) and one territory (Yukon) provided the data for 2015. ASD prevalence in 2015 was highest in Newfoundland and Labrador (1 in 57), Prince Edward Island (1 in 59) and Quebec (1 in 65). Prevalence was lower in the Yukon territory (1 in 125). See chart:

Autism prevalence is highest in the Canadian provinces that have the highest vaccination coverage. A 2013 survey, also done by the Public Health Agency of Canada, examined vaccine coverage by province/territory and type of vaccine. Newfoundland/Labrador and Quebec had five to fifteen percent higher vaccination rates than in Yukon.

For more on this check out Official Canadian Data Show That There Is More Autism in Regions Where Vaccine Coverage Is Highest

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Neonicotinoids Affect Hormone Production in Humans

Neonicotinoid pesticides are known worldwide for their negative effects on bee populations, but a new study finds that this popular agricultural chemical may also be responsible for elevated levels of a key enzyme in estrogen production. This is big and scary news, as these chemicals are in a huge portion of the food supply. Nearly a quarter of insecticides sold are neonicotinoids. The majority of corn grown in the United States is treated with these chemicals, and a third of all soybean fields have been treated with them. Neonicotinoids are causing serious health issues in bees and other pollinator populations, and research is confirming that what’s bad for the bees and birds is bad for us – in more ways than we had previously confirmed.

Pesticides, Estrogen, and Cancer

This new study focuses on an important enzyme in estrogen production, aromatase (also referred to as CYP19), and how the hormone process is influenced by neonicotinoids, specifically thiacloprid and imidacloprid (both manufactured by Bayer CropScience). Previous research has shown that neonicotinoids act as estrogen disruptors in newly emerged bees and winter bees. There hasn’t been much research exploring the link between these pesticides and human health, but Professor Sanderson and Ph.D. student Élyse Caron-Beaudoin from Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique in Quebec have now identified it as an endocrine disruptor. Discussing the study’s findings, Caron-Beaudoin says, “Endocrine disrupters are natural or synthetic molecules that can alter hormone function…They affect the synthesis, action, or elimination of natural hormones, which can lead to a wide variety of health effects.”

The enzyme in question, aromatase, turns androgens into estrogens. Aromatase levels are susceptible to environmental influences, and higher levels of the enzyme have been linked to unusually early puberty in girls and endocrine disorders boys. Increased aromatase has also been linked to cancer, and this is where Sanderson and Caron-Beaudoin make their most significant conclusion.

We demonstrated in vitro that neonicotinoids may stimulate a change in CYP19 promoter usage similar to that observed in patients with hormone-dependent breast cancer.”

Neonocontinoid Regulation Worldwide

The European Union is doing something about the harm caused by neonicotinoids, banning the use of the insecticide outside in the next six months. This is a more stringent ban than the previous measure, which prohibited the use of neonicotinoids on flowering crops that attract bees. It’s a step in the right direction and good news for European people and pollinators.

On the other side of the pond, the Environmental Protection Agency plans to wrap up an official review of the risk neonicotinoids pose to pollinators by the end of 2018. Studies suggesting the link between the insecticides and bee decline have been available since the 1990s, and evidence linking the two has only grown since then. Despite this, the current EPA is unlikely to find in favor of the bees. In contrast to the European ban on neonicotinoids, Americans will have to wait until the lobbies for almonds and other heavily bee-dependent crops are willing to spend more than Bayer.

A Complete Lack of Surprise

Hindsight can be frustrating, even to the point of rage sometimes. The EPA knew the decline of the bee population was a definite possibility, thanks to neonicotinoids. Yet they allowed the pesticides to move forward with no special dispensation. The current EPA, while extremely terrible, is of our own making. Big agricultural companies have set the stage for this, and they continue to call the shots. We know that these things are bad for us, but they are accepted as a cost of doing business. Well, guess what…the price keeps increasing. At point will we be unable to pay it?

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