Due to the way they’re processed, many fish oil supplements contain synthetic fish oil. DHA and EPA from fish oil are triglycerides, which are highly bioavailable. In most fish oil supplements, the DHA and EPA have been converted to ethyl esters — a synthetic substrate with low bioavailability that comes with health concerns.

A study, recently published in Annals of Internal Medicine on July 9 of 2019, examined the effectiveness of supplements and diets to prevent cardiovascular disease. The study looked at reviews and trials that encompasses 277 trials and 992,129 participants. They found that Omega-3 products yielded “low-certainty” evidence that they were associated with reduced risk for myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease.

One of the many problems with such medical studies is the products used. Some studies have highlighted this issue with fish oils.

Other studies looking into what common fish oil supplements actually contain have found that they have lower amounts of omega-3 than specified on the label, variable content and unregulated purity, and potentially significant levels of saturated fat and rancid oils.

Scientific American

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A recent article from Dr. Mercola’s site explains this issue in depth.

Whittel estimates about 98% of the omega-3 products on the market are inferior (and perhaps even toxic) due to the way the fish are caught and processed — a summary of which is provided in the graphic below.

In short, in order to render the rancid fish safe for human consumption, it must be cleaned, and what’s left at the end of this process is a synthetic ethyl ester omega-3 oil. The reason why some brands are able to provide you with higher concentrations of DHA, for example, is also because of this deconstruction and reconstruction process, and this appears to be part and parcel of Amarin’s complaint.

The processing most fish oils undergo transforms the omega-3 fats from their triglyceride form into an ethyl ester form. In fish, the DHA and EPA occur in the form of triglycerides, which are the most bioavailable. In most commercial fish oil supplements, however, the DHA and EPA are delivered in the form of ethyl esters.

Mercola recommends making sure your fish oil contains DHA and EPA in their triglyceride form. The company needs to process the fish oil the right way. Cold-pressed, minimally processed fish oil with triglyceride DHA and EPA is more expensive to produce.

We recommend Carlson and Nordic Naturals. Green Lifestyle Market carries Nordic Naturals fish oil.

Mercola also recommends krill oil, which has greater bioavailability.

A new study from researchers at several American universities has found that long-term exposure to air pollution, especially ozone, leads to an increase in emphysema that mirrors that of smoking a pack of cigarettes a day for 29 years. Chronic lower respiratory illnesses like emphysema are the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, but the number of people smoking fell to its lowest recorded point in U.S. history in 2017.

Rates of chronic lung disease in this country are going up and increasingly it is recognized that this disease occurs in nonsmokers…We really need to understand what’s causing chronic lung disease, and it appears that air pollution exposures that are common and hard to avoid might be a major contributor…”

Dr. Joel Kaufman

Nuts and Bolts

Of the air pollution examined in this study, researchers found that ground-level ozone, or O3, pollution had the biggest effect on emphysema. The study took place over a period of 18 years in six different cities in the United States – Chicago, Winston-Salem, N.C., Baltimore, Los Angeles, St. Paul, Minnesota, and New York. It found that cities, where average ozone levels rose by 3 ppb (parts per billion), saw a corresponding rise in emphysema rates.

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We were surprised to see how strong air pollution’s impact was on the progression of emphysema on lung scans, in the same league as the effects of cigarette smoking, which is by far the best-known cause of emphysema…”

According to Dr. Kaufman

The United States and Europe have seen declining levels of ozone in cities over the past 30 years. However, countries like India and China have seen the opposite trend. In 2015, the average ozone levels in 74 major Chinese cities increased by 3.4 percent. India and China accounted for 79 percent of premature respiratory deaths attributed to ozone pollution in a 2010 study. That can have serious effects on public health.

The New Normal

In 2015, air pollution killed 6.5 million people worldwide. It’s likely those numbers will keep rising. In the United States, the Trump Administration has been dismantling EPA policies designed to keep air pollution in check. They have finished or are currently in the process of rolling back 22 regulations that govern air pollution and emissions, including changes to the Clean Air Act. Why are we going backward?

Sources:

• Air pollution can accelerate lung disease as much as a pack a day of cigarettes – University of Washington
• Association Between Long-term Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and Change in Quantitatively Assessed Emphysema and Lung Function – JAMA
• Increasing Air Pollution Causes Lung Disease Equivalent to Smoking Pack of Cigarettes a Day for 29 Years – Newsweek
• Ozone Pollution Grows, but It Can Be Fixed – Scientific American
• One million premature deaths linked to ozone air pollution – Phys Org
• 83 Environmental Rules Being Rolled Back Under Trump – New York Times

A recent study of eight different e-liquids sold by Juul found that some of those products formed chemical irritants called acetals when heated.

Juul is one of the biggest names in the emerging e-cigarette market, but this new study furthers the growing concern that these products may also be incredibly harmful to our health. The lack of knowledge has not been helped by the lack of regulation, as these products don’t require approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). That freedom has allowed them to use compounds like vanillin, which is banned in regular cigarettes.

According to Hanno Erythropel, lead author of the study, this is bad news for consumers.

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“People often assume that these e-liquids are a final product once they are mixed…But the reactions create new molecules in the e-liquids, and it doesn’t just happen in e-liquids from small vape shops, but also in those from the biggest manufacturers in the U.S…”

He goes on to say…

“…you are breathing this in. We didn’t imagine people would be inhaling flavor compounds at the level they are now. We have very little information.”

Acetals and Ingredients

Acetals are formed when you eliminate water from alcohol and aldehydes, chemicals used to artificially flavor or perfume food. Exposing human cells to acetals causes human cells to exhibit an irritation response. Researchers noticed high acetal levels in one particular Juul flavor – creme brulee.

The creme brulee tested positive for high levels of vanillin acetals. Vanillin is a compound used for vanillin flavoring. It’s also been banned for use in regular cigarettes. But e-cigarettes contain them. Sven-Eric Jordt at Duke University is a co-author of this study…

We were surprised that levels in Juul vapor were already close to safety limits for workplaces where vanillin is used, such as in bakeries and the flavor chemical industry…”

As the FDA has yet to implement proper regulations or require companies to list the ingredients in their products, it is likely there could be more unpleasant surprises in store for e-cigarette users.

The FDA Calls for Regulation

The FDA is trying to remedy this oversight. The administration had previously set 2022 as the deadline for e-cigarette companies to submit applications to keep selling their products. That has been changed to May of 2020, after a U.S. District Court judge in Maryland ruled that the FDA had been acting outside of its legal authority in allowing e-cigarette companies to operate without proper regulation.

Although previous FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb expressed doubts that e-cigarette manufacturers would find it difficult to get their products approved, it’s not very comforting to think that the only reason the FDA is enforcing rules strictly and in a timely fashion is that they are legally compelled to.

Sources:

• Irritating Compounds Can Show Up In ‘Vape Juice’ – NPR
• Juul vaporizer: What is it, why are teens addicted and is it safe? – CNET
• Juul users inhaling chemicals not listed – YaleNews
• Juul And Rivals, Given 10 Months To Submit FDA Application, Face Battle To Keep Selling E-Cigs – Forbes
• Federal Judge Rules FDA Acted Illegally in Delaying Required Review of E-Cigarettes, Cigars – American Lung Association

According to a new report published The BMJ medical journal, more than 1 in 10 patients are harmed in the course of their medical care. Half of those injuries are said to be preventable. Of the preventable errors, 12 percent led to patients being permanently disabled or killed.

The study looked at 70 earlier reports and covered more than 300,000 patients.

Our study finds that most harm relates to medication, and this is one core area that preventative strategies could focus on.”

Maria Panagioti, a senior lecturer at the University of Manchester

While 49 percent of the medical injuries were considered “mild,” 36 percent were deemed “moderate,” and 12 percent classified as “severe.”

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This was an international study. Two decades ago a report from the Institute of Medicine showed that medical errors resulted in the death of 98,000 Americans each year. A recent Johns Hopkins study concludes 250,000 people in the U.S. die from medical errors yearly but other reports show numbers as high as 440,000 a year.

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If medical error was a disease, it would rank as the third leading cause of death in the U.S.”

The BMJ

Three unrelated strains of Candida Auris have emerged on three different continents simultaneously, and a new study says rising temperatures due to climate change are to blame. Dr. Arturo Casadevall from Johns Hopkins University is one of the study’s authors, and according to him,

The argument that we are making based on comparison to other close relative fungi is that as the climate has gotten warmer, some of these organisms, including Candida auris, have adapted to the higher temperature, and as they adapt, they break through human’s protective temperatures…What this study suggests is this is the beginning of fungi adapting to higher temperatures, and we are going to have more and more problems as the century goes on…”

Why This Is Scary

C. auris came to the medical world’s attention in 2009, and it has proven to be a particularly troublesome microbe. It often occurs with other infections, leading to the fungus being misidentified and mistreated. C. auris also displays multi-drug resistance and outbreaks usually happen in a healthcare setting like a hospital.

Silent and Deadly

In all the noise about climate change, it’s easy to forget that we aren’t the only organism that will be forever altered by the changes to the Earth’s climate. It would be a mistake to forget that, especially when you realize how much more easily bacteria and fungus will be able to adapt. Candida auris is a new kind of infection, one that’s immune to our usual antifungals, difficult to properly detect, and can be transmitted through person to person contact. This fungus is a new, scary plague, and it won’t be the last.

Sources:

• Deadly Fungal Infection Emerged Because of Global Warming, Study Says – Time
• On the Emergence of Candida auris: Climate Change, Azoles, Swamps, and Birds – American Society for Microbiology
• Rise of Candida auris blamed on global warming – Science Daily

Due to concerns that the insecticide can harm the brain and nervous system, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned chlorpyrifos for household uses in 2000 but agricultural companies are still allowed to spray it on our food.

In August of 2015 public health groups petitioned the agency to reconsider their decision, stating the pesticide should be banned from agriculture. In August 2018, a federal court ordered the EPA to review a petition. The EPA has reviewed the decision and decided not to ban chlorpyrifos.

EPA has determined that their objections must be denied because the data available are not sufficiently valid, complete or reliable to meet petitioners’ burden to present evidence demonstrating that the tolerances are not safe.”

CNN

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It is a tragedy that this administration sides with corporations instead of children’s health. But this is only a setback. Lawmakers in states like Hawaiʻi and New York are now showing the rest of the country that banning this dreadful pesticide is not only possible, but inevitable.”

Attorney Patti Goldman of Earthjustice – represents the groups that took the issue to court

Chlorpyrifos is a neurotoxic pesticide that kills a number of pests including insects and worms. By inhibiting the acetylcholinesterase enzyme it destroys the nervous systems of insects. The enzyme also regulates nerve impulses in the human body. Acute poisoning causes convulsions, respiratory paralysis, and sometimes death. Chlorpyrifos is one of the pesticide most frequently linked to pesticide poisonings.

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Chlorpyrifos is associated with neurodevelopmental harms in children. Prenatal exposures to chlorpyrifos can lead to “lower birth weight, reduced IQ, loss of working memory, attention disorders, and delayed motor development.”

Researchers from the University of Central Florida (UCF) have discovered cellular changes to neuronal stem cells when exposed to propionic acid (PPA), a preservative used to extend shelf life and reduce mold in processsed foods, breads, and cheeses.

The study shows how preservatives in food can reduce the development of neurons in fetal brains. highlighting the importance of diet for pregnant women,

Dr. Saleh A. Naser is Associate Director of the Biomedical Sciences department in College of Medicine’s Burnett School. He specializes in gastroenterology research. Dr. Naser saw reports that autistic children suffer from irritable bowel syndrome and other gastric issues. Curious about the gut-brain anxious and how it may affect children with autism, Dr. Naser examined the gut bacteria of those diagnosed with autism.

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Studies have shown a higher level of PPA in stool samples from children with autism and the gut microbiome in autistic children is different. I wanted to know what the underlying cause was.”

Dr. Naser – Science Daily

PPA exists naturally in our gut. But the study shows that eating foods containing the preservative can increase PPA in the woman’s gut, which can then crosses into the fetus.

Laboratory tests show that exposing neural stem cells to excessive PPA damages brain cells. The acid reduces the number of neurons and increases the number of glial cells (excess glial cells disturb connectivity between neurons and cause inflammation).

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Excessive amounts of PPA also damage pathways neural pathways that communicate with the body. Reduced neurons and damaged pathways disrupt the brain’s ability to communicate. This can cause repetitive behavior and difficulty socializing.

To understand the inflammatory response and GI disorder in individuals with ASD, we studied the effect of PPA on gliosis and inflammatory cytokines in differentiated hNSCs. Our data showed that PPA seems to upregulate TNF-α and IL-10 and increase the level of the cytokines (Fig. 6). Since PPA induced glial cell differentiation and increase in TNF-α and IL-10 transcription and translation, we propose that exposure to PPA during gestation may be related to gliosis and inflammation as reported in multiple neuro-developmental diseases including ASD. Specifically, exposure to high dose of PPA during early stages of neural stem cell development promotes proliferation and activation of glial cells, recapitulating the state of neuro-inflammation as reported in the post-partum autistic brain^18,19,20,35.”

Propionic Acid Induces Gliosis and Neuro-inflammation through Modulation of PTEN/AKT Pathway in Autism Spectrum Disorder