Category: Recommended

I’ve written many articles detailing lifestyle and dietary strategies that may decrease your COVID-19 risk by boosting your immune function and general health. Now we can add fermented foods to the list, which shouldn’t come as such a great surprise, considering the influence your gut health has on your immune system.

The study,1 posted July 7, 2020, on the pre-print server medRxiv, conducted by researchers in Berlin, Germany, looked at whether diet might play a role in COVID-19 death rates. Interestingly, mortality rates tend to be lower in countries where consumption of traditionally fermented foods is commonplace. As reported by News Medical Life Sciences:2

“The researchers say that if their hypothesis is confirmed in future studies, COVID-19 will be the first infectious disease epidemic to involve biological mechanisms that are associated with a loss of ‘nature.’ Significant changes in the microbiome caused by modern life and less fermented food consumption may have increased the spread or severity of the disease, they say.”

Fermented Veggie Consumption May Lower COVID-19 Mortality
The researchers obtained data from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Comprehensive European Food Consumption Database and compared consumption levels with COVID-19 mortality statistics (deaths per capita) for each country, obtained from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
For each g/day increase in the average national consumption of fermented vegetables, the mortality risk for COVID-19 decreased by 35.4%.
The EFSA database includes statistics on countries’ consumption of fermented vegetables, pickled or marinated vegetables, fermented milk, yogurt and fermented sour milk specifically.
They also looked at potential confounders, such as gross domestic product, population density, percentage of the population over the age of 64, unemployment and obesity rates. According to the authors:3

“Of all the variables considered, including confounders, only fermented vegetables reached statistical significance with the COVID-19 death rate per country.
For each g/day increase in the average national consumption of fermented vegetables, the mortality risk for COVID-19 decreased by 35.4%. Adjustment did not change the point estimate and results were still significant.”

Probiotics May Ease Depression
In related news, a review4 of seven small clinical trials has found probiotics and/or prebiotics may be helpful for those struggling with depression and anxiety. While these mental health challenges are epidemics in their own right, the global lockdowns certainly have not made the situation any better.

According to the authors,5 all of the studies “demonstrated significant improvements in one or more of the outcomes” compared with no treatment, placebo, or baseline measurements, leading them to conclude that “utilizing pre/probiotic may be a potentially useful adjunctive treatment” for patients with depression and/or anxiety.

The review builds on earlier studies that have shown people with depression tend to have higher amounts of specific gut bacteria than those who are not depressed.

While it seems the gut microbiome’s role in health is a very recent discovery, as early as 1898 — yes, 122 years ago — a paper6 in The Journal of the American Medical Association proposed that intestinal microbes might play a role in melancholia. As noted in the 2019 paper, “The Microbiome and Mental Health: Hope or Hype?”:7

“The primary tenet of FMT [fecal microbiota transplantation] is that dysbiosis within the human host gut microbiome predisposes an individual to disease. The exact mechanisms through which this occurs have not yet been established, but several potential direct and indirect pathways exist through which the gut microbiota can modulate the gut–brain axis.
These pathways include endocrine (cortisol), immune (cytokines) and neural (vagus and enteric nervous system) pathways, and the assumption is that introducing microflora from a healthy individual will help recolonize the system with a microbial pattern more in keeping with wellness either by establishing the new healthy microbiota or by allowing the host to ‘reset’ their own microflora to a pre-illness state.”

Bacteria Associated With Mental Health and Depression
Two types of gut bacteria in particular, Coprococcus and Dialister bacteria, have been shown to be “consistently depleted” in individuals diagnosed with clinical depression. According to the authors of a study published in the April 2019 issue of Nature Microbiology:8

“Surveying a large microbiome population cohort (Flemish Gut Flora Project, n = 1,054) with validation in independent data sets, we studied how microbiome features correlate with host quality of life and depression.
Butyrate-producing Faecalibacterium and Coprococcus bacteria were consistently associated with higher quality of life indicators. Together with Dialister, Coprococcus spp. were also depleted in depression, even after correcting for the confounding effects of antidepressants.”

The researchers went on to analyze and catalogue the neuroactive potential of these gut bacteria, finding that those associated with good mental health had the ability to synthesize the dopamine metabolite 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, while those associated with depression produce ?-aminobutyric acid. Other studies have identified yet other microbial profiles associated with better or worse mental health. For example:

• 2016 research9 found the relative abundance of Actinobacteria was increased, and Bacteroidetes was decreased in depressed individuals compared to healthy controls.
• A 2015 study10 found patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder had higher amounts of Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria, and lower amounts of Firmicutes than healthy controls.

“These findings enable a better understanding of changes in the fecal microbiota composition in such patients, showing either a predominance of some potentially harmful bacterial groups or a reduction in beneficial bacterial genera,” the authors wrote.

• A 2014 study11 found depressed individuals had an overrepresentation of Bacteroidales and an underrepresentation of Lachnospiraceae bacteria.

Lachnospiraceae are a family of beneficial bacteria that ferment plant polysaccharides into short-chain fatty acids such as butyrate and acetate.12 The genus Oscillibacter, and one specific clade within Alistipes were also significantly associated with depression.

Zinc for Mental Health and Immune Function
Aside from fermented foods, zinc is another dietary factor that impacts both your mental health and COVID-19 risk. As noted in a 2013 article in Psychology Today:13

“Zinc is an essential mineral that may be lacking in modern processed and strict vegetarian diets, as major sources are meat, poultry, and oysters … Since the body has no special zinc storage capability, its important to consume a bit of zinc on a regular basis.
What does zinc have to do with depression? It turns out that zinc plays a part in modulating the brain and body’s response to stress all along the way …
The highest amount of zinc in the body is found in our brains, particularly in a part of our brains called the hippocampus. Zinc deficiency can lead to symptoms of depression, ADHD, difficulties with learning and memory, seizures, aggression, and violence …
In humans, zinc has been found to be low in the serum of those suffering from depression. In fact, the more depressed someone is, the lower the zinc level … Zinc supplementation has been shown to have antidepressant effects in humans …”

Zinc May Be Crucial Against COVID-19

Zinc is also important for your immune defense against the common cold and other viral infections, including COVID-19, and is a component of enzymes involved in tissue remodeling. As noted in Psychology Today:14

“Low zinc also seems to affect inflammation and immunity. The T cells in our immune system, which hunt and kill infection, don’t work well without zinc and also release more calls for help (leading to more inflammation, via IL-6 and IL-1) in the case of zinc deficiency.”

Interestingly, low zinc levels are associated with a loss of taste and smell, and these are also two early symptoms of COVID-19 infection. This suggests zinc deficiency may indeed be a key factor in the illness.

Researchers have also argued that one of the key mechanisms of action of the drug hydroxychloroquine is its ability to shuttle zinc into the cells. In fact, zinc appears to be a “magic ingredient” required to prevent viral replication.15

This is likely why, when taken early along with zinc, the drug appears to have a high rate of success against COVID-19. As noted in the preprint paper, “Does Zinc Supplementation Enhance the Clinical Efficacy of Chloroquine / Hydroxychloroquine to Win Todays Battle Against COVID-19?” published April 8, 2020:16

“Besides direct antiviral effects, CQ/HCQ [chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine] specifically target extracellular zinc to intracellular lysosomes where it interferes with RNA-dependent RNA polymerase activity and coronavirus replication.
As zinc deficiency frequently occurs in elderly patients and in those with cardiovascular disease, chronic pulmonary disease, or diabetes, we hypothesize that CQ/HCQ plus zinc supplementation may be more effective in reducing COVID-19 morbidity and mortality than CQ or HCQ in monotherapy.”

Being a natural zinc ionophore (meaning it improves zinc uptake by your cells), the supplement quercetin also has very similar mechanisms of action and appears to be a viable alternative to hydroxychloroquine.

Simple Strategies to Lower Your COVID-19 Risk
Personally, I take quercetin and zinc at bedtime as a prophylactic each day. The reason it’s best to take them in the evening — several hours after your last meal and before the long fast of sleeping — is because quercetin is also a senolytic (i.e., it selectively kills senescent or old, damaged cells) that is activated by fasting. So, by taking it at night, you maximize its other benefits.

If you’re not already eating fermented foods, now would be a good time to consider adding some into your diet. Fermented vegetables are easy and inexpensive to make at home, and provide a whole host of health benefits, thanks to the beneficial bacteria they provide. To learn more, see “Fermenting Foods — One of the Easiest and Most Creative Aspects of Making Food from Scratch” and “Tips for Fermenting at Home.”
If you have symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 infection, then my best recommendation is to start nebulizing food grade hydrogen peroxide at 0.1% as discussed in “Could Hydrogen Peroxide Treat Coronavirus?”
I would also make sure that your vitamin D levels are adequate, as discussed in my Vitamin D in the Prevention of COVID-19 report. If you don’t know your vitamin D level and have not been in the sun or taken over 5,000 units of vitamin D a day, it would likely be helpful to take one bolus dose of 100,000 units, and make sure you are taking plenty of magnesium, which helps convert the vitamin D to its active immune modulating form.

New research published in the Journal of Clinical Pathology suggests that chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as myalgic encephalitis (ME), is linked to a stomach virus. More than 80 percent of the biopsy specimens from patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome tested positive for enteroviral particles, compared to 20 percent of specimens from healthy people. Enteroviruses infect your bowel, causing severe but short lasting respiratory and gut infections. There are more than 70 different types of enteroviruses, and they can spread to the central nervous system, heart, and muscles.In a significant portion of patients, the initial infection had occurred years earlier, but they were still showing evidence of mild, long-term inflammation.Journal of Clinical Pathology September 14, 2007Eurekalert September 13, 2007 

July 15, 2020, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) published its 2020 report, an independent scientific review on the nutrition and health status of Americans, and there was a concerning finding: Most Americans don’t get enough choline, an essential nutrient that’s vitally important, but rarely discussed.
Marie Caudill, Ph.D., a registered dietitian who is internationally recognized for her research on choline and folate, says the most alarming find from the report is that the populations who would benefit the most from extra choline — pregnant and lactating women, infants and children — are falling especially short.
In pregnant women, choline deficiency is associated with an increased risk of neural tube defects. In the general population, getting too little choline can lead to the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and muscle damage.
What Does Choline Do?
Choline is often lumped in with the B vitamins, but it’s not technically a vitamin. It’s more of a vitamin-like nutrient.1 Choline helps support optimal health at all stages of life. It plays a role in healthy fetal development, helps maintain cognition and memory, boosts energy, improves fitness and keeps your liver healthy. Your brain and nervous system need adequate amounts of choline to help regulate muscle control, mood and memory.2 Choline is also involved in metabolism. Other roles of choline include:

Promoting healthy fetal development3 — Choline is required for proper neural tube closure,4 brain development and healthy vision.5 Research shows mothers who get sufficient choline impart lifelong memory enhancement to their child due to changes in the development of the hippocampus (memory center) of the child’s brain.6 Choline deficiency also raises your risk of premature birth, low birth weight and preeclampsia.

Helping reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease — According to a study in the journal ARYA Atherosclerosis, choline may help prevent cardiovascular disease by converting homocysteine to methionine.7 Homocysteine is an amino acid that may increase your risk for heart disease and stroke if it accumulates in the blood.8

Aiding the synthesis of phospholipids, the most common of which is phosphatidylcholine, better known as lecithin, which constitutes between 40% and 50% of your cellular membranes and 70% to 95% of the phospholipids in lipoproteins and bile.9

Boosting your nervous system health — Choline is necessary for making acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter involved in healthy muscle, heart and memory performance.10

Strengthening cell messaging, by producing cell-messaging compounds.11

Facilitate fat transport and metabolism — Choline is needed to carry cholesterol from your liver, and a choline deficiency could result in excess fat and cholesterol buildup.12

Modulates DNA synthesis,13 aiding in the process along with other vitamins, such as folate and B12.

Improves cognitive performance — Researchers found a relationship between high dietary choline and better cognitive performance in a study involving men and women from the Framingham Offspring population.14 In a group of 1,391 men and women, performance factors were better in those who consumed more choline, adding to evidence your nutrition makes a difference in how your brain ages.

Helps manage certain mental disorders — Research shows that low choline intake is associated with increased anxiety levels.15 This nutrient has been used in treating rapid-cycling bipolar disorder, too. A study published in the journal Biological Psychiatry shows that choline supplementation helped reduce the manic and mood symptoms of people with bipolar disorder.16

Influences methylation reactions17

Aids in healthy mitochondrial function18

The Problems With Choline Deficiency
If you don’t get enough choline through your diet, it can result in a choline deficiency, which has widespread negative health effects. Because choline is involved in fat metabolism, low levels of the nutrient can result in an overaccumulation of deposits of fat in your liver.19 Eventually, this can lead to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, which currently affect 30% of the U.S. population.20 Choline deficiency can also lead to liver damage and muscle damage.21
Choline deficiency can be even more worrisome for pregnant women and lactating mothers. Choline is essential for proper brain development of a growing fetus. It also helps maintain proper homocysteine concentrations during pregnancy.22
According to a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, there is an increased risk of neural tube birth defects in babies of women who consume less than 300 mg of choline per day when compared to pregnant women who get at least 500 mg daily.23
Because choline will be pulled from the mother’s blood to supply adequate amounts to the fetus, pregnant and lactating women have higher choline needs, yet only 5% get enough, according to one study.24 In addition to pregnant and lactating women, groups at especially high risk for choline deficiency include:

Endurance athletes — Endurance exercises, like marathons and triathlons, can deplete choline levels. Studies show that supplementing with choline before these types of stressful exercises can help keep the levels of choline in the blood from getting too low.25,26
People who drink a lot of alcohol — Excess alcohol consumption can increase your need for more choline while simultaneously increasing your risk of deficiency.27
Postmenopausal women — Postmenopausal women have lower estrogen concentrations, which can increase the risk of organ dysfunction in response to a low-choline diet.28
Vegetarians and vegans — Animal foods like beef liver, eggs and krill oil are the highest sources of dietary choline. Because vegetarians and vegans have dietary restrictions that eliminate some or all of these choline-rich foods, it can be more difficult to get an adequate amount of the nutrient through diet alone.29

How Much Choline Do You Need?
Your liver makes some choline, but the amount isn’t enough to keep you healthy and prevent the adverse effects of choline deficiency. That’s why you need to get adequate amounts through your diet.
The amount of choline you need depends on your age, sex and whether or not you’re pregnant or nursing. Here’s a general breakdown from the National Institutes of Health30:

Age
Male
Female
Pregnant Women
Nursing Women

0 to 6 months
125 mg/day
125 mg/day

7 to 12 months
150 mg/day
150 mg/day

1 to 3 years
200 mg/day
200 mg/day

4 to 8 years
250 mg/day
250 mg/day

9 to 13 years
375 mg/day
375 mg/day

14 to 18 years
550 mg/day
400 mg/day
450 mg/day
550 mg/day

19 years and older
550 mg/day
425 mg/day
450 mg/day
550 mg/day

Keep in mind, however, that some people have genetic polymorphisms that increase the need for choline and certain ethnic and racial groups are more likely to be affected.31 According to Chris Masterjohn, who has a Ph.D. in nutritional science, eating a diet that’s high in (otherwise healthy) saturated fats can also increase your need for choline.32
How to Get More Choline
Grass fed beef liver is the richest dietary source of choline, with 430 mg of choline per 100-gram cooked serving.33 But liver isn’t as much a staple on American plates as the second highest source of choline — eggs. One single egg, which weighs around 50 grams, contains 169 mg of choline.34
Here’s the catch, though: Most of that choline, or 139 mg, is found in the yolk.35 Egg yolks are also rich in lecithin, a fatty acid that’s a precursor for choline. That means if you’re still following the outdated and totally misguided advice to eat only the egg whites, you’re missing out on a lot of the egg’s nutrition.
Krill oil, which comes from krill, a crustacean mainly eaten by whales, penguins and other aquatic creatures, is also a rich source of choline. A 2011 study published in the journal Lipids found 69 choline-containing phospholipids in krill oil.36
Of those phospholipids, 60 were phosphatidylcholine substances, which protect against liver disease (including hepatitis and cirrhosis in alcoholics), reduce digestive tract inflammation and lessen symptoms associated with inflammatory conditions such as ulcerative colitis and irritable bowel syndrome.37 Other dietary sources of choline include:38

Grass fed beef liver
Organic pasture raised chicken

Atlantic cod
Alaskan salmon

Kidney beans
Quinoa

Brussels sprouts
Broccoli

Shitake mushroom
Cauliflower

According to the DGAC, most multi-vitamin supplements don’t contain sufficient amounts of choline. You can find supplements that contain only choline, but it’s always best to try to get what you need through a healthy diet.

If you’re a fig lover, this next sentence may be hard for you to swallow. The figs you’re eating could have a dead wasp stuck in them. I know that probably makes you squirm, but it sounds more dramatic than it is. You may think the idea of wasps inside a fig is gross, but it’s actually pretty amazing to see how nature knows exactly what it needs to do to allow both plant and insect species to survive.
Figs and fig wasps have a mutually beneficial relationship — something that’s officially called mutualism1 — that developed over millions of years of evolution. They need each other to survive. Fig wasps help pollinate figs and, in turn, the figs provide a safe place for the wasps to lay their eggs. This relationship is crucial to a balanced ecosystem and is also crucial to you enjoying a fresh fig or that fig jam you love.
So, don’t let this tidbit of information make you shy away from eating figs. The fruit, or technically flower, is full of resistant starch, potassium and other nutrients such as magnesium and choline, that help keep you healthy.2 Plus, you’re probably already eating a lot of bugs without even realizing it. Read on to see what I mean.
Why Do Figs Need Wasps?

Figs are often eaten as a fruit, but they’re actually inverted flowers with a fascinating biology.3 Unlike other flowers that bloom and expand outwardly, fig flowers bloom inside the fig’s pod. Because the flowers are on the inside, they require a special system for pollination — and that’s where the female fig wasps come in.
Each flower produces a single fruit called an achene that’s composed of a single shell and a hard seed. Because several flowers grow inside the fig pod, there are also several of these hard-shelled fruits. That’s what gives fresh figs their seeded inside and signature crunch.
Female fig wasps enter a fig through small passageways called ostioles. The ostioles are so narrow that the fig wasps actually lose their wings and antenna when traveling through them.4 Because of this, they can get in the figs, but they usually cannot get out. That’s OK with them, though, because their sole purpose is reproduction.
There are female and male figs. The female figs are the ones we eat, while the male figs serve solely as a place for fig wasps to reproduce. Once inside a male fig, the females lay their eggs. Eventually the eggs hatch and then the baby male wasps dig tunnels through the fig so that the baby female wasps, covered in pollen, can escape and continue the cycle in another fig.5
However, if a fig wasp enters a female fig, she can’t lay her eggs. Instead, she pollinates the flowers inside the fig, but then stays behind, living out the rest of her maximum 48-hour life cycle,6 and dying inside the fig.7
So, Are There Dead Wasps in Figs?

The short answer to whether or not there are dead wasps inside your fig is: Maybe. Most figs grown in the U.S. are self-pollinating, which means they don’t need the wasps to grow. Karla Stockli, CEO of the California Fig Advisory Board, points out that more than 95% of the figs produced in California are self-pollinating and most of the figs that you can buy in the U.S. (100% of dried figs and 98% of fresh figs) come from California, which has the highest quality standards in the world.8
That’s one bit of good news. The other thing that may ease your mind is that the figs actually contain an enzyme called ficin that breaks down the exoskeletons of the wasps and turns them into protein. Technically, when you eat a fig, you could be eating protein that comes from a wasp, but you’re not likely to find an intact wasp carcass in the fig.
Even if you did find an intact wasp, it’s not like the wasps you’re probably picturing. Fig wasps are really small9 — about 1.5 millimeters in size — so you probably wouldn’t even notice them. For reference, a typical yellowjacket worker wasp is around 12 millimeters, while the queen can grow to about 19 millimeters.
Don’t Worry, You Already Eat Bugs

The other thing that may ease your mind­ (or not, depending on how you look at it) is that if you eat fresh fruit and vegetables, you’ve likely eaten thousands of bugs already.
According to a report by Terro, a pest control company in Pennsylvania, the average person can consume up to 140,000 insect parts each year.10 That’s because the FDA allows certain amounts of insects into the food supply. For example, a half-cup of frozen berries is legally allowed to contain two whole insects.
And those hops used to make beer? They get the go-ahead with 25,000 whole insects in a half-cup. While this may make you squirm, insects are actually a regular part of the diet in many places. Approximately 80% of people worldwide eat one or more of the different 1,700 edible insects as a source of protein.11 Some parts of the world, especially tropical countries, even consider them delicacies.12
They’re only considered gross in Western societies because we’re not accustomed to eating them and categorize them as pests instead of food. With animal agriculture, we also don’t really have a need for alternate protein sources, so we tend to shy away from edible insects.
Health Benefits of Figs

If you can get past the idea the idea that some of the figs you eat may have a wasp in them, there are a lot of reasons to include them in your diet. One medium sized fig is approximately 40 calories and provides 1.5 grams of fiber, in addition to an abundant amount of magnesium and choline, as well as vitamin B6, copper, pantothenic acid and folate. It’s also rich in beta carotene.13
Figs are a good source of potassium, which your body uses to control blood pressure and balance the sodium potassium ratio, and calcium. As you might expect, the nutritional value increases by weight as the fruit is dried. For instance, 100 grams provide 35 mg of calcium when fresh14 but 162 mg of calcium when dry.15
Since figs are high in fiber, they may act as a natural laxative. High-fiber foods also provide a feeling of fullness and one of the types of fiber in figs — resistant starch — acts as a natural prebiotic to support pre-existing beneficial bacteria in your gut.16 Resistant starch also helps control blood sugar, protect the kidneys and help the body use certain vitamins, like vitamin D — a combination that can help control diabetes and reduce diabetic complications.17
Resistant starch also increases satiety, helping to control body weight and reduce the risk of obesity. In one animal study, researchers found adding resistant starch to the diet of obese rats helped reduce body weight by as much as 40%.18
Another animal study evaluated the effects of figs, dates and pomegranates on neuroinflammation.19 They found daily administration of a supplement containing these three fruits decreased inflammatory cytokines and delayed formation of senile plaques. The researchers concluded the fruit mediated the reduction of cytokines and may be one mechanism that can help protect against neurodegenerative diseases.
Fig leaves may be as important nutritionally as the fruit itself as they have unique health benefits, including an ability to regulate blood sugar. In one study, patients given a decoction of fig leaves for one month were able to lower their average insulin dose by 12%.20
An animal study evaluating hypertriglyceridemia in rats used an administration of fig leaf decoction. While total cholesterol levels were unaffected, the fig decoction had a clear positive effect on lipid molecule breakdown.21
Figs, including the fruit, skin, leaves and pulps are also rich in antioxidants and phenolic compounds.22 These compounds help combat oxidative stress and can protect against age-related and chronic conditions like heart disease, cancer, metabolic syndrome and obesity.23

In the wake of the FDA approval of Lyrica, the first medicine approved to treat fibromyalgia, the New York Times has published a controversial article questioning whether the disease exists at all.
The Times claims that patient advocacy groups and doctors who specialize in fibromyalgia believe that the Lyrica approval is a milestone, and hope its approval will legitimize fibromyalgia in the same manner that Prozac legitimized depression. But, says the Times, other doctors believe that the disease does not exist, and that Lyrica will be taken by millions of people who do not need it.
Adding to the controversy is the fact that Lyrica itself is a drug originally designed for diabetic nerve pain that was rejected because of its unimpressive results and many side effects, including weight gain, edema, dizziness and sleepiness. This has left some wondering if the repositioning of Lyrica is little more than a cynical ploy to sell a failed medication. The potential for weight gain is a special concern, because many fibromyalgia patients are already overweight.
The Times article has already generated a good deal of online comment, and highlights the uneasy intersection where drug company greed and medicalization of nonexistent illnesses meets conventional medicine’s inability to diagnose and treat real problems.

Beyond Meat is one of a handful of companies flooding the market with plant-based burgers and other fake meat products, billing them as a healthy, environmentally friendly alternative.
But before you fall for the marketing hype, be aware that these ultraprocessed junk foods are anything but natural, and Beyond Meat has even signed an agreement with the Jiaxing Economic & Technological Development Zone (JXEDZ) with plans to start producing its “beef,” “pork” and “chicken” products in China.1
China, meanwhile, is notorious for its rampant food safety issues, including problems with illegal additives and contamination.2 It’s because China has these problems that a recent opinion piece in Food Safety News3 is so relevant when it comes to Beyond Meats being manufactured in China.
The piece talks about the lack of transparency in food companies’ disclosure of food safety violations to the FDA. So, if chemical contamination and other problems are occurring with other types of food and you’re not hearing about it, who’s to say the same thing won’t happen with Beyond Meats and its lab-created products from China?
Jiaxing, the Chinese city where Beyond Meat plans “to design and develop manufacturing facilities in the JXEDZ, including a state-of-the-art production facility to manufacture plant-based meat products including beef, pork and chicken under the Beyond Meat brand in China,” also happens to be the city where some 16,000 dead pigs were dumped into the Huangpu river, creating a toxic soup that threatened water supplies in 2013.4
Beyond Meat ‘Delighted and Confident’ Over China Deal

In a news release, Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown shared the company’s enthusiasm for the newfound partnership with China:5

“We are delighted and confident that after several months of productive and collaborative discussions, we will partner with the JXEDZ to develop two production facilities, including one of the world’s largest and technologically advanced plant-based meat factories.

We are very impressed by the capabilities and vision of the JXEDZ and they are the ideal partner for us in this vitally important country and market.”

Production is expected to begin on a trial basis within months while full-scale operations are slated for early 2021. The question is whether U.S. consumers will receive the news of Beyond Meat being made in China with the same fervor.
As Food Safety News put it, “It remains to be seen how American consumers will respond. When USDA permitted China to process chickens raised and slaughtered in the U.S., Canada and Chile, thousands of American consumers protested because of China’s dismal reputation for food safety.”6
Beyond Meat has also stated that “China is a critical part of Beyond Meat’s long-term growth strategy,”7 and in April 2020 they launched three Beyond Beef products in Chinese Starbucks shops.8 The brand is growing steadily, with total revenue increasing from $16.2 million in 2016 to $87.9 million in 2018.9 It’s expected that its revenue will continue to rise, reaching $358 million in 2020.
Why Fake Meat Products Aren’t ‘Natural’

Beyond Meat cites human health as one of its driving missions that will be achieved by shifting from animal to plant-based meat.10 But it’s widely known that ultraprocessed foods are the enemy of good health, even increasing the risk of premature death by 62% if eaten in quantities of more than four servings daily.11
What makes Beyond Meat an ultraprocessed product? According to the NOVA Food Classification system, designed by the Center for Epidemiological Studies in Health and Nutrition, ultraprocessed foods are:12

“[I]ndustrial formulations made entirely or mostly from substances extracted from foods (oils, fats, sugar, starch, and proteins), derived from food constituents (hydrogenated fats and modified starch), or synthesized in laboratories from food substrates or other organic sources (flavor enhancers, colors, and several food additives used to make the product hyper-palatable).”

A hallmark of ultraprocessed foods is their long ingredient lists. Beyond Burger’s patties contain 22 ingredients. Among them are expeller-pressed canola oil, pea protein isolate, cellulose from bamboo, modified food starch and methylcellulose13 — hardly “health” foods. To morph these ingredients into a patty that resembles meat requires significant processing.
Even registered dietician Emily Gelsomin, a senior clinical nutrition specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital, said to the Harvard Health Blog, “Even though legumes are sourced for protein in the branded meatless options, their health benefits are somewhat blunted by the high degree of processing involved.”14
Beyond Meat certainly doesn’t want to highlight the heavily processed nature of its fake food, so on its FAQ pages where it explains how they “rebuild meat,” it’s stated:15

“Protein, fat, minerals, carbohydrates, and water are the five building blocks of meat. We source these building blocks directly from plants. Using heating, cooling, and pressure, we create the fibrous texture of meat from plant-based proteins.

Then, we mix in fats, minerals, fruit and vegetable-based colors, natural flavors, and carbohydrates to replicate the appearance, juiciness, and flavor of meat.”

Impossible Foods Holds 14 Patents

Impossible Foods is another leader in the fake meat industry and one of Beyond Meat’s top rivals. Its website also suggests its plant-based meat is better for you and the planet,16 even though the products resemble nothing found in nature. In fact, Impossible Foods holds 14 patents, with at least 100 more pending.17
The patents, which were uncovered by Seth Itzkan, environmental futurist and co-founder and co-director of Soil4Climate, include the following and offer proof of the unnatural nature of these fake foods; truly natural foods cannot be patented.18

Patent No. 10287568 — Methods for extracting and purifying nondenatured proteins
Patent No. 10273492 — Expression constructs and methods of genetically engineering methylotrophic yeast
Patent No. 10172380 — Ground meat replicas

Patent No. 10172381 — Methods and compositions for consumables
Patent No. 10093913 — Methods for extracting and purifying non-denatured proteins
Patent No. 10039306 — Methods and compositions for consumables

Patent No. 10087434 — Methods for extracting and purifying nondenatured proteins
Patent No. 9943096 — Methods and compositions for affecting the flavor and aroma profile of consumables
Patent No. 9938327 — Expression constructs and methods of genetically engineering methylotrophic yeast

Patent No. 9833768 — Affinity reagents for protein purification
Patent No. 9826772 — Methods and compositions for affecting the flavor and aroma profile of consumables
Patent No. 9808029 — Methods and compositions for affecting the flavor and aroma profile of consumables

Patent No. 9737875 — Affinity reagents for protein purification
Patent No. 9700067 — Methods and compositions for affecting the flavor and aroma profile of consumables
Patent No. 9011949 — Methods and compositions for consumables

Are Meat Eaters Being Misled?

While you may assume that the allure of a plant-based burger applies most to vegans and vegetarians, research from market research firm NPD Group suggests that 95% of those who bought plant-based burgers were meat eaters.19
“Plant-based burgers allow consumers to substitute without sacrifice. They get the ‘burger’ experience while assuaging their need for more protein and social concerns,” Darren Seifer, NPD Group food and beverage industry analyst, said in Market Watch.20
NPD Group’s report added that 18% of the U.S. adult population is also trying to add more plant-based foods into their diet, presumably for the health benefits, but adding a processed plant-based meat substitute is not the same as adding more vegetables. It seems many meat eaters are being misled when they purchase meatless burgers, as they think they’re doing their health and the environment a favor.
Impossible Foods even claims that they have a better carbon footprint than live animal farms and hired Quantis, a group of scientists and strategists who help their clients take actions based on scientific evidence, to prove their point.
According to the executive summary published on the Impossible Foods website, their product reduced environmental impact between 87% and 96% in the categories studied, including global warming potential, land occupation and water consumption.21 This, however, compares fake meat to meat from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), which are notoriously destructive to the environment.
“The pretense that this wealth-concentrating march of the software industry into the food sector is in any way good for people or the environment is predicated on a comparison with only the worst aspects of animal agriculture,” Itzkan said.22
Grass Fed Meat Is a Better Choice
A healthier and more sustainable choice to the typical CAFO burger would be to choose beef from grass fed cows. White Oak Pastures in Bluffton, Georgia, which produces high-quality grass fed products using regenerative grazing practices, commissioned the same analysis by Quantis and published a 33-page study showing comparisons of White Oaks Pastures emissions against conventional beef production.23
While the manufactured fake meat reduced its carbon footprint up to 96% in some categories, White Oaks had a net total emission in the negative numbers as compared to CAFO produced meat.
Further, grass fed beef from White Oak Pastures had a carbon footprint that was 111% lower than a typical U.S. CAFO and its regenerative system effectively captured soil carbon, which offset the majority of emissions related to beef production.24
It’s worth noting, too, that the Impossible Burger, which is made from GMO soy, contains Roundup ingredient glyphosate and its breakdown product AMPA,25 at levels of 11.3 parts per billion — that’s 11 times higher than the glyphosate found in the Beyond Meat Burger.26 Impossible Foods’ scientists also fed leghemoglobin to rats for 28 days to determine the risk of allergic reaction or toxicity.
In plants, leghemoglobin is the protein that carries heme, an iron-containing molecule. Originally, Impossible Foods harvested leghemoglobin from the roots of soy plants, but deemed that method unsustainable. Instead, they turned to genetic engineering, which they use to insert the DNA from soy plants into yeast, creating GE yeast with the gene for soy leghemoglobin.27
Dana Perls, from Friends of the Earth, pointed out that the rats exhibited alterations in blood chemistry after being fed leghemoglobin, which the company did not follow up on.28
Consumer Reports senior scientist Michael Hansen added that there are no long-term studies of soy leghemoglobin in humans, even though the process to make it creates at least 45 other proteins as byproducts, which are also consumed and in need of further evaluation.29 Even the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has raised concerns over the soy leghemoglobin in the Impossible Burger being a possible human allergen.30
On the other hand, grass fed animal products are better for the environment and public health. Levels of cancer-fighting conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), for instance, increase by two- to three-fold when cattle are grass finished as opposed to grain finished.31
The ratio of dietary fats is also healthier in grass fed beef,32 which is a whole food, not an ultraprocessed junk food. If you’re interested in saving the planet and supporting your health, skip the fake meat alternatives trying to disguise themselves as health foods and opt for real food that’s being raised the right way instead.

Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity Syndrome (EHS) is a condition in which people are highly sensitive to electromagnetic fields. In an area such as a wireless hotspot, they experience pain or other symptoms.
People with EHS experience a variety of symptoms including headache, fatigue, nausea, burning and itchy skin, and muscle aches. These symptoms are subjective and vary between individuals, which makes the condition difficult to study, and has left experts divided about the validity of such claims.
More than 30 studies have been conducted to determine what link the condition has to exposure to electromagnetic fields from sources such as radar dishes, mobile phone signals and, Wi-Fi hotspots.

Have you ever heard of breadfruit? It’s a rather strange name for a piece of fruit that sounds like it may smell or taste like bread. Instead, breadfruit is grown in tropical regions of the world and, like jackfruit, is a member of the mulberry family.1
Breadfruit trees were originally found in Polynesia. People use the fruit to bake, broil or fry the produce, similar to the way that potatoes are used. Others dry the flesh and grind it into flour to make bread and crusts. Polynesians brought the trees to Hawaii, when anthropologists believe it was colonized 1,000 years before Columbus landed in the Western world.
By the time European explorers came to the Western world in the late 1700s, the Polynesian settlers had established an agricultural system that supported hundreds of thousands of people.
More About Breadfruit

A breadfruit tree thrives in a Caribbean or tropical climate and can grow as tall as 85 feet, producing up to 200 fruits per year. The fruit is round, oval or oblong and can grow as big, or bigger than a basketball. The outer skin is neon green and covered in bumps, which hides the firm flesh people cook like potatoes or plantains.2,3
A single breadfruit yields enough fruit to feed a family of four. When the fruit is ripe, the interior is creamy white or yellow and soft. While it is a fruit, it’s treated and cooked more like a vegetable. The texture and taste resemble a potato, a grainy piece of bread or an artichoke heart, depending on the ripeness of the fruit and how it’s prepared.
Because the taste is bland, it lends itself to culinary creativity. As breadfruit ripens, it becomes sweeter, but it never approaches the sweetness of a papaya or mango. The British are credited with spreading it outside Polynesia.
Captain James Cook and botanist Sir Joseph Banks discovered breadfruit in Tahiti and believed it could be the answer to Britain’s food challenges of the era. The first time the trees were exported to the West Indies, the expedition was led by Lieutenant William Bligh from the infamous HMS Bounty.
Enroute to the West Indies from Tahiti, the lieutenant and members of the crew were cast into a small boat and all breadfruit tree plants were thrown overboard. After returning to England, Lieutenant Bligh was promoted to Captain and led another expedition to Tahiti in 1791, during which he successfully brought breadfruit plants to the Caribbean and Jamaica.
Although the plants thrived, the people didn’t enjoy the food and ate it only when they had to. Currently, breadfruit trees are grown in more tropical areas in Africa, Australia, southeast Asia and South America. Trees can also be found in the U.S. in Hawaii and South Florida.
The fruit, which is packed with nutrients, is a staple in Hawaii. The flesh of breadfruit is high in antioxidants, calcium, carotenoids and fiber. It also contains copper, niacin, magnesium, phosphorus and protein. Interestingly, although it’s a fruit, one cup provides 5% of the RDA for protein, 14% of magnesium and 31% of potassium.4,5
Could Breadfruit Be the Next Superfood?

Although it has been a traditional staple for centuries, there has been a distinct lack of scientific evidence demonstrating the health impacts of breadfruit. In a recent study from the University of British Columbia, scientists analyzed flour made from breadfruit.6,7 The objectives were to identify any health problems associated with breadfruit flour in consideration of it as a sustainable source of nutrition and to establish it as a functional food.
In the lab, using an enzyme digestion model, they found the protein in breadfruit was easier to digest than protein found in wheat. The digested flour was tested for cytotoxicity by applying it to caco-2 cells. These cell lines are used to analyze drug permeability and they have been used for the past two decades “as a model of the intestinal barrier,” according to researchers from Italy.8,9
The researchers found no difference between wheat and breadfruit in terms of cytokines and immune factors. When breadfruit-based food was substituted for wheat in a diet for mice, they found there was no sign of illness, death or malnutrition related to the change. Major bacteria and histology of the ileum were similar between the mice fed with breadfruit and those fed with wheat products.
The researchers concluded: “No negative health outcomes were observed in studies with in vitro or in vivo models and breadfruit flour is a healthy alternative to other starches for modern foods.”10
The combination of scientific evidence and knowledge that the breadfruit tree is high-producing and easily grown may provide health benefits and address food shortages around the world. Susan Murch, Ph.D., is a chemistry professor and one of the researchers on the study. She said:11

“Breadfruit is a traditional staple crop from the Pacific islands with the potential to improve worldwide food security and mitigate diabetes. While people have survived on it for thousands of years there was a lack of basic scientific knowledge of the health impacts of a breadfruit-based diet in both humans and animals.”

Doctoral student Ying Liu shared:12

“Overall, these studies support the use of breadfruit as part of a healthy, nutritionally balanced diet. Flour produced from breadfruit is a gluten-free, low glycemic index, nutrient-dense and complete protein option for modern foods.”

The Impact Grains Have on Health

The potential exists to substitute wheat flour for breadfruit flour in baked breads and crusts. While breadfruit flour is gluten-free, wheat products are not. In years past, only people with wheat allergies and celiac disease sought out gluten-free products. After adopting a diet free of gluten products, they often reported a resurgence of good health.13
Gluten is a protein found in wheat and cereal grains.14 When these proteins are in contact with water, they form an elastic bond that gives bread the ability to hold its shape. Gluten can also be found in barley, oats, rye and spelt and may hide in processed foods under a variety of names, including malts or natural flavoring.15
Some people react negatively to just a small amount of gluten because their body identifies it as a toxin. When left unchecked, excessive gluten consumption can predispose a person to nutrient deficiencies along with neurological and psychological conditions. It can have a potentially negative effect on the joints, liver, nervous system and skin.16
In addition, professionals at the Celiac Disease Foundation believe that undiagnosed celiac disease may contribute to the development of “autoimmune disorders like Type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis (MS), dermatitis herpetiformis (an itchy skin rash), anemia, osteoporosis, infertility and miscarriage … epilepsy and migraines, short stature and intestinal cancers.”17
As you might imagine, a gluten intolerance can trigger signs of gastrointestinal distress, including bloating, diarrhea and belly pain. Beyond this, you might also experience anxiety, confusion, headache, nausea or joint and muscle pain. Although gluten-free food options may look like they help people who have a wheat allergy or celiac disease, it’s prudent to approach these cautiously.
I believe most processed, packaged gluten-free foods are glorified junk foods because they are some of the most ultraprocessed foods in the store. They lack fiber, are often loaded with toxic amounts of sugar and salt and include unhealthy fats in their list of ingredients.18
Whether you have a sensitivity to gluten or not, nearly everyone can benefit from eating fewer grains, which are high in net carbs. The potential for using breadfruit flour and baked goods may help reduce your exposure to gluten and the glycemic index of the foods you eat.
Your Body Needs Fiber

Breadfruit is high in fiber, which is far more important than science had thought before. In fact, just 1 cup contains 43% of all the fiber you need for the day.19 A low fiber diet can alter your gut flora. In one study using an animal model, a low fiber diet altered the gut flora, which was also passed on to the offspring.20
In some cases, even after the mice were fed high-fiber meals, the gut was unable to repopulate with certain bacteria that had been severely diminished. Past studies have confirmed that the human microbiome has changed over the course of history, as has the human diet.21 In general, researchers have found that people who eat more plant-based foods have a more diverse gut microbiome.
The benefits of eating enough fiber include preventing leaky gut syndrome that also triggers anxiety, joint pain, fatigue and bloating.22 Food Integrity Now explains leaky gut syndrome this way:23

“The wall of the intestine is considered semi-permeable. This means it only allows certain things to enter the bloodstream and blocks other things from entering the bloodstream. For instance, specific molecules and nutrients are allowed to pass through but toxins and large undigested food particles are blocked.

When you have leaky gut, the pores in your small intestine widen and this allows undigested food particles and toxins, that would normally be blocked, to enter your bloodstream. These particles and toxins aren’t recognized and the immune system goes into attack mode because they are not supposed to be in the blood. In essence, the immune system literally recognizes these undigested particles as dangerous.”

Fiber has other health benefits as well. For example, researchers have found an inverse relationship between fiber and heart attack, showing those eating a high fiber diet have a 40% lower risk of heart disease.24
As I’ve written before, fiber can delay brain inflammation and aging that negatively influence your function. In particular, low fiber diets can be harmful to older adults, as they have a lower ability to produce butyrate, a nutrient that helps delay brain aging.
Sustainable Crop May Impact Global Health

Breadfruit is a sustainable, high production crop that has a low glycemic index and may provide one answer to the growing problem of food shortages around the world. It’s also easy to grow in the right climate. With winter fast approaching in the Northern Hemisphere, it might be time to think about dramatically reducing your food bill by growing an indoor organic garden.
As the cost of organic produce rises due to demand and problems related to the pandemic, many have taken to starting their own backyard gardens and container gardens. If you thought fall was the time to hang up your gardening gloves, you may want to reconsider since you can harvest spinach, beets and carrots well into February. Many herbs and vegetables can be grown indoors with adequate lighting.
You’ll enjoy the benefits of winter gardening, which include savings on your grocery bill and the assurance that the produce you’re harvesting is from organically grown, non-GMO seed. Before diving in, take time to plan your garden.
Some plants do well with an extended growing season, while others are planted in the fall to overwinter for an early spring harvest. Still others do best in container gardens indoors. Gardening is good for your health in other ways, as it’s a simple way to reduce stress and get a little exercise, something each of us needs.

Researchers have detected abnormalities in the brains of people with fibromyalgia, a chronic condition whose symptoms include muscle pain and fatigue.

Some researchers have suggested that the pain of fibromyalgia is the result of depression, but the new study suggests otherwise. The abnormalities were independent of anxiety and depression levels.

Researchers evaluated 20 women diagnosed with fibromyalgia and 10 healthy women without the condition who served as a control group. The researchers performed brain imaging called single photon emission computed tomography, or SPECT.

The imaging showed that women with the syndrome had “brain perfusion” — blood flow abnormalities in their brains. The abnormalities were directly correlated with the severity of disease symptoms.

An increase in blood flow was found in the brain region known to discriminate pain intensity.

How and what you eat has radically changed over the past few decades with the all-consuming rise of the supermarket. But what price are you paying for this homogenized, cheap and convenient food? This video investigates how supermarkets have affected the food on your plate, and reveals the telltale signs that the food you buy may not have been grown in the way you think.