The waffling and inconsistency of medical advice is making us neurotic.  Not too long ago, medical science was telling us that we could live longer by drinking one or two glasses of red wine per day.  Researchers said that Frenchmen were relatively free from cardiovascular disease in spite of eating fatty foods because they drank wine with their meals.

Scientists then discovered that red wine contained resveratrol which is a compound that increases longevity.  Even people who did not drink started a habit of drinking one glass of red wine with supper in order to live longer and avoid heart problems.

The latest research tells us that all of these studies overlooked something awful.  Even one alcoholic drink per day increases the risk of cancer.[1]  Researchers who studied more than 1.2 million middle-aged women for an average of seven years in the U.K. estimated that alcohol consumption could be responsible for as many as 11% of breast cancers in women. Cancer epidemiologist Naomi Allen, one of the researchers, said:

“There were no minimum levels of alcohol consumption that could be considered to be without risk.”

Drinking is not as bad as it seems.  The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has completed an extensive review of current scientific knowledge about the health effects of moderate alcohol consumption. It found that the lowest death rate from all causes occurs at the level of one to two drinks per day. That is, moderate drinkers have the greatest longevity.

The NIAAA’s conclusion that moderate drinking is beneficial to heart health will be included in the next revision of the dietary guidelines to be issued by the U.S. government.

Drinking alcohol may slightly increase the risk of breast cancer. However, Dr. Lorraine Gunzerath of NIAAA emphasizes that women should weigh the small increase in breast cancer risk (one percentage point) against the sharp decrease in heart disease risk (40%) resulting from moderate drinking. Also important is the fact that about 4% of American women die of breast cancer while about 50% die of heart disease.

[1] Allen, N.E. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, March 4, 2009; vol 101: pp 296-305.

Alex Rodriguez

Alex Rodriguez (A-Rod) has admitted that he took performance-enhancing drugs supplied by his cousin.  For  many years, Rodriguez denied using performance-enhancing drugs, but Sports Illustrated reported that he was on a list of 104 players who tested positive during baseball’s 2003 survey.   The New York Yankees star said that he was young and naive when he tested positive in 2003 for Primobolan and testosterone.  At least A-Rod has come clean.  There are many other professional sportsmen who continue to deny that they used drugs even when there is physical evidence that they did.

In today’s world, it is possible to be taking steroids and not realize it.  Many steroidal drugs are sold over the counter without the need of a prescription.  Some drugs such as DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) are sold as “dietary supplements” that may slow aging, although there is no scientific evidence that they do.  DHEA is produced naturally by the adrenal glands and its production decreases with age.  DHEA is metabolized to steroids like androstenediol and androstendione, which can undergo further conversion to produce testosterone and the estrogens estrone and estradiol.

If you watch some late night TV shows, you are bombarded by commercials for male enhancement supplements which include prescription medicines like Viagra or Cialis which are non-steroidal drugs.  There are also many commercials for ExtenZe that can be obtained without a prescription by mail and is promoted as an herbal pill that may increase penis size by 1 to 3 inches in just a few short weeks.  What the commercials do not tell you is that, in addition to some herbs, ExtenZe contains DHEA and Pregnenolone (3B-hydroxypregn-5-en-10-one) both of which are steroidal drugs.

If you consume any pharmaceutical products, nutrition supplements, bodybuilding supplements, or diet aids, you could be taking some steroids without knowing it.

E. Coli Bacteria

All peanut products processed by the Peanut Corporation of America in Blakely, Georgia were recently recalled because they were contaminated with salmonella bacteria. Hundreds of people got food poisoning from eating peanut products manufactured by the company, and several people died.  According to press reports, when the company found a sample that was contaminated, they did not make any effort to remedy the unsanitary conditions that had caused the bacterial contamination.  Instead, they would submit a sample to a different laboratory until the sample passed.  The contaminated products were then marketed and distributed as usual.

Contamination of food is widespread, but usually it does not cause death or illness.  The most common types of contamination in foods are caused by spoilage by fungi and bacteria, by infestation with insects, or by rodent hair and rodent excrement.

It is almost impossible to keep food from being contaminated, so the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has established limits above which action will be taken.  Contamination below those levels is not considered dangerous for human health.  For example, the FDA rules state that apple butter may be eaten safely as long as it has less than 4 rodent hairs per 100 grams, or less than 5 or more whole or equivalent insects (not counting mites, aphids, thrips, or scale insects) per 100 grams.[1]  It is interesting that small insects like aphids don’t even count.

The story about the contaminated peanuts continues to develop. On February 15, 2009, the Washington Post reported that The Peanut Corporation of America, headed by Stewart Parnell had filed for bankruptcy protection and that Parnell was the target of a federal criminal investigation.  According to the report:

“He is accused by federal investigators of intentionally sending into the stream of commerce peanut products contaminated with salmonella bacteria.  The government has directly linked Parnell’s peanuts to nine deaths and 637 cases of salmonella illness in 44 states and Canada, with thousands more illnesses suspected.”

Parnell’s lax sanitation practices have forced the recall of more than 2,000 products, many of which affected well-known brands such as Kellogg, Sara Lee, and Little Debbie.  Farmers and food manufacturers have suffered great financial losses as a result of the decreased demand for peanut products caused by the fear of food poisoning.

The willful distribution of products contaminated with bacteria could be interpreted as just another example of corporate greed, but the massive scale of this case puts it more in the category of an act of bioterrorism.

[1] The Food Defect Action Levels.  Levels of natural or unavoidable defects in foods that present no health hazards for humans.

Fasting has been used as religious penance for thousands of years.  The story of Jesus fasting for forty days and nights in the wilderness has served as inspiration to achieve enlightenment through dietary restrictions.  Christian churches often required a 40-day fast during Lent consisting of only one meal per day and avoiding meat, fish, and dairy products.  In modern times, the restrictions have been relaxed, but many people still fast during Lent in preparation for Easter and eat fish on Fridays throughout the year.  Fish provides essential omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

Muslims observe Ramadan, which is the Islamic month of fasting.  During Ramadan, Muslims do not eat or drink anything from dawn until sunset. Fasting provides a way for Muslims to purify themselves through self-restraint.  Proper observation of the fast is supposed to induce a feeling of peace and calm to redirect the heart away from worldly activities and cleanse the inner soul.

Jewish dietary laws, which are ordained in the Torah, are probably the most complex of all religious food practices.  Yom Kippur is the only day of fasting mandated by the Torah.  During this day, all Jewish men and women are required to fast for 25 hours while reflecting about atonement and repentance. The Jewish dietary laws, or Kashrut, describe the foods that are permitted for consumption and the way of preparing them.  Different sets of pots, plates, and utensils are used for meat and for dairy foods.  Pork and shellfish are forbidden. Animals with split hooves and which chew a cud, including sheep and cows, are allowed for consumption.  Rabbis supervise the production and handling of food to assure that all the dietary rules are followed.  Food that has been approved under rabbinical supervision is marked with symbols to indicate that it is kosher.

Unfortunately, the Torah never anticipated the invention of hydrogenated fats.  Many kosher foods have hydrogenated fats with trans fatty acids that are known to double the risks of heart disease.  Hydrogenated fats are used because they originate from vegetable oils, rather than from some questionable animal source.  The rabbis could improve the health of all the Jewish people by ruling that chemically produced hydrogenated fats are not kosher.