Covid-19 & Health Update: US Dietary Patterns Impair Immune Function
RVAchironeuro • August 12, 2021
Hello once again everyone:
We all know that alongside the pandemic of Covid-19, there is a pandemic of chronic disease that creates comorbidities, and it is this combination that is killing our country and other parts of the world. Here is a paper that outlines how the Standard American Diet (SAD) contributes to alterations in immune competence through changes in our gut immune system and gut microbiome. Here are some quotes from the two links below that are both about the same study:
“Eating a Western diet impairs the immune system in the gut in ways that could increase risk of infection and inflammatory bowel disease, according to a study from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Cleveland Clinic.
The study, in mice and people, showed that a diet high in sugar and fat causes damage to Paneth cells, immune cells in the gut that help keep inflammation in check. When Paneth cells aren’t functioning properly, the gut immune system is excessively prone to inflammation, putting people at risk of inflammatory bowel disease and undermining effective control of disease-causing microbes.”
“Our findings provide a mechanistic link between poor diet and inhibition of gut innate immunity and uncover an effect of FXR activation in gut inflammation.”
Bottom Line:
This was a short-term study that revealed the SAD of high fat, high sugar combination derails gut health through multiple complex mechanisms. What they do not note is that gut inflammation will permeate our entire body and thus impair health in other organs and functions, especially brain. For you and me, this simply means that consumption a diet rich in organic, unprocessed whole foods lower in animal-based products and high in plant-based foods can reasonably be expected to improve health by lowering our inflammatory burden…as long as we have not gone beyond the point of no return. The only way to know is to actually eat right and see what happens. In this scenario, most have much to gain and possibly much to lose as well.
One of the better plans and the best description of this approach, so far, has been through the book “The Longevity Diet” by Valter Longo, PhD. Additionally, this book has a great science-based approach. Why is that important? Because most of us are not aware that there is a growing consensus of what constitutes a healthy food plan. Why are we not aware of this? Because when we look at the internet or other sources, there are at least several hundred diet books and plans and recommendations which make it look like no-one knows what the heck they are talking about. When you sort through all the hype, the dietary approach that Dr. Longo puts forth is the one with the most science and common sense. However, the science is never settled, and new information is always being found about food and health. Right now, we do know that the SAD is not good for us, so any upgrade would be helpful!!
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New Title
To Avoid Chronic Disease, Watch What You Eat
Hello everyone: I think I have mentioned inflammaging before but never really focused on it. So, let’s dig into this interesting topic. Inflammaging is when chronic, low-grade inflammation develops with age as dietary and environmental stress accumulates, contributing to the development of all of the various age-related diseases and health issues. It results from a loss of control over systemic inflammation, which tends to come from an unbalanced and dysregulated immune system. One of the key drivers of inflammaging is diet…which means that one of the key tools to slow and reduce aging is our what we eat as well as what we don’t eat. In this paper, the authors reveal that the typical Western Diet (what science calls the Standard American Diet or S.A.D.) is the best example of a pro-inflammatory diet pattern. “ Conclusion: Inflammation is a key physiological process in immunity and tissue repair. However, during aging it becomes increasingly more chronic. In addition, we found that certain foods such as saturated fats have pro-inflammatory activity. Taking this into account, in this review we have proposed some dietary guidelines as well as a list of compounds present in foods with anti-inflammatory activity. It must be taken into account that the amounts used in the studies that detect anti-inflammatory activity of these compounds are very high, and the intake of a single food to achieve its anti-inflammatory power is not feasible. (My Comment: what this means is that it is the overall dietary pattern that matters the most.) However, the combination of foods rich in compounds with anti-inflammatory activity could exert beneficial effects during aging and in pathologies associated with inflammation and in reducing the detrimental effects of foods with pro-inflammatory activity. Therefore, we can conclude that the compounds in our diet with anti-inflammatory activity could help alleviate the inflammatory processes derived from diseases and unhealthy diets and thereby promote healthy aging. Thus, we can use diet not only for nourishment, but also as medicine.” https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8389628/ anti-inflammatory diet and health aging https://www.healthline.com/health/5-minute-guide-to-inflamm-aging Bottom Line: We all must age, and how we do so is largely under our own control. To create an anti-inflammatory lifestyle is not that difficult, especially if you put it all together in stages. Start with a clean, whole-food, unprocessed plant-based food plan. And to begin, first focus on what you can add into your menus and use those additions to sort of crowd out the things that are more inflammatory…sugar, refined grains, processed and pre-packaged things. Set realistic goals such as going plant based one or two days a week, or even one meal…just start and gradually work up. It has to be doable so don’t stress. Next, start moving and doing regular exercise at least three times a week…and find what you enjoy doing and focus on that. Then add activities that de-stress you, whether that is socializing, church, meditation, prayer, yoga, etc. Overall, shift your attention to giving love to things that love you back. Sugar, drive-thru and processed food like thingies do not love you back but apples or kiwis or berries or veggies do. Sitting around does not love you back but going for a short walk after a meal does love you back. Hang out and give love to the people you really like to be with, they will most always love you back. Create a love you back lifestyle and see how you feel.
Hello everyone: I frequently hear about mental health issues with the people in our practice. They could be experiencing depression, or anxiety, feel flat, can’t focus or sustain attention, or may not feel well in general. These comments can come from anyone of any age…I can hear from parents about their kids, or it may be themselves experiencing these feeling. So, when I read this paper, it felt important to share it because we all seem to have mobile phones. Here is how the paper is summarized: “Concern about how smartphones affect users is widespread: half of American smartphone users—and 80% of those under age 30—worry that they use their device too much, and correlational research suggests that smartphone use is negatively related to mental health and cognitive functioning. However, few large-scale experiments have tested for causal effects. We report such an experiment, finding that blocking mobile internet for 2 weeks reduces smartphone use and improves subjective well-being (SWB) (including life satisfaction and positive affect), mental health (more than antidepressants), and sustained attention (as much as being 10 years younger). Despite the many benefits mobile internet offers, reducing the constant connection to the digital world can have large positive effects.” https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/4/2/pgaf017/8016017?utm_source=klaviyo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=%28Email%20-%20Chris%20Kresser%20General%20News%29%20Chris%27s%20Friday%20Favorites&utm_term=randomized%20controlled%20trial&utm_content=randomized%20controlled%20trial&_kx=fARhTo_gi8X3B_2-MaeO_RyzUl9tvT3tr4re-Dy7cNQ.my75y6 Bottom Line: It seems like a smartphone ‘timeout’ can be very beneficial for mental, emotional, physical health and can be an important part of stress reduction. The world today, with nearly instant communications, the almost constant bad and anxiety promoting news, and the fast pace of data consumption can add up to significantly stress us out and pull us down…or just simple keep us distracted. From what I can see, a ‘timeout’ may be just what the doctor ordered.
Hey there everyone: As you know, inflammation causes, perpetuates, and/or aggravates every known human condition, including aging. As we age, we become more vulnerable to non-communicable diseases such as heart attack, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, dementia, arthritis and more. How we eat can massively reduce our inflammatory burden and promote health as we age. It is your choice. One reason that I keep writing on this is that I keep running into the mindset that these diseases are inevitable and that there is nothing we can do about it. Plus, because there are so many different diets for sale out there, it becomes hard to know what to eat. What is important for you to know is that there is a growing scientific consensus about what to eat, but the media rarely mention it and our public health authorities don’t either. It definitely seems like money is more important than our health. So…consuming an overall low-inflammatory diet is what the science is adding up to show it is the healthiest way to go, plus it actually gives you power over your future. This is a great article worth the time it takes to read it as it is pretty comprehensive. Bottom Line: “To adopt an anti-inflammatory dietary pattern, it is recommended to replace refined grains with whole grains, substitute healthy fats (such as nuts, seeds and fatty fish) for saturated and trans fats and increase the consumption of colorful fruits and vegetables while reducing the intake of sugary and processed foods. Additionally, choosing lean protein sources like fish and legumes over red and processed meats, using herbs and spices (such as turmeric, ginger, garlic and cinnamon) in place of excessive salt and sugar and consuming probiotic-rich foods (such as yogurt and kefir) instead of processed and sugary snacks are advised. These dietary adjustments can help mitigate inflammation and promote overall health.” https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/overview-of-antiinflammatory-diets-and-their-promising-effects-on-noncommunicable-diseases/AA3166846841DCC1B219C063F52E2A7F (anti-inflammatory diet)
Health News Update: Dietary Inflammation Drives Diseases and Death 7.28.25 Hello again everyone: Here are two papers of tremendous interest because they reveal the link between dietary inflammation and health. Bear in mind that the two leading causes of death in our country are cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer…directly caused by chronic inflammation. Conclusion Chronic inflammation appears to play a key role in the development of CVD and certain cancers. The results from the present study suggest that eating a diet high in sugar, saturated fat and other pro-inflammatory foods promote inflammation, which may increase the risk of a variety of chronic diseases. The next logical step would be to use the DII (the Dietary Inflammatory Index) to predict CVD outcomes, such as atherosclerosis, and indicators of CVD including intimal thickening, plaque formation and cardiac output in the Asklepios Study. https://www.academia.edu/29422691/Associations_between_dietary_inflammatory_index_and_inflammatory_markers_in_the_Asklepios_Study?email_work_card=view-paper And here is the follow up study they suggested: Conclusions To conclude, an anti-inflammatory diet may diminish the risk of CVD in healthy individuals but may be impossible to reverse the results of several years of exposure to oxidative stress among participants with established MetS (Metabolic Syndrome). Thus, the presented findings suggest that favoring anti-inflammatory diet at early stages of life could be found to act preventively as regards to the development of CVD and challenge us to evaluate potential antioxidant therapies that could be applied on public health action plans. https://www.academia.edu/80264311/Anti_inflammatory_diet_and_10_year_2002_2012_cardiovascular_disease_incidence_The_ATTICA_study?email_work_card=view-paper Bottom Line: Consuming a diet with low inflammatory potential and high anti-inflammatory ingredients shows real and significant protection against the two leading causes of death. Furthermore, other more recent studies with different interventional designs do show the possibility of overcoming the cumulative damage from Metabolic Syndrome, which is an inflammatory condition associated with high cardiovascular risk. The following links show how the whole-foods, unprocessed plant-based Mediterranean diet reduces Metabolic Syndrome and inflammation. It is never too late to eat right to beat disease!! https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4540/6/1/4 https://dmsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13098-023-01052-7 “In this study, participants with MetS with adherence to high-quality and moderate-quality Mediterranean diet were significantly associated with lower all-cause mortality as well as cardiovascular mortality during the follow-up period. Furthermore, in joint analysis of the Mediterranean diet and sedentary behavior or depression, we found that high-quality or moderate-quality Mediterranean diet could attenuate, even reverse the adverse effects of sedentary behavior and depression on all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in participants with MetS. Among the components of the MED diet, greater intakes of vegetables, legumes, nuts and high MUFA/SFA (Mono-unsaturated fats like olive oil/Saturated Fats mostly animal based foods) ratio were significantly associated with lower all-cause mortality and greater vegetables intake was significantly associated with lower cardiovascular mortality, while more red/processed meat intake was significantly associated with higher cardiovascular mortality in participants with MetS.”
Health News Update: Plant-Based Diet Quality is Essential 7.21.25 Hello everyone: While science now recognizes that going plant-based is critical to prevention and recovery from any illness, dietary quality is a must…not all plant-based foods are healthy. Please read these highlights carefully: “A new study confirms that healthy plant-based foods can be beneficial for the heart. However, not all plant-based foods qualify as healthy, and the study finds that those foods can be just as damaging to the heart as their non-plant-based counterparts. For many people who choose not to eat animal-based foods for moral reasons, the potential health benefits of a plant-based diet may be considered a happy byproduct or even a reward. The study suggests that this is not necessarily incorrect, as long as one considers that the rules that apply to healthy eating in general also apply to plant-based foods. This study’s biomarkers of concern were cardiac troponin T, cardiac troponin I, and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide. Troponins are indicators of cardiac muscle damage, which is a sign of myocardial infarction or heart attack . The peptide is associated with heart failure. Up to 50% of individuals with no apparent history of cardiac issues have subclinical levels of troponins. While these levels are not of immediate concern, they may be interpreted as an (early) warning sign of potential future issues. (Especially cardiac troponin I elevations.) The analysis revealed that adherence to a healthy plant-based diet was associated with a 49% lower likelihood of having elevated levels of cardiac troponin I. People following an unhealthy plant-based diet had a 65% greater chance of elevated levels of cardiac troponin I.” https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/unhealthy-plant-based-diets-may-significantly-raise-heart-disease-risk?utm_term=feature&utm_source=Sailthru%20Email&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=MNT%20Daily%20News&utm_content=2025-06-18&apid=41304130&rvid=a32216b5e1c0c5df3c84080e2b2e161318206dbce6fd663dd747aa557a4753cd https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666667725001047 To clarify this observation, increasing cardiac troponin I levels reveal very early heart damage from systemic inflammation, which if allowed to continue can lead to cardiovascular disease progression…the number one killer on the planet. Thus, consumption of a predominantly unprocessed, plant-based whole-foods diet is largely anti-inflammatory and heart protective, while a diet that may be plant-based but is processed, fried, sugar laden, etc., is what contributes to systemic inflammation and sets the stage for heart, arterial and immune damage. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5419814/ https://www.ajconline.org/article/S0002-9149(02)02253-1/abstract Bottom Line: Quality really matters, so please avoid processed foods from all sources, plant or animal. Be wary and minimize or avoid processed or ultra-processed food products…stick with unprocessed whole-foods such as vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, seeds, lentils, etc. to protect your health and your heart. Food is foundational to all aspects of our lives, so please…eat as if your life depended on it…because it truly does. “While many plant-based diets can reduce cardiovascular risk due to their nutritional profile, such as being low in saturated fat, high in fiber , high in potassium , magnesium, calcium, and antioxidants , not all plant-based foods share these benefits,” she added. ( Michelle Routhenstein , who is a registered dietitian specializing in heart disease.)
Health News Update: Plants Can Save Your Life 7.14.25 Hello everyone : I am working to give you information that you can easily put into your daily life that can massively improve your health and wellness, as well as speed recovery and promote prevention. Because inflammation can cause, aggravate, and/or perpetuate every known human ailment (including aging), my goal is to empower us all towards our best life by managing our inflammatory and anti-inflammatory biology. Because food is foundational to health, it is important to know what the best dietary approach to health is, and currently the data is all pointing to plants…the only source of phytonutrients adequate to upgrade your health. “Phenolic compounds including phenolic acids, flavonoids and proanthocyanidins are widely distributed in plants as a protective mechanism against biotic and abiotic stresses. Fruits, vegetables, grains, spices and herbs are the richest source of dietary polyphenols. High intake of these foods has been linked to lowered risk of most common degenerative and chronic diseases that are known to be caused by oxidative stress . This review intends to summarize briefly recent progress on the chemistry and biochemistry of dietary polyphenols, their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, and the underlying molecular mechanisms of their involvement in inflammation mediated metabolic diseases are also discussed.” https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214799316300133 Bottom Line: Be sure to eat lots of a lot of different plant-based foods. Make it an integral part of your day and personal health plan. Read what the science says that can lead us all to make the best choices when it comes to fueling our body, our Temple, our only home. We all have nothing to lose and everything to gain by being smart about what we choose to consume day in and day out. Shoot for 90% of your food to be from unprocessed, whole-foods, plant-based sources and watch your health improve. “Dietary polyphenols are one of the most important groups of natural antioxidants and chemo preventive agents found in human diets including fruits, vegetables, grains, tea, essential oils and their derived foods and beverages. Epidemiological, clinical and nutritional studies strongly support the evidence that dietary phenolic compounds enhance human health by lowering risk and preventing the onset of degenerative diseases including cancers, cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders.” If you want to be really impressed, and super informed, at the bottom of the paper take a look at the references…click on a few and read the beginning introductions/abstracts…this should help convince you that our present day Standard American Diet is truly S.A.D and empower your shift to a predominantly plant-based lifestyle. Friendly-tip : to make the upgrade to a predominantly plant-based whole-foods plan and to make it easy, start with one meal per week…then move to 3 meals per week, then one per day…or just start with breakfast or lunch…think about and focus on what you can add to your daily food intake…that makes it easier to know what to avoid.
