Three Sources of Antibiotics That Threaten Human Health

By Dr. Mercola

Antibiotic resistance is a serious threat facing all of us today, and there's plenty of blame to go around. Overall, modern science, especially veterinary medicine, has done a miserable job when it comes to predicting the outcome of its actions.

According to Dr. Cyril Gay,¹ the senior national program leader at the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Research Service:

"The loss of antibiotics due to antimicrobial resistance is potentially one of the most important challenges the medical and animal-health communities will face in the 21st century."

Antibiotic resistance has also been declared "an increasingly serious threat to global public health that requires action across all government sectors and society" by the World Health Organization (WHO).²

Antibiotic overuse is rampant. Inappropriate use and negligent disposal of antibiotics is also a major part of the problem. Three of the primary sources of antibiotics entering the environment, the human food chain, and the human body are:

• Medicine
• Agriculture (both livestock and produce)
• Pharmaceutical processing plants dumping drugs into wastewater

Antibiotics are a foundational component of modern medicine, without which many of our current treatment modalities and medical procedures become exceedingly dangerous.

Due to overuse, bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to these drugs, and even "simple" infections like urinary tract infections can become lethal. It's also exceedingly costly.

What farmers are saving on the front end by using antibiotics instead of costlier alternatives, Americans pay for on the back end, via exorbitant health care costs. As noted by Scientific American:³

"[R]esearchers estimate that antibiotic resistance causes Americans upwards of $20 billion in additional healthcare costs every year stemming from the treatment of otherwise preventable infections."

Antibiotics in Agriculture

In the US, animals raised in confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are routinely fed low doses of antibiotics to make them grow fatter, faster, and to prevent disease associated with crowded and unsanitary living conditions.

This appears to be one of the primary driving factors when it comes to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. According to CDC statistics,⁴ two million Americans are infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria each year, and at least 23,000 of them die as a result of those infections.

A recent report,⁵ commissioned by the British government, estimates that by the year 2050, drug-resistant disease cause more than 10 million deaths and cost the global economy $100 trillion!

Even the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) acknowledges that antibiotic-resistant disease can be spread via ingestion or contact with contaminated foods. Despite this knowledge, the FDA has opted not to ban the use of antibiotics in agriculture.

Last year, the agency issued updated guidance on agricultural antibiotics, recommending that pharmaceutical companies voluntarily relabel certain antibiotics,^6,7 reserving them for use in sick animals only, with a prescription from a licensed veterinarian.

Aside from the fact that they're leaving it up to pharmaceutical companies to be the heralds of change—a change that will reduce the drug companies' income, there are other glaring loopholes. As noted by Scientific American:⁸

"[S]ome worry that the FDA's action doesn't go far enough, given that farmers will still be able to administer antibiotics to their livestock for disease prevention.

The fact that more and more livestock operations are switching over to Animal Feeding Operations (AFOs) whereby animals are confined in crowded enclosures (instead of allowed to graze at pasture) means that antibiotics will play an increasingly important role in disease prevention."

US Meat Production Uses More Antibiotics Than Ever

The US uses nearly 30 million pounds of antibiotics each year to raise food animals.^9,10 This accounts for about 80 percent of all antibiotics used in the US.¹¹

Moreover, according to the most recent FDA report, antibiotic usage INCREASED by 16 percent between 2009 and 2012, and nearly 70 percent of the antibiotics used are considered "medically important" for humans.¹²

A 2013 paper by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) titled "Antibiotic Resistance in Foodborne Pathogens,"¹³ report that between 1973 and 2011, there were 55 antibiotic-resistant foodborne outbreaks in the US. More than half of these outbreaks involved pathogens resistant to five or more antibiotics!

In my view, these are highly compelling reason to switch to organic, grass-fed (pastured) varieties, as growth promoting drugs such as antibiotics are not permitted in organic farming.

Antibiotic Resistance Promoted via Drug Manufacturing Process

Forbes Magazine¹⁴ recently featured an article on the topic of antibiotic resistance, noting that the drug manufacturing process itself may also be a major contributor to drug resistant bacteria in the environment.

During the drug manufacturing process, significant quantities of antibiotics are flushed out into wastewater, which then find its way into rivers, drinking water, and agricultural crop lands. Many drug companies have located their manufacturing facilities in countries where production costs are low, such as China and India.

According to Forbes:

"Patancheru, near Hyderabad, India, has a treatment plant that receives wastewater from 90 pharmaceutical companies which discharge 400,000 gallons daily.¹⁵ This effluent from manufacturing is combined with domestic wastewater. In India, only 24 percent of domestic waste undergoes treatment.

Researchers from Sweden have studied the area around Hyderabad for a number of years, publishing a series of reports since 2007.¹⁶ They found a number of drugs contaminating the water, some in concentrations higher in the water than in patients' blood.

The worst was pollutant was ciprofloxacin, with concentrations up to 31 mg/L and in only one day totaling "44 kg, which is equivalent to Sweden's entire consumption over 5 days, or, expressed in another manner, sufficient to treat everyone in a city with 44,000 inhabitants."

These researchers also found that the effluent was toxic to many organisms, and that it promoted resistance genes.¹⁷ Almost two percent of DNA samples from downstream sites sampled had resistance genes"¹⁸ [Emphasis mine]

Aside from direct ingestion, contaminated wastewater also finds its way onto crop fields via irrigation and sludge (biosolids) used as fertilizer. In this way, drug resistant genes are spread throughout the environment. The spread is by no means contained in any way. According to a 2008 CDC report,¹⁹ E.coli bacteria resistant to multiple drugs have even been found in the Arctic; brought there by migrating birds... How can we even begin to address these issues?

As noted by Forbes:

"Clearly, this will require a multi-pronged approach. Besides the need to control agricultural misuse, a major area that requires urgent attention is the need for improved sanitation globally...

We also need better regulation of industrial waste and strengthening and enforcement of whatever environmental protections are available. Amy Pruden, Joikim Larsson, et. al. have an excellent overview²⁰ of management options, ranging from wastewater and biosolid treatment, to limiting agricultural and aquacultural use, and the use of alternatives to antibiotics. One thing individuals can do is to educate about safe drug disposal..."

Researchers to Determine Role of Farm Practices in Rise of Superbugs

The farm industry has long denied or downplayed its role in drug-resistant disease, but scientists are now inching closer to determining exactly how the livestock industry's misuse of antibiotics contributes to human disease. As reported by Reuters:²¹

"Researchers at Colorado State University are rolling out a series of projects to track antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the livestock industry, in an attempt to determine whether farm practices are fueling the rise of "superbugs." Using a $2.25 million grant from the US Department of Agriculture, the scientists will focus on the DNA of these bacteria to help identify and trace back where such organisms become drug-resistant. 'We're trying to answer the question, 'Are agricultural production systems truly affecting human health by increasing antimicrobial resistance?' said veterinarian Paul Morley, a professor of epidemiology and infection control at Colorado State University, Fort Collins."

A recent Frontline News documentary also investigated the role of large scale meat production as a primary breeding ground of drug-resistant bacteria. According to their investigation, meat may be a source of potentially lethal infections—not simply because you're eating antibiotics and therefore building resistance, but also because the meat may be tainted with drug-resistant bacteria that can cause acute disease if the meat is improperly handled or undercooked. Previous research²² has suggested you have a 50/50 chance of buying meat tainted with drug-resistant bacteria when shopping at your local grocery store.

One example given is drug-resistant urinary infections, which are on the rise. If the antibiotics fail to wipe out the bacteria, the infection can progress to your kidneys, which allows the bacteria access to your blood. The result is sepsis, which kills 40,000 Americans each year. Using state of the art genome sequencing, researchers have compared E.coli samples found on supermarket meat with E.coli samples collected from patients with drug-resistant urinary tract infections, genetically linking more than 100 urinary tract infections to tainted supermarket meat products.

Why Were Warnings Not Heeded Decades Ago?

As reported by The Atlantic,²³ we had foreknowledge that using antibiotics for growth promotion in animals was a bad idea, but industry interests won over concern for human and environmental welfare:

"Dr. Stuart B. Levy... author of the book The Antibiotic Paradox: How the Misuse of Antibiotics Destroys Their Curative Powers... has been warning about this impending disaster for nearly 40 years, a couple of decades after farmers discovered that putting small amounts of antibiotics in the animals' feed resulted in increased growth. Even back then, a study²⁴ led by Levy found that chickens developed resistance to the antibiotic tetracycline at a rapid pace–within a week, the animals had resistant bacteria in their gut.

Months later, the stubborn bugs had spread to untreated chickens and even the farmers. And it didn't stop there: Those resistant bacteria also became resistant to other antibiotics that the chickens hadn't even consumed. 'Antibiotics used anywhere creates antibiotic resistance, and that resistance doesn't stay in that environment,' Levy says. And resistance is transferrable among bacteria of different types."

Antibiotics Also Contribute to Obesity

While antibiotic-resistant disease is perhaps the most acute danger of antibiotic overuse, it also has more insidious and hard to prove consequences on human health. We now know that antibiotics alter the microbiome—the microbial composition in your gut—which can result in obesity and any number of other health problems. It's also worth recalling that antibiotics are used in livestock to promote weight gain.

As previously stated by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food:²⁵

"Continuous, low-dose administration of an antibiotic can increase the rate and efficiency of weight gain in healthy livestock. The presence of antibiotics likely changes the composition of the gut flora to favor growth. Debate is ongoing as to how gut flora are changed; change may simply be a reduction in numbers, a change in species composition or a combination of the two… Some antibiotics may also enhance feed consumption and growth by stimulating metabolic processes within the animal."

If low dose antibiotics make animals fatter, why would we assume the effect on humans would be any different? A recent paper in the New England Journal of Medicine,²⁶ authored by Dr. Tine Jess, MD discusses the scientific evidence linking antibiotics and obesity. For example, mice exposed to subtherapeutic doses of antibiotics early in life suffered "lasting effects on body composition owing to alteration of the intestinal microbiota." Studies suggest there may be a critical window of time, right before and after birth, when exposure to antibiotics can cause long-term alterations in body composition.

According to Dr. Jess:

"Male mice whose mothers were treated with penicillin before the birth of the pups and throughout the weaning process had a markedly altered body composition in adulthood, with increased total mass and fat mass, increased ectopic fat deposition, increased hepatic expression of genes involved in adipogenesis, decreased bone mineral content, and increased bone area.

By contrast, the body composition of adult male mice who had received penicillin after weaning and of female mice who had received penicillin at either phase of development (just before birth or after weaning) was more similar to that of controls. The results suggest that even transient changes to the microbiota caused by limited exposure to low-dose penicillin during a specific time window during development may have a sex-specific long-term effect on body composition."

Your Gut Bacteria and Your Waistline Go Hand-in-Hand

One 2011 study²⁷ shed light on the mechanisms by which antibiotics can promote obesity. It found that 18 months after antibiotics are used to eradicate H. pylori bacteria, there is a:

• Six-fold increase in the release of ghrelin (the "hunger hormone") after a meal
• 20 percent increase in leptin levels (leptin is a hormone produced by fat tissue)
• 5 percent increase in body mass index (BMI)

Levels of ghrelin should ordinarily fall after a meal to signal your brain that you're full and ready to stop eating; an increase would therefore essentially tell your brain to continue eating, leading to weight gain. Further, the increase in leptin levels is concerning because overexposure to high levels of the hormone can lead to leptin resistance, which means your body is unable to properly hear leptin's signals. The way your body stores fat is a highly regulated process that is controlled, primarily, by leptin. If you gain excess weight, the additional fat produces extra leptin that should alert your brain that your body is storing too much fat and needs to burn off the excess.

To do this, signals are sent to your brain to stop being hungry and to stop eating. When you become leptin-resistant, your body can no longer hear these messages -- so it remains hungry and stores more fat. You can also easily become leptin resistant by eating the typical American diet full of refined sugar (particularly processed fructose), refined grains, and processed foods—which, like antibiotics, will upset the balance of bacteria in your gut. Multiple studies have shown that obese people have different intestinal bacteria than slim people, and that altering the microbial balance in your gut can influence your weight. Such research includes but is not limited to the following:

Research by Dr. Martin Blaser found that mice fed antibiotics (in dosages similar to those given to children for throat or ear infections) had significant increases in body fat despite their diets remaining unchanged.28

One 2011 study29 showed that rats given lactic acid bacteria while in utero through adulthood put on significantly less weight than other rats eating the same high-calorie diet. They also had lower levels of minor inflammation, which has been associated with obesity.

Babies with high numbers of Bifidobacteria and low numbers of Staphylococcus aureus – which may cause low-grade inflammation in your body, contributing to obesity – appeared to be protected from excess weight gain in a 2008 study.30 This may be one reason why breast-fed babies have a lower risk of obesity, as Bifidobacteria flourish in the guts of breast-fed babies.

Two studies found that obese individuals had about 20 percent more of a family of bacteria known as Firmicutes, and almost 90 percent less of a bacteria called Bacteroidetes than lean people. Firmicutes help your body to extract calories from complex sugars and deposit those calories in fat. When these microbes were transplanted into normal-weight mice, those mice started to gain twice as much fat.

In 2010, researchers found31 that obese people were able to reduce their abdominal fat by nearly five percent, and their subcutaneous fat by over three percent, just be drinking a probiotic-rich fermented milk beverage for 12 weeks.

Probiotics (good bacteria) have been found to benefit metabolic syndrome, which often goes hand-in-hand with obesity.

Probiotics may also be beneficial in helping women lose weight after childbirth when taken from the first trimester through breastfeeding.

Essential Oils Might Be the New Antibiotics

Fortunately, some farmers and scientists have started investigating various plant extracts, hoping to find alternatives to antibiotic drugs. Essential oils have antimicrobial, antibacterial, and antifungal properties, rendering them useful in various areas of food production. A recent article in The Atlantic³² discusses the experimental use of essential oils to combat disease and pests. Mounting research also suggests they may be potent enough to address diseases like cancer.

According to The Atlantic:

"Numerous recent studies—including several done by the USDA—have shown great promise in using essential oils as an alternative to antibiotics in livestock. One of their studies, published in October 2014 in the journal Poultry Science,³³ found that chickens who consumed feed with added oregano oil had a 59 percent lower mortality rate due to ascites, a common infection in poultry, than untreated chickens.

Other research,³⁴ from a 2011 issue of BMC Proceedings, showed that adding a combination of plant extracts—from oregano, cinnamon, and chili peppers—actually changed the gene expression of treated chickens, resulting in weight gain as well as protection against an injected intestinal infection. A 2010 study³⁵ from Poultry Science produced similar findings with the use of extracts from turmeric, chili pepper, and shiitake mushrooms."

Scientists have also compared the effectiveness of antibiotics versus various essential oils. Rosemary and oregano oil, for example, resulted in the same growth rate in chickens as the antibiotic avilamycin.³⁶ The oils were effective against pathogenic bacteria as well. Essential oil blends have also been found effective against salmonella in chickens.³⁷ According to Dr. Charles Hofacre, a professor at the University of Georgia's College of Veterinary Medicine, "There is some strong evidence that [essential oils] are functioning by both an antibacterial action in the intestine and also some have an effect to stimulate the intestinal cells ability to recover from disease more quickly–either by local immunity or helping keep the intestinal cells themselves healthier."

In humans, a combination of thyme and clove essentials oils was found to be as effective against bacterial vaginosis as standard antibiotic treatments.³⁸ Researchers have also successfully treated staph infection with tea tree oil vapors.³⁹ An added boon: Essential oils appear to be less likely to cause resistance, for the fact that they contain hundreds of different chemical compounds, which makes bacterial adaptation more difficult.

Healthy Gut Bacteria Cannot Coexist with Antibiotics

Antibiotics can save your life if you develop a serious bacterial infection, but it's important that you resist the urge to ask your physician for a prescription for every infection you come down with, especially viral infections such as the common cold and influenza. Antibiotics are useless against viral infections. Remember that whenever you use an antibiotic, or if you're frequently eating treated animal foods, you're:

1. Decimating your microbiome, which will need time and proper diet and/or a probiotic supplement to restore rebalance. An unbalanced microbiome can contribute to both obesity and disease
2. Increasing your susceptibility to developing infections with resistance to that antibiotic -- and you can become the carrier of this resistant bug and even spread it to others

It's quite clear that the foods you eat are a major source of chronic low-dose exposure to antibiotics, so to protect your gut bacteria you need to buy antibiotic-free, organically raised meat and, yes, even produce. Conventionally farmed vegetables are often grown in fertilizer derived from factory-farmed animal waste and sewage sludge, which is yet another source of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

My bottom-line recommendation is to take decisive action for yourself and your own family, and seek out trusted sources of food that do not use antibiotic pesticides and/or antibiotic growth promoters. Your best bet for finding healthy food is to connect with a local farmer that raises animals according to organic standards, allowing them to roam freely on pasture. Some grocery chains also offer 100% grass-fed meats these days. In the US, the following organizations can help you locate farm-fresh foods:

Weston Price Foundation40 has local chapters in most states, and many of them are connected with buying clubs in which you can easily purchase organic foods, including grass-fed raw dairy products like milk and butter.

Local Harvest -- This Web site will help you find farmers' markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies.

Farmers' Markets -- A national listing of farmers' markets.

Eat Well Guide: Wholesome Food from Healthy Animals -- The Eat Well Guide is a free online directory of sustainably raised meat, poultry, dairy, and eggs from farms, stores, restaurants, inns, and hotels, and online outlets in the United States and Canada.

Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) -- CISA is dedicated to sustaining agriculture and promoting the products of small farms.

FoodRoutes -- The FoodRoutes "Find Good Food" map can help you connect with local farmers to find the freshest, tastiest food possible. On their interactive map, you can find a listing for local farmers, CSAs, and markets near you.

Expert Panel Recommends Children 14 and Under Be Protected by Food Marketing Policies

By Dr. Mercola

In the US, food advertising and marketing is regulated by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which states that such marketing cannot be false, deceptive, or unfair.

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has also created the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative, which is “a voluntary self-regulation program comprising many of the nation's largest food and beverage companies.”¹

If the words “voluntary” and “self-regulation” sound concerning to you, they should. Members of this Initiative pledge to only feature food options that meet certain criteria in ads directed at kids, while at the same time not emphasizing toys and promotional characters that will obviously heavily influence a child’s perception of the food.

However, research has shown that the food industry’s supposed self-regulation is nonsense, with television advertisements for children’s meals appearing significantly from those geared toward adults.²

The ads geared toward children featured far more toy premiums and giveaways, for instance, along with food packaging images, street views of the restaurant and an emphasis on giveaways and movie tie-ins.

Now a panel of experts convened by the Healthy Eating Research program is calling for increased protection for children from predatory food marketing.

Expert Recommendations Call for Increased Protection for Children Aged 12-14

According to the Healthy Eating Research report, the industry’s current voluntary self-regulation program doesn’t go far enough to protect children. Their recommended guidelines aim to “close major loopholes that currently leave kids unprotected.”³

For starters, current regulations apply only to children aged 11 and under, which leaves a significant number of adolescents aged 12-14 at risk. The report notes that older children are uniquely impressionable and vulnerable to food marketing, in part because of their stage of brain and cognitive development.

In addition to being susceptible to marketing overall, adolescents are especially susceptible to marketing for tempting foods that require well-developed self-regulatory abilities to resist.

At the same time, older kids are exposed to stealth forms of marketing in social media that may be disguised as entertainment or even messages from peers. According to the report:

“Children ages 12 to 14 face heightened risk from the influence of unhealthy food marketing due to their greater independence, higher levels of media consumption, and recent increases in the amount of marketing to children ages 12 and older for unhealthy food and beverage products.”

Responsible Guidelines to Close the Loopholes

The report goes even further, calling for major loopholes that allow junk foods to infiltrate kids’ lives to be closed. For instance, a media program or venue is currently considered to be “child-directed” if children make up 35 percent or more of the expected audience. The expert panel is calling for this to be lowered to 25 percent or when ads are designed to get kids’ attention.

Current guidelines also apply only to individual products, but more responsible guidelines should apply to both products and brands. There are also a significant number of marketing venues that are exempt from the voluntary guidelines.

The report calls for marketing guidelines to apply to all marketing aimed at kids and in places where kids live, learn and play. Examples of venues that are currently exempt, but wouldn’t be under the proposed guidelines, include the following. For more details, check out the Healthy Eating Research infographic below.⁴

Toy giveaways	In-store displays
Social media	Marketing on food packages
Sponsorships	Marketing in middle schools and high schools

$1.6 Billion a Year Is Spent on Food Marketing to US Youth

As you might imagine, the majority of that amount is spent on foods that are high in sugar, unhealthy fats and sodium, and low in nutritive value. In fact, the foods most heavily targeted at children include soft drinks, sugary breakfast cereals, salty snacks, and baked goods.⁵

As it stands, television ads are still the primary route that junk food makers target your kids. But that is quickly changing with the growth of digital technology. Food advertising spending on interactive video games targeting 3- to 11-year-olds was projected to reach $1 billion in 2014.

Junk food makers are also targeting kids via the Internet, cells phones and text messages, computer games and in movies.⁶ Currently, the average child sees 12 to 21 TV commercials for a food product every day, and food marketers continue spending on increasing numbers of ads because … it works.

As reported by The Weight of the Nation:⁷

“Food marketing to children and youth has been shown to increase: preference for advertised foods; consumption of advertised foods; overall calorie consumption; and requests to parents to purchase advertised foods (known as "pester power").”

Pizza Makes Up a Significant Portion of Kids’ Diets

In a recent survey of US kids aged 2 to 19, 20 percent of younger kids and 23 percent of teens ate pizza on any given day,⁸ making it a top contributor to kids’ total caloric intake. And on days kids ate pizza, the study found they also tended to eat more calories overall, along with more sugar and sodium.

Nutrients from quality foods are critical in helping your child reach his or her fullest potential. Unfortunately, many kids are not getting the nutrients they need. It’s not only pizza that’s the problem. Separate research shows:⁹

• Nearly 40% of children's diets come from added sugars and unhealthy fats
• Only 21% of youth age 6-19 eat the recommended five or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day

This is a veritable recipe for disease, and is a primary reason why many of today's kids are arguably less healthy now than most all previous generations. Obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and even liver disease -- these are diseases that once appeared only in middle-age and beyond, but are now impacting children. Mental health is also at stake.

One study from British researchers revealed that kids who ate a predominantly processed food diet at age 3 had lower IQ scores at age 8.5.¹⁰ For each measured increase in processed foods, participants had a 1.67-point decrease in IQ.

Along with the potential for lowered IQ, a junk-food diet can also set the stage for asthma, eczema, and a variety of allergies, inflammatory conditions, and autoimmune diseases. In fact, most of the leading diseases plaguing the US are diet-related, including heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and cancer.

Nutritional deficiencies in your child's first years of life can even lead to deficits in brain function that put them at risk of behavioral problems -- from hyperactivity to aggression -- that can last into the teenage years and beyond. The importance of proper nutrition simply cannot be overstated.

Wendy’s Removes Soda from Kids’ Meals

In light of evidence linking the consumption of sugary drinks to diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and tooth decay, fast-food restaurants are trying to protect their public image by making small steps in the right direction. In 2013, McDonald’s agreed to remove soda as the default beverage in their Happy Meals, which is set to take effect this year. Now fast-food giant Wendy’s has become the latest to remove soda from kids’ meals, joining other chains like Chipotle and Panera. CSPI senior nutrition policy counsel Jessica Almy noted:¹¹

"While parents bear most of the responsibility for feeding their children well, restaurant chains also need to do their part… Restaurants should not be setting parents up for a fight by bundling soda with meal options designed for kids. Wendy's is taking a responsible step forward that will improve children's health and make it easier for parents to make healthy choices for their children. We hope Burger King, Applebee's, IHOP, and other chains follow suit."

The removal of soda hardly makes a kids’ meal from McDonald’s or Wendy’s healthy, but it is one more nail in the coffin for soda makers, who are among the most aggressive marketers to children. Research has even shown that drinking just one additional sugary drink each day increases children’s risk of obesity by 60 percent¹² -- so even one less soda a day could make a difference. As a general guideline, I recommend limiting your fructose consumption to 25 grams per day, or even lower—15 grams per day—if you are insulin resistant, overweight, or have heart disease, diabetes, or any other disease stemming from insulin resistance. Meanwhile, just one can of Coke contains about 35 grams of sugar, which alone exceeds your (and your child’s) daily recommended intake of fructose.

Global Soft Drink Sales Grow Nearly 3 Percent a Year

The soda industry is a $75-billion market,¹³ an industry that reached its greatest heights in the US during the 1980s and 1990s, when Coca-Cola began pushing larger drink sizes and “upsizing.” Fountain drink sizes grew more than 50 percent by 1990, and in 1994, the 20-ounce plastic bottle was introduced in the US. As people drank more and more soda, rates of obesity and diabetes soared, and while the soda industry still denies to this day any connection, research suggests otherwise.

The “supersized” mentality seems to have backfired for Coca-Cola and other beverage companies, because as the health risks become clear, sales have been on a steady downward spiral. Last year, nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of Americans said they actively try to avoid soda in their diet -- a significant increase from 2002, when only 41 percent were trying to avoid soda.¹⁴ Yet, globally, sales are on the rise, growing at a rate of 2.7 percent a year,¹⁵ with companies like Coca Cola keen to increase it further.

As business columnist Justin Fox told Bloomberg:¹⁶

“In the 1990s, I remember Coca-Cola emphasizing that it accounted for almost 2 percent of global fluid intake, with the implication that the other 98 percent -- or at least some of it -- was ripe for conquest.”

There are over 61.5 million children under the age of 14 in the US,¹⁷ and for American businesses, these kids represent one of the most powerful demographics to be captured. As noted in the documentary film Consuming Kids, below, children under 12 influence adult spending worth a staggering $700 billion a year, which equates to the combined economy of 115 of the world's poorest countries. Coca-Cola also knows they’ve got a prime target in adolescents, and the company decided to target the teen market directly last summer. Teens, while notorious for their soft-drink consumption, have been quickly bailing ship and opting for energy drinks instead. So Coca-Cola printed the 250 most common teen names on Coke bottles, hoping to entice teens with the “personalized” drinks. It worked. Sales increased by 1 percent in North America as a result.¹⁸

Don’t Let Your Child Become a Brainwashed Marketing Statistic

What we're seeing is a rise of "360-degree immersive marketing," designed to convince children that life is about buying and "getting." It's about turning children into loyal lifelong consumers, and when it comes to processed foods, kids are being brainwashed into believing junk foods will make them healthy and happy. The truth, however, is diametrically opposed to such propaganda. Remember the study that found kids who ate the most processed foods had lower IQ scores?

Well, the converse also held true, with those eating healthier diets experiencing higher IQ levels. For each measured increase in dietary score, which meant the child was eating more fruits and vegetables for instance, there was a 1.2-point increase in IQ.¹⁹ As for combating the influence of marketing on your kids' dietary preferences, and ultimately their health, I'd advise you to limit the amount of time your child spends watching TV and surfing the Web.

Ideally, children under the age of 3 should not be watching any TV, as this is a crucial time of rapid brain development in which your child's brain is shaped in response to whatever they're exposed to. Unfortunately, marketing is everywhere, and you cannot insulate your child from all of it all of the time. However, in terms of mental and physical health, junk food ads are among the most harmful, and here you can lend your support for change.

Talk to your kids about what they're seeing, and why fast food and processed foods simply aren't good for them—despite what the ad says. Remember, ads are designed to sell products; not to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth ... The Prevention Institute's "We're Not Buying It" campaign²⁰ is petitioning President Obama to put voluntary, science-based nutrition guidelines into place for companies that market foods to kids. You can sign this petition now, but I urge you to go a step further and stop supporting the companies that are marketing junk foods to your children today.

Carbon Sequestration—The Climate Change Solution That Virtually All Climate Activists Ignore

By Dr. Mercola

2015 has been declared the International Year of Soils,¹ and few topics could be more important at this time. One of the objectives of the International Year of Soils is to "create full awareness of civil society and decision makers about the fundamental roles of soils for human's life."

Another is to "achieve full recognition of the prominent contributions of soils to food security [and] climate change adaptation." Rarely do you hear climate activists² address the issue of soil and land regeneration, yet it is perhaps the most comprehensive solution to everyone's concerns.

Fighting over whether or not climate change is real; or whether climate change is manmade or not is completely irrelevant. Arguing over whether the temperature is actually rising or falling, or whether arctic ice sheets are shrinking or growing is a waste of time.

Why Agricultural 'U-Turn' Is Necessary

The fact of the matter is, the global landscape is changing, and food security is no longer a given, even if you have plenty of available land, and here's why:

• Water scarcity is getting worse as aquifers are drained faster than they can be refilled. In August 2014, the National Geographic³ reported that a four-year long drought in California had led to the depletion of snowpacks, rivers, and lakes.

As a result, the state has been tapping into its underground aquifers to make up for the lack of water. At present, nearly 60 percent of California's water needs are met by groundwater⁴ that does not have time to recharge at the same rate it's being used.

• Soil erosion and degradation is rapidly getting worse.
• Air and water pollution are worsening.
• Land is turning into desert at a rapid clip, and with it, we're losing biodiversity of both plant and animal life.
• Everything is getting more toxic, and according to a wide variety of scientists, we are looking at no more than 50-60 years' worth of "business as usual" before we reach a point at which nature will no longer sustain us on any front, be it water, air, or soil quality.

The World Has Only 60 Years' Worth of Topsoil Left

One striking example highlighting just how pressed for time we are is the news that the world only has about 60 years' worth of topsoil left.

In a 2012 Time Magazine⁵ interview, University of Sydney professor John Crawford discussed this issue, noting that about 40 percent of agricultural soils around the globe is currently classified as degraded or seriously degraded.

"Seriously degraded" means that 70 percent of the topsoil (the layer of soil in which plants grow) has already disappeared. The reason for the erosion and degradation is farming methods that remove carbon from the soil and destroy the microbial balance in the soil responsible for plant nutrition and growth.

At present, topsoil is being lost 10-40 times faster than nature can regenerate and replenish it naturally. According to Professor Crawford:

"People don't always think about how [soil] is connected with so many other things: health, the environment, [food] security, climate, water. For example, agriculture accounts for 70 percent of our fresh water use...

If soil is not fit for purpose, that water will be wasted, because it washes right through degraded soil and past the root system. Given the enormous potential for conflict over water in the next 20-30 years, you don't want to exacerbate things by continuing to damage the soil, which is exactly what's happening now...

Under a business as usual scenario, degraded soil will mean that we will produce 30 percent less food over the next 20-50 years. This is against a background of projected demand requiring us to grow 50 percent more food, as the population grows..."

Nitrogen Application Contributes to the Problem

Synthetic nitrogen fertilizers add to the problem by turning soil carbon into carbon dioxide (CO2). According to André Leu, President of Organics International and author of The Myths of Safe Pesticides:

“Research shows a direct link between the application of synthetic nitrogenous fertilizers and the decline in soil carbon.

Scientists from the University of Illinois analyzed the results of a 50-year agricultural trial and found that synthetic nitrogen fertilizer resulted in all the carbon residues from the crop disappearing as well as an average loss of around 10,000 kg of carbon (C) per hectare per year.

This is around 36,700 kg of carbon dioxide per hectare on top of the many thousands of kilograms of crop residue that is converted in to CO2 every year.

The researchers found that the higher the application of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer the greater the amount of soil carbon lost as CO2. This is one of the major reasons why conventional agricultural systems have a decline in soil carbon while organic systems increase soil carbon.”

In a paper⁶ titled, Nitrogen: the double-edged sword, Christine Jones, PhD goes into some detail about the impacts of inorganic nitrogen. Ironically, in addition to depleting soil carbon, application of nitrogen fertilizers also deplete the soil of its natural nitrogen stores. In her paper, she also describes the inter-dependency between nitrogen, carbon, and aggregation produced by soil fungi.

Mycorrhizal fungi use carbon to form soil aggregates, which is how soil structure is built. (More specifically, soil aggregates are produced by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.) Soil aggregates are like clusters of tiny particles that do not fit together, resulting in porous spaces in the soil. This alleviates compaction and allows for water retention.

As explained by Dr. Jones, if soils are not actively aggregating (due to a lack of mycorrhizal fungi), it will not fix significant amounts of atmospheric nitrogen, nor will it sequester stable forms of carbon. The mycorrhizal fungi responsible for aggregation can be significantly harmed by agricultural chemicals and disruptive methods like tilling, both of which are cornerstones of our modern chemical-based agriculture. The use of diverse ground cover plants is also important for mycorrhizal fungi proliferation, and this is rarely done in conventional farming. She writes, in part:

“When soil is bare there is no photosynthesis and very little biological activity. Bare soils lose carbon and nitrogen, nutrient cycles become dysfunctional, aggregates deteriorate, structure declines and water-holding capacity is reduced. Bare fallows, designed to store moisture and retain nutrients, become self-defeating. The maintenance of bare fallows - or the use of high rates of inorganic N in crops or pastures—or worse, both—results in the uncoupling of the nitrogen and carbon cycles that have functioned synergistically for millennia.”

Nitrogen application also pollutes water supplies. As noted by Dr. Jones: “The USDA estimates that the cost of removing nitrate from U.S. drinking water is more than $4.8 billion per year, while nitrogen run-off from farmland is the single largest source of nutrient pollution contributing to the massive ‘dead zone’ in the Gulf of Mexico.”

Carbon Sequestration is an Important Part of the Solution

There's an obvious answer to all of these concerns. Unfortunately, too few are giving it the attention it deserves, if they're paying it any attention at all. The answer is to alter our agricultural practices in such a way as to return and confine organic matter and carbon in the soil. This will help:

Regenerate the soil	Limit agricultural water usage with no till and crop covers
Increase crop yields7	Reduce the need for agricultural chemicals and additives, if not eliminate such need entirely in time
Reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide levels	Reduce air and water pollution by lessening the need for herbicides, pesticides, and synthetic fertilizers

2014 Saw a Rise in Sustainable Farming

⁸ 2014 saw an upshot in ecological farming—agricultural practices that protect, sustain, and regenerate the Earth's ecology. Increasing numbers of farmers are indeed starting to recognize the value, if not necessity, for such modifications.

Eco-farmers have also started getting increasing support from international organizations—the United Nations in particular. As noted by Olivier De Schutter, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, last year:

"We cannot continue in this impasse of an oil dependent food production system. … Agroecology is really common sense. It means understanding how nature works, to replicate the natural workings of nature on farms in order to reduce dependency on external inputs."

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director-General, José Graziano da Silva, has also said:

"Agroecology continues to grow, both in science and in policies. It is an approach that will help to address the challenge of ending hunger and malnutrition in all its forms, in the context of the climate change adaptation needed."

At present, most governments around the world are subsidizing and/or promoting a food production system that is unsustainable. Moreover, it's done at the cost of both human and environmental health.

As noted by Professor Crawford, modern crop breeding and genetic engineering is also exacerbating malnutrition and hunger rather than alleviating it. Take wheat for example, which today contains half the micronutrients of older strains. The same goes for fruits and vegetables of all kinds. Most are bred or engineered to withstand pests. Very little attention has been paid to the nutrient content, which has precipitously fallen. In a previous interview with Dr. August Dunning, he presented data showing that in order to receive the same amount of iron you used to get from a single apple in 1950, by 1998 you had to eat 26 apples!

The reason for this is in part due to the excessive use of glyphosate. The United States alone applies 200 million pounds of glyphosate to croplands each year. Worldwide, more than one billion pounds of glyphosate are used each year. This broad-spectrum herbicide effectively chelates minerals from the soil, making the minerals unavailable for plants. It's also a potent antibiotic that decimates crucial soil biology responsible for nutrient uptake. As stated by Professor Crawford:⁹

"The focus has been on breeding high-yield crops which can survive on degraded soil, so it's hardly surprising that 60 percent of the world's population is deficient in nutrients like iron. If it's not in the soil, it's not in our food...Significant progress is technically quite straightforward... First-off I'd focus on getting carbon back into the soil, by reversing bad farming practices like tillage, nutrient mismanagement, removing stubble and over-grazing...

In the longer term, breeding targets need to focus more on human nutrition as well as productivity, and on traits that improve the soil... From a policy standpoint, probably the most important thing is to find pricing mechanisms that take into account the environmental, health and other costs of a broken system. Farmers need to be appropriately rewarded for regenerating the environment and producing food that supports a healthier society."

The Solution for Reversing Soil Degradation

A recent paper in the journal Sustainability¹⁰ presents "an optimistic strategy" for reversing soil degradation. By examining how soil biology influences soil quality, and how biological properties and processes contribute to agricultural sustainability, the authors discuss how, by focusing on soil health, a number of pressing problems can be successfully addressed:

• Nutrient availability in soil can be increased, producing high yielding, high quality crops
• Crops can be naturally protected from pests, pathogens, and weeds
• Factors that might otherwise undermine production, such as drought, can be ameliorated

According to a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) 2012 report¹¹ titled: Climate Change and Agriculture in the United States, our current agricultural system, which is dominated by corn and soy, is unsustainable in the long term. Should temperatures rise as predicted, the US could expect to see significant declines in yields by the middle of this century. We do not have the time to ponder these problems much longer. We must begin to address the health and quality of our soils, as this can solve virtually every single dilemma we're currently facing.

In the featured lecture, Judith Schwartz discusses the transformative effects of various water management approaches around the world. While many claim that climate change is responsible for droughts and land masses turning into desert, Schwartz notes that one can easily argue that our agricultural methods have also contributed to this change in climate. Arguing about which came first, the climate change or the environmental destruction, is pointless. Instead we need to focus on strategies that will bring us closer to a system that works.

And restoring the water cycle in our environment—by sequestering carbon in our soils—will not only make our food supply more secure, it can also help moderate changes in climate. Sequestering carbon in the soil will not only lessen the carbon dioxide load in the atmosphere. Once in the soil, the carbon does many beneficial things, including holding water. A mere one percent increase in organic soil carbon means an acre of land can hold an additional 20,000 gallons of water. "If water can be kept in the soil, that land is supporting life," she says. Moreover, any rain that falls will also be more effectively absorbed and used, rather than evaporating into the air or eroding away the soils by rapid runoff.

Reducing the Environmental Hoofprint of Feedlot Operations

Holistic grazing is a crucial part of regenerative land management. Done properly it can radically increase cover crop diversity, top soil and soil microbes. At present, a staggering two-thirds of the landmass on earth is turning into desert, and cattle grazing is part of the answer to stop and reverse this loss of land. It's also an important principle that improves the nutrition of our food.

Not only do pastured animal foods (meat, eggs, dairy) have a superior nutrient profile, they also do not contain many of the contaminants associated with poor health and disease, found in CAFO-raised animals. This includes antibiotics and other growth promoters, and genetically engineered feed grains and the pesticides associated with them. According to the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC):¹²

"The US beef supply chain suffers from poor management practices that impact our climate and degrade our grazing lands while adversely influencing public health, animal welfare, and worker safety...

Fortunately, an extensive body of science has shown that improving supply chain management has the potential to dramatically benefit ecosystem health across the country. This is because, for example, well-managed grazinglands provide society with economically valuable "ecosystem services," including biodiversity, sequestered carbon, filtered nutrient runoff, recharged ground and surface waters, recreational opportunities, and scenic landscapes."

According to the NRDC, there's only one comprehensive program serving American beef producers, and that is Food Alliance, which is still quite small. To strengthen efforts, the NRDC has partnered with Food Alliance, Rainforest Alliance, and a number of other stakeholders to create a new, more comprehensive program to help improve beef production in the US. According to the NRDC:

"This new program will account for the health of America's grasslands and other grazed ecosystems, how ranchers and farmers grow grass and feed crops, how feedlots are managed, and whether cattle are treated humanely and workers are treated fairly."

You Are What You Eat... And Health Begins in the Soil

Aside from the environmental harm being done by confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) and chemical-dependent agriculture, the current food production system also takes an incredible toll on human health. Many kids are not getting the nutrients they need in order to thrive, especially in the US where nearly 40 percent of children's diets come from added sugars and unhealthy fats.¹³ Only 21 percent of youth aged 6-19 eat the recommended five or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

Ingredients that are of poor nutritional quality to begin with, and often contaminated with hazardous chemicals, are being further destroyed via extensive processing. Sugars, harmful processed fats, and chemicals are then added for taste. And people wonder why diseases that once appeared only in middle-age and beyond, such as severe obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and even liver disease, are now so prevalent among our youth...

Processed foods, which were once seen as a godsend for busy parents are now one of the leading causes of disease, and there's nothing convenient about that!

The sustainable solution for good human and ecological health is to focus on carbon sequestration. It's a solution that can address most of the pressing problems we currently face, including climate change, water shortages, and lack of food security. So why don't major climate activists get on board with regenerative farming enthusiasts? I hope in 2015—the International Year of Soils—they will.

11 Amazing Health Benefits of Using Baking Soda

By Dr. Mercola

You probably have at least one box of baking soda in your home right now. If you're like many Americans, you might have a box in your pantry for baking, one in your refrigerator to absorb odors and another under your kitchen sink to use for cleaning.

What you might not have considered is that baking soda can be used for health purposes, too, so you might want to stash another box in your medicine cabinet.

What Exactly Is Baking Soda?

It's 100 percent sodium bicarbonate, which can be used as a leavening agent in baked goods. When mixed with an acid, baking soda reacts, making bubbles and giving off carbon dioxide gas, which causes dough to rise. Anecdotal reports throughout history suggest that many civilizations used forms of baking soda when making bread and other foods that required rising.

In its natural form, baking soda is known as nahcolite, which is part of the natural mineral natron. Natron, which contains large amounts of sodium bicarbonate, has been used since ancient times. And no, you don't need to get aluminum-free baking soda (you are confusing that with baking powder), as baking soda is already aluminum free.…

For instance, the Egyptians used natron as a soap for cleansing purposes. However, it wasn't until 1846 that Dr. Austin Church and John Dwight began to manufacture and sell the compound we know as baking soda today. By the 1860s, baking soda was featured in published cookbooks but was still primarily known as a cooking additive.¹ By the 1920s, however, its versatility was expanded on and by the 1930s it was widely advertised as a "proven medical agent."

11 Ways to Use Baking Soda for Your Health

You can purchase a box of baking soda for under $1, making it one of the least expensive home remedies to keep on hand. In addition to using it for minor accidents and injuries, baking soda can become a part of your regular hygiene routine.

1. Natural Deodorant

If you want to avoid the parabens and aluminum found in many deodorants and antiperspirants, try a pinch of baking soda mixed with water instead. This simple paste makes an effective and simple natural deodorant. You can also simply brush some dry baking soda under your arms.

2. Insect Bites and Poison Ivy

Apply a paste made of baking soda and water to insect bites to help relieve itching. You can also try rubbing the dry powder onto your skin. This is also effective for itchy rashes and poison ivy. Baking soda helps to relieve minor skin irritation and itching by neutralizing toxins and irritants on your skin's surface.²

3. Heartburn, Indigestion, and Ulcer Pain

Most over-the-counter antacids contain some form of bicarbonate. Baking soda works by immediately neutralizing stomach acid, helping to relieve heartburn, indigestion and even ulcer pain. I have personally recommended this to many, including family members, and have been surprised how remarkably effective it is.

Dosing is typically ½ teaspoon fully dissolved in a half a glass of water, taken every two hours (do not take more than seven ½ teaspoons in 24 hours, or three ½ teaspoons if you're over 60).³

This should only be used as an occasional (not chronic) treatment, however, and be careful not to consume excessive amounts, which can cause serious electrolyte and acid/base imbalances.⁴

4. Foot Soak and Exfoliator

Add three tablespoons of baking soda to a tub of warm water for an invigorating foot soak. You can scrub your feet with a baking soda paste for additional exfoliation. A paste made from three parts of baking soda combined with one part water can be used as an exfoliator for your face and body, too. It's natural, inexpensive and gentle enough to use every day.

5. Relaxing Soak

Baking soda and apple cider make a wonderful spa-like bath for soaking. It also cleans the tub and the drain, as a bonus!

6. Hand Cleanser

Mix three parts baking soda with one part of water to make a natural hand cleanser that will scrub away dirt and neutralize odors.

7. Splinter removal

Add a tablespoon of baking soda to a small glass of water, then soak the affected area twice a day. Many splinters will come out on their own after a couple of days using this treatment.

8. Sunburn Remedy

Add ½ cup of baking soda to lukewarm bathwater, then soak in the tub for natural relief. When you get out, let your skin air dry, rather than toweling off the excess baking soda, for extra relief. You can also add a mixture of baking soda and water to a cool compress and apply it to the sunburn directly.

9. Enhanced Sports Performance

Distance runners have long engaged in a practice known as "soda doping" -- or taking baking soda capsules -- before races to enhance performance, a measure that's thought to work similarly to carbohydrate loading. It's also been shown to improve speed among swimmers.⁵ While I don't suggest you try this at home, it's another example of baking soda benefits. Researchers noted:⁶

"Essentially, sodium bicarbonate is an alkali substance that increases the pH of the blood. This seems to reduce and offset the acidity produced in the muscles during intense, anaerobic exercise that produces lactic acid most quickly, such as fast running or swimming."

10. Tooth and Gum Paste

Baking soda has a mild abrasive action that helps to remove plaque and polish, clean, and deodorize your teeth.⁷ One review of data from five controlled clinical studies found that toothpaste containing baking soda "enhanced plaque removal effectiveness of tooth brushing to a significantly greater extent" than brushing with a non-baking soda toothpaste.⁸

Baking soda also has antibacterial activity and has been found to kill Streptococcus mutans bacteria – a significant contributor to tooth decay.⁹ For an incredibly effective tooth and gum paste, use a mixture of six parts of baking soda to one part of sea salt.

Place them in a blender and mix for 30 seconds, then place in a container to use. Wet the tip of your index finger and place a small amount of the salt and soda mixture on your gums.

Starting with the upper outside gums and then the inside of the upper, followed by the lower outside of the gums then the lower inside, rub the mixture onto your teeth and gums. Spit out the excess. After 15 minutes rinse your mouth. This mixture is incredibly effective at killing bacteria.¹⁰

You need to exert some caution in this area though as many believe baking soda can be too abrasive on your enamel, and Dr. Curatola believes that killing the oral microbiome may be highly counterproductive.

11. Teeth whitener

For a natural way to whiten your teeth, crush one ripe strawberry and mix it with 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. Spread the mixture onto your teeth and leave on for five minutes. Then brush your teeth and rinse. This method should be used no more than once a week, as excessive use could potentially damage your tooth enamel.

How to Use Baking Soda as a Natural Cleanser

If you find it hard to believe that something as simple and inexpensive as baking soda could really clean your home, consider this: baking soda was used to clean and restore the inner copper walls of the Statute of Liberty during its 1986 restoration. It effectively removed grime without damaging the copper¹¹ – so think it might work around your home, too? Here are some of baking soda's top uses for cleaning:

Baking soda is great to scrub your bath and kitchen with. Put it in a glass grated cheese container with a stainless steel top that has holes in it, and just sprinkle the baking soda on the surfaces and scrub. You may add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to this. Lavender and tea tree oil have potent anti-bacterial qualities.	Baking soda mixed with apple cider vinegar is a bubbly combination that has many uses. As a drain cleaner, sprinkle baking soda down the drain, then add apple cider vinegar and let it bubble for 15 minutes, then rinse with hot water. This is a safer alternative to dangerous drain cleaners.
Soak pots and pans in hot water and baking soda for 15 minutes to easily wipe away baked-on food.	Use baking soda to scrub your barbecue grill.
Clean baby toys in a mixture of 4 tablespoons of baking soda and 1 quart of water.	Baking soda can also be used as a fabric softener in your laundry, or to get your clothes whither and brighter (add one cup to your laundry load).
Baking soda is a natural carpet cleaner. Sprinkle it onto carpets, let it sit for 15 minutes, then vacuum it up.	To polish silver without using toxic silver polish, fill your kitchen sink with hot water, add a sheet of aluminum foil and baking soda, and let the silver pieces soak until clean. It is an easy and fun way to clean silver.
Sprinkle baking soda in your shoes for a natural deodorizer.	In the event of a minor grease fire in your kitchen, use baking soda to help smother out the flames.
Sprinkle baking soda on a vegetable brush to help remove dirt and residue from fruits and veggies.	Make a paste of baking soda and water and use it to scrub away grime from your shower and bath.

Top Anti-Inflammatory Foods, Herbs, and Spices

By Dr. Mercola

Herbs and cooking spices contain a wide variety of antioxidants, minerals and vitamins, and help maximize the nutrient density of your meals. Every time you flavor your meals with herbs or spices you are literally "upgrading" your food without adding a single calorie.

In fact, on a per gram fresh weight basis, herbs rank even higher in antioxidant activity than fruits and vegetables, which are known to be high in antioxidants. Many studies have also shown that most spices tend to have unique medicinal qualities.

In the featured study,¹ researchers from three Universities devised an experiment to evaluate the “true world” benefits of herbs and spices, by feeding them to people in quantities that are typically consumed simply by spicing up your meals. As noted by Dr. Michael Greger MD, who produced the video above:²

“The researchers could have taken the easy route and just measured the change in antioxidant level in one’s bloodstream before and after consumption, but the assumption that the appearance of antioxidant activity in the blood is an indication of bioavailability has a weakness.

Maybe more gets absorbed than we think but doesn’t show up on antioxidant tests because it gets bound up to proteins or cells. So the researchers attempted to measure physiological changes in the blood.

They were interested in whether absorbed compounds would be able to protect white blood cells from an oxidative or inflammatory injury—whether herb and spice consumption would protect the strands of our DNA from breaking when attacked by free radicals.”

Four Spices That Pack a Powerful Anti-Inflammatory Punch

For one week, 10 to 12 subjects in each of 13 groups consumed a small amount of a particular spice each day. For example, those in the oregano group ate just half a teaspoon of oregano daily for seven days. Blood samples were drawn one hour prior to consumption, and at the very end of the experiment.

The participants’ blood was then analyzed for antioxidant capacity. The researchers also analyzed how well the blood could dampen an induced inflammatory response in white blood cells.

This was done by placing the participants’ blood onto white blood cells that had been damaged by oxidized cholesterol (commonly found in fried foods). Even at the “everyday” dosage amounts given, four spices were found to be significantly effective at quelling the inflammatory response:

1. Cloves
2. Ginger
3. Rosemary
4. Turmeric

As noted in the featured article: “[T]he results represents what might happen when cells in our body are exposed to the levels of spices that circulate in our bloodstream after normal daily consumption—not megadoses in some pill. Just the amount that makes our spaghetti sauce, pumpkin pie, or curry sauce taste good.”

Other Potent Anti-Inflammatory Spices

An earlier study published in the Journal of Medicinal Foods³ found a direct correlation between the antioxidant phenol content of spice and herb extracts and their ability to inhibit glycation and block the formation of AGE compounds (advanced glycation end products), making them potent preventers of heart disease and premature aging.

Here, cloves were ranked as the most potent of 24 common herbs and spices found in your spice rack. In all, the following were found to be the top 10 most potent anti-inflammatory herbs and spices:

1. Cloves
2. Cinnamon
3. Jamaican allspice
4. Apple pie spice mixture
5. Oregano
6. Pumpkin pie spice mixture
7. Marjoram
8. Sage
9. Thyme
10. Gourmet Italian spice

Inflammation Is at the Heart of Most Chronic Diseases

It’s important to realize that chronic inflammation is the source of many if not most diseases, including cancer, obesity, and heart disease, which essentially makes it the leading cause of death in the US.

While inflammation is a perfectly normal and beneficial process that occurs when your body's white blood cells and chemicals protect you from foreign invaders like bacteria and viruses, it leads to trouble when the inflammatory response gets out of hand. Your diet has a lot to do with this chain of events.

While among the most potent, ounce for ounce, herbs and spices are certainly not the only anti-inflammatory ingredients available. A number of foods are well-known for their anti-inflammatory properties, and making sure you’re eating a wide variety of them on a regular basis can go a long way toward preventing chronic illness.

Top Seven Anti-Inflammatory Foods

The following foods and nutrients deserve special mention for their ability to quell inflammatory responses in your body:

1. Animal-based omega-3 fat	Animal-based omega-3 fats—found in fatty fish like wild Alaskan salmon and fish- or krill oil—help fight inflammation throughout your body. It’s particularly important for brain health. Research published in the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology4 in 2012 confirmed that dietary supplementation with krill oil effectively reduced inflammation and oxidative stress.
2. Leafy greens	Dark leafy greens such as kale, spinach, collard greens and Swiss chard contain powerful antioxidants, flavonoids, carotenoids, and vitamin C—all of which help protect against cellular damage. Ideally, opt for organic locally grown veggies that are in season, and consider eating a fair amount of them raw. Juicing is an excellent way to get more greens into your diet.
3. Blueberries	Blueberries rate very high in antioxidant capacity compared to other fruits and vegetables. They are also lower in sugar than many other fruits.
4. Tea	Matcha tea is the most nutrient-rich green tea and comes in the form of a stone-ground unfermented powder. The best Matcha comes from Japan and has up to 17 times the antioxidants of wild blueberries, and seven times more than dark chocolate. Tulsi is another tea loaded with anti-inflammatory antioxidants and other micronutrients that support immune function and heart health.
5. Fermented vegetables and traditionally cultured foods	Optimizing your gut flora is important for a well-functioning immune system, and helps ward off chronic inflammation. In fact, the majority of inflammatory diseases start in your gut, as the result of an imbalanced microbiome. Fermented foods such as kefir, natto, kimchee, miso, tempeh, pickles, sauerkraut, olives, and other fermented vegetables, will help ‘reseed’ your gut with beneficial bacteria. Fermented foods can also help your body rid itself of harmful toxins such as heavy metals and pesticides that promote inflammation.
6. Shiitake mushrooms	Shiitake mushrooms contain strong compounds with the natural ability to discourage inflammation, such as Ergothioneine, which inhibits oxidative stress. They also contain a number of unique nutrients that many do not get enough of in their diet. One is copper, which is one of the few metallic elements accompanied by amino and fatty acids that are essential to human health. Since your body can't synthesize copper, your diet must supply it regularly. Copper deficiency can be a factor in the development of coronary heart disease.
7. Garlic	Garlic has been treasured for its medicinal properties for centuries. It’s also one of the most heavily researched plant foods around. Over 170 studies5 show it benefitting more than 150 different conditions. Garlic exerts its benefits on multiple levels, offering anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-fungal, and antioxidant properties. It's thought that much of garlic's therapeutic effect comes from its sulfur-containing compounds, such as allicin. Research6 has revealed that as allicin digests in your body it produces sulfenic acid, a compound that reacts faster with dangerous free radicals than any other known compound.

Your Diet Is Key for Reducing Chronic Inflammation

The running thread linking a wide variety of common health problems—from obesity and diabetes to heart disease and cancer—is chronic inflammation. The key to reducing chronic inflammation in your body starts with your diet, and being liberal in your use of high-quality herbs and spices is one simple way to boost the quality of your food. They're an inexpensive "secret weapon" that just about everyone can take advantage of. Spicing up your meals is not enough, however, if processed foods comprise the bulk of your diet.

It's important to realize that dietary components can either trigger or prevent inflammation from taking root in your body, and processed foods do the latter, courtesy of pro-inflammatory ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, soy, processed vegetable oils (trans fats), and other chemical additives. Besides adding anti-inflammatory foods to your diet, you’ll also want to avoid the following pro-inflammatory dietary culprits as much as possible:

• Refined sugar, processed fructose, and grains. If your fasting insulin level is three or above, consider dramatically reducing or eliminating grains and sugars until you optimize your insulin level, as insulin resistance this is a primary driver of chronic inflammation. As a general guideline, I recommend restricting your total fructose intake to 25 grams per day. If you’re insulin or leptin resistant (have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, or are overweight), consider cutting that down to 15 grams per day until your insulin/leptin resistance has normalized
• Oxidized cholesterol (cholesterol that has gone rancid, such as that from overcooked, scrambled eggs)
• Foods cooked at high temperatures, especially if cooked with vegetable oil (such as peanut, corn, and soy oil)
• Trans fats

Replacing processed foods with whole, ideally organic foods will automatically address most of these factors, especially if you eat a large portion of your food raw. Equally important is making sure you’re regularly reseeding your gut with beneficial bacteria, as mentioned above. To help you get started on a healthier diet, I suggest following my free Optimized Nutrition Plan, which starts at the beginner phase and systematically guides you step-by-step to the advanced level.

Super Energy Kale Soup

By Dr. Mercola

Eating kale and other cruciferous vegetables two to three times a week or, even better, four to five times a week, is an easy way to significantly boost your health. Just one cup of kale will flood your body with disease-fighting vitamins K, A, and C, along with respectable amounts of manganese, copper, B vitamins, fiber, calcium, and potassium.

With each serving of kale, you’ll also find more than 45 unique flavonoids, which have both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.¹ In terms of green leafy vegetables, you really can’t go wrong… but kale is definitely worthy of its reputation as “king of veggies.”

And here’s a secret: kale’s flavor gets sweeter after it’s been exposed to a frost, making winter the ideal time to eat it (and it is in season starting mid-winter). When the temperatures drop you might not feel like eating a raw kale salad, but what about a bowl of warm kale soup?

The recipe that follows, from the George Mateljan Foundation,² will not only warm you up and boost your nutrition, it’ll give you a nice energy boost, too.

Super Energy Kale Soup

Ingredients: 1 medium onion, chopped 4 cloves garlic, chopped 5 cups chicken or bone broth 1 medium carrot, diced into 1/4-inch cubes (about 1 cup) 1 cup diced celery 2 red potatoes, diced into 1/2-inch cubes 3 cups kale, rinsed, stems removed and chopped very fine 2 tsp dried thyme 2 tsp dried sage salt and pepper to taste Directions: Chop garlic and onions and let sit for 5 minutes to bring out their health benefits. Heat 1 TBS broth in a medium soup pot. Sauté onion in broth over medium heat for about 5 minutes stirring frequently. Add garlic and continue to sauté for another minute. Add broth, carrots, and celery and bring to a boil on high heat. Once it comes to a boil reduce heat to a simmer and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Add potatoes and cook until tender, about 15 more minutes. Add kale and rest of ingredients and cook another 5 minutes. If you want to simmer for a longer time for extra flavor and richness, you may need to add a little more broth. Serves 4

Kale May Fight at Least Five Types of Cancer

Like other cruciferous vegetables, kale is a good source of cancer-fighting sulforaphane and indole-3-carbinol. To date, kale has been found to lower the risk of at least five types of cancer, including bladder, breast, colon, ovary and prostate.³

The glucosinolates in kale and other cruciferous vegetables break down into products that help protect DNA from damage.⁴ As noted by the George Mateljan Foundation:⁵

“Kale's special mix of cancer-preventing glucosinolates has been the hottest area of research on this cruciferous vegetable.

Kale is an especially rich source of glucosinolates, and once kale is eaten and digested, these glucosinolates can be converted by the body into cancer preventive compounds. Some of this conversion process can also take place in the food itself, prior to consumption.”

While some research suggests raw kale is best for cancer prevention, other studies suggest lightly cooked is best, in part because it improves kale’s ability to bind with bile acids in your digestive tract.

This makes the bile acids easier for your body to excrete, which not only has a beneficial impact on your cholesterol levels, but also on your risk of cancer (bile acids have been associated with an increased risk of cancer). According to one study in Nutrition Research:⁶

“Steam cooking significantly improved the in vitro bile acid binding of collard greens, kale, mustard greens, broccoli, green bell pepper, and cabbage compared with previously observed bile acid binding values for these vegetables raw (uncooked).

Inclusion of steam-cooked collard greens, kale, mustard greens, broccoli, green bell pepper, and cabbage in our daily diet as health-promoting vegetables should be emphasized.

These green/leafy vegetables, when consumed regularly after steam cooking, would lower the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer, advance human nutrition research, and improve public health.”

Eat Kale to Support Natural Detoxification

Foods that support both Phase 1 and Phase 2 detoxification are key to supporting your body’s daily removal of harmful substances from your body. Phase 1 detoxification is when toxins are broken down into smaller particles, while during your body’s Phase 2 detoxification process, the broken down toxins are shuttled out of your system.

If you eat foods that support Phase 1, but not Phase 2, the broken-down toxins may begin to accumulate in your body. But the isothiocyanates (ITCs) in kale help to promote both Phase 1 and Phase 2 detoxification. The George Mateljan Foundation explained:⁷

“In addition, the unusually large numbers of sulfur compounds in kale have been shown to help support aspects of Phase II detoxification that require the presence of sulfur.

By supporting both aspects of our cellular detox process (Phase I and Phase II), nutrients in kale can give our body an "edge up" in dealing with toxic exposure, whether from our environment or from our food.”

Kale Earns Its Reputation as a Superfood

Kale is one vegetable that lives up to its nutritional hype. It’s loaded with both lutein and zeaxanthin at over 26 mg combined, per serving, for starters. Of all the carotenoids, only zeaxanthin and lutein are found in your retina, which has the highest concentration of fatty acids of any tissue in your body.

This is because your retina is a highly light- and oxygen-rich environment, and it needs a large supply of free radical scavengers to prevent oxidative damage there.

It is theorized that your body concentrates zeaxanthin and lutein in your retina to perform this duty, and consuming these antioxidants may help to ward off eye problems like age-related macular degeneration.

And as far as calcium is concerned, one cup of kale will give you 90 milligrams in a highly bioavailable form. One calcium bioavailability study found that calcium from kale was 25% better absorbed than calcium from milk.⁸ What else do you gain when you eat kale?

• Anti-inflammatory properties that may help prevent arthritis, heart disease and autoimmune diseases
• Plant-based omega-3 fats for building cell membranes, protecting against heart disease and stroke, and regulating blood clotting
• An impressive number of beneficial flavonoids, including 32 phenolic compounds and three hydroxycinnamic acids to help support healthy cholesterol levels and scavenge free radicals

Choose Organic Kale When You Can

When choosing kale, look for firm, fresh deeply colored leaves with hardy stems. Avoid leaves that are brown or yellow or that contain holes. Kale with smaller leaves tends to be more tender and milder than larger-leaved kale. Choose organic varieties (or grow your own), as kale is frequently sprayed with pesticides, and particularly toxic pesticides at that. One study by the Environmental Working Group detected 51 pesticides on kale, including several they described as “highly toxic.”⁹ For best results, store kale in your refrigerator (unwashed) in a plastic storage bag. Remove as much air as you can. Ideally, eat kale as soon as you can, because the longer it sits the more bitter the flavor becomes.¹⁰

Visit Our Food Facts Library for Empowering Nutrition Information

If you want to learn even more about what's in the food you're eating, visit our Food Facts library. Most people are not aware of the wealth of nutrients available in healthful foods, particularly organic fruits and vegetables. By getting to know your food, you can make informed decisions about how to eat healthier and thereby boost your brain function, lower your risk of chronic disease, lose weight, and much more.

Food Facts is a directory of the most highly recommended health foods to add to your wholesome diet. Its purpose is to provide you with valuable information about various types of foods including recipes to help you maximize these benefits. You'll learn about nutrition facts, scientific studies, and even interesting trivia about each food in the Food Facts library. Remember, knowing what's in your food is the first step to choosing and preparing nutritious meals each and every day. So visit Mercola Food Facts today to get started.