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articles
| | Most people have heard the term “oxidation” and from the sound of the word, may have developed the impression that it has something to do with oxygen. Indeed it does, because oxygen has a tendency to draw electrons to itself. This tendency, rather than the presence of oxygen itself, is actually what identifies oxidation. So oxidation is defined as a process in which a substance loses electrons. The oxidation of one substance is always accompanied by reduction, or the gaining of electrons on the part of another substance. Oxygen is essential to life, but oxygen is like fire. It needs to be kept in balance through antioxidants, known as “reducing” molecules. Hence the term “oxidation-reduction reaction,” also called a “redox” reaction. The two reactions are profoundly linked and we need both to survive.
| | Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were a staple in the diet of most children when I was growing up. They were served in the school cafeterias as well. Unfortunately peanuts can be highly allergenic and precipitate asthma attacks, rashes, or even death in some highly allergic individuals.
| | The majority of our readers already know that soda is bad because of the sugar or high fructose corn syrup content. Excess sugar is a risk factor for developing diabetes and obesity. Twenty-one percent of the sugar in the average American's diet comes from soft drinks! But what about diet soda which has no sugar?
| | The pollution of our air, water, and food supply with mercury is a recognized health hazard, and the US and other governments have set guidelines to reduce its impact on the environment. Up until several years ago mercury in the form of thimerosal was used as a preservative in vaccines. It has been removed from childhood vaccines but still remains in some adult vaccines such as the flu vaccine. Our attention in this paper is on “internal pollution” of our bodies with mercury.
| | Simon Weiss was my father-in-law. He was a butcher and had a saying “the meat makes the meal.” Of course, he would eat meat more than once a day. He died of a stroke at age 92 several years ago, but lived a relatively disease-free life. As I grew up and even in medical school we were taught meat and dairy were great sources of protein, but plants were not. In my medical practice, patients frequently ask me what I think of a vegan or vegetarian diet. Up until 2005, when a book called The China Study was published, physicians didn’t have a lot of scientific data to go by. The China study is a 20 year observational study involving 6,500 individuals living in 130 villages in China. Colin Campbell, PhD and Thomas Campbell, M.D., his son, are the authors. Dr. Campbell is a Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University. The study concluded that people with a high consumption of animal-based foods (meat, eggs, dairy products) were more likely to suffer chronic disease (such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer), while those who ate a plant-based diet were the least likely. A closer look at the study reveals important limitations that impact the reliability, usefulness, and interpretation of the study results. There are technical issues with the limited number of data points. And the study jumps to conclusions and doesn’t differentiate between causation and association.
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