Mushroom Nutrition: Discover Outstanding Fungal Benefits
Source : http://www.mercola.com
The earth’s soil is home to large populations of natural agents that help promote the environment. One of them is the fungi mushroom, which helps restore pollution-damaged habitats, acts as natural pesticides, and even provides a sustainable fuel called Econol.While mushrooms have the ability to support Mother Nature, they are also capable of promoting your own health, from helping strengthen your immune system to preventing debilitating diseases. Some benefits that you may enjoy from consuming mushrooms are:
- Weight management – One study showed that substituting red meat with white button mushrooms may support a healthy weight.
- Improved nutrition – Adding more mushrooms to your diet may help improve diet quality.
- Optimal vitamin D levels– Eating certain mushroom species is seen in a study to be more effective than taking vitamin D2 supplements.
- Optimal digestive function – Mushrooms support your gastrointestinal health, thanks to their supply of dietary fiber and fungal enzymes.
- Antibacterial properties – Penicillin, streptomycin, and tetracycline are all derived from fungal extracts.
What's Responsible for Mushroom's Benefits?
Mushrooms contain long-chain polysaccharides, specifically alpha- and beta-glucans. These molecules have beneficial effects on your immune system. In fact, did you know that medications like penicillin, streptomycin, and tetracycline are all derived from fungal extracts?Other naturally-occurring compounds like fungal proteins, lectines, peptides, and laccases in mushrooms also support your immune function. In fact, studies show that mushrooms have cancer-fighting and anti-tumor properties.
Mushrooms are also great sources of protein, fiber, B vitamins (especially niacin), vitamin C, calcium, minerals, and selenium. They also contain antioxidants that are unique to mushrooms, such as ergothioneine, which according to studies is a highly powerful antioxidant. It is produced by fungi and certain mycobacteria found in soils.
A study published in the journal Nature states that ergothioneine is a derivative of the amino acid histidine. The antioxidant also contains sulfur, which may help protect your DNA from oxidative damage.
Mushrooms also owe some of their beneficial properties to the mycelium, a cobweb-like structure that is found in nearly all landscapes. Through the mycelia, fungi absorb nutrients from the soil. When two compatible mycelia join, they form mushrooms, which make spores. These spores, which fly away, are responsible for making new mycelial colonies.
Know Your Mushrooms!
In spite of the many positive effects of mushrooms, Americans consume very limited types. For instance, they consume roughly 900 million pounds of mushrooms per year, but 95 percent of that is just from one species, the button mushrooms.At the same time, not all mushrooms may be beneficial to your health. Out of 10,000 species of this fungus, 50 to 100 types are toxic. These can cause symptoms such as gastrointestinal problems, visual issues, palpitations, chills, and kidney and liver failure. Avoid eating these harmful varieties of mushrooms at all costs.
Learn more about these wonders of nature through my infographic “The Mushroom Advantage: Benefits and Uses of This Food.” Here I provide important facts on mushroom nutrition and mushroom poisoning, as well as types of mushrooms that will greatly back your health.
Share this helpful information to your friends and family, so that more people will discover the many benefits of mushrooms.
Story at-a-glance
- Mushrooms contain some of the most powerful natural medicines on the planet. About 100 species are being studied for their health-promoting benefits, and about a half dozen really stand out for their ability to deliver a tremendous boost to your immune system
- Nine recently presented studies on mushrooms detail a wide variety of health benefits, including: improved weight management, improved nutrition, increased vitamin D levels, and improved immune system function
- One of the active medicinal compounds found in Cordyceps has been identified as a potential cancer drug. More recent studies suggest it also has potent anti-inflammatory characteristics that may be helpful for those suffering from: asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, renal failure, and stroke damage
- It's important to eat ONLY organically grown mushrooms because they absorb and concentrate whatever they grow in. Mushrooms are known to concentrate heavy metals, as well as air and water pollutants, so healthy growing conditions is a critical factor
- Mushrooms that can help boost the nutrient content of your diet include: shiitake, reishi, cordyceps, turkey tail, and Himematsutake
By Dr. Mercola
Mushrooms contain some of the most potent natural medicines on the planet. Of the 140,000 species of mushroom-forming fungi, science is familiar with only 10 percent, according to world-renown mycologist Paul Stamets, who has written six books on the topic.
About 100 species of mushrooms are being studied for their health-promoting benefits. Of those hundred, about a half dozen really stand out for their ability to deliver a tremendous boost to your immune system.
It's important to eat only organically grown mushrooms because they absorb and concentrate whatever they grow in — good OR bad. This is what gives mushrooms their potency. Mushrooms are known to concentrate heavy metals, as well as air and water pollutants, so healthy growing conditions is a critical factor.
While it may sound strange, we're actually more closely related to fungi than we are to any other kingdom, as we share the same pathogens, meaning bacteria and viruses.
As a defense against bacterial invasion, fungi have developed strong antibiotics, which also happen to be effective for us humans. Penicillin, streptomycin, and tetracycline all come from fungal extracts.
The Many Health Benefits of Mushrooms
The FASEB Journal recently published nine studies on mushrooms that were also presented at Experimental Biology 2013, which detailed a wide variety of health benefits,1 including:
- Weight management: One study2, 3 found that substituting red meat with white button mushrooms can help enhance weight loss. Obese participants with a mean age of just over 48 years ate approximately one cup of mushrooms per day in place of meat. The control group ate a standard diet without mushrooms.
At the end of the 12-month trial, the intervention group had lost an average of 3.6 percent of their starting weight, or about seven pounds. They also showed improvements in body composition, such as reduced waist circumference, and ability to maintain their weight loss, compared to the control group.
- Improved nutrition: One dietary analysis4 found that mushroom consumption was associated with better diet quality and improved nutrition.
- Increasing vitamin D levels through your diet: Consuming dried white button mushroom extract was found to be as effective as taking supplemental vitamin D2 or D3 for increasing vitamin D levels (25-hydroxyvitamin D).5
- Improved immune system function: Long chain polysaccharides, particularly alpha and beta glucan molecules, are primarily responsible for the mushrooms' beneficial effect on your immune system. In one study, adding one or two servings of dried shiitake mushrooms was found to have a beneficial, modulating effect on immune system function.6 Another study done on mice found that white button mushrooms enhanced the adaptive immunity response to salmonella.7
Parasitic Fungi Showing Promise for Immune Disorders and Cancer
Cordyceps, also called caterpillar fungus or Tochukasu, is a favorite of athletes because it increases ATP production, strength and endurance, and has anti-aging effects.8
This parasitic mushroom is unique because, in the wild, it grows out of an insect host instead of a plant host. It has long been used within both traditional Chinese and Tibetan medicine.
It has hypoglycemic and possible antidepressant effects, protects your liver and kidneys, increases blood flow, helps normalize your cholesterol levels, and has been used to treat Hepatitis B.
Cordyceps has antitumor properties as well. Scientists at The University of Nottingham have been studying cordycepin, one of the active medicinal compounds found in these fungi,9 and the one identified as a potential cancer drug. More recent studies suggest it also has potent anti-inflammatory characteristics that may be helpful for those suffering from:
A question that was begging for an answer was how cordycepin could produce so many different beneficial effects at the cellular level. Researcher Dr. Cornelia de Moor told Medical News Today:10
- Asthma
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Renal failure
- Stroke damage
"We have shown that cordycepin reduces the expression of inflammatory genes in airway smooth muscle cells by acting on the final step in the synthesis of their messenger RNAs (mRNAs) which carry the chemical blueprint for the synthesis of proteins.
This process is called polyadenylation. Commonly used anti-inflammatory drugs either work much earlier in the activation of inflammatory genes, such as prednisone, or work on one of the final products of the inflammatory reaction (e.g. ibuprofen).
These findings indicate that cordycepin acts by a completely different mechanism than currently used anti-inflammatory drugs, making it a potential drug for patients in which these drugs don't work well.According to Dr. de Moor's research, the mechanism responsible for cordycepin's many varied effects may stem from its ability to alter the synthesis of many classes of rapidly induced genes that help counteract inflammatory genes, thereby slowing down otherwise rapid cellular responses to tissue damage. It may also help prevent over-activation of inflammatory responses.
However, it is a surprise that cordycepin does not affect the synthesis of mRNAs from other genes, because nearly all mRNAs require polyadenylation."
"However, it also indicates that cordycepin could have adverse effects on normal wound healing and on the natural defenses against infectious diseases," the featured article states.11
"Dr. de Moor said: 'We are hoping to further investigate which genes are more dependent on polyadenylation than others and why this is the case, as well as test the effect of cordycepin on animal models of disease. Clinical testing of cordycepin is not in our immediate plans, as we think we first have to understand this drug in more detail before we can risk treating patients with it.'"
Foragers, Beware of Toxic Mushrooms
An November 2012 article in The Atlantic12 highlighted recent cases of lethal food poisonings related to eating wild mushrooms, and the need for caution when foraging food:
"Of the over 10,000 species of mushrooms, only about 50 to 100 are toxic. About 6,000 Americans each year end up eating them. Over half of those cases involve unsupervised small children. So if you're considering treating that special person in your life to a wild mushroom-based dish, take the following into consideration: Over 90 percent of deaths, including these most recent ones, are caused by amatoxins."As mentioned in the article, the North American Mycological Association13 offers critical information on a number of toxic mushrooms and the symptoms they cause, including those for amanitin (amatoxins), which is one of the most serious:
- Stage 1: A latency period of 6 to 24 hours after ingestion, in which the toxins are actively destroying the victim's kidneys and liver, but the victim experiences no discomfort.
- Stage 2: A period of about 24 hours characterized by violent vomiting, bloody diarrhea, and severe abdominal cramps.
- Stage 3: A period of 24 hours during which the victim appears to recover (if hospitalized, the patient is sometimes released)
- Stage 4: Relapse, during which kidney and liver failure often occurs, leading to death. Patients may also "bleed out" and die due to the destruction of clotting factors in the blood. There may be more than one relapse.
Warning: If you have any reason to suspect that someone has ingested an amanitin-containing mushroom, DON'T WAIT for symptoms to appear! There is no antidote for amanitin poisoning, and the best hope is to rush the person to the hospital where the toxins can be removed before being fully absorbed into the body.It's also important to eat ONLY organically grown mushrooms because they absorb and concentrate whatever they grow in — good OR bad. This is what gives mushrooms their potency, for better or worse. Mushrooms are known to concentrate heavy metals, as well as air and water pollutants. One way to know what you're getting is to grow your own. You can find a variety of DIY garden kits available online,14 which will eliminate any questions about what kind of mushroom you're picking.
Improving Your Nutrition with Mushrooms
Two years ago, I interviewed Steve Farrar, who worked and studied mushrooms professionally for the last 30 years. The first 20 years he spent growing them and working primarily with gourmet chefs, but in the past decade, he's started applying his expertise of mushrooms to health purposes. According to Farrar, Americans consume about 900 million pounds of mushrooms a year, but 95 percent of that is just one species: the common button mushroom and its relatives, the Crimini and the Portabello mushrooms.
Granted, the button mushroom is an excellent low-calorie food, especially for diabetics. It contains a number of valuable nutrients, including protein, enzymes, B vitamins (especially niacin), and vitamin D2. However, there are many other types of mushrooms worthy of consideration if you want to improve your diet. I'll review a few of my favorites below. Farrar's focus has been on growing various gourmet mushroom species, particularly the wood decaying mushroom species, which differ greatly from your average button mushroom in terms of biology, nutrition and medicinal value.
Mushrooms are excellent sources of antioxidants in general as they contain polyphenols and selenium, which are common in the plant world. But they also contain antioxidants that are unique to mushrooms. One such antioxidant is ergothioneine, which scientists are now beginning to recognize as a 'master antioxidant.' Interestingly, it's an amino acid that contains sulfur, and if you listened to my interview with Dr. Seneff on the highly underestimated importance of sulfur, you may recognize why this particular antioxidant may be of particular importance for human health, as many are severely deficient in sulfur.
A previous study in the journal Nature15 discusses the importance of ergothioneine, which is fairly exclusive to mushrooms, describing it as "an unusual sulfur-containing derivative of the amino acid, histidine," which appears to have a very specific role in protecting your DNA from oxidative damage. With that in mind, it becomes easy to see how mushrooms may be an important part of an optimal diet. If you don't like to eat them whole, you can also find them in supplement form, either as an extract or whole food supplement.
Examples of Mushrooms to Add to Your Diet
A few of my favorite health-enhancing mushroom species include:
- Shiitake (Lentinula edodes): Shiitake is a popular culinary mushroom used in dishes around the world. It contains a number of health-stimulating agents, including lentinan, the polysaccharide for which it was named. Lentinan has been isolated and used to treat stomach and other cancers due to its antitumor properties, but has also been found to protect your liver,16 relieve other stomach ailments (hyperacidity, gallstones, ulcers), anemia, ascites, and pleural effusion.
One of the more remarkable scientific studies demonstrating shiitake's antitumor effect was a Japanese animal study,17 where mice suffering from sarcoma were given shiitake extract. Six of 10 mice had complete tumor regression, and with slightly higher concentrations, all ten mice showed complete tumor regression.
Shiitake mushrooms also demonstrate antiviral (including HIV, hepatitis, and the "common cold"), antibacterial, and antifungal effects; blood sugar stabilization; reduced platelet aggregation; and reduced atherosclerosis.18 Shiitake also contains eritadenine, which has strong cholesterol-lowering properties.19
- Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum): Reishi is known as Lingzhi in China, or "spirit plant." It's also been called "Mushroom of Immortality" — a nickname that kind of says it all. Reishi has been used medicinally in Asia for thousands of years. One of its more useful compounds is ganoderic acid (a triterpenoid), which is being used to treat lung cancer,20 leukemia and other cancers. The list of Reishi's health benefits21 includes the following
- Antibacterial, antiviral (Herpes, Epstein-Barr), antifungal (including Candida) properties
- Anti-inflammatory, useful for reducing symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis
- Immune system up-regulation
- Normalization of blood cholesterol levels and blood pressure
- Reduction of prostate-related urinary symptoms in men
- Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor): Turkey Tail is also known as Coriolis, or "cloud mushroom." Two polysaccharide complexes in Turkey Tail are getting a great deal of scientific attention, PSK (or "Kreskin") and PSP, making it the most extensively researched of all medicinal mushrooms with large scale clinical trials.
A seven-year, $2 million NIH-funded clinical study in 2011 found that Turkey Tail mycelium improves immune function when dosed daily to women with stage I–III breast cancer. Immune response was dose-dependent, with no adverse effects. PSP has been shown to significantly enhance immune status in 70 to 97 percent of cancer patients.22 Turkey tail is also being used to treat many different infections, including aspergillus niger, Candida albicans, E. coli, HIV, Herpes, and streptococcus pneumonia, and is hepatoprotective. It may also be useful for chronic fatigue.
- Himematsutake (Agaricus blazei): Himematsutake, also called Royal Sun Agaricus, is a relative of the common button mushroom. Himematsutake was not cultivated in the East until fairly recently but is now a very popular natural medicine, used by almost a half million Japanese.
Himematsutake mushroom is attracting many scientists worldwide due to its remarkable anticancer properties23 related to six special polysaccharides. Like many other medicinal mushrooms, this fungus can also protect you from the damaging effects of radiation and chemotherapy. But its benefits don't stop there — Himematsutake may also help decrease insulin resistance in diabetics, normalize your cholesterol, improve your hair and skin, and even treat polio.
Usage and Dosage Recommendations for Mushroom Supplements
When it comes to mushroom supplements, there are two primary types:
As mentioned earlier, if you choose to eat your mushrooms raw, make sure they are organically grown, as their flesh easily absorbs air and soil contaminants. Likewise, you'll want to make sure any product you buy is certified organic for the same reason. In addition to valuable nutrients, whole mushrooms also provide healthful dietary fiber that acts as prebiotic platforms for the growth of probiotic organisms in your gut, which is very important for digestive health. This is yet another reason to opt for a whole food mushroom product.
- Mushroom concentrates or extracts — Most of these are so-called hot water extracts, where either the mushroom mycelia — the fruit body — is boiled for extended periods of time to extract the long chain polysaccharides. The end product is a concentrated form of glyconutrients (complex sugars) thought to be responsible for many of the health benefits of the mushroom.
- Whole food/raw mushrooms — Consuming the mushrooms raw or using a whole food mushroom (powdered pill) product is generally a better alternative if you're reasonably healthy and looking to maintain optimal health, as they help maintain ideal function of your various systems as opposed to imparting a direct effect. Most of the knowledge about mushrooms come from ancient Chinese medicine where mushrooms are regarded as tonics. Tonics are considered to have non-specific beneficial effects across several systems of your body that do not decline over time.
Adding Mushrooms Is a Simple Way to Boost Your Health Through Your Diet
With all the evidence supporting mushrooms as little powerhouses of potent nutrition, I highly recommend adding some to your diet. They're an excellent addition to any salad and go great with all kinds of meat and fish. "Let food be thy medicine" is good advice indeed, and with mushrooms that is especially true, as they contain some of the most powerful natural medicines on the planet.
Just make sure they're organically grown in order to avoid harmful contaminants that mushrooms absorb and concentrate from soil, air and water. Also, avoid picking mushrooms in the wild unless you are absolutely sure you know what you're picking. There are a number of toxic mushrooms, and it's easy to get them confused unless you have a lot of experience and know what to look for. Growing your own is an excellent option and a far safer alternative to picking wild mushrooms.
Story at-a-glance
- Eating your boogers may help introduce pathogens from your environment to your immune system, helping it to learn and build defenses, according to a new theory in support of the hygiene hypothesis
- The hygiene hypothesis posits that being exposed to viruses and other environmental factors like dirt, germs and parasites helps you build up your immunity naturally
- Asthma, allergies, eczema, heart disease and even depression have been linked to the hygiene hypothesis
- If the hygiene hypothesis is true, and there’s mounting research that it is, trying to keep your environment overly sterile could backfire and actually increase your risk of acute and chronic diseases
By Dr. Mercola
The more we learn about genetically engineered (GE) foods, the clearer the dangers become. I've warned you of the potential dangers of GE foods for many years now, as I was convinced that the artificial combining of plants with genes from wildly different kingdoms is bound to cause problems.
As the years roll on, such suspicions are becoming increasingly validated. In recent weeks, we've not only learned that GE corn is in no way comparable to natural corn in terms of nutrition, we're also discovering the ramifications of dousing our crops with large amounts of glyphosate — the active ingredient in Monsanto's broad-spectrum herbicide Roundup.
GE crops are far more contaminated with glyphosate than conventional crops, courtesy of the fact that they're engineered to withstand extremely high levels of Roundup without perishing along with the weed.
A new peer-reviewed report authored by Anthony Samsel, a retired science consultant, and a long time contributor to the Mercola.com Vital Votes Forum and Dr. Stephanie Seneff, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has fortunately received quite a bit of mainstream media attention.
Their findings, along with the development of another breed of "gene silencing" crops, makes the need for labeling all the more urgent, and the advice to buy certified organic all the more valid.
One of the functions of CYP enzymes is to detoxify xenobiotics—chemical compounds found in a living organism that are not normally produced or consumed by the organism in question. By limiting the ability of these enzymes to detoxify foreign chemical compounds, glyphosate enhances the damaging effects of those chemicals and environmental toxins you may be exposed to.
Dr. Stephanie Seneff has been conducting research at MIT for over three decades. She also has an undergraduate degree in biology from MIT and a minor in food and nutrition, and I have previously interviewed her about her groundbreaking insights into the critical importance of sulfur in human health. Not surprisingly, this latest research also touches on sulfur, and how it is affected by glyphosate from food.
She has meticulously collected statistics on glyphosate usage and various diseases and conditions, including autism. A more perfect match-up between the rise in glyphosate usage and incidence of autism is hard to imagine... To access her published articles and reports, please visit Sustainable Pulse,3 a European website dedicated to exposing the hazards of genetically engineered foods.
According to Dr. Swanson:4
For example, Dow AgroSciences has developed a new generation of genetically modified (GM) crops -- soybeans, corn and cotton -- designed to resist a major ingredient in Agent Orange, the herbicide called 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D).
The use of 2,4-D is not new; it's actually one of the most widely used herbicides in the world. What is new is that farmers will now "carpet bomb" staple food crops like soy and corn with this chemical at a previously unprecedented scale—just the way glyphosate has been indiscriminately applied as a result of Roundup Ready crops. In fact, if 2,4-D resistant crops receive approval and eventually come to replace Monsanto's failing Roundup-resistant crops as Dow intends, it is likely that billions of pounds will be needed, on top of the already insane levels of Roundup being used (1.6 billion lbs were used in 2007 in the US alone).
Cross-breeding between native and GE varieties may have allowed for the continued spread of transgenic DNA. Sadly, once present, it's virtually impossible to get rid of these transgenes, which means that native species may eventually be eliminated entirely—a fate that cuts deep into the heart of the Mexican people, where corn is considered sacred.
Last year, University of Canterbury Professor Jack Heinemann released results from genetic research he conducted on the wheat, which unequivocally showed that molecules created in the wheat, intended to silence wheat genes to change its carbohydrate content, can match human genes and potentially silence them. Heinemann's research revealed over 770 pages of potential matches between two genes in the GE wheat and the human genome. Over a dozen matches were "extensive and identical and sufficient to cause silencing in experimental systems," he said.
Experts warned that eating this GE wheat could lead to significant changes in the way glucose and carbohydrates are stored in the human body, which could be potentially deadly for children and lead to serious illness in adults. Yet despite the seriousness of these findings, regulators are ignoring and dismissing such warnings. According to the Institute of Science in Society,10 the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has approved at least five such GE food products already.
Rather than using in vitro DNA modification (which is how Roundup Ready and Bt crops are created), this new breed of genetically engineered crops use a wholly different approach. In vitro DNA modification results in the creation of a new protein, but this new breed is designed to change their RNA content, thereby regulating gene expression within the plant. RNA is one of three major macromolecules, like DNA. Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) is responsible for regulating more than one-third of human genes. By engineering the plant to produce dsRNA, the plant can be "instructed" to silence specific genes—within itself, and potentially within your body...
Unfortunately, you can't know for sure how many items in your fridge and pantry might contain GMO since the US does not require genetically engineered foods to be labeled. With the emergence of "gene silencing" crops and the latest findings from Samsel and Seneff, the need for labeling couldn't possibly be greater.
If you catch your child with a finger up his nose, you probably discourage it. But could the “bad” childhood habit of picking your nose and eating it, actually be good for you?
A biochemist from the University of Saskatchewan has theorized that nasal mucus, or as it’s more commonly known, boogers, has a sugary taste that’s meant to entice you to want to eat it.
Doing this, he believes, may help introduce pathogens from your environment to your immune system, resulting in the building up of natural defenses.
Other experts believe this theory, which has yet to be tested, doesn’t necessarily hold water because you swallow nasal secretions every day, including while you sleep, even if you don’t eat your boogers.
Still, there's a tendency in our modern culture to be obsessive about cleanliness, especially in children, and it could be that scolding kids for this “dirty” habit may actually be counterproductive.
Not All Germs are Bad Germs
A child raised in an environment devoid of dirt and germs, and who is given antibiotics that kill off all of the bacteria in his gut, is not able to build up natural resistance to disease, and becomes vulnerable to illnesses later in life.
This theory, known as the hygiene hypothesis, is likely one reason why many allergies and immune-system diseases have doubled, tripled or even quadrupled in the last few decades. Why does you immune system need “dirt” and germs to stay healthy?
Your immune system is composed of two main groups that work together to protect you. One part of your immune system deploys specialized white blood cells, called Th1 lymphocytes, that direct an assault on infected cells throughout your body.
The other major part of your immune system attacks intruders even earlier. It produces antibodies that try to block dangerous microbes from invading your body's cells in the first place. This latter strategy uses a different variety of white blood cells, called Th2 lymphocytes. The Th2 system also happens to drive allergic responses to foreign organisms.
Dirt May Help Your Immune System Grow Stronger
At birth, an infant's immune system appears to rely primarily on the Th2 system, while waiting for the Th1 system to grow stronger. But the hygiene hypothesis suggests that the Th1 system can grow stronger only if it gets “exercise,” either through fighting infections or through encounters with certain harmless microbes.
Without such stimulation, the Th2 system flourishes and the immune system tends to react with allergic responses more easily.
In other words, the hygiene hypothesis posits that children and adults not being exposed to viruses and other environmental factors like dirt, germs and parasites results in their not being able to build up resistance, which makes them more vulnerable to illnesses.
Allergies, Heart Disease and Even Depression Linked to Being ‘Too Clean’
If you're healthy, exposure to bacteria and viruses may serve as "natural vaccines" that strengthen your immune system and provide long-lasting immunity against disease. If you don’t get this healthy exposure to germs in your environment, it may end up making you sick. Health problems already associated with the hygiene hypothesis include:
Even depression has been connected to early exposure to pathogens, via an inflammatory connection.3 Neuroscientist Charles Raison, MD, who led the study, said:4
- Allergies1
- Asthma
- Eczema
- Autoimmune diseases
- Heart disease, with one study finding that early exposure to viral infections during childhood could reduce the risk of heart disease later in life by up to 90 percent2
"Since ancient times benign microorganisms, sometimes referred to as 'old friends,' have taught your immune system how to tolerate other harmless microorganisms, and in the process, reduce inflammatory responses that have been linked to the development of most modern illnesses, from cancer to depression."
Your Immune System Dictates Whether or Not You Get Sick
If you’re looking for even further evidence that booger-eating may not be so bad after all, consider that it is the state of your immune system that determines whether or not you get sick when you’re exposed to a germ. In one study, when 17 people were infected with a flu virus, only half of them got sick.5
The researchers found changes in blood took place 36 hours before flu symptoms showed up, and everyone had an immune response, regardless of whether or not they felt sick. But the immune responses were quite different …
In symptomatic participants, the immune response included antiviral and inflammatory responses that may be related to virus-induced oxidative stress. But in the non-symptomatic participants, these responses were tightly regulated. The asymptomatic group also had elevated expression of genes that function in antioxidant responses and cell-mediated responses. Researchers noted:
“Exposure to influenza viruses is necessary, but not sufficient, for healthy human hosts to develop symptomatic illness. The host response [emphasis added] is an important determinant of disease progression.”The bottom line? If exposure to the bacteria in your boogers can indeed help your immune system to grow stronger, then a case could be made for their consumption (or at least, for not scolding your little ones if you find them with a finger up their nose). Of course, you can get healthful germ exposures other ways, too …
How to Avoid Being Overly Hygienic
If the hygiene hypothesis is true, and there’s mounting research that it is, trying to keep your environment overly sterile could backfire big time and actually increase your risk of acute and chronic diseases. You can avoid being “too clean,” and in turn help bolster your body’s natural immune responses, by:
- Letting your child get dirty. Allow your kids to play outside and get dirty (and realize that if your kid eats boogers, it isn’t the end of the world).
- Not using antibacterial soaps and other antibacterial household products, which wipe out the microorganisms that your body needs to be exposed to for developing and maintaining proper immune function. Simple soap and water are all you need when washing your hands. The antibacterial chemicals (typically triclosan) are quite toxic and have even been found to promote the growth of resistant bacteria.
- Avoiding unnecessary antibiotics. Remember that viral infections are impervious to antibiotics, as antibiotics only work on bacterial infections.
- Serving locally grown or organic meats that do not contain antibiotics.
- Educating yourself on the differences between natural and artificial immunity, and making informed decisions about the use of vaccinations.
The more we learn about genetically engineered (GE) foods, the clearer the dangers become. I've warned you of the potential dangers of GE foods for many years now, as I was convinced that the artificial combining of plants with genes from wildly different kingdoms is bound to cause problems.
As the years roll on, such suspicions are becoming increasingly validated. In recent weeks, we've not only learned that GE corn is in no way comparable to natural corn in terms of nutrition, we're also discovering the ramifications of dousing our crops with large amounts of glyphosate — the active ingredient in Monsanto's broad-spectrum herbicide Roundup.
GE crops are far more contaminated with glyphosate than conventional crops, courtesy of the fact that they're engineered to withstand extremely high levels of Roundup without perishing along with the weed.
A new peer-reviewed report authored by Anthony Samsel, a retired science consultant, and a long time contributor to the Mercola.com Vital Votes Forum and Dr. Stephanie Seneff, a research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has fortunately received quite a bit of mainstream media attention.
Their findings, along with the development of another breed of "gene silencing" crops, makes the need for labeling all the more urgent, and the advice to buy certified organic all the more valid.
How Glyphosate Worsens Modern Diseases
While Monsanto insists that Roundup is safe and "minimally toxic" to humans, Samsel and Seneff's research tells a different story altogether. Their report, published in the journal Entropy,1 argues that glyphosate residues, found in most commonly consumed foods in the Western diet courtesy of sugar, corn, soy and wheat, "enhance the damaging effects of other food-borne chemical residues and toxins in the environment to disrupt normal body functions and induce disease." According to the authors:"Negative impact on the body is insidious and manifests slowly over time as inflammation damages cellular systems throughout the body."The main finding of the report is that glyphosate inhibits cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes, a large and diverse group of enzymes that catalyze the oxidation of organic substances. This, the authors state, is "an overlooked component of its toxicity to mammals."
One of the functions of CYP enzymes is to detoxify xenobiotics—chemical compounds found in a living organism that are not normally produced or consumed by the organism in question. By limiting the ability of these enzymes to detoxify foreign chemical compounds, glyphosate enhances the damaging effects of those chemicals and environmental toxins you may be exposed to.
Dr. Stephanie Seneff has been conducting research at MIT for over three decades. She also has an undergraduate degree in biology from MIT and a minor in food and nutrition, and I have previously interviewed her about her groundbreaking insights into the critical importance of sulfur in human health. Not surprisingly, this latest research also touches on sulfur, and how it is affected by glyphosate from food.
"Here, we show how interference with CYP enzymes acts synergistically with disruption of the biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids by gut bacteria, as well as impairment in serum sulfate transport," the authors write.
"Consequences are most of the diseases and conditions associated with a Western diet, which include gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression, autism, infertility, cancer and Alzheimer's disease.
We explain the documented effects of glyphosate and its ability to induce disease, and we show that glyphosate is the 'textbook example' of exogenous semiotic entropy: the disruption of homeostasis by environmental toxins."
The Link Between Your Gut and the Toxicity of Glyphosate
The impact of gut bacteria on your health is becoming increasingly more well-understood and widely known. And here, we see how your gut bacteria once again play a crucial role in explaining why and how glyphosate causes health problems in both animals and humans. The authors explain:"Glyphosate's claimed mechanism of action in plants is the disruption of the shikimate pathway, which is involved with the synthesis of the essential aromatic amino acids, phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan. The currently accepted dogma is that glyphosate is not harmful to humans or to any mammals because the shikimate pathway is absent in all animals.
However, this pathway is present in gut bacteria, which play an important and heretofore largely overlooked role in human physiology through an integrated biosemiotic relationship with the human host. In addition to aiding digestion, the gut microbiota synthesize vitamins, detoxify xenobiotics, and participitate in immune system homeostasis and gastrointestinal tract permeability. Furthermore, dietary factors modulate the microbial composition of the gut."As noted in the report, incidences of inflammatory bowel diseases and food allergies have substantially increased over the past decade. According to a recent CDC survey, one in 20 children now suffer from food allergies2 — a 50 percent increase from the late 1990's. Incidence of eczema and other skin allergies have risen by 69 percent and now affect one in eight kids. Samsel and Seneff argue it is reasonable to suspect that glyphosate's impact on gut bacteria may be contributing to these diseases and conditions. They point out that:
"...Our systematic search of the literature has led us to the realization that many of the health problems that appear to be associated with a Western diet could be explained by biological disruptions that have already been attributed to glyphosate.
These include digestive issues, obesity, autism, Alzheimer's disease, depression, Parkinson's disease, liver diseases, and cancer, among others. While many other environmental toxins obviously also contribute to these diseases and conditions, we believe that glyphosate may be the most significant environmental toxin, mainly because it is pervasive and it is often handled carelessly due to its perceived nontoxicity.
...[T]he recent alarming increase in all of these health issues can be traced back to a combination of gut dysbiosis, impaired sulfate transport, and suppression of the activity of the various members of the cytochrome P450 (CYP) family of enzymes."
Former Navy Scientist Exposes Health Hazards of Glyphosate
Former US Navy staff scientist Dr. Nancy Swanson has a Ph.D. in physics, holds five US patents and has authored more than 30 scientific papers and two books on women in science. Ten years ago, she became seriously ill, and in her journey to regain her health she turned to organic foods. Not surprisingly (for those in the know) her symptoms dramatically improved. This prompted her to start investigating genetically engineered foods.She has meticulously collected statistics on glyphosate usage and various diseases and conditions, including autism. A more perfect match-up between the rise in glyphosate usage and incidence of autism is hard to imagine... To access her published articles and reports, please visit Sustainable Pulse,3 a European website dedicated to exposing the hazards of genetically engineered foods.
"Prevalence and incidence data show correlations between diseases of the organs and the increase in Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in the food supply, along with the increase in glyphosate-based herbicide applications. More and more studies have revealed carcinogenic and endocrine disrupting effects of Roundup at lower doses than those authorized for residues found in Genetically Modified Organisms."
"The endocrine disrupting properties of glyphosate can lead to reproductive problems: infertility, miscarriage, birth defects, and sexual development. Fetuses, infants and children are especially susceptible because they are continually experiencing growth and hormonal changes. For optimal growth and development, it is crucial that their hormonal system is functioning properly.
The endocrine disrupting properties also lead to neurological disorders (learning disabilities (LD), attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), autism, dementia, Alzheimer's, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder). Those most susceptible are children and the elderly."
Warning! EPA Raises Limits for Allowable Glyphosate Residues
Amazingly, just as more independent reports are emerging confirming the health hazards of glyphosate and GMOs, the Environmental Protection Agency5 (EPA) is proposing to RAISE the allowed residue limits of glyphosate in food and feed crops! As reported by GM Watch 6:"The allowed level in teff animal feed will be 100 parts per million (ppm); and in oilseed crops, 40 ppm. Allowed levels in some fruits and vegetables eaten by humans will also rise."Root and tuber vegetables, with the exception of sugar, will get one of the largest boosts, with allowable residue limits being raised from 0.2 ppm to 6.0 ppm. The new level for sweet potatoes will be 3 ppm.
"As a comparison, malformations in frog and chicken embryos were documented7 by Prof Andres Carrasco's team at 2.03 ppm glyphosate, when injected into the embryos," GM Watch writes.Yet despite all the evidence, the EPA rule states:
"EPA concludes that there is a reasonable certainty that no harm will result to the general population or to infants and children from aggregate exposure to glyphosate residues."Monsanto has in fact petitioned and received approvals for increases in residue levels for several crops. Why? Because the weeds are getting increasingly resistant, requiring farmers to increase the amount of Roundup they have to spray just to keep up with the superweeds created by the excessive use of the chemical in the first place...
The Rise of Superweeds
A recent article in Nature Magazine8 addressed some of the environmental and societal concerns associated with genetically engineered crops. One of them is the rise in crop-destroying superweeds, as weeds develop resistance to glyphosate. This was yet another possibility that was initially pooh-pooh'd by Monsanto. However, truth has a way of eventually becoming self evident, and now glyphosate resistance is becoming so obvious the facts are hardly disguisable. According to the article:"As late as 2004, the company was publicizing a multi-year study suggesting that rotating crops and chemicals does not help to avert resistance. When applied at Monsanto's recommended doses, glyphosate killed weeds effectively, and 'we know that dead weeds will not become resistant,' said Rick Cole, now Monsanto's technical lead of weed management, in a trade-journal advertisement at the time.
The study,9 published in 2007, was criticized by scientists for using plots so small that the chances of resistance developing were very low, no matter what the practice.
Glyphosate-resistant weeds have now been found in 18 countries worldwide, with significant impacts in Brazil, Australia, Argentina and Paraguay... And Monsanto has changed its stance on glyphosate use, now recommending that farmers use a mix of chemical products and ploughing. But the company stops short of acknowledging a role in creating the problem...
 Source: Ian Heap, International Survey of Herbicide Resistant Weeds www.weedscience.org/graphs/soagraph.aspx (2013) |
To offer farmers new weed-control strategies, Monsanto and other biotechnology companies, such as Dow AgroSciences, based in Indianapolis, Indiana, are developing new herbicide-resistant crops that work with different chemicals, which they expect to commercialize within a few years."What the author fails to mention is that some of these new herbicide-resistant crops are being designed to withstand chemicals that could be even more destructive, both environmentally and with regards to human health—especially in light of Samsel and Seneff's new research.
For example, Dow AgroSciences has developed a new generation of genetically modified (GM) crops -- soybeans, corn and cotton -- designed to resist a major ingredient in Agent Orange, the herbicide called 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D).
The use of 2,4-D is not new; it's actually one of the most widely used herbicides in the world. What is new is that farmers will now "carpet bomb" staple food crops like soy and corn with this chemical at a previously unprecedented scale—just the way glyphosate has been indiscriminately applied as a result of Roundup Ready crops. In fact, if 2,4-D resistant crops receive approval and eventually come to replace Monsanto's failing Roundup-resistant crops as Dow intends, it is likely that billions of pounds will be needed, on top of the already insane levels of Roundup being used (1.6 billion lbs were used in 2007 in the US alone).
Gene Transfer Hazards, and the Latest 'Gene Silencing' Crops
Nature Magazine also discusses the spread of transgenes to wild crops. Mexico in particular has reported the spread of GE corn despite the fact that GE crops are not approved for commercial planting in Mexico. It is believed that the transgenes originated in corn imported from the US, and that local farmers may have planted some of the corn originally purchased for consumption, not realizing they were genetically engineered.Cross-breeding between native and GE varieties may have allowed for the continued spread of transgenic DNA. Sadly, once present, it's virtually impossible to get rid of these transgenes, which means that native species may eventually be eliminated entirely—a fate that cuts deep into the heart of the Mexican people, where corn is considered sacred.
Latest Breed of GE Crops Can Silence Your Genes... What Then?
Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) has developed a type of genetically engineered (GE) wheat that may silence human genes, which could have truly disastrous health consequences.Last year, University of Canterbury Professor Jack Heinemann released results from genetic research he conducted on the wheat, which unequivocally showed that molecules created in the wheat, intended to silence wheat genes to change its carbohydrate content, can match human genes and potentially silence them. Heinemann's research revealed over 770 pages of potential matches between two genes in the GE wheat and the human genome. Over a dozen matches were "extensive and identical and sufficient to cause silencing in experimental systems," he said.
Experts warned that eating this GE wheat could lead to significant changes in the way glucose and carbohydrates are stored in the human body, which could be potentially deadly for children and lead to serious illness in adults. Yet despite the seriousness of these findings, regulators are ignoring and dismissing such warnings. According to the Institute of Science in Society,10 the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has approved at least five such GE food products already.
Rather than using in vitro DNA modification (which is how Roundup Ready and Bt crops are created), this new breed of genetically engineered crops use a wholly different approach. In vitro DNA modification results in the creation of a new protein, but this new breed is designed to change their RNA content, thereby regulating gene expression within the plant. RNA is one of three major macromolecules, like DNA. Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) is responsible for regulating more than one-third of human genes. By engineering the plant to produce dsRNA, the plant can be "instructed" to silence specific genes—within itself, and potentially within your body...
A Global Experiment Based on Faulty Assumptions is Bound to Take its Toll...
It is assumed that both DNA and RNA are broken down in your gut when you consume them in GE food, which is why they both have GRAS status (Generally Regarded as Safe). However, experiments dating back to the early 1990's have contradicted this assumption.11 According to Dr. Mae Wan-Ho12 (for references, see the original article):"There have been many publications documenting the ability of DNA to survive digestion in the gut and to pass into the bloodstream whenever investigations were carried out with sufficiently sensitive detection methods. DsRNA in particular, is much more stable than single stranded RNA. DsRNA produced in genetically modified plants survive intact after passing through the gut of insects and worms feeding on the plants.
Also, oral exposure of insect pests to dsRNA was effective in inducing RNA interference. Worms can even absorb dsRNA suspended in liquid through their skin, and when taken in, the dsRNA can circulate throughout the body and alter gene expression in the animal. In some cases the dsRNA taken up is further multiplied or induces a secondary reaction resulting in more and different secondary dsRNA with unpredictable targets. Thus, not only are dsRNA mechanisms universal to all plants and animals, there is already experimental evidence that they can act across kingdoms."Dr. Mae Wan-Ho also points out research from China, which has demonstrated that dsRNAs can survive digestion and be taken up via the gastrointestinal tract, and that microRNA (miRNA) from food can circulate in the human blood stream and have the potential to turn off human genes.
"The data also indicated that some dsRNAs from plants are found more frequently than predicted from their level of expression in plants; in other words, there may be a selective retention or uptake of some miRNA molecules," she writes.
Most Consumers Still Unaware of GMO Risks
The biotech industry, led by Monsanto, is increasing their propaganda efforts to reshape their public image, and sway your opinion against the need to label genetically engineered foods. As The Atlantic recently reported.13"Given its opposition to the labeling of GM foods… it seems clear that Monsanto wants you to close your eyes, open your mouth, and swallow."Indeed, many consumers are still in the dark about the very real risks that GE crops pose, both to the environment and human health. This is precisely what the biotech industry wants, even as increasing research demonstrates the many dangers associated with GE foods. For example, one recent study found that rats fed a type of genetically engineered corn that is prevalent in the US food supply for two years developed massive mammary tumors, kidney and liver damage, and other serious health problems. This was at dietary amounts of about 10 percent. Does 10 percent or more of your diet consist of genetically engineered ingredients? If processed foods form the basis of your diet, then you're likely consuming FAR MORE genetically modified organisms (GMOs) than that...
Unfortunately, you can't know for sure how many items in your fridge and pantry might contain GMO since the US does not require genetically engineered foods to be labeled. With the emergence of "gene silencing" crops and the latest findings from Samsel and Seneff, the need for labeling couldn't possibly be greater.
