Vitamin D & Obesity

Summer is over. Fall is winding down and we're staring into winter. If you've not already done so, please go out and buy a vitamin D supplement. It's usually not appropriate to make blanket statements regarding supplement use. After all, supplement programs should be tailored to an individual's unique needs. However, vitamin D is one exception. Everyone who lives in Washington D.C., San Francisco or anywhere north of these cities absolutely must supplement with vitamin D between October and March.

Among the many diseases associated with vitamin D deficiency, a novel idea is popping up on the radar exploring its influence on obesity. This paper suggests that low levels of vitamin D promote an aberrant "winter response" that allows the accumulation of fat. The authors write, "It may be possible to reverse the increasing prevalence of obesity by improving vitamin D status."

Flu Season

We're in the thick of flu season and you've probably been inundated with warnings to receive immunizations against both seasonal flu and H1N1. The H1N1 vaccine has particularly been under fire as many ordinary citizens, for various reasons, seem to lack the confidence in this particular vaccine. Whether or not those concerns are warranted is a tough question to answer if we want to truly consider all sides of the issue. I won't do that here.

Nonetheless, in any health intervention of this magnitude, things are going to go wrong from time to time. Just this morning, physicians in Canada were warned not to use vaccines from one particular batch due to an unexpected level of harmful reactions.

Whether or not you have received the vaccinations, is there anything else you can do? Can the food you eat influence your susceptibility to the flu or your reaction to infection? The answer is: absolutely yes!

I came across this piece in the Wall Street Journal that deserves a read. To quote from the article:

To create immune cells to fight off a specific infection, the body has to rapidly draw nutrients from the bloodstream, says Anuraj Shankar, a researcher at the Harvard School of Public Health. "If you don't have an adequate intake of vitamins and minerals, you won't be able to produce the number of immune cells you need, and the immune cells you do produce may be compromised," Dr. Shankar says. That makes it impossible to mount an effective response to infection, he says.

Every cell in your body depends on an adequate fuel supply. Just as your car will sputter, clank and whine if you poured ketchup into the tank, your body will sputter along if you give it lousy fuel. While supplements can be useful, they don't come close to providing the benefits of a "real food" diet. So don't look for protection from a bottle of vitamin C or zinc. Vegetables & fruits will provide thousands of other compounds that you just won't find in a bottle of pills.

There is no doubt that vaccines, in general, have provided protection to many people over the years. Even anti-vaccine advocates will have to admit that. But remember that an effective vaccine is meant to help your immune system, not build it up.

Imagine an old time gladiator; an elegant warrior with brute strength and scary skills. That is your immune system. Vaccines, at their best, are like the guys that sharpen the sword and strap on the armor of the soldier. They do not replace the soldier... they just enhance his weapons.

Getting vaccinated, then turning around and feasting on Big Macs... is outrageous. Eat well this season.

Milk from sick cows

There is something called the somatic cell count (SCC) that is used to reflect the amount of pus in milk. More accurately, it is an indicator of mammary gland health and an elevated count indicates an infection.

"Milk SCC is a long-established barometer of milk quality. An elevated SCC is an indicator of udder infection (mastitits)." Journal of Dairy Science 2000;83(12):2782-2788.

A 2005 study published through the British Veterinary Association indicates that a SCC less than 100,000 cells/mL is considered to be healthy. SCC greater than 200,000 cells/mL indicates a bacterial infection.

In the United States, the legal limit is 750,000 cells/mL
In Canada, the legal limit is 500,000 cells/mL
In Europe, Australia and New Zealand, the legal limit is 400,000 cells/mL

The United States not only has the lowest standards, but the standards contradict expert opinion on an acceptable amount of pus in our milk! Defenders of the US policy will state that although the upper limit is 750,000, most dairy herds come in around 270,000 cells/mL. Let me point out that that is still a sick cow.

Pastuerization, thankfully, destroys most of the cells. But imagine this; you pull out a steak from the refrigerator that you've been meaning to grill. You smell it and it gives off a revolting smell. You barely contain your vomit due to the stench.

Will you just cook it a little longer? Or will you refuse to eat it? Most of us would probably throw it out. Yet, we drink dirty milk because it's been pasteurized.