ACOG Sounds the Alarm: Environmental Chemicals and Reproductive Health

A couple months ago I contemplated whether environmental pollutants cause obesity or type 2 diabetes. One of my conclusions was…

Humans, particularly those anticipating pregnancy and child-rearing, might be well advised to minimize exposure to the aforementioned chemicals. For now, I’ll leave you to your own devices to figure out how to do that. Good luck.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists just published a position paper on pollution risks to babies and pregnant women…

Toxic chemicals in the environment harm our ability to reproduce, negatively affect pregnancies, and are associated with numerous other long-term health problems, according to The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

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The scientific evidence over the last 15 years shows that exposure to toxic environmental agents before conception and during pregnancy can have significant and long-lasting effects on reproductive health. “For example, pesticide exposure in men is associated with poor semen quality, sterility, and prostate cancer,” said Linda C. Giudice, MD, PhD, president of ASRM. “We also know that exposure to pesticides may interfere with puberty, menstruation and ovulation, fertility, and menopause in women.”

Other reproductive and health problems associated with exposure to toxic environmental agents:

  • Miscarriage and stillbirth
  • Impaired fetal growth and low birth weight
  • Preterm birth
  • Childhood cancers
  • Birth defects
  • Cognitive/intellectual impairment
  • Thyroid problems

Read the rest of the brief article.

Here’s their advice on staying safe from chemicals during pregnancy.

Whether all this will seem reasonable 20 years from now is anybody’s guess.

Big Pharma, Big Ag, and Now Big Medicine

Steven Hsieh has an article at PJ Media on how to co-exist with the U.S. government take-over of one sixth of our economy: health insurance and medical care. His major points of advice are:

  • Take control of your health spending
  • Find a doctor who will work for you
  • Be engaged in your own health care
  • Defend the morality of private medicine

As long as it’s safe and affordable, you’ll want to avoid Obamacare doctors and hospitals. Get yourself as healthy as possible by exercising regularly, eating right, avoiding obesity, stop over-using alcohol and dangerous drugs, stop smoking, etc. The Unaffordable Care Act nightmare hasn’t hit full force yet, but it’s just a matter of time.

Could a Low FODMAPs Diet Help Your Chronic GI Problem?

You won’t know until you try it, suggests dietitian Melanie Thomassian. These are some of the diagnoses that may respond positively: irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), Crohns disease, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

I’ve written before about the low FODMAPs diet and irritable bowel syndrome. The low FODMAPs diet essentially involves limiting the delivery of particular carbohydrates to your intestinal bacteria.

QOTD: Herschel Smith on Drug Legalization

“If you want to legalize drugs of all kinds, then be my guest, right after you turn around socialized medicine and forswear forever my fiduciary responsibility for support for any drug addict or funding of their medical care.  While my hard earned money is confiscated by the power of a badge and gun to support people who will not support themselves, then those people (the recipients of my money) should expect me to be involved in their lives.  My involvement will be as obnoxious and overbearing as I can possibly make it – right up until you no longer want my involvement, and then at that point I will assume you no longer want my money either.  I’m good on both accounts.  Leave me alone and I will leave you alone to do what you want.”

Herschel Smith

What’s the No. 1 Treatment for Obstructive Sleep Apnea?

Weight loss, according to new guidelines from the American College of Physicians. That assumes you’re overweight or obese to begin with. If that applies to you, might I suggest the Advanced Mediterranean Diet?

Arsenic Linked to Heart Disease and Stroke

…according to an article at MedPageToday. What kind of heart disease? Coronary artery disease.

The quote the president-elect of the American Heart Association: 

But, he cautioned, “it’s very important to realize that the absolute level of risk is still far lower than what has been seen with high blood pressure, diabetes, cigarette smoking, or cholesterol elevation.”

 

“I would not want folks to say if we simply reduced the arsenic in our drinking water, we’d get rid of coronary heart disease,” he told MedPage Today. “It’s not that simple.”

 

The article is based on a study of 3,500 American Indians in three states. Whether results apply to other ethnic groups is unknown.

Need Help With Your Mediterranean Diet Meals?

Conner Middelmann-Whitney has got you covered. She’s just launched a new service that delivers meal plans right to your email box every week. It’s called Everyday Mediterranean Meal Plans.

Here are some major features of the meals:

  • Low-glycemic
  • Gluten-free
  • Heavily plant based (at least 2 vegetarian dishes each week)
  • Prepared without using processed ingredients or unhealthy fats
  • Seasonal
  • Include a “Nutrition notes” section explaining what makes them healthy
  • Simple to prepare, requiring no complicated equipment, nor much cooking experience
  • There is at least one “Express” meal per week that takes a typical home cook 30 minutes or less to make
  • Each Meal Plan includes a detailed shopping list enabling people to shop ahead for these five dishes, thus cutting down on time spend shopping and food waste
  • The cost is quite reasonable

Read more details here.

Click here for a free sample.

If you’re running out of Mediterranean diet meal ideas, I don’t see how you can go wrong with this new service.

I also recommend Conner’s book, Zest for Life: The Mediterranean Anti-Cancer Diet.

Steve Parker, M.D.

Disclosure: I have received no monetary compensation for this endorsement. I do it as a favor to Conner because I admire in her nutrition and culinary skills and believe in her mission to promote health and prevent cancer via the Mediterranean diet.

Are Low-Carb Diets More Effective Than Others?

DietDoctor Andreas Eenfeldt has a list of 16 scientific studies suggesting the superiority of low-carb diets for weight loss. I hope he keeps updating it. Here it is.

For my version of a low-carb diet, see KMD: Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet or Advanced Mediterranean Diet (2nd Ed.). The latter book also has a traditional “balanced” calorie-controlled diet with greater variety than a very low-carb diet. Ketogenic diets are getting a boost recently from Dr. Georgia Ede, Dr. Peter Attia, and the Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Man, Jimmy Moore.

Steve Parker, M.D.

High Protein Weight-Loss Diets Do NOT Cause Bone Damage

…at least in post-menopausal women on the diet for two years. AJCN has the details:

“It has been hypothesized that hip-fracture rates are higher in developed than developing countries because high-protein (HP) Western diets induce metabolic acidosis and hypercalciuria. Confounders include interactions between dietary protein and calcium, sodium, and potassium.”

In conclusion:

“High dietary protein intake [at least 90 grams/day] during weight loss has no clinically significant effect on bone density….”

Both Mediterranean and DASH Diets Linked to Better Brain Function With Aging

…according to a study in AJCN.

“Higher levels of accordance to both the DASH and Mediterranean dietary patterns were associated with consistently higher levels of cognitive function in elderly men and women over an 11-y period. Whole grains and nuts and legumes were positively associated with higher cognitive functions and may be core neuroprotective foods common to various healthy plant-centered diets around the globe.”