Nutrient deficiencies, immune health and covid

Researchers publishing in the journal Nutrients have revealed significant nutrient deficiencies in US citizens of key immune-supportive nutrients. Using data from the 2005-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) they found deficient levels of four out of five nutrients essential for immune support. Forty five percent of the US population had inadequate levels of vitamin A, 46% the same for vitamin C, 95% low in vitamin D, 84% in vitamin E and 15% deficient in zinc. Finally recognising the importance of vitamin D for immune system health, the UK government has ordered an urgent review of the use of vitamin D supplementation to reduce the risk of falling seriously ill with covid-19. The announcement comes amid growing concerns over the number of black, Asian and ethnic minority (BAME) people who have died from covid-19. In the UK, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is also conducting a “rapid” evidence review. In our view, given the current situation, such reviews are not just urgent, they’re significantly overdue, particularly in light of media warnings of a potential second wave. Furnishing citizens with basic nutrition information to support their immune response as nature intended is the duty of all governments around the world, yet such public health campaigning and messaging is still not happening. 

Are unvaccinated children healthier than their vaccinated counterparts?

A new study published in SAGE Open concludes that vaccinated children experience higher levels of developmental delays, asthma, ear infections and gastrointestinal disorders than unvaccinated children. The researchers compared the data of over 2000 children born between November 2005 and June 2015 from three large paediatric medical practices in the US who were followed for a minimum of 3 years from birth. The unvaccinated group represented 30.9% of the total cohort. Vaccination prior to 1 year of age was associated with increased risk of developmental delays, asthma, gastrointestinal disorders and ear infections. The results are consistent with those found by a 2017 study published in the Journal of Translational Science. We are constantly reassured by authorities about the absolute safety of vaccines with the risk of severe harms caused by not vaccinating. Yet there is a dearth of studies looking at the potential harms arising from vaccination. This is one of many reasons why ANH and the doctors in the UK represented by the British Society for Ecological Medicine (BSEM) are calling on governments around the world to engage in a new transparency narrative around vaccines. Such transparency is essential for people to give properly informed consent to vaccination - particularly Covid-19 vaccines which have been developed at warp speed.

Water fluoridation on trial

Fluoridation of water in the US is on trial in San Francisco. An alliance of groups led by Food & Water Watch are suing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to force it to ban or limit the addition of fluoride to drinking water. Key to the defence team’s position is the growing body of evidence showing neurological harm from even small amounts of fluoride. The bias and lack of scientific rigour of the EPA’s scientific ‘experts’ is becoming painfully apparent as the trial progresses. We will be following the trial closely to see if science finally wins out over profit.

Sub-standard supplements on Amazon

Leading US supplement brand, NOW Foods, has carried out a series of product tests on CoQ10 and SAMe supplements on sale on Amazon.com. The tests have revealed that many companies are claiming label amounts for the active ingredients that do not reflect what’s in the product. This amounts to fraud, especially as NOW conducted similar product testing two years ago and says the new test results are consistent with their previous findings. Dan Richard, Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing, says: “NOW takes defrauding consumers personally and it is in the best interest of the entire dietary supplements [ed. industry] to identify and work to purge such bad actors to protect consumers.” If you purchase CoQ10 or SAMe supplements off Amazon.com, then please do check the press release to see if your products are on the list.

USDA whistle blowers say serious flaws in US dietary guidelines process

Non-profit, non-partisan educational organization, the Nutrition Coalition have written an open letter to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) alleging a serious threat to the integrity and trustworthiness of the US’ federal nutrition policy. The allegations were made by some of the members of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC), a powerful group of experts under the direction of the USDA and US Department of Health and Human Services (USDA-HHS). In light of these revelations, the Nutrition Coalition is calling for a delay to DGAC’s expert report, which will become the US dietary guidelines, to ensure adequate time for a thorough investigation of these allegations. “These allegations range from deleting scientific reviews without public notice to failing to adopt reforms mandated by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). The NASEM identified numerous ways that the DGA needs to be reformed in order to ensure a scientifically rigorous process and, in their words, for this policy to be ‘trustworthy’”, stated Nina Teicholz, Executive Director of the Nutrition Coalition.

UK ‘definitely avoidable’ medication errors costs lives

New national estimates indicate that more than 237 million medication errors are made every year in England costing the NHS over £98 million and contributing to the loss of more than 1700 lives. The study has determined that prescribing in primary care accounts for 34% of all potentially clinically significant errors. These adverse drug events (ADEs) are “definitely avoidable” and comprise primary care ADEs leading to hospital admission (£83.7 million; causing 627 deaths), and secondary care ADEs leading to longer hospital stay (£14.8 million; causing or contributing to 1081 deaths). The researchers acknowledge that data linkage between errors and patient outcomes is essential to progress understanding in this area.