What I’m Reading This Month: A Breakthrough in Sugar/Cancer Growth Link, Trump’s Pick For EPA Safety Chief, and the Iodine Missing From Milk-Alternatives

October 2017

The sheer volume of health, wellness, and medical news and commentary available on the internet can be overwhelming. Every month, get a taste of what integrative medicine leader Dr. John Gannage finds interesting (and digestible) on the web.

1. Trump’s Pick For EPA Safety Chief Argued Kids Are Less Sensitive to Toxins

And on and on it goes.

“It’s simply absurd that industry’s go-to science-for-hire guy would now be charged with reviewing the safety of many of the same chemicals he’s previously greenwashed. It’s like putting Philip Morris in charge of the American Lung Association.”

2. Researchers Make Breakthrough in Linking Sugar to Cancer Growth

Sugar, in its various forms and by all its names, is over consumed. It activates aggressive cancer cells. It leads to obesity, in kids and adults alike. It acts as a pro-oxidant, damaging cells and leading to inflammation. It is a drug. Its overuse needs to be curtailed.

Patients with cancer should avoid sucrose, table sugar, dextrose, maltodextrin, honey, maple syrup, agave, barley malt, maltose, fructose, corn syrup, HFCS, etc.

Sugar-sweetened beverages should be taxed like cigarettes.

“Artificial” anything doesn’t sound healthy to me, especially true for artificial sweeteners – they’re no better.

#TaxSoda #TaxSugar #AvoidArtificialSweetenersToo #SteviaOK

3. Milk Alternative Drinks Do Not Replace Iodine in Cow’s Milk

Many patients avoid dairy because of intolerance, or issues with milk protein (casein). A casein-free diet is frequently recommended in autism, for example. Often enough I have observed mild elevation of TSH in such patients, as a marker for under functioning thyroid. A lack of iodine could be the reason, so please be aware (and spread the word), as this new research shows, that consumption of soy, almond, rice “milks” and other alternatives to cow’s milk are iodine deficient. Supplementing a small amount of iodine may be necessary if other dietary sources are lacking, especially in picky eaters and those with even more diet restriction. https://www.dietitians.ca/…/Fac…/Food-Sources-of-Iodine.aspx.

Many companies make a Liquid Iodine supplement containing 150mcg of iodine per drop.

“A glass of a milk-alternative drink would only provide around 2 mcg of iodine which is a very small proportion of the adult recommended iodine intake of 150 mcg/day. In pregnancy, that recommendation goes up to 200 mcg/day.

Milk-alternative drinks are increasingly being used as a replacement for cows’ milk for a number of reasons that obviously include allergy or intolerance to cows’ milk.

Most milk-alternative drinks are not fortified with iodine and their iodine content is very low. If avoiding milk and dairy products, consumers need to ensure that they have iodine from other dietary sources, where possible.”

Still hungry for information? Find previous month’s picks here.