Asthma |

A new study from Argentina, which used the methodological criteria of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC), has identified a relationship between environmental and residential exposure to glyphosate and the high prevalence of asthma in the small city of Monte Maíz in Argentina.

This study has a very unusual story, as it was started at the request of a group of citizens, led by the Mayor of Monte Maíz, due to their concerns about previously rare diseases becoming more prevalent in the city. The citizen group requested an evaluation of the health status of their local population from a research team at the Division of Medical Sciences of the National University of Córdoba (UNC), in which the researchers evaluated the health of the entire population through a door to door survey covering every household, alongside detailed environmental analysis.

The study was carried out in order to determine if there had been an increase in the prevalence of cancers, reproductive, endocrine and immunological problems, and asthma linked to a greater exposure to pesticides. The objective was to analyze the environmental exposure to pesticides as a risk factor for the above-mentioned diseases and to correlate environmental factors in order to develop a causality hypothesis.

The same researchers that carried out the asthma study have already peer-review published their results showing that both reproductive disorders and cancer rates in Monte Maíz have increased, which was correlated with the high exposure to glyphosate and other pesticides of the city’s inhabitants.

Asthma, Monte Maíz and Glyphosate
Asthma is the most commonly occurring chronic childhood disease in the world. According to the Global Asthma Report 2014 (GAR 2014), 14% of the world’s children and 8.6% of young adults experience asthma. Childhood asthma is particularly prevalent in Latin America, and the International Study on Asthma and Allergic Diseases in Children (ISAAC) has identified environmental contamination as a key factor in the region’s elevated rates of the disease.

In Argentina, asthma is a serious health problem, causing more than 400 deaths and 15,000 hospitalizations annually. As elsewhere in South America, rates of pesticide application have increased dramatically in Argentina since the mid 1990s. Genetically-modified crops (GMOs) covered an area of 25 million hectares in 2013 and 318,000 tons of pesticides were applied within the country’s borders, including 250,000 tons of glyphosate, in a region where about 12 million people reside. Doctors in the region reported a shift in the morbidity and mortality profile of rural populations. Along with other conditions, wheezing and asthma are now frequently detected.

This new study revelealed that at least 975,000 kilos of pesticides per year are applied in fields surrounding Monte Maíz, and concentrations found inside the city were several times higher than in the cultivated fields. Glyphosate was detected in 100% of grain dust samples and its concentration was 20 times higher than other pesticides.

The researchers continued; “Contamination with glyphosate in particular and with pesticides in general is predominant in the town. The burden of residential exposure to glyphosate is 13.5 times greater than the average burden of the national population, and within the city this burden seems to be even greater in certain areas where the grain dust impregnated with glyphosate is carried by the wind.

Interestingly the researchers discovered particularly high levels of glyphosate in the soil and grain dust found in children’s playgrounds in Monte Maíz, 2792 parts per billion (ppb) and 505 ppb respectively.

The overall asthma prevalence, in GAR 2014, for people 18-45 years-old is recorded at 8.6%, with Argentina coming in slightly below average. However, in Monte Maíz the asthma prevalence in this age group was more than double the average. In the 13-14 year old age group the prevalence of asthma was 39.9%, compared to the 13.6% that ISAAC detected in this same age group in 3 other Argentinian cities.

Confounding variables such as smoking, premature birth and direct occupational pesticide exposure were not linked to this comparably high asthma rate in the city the researchers found, after analyzing the data using a range of accepted statistical methods.

The conclusion of the study’s authors was that “the findings suggest a link between environmental exposure to glyphosate, and to a lesser extent, other pesticides, with high asthma prevalence.

Avoid Glyphosate and shop for Organic (free of chemical pesticides and herbicides including glyphosate as well as free from gmos) Foods such as meats, dairy, fruits and veggies, and all your grocery needs on your next visit to Whitaker’s Natural Market!

Portions of this Health Tip are from SustainablePulse.

Did you know that selenium, an essential mineral, has the ability to protect your health in multiple ways?

Selenium is an important mineral for your body and only a small amount is needed (the recommended daily intake is 55 micrograms (mcg). Due to poor soil, taking certain pharmaceutical drugs such as statins, and the normal aging process, selenium is one of the most common mineral deficiencies in the world.

Selenium is linked to many healthy outcomes, including protection from diseases and reduction of disease symptoms.

Six Top Benefits of Selenium

1. Antioxidant and Reduces Oxidative Stress

As an antioxidant, selenium is even more beneficial than vitamins A, C, D, and E and helps to decrease oxidative stress, which is the result of an imbalance in the body between free radicals and antioxidants.

Oxidative stress contributes to a variety of diseases such as diabetes, atherosclerosis (hardening of the blood vessels), inflammatory conditions, high blood pressure, heart disease, neurodegenerative diseases (such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s), and cancers, and contributes to aging.

Supplementing with selenium was reviewed in 13 studies showing significant impact on three antioxidant markers, thus reducing oxidative stress.

2. Boosts Skin Health

In a meta-analysis of 27 studies with a total of 1,315 patients and 7,181 healthy controls, selenium levels were found to be low in patients with four skin diseases: psoriasis, acne vulgaris, chloric acne, and atopic dermatitis.

Another research study of DNA reprogramming of inflammatory cells confirms that higher selenium levels may instill protective properties for genes important for psoriasis prevention and treatment.

Selenium was also found to be beneficial in the treatment of psoriasis in a systematic review of research. In addition, selenium has been related to improvements in skin aging (skin elasticity and skin roughness).

Blood glutathione peroxidase (low levels indicate increased damage to cell membranes due to accumulation of free radicals and signify low selenium levels) was measured in 61 healthy subjects and 506 patients with various skin disorders (i.e., psoriasis, eczema, atopic dermatitis, vasculitis, mycosis fungoides and dermatitis herpetiformis, pemphigoid, acne conglobata, polymyositis, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, and systemic lupus erythematodes) and supplementation with selenium and vitamin E restored the skin’s balance.

3. Benefits Asthma

Asthma (a condition with breathing difficulties, coughing, and sneezing) is a complicated disease to treat and is associated with increased inflammation, oxidative stress, and abnormal immune system function. In a meta-analysis of 40 studies, asthma patients showed significantly lower levels of selenium compared to healthy subjects, suggesting lower selenium intake could be a risk factor for the disease.

As mentioned, selenium, as an antioxidant, has been found to lower oxidative stress. This, in turn, seems to reduce allergic asthma. In addition, dietary selenium as an antioxidant therapy may be important in optimizing asthma treatment and prevention.

In a study of 25 asthmatic patients and 25 healthy subjects, asthmatics had lower concentrations of selenium, increased oxidative stress markers and inflammation, and decreased antioxidant glutathione peroxidase activity and lung function.

Nutritional supplement therapy including selenium balanced oxidant stress, inflammation and immune system responses, pulmonary function, and health-related quality of life in patients with mild to moderate allergic asthma.

4. Helps Prevent and Improve Thyroid Diseases

Selenium is an essential micronutrient for your body and readily found in the thyroid. As a supplement, it can help prevent immune-mediated thyroid disorders by reducing anti-thyroperoxidase antibody levels and improving thyroid ultrasound features.

The prevalence of pathological thyroid conditions (hypothyroidism, subclinical hypothyroidism, autoimmune thyroiditis, enlarged thyroid) was significantly lower in the adequate-selenium group than in the low-selenium group (18% versus 30.5%) in a sample of 6,152 subjects in China.

Selenium administration (200 milligrams per day) significantly improved quality of life, reduced ocular involvement, and slowed progression of 159 patients with mild Graves’ orbitopathy (also called thyroid eye disease).

5. Promotes Heart Health

The combination of high blood pressure, high blood sugar, obesity, and high cholesterol is called metabolic syndrome and when these conditions occur together, they dramatically increase your risk of heart disease, stroke, and Type 2 diabetes.

In a study of 2,069 patients, dietary selenium intake had a moderate negative association with metabolic syndrome. In a study of 501 British volunteers aged 60 to 74 years, supplementation with selenium (100 mcg, 200 mcg, 300 mcg) showed progressive decreases in total cholesterol profiles for those with low selenium levels, but cautions that those with already high selenium intake might be adversely affected by extra selenium supplementation.

In a 12-year follow-up of a group of healthy elderly participants who were supplemented with selenium and coenzyme Q10 for four years, there was a significantly reduced risk for cardiovascular mortality in the treatment group (28.1%) compared to the placebo group (38.7%).

6. Brain Boosting

Alzheimer’s disease, a devastating brain disorder, is characterized by two pathological protein deposits, the senile plaques of amyloid-β and tangles of protein tau. In addition, oxidative stress and neural signal transmission disorders also impact Alzheimer’s.

A large body of studies suggests that selenium (Se), either as Se-containing compounds or as selenoproteins, is involved in most of the molecular pathways that are important in the progression of dementia and therefore have the potential to help prevent or improve Alzheimer’s.

In a mouse model, selenium yeast showed several benefits for Alzheimer’s subjects; it decreased the generation of amyloid-β and enhanced autophagic clearance (old cells are recycled and cleaned out to make room for new cells in the brain), which reduced the burden of amyloid-β accumulation.

Another animal study confirmed that selenium (sodium selenite) significantly decreased tau-positive neurons and reversed Alzheimer’s-like memory and neuropsychiatric symptoms in mice with advanced dementia. Additionally, selenium induced protective effects against experimental dementia-induced brain inflammation and oxidative stress by enhancing the antioxidant system in rats.

In 79 Alzheimer’s patients, probiotic and selenium co-supplementation for 12 weeks improved cognitive function and some metabolic profiles such as lipid, antioxidant, and insulin levels. Selenium and zinc are essential trace elements and an inadequate dietary intake has been implicated in the decline of immune and cognitive functions in aged persons and influences age-related disorders, such as Alzheimer’s and Type 2 diabetes.

Selenium and Health

Selenium, a widely researched essential mineral, is beneficial to your health due to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, immunomodulatory (regulates immune functions) and cardioprotective properties.

Be sure to pick up your Selenium Supplement on your next visit to Whitaker’s Natural Market!

Portions of this Health Tip are from GreenMedInfo.

Tag: Asthma

Glyphosate Linked to Increased Risk of Asthma!

Top Six Benefits of Selenium