Category: antioxidants

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Glutathione, Nrf2, Autism and glyphosate

Glyphosate use has escalated (1) at a similar rate and overlapping time frame to the increase in autism in children. The rate of autism in Japanese children is even greater than in U.S. children. The Japanese children may be consuming a larger percent of GMO soy from the U.S. as the country is a significant importer of the crop. (4)Testing has shown that basically all GMO soy, Roundup Ready, has residue of glyphosate. (1) Glyphosate residue has been found in all foods tested by the FDA except for broccoli. (6)

The herbicide Roundup has been shown to induce oxidative stress in animal studies (5), and children with autism have been shown to have an increase in oxidative stress and reduced levels of an antioxidant, glutathione, (2), that is made within our bodies during normal health.

Use of Nrf2 promoting foods might help increase our own production of glutathione. (3) Broccoli is one food that may help promote our own supply of Nrf2 which then helps us make the antioxidant glutathione.

Glyphosate may be metabolized into other chemicals within the body and it or the metabolites may inhibit enzymes important for a variety of functions throughout the body. (7) Radioactive labeling of glyphosate in animal studies by the company Monsanto showed that bioaccumulation of the chemical does occur, particularly in blood cells found in bone and bone marrow, also in the testes and ovaries, see slide 11 for a copy of the table of data: (8).

A thorough overview of the theoretical and known health risks of glyphosate is available by a personal fitness coach from Australia, Alex Fergus, (9), in part two of a three part series on his website. Part one covers the history of the synthetic chemical’s discovery and patent history and increased agricultural use in the U.S. and globally, (10), and his list of tips on how to protect yourself and try to reduce exposures through diet and supplements, (11). The list is comprehensive however doesn’t include Epsom salt/magnesium sulfate as an additional source of bioactive sulfate. Baths or footsoaks provide a topical absorption route that would bypass any problems with malabsorption in the digestive system or problems with sun exposure to bioactivate other forms of sulfur into the bioactive sulfate form.

Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes.

  1. John Peterson Myers, Michael N. Antoniou, Bruce Blumberg, Lynn Carroll, Theo Colborn, Lorne G. Everett,Michael Hansen, Philip J. Landrigan, Bruce P. Lanphear, Robin Mesnage, Laura N. Vandenberg, Frederick S. vom Saal,Wade V. Welshons, and Charles M. Benbrook,

    Concerns over use of glyphosate-based herbicides and risks associated with exposures: a consensus statement.  Environ Health. 2016; 15: 19. Pub. online 2016 Feb 17,  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4756530/?utm_content=buffere016d&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer

  2. S. Rose, S Melnyk, O Pavliv, S Bai, T G Nick, R E Frye,  S J James, Evidence of oxidative damage and inflammation associated with low glutathione redox status in the autism brain, Translational Psychiatry V2, 134 (2012), nature.com, https://www.nature.com/articles/tp201261

  3. Megan L. Steele, Stacey Fuller, Mili Patel, Cindy Kersaitis, Lezanne Ooi, and Gerald Münch, Effect of Nrf2 activators on release of glutathione, cysteinylglycine and homocysteine by human U373 astroglial cells, Redox Biol. 2013; 1(1): 441–445. Published online 2013 Sep 12, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3814960/

  4. Zen Honeycutt, Shockingly Higher Rates of Autism and Developmental Delays in Asia, Report from Japan speaking tour, March 1-10, March 21, 2017, MomsAcrossAmerica.com, https://www.momsacrossamerica.com/shockingly_higher_rates_of_autism_and_developmental_delays_in_asia
  5.  Low toxic herbicide Roundup induces mild oxidative stress in goldfish tissues, Chemosphere, Vol. 76, Issue 7, Aug 2009, pp 932-937
    ScienceDirect,  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0045653509005256
  6. Toxic Weed Killer Glyphosate Found in Most Foods Sold in the U.S., wakeup-world.com, https://wakeup-world.com/2018/05/24/toxic-weed-killer-glyphosate-found-in-most-foods-sold-in-the-u-s/
  7. Ford et al., Mapping Proteome-wide Targets of Glyphosate in Mice, Cell Chemical Biology (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
    j.chembiol.2016.12.013 https://www.cell.com/cell-chemical-biology/pdf/S2451-9456(16)30474-3.pdf
  8. Anthony Samsel, Glyphosate Herbicide Pathways To Modern Diseases Synthetic Amino Acid And Analogue of Glycine Mis-incorporation Into Diverse Proteins , Slides 2016,,   https://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/DC2016/AnthonySamsel_DC2016.pdf (8)
  9. Alex Fergus, Glyphosate: Why You Need to Eat Organic,   https://www.alexfergus.com/blog/glyphosate-why-you-need-to-eat-organic (9)
  10. Alex Fergus, Glyphosate: The Weed Killer Found in Our Food & Water, https://www.alexfergus.com/blog/glyphosate-the-weed-killer-found-in-our-food-water (10)
  11. Alex Fergus, How to Protect Yourself from Glyphosate, https://www.alexfergus.com/blog/how-to-protect-yourself-from-glyphosate (11)
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Tamarind Powder, Nrf2, and Soup flavoring notes

Really good flavor in today’s batch of soup – notes for the virtual record:

I didn’t measure anything in measuring cups or spoons, so roughly, to one basic batch of soup which includes onion, garlic, celery, carrot, sweet potato and today, pinto beans green beans – written in the order that they are added to the cooking time process:

  • I also used several large bay leaves,
  • approximately 1 tablespoon of Rosemary,
  • 2 tablespoons of ground Cumin,
  • 2 tablespoons of ground Coriander,
  • 1-2 Tablespoons of Tamarind Powder dissolved in some cold water in a small bowl – it tends to clump
  • 1 generous teaspoon Oregano
  • 1 generous teaspoon Sage

All of the ingredients would likely have health benefits and contain beneficial phytonutrients and other vitamins and minerals.

I’ve mentioned a few in the past but haven’t mentioned Tamarind Powder/fruit paste. It has been shown to have medicinal benefits and adds a slightly sweet tartness to foods. It also contains some beneficial fibers which is likely why it tends to clump when I add it directly to a batch of hot soup. It can be purchased as a paste or a dry powder. If purchased in a more whole form the small seeds need to be removed before use. It is a common ingredient in India and can be found in Indian food grocery stores. The paste dissolves better in the hot liquid or sometimes is used to make a sweetened beverage. While the powder may be easier to dissolve in a small bowl where you can continue stir more vigorously until no lumps remain. Tamarind Seed Powder: (1)

Polyphenols in Tamarind Seed Powder have been found beneficial for promoting Nrf2 and reducing oxidative stress. The seeds are edible and are dried and used similarly to lentils/beans. (2) The powder I used is called Tamarind Powder and may just contain the dried fruit. The fruit pulp, leftover from processing, was analyzed and found to contain yellow flavonoids and  polyphenols, (3), both of which are in a group of phytonutrients that may promote our own production of Nrf2 – which can help a variety of chronic health conditions. See this previous post for more information about the potential health benefits and phytonutrients that may promote Nrf2: Nrf2 helps activate beneficial genes that are protective against inflammatory conditions.

The basic bean soup recipe is described in this previous post:   New Year, new recipes.

or at the end of this webpage: G8: Cookies and Bean Soup.

Search result somewhat unrelated to cooking soup – tamarind and pomegranate have low residue tolerance limits for glyphosate (0.2 ppm) compared to wheat, milling fractions other than flour (20 ppm) : https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/galangal – scroll down to the article in the lower right corner – Richard P. Pohanish, in Sittig’s Handbook of Pesticides and Agricultural Chemicals (Second Edition), 2015

Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes.

  1. adachigroup, Medicinal Benefits of Tamarind Seed Powder, Sept. 26, 2013, https://adachigroup.wordpress.com/2013/09/26/tamarind-seed-powder/
  2. Nurhanani Razali, Sarni Mat Junit, Azhar Ariffin, Nur Siti Fatimah Ramli and Azlina Abdul Aziz, Polyphenols from the extract and fraction of T. indica seeds protected HepG2 cells against oxidative stress, BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2015) 15:438. https://bmccomplementalternmed.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s12906-015-0963-2
  3. Larissa Morais Ribeiro da Silva, Evania Altina Teixeira de Figueiredo, Nagila Maria Pontes Silva Ricardo, Icaro Gusmao Pinto Vieira, Raimundo Wilane de Figueiredo, Isabella Montenegro Brasil, Carmen L. Gomes., Quantification of bioactive compounds in pulps and by-products
    of tropical fruits from Brazil., Food Chemistry 143 (2014) 398–404. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/82174064.pdf

 

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Pomegranate extract – Master Chef Challenge update

For anyone following along with the pomegranate peel experiments  (previous post)- update, I had a lot of pomegranate extract thawed at the same time and for a dietitian that means reheat to steaming to assure food safety. So it was an opportunity to experiment some more with trying to adjust the acidity again. When baking soda is added to a hot acidic liquid there is an obvious bubbling reaction and change in color of the liquid. I have pH strips to check acidity and did manage to adjust the acidity of the extract. The taste is still not great but chronic illness and mood issues are not great either. After three cups of experimental attempts my mood is awesome *(see additional note) and I have some recipe details:

6 cups of pomegranate extract  (previous post)

2 Tablespoons Cardamom powdered spice

1 teaspoon Gumbo File powdered spice (Sassafras Leaves, powdered and used in Gumbo’s in Creole style cooking)

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

  1. Add the Cardamom and Gumbo File to the Pomegranate Extract and stir well to break apart any dry lumps of the powdered spices. The Gumbo File acts as an emulsifier and is a digestive aid and the Cardamom adds flavor, phytonutrients and would help alkalize the mixture in addition to the alkalizing power of the Baking Soda.
  2. Bring the mixture to a boil.
  3. Add the Baking Soda and stir. Remove the mixture from the heat and keep stirring. It will froth up and stirring helps keep it from frothing over the top of the pan. The color changes from pinkish to brown from the Cardamom spice.
  4. To drink as a beverage dilute with equal parts water to Pomegranate Extract.

This would be an acquired taste – aka “not good” until you get used to it, or not good at all but the mood and health benefits are worth for me at least. It is also a diuretic which means it is like beer or coffee in the way it increases kidney activity and urine production so it is best to have it earlier in the day followed by plenty of glasses of water early in the day so that you aren’t waking up in the middle of the night as much. Overly acidic, dehydrated body fluids can increase work for the kidneys and result in a frequent feeling of needing to go urgently but then not producing much quantity – drink plenty of water early  in the day and produce plenty of dilute quantity early in the day and a diuretic can help cleanse toxins from the body instead of being a middle of the night problem.

Since pomegranate growing season is limited the powdered spice made from Sumac might be a health substitute. It has been shown to have a range of health benefits, and is also a diuretic. Its phytonutrients are similarly colored suggesting there might be some similar antioxidant content as well. The gallotannin group of phytonutrients are in common and would likely promote Nrf2. (More about Sumac in this post) (a series of posts on Nrf2)

To put a financial perspective on this – for my health needs the pomegranate extract or pomegranate seeds and cardamom powder and a few other good sources of phospholipids are adequate replacements for my medical marijuana which cost me around $1000-1200 per month. The medical effects are slightly different and not quite as good for pain killing properties but the negative psychological effects that can occur with withdrawal for some people are also not present.

To review – cannabinoids are a group of chemicals that are made within the cells of most species and are similar to the group of cannabinoids found in the cannabis plants commonly known as marijuana or hemp. Medical marijuana has a euphoria producing one known by the chemical initials THC while hemp has only non-euphoria producing cannabinoids. Both types can have medical or other basic health benefits. Cannabinoids are found throughout membranes and add to cell wall flexibility and help with messenger chemical type activities that can help reduce inflammation and fight infection. Some people such as myself can have genetic differences that make it impossible to make the chemicals internally as in average health. I have had minor health problems since infancy and having external dietary sources of phospholipids or cannabinoids helps my body and mood and immune system. More information about the topic is available in the post/article Is it Addiction or Starvation?

People with problems with binge eating disorders, alcohol abuse tendencies, meth or heroin/opioid abuse tendencies, or seem to have an excess use of marijuana, and nicotine to a lesser extent all may actually have underlying genetic differences that leave them in need of increased dietary sources of phospholipids/cannabinoids. The article Is It Addiction or Starvation? has some legal food sources in addition to pomegranate seeds and cardamom spice. It doesn’t mention the Middle Eastern spice Sumac but it might help also.

*Additional note – three cups was likely to large of a serving, an awesome mood for someone with unstable mood issues was too much of a good thing – Newton’s Law of Gravity may apply metaphorically, “What goes up must come down.” I had a worse mood problem later in the evening. Today (the next morning) I’ve enjoyed a few spoonfuls of the spicy, creamy slightly thickened mixture in my coffee and it is good to my “acquired taste.” The thing about having acquired an acquired taste for something is that you then want to acquire more – pun intended.  The pomegranate season in Australia turns out to also be November to March so that isn’t much help. Processing pomegranate peel during the growing season would be necessary if I hope to continue to be able to acquire pomegranate extract all year long. It has medicinal benefits according to the research that is available, (see links in earlier posts on this site).

New Zealand isn’t ideal for pomegranate either as the summer length may be too short some years, however their harvest season is February-April: “Pomegranates grow best in areas with cold Winters and long hot, dry Summers.” (Pomegranate Wonderful)

Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes.

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Ellagitannins and red raspberries

Prior to the research on pomegranates and ellagitannins research was being performed on the use of red raspberries for their health and anticancer benefits. The summary points are that the whole fruit, the mixture of a variety of phytonutrients provides the benefits and that an isolated singe phytonutrient may be less bioavailable and less bioactive – less chemically likely to provide benefits as the mixture of phytonutrients that the whole food provides. An article from 2001 discusses this in more detail and mentions that early work on pomegranates suggested they would be an even better source of the group of ellagitannins and other polyphenols.

The compounds when working together within the body seem to help make cancer cells stop dividing and start dying by apoptosis like normal cells would – and without having any toxic effects on other normal healthy cells. The ellagitannins and other phytonutrients in red raspberries also seemed to prevent precancerous cells from becoming cancerous – dividing at above average rate of growth.

Other health benefits of the whole fruit used as a fruit puree equivalent to eating one cup of red raspberries per day, providing 40 mg of ellagitannins, included:

“European medical studies also demonstrate that red raspberry ellagitannins lower the incidence of birth defects, promote wound healing, reduce heart disease, and may reduce or reverse chemically induced liver fibrosis. In addition, the ellagic acid produced from the ellagitannins has anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties.”

Read more: The Truth About Ellagic Acid and Red Raspberries,    https://jonbarron.org/article/truth-about-ellagic-acid-and-red-raspberries

Ellagitannins and pomegranates was a discussion begun in a previous post: Pomegranate polyphenols and Microglia M2 Activation. I didn’t include the information in my summary but one of the links mentions that whole pomegranate juice / juice made with the peel / provides about 2 grams per liter of ellagitannins which would be many times more than 40 milligrams. Two grams would be 2000 milligrams and a liter is slightly less than a quart which is four cups, so roughly the whole pomegranate juice/extract is providing 500 milligrams per cup. A cup of juice would be more concentrated, being a liquid, compared to a cup of loosely packed whole red raspberries with seeds and air space, so a cup of raspberry puree or red raspberry juice would likely provide more than 40 milligrams.

Black raspberries are a dark purple color were not mentioned in the 2001 article but a more recent study on cancer therapy from 2016 mentions them as a source of ellagic acid so they may have an equivalent amount of the beneficial phytonutrients.

Read more: Black raspberries in cancer clinical trials: Past, present and future.   https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5008867/

Blueberries and blackberries and other berries are good sources of a variety of beneficial phytonutrients. Many types have the most prevalent phytonutrients listed and extraction methods that are typically used for commercial products are discussed in this research review: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5384171/

A shorter article discussing phytonutrients found in blueberries, blackberries and raspberries in a more general way:   http://berryhealth.fst.oregonstate.edu/symposium/lukehowardabstract.htm

Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes.