GUT BACTERIA CAN PREVENT OBESITY, SALT MIGHT NOT BE BAD AND HOW TO LIVE LONGER

There are numerous problems with medical research dealing with nutrition and health.  First, they keep contradicting each other, second, pharmaceutical companies have far too much influence on standards of "good" health, and government agencies keep stumbling over each other.  Here is my recent compilation of recent studies:

1A.  My posting two days ago on beef has an update.  Hardening of the arteries may be caused by a malign interaction of certain compounds in meat with certain bacteria in your intestines.  Could there, then, someday be a cure for this bad relationship with the elimination of these germs?

1B.  It is more and more appearing that you someday will be able to control your weight by adjusting your gut microbes.  A 200-pound person is home to 6 pounds of bacteria.  How many?  Well, 100 trillion or so of them, most in your intestinal tract.  Not only obesity, but the following health conditions seem capable of being treated by adjusting your micro-bio system.:

Multiple sclerosis     Type 1 diabetes     Rheumatoid arthritis
Osteoarthritis           Lupus                    Inflammatory bowel diseases
Selenium                 Fibromyalgia          Chronic skin conditions
Kidney problems      Urinary conditions   Degenerative conditions
Crohn's disease                                    Myalgic encephalomyelitis

When will this treatment be available?  Actually, this bio-strategy is already in use.

2.  A drastic cut in salt intake does no good, and, in fact, can kill you.  Lower salt diets increase death from heart disease.  The irony is that the American Medical Association released this latter information just three months after the U.S. government began a public health campaign for companies selling food to reduce the use of salt.  The Department of Agriculture considers salt as Public Enemy #1, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now appears to be saying, consume salt normally, whatever that means.  Well, for one, after strenuous exercise, feel free to eat or drink more salt.  According to the New York Times today, in 1972, when the National Institutes of Health began their campaign to prevent hypertension (high blood pressure), no meaningful experiments had been done.  The rat studies used concentrations 60 times more than what humans consume.  Try taking 60 times more salt and you too will be affected.   Since then, studies have failed to provide evidence.  Most populations tend to utilize about a teaspoonful and and a half.  The Feds want you to reduce to less than a teaspoon.  From all the above, I would think that one to two teaspoons (including the sodium chloride from fast foods and other sources) should not be particularly bad, especially on the high end if you sweat a lot.  What is the truth?  I really don't know, but I know I won't now feel so guilty when I attend a luau (Hawaiian feast, which is very high in salt) or have a Zippy's bento.  The bottom line is use your best judgement while watching your blood pressure, if it is high.  Notwithstanding, be aware that too much salt is, probably, bad for  you.

3.  The first drug to increase your lifespan is already available.  Called rapamycin, this compound not only prolongs life, but wards off aging-related diseases.  While the data is sketchy, something along the lines of a 10% increase might be expected.  It is already approved for transplant rejection, but is not yet a medical solution for old age, as only tests with mice have been conducted.  Females got a higher boost.  You might want to give Rapamycin Holdings Inc. a stock analysis.  Also known as Sirolimus (international name) and Rapamune (Pfizer), rapamycin was discovered by Brazilian researchers as a product of Streptomyces hygroscopicus  from a Rapa Nui (Easter Island) soil sample.  Yes, this is where the moai (monolithic human figures) can be found.

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