I had no inspiration this week for a long post on yet another health problem. I have instead compiled four studies, all interesting and some downright compelling but, as is usually the case, not ready for prime time yet.
The benefits of kiwi consumption for a great night’s sleep: This research study recruited 24 participants—all of whom had disturbed sleep patterns—who were directed to eat 2 kiwis 1 hour before bed every night for 4 weeks. Yes, that’s 60 kiwis a month. Try to imagine just the effects alone on your digestive system (kiwis are well known movers for people with constipation) much less your grocery bill! Don’t ignore however that kiwi is full of really good stuff; one a day boosts immune function, supplies lots of vitamin C, is full of antioxidants, and prevents the onset of some cancers. See comments.
My plan was to try it first to see if my middle-of-the-night can’t get back to sleep nonsense could be helped, but, no surprise, no kiwis to be found this time of year. I’ll try it out (you can too) when the kiwi supply chain hopefully returns to stores next year, but maybe just one kiwi per night, and probably just for 3-4 nights.
“Total sleep time and sleep efficiency were significantly increased (13.4% and 5.41%, respectively). Kiwifruit consumption may improve sleep onset, duration, and efficiency in adults with self-reported sleep disturbances. Further investigation of the sleep promoting properties of kiwifruit may be warranted.” Hsiao-Han Lin MS, University of Taipei
Palm oil or palmitic acid, are they safe?: Internationally recognized Spanish experts in the food industry, nutrition, toxicology, sustainability, and veterinary science met in 2018 to develop a consensus about palm oil (PO) as a food ingredient. There were a variety of positive conclusions in the pubmed.gov article, most notably the evidence showing that a moderate intake of PO within a healthy diet presents no risks for health, and there is no evidence associating PO consumption with higher cancer risk, incidence, or mortality in humans.
On to 2021, and here’s our updated problem. A new study headed by scientists at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine uncovered how palmitic acid (PA)—a fatty acid commonly found in palm oil—alters cancer genomes, increasing the likelihood that an established cancer will spread. Other types of fatty acid, including the omega 6 and omega 9 fatty acids found in foods such as olive oil and flax seeds, do not have this unfortunate effect. The results of trials with mice showed that PA promoted metastases in oral carcinomas and melanoma skin cancer.
“Tumors from mice that were fed a short-term palm-oil-rich diet, or tumor cells that were briefly exposed to PA in vitro, remained highly metastatic even without further exposure to high levels of PA.” IRB research team
I checked all the oily food to be found in the kitchen for palm oil/palmitic acid. Canola Harvest has palm oil and palm kernel oil, organic salad dressings had no PO or PA, two brands of vegetarian mayonnaise also had none, but Safeway’s “O organics No Stir Crunchy Peanut Butter Spread” has palm oil. Darn it, I like PB that doesn’t need to be mixed or refrigerated, but PB with PO is not okay. I guess it’s back to stir the PB and grit my teeth as I make a peanut oily mess on the jar, my hands, my sleeves, the counter, and possibly the floor. I never really liked Canola Harvest Original Spread much anyway, especially now that fatty acid experts feel that long-term consumption of palmitic acid can also increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Drugs on the market with great potential for other uses: This study brings hope for better ways to use two well-known antidepressants in a completely different context to improve outcomes in treating COVID-19.
Three researchers in California collaborated on a retrospective study regarding risk of death among patients with COVID-19 taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), fluoxetine (Prozac), fluvoxamine (Luvox), and other SSRIs twice daily for 10 days after testing positive for the disease compared with a control group under treatment with the prevailing—and often changing—protocol against the coronavirus. After looking into the outcomes of thousands of patients based on their status—use of antidepressants or control group—from January to September 2020 with a follow-up of 8 months, the results were notable. The conclusions compared to the control group included 1) those treated with SSRIs but not fluoxetine or fluvoxamine were not significantly better off with respect to risk of death, and 2) whereas those taking fluoxetine or fluvoxamine had their risk of death reduced by 26-28%. The latter two groups also had reduced severity of their disease.
“We can’t tell if the drugs are causing these effects, but the statistical analysis is showing significant association. There’s power in the numbers,” Marina Sirota, PhD, University of California San Francisco
Why do these antidepressant drugs work? Several theories supported in small studies have been offered including:
1. The anti-inflammatory properties of SSRIs which dampens the damaging the overzealous release of cytokines
2. The reduction in platelet aggregation, reducing risk of blood clots
3. Decreased mast cell degranulation, another too much of a good thing.
4. Increased melatonin levels
5. Interference with endolysosomal viral trafficking which happens when the viral outer layer or fuses with the endolysosomal membrane which then allows the beginning of viral replication.
6. Antioxidant activities.
“Effective treatments of COVID-19 — especially those that are easy to use, show good tolerability, can be administered orally, and have widespread availability at low cost to allow their use in resource-poor countries — are urgently needed to reduce COVID-19-related mortality and morbidity,” Dr. Nicolas Hoertel
FDA approval of emergency use of these two drugs off label seems like a particularly easy way to administer a 10 day plan with good results. But, as usual:
Additional clinical trials need to be carried out before these drugs can be used in patients going forward.” Marina Sirota, PhD
If you’re still struggling with PB I recommend natural grocers. Ground on site and kept cold, doesn’t separate. You can get fresh walnuts while you’re there.
Judy, I wasn't a very good research participant. I couldn't get past the third night with kiwis. Didn't seem to work any better than eating a little protein before bed, and I have more variety from which to choose.