Cinnamon - Some Unexpected Findings

Cinnamon has been used since remote antiquity as a spice, a food preservative and a medicine. The kind we usually buy is Cassia Cinnamon - the bark of a tree grown mainly in China and Indonesia.  Cinnamon from Sri Lanka – so called Ceylon Cinnamon, is more expensive; it is prized for its flavor and its low content of a substance called coumarin.  Coumarin is a fragrant chemical compound found in many plants.  In high doses it may be toxic to the liver, and may have anticoagulant properties.  Cassia cinnamon has more coumarin, while Ceylon cinnamon has very little.  This is not a problem for most people, using cinnamon as a flavoring in the kitchen.  People with liver disease or on anticogulants should not use large amounts of Cassia cinnamon as a medicine.

Colorectal Cancer – in mice:  Adding cinnamaldehyde, the compound that gives cinnamon its distinctive flavor and smell, to the diet of mice, scientists at the University of Arizona found that mice were protected against colorectal cancer. In response to cinnamaldehyde, the animals' cells acquired the ability to protect themselves against exposure to a carcinogen through detoxification and repair.  The study appeared in Cancer Prevention Research in 2015.

The next step in the research is to test whether cinnamon, as opposed to cinnamaldehyde, prevents cancer using this same cancer model. Human studies have not been reported

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Women with this problem have enlarged ovaries with multiple cysts, infrequent menstrual periods, excess hair growth and sometimes obesity.  Previous research has shown that the use of cinnamon can reduce insulin resistance in women with PCOS.  Researchers from Columbia University enrolled 45 women with PCOS into a 6 month trial; those who received cinnamon had more regular menstrual cycles than women who were given placebo. The cinnamon group had 3.82 menstrual cycles during the 6 month trial, while women in the control group only had 2.2 cycles. Two of the women in the treatment group reported spontaneous pregnancies during the trial. "Though small, this rather elegant study shows that cinnamon may be an effective and inexpensive treatment for PCOS patients," said Steven T. Nakajima, MD, President of the Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility.  He is currently at Stanford.

Parkinson’s Disease – Study in mice: Scientist at Rush University Medical Center used cinnamon to treat the brain changes in mice with Parkinson’s disease (Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology, 2014). The study, supported by grants from National Institutes of Health, found that after oral feeding, ground Ceylon cinnamon was metabolized into sodium benzoate, which entered the brain, stopped the loss of important neurons, normalized neurotransmitter levels, and improved motor functions in mice with PD.  The researchers hope to translate their findings into human studies.

Cinnamon in type 2 Diabetes: Cinnamon has been said to lower blood sugar levels, but studies showing this effect have been small, with conflicting results.  Researchers at the College of Pharmacy, Western University of Health Sciences, looked at all published studies in a systematic review of cinnamon’s effect on blood sugar and lipid levels.  They found that the consumption of cinnamon in various trials resulted in a statistically significant decrease in levels of fasting plasma glucose, total cholesterol, LDL-C, and triglyceride levels, and an increase in HDL-C levels; however, no significant effect on hemoglobin A1c was found. They concluded that the variability found in these studies may limit the ability to apply these results to patient care, because the preferred dose and duration of therapy are unclear.

Writing this column made me want to investigate the properties of Ceylon cinnamon.  It is available for about $15 on the internet – for ½ pound, which should last a long time.  You can find 2 ounces for less than $5.  Whichever kind you use, think of the long past history of this spice –Egyptians used it for enbalming in 2000 BCE; Nero burned it on the pyre of his second wife to atone for his role in her death; Arab traders brought it to Europe, Portuguese and Dutch traders fought over Ceylon. 

Sadja Greenwood MD, MPH - back issues on this blog

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Update on the Benefits of Coffee, Fiber and Oregano

In a study from the Harvard School of Public Health, people who regularly drank moderate amounts of coffee daily --less than 5 cups per day -- experienced a lower risk of deaths from cardiovascular disease, neurological diseases, Type 2 diabetes and suicide.  The benefit held true for caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, suggesting it's not just the caffeine providing health perks but possibly the naturally occurring chemical compounds in the coffee beans. The findings are based on data from three large ongoing studies: 74,890 women in the Nurses' Health Study; 93,054 women in the Nurses' Health Study 2; and 40,557 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study.  The study’ first author, Dr. Ming Ding, wrote that bioactive compounds in coffee reduce insulin resistance and systematic inflammation. In general, people who frequently drank coffee were more likely to smoke and drink alcohol. To separate the effects of coffee from smoking, researchers repeated their analysis among never-smokers, and found that the protective benefits of coffee on deaths became even more evident.  The researchers warned that some people should be cautious about their caffeine intake, such as children and pregnant women

Women who eat more high-fiber foods during adolescence and young adulthood--especially lots of fruits and vegetables--may have significantly lower breast cancer risk than those who eat less dietary fiber when young, according to a new large-scale study led by Maryam Farvid at Harvard School of Public Health. Among all the women, there was a strong inverse association between fiber intake and breast cancer incidence. For each additional 10 grams of fiber intake daily--for example, about one apple and two slices of whole wheat bread, or about half a cup each of cooked kidney beans and cooked cauliflower or squash--during early adulthood, breast cancer risk dropped by 13%. The greatest apparent benefit came from fruit and vegetable fiber. The authors speculated that eating more fiber-rich foods may lessen breast cancer risk partly by helping to reduce high estrogen levels in the blood, which are strongly linked with breast cancer development.

Fiber intake is also associated with longevity – studies show a reduced risk of cardiovascular, respiratory and infectious diseases.  Fiber intake also lessens the risk of type 2 diabetes and obesity; intestinal bacteria (the microbiome again!) ferment dietary fiber and reduce the amount of glucose absorbed into the blood.

Oregano: Dr. Supriya Bavadekar, at Long Island University, is currently testing carvacrol, a constituent of oregano, on prostate cancer cells. The results of her study demonstrate that the compound induces apoptosis (cancer cell death) in these cells. Dr. Bavadekar and her group are presently trying to determine the signaling pathways that the compound employs to bring about cancer cell suicide. "We know that oregano possesses anti-bacterial as well as anti-inflammatory properties, but its effects on cancer cells really elevate the spice to the level of a super-spice like turmeric," said Dr. Bavadekar. "Some researchers have previously shown that eating pizza may cut down cancer risk. This effect has been mostly attributed to lycopene, a substance found in tomato sauce, but we now feel that even the oregano seasoning may play a role," stated Dr. Bavadekar. More work is needed on this promising finding.   Recent studies also indicate that oregano may inhibit liver cancer, breast cancer and foodborne bacteria.   

 Many herbs have an anti-inflammatory effect that make them helpful against a variety of health problems.  Tune in next week for an update on turmeric, cinnamon, ginger and coriander. 

Sadja Greenwood, MD, MPH back issues on this blog

New Year's Resolution #3 - Find an Enjoyable Way to Move Your Body

Here are some suggestions from the experts:

*If you haven’t been exercising, check in with the clinic to make sure your plan is safe and right for you.

*While 30 minutes a day is widely recommended for dedicated exercise, this can be broken into shorter times. In a study conducted at the University of Virginia, exercise physiologist Glenn Gaesser, PhD, asked men and women to complete 15 10-minute exercise routines a week. After just 21 days, the volunteers' aerobic fitness was equal to that of people 10 to 15 years younger. Their strength, muscular endurance, and flexibility were equal to those of people up to 20 years their junior. "It would be useful for people to get out of the all-or-nothing mind-set that unless they exercise for 30 minutes, they're wasting their time," says Gaesser.

*From a wise website called Zen Habits: when you make an exercise plan:

*write it down, and post it up.  

*Set an easy goal – like 5 minutes of exercise a day.  

*You can build a habit, and gradually increase it.  

*Be specific about what you are going to do, and when.  

*Have a trigger – such as breakfast – always exercise after breakfast – or any other daily event.

*Know exactly what your goal is – walk around one block, do 5 pushups from the sink, dance for 10 minutes to your favorite music.  *Stick to your goal for a month, before changing it.  

*Log your daily habit right after you do it.  

*Report it to others in your friendship group or family, by phone, email or just plain talk. Arrange in advance that this person will expect a daily report from you.  Reward yourself for your progress with something you love, like a great movie, or a dinner with friends (make it healthy!).

*Here are some ways to exercise that work for me:  I ride my stationary bike while I watch television or a movie.  I’m slow, but I can bike 6-8 miles without noticing it, and I feel great afterwards.  I keep 4 pound weights by my bedside, and do arm exercises while listening to music.  I dance to the California Cajun Orchestra – an easy Cajun line dance step I’m happy to teach anyone who give me a call (868-0493).  I walk the shaded streets of Bolinas to clear my mind. 

Sadja Greenwood: MD, MPH

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Easy New Year's Resolutions - Know Your Vitamin D Level

According to the Harvard School of Public Health – ‘If you live north of the line connecting San Francisco to Philadelphia and Athens to Beijing, odds are that you don’t get enough vitamin D. African-Americans and others with dark skin, as well as older individuals, tend to have much lower levels of vitamin D, as do people who are overweight or obese. Being “D-ficient” may increase the risk of a host of chronic diseases, such as osteoporosis, heart disease, some cancers, and multiple sclerosis, as well as infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis and even the seasonal flu.   Several studies link low vitamin D levels with an increased risk of fractures in older adults, and they suggest that vitamin D supplementation may prevent such fractures—as long as it is taken in a high enough dose. A summary of the evidence comes from a combined analysis of 12 fracture prevention trials that included more than 40,000 elderly people, most of them women. Researchers found that high intakes of vitamin D supplements—of about 800 IU per day—reduced hip and non-spine fractures by 20 percent, while lower intakes (400 IU or less) failed to offer any fracture prevention benefit.

Vitamin D may also help increase muscle strength, which in turn helps to prevent falls, a common problem that leads to substantial disability and death in older people.  Once again, vitamin D dose matters: A combined analysis of multiple studies found that taking 700 to 1,000 IU of vitamin D per day lowered the risk of falls by 19 percent, but taking 200 to 600 IU per day did not offer any such protection.

The heart is basically a large muscle, and like skeletal muscle, it has receptors for vitamin D. So perhaps it’s no surprise that studies are finding vitamin D deficiency may be linked to heart disease. The Health Professional Follow-Up Study checked the vitamin D blood levels in nearly 50,000 men who were healthy, and then followed them for 10 years. They found that men who were deficient in vitamin D were twice as likely to have a heart attack as men who had adequate levels of vitamin D. Other studies have found that low vitamin D levels were associated with higher risk of heart failure, sudden cardiac death, stroke, overall cardiovascular disease, and cardiovascular death. How exactly might vitamin D help prevent heart disease? There’s evidence that vitamin D plays a role in controlling blood pressure and preventing artery damage, and this may explain these findings.

Dozens of studies suggest an association between low vitamin D levels and increased risks of colon and other cancers. The evidence is strongest for colorectal cancer, with most (but not all) observational studies finding that the lower the vitamin D levels, the higher the risk of this disease. Vitamin D levels may also predict cancer survival, but evidence for this is still limited.  Yet finding such associations does not necessarily mean that taking vitamin D supplements will lower cancer risk.

 Multiple sclerosis (MS) rates are much higher far north (or far south) of the equator than in sunnier climes, and researchers suspect that chronic vitamin D deficiencies may be one reason why. One prospective study to look at this question found that among white men and women, those with the highest vitamin D blood levels had a 62 percent lower risk of developing MS than those with the lowest vitamin D levels.  The study didn’t find this effect among black men and women, most likely because there were fewer black study participants and most of them had low vitamin D levels, making it harder to find any link between vitamin D and MS if one exists.

The flu virus wreaks the most havoc in the winter, abating in the summer months. This seasonality led a British doctor to hypothesize that a sunlight-related “seasonal stimulus” triggered influenza outbreaks. More than 20 years after this initial hypothesis, several scientists published a paper suggesting that vitamin D may be the seasonal stimulus. Among the evidence they cite: Vitamin D levels are lowest in the winter months. The active form of vitamin D tempers the inflammatory response of some white blood cells, while it also boosts immune cell’s production of microbe fighting proteins. Children who have vitamin D-deficiency rickets are more likely to get respiratory infections, while children exposed to sunlight seem to have fewer respiratory infections. Adults who have low vitamin D levels are more likely to report having had a recent cough, cold, or upper respiratory tract infection.

For most people, the best way to get enough vitamin D is taking a supplement, but the level in most multivitamins (400 IU) is too low. Encouragingly, some manufacturers have begun adding 800 or 1,000 IU of vitamin D to their standard multivitamin preparations. If the multivitamin you take does not have 1,000 IU of vitamin D, you may want to consider adding a separate vitamin D supplement, especially if you don’t spend much time in the sun.’

 It is important to know your blood level of vitamin D – most researchers agree it should be 30 ng/ml or above. Talk to your healthcare provider. Knowing your level will enable you to take the correct dose of vitamin D.

Daily Probiotic – In my last column I wrote about the benefits of probiotic supplements.  It is posted on this blog.  Here are two supplements that are easy to obtain and are of high quality; each pill contains 5 billion or more of the most helpful bacteria for your gut: Jarro-Dophilus and Floragen3.  Keep your probiotic refrigerated – not frozen – and take one daily with water on an empty stomach first thing in the morning.  It is helpful to use a probiotic daily, rather than intermittently if you have a digestive upset or need an antibiotic.  Foods containing helpful probiotics include plain yogurt, kefir, and many fermented foods.

Sadja Greenwood, MD. MPH  stay tuned for another easy resolution.

Easy New Year's Resolutions - Take a Daily Probiotic

Here is my advice on feeling better in 2016, by making some easy changes.  This week it is: take a probiotic daily.  Next week – know your Vitamin D level. After that – keep moving!

*From Harvard : Since the mid-1990s, clinical studies suggest that probiotic therapy can help treat several gastrointestinal ills, delay the development of allergies in children, and treat and prevent vaginal and urinary infections in women. 

*From the University of Maryland: Now, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM) have come up with an explanation. It appears that LGG (Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG) LGG may act as a facilitator, modifying the activity of other gut bacteria. This is the first time this mechanism has been described; the discovery could eventually help scientists create more effective strategies to foster a healthy gut. Claire M. Fraser, PhD, professor of medicine at the UM SOM, as well as director of the Institute for Genome Sciences, studied the effect of LGG on a group of elderly subjects “This species of bacteria has a reputation for being really useful to humans,” says Prof. Fraser. “So we wanted to better understand how it might work in the human intestine.”  She and her collaborator, Dr. Patricia Hibberd at Massachusetts General Hospital, tested 12 subjects, who ingested LGG twice a day for 28 days. She analyzed gut bacteria before and after this regimen, and found that ingesting LGG led to increases in several genes that foster several species of gut bacteria, including Bacteroides, Eubacterium, Faecalibacterium, Bifidobacterium and Streptococcus. These microbes have been shown to have a range of benefits in humans, including the promotion of a healthy immune system. “This is a new idea, that some probiotics may work by affecting the overall ecosystem of the gut,” said Prof. Fraser. “Previously we tended to think that LGG and other probiotics worked directly on the host. I think this finding has many exciting implications.” For one, Fraser says, it lends support to the idea that we need to look at the microbes in the gut as an interconnected ecosystem rather than a series of solitary bacteria. Modifying the behavior of microbes already in the gut may be just as important as adding any single species to this population.

*From the Leiden Institute of Brain and Cognition at Leiden University in the Netherlands A new study suggests that probiotics may actually aid in improving mood. They might be a good way to fight anxiety or depression, or simply make you feel better after a bad day.

The researchers examined 40 healthy young adults who had no mood disorders. Half of them consumed a powdered probiotic supplement every night for four weeks. The probiotic supplement was called Ecologic Barrier, and contains eight types of bacteria, such as Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Lactococcus (these three types of bacteria that have been shown in the past to mitigate anxiety and depression). The other half of the participants took a placebo, although they thought they were taking probiotics.

The people who took probiotic supplements began to see improvements in their moods; they reported less reactivity to sad moods than those who took placebos. They had fewer depressive thoughts following bouts of sadness.“Even if preliminary, these results provide the first evidence that the intake of probiotics may help reduce negative thoughts associated with sad mood,” said Lorenza S. Colzato, an author of the study. “As such, our findings shed an interesting new light on the potential of probiotics to serve as adjuvant or preventive therapy for depression.” One recent study examined this link and found that people who took probiotics experienced lower levels of anxiety and depression, and had lower levels of cortisol — the stress hormone — in their saliva when they woke up in the morning..

Sadja Greenwood, MD, MPH

Gun Control in California - What You Can Do

The U.S. has more than 30,000 gun deaths per year.  Mass shootings, including 4 deaths, occur at least weekly in this country.  Countries with stricter gun control laws, such as the U.K., Japan, Canada and Australia, have come close to ending gun violence, with strict rules on the possession of guns.

Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, has proposed a ballot initiative that can set the gold standard for meaningful reforms in Cailfornia, creating a model that could be applied in other states. It's called the Safety for All Act; it would require on-the-spot background checks when buying ammunition, ban the possession, not just the sale, of large-capacity magazines with 10 rounds or more, and require police reports when guns are lost or stolen. This measure would make California the first in the nation to implement point-of-sale background checks for ammunition purchases, giving them the same level of scrutiny as gun purchases.

 The recent deadly shooting in San Bernardino happened in a state with some of the nation's toughest gun laws: California already bars assault weapons, blocks the sale of large-capacity magazines and requires universal background checks for all gun purchases. Authorities say they believe suspected gunman Farook and wife Malik had legally obtained two handguns and that two rifles were also legally purchased in California. Federal officials say the attackers had large-capacity magazines that violate California law in their SUV.  Since the attack, the state's strict laws and the apparent legal purchase of the weapons have set off a debate over the effectiveness of gun measures and whether getting tougher would help prevent more violence.

"Strong gun laws do prevent gun deaths. Not every law can prevent every gun death," said Allison Anderman, a staff attorney with the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence in San Francisco. "They work most of the time."

The gun-control advocacy group rates California's gun laws No. 1 in the nation; the state ranks 42nd in its rate of gun deaths. Louisiana's gun laws were ranked 50th and it is No. 2 in deaths, according to the group's 2014 rankings. 

Gun laws vary dramatically state-to-state, even city-to-city. The patchwork of regulations means it's often easy for determined gunmen to acquire weapons by skirting laws in their home state, they say. Untraceable weapons can be built from scratch using parts bought online.

As a result, gun control advocates in the days since the shooting have called for more stringent laws in California and nationwide.

You can support Gavin Newsom’s ballot initiative by making a contribution to the Courage Campaign, at couragecampaign.org.  Sign the ballot initiative, which will require 366,000 certified signatures, when you see it outside your market or post office next year 

Sadja Greenwood MD, MPH

Genetically Modified Salmon approved by the FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a genetically engineered salmon as fit for consumption.  It will be the first genetically altered animal to reach American tables. (Plans for genetically modified pigs are being pursued in the U.S. and Korea.)  The salmon, produced by AquaBountyTechnologies, are genetically engineered with DNA that causes them to grow to market size much faster than other salmon.  They will be raised in contained, inland facilities in Panama, from eggs produced in Canada.  The company says that the fish will be all-female and reproductively sterile. Once harvested, they will be imported for sale in this country.  It is not clear when they will show up on store shelves. 

Consumer and environmental groups have strongly opposed the approval of these salmon, arguing that its safety is not certain and that wild salmon populations could be affected if the GE fish were to escape into rivers and oceans.  Being larger, they could eat more food and thus out-compete natural salmon. 

The FDA does not require, and has refused to consider, labels for genetically engineered foods, so the GE salmon will not be labeled as such.  A decision to label the new fish will be voluntary and up to the companies selling the fish. So far, Costco, Safeway, Kroger, Target, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and Aldi say they have no plans to sell the GE salmon.  Walmart has not said what they will decide on this matter.  Because the Aqua-Advantage salmon will be raised in Panama, it will have to carry the country of origin label required by the US Department of Agriculture.    Their rules also require imported fish to be labeled ‘farm-raised’ or ‘wild-caught’.  If shoppers see ‘’Product of Panama’ and ‘farm-raised’ on a package of salmon, it will probably be GE.  Restaurants and cafeterias must make such information available, but are not required to do so.

The Center for Food Safety, a consumer advocacy group, plans to sue the FDA in an attempt to block the sale of the fish, or to require labeling.  Food and Water Watch is also planning a lawsuit. 

On January 19^th, 2016, the California Sate Assembly will vote on legislation to require that all GE fish sold in California be labeled as ‘genetically engineered’.  The Consumer Right to Know Act was introduced by into the California Assembly by Jared  Huffman, who is now on our congressman. 

There are arguments on both sides for genetic engineering of food, based on the need for more calories and protein in a world of growing human numbers.   However, the ways that GE corn and soy have been used is open to criticism.  Weeds have become resistant to the herbicides Roundup (glyphosate) and 24-D, so that larger amounts are needed.  Toxicity to beneficial soil bacteria, the Monarch butterfly and many other animals is a result.  Much of the GE soy we produce is used for animal feed, and GE corn is also made into ethanol for our cars.

The need for labeling as these questions are further analyzed is clear to me.   Please pay attention to the January vote on GE salmon in our California assembly.  You can call our Assemblyman Marc Levine at 415 479 4920 and register your opinion on labeling of this new product.

Sadja Greenwood MD, MPH   past issues on this column.

The Benefits of Prunes - Prepare to be Surprised

Besides their laxative effect, can prunes help prevent osteoporosis and colon cancer?  Can they help with weight loss?  Read on.

Osteoporosis – Studies form Florida State University, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, showed that in rats subjected to treatments that produced osteoporosis, prunes in the diet were able to reverse bone loss.  In a human study, a group of post-menopausal women was given 100 grams of prunes per day (about 10 prunes) and a comparison group was told to consume 100 grams of dried apples.  After 12 months, the group eating the prunes had significantly higher bone mineral density in the ulna (an arm bone) and spine.  Authors of the study said that prunes are able to suppress bone breakdown, which tends to exceed new bone growth as people age.  This effect may be due to good levels of the mineral boron in prunes.  Other foods high in boron are plums, grapes, avocados almonds and peanuts.  

Laxative Effect – Prunes are well known for their ability to help with constipation.  They are a safe laxative for most people. This is due to their fiber and high sorbitol content, which retains fluid in the intestines.  Sorbitol is a natural sugar found in many fruits.  It is metabolized relatively slowly, so that prunes do not cause a rapid rise in blood sugar.  Many people with diabetes can eat them in moderation (but check with your health care provider). 

Colon Cancer – Research from Texas A&M University and the University of North Carolina has shown that prunes can positively affect gut bacteria (the microbiome) and help to reduce the risk of colon cancer. There are trillions of bacteria in the intestinal tract – more than 400 individual species have been identified.  Disruptions to the microbiome are involved in intestinal inflammation, which can promote the development of colon cancer. Prunes contain antioxidant compounds that can neutralize free radicals that damage DNA.  In a rat study on colon cancer antecedents, rats fed with prunes (and their regular chow!) showed significantly reduced numbers of precancerous changes in the intestinal walls compared to a control group.

Weight Loss – Research by the University of Liverpool found that eating prunes as part of a weight loss diet helped in weight control.  100 overweight or obese men and women were tested for 12 weeks.  Half the subjects were given about 14 prunes per day along with their diet, and the other half got advice on healthy snacks.  The group that ate prunes lost 4.4 pounds and an inch from their waist.  The control group lost 3.5 pounds and .7 inches from the waist.  Also, the group eating prunes experienced greater feelings of fullness during the weight loss diet.  The diets were matched for calories.

Prunes are now called dried plums by some nutritionists, and prune makers, because of their negative image as a medicinal food for the elderly.  Additionally, some people don’t like their taste, and may need to disguise them in shakes and stir-fries.  The benefits listed in this column may change these views.  If you have colon cancer in your family, or are eating a diet high in red or processed meat, if you have osteoporosis in your family, or have low bone density yourself, you may want to give prunes a chance. 

Sadja Greenwood, MD, MPH  past issues on this blog

Food on the Menu at UN Climate Talks

Sam Kass was the director of Michelle Obama’s ‘Let’s Move’ campaign and the Senior Policy Advisor for her Healthy Food Initiatives.  He assisted Michelle Obama in creating the first major vegetable garden at the White House since Eleanor Roosevelt’s Victory Garden.  Kass is now preparing to be a senior food analyst on the NBC news team. 

Kass’s plans for working at the UN Conference on climate change in December may surprise many of the delegates from 190 countries, whose goal is to achieve a binding and universal agreement on climate.  Kass is planning meals for the delegates – meals that will send a message on the crucial role that food and agriculture will play in either reducing or worsening climate change.  Methane is produced by livestock and food waste; nitrous oxide escapes from manure and fertilizer; carbon dioxide is left unabsorbed when rainforests are cut down to make way for cattle and soybeans.   “If it were a nation, rotting food would be the third largest emitter of greenhouse gas (after the US and China) and takes 28% of the planet’s agricultural land to produce” says Kass.  He plans to serve a meal on two different plates – one made with typical, resource depleting, greenhouse gas emitting ingredients (such as corn-fed beef) and one made with truly sustainable ingredients.  Kass is hoping to compel leaders to place the food system on the list of sectors requiring action, along with energy and transportation

Kass recently co-hosted a sustainably focused meal with a Peruvian chef  and with Sean Penn at the World Bank, International Monetary Fund meetings in Lima, and spoke to the power of food to inspire sustainable policy.  For his work at the Paris conference, Kass will be working with allies such as the Center for Food Safety (CFS), who will be there to highlight the importance of carbon capture through agroecological practices.   CFS maintains that this kind of carbon capture can be started immediately, carries no risk and will increase crop yield, minimize erosion, and help the water carrying capacity of soil.  (Agroecology is the study of the interactions between plants, animals, humans and the environment within agricultural systems. It includes organic farming, traditional framing methods, crop rotation and polyculture rather than monoculture.) 

President Hollande of France and the French Minister of Agriculture have expressed an interest in putting soil carbon sequestration among the actions to be recommended at the UN conference.  Kass hopes to inspire high-profile chefs throughout the world to keep in mind the issues of food, agriculture and climate.

What we can do about these issues? I suggest reading and ultimately subscribing to Civil Eats, an online news source from which most of this column is taken. It is fascinating reading on many subjects related to food policy, highlighting good practices as well as bad ones.  Compost, feed your leftovers to a neighbor’s chickens (or your own), and eat lower on the food chain.  Enjoy our organic farmers’ wonderful produce.  They are agroecologists!

Sadja Greenwood, MD, MPH

 past columns on this blog

What’s the Beef with Beef?

For every burger skipped, you can save enough water to drink for the next 3 years.

 For every burger skipped, you can save enough energy to charge your phone for 4.5 years.   

These surprising statements come from Meatless Monday, a movement started by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health to promote health and the environment.  Meatless Monday has spread to many industrialized countries.  In poorer parts of the world, many days may be meatless.

The October issue of Nutrition Action Health Letter (circ@cspinet.org) has a lead article about beef – why we should be eating less of it and less of other red meats.  Here are some salient points made by Dr. Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard.

Risk of Dying Prematurely  This risk is 37% higher in men who ate 2 servings of red meat a day compared to those who ate 2 servings a week.  Red meat was related to a high risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and colorectal cancer.  Red meat consumption during adolescence is related to the risk of breast cancer.

Risk of cancer – smoking is the greatest risk factor, followed by being overweight Red meat contributes to overweight, but is a risk factor even after removing its effect on weight. 

Other Sources of protein – plant sources include nuts and beans .  There is a small amount of protein in whole grains.  Poultry has not been linked to a higher risk of cancer, heart disease stroke or diabetes.  Fish contributes omega-3 fatty acids.  Yogurt is the healthiest dairy food, probably because of its effect on microbes in the gut (our microbiome).

Red meat’s impact on the planet:  Cattle produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas.  Per cow, grass-fed cattle are equally bad for producing greenhouse gases, because they live a longer time. If we stopped feeding grain to cattle, the environment would be greatly improved.  Huge amounts of water are needed to grow grain for cattle., and manure runoff from feedlots is an unsolved problem.  The vast monocultures of grain and soy to feed animals, and also to produce ethanol and high fructose corn syrup, are seriously threatening biodiversity.

The Protein Flip – the Culinary Institute of America is working on popularizing menus with less red meat and more recipes from other cultures using beans.  Burgers made with vegetables, fish and poultry are becoming more widespread.

The Antibiotic Problem – Most livestock  animals (except those grown by organic farmers) have been fed antibiotics for growth enhancement, not just disease treatment.  This has led to antibiotic resistance, affecting everyone who gets an infection, including people who do not eat meat.  Resistant bacteria have spread widely in the environment.   

Actions we all can take:  Investigate Meatless Monday.  Reduce your red meat intake – You will be protecting your health and  reducing greenhouse gasses and water use .  Support your local farmers and enjoy their beans and eggs, as well as their vegetables.  Subscribe to Nutrition Action Health Letter, published by Center for Science in the Public Interest.  You will be inspired.

Sadja Greenwood, MD, MPH