Most think that cholesterol and LDL is bad and the direct cause of cardiovascular disease.
Most just parrot wrong and frankly dangerous dietary advice. Choosing a dietary plan by throwing a coin is literally better than following the advice of most people, even doctors. Hell, we've gone from recommending low fat to vegan diets for health, while still demonising low carb diets because of misinformation that's 70 years old, and American religious lobbies pushing vegetarianism. Wikipedia still calls low carb diets a "fad", while no such moniker is attached to vegan diets that have only been possible since the 1930s with the discovery of vitamin B12 and its subsequent synthesis.
Here are some things I have been trying. To me, it seems there is a loss of microbial function for many people that is contributing to metabolic disfunction. Prebiotics and synbiotics can be used in combination with diet to combat dysbiotic microbiomes in obese individuals [1]. Obesogenic memory is mediated by dysbiotic strains of bacteria, and oral bacteria play a role (you can get oral probiotics and they're more likely to be persistent after a cleaning when the biofilm has been removed).
Evivo with 2'FL from Layer Origins, a synbiotic prebiotic for this strain. My code is EVIVO-1075 if you want 15% off. It's been successfully engrafted in adults [2] and improving acetate, lactate, and butyrate (byproducts of breaking down the HMO) seems to be correlated with better diabetes outcomes, less inflammation and potential appetite modulation [3]. Bifidobacteria have potential to be protective against T2D [4].
Akkermansia muciniphila with a Layer Origins Super Reds [5, 6]. It's a chicken and egg problem, but reduced Akkermansia muciniphila is associated with obesity and supplementation seems to improve metabolic disorder, but research is limited.
Omega-3 and more poly and mono unsaturated fats [7]. Omega-3 reduced all-cause and cause-specific mortality in diabetes patients [8]. I was vegetarian for a long time and avoided saturated fat, then started eating more when I got into Weston A. Price and started keto and continued to eat moderate fat when not doing a low carb diet. Long term, I've had issues with satiety and discipline even with keto, while a diet with grains helps me feel fuller longer. My sibling did 23 and me and found out they have variation on alleles associated with higher weight with increased saturated fat consumption, which has made me reconsider what kinds of fats I consume [9].
Inositol and COQ10 [10]. Peter Langsjoen, who pioneered the research on ubiquinol, has said he has the healthiest cardiology patients and attributed it to ubiquinol. You need a dose high enough to maintain a certain blood serum level and ubiquinol is water soluble where cheaper ubiquinone is less readily absorbed.
Gluten can be inflammatory for people, and I found this talk helpful for understanding more about leaky gut and dysfunction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evQAzGaW1JU. Emulsifiers have been shown to alter microbiota composition, so less processed foods is probably wise [11]. Dishwasher pods and rinse aids contain alcohol ethoxylates that can disrupt the microbiome but you can find ones that clean decently without them.
They used EVC001, a robust strain of B. infantis that came out of UC Davis research, and HMOs, which are a symbiotic that it can metabolize into short chain fatty acids, to achieve reversible engraftment without the use of antibiotics. The insurance hypothesis has kind of conflated diversity with function, but it could be possible to have a stable microbiome with less diversity but high function using symbiotics and strains we have identified as contributing to improved function [1].
> Therefore the individual species are not of therapeutic relevance
Wanted to point out that this does not hold true for babies, where Bifidobacterium abundance generally does correlate with healthy microbiota and the strain B. infantis is relevant therapeutically and has evolved to metabolize milk sugars into short chain fatty acids.
B infantis ferments lactose into lactate, which is afterwards utilised by lactate-consuming bacteria to kickstart butyrate production. In general, the infant gut is about striking a balance between lactate-producing and lactate-using bacteria. While bifidobacterium is usually dominant on the lactate-producing side, the same function can be (and is) fulfilled by other primary colonisers, such as Staphylococcus.
The point here is that individual strains are only "beneficial" in so far as they interact positively with others.
BPA has been shown to be absorbed transdermally [1]. Patagonia was recently found to have high levels of BPA, along with other brands [2].
Bluesign and Oeko-tex certifications test for BPA. You can find recycled polyester without this (if you have kids, Hanna Andersson's polyester lines claim to be BPA and PFAS free, most Cat and Jack clothing is Oeko-tex certified and Mamavation puts out good information on PFAS in things like children's clothing, backpacks, lunch kits [3]).
Formula is adequate as far as macronutrients go, but it lacks sugars present (at varying levels-about 20% of the population are FUT2 non-secretors and cannot produce the α1,2-fucosyltransferase enzyme that is used to make human milk oligosaccharides), stem cells and bacteria present in breast milk. Women in the US are often deficient in the strain that can metabolize the human milk oligosaccharides, b. infantis, and it's not clear afaik to what extent bacteria gets passed vertically in breastmilk. The microRNA present in breastmilk can modulate gene expression, but the extent and effects are unclear.
B. infantis and human milk oligosaccharides create a feedback loop that encourages the formation of a robust immune system during a critical period [1]. Some formulas contain b. infantis, and some contain 2'FL, the HMO present in breastmilk. The most robust strain is EVC001, which has been shown to be present at a year after 21 days of supplementation. In an observational study, it reduced the diagnosis of necrotizing enterocolitis in very low birth rate infants by 73% [2].
I wish this was common knowledge, but most formulas do not contain these (often they contain other pre and probiotics) and babies are missing out on the specific sugars and bacteria that we know impact the development of the immune system.
At least this one doesn't sound as bad as the other post, but it's still in the same vein - you've never been a mother who can't produce milk for her child.
I've been as the husband there and are all your facts don't allow for people's situations.
> you've never been a mother who can't produce milk for her child
That's your assumption.
You're missing the point, which is that you can supplement formula with both 2'FL and b. infantis and get immune system outcomes that are more similar to those that occur while breastfeeding [1]. The fact that milk typically faciliates a cascade of changes that lay the foundation for a healthy immune system is not at odds with formula feeding. Formula is adequate macronutrition, but if we cannot be honest about the ways in which it is not on par with breastmilk, we will never close the gaps.
Oh do correct me if I'm wrong. I'd love to hear your personal experience. Anyway...
How can you close the gaps when the mother isn't producing milk?
I'm actually confused because you keep telling me it's better, with links and everything, but... It's simply non existent for a lot of mothers. Non producing or a bad latch is enough to put a newborn baby at risk after one week.
It's like you don't believe it's possible.
That's why you're just like the mommy blogs. "You must feed 'em breast milk. It's soooooo important"
I've breastfed multiple children with ups and downs of it being easy and hard, suffered through the struggle of learning to do it the first time as postpartum mother after major surgery, through teething, latch issues, biting, pure physical exhaustion, and the transition of going back to work that leads to decreased supply. I've watched close friends that have struggled with production with underweight, premature babies pump like crazy and feel stressed out trying to get their supply up but ultimately transition to formula on the advice of doctors. My own anxiety around combination feeding and not feeling like I had a clear understanding of differences in the microbiome with a surgical birth or formula use lead to me reading everything I could find to gain a better understanding of the differences in outcomes for exclusive breastfeeding, combination and formula feeding.
We can close the gaps by subsidizing Evivo's EVC001 b. infantis and making it a standard that every formula contains 2'FL. Individuals can choose these formulas and purchase b. infantis already. If we were to make it so that all babies, not just NICU babies at hospitals aware of the research, get these two things, public health outcomes (especially those related to autoimmune conditions) should be better than if we continue allowing formula that is not as analogous with breastmilk. We can have better lactation support that is current and evidence based (such as that from ABM contributor Katrina Mitchell https://physicianguidetobreastfeeding.org).
Another reason mom blogs are toxic is because people read past others points when issues are really emotionally charged for them. Really sorry your wife struggled. Formula is fine, but there are reasons breastmilk is pushed, especially since milk is supply and demand and it's hard to identify those with true low supply and those whose bodies just haven't ramped up production yet. Hopefully as a model of immune system response and the impact of b. infantis and HMOs gains more awareness, there will be less pressure since we are assured babies are getting many of the same benefits.
