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In Brief (click on the links to read more)
- Eat more plants to reduce cancer risk
- UPFs increase lung cancer risk
- Programmable plants
- How many gene modifications are too many?
- Maternal microbiome health vital for baby’s brain development
- Are ‘designer’ babies the future for human reproduction?
Natural News
- A new large-scale analysis published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, of nearly 80,000 Seventh-Day Adventists in the US who follow a vegetarian diet, has added weight to the evidence that eating plant-rich diets reduces cancer risk. Researchers found that those studied were less likely to develop stomach cancer and lymphomas. Their risk of developing all types of cancers combined was estimated to be reduced by 12%. However, despite the reduction in some cancers, vegetarianism in itself wasn’t shown to be protective against all types. The main takeaway from the study is that incorporating more fruits and vegetables into daily diets can provide meaningful protection, though strict vegan or vegetarian diets should still be approached with care to avoid nutrient deficiencies. However, the clean and health-conscious lifestyles of Seventh-Day Adventists must also be taken into account as the use of alcohol and tobacco is forbidden and they they focus on whole, minimally-processed foods without contaminants or chemicals. They are believers in preventative health, rest and exercise. All of which will reduce the risk of chronic disease and contribute to healthy longevity.
- It’s also telling that the vegetarians studied followed diets that were low in ultra-processed foods, which have been linked to a 41% increased risk of developing lung cancer, independent of smoking, in a study published in Thorax. The researchers surmise that along with the changes to food composition from industrial processing, packaging chemicals may also play a part in increasing risk.
>>> Findout more about the health benefits of adopting a more plant rich diet, follow our Food4Health guidelines
>>> Plant-based eating – the ‘diet’ that’s no fad
- A new UK-funded project is pushing forward plans to ‘reprogram’ crops from the inside out using engineered microbes — a development that raises major concerns for food sovereignty and biosafety. Backed by £500,000 from ARIA, Azotic Technologies will harness a bacterium (Gluconacetobacter diazotrophicus) capable of living inside plant cells to deliver bioactive molecules, including dsRNA for gene silencing, in order to alter plant traits, suppress pests, and boost stress resistance. While framed as a sustainable alternative to pesticides and genetic modification, this approach effectively turns crops into programmable bio-factories, opening the door to unintended ecological consequences, further corporate control of farming, and unknown risks for human and environmental health
- Concerns are being expressed over the UK’s new rules for gene-edited (also called precision bred) organisms due to the lack of guidelines as to the ‘maximum’ number of genetic modifications allowable under the new legislation and the abscence of strong safeguards on how to ascertain that such organisms could have been produced through conventional breeding.
>>> Bioengineering and GMO 2.0: ready to make an informed decision?
- New research published in Hormones and Behaviour has revealed just how vital our microbial partners are for healthy brain development. Using a mouse model, scientists showed that maternal microbes begin shaping a key brain region: the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN), which is essential for regulating stress, social behaviour and vital body functions—even before birth. Mice deprived of microbial exposure in the womb developed with fewer neurons in this critical region, an effect that persisted into adulthood. With modern practices like antibiotic use around childbirth and caesarean delivery disrupting maternal microbiomes, these findings highlight the far-reaching consequences of interfering with our natural microbial evolutionary inheritance and reinforce the importance of nurturing, rather than suppressing, our microbial allies.
>>> Nature’s answer to the blues
- The “IVF clinic of the future will combine a handful of technologies” – embryo editing, lab-made eggs, artificial wombs, and polygenic testing of thousands of IVF embryos. This may sound like science fiction, but it’s set to become reality if tech billionaires have their way. However, these technologies are not harmless innovations. Gene editing carries enormous risks, from unpredictable health consequences that could echo for generations to deep ethical violations in tampering with human life itself. Replacing natural conception, the system humanity has evolved with over millennia, with artificial labs and engineered embryos is not progress, it is a dangerous gamble. As a recent op-ed in The CRISPR Journal makes clear, the gene editing of humans raises profound ethical red flags that society cannot afford to ignore.
ANH-USA Update
- The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has announced its intention to ban natural desiccated thyroid (NDT) medicines used safely by millions of hypothyroid patients, leaving them with only a synthetic version that is not only much less effective, but also cause serious health issues for many. Take Action to protect NDT
- A new BMJ investigation reveals that the American Academy of Pediatrics’ aggressive push to give powerful GLP-1 weight-loss drugs to children is steeped in undisclosed financial ties to the very companies selling them. Find out more…
Free Speech Threats
- The net is closing in on free speech as governments across the world push through sweeping, draconian online regulations under the guise of “protecting children”. In practice, these measures are increasingly being weaponised to crush dissent, stifle open debate, and criminalise disagreement. Public opposition is brushed aside, as seen in Ireland where grassroots rejection of such policies has been ignored. What is framed as safety is in reality a tightening grip on what people are allowed to say, share, and believe—marking a dangerous erosion of one of our most fundamental rights.
Post-Covid Related
- A major new analysis, published in Nature Scientific Reports, of over 35 million adverse drug reaction reports from more than 140 countries has revealed deeply concerning patterns in cases of myocarditis and pericarditis over the past five decades. Over three-quarters of all myocarditis reports and nearly 90% of pericarditis reports were found to be for covid mRNA jabs. Other signals included clozapine, smallpox and influenza vaccines, and certain cancer immunotherapies, but none came close to the disproportionate association with mRNA shots. Particularly troubling was the concentration of cases among children and adolescents, and the spike in reports following the rollout of mass vaccination campaigns in 2021.
>>> Visit covidzone.org for our complete curated covid content of the coronavirus crisis
