Disease Proof : Disease Proof : Health & Nutrition News & Commentary : Dr. Joel Fuhrman

Ladies, please stay thin. A new study in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism reveals obese women have unhealthier ovaries, associated with poorer reproductive outcomes. The excess fat may alter the metabolism of eggs which is harmful to embryo formation. Scientists followed 96 women looking to get pregnant and determined obese women had altered maturation of ovary follicles, metabolism and androgen activity, the precursor of all estrogen; ScienceDaily investigates.

Obesity is bad. That’s obvious. Obesity costs the United States $150 billion in healthcare spending each year. And recently reports show obesity leads to migraines, thyroid inflammation and even gum disease. In the experiment, obese mice had 40% more bone loss in their tooth sockets. Pretty hard to eat cheese with no teeth! Then again, eating cheese is a bad idea. It’s yucky.

An often overlooked danger of obesity is the link to global warming. We burn more fuel hauling around heavier people than skinnier people. Fat people are Hummers and thin people are Mini Coopers.

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• In college I knew a guy who ate Lucky Charms and hotdogs for dinner. Sodexo, a company that provides food to college campuses, compiled a list of student’s top 10 foods, it’s an odd mix, but surprisingly, number one is locally-grown fruits and veggies; via Slash Food.

• Speaking of hotdogs and cereal, new research in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association reveals despite attempts at improvement, many U.S. schools still offer horrible food, loaded with saturated fat, salt and sugar, boosting obesity; HealthDay News reports.

• A recent release by the American Psychological Association reveals many Americans cope with stress by ditching healthy habits and gorging on chips, bread and macaroni and cheese. The stress hormone cortisol is to blame; from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

• In an upcoming issue of Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research scientists have determined alcohol consumption during pregnancy is a better predictor of children’s problems than assessing individual alcohol-related risk factors; Reuters investigates.

• Time for some flu news, a new study in New England Journal of Medicine shows 98.5% of U.S. influenza A viruses are gaining resistance against Tamiflu, the popular drug used to treat and prevent the flu virus, previous reported indicated only 12%; via Booster Shots.

• More gross news from the infamous peanut plant responsible for the deadly salmonella outbreak stemming from contaminated peanut butter, investigators claim dead mice and rodent droppings were found throughout a Texas plant run by the company; from Reuters.

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We all hate traffic. But unborn babies hate it more. According to a new research in the journal PLoS One exposure to traffic pollution in the womb may increase a child’s risk of developing asthma later in life. The suspect pollutants are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, the byproducts of incomplete combustion of gasoline, which scientists believe cause genetic disturbances leading to asthma. This information is extremely pertinent to families living in high-traffic areas; HealthDay News reports.

Car pollution is only one of a long list of asthma-causing chemicals. Previous studies have associated acetaminophen, a.k.a. Tylenol, to a higher incidence of asthma-related symptoms in children ages 6 to 7 years. And even the season change is to blame! Believe it or not, babies born in the fall have a 30% greater risk of developing asthma.

Here’s some advice. Dr. Fuhrman insists it’s the parents’ job to shield kids from harmful environments. That means in the womb too. Oh, cockroaches have been linked asthma-risk too.

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