Thursday, August 6, 2020

Fish Oil Omega-3s and COVID-19 Clotting

COVID-19 is increasingly being seen as having its strongest impacts on the blood (rather than on the lungs) where it appears to promote clotting (thus affecting the lungs and heart). There is enough evidence to promote further research into the benefits of fish oil (omega-3s EPA and DHA) on COVID-19 induced deep vein thrombosis (clotting) since: "There is ... evidence that fish oil may reduce thrombotic events." (emphasis added) says this paper:

Fish oil and COVID-19 thromboses

Friday, July 3, 2020

New Reasons not to let Raw Milk Sit at Room Temperature



For the longest time, I've known that you should refrigerate raw milk (any milk really but especially raw milk). This is to prevent any stray pathogens that may have made their way into the milk from growing to levels that would lead to illness. Well, there is a new reason you should avoid letting raw milk sit a room temperature. That is to prevent the spread of antibacterial resistance, particularly to your gut. 

Apparently, there is a new food-health fad of making "clabber" (I have no idea what that is) which starts with letting milk sit for a long period at room temperature. Well, researchers have found that the bacteria in raw milk left at room temperature preferentially promote the sharing of antimicrobial resistance genes between bacteria leading to large "inoculations" of such bacteria into the guts of people who later drink the milk. The authors suggest that people making clabber use " a starter culture if they want to ferment raw milk."

See the news item here: 
https://www.labmanager.com/news/raw-milk-may-do-more-harm-than-good-study-finds-23173