One-Minute Nutrition Research Roundup 10/27/08

Cellphones save you time and let you keep in touch while bombarding your brain with microwave radiation. Certain nutrients may offer protection.

Nutrients that can protect against cellphone radiation? A weight-loss drug that fights cancer? Find out more in this edition of the One-Minute Nutrition Research Roundup.

You may have heard about the possible health risks of using cellphones,and to a lesser extent, cordless phones. There have been many studies completed and there are ongoing studies yet there’s still no consensus about what those risks are among scientists and industry advocates. We shouldn’t lose sight of the enormous power and resources of the telecom lobby. If and where there is clear evidence of harm from cellphone use, we can imagine the many forms and sources of resistance to widely publicizing that evidence.

A great many people simply don’t have the option of reducing or eliminating their telephone use due to family and work obligations. So until the issue is better understood, it may be wise to try and protect yourself against the energy these devices emit.  Using a headset is a no-brainier (no pun intended).  Keeping conversations as brief as possible is another. There may be some other things you can do also.

It’s already been established that melatonin is a powerful antioxidant, that protects the brain against aging and promotes a restorative, regular sleep cycle.  It’s also extremely inexpensive. Now a new animal study shows that melatonin also protects the brain against microwave radiation emitted by  cordless phones.  Will melatonin protect against damage from other frequencies and cellphones? Very possibly so, but that remains to be studied. Will other antioxidants besides melatonin offer any protection? It looks like it. This recent animal study showed that vitamin C and vitamin E protect tissue against harmful changes induced by the 900 MHz radiation emitted by many cordless phones.

Speaking of cellphones, a recent study that suggests some other troubling implications of exposure to electromagnetic radiation. Cellphones and the radiation from MRI devices can also release mercury from dental amalgam fillings.

Alli hasn't lived up to the weight-loss hype. But it may prove to have some important other benefits unrelated to obesity.

The fact that Alli, the low dose OTC version of prescription fat blocker drug Orlistat, has been a big disappointment to those who used it to lose weight really came as no surprise.  All Alli can do is block a portion of fat calories, about 30%, from being absorbed in the gut.  In our opinion, not many people became overweight or remain overweight because they’re eating 30% too much fat. Much more commonly, it’s too many refined carbs and insufficient physical activity.

But there is some good news about Orlistat, that may apply to Alli as well. Orlistat appears to have an anti-cancer effect against melanoma metastasis, at least in an animal model.

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