Janine Bush Naturopath

20/05/2026

Such a lovely fruit with excellent health properties 😋

New research on pomegranate juice and heart health 🍷❤️

A 2026 meta-analysis of 17 clinical trials found that regular intake of pomegranate juice may help support healthier lipid balance by lowering triglycerides and LDL cholesterol while increasing HDL cholesterol. The effects appeared especially meaningful in people with metabolic concerns.

Why might this vibrant ruby-red fruit be so powerful? Pomegranate is rich in polyphenols, particularly punicalagins and anthocyanins, compounds known to help modulate oxidative stress and inflammation, two key players in cardiometabolic aging.

Most studies used about 4–8 oz daily of 100% pomegranate juice for several weeks.

One important note: pomegranate juice may interact with certain medications, particularly blood pressure medications, statins, and anticoagulants/blood thinners in some individuals, due to its effects on liver enzyme pathways and vascular function. If you take medications regularly, it’s best to check with your healthcare provider before using it therapeutically or in larger amounts.

Food is more than calories. Color is information. And deeply pigmented foods like pomegranate may act as signaling molecules for the cardiovascular system. ❤️✨

17/04/2026

Eat the Rainbow 🌈 😋

15/03/2026

When people think of “eating the rainbow 🌈 of foods,” they tend to think of the classical rainbow of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.

I see it a bit differently.

In my book, The Rainbow Diet, I talk about how we have mini spectra within each color, so red is everything from pink to a deeper hue of red that almost looks purple. Yellow spans tan and brown. Blue includes purple and black. I also have a separate chapter on white foods like cauliflower, garlic, and coconut.

The rainbow translates into a larger spectrum and smaller spectra for each, like an entire patchwork of colors all running into each other.

Brown is an important color that I include in the chapter on gut/digestive health. What are some of your favorite brown foods?

19/02/2026

21/12/2025

Some idea's to keep in mind over the Christmas season 🌲

05/11/2025

😕

Two recent online articles have highlighted the need for a greater awareness of the potential health benefits of reducing micro- and nanoplastic exposure. The emergence of microplastics (1 µm to 5 mm) and nanoplastics (less than 1 µm) has raised alarms about their harmful effects on human health. Nanoplastics are especially hazardous due to their smaller size and enhanced ability to infiltrate the human body.

The first article reviews a recent paper by Sarah Sajedi and colleagues, published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, which examines the science around the health risks posed by single-use plastic water bottles. They are serious, she says, and seriously understudied.

In her analysis of more than 140 scientific papers, Sajedi reports that people ingest an estimated 39,000 to 52,000 microplastic particles each year. For those who rely on bottled water, that number climbs even higher, about 90,000 additional particles compared to people who primarily drink tap water.

According to Sajedi, the health risks are significant. Once inside the body, these small plastics can pass through biological barriers, enter the bloodstream and reach major organs. Their presence may contribute to chronic inflammation, cellular oxidative stress, hormone disruption, reproductive issues, neurological damage, and some cancers. Still, their long-term impacts are not fully understood, largely because of limited testing and the absence of standardised ways to measure and track them.

Sajedi says: “Drinking water from plastic bottles is fine in an emergency but it is not something that should be used in daily life. People need to understand that the issue is not acute toxicity—it is chronic toxicity.”

The second article in MedPage Today highlights the ubiquitous and insidious nature of micro- and nanoplastics. One of the authors (Meyer) is an emergency physician who believes it is now time to be warning patients about reducing exposure.

Teasing out the health impacts of micro- and nanoplastics requires some nuance. There is never going to be a randomised controlled trial: it is hard to conceive of a control group with no plastics exposure (given their ubiquity) and unethical to deliberately expose an experimental group to high-dose plastics. But waiting for perfect data risks ignoring an escalating health threat. Hence, much of what we know is by necessity extrapolated from animal studies and observational trials -- and there are multiple red flags.

In humans, studies are slowly emerging. In 2024, researchers followed patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy and found that those with microplastics in their plaque had a significantly higher rate of myocardial infarction, stroke or death 34 months later. More recently, decedent human brains from 2016 and 2024 were evaluated for microplastics: concentrations were significantly higher among individuals diagnosed with dementia compared to those without dementia (and plastic concentrations increased 50% from 2016 brains to 2024 brains, consistent with increasing environmental exposure). Last year, researchers at University of California San Francisco (UCSF) reviewed existing human and animal studies and found a suggestion of harm to reproductive, digestive and respiratory health in humans, as well as a possible link with colon and lung cancer.

All of this has been enough to convince Meyer that it is now time to start warning patients about microplastics. Although it would be impossible to avoid plastics altogether, there are some practical steps people can take to decrease their exposure.

To start (as per the first article), it makes sense to give up single-use plastic water bottles in favour of reusable steel or glass bottles. The water in plastic bottles has been found to contain 20 times more microplastics than tap water.

It is also a good idea to limit plastic in the kitchen, since we acquire many of our microplastics by eating and drinking them. This means using wooden cooking utensils and cutting boards over plastic ones, foil over plastic wrap, and glass food storage over plastic. If possible, avoid nonstick and plastic cookware. In situations where plastic containers are unavoidable, don't microwave food in them. And wash them by hand instead of the dishwasher, since heating plastic hastens its breakdown and chemical leaching.

At the supermarket, pack groceries in reusable cloth or paper bags, and try to avoid fruits and vegetables wrapped or packaged in plastic (admittedly challenging). And finally, limit ultraprocessed foods. Not only are they associated with increased mortality, obesity, chronic disease and malignancy, but they also come coated in plastic.

Could the demise of modern civilisation be caused by something we cannot even see?

For more information see: https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-warn-bottled-water-may-pose-serious-long-term-health-risks/
and
https://bit.ly/47TCyO3

23/10/2025

Exciting information!

Results from a small clinical trial suggest that curcumin might boost the efficacy of conventional therapy in multiple myeloma patients by modulating molecular pathways tied to inflammation and tumour survival. However, results are preliminary and larger, better-controlled studies are needed.

In this pilot randomised clinical trial from Indonesia, 33 patients with multiple myeloma were assigned to receive either standard therapy (melphalan plus prednisone) or the same therapy plus 8 g of curcumin daily as an adjuvant. These patients were ineligible for bone marrow transplant. The study found that the curcumin group achieved a much higher remission rate (75% versus 33.3%, P=0.009, per-protocol analysis of 24 patients) and showed significantly greater reductions in inflammatory/pro-tumour markers such as NF-κB, VEGF and TNF-α. TNF-α levels were significantly correlated with remission (Odds Ratio, OR=1.35; P=0.03). There were early deaths and dropouts in both arms (infection, cytopenia, adverse events); 12/17 vs 12/16 patients in the respective groups completed 4 cycles of treatment.

What was encouraging from the trial were the biologically coherent effects: NF-κB/VEGF/TNF-α shifts all aligned with the proposed mechanism. However, there were several limitations such as the few participants, the high dropout rate, the short follow-up and the outdated conventional treatment.

Also worth noting is the curcumin was not given with any technology to enhance its bioavailability, hence the very high dose.

Of course, curcumin is widely regarded as an ‘antioxidant’, and we have the “antioxidants are contraindicated during conventional cancer therapy” mantra that has been widely repeated in oncology. However, it is increasingly being questioned (at least by biomedical scientists), especially in the light of clinical trial data such as this and nuanced biochemical evidence. Specifically, many natural compounds like curcumin are not merely antioxidants; they act as redox modulators—context-dependent regulators that can enhance oxidative stress in cancer cells while protecting normal tissue through selective activation of adaptive pathways such as Nrf2, AMPK and p53.

Curcumin, in particular, has been shown in multiple preclinical studies to sensitise malignant cells to chemotherapeutic agents and enhance apoptosis. Human data, including the above pilot trial, support the possibility that it can improve remission rates rather than blunt therapy responses. In other words, the “antioxidant = interference” dogma fails to account for biological complexity and context specificity.

For more information see: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35919637/

20/10/2025

S***m quality has steadily declined over the past 50 years. Between 1973 and 2011, the global s***m concentration and total s***m count decreased significantly. This decline was most pronounced in Western countries, with a reduction in the total s***m count of almost 60%.

Marina Urbanietz’s August 2025 Medscape article, What Your S***m Says About You, offers a concise review of selected studies on how supplements and lifestyle can influence s***m parameters, drawing on a recent paper in a Nature journal.

Semen analysis not only provides information on fertility but also offers insights into the overall health. The cited paper reported that s***m quality can significantly improve with basic lifestyle and dietary changes.

The study, led by Hannah Lyons, a researcher at the Robinson Research Institute and School of Biomedicine at the University of Adelaide attributed the s***m count decline to multiple factors.

These include chronic conditions such as diabetes and metabolic syndrome, exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as phthalates, bisphenol A, cadmium, dioxins, and lead, and heat exposure.

Lifestyle factors, including certain medications, substance use, poor diet, and physical inactivity, can impair s***m production by disrupting hormonal regulation, damaging testicular cells, and increasing oxidative stress due to elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS).

High ROS levels can damage s***m DNA, compromise the membrane integrity, and reduce s***m motility. Established risk factors include smoking, heavy alcohol consumption, drug abuse and excessive exercise.

S***m quality can recover more rapidly than previously believed. In a study of 132 men with fertility issues, a 3-month micronutrient regimen, including L-carnitine (440 mg), L-arginine (250 mg), zinc (40 mg), vitamin E (120 mg), glutathione (80 mg), selenium (60 µg), coenzyme Q10 (15 mg), and folic acid (800 µg), significantly improved semen parameters. Volume, s***m concentration, progressive motility, total motility, and morphology increased by 33.3%, 215.5%, 93.1%, 36.4%, and 23.0%, respectively (all P < 0.001). No improvements were observed in healthy individuals (n = 73).

In the 6 months following the intervention, the pregnancy rate among the partners of the participating men was also recorded. More pregnancies occurred in the intervention group (25.8%) than in the healthy group (15%). Although this study had some limitations, including age differences and limited risk factor data, two additional trials supported these findings. The researchers concluded that micronutrients may restore s***m production within 3 months.

A 2021 study by Markus Lipovac, PhD, also at the Robinson Research Institute at the University of Adelaide, and colleagues, evaluated 339 men who received the same micronutrient supplements along with lifestyle changes. These include a healthy diet, regular exercise, and reduced smoking and alcohol consumption.

Of these, 162 men received supplements and lifestyle guidance, whereas 177 followed lifestyle and dietary modifications. After 6 months, s***m DNA fragmentation index (DFI) and pregnancy rates were assessed. In the supplement group, DFI decreased from 10.48 to 6.51 overall and from 20.39 to 9.93 in men with DFI > 15% (P < .001). Pregnancy rates were higher with supplements: 27.78% vs 15.25% overall and 41.30% vs 22.86% in men with DFI > 15%.

The limitations of this study include missing demographic data, lack of randomisation, and lack of information on the extent of lifestyle changes.

Semen analysis may reflect the overall health of men, not just their fertility. Men with infertility or abnormal semen are at a higher risk for hospitalisation and early death. For example, men with infertility had a 26% higher risk for death (95% CI, 1.01-1.59), and men with oligo- or azoos***mia had a 67% higher risk (risk ratio, 1.67; 95% CI, 1.26-2.21) than those with normal s***m counts.

Abnormal s***m parameters often reflect poor health or disease and are linked to a higher risk for cancer. Studies have shown that men with infertility have an increased risk for prostate and testicular cancer.

For more information see: https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/what-your-s***m-says-about-you-2025a1000kve?ecd=wnl_tp10_daily_250807_MSCPEDIT_etid7624212&uac=48709HJ&impID=7624212
and
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40481278/
and
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34184957/

15/10/2025

New research just in.

Hot off the press: For the first time, researchers have systematically assessed the impact of long-term medication use on the gut microbiome.

This 2025 retrospective study, "A hidden confounder for microbiome studies: medications used years before sample collection," found that multiple medicines affected the gut microbiome for many years after use.

Typically, we think of antibiotics as the primary medication that alters the gut ecosystem in the long term. However, this study found that beta-blockers, benzodiazepine derivatives, glucocorticoids, PPIs, biguanides (metformin is the most widely prescribed drug in this class), and antidepressants affected the gut microbiome for several years after discontinuing use. And for many of them, the effects at the microbiome level are additive.

Overall, of the 186 drugs analyzed, 167 were found to be associated with the microbiome—affecting alpha diversity, beta diversity, or the abundance of at least one bacterial species—and 78 of those exhibited long-term effects on the gut.

Of note, benzodiazepines—nervous system depressants commonly prescribed for anxiety—impact the microbiome even more than several broad-spectrum antibiotics. The impacts of benzodiazepines and broad-spectrum antibiotics were detectable even when the drugs had not been used for over three years prior to microbiome sampling.

Read the full study at PMID: 40910778

11/10/2025

Amazing!

At first glance, breastfeeding appears to be a one-way process in which milk flows from the mother to the infant.

But research reveals something remarkable: when a baby suckles, the gentle negative pressure allows a small amount of saliva to travel back into the milk ducts. This saliva carries immune signals that communicate the baby’s needs to the mother’s body.

In response, her immune system adjusts the composition of the breast milk, boosting the production of specific antibodies and immune factors tailored to her infant.

This adaptive process is especially valuable when a baby is unwell, as it enables the infant to draw upon the mother’s immune defences for additional support.

A remarkable example of nature’s intelligence.