Seth Christian, MD, MBA

01/28/2024

Sports drinks are a multi billion dollar ultra processed food industry, but a basic mix of water, lemon juice, honey and sea salt can provide the same or better mix of carbohydrates and electrolytes. In addition, it’s really really simple to further individualize your own mix to meet your body’s needs. Note to self: electrolytes were on point, but I needed more carbs (fuel) today. Next time I’ll add a little more honey!

01/22/2024

Ultra processed foods are often combinations of fractioned whole food products (sugar, oil, fat, protein, starch, fiber) or puréed animal products that then undergo chemical processes such as hydrolysis, hydrogenation, bleaching, or other chemical modifications before being combined with unmodified and other modified food products. They are often assembled together using industrial techniques such as extrusion, molding, and pre-frying. Next, cosmetic additives (emulsifiers, natural or artificial flavor, sweetener, anti caking, bulking, foaming, gelling, glazing agents) are added to make the products palatable or hyper palatable. The final product is then packaged in sophisticated packaging with synthetic materials and marketing about health benefits from being “fortified with vitamins and minerals” that were stripped from the whole food products during the chemical processing.

The following list is not exhaustive or comprehensive, but in general, if you see any of the following ingredients on the ingredients list, it is NOVA Class 4, and Ultra Processed Food. These ingredients have no or rare culinary use.

Sugar varieties - fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrates, maltodextrin, dextrose, lactose
Modified oils - often openly disclosed as hydrogenated or esterified palm, soybean, peanut, vegetable, or sunflower oil, but sometimes less transparent “monoglycerides, diglycerides, polysorbate, sorbitan esters, and glyceryl esters” are added as emulsifiers, stabilizers, or texturizers.
Protein isolates - hydrolyzed proteins, soy protein isolate, gluten, casein, whey protein, ‘mechanically separated meat’
Cosmetic additives - natural or artificial flavor, flavor enhancers, colors, emulsifiers, emulsifying slats, sweeteners, thickeners, anti-foaming, bulking, carbonating, foaming, gelling, and glazing agents.

12/09/2023

Obesity rates in the 1940s to 1970s were relatively stable around 10-12%, but in 1980 the rates began to increase at an exponential rate from 13% to 42% in 2023. In 2030, 50% of the American population is predicted to be obese. This exponential increase is unique to the United States and other countries with a high prevalence of ultra processed foods. The abundance of observational data showing the association of ultra processed foods with various non-communicable diseases including but not limited to metabolic disease, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, kidney function, NAFLD, inflammatory bowel disease, cancer (overall, breast, prostate, colon, pancreas), dementia, depression, and thromboembolic disease. The worlds largest and most expensive healthcare system will continue to underperform if we continue to poison our citizens.

03/03/2023

“With the highest rates among children and adolescents.” We are poisoning ourselves. Not only do we no longer have to exert ourselves to be fed, but the processes we use to produce food render them void of nutrients and full of harmful additives.

More than half of the global population will be overweight or obese by 2035 if action is not taken on the issue, according to a new report. The World Obesity Foundation released its fifth annual at…

01/29/2023

Diet impacts nearly all aspects of our health. The Western (American) is often considered one of the most unhealthy diets, and is full of heavily processed foods with numerous food additives and preservatives known to cause inflammation. This is an interesting commentary on the scientific plausibility for the link between Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) and the development of chronic pain.

Glutamate is a well known amino acid that functions as an excitatory neurotransmitter that is necessary for our nervous system to function and form long term memories, however excessive glutamate can have negative impacts on mood and enhance pain signals leading to the development of chronic pain through a process known as central sensitization.

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a food additive intended to act as a flavor enhancer, but it has been associated with hypertension, obesity, gastrointestinal tract disease, and impairment of brain, nervous, reproductive and endocrine systems. In this episode, the hosts discuss dietary modifications and a low glutamate diet that may relieve physical pain and psychiatric symptoms.

‎Show Pain Matters Podcast Network, Ep [Part 1] The Relationship Between Food and Pain Perception - A Conversation with Kathleen Holton, PhD, MPH - Jan 25, 2023

02/20/2022

This report from CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) provides recommendations for primary care clinicians who are prescribing opioids for chronic pain outside of active cancer treatment, palliative care, and end-of-life care.

01/28/2022

Cite as: Cohen EZ, Doshi T. Diet and dietary supplements in chronic pain. ASRA News 2021;46. https://doi.org/10.52211/asra110121.070 

12/30/2021

This is a very high yield and valuable resource to better understand the incredibly under appreciated psychology of pain.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dolorology-pain-with-rachel-zoffness/id1278815517?i=1000541375684

08/16/2021

If I have autoimmune disease should I get vaccinated?

According to the American Academy of Rheumatology, a theoretical risk exists for autoimmune inflammatory disease flair or disease worsening following COVID-19 vaccination. However, the benefit of COVID-19 vaccination outweighs the potential risk for new onset autoimmunity.

Those with autoimmune inflammatory disease are at higher risk for hospitalized COVID-19 and worse outcomes compared to the general population.

Based on their risk of severe COVID-19, autoimmune inflammatory disease patients should be prioritized over the general population.

08/15/2021

A Cochrane Review from May 2021 concluded that based on the current very low to low certainty evidence, we are uncertain about the efficacy and safety of ivermectin used to treat COVID-19. The completed studies are small and few are considered high quality. There are studies underway that may produce clearer answers in review updates. Overall, the reliable evidence available does not support the use of ivermectin for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19 outside of well-designed randomized controlled trials.

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