July 18, 2025 News Bits
Content this Week
We submitted several documents and RFI responses to the government this week to help shape policy:
Modernizing Food Health Regulations to Enable Evidence-Based Chronic Disease Claims
Paper submitted for Senator Marshal, Secretary Kennedy, and Secretary Rollins Soil Health Panel
10 Data Facts: The Soil-Food-Health Connection
This was a week of Soil Health is Human Health with meetings in DC and our online discussions. We searched out some interesting statistics to help motivate our thinking about fixing chronic disease. These 10 stood out. Maybe they stretch the data a bit, but directionally, they guide the motivation to improve availability and access to whole food.
1. 33% of Earth's soils are already moderately to highly degraded: Agricultural soils have lost 30-75% of their original organic carbon, threatening long-term food security. Source: FAO Global Symposium on Soil Erosion
2. Ultra-processed foods increase mortality risk by 31%: Research also shows a 62% increased cardiovascular disease risk from ultra-processed food consumption. Source: BMJ Group Study
3. Regenerative farms can be 78% more profitable after transition: Despite a challenging 2-5 year adjustment period, regenerative practices ultimately boost farm economics. Source: Conservation Finance Network
4. Some carrots contain 40 times more antioxidants than others The Bionutrient Institute found massive nutritional variations directly linked to soil health differences. Source: Bionutrient Food Association
5. Organic crops show 69% higher flavanone content: Meta-analysis of 343 studies found organic crops had significantly higher levels of beneficial phytochemicals. Source: British Journal of Nutrition
6. 12 million hectares of agricultural soils disappear annually: Current soil erosion rates are 100-1,000 times higher than natural rates on intensive farmland. Source: World Economic Forum
7. 43 garden crops showed significant nutrient declines from 1950-1999 Decreases ranged from 6% (protein) to 38% (riboflavin) over this 50-year period. Source: University of Texas Study
8. Regenerative farms have 2-3 times higher soil organic matter Montgomery & Biklé's 2022 study found significantly elevated vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals in regenerative crops. Source: PubMed Central
9. 95% of carnivore diet participants reported health improvements Harvard study suggests eliminating ultra-processed foods may be the key factor, not meat quality alone. Source: Harvard Carnivore Diet Study
10. Only 15% of U.S. farmland uses regenerative practices Despite proven benefits, economic barriers during the 2-5 year transition period limit adoption. Source: MDPI Sustainability Journal
News
Health effects associated with consumption of processed meat, sugar-sweetened beverages and trans fatty acids: a Burden of Proof study: A fresh Nature Medicine meta-analysis pooling data from millions of participants finds there is no “harmless” bite or sip when it comes to three pantry regulars. Even a half-strip to two ounces of processed meat per day (0.6–57 g) increases the risk of type 2 diabetes by 11% and colorectal cancer by 7%. One casual drink of soda or sweet tea (1.5 g sugar) through to three cans (390 g) lifts diabetes odds by 8 % and ischemic heart-disease risk by 2 %. Trace levels of trans fats—still lurking in some fried and packaged foods, add a 3 % bump to heart-disease risk at intakes below 3 % of daily calories. The authors grade the evidence two stars, not iron-clad but statistically solid, and argue that, given the colossal global toll of diabetes, cancer, and heart disease, cutting these foods is a low-risk, high-return move.
Glucose alarms approach with flash glucose monitoring system: a narrative review of clinical benefits: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s call for wider use of monitoring tools like WHOOP and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) aligns with recent clinical evidence. A new study in Diabetology & Metabolic Syndrome found CGMs improve glucose control, reduce blood sugar variability, and cut hypoglycemia events. Real-time glucose feedback and personalized alarms help users adjust behaviors quickly, like diet or insulin dosing. Specifically, CGMs with alarms, such as the FreeStyle Libre 2, help avoid dangerous high and low glucose levels. The review emphasizes the importance of careful alarm settings to prevent "alarm fatigue," where excessive alerts cause users to become desensitized to them. Properly used, these alarms increase the time spent in safe glucose ranges (time-in-range), improve diabetes management, and alleviate concerns about hypoglycemia.
Natural solutions for diabetes: the therapeutic potential of plants and mushrooms: Researchers combed through thousands of studies and concluded that nature’s pharmacy already offers a deep bench against type 2 diabetes. Polyphenols, terpenes, alkaloids, β-glucans, and small peptides from familiar foods, think bitter melon, fenugreek, chicory, maitake, and reishi, lower blood sugar by blocking starch-breaking enzymes, coaxing insulin out of sleepy β-cells, sensitizing muscle and fat to that insulin, taming oxidative stress, and even reshaping gut microbes in our favor. Several drug classes (metformin, SGLT2 inhibitors) trace their roots to these molecules, and a few mushroom extracts are already on shelves. New “green” extraction technology is making it cheaper and cleaner to extract the beneficial compounds at scale, but the authors stress the next step: rigorous human trials and tighter quality control, so doctors can prescribe these natural allies with confidence.
Can A.I. Find Cures for Untreatable Diseases Using Drugs We Already Have? When David Fajgenbaum was diagnosed with Castleman disease, doctors ran out of treatment options, leaving him to find his own cure. By carefully studying his medical records, he identified an overactive signaling pathway called mTOR as the culprit and convinced his doctors to prescribe sirolimus, a readily available drug normally used in organ transplants. Remarkably, it worked, putting his illness into remission for more than a decade. From this, Fajgenbaum recognized a larger systemic issue: thousands of existing medications could treat other conditions but go unnoticed. He founded Every Cure, a nonprofit using AI to uncover new uses for approved drugs. The project highlights that repurposing safe, available treatments, rather than solely chasing new drugs, may be a faster, lower-cost path to addressing disease. For the "Food is Health" initiative, the lesson is clear: sometimes the solutions we need aren't hidden behind long, expensive drug-development processes but lie undiscovered in existing knowledge, foods, or nutrients already at our fingertips.
Social Posts
Carter and Ellen, how and when will we know whether these two papers gain traction, or spark momentum to impact food and soil policy?