We as humans are constantly experimenting with everything behavioral, from diets, to exercise, to illness remedies, to finding new leisurely activities. It’s not surprising that when we hear about some new health study, we rush to make those changes in our lives. One of the main reasons we fail to permanently adopt these new habits is the level of extreme we tend to implement such behaviors. Extremes in habits can be exhilarating, they can signal great change and excitement, and can even produce quick results, which is instantly gratifying and hence very appealing.

One lesson I have learned from decades of practicing moderation in diet, is that extreme food behaviors/habits are difficult, if not impossible, to maintain (unless one is dealing with Celiac, Crohns, or some other bowel disease). Diets of this type do not teach how to change eating habits on a global, sustainable manner, nor do they address how to deal with very real issues like cravings.

So last October when the IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) came down “against” the consumption of red meats, more specifically the smoked and cured variety, I presented to you meal plan changes I was attempting to adopt. Today, I just want to update you on how that’s been going.

The biggest challenge for me has been to REMEMBER to have the substitutes on hand, and then to add them during meal prep. For instance, when I make turkey burgers, I used to aim for about 5 oz of meat per patty, meaning I could get 4 patties per 20 oz. package. Now, I buy a 1 lb. package, which means I must reduce each patty to 4 oz to get 4. But if you’ve ever made burgers, this makes a pretty skimpy patty. So, the goal is to make up that missing 1 ounce with something else, and my favorite choice thus far: white beans! But finely chopped green peppers and carrots work too.

Edamame also makes a great filler, and may be a better texture for some who don’t like the “stickiness” of mashed beans. And then there’s the host of meat substitutes of the soy variety, like these meatless meatballs in the picture that I recently tried. I have also mixed these meatless meatballs in with meat-full meatballs, for instance...what I did Tuesday night in fact.

Where I am headed is to consistently have 1 meatless dinner a week. I am doing this for two personal reasons: there's growing evidence that plant-based diets are healthier, and red meat processing is highly destructive to the environment. So I’ll check back with you in a few months’ time with another progress report!

Every year, we the public hear about the new vaccine that will be produced to protect us from the upcoming flu season. The new vaccine designates the H’s and N’s that are being used in the coming year’s particular flu shot. What does this all mean, and why are these H’s and N’s so important?

The H’s and N’s are quite important. They are the flu’s secret weapons, and the banes of our existence. Let’s look at the image. We noted that the flu can have different combinations of spikes on the outside of its capsule; they are the two structures our immune system uses to identify the virus as foreign invader. When a flu particle has a different combo of spikes, it’s classified as a strain, and is named for its H#N# accordingly. The number indicates how many spikes have been identified thus far: for the H there are 17 and for the N there are 9. These spikes are determined by 2 of the 8 gene segments the flu possesses. This point is also key to the flu’s success in evading our vaccines.

We also talked about how the flu can infect many species. In one species, like birds, the virus doesn’t cause problems, whereas in humans, it can cause sickness. The graphic shows this in an EXTREMELY simplified manner, where one variation of flu with pink and brown spikes can infect a chicken, while another with purple and green spikes infects humans, and a third strain with magenta and orange spikes infects pigs. Here’s the kicker: all three viruses can infect any of the species, so a pig can get a bird virus, a bird can get a human virus, etc.

It gets more complicated. Not only can one species get infected by two types of flu strains, but, that species can get infected AT THE SAME TIME with two different flu strains.

The pig, for example, can be affected by bird flu and human flu. So what, right? Well, let’s go back to the fact that a virus’ only agenda is to make more viruses. Once it finds a suitable host, like a pig, it will start taking over the cells, unpacking its gene segments, making multiple copies of all those segments, taking all the cell‘s resources to make new capsules and repack...the result being that multiple copies of new flu are made.

Now, what if two strains of the flu take over one cell? Do they fight until only one remains? NO. They both take over the cell. They both unpack their gene segments, make copies and repack. But the segments they re-pack may get mixed up; so long as there are 1 of each of 8 segments. Thus, within the confines of one cell, there are many segments flying about. And herein lies the danger, for new strains of virus can emerge, like this one with the pink and purple spikes in step 3. This phenomenon is called antigenic shift.

Next post, we’ll continue this story.

Our immune system is amazing in its efficiency and its efficacy. So, when it is overrun by viral particles, it can get so preoccupied that other foreign objects, like bacteria, can rapidly multiply “under the radar,” and start causing problems on their own. This is how pneumonia, a bacterial infection, basically develops from an initial viral infection, and is the answer to our question from last post.

The name of the game with the immune system is to 1) recognize the foreign object that has invaded our body; 2) get rid of it; 3) remember it for next time. Remember when we said that our immune systems can get overwhelmed when there are huge numbers of the foreign object present? Our immune cells are preoccupied with hunting them down and dispatching them, so, remembering that they are bad is of utmost importance when they next appear.

The first time you get sick, you’re not sure how to treat it, right? You try chicken soup, hot tea, bed rest, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, vitamin C, cold and cough, cold and sinus, cold and flu, Zinc, fever reducers, cough syrups, Echinacea....until you find the right combo that works, right? Then, the NEXT time you get sick, VOILA! You go straight for the remedies that work and kick that cold’s butt!

So, how does our immune system recognize the flu? On the outside of its capsule, there are two different kinds of spikes called HA and NA. These spikes are how our immune system recognizes that the flu is a foreign invader. Our B-cells, known as memory cells, then file away this spike info. The next time that foreign object invades, it’ll know what specific immune cells to recruit/activate and where to send them. And, in much faster than the first time. AND, it’ll send the fighting cells in droves, to nip that foreign invader before it has a chance to multiply and really challenge our immunity.

The flu is tricky though, because it can vary the combination of spikes to be able to invade numerous species, like pigs, birds, humans, horses and dogs. And also, variations of the flu can infect multiple species.

I know what you’re thinking, now. So why is it that the flu causes us so much trouble every year? If we got it last year, why then, aren’t we protected from it the following year?

The answer lies in the graphic. And we’ll get to it next post....

The flu is often confused with pneumonia, leading to the misconception that the two infections are one in the same. But the initial viral infection caused by Influenza can lead to the bacterial infection that results in pneumonia. So, two different infections occur, not one!

We know that our body has an amazing defense mechanism, called our immune system, against these types of infections that are triggered by every foreign agent that enters our bodies. Our immunity scans, catalogs, fights, and remembers harmful entities that can wreak havoc. But the beauty of this highly intricate immune system is that it is also highly efficient, using a sequence of protein signals to either signal other proteins that then lead to signalling the cells needed to fight the infections, or to signal those cells directly. It is a cascading system. And many of these protein signals, called cytokines, can do more than just trigger another protein or cell; it can also shut it down.

Interferon is a cytokine that is one such major player. There are many types, so they are classified by what cell releases them and what other signal, or cell, it triggers in turn. Type I interferons can be secreted by any of our cells, and so is handy as a first-line defense when a cell is initially infected by a virus. When a virus enters a cell it releases Type I interferons which alert other cells or signal other proteins to help it attack other invading virus particles.

However, as a self-regulated process (much like your hungry brain triggering you to reach for a candy bar, and then the conscious part of your brain making you put the rest of the 6-pack down...in theory), these Type I interferons may also suppress the very same cells they are signalling, in order to ensure that the immune response doesn’t run away like a freight train.
The problem with that is, if the virus happens to be replicating very quickly, it can overrun our cells. Looking at the blue arrow in the image, the persisting presence of virus continues to the trigger our immune system.

Now, what do you think will happen in this situation? Answer, next post!

We'll re-cap that a virus’ one and only mission is to make more copies of itself. Ironically, it doesn’t have the tools nor the materials to do so on its own, so it must take over a cell in order to copy its DNA/RNA and make new virus capsules to house those new copies.

A great target then in antiviral drug production, is to prevent the replication of the virus’ DNA or RNA. No DNA/RNA = no virus! The left–side panel depicts how extra phosphate molecules are added onto the backbone of the nucleotide-sugar-phosphate building block of DNA. When the additional phosphates are there, no other nucleotides can be hooked onto the end, thus elongating the new DNA chain. This HALTS the replication process because additional building blocks to make the new DNA strand cannot be added.

As with antibiotic development where scientists cleverly targeted the basic functions of a disease-causing bacterial cell in order to disable it, they have likewise targeted the basic functions of a virus, which is illustrated in the right-side panel. A virus must have the ability to attach to a cell (1), to get into a cell (2), to de-envelope itself and release its nucleic material (3), to take over the cell into doing its bidding (4), to re-assemble new capsules (5), and finally,to rupture out of the cell (6).

OK, so I’ve inadvertently but finally answered 2 of 3 previous questions posed:
1) Why are viruses so destructive and even deadly?
Because they take over and eventually destroy our cells.
2) What then, does get rid of a virus?

Our immune systems, TIME for our immune systems to rid our bodies of the virus, and if necessary, antiviral drugs.
Next post, we’ll finally explain why viral infections often progress to bacterial infections.