COVID Vaccines Available, Metformin for Arthritis, and Women's Health Research Under Attack

Broadcast from KSQD, Santa Cruz on 9-11-2025:

• Dr. Dawn announces COVID-25/26 vaccines are now available at Safeway with same-day appointments, urging listeners to schedule quickly due to potential supply shortages amid uncertain federal vaccine policies.
• She discusses promising research on metformin for knee osteoarthritis in obese patients. Studies show metformin users lost half as much cartilage (0.75% vs 1.5%) over four years and had reduced knee replacement risk. The mechanism involves AMPK protein kinase pathways that reduce inflammation and cellular energy storage, with benefits independent of weight loss effects.
• Dr. Dawn warns hunters about blue pig meat from wild boars that consume rodenticide, which acts like warfarin to prevent blood clotting. The anticoagulant creates blue-tinted tissue that cooking cannot eliminate, making such meat dangerous for consumption during hunting season from September through November.
• She criticizes the elimination of women's health research funding, highlighting how the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Institute has advanced medical knowledge benefiting everyone. Dr. Dawn notes that $2.5 billion in research was rescinded for containing terms like "women" and "female," creating dangerous knowledge gaps when women experience different disease symptoms and medication responses than men.
• The brown rice versus white rice debate centers on arsenic content, with brown rice containing about 138 parts per billion compared to 93 in white rice. While both remain below WHO safety limits, children are especially vulnerable. Dr. Dawn recommends diverse grain options and specific cooking methods like soaking, rinsing, and using excess water to reduce arsenic levels.
• A caller asks about glutathione supplementation, specifically gamma-glutamyl cysteine products. Dr. Dawn explains how these precursors bypass liver metabolism to deliver glutathione to cells, while discussing the balance between oxidative and reductive stress. She notes individual genetic variations can affect supplement responses and emphasizes measuring markers rather than expecting immediate symptomatic improvements.
• Another caller inquires about histamine intolerance causing puffy eyes and food reactions. Dr. Dawn explains histamine's role as a neurotransmitter, sources in fermented foods and gut bacteria, and genetic enzyme deficiencies in DAO and histamine transferase. She recommends cromolyn sodium eye drops and systematic food elimination, particularly targeting recently increased consumption of chai tea and smoked brisket.
• Dr. Dawn concludes with news about an AI tool called FaceAge that predicts biological age and survival rates from facial photographs. Trained on 60,000 photos of people over 60, the system achieved 80% accuracy in predicting six-month survival for terminal cancer patients compared to 61% accuracy for human doctors, potentially offering a non-invasive health assessment tool.