Purpose of the Foundation
The Wisconsin Institute of Nutrition Research Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) foundation, established to continue work started by Dr. Bruce Semon, M.D., Ph.D. to investigate the role of dietary cottonseed toxins and the development of Alzheimer’s Disease and atherosclerosis.
We are embarking on a replication study of Dr. Semon’s study showing a link between eating cottonseed and Alzheimer’s. YOU can participate in this study by helping to fund it. We need to raise $300,000 to complete the study. Send your tax deductible contribution to:
Wisconsin Institute of Nutrition Research Foundation, Inc.
P.O. Box 170867
Glendale, WI 53217
or use Paypal to make a donation, using a credit card or your account
The cause of Alzheimer’s Disease is not known nor is the cause of atherosclerosis and high cholesterol. One observation which has been made is that people who eat no meat have lower rates of Alzheimer’s Disease and people who eat more meat are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s. This observation is not currently understood but can be understood if we look at dietary cottonseed toxins in our food.
A Brief Understanding
Cottonseed contains a number of toxins. Cottonseed is fed to dairy cattle, beef cattle, farm fed fish, poultry, and pigs. Cottonseed toxins are known to remain in the meat and fat and dairy products of these animals, fish and poultry. Many human beings then eat these toxins as they eat these foods. At least one of these cottonseed toxins, gossypol, is known to reach the brain and to bind randomly there to proteins and DNA. For this reason alone, gossypol could be investigated as a possible cause of Alzheimer’s Disease. However, cottonseed toxins and gossypol cause some specific dysfunctions which could be leading to Alzheimer’s Disease. Gossypol binds to cellular microtubules, preventing their assembly. This binding could lead to development of neurofibrillary tangles, one of the major findings in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients. Cottonseed toxins cause bleeding and increased cholesterol, both risk factors for Alzheimer’s Disease.
From research studies, the approximate amount of some of the cottonseed toxins can be estimated in our food. From an agricultural perspective, there has been much research on how to feed cottonseed to chickens and animals such as pigs. The problem with feeding too much cottonseed to animals is that they bleed to death and die. Why do farmers feed cottonseed if the animals can die from it. Cottonseed is left after the cotton fiber is removed to make cloth. Cottonseed contains protein so farmers would like to feed it to animals which require protein such as pigs. The problem is that the cottonseed is loaded with poisons. Researchers spent years figuring out exactly how much cottonseed they could feed to animals and not kill them and they never asked what would happen to the human beings which ate the same poisons throughout life. The amount of cottonseed toxin in food is about 1% of the level which kills animals in a few months. No one previously has experimented with trying to feed these levels of cottonseed to an experimental animal such as a rat to see what would happen.
In terms of Alzheimer’s Disease, one of the main cottonseed toxins, gossypol, reaches the brain. Gossypol is very hard to clear and accumulates. Gossypol binds randomly in the brain and ties up important cellular structures. As such it is a prime candidate to cause Alzheimer’s.
Dr. Semon has performed a preliminary study of feeding female rats the approximate levels of cottonseed which human beings eat. Rats were fed for their lifetimes. In the brain of these old rats were found one of the major lesions of Alzheimer’s. These findings indicate that dietary cottonseed toxins may indeed play a role in causing Alzheimer’s.
Dr. Semon has published the preliminary findings and ideas in the Journal of Medical Hypotheses, entitled Dietary Cottonseed toxins are hypothesized to be a partial cause of Alzheimer’s Disorder.
Dr. Semon’s study was only preliminary. The study needs to be replicated in larger number of animals with all the right tests being done to verify that Alzheimer’s Disease is really present.
The Wisconsin Institute of Nutrition Research Foundation has been set up to accept both grants from other foundations and private donations to fund this important work. Once cottonseed has been shown to be a cause of Alzheimer’s, there will be pressure for farmers to stop feeding it to animals. Then we will all be more safe from Alzheimer’s Disease.
Please consider donating to the Wisconsin Institute of Nutrition Research Foundation, Send a check to: P. O. Box 170867, Milwaukee, WI 53217
or use Paypal to donate!
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