Insulin Resistance Predicts a Variety of Age-related Diseases

In the last post, I reviewed a study by Gerald Reaven's group showing that insulin resistance strongly predicts the risk of cardiovascular disease over a 5-year period.  In 2001, Reaven's group published an even more striking follow-up result from the same cohort (1).  This study shows that not only does insulin resistance predict cardiovascular disease risk, it also predicts a variety of age-related diseases, including hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, cancer, type 2 diabetes, and even overall mortality...

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Insulin Resistance Strongly Predicts Cardiovascular Disease Risk

I recently came across a very interesting paper by the research team of Gerald Reaven, an endocrinologist at Stanford.  He has long been one of the leading researchers studying insulin resistance, the metabolic syndrome, and their association with obesity.  Reaven's research, and that of many others, suggests that insulin resistance is a central part of the constellation of metabolic disturbances that are so common in affluent nations*.  We also have good reason to believe that it contributes to cardiovascular...

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Food Reward Friday

This week's lucky "winner"... Hardee's Most American Thickburger!!Read more...

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Recent Interviews

Here are two recent interviews I'd like to share with readers:Danny Lennon of Sigma NutritionDanny Lennon is an evidence-based nutrition coach who publishes a podcast called Sigma Nutriton Radio.  We had a nice conversation about why we overeat, including energy homeostasis and the personal economics of food choice.  The podcast has a high production value.  You can listen to the interview here.Angelo Coppola of Latest in PaleoAngelo Coppola and I hit it off recently due to our mutual interests in gardening and...

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New Study Strengthens the Case that LDL Causes Heart Disease

There is little remaining doubt in the scientific/medical community that high levels of LDL, so-called "bad cholesterol", cause heart disease.  Yet in some alternative health circles, the debate continues.  A new study adds substantially to the evidence that LDL plays a causal role in heart disease.Read more...

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Do Slower-digesting Carbohydrates Make Us Feel More Full?

One of the most common pieces of advice in the health-nutrition world is that we should focus our carbohydrate intake on slowly-digesting carbohydrates, because they make us feel more full than rapidly-digesting carbohydrates.  Rapidly-digesting carbohydrates, such as potatoes, stand accused of causing us to overeat, resulting in obesity, diabetes, and many other chronic ailments.  Is this true?Read more...

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Food Reward Friday

This week's "lucky" winner... bacon fried Oreos!!Read more...

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OMG! CANCER PREVENTION DIET FOR CHILDREN, ADULT, AND NURSING MOTHERS

Whether you have a history of cancer in your family, or are currently battling the disease, lifestyle factors, including your diet, can make a huge difference in helping you fight off cancer. Some foods actually increase your risk of cancer, while others support your body and strengthen your immune system. By making smart food choices, you can protect your health, feel better, and boost your ability fight off cancer and other diseases. The...

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BEWARE : Bacteria resistant to antibiotics can not be killed

Antibiotic medications are used to kill bacteria, which can cause illness and disease. They have made a major contribution to human health. Many diseases that once killed people can now be treated effectively with antibiotics. However, some bacteria have become resistant to commonly used antibiotics. Antibiotic resistant bacteria are bacteria that are not controlled or killed by antibiotics. They are able to survive and even multiply...

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Personal hygiene is the best prevention against all virus... Even ebola

Keeping yourself, or someone you are caring for, clean is essential for good health. Poor hygiene can cause skin complaints and infections, and be a source of discomfort and low self-esteem. How to maintain daily hygiene To maintain daily personal hygiene, you should make sure: your hands are washed after you've used the toilet your genitals and anal area are washed every day your face is washed daily you're fully bathed or showered...

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We all have flu....... Do a quick check up today

                        Introduction Flu is an infectious and common viral illness spread by coughs and sneezes. It's not the same as the common cold. Flu is caused by a different group of viruses. Symptoms tend to be more severe and last longer. You can catch flu – short for influenza – all year round, but it is especially common in winter, which is why it is also known as "seasonal flu". Flu causes a sudden high temperature, headache and general aches and pains,...

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How to prevent and cure ebola permanently

There's currently no licensed treatment or vaccine for Ebola virus disease, although potential new vaccines and drug therapies are being developed and tested. Any area affected by an outbreak should be immediately quarantined, and patients confirmed to have Ebola virus disease should be treated in isolation in intensive care. Hospital care Dehydration is common, so fluids may be given directly into a vein (intravenously). The patient's...

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My Buddy and Me

Warning -- Satire -- April Fools PostI have a sheepish confession to make: until recently, I had a tapeworm, and that's why I'm lean.In 2006, I took a trip to Mexico with a few friends.  We often traveled through rural areas, and of course sampled the local cuisine wherever we went.  In many parts of Mexico, pork is an important food.  Some of it may have been a bit undercooked.At the time, my interest in food and health was growing, and I was making many changes to my diet.  I was glad to see the chubbiness...

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Is Meat Unhealthy? Consolidated links

Several people have asked for a consolidated list of links to my series on meat and health.  Here it is!  This should make it easier to share.  Is Meat Unhealthy?  Part I.  Introduction and ethical/environmental considerations.Is Meat Unhealthy?  Part II.  Our evolutionary history with meat.Is Meat Unhealthy?  Part III.  Meat and cardiovascular disease.Is Meat Unhealthy?  Part IV.  Meat and obesity risk.Is Meat Unhealthy?  Part V.  Meat and type 2 diabetes risk.Is...

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Food Reward Friday

This week's lucky "winner"... a bacon hot dog donut, by Krispy Kreme!Read more...

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Food Reward Friday

This week's lucky "winner"... donuts!!Krispy Kreme donuts being made.  Hopefully this image isn't appetizing enough to make you want donuts.Read more...

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Build Your Own Yogurt Maker, Sous-vide Cooker, and All-purpose Fermenter for $40

I make a half gallon of yogurt, twice a month.  I like making my own yogurt for many reasons, but it's a bit of a pain.  Since I make large batches, I can't use a standard yogurt maker.  I often get distracted and over-heat the milk, and the method I use to incubate the yogurt is wildly inefficient (my beloved Excalibur dehydrator).  I also need a constant warm temperature for various other fermentation projects, and...

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Is Meat Unhealthy? Part IX

Welcome to the last post in the series.  Time to summarize and wrap it up!RespectI respect each person's right to choose the diet they prefer.  This includes vegetarians and vegans, particularly because most of them make daily sacrifices to try to make the world a better place for all of us.  I'm an omnivore, but I sympathize with some of the philosophy and I often eat beans or lentils instead of meat*.Our history with meatOur ancestors have probably been eating some form of meat continuously for at least two...

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We Do Science Interview

I recently did an interview with Laurent Bannock, an expert in sport and exercise nutrition.  His podcast We Do Science has rapidly become quite popular, due to Laurent's credibility and the interesting guests he interviews.  We covered body composition, metabolically healthy obesity, the relationship between BMI and mortality, calorie counting, body fat regulation, and other related topics.If you've already listened to several of my interviews and are starting to find them repetitive, you might enjoy this one...

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Food Reward Friday

This week's lucky "winner"... the Cinnabon cinnamon roll!!!Read more...

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Can High-Fiber Foods Fight the Metabolic Syndrome?

The metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) is a cluster of signs including abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, high blood pressure, and blood lipid disturbances.  MetSyn is the quintessential modern metabolic disorder, and it affects about one third of Americans.  Many MetSyn diets recommend eating high-fiber foods, and research on the role of the gut microbiota in body weight and health tends to support this recommendation.  Yet these diets are complex, so it's difficult to attribute positive effects to the high-fiber...

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Is Meat Unhealthy? Part VIII

Health can be defined as the absence of disease, and that is the lens through which we've been examining meat so far.  However, most of us have a broader view of health that also includes optimal growth and development, physical and mental performance, well-being, fertility, immunity, robustness, and resilience.  What role does meat play in this broader view of health?Non-industrial culturesOne of the things I keep coming back to in this series is the strong natural affinity that our species has for meat.  Every...

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Food Reward Friday

This week's lucky "winner"... the KFC Double Down Dog!!Read more...

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Is Meat Unhealthy? Part VII

Looking at individual diseases is informative, but it can cause us to become myopic, making broad health-related decisions based on narrow information.  It can cause us to miss the forest for the trees.  In this case, the "trees" are individual diseases and the "forest" is total mortality: the overall risk of dying from any cause.  Does eating meat increase total mortality, shortening our lifespans?Non-industrial culturesTraditionally-living cultures such as hunter-gatherers and non-industrial agriculturalists...

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Food Reward Friday

This week's lucky "winner"... barbecue ribs!!Read more...

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Does high protein explain the low-carb "metabolic advantage"?

In 2012, David Ludwig's group published a paper that caused quite a stir in the diet-nutrition world (1).  They reported that under strict metabolic ward conditions, weight-reduced people have a higher calorie expenditure when eating a very low carbohydrate diet (10% CHO) than when eating a high-carbohydrate diet (60% CHO)*. In other words, the group eating the low-carb diet burned more calories just sitting around, and the effect was substantial-- about 250 Calories per day.  This is basically the equivalent of an...

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Is Meat Unhealthy? Part VI

In this post, I'll examine the possible relationship between meat consumption and cancer risk.Is cancer risk even modifiable?Cancer is caused by the uncontrolled division of a population of rogue cells in the body.  These cells essentially evolve by natural selection to escape the body's multiple anti-cancer mechanisms.  To a large extent, cancer appears to be a numbers game.  The human body contains about 37 trillion cells.  To get cancer, all you need is one cell that develops key mutations that allow...

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Food Reward Friday

This week's lucky "winner"... croissants!!Read more...

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