Many commercial food establishments have switched from plastic to paper straws to help the environment, and it has come to light that they contain substances known as PFAS. Alarmingly, PFAS, or per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, are causing some concern because they don't break down easily and can negatively affect people and the environment. A recent study conducted in the Belgian market analyzed 39 different straw brands made from five materials: paper, bamboo, glass, stainless steel, and plastic. The findings showed that PFAS was detected in almost all types of straws except stainless steel. The highest frequency of PFAS was found in paper and bamboo straws. As PFAS can take hundreds to thousands of years to break down, these findings suggest that using such straws may contribute to human and long-term environmental exposure to PFAS. This post will cover the concerns over PFAS and discuss possible alternatives.
Read MoreAfter repeated conversations with me, a close relative in his late 50s decided to try the carnivore diet. He immediately began to feel better than he had ever felt. The carnivore diet is ultra-low-carb, similar to the ketogenic diet, which often raises LDL and total cholesterol. He has lost 22 pounds, lowered his BMI from 25.8 (overweight) to 22.8 (normal), lowered his blood pressure from 110/70 to 100/66, has more energy, lowered his triglycerides from 106 to 71 (lower is better), raised his HDL from 47 to 79 (higher is better), lowered his VLDL by 1/3, rid himself of chronic foot and hip pain, and he has no more leg cramping. As we will see later in this post, these changes indicate inflammatory, metabolic, and cardiovascular health improvements.
At the same time, he raised his LDL from 69 to 192 and his total cholesterol from 137 to 285, which made his doctors panic. Later in this post, we will see that LDL levels below 105 cause twice the amount of death. Despite this, his doctors have ignored nine positive changes and stressed two that, as we will see in this post, have little relevance in their ability to predict cardiovascular disease. What kind of a world do we live in when doctors fret when their patients become healthier? Read on if you are curious.
Read MoreI talk a lot about proper facial development to ensure adequate breathing. This post covers the subject and links to most of my other posts about achieving proper craniofacial respiratory complex growth. I have mentioned things like allergies and sinus problems as factors affecting breathing but have never stressed how important it is to address them. This post will cover the main ENT-related problems associated with poor breathing, especially at night when sleeping.
Read MoreMost people, whether they consider themselves vegan, omnivores, or carnivores, will agree that processed food should be avoided. I have some bad news; plant-based meat is highly processed. It has gained a place in the market because of the bad press meat gets, none of which is deserved. Additionally, plant-based foods are promoted as the healthiest food choice. This post will discuss the processed nature of plant-based meat versus the benefit of including meat in our diet. I will only discuss three ingredients for brevity. I will conclude by explaining what JERM means.
Read MoreIt has been dogma that we need eight hours of sleep. Furthermore, the research shows that we don't get nearly that much. In fact, we miss the mark by almost one to two hours each night. Then comes summer, when we typically sleep one less hour than in winter. For those of us trying to maximize sleep, this all sounds disconcerting. I have encouraging news about newer sleep research that has shed some light on how much sleep we should get each night, especially in the summer.
Read MoreI love concise quotes that convey deep wisdom. This post contains seven gems that could help change your mindset. Here they are in no particular order
Read MoreAs summer progresses, I find myself spending more time outdoors and have naturally acquired a slightly darker complexion than during the colder months. While at the beach with family, we discussed our varying abilities to tan. Some of us had yet to achieve a noticeable tan, while others were well on their way. We all agreed that with more time in the sunshine, we would soon have a deeper tan. It made me curious about the science behind tanning and why our skin changes color in the first place.
Read MoreA recent study found that lean people's brains respond to nutrients differently than obese people. Specifically, the obese people's brains did not respond as quickly to the presence of nutrients. Sadly, when the obese people lost weight as part of the study, their brains still did not recognize they had eaten as quickly as the lean group, explaining why diets only result in temporary weight loss. I will go over the particulars of the study in this post and what it might mean in practical terms.
Read MoreI grew up on the shore, fishing on the bay and ocean, so I have always loved to eat seafood and spend time on the beach. I spent the Memorial Day weekend on a local barrier island and was surprised to see an oyster vending machine outside a market. We purchased a box, ate half of them raw, and cooked the other half on the grill. I had never seen anything like it and was very impressed with the concept. I eat oysters every chance I get, Oysters are one of the most nutrient-dense foods, and in this post, I will talk about the incredible oyster and why you should include them in your diet.
Read MoreI have always preferred the warmer months to the colder, darker ones. Since I was a teen, I noticed I had less energy in the cooler, darker months and was sleepier. A few decades later, I noticed that I became less lean in the cooler months. No one would notice my condition because my energy levels are adequate and the extra weight is minimal, but I can see the seasonal difference in my body composition. My energy increases, and my leanness returns when the days lengthen, and it gets warmer. My transition to my more energetic, leaner self took longer this year. As always, I looked for a reasonable explanation for why I tend to gain some winter season weight, and why it stayed longer this year. This post will cover a few reasons for seasonal body compositional transitions and factors that can alter the normal process.
Read MoreBringing a new baby into the world is an exciting but exhausting experience. It can be difficult to find time to reconnect with your partner after welcoming a new bundle of joy. In this guest post, Emily Graham presents some tips and tricks that will help make this transition easier and help you two rekindle the romance. Emily Graham is the creator of Mighty Moms. She believes being a mom is one of the hardest jobs around and wanted to create a support system for moms from all walks of life. On her site, she offers a wide range of info tailored for busy moms -- from how to reduce stress to creative ways to spend time together as a family.
Read MoreMany popular pharmaceuticals are presented as miraculous cures when, in fact, they have much lower effectiveness than the sellers claim. As a result, most of us believe most medicines to be far more potent than they are and assume they have fewer side effects than in reality. We may be more likely to accept a prescription than not, by default, based more on faith in the results than the true knowledge of their effectiveness. The term "Snake Oil" refers to a medical solution that is promoted as a cure-all for various illnesses but is fake and worthless. A snake oil salesman sells these useless products for a quick profit and then escapes to avoid the consequences. Many of these were salespeople who traveled from place to place selling their goods. Regrettably, these individuals frequently focused on vulnerable groups such as the elderly and those who are unwell. Some things never change. You may have noticed the numerous medication ads and cover stories on the news that make them sound so wonderful. Are the medications as effective as they say? The answer is, sadly, usually no. How did they get away with this? Read on to find out.
Read MoreColostrum is something that many people are totally or partially unaware of. If you have heard of it, it may have only been because you or someone you know had a child and had to deal with lactation. Colostrum is the first yellowish fluid produced after childbirth. It is pure for about the first four days of lactation, and then it is slowly replaced by milk over several weeks. The early milk that still contains some colostrum is called transitional milk. All lactating mammals produce colostrum. Research has proven that pure colostrum promotes growth and health in all newborn mammals, including humans.
Bovine (from cows) colostrum is consumed by some traditional cultures and is becoming more popular as a supplement for its supposed health benefits. This post will cover what it is, what it does for newborn babies, and its use for adults.
Read MoreCannabis smoking has become much more common (and acceptable) in recent years. Recreational marijuana is legal in twenty states, and medical marijuana is legal in thirty-six. According to the CDC, 18 percent of Americans used marijuana in 2019. 1 It is estimated that about 90 % of users smoke it. 2 Smoking may negatively affect the mouth, teeth, and gums. Negative effects include periodontitis (gum disease), caries (tooth decay), xerostomia (dry mouth), a decreased salivary pH (increased acidity), and an increase in the density of Candida albicans (yeast infection, thrush). 3 This post will only discuss dental problems associated with the legal smoking of marijuana by adults; I will not touch upon other routes of ingestion of marijuana or its effects on any other part of the body other than the mouth.
Read MoreThe health benefits associated with resistance training are not under debate and include decreased gastrointestinal transit time, reduced risk of colon cancer, increased resting metabolic rate, improved glucose metabolism, improved blood-lipid profiles, reduced resting blood pressure, improved bone mineral density, pain, and discomfort reduction for those suffering from arthritis, decreased lower back pain, enhanced flexibility, and improved aerobic capacity. What has been under debate is how to do it best. 1 The American College of Sports Medicine, long considered the expert in resistance training, has dispensed poor advice over the years, largely unsupported by rigorous science.
In 2011, researchers used existing studies that employed rigorous science to more fully understand how we should work out. They included intensity, the number of repetitions, the length of training sessions, the volume of work, whether core exercises were as important as we think, the speed of repetitions, rest time between sets, and whether free weights are better than machines. Their findings might surprise you.
Read MoreMicronutrients are the smaller building blocks, such as minerals and vitamins, we need to sustain life and have optimal function. Micronutrient deficiencies (MNDs) are quite common worldwide. Iron, iodine, folate, vitamin A, and zinc deficiencies are the most common MNDs. They are responsible for perinatal complications, poor growth in children, and increased mortality and morbidity. 1 They can be just as devastating to adults. This post will describe the deficiencies, their symptoms, and how to correct them.
Read MoreAll animals, including humans, evolved to contact the Earth. We mostly walked barefoot or with footwear made of animal skins and slept on the ground or skins. Humans routinely do not touch the Earth anymore due to shoes with synthetic soles, modern homes, and beds. Insulating ourselves from contact with the Earth has had negative health consequences that few are aware of, including health care providers. Have you ever noticed that you feel better after a barefoot day at the pool or beach? It isn't just the sun and fresh air that is responsible. The contact with the Earth is too. This post will cover the numerous health benefits of routinely contacting the Earth's surface, a practice called Earthing or grounding.
Read MoreIt may surprise you, but I would not wish a denture on my worst enemy. This may seem hyperbolic, but it is accurate-I wish good health over less-than-perfect treatment for everyone. I make them, but I warn patients that as much as they can replace teeth and improve appearances and chewing, they have many pitfalls. I warn patients that they may appreciate appearing as if they have all of their teeth, but there will be a host of problems with them. In short, the best dentures in the world will still have numerous problems; they may marginally function as natural teeth. This post covers the good, bad, and ugly of dentures.
Read MoreWelcome to part five. The use of toothpicks is uniquely human. The famous dental anthropologist Peter Unger discovered tiny striations in teeth that could not be caused by chewing. He concluded that the marks could only have been caused by the overuse of toothpicks made of hard materials like bone. He also drew a parallel between tool use and the introduction of meat to humans' diets. Ungar said toothpick use is one of the first lines of evidence from the hominid fossil record that shows our genus consuming significant amounts of meat in the ancient past. Tooth picking likely served to remove food, especially meat, but it caused visible damage. To quote him, "Teeth are not well designed for eating meat, so our early ancestors had to use toothpicks." This post will cover the evidence and discuss the proper use of toothpicks.
Read MoreThe carnivore diet is based on eating animal-based foods as much as possible. In some of my previous posts, I have listed supporting evidence that we tolerate animal-based foods well. Our highly acidic stomachs, longer small intestines, and lack of a cecum are a few patterns we share with carnivorous-leaning mammals. Additionally, fat cells have two patterns: one indicating herbivory and one carnivory. It turns out that humans have the carnivorous pattern.
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