Posts in General Health
Decoding the Effects of Low-Carbohydrate Diets on Cholesterol in People With Different BMI

On January 17, 2024, a groundbreaking study titled "Increased Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol on a Low-Carbohydrate Diet in Adults with Normal but Not High Body Weight: A Meta-Analysis" was published by Adrian Soto-Mota, Dave Feldman, Nicholas Norwitz, and others. This research provides new insights into the effects of low-carbohydrate diets on cholesterol levels, with a particular focus on low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), commonly known as 'bad' cholesterol. In this blog post, I will explain the study's design and results, which refute the current medical thinking that saturated fat has the most significant effect on raising cholesterol. The authors found that body weight is much more significant than saturated fat. Their findings suggest that we have things backward.

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Fatty Acids in Human Breast Milk: Understanding Importance, Embracing Trans-fats, and Exploring the Potential of Trans-vaccenic Acid in Cancer Treatment

Human breast milk is a complex and dynamic fluid that plays a pivotal role in infant development, providing essential nutrients, immune factors, and a variety of bioactive compounds. Fatty acids are one of the crucial components of breast milk which contribute significantly to the overall health and well-being of the newborn. In recent years, scientific exploration has delved into the intricacies of these fatty acids, uncovering their diverse roles and potential therapeutic applications, including the unexpected benefits of trans-fats and Trans-vaccenic Acid in the fight against cancer.

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Deuterium and Why Grass-fed Beef is superior to Grain-finished Beef

Water, which is also known as H2O, is made up of two hydrogen atoms (H) and one oxygen atom (O). The hydrogen atoms in water are mainly composed of protium, which is the lightest and most abundant isotope of hydrogen. Protium contains only one proton in its nucleus.

 Deuterium, on the other hand, is an isotope of hydrogen that is heavier than protium because it contains one proton and one neutron in its nucleus. It is symbolized as 2H or D. When deuterium replaces protium in a water molecule, it creates what is called heavy water or deuterium oxide (D2O).

Deuterium has a larger relative change in atomic weight compared to other isotopes like protium. This leads to a phenomenon known as the kinetic isotope effect that influences reaction rates. Typically, heavier isotopes tend to cause slower reaction rates. These effects can impact various biological processes, including metabolic pathways and cellular function.

Consuming low-quality cattle feeds may lead to the production of intracellular water that is rich in deuterium, which can pose health risks for both the animals and humans who consume the resulting products. As I mentioned, its elevated presence in metabolic processes has been associated with various health concerns. This post will cover what deuterium is, how it affects our health, and how to avoid it.

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You Can’t Medicate Your Way Out of a Poor Diet

The Lancet is considered one of the premier medical journals in the world. However, you may have yet to hear of the Eat Lancet Diet if you live outside of the UK. Their dietary recommendations should be spot on. However, adherents to the diet were examined and found to have deficiencies in several nutrients, including protein, selenium, zinc, iron, and folate. The subjects also reported a poorer mood. 1 Therefore, the people eating the Eat Lancet Diet may experience some diseases or symptoms caused by nutrient deficiencies. The problem is that they will more than likely think their problems come from disease rather than their diet. After all, why would The Lancet be recommending a diet that causes numerous nutrient deficiencies? Shouldn’t they know better? This post will cover why diet is overlooked by many healthcare practitioners, leading to misdiagnosis, erroneous medication prescriptions, and unnecessary medical treatments.

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Healthspan Versus Lifespan

This post will cover a new phenomenon that describes the disparity between healthy years of living and death. We are all familiar with lifespan, but the number of years we live as healthy individuals is called our healthspan. Since modern medicine and sanitary conditions have increased our lifespans almost 3 times, the disparity between healthspan and lifespan is increasing. Read on for more information.

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A New Study Reveals That Very High Cholesterol Does Not Cause Atherosclerosis in Some Lean People

Dr. Matthew Budoff presented data on December 9, 2023, demonstrating that a subgroup of individuals with very high total cholesterol and LDL do not seem to develop heart disease. The subjects are known as "Lean Mass Hyper Responders." The group became notable during the rise in popularity of ketogenic diets. This post will cover what a ketogenic diet is, what a lean mass hyper responder is, the possible mechanism of why they seem to be immune to heart disease, and the study itself.

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Reframe Your Thinking About How You Eat: Cheating vs. Sabotage

In the world of healthy living and dieting, the language used to describe deviations from a recommended eating plan plays a crucial role in shaping attitudes and perceptions toward it. While some people might argue that going off a diet is a form of cheating, a closer examination reveals that the term "cheating" may not accurately capture the essence of such deviations. Instead, it could be more accurately described as sabotage, given the notable difference between cheating's connotations of a strategic shortcut and sabotage's implication of intentional harm. This post will talk about how to reframe your thinking to help you stay on track.

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Nutrition and Skin Tanning

There are specific nutrients required to make melanin. Lacking them could lead to difficulty tanning. I had a period in my life when I lost the ability to tan, that I attributed to a poor diet. Once I added the nutrients I needed, I could tan again. This post covers the key ingredients needed to produce melanin, the pigment that causes us to look darker.

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Yellow Journalism and the Whims of Our Preferred Search Engines May Lead Us Astray in Our Quest For Health

Yellow journalism is a type of journalism that uses sensationalism and exaggeration to catch the attention and sway the beliefs of readers. It is poorly researched and often presents only one perspective of the story. Sometimes, it may even have misleading graphs and exaggerated illustrations. Although it is not always false, it often tends to be overly dramatic and manipulative, playing on our emotions, our desire to belong to the majority or our fears. When the articles corroborate prevailing popular ideas, they are even easier to believe. My recent research into vitamin C led me to an article by Atli Arnarson, Ph.D. in Healthline.com, entitled 10 Nutrients That You Can't Get From Animal Foods, " which I consider yellow journalism. It implies that meat is bad and vegetables are good for you, both popular notions already, so the information it contains makes it much easier to believe. Furthermore, search engines skew their results, further exacerbating our quest for information. I will critique the article and also cover the shortcomings of internet searches of health-related subjects in this post.

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The Carnivore Diet and Vitamin C Deficiency

The carnivore diet is a dietary regimen that restricts food intake to animal products, primarily meat, and animal-derived products, while excluding plant-based foods. Advocates of the carnivore diet (I am one of them) claim that it provides numerous health benefits, such as weight loss, improved mental clarity, and relief from various health conditions. One common concern with diets that exclude plant foods, like the carnivore diet, is the potential risk of vitamin and nutrient deficiencies, including vitamin C. A well-rounded carnivore diet, including fatty meat and organs, should contain all of the nutrients we require. However, it is important to understand why people on a carnivore diet that includes organ meat should not need to worry about their vitamin C status.

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Why is Pee Yellow After Taking Vitamins, and is it a Concern?

If you have ever taken vitamin supplements, you might have noticed bright yellow urine afterward. It's natural to wonder which vitamin or vitamins are responsible for it, whether you're losing your vitamin investment, and if it's a sign of something wrong. This post will explain why it happens, what it means, and whether it's a cause for concern. I will also cover the normal and abnormal colors of urine.

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Medical Intervention Versus Ancestral Medicine

In my post last week, I jokingly listed seven things that one could do to be unhealthy. However, I didn't want to leave it at that, so I also provided a list of seven things that can be done to maximize our health. All of the recommendations I made were related to lifestyle changes related to the ways our ancestors lived. The concept of incorporating ancestral behaviors such as proper sleep or whole foods diets universally embraced by our predecessors to achieve optimal health is known as the Ancestral Health Movement. Given the option, I would rather follow ancestral wisdom and reduce my chances of needing the care of a physician who may increase my chances of dying through error. This post will cover why I think ancestral medicine is a viable option for good health,

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7 Suggestions To Achieve Unhealthiness

Last week, I discussed the importance of taking charge of your own health and promised to provide tips for maintaining your well-being. Now, let's explore some habits that might lead to poor health. If you want to be unhealthy, make sure you…

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Who Is the Boss, You or Your Doctor?

One of the first things I tell my new patients is that I work for them; they are the boss. It always brings a smile to their face. I am awed by a plumber who can install the entire household system, but I will not allow him/her to boss me around or take advantage of me, and the same goes for my doctors. I am awed by their skills, but I know where to draw the line. Don’t stand for poor treatment from anyone. This post covers what you should expect from your medical provider, your legal rights, and what to do if you don’t get the care you deserve.

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Does Bad Weather Bring Out Pain?

Many individuals who suffer from chronic pain often attribute their discomfort to the weather. However, there is no clear scientific evidence to support this belief. This is mainly due to the challenge of obtaining a large dataset of patients frequently recording their pain symptoms during various weather conditions. But things have changed. A study called “Cloudy With a Chance of Pain” used a unique way of collecting data to see if weather correlates to pain. They have the best data to date on the subject. Their findings were surprising.

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White Rice Versus Saturated Fat: And The Winner Is...

Health experts and doctors have long touted the benefits of grains, with rice being a particularly healthy option. They also caution against consuming too much fat, particularly saturated fat. In recent years, low-carb-high-fat diets like keto have gained popularity because they reverse high blood sugar and blood pressure and improve BMI. This has led many to question the traditional belief in high-grain, low-fat diets. According to the PURE study, there is a connection between the amount of fat and carbohydrates consumed, cardiovascular risk, and mortality. The results will surprise you.

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Why Praising Your Child's Efforts is Better Than Treating Them with a Marshmallow

A famous paper from 1970 enticed children with a marshmallow and told them they would get an extra one if they waited for their treat. This study did not track the children into adulthood. Later on, the data was reviewed by additional researchers who contacted the children to see how they fared in life. They determined that the kids who waited longer were the more successful ones. Another study was done more recently that debunks the idea that willpower equates to success. I will decipher what is happening in this post and try to get to the the truth.

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Paper Straws, PFAS, and Harm to Us and the Environment

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.

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Stop the Cholesterol Madness

After 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.

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Healthy Nose, Healthy Breathing

I 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.

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