Lipoprotein(a) is heavily associated with cardiovascular risk—far more so than is elevated cholesterol. It’s very similar to LDL (the “bad” cholesterol), except that it has an apolipoprotein A attached to it. (LDL also has one apolipoprotein B protein attached to it, as does Lp(a).) But unfortunately, we don’t know that [...]
Lectins are proteins that protrude from a cell’s surface, allowing it to interact with its surroundings. This article compares lectins to Velcro: they’re sticky, and while each individual attachment is weak, the composite effect is strong. Lectins are everywhere: your cells have them, bacteria have them, and most of your food [...]
It’s a very common complaint: once a woman stops cycling, even if she never had any issues with her weight before, suddenly it’s a lot harder to keep the pounds off. Why is this? What’s the connection between female hormones and weight? Estrogen, Insulin Resistance, and Metabolic Syndrome This study establishes [...]
I wrote here about the potentially damaging effects of sugar. But to recap, it’s been heavily associated with weight gain, heart disease, insulin resistance and diabetes, cancer, and dementia, just to name some of the big ones. It’s important to keep yourself out of the danger zone (fasting glucose over [...]
We’ve understood for centuries, maybe longer, that repetition breeds belief: ideas that we hear frequently repeated are far more readily accepted as truth than those we only hear once. The Illusory Truth Effect But it wasn’t until 1977 that this phenomenon actually entered the academic realm, subsequently dubbed the illusory [...]
Your microbiome is critically important to your health, protecting against pathogenic illnesses as well as noninfectious gut disorders like allergies and autoimmunity. It also supports your mood and helps you maintain a healthy weight. Your diet has a huge impact on the types of bacteria that flourish in your gut, and [...]
Thyroid nodules are collections of enlarged tissue in the thyroid. They are three times as common in women as in men, and among women, the chances correspond to age (50% risk over 50 years old, 60% over 60, 70% over 70, etc). But they’re benign (non-cancerous) 95% of the time. [...]
Antiphospholipid Syndrome is an autoimmune condition in which the body attacks the phospholipids (fatty acids with a phosphate backbone) in the body. This can be a big deal, since we’re made up of cells, and phospholipids are the primary component of cell membranes. It’s not considered common (only 1-5% of [...]
Starch is an efficient way for plants to store glucose, in polysaccharides (sugar chains). There are two main types of polysaccharides: amylose and amylopectin. The former is more of a single chain (so you have to release the glucose molecules one at a time) while the latter is a series [...]
I had a hard time finding any information about the origins of seed cycling—but it’s a practice that is reasonably well known in naturopathic circles. The concept is, certain types of seeds (flax and pumpkin) promote estrogen during the follicular (first) phase of the menstrual cycle, and other types of [...]