A high fat diet may lead to inflammation and colorectal cancer

A study published in Cell Research in July 2022 shows that a high-fat diet can lead to inflammation and possibly colorectal cancer. The study by Deng et al. showed that a high-fat diet increases the leptin receptors and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) in the intestinal stem cells (ISC).[1] Leptin is a hormone that regulates…

Exercise during fasting hastens ketosis onset

This article features a study that showed that ketosis could start earlier when high-intensity aerobic exercise is done at the start of fasting. Ketosis is the state the ketone levels are high enough to be an energy source. In times of no caloric intake, glucose gets depleted, and the body starts to convert body fat…

Exercise Makes Fasting Easier

This article presents a study that shows that exercise suppresses the release of the hunger hormone to delay hunger while fasting. The study was presented at the International Journal of Exercise Science conference in 2021. The researchers were from Brigham Young University. Brigham Young is the second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day…

Triglyceride-Glucose Index tests for insulin resistance and much more

Insulin resistance is not a good thing.  Insulin resistance is when the liver and skeletal muscles do not respond to insulin, forcing the pancreas to produce more insulin to lower blood sugar.  The problem with high insulin or hyperinsulinemia is that other organs like the fat tissue, liver, muscle, brain, bone, kidneys, and vasculature also…

Will Fasting Make My Muscles Shrink?

This article was first released on March 13, 2019. It is republished with new information. One concern with intermittent fasting is lean muscle may shrink. This article presents two studies that showed that lean mass or muscles are preserved with intermittent fasting. The first study showed that after eight weeks of alternate-day fasting, the muscles…

Intermittent Fasting: Now more than ever

I have talked about the benefits of intermittent fasting and the resulting reversal of cardiovascular risk factors like hypertension, diabetes, and hypertriglyceridemia. The past several months have shown unrelenting food price increases. This resulted from the war in Ukraine, the hyperinflationary policies of the US Federal Reserve, the culling of millions of poultry due to…

Gifts that Prioritize Health

An object’s small cost does not negate its value. Every single item on this Christmas gift list are relevant to the subjects covered on this website. There is a list of recommended readings at the bottom. “As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.” The list starts from the least to the most expensive….

10 Unbelievably Easy Ways to Screw Up Intermittent Fasting!

Many people have tried to lose weight using intermittent fasting. I know many who are successful. But do you know that unbelievable as it may seem, snafus can happen? Presenting… The 10 Unbelievably Easy Ways to Screw Up Intermittent Fasting! Watch cooking and travel shows. Put yourself in the place of the host as he/she…

How Intermittent Fasting Breaks Free From Insulin Dependency

Why would someone wean insulin from a Type 2 diabetic (adult-onset)? Isn’t insulin medicine for diabetes? Good question. While insulin may lower blood sugar and prevent immediate problems with very high blood sugar, injected insulin has long-term disadvantages. Insulin Effects Insulin stores fat and increases weight. The American Diabetes Association’s recommendation for diabetics is to lose…

The 80/20 Rule Applied to Diseases

The 80/20 rule is also known as the Pareto principle. Vilfredo Pareto (1848 – 1923) is an Italian engineer, sociologist, economist, political scientist,  and philosopher.  Vilfredo initially called it Pareto distribution. The Pareto distribution evolved into many names: Pareto Law, the Law of the Vital Few, the Principle of Factor Sparsity, Principle of Least Effort, and…

How Effective is Quitting Cigarettes?

Smoking is a significant risk factor for the development of coronary artery disease (CAD). It amplifies the negative effect of other CAD risk factors like diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension.  That is why smokers are always encouraged to quit. How effective is quitting smoking? The benefits of quitting the cigarette habit are seen within weeks. Those…

Drugs that Cause Insulin Resistance

Insulin resistance leads to Type 2 diabetes (T2D). Obesity, high caloric intake, and a sedentary lifestyle all contribute to insulin resistance. Some medications also cause insulin resistance, and they are commonly used. Thiazides Thiazides are “water pills.” It is one of the front line medications used to treat hypertension as recommended by the ACC/AHA Guidelines….

Diseases Associated with the Metabolic Syndrome

This article lists the diseases associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS). Anyone with three or more of the following five conditions—hypertension, high blood sugar, high blood triglycerides, low HDL, and obesity—qualifies for a diagnosis of MetS. Any single condition in the five components of MetS produces many other reactions that interact with the effects of the…

Eye Problems and Metabolic Syndrome

Glaucoma happens when fluid builds up in front of the eye according to the  American College of Ophthalmology. It is a leading cause of blindness in the over 60-year-old age group. Open-angle glaucoma (OAG) occurs when the fluid in the front part of the eye does not drain well. It is usually painless at first….

Kidney Stones and Metabolic Syndrome

The pain of renal colic is one of the most severe pains in the emergency department. Kidney stone pains are agonizing and relentless. Usually, the patients are writhing in pain and vomiting and sweating profusely. Kidney stones are formed in the kidney. As the stone travels down the ureter to get to the urinary bladder,…

Can You Be in Heart Failure Now?

Heart failure is one of the risk factors or comorbidities associated with death from COVID-19. Heart failure does not happen overnight but can develop over the years. Many people will not know this but many people are unaware that they have Stage A heart failure. Medications for heart failure but attention to the underlying cause…

The Good and Faithful Servant

Imagine being an owner of a large plantation, and you have a servant who takes care of the farmstead. That servant obeys everything that you order. It plants, waters, and harvest whenever you tell it. Whatever you command, it does. If there is an order from you that he cannot perform, he learns and adjusts…

Psoriasis and Metabolic Syndrome

  That dry and scaly skin patch may be psoriasis, which can be a  warning sign for other conditions. Why is this article relevant? Because psoriasis affects 1-4% of the general population (125 million worldwide) A person with psoriasis is 2 times more likely to have metabolic syndrome than a person without metabolic syndrome. Having…

Where You Live Can Affect Your Health

We know that food and activity can affect our health, but the city where we live can have a direct effect on our health. Recently I was in Shanghai, China to attend my daughter’s graduation. The subway system is called the Metro. The Metro is very efficient in handling thousands of people even during rush…

The Benefits of Intermittent Fasting and Fitness during Disasters

Well, it is not like I see the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse around the corner. This post is about the practical use of intermittent fasting and physical fitness in disaster situations. Events like a house fire or natural calamities like blizzards,  tornadoes, hurricanes,  typhoons, earthquakes, tsunamis, and a zombie apocalypse can abruptly and rudely introduce…