Long-Term Vegan Diet: Metainflammation & Sarcopenia
I operate an interventional pain clinic in the urban core. More than 90% of my chronic pain patients have metabolic dysfunction and have always presumed that the Standard American Diet was to blame for their metabolic syndrome and subsequent metainflammation. Even the ones who do not have high waist circumference still had elevated fasting glucose […]
About Metainflammation
My clinic started as an interventional pain clinic, but I quickly realized that chronic pain was more than an isolated pathology of excessive pain. I have amazing tools that can relieve a patient’s symptoms, but I can’t reverse the course of the disease unless I treat the underlying cause, the metainflammation. Pain simply doesn’t become […]
The Dark Side of Protein
It’s not wise to use food labels of processed foods to determine actual protein content because food labeling information may be inaccurate. Food labeling information is based upon a food component calorie estimation, which is calculated by adding up the calories provided by the energy-containing nutrients: protein, carbohydrate, fat, and alcohol. The Atwater system uses […]
Vendors of Death
The prevalence of vending machines that stock soda in schools, particularly elementary schools, is concerning for the overall health and well-being of the country. Sodas are made largely with high fructose corn syrup. Fructose activates the dopaminergic reward system more than glucose, and high fructose corn syrup is spiked with extra fructose, far beyond what […]
What is Metabolic Syndrome?
Obesity doesn’t cause metabolic syndrome; obesity is a marker for metabolic syndrome.
Mega farms, monocropping, and food engineering
In recent years, more megafarms have begun to use monocropping, which depletes the soil of beneficial microelements in order to maximize production. The role of Big Food in increasing food production depletes micronutrients and adds artificial flavors, increasing the likelihood of someone developing obesity. By 1967, American corn farms were growing nearly three times as […]
Sugar, Addiction, and Obesity
Sugar addiction, especially glucose, leads to obesity because of how it is metabolized. Sucrose (table sugar) is a disaccharide made of 50% fructose and 50% glucose. Sucrose is metabolized primarily in the small intestine, releasing equal parts glucose and fructose. Glucose causes insulin release and is rapidly cleared from the bloodstream by insulin-dependent channels. Fructose […]
Epidemic or Pandemic?
When every species gets the same disease, is it an epidemic or a pandemic? Reversing the obesity, prediabetes, and type 2 diabetes epidemic is today’s most important public health challenge. Every single species exposed to the standard American diet becomes overweight, pre-diabetic, or diabetic type 2. It takes a conscious effort to prevent and reverse […]
Are only 1 in 8 adults healthy?
Are only 1 in 8 adults considered healthy? According to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009-2016, less than 12.2% of the US population is now considered metabolically healthy. This should give everyone pause. We spend a ton of money on healthcare, yet the population seems to be getting sicker. Our entire […]
Demonizing Fat
Low-fat food doesn’t always mean healthy, and looking at fat negatively can actually lead to insulin resistance and weight gain. Demonizing fat because it has more calories per gram ignores the information transmitted in food to your body and encourages consumption of ultra-processed foods. If it says “low-fat” and you think it’s healthy, think again. […]