In this video I ask how mammals get out of torpor. Grizzly bears are the most appropriate model organism: monogastric, large-bodied, omnivorous hibernators. We also happen to have very detailed knowledge about their diet and it may not be what you think. Before that, I look at the argument that you really ARE in torpor, …
This post serves as a summary of the key points of my video, “How Olive Oil Makes You Fat”. Much more evidence is presented in the video, including epidemiological data in humans, feeding trials in rodents and pigs and stuff about grizzly bears. Plus jokes. This paper looked at oxidized linoleic acid metabolites AKA oxlams …
I made this video to push back on the idea that starchy tubers are “fallback foods” for humans. I would argue that the evidence that we have suggests that starchy tubers have been fundamental to human development. I’d also argue that we should rethink paleolithic peoples role in the environment. There is significant evidence that …
Obesity explained episoeds 8 and 9 are out. They are based on a trio of really great papers that have come out since 2018. Two are in the journal Nature and one is in PNAS, but remarkably all three are publicly available. The papers are (Kim, 2018), (Kim, 2020) and (Huang, 2022). Kim (2018) shows …
Turnips green, buttermilk and potatoes. Obesity Explained episodes 8 and 9. Read More »
Food Reference Lists: Linoleic Acid. Highest and lowest foods, percent of calories. Folate. Highest foods per calorie. Vitamin B12. Highest foods per calorie. Vitamin B6. Highest foods per calorie. So I’m having fun making these food reference lists. All of the data is from the USDA food data central, but sometimes when you slice the …
The 1000 foods highest and lowest in linoleic acid (And folate and B12) Read More »
The list is here! I just fired up a database on the google cloud and populated it with data from the USDA Nutrient database (Food Data) that some hero has put into MySQL format. My frustration with the available sources of this information is the inability to ask simple questions like, “calorie per calorie, which …
People think about the gut microbiome as something that is passively managed. Eat some fiber and pro-biotics and hopefully it will grow and bloom. Whose microbiome is it anyway? Obesity Explained, Episode 5. Watch the video version below if you prefer: Hibernators adjust their microbiome to fatten In the case of hibernating mammals, it is …
The AhR Actively Manages the Gut Microbiome for Fatness Read More »
Episode 4 of Obesity Explained is out! Watch The Video! Video Summary It’s January. Days are short, the light is dim. This one is about circadian rhythms, daylength, body weight and torpor. My working hypothesis is that the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor is A, if not THE, master regulator of torpor. Kynurenine is a tryptophan metabolite …
Torpor, Circadin Rhythms and the AhR: Obesity Explained, Episode 4 Read More »
I wanted to make a quick post to point out a real bias in the literature about how the phrase “saturated fat” is used. Lard is always referred to as saturated fat. Never mind that it’s always less than 50% saturated. I also wanted to apologize for not getting around to make summary posts of …
Saturated Fat is in the Eye of the Beholder; also Ants and Torpor Read More »
Over at Firebrand Meats I sell heirloom berkshire pork that has been raised on a diet that is low in PUFA. Animals cannot make polyunsaturated fat, so if you limit what’s in their diet, you can lower the amount that is in the meat. I summarized the problems with PUFA in pork and poultry in …
Save Thirty Bucks on Low-PUFA Pork! Pork without seed oils. Read More »
This paper from Finland is literally the greatest nutrition paper I’ve ever seen. (Lankinen, 2019) It’s long been known that high plasma levels of linoleic acid predict low diabetes risk. (Kroger, 2010) Furthermore, plasma levels of linoleic acid are a biomarker for intake. At this point people of a certain predisposition will say, “See! I …
By popular demand! This is clipped from my recent longer video Seed Oil and Fryer Oil Reality. This one is only 10 minutes and is just the parts of the video where I talk about what happens in restaurant deep fryers. Enjoy!
I made this video about the realities of seed oils and fryer oils. This started as a reaction video to Are Seed Oils Inflammatory by Gil Carvalho, MD PhD on his Nutrition Made Simple channel. I think it evolved into a pretty interesting discussion on the seed oil topic. Perhaps I’m biased. The main parts …
When I first wrote about the benefits of supplementing with succinate, most of the data available was about long term benefits. Oh sure, it can increase metabolic rate by causing beiging of fat cells. This can help you lose weight over time. And yes, it can have the long term benefit of muscle fiber transition …
Succinate Increases Athletic Performance By Oxidizing NADH Read More »
The job of molecular biologists – the ones who discover things like leptin and AMPK and superoxide dismutase – is to figure out the genetics and enzyme pathways behind it all. I’ve worked as a molecular biologist. It’s admittedly been awhile, but I can tell you that they’re very interested in the interactions between enzymes …
