Too much complexity! I like the simplicity of Ricky’s Weather Forecasting Stone

Too much complexity in the last few posts and related comments: multivariate analyses, path coefficients, nonparametric statistics, competing and interaction effects, explained variance, plant protein and colorectal cancer, the China Study, raw plant foods possibly giving people cancer unless they don’t …I like simplicity though, and so does my mentor. I really like the simplicity of Ricky’s Weather Forecasting Stone. (See photo below, from … I will tell you in the comments section. Click on it to enlarge. Use the "CRTL" and "+" keys to zoom in, and CRTL" and "-" to zoom out.)Can you guess who the gentleman on the photo is?A few hints. He is...

Read more »

The China Study one more time: Are raw plant foods giving people cancer?

In this previous post I analyzed some data from the China Study that included counties where there were cases of schistosomiasis infection. Following one of Denise Minger’s suggestions, I removed all those counties from the data. I was left with 29 counties, a much smaller sample size. I then ran a multivariate analysis using WarpPLS (warppls.com), like in the previous post, but this time I used an algorithm that identifies nonlinear relationships between variables.Below is the model with the results. (Click on it to enlarge. Use the "CRTL" and "+" keys to zoom in, and CRTL" and "-" to zoom out.) As in the previous post, the arrows explore associations...

Read more »

The China Study again: A multivariate analysis suggesting that schistosomiasis rules!

In the comments section of Denise Minger’s post on July 16, 2010, which discusses some of the data from the China Study (as a follow up to a previous post on the same topic), Denise herself posted the data she used in her analysis. This data is from the China Study. So I decided to take a look at that data and do a couple of multivariate analyzes with it using WarpPLS (warppls.com).First I built a model that explores relationships with the goal of testing the assumption that the consumption of animal protein causes colorectal cancer, via an intermediate effect on total cholesterol. I built the model with various hypothesized associations to explore...

Read more »

My transformation: I cannot remember the last time I had a fever

The two photos below (click to enlarge) were taken 4 years apart. The one on the left was taken in 2006, when I weighed 210 lbs (95 kg). Since my height is 5 ft 8 in, at that weight I was an obese person, with over 30 percent body fat. The one on the right was taken in 2010, at a weight of 150 lbs (68 kg) and about 13 percent body fat. I think I am a bit closer to the camera on the right, so the photos are not exactly on the same scale. For a more recent transformation update, see this post.My lipids improved from borderline bad to fairly good numbers, as one would expect, but the two main changes that I noticed were in terms of illnesses and...

Read more »

Subcutaneous versus visceral fat: How to tell the difference?

The photos below, from Wikipedia, show two patterns of abdominal fat deposition. The one on the left is predominantly of subcutaneous abdominal fat deposition. The one on the right is an example of visceral abdominal fat deposition, around internal organs, together with a significant amount of subcutaneous fat deposition as well.Body fat is not an inert mass used only to store energy. Body fat can be seen as a “distributed organ”, as it secretes a number of hormones into the bloodstream. For example, it secretes leptin, which regulates hunger. It secretes adiponectin, which has many health-promoting properties. It also secretes tumor necrosis...

Read more »

The China Study: With a large enough sample, anything is significant

There have been many references recently on diet and lifestyle blogs to the China Study. Except that they are not really references to the China Study, but to a blog post by Denise Minger. This post is indeed excellent, and brilliant, and likely to keep Denise from “having a life” for a while. That it caused so much interest is a testament to the effect that a single brilliant post can have on the Internet. Many thought that the Internet would lead to a depersonalization and de-individualization of communication. Yet, most people are referring to Denise’s post, rather than to “a great post written by someone on a blog.”Anyway, I will not repeat what Denise said on her post here. My goal with this post is bit more general, and applies to the interpretation of quantitative research results in...

Read more »

New bags and new blogs!

Showing off my new bag with eco-designer Kresse at the Bury St Edmunds Eco FairIf someone offered to sell me a piece of old fire-hose, I'd probably turn them down in an instant, but a gorgeous bag made from condemned fire-hose that would otherwise be buried in landfill, then that's a different story indeed.And that's how this story begins, with me becoming a proud owner of a stylish bag made from rubber hose that was once used to put out fires across the UK.The designs are the hot property of Elvis & Kresse (Eako), a very progressive eco business that turns industrial waste into luxury sought after accessories.  I first discovered them...

Read more »

Free running and primal workouts: Both look awesome, and dangerous

The other day I showed a YouTube MovNat video clip to one of my sons, noting the serious fitness of Erwan Le Corre. I also noted that the stunts were somewhat dangerous, and that they tried to replicate some of the movements that our Paleolithic ancestors had to do on a regular basis. That is, those movements are part of what one could call a primal workout.My son looked at me and laughed, as if asking me if I was really being serious. Why? Well, he is into breakdancing (a.k.a. b-boying), and also does a bit of something called "free running". If you don’t know what free running is, take a look at this Wikipedia article.Here are a couple of YouTube video clips on free running: clip 1, and clip 2. The moves do look a lot more hardcore than the ones on the MovNat video clip. (The reason for...

Read more »

Cool Eco Fair at Hot Venue

If you want to find a cool place to hang out in Bury St Edmunds today, then drop into the Eco Fair that is being hosted by the Fire Station, thanks to Fire Fighter Paul Turner who has worked so hard to organise the event.Yes you heard it right and apologies to friends on Facebook for having to listen to me mention it yet again, but this it the place to be to find about all things eco today.  I first wrote about it some months ago, in this blogpost here and a lot has happened since then, with a whole load of groups and people signed up to attend today, including the www.welovelocalfood.co.uk who helped me with my Suffolk Diet, Dan from Onya...

Read more »

Our body’s priority is preventing hypoglycemia, not hyperglycemia

An adult human has about 5 l of blood in circulation. Considering a blood glucose concentration of 100 mg/dl, this translates into a total amount of glucose in the blood of about 5 g (5 l x 0.1 g / 0.1 l). That is approximately a teaspoon of glucose. If a person’s blood glucose goes down to about half of that, the person will enter a state of hypoglycemia. Severe and/or prolonged hypoglycemia can cause seizures, comma, and death.In other words, the disappearance of about 2.5 g of glucose from the blood will lead to hypoglycemia. Since 2.5 g of glucose yields about 10 calories, it should be easy to see that it does not take much to make someone...

Read more »

Power napping, stress management, and jet lag

Many animals take naps during the day. Our ancestors probably napped during the day too. They certainly did not spend as many hours as we do under mental stress. In fact, the lives of our Paleolithic ancestors would look quite boring to a modern human. Mental stress can be seen as a modern poison. We need antidotes for that poison. Power napping seems to be one of them.(Source: Squidoo.com)Power napping is a topic that I have done some research on, but unfortunately I do not have access to the references right now. I am posting this from Europe, where I arrived a few days ago. Thus I am labeling this post “my experience”. Hopefully I will be...

Read more »