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9:23 AM
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(Note: My apologies for the sarcastic tone of this post. I am not really congratulating anybody here!)Dr. Nick Delgado shows us in this YouTube video how to "become diabetic" in 6 hours!I must admit that I liked the real-time microscope imaging, and wish he had shown us more of that.But really!After consulting with my mentor, the MIMIW, I was reminded that there is at least one post on this blog that shows how one can "become diabetic" in just over 60 minutes – that is, about 6 times faster than using the technique described by Dr. Delgado.The technique used in the post mentioned above is called "intense exercise", which is even believed to be health-promoting! (Unlike drinking olive oil as if it was water, or eating white bread.)The advantage of this technique is that one can "become diabetic"...
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Heavy physical activity may significantly reduce heart disease deaths, especially after age 45
The idea that heavy physical activity is a main trigger of heart attacks is widespread. Often endurance running and cardio-type activities are singled out. Some people refer to this as “death by running”. Others think that strength training has a higher lethal potential. We know based on the Oregon Sudden Unexpected Death Study that this is a myth.Here is some evidence that heavy physical activity in fact has a significant protective effect. The graph below, from Brooks et al. (2005) shows the number of deaths from coronary heart disease, organized by age group, in longshoremen (dock workers). The shaded bars represent those whose level of activity...
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Lipotoxicity or tired pancreas? Abnormal fat metabolism as a possible precondition for type 2 diabetes
The term “diabetes” is used to describe a wide range of diseases of glucose metabolism; diseases with a wide range of causes. The diseases include type 1 and type 2 diabetes, type 2 ketosis-prone diabetes (which I know exists thanks to Michael Barker’s blog), gestational diabetes, various MODY types, and various pancreatic disorders. The possible causes include genetic defects (or adaptations to very different past environments), autoimmune responses, exposure to environmental toxins, as well as viral and bacterial infections; in addition to obesity, and various other apparently unrelated factors, such as excessive growth hormone production.Type...
Thursday, August 19, 2010
The theory of supercompensation: Strength training frequency and muscle gain
Moderate strength training has a number of health benefits, and is viewed by many as an important component of a natural lifestyle that approximates that of our Stone Age ancestors. It increases bone density, muscle mass, and improves a number of health markers. Done properly, it may decrease body fat percentage.Generally one would expect some muscle gain as a result of strength training. Men seem to be keen on upper-body gains, while women appear to prefer lower-body gains. Yet, many people do strength training for years, and experience little or no muscle gain.Paradoxically, those people experience major strength gains, both men and women,...
Friday, August 13, 2010
The evolution of costly traits: Competing for women can be unhealthy for men
There are human traits that evolved in spite of being survival handicaps. These counterintuitive traits are often called costly traits, or Zahavian traits (in animal signaling contexts), in honor of the evolutionary biologist Amotz Zahavi (Zahavi & Zahavi, 1997). I have written a post about this type of traits, and also an academic article (Kock, 2009). The full references and links to these publications are at the end of this post.The classic example of costly trait is the peacock’s train, which is used by males to signal health to females. (Figure below from: animals.howstuffworks.com.) The male peacock’s train (often incorrectly called...
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Nonexercise activities like fidgeting may account for a 1,000 percent difference in body fat gain! NEAT eh?
Some studies become classics in their fields and yet are largely missed by the popular media. This seems to be what happened with a study by Levine and colleagues (1999; full reference and link at the end of this post), which looked at the role that nonexercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) plays in fat gain suppression. Many thanks go to Lyle McDonald for posting on this.You have probably seen on the web claims that overeating leads to fat loss, because overeating increases one’s basal metabolic rate. There are also claims that food has a powerful thermic effect, due to the energy needed for digestion, absorption and storage of nutrients; this...
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Clutter be gone! I now need a blimmin' rest.
Well that'll teach me to be more careful with my money and all the stuff that comes into our home from impulse buys and random gifts.My arms feel like they're ready to drop off. My feet detached themselves hours ago and my back is distinctively telling me that it is still there. And it is never pleasant when one's back muscles begin to heckle!Today was the day that the big event finally arrived. The Big Huge Summer Declutter organised by BBC Radio Suffolk and EACH's Treehouse Appeal to raise money for a new children's hospice. My goal was to turn up alongside 600 other participants to lay out my pitch at the biggest car...
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Cortisol, surprise-enhanced cognition, and flashbulb memories: Scaring people with a snake screen and getting a PhD for it!
Cortisol is a hormone that has a number of important functions. It gets us out of bed in the morning, it cranks up our metabolism in preparation for intense exercise, and it also helps us memorize things and even learn. Yes, it helps us learn. Memorization in particular, and cognition in general, would be significantly impaired without cortisol. When you are surprised, particularly with something unpleasant, cortisol levels increase and enhance cognition. This is in part what an interesting study suggests; a study in which I was involved. The study was properly “sanctified” by the academic peer-review process (Kock et al., 2009; full reference...
Friday, August 6, 2010
Getting ready for the Big Summer Declutter!
At last - permission to get rid of old toysI've just spent the last three hours immersed in a job that I've been avoiding for months, the task of decluttering Little T's bedroom. Oh the joys of negotiating with a 6 year old over which toys can be extracted from the floor and offered to a new home, let alone tidying away lots of annoying little bits and pieces that have become separated from each other over the years that have gone by.But at last we've got a box full of kids' stuff to sell at the Radio Suffolk's Big Summer Declutter car boot sale that's taking place on Sunday for EACH's Treehouse Appeal which is raising £3,000,000...
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
The baffling rise in seasonal allergies: Global warming or obesity?
The July 26, 2010 issue of Fortune has an interesting set of graphs on page 14. It shows the rise of allergies in the USA, together with figures on lost productivity, doctor visits, and medical expenditures. (What would you expect? This is Fortune, and money matters.) It also shows some cool maps with allergen concentrations, and how they are likely to increase with global warming. (See below; click on it to enlarge; use the "CRTL" and "+" keys to zoom in, and CRTL" and "-" to zoom out.)The implication: A rise in global temperatures is causing an increase in allergy cases. Supposedly the spring season starts earlier, with more pollen being produced...
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Growth hormone, insulin resistance, body fat accumulation, and glycogen depletion: Making sense of a mysterious hormone replacement therapy outcome
Hormone replacement therapies are prescribed in some cases, for medical reasons. They usually carry some risks. The risks come in part from the body down-regulating its own production of hormones when hormones are taken orally or injected. This could be seen as a form of compensatory adaptation, as the body tries to protect itself from abnormally high hormone levels.More often than not the down-regulation can be reversed by interrupting the therapy. In some cases, the down-regulation becomes permanent, leading to significant health deterioration over the long run. One can seriously regret having started the hormone replacement therapy in the...
