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Rafe has posted about his aversion to supplements. I’d like to offer an opposing point of view, with some personal anecdata behind it. I’m a 42-year-old woman, 5′1″, and 113 lbs.. I work out 3x/wk. (cardio and weight training) and walk an average of 4 miles/day. Like Rafe, I am a...

Michael Pollan, as always, making perfect sense: Now watch Will Allen on urban...

This is based on an LA Times article here What strikes me most is how athlerosclerotic the science itself is.  Or perhaps it’s just the reportage? The opening line of the article is “CT scans of Egyptian mummies… show evidence of… hardening of the arteries, which is normally...

Also must-read this Sunday is Michael Pollan’s NY Times Op-Ed piece from Wednesday.  Nice cap to my week of ranting on the dismantling of rationality when it comes to lifestyle choices that directly impact one’s health, here and...

I have been trying to get the straight scoop on whether statins actually decrease mortality and morbidity in a significant way and I haven’t been able to find any real evidence that they do. If you ask a cardiologist it’s clear that they believe unequivocally that statins work, mostly because...

By design, most processing concentrates certain nutrients and biochemicals while removing others.  This skews the natural ratios that we have evolved to eat.   This leads to two phenomena which, over many years, seems like a bad idea to subject one’s body to: Over-concentration: Just because a...

For the past year or so I’ve been eating about 80% vegan.  I hate the word “vegan” because it has political/ideological connotations I don’t ascribe to, and also because by definition that’s not what I am.  I think Dr. Fuhrman’s neologism, nutritarian sums up my position...

Here is a fascinating discussion on NPR’s Forum from earlier this year on the subject of mercury and fish: Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. If you’ve...

I just tweeted on a subject that I suspected would cause a stir, and so it has, I’m moving it here: RafeFurst: I strongly support a soda tax! RT @mobilediner: check it out:  a Soda Tax? http://amplify.com/u/dvl coelhobruno: @RafeFurst what about diet soda? Would it be exempt? RafeFurst: @coelhobruno...

Given everything I hear about obesity stats in the U.S. and malnutrition in the developing world, the last thing I was expecting to find in my inbox this morning was a plea to join a Facebook cause to help end hunger in America.  Really? I’m usually not skeptical in this way, and I’m loath to...

This is not news, health professionals of all sorts have been saying this for a long time.  ABC News features a recent study supporting this. A relevant footnote near the end of the article though: ...

Debbie Maier asks us on the Upcoming Topics page to address Crohn’s Disease. I don’t know too much about it except that it’s an autoimmune disease and has a complex, multi-causal etiology and pathology.  In my reading on autoimmune diseases in general there seems to be a direct link...

The NY Times reports. Here’s my theory:  someone who drinks more than three cups of coffee a day can’t possibly sit still and actually gets their ass off the couch and does shit, thereby stimulating the body and brain, a known and powerful way to reduce dementia risk. hat tip: Daniel...

I’ve plugged Dr. Ann before on this blog, but this 13 minute video is definitely worth checking out, esp. during the holidays.  Ignore the marketing and just listen to the information and tips.  The science of nutrition is extremely complex, but there are some well-understood principles that Dr. Ann...