The rapid advance of the sequencing of the genome of humans and other species has revealed how little we actually understand about how our cells operate. Consider this passage from the fifth edition of Molecular Biology of the Cell (2008, p. 207): Accurate gene identification requires approaches that extract information from the inherently low signal-to-noise …
Widely Publicized Studies Show Purified Diets Hurt Rodents But Blame It On “Fat” — Another Response to Bix Weber
A reader named “blob” asked me to respond to a recent post by the Fanatic Cook Bix Weber, “Two Studies That Link Dietary Fat to Cancer.” Both of these studies were conducted by the same group led by Philippe G. Frank, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at …
Eating Fat and Diabetes — Response to Bix Weber
Melissa McEwen recently brought to my attention a blog post by Bix Weber, the Fanatic Cook, “Diabetes is a Disorder of Fat Metabolism.” Weber cites a 2009 study published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation entitled “Mitochondrial H2O2 emission and cellular redox state link excess fat intake to insulin resistance in both rodents and humans” …
The Great Unknown: Using Statistics to Explore the Secret Depths of Unpublished Research
I spent a large portion of the day today trying to figure out why a couple papers I have showed that EGCG, a component of green tea, increases glucose uptake into isolated skeletal muscle cells, but another shows the opposite. The methods of these papers were a little different, and it’s possible to speculate that …
Wheat: In Search of Scientific Objectivity and New Year’s Resolutions
Well it’s that time again, so Happy New Year! January is a great time for trying new things to improve our lives and make them a bit better than they were the year before. A number of people in the blogosphere have offered some great dietary ideas for January. Stephan Guyenet recently passed on Matt …
What Can Modern Toxicology Tell Us About Food Toxins and Food Intolerances?
“The dose makes the poison.” — Paracelsus (1493-1541) “What is food to one is bitter poison to others.” — Lucretius (ca. 99 BC — ca. 55 BC) This post will be the first in a series of posts on food toxins and food intolerances. As an introduction, I’d like to review some of the recent …