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 …
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” …
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 …
Yummy Low-Carb Gluten-Free Coconut Flour Pancakes
These pancakes are surprisingly pancake-like and delicious when one considers how little carbohydrate is in them. And, of course, they’re gluten-free. They’re from Cooking With Coconut Flour: A Delicious Low-Carb, Gluten-Free Alternative to Wheat, by Bruce Fife, ND. 2 eggs 2 tablespoons coconut oil or melted butter 2 tablespoons coconut milk or whole milk 1 …
Can Christians Be Paleo? Christianity, Faith, Evidence, Dobzhansky, Evolution, and More
Jimmy Moore recently raised the question, “Can a Christian Follow A Paleo Low-Carb Diet?” He raised the question because he has received emails from people who find it difficult to answer why God created grains if they are bad for us, why God put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden eating a vegetarian diet if we are not …
Meeting the Choline Requirement — Eggs, Organs, and the Wheat Paradox
In several recent posts, I argued that most of us aren’t getting enough choline, and that the disappearance of choline-rich foods like liver and egg yolks from the modern diet is likely responsible for the silent epidemic of fatty liver disease that may be afflicting 70-100 million Americans. If you missed them, you can find them …
Does Choline Deficiency Contribute to Fatty Liver in Humans
by Chris Masterjohn I hope all of those who celebrated had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Giving thanks is at least as healing as a healthy diet! For those of you who celebrated it just to eat a lot or for entirely other reasons, I hope you also had a wonderful holiday, and for those of you who did …
The Sweet Truth About Liver and Egg Yolks — Choline Matters More to Fatty Liver Than Sugar, Alcohol, or Fat
In a recent post, I pointed out that perhaps as many as 100 million Americans have some degree of fatty liver disease. Why? Alcohol has been blamed since the 1800s, but we currently have an epidemic of nonalcoholic fatty liver. Some researchers, such as Dr. Robert Lustig, are making the case against fructose. Naturally, the nutritional establishment …
Is the “Receptor for AGEs (RAGE)” Really a Receptor for AGEs?
RAGE. It sounds pretty mad. Angry. And it’s out to get you. How? By punishing you for eating overcooked food, igniting your tissues with the hellfire of inflammation and oxidative stress. Or not. Maybe it’s just there to make your brain grow. Welcome to the controversies of science department snack rooms and rarely published critical …