You've likely heard of your microbiome, but have you heard of your virome? Your virome is the suite of viruses living in your body. And just like bacteria and fungi, they play a role in your health. A small number of them come from the viruses that infected you throughout your life. But most of … Continue reading The virome: How viruses shape your gut health
Are you looking for the benefits of fermented food to see if you want to add them to your diet? Would it be better to increase fiber intake instead? Well, you're in luck, a paper published last year looked at this very topic. Unfortunately, you often won't get the full picture of a study from … Continue reading Benefits of fermented food vs high fiber: The FeFiFo study
Is there an inflammatory bowel disease diet that helps achieve remission? Anecdotally speaking, numerous people on the interwebz and social media believe so. But the interesting thing about this is that there really isn't a single diet. Some people do great with a whole food plant-based(WFPB) diet. Others do well with Carnivore or Keto. So … Continue reading Inflammatory bowel disease diet: The role of food additives
Frailty is something we often associate with weakness. When we think of it, we more often than not think of a physical form. For example, an elderly person with low muscle mass and osteoporosis. But it actually encompasses a lot more than an outward looking appearance. Frailty is a state of increased vulnerability to death … Continue reading Frailty, aging, and the microbiome
Intestinal inflammation has some serious deleterious consequences for your overall health. Most importantly, gut inflammation impairs gut function. This messes with digestion, absorption, as well as permeability of the gut. We just dropped a video on Youtube covering why the gut is such an energy hog. We cover: How the gut rivals the brain as … Continue reading Is intestinal inflammation caused by an energy imbalance in the gut?
Systemic inflammation describes a chronic state of mostly sterile inflammation. In other words, it describes a steady-state of inflammation with no immediate infectious cause. Different factors drive this state of chronic inflammation. For one, it increases with age. Furthermore, lifestyle plays a very important role, with obesity and behaviors that drive it increasing it as … Continue reading Systemic inflammation drives the severe response to infection
A strong immune system is important for protecting you against a range of pathogens from viruses to fungi to bacteria. In addition, it helps keep you healthy and robust as you grow older. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage on. As the more virulent variants keep the pandemic fire smoldering, now is an opportune … Continue reading Want a strong immune system? This is where you start!
A CGM, or continuous glucose monitor, is a device commonly used for Type 1 and Type 2 diabetics. They use it to manage their blood glucose in real time. CGM provides a continuous readout of how blood glucose changes over time. The best part is you use it without the hassle of drawing blood with … Continue reading Is a CGM useful for a healthy user?
Muscle loss is a tremendous problem as we age. This process, known as sarcopenia, starts at around age 30 and proceeds at a rate of around 3-5% of your muscle mass every decade. There is no way around this, it will hit us all. And, unfortunately, it plays a major role in our eventual demise. … Continue reading How an unhealthy gut causes muscle loss
Going outside is something most of us take for granted. We don't really think of going outside as something that can impact our health. But there's no doubt that it's something our ancestors did for eons up until recently. This isn't to say that people don't go outside every day. With few exceptions, everyone goes … Continue reading Is going outside essential to optimal health?