Over the last few years, it has become increasingly apparent how important thiamine is to overall health. Thiamine (thiamin) or vitamin B1, sits atop the mitochondria at multiple entry points involved in the metabolism of foods into cellular energy (ATP). It is also critical for several enzymatic reactions within the mitochondria. We have illustrated repeatedly […]
At least once a week, I have a conversation involving all the reasons why someone cannot/does not/will not consider changes to their diet a necessary step to health. Sometimes the conversation is more about the difficulties of overcoming lifelong bad habits. For those folks, change is difficult but not impossible. Sometimes the conversation involves appreciating that diet […]
What could male astronauts possibly have in common with earthbound women who use progestin based birth control? On the surface, absolutely nothing, but it turns out that space travel and IUDs (and other medications) initiate some chemistry changes that result in significant neuro-ocular damage. The syndrome, variously called pseudo-tumor cerebri, intracranial hypertension or in the case […]
The story of glyphosate and glyphosate-based-herbicides is emblematic of the perspective we hold towards chemical safety and the tactics employed by the chemical industry to maintain that perspective. Here was a chemical that was initially used industrially and recognized as toxic but through the magic of marketing and intense lobbying, became ‘safe’ for human consumption. […]
A few weeks ago, I posted some articles on Facebook regarding the need for protein in one’s diet (here, here). I believe that the lack of protein in the modern diet and the subsequent substitution with processed carbohydrates, is one of the leading contributors to metabolic disease. Over the last 50 years or so, we […]
Ever since I learned about connections between trehalose, the synthetic sugar now pumped into all food products (Figure 1.), and virulent infections, I could not help wondering if there were not some additional connections to be made; namely between our consumption of trehalose-laden products and the explosion in insect-borne illnesses over the last few decades. […]
As many of you may know, I have been working on a few books as of late. This has limited my ability to write for Hormones Matter with any consistency. Absent new content, numbers drop. (For all of you who have been contemplating writing for us, now is the time.) In the meantime, I decided […]
I had the great pleasure of speaking to the Washington Alliance for Responsible Midwifery (WARM) recently about re-framing the concepts around maternal health and understanding the biases in medical research. One of the great questions that has been occupying my time lately is understanding how the frameworks for understanding medical concepts emerge. Shorthand: how do […]