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blood sugar

Stop Eating THIS for Breakfast If You Want to Lose Fat

Posted on October 2nd 2025 (10 months)

In this clip, Drs. Ben Bikman and Rhonda Patrick reveal how meal timing and breakfast choices influence insulin, appetite, and...

sleep

Stop Doing THIS Before Bed (the REAL reason you can't sleep)

Posted on October 2nd 2025 (10 months)

In this clip, Drs. Ben Bikman and Rhonda Patrick discuss how late-night eating, poor sleep, and caffeine disrupt metabolism and impair...

blood sugar

Take THIS Supplement Before Meals to Instantly Lower Blood Sugar

Posted on October 1st 2025 (10 months)

In this clip, Dr. Ben Bikman highlights berberine, apple cider vinegar, and ketones—supplements that lower glucose spikes and support metabolic...

Topic Pages

  • Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs)

    Ingested SSBs provide high-glycemic sugars rapidly absorbed via SGLT1, transiently spiking systemic blood glucose concentrations.

News & Publications

  • Supplementation with essential phospholipids lowered liver-fat markers in fatty liver disease. doi.org
    Blood Sugar Fatty Liver Supplements Choline

    Fatty liver disease linked to metabolic health is increasingly common worldwide, but evidence for approaches that can be added to lifestyle changes to reduce liver fat remains limited. A new study tested whether supplementation with essential phospholipids, molecules that help form the membranes around cells, could lower liver fat markers in people with this condition.

    The trial included 193 adults with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), a condition in which fat builds up in the liver alongside metabolic risk factors such as obesity, high blood sugar, or abnormal cholesterol levels. Participants were randomly assigned to receive 1800 mg per day of soy-derived essential phospholipids or placebo for 6 months. Both groups also received lifestyle guidance focused on diet, avoidance of fructose-rich drinks and foods, alcohol restriction, and exercise, and researchers followed participants for 3 months after treatment ended. The main outcome was an ultrasound-based estimate of fat buildup in the liver at the end of the supplementation period.

    • Over six months, the liver fat estimate fell about twice as much with essential phospholipids as with placebo. The difference was already present at three months and remained three months after treatment ended.
    • More participants receiving the supplement moved from the highest liver-fat category to lower categories, and a score that is used to flag patients at higher risk of disease progression improved modestly.
    • HbA1c, a marker of average blood sugar levels over the previous 2–3 months, started at about 5.8% with essential phospholipids and 5.7% with placebo. Over six months, it fell by about 0.25 percentage points with essential phospholipids and rose by about 0.30 percentage points with placebo.
    • Several other measures, including a liver scarring marker, liver enzymes, blood lipids, body weight, and a quality-of-life score did not clearly differ between groups.
    • Adverse events occurred at similar rates in both groups. The most common were headache, diarrhea, and cold-like symptoms.

    How might essential phospholipids produce these effects? One explanation involves phosphatidylcholine, one of the main components of essential phospholipids. Liver cells use phosphatidylcholine to build and maintain healthy cell membranes and to package fat for transport out of the liver. In MASLD, fat accumulates inside liver cells, and changes in cell membrane composition may impair how those cells function and handle fats. By supplying additional phosphatidylcholine, essential phospholipids may help support the liver's normal fat-handling processes. Although the study did not test this mechanism directly, it provides a biologically plausible explanation for why liver fat markers improved without a clear difference in body weight or changes in body weight between the groups.

    The study had industry funding, and some authors had financial ties to or were employees of the funder, so independent confirmation would strengthen confidence. The trial was also too short to assess the effects on long-term complications associated with MASLD. Still, the findings make essential phospholipids an interesting treatment candidate for MASLD patients while keeping lifestyle care and metabolic risk management central. In Q&A #82, I discussed whether increasing choline intake and other lifestyle strategies can help reverse fatty liver disease.

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  • Hourly 3-minute movement breaks improved blood sugar control in sedentary office workers. doi.org
    Blood Pressure Blood Sugar Cholesterol Exercise Metabolism

    Long hours of sitting in office jobs contribute to metabolic dysfunction, but practical and evidence-based strategies to counter this within daily routines remain limited. In a new randomized trial, researchers tested whether brief bodyweight exercises built into each work hour could improve metabolic health over 12 weeks.

    The study enrolled 86 adults aged 25–55 from three desk-based workplaces who sat more than six hours per day and reported fewer than 150 minutes per week of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Researchers focused on fasting blood glucose, blood glucose two hours after a standardized glucose drink, and HOMA-IR, an estimate of insulin resistance. One group of participants continued their usual routines, while the other group was instructed to perform seven 3-minute exercise sessions during the 9 AM–5 PM workday using simple movements: marching in place, desk or wall push-ups, squats, heel raises, arm circles with shoulder rolls, and torso twists.

    • Participants reported more energy, less afternoon fatigue, and better productivity.
    • Fasting blood glucose fell by 5.6 mg/dL relative to the control group, 2-hour glucose fell by 10.4 mg/dL, and HOMA-IR decreased by 0.42. HDL cholesterol increased by more than 3 mg/dL, while total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol did not clearly differ between groups.
    • Waist circumference decreased by 2.1 cm relative to control, BMI dropped by 0.4 kg/m², body fat fell by 0.9 percentage points, and systolic blood pressure decreased by 4 mmHg.
    • Among participants with prediabetes, 56% in the intervention group returned to normal glucose levels, compared with 13% of controls.

    Repeated bouts of muscle contraction, particularly in large postural and leg muscles, can stimulate glucose uptake through insulin-independent pathways. This process involves activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a cellular energy sensor that responds to increased energy demand, and promotes translocation of GLUT4, the main glucose transporter that moves glucose from the bloodstream into muscle cells. Spreading the breaks across the day likely enhanced the metabolic benefits by placing some physical activity sessions after meals, when blood glucose rises and regulation is more demanding.

    The study was small and short-term, and did not include dietary tracking, but it points to a simple, low-cost and low-effort strategy that fits into typical workdays. In this clip, Brady Holmer and I discuss how incorporating short bursts of vigorous activity throughout the day can meaningfully impact long-term health and lifespan.

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  • Brief movement breaks during sitting improve blood sugar control after a meal in adults with obesity. doi.org
    Blood Sugar Exercise Insulin Insulin Resistance Obesity

    Many adults with obesity spend long hours seated, which worsens blood sugar control and insulin resistance. Researchers have proposed very short activity breaks as a simple way to interrupt this sedentary time and improve health in a meaningful way.

    A new systematic review pooled randomized trials to test whether these brief movements improve blood glucose and insulin responses after a meal in adults with obesity. Across 17 randomized trials, 261 adults with obesity either sat continuously for several hours or interrupted sitting with brief bouts of light or moderate movement, using modes such as walking, standing, cycling, stair climbing, running, simple resistance exercises, and leg fidgeting.

    Breaking up sitting produced modest improvements in blood sugar control after meals:

    • Taking short activity breaks reduced the size of blood sugar spikes after eating, but overall and average glucose levels during the test period did not change much.
    • Insulin responses also improved, with smaller rises after eating and lower average levels.
    • Protocols based on light to moderate intensity walking or simple body weight resistance movements produced the most consistent benefits.
    • Schedules with breaks at least every 30 minutes, each about 3 minutes or less, tended to show the clearest benefits in the available studies.
    • Total daily interruption volumes of about 30 minutes gave the largest improvements in glucose responses, while moderate total daily volumes around 1 to 2 hours were linked to greater reductions in insulin responses.

    These acute changes likely arise from repeated activation of large muscle groups, which increases glucose uptake in skeletal muscle through insulin-independent pathways and enhances insulin sensitivity. Overall, even very brief but frequent bouts of physical activity during prolonged sitting can blunt glucose and insulin surges.

    For people who sit for much of the day, integrating 2 to 5 minute activity breaks every half hour may offer a realistic complement to standard exercise prescriptions. Longer, real-world trials in diverse populations will be essential to determine whether these small movements deliver durable protection against type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular complications. In this clip, I discuss exercise, diet, supplements, and lifestyle strategies to improve glucose regulation and prevent diabetes.

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  • Boosting glycogen breakdown in neurons with tau-related damage improves symptoms of neurodegeneration, a potential strategy for Alzheimer's and related diseases. www.nature.com
    Alzheimer's Blood Sugar Brain Dementia Metabolism

    Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration are characterized by the abnormal buildup of tau, a protein that damages brain cells and drives cognitive decline. A recent study found that tau-related disorders in both fruit flies and humans are closely linked to neuronal accumulation of glycogen—the stored form of glucose—and that breaking down this glycogen substantially reduces tau-related brain damage.

    In this study, researchers used fruit flies genetically engineered to produce a harmful form of human tau protein, as well as neurons derived from human stem cells taken from people with frontotemporal lobar degeneration. They tested how diet and enzymes involved in glycogen breakdown affected brain cell health, analyzed molecular changes through metabolomics and genomics, and examined how tau protein interacts with glycogen inside cells.

    They found that both fruit flies and human neurons with tau-related damage had unusually high levels of glycogen. When they boosted the activity of an enzyme called glycogen phosphorylase, which breaks down glycogen, symptoms of tauopathy improved dramatically: The fruit flies showed fewer signs of neurodegeneration, and human neurons became healthier. Dietary restriction had similar effects by naturally increasing glycogen breakdown, redirecting glucose metabolism away from energy production and toward a stress-reducing pathway called the pentose phosphate pathway.

    These findings suggest that tau-related brain diseases worsen when glycogen builds up in neurons, and that breaking down this excess sugar protects brain cells. By interrupting what appears to be a vicious cycle between glycogen and tau accumulation, this approach could offer a powerful new direction for treating Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal lobar degeneration, and related conditions. Intermittent fasting promotes the breakdown of glycogen, likely contributing to its brain-protective effects. Learn more in this clip featuring Dr. Mark Mattson.

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  • Interrupting sedentary behavior every 30 minutes aids blood sugar control and may mitigate the risk of cardiometabolic disorders, according to a meta-analysis. onlinelibrary.wiley.com
    Exercise Diabetes Blood Sugar Cardiovascular

    Sitting for long periods isn’t just harmful to your back—it may also increase your risk of cardiometabolic disorders, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Some research indicates that breaking up sedentary time with movement can enhance cardiometabolic health, but scientists are uncertain about the best frequency for these breaks. A recent study discovered that taking frequent breaks—at least every 30 minutes—might be more effective at managing blood sugar than having less frequent interruptions.

    Researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized crossover trials that compared different frequencies of activity breaks during prolonged sitting. They included data from 13 studies with 211 participants, examining the effects of more frequent movement breaks (every 30 minutes or less) versus less frequent ones (every 30 minutes or more) on glucose, insulin, triglycerides, blood pressure, and vascular function.

    Their analysis revealed that taking more frequent movement breaks—every 30 minutes or more—reduced blood glucose levels more effectively than less frequent breaks. However, they found no significant differences between the two approaches for insulin levels, blood pressure, triglycerides, or vascular function. In addition, they rated the overall quality of evidence as low, highlighting the need for further research.

    These findings suggest that interrupting sedentary time at least every 30 minutes is a practical strategy for improving blood sugar control. An effective way to interrupt sedentary time is to engage in “exercise snacks"—short bursts of activity that improve cardiorespiratory fitness. Watch this video to learn about a two-minute exercise snack that improves blood glucose, mitochondrial health, and more.

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  • Interrupting prolonged sitting with ten body-weight squats improves blood glucose levels better than a 30-minute walk. onlinelibrary.wiley.com
    Exercise Diabetes Muscle Blood Sugar

    Prolonged sitting is a prominent feature of modern life. Unfortunately, it carries considerable health risks, including impaired glucose metabolism and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. A recent study found that interrupting prolonged sitting periods with short bursts of activity – especially frequent walks or squats – improves blood glucose levels.

    The study involved 18 men with overweight and obesity who engaged in four different activities on separate days: sitting uninterrupted for 8.5 hours, or sitting interrupted by a single 30-minute walk, ten three-minute walks (every 45 minutes), or ten three-minute squat sessions (every 45 minutes). Researchers assessed the participants' blood glucose levels using continuous glucose monitors and gauged their muscle activity, especially in the quadriceps, hamstrings, and gluteal muscles, using an electromyogram.

    They found that any form of sitting interruption reduced blood glucose levels better than uninterrupted sitting, with the frequent three-minute walks and squat exercises outperforming the single 30-minute walk. Increased muscle activity, particularly in the quadriceps and gluteal muscles, correlated strongly with these improvements.

    These findings suggest that interrupting prolonged sitting with frequent, short bouts of physical activity, especially those that engage the lower body muscles, is more effective in enhancing glycemic control than a single, longer session of activity. Evidence suggests that these short bursts of activity, often called “exercise snacks,” improve cardiorespiratory fitness and markers of immune function. Learn more in this clip featuring Dr. Martin Gibala.

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  • Loss of estrogen receptor alpha led to aspects of metabolic syndrome, inflammation, and acceleration of atherosclerosis in mice. (2011) www.sciencedaily.com
    Hormones Insulin Resistance Inflammation Estrogen Blood Sugar Metabolic Syndrome Cardiovascular

    From the article:

    This early preclinical study in female mice demonstrated that removing estrogen regulator alpha alone was enough to reduce the immune system’s protective process and promote increased fat accumulation and accelerate atherosclerosis development. Without this protein, the mice developed additional aspects of metabolic syndrome such as glucose intolerance, insulin resistance and inflammation.

    This estrogen receptor is also expressed in many other non-reproductive tissues such as fat, muscle and liver and can also act independent of the hormone estrogen. However, little is known about the receptor’s actions in these tissues that are involved in blood-sugar regulation, which plays an integral role in metabolic syndrome.

    […]

    “Impairment of this receptor’s function could also play a role in the heightened incidence of metabolic syndrome being seen in younger women,”

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  • Silencing of estrogen receptor α in a brain area of the hypothalamus led to metabolic syndrome in mice. (2007) www.sciencedaily.com
    Brain Metabolism Hormones Fat Estrogen Blood Sugar Metabolic Syndrome Weight Loss Visceral Fat

    From the article:

    Estrogen receptors are located on cells throughout a woman’s body. Previous studies have shown that one type of estrogen receptor, known as estrogen receptor alpha or ER-alpha, plays a role in regulating food intake and energy expenditure. But scientists have been unable to pinpoint exactly where these fat-regulating receptors reside or how they work to govern these behaviors.

    To determine the effect of dwindling estrogen levels in the brain, Clegg and her colleagues are focusing on two ER-alpha rich regions located in the hypothalamus, an area of the brain that controls body temperature, hunger and thirst. The first region, called the ventromedial nucleus or VMN, is a key center for energy regulation.

    Using a relatively new gene-silencing technique called RNA interference, the researchers in earlier research deactivated the alpha-receptors in the VMN. The estrogen receptors in other regions of the brain maintained their normal capacity.

    When estrogen levels in the VMN dipped, the animals' metabolic rate and energy levels also plummeted. The findings show the animals quickly developed an impaired tolerance to glucose and a sizable weight gain, even when their caloric intake remained the same. What’s more, the excess weight went straight to their middle sections, creating an increase in visceral fat.

    The findings suggested that the ER-alpha in this region plays an essential role in controlling energy balance, body fat distribution and normal body weight.

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  • Estradiol administered to the amygdala of a menopause rat model prevented weight and abdominal fat gain and improved glucose tolerance. (2017) www.sciencedaily.com
    Brain Hormones Fat Estrogen Blood Sugar Weight Loss Visceral Fat

    From the article:

    “We know as women age and enter into menopause, they tend to gain body weight and body fat, particularly in the abdominal or ‘belly’ area. Excess abdominal fat greatly increases risk for cardio-metabolic diseases,” says Solomon. “While there are likely many factors that are associated with these risks in menopausal women, estrogen loss is associated with body weight and fat gain during menopause. In fact, estrogen treatment can offset this weight gain in many women.”

    The medial amygdala (MeA) is a region of the brain that helps regulate body weight and contains an abundance of estrogen receptors (molecules that respond to estrogen). The researchers used an experimental model in rats, which involves removing the ovaries to mimic the hormonal changes of menopause. They targeted estrogen replacement directly in the MeA and found that it prevented weight and abdominal fat gain and improved glucose tolerance, compared to rats in a placebo group. This suggests that the MeA is important in the metabolic health of menopausal females and may be a useful target for treatment.

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  • Estrogen may improve insulin sensitivity and suppress gluconeogenesis via Foxo1, mouse study suggests. (2019) www.sciencedaily.com
    Hormones Diabetes Estrogen Insulin Blood Sugar

    From the article:

    “Premenopausal women exhibit enhanced insulin sensitivity and reduced incidence of Type 2 diabetes compared with age-equivalent men,” he explained. “But this advantage disappears after menopause with disrupted glucose homeostasis, in part owing to a reduction in circulating estrogen.”

    […]

    “We wanted to understand the mechanism by which estrogen regulates gluconeogenesis by means of interaction with hepatic Foxo1,” he explained. “Foxo1 has an important role in the regulation of glucose production through insulin signaling. It is an important component of insulin-signaling cascades regulating cellular growth, differentiation and metabolism.”

    He said in both male and ovariectomized female control mice, a subcutaneous estrogen implant improved insulin sensitivity and suppressed gluconeogenesis. However, the estrogen had no effect on the liver-specific Foxo1 knockout mice of both sexes.

    “This suggests Foxo1 is required for estrogen to be effective in suppressing gluconeogenesis,” he said.

    “We further demonstrated that estrogen suppresses hepatic glucose production through activation of estrogen receptor signaling, which can be independent of insulin receptor substrates Irs1 and Irs2. This reveals an important mechanism for estrogen in the regulation of glucose homeostasis.”

    Guo said study results support the hypothesis that improvement of glucose homeostasis by estrogen is regulated by hepatic Foxo1-mediated gluconeogenesis rather than by promoting muscle glucose uptake.

    […]

    Guo also noted some foods, such as soybeans, contain a certain amount of phytoestrogens, which can function in a similar way to that of estrogen, regulating bodily glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity.

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  • Vitamin D and estradiol may synergistically help protect against metabolic syndrome. (2019) www.sciencedaily.com
    Vitamin D Hormones Cholesterol Estrogen Triglycerides Blood Pressure Blood Sugar Metabolic Syndrome

    From the article:

    Metabolic syndrome has emerged as a major public health concern, affecting 30% to 60% of postmenopausal women worldwide.

    […]

    The cross-sectional study included 616 postmenopausal women aged 49 to 86 years who were not taking estrogen and vitamin D/calcium supplements at the beginning of the trial. It concluded there was a positive correlation between vitamin D and estradiol.

    Specifically, higher vitamin D was associated with a favorable lipid profile, blood pressure, and glucose level. Estradiol was negatively associated with cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure. These results suggest a synergistic role of vitamin D and estradiol deficiency in developing metabolic syndrome in postmenopausal women.

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  • Testosterone-replacement therapy reduced the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in patients with low testosterone from 56% to 30%. (2012) www.sciencedaily.com
    Hormones Testosterone Triglycerides Blood Pressure Blood Sugar Weight Loss

    From the article:

    “When indicated, testosterone treatment is both essential and safe in elderly patients with symptomatic late onset hypogonadism, or testosterone deficiency,” said study lead author Aksam A. Yassin, M.D., Ph.D., Ed.D., chairman of the Institute of Urology & Andrology in Norderstedt-Hamburg, Germany. “Further analysis is needed to confirm if our findings are due to a direct effect of restoring physiologic testosterone levels.”

    Specifically, investigators found that the prevalence of metabolic syndrome dropped from 56 to 30 percent after 57 months of treatment with testosterone-replacement medication to regulate hormone levels. In addition, triglycerides, and levels of blood sugar and pressure significantly decreased, while the average waist circumference shrank by 11 centimeters.

    Beginning in 2004, investigators collected data from 261 patients with late-onset hypogonadism, characterized by both low testosterone levels and sexual dysfunction, at three centers in Germany. Patients received 1,000 milligrams of a long-acting testosterone drug, called undecanoate, on the first day of the study, at week six, and then every three months.

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  • Silencing TLR4 gene can stop process leading to cardiovascular disease in diabetics (animal study) www.sciencedaily.com
    Diabetes Immune System Blood Sugar Toll-Like Receptors Cardiovascular

    TLR4 plays a role in death of heart cells from high blood sugar.

    From the article:

    Researchers writing in BioMed Central’s open access Journal of Translational Medicine carried out a series of in vitro tests which demonstrated that TLR4 plays a critical role in hyperglycaemic cardiac apoptosis, and that silencing the gene using specific small interfering RNA (siRNA) can prevent it.

    […]

    They found that after 7 days of hyperglycemia, the level of TLR4 mRNA in myocardial tissue was significantly elevated, and signs of apoptosis were evident. Silencing TLR4 resulted in suppression of apoptotic cascades. According to Min, “This is the first demonstration of the prevention of cardiac apoptosis in diabetic mice through silencing of the TLR4 gene.”

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  • Higher-than-normal blood sugar blunts some aerobic adaptations resulting from aerobic exercise
    Exercise Diabetes Blood Sugar Aerobic Strength

    From the article:

    Muscle tissue can remodel itself, which is one reason why exercise becomes easier when we do it regularly, Lessard says. Over time, aerobic exercise such as running or swimming can alter muscle fibers to become more efficient at using oxygen during exercise. “We also grow new blood vessels to allow more oxygen to be delivered to the muscle, which helps to increase our aerobic fitness levels,” she says.

    The scientists propose that high levels of blood sugar may prevent muscle remodeling in part by modifying the “extracellular matrix” proteins in the space between the muscle cells, where blood vessels are formed.

    Adapting to aerobic exercise as though it were strength training:

    The scientists found that these JNK pathway signals were getting crossed in the hyperglycemic mice, by activating pathways associated with strength training, even though the mice were performing aerobic exercise. “As a result, the muscles of hyperglycemic animals have bigger fibers and fewer blood vessels, which is more typical of strength training, rather than aerobic training,” Lessard says.

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  • Just one sugar-sweetened beverage per week impairs executive function in children. www.eatthis.com
    Brain Sugar Blood Sugar

    Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in the United States has decreased in recent decades, hopefully translating into lower rates of obesity and cardiovascular disease, both associated with excess sugar consumption. Although the cardiometabolic effects of added sugars in adults have been well-documented, the effects of sugar sweetened beverages on brain function, especially in children, is under-investigated. Findings of a new report show an association between sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and poorer cognitive performance in children.

    Executive function refers to a set of high-level cognitive skills, such as complex reasoning, goal-oriented activity, and self-regulation, that begin development during gestation and continue throughout childhood. Previous research has demonstrated that excess sugar consumption causes neuroinflammation, decreased hippocampal function, and poorer spatial learning ability in adolescent rats, but not adult rats. While it is plausible that excess sugar consumption causes similar effects in children, this area is under-investigated, especially in less developed countries such as China.

    The researchers recruited more than 6,000 children (ages, 6 to 12 years) who were enrolled at one of five participating school districts in Guangzhou, China. Parents of these children completed questionnaires about their child’s sugar-sweetened beverage (e.g., soda, fruit juice, energy drinks) consumption, executive function (e.g., emotion regulation, organizing, memory), and other demographics and lifestyle information (e.g., socioeconomic status, parental education, parental smoking status, exercise habits). The researchers categorized children as consuming zero, one, or two or more eight ounce servings of sugar-sweetened beverages per week.

    Compared to non-consumers, children who consumed even one serving of sugar-sweetened beverages per week had worse scores on all executive functioning subscales including behavior regulation and metacognition. This trend was even stronger in children consuming two or more servings per week, with a 45 percent increased chance of poor behavior regulation and 70 percent increased chance of poor metacognition compared to non-consumers. These relationships were not altered when taking sex, age, and BMI into account.

    In this large observational study, consumption of just one serving of sugar-sweetened beverages per week was associated with worse executive function in children. The authors noted that interventional trials are needed to establish the causal mechanisms of this relationship.

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  • Age-related changes in glucose homeostasis differ in commonly studied animal models. www.cell.com
    Aging Blood Sugar

    Scientists use animal models to answer a variety of scientific questions about humans, from basic science to the pathophysiology of complex diseases. The reliability of these models is based on remarkable similarities in the biology of most mammals and the fact that many human diseases often affect other animal species. Findings from a recent study suggest that glucose homeostasis in aging differs between some commonly studied animals and humans.

    As humans age, they experience significant changes in glucose metabolism and body composition. For example, insulin resistance is common among older adults, increasing their risk for type 2 diabetes. In addition, a person’s fat mass typically increases and muscle mass and bone mineral density decrease.

    The authors of the study compared the trajectories, change rates, and death rates associated with fasting blood glucose, body weight, and fat mass in mice, nonhuman primates, and humans across their lifespans. They drew on data from the Study of Longitudinal Aging in Mice, the Nonhuman Primate Study, and the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging.

    They found that body weight and body fat across the three species followed similar trajectories, typically peaking in mid to late life and decreasing thereafter. However, fasting blood glucose levels decreased as the mice aged but increased as the nonhuman primates and humans aged. Having low glucose in mice and high glucose in nonhuman primates and humans translated to higher death rates.

    These findings suggest that aging-related changes in glucose homeostasis differ among species and underscore the need for choosing appropriate animal models in aging research.

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  • Allulose reduces blood sugar and insulin levels. drc.bmj.com
    Diabetes Sugar Insulin Blood Sugar

    Foods with a high glycemic index, such as sugar-sweetened soft drinks, desserts, and white bread products, contain sugars that are rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream, causing hyperglycemia (high blood glucose). Regular consumption of high glycemic foods may lead to insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. Low-calorie sweeteners (i.e., artificial sweeteners) such as allulose have a low glycemic index and can be used in place of sugar to reduce the intake of calories and high-glycemic carbohydrates; however, the effects of allulose in addition to sugar require further investigation. Findings published in a new report show that allulose significantly reduces glucose and insulin levels following sugar consumption.

    Allulose is a rare sugar that can be found in small amounts in some fruits and grains and is sold as a low-calorie sweetener. Allulose is an epimer of fructose, meaning its chemical structure is very similar to fructose, giving it a nearly identical taste and texture; however, allulose provides only 0.4 calories per gram, compared to 4 calories per gram of fructose. A meta-analysis of previous research found that small doses of allulose improved glucose and insulin regulation; however, additional randomized controlled trials are needed, especially in Western populations and in people without type 2 diabetes.

    The researchers recruited 30 participants (average age, 33 years) without type 2 diabetes and asked them to follow an individualized diet plan that provided 50 to 65 percent of calories from carbohydrates for up to eight weeks. Participants completed five study visits with one to two weeks between visits. At each visit, the researchers gave participants a beverage containing 50 grams of fructose (the amount in about 16 ounces of sugar-sweetened soda) with escalating doses of allulose (0, 2.5, 5, 7.5, or 10 grams). They measured glucose and insulin levels in the blood 0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes after beverage consumption.

    Allulose consumption reduced plasma glucose levels among participants in a dose-dependent manner, meaning as the dose of allulose increased from 0 to 10 grams, glucose levels at each time point decreased. The relationship between allulose and lower glucose levels was statistically significant at the 30-minute time point when either 7.5 or 10 grams of allulose was added to the fructose beverage. Compared to consuming a fructose beverage with no added allulose, the 10-gram dose of allulose also significantly decreased insulin levels 30 minutes after beverage consumption.

    These findings demonstrate that allulose decreased glucose and insulin levels when added to a high-sugar beverage in healthy young people without diabetes. The authors suggested that future studies explore more of the mechanisms underlying these results.

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  • Milk chocolate exerts differential health effects, depending on the timing of consumption. www.the-scientist.com
    Metabolism Microbiome Sleep Circadian Rhythm Dairy Blood Sugar

    A wide range of beneficial health effects have been ascribed to consumption of chocolate, especially dark chocolate, which is rich in bioactive compounds that exert antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and cardioprotective properties. Consumption of milk chocolate, however, is widely associated with harmful effects (such as weight gain) due to its high caloric content. Findings from a recent study suggest that milk chocolate exerts differential health effects, depending on the timing of consumption.

    A growing body of evidence suggests that the timing of food intake plays important roles in metabolic regulation and circadian rhythmicity. For example, eating a large, carbohydrate-rich meal late in the evening impairs glucose tolerance and insulin secretion, contributing to the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

    The study involved 19 Caucasian postmenopausal females with normal weight or overweight (average age, 52 years; average body mass index, 25). The participants followed their typical dietary pattern for the duration of the study, with three interventions in random order: 100 grams of milk chocolate (roughly the amount in a standard size candy bar – 542 calories) with breakfast for two weeks, within an hour of waking up; 100 grams of milk chocolate for two weeks, within an hour before bedtime; and no chocolate for two weeks. A one-week washout period separated each intervention. They completed questionnaires that assessed their hunger and appetite for sweets at various timepoints throughout the study. The study investigators assessed the participants' anthropometric measures, including body mass index, total body fat, and waist circumference. They also assessed the composition and function of the participants' gut microbiota and measured their blood glucose levels, body temperature, and sleep quality.

    The study investigators found that consuming 100 grams of milk chocolate in the morning or evening did not cause the women to gain weight. The women reported that they felt less hunger and less desire to eat sweets. When they ate milk chocolate in the morning, they consumed about 300 fewer calories during the rest of the day; their fat burning increased; their fasting blood glucose and waist circumference decreased; and their sleep quality was impaired. When they ate milk chocolate in the evening, they consumed about 150 fewer calories during the rest of the day; their physical activity, heat dissipation after meals, and carbohydrate metabolism increased; and their sleep quality improved. Both timings of chocolate consumption altered the composition and function of the gut microbiota.

    These findings demonstrate that the timing of milk chocolate consumption has varied effects on metabolism, dietary intake, and sleep function, potentially influencing overall health. Learn how food timing influences cancer risk in this clip featuring Dr. Ruth Patterson.

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  • How starchy foods are cooked may change post-meal blood sugar response. academic.oup.com
    Blood Sugar

    Worldwide more than 300 million people live with obesity and 460 million people live with type 2 diabetes, creating a significant global public health burden. A key contributor to weight gain and the metabolic dysfunction that drives type 2 diabetes is dietary starch, a major energy source for populations around the world. Findings of a recent study describe the relationship between starch structure and post-meal blood sugar response.

    Starch is a carbohydrate derived from grains, beans, and some vegetables. It is composed of chains of glucose molecules that can be arranged in straight structures (called amylose) or branched structures (called amylopectin). High-amylose starches, which are found in foods like beans, Basmati rice, and green bananas, form very tight structures that slow digestion and are less likely to cause blood glucose spikes. High-amylopectin starches, which are found in foods like white bread, sticky rice, and pastries, are more rapidly absorbed and are far more likely to cause blood glucose spikes.

    Adding water to starches and heating them, a process known as gelatinization, increases their digestibility and capacity to increase blood glucose, while heating and then cooling starches (e.g., cooking potatoes and eating them in a cold salad) can create beneficial starches (called retrograde starches) that are resistant to digestion and do not increase blood sugar. Evidence suggests that consuming resistant starches improves insulin sensitivity in men with overweight or obesity. Mechanically processing starches (e.g., milling flour or blending fruits) also increases the digestibility and capacity to increase blood glucose.

    The authors of the current study conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis in which they searched the literature for studies testing starches and their effects on post-meal metabolism, collected studies based on a set of criteria meant to select for high-quality design, and then combined the data for analysis. The authors found 45 studies that met the selection criteria for this review. These studies investigated starch characteristics, such as gelatinization, retrogradation, protein content, and particle size, and metabolic responses to starch intake, such as blood glucose and insulin levels and appetite suppression.

    Analysis of the 45 studies revealed significant reductions in post-meal blood glucose and insulin levels when the starch consumed had a high amylose content, was less-gelatinized, contained retrograded starch, or contained intact and large particles. Investigators used a variety of starch foods in these studies including some grains with a naturally high or low amylose to amylopectin ratio. In other trials, investigators used blends of specific flours to achieve their desired amylose to amylopectin ratio. Less gelatinized starches included uncooked rice compared to cooked rice. Retrograded starches included reheated rice compared to freshly cooked rice. And starches with large and intact particles included whole peas compared to pea flour. The authors did not have sufficient evidence to report a relationship between starch type and appetite suppression.

    The authors concluded that manipulating the structure of starches alters the body’s metabolic response to starchy foods. Consuming starches from raw foods, which have larger, more intact, and less gelatinized particles, or from heated and cooled grains or vegetables with retrograded starches may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

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  • Added sugars decrease metabolic health, survival, competitive ability, and reproduction in mice at human-relevant doses. www.sciencedaily.com
    Sugar Metabolism Cholesterol Mortality Blood Sugar Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Reproductive Health

    Average sugar consumption in the United States has increased 50 percent since the 1970s, due in part to the use of high fructose corn syrup in beverages and other processed foods. The mechanisms by which added sugars lead to metabolic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and fatty liver disease have been explored in research using mouse models; however, the dose of sugar used in these animal studies is usually much larger than what is normally consumed by people. Authors of this report investigated the effects of human-relevant doses of added sugars on health and behavior in mice.

    Mouse models are a useful tool in research because mice can be kept in environments where their exposure to light, food, socialization, and other environmental inputs is completely controlled, minimizing variation between mice when exposed to a dietary intervention. However, these highly controlled environments, combined with large doses of experimental foods, often limit the generalizability of mouse research for human health. Organismal performance assays, which use seminatural conditions to put experimental animals in direct competition with each other, more accurately measure survival, competitive ability, and reproduction (common measures of evolutionary fitness) in response to environmental exposures.

    The investigators fed one group of mice a diet containing 25 percent of calories from a 1:1 mixture of fructose and glucose, the same ratio of sugars found in beverages and processed foods containing high fructose corn syrup. They fed a second group of mice a control diet in which the added sugars were replaced with cornstarch and fiber. Both groups of mice consumed their respective diets and lived in controlled environments for 26 weeks before entering the organismal performance assay, upon which all mice consumed the high-sugar diet. The researchers observed mice as they competed for territory, resources, and mates for 26 to 32 weeks.

    Female mice fed a high sugar diet prior to entering the organismal performance assay were twice as likely to die than female mice fed a normal diet. Male mice fed a high sugar diet controlled 26 percent less territory and produced 25 percent less offspring compared to mice fed a normal diet prior to entering the organismal performance assay. A high-sugar diet increased fasting cholesterol levels and decreased glucose tolerance.

    The authors concluded that a high sugar diet decreased survival, competitive ability, and reproduction in mice and led to metabolic dysfunction. This study was the first to use organismal performance assays in combination with an environmental intervention and the first to demonstrate the negative health effects of added sugars in mice at human-relevant doses.

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  • Antihistamine use blunts functional adaptations in exercise capacity, glucose tolerance, and blood flow produced by aerobic exercise. www.the-scientist.com
    Exercise Drug Muscle Blood Sugar Cardiovascular

    Aerobic exercise provides many health benefits, including a reduced risk of cardiovascular, metabolic, and other chronic diseases. Some of these benefits are due to adaptations in skeletal muscle that arise from the repair of cellular damage produced by the demand of exercise. One team of researchers aimed to determine the effects of antihistamines on muscle adaptation following acute and chronic high intensity interval training, often referred to as HIIT.

    Histamine is an organic molecule that acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain and spinal cord, while also regulating gut and immune function. Much of the research surrounding histamine is in relation to its effects in allergies and inflammation; however, recent research has demonstrated the role of histamine as a mediator of exercise-induced physiological responses. Histamine release is stimulated by exercise and promotes increased blood circulation, which may be important for facilitating muscle adaptation.

    The investigators conducted two phases of research including a randomized cross-over study of antihistamines and their effect in acute exercise and a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study of chronic exercise training and antihistamine use. Participants in the acute exercise trial completed two exercise sessions on separate days. On one day, they took an antihistamine one hour prior to aerobic exercise and on the other day they took a placebo treatment. The researchers measured heart rate during exercise and blood pressure, heart rate, and arterial blood flow in the thigh before and after exercise.

    In the placebo group, blood flow in the thigh was increased by approximately threefold 15 minutes following exercise and remained 50 percent higher two hours following exercise. However, post-exercise blood flow was significantly reduced in participants who took an antihistamine (about 35 percent). Histamine treatment did not alter blood pressure or heart rate before or after exercise compared to the placebo group.

    For the study on chronic exercise, participants completed six weeks of high intensity interval training, which consisted of three weekly sessions of cycling. Half of the participants took an antihistamine one hour prior to exercise and the other half took a placebo. The researchers measured maximum exercise capacity by having participants exercise to exhaustion and measuring their oxygen output. They measured metabolic health by having participants complete an oral glucose tolerance test in which they consumed 75 grams of glucose (the amount of sugar in about two cans of non-diet soda) and had their blood glucose measured over two hours. They assessed vascular function by using ultrasound to measure the rate of blood flow in the thigh. Finally, the researchers took muscle biopsies from the thigh of participants in order to measure muscle adaptation.

    Over the six weeks of training, resting heart rate tended to decrease in the placebo group but not in the antihistamine group, indicating a blunting of exercise-induced adaptation. Peak power output during exercise also increased in both groups; however, this increase was significantly greater in the placebo group (12 percent increase) compared to the antihistamine group (7 percent increase). The time to exhaustion also improved significantly with training in the placebo group (81 percent increase) compared to the antihistamine group (31 percent increase). Training improved glucose tolerance significantly in the placebo group (26 percent increase), but this effect was blocked in the antihistamine group (1 percent increase). Finally, participants in the placebo group experienced a 37 percent improvement in vascular function while those in the antihistamine group experienced a 14 percent decrease in vascular function. Maximal blood flow during exercise also increased due to training in the placebo group only.

    In conclusion, antihistamine use blunted the functional adaptations in exercise capacity, whole-body glycemic control, and vascular function produced by exercise. Histamine activity is necessary for the integrative exercise training response in humans, potentially related to increases in blood flow.

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  • Wild blueberry extract improves metabolic function and cognitive performance in middle-aged adults. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
    Metabolic Syndrome Memory Insulin Blood Sugar Polyphenol Cognition

    Metabolic function and cognitive performance begin to decline as early as the middle-age years – between the ages of 45 and 65 years. Dietary modification might be a useful strategy for improving or even reversing these declines. A recent study demonstrates that consumption of a wild blueberry extract improves metabolic function and cognitive performance in middle-aged adults.

    Blueberries are rich sources of anthocyanins, a type of flavonoid compound that exerts antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Epidemiological evidence suggests that regular consumption of blueberries reduces a person’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes.

    The randomized controlled cross-over trial involved 35 people between the ages of 40 and 65 years. After eating a breakfast meal consisting of buttermilk biscuits with unsalted butter and apple jelly, scrambled eggs, and honeydew melon balls, the participants drank a beverage containing 25 grams of freeze-dried blueberries (roughly equivalent to 1 cup of fresh berries) and some flavoring agents. On a separate occasion, participants ate the same breakfast meal and drank a placebo beverage that contained the flavoring agents (and similar caloric content) only. Each of the participants performed cognitive tasks and provided blood samples before and after each meal/treatment. The authors of the study assessed the participants for changes in their episodic memory and executive function as well as plasma levels of glucose, insulin, and triglycerides.

    The authors found that the participants who drank the blueberry beverage performed better on the cognitive tests than those who drank the placebo. They also noted that the blueberry beverage drinkers had lower insulin and glucose levels than those who drank the placebo.

    These findings suggest that blueberry consumption improves metabolic markers and cognitive performance in middle-aged adults and underscore the importance of regular consumption of flavonoid-rich fruits and vegetables.

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  • Alterations in brain blood use contribute to motor deficits in type 2 diabetes in women. www.sciencedaily.com
    Diabetes Brain Insulin Resistance Blood Sugar

    People with type 2 diabetes often experience sensory and motor deficits. These deficits have been attributed to peripheral nerve damage that commonly occurs with the condition. Findings from a new study suggest that changes in brain blood use contribute to sensory and motor deficits associated with type 2 diabetes.

    Poor blood glucose control and insulin resistance – the hallmarks of type 2 diabetes – contribute to micro- and macrovascular changes in blood vessels. These changes promote a wide range of complications that affect multiple organ systems, including cardiovascular, neurological, and musculoskeletal systems, contributing to sensory and motor deficits. Postmenopausal women appear to be at greater risk of these complications.

    The study involved 42 postmenopausal women over the age of 60 years who had type 2 diabetes. The authors of the study measured the participants' blood pressure, cholesterol, and HbA1C levels (a measure of long-term blood glucose control) and assessed the women for peripheral nerve damage. The participants underwent testing to evaluate the strength and tactile sensation in their dominant hand. Then they performed a series of exercises with the same hand while undergoing functional near-infrared spectroscopy, a type of imaging technology, to assess oxygenated and unoxygenated blood use by the brain

    The spectroscopy data revealed that the women with motor deficits exhibited reduced oxygenated blood use in their brains. Sensory deficits were not associated with these changes, however. These data suggest that motor deficits associated with type 2 diabetes in postmenopausal women are related to altered blood use in the brain. Further research in men and other age groups is needed to confirm these findings.

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  • Time-restricted eating improves insulin sensitivity in healthy men. academic.oup.com
    Time-Restricted Eating Metabolism Fasting Circadian Rhythm Muscle Insulin Blood Sugar Weight Loss

    Insulin sensitivity refers to how well the body’s cells respond to insulin – a critical aspect of maintaining healthy blood glucose levels. Lifestyle behaviors and dietary modification may help improve insulin sensitivity. Findings from a new study suggest that early time restricted eating improves insulin sensitivity.

    Time-restricted eating is a form of daily fasting that aligns the eating and fasting cycles to the body’s innate 24-hour circadian system. People who practice time-restricted eating typically eat during an 8- to 12-hour daytime window and fast during the remaining 12 to 16 hours. Unlike intermittent fasting, which involves caloric restriction, time-restricted eating permits a person to eat as much as they want during the eating window.

    The intervention study involved 16 healthy young men (average age, 23 years) who were moderately active and had BMIs between 18 and 27. After an overnight fast, the men underwent indirect calorimetry testing to determine their resting metabolic rate – the rate at which the body burns calories when at rest. The men wore continuous glucose monitors and tracked their dietary intake and physical activity.

    After a one-week baseline period, the men’s metabolic response to a liquid test meal containing carbohydrates and protein was assessed. Eight of the men began the time-restricted dietary pattern, in which they consumed all their calories (eating whatever they wanted) during a window between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. – considered “early” time-restriction. Nine months later, another group of eight men took part in the same process, but they ate whenever they wanted to, but their caloric intake was matched to that of what the men ate during the time-restricted eating period (which was about 400 calories per day lower than usual due to the limited time frame in which they ate). Both interventions lasted two weeks, after which both groups of men underwent metabolic testing again.

    The men who followed the time-restricted eating pattern reduced their overall caloric intake and lost more weight, compared to the men who followed a calorie-restricted diet. Similarly, the men following the time-restricted diet experienced improvements in their whole-body insulin sensitivity as well as skeletal muscle uptake of glucose and branched-chain amino acids. The two groups of men had similar physical activity levels.

    These findings demonstrate that early time-restricted eating improves insulin sensitivity and promotes weight loss in health men and has potential applications for interventions in people who are metabolically compromised. You can read about time-restricted eating in our overview article.

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  • Spices dampen pro-inflammatory response to a high-saturated fat, high-carbohydrate meal. www.sciencedaily.com
    Nutrition Inflammation Saturated Fat Carbohydrates Blood Sugar TNF-Alpha

    Eating a meal that is high in saturated fat and refined carbohydrates increases blood glucose and blood lipid levels. In turn, the body launches an inflammatory response. Chronic inflammation is associated with an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Findings from a new study suggest that adding a spice mixture to a high fat/high sugar meal can dampen the body’s inflammatory response, potentially reducing the associated risk of cardiovascular disease.

    Spices are derived from the seeds, roots, bark, or flowers of plants. Research indicates that spices contain bioactive compounds that exert antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory effects.

    The crossover, randomized, controlled trial involved 12 middle-aged men who were overweight or obese and had at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Each of the men consumed three versions of a high-saturated fat, refined carbohydrate meal, providing approximately 1,000 calories per meal, separated by a three-day washout period. One meal contained no additional spices, one contained a 2-gram spice blend (representing low spice intake), and one contained a 6-gram spice blend (representing high spice intake, roughly one teaspoon to one tablespoon). The spice blend contained a mixture of spices and herbs commonly consumed in the American diet, including basil, bay leaf, black pepper, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, ginger, oregano, parsley, red pepper, rosemary, thyme, and turmeric. The participants provided blood samples before and multiple times after consuming the meals.

    The blood samples revealed that consumption of the meal containing the 6-gram spice blend reduced levels of pro-inflammatory proteins IL-1 beta, IL-8, and TNF-alpha. At six hours after consuming the 6-gram spice meal, levels of IL-1 beta were more than 1,300 percent lower than after consuming the meal without spices or with 2 grams of spices. IL-1 beta is a proinflammatory cytokine produced by macrophages and is an important mediator of the body’s inflammatory response.

    These findings suggest that consumption of spices can mediate the proinflammatory effects of a high-saturated fat, refined carbohydrate meal. Nutritional interventions that emphasize the consumption of spices might reduce inflammation and decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease associated with unhealthy diets.

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  • Sugar-sweetened beverages linked to lipid imbalance, which increases cardiovascular disease risk. www.sciencedaily.com
    Heart Disease Sugar Triglycerides Blood Sugar Cardiovascular

    Sugar-sweetened beverages are among the leading contributors to sugar intake among people living in the United States. Examples of sugar-sweetened beverages include regular soda (not sugar-free), sports drinks, energy drinks, and coffees, teas, and waters that contain added sugars. Data from a new study indicate that sugar-sweetened beverage consumption is associated with dyslipidemia.

    Dyslipidemia is a condition in which blood levels of lipids (such as cholesterol or triglycerides) are abnormal. It is recognized as one of the primary risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Most dyslipidemias are characterized by high plasma cholesterol or triglycerides (or both), or low HDL cholesterol. Nearly half of all adults living in the United States have some form of dyslipidemia.

    The study involved more than 6,700 people enrolled in two different cohorts of the Framingham Heart Study. At various time points during the study, the participants provided complete medical histories, underwent physical exams, and completed lab tests to assess total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. They also completed questionnaires about their lifestyles and diet, including beverage intake. Participants were followed for an average of 12.5 years.

    The data revealed that consuming more than 12 ounces of sugar-sweetened beverages per day increased the risk of having high triglycerides by 53 percent and having low HDL cholesterol by 98 percent. Consuming low-calorie sweetened beverages (e.g., “diet” drinks) or up to 12 ounces of 100 percent fruit juice was not associated with dyslipidemia.

    These findings suggest that consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages increases the risk of dyslipidemia and underscores the role of nutrition in reducing risk factors that contribute to cardiovascular disease.

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  • When healthy, lean individuals ate a Western-style diet for one week, their hippocampal-dependent learning and memory and appetite control declined. royalsocietypublishing.org
    Diet Saturated Fat Blood Pressure Carbohydrates Blood Sugar Weight Loss

    The Western Style Diet, sometimes referred to as Standard American Diet (SAD), is a dietary pattern characterized by high intake of refined carbohydrates, fatty meats, added fats, and sodium, and low intake of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. The Western dietary pattern has been implicated in the pathogenesis of many chronic diseases and conditions, including overweight and obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Findings from a recent study suggest that the Western dietary pattern impairs hippocampus-dependent learning and memory and drives loss of appetite control.

    The hippocampus is a small organ located within the brain’s medial temporal lobe. It is associated primarily with memory (in particular, the consolidation of short-term memories to long-term memories), learning, and spatial navigation. Data from rodent studies suggest that adherence to a Western dietary pattern impairs hippocampal-dependent learning and memory (HDLM). The hippocampus also plays a role in food intake by regulating appetite. Altered hippocampal function subsequent to exposure to a Western-style diet may create a vicious cycle state that promotes increased consumption of unhealthy foods that, in turn, drives further hippocampal dysfunction.

    The study involved 110 lean, healthy Australian adults between the ages of 17 and 35 years who adhered to a healthy, non-restrictive dietary pattern. The authors of the study randomized the participants to either a one-week Western-style diet intervention group or a habitual-diet control group.

    On the first and eighth days of the study, the participants in the Western diet group ate a breakfast that included a toasted sandwich and a milkshake (high in saturated fat and added sugar). On the second through seventh days of the study, the participants ate two Belgian waffles for either breakfast or dessert for four of the study days. On the other two study days, they obtained their main meal and a drink or dessert from a set of options from a popular fast-food chain. They followed their normal dietary pattern for all other meals. The participants in the control group ate a breakfast consisting of a toasted sandwich and a milkshake (low in saturated fat and added sugar) on the first and eighth days and followed their normal diet for all other meals.

    The authors of the study assessed the participants' HDLM function as well as their appetite control before and after the intervention and control periods and again at a three-week follow-up assessment. They found that among those who followed the Western-style diet, HDLM performance declined, compared to the control group. Their appetite control declined as well, and this was strongly correlated with HDLM decline.

    These findings suggest that even short-term consumption of a Western-style diet may impair learning and appetite control due to impaired hippocampal function. This lack of appetite control could promote overeating and drive weight gain.

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  • Weight loss and health improvements with Mediterranean, intermittent fasting, and Paleo diets www.sciencedaily.com
    Diet Blood Pressure Protein Dairy Blood Sugar Weight Loss

    Roughly two-thirds of all adults living in the United States are overweight or obese. Losing weight presents many challenges, however, and popular weight-loss diets and dietary patterns are not always successful or sustainable. A recent study found that people who followed an intermittent fasting, Mediterranean, or Paleo diet lost weight and showed improvements in health, but adherence to the diets varied.

    Intermittent fasting is a broad term that describes periods of fasting between meals that can last several hours to days. Intermittent fasting increases the production of ketones due to the use of stored fat as an energy source. It also activates some of the same genetic pathways as caloric restriction. The authors of this study defined intermittent fasting as 25 percent of the participants' usual dietary intake two days per week.

    The Mediterranean diet is a dietary pattern thought to confer health benefits found traditionally in Mediterranean countries. It is characterized by high consumption of vegetables, olive oil, and dairy products and moderate consumption of protein. The Paleo diet is based mainly on foods presumed to be available to Paleolithic humans. It includes vegetables, fruits, nuts, roots, meat, and organ meats and excludes dairy products, grains, refined sugar, legumes, and other processed foods. The authors of this study modified the typical Paleo plan to include limited consumption of dairy, legumes, and grains.

    The study mimicked “real world” dieting strategies in that each participant could choose which of the three dietary patterns they would follow for 12 months. In addition, they received no nutritional counseling other than a single, 30-minute session in which they learned about their self-selected diet. The authors of the study collected information about the participants' dietary intake, body weight and composition, blood pressure, physical activity, and various blood biomarkers, including glycated hemoglobin, a measure of long-term blood glucose control (also known as HbA1c).

    Approximately 54 percent of the participants chose to follow the intermittent fasting diet, 27 percent chose the Mediterranean diet, and 18 percent chose the Paleo diet. At the end of the 12-month study period, adherence to the three diet plans was 54 percent for intermittent fasting, 57 percent for the Mediterranean, and 35 percent for Paleo.

    Study participants lost weight with all three plans, but those who practiced intermittent fasting lost more (4 kg) than those who followed the Mediterranean (2.8 kg) or Paleo diets (1.8 kg). Those who followed the intermittent fasting and Mediterranean diet plans showed reductions in blood pressure (4.9 mm Hg and 5.9 mm Hg, respectively). Those who followed the Mediterranean diet experienced a 0.8 mmol/mol reduction in HbA1c.

    These findings suggest that people can lose weight and improve health while following different dietary patterns as long as those patterns include healthful foods and are personally sustainable.

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  • Sulforaphane from broccoli sprout extract improves fasting glucose and HbA1c in obese patients with dysregulated type 2 diabetes. www.sciencedaily.com
    Diabetes Sulforaphane Insulin Isothiocyanates Blood Sugar NRF2

    Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder characterized by high blood sugar and insulin resistance. Long-term complications from poorly controlled type 2 diabetes include heart disease, stroke, diabetic retinopathy (and subsequent blindness), kidney failure, and diminished peripheral blood flow, which may lead to amputations. An estimated 500 million people worldwide are living with type 2 diabetes. A 2017 study suggests that sulforaphane may be beneficial in treating the symptoms of type 2 diabetes.

    Sulforaphane is an isothiocyanate compound derived from cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and mustard. Sulforaphane is produced when the cruciferous plant is damaged by insects or eaten by humans. The compound activates cytoprotective mechanisms within cells in a hormetic-type response and has demonstrated beneficial effects against several chronic health conditions, including autism, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and others.

    The authors of the study identified sulforaphane out of more than 3,800 drugs and natural products as a potential therapeutic for type 2 diabetes based on statistical analysis that showed that sulforaphane’s protective effects (called a drug signature) had the potential to counteract diabetes’ harmful effects (called a disease signature).

    They then conducted a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study involving 97 adults with type 2 diabetes. All the participants were of Scandinavian ethnicity and had diabetes for less than 10 years. Sixty of the participants had well-controlled diabetes; the remaining 37 had poorly controlled diabetes. Of those with poorly controlled diabetes, 17 were obese, and 20 were not obese.

    After undergoing blood tests to check their fasting blood sugar and HbA1c (a measure of long-term blood sugar control) and taking an oral glucose challenge, the participants took either a placebo or powdered broccoli sprout extract (containing 150 µmol sulforaphane per dose) every day for 12 weeks.

    At the end of the study period, the blood tests and the oral glucose challenge were repeated. The participants who took broccoli sprout extract and whose diabetes was well-controlled experienced no changes in their fasting blood sugar or HbA1c levels. The participants who were heaviest and had poorly controlled diabetes saw the greatest benefits from the broccoli sprout extract. After 12 weeks of treatment, obese participants’ fasting blood sugar levels and HbA1c levels decreased, but the participants who received a placebo experienced slightly increased blood sugar and HbA1c levels.

    The researchers also measured the amount of sulforaphane in the participants’ blood and noted that the levels varied from person to person. The higher the blood concentration, however, the greater the change in the participants’ fasting blood sugar.

    Although very few of the participants experienced any negative effects after taking the broccoli sprout extracts, the authors of the study cautioned against prescribing it to patients because more testing needs to be done to understand how sulforaphane works and who would benefit most from it.

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  • Diets high in ultra-processed food linked to poor cardiovascular health. www.sciencedaily.com
    Heart Disease Blood Pressure Dairy Blood Sugar Cardiovascular

    The average American gets more than half of their daily calories from ultra-processed foods such as soft drinks, chips, cookies, processed meats, and other convenience food items. These types of foods are often high in unhealthy fats and refined sugars and low in beneficial fiber. Findings presented recently at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2019 suggest that high intake of ultra-processed food is associated with poor cardiovascular health.

    The findings were based on data from more than 13,000 adults living in the United States who provided information about their dietary intake and cardiovascular health, gauged by several measures of cardiovascular function, such as blood pressure, as well as lifestyle choices, such as physical activity and tobacco avoidance.

    The data indicated that for every 5 percent increase in calories that a person obtained from ultra-processed foods, their cardiovascular health declined in a reciprocal fashion. For example, if a person obtained 70 percent of their daily calories from ultra-processed foods, they were half as likely to have good cardiovascular health compared to someone who ate 40 percent or less of their calories from ultra-processed foods.

    Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of people living in the United States. Dietary interventions that include fewer ultra-processed foods could reduce cardiovascular disease-related deaths.

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  • Obesity can break down our protective blood brain barrier resulting in problems with learning and memory: overactivity of adenosine in obesity www.sciencedaily.com
    Brain Alzheimer's Obesity Diabetes Coffee Insulin Blood Sugar Blood-Brain Barrier Lipopolysaccharide

    Diet-induced insulin resistance caused blood vessels to become leaky which impaired blood and oxygen flow to a brain region involved in learning and memory (animal evidence).

    Obesity and insulin resistance are associated with a leaky blood-brain barrier. This new animal study found that a high-sugar combined with a high-fat diet caused shrinkage of the tight junctions between endothelial cells that make up the blood-brain barrier and actual holes in those cells.

    Obesity is known to increase toll-like receptor activation through a variety of mechanisms. One of the mechanisms is through through associated increases of circulating of lipopolysaccharide. Another mechanism is the leaking of fatty acids from fatty acids, triggering toll-like receptors through the recognition of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). (See “obesity” section of toll-like receptor article.)

    Furthermore, LPS challenge in animal studies induces microglia in the brain to attack and damage the blood-brain barrier.

    Blocking adenosine may play a role in preventing impairment of the blood-brain barrier by diet-induced obesity

    However, adenosine, which helps us sleep and helps regulate our blood pressure and is blocked by caffeine may play a role in preventing some of the damaging effects obesity has on the blood-brain barrier, which promotes dementia.

    From the article:

    They knew that chronic activation of the receptor Adora2a [an adenosine receptor] on the endothelial cells that line this important barrier in our brain can let factors from the blood enter the brain and affect the function of our neurons.

    Now Medical College of Georgia scientists have shown that when they block Adora2a in a model of diet-induced obesity, this important barrier function is maintained.

    […]

    In the brain, adenosine is a neurotransmitter that helps us sleep and helps regulate our blood pressure; in the body it’s also a component of the cell fuel adenosine triphosphate, or ATP. Adenosine also activates receptors Adora1a and Adora2a on endothelial cells, which normally supports healthy relationships between brain activity and blood flow.

    Problems arise with chronic activation, particularly in the brain, which is what happens with obesity, says Stranahan.

    People who have obesity and diabetes have higher rates of cognitive impairment as they age and most of the related structural changes are in the hippocampus, a center of learning and memory and Stranahan’s focus of study. Fat is a source of inflammation and there is evidence that reducing chronic inflammation in the brain helps prevent obesity-related memory loss.

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  • Long-term reduction in hyperglycemia in advanced type 1 diabetes: the value of induced aerobic glycolysis with BCG vaccinations www.nature.com
    Diabetes Blood Sugar Aerobic Autoimmunity

    Mycobacterium are among the oldest co-evolutionary partners of humans. The attenuated Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette Guérin (BCG) strain has been administered globally for 100 years as a vaccine against tuberculosis. BCG also shows promise as treatment for numerous inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Here, we report on a randomized 8-year long prospective examination of type 1 diabetic subjects with long-term disease who received two doses of the BCG vaccine. After year 3, BCG lowered hemoglobin A1c to near normal levels for the next 5 years. The BCG impact on blood sugars appeared to be driven by a novel systemic and blood sugar lowering mechanism in diabetes. We observe a systemic shift in glucose metabolism from oxidative phosphorylation to aerobic glycolysis, a state of high glucose utilization. Confirmation is gained by metabolomics, mRNAseq, and functional assays of cellular glucose uptake after BCG vaccinations. To prove BCG could induce a systemic change to promote accelerated glucose utilization and impact blood sugars, murine data demonstrated reduced blood sugars and aerobic induction in non-autoimmune mice made chemically diabetic. BCG via epigenetics also resets six central T-regulatory genes for genetic re-programming of tolerance. These findings set the stage for further testing of a known safe vaccine therapy for improved blood sugar control through changes in metabolism and durability with epigenetic changes even in advanced Type 1 diabetes.

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  • Type 1 Diabetes Diets and Excercise
    Exercise Diabetes Blood Sugar

    Hey everyone,

    I am a type 1 diabetic in my early 20’s and wanted to reach out to this community for any helpful info on type 1 nutrition and exercise. A few months ago I had an epiphany and realized it was time to get on top of my health. Over the past few months I have lost almost 30 pounds now only weighing 190, and getting my HbA1c to 7. While there is always conversations about type 2 diabetes, the same cannot be said for type 1. Specifically I want to know how excercise effects blood sugar in T1’s. For my whole life my blood sugar has always gone extremely low during workouts. Know I often find my blood sugar raising after workouts.
    I am also curious what diets/lifestyles you all think would be most successful for type 1’s. I have followed a fairly low carb diet and cut out breads and refined sugars. I have really tried to intermitten fast, but it can be difficult due to low blood sugars. Any other tips and suggestions would be fantastic. Thanks, Jacob

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  • People that consumed 2 sugary drinks a day are more likely to have poorer memory and smaller overall brain volume. www.sciencedaily.com
    Brain Alzheimer's Inflammation Dementia Sugar Blood Sugar

    People that drank two or more sugary beverages of any kind per day were more likely to have poorer memory, smaller overall brain volume, and a significantly smaller hippocampus. Researchers also found that higher intake of diet soda, at least one per day, was associated with smaller brain volume.

    In a second study, researchers looked at whether participants had suffered a stroke or been diagnosed with dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease. Interestingly, there was no association between sugary beverage intake and stroke or dementia. But people who drank at least one diet soda per day were nearly 3 times as likely to develop stroke and dementia.

    While no of this data proves causation, there is a growing body of research showing that excess refined sugar does increase inflammation which crosses the blood-brain barrier and acceleration brain aging. Regarding the diet soda, there have been studies linking artificial sweeteners to disruption of the gut microbiome which also causes inflammation which can lead to brain aging.

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  • [TIMELINE] Joe Rogan Experience #502 with Dr. Rhonda Patrick www.foundmyfitness.com
    Omega-3 Depression Insulin Fatty Liver Vitamin A Isothiocyanates Antioxidant Protein Dairy Blood Sugar Metabolic Syndrome Myrosinase

    This is the full minute-by-minute timeline for JRE #502. Click here to watch the video on YouTube.

    • 00:02:42 - Starts off by talking about kappa opioids and dynorphin and how you feel stress right before important events
    • 00:04:24 - Joe talks about how great you feel after a competition (fight)
    • 00:05:35 - Talks about how capsaicin in spicy food also induces a release of endorphins via dynorphin agonization
    • 00:06:22 - Briefly mentions sauna/hyperthermic conditioning article featured on 4-Hour Workweek
    • 00:06:45 - Description of hormesis and how this is part of the mechanism of action for things like EGCGs in green tea and polyphenols in fruit.
    • 00:07:50 - Joe brings up that Rhonda suggested mycotoxin might be hormetic previously, Rhonda clarifies this was entirely and highly speculative. Includes jazz hands.
    • 00:08:45 - Joe mentions that his best decisions are made after a good workout. He does not trust his judgment if he has not got a good workout in.
    • 00:09:15 - Discussion of exercise and how it grows new brain cells (neurogenesis) via the BDNF pathway and how the growth of new brain cells allows you to forget other memories.
    • 00:11:20 - Joe mentions how people in highschool that never left your small hometown sometimes remember stuff you don’t. Get out of the small town, highschool friends. Make new memories.
    • 00:12:00 - Talks about how amygdala activation from either extreme excitement or fear increases episodic memory.
    • 00:12:15 - Talks about her new paper and how serotonin plays a role in brain function/dysfunction, behavior, and episodic memory.
    • 00:13:38 - Joe brings up MDMA burnout and suggests serotonin’s role in episodic memory may be why the MDMA/roller burnout stereotype exists
    • 00:15:00 - Explanation of what receptor down-regulation is and why it adds enormous complexity to understanding the effects of drugs, like SSRIs.
    • 00:16:27 - Discussion of “Serotonin Syndrome.”
    • 00:17:22 - Most serotonin is actually made in the gut, not the brain.
    • 00:17:44 - Discussion of how the genes that convert tryptophan to serotonin found in the gut (TPH1) and in the brain (TPH2) are show a characteristic nucleotide sequence known as a “Vitamin D Response Element” that seems to indicate, for the most part, that Vitamin D represses the production of serotonin in the gut (TPH1) and increases serotonin in the brain (TPH2). This is the subject of Rhonda’s most recent academic paper: “Vitamin D hormone regulates serotonin synthesis. Part 1: relevance for autism.”
    • 00:18:45 - Serotonin made in the gut has been shown to cause gastrointestinal inflammation by activating T cells and causing them to proliferate. Knocking out TPH1 in a mouse model of colitis ameliorates the inflammation associated with the disorder.
    • 00:21:55 - Theoretical vitamin D mechanism may play a role in the development of autism by depriving developing foetus of serotonin that serves as an “early brain morphogen” when mothers are deficient in vitamin D.
    • 00:23:45 - Autism appears to be developing early in utero (during pregnancy) and seems to show indications of being at least partially related to environment.
    • 00:24:00 - Estrogen can activate TPH2 in lieu of Vitamin D and thus may explain why autism is predominantly found in males.
    • 00:24:30 - Gut inflammation is common among autistics.
    • 00:24:45 - Explains 5-HTP bypasses the normal tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) conversion, and because of that it can be converted into serotonin more rapidly… but (hypothetically) too soon and in the gut instead of the brain.
    • 00:25:35 - Tryptophan gets transported into the brain in order to be converted into serotonin by tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH2) but competes with BCAAs for transport into the brain, which are transported preferentially.
    • 00:25:55 - Tryptophan is less abundant of an amino acid than branch chain amino acids like leucine in protein.
    • 00:26:55 - Joe asks Rhonda if T cell activation/proliferation in the context of TPH1 has relevance for AIDS.
    • 00:28:00 - Joe relates how “New Mood” (Onnit’s product) was originally called “Roll Off.”
    • 00:30:30 - Joe quips that it was recently experimentally validated in mice that DMT is produced in the pineal glands of mice during sleep, goes on to talk about speculation that near death experiences relating to altered perception from endogenous DMT release.
    • 00:35:10 - Plays a video of a jaguar eating hallucinogenic plants.
    • 00:37:20 - Talks about monoamine oxidase
    • 00:38:40 - Merits of “theoretical papers” (like “Vitamin D hormone regulates serotonin synthesis. Part 1: relevance for autism.”)
    • 00:39:37 - 70% of population is vitamin d deficient. Segways to awesome infographic created by @tjasonwright which covers a ton of the basic facts about vitamin D.
    • 00:43:02 - BaadBobby’s Dad turned Joe onto TA-65. TA-65 has been shown to increase telomere length, but theres a guy who sued the company producing it. Anecdotally, BaadBobby’s dad had improvements in eyesight.
    • 00:45:00 - Explanation of what telomeres are.
    • 00:48:50 - Special enzyme telomerase rebuilds telomeres, but it’s found mostly only in stem cells… and more importantly: cancer cells. Cancer cells hijack this telomerase normally reserved for stem cells to live forever. Strangely… Mice, unlike humans, actually express telomerase in all of their cells and don’t have telomere shortening.
    • 00:50:10 - Werner’s syndrome involves excessive telomere shortening.
    • 00:53:33 - Explains how aging is a function of DNA damage and discusses DNA damage assay (test) that Rhonda performs.
    • 00:55:30 - Obesity link to increased DNA damage.
    • 00:56:50 - Talks about TA-65’s active ingredient in a study was shown to genuinely increase telomerase activity and length of telomeres.
    • 00:58:22 - TA-65 study showed a 40% increase in telomere length in white blood cells in some humans studied.
    • 00:58:44 - Second study on TA-65 using special mouse model from well-known lab also showed re-activation of telomerase, and even began reversing aging of their tissues. Mice notably did not get cancer. Reinforces findings of first study.
    • 01:01:30 - Still concerned TA-65 could encourage the growth of pre-cancerous cells.
    • 01:02:00 - Joe brings up alkalizing diet for cancer prevention (he’s a skeptic).
    • 01:03:05 - Bad bacteria in gut is affected by pH.
    • 01:06:20 - Joe brings up argument that sugar consumption affects growth of cancer.
    • 01:07:50 - Explains because cancer cells become glycolytic which is why people fixate on sugar as a potential cancer cell.
    • 01:08:40 - Rhonda mentions that taking away glucose, but allowing continued presence of glutamine allowed cancer cells to keep growing in vitro.
    • 01:09:50 - Folic acid needed in the absence of cancer because you need it to build new DNA – but this is a problem if you do have a cancer because it can be a bad thing for the same reasons (folic acid needs to produce DNA because cancer cells are highly proliferative).
    • 01:12:00 - Glucosinolates are cleaved into isothiocyanates by myrosinase which is de-activated by heat. Isothiocyanates are potent anti-cancer agents. Recent anti-kale stuff is, in a way, anti-isothiocyanates. Additionally, if you boil kale and de-activate myrosinase you’re actually decreasing the amount of isothiocynates by removing myrosinase.
    • 01:14:00 - Kale thyroid stuff is probably only relevant if you’re very deficient in iodine – probably better to continue getting your isothiocyanates for cancer preventative reasons rather than sweating this stuff.
    • 01:16:35 - Rhonda mentions tumor suppressor genes, which are activated by hormesis (good stress triggered by things like isothiocyanates).
    • 01:19:20 - Joe brings up Dave Asprey’s take on boiling kale to remove oxalic acid.
    • 01:20:10 - Spinach that was either raw, boiled, fried, or frizzled and found that raw and boiling doesn’t affect absorption, but it did very modestly affect minerals in kidneys if raw… didn’t seem to cause kidneys stones (in mice). Probably requires absurd amounts of spinach to cause kidney stones. Just not convinced that it’s bad to eat spinach or kale raw.
    • 01:20:20 - Vegetables do make compounds that are sort of “bad for you” but have a net positive effect because they induce hormesis.
    • 01:24:33 - JRE consensus of #502 –eating raw spinach and kale is good for you.
    • 01:25:10 - Joe throws a curveball by bringing up a documented case of presumed oxalate induced nephropathy (kidney disease) from 1985 to 2010 – only 36 patients documented by paper. Only three patients really suspected that it was caused by raw juicing.
    • 01:27:30 - Discussion of vegetable smoothies begins here – specifically using these powerful blenders which leave the fiber in, not juicing.
    • 01:28:45 - Brock Lesnar allegedly ate nothing but meat, got diverticulitis.
    • 01:29:07 - Putrefying bacteria make nasty smelling hydrogen sulfide farts, use sulfate as source of energy. Needs heme from red meat as a cofactor for creating hydrogen sulfide. Hydrogen sulfide prevents human gut cells from making energy (ATP), and thus causes break-down of gut-mucus barrier.
    • 01:32:25 - Brings up episode with Dr. Offitt on Bryan Callen’s podcast. Offitt claims vitamins and antioxidants cause cancer.
    • 01:35:20 - Beginning of general debunking of Offitt’s claims.
    • 01:36:05 - Randomized double-blind placebo controlled trials are awesome, but using them for nutrition research and expecting the design to perform as effectively is misguided.
    • 01:37:30 - Everyone has different levels of vitamins & minerals in their body, but baseline for drugs is always the same: zero. This is an important fundamental difference.
    • 01:42:20 - Years of research has to be published even if results aren’t great, and this requires salesmanship. This affects some of the misleading presentation of research.
    • 01:43:04 - Joe brings up highly publicized and contentious “Enough is Enough” editorial which was covered at length in podcast #459.
    • 01:46:28 - Begin discussion of Vitamin E prostate cancer study (the SELECT trial).
    • 01:47:35 - Comparison of Alpha Tocopherol & Gamma Tocopherol forms of vitamin E. Alpha tocopherol serves predominantly as an antioxidant, gamma tocopherol serves as an anti-inflammatory agent by reducing reactive nitrogen species (also an anti-oxidant activity). Alpha tocopherol doesn’t serve the same anti-inflammatory behavior, and this is important because inflammation is a cancer initiator (among other things), and excessive alpha tocopherol consumption depletes gamma tocopherol from tissues.
    • 01:50:45 - Study on prostate cancer found that alpha tocopherol and selenium didn’t affect cancer incidence at 5-year followup but at 7.5 year follow-up cancer risk for prostate cancer shot up from taking 400 IU of alpha tocopherol (vitamin E) per day. Importantly, what was found at the 5-year followup was that (relative to baseline) gamma tocopherol was depleted from the tissues. Those who weren’t deficient selenium (& were supplementing) that took the 400 IU of alpha tocopherol didn’t experience the increase in prostate cancer incidence.
    • 01:52:05 - One of the proteins selenium is for is important for preventing damage from reactive nitration products. Nitration damage can cause cancer. This is an interesting novel mechanism by which a depletion of gamma tocopherol through a combination of inflammation and an increase in reactive nitratition products might be responsible for the increase cancer incidence found in this study.
    • 01:54:00 - Discussion of vegetable smoothie as a good source of vitamin E, and also natural magnesium (from chlorophyll molecules – this was mentioned in JRE #459)
    • 01:54:45 - Mixed tocopherol Vitamin E supplements exist which aren’t quite as high dose as 10x the RDA (400 IU) like used in those studies.
    • 02:01:18 - RDA for Vitamin D is 600 IU a day. One study showed that 4,000 IU was more appropriate for actually adequately fixing without toxicity in deficient populations. 2000 to 4000 IU of vitamin D is probably a good range except for in cases of severe deficiency.
    • 02:03:18 - Offit lumped omega-3 in with “antioxidants that cause cancer”, but this is misleading given the fact that randomized controlled trials have shown that omega-3 supplementation actually reduces all-cause mortality.
    • 02:03:39 - 1500 IU of vitamin D a day has been correlated to a 17% reduced cancer risk (overall).
    • 02:04:15 - Study based off of self-reported questionaire found that women who took vitamins (supplements) - on a daily basis had the longest telomeres.
    • 02:05:45 - She tries to get all her micronutrients, as much as she can, from her diet including vegetable smoothies, fish, etc. However, in addition to her diet she takes: omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, a multi-vitamin which has selenium and other trace elements, iodine, B-complex.
    • 02:06:30 - B vitamin deficiency is less common due to fortification. However, she supplements B vitamins anyway because changes in mitochondrial membrane rigidity that occurs with age alters the binding affinity (as represented by the constant kM) of important proteins needed to generate energy in the form of ATP which are embedded in the mitochondrial membrane. The Ames lab has partly demonstrated, however, that increasing the concentration of B vitamins compensates for these age related changes caused by changes in the confirmation (shape) of the proteins.
    • 02:08:00 - Rhonda increasingly prefers Swanson brand vitamins, but gets omega-3 from nordic naturals.
    • 02:10:00 - B vitamins are probably less dangerous because they’re water soluble (excess is more readily excreted, similar to Vitamin C)
    • 02:11:00 - Plant form of omega-3, ALA, converts to EPA (normally found in fish) fairly inefficiently at a rate of about 5%.
    • 02:12:13 - Microalgae oil is a good alternative to flaxseed oil if you’re trying to meet EPA/DHA needs and avoiding fish oil for one reason or another.
    • 02:13:30 - Omega-3 EPA is a potent anti-inflammatory, and DHA is a really component of your cell membranes – and makes up about 40% of the brain.
    • 02:13:54 - She takes about 6 pills of her omega-3, which amounts to ~3 “servings” of 800mg of EPA, and 600mg of DHA. (2400 and 1800 mg respectively)
    • 02:15:28 - Omega-3 EPA, which can be bought more concentrated for its particular effects, interacts with the arachnidonic acid pathway to reduce inflammation. The arachnicdonic acid pathway is responsible for creating prostaglandins which activate the COX pathway.
    • 02:16:05 - 2 grams of EPA per day has been shown to reduce C-reactive protein (CRP), which is a generalized systemic marker for inflammation but is most well known for its use to asses risk of cardiovascular disease.
    • 02:17:45 - Omega-3 fatty acids are prone to oxidation. Refrigeration helps with this, however. Also check if they go rancid by smell, if smell bad then probably rancid.
    • 02:20:00 - Talks about krill oil. Joe lists off a bunch of points from a Mercola article, and Rhonda points out it’s talking about ordinary effects of omega-3 and suggesting they may not be unique to krill oil.
    • 02:27:29 - Recommends Linus Pauling Institute for good, objective source of supplemental micronutrient reviews.
    • 02:28:35 - Brief mention of WellnessFX as a useful tool for getting a broad spectrum blood test checking for relevant markers for vitamins, minerals, inflammation, etc.
    • 02:31:00 - Whackiness of homepathy discussed. Homeopathy makes use of official sounding measuring system that measures an absurd amount of dilution that actually guarantees that what you’re taking doesn’t actually include the active ingredient the supplement is being marketed for.
    • 02:33:25 - Discusses how emerging research showing wisdom teeth has dental pulp stem cells in them and they offer promise for eventually being used as a source of cells that can be differentiated into things like brain cells. You can bank children’s teeth or adult wisdom teeth. Usually like $625 to “process” a tooth, and around $125/year to store it.
    • 02:36:16 - They can now take fibroblast cells from skin, the sort that you slough off everyday, and add transcription factors to turn them into “pluripotent” stem cells which can turn into brain cells or liver cells.
    • 02:37:35 - Joe brings up study where they took blood of young mice, injected it into old mice, and found the older mice experienced tissue regeneration. Inverse was also true: injecting young mice with old mouse blood increased rate of aging.
    • 02:38:54 - Human “methylome” now being studied which is revealing a specific pattern of methylation in DNA that can be used to actually identify the chronological age of people. Since epigenetics is obviously playing an important role in age, this is another promising area of new inquiry that may eventually reveal how to reprogram our cells to “be younger”. Cancer cells show a methylation pattern that is ordinarily associated with old age and are clustered around areas related to DNA repair, mitochondrial metabolism, antioxidant genes (all areas associated with aging).
    • 02:43:12 - Scientists are now able to take renal cells excreted in urine and turn them into pluripotent stem cells
    • 02:43:45 - Rant about lack of funding in science reducing room for creativity/moonshots.
    • 02:48:40 - Joe brings up new studies showing its possible to create artificial blood for transplant.
    • 02:50:06 - Inactivating insulin growth factor in c. elegans worms doubles their lifespan from about 15 to 30 days.
    • 02:52:40 - Joe asserts (reasonably so) that by age 200 he will most likely be a wizard.
    • 02:55:42 - Joe relates the fact that he’s actually been evacuated twice due to large fires in his neck of the woods of L.A.
    • 02:57:45 - Rhonda begins plug of iPhone app, website, Twitter, and podcast.
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