Leading scientist in the field of nutrition
Science does not exist in a vacuum. Like every other human activity it is socially, culturally and therefore financially embedded. For example, with hindsight it is easy to see that the Covid catastrophe was a toxic blend of political power-seeking, medical cowardice and pharmaceutical greed. We might not...
We are all products of our environment. Being mildly Jewish, raised in a Presbyterian culture and the eldest of 4 children, I am ridiculously obsessed with taking care of others and racked with guilt when, for whatever reason, I fail to carry out what I believe to be...
In previous posts I have attempted to develop the idea of a perpetual slight instability (or ‘relaxed static stability’) at the core of life, which enables us to quickly adapt to and survive changes in the outside world. This manifests inter alia in the intrinsic variability of rhythm...
I have long held that oily fish and fish oil are two very different things (1-4). This morning, ten years after the first paper I wrote on the subject (1), a fishing expedition into the archives turned up a couple of gems I had previously missed because they...
Thrombosis kills 1 in 4 of us (1). It is the underlying cause of most heart attacks, strokes, and venous thromboembolism (VTE), which includes deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. And it is, like so many other bad things, increasing (2, 3) … Isn’t modern medicine wonderful? Some of...
It is possible to find good food in North America but it’s expensive, thin on the ground and crusted around the edge of the continent. You won’t find it on the interstates, where fast food chains reign. Here food is assembled rather than cooked, portion control is king...
At the sweet-smelling University of Cologne, elegant work with the nematode C elegans recently showed (1) that switching the worm temperature to cool activates proteasomes. These tiny barrel-shaped structures, present in all cells, are essential for protein quality control and therefore life. Protein production is a complex process with...
Dear readers, I am writing to inform you of a forthcoming pause in my regular posts. Over the next few weeks I will share three or four more articles before stepping away towards the end of November to work on a collaborative project with a gaggle of economists....
W.H.O. Panjandrum Ted Ghebreyesus recently declared Monkeypox to be a public health emergency of international concern. The 2022 outbreak was linked to 140 deaths worldwide (a mortality rate of approximately 0.04%) and the new strain, which is described as being more dangerous and which is emerging just a...
In supplemental circles, omega-6 fatty acids are not very popular. They have been linked to chronic inflammation, and all the many health conditions driven by chronic inflammation. The fact that so many of these diseases have increased - by up to 10-fold since 1900 (ie 1) - roughly...