Fruit juice must be good for us, right? Not so fast, fruit juice is not a natural food, it has been processed and changed from its natural fruity origin. It can be OK when consumed in moderation by someone who is metabolically flexible. Otherwise, be careful.

This is a simple graphic that highlights the difference between healthy and unhealthy dietary carbohydrates. I tend to follow this guidance but point out where I do make exceptions

It’s not often I read about the pros and cons of meat-based vs plant-based diets in a major newspaper. This was a good one

Welcome to Spring

Did you know that an editorial recently published in the British Medical Journal has called for the UN to think about ultra-processed food in the same was as it does tobacco? This follows a review of how ultra-processed food affected the health of almost 10 million people.

This paper describes a pathway through which a well-known toxic metabolite from seed oils may have caused my heart disease. We’re still only just beginning to understand how industrially processed ingredients in our food may cause malnutrition.

Just a quick nature fix with a few pictures of the forest as it emerges from the Scottish winter.

Have you ever wondered why, indeed did you even know that the sugar and starches many of us eat today are the main causes of weight gain and obesity? Even worse, if left unchecked, the metabolic damage they cause can include heart disease, high blood pressure, and Type-2 diabetes. I explain here how eating to much industrially processed carbohydrate drives up blood insulin and insulin resistance to produce those ill-effects.

Milk kefir is the only whole food that I consume every day. I make it easily at home and it provides me with a rich mixture of nutrients and gut-healthy prebiotics and probiotics. I write here about how I make kefir at home.

There are many large myths surrounding nutrition and human health. This is a quick summary of what I’ve learned about the state of nutritional science since starting this blog and how I’m going to proceed in 2024.

The best way to reset or maintain a healthy circadian rhythm is to get outside and watch the sunrise.

Pictures and commentary from a winter Hike in Glen Isla, one of Scotland’s Angus Glens.

Do you dismiss sauna as a luxury or part of a pampering day out? I used to make that mistake. Now I consider it part of a healthy lifestyle that builds on a base of healthy diet, exercise and sleep. Here I describe why and how I use sauna regularly to get maximum health benefit

This is the story of a young Englishman following dietary guidelines and professional advice but developed IBD which within three years required that his colon be removed. He describes in graphic detail how he was required to manually manipulate his gut to ease the passage of plant material and eventually remove it in a bag. He finally improved his quality of life by eating a 100% animal-based diet. This is a cautionary tale of how one-size-fits-all dietary recommendations can be harmful.

Until recently I believed that eating plant fibre was required by everyone for gut lining health. Once again, it appears that I was wrong. I’ve also recently found out that dietary fibre may even be harmful for people suffering from gut issues like IBS and IBD. The good news is that gut lining health is enabled by a handful of beneficial metabolites, only one of them originating from dietary fibre. The key is metabolic flexibility.

Healthy cholesterol is good for me and the speakers in this embedded discussion do a fabulous job of explaining that. They also describe better risk factors for ill health including blood clotting factors and a certain type of damaged LDL called sdLDL. I hope you enjoy the discussion as much as I did.

There is good evidence that many, if not most, of us are deficient in Vitamin D. We’ve known for a long time that this can cause rickets, an easily identified symptom. It is now becoming evident that lack of Vitamin D may result in frequent infections and things like cancer and osteoporosis. There are ways to get enough Vitamin D, read on if you’re interested.

Our gut microbiome is continually in contact with our environment and the consequences can be significant. We can easily create and expose our microbiome to a healthy natural environment. This gives us the best chance of maintaining gut health. Attempts to return a damaged gut microbiome to a healthy state are not always positive. Intrusive interventions should be undertaken with great care.

As we age, we lose muscle mass unless we train for strength, eat enough real food and get enough sleep. Each of these can be achieved with a little effort and attention. We can preserve muscle mass and strength with things like yoga, calisthenics, and weight lifting. Those exercises must be accompanied by eating enough protein from real food. The third component, sleep, is often overlooked but it is vital because our body builds muscle as we sleep.

A review of Ketogenic: The science of therapeutic carbohydrate restriction in human health, Edited by the Nutrition Network. This is an indispensable text for anyone interested in the metabolic and health effects of carbohydrates in the human diet.