Nutrition and lifestyle are the keys to longevity
A blog by Michael Butler
Articles and opinions for my family & friends about how I am living a healthier life informed by scientific research undertaken since being diagnosed with heart disease. Starting with the principle that each of us is biologically unique, everyone can use nutrition and lifestyle to achieve their greatest potential.
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“Ultra-processed foods damage health and shorten life”
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.
A seed oil toxic metabolite accumulates and damages human hearts
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.
Industrially processed carbohydrates
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.
The benefits of sauna
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
High healthy cholesterol is good for me
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.
Nutrients in our food are decreasing
One of the great achievements of modern agriculture has been the increase in yields since the 1960s that have allowed us to feed a growing population. However, this increase in yield has come at a price. The micronutrient content of many fruits, veg, meats and dairy has decreased considerably since our grandparents’ days. This decline is as high as 50% for certain micronutrients and it affects product from much of Europe and USA. We need to take care to consume a diverse range of real foods in order to satisfy our short- and long-term nutritional needs.
Seed (Vegetable) Oils
When I was diagnosed with heart disease despite following contemporary nutrition guidelines and my doctor’s advice for years I decided to change my lifestyle. That included eliminating two major food ingredients, namely seed oils and simple carbohydrates. In this post I describe why I eliminated seed oils and how they likely contributed to my disease.
What caused my heart disease - Part 2
Did you have an opportunity to read what I found out about the currently popular Diet Heart Hypothesis of what causes heart disease? If so, were you surprised by what I discovered? I was blown away, and I have to say disappointed, by what I learned. In this post I’ve tried to describe the other, less popular, Thrombogenic Hypothesis. If you read on you’ll read of a simpler theory about how a natural blood clotting repair mechanism may be hijacked and distorted by our poor lifestyle choices to cause heart disease. You’ll also learn about the positive steps I’ve taken to fix my heart disease.
What caused my heart disease - Part 1
Do you or does someone close to you suffer from heart disease? Are you trying to understand the cause and what you can do to stop and maybe even reverse the damage? I found myself asking those questions and decided to delve into what is known about the causes of heart disease. This is the first of a two-part description of what I discovered. In this post you’ll learn what I discovered about the currently popular Diet Heart Hypothesis.