LDL cholesterol tends to be looked at as “the problem” regarding vascular disease risk.  In reality, it is only part of the risk.  What is more important than simply LDL levels is the size of the particles.  Two persons with the “same” LDL level can have very different vascular disease risks. The LDL listed on […]

Modern humans have always had the belief, conscious or subconscious, that they could lead a less-than-optimal lifestyle and yet health care could prevent the ill effects.  This is particularly true thinking about medical care.  Why eat an optimal diet when the unhealthy food is so good?  Exercise is more effort than I want to put […]

Again, It Depends on Who It Hangs Out With In a previous blog I had discussed some of the research of coffee consumption and a reduced risk of diabetes.  It seems there are several phenols or phytonutrients in brewed coffee that offer diabetes preventative benefit.  I also made the point that this might be negated […]

We previously discussed how DAMPs or damaged associated and PAMPs or pathogen associated molecular patterns can chronically activate inflammation.  The damage associated referring to tissue components released from degenerative tissue such as joints.  The pathogen associated referring to chronic infections such as in the gut. In this 3rd blog on what triggers chronic inflammation we […]

What is Triggering It? In the introduction to this series of blogs on inflammation I mentioned that understanding and reducing its impact comes down to 2 points: In response to what is triggering it, these factors can be helpful in response to infection and in resolving injury, or harmful in response to chronic lifestyle triggers […]

Food provides us with energy to run and materials needed to maintain the ongoing process of repair and regeneration.  How well those processes occur is highly related to food quality.  Quite simply, we have undergone a dramatic change in our food quality over the past 100 years and that change is a major factor in […]

Not if it keeps good company One of the more common statements I hear taking patient histories when patient comment on what measures they had taken already to try to resolve their health issues is “I did give up coffee”.  This statement implies a belief that coffee has negative health effects.  The origins of that […]

When we think of the relationship between diet and osteoporosis, the first thought tends to be the impact of calcium and vitamin D.  While those are important, the relationship between diet and the disease is more complex.  Recent research has found that, in adolescents, food quality is highly impactful on bone health. The risk of […]

Too much appeasing of a sweet tooth has been associated with an increased risk of developing autoimmunity.  While higher sugar consumption may do so, artificial sweeteners appear to increase the risk similarly.  This is a significant concern as either sugars or artificial sweeteners are added to almost all processed foods. Humans have 3 primary taste […]

This title may sound like some form of double talk but it is a reality.  I had a stark example of this concept last weekend traveling to Easton Maryland for our annual goose hunt with my grandson.  Traveling the 185 miles up the Virginia and Maryland Eastern Shore I traveled through this large expanse of […]