Blog
Feeding Our Gut Microbiome for Better Health
Our gut flora is determined by what we eat, for good or for ill. When we eat meat (including seafood), dairy, or eggs, our gut flora can take certain components in them (carnitine and choline) and produce something that ends up as a toxic compound called TMAO, which...
Why Don’t Health Insurers Promote a Healthier Diet?
Why don’t more big payors in health care embrace plant-based eating? Many of the diseases “that cause a constant drain on health care budgets can be prevented by nutrition;” so, why aren’t the big payors getting involved? Even a 1% decline in excess body fat could...
Fenugreek May Help Sexual Function, Period Pain, and Lactation
The hormonal benefits of fenugreek extend beyond the muscle-bulking testosterone boost. In my video about the benefits of fenugreek seeds, I profiled a study in which young men were randomized to a sugar pill or fenugreek capsules for eight weeks, and they got a...
The Meat Papers Contradicted Their Own Data
The meat industry’s own study concluded that meat consumption increased the risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and premature death. A series of papers published in the Annals of Internal Medicine that “largely discounted all but the highest quality randomised...
How Many Minutes of Life Does a Burger Cost?
If you care about your health so much that it would be unthinkable to light up a cigarette before and after lunch, maybe you should order a bean burrito instead of a meaty one. According to the Global Burden of Disease Study, diets high in processed meat, like bacon,...
How Big Meat Distorted the Evidence
Big Meat downplays the magnitude of meat mortality. A series of studies published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found a statistically significant association between lower consumption of red and processed meats and lower total mortality (meaning living a longer...
How Much Do New Chemotherapy Drugs Extend Life?
If you put together all the new chemotherapy drugs approved over a dozen years, the average overall survival benefit is only 2.1 months. Though we often hear new cancer drugs described as “game changers” or “breakthroughs,” most afford much more modest benefits. In my...
Chemotherapy Is Expensive—Is It Effective?
Most chemotherapy drugs are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) without evidence that they benefit survival or quality of life. By 2030, the number of new cancer cases in the United States is expected to skyrocket by 45%, from 1.6 million to 2.3...
Does Less Protein Increase FGF21 for Longevity?
Fasting and exercise can boost the longevity hormone FGF21, but what can we eat—or avoid eating—to get similar effects? Over a century ago, fasting was hailed not only as a means of combating “cerebral lassitude,” but also for the “prolongation of healthy longevity.”...








