Tag Archives: metabolism

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 14 Issue 21

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Excess Weight Gain, Obesity and Immune Related Diseases in 2 cases
I want to share a few recent case experiences that shed light on the patient provider experience in the context of a collaborative clinic model based on prevention and the patient first mentality.
In the struggle against the US based disease onslaught that is excess weight gain, longevity with the patient remains the greatest winner for a quality outcome. What do I mean when I say this? Let me tell you a story. I care for a wonderful young man who is about to turn 17 years old. I have known him since birth and his struggle with weight has been profound for most of these 17 years…… Plus an article review about weight loss and a recipe of the week.
Enjoy,
Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 14 Issue 17

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Literature Review
1) In a first of its kind study in mice, we see concrete evidence for how the mitochondria in obese individuals are a root cause of disease based on nutritional input. This fascinating animal translational study gives us insight into how a high fat diet is also a major component of mitochondrial damage through fission and fragmentation leading to worsened cell bioenergetics. The cells have reduced fatty acid oxidation or fat burning capacity due to a single gene’s actions. The end result is a tilt toward fat cell production, fat storage and fat cell inflammation which are associated with diabetes and insulin resistance and ultimately metabolic syndrome. This starts to explain the paradox that is obesity where the person has a ton of stored energy, but has limited capacity to utilize it. It is like having a gas tank of fuel with a gas line that only allows for 1/10th of the flow required for optimal function. Science Daily has an excellent review of this paper. Link below. 
2) Women’s brains change during pregnancy as per a new study. The authors looked at brain changes before and after birth as well as with or without a vaginal delivery route. Their study findings noted transient changes in some brain regions as well as permanent changes in other brain regions that turn on self-reflection and empathy for others…… and a recipe of the week.
Enjoy,
Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 14 Issue 9

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Light and It’s Impacts on Health – Circadian Rhythms
Circadian comes from the latin Circa Diem or about the day
I have long believed that indoor sedentary behavior is profoundly bad for us beyond just the lack of movement and outdoor natural education. Today, we will look at another major concern: light. We will also get into a circadian rhythm post looking at Dr. Panda’s work. A final addition of a recipe of the week.
Enjoy,
Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 14 Issue 5

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Sugar, Immune Health and Two Studies
Let us start right out of the gate with two studies. #1: Here is the abstract from European Journal of Clinical Nutrition: “Milk contributes with saturated fat, but randomized controlled trials (RCT) on the effects of dairy on the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) where dairy is given as whole foods are scarce. The objective of our study was to investigate the long-term effects of semi-skimmed milk on insulin sensitivity and further to compare milk with sugar-sweetened soft drinks (SSSD). A secondary analysis of a 6-month RCT with 60 overweight and obese subjects randomly assigned to 1 L/d of either milk (1.5 g fat/100 mL), SSSD, non-calorie soft drink (NCSD), or water was conducted. Insulin sensitivity was evaluated by oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and plasma free fatty acids. Second, fasting blood lipids, blood pressure, and concentration of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 were assessed……and more on antibiotic resistance.
Enjoy,
Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 13 Issue 31

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THE NUTRITIONAL STUDIES
We know that the foods that we consume affect our intestinal microbiome, our immune system, our metabolism and therefore have a significant effect on inflammation. Is this knowledge translatable to asthma? Let us look specifically at nutrition as it relates to Asthma. Are there specific diet studies available that lead us toward a unified diet for better asthma health? Can we make good recommendations for our patients on a macronutrient basis with fats, carbohydrates and protein ratios and types. Do we have data to support certain micronutrient needs in asthma and how a diet could provide these nutrients? How much can we trust the data?…..
Enjoy,
Dr. M

Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Audiocast Volume 13 Issue 27

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Let us head back to the headwaters of HDL biology to find some more answers. If you did not read the original HDL piece or remember the basics of HDL biology, go back to Newsletter V13 #15 for a review. HDL as an associated biomarker of death risk has a U shaped curve with higher all cause mortality at very low and high levels of volume. Let us understand why? (Madsen et. al. 2017) Anything that causes more LDL, low density lipoproteins, to stay in circulation will raise one’s risk of ASCVD or heart attack. The historical reality (as I have discussed for years) for why we would have these genomic mutations to have more LDL particles in circulation is 1) as a protection mechanism against bacterial infections which were common for thousands of years. The HDL and LDL particles have receptors on their surface to grab bacterial cell wall debris like LTE or LPS and remove them via the liver. This is a massive beneftit to the human species until recent times. 2) as a storage mechanism for calories/recirculation of metabolically expensive cholesterol. (Maile et. al. 2020)(Feng et. al.. 2019)(Trinder et. al. 2021)…….
Enjoy,
Dr. M

Dr. M’s Women and Children First Podcast #50 – Richard Johnson, MD – Fructose and Perinatal Issues

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This weeks guest is my favorite researcher, Dr. Richard Johnson.
He is the Tomas Berl Professor of Medicine and the Chief of the Renal Division and Hypertension at the University of Colorado since 2008. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Madison, with a major in Anthropology, and a graduate of the University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, he is a physician and nephrologist whose research has focused on the role of sugar, and especially fructose, in driving obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney disease. Much of this work has explored the role of fructose metabolism, especially the generation of uric acid, in driving this phenotype, and his work has included studies ranging from molecular biology, integrative physiology, and evolutionary biology. He is the author of The Sugar Fix which introduced the first low fructose diet, and also The Fat Switch which explores the role of fructose in driving the obesity epidemic. His newest book, Nature Wants Us To Be Fat, is a tour de force of the entire pathway of survival via metabolic events in the body related to fructose and the polyol pathway. This is a must read book.
This podcast will follow up on the original conversation, podcast #14, and the exceptional work of Dr. Johnson this time looking at how we are mismatched metabolically for the environment of modern America and our food systems from the maternal health and perinatal perspective.
Enjoy,
Dr. M

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