In the first part of this series I looked at physical activity and weight loss in a historical perspective and found that prior to the 1950s, few overweight and obese individuals were recommended to exercise more. It’s often suggested that the increased energy expenditure during exercise is responsible for shedding the fat, but regular physical […]
Around the Web
Every now and then I’ll put up a post with links to new research that I think my readers will find interesting. In these last weeks there have been several interesting stories on microbes and nutrition, and it’s almost getting difficult to keep up with the steady stream of studies on the human superorganism. In […]
Does Exercise Make You Lose Weight? Part 1: Introduction and History
While the prospect of living a healthier life certainly motivates a lot of people to engage in some type of regular physical activity, most gym goers also work out because they want to improve their physical appearance. Weight loss is often the primary goal, but how effective is exercise really at promoting fat loss? In […]
The Workout the World Forgot
While I personally do most of my workouts at the gym, there is a certain beauty to exercising like our ancestors in the wild. MovNat “is a physical education & fitness system based on the full range of natural human movement abilities”. Here is a clip showing MovNat Founder Erwan Le Corre climbing, jumping and […]
Probiotics and Other Sources of Microorganisms
An avalanche of studies linking alterations in the human microbiome to all sorts of diseases suggest that it’s hard to overstate the importance of the microbes that live in and on our bodies. Coming in contact with new species of beneficial bacteria seems to be especially important in regards to maintaining a healthy microbiome. Probiotics […]
Causes of Gut Dysbiosis and Leaky Gut
Since one of the important functions of the gut microbiota is to regulate intestinal barrier function, gut dysbiosis and leaky gut are two conditions that go hand in hand. While both of these disorders long have been diagnosed by alternative health practitioners, it’s only in the last 5-10 years that the scientific research has made […]
What is a Leaky Gut?
Most of the nutrients we consume are broken down and absorbed in the small intestine, fermented by gut bacteria in the colon or passed through undigested. In a healthy person, the gut wall is selectively permeable, only allowing some luminal content such as properly broken down nutrients to pass into the bloodstream. A “leaky gut” […]
What is Dysbiosis?
The human body hosts trillions of germs, and these microorganisms and their DNA is collectively called the human microbiome. While most of these microbes are considered beneficial to the human host, others are potentially pathogenic under the right circumstances. The human microbiome consists of microorganisms that live in the mouth, lungs, sinuses, gastrointestinal tract, and […]
5 Scientifically Proven Steps to a Healthier Microbiome
The human microbiome (microbes and their genes) is perhaps the hottest research subject in the scientific community at the moment, and recent findings show that the microorganisms living iun and on our bodies impact most aspects of our health. Although the information is slowly starting to spread into the general community through newspapers and blogs, […]
Prebiotics. Part 3: Good Health with No Plant-Based Foods in the Diet
While the consumption of fermentable carbohydrates from vegetables, fruits and other plant-based whole foods is associated with growth of beneficial bacteria in the colon and increased production of short-chain fatty acids, there are examples of people who seem to maintain excellent health even on a diet with little to no plants. We know that healthy […]