I read an interesting study the other day.

In this study, the researchers argued that when it comes to Metabolic Syndrome (hypertension, dyslipidaemia, glucose intolerance, hyperinsulinemia, central adiposity {big belly}, high blood sugar) obesity may actually be a good thing.

Here’s why.

• Metabolic Syndrome is a result of our Standard American Diet
• The S.A.D. combination of too many calories and the over-consumption of sugar + fat-centric meals causes…
• An increase in the secretion of insulin. When this happens on a regular basis, we end up with…
• hyperinsulinemia, which…
• Causes the expression of the lipogenic transcription factor SREBP-1c and its target enzymes and so on and so on and so on until we end up with Metabolic Syndrome and all of the wonderful ailments I mentioned in the previous paragraph.

Sounds pretty grim, doesn’t it?

And the first thing that your doctor is going to tell you if she suspects you have Metabolic Syndrome is to lose weight.

As if obesity is the cause of Metabolic Syndrome.

But, it ain’t.

We know that our bodies respond to our Standard American Diet by increasing the amount of circulating insulin.

This leads to an increase in body-fat.

Common sense tells us that this is bad.

These researchers disagree.

They propose that this new body-fat delays, rather than causes, the metabolic syndrome induced by chronic caloric surplus.

They argue that subcutaneous fat in general exerts a positive effect on insulin sensitivity. Subcutaneous fat is the body-fat that exists between your muscles and your skin – we’re not talking that solid “beer belly” kind of fat.

This “healthy” type of adipose tissue is genetically determined and has a strong sexually dimorphic component as well. Females, at any given body mass index, are protected against insulin resistance more than males.

And if we prevent insulin resistance…we prevent Metabolic Syndrome.

To test this hypothesis further, the researchers bred obesity resistance mice with with db/db mice, which normally become obese and develop severe metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) by the age of 8–10 weeks.

Sucks to be a db/db mouse.

They ended up with some mice who stayed lean despite their voracious appetites.

Unfortunately, these mice developed Metabolic Syndrome in 4 weeks instead of the typical 8-10 weeks.

The researchers concluded that body-fat is a normal response designed to permit stockpiling of fuels while simultaneously protecting our lipid-intolerant organs.

Metabolic syndrome appears only after the storage capacity of the adipocyte compartment has reached a maximum, at which point a gradual accumulation of ectopic fatty acids begins.

Ectopic means “not where it’s supposed to be”. It accumulates in the abdominal region (beer belly), the liver, muscle tissue including the heart, the pancreas, and perhaps in lipid-rich deposits in the arteries.

Obesity should therefore not be regarded as a pathology or disease, but rather as the normal, physiologic response to sustained caloric surplus without which the advent of metabolic syndrome is accelerated.

Conclusions

• Obesity isn’t a disease
• It’s a symptom of another disease – Metabolic Syndrome
• It’s better to have squishy, subcutaneous fat than the big, hard beer belly kind of fat

My Suggestion

Stop thinking of obesity as a health issue unto itself.

If obesity is a result of something else, you need to know what that cause is and then take action to reverse the problem.

You can start by dumping the Standard American Diet and replace it with something more Mediterranean or Asian or Paleo.

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New York City’s public health officials opened a new front in their struggle against high-calorie beverages on Monday, unveiling a new ad campaign that graphically depicts globs of human fat gushing from a sideways drink bottle.

Mmmmmmmm….I could rally go for a great big glass of globby liquified human body-fat.

A few weeks ago, I was talking to a potential client. He told me that he would love to get fit, but he just doesn’t have the time.

He’s just too busy with work, kids, internet porn, etc…

B.S.

He’s not busy…he’s lazy.

And he’s not alone.

According to the WHO, there are 3.6 billion lazy guys sitting on couches all around the world.

And the trainer who can help those lazy buggers transform their lazy asses from….

…is going to be rich.

Filthy…Stinking…Rich

So, here we go. The lazy man’s guide to getting ripped….or as I like to call it – My ticket to becoming filthy, stinking rich.

(BTW, this story is based on a real client. We have been training for one week. He has already lost 5 lbs.)

DIET

Meal # 1 – Breakfast

• 1 Tbsp of Fish Oil
• 3 medium sized Apple or Pears
• 3 fried or hard boiled Eggs
• Water or Tea
• 5 grams of Leucine

Meal # 2 – Morning Coffee Break

My client works in an office. Each morning, he has a mandatory group meeting. Coffee & pastries are served.

• 1 Coffee (with cream)
• 15 Almonds (brought to work in a little Ziploc baggie)
• Water

Meal # 3 – Lunch

Big Salad – consisting of

• Salad Greens (pre-washed, pre-chopped)
• 1 can of tuna or salmon, or 3 more hard boiled eggs, or leftover meat from last night’s dinner
• Olive Oil
• Lemon Juice or Vinegar
• Salt & Pepper
• 5 grams of Leucine
• Water

Before our hero goes to bed at night, he rips open the bag of greens and dumps it into the tupperware container. Same goes for the protein. In the morning he pours in the oil, lemon juice & salt and pepper. Come lunch time, he shakes the container and presto he has his Big Salad

Meal # 4 – Afternoon Snack

• 1 Coffee (with cream)
• 15 Almonds (brought to work in a little Ziploc baggie)
• Water

Meal # 5 – Workout Nutrition

• 1 serving of Biotest’s Surge Workout Fuel, combined with
• 5g of Creatine, and
• 1 serving of Progressive Nutritionals VegeGreens
• 1.5 liters of water

Meal # 6 – Dinner

• Another Big Salad or steamed vegetables prepared with a microwave steaming bag
• BBQ – steak or chicken or fish or pork or lamb or….
• 5 grams of Leucine
• 1 Tbsp of Fish Oil
• Water

TRAINING

I have designed a training program specific to his needs, injuries, muscle imbalances, etc…

But the basic design of the program is:

• 3x per week total body HIRT workouts
• 2x per week HIIT/Cardio workouts on his stationary bike
• 1 x per week active rest – long walks with his wife, soccer with the kids, etc…
• Dynamic stretching at each workout designed to correct imbalances & prevent injuries

THE RESULTS

As I mentioned above, the client has lost 5 lbs in the first week.

And while that certainly is good news, what really excites me is the fact that he has been perfect on his meal compliance.

He said that it was easy…EASY!!!

But, that was the first week. Let’s see how he does this week. I will report back on Sunday.

BTW, if anyone needs some help setting up a plan like this one, I would be glad to help.

[contact-form]

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• Tabata Training 101
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By this point, you should already know that you need more Omega 3 fatty acids into your diet.

The question is: how much?

• A teaspoon of fish oils?
• A tablespoon?
• 3 pills?
• or a great big slab of smoked salmon?

Well, according to this study, researchers believe that “a 200 mg dose of DHA per day is enough to affect biochemical markers that reliably predict cardiovascular problems, such as those related to aging, atherosclerosis, and diabetes”.

This study is the first to identify how much DHA is necessary to promote optimal heart health.

The Study

To determine the optimal dose of DHA, the researchers examined the effects of increasing doses of DHA on 12 healthy male volunteers between ages of 53 and 65. These men consumed doses of DHA at 200, 400, 800, and 1600 mg per day for two weeks for each dose amount, with DHA being the only omega-3 fatty acid in their diet. (No EPA)

Blood and urine samples were collected before and after each dose and at eight weeks after DHA supplementation stopped. The researchers then examined these samples for biochemical markers indicating the effects of each dose on the volunteers.

They found that supplementation with only 200 mg/d DHA for 2 wk induced an antioxidant effect.

They concluded that “low consumption of DHA could be an effective and nonpharmacological way to protect healthy men from platelet-related cardiovascular events”.

Conclusion

If this study is correct, you need only 200 mg of DHA per day to reap the cardiovascular benefits of the Omega 3 fatty acid DHA.

And how do you get 200 mg of DHA?

• 1/2 tsp of fish oil
• 2 of these kiddie chewable DHA supplements
• 5 Krill capsules
• 2 oz of fresh/frozen salmon or tuna

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Matt McClain - Rocky Mountain News

Reading the comments from my last two posts (here and here), I was struck by the very strong, yet very different opinions about the cause(s) of obesity.

Some people believe in ye olde Calories in vs Calories Out theory, while others believe in the power of insulin while others blame their DNA.

So, I raise the question….Is there a one size fits all cause / cure for obesity?

Or are there a whole bunch of factors coming together to create America’s obesity epidemic?

To aid in the discussion, I have put together a list of the factors that I think influence human obesity.

Feel free to comment/criticize or add to the list

Determinants of Obesity

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Food

• Quantity of food – Calories
• Quantity of food – Volume

• Type and Quality of food – Macronutrients – Carbs, Fat, Protein
• Type and Quality of food – Micronutrients – Vitamins, Minerals, Enzymes, Phytochemicals, etc…
• Type and Quality of food – Nutrient Density v.s Caloric Density

• Origin of food – Soil, Air & Water Quality
• Origin of food – Factory farms, fertilizers, pesticides, hormones, steroids, antibiotics, etc…
• Origin of food – Nutrient depletion due to travel time, premature harvest, preserving chemicals, etc…
• Origin of food – Additives – flavor enhancers (MSG), added color, added flavor, added moisture, etc…
• Origin of food – Industrial processes driven solely by profit – (see melamine)

• Convenience food vs Real food

• Digestion of food
• Absorbtion of food
• When you eat your meals
• How long between meals
• How much you eat at different meals
• What you eat at different times of the day

• Your beliefs and emotions regarding food – food as pleasure, food as fuel
• Dining habits – eat on the run vs sit down dinner

Your Body

• Genetics
• Epigenetics
• Hormones – Insulin, Cortisol, Serotonin, Glucagon, etc
• Your Brain
• Hormone receptors
• Your existing body-fat
• Your thoughts, your unconscious mind
• Medical conditions

Your Life

• Emotions
• Stress
• Motivation
• Income
• Geography
• Influence of family, friends & neighbors
• Social stigma
• Media, celebrity
• Entertainment
• Your job
• Your bed

Physical Activity

• Day to day activity (non-exercise)
• How much exercise
• Type of exercise
• Workout nutrition
• Workout recovery techniques – hydrotherapy, massage, soft tissue therapies
• Injuries
• Pain

As you can see, there are a lot of factors that influence obesity.

I didn’t even get into all of the bleeding edge obesity research.

The search for an obesity cure never ends. Just today, there were two new obesity discoveries (here and here). Tomorrow, there will probably be two more.

But for now, I think we have enough on our plate.

BTW, feel free to critique or add to the list.

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If you like what you see here, click here for updates

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In yesterday’s post, I introduced you to the idea that your hormones are responsible for your personal fat-distribution patterns.

For example, women with an excessive percentage of fat on the back of their arms are likely to have elevated insulin levels or low DHEA levels.

Men unlucky enough to be lugging around a generous set of man-boobs are likely to have high levels of estrogen (often combined with high insulin and low testosterone)

So, as a public service to all of my man-boobed brothers out there, we are going to take a look at how to get those hormones back in balance.

(For this post, I will be using a variety of reference sources. Most of the sources are pretty dry and technical, but one that I can heartily recommend to y’all is The Hormone Diet by Dr. Natasha Turner (Canada). It is a great reference that is easy to read and understand. I will be doing a more detailed book review about this book in the coming weeks.)

High Insulin

Causes

• Eating too much over-processed, nutrient deficient carbohydrates – fast food, frozen dinners, pop, fruit drinks, sugary foods, processed diet foods…you know. Crap.
• Eating too little protein – real protein, not processed McNugget protein
• Eating too little fat – real fat, not trans-fat
• Not enough fiber in your diet - no need for supplements, you should get enough protein from fruit & veg
• Unmanaged high levels of chronic stress
• Not enough exercise
• Excessive exercise to the point of muscle wasting
• Steroid based medications
• Poor liver function
• Environmental toxins
• Poor sleep patterns
• Aging – sorry about that one

Solutions

• Diet – Sugar/Insulin control diet – Paleo/Atkins/Medierranean
• Botanical – Cinnamon, Chromium – talk to your naturopath
• Increase consumption of fiber
• Increase consumption of fish oils
• Weight loss
• Exercise
• Reduce exposure to toxins & improve liver function – talk to your naturopath
• Sleep
• Get your hormone levels checked

High Testosterone

While not very common in men, it affects about 10% of women

Causes

• Increased production by the adrenal glands
• Polycystic ovaries caused by Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome
• Low Estrogen. Estrogen is a potent inhibitor of testosterone production, so anything that decreases estrogen levels beyond the norm is going to increase the testosterone to estrogen balance

Solutions

• Stress management = lowered cortisol = reduction in adrenal production
• Insulin control diet – Paleo/Atkins/Mediterranean
• Pharmaceutical – Troglitazone and Metformin – talk to your doctor
• Botanical – Saw Palmetto – talk to your naturopath
• Estrogen replacement – bio-identical or conventional – talk to your doctor
• Get your hormone levels checked

Low Testosterone

Causes

• Aging
• Damage  to the testicles
• Radiation
• Testicular or Pituitary tumors
• Serious viral infections
• Vasectomy
• Various genetic conditions – Klinefelter’s, Kallmann’s, Prader-Willi syndromes and Myotonic Dystrophy

In addition to these causes, there are a variety of lifestyle causes. These include:

• Obesity…it’s a vicious circle – low test causes obesity and obesity causes lowered test…sorry
• Exposure to pesticides
• Exposure to hormones used in factory farm meat and poultry production. These hormones act like Estrogen in your body, and…
• Estrogen is a potent inhibitor of testosterone production, so anything that increases estrogen levels beyond the norm is going to negatively impact testosterone production
• Phthalates (found in soap, cosmetics and plastics) are another estrogen like compound that suppresses testosterone.
• Alcohol…especially beer
• Temperature – boxers v.s briefs
• Sleep apnea
• Narcotics

Solutions

Female

• Diet – Dump your low-fat diet and increase your healthy fats
• Botanical – Tribulus – talk to your naturopath
• High Intensity exercise
• Get your hormone levels checked

Male

• Diet – Dump your low-fat diet and increase your healthy fats
• Botanical – Tribulus – talk to your naturopath
• Pharmaceutical – Aromatase blockers and/or testosterone, anabolic steroids – talk to your doctor and/or your lawyer…see Manny Ramierez
• High Intensity exercise
• Get your hormone levels checked

High Estrogen or Estrogen Dominance

Causes

• Pregnancy & menstrual cycle fluctuations
• Unmanaged high levels of chronic stress
• Obesity – obesity causes high estrogen which causes obesity…
• Poor diet – processed foods, a high fat diet, a high sugar diet, excessive caffeine, low levels of magnesium and B6
• Birth control pill
• Exposure to hormones used in factory farm meat and poultry production. These hormones act like Estrogen in your body, and…
• Phthalates and other xenoestrogens (found in soap, cosmetics and plastics)
• Low testosterone
• Impaired liver function
• Poor digestion
• Alcohol
• Lack of exercise
• Lack of sleep

Solutions

• Stress management
• Improve your diet – Paleo/Atkins/Mediterranean/increase your fiber
• Reduce your exposure to hormones and xenoestrogens
• Improve liver function – talk to your naturopath
• Get more sleep
• Exercise more
• Pharmaceutical – Testosterone – talk to your doctor
• Get your hormone levels checked

Low Estrogen

Causes

• Aging – Menopause
• Premature failure of the ovaries
• Surgical menopause
• Unmanaged high levels of stress
• Smoking
• Low-fat diets
• Extremely low body-fat

Solutions

Female

• Estrogen replacement – bio-identical or conventional – talk to your doctor
• Get your hormone levels checked

High Cortisol

We all have stress in our lives. The problems begin when we can’t handle the stresses that are thrown our way. That is when stress starts negatively impacting our health. Chronic elevated levels of corisol is just one symptom of that impact.

Causes

• Unmanaged high levels of chronic stress

Solutions

• Stress management – meditation, breathing techniques, psychiatry, psychotherapy, mindfulness practice, biofeedback + a million more techniques available on late-night infomercials and the inter-web.
• Insulin control diet – Paleo/Atkins/Mediterranean
• Reduce intake of stimulants
• Supplements – Multi-Vitamin/Mineral, magnesium, B5, B6, Phosphatidylserine, adaptogens such as ginseng – talk to your naturopath.
• Get your hormone levels checked

Low Growth Hormone

Causes

• Aging
• Lack of sleep
• Lack of exercise
• Eating before bed
• Sleeping with lights on

Solutions

• Don’t eat before bed
• Sleep in the dark
• High Intensity exercise – low intensity (ie cardio) has little effect
• Intermittent fasting
• Supplements – GHB and the Amino Acids Arginine, Lysine and Ornithine – talk to your doctor/naturopath
• Get your hormone levels checked

Low DHEA

Causes

• Aging
• Unmanaged high levels of chronic stress

Solutions

• DHEA supplements – talk to your naturopath
• Stress management – meditation, breathing techniques, psychiatry, psychotherapy, mindfulness practice, biofeedback + a million more techniques available on late-night infomercials and the inter-web.
• Insulin control diet – Paleo/Atkins/Mediterranean
• Reduce intake of stimulants
• Supplements – Multi-Vitamin/Mineral, magnesium, B5, B6, Phosphatidylserine, adaptogens such as ginseng – talk to your naturopath.
• Get your hormone levels checked

Low Progesterone

Causes

• Lack of ovulation
• Unmanaged high levels of chronic stress
• Low levels of luteinizing hormone
• Hypothyroidism
• Excess prolaction

Solutions

• Progesterone cream – talk to your doctor/naturopath
• Stress management – meditation, breathing techniques, psychiatry, psychotherapy, mindfulness practice, biofeedback + a million more techniques available on late-night infomercials and the inter-web.
• Get your hormone levels checked

Note

I am not a doctor, nor do I pretend to be one on tv. So, if you think something is out of whack with your hormones, go and get them checked.  That doesn’t mean that you have to take the drugs that your doctor is probably going to push on you. But, at least you will have the info to make your best decision.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to shoot them my way. If I don’t feel confident about my ability to answer it, I will try and convince an “expert” to weigh in.

An interesting new study shows that drinking beet root juice boosts your stamina and could help you exercise for up to 16% longer.

The theory is that the nitrate contained in beet root juice leads to a reduction in oxygen uptake, making exercise less tiring.

And while the researchers are not yet sure of the exact mechanism that causes the nitrate in the beet root juice to boost stamina, they suspect it could be a result of the nitrate turning into nitric oxide in the body, reducing the oxygen cost of exercise.

In fact, drinking beet root juice reduces oxygen uptake and improves endurance better than any other known means, including training.

Including training!

Obviously, this is big news for endurance athletes.

The Science

The researchers gave the test subjects 500ml per day of organic beet root juice for six consecutive days before completing a series of tests, involving cycling on an exercise bike.

On another occasion, they were given a placebo of blackcurrant cordial for six consecutive days before completing the same cycling tests.

After drinking beet root juice the group was able to cycle for an average of 11.25 minutes, which is 92 seconds longer than when they were given the placebo.

Beet root supplementation resulted in a 19% reduction in the amplitude of the pulmonary O2 response during moderate cardio exercise

As an extra added bonus, the group that had consumed the beet root juice also had lower resting blood pressure. (systolic pressure dropped 6 mmHg)

This blood pressure benefit was also found in a 2008 study.

In that study, researchers discovered that within 1 hour of drinking 500ml of beet root juice, volunteers experienced a drop in blood pressure, with the peak drop 3 to 4 hours after ingestion.

Some degree of reduction continued to be observed until up to 24 hours after ingestion.

Researchers showed that the decrease in blood pressure was due to the chemical formation of nitrite from the dietary nitrate in the juice. The nitrate in the juice is converted in saliva, by bacteria on the tongue, into nitrite. This nitrite-containing saliva is swallowed, and in the acidic environment of the stomach is either converted into nitric oxide or re-enters the circulation as nitrite.

The peak time of reduction in blood pressure correlated with the appearance and peak levels of nitrite in the circulation, an effect that was absent in a second group of volunteers who refrained from swallowing their saliva during, and for 3 hours following, beet root ingestion.

This research suggests that drinking beet root juice, or consuming other nitrate-rich vegetables, might be a simple, effective and inexpensive way to reduce blood pressure and maintain a healthy cardiovascular system.

Conclusion

If you are interested in:

• Lowering your blood pressure
• Reducing your risk of heart disease
• Increasing your aerobic endurance
• and making you cardio sessions feel much, much easier

Drink your beet juice.

And if you can’t get your hands on some fresh beet root juice, there are a number of GreenFood/SuperFood/Antioxidant drinks that have beet root powder as an ingredient.

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Reference

• EurekAlert – stamina article
• Stamina research
• EurekAlert – blood pressure article
• Blood Pressure research

Stereoscopic model of PEDF

Link between obesity and diabetes discovered

Researchers at Monash University (led by Associate Professor Matthew Watt), have discovered that fat cells release a novel protein called PEDF (pigment epithelium-derived factor), which triggers a chain of events and interactions that lead to development of Type 2 diabetes.

According to Dr. Watt:

• When PEDF is released into the bloodstream, it causes the muscle and liver to become desensitized to insulin. The pancreas then produces more insulin to counteract these negative effects
• This insulin release causes the pancreas to become overworked, eventually slowing or stopping insulin release from the pancreas, leading to Type 2 diabetes.
• It appears that the more fat tissue a person has the less sensitive they become to insulin. Therefore a greater amount of insulin is required to maintain the body’s regulation of blood-glucose.

Our research was able to show that increasing PEDF not only causes Type 2 diabetes like complications but that blocking PEDF reverses these effects.

In fact, after blocking the secretion of PEDF in test subjects, the body was able to return to being insulin-sensitive and therefore did not need excess insulin to remain regulated.

This research may be a significant breakthrough in explaining the reasons why obesity triggers the onset of Type 2 Diabetes.

Until now scientists knew there was a very clear pattern and had strong suspicions that a link existed between the two conditions, but our understanding of the chain of events that are caused by the release of PEDF shows a causal link, Dr. Watt said.

Type 2 diabetes patients will benefit knowing the two conditions are linked.

We already know that weight-loss generally improves the management of blood glucose levels in diabetes patients.

Researchers can now move forward knowing this link exists and can begin to design new drugs to improve the treatment of Type 2 diabetes….

…or perhaps, instead of looking for a cure for this completely preventable lifestyle disease, we could throw some cash at health promotion and/or disease prevention.

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If you like what you see here, click here for updates

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• My Unconscious Mind is Making Me Fat – Part 2
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• The status-quo is broken…We need a new model for burning fat and getting fit
• The Link between Belly Fat, Depression, Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease
• You Drink Pop = You Get Fat
• PediaSure…a source of complete and balanced nutrition for our kids?
• The Top 12 PREVENTABLE Causes of Death
• Obesity: Insulin trumps Genetics
• 10 Ways to Screw Up your Diet

Reference

• Monash University Press Release
• Study Abstract
• Scientific info on PEDF

IHOPs Butterscotch Rocks Pancake....mmmmmm distended brachial arteries

For the first time in medical history, researchers have been able to visualize what happens inside our arteries before, during and after eating high carb foods.

And it ain’t a pretty sight.

Looking inside the arteries of students eating a variety of foods, Dr. Michael Shechter ( Tel Aviv University)  visualized exactly what happens inside the body when the wrong foods for a healthy heart are eaten.

He found that foods with a high glycemic index resulted in distended brachial arteries for several hours.

Dr. Shechter continues:

Elasticity of arteries anywhere in the body can be a measure of heart health.

But when aggravated over time, a sudden expansion of the artery wall can cause a number of negative health effects, including reduced elasticity, which can cause heart disease or sudden death.

So, let’s recap:

High GI foods (bread, sugar, desserts, pop, pizza, cereal, 99% of the food sold at any fast food restaurant…) leads to distended brachial arteries which can lead to heart attacks which can lead to death.

The Science

Using 56 healthy volunteers, the researchers looked at four groups.

1. Group One ate a cornflake mush mixed with milk,
2. Group Two ate a pure sugar mixture,
3. Group Three ate bran flakes,
4. Group Four was given a placebo (water).

Over four weeks, Dr. Shechter applied his method of “brachial reactive testing” to each group. The test uses a cuff on the arm, like those used to measure blood pressure, which can visualize arterial function in real time.

The results were dramatic. Before any of the patients ate, arterial function was essentially the same. After eating, except for the placebo group, all had reduced functioning.

Enormous peaks indicating arterial stress were found in the high glycemic index groups: the cornflakes and sugar group.

“We knew high glycemic foods were bad for the heart. Now we have a mechanism that shows how,” says Dr. Shechter. “Foods like cornflakes, white bread, french fries, and sweetened soda all put undue stress on our arteries.

We’ve explained for the first time how high glycemic carbs can affect the progression of heart disease.”

During the consumption of foods high in sugar, there appears to be a temporary and sudden dysfunction in the endothelial walls of the arteries.

Endothelial health can be traced back to almost every disorder and disease in the body.

It is “the riskiest of the risk factors,” says Dr. Shechter.

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So how come my doctor tells me to eat cereal for breakfast?

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Sadly, Mikey never made it past his 25th birthday.

Damn you Life brand cereal, damn you.

If you like what you see here, click here for updates

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Reference

• Journal of the American College of Cardiology
• Press Release – American Friends Tel Aviv University