Cardiovascular / Circulatory
Anemia means without blood and is in reference to inadequate concentrations of hemoglobin within red blood cells (RBCs) (Simmons, 2010). Anemia can be classified either by its cause (etiology) or by the shape and appearance of RBCs (Reisner & Reisner, 2017). Anemia can occur from a lack of production of RBCs, and can emanate from…
Modern Western diets derive approximately 70% of total daily energy from refined carbohydrate sources such as sugar, vegetable oils, processed foods, and alcohol (Ilich, Kelly, Kim, & Spicer, 2014). In contrast, during the paleolithic era (over 11,000 years ago) individuals consumed over 73% of total daily calories from animal sources (Cordain, Miller, Eaton, Mann, Holt,…
Obesity is often associated with other conditions that deepen the health complications of an individual. Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a term used to describe a group of conditions that places people at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease and other heart-related problems (Kenney, Wilmore, & Costill, 2012). I would like to…
In my last post, I covered a brief history of Scotland and how they circumvented vitamin D deficiencies. The intent of providing a brief history of the Scots and vitamin D intake was to show the complex interplay of environment, physiology, cultural proclivities, and economics on the effects of health. It was also my intent…
Insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes are characterized by an impaired ability to metabolize glucose (Paoli, Rubini, Volek, & Grimaldi, 2013). However, the severity of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes has been mitigated and/or eradicated by very low carbohydrate diets (Paoli et al., 2013). Considering the potential side effects of drug therapy interventions, nutritional…
The paleolithic era (11,000 years ago) suggests that over 73% of most societies consumed the majority of their foods from animal sources (up to 65% of total calories) with remaining energy and sustenance derived from plant sources (Cordain et al., 2000). In the modern Western diet, over 70% of total daily energy is derived from…
In my last post, I noted that modern Western diets, including macronutrient ratios and macronutrient quality, were substantially different than the hominin diets 10,000 years ago (Ilich, Kelly, Kim, & Spicer, 2014). Of particular interest is the stratification of then and now between daily carbohydrate consumption and carbohydrate quality. In the following sections, I would…