Hormones / Endocrine
Technological progress is nested deeply within contemporary Western society, and has brought with it many conveniences gifted to its citizens; acute-care medicine, the combustion engine, mass food production, enhanced communications via smartphones, and instant access to information through the Internet, to name a few. Although such examples show technological prowess, they still remain but a…
It is estimated that almost 8% of the US population has diabetes, with another 57 million having pre-diabetes (Hammaker, 2014). There is also a rise in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and some researchers are exploring its possible relationship to the aforementioned metabolic disease. As a means of appreciating the pathogenesis of AD, the following will explore…
Statins are pharmacological interventions that have been shown to reduce dyslipidemia, inflammation, and improve vascular endothelial function (VEF) (Ballard et al., 2013). Interestingly, carbohydrate restricted diets (CRDs) have also been shown to improve blood biomarkers, similar to statins (Ballard et al., 2013). However, the authors noted that no research explored the potential additive benefits of…
Metabolic syndrome is associated elevated glucose/lipids, inflammation, decreased anti-oxidant activity, weight gain, glycation of proteins, and insulin resistance (Qin, Panickar, & Anderson, 2010). Interestingly, the ingestion of simple spices, like cinnamon, has shown promise in helping control one manifestation of metabolic syndrome; insulin resistance. The following sections will consider, in more detail, the influence of…
Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a term used to describe a group of associated risk factors, that when combined, increase a person’s chances of contracting conditions such as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes (Kenney, Wilmore, & Costill, 2012). Said risk factors include a large waistline, high triglyceride levels, low high-density lipoproteins, high resting blood pressure, high…
The liver is the largest organ in the body providing several vital functions such as storing glycogen, copper, iron, triglycerides, and lipid soluble vitamins (Reisner & Reisner, 2017). The liver is also responsible for synthesizing certain proteins such as albumin, which facilitates coagulation and inflammation, in addition to binding proteins for storage of substances (Reisner…
Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine disorder among women in which 10% of the population is affected within the United States (Reisner & Reisner, 2017). PCOS is often diagnosed among females between 20-40 years of age, and is a prominent cause of anovulatory (no oocytes released during menstruation) infertility. PCOS is characterized by enlarged…
Dysmenorrhea is defined as painful menstruation and is characterized by two types: primary dysmenorrhea characterized by no disease (PD) and secondary dysmenorrhea (SD), which is characterized by diseased organs within the pelvic regions (Reisner & Reisner, 2017). The following sections will explore dysmenorrhea in greater detail, in addition to nutritional interventions to help attenuate pain…
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…