Catching up on some weekly links that I fell behind on: New review from Bron, van Baarlen, and Kleerebezem on: Emerging molecular insights into the interaction between probiotics and the host intestinal mucosa : Abstract : Nature Reviews Microbiology Quite the academic critique of how low CHO promoters abuse "evolutionary nutrition" & the thrifty gene hypothesis (PDF): “Most people are simply not designed to eat pasta”: evolutionary explanations for obesity in the low-carbohydrate Read more [...]

Here are some interesting reads from last week. variants of LCAT which lower HDL don't increase heart attack risk, but lower HDL is associated with increased heart attack in general population Low good cholesterol doesn't cause heart attacks| Reuters An excellent post to bookmark on best parental feeding practices determined from research Weighty Matters: Are you Feeding your Children Properly? Interesting study: Environmental enrichment leads to leaner mice! | brainsweets The ACS Read more [...]

Here are some interesting reads from a couple weeks ago. Willett in the HuffPo on Congress, pizza sauce,and fries: Walter Willett, M.D., DrPH, MPH: Food Fight: Pizza and Spuds Win, School Kids Lose Letter by Oliver Weingartner et al. in response to the "dietary portfolio" study that used in part plant sterols to lower LDL- but will that lower CVD risk? Cholesterol-Lowering Foods and Reduction in Serum Cholesterol Levels -JAMA A distinct adipose tissue gene expression response to caloric Read more [...]

Here are some interesting reads from last week. Pizza can still be classified as a vegetable serving in schools. While I think some of the reporting/headlines were over the top, an important example of how the USDA/IOM fights an uphill battle against lobbying and the political process. Marion Nestle has a collection of links: It’s official! Pizza is a vegetable! I wondered why tomatoes are considered a vegetable, since they are botanically a fruit. Turns out this is because the Supreme Read more [...]

Here are some interesting reads from last week. Interesting new paper from Ioannidis (well known for 'Why most published research findings are false' and most recently for showing in biomarker research that highly cited studies overestimate effect size compared to subsequent meta-analyses on the same data): Prognostic effect size of cardiovascular biomarkers in datasets from observational studies versus randomized trials: meta-epidemiology study http://www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d6829 a Read more [...]

Here are some interesting reads from the last several weeks. Trying to get this going regularly again. a must read from Willett and Ludwig on the 2010 Dietary Guidelines: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1107075 From Ordovas and Parnell (see his blog in blogroll) A High Intake of Saturated Fatty Acids Strengthens the Association between the Fat Mass and Obesity-Associated Gene and BMI Quite the paper here, finding that crop diversity didn't decrease in the 20th century, contrary Read more [...]

Weekly links from 2 weeks ago: Scott Gavura takes on bad reporting on the recent Cochrane salt meta-analysis Science-Based Medicine » Salt: More confirmation bias for your preferred narrative PLoS Computational Biology: In Silico Evidence for Gluconeogenesis from Fatty Acids in Humans Too much technological feedback precision may hinder health goal progress. Will be interesting to see if follow-up research corroborates In Praise Of Vagueness | Wired Science | Wired.com Dietary restriction Read more [...]

Brain cells in this animal study were fine, alcohol just blocked memory formation. Specifically, it activates NMDA receptors and increases neurosteroids that bind GABA receptors and inhibit LTP Study shows how binge drinking harms memory. paper here Yoni asks why a paper in the AJCN with such methodological shortcomings was published (by Michael Zemel who has dedicated his career to promoting the idea that milk will help with weight loss). The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition's recent Read more [...]

  I'm posting on schedule this week, a rarity I know. Here are some interesting links from last week:   This week's hot topic was the Cochrane review on salt intake: Reduced dietary salt for the prevention of cardiovascular disease Note that this is only RCTs as well, and not the full body of evidence Published this week, a controversial article by Melinda Moyer.  While I am no salt expert, the first 2 studies referenced (which includes the Cochrane review) in this article had some Read more [...]

From last week: Megan points out some interesting initiatives to increase access to fruits and vegetables: Verdant Nation: Increasing fruit & veggie intake - the why and the how She points out a recent review of the association between fruit and vegetable intake and adiposity - still a lot to be answered there. Yoni highlights a case of poor reporting: Weighty Matters: The deleterious impact of snacking on journalistic integrity Penny posts about recent research suggesting the paradigm Read more [...]