This trend of treating anything that sounds remotely new age as "anti-science" is really ridiculous
EMF an easy example, people who've never read a single piece of the literature on its health effects assume they know better than researchers who spent years actually studying it
It's one thing to disagree on the interpretation of a set of scientific data, but people will dismiss entire subjects they've never researched at all, just because they read an article "debunking" it written by someone who didn't really bother researching it either
That said, I also think many fringe nutrition/health communities fall into the opposite trap of thinking a small portion of the research is representative of the whole field, reinforced by the echo chamber effect of social media
I've been very wary of this myself lately, I see many people make claims like "cholesterol has no effect on heart disease" without reading any of the research that may support such a connection
When it comes down to it, those on both sides of each debate oversimplify things
I've been trying to expose myself with as many opposing viewpoints as possible, and I hope others do the same
Part of the reason the nutrition field is so confusing is because we're all extremely complex individuals, what's right for me may not always apply the same to others
When it comes down to it all we can do is make our own educated decisions and not get locked into any particular viewpoint, nutrition dogma is where issues like orthorexia stem from
Do your own research, take everything you read with a grain of salt, and listen to your body
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Fermentation can increase folate content of food significantly
This is especially important with vegetable sources of folate, which typically contain mostly folinic acid which some individuals are unable to utilize as effectively as the active methylfolate
According to this study fermentation increased folate concentration, adding almost entirely the methylfolate form sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
Fermenting grains also increases folate and other B-vitamin concentrations, in this study sourdough more than doubled folate levels infona.pl/resource/bwmet…
What many people don't realize about opiate withdrawal is that in many ways it resembles an immune response, complete with elevated cytokines, activation of inflammatory microglia in the nervous system, and changes in histamine levels
Symptoms like anhedonia, insomnia, anxiety, etc, stem from downregulation of dopamine and GABA receptors
While these are responsible for most of the psychological aspects of withdrawal, upstream of this the opiate receptors also regulate the immune system
For example, many opiate users report never getting sick
This actually occurs because opiates raise the threshold for illness/inflammation symptoms, though they don't suppress the immune system completely and may even potentiate other aspects of immune function
There seems to be an inverse relationship between melatonin and insulin, with increases is insulin reducing melatonin release, and vice versa
This is actually thought to be mediated by melatonin receptors in the pancreas, and insulin receptors in the pineal gland
This may be a large part of how eating too close to sleep can cause disrupt/worsen sleep
It's also worth noting that insulin resistance seems to create a state of chronic low melatonin production, indicating that insulin resistance may also be tied to worsened sleep
Besides reducing insulin release, melatonin may actually improve insulin sensitivity (likely through activation of AMPK)
Melatonin supplements have been used for this purpose in a few clinical trials, and IMO this is one of the more viable reasons for short term supplementation
I've been reviewing ashwagandha's impact on thyroid function, and honestly I think the risk of hyperthyroidism from taking it is overblown
The only studies I've found showing it increases thyroid function are in patients that already have hypothyroidism, not in healthy adults
It's well-known that cortisol has an antagonistic effect on every step in thyroid hormone synthesis, and ashwagandha is one of the most potent herbs at reducing cortisol, so from this perspective it makes sense that ashwagandha could have therapeutic value in hypothyroidism
However, I don't think this indicates a general ability to stimulate thyroid function in and of itself
Ashwagandha has some of the most impressive benefits I've ever seen that make it well worth consuming for many individuals
The most potent phytoestrogen, coumestrol, found primarily in alfalfa and red clover, is one of the few phytoestrogens that actually has any ability to cause endocrine disruption (at least in rodent studies)
Surprisingly, it does this through its anti-estrogenic effects!
All phytoestrogens activate estrogen receptors far weaker than estrogen itself does, because of this they reduce estrogen receptor activation rather than increase it
In some cases this could be beneficial (ie in reducing breast cancer), but issues can still occur
The most potent phytoestrogens still bind to estrogen receptors as strogly as estrogen itself, without properly activating the receptors
This blocks the activity of estrogen, altering gene expression, and preventing feedback loops that regulate estrogen levels