But instead, I CHALLENGE YOU 🫵 to put aside emotions & watch 1 of these videos
11 m:
45 m:
1/ NOW for 🧵 on 5 MYTHS about eating Bugs!
A DISCLAIMER
I am NOT trying to take your meat
I am NOT saying meat is unhealthy
I am NOT trying to force you to eat bugs
I am NOT trying to force you to eat bugs
I am NOT trying to force you to eat bugs
I AM asking you to set aside emotion and have an open mind
Begin...
2/ MYTH #1) People only eat bugs if they need to
Entomophagy is a cultural practice
The "eww" factor is entirely psychological
Many cultures eat bugs as delicacies, EVEN when meat is also part of the diet
Norms change. Take🦞a large bug that used to be considered slave food
3/MYTH #2) Bugs aren't as nutritious as other animal foods
👉Cricket & meal worm have similar amounts of protein to beef (~20g/100g)
👉Protein in bioavailable
👉All essential amino acids
👉Rich in micronutrients, e.g. cricket has 2.5X or more iron than beef
4/ MYTH #3) Chitin in bug exoskeletons is toxic
Most human express chitinase (CHIA gene) to break down chitin
Gut microbes can produce chitinase enzyme too
Even if not all digested, it's a fiber. You poop it out, like the cellulose in a stalk of celery
5/ MYTH #4) Bugs all have anti-nutrients and toxins that are bad for you
Many bugs are low in anti-nutrients
True, there can be concerns, e.g. Thiaminase in African silkworm, exposure to mycotoxins, allergies, etc.
However... (con't)
6/ One could make a similar argument for any food
Eating improperly prepared pork has the risk of tines egg ingestion, with development of neurocysticercosis, holes in the brain, and seizures
Getting bitten by a lone star tick, and you can have a meat allergy
7/ The point here is that one shouldn't argue that a food group is bad because practices relating to the food need to be improved or people have individual sensitivities.
Do we need good safety regulations and sensible farming practices. Of course, but it's not the bug per se...
8/ MYTH #5 More bugs means less meat!
YES! THIS IS A MYTH! More bugs can actually mean more meat. Here's how...
We waste an absurd amount of food! 1.8 BILLION TONS per year, which simply generates waste and emissions
But what if this could be upcycled into animal feed?
9/ Meet the black soldier fly
They love eating decaying matter, grow insanely fast & produce high quality protein
They could not help get rid of our 1.8 Billion tons of wasted food and reduce emissions
& help treat undernutrition
& be used as high quality livestock feed
10/ In summary, I'm not trying to take your meat, or make you eat bugs
But I am asserting that it's essential we separate emotions from science
Otherwise, science is just another form of religion
11/ Now, if you have the courage, I encourage you to RT this thread in order to help normalize nuanced scientific discussion
1/7) I have astronomically high cholesterol (>700 mg/dl) and high Lp(a) (194), but my arteries are perfectly clear. I mean perfect! 0 mm³ of any measurable plaque upon expert read and AI-guided quantification of my coronary CT angiogram—a finding that left several cardiologists stunned.
2/7) And although I'm young, at levels like mine, this is still stunning. The only historical comparator group are those with a 1-in-1,000,000 genetic condition: homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (hoFH). Now, I don't have this hoFH. These children typically get severe advanced atherosclerosis and even a heart attack as young as age 8 or 10.
In fact, I have far more lifetime exposure than these children, yet my arteries could not be more perfect.
3/7) I'm not going to chalk up my good cardiovascular health to any supplement one singular aspect of my health routine. Nothing beats being overall metabolically healthy and eating and living well.
Nevertheless, my personal story has inspired a curiosity in readily available natural compounds that can improve heart health. Today's deep dive letter is a result of my obsessive fascination in heart health—a synthesis of tens of thousands of written words and hundreds of papers that I've gobbled up over time.
The Peptide Proven to Cut Visceral Fat (In RCTs) 🧵
1/6) There is a peptide proven in multiple double-blinded, placebo-controlled randomized controlled trials to reduce visceral fat.
It’s called tesamorelin. (link at the end)
2/6) Tesamorelin is an analog of growth hormone–releasing hormone, a hormone released by the brain that signals the pituitary to release growth hormone.
Its main advantage over growth hormone is that it stimulates the body’s natural release of growth hormone, rather than adding a non-physiologic dose that doesn’t align with biological rhythms.
3/6) To give you just a taste of data: in a landmark 2007 New England Journal of Medicine study, patients with HIV on antiretroviral therapy and excess abdominal fat were given 2 mg of tesamorelin or placebo for 26 weeks.
Visceral fat decreased by ~15% in the tesamorelin group, while it increased in the placebo group. Subcutaneous fat did not change, and there was no loss in lean mass.
*Nuance note: Historically, the patient population studied has been patients with HIV taking antiretroviral therapy. Why? These therapies can cause visceral fat gain. So these patients aren’t biologically unique to HIV—they’re just a particularly vulnerable population in which these drugs have been assessed and FDA-approved.
After 7 Years, I Changed My Mind on Cholesterol Meds (Or Did I?)
🚨You'll want to read this one all the way though. Link at the end🚨
1/7) After seven years of living with astronomically high cholesterol, I’ve decided to start two medications. Not statins, but ezetimibe and bempedoic acid.
But that’s NOT the real story. The real story is WHY… and it has nothing to do with cholesterol🤨🤔...
Quick preface: “cholesterol-lowering drugs” are named for one effect, not their full biological impact.
Molecules don’t respect our labels. These drugs can influence multiple systems, including metabolism and brain health.
And in this case, they likely do.
2/7) Take ezetimibe. Beyond lowering LDL, evidence suggests it crosses into the brain and influences neurobiology.
Specifically, is disrupts the interaction between 14-3-3 and hexokinase, reducing protein aggregation.
Full video:
3/7) That means less amyloid, less tau, and even improved autophagy.
Even more interesting: retrospective analyses have found up to an ~8x lower risk of Alzheimer’s in patients on ezetimibe.
Not causal. Not definitive. But a signal worth paying attention to—especially in the right context.
1/5) Here are four things statins do in your body.
First: A human controlled trial found statins reduced GLP-1 levels by 50% in 16 weeks.
The clinical implications aren’t fully clear—but the fact this isn’t discussed is a disservice to science and to patients.
2/5) Statins disrupt mitochondrial function.
They reduce CoQ10 synthesis (a key electron carrier) and directly inhibit Complex IV in the electron transport chain. These are biochemical effects—but they matter for informed decisions. staycuriousmetabolism.substack.com/p/the-mitochon…
3/5) Statins are sexist. Women face higher risk of muscle pain, potential muscle loss, and statin-induced diabetes.
Eating 1000 Sardines Gave Me THIS Superpower
(New 2026 Findings!)
1/8) I ran a self-experiment where I ate 1000 sardines in a month.
Sure, it made me stink—but it also gave me one epic superpower. Let me explain. 🧵 (link at the end)
We all know sardines make your breath stink and that they’re nutrient-dense.
That’s basic.
But eating that many sardines changed me. It gave me a “superpower” that had my inner Marvel nerd activated—and my scientist brain scrambling to explain it.
Eventually, I found those data.
2/8) It was new paper in a top journal turned confusion into clarity and left me in awe of how much we’re still uncovering about human physiology.