Michael O'Sullivan, MSc

29/01/2024

The glucose tolerance blood test is often used to see if a person has type 2 diabetes. If you dont pass the test then you could say you have a glucose intolerance and reducing this is an obvious first step.

16/10/2019

23/04/2019

Full Fat or low fat Dairy – What to decide?

For many years now the standard recommendation for heart health is to reduce saturated fat in diets and one way to do this is to move to low fat dairy.

So when was this saturated fat and heart disease link made and is it helping to move to low fat dairy?

For the first part of this question we need to go back to the start or at least where I see it began:
‘The 7 Country Study’ – research lead by Ancel Keys and started in 1956

It was a large systematic examination of how lifestyle & diet affect heart disease & stroke in countries - USA, Finland, Holland, Italy, Yugoslavia, Greece & Japan.
One of the major findings/conclusions was that saturated fat & animal fat from diet will increase risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. But was this a good study?

1. This was an epidemiological study which will use statistics which can be affected by many variables. Ramdomised control trials are the gold standard for clinical research and this was not the method used.

2. There were 22 countries studied and Ancel Keys chose 7 countries which fit the narrative. Interestingly these 7 countries had also one of the highest intakes of sugar and unhealthy trans-fats in comparison to the other 22 countries.

3. Many researcher including one of the lead researchers in the 7 country study now believe that sugar may have been the main driving factor for risk of coronary heart disease & stroke and not animal fat.

So, in regards the argument between choosing high fat or low fat dairy, lets break it down:

• Some studies still find links between saturated fat and heart health but other studies show that saturated fat is not as bad for us as we once thought. Yes, if had to excess like everything else it will likely cause issues to health but it is by no means ‘toxic’ or ‘bad’.

• If saturated fat is ‘bad’ for us then we have to assess it with an element of consistency and context – the amount of saturated fat in a 200ml glass of milk has very similar saturated fat content to a fillet of Atlantic salmon. I have never recommended anybody to avoid salmon because of saturated fat so I do not do the same for a glass of milk.

• There is a large spectrum of different types of fats and one particular fat that is taken out of dairy when processed to low fat is called conjugated linoleic fatty acid (CLA) which has ability to lower risk of obesity, cancers, diabetes and heart disease.

Enjoy your full fat dairy and always take note that the more we interfere with a natural food source, usually the unhealthier it becomes.

04/09/2018

Forget “cleanse diets” and “detox diets.” Your liver and kidneys already do a brilliant job of detoxifying your body — no lemon juice required.

What is genuinely interesting is autophagy: the body’s built-in process for clearing out damaged cells and recycling old cellular material so your cells can function better. Think of it as your body’s internal service check.

Autophagy naturally increases during sleep, fasting, and even more during longer fasts when insulin levels drop and the body shifts into repair mode.

Two approaches are commonly used:

* 16:8 Time-Restricted Eating

Eating within an 8-hour window and fasting for 16 hours. This is well-studied and a gentle way to support metabolic health and cellular repair.

* Extended Fasting (24+ hours)

Fasting for longer periods - such as 24, 36, or occasionally 48 hours may further enhance autophagy and metabolic flexibility.

While fasting isn’t a magic fix, evidence shows it can support metabolic health, insulin sensitivity, and cellular repair when done well.

Here is a good article to add more info!

On October 3rd 2016, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Yoshinori Ohsumi for his discoveries of mechanisms for autophagy. Essentially, this is the body’s mechanism of getting rid of all the broken down, old cell machinery. This discovery can help renew your body.

30/11/2017

Here is a very informative presentation for Prof Ken Sikaris talking about what elements of your blood test are important to look at for heart heath. Looking at just total cholesterol is just a small part of the picture and may not be the most important part!

A graduate of the University of Melbourne, Dr Sikaris trained at the Royal Melbourne, Queen Victoria, and Prince Henry's Heidelberg Repatriation Hospitals. H...

30/06/2017

The ongoing debate about lower fat or regular dairy foods continue!

I'd like to just call it 'dairy'or just 'milk' rather than 'full fat' or 'full cream' or 'regular' dairy etc. I don't see the point in identifying that it hasn't been further processed!

Research has shown that regular dairy is more healthy for us than skim/low fat dairy for many reasons. One particular reason is that; we were too blind in looking at just calories and saturated fat without looking at what exactly else we were taking out.

When you remove fat from dairy there are lots of very healthy fatty acids removed also that are associated with reducing risks of diabetes, heart disease and cancers - one is called conjugated linoleic fatty acids.

Maybe its good business to remove fat from dairy, sell to the consumer at same price and make other products from the removed fat??

I'm like a broken record sometimes with this - the more we interfere with natural foods the less healthy we find out they become!

http://health.usnews.com/wellness/food/articles/2016-10-28/5-reasons-to-start-eating-full-fat-dairy-according-to-science

It's time to skip skim to lose weight, cut your risk of chronic diseases and live a bit healthier.

01/05/2017

Beetroot juice and blood pressure!
Beetroot contains high levels of dietary nitrate (NO3), which the body converts into biologically active nitrite nitric oxide. This relaxes and dilates blood vessel which can reduce blood pressure.

Here's a tip - when drinking it, swish it around in your mouth and make sure not to brush teeth after or use mouth wash. The bacteria in your mouth help convert the nitrate to nitric oxide that give you the benefit!

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/288229.php

Could drinking a glass of beetroot juice a day lower blood pressure in people with hypertension? A recent study suggests that this could be the case.

23/03/2017

A low-carb diet focuses on cutting carbohydrates from a person’s diet. Based on decades of research, low-carb diets have been linked to benefits including: --fast weight loss, --reduced hunger --better control over insulin and blood sugar --enhanced cognitive performance etc.

21/03/2017

Intermittent fasting can reduce insulin resistance, lowering your risk of type 2 diabetes and also can help you lose weight and belly fat.

16/03/2017

Clinical evidence suggests that EPA and DHA, the two omega-3 fatty acids help reduce risk factors for heart disease, including high cholesterol and high blood pressure and also plays an important role in brain function.