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Does linoleic acid protect our blood vessels? Yes—but only CLA, which is found in butter!

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If you think that vegetable (seed) oils protect your blood vessels, that is probably not true . This is suggested by studies examining their effects in older age or looking at lifespan. Vegetable oils may lower cholesterol, but low cholesterol levels are associated with shorter lifespan. But what would you say to the information that simply adding 1% of a special mixture of polyunsaturated oils—specifically processed linoleic acid—to the diet causes vascular plaque to disappear in an animal model within a few weeks! However, the processing of these vegetable oils was not carried out by any industrial food company. No—the processing was performed by bacteria in the cow’s stomach! The resulting product is called CLA, conjugated linoleic acid. There are several types, but the most interesting is rumenic acid, c9,t11-CLA. Another is t10,c12-CLA, but the first one is found in butter at ten to twenty times higher levels than the second. Could it be, then, that full-fat dairy products—especia...
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Is it a good idea to suppress glucose production in the liver?

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Overweight and obesity are fairly common nowadays, much more common than they were, say, fifty or a hundred years ago. There are many opinions on the causes, but to me it currently appears to be the result of poisoning from food, drink, or the environment—whether the air we breathe or contamination by foreign electromagnetic signals. I assume that the environment and food simply play a role. Let’s review the most important processes that influence fat storage and obesity. First of all, rapid and easy storage into adipose tissue does not cause a problem and quickly removes fats from the blood. To achieve this, it is necessary to maintain metabolically healthy adipose tissue protected by the glutathione antioxidant system. How much fat will be stored is determined by excess—some fat is constantly being burned, and excess is stored. So it is determined by the ratio at which fats and glucose are burned. With any change in the ratio of fats and carbohydrates in the diet, suppression of fat...
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Is the reduction of cholesterol by vegetable oils actually caused by their peroxidation?

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By chance, I looked at an older study from 2004 , which shows that oxidative stress affects the export of fats from the liver in the form of VLDL particles. Imagine that each lipoprotein particle VLDL/LDL contains exactly one molecule of the ApoB100 protein, so they are absolutely essential for the export of fats from the liver. So we already have three essential products needed for successful fat export from the liver, i.e. oleic acid, H2O2 , and ApoB100. We obtain oleic acid from food or from saturated fats through the slow process of DNL. With a relatively low-fat diet, this is not a problem. Saturated fats, when in excess, also produce enough H2O2 to activate the enzymes synthesizing VLDL. What about ApoB100? It is also easily produced. But the study tells us that there is a system that controls the quality of exported fats in VLDL particles. If peroxidized polyunsaturated fats are present, the enzymatic system PERPP degrades ApoB100 molecules and no VLDL particles can be exported,...
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Is intestinal permeability part of a regulated response to bacterial infection?

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Many times here I have come across the idea that processes usually considered negative are actually perfect regulatory loops, i.e., processes that respond in a controlled way to the surrounding environment. They are not random malfunctions or mistakes of nature. They are long-tested regulatory processes. Today we will look at intestinal permeability and the endocannabinoid system (eCB). Nowadays, no one doubts intestinal permeability anymore; that is a great success. I remember how about 20 years ago it was a topic that all professionals in the field laughed at, and only a few individuals (e.g., Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride ) tried to convince them to take a closer look, that it is very important. It took a long time, but eventually they did look into it, and intestinal permeability really began to be thoroughly studied. This is also evidenced by the study that will be discussed today . But as usual, I will again try to bring a few of my own thoughts into this issue. It simply seems st...
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What Determines Fasting Blood Glucose?

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Do not expect me to answer the question in the title with certainty. You probably understand that the body is very complex and nothing is that simple; moreover, each of us is different, and when something works for one person it may not work for someone else. So let’s get back to reality, we will look at two studies and I will try to comment on the observed results in my own way. Take it as you wish—believe it or not, that is up to you. The answer to the basic question “What is good and what is bad?” may not be easy at all. Is easy and rapid fat storage good or bad? Recently it has become increasingly clear that easy and rapid storage of fat in adipose tissue is a sign of good metabolism and does not lead to obesity . Obesity is determined by overeating, the easy availability of overly tasty and overly digestible food, and insufficient satiety signaling. The ability to quickly store these surpluses without damaging metabolism determines the health of adipose tissue; unhealthy adipose t...
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Can MCT Oils Reduce the Omega-6 Content in Membranes?

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You probably already know this. Oxidative stress of any kind triggers the activity of enzymes called phospholipases, especially iPLA2γ, which releases oxidized polyunsaturated fats from the mitochondrial membrane . This is how cells monitor their condition and oxidative stress, and the released oxidized products derived from omega-6 linoleic acid (LA/ARA, e.g., 4-HNE) serve as signals for many processes. For example, they can also trigger chronic inflammation by activating aldose reductase (AR) and the polyol pathway . Elevated glucose levels (HG), when the enzyme ALDH2 functions insufficiently and 4-HNE molecules are attached to it, become problematic and instead of correcting oxidative stress they deepen it further. The missing ALDH2 activity can be restored using H2S (NaHS was used here) or by activating the CSE enzyme (e.g., by restricting methionine and cysteine in the diet ). I have many posts about this here; most of them concern liver cells or pancreatic cells, and therefore a...
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