We share an ancestor who probably lived no more than 640 years ago

This post has been revised and re-published. The original comments are preserved below. Typically this is done with posts that attract many visits at the time they are published, and whose topics become particularly relevant or need to be re-addressed at a later date.

Popular posts from this blog

Half-hearted Atkins diet and cardiovascular disease

I would like to comment on a recent  article comparing the Atkins, Ornish and South Beach diets (Miller et al., 2009; full reference at the end of this posting), which has been causing quite a lot of commotion among bloggers recently. Especially low carb. bloggers. An excellent post by Michael Eades clarifies a number of issues with the study, including what one could argue is the study's main flaw. Apparently the study compared a half-hearted Atkins diet, with probably equally half-hearted Ornish and  South   Beach  diets. I refer to the study's Atkins diet as half-hearted because it seems to rely on a daily consumption of between 120 and 180 grams of carbohydrates. This is unlikely to lead to ketosis, the cornerstone of the Atkins diet, where the body uses ketone bodies (made from dietary as well as body fat) as a source of energy. As I see it, the main findings of the study were that the participants in the half-hearted Atkins diet, after a period of 4 weeks on the diet,
Read more

Gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time: Various issues and two key requirements

Image
In my previous post ( ), I mentioned that the idea of gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time seems impossible to most people because of three widely held misconceptions: (a) to gain muscle you need a calorie surplus; (b) to lose fat you need a calorie deficit; and (c) you cannot achieve a calorie surplus and deficit at the same time. The scenario used to illustrate what I see as a non-traumatic move from obese or seriously overweight to lean is one in which weight loss and fat loss go hand in hand until a relatively lean level is reached, beyond which weight is maintained constant (as illustrated in the schematic graph below). If you are departing from an obese or seriously overweight level, it may be advisable to lose weight until you reach a body fat level of around 21-24 percent for women or 14-17 percent for men. Once you reach that level, it may be best to stop losing weight, and instead slowly gain muscle and lose fat, in equal amounts. I will discuss the rationale for th
Read more

A horse named charley

Although we may fight for it, in the end we just can't stop people from naming their horses "Charlie". But maybe we can help them with an involuntary contraction or spasm causing a muscle cramp, sometimes called a "charley horse". Usually they occur due to an overused or injured muscle, but can also be caused by lack of minerals such as potassium (1). So, before and after exercise, eat your bananas. Reference List 1. MedlinePlus. Charley Horse. Medline Encyclopedia. Available at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002066.htm
Read more