We can know from some of the most serious cases of Accutane poisoning that the primary organ to be affected, and thus compromised, is the pancreas. Accutane and its sister medications do their damage by forcing the extreme oxidation of cholesterol and other pancreatic functions, thus destroying the pancreas or part of it.
Read MoreSomething pretty great has been going on in my health life. Every morning when I wake up my fingertips are nice and rosy-colored, my feet are warm and I don't want to get out of bed. It didn't used to be like this.
Read MoreWhen I was 26 I heard about an exciting study which showed that an elusive compound isolated from the skins of grapes could extend lifespan by a whopping 50%. The article also claimed it had the potential to cure many diseases. A future in which I no longer felt constant pain, nor struggled to stay lean sounded within reach.
Read MoreOne Saturday when I was sixteen our family was driving home from my Dad's office buildings doing janitorial work where we earned extra money instead of having normal summer jobs. I was staring out the window like a proper brooding teenager, dreaming of all the ways life could be better than it was while my five siblings, tired from the day’s janitorial effort were silent and nodding off in the back.
Read MoreCandy. Sugar. Fruit. America's downfall. Siren of the dieter. Linchpin of the obesity epidemic. But who actually eats that much sugar? Most people who whine about sugar addiction actually avoid sugar on a consistent basis.
Read MoreMy thirties were going to be full of adult realizations and reaching my human potential, finally getting out of life what I expected. Alas, that was not to be as I soon found out.
Read MoreI grew up in a house with eight family members, and though my parents produced a mountain of food to keep us fed there was always a rush at dinnertime. The first to finish were the ones to get seconds, and we all wanted seconds.
Read MoreNothing makes me more irritated than seeing memes, articles, and blog posts which marginalize depression with attitude adjustment advice. Depression is not an attitude problem. If it were, depression would vanish when we changed our attitude.
Read MoreOne thing about my gluten allergy that had always interested me is that it doesn't act like a true allergy at all. The symptoms take 4 to 12 hours to onset, only after the food reaches the intestines, dependent on amount, and even then it is unpredictable in severity.
Read MoreToward the end of Fourth-grade, on a particularly warm day in late spring, I was swinging across the monkey bars during recess. My hands were a little sweaty. I thought of dropping off early, but I was nearly to the end of the rungs. As my toes touched the Lincoln-log-ish landing, about two feet above the ground, my hands slipped. I hadn't thought about my feet being on the platform, so high off the ground.
Read MoreAre you craving a hot, charred and juicy chicken breast fresh off an outdoor grill? How about now? I LOVE charred food. It's more than just savory. Umami. So one of my biggest consternations from the last few years was the "firestorm" caused by this study: Pancreatic Cancer Risk:
Read MoreAfter every meal when growing up my father drank Pepto Bismol like it was a beverage. Because of his example I thought being an adult meant suffering from food. It's not true, and you needn't suffer.
Read MoreAt work we have a wall of food. It is literally an entire side of a kitchen, shelves stocked with all kinds of unhealthy snacks. I often find lost souls standing before this wall, as if after a long journey across parched sands have finally discovered the resting place of the Holy Grail,
Read MoreOne of my favorite things growing up was playing video games. No matter what else was going on—parents fighting, pressure at school, catching the flu—picking up the controller to the Super Nintendo system, hearing the boot up and seeing those gloriously rough pixels flooded my brain with an inexplicable sense that life was going to be great.
Read MoreList time! Of all the things I've tried and found to be effective, these are the most necessary or impactful.
Read MoreWhen I was 32 I faithfully executed a low-carb diet. People had been talking about the benefits of low carb, and a nurse practitioner friend who specialized in weight loss promised I would lose weight fast if I followed a specific program of no and low carb dieting.
Read MoreThe word gluttony means to eat in excess while others go hungry. It does not mean, as we tend to use it, that someone eats too much and gains weight. Gluttony is a Santa-Claus-type guilt trip about food inequality, yet many people still go hungry while those more fortunate actually give up food in an attempt to lose weight.
Read MoreI spend eight to ten hours a day sitting at a computer. Off work I am usually on my bed or my couch, or sitting at a cafe. I do go on walks, especially to fill up on coffee. I get to the gym once a week on average and get an odd hike in here and there.
Read More"Don't spoil your dinner," said every American mother since the pilgrim immigrants first set their tables. Maybe that's naive, but I doubt it's said in places where scraps of food promise just a little more life.
Read MoreMy story is something like those miracle transformations. I did wake up one day—after being left by my fiancé, my life fallen apart. A psychic change helped reorient my life. I took control by letting go of control. Certain truths about the human condition finally gave me the life I always desired. The kind that was always out of reach.
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