Eat to Beat Disease – by Dr. William Li
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Dr. William Li asks the important question: is your diet feeding disease, or defeating it?
Because everything we put in our bodies makes our health just a little better—or just a little worse. Ok, sometimes a lot worse.
But for most people, when it comes to diet, it’s a death of a thousand cuts of unhealthy food. And that’s what he looks to fix with this book.
The good news: Dr. Li (while not advocating for unhealthy eating, of course), focuses less on what to restrict, and more on what to include. This book covers hundreds of such healthy foods, and ideas (practical, useful ones!) on incorporating them daily, including dozens of recipes.
He mainly looks at five ways our food can help us with…
- Angiogenesis (blood vessel replacement)
- Regeneration (of various bodily organs and systems)
- Microbiome health (and all of its knock-on effects)
- DNA protection (and thus slower cellular aging)
- Immunity (defending the body while also reducing autoimmune problems)
The style is simple and explanatory; Dr. Li is a great educator. Reading this isn’t a difficult read, but you’ll come out of it feeling like you just did a short course in health science.
Bottom line: if you’d like an easy way to improve your health in an ongoing and sustainable way, then this book can help you do just that.
Click here to check out Eat To Beat Disease, and eat to beat disease!
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How does the hair-loss drug finasteride work? Can it affect my mental health?
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For many men the gradual thinning of hair is about more than just their appearance. Finasteride, a drug widely prescribed for the treatment of male pattern baldness has been used effectively for many years for this deeply personal problem.
Yet, behind its use are growing concerns about its link to the development of depression, anxiety, and even suicidal thoughts.
There is now critical discussion among both users and health-care professionals about the potential hazards associated with its continued use.
So how does the drug work? And what does the evidence say about the risk of developing a mental health problem?
agrobacter/Getty How does finasteride work?
Finasteride is used to treat androgenetic alopecia, also known as male pattern baldness. It works to regrow hair and prevent the further loss of hair.
One of the key causes of pattern baldness is the production of a hormone called dihydrotestosterone which the body makes from testosterone. When it binds to the follicles of hairs, it initiates a process called hair follicle miniaturisation. This is where the growth cycle of the hair becomes progressively shorter, resulting in thinner and weaker hair.
Finasteride works by blocking the enzyme that converts testosterone to dihydrotestosterone. By blocking the enzyme, dihydrotestosterone concentrations can be reduced by around 60–70% for the majority of men.
Finasteride was first approved in the late 1990s as a prescription-only medicine and is taken as a daily 1 milligram oral tablet. Medications available at a higher 5 mg daily dose are not used for baldness, but as a treatment for non-cancerous prostate enlargement.
This medication is not indicated for women, even though they can also have this type of hair loss.
How can it impact your mental health?
Changes in mental health are not listed as an established side effect in Australian guidance given to health-care professionals.
Based on clinical trials, the most common effects include:
- decreased libido
- erectile dysfunction
- reduced semen production.
The guidance also describes an increased risk of prostate cancer and a potential risk for breast cancer. Yes, men can get breast cancer too.
While initial clinical trials conducted to obtain approval for the drug didn’t demonstrate mental health concerns, monitoring of patients using the drug has since indicated a potential increased risk of depression and suicidal thoughts. But as this is based on patients self-reporting symptoms, according to the guidance there is no definitive link.
However, in May 2025, the European Medicines Agency safety committee stated suicidal thoughts was a confirmed side effect of finasteride. The European Union also advises patients that finasteride can cause a depressed mood and depression.
Similarly, in a warning about compounded finasteride, the United States Food and Drug Administration stated in April 2025 that topical formulations of the drug has similar side effects to the oral version. These include depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.
What should you do if it is affecting your mental health?
If you notice changes in your mental health while taking the drug, try not to handle significant mood changes by yourself. If you’re feeling unusually low, anxious or emotionally unstable, check in with a doctor so they can help you figure out whether finasteride is contributing to your mood and what support you may need.
If the symptoms are mild, they may suggest pausing finasteride to see whether things improve, or continuing with additional mental health support. If your symptoms are more severe, stopping the medication and getting prompt medical review may be appropriate.
If you are taking finasteride and are worried about its side effects, it is safe to stop immediately. Most side effects ease once the medication is out of your system, although a small number of people have reported symptoms that persist.
If you do decide to stop, this will mean that your hormone levels will gradually return to baseline and the hair growth seen with the drug will be lost over time.
If finasteride is not the right fit for you, there is another evidence-based alternative.
Topical minoxidil is a first-line treatment that can be used on its own or with other treatments and is available from pharmacies over the counter. It only works while it’s being used and may irritate the scalp, but its effectiveness is well-established and widely recommended.
While depression and anxiety are associated with minoxidil, the incidence is much lower because of their topical application.
There is also a medication called dutasteride. However, as it works in a similar way to finasteride, it may also increase your risk of developing mental health problems. So it is best to avoid dutasteride if finasteride is not suitable for you.
If this story has raised any issues for you, please contact one of the services below:
- Lifeline: 13 11 14 or lifeline.org.au
- Suicide Call Back Service (ages 15+): 1300 659 467 or suicidecallbackservice.org.au
Nial Wheate, Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University and Jasmine Lee, Pharmacist and PhD Candidate, University of Sydney
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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Radishes vs Carrots – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing radishes to carrots, we picked the carrots.
Why?
In terms of macros, carrots have more fiber and carbs; the two root vegetables both have comparable (low) glycemic indices, so we’re saying that the one with more fiber wins, and that’s carrots.
In the category of vitamins, radishes have more of vitamins B9 and C, while carrots have more of vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, E, K, and choline. An easy win for carrots.
When it comes to minerals, radishes have more selenium, while carrots have more calcium, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, and potassium. Another clear win for carrots.
In terms of polyphenols, radishes do have some, but carrots have more, and thus win this category too.
All in all, enjoy either or both, but carrots deliver the most nutrients by far!
Want to learn more?
You might like to read:
What Do The Different Kinds Of Fiber Do? 30 Foods That Rank Highest
Enjoy!
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The Music That Has Painkilling Effects
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And no, it’s not about distraction.
A recent study by Dr. Vesa Putkinen et al. has looked into the neurological effects of listening to music we find pleasant, and what exactly is going on for us neurologically in response to that.
As it turns out, listening to pleasurable music activates the brain’s opioid receptors.
In other words, the response is neurologically similar to taking an opioid drug, except that it’s more moderate, so it’s not addictive.
Some specific findings from the study:
- Favorite music triggered opioid release in brain areas linked to pleasure.
- The amount of opioid release correlated with how often participants experienced “chills” from the music.
- Individuals with more opioid receptors had stronger brain activation responses to music
*For example, smoking kills opioid receptors, as does aging, and women typically have fewer opioid receptors than men; see: Interindividual variability and lateralization of μ-opioid receptors in the human brain
In terms of how strong this response is, the researchers concluded that music can induce pleasure similarly to survival-related rewards like food and sex.
Of course, it has to be the right music for us personally, but then, isn’t that true of food and sex also?
You can read the study in full here:
Pleasurable music activates cerebral µ-opioid receptors: a combined PET-fMRI study
It reminds us of the painkilling effects of nature that we wrote about a while back:
How Nature Provides Us With A Surprisingly Powerful Painkiller
…which again, was not a matter of distraction; in that case it was about reducing the actual signals of pain, so that we are physically less able to feel it.
So perhaps, for a combination effect, listen to your favorite music while enjoying your garden or a local park!
Want to learn more?
We’ve written quite a bit about pain management, including:
- Before You Reach For That Tylenol…
- How To Stop Pain Spreading
- How To Dial Down Your Pain
- Managing Chronic Pain (Realistically!)
- Get The Right Help For Your Pain
- The 7 Approaches To Pain Management
- Science-Based Alternative Pain Relief (When Painkillers Aren’t Helping, These Things Might)
Take care!
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Can You Change Your Sleep Schedule?
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There is science to it:
To take arms against a sea of sleepiness and, by opposing, end it?
While people can be broadly categorized into “early birds” or “night owls”, most fall somewhere along a spectrum determined by their circadian system.
This circadian rhythm is regulated by nerve cell clusters in the hypothalamus, which detect light through your eyes and synchronize your body’s internal clock with the day-night cycle. This circadian system acts like a conductor, coordinating hormone release and helping organs function in sync, while managing the necessary transitions between wakefulness and sleep.
Note: the circadian system can’t directly force sleep, but it predicts when you’ll need rest based on your habitual light exposure and sleep patterns, then prepares your body by releasing hormones such as melatonin. This means that if you consistently go to bed at the same time, melatonin production typically begins about two hours beforehand to promote sleepiness.
Early birds vs night owls: early birds generally experience a cortisol surge just before waking, while night owls often reach peak cortisol levels around 30 minutes after getting up.
There is inherent difficulty in fighting biology: maintaining a schedule that strongly opposes your natural preferences is challenging, and a single disrupted night can quickly shift your circadian timing back towards its baseline.
So the options become:
- Go with the flow and end up wherever it takes you (can be dangerous if life’s responsibilities mean that this results in irregular sleep)
- Make small changes and shift your sleep schedule gradually to where you want it to be, then consciously maintain it there, by using light/dark cues and other “time anchors” that you can usually control, such as mealtimes and exercise times.
For more on all of this, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like:
Early Bird Or Night Owl? Genes vs Environment
Take care!
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The Fruit That Can Specifically Reduce Belly Fat
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Gambooge: Game-Changer Or Gamble?
The gambooge, also called the gummi-gutta, whence its botanical name Garcinia gummi-gutta (formerly Gardinia cambogia), is also known as the Malabar tamarind, and it even got an English name, the brindle berry.
It’s a fruit that looks like a small pale yellow pumpkin in shape, but it grows on trees and has a taste so sour, that it’s usually used only in cooking, and not eaten raw
which makes this writer really want to try it raw now.Its active phytochemical compound hydroxycitric acid (HCA) rose to popularity as a supplement in the US based on a paid recommendation from Dr. Oz, and then became a controversy as supplements associated with it, were in turn associated with hepatotoxicity (more on this in the “Is it safe?” section below).
What do people use it for?
Simply put: it’s a weight loss supplement.
Less simply put: least interestingly, it’s a mild appetite suppressant:
Safety and mechanism of appetite suppression by a novel hydroxycitric acid extract (HCA-SX) ← this talks more about the biochemistry, but isn’t a human study. Human studies have been small and with mixed results. It seems likely that (as in the rat studies discussed above) the mechanism of action is largely about increasing serotonin, which itself is a well-established appetite suppressant. Therefore, the results will depend somewhat on a person’s brain’s serotonergic system.
We’ll revisit that later, but first let’s look at…
Even less simply put: its other mechanism of action is much more interesting; it actually blocks the production of fat (especially: visceral fat) in the body, by inhibiting citrate lyase, which enzyme plays a significant role in fat production:
Effects of (−)-hydroxycitrate on net fat synthesis as de novo lipogenesis
More illustratively, here’s another study, which found:
❝G cambogia reduced abdominal fat accumulation in subjects, regardless of sex, who had the visceral fat accumulation type of obesity. No rebound effect was observed.
It is therefore expected that G cambogia may be useful for the prevention and reduction of accumulation of visceral fat. ❞
~ Dr. Norihiro Shigematsu et al.
As to why this is particularly important, and far more important than mere fat loss in general, see our previous main feature:
Visceral Belly Fat (And How To Lose It)
Is it safe?
It has shown a good safety profile up to large doses (2.8g/day):
Evaluation of the safety and efficacy of hydroxycitric acid or Garcinia cambogia extracts in humans
There have been some fears about hepatotoxicity, but they appear to be unfounded, and based on products that did not, in fact, contain HCA (and were merely sold by a company that used a similar name in their marketing):
No evidence demonstrating hepatotoxicity associated with hydroxycitric acid
However, as it has a serotoninergic effect, it could cause problems for anyone at risk of serotonin syndrome, which means caution is advisable if you are taking SSRIs (which reduce the rate at which the brain can scrub serotonin, with the usually laudable goal of having more serotonin in the brain—but it is possible to have too much of a good thing, and serotonin syndrome isn’t fun).
As ever, do check with your pharmacist and/or doctor, to be sure, since they can advise with regard to your specific situation and any medications you may be taking.
Want to try some?
We don’t sell it, but here for your convenience is an example product on Amazon
Enjoy!
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Beetroot vs Tomato – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing beetroot to tomato, we picked the beetroot.
Why?
Both are great! But we say beetroot comes out on top:
In terms of macros, beetroot has more protein, carbs, and fiber, making it the more nutritionally dense option. It has a slightly higher glycemic index, but also has specific phytochemicals that lower blood sugars and increase insulin sensitivity, more than cancelling that out. So, a clear win for beetroot in this regard.
In the category of vitamins, beetroot has more of vitamins B2, B5, B7, and B9, while tomato has more of vitamins A, C, E, and K. We’d call that a 4:4 tie, but tomato’s margins of difference are greater, so we say tomato wins this round.
When it comes to minerals, beetroot has more calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, and zinc, while tomatoes are not higher in any mineral. An easy win for beetroot here.
In other considerations, looking at polyphenols and other remaining phytochemicals, beetroot has most, and especially its betalain content goes a long way. Tomatoes, meanwhile, have a famously high lycopene content (a highly beneficial carotenoid). All in all, it could swing either way based on subjective factors, so we’re saying it’s a tie this time.
Adding up the sections makes for an overall win for beetroot, but by all means enjoy either or both; diversity is best!
Want to learn more?
You might like:
- Beetroot For More Than Just Your Blood Pressure
- Lycopene’s Benefits For The Gut, Heart, Brain, & More
Enjoy!
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