The “Forever Chemicals” That Can Triple The Risk Of Liver Disease
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Usually, our livers work best when we’re young, and begin to struggle in middle-age if we’re not careful with our lifestyle.
If you are thinking “well, I must be doing great, as I’m in/past middle-age and my liver is fine”, then: is that backed up with a recent liver test?
- If it is: great!
- If isn’t: please be aware that your liver can continue more-or-less functioning down to its last tiny bit, and it’s not uncommon to not have symptoms until the situation is truly very dire indeed.
Here’s what to look out for, though: 12 Signs Of Liver Disease That You Can See
Now, we said “usually, our livers work best when we’re young”.
But there are surprising things that can done to get liver disease started early…
The PFAS to MASLD pipeline
First, a note on terminology, because there has been a rebrand: what used to be called non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is now called metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).
Attentive readers may have noticed that there appears to be a D missing from the acronym. We noticed that too, and were not able to find any explanation of why it’s not MDASLD.
However, you can read about why the change was made, and how the decision was agreed upon, here: A multisociety Delphi consensus statement on new fatty liver disease nomenclature
Now, onto the latest science…
Researchers (Dr. Lida Chatzi et al.) analyzed data from hundreds of adolescents and young adults, measuring eight different per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in blood, and also assessed liver fat using MRI.
What Dr. Chatzi and her team found is that higher blood levels of certain PFAS were associated with an increased risk of MASLD in adolescents, with risk estimates as high as nearly threefold for some exposures.
The PFAS in question are widely used in nonstick cookware, stain- and water-repellent fabrics, food packaging, and some cleaning products. They persist in the environment, and are detectable in the blood of more than 99% of people in the US, and some are hit harder than others. While many health risks hit poor people the hardest, this one mostly affects wealthier people more—for why, see: The Household Cleaner That Triples Liver Disease Risk
Back to the recent study, it turns out that adolescents are even more vulnerable to the adverse health effects of PFAS, due to being in a critical period of development and growth.
Shocking nobody, smoking also made it worse at any age.
You can read the paper in full, here: Associations between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease in adolescents and young adults: modifying roles of age, lifestyle factors, and PNPLA3 genotype
You may be wondering about that last bit: having the PNPLA3 GG genotype, a known liver fat risk variant, further increased the risk beyond the already-increased risk found in those without that genotype.
If you’re not sure about your genes, then see: The Real Benefits Of Genetic Testing
Want to learn more?
Check out:
And if you want to give it some extra support…
Consider: N-Acetyl Cysteine For The Liver & More
Or for a much deeper dive into the broader topic of avoiding the toxins the industrial world is keen to throw our way, you might like this book that we reviewed a little while back:
Healthy Living in a Contaminated World – by Dr. Donald Hoernschemeyer
Take care!
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N-Acetyl Cysteine For The Liver & More
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N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC) is best-known for its liver support properties, but the benefits extend much further than that, and even include direct brain bonuses (as it does pass the blood-brain barrier):
More than just the liver
Inka Land, neuropsychologist, talks about her use of NAC over the course of the past year or so.
Most people take NAC to support liver health; for which it is considered safe and effective for reversing fatty liver disease, now also known as hepatic steatosis or steatotic liver disease.
For her, the most noticeable difference is that previously, she had 15–20 migraines a month plus cluster/tension headaches, whereas after taking 1.2g of NAC daily for 1–2 years, those migraines reduced to 1–3 per month, sometimes none, and the attacks themselves became shorter, milder, and easier to manage.
How it works: NAC acts as a precursor for glutathione (a key antioxidant in the brain and the rest of the body), counteracts oxidative stress, lowers inflammation, and helps balance neurotransmitters like that drive nerve overactivity.
NAC is able to do this because it crosses the blood–brain barrier and promotes natural glutathione production inside cells, while oral glutathione is usually less bioavailable (except the liposomal form, which is more expensive).
While she didn’t get to enjoy these benefits herself, because she didn’t have the initial problems they relieve, she also cites studies showing benefits alleviating some repetitive OCD-like symptoms (e.g. hair-pulling, nail-biting, skin-picking) and addictions (e.g. nicotine, alcohol, gambling).
As for dosage, research shows doses over 1 g per day are most effective, but you might want to bear in mind that for some people (based on her personal experience) it may cause nausea if taken on an empty stomach, making it best taken about 30 minutes before food (why 30 minutes before? Because that’s how long it takes for a cellulose capsule to get where it’s going and dissolve).
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:
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Clicking Hips: Why It Happens & How To Fix It
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Mobility coach Aleks Brzezinska explains:
“Snapping Hip Syndrome”
…is not as scary as it sounds!
Clicking hips during movement are common and usually not harmful, especially if there’s no pain. The most common kind, “internal snapping”, usually occurs when the iliopsoas tendon slides over bony structures like the femoral head.
In other words, it’s the hip equivalent of cracking knuckles.
Nevertheless, clicking is more likely when exercises are performed quickly or with poor form, particularly if the lower back arches, so here are some exercises to minimize that, by improving hip alignment, core strength, and controlled movement:
- Lunge stretch: stretches tight hip flexors and quads by lunging forward with core engaged and pelvis tucked, optionally adding a quad stretch by pulling the back foot toward the glutes.
- Ab-strengthening leg extensions: lying flat with the lower back pressed to the floor, legs extend slowly while maintaining core control to target the lower abs and prevent hip misalignment.
- Back extensions: strengthens the back by lifting the upper body slowly while lying face down, helping balance core strength and support proper hip positioning.
- Alternating leg lifts: performed slowly with a tight core, one leg lowers toward the ground and returns; modified with bent knees if snapping occurs to strengthen the hip flexors without discomfort.
- Leg circles: slowly circling the legs with strong core engagement, adjusting the range of motion or bending knees to reduce hip clicking and build strength in controlled movement.
For on all of this, plus visual demonstrations, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like:
Getting Flexible, Starting As An Adult: How Long Does It Really Take?
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Orange vs Starfruit – Which is Healthier?
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Our Verdict
When comparing orange to starfruit, we picked the orange.
Why?
In terms of macros, there’s little between them; oranges are slightly higher in carbs for the same fiber and protein, but if you’re eating whole fruit, it really doesn’t make a difference. So, we call this round a tie.
In the category of vitamins, oranges have rather more of vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B9, C, and E, while starfruit has slightly more of vitamins B3 and B5, yielding a 7:2 win to oranges here.
Looking at minerals, oranges have more calcium, iron, phosphorus, and potassium, while starfruit has more copper, manganese, selenium, and zinc, for a 4:4 tie this time.
Adding up the sections makes for a modest overall win for oranges, but by all means enjoy either or both, as diversity is best!
Want to learn more?
You might like:
From Apples to Bees, and High-Fructose Cs: Which Sugars Are Healthier, And Which Are Just The Same? ← before you reach for the orange juice, though
Enjoy!
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Anise vs Diabetes & Menopause
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What A Daily Gram Of Anise Can Do
Anise, specifically the seed of the plant, also called aniseed, is enjoyed for its licorice taste—as well as its medicinal properties.
Let’s see how well the science lives up to the folk medicine…
What medicinal properties does it claim?
The main contenders are:
- Reduces menopause symptoms
- Reduces blood sugar levels
- Reduces inflammation
Does it reduce menopause symptoms?
At least some of them! Including hot flashes and bone density loss. This seems to be due to the estrogenic-like activity of anethole, the active compound in anise that gives it these effects:
Estrogenic activity of isolated compounds and essential oils of Pimpinella species
1g of anise/day yielded a huge reduction in frequency and severity of hot flashes, compared to placebo*:
*you may be wondering what the placebo is for 1g of a substance that has a very distinctive taste. The researchers used capsules, with 3x330g as the dose, either anise seed or potato starch.
❝In the experimental group, the frequency and severity of hot flashes before the treatment were 4.21% and 56.21% and, after that, were 1.06% and 14.44% at the end of the fourth week respectively. No change was found in the frequency and severity of hot flashes in the control group. The frequency and severity of hot flashes was decreased during 4 weeks of follow up period. P. anisum is effective on the frequency and severity of hot flashes in postmenopausal women. ❞
See for yourself: The Study on the Effects of Pimpinella anisum on Relief and Recurrence of Menopausal Hot Flashes
As for bone mineral density, we couldn’t find a good study for anise, but we did find this one for fennel, which is a plant of the same family and also with the primary active compound anethole:
The Prophylactic Effect of Fennel Essential Oil on Experimental Osteoporosis
That was a rat study, though, so we’d like to see studies done with humans.
Summary on this one: it clearly helps against hot flashes (per the very convincing human study we listed above); it probably helps against bone mineral density loss.
Does it reduce blood sugar levels?
This one got a flurry of attention all so recently, on account of this research review:
Review on Anti-diabetic Research on Two Important Spices: Trachyspermum ammi and Pimpinella anisum
If you read this (and we do recommend reading it! It has a lot more information than we can squeeze in here!) one of the most interesting things about the in vivo anti-diabetic activity of anise was that while it did lower the fasting blood glucose levels, that wasn’t the only effect:
❝Over a course of 60 days, study participants were administered seed powders (5 g/d), which resulted in significant antioxidant, anti-diabetic, and hypolipidemic effects.
Notably, significant reductions in fasting blood glucose levels were observed. This intervention also elicited alterations in the lipid profile, LPO, lipoprotein levels, and the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) level.
Moreover, the serum levels of essential antioxidants, such as beta carotene, vitamin C, vitamin A, and vitamin E, which are typically decreased in diabetic patients, underwent a reversal.❞
That’s just one of the studies cited in that review (the comments lightly edited here for brevity), but it stands out, and you can read that study in its entirety (it’s well worth reading).
Rajeshwari et al, bless them, added a “tl;dr” at the top of their already concise abstract; their “tl;dr” reads:
❝Both the seeds significantly influenced almost all the parameters without any detrimental effects by virtue of a number of phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals present in the seeds having therapeutic effects.❞
Shortest answer: yes, yes it does
Does it fight inflammation?
This one’s quick and simple enough: yes it does; it’s full of antioxidants which thus also have an anti-inflammatory effect:
Review of Pharmacological Properties and Chemical Constituents of Pimpinella anisum
…which can also be used an essential oil, applied topically, to fight both pain and the inflammation that causes it—at least in rats and mice:
❝Indomethacin and etodolac were treated reference drugs for the anti-inflammatory activity. Aspirin and morphine hydrochloride were treated reference drugs for the analgesic activity. The results showed that fixed oil of P. anisum has an anti-inflammatory action more than etodolac and this effect was as strong as indomethacin. P. anisum induces analgesic effect comparable to that of 100 mg/kg Aspirin and 10 mg/kg morphine at 30 th min. of the study❞
Summary of this section:
- Aniseeds are a potent source of antioxidants, which fight inflammation.
- Anise essential oil is probably also useful as a topical anti-inflammatory and analgesic agent, but we’d like to see human tests to know for sure.
Is it safe?
For most people, enjoyed in moderation (e.g., within the dosage parameters described in the above studies), anise is safe. However:
- If you’re allergic to it, it won’t be safe
- Its estrogen-mimicking effects could cause problems if you have (or have a higher risk factor for) breast cancer, ovarian cancer, or endometriosis.
- For most men, the main concern is that it may lower sperm count.
Where to get it?
As ever, we don’t sell it (or anything else), but for your convenience, you can buy the seeds in bulk on Amazon, or in case you prefer it, here’s an example of it available as an essential oil.
Enjoy!
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The Best Sleeping Positions If You Have Scoliosis
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Scoliosis does not, as a general rule of thumb, make life easier. Sleeping is certainly no exception.
But there are ways to do it and save your back:
S is for
scoliosissleepWith scoliosis, sleeping on your back gives the most even pressure distribution along your spine; you can make it more comfortable by placing a cushion under your knees if you like. Further, a butterfly-shaped pillow (designed for side-sleeping) can be wrapped around your neck to stop your head dropping sideways, creating a more supported feeling,
If you prefer to side-sleep (which is generally considered best for brain health, and sleeping on one’s right side is specifically best for heart health), then use a head cushion that keeps your head aligned with your spine, since scoliosis makes pressure distribution asymmetrical when you lie on your side.
Assuming you have only one scoliosis curve, then you’ll have a concave (to which the spine turns) and a convex side (away from which the spine turns):
- Lying on your convex side lets gravity drag your curve into the mattress and increase pressure
- Lying on your concave side draws your spine into a more supported position
If sleeping on your concave side is uncomfortable too, you can put a rolled towel or similarly-shaped cushion under your waist to lift it and improve alignment.
But what if you have an S-curve? First, identify the driving curve (thoracic or lumbar) using an X-ray or other means of diagnosis, or just the direction of your hip shift (hips shift away from the dominant curve), and aim to sleep on the concave side of your dominant curve:
- Thoracic-dominant example: with a major right thoracic curve, you would sleep on your left (concave) side and support your lumbar curve with a rolled blanket; avoid supporting your thoracic curve because it puts pressure on your ribs
- Lumbar-dominant example: if your lumbar curve is bigger, sleep on the concave side of your lumbar curve (as in the video example: sleep on your right side)
- Double-major curves: when thoracic and lumbar Cobb angles are similar, go by the lumbar curve because your thoracic region is protected by your ribcage while your lumbar region sinks more deeply into the mattress
If in doubt, of course go with what feels comfortable for you, and ideally coordinate with your doctor and/or physiotherapist.
For more on all of this plus some very helpful visual demonstrations, enjoy:
Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!
Want to learn more?
You might also like:
Sleeping Positions & Your Heart & Brain
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Hearty Healthy Ukrainian Borscht
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In the West, borscht is often thought of as Russian, but it is Ukrainian in origin and popular throughout much of Eastern Europe, with many local variations. Today’s borscht is a vegetarian (and vegan, depending on your choice of cooking fat) borscht from Kyiv, and it’s especially good for the gut, heart, and blood sugars.
You will need
- 1 quart vegetable stock; ideally you made this yourself from vegetable offcuts you kept in the freezer, but failing that, your supermarket should have low-sodium stock cubes
- 4 large beets, peeled and cut into matchsticks
- 1 can white beans (cannellini beans are ideal), drained and rinsed
- 1 cup sauerkraut
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1 green bell pepper, roughly chopped
- 1 large russet potato, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 3 small carrots, tops removed and cut into large chunks
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- ½ bulb garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tsp black pepper, coarse ground
- 1 bunch fresh dill, chopped. If you cannot get fresh, substitute with parsley (1 bunch fresh, chopped, or 1 tbsp dried). Do not use dried dill; it won’t work.
- A little fat for cooking; this one’s a tricky and personal decision. Butter is traditional, but would make this recipe impossible to cook without going over the recommended limit for saturated fat. Avocado oil is healthy, relatively neutral in taste, and has a high smoke point, though that latter shouldn’t be necessary here if you are attentive with the stirring. Extra virgin olive oil is also a healthy choice, but not as neutral in flavor and does have a lower smoke point. Coconut oil has arguably too strong a taste and a low smoke point. Seed oils are very heart-unhealthy. All in all, avocado oil is a respectable choice from all angles except tradition.
- On standby: a little vinegar (your preference what kind)
Salt is conspicuous by its absence, but there should be enough already from the other ingredients, especially the sauerkraut.
Method
(we suggest you read everything at least once before doing anything)
1) Heat some oil in a large sauté pan (cast iron is perfect if you have it), add the onion and pepper, and stir until the onion is becoming soft.
2) Add the carrots and beets and stir until they are becoming soft. If you need to add a little more oil, that’s fine.
3) Add the tomato paste, and stir in well.
4) Add a little (about ½ cup) of the vegetable stock and stir in well until you get a consistent texture with the tomato paste.
5) Add the sauerkraut and the rest of the broth, and cook for about 20 minutes.
6) Add the potatoes and cook for another 10 minutes.
7) Add the beans and cook for another 5 minutes.
8) Add the garlic, black pepper, and herbs. Check that everything is cooked (poke a chunk of potato with a fork) and that the seasoning is to your liking. The taste should be moderately sour from the sauerkraut; if it is sweet, you can stir in a little vinegar now to correct that.
9) Serve! Ukrainian borscht is most often served hot (unlike Lithuanian borscht, which is almost always served cold), but if the weather’s warm, it can certainly be enjoyed cold too:
Enjoy!
Want to learn more?
For those interested in some of the science of what we have going on today:
- Making Friends With Your Gut (You Can Thank Us Later)
- Eat More (Of This) For Lower Blood Pressure
- No, Beetroot Isn’t Vegetable Viagra. But Here’s What It Can Do
- The Many Health Benefits Of Garlic
- Black Pepper’s Impressive Anti-Cancer Arsenal
Take care!
Don’t Forget…
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