Recent Posts by Alan Carpenter

Ectopic Fat

What is ectopic fat? This term refers to the accumulation of fat molecules (triglycerides) in organs not designed to store fat. More specifically, ectopic fat can occur in your liver, pancreas, heart and skeletal muscles with undesirable consequences. Until recently, adipose tissue, which is comprised of fat cells, was thought be solely a fat storage…
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Saturated Fats and Dietary Guidelines for Americans

The diet-heart hypothesis Starting in the late 1950s, University of Minnesota physiologist Ancel Keys developed the idea that fats and, subsequently, saturated fats increased blood serum levels of cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol. Many studies show significant associations between elevated blood serum LDL-cholesterol levels and increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Thus, reducing dietary intake of saturated fats…
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Feel Younger, Live Longer and Better

Feel younger, be stronger Older adults typically feel younger than their chronological age. Having a younger subjective age (how you feel abut your age) predicts better psychological and physical health-related outcomes. Could a younger subjective age be experimentally induced and would it lead to improved physical performance? Researchers in France and Germany did just that…
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Enrich Your Life to Prevent Dementia

Mentally stimulating activities and risk of dementia Higher levels of daily intellectual activities predict lower risk of dementia. But do people with greater intellectual activities also embrace other healthy behaviors, such as increased physical activity, eating a better diet, and not smoking, which could account for the lower risk of dementia? Researchers addressed this question…
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