Food Combos Made in Nutritional Heaven

The real life version of alchemy exists in the kitchen.

Fruit and vegetables, as we know, are great for gut health and other important organ systems…

but their benefits can be enhanced when combined with an agonistic partner.

For example, there are some foods that you can pair together to improve the absorption of certain nutrients

For instance, the type of iron found in plant based foods like beans or lentils, a.k.a non-heme iron is poorly absorbed by humans in comparison to heme iron found in animal food sources

BUT this non-heme iron is better absorbed in the presence of vitamin C.

So the next time you have some beans why not pair it with some bell peppers!

Another example are the fat soluble vitamins D,E,A and K… as their name implies these are absorbed better in the presence of fat in the gut

so if you're chowing down some whole grain toast which is a source of vitamin E and K why don't you consider adding some peanut butter to it, a source of fat, to boost the absorption of these vitamins.

A tried and tested favourite is cooking tomatoes with olive oil; this boosts the bioavailability of an antioxidant pigment called lycopene which gives tomatoes its red colour.

And a final one… consider adding some cheese with your eggs –

in this scenario the vitamin D from the eggs helps you to absorb more of the calcium from the cheese!

I’ll be doing more food combos in my videos across social media, so keep an eye out!

Life Updates

I’ve just been sent around 4 thousand cover pages of my book to sign for all the signed copies you guys ordered… insane! From the bottom of my stony heart…. thank you!

I’ll gladly take carpal tunnel from signing thousands of book copies because this still feels incredibly surreal for me. I have no idea how long it’ll take but we’ll get there!

I believe there are still a few signed copies available so if you fancy a legible doctor’s signature on your book… go check out Waterstones or your nearest online book retailer!

I’ve also finished my first week and a half at a new hospital. I was daunted at the size and how busy the new hospital was…

but I am operating an insane amount which I love and the staff are incredibly friendly and supportive. Let’s hope my opinion of the place doesn’t change!

What You Should Watch

As you may (or may not) know… I love vampire stuff. It probably stems from my fascination with history, mythology and the supernatural. One of my favourite movies was Interview With The Vampire (the Brad Pitt/Tom Cruise one)

and it seems they’ve updated it with a new version (available on AMC or Sky).

Interview With The Vampire - AMC or Sky

I’m only a few episodes in but it’s pretty true to the original book by Anne Rice so far… worth a watch!

An exercise pill?

The weight loss medication market has seen a boom in pretty groundbreaking novel drugs like Ozempic (semaglutide) and Mounjaro

which have shown in lengthy clinical trials to trigger a considerable weight loss and reduce the risk of death from heart disease, with minimal side effects.

These drugs work primarily by reducing appetite, and thus caloric intake.

However, scientists are on the hunt for medications that can increase caloric expenditure- basically a drug that would cause the body to act like it’s exercising

Drum roll for…

weight loss drug, SLU-PP-332.

This medication acts on estrogen receptor-related receptors (ERRs), which are found in tissues that demand a lot of energy, like skeletal muscles, the liver, and the heart.

When active, these receptors trigger metabolic changes associated with exercise, like increasing muscles’ ability to consume oxygen, boosting their breakdown of fat for energy, and revving up metabolism.

This drug has been tested in mice earlier in 2023 and was found to boost muscular and aerobic endurance.

Researchers found that obese mice given the drug weighed 12% less than control mice given a placebo after four weeks.

SLU-PP-332 has a very, very long way to go before it could join Ozempic or Mounjaro on the commercial weight loss market

and there is a high chance it could just fizzle out as finding the appropriate dose in humans, balancing side effects and effectiveness, may prove elusive.

Still, SLU-PP-332’s promising preliminary results further show how safe and effective weight loss drugs, only recently seen as a pipe dream could change human health in the future.

Does shaving make hair thicker?

You’ve probably noticed that when you shave hair on your body it grows back thicker?!

This is an illusion.

When you shave, you’re cutting the hair at the skin surface where it's more dense and during this, the razor gives the remaining hair a blunt end

because of this, the hair feels denser and more stubbly

additionally, due to the blunt end, it’s less likely to reflect light as well so it looks darker.

However once it grows back it isn't actually thicker it just feels different because the texture was changed!

No smiles please!

Have you ever looked at old black and white photos?

People in old pictures didn't smile in most photos… and they have serious and almost grim expressions….

why was this ?!

In the past beauty standards dictated that seriousness and a controlled mouth were attractive

and since the earliest cameras had very long exposure times..

it was easier to have a face devoid of emotion and hold this neutral expression for several minutes!