Category Lipids

Metformin Mechanistic Mysteries: NERD ALERT!

France has contributed many luminaries to science, including Pascal and Descartes, but maybe Metformin, a glucose-lowering medication taken by millions of people, deserves a place on this proverbial intellectual Mont Blanc as well.  Derived from the French lilac, Metformin continues…

Artificial Sweeteners and Spiritual Satiety

Healthcare professionals in metabolic clinics have all been subject to the ironic situations in which people with type 2 diabetes INSIST that drinking Diet Soda will instantly kill them and simultaneously plunge the world into nuclear conflict.  Meanwhile, their Continuous…

Sneaky SNX17, PCSK9, and the LDL Receptor-NERD ALERT!

The punch line to the joke, “Why did the PCSK9 inhibitor not work?” is usually, “Because the patient never took it!” But occasionally, people will get a less-than-expected response in LDL-C lowering to PCSK9 inhibitors.  This is quite unusual, but…

PCSK9 in the Heart Muscle? Lipid Deep Dive-NERD ALERT!

PCSK9 is well-known for its role in cholesterol homeostasis, and most are aware that PCSK9 targets the LDL receptor for lysosomal degradation.  Given that the LDL receptor in the liver is what clears the majority of ApoB cholesterol-laden particles from…

GLP-1, Take a Seat…Let’s Talk about Cholesin!

In the middle of this recent article on ketogenic diets and blood cholesterol levels, the recently discovered hormone cholesin was mentioned.  (This article speculated that those on a ketogenic diet experience an increased degree of intestinal cholesterol absorption, which I…

The Kejelcha Challenge and Life’s Marathon

Yesterday, we witnessed some ABSOLUTELY SUPERHUMAN performances by Sebastian Sawe and Yomif Kejelcha, as both men RAN SUB-2 HOURS at the London Marathon.  And to put this in perspective (and with the Disclaimer that “Nothing I say is Medical Advice”)…

This Girl is on FIBER!!!

“This girl is on FIBER!” -Alicia Keys, Metamucil Remix Edition “Eat more fiber” is often hailed as a dietary axiom…but fiber is actually a rather complicated topic.  Because there is insoluble and soluble fiber…and then there are viscous and non-viscous…