HbA1c and Diabetes – Glycated Hemoglobin (A1c) Explained

Diabetes and its complications remain a major cause of early disease and death worldwide. The diagnosis of diabetes is to a large extent based on detecting elevated levels of sugar (glucose) in the blood. Blood sugar levels can easily be measured at home with a glucometer. Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is another laboratory measure frequently used for this … Read more

Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) – Fatty Liver Explained

Recently, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become the leading cause of chronic liver disease in the United States and other Western countries. The prevalence of the disorder is estimated to be as high as 30% in the general population (1). With obesity being a major risk factor and due to the aging of the population, the … Read more

Alzheimer’s Disease and Obesity – The Black Swan

The science of Alzheimer’s disease has come a long way since 1906, when Alois Alzheimer first described the key features of the disease. Alzheimer, who was a German neurologist and psychiatrist, noticed abnormal deposits in the brain of a 51-year old woman who had dementia. It was later confirmed that patients with Alzheimer’s disease often have brain abnormalities … Read more

The Year of the Fat

During the first few months of this year, we’ve seen at least three strong signs suggesting that health authorities have misled the public for several decades about dietary fats. This finding is of particular interest because later this year the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans will be published. Ever since the beginning of the 1960s, “eat less fat, in … Read more