Blog
The evidence behind appearance and healthspan, read from the papers and written up properly.
- 5 November 2026
The Island With No Recorded Strokes or Angina: What Kitava Can and Cannot Tell Us
What the 1990 Kitava study actually measured, including its unflattering data, high-carbohydrate diet and lower LDL, read alongside the Tsimane scans and the mainstream case for LDL.
Read - 29 October 2026
Methylene Blue and Arterial Function: What the Pharmacology and the Human Studies Actually Show
An evidence review of methylene blue and the artery wall: the nitric oxide pathway, the concentration question, the human imaging studies, serotonin toxicity, G6PD and the large trials.
Read - 22 October 2026
Gum Disease and Diabetes: What the Evidence Shows About a Two-Way Relationship
A measured look at periodontitis and diabetes: the two-way link, the mouse, cohort and genetic evidence, the gum-treatment trials on HbA1c, and what remains unproven.
Read - 15 October 2026
Slim but Metabolically Unhealthy? Why BMI Misses Hidden Fat and Which Markers Pick It Up
Why a normal BMI can hide liver and abdominal fat and physiological insulin resistance, which simple markers may pick it up, and the limits of the evidence.
Read - 8 October 2026
Fatty Liver (MASLD): What the Feeding Trials Say About Sugar, Refined Carbohydrate and Dietary Fat
An evidence review of fatty liver disease: what controlled feeding trials show about sugar, refined carbohydrate and saturated fat, and where the counter-evidence cuts against the sugar hypothesis.
Read - 3 September 2026
Why Calorie Counting Fails as a Weight-Loss Strategy
Why calorie counting often fails in practice: measurement errors in food labels and food diaries, shifting expenditure, and why identical calories can produce different outcomes.
Read - 27 August 2026
Does Alkaline Water Actually Do Anything? What the Evidence Shows
An evidence-led look at alkaline water claims for blood pH, bone health, reflux, and cancer, checked against the actual clinical trial literature rather than marketing claims.
Read - 20 August 2026
Does a High-Protein Diet Damage Healthy Kidneys? What the Evidence Shows
A close look at protein and kidney function: what changes in healthy kidneys versus diagnosed kidney disease, checked claim-by-claim against the clinical trial and cohort evidence.
Read - 13 August 2026
Grey Hair: The Real Biology Behind Greying, and What Reversal Evidence Shows
Why hair actually turns grey: melanocyte stem cell biology, genetics, and disputed nutrient links, and what the evidence on reversal really supports, checked against the literature.
Read - 6 August 2026
mTOR, Rapamycin and Longevity: What the Animal Data Do and Don't Show
Rapamycin robustly extends lifespan in mice, but no trial shows it extends human life. A clinician reviews the mTOR mechanism, animal data and trade-offs.
Read - 30 July 2026
The Coronary Calcium Score: What a "Zero" Really Means, and What It Can Miss
A measured look at the coronary artery calcium (CAC) score: what a zero means, the MESA evidence, its limits, and when a scan actually changes management.
Read - 23 July 2026
Cholesterol, LDL and Longevity: What the Evidence Does and Doesn't Show
A clinician's evidence-led review of LDL, ApoB and all-cause mortality: where the lipid hypothesis is strong, where it is weak, and what better predicts risk.
Read - 16 July 2026
The Metabolic Roots of High Blood Pressure: Why Cutting Salt Is Rarely the Whole Story
An evidence-led look at why cutting salt often fails to control high blood pressure, and what the research says about insulin, magnesium and minerals.
Read - 9 July 2026
Diet and Skin Wrinkles: Glycation, the Randle Cycle, and the Seed-Oil Question
How diet may influence skin wrinkling: glycation, the Randle cycle, inflammaging and the seed-oil hypothesis, cited and critiqued. No magic foods, no overclaiming.
Read - 9 July 2026
Hyaluronic Acid: Molecular Weight, CD44, and Why It Is Not Simply a Moisturiser
Hyaluronic acid is a molecular-weight-dependent signalling molecule that acts through CD44, not a simple moisturiser. What the science says, and what it doesn't.
Read - 9 July 2026
Muscle and Longevity: Sarcopenia, Strength and the Difference Between Correlation and Cause
Muscle and strength track with a longer, healthier life, but tracking is not causing. A measured, cited look at sarcopenia, grip strength, glucose and training.
Read - 9 July 2026
Ozempic Face: Fat Compartments, the Extracellular Matrix, and Why Rapid Weight Loss Shows in the Face First
What causes "Ozempic face"? A measured look at how GLP-1 drugs (semaglutide, tirzepatide) drive facial fat and muscle loss, and what may reduce it.
Read - 9 July 2026
Magnesium: Which Form, Which Test, and Who Actually Needs It
Magnesium forms, testing and dosing, weighed against the actual trials: which salt for which problem, why the standard blood test misleads, and who benefits.
Read - 9 July 2026
Vitamin D: A Statistical Error in the Recommended Intake, and Why a Blood Level Is Not the Same as a Benefit
The 600 IU vitamin D recommendation rests on a published statistical error. What that means, what supplement trials actually show, and why I start with sun and food.
Read - 9 July 2026
Why Your Face Sags After 40: It Might Be Your Skull, Not Just Your Skin
Sagging after 40 is not just your skin. Dr Abs explains how the facial skeleton reshapes with age, why that drives the sag, and what it actually means for you.
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