Nutrition and lifestyle are the keys to longevity

A blog by Michael Butler

Articles and opinions for my family & friends about how I am living a healthier life informed by scientific research undertaken since being diagnosed with heart disease. Starting with the principle that each of us is biologically unique, everyone can use nutrition and lifestyle to achieve their greatest potential.

Regenerative gardening - as nature intended

Three years of garden creation captured in pictures. Regenerative gardening prioritises soil health to grow tastier fruit and vegetables, as nature intended. Healthy soil is literally full of life that cross-talks constantly with the plants rooted in it. This article explains those concepts and describes how we created our regenerative garden.

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Gut fungi are not as numerous as bacteria but their influence is likely larger

If, like me, you are interested in how gut microbiota affect human health, read on. Long under-investigated and poorly understood gut fungi appear to affect health much more than their small numbers suggest and likely influence what happens to the much more numerous bacteria each of us have in our gut.

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“Ultra-processed foods damage health and shorten life”

Did you know that an editorial recently published in the British Medical Journal has called for the UN to think about ultra-processed food in the same was as it does tobacco? This follows a review of how ultra-processed food affected the health of almost 10 million people.

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Our gut microbiome is constantly in contact with our environment - give it access to the good things in life

Our gut microbiome is continually in contact with our environment and the consequences can be significant. We can easily create and expose our microbiome to a healthy natural environment. This gives us the best chance of maintaining gut health. Attempts to return a damaged gut microbiome to a healthy state are not always positive. Intrusive interventions should be undertaken with great care.

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Book Review: Ketogenic - The science of therapeutic carbohydrate restriction in human health

A review of Ketogenic: The science of therapeutic carbohydrate restriction in human health, Edited by the Nutrition Network. This is an indispensable text for anyone interested in the metabolic and health effects of carbohydrates in the human diet.

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The main ingredient in seed oils causes liver disease and liver cancer

The main ingredient in seed oils is called linoleic acid. It is harmful to our body because it damages our immune system. Its effects on our liver are so dramatic that linoleic can act alone to cause liver disease progression all the way to liver cancer.

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Paper review, Human nutrition, Protein, Macronutrient Michael Butler Paper review, Human nutrition, Protein, Macronutrient Michael Butler

Plant- and animal-based proteins are not the same

I’m in the second half of a century well lived and suffer from age-related muscle loss. This is natural and easily managed by eating enough bioavailable protein and exercising properly. I recently read a great paper about how to get enough bioavailable protein to retain and build back muscles and strength. I describe it here.

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My book collection - part four

Three books about the ancient pinewoods of Scotland and temperate rainforests of Great Britain and Ireland. I find that time in nature is regenerative for me. I’ve used these books to identify places to hike and mountain bike through some of the most spectacular landscapes of the United Kingdom

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My book collection - part three

The latest addition to my cumulative book list is the collection that I used to inform my first post entitled “Is my heart disease a symptom of modern malnutrition?”. There is a total of 10 books describing how what we eat can cause and often cure chronic diseases

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