🧈🐟 - Nutrition, Rethought

Prediabetic on Zero Carbs?

Tue, 06 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

What the HbA1c blood value measures, and why it rates two very different people the same.

Evolutionary Association, Chapter 10: Dental Health

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Sugar is the new smoking - everyone knows it causes caries, but nobody acts on it. The science, on the other hand, is not in doubt.

Evolutionary Association, Chapter 9: Iodine

Mon, 21 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Iodine is everywhere and nowhere. It can be absorbed, substituted, or blocked at several stages. What we eat decides which of those happens.

Delivered as Ordered

Sat, 12 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A team of scientists dug up correspondence from the 1960s: the sugar industry paid, Harvard researched, fat took the blame.

A Balanced Diet - But on Which Scale?

Tue, 08 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

‘You should eat a balanced diet’ - but what does that even mean?

Here's looking at you...

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A look inside: what I can’t measure - and why I don’t consider myself clever enough for a vegan diet

The Climate Footprint of the Health System

Thu, 03 Sep 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Human life has an impact on the climate. We get to choose whether we’d rather spend it on health prevention (and quality of life) or on fixing problems afterwards.

Protein Requirement Calculator - First Extension

Mon, 31 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A quick response to the protein requirement calculator: now with more than 7100 foods and dishes to choose from - in the glucose-insulin simulator too

Protein Requirement

Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Protein requirement looks like a matter of opinion - but there is a way to get at harder facts, and to tell proteins apart

Gallstones

Sun, 23 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Some people are ‘rolling in stones’ - much to their dismay - and have no idea how they came by quite so many.

Evolutionary Association, Chapter 8: Fertiliser

Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

‘Spoiled soil’ is nowhere near the whole story, and fertiliser is nowhere near everything a plant needs.

Evolutionary Association, Chapter 7: Emulsifiers

Mon, 17 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Soap in your food? It’s not quite that bad - but not much better either.

Evolutionary Association, Chapter 6: Sourdough

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Why modern turbo-bread burdens the body - and why the lockdown sourdough craze accidentally got it right: long fermentation pre-digests what the gut cannot.

Asking a Lot, Trusting a Little: The Nutrition Doc and the Informed Patient

Sun, 09 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

If something is hard, that is a sign it is worth doing👍. Or that it is not worth even considering👎. It depends.

Eating with Two Yardsticks: The Nutrition Doc's Burden of Proof

Sat, 08 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Dr Riedl earns both praise and criticism for a single podcast episode: giving up wheat even without coeliac disease👍, double standards on nutrition studies👎.

Does Meat Cause Diabetes?

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The ‘fact everybody knows’ - that meat causes diabetes - keeps crossing my path. So I went and read the studies, and ended up with the longest reference list of any article here.

Evolutionary Association, Chapter 5: Does Size Matter?

Sun, 02 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Human height dropped dramatically with the agricultural revolution - but lately it has climbed again, and there are other growth-dimensions to be aware of.

Milking the Data

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

When a sugar bomb gets counted as milk, don’t be surprised when the numbers don’t add up.

Superfood or Antinutrient?

Fri, 24 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Foods praised for their ingredients often bring the antidote along too. How do antinutrients work? Can they be rendered harmless? A selection.

Welcome, Ketobiography listeners

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

If you’re here because you listened to the Ketobiography podcast with Robyn Dobbins, here are some starting points to explore the site and the simulation

Evolutionary Association, Chapter 4: Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver

Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A buzz without the blood-alcohol reading - how the classic alcoholic’s diseases can arise without the drink, plus a brand-new dietary guideline

Evolutionary Association, Chapter 3: Mental Health Crises

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Our psyche, too, is built from the building blocks we feed the body - a long-ignored angle

Sugar - What Exactly Is It?

Tue, 14 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A long answer to a trivial question - sugar is a great deal more than the stuff sold under that name in the supermarket. And it’s not necessarily sweet

Evolutionary Association, Chapter 2: Fertility

Sun, 12 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

So, who had it on their bingo card that our fertility depends on whether we eat rice cakes with hummus or steak with butter?

Evolutionary Association, Chapter 1: The Composition of Body Fat

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Your love handles are a food diary of the last few years - and many of the entries come from the deep fryer.

Evolutionary Association: Prelude and Overview

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Old biochemistry meets new food: why many modern diseases of civilisation coincide, in time and in mechanism, with very specific dietary changes. Prelude to a new series

Water Use for Beef

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A gazillion litres of water per burger? Gladly - anything else would be a catastrophe.

The Satiety Side Dish

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

What exactly makes us ‘sated’, and when can we eat again? Is it about volume? Hormones? Nutrients? Answers to rhetorical questions…

Food Noise

Fri, 03 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The popular weight-loss injection promises less ‘food noise’ - and lists side effects. A ketogenic diet does the same, and comes with side benefits.

Hunger (in the Plural)

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

We act as if there were only one kind of hunger - there are actually three, and the dietary guidelines mostly talk about number four.

Is Meat Carcinogenic?

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Meat is considered both extremely nutrient-dense and carcinogenic - how can that be, and what’s behind it?

Who should follow the advice here?

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A collection of article links on this site, as a topic-based, easy entry point.

Insulin, Chapter 4

Mon, 29 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

They differ by just one digit, but are something entirely different: after Type 2 last chapter, today it’s Type 1 diabetes.

"Eat the Rainbow", Part 2

Fri, 26 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

There’s a second aspect that can be read as a motive for ’eat the rainbow’. Because the rainbow also influences what you don’t eat.

Is curing diseases a sustainable business model?

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Were it not so well documented, this question would veer dangerously close to conspiracy theory: it was genuinely asked.

Dietary Advice as a Toolbox

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I assume the toolbox of nutritional advice is not well sorted, and it’s unfortunate that a hammer seems to be the only tool left in the box

Unbelievable: Does intermittent fasting affect hormones?

Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I’m passing on an expert warning from the internet. The incredible effects of intermittent fasting 🤦 (ignore Betteridge for a moment)

But Your Cholesterol, Your Heart...

Fri, 19 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

People who hear about a ketogenic diet often wonder whether that much fat can be healthy. The mindset is widespread, but also outdated: the science has moved on.

Fibre Against Constipation?

Thu, 18 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Jammed roads and a jammed-up gut get treated in completely opposite ways. It turns out - to absolutely no one’s surprise - that ‘more traffic’ doesn’t clear congested traffic

Hamburger: Hypervegetarian?

Tue, 16 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Is one of the most iconic meat dishes actually a meat dish? An amusing little realization

Animal Suffering

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

On animal ethics, minimizing suffering, and why that doesn’t automatically mean giving up meat

Out of Breath? Just Eat Something Different!

Wed, 10 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

If you get winded quickly - or just want to last longer - the right diet can extend your endurance by roughly 30%

Calibrating the Simulation

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A rather dry look under the hood: About the scope, options and limits of the simulation that’s found on this site. For Nerds, who want to know what’s going on.

Insulin, Chapter 3

Sat, 06 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Even though Type 2 diabetes is often called a ‘sugar disease’: the real elephant in the room is insulin. The good news: patients can help themselves - if they want to.

Allan Savory: What Holds Up, What Doesn't

Fri, 05 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In the first grazing article I flagged some dissent about Allan Savory. Turns out it’s not one but two objections.

Regenerative Agriculture through the lens of International Law

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Why global policymakers are turning to managed grazing, and what that means for our plates.

Welcome, Boundless Body Radio listeners

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000

If you’re here because you listened to my episode on Boundless Body Radio, you might want to start here. Others find a quick introduction to the site, and an awesome podcast to subscribe to and listen.

Nobody's Taking Away Your Pizza

Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Ordering a Cola: normal. Ordering butter instead of potatoes: justify yourself and have the emergency number ready. How watered-down dietary guidelines became societal consensus.

Nutrition Doc: Cognitive Dissonance and Ignorance of Ketogenic Nutrition

Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In an episode of the Ernährungsdocs podcast, Germany’s most prominent nutritional physician demonstrates shocking ignorance of and attitude towards ketogenic nutrition

How Many Carbohydrates Does the Body Actually Need?

Wed, 27 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The body needs glucose, but not carbohydrates. A look at the biochemistry shows how it effortlessly sources everything it needs on its own.

How much does a calorie weigh?

Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Another invitation to question cause and effect — especially when it comes to losing weight.

What Does the DGE Recommend? Chapter 2

Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A dissection of the scientific foundations of the DGE guidelines - because even though I ignore them, I refuse to be accused of being anti-science.

What Does the DGE Recommend? Chapter 1

Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Behind the DGE dietary guidelines: scientific foundations and the choice of goals and solution spaces. How are the recommendations weighted?

Insulin, Chapter 2

Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Insulin is in the center of many noncommunicable diseases. In this chapter we’re looking at the various types of Diabetes. ☝️🤓: More than 2!

Good Carbs, Bad Carbs

Tue, 19 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The usual split into ‘good’ and ‘bad’ carbohydrates is a convenient shorthand, but my version of that scale looks different: The bar for ‘good’ is higher.

Fibre: Necessary or Unnecessary Ballast? A Self-Experiment

Mon, 18 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The literature doesn’t list fibre as essential, yet standard guidelines treat it as indispensable. A self-experiment, with a surprising outcome.

Planetary Health Diet - The Great Misunderstanding

Wed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The one aspect most commonly cited in favor of the ‘Planetary Health Diet’ is an aspect the associated report explicitly did not examine.

Ketogenic Diet – The BARMER's Take

Tue, 12 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Thoroughly researched, thoroughly cited – and the counter-argument built right in. You just have to read the BARMER’s keto article carefully.

DGE Guidelines. A Contradiction?

Mon, 11 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Why the recommendations of the German Nutrition Society don’t actually contradict my completely different personal experience

Insulin, Chapter 1

Sun, 10 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A closer look at some of insulin’s key roles: regulating blood sugar, driving fat storage, and ultimately influencing body weight

"Eat the Rainbow"

Fri, 08 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A popular piece of advice, and what my brain does with it when reading it creatively - and from contrary experience. A rant.

Don't feed the animals

Thu, 07 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Why aren’t you supposed to feed the ducks in the park or the animals at the zoo - and what we can learn from it

The Preferred Fuel

Wed, 06 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The body’s preference: Which fuel does it like to burn most? (The answer will surprise you 😉)

Grains

Mon, 04 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Grains are among the most fundamental staples - most people can hardly imagine doing without them. Yet depending on whether they are eaten by humans or fed to animals, they are credited with diametrically opposite properties. Schrödinger’s food

Pasture-Raised Ruminants

Fri, 01 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Cattle get a lot of blame - how the farming method can turn that picture around

Saturated Fat

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Schrödinger would have had a field day with the contradictory claims about whether saturated fat is harmful or beneficial. My take: ‘Everything is better with butter’

Fibre and Saturated Fat

Sat, 25 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

The classic mantra “fibre == good, saturated fat == bad” contradicts itself (and what butter specifically has to do with it)

Overfed and Undersupplied

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

An alternative interpretation of hunger: what if we’re not hungry because we need to eat, but hungry because of what we ate? A useful mental model…

Allergies

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Allergy season is starting — I don’t care anymore. And I put that down to my diet.

"Watch Your Weight"

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A rant: why ‘watch your weight’ as advice doesn’t actually help

Caloric Balance: Cause or Effect?

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

An invitation to reverse the causality: why explaining weight loss through reduced calorie intake is not very helpful

Sunburn and UV

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A surprising side effect of switching to a ketogenic diet: a new built-in sun protection factor

Share Your Simulation

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 16:05:29 +0200

You can now easily share your simulation with others

First steps with the simulation

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

A suggestion for how this site delivers results quickly, and how to discover its features