Sauna: 12 Weeks Program Effects
This study looked at the effects of 12 weeks of sauna bathing on glucose levels, sleep quality and cortisol levels.
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Sauna significantly improved all indicators. The dry sauna was better than the steam sauna for cortisol reduction, while the steam sauna was better for sleep quality.
Unfortunately, the study doesn't give all the details of the protocol. It only mentions that the programme was divided into three weekly sessions, each lasting 45 to 60 minutes in total.
Vitamin K2 For Cardiovascular Health
Vitamin K is important for the health of your heart, bones and teeth.
It works by managing calcium in your body. It promotes the hardening of bones and prevents calcification of the blood vessels and kidneys.
But vitamin K is a whole group of fat-soluble vitamins. There are two main groups:
K1 (phylloquinone) - found mainly in green leafy vegetables
K2 (menaquinone) - found in animal products and some fermented foods
The effects of these vitamins are not the same.
Studies have shown that K2 is associated with reduced coronary calcification and reduced risk of heart disease [1, 2].
There was no such effect from K1.
It may sound confusing because K2 is mostly found in animal meat, liver, cheese or eggs, but it's generally believed that these are not heart-healthy foods. You can also consume Japanese natto (fermented soy beans), which is the only plant-based food you can get a meaningful dose of K2 from, but I think meat or eggs are more accessible for most people.
Blue Zones Issue
Here's an interesting take on the Blue Zones from Gary Smith.
Blue Zones are special places where people tend to live much longer than the global average. Okinawa, Sardinia and Loma Linda, among others. It's thought that these places may have the secret recipe for super-long life.
The idea is, if everyone starts living like the folks in these Blue Zones, we could all be hitting 100 years or more.
Despite years of study, researchers have yet to pinpoint a definitive longevity recipe based on the Blue Zones.
Using Blue Zones as an object of scientific study, however, has a fundamental problem.
It’s called Hypothesising After the Results are Known (HARKing).
The result (long life) is already known, and we are trying to adjust the hypothesis post factum. It's the opposite of the typical scientific approach, where you first formulate the hypothesis and then design the experiment to test it.
Unfortunately, if the outcome is known and we can't design the experiment beforehand, science doesn't work very well.
You can go to the Blue Zones and try to find out what these places have in common. You can find all sorts of similarities, but that doesn't prove anything. Such casual observations can only be a basis for research hypothesis and further rigorous testing through randomised control trials.
I'm not saying we shouldn't investigate the secret of Blue Zones, but we certainly can't make recommendations from such observations.
We know that some Blue Zones groups drink alcohol every day, while others abstain. Some eat a lot of plant foods, others don't. Some are part of a religious cult, others aren't.
Blue Zones are now overused to prove a point. It has even become part of business, rooted in faith and ideology. But that is a story for another time.
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