Bariatric Surgery: Risks in the OR and Beyond

Bariatric Surgery: Risks in the OR and Beyond

The extent of risk from bariatric weight-loss surgery may depend on the skill of the surgeon. After sleeve gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, the third most common bariatric procedure is a revision to fix a previous bariatric procedure, as you can see below and...
Bariatric Weight-Loss Surgery and Mortality

Bariatric Weight-Loss Surgery and Mortality

Today, death rates after weight-loss surgery are considered to be “very low,” occurring in perhaps 1 in 300 to 1 in 500 patients on average. The treatment of obesity has long been stained by the snake-oil swindling of profiteers, hustlers, and quacks. Even the modern...
How Healthy Are Baruka Nuts?

How Healthy Are Baruka Nuts?

How do barukas, also known as baru almonds, compare with other nuts? There is a new nut on the market called baru almonds, branded as “barukas” or baru nuts. Technically, it isn’t a nut but a seed native to the Brazilian Savannah, known as the Cerrado, which is now...
Can Vegan Fecal Transplants Lower TMAO Levels?

Can Vegan Fecal Transplants Lower TMAO Levels?

If the microbiome of those eating plant-based diets protects against the toxic effects of TMAO, what about swapping gut flora? “Almost 2,500 years ago, Hippocrates stated that ‘All disease begins in the gut.’” When we feed our gut bacteria right with whole plant...
Is Aflatoxin a Concern?

Is Aflatoxin a Concern?

Is “toxic mold syndrome” a real thing? What do we do about toxic mold contamination of food? In recent years, mold has been blamed for all sorts of “vague and subjective” symptoms, but we have little scientific evidence that mold should be implicated. However, this...
Are the Effects of Ochratoxin Concerning?

Are the Effects of Ochratoxin Concerning?

The overall cost-benefit ratio for mycotoxins depends on which food is contaminated. Ochratoxin has been described as toxic to the immune system, developing fetus, kidneys, and nervous system, as well as being carcinogenic, but that is in animal studies. Ochratoxin...