Gut health
🚀 What Happens At More Than 30g Of Fiber
Regular readers of this newsletter will know how important dietary fiber is and the fact that 95% of people don’t eat the minimum recommended amount of 30g per day.
But 30g is the minimum.
And I was reminded of why eating more than 30g per day is important by a study (PMID 42387949) I read this week.
7000+ adults reported their levels of dietary fiber intake, while the researchers measured the following biomarkers:-
- C-reactive protein (CRP) - a measure of inflammation
- total cholesterol (TC)
- LDL cholesterol
- HDL cholesterol
- triglycerides
Here’s what they found:
- A consistent inverse relationship between fiber intake and C-reactive protein. The lowest levels of CRP were seen at the highest intake of fiber - around 55g daily
- Triglycerides fell at around 40g of daily fiber
- In men, LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol decreased significantly at levels of 70g of fiber each day
And here are some important reminders:
- These are associations between fiber and reduced inflammation/lipid profile but this does not mean fiber causes these effects.
- These findings are limited to a single point in time - longitudinal research is required to see dietary fiber intake is linked to positive health outcomes over the long-term
This is why I'm so bullish on eating much more than 30g of fiber per day: 30g seems to be far from optimal.
That said, eating 60g or 70g of fiber every day is no mean feat. On a good day, I get around 50g from food (challenging enough!), but when life gets in the way, that can easily drop.
That’s why I use LOAM to get an extra 10g beyond my 30g target without having to create a whole extra meal. It's 10g of fiber that dissolves into any liquid without changing its taste or texture. Stir it into your morning coffee and you'll be on your fiber A-game straight away!
GENERAL health
Waking Up At 3am? Try This
Waking up at 3am and wondering why you said that thing to that girl in 2010 is no fun.
Yet 46% of Americans and an astonishing 83% of Brits report waking up at least once per night in surveys.
Here are some of the main culprits and what you can do about them:
1️⃣ Cortisol Rising
Cortisol naturally starts rising between 2am and 4am to prepare the body to wake. However, if you just naturally have higher levels of cortisol or are going through a particularly stressful time, that temporary spike can push levels too high and leave you staring at the ceiling.
Simple breathing techniques (4 seconds in, 8 seconds out or any 2:1 ratio) increase vagal nerve activity which promotes a rest state in the body.
2️⃣ Low blood sugar
If you have a high-carb dinner, particularly if you're pre-diabetic or diabetic, you may experience a drop in blood sugar during the night. Your body’s response? Press the big red button marked PANIC! and release cortisol and adrenaline to raise glucose levels.
Choose protein and complex carbs for your final meal and stop eating 3-4 hours before bed.
3️⃣ Temperature
To go to sleep and stay asleep, your body’s temperature needs to drop. Having a room or bed that’s too warm can disrupt sleep and cause you to wake during light sleep phases.
If you’re feeling hot in bed, experiment with removing pyjamas and bedclothes, but no need for peer review or publication of the data.
Heat-controlled mattresses are a thing if you have the money to spend on something like that.
4️⃣ Sleep apnea and mouth breathing
80% of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) cases go undiagnosed according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
As the night progresses, periods of REM sleep get longer and more frequent and this is when OSA sufferers are more likely to experience disrupted breathing. This is another reason why you might be waking up at 3am.
To diagnose OSA you need a sleep study, which can be done at home if necessary. Talk to your doctor or sleep specialist. Beyond that, you may find sleeping on your side and avoiding alcohol before bed help.
REFLECTIONS
🐢 Take It Slow
In our recent podcast conversation, neuroscientist TJ Power talked about digital anhedonia - the inability to find joy in either real life, or digital experiences that we once enjoyed
The theory is, it all stems from constant overstimulation from endless scrolling, short-form content and never-ending notifications.
By now, we all know these activities overload our dopamine receptors, which is what makes them so addictive.
The key to fighting dopamine addiction and digital anhedonia is to choose slow dopamine activities that provide slow, steady sources of pleasure. And the good news is, you already know how to do all of these things:
1️⃣ Read long books. Actually, read any books. It’s not the length of the book that’s important so much as how long you can sustain reading it.
2️⃣ Take a walk without your headphones. This is a big one for me given how useful walking meetings are. That said, when I’ve tried it, I’ve been surprised by how much I’ve noticed - sounds, smells and sights.
3️⃣ Write a letter. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone you care about? Try it. It’ll mean more to you and them than any text or email.
4️⃣ Watch movies, TV etc without your phone. When you stop and think about it, it’s absolute madness to try to look at two screens at once, yet we all do it.
5️⃣ Learn a difficult skill:- cross-stitch, piano, origami, it all counts. You’ll be exercising cognitive skills you might not have used since you left education.
Yes, yes, we all know we should be doing some of these things and I’m as guilty as anyone of not doing them. However, the key, as always, is to start small.
I’ll be doing at least one this week, at least once. Why not try doing the same?
PS a lot of people who follow me are surprised to learn I actually have a podcast! It's not a boring 3-hour, watching paint dry podcast talking about protocols, nor is it a clickbait fear-mongering health podcast either.
It's a 30-45 min chat with literal world experts cutting through the bullshit of modern health advice with tips that are actually easy to follow whether you're a dialled-in biohacker or a more-couch-than-5k chocolate lover.
You can check it out here.
👋 Who are you again? I’m Karan Rajan - a doctor and curious explorer of all things health and wellness. I'm the founder of LOAM Science, a microbiome company aiming to create the best fiber product in the world! I host the Dr Karan Explores Podcast, where I talk to experts in science and medicine to cut through the BS of modern health advice. If you'd like an easy way to dig through the archive, you can ask me any questions about the podcast and talk to my digital librarian here. I've also written two books "This Book May Save Your Life" and "This Is Vital Information". I'm the Chief of Science of Throne, a smart gut health tracking device.
If you feel strongly about some health things or just want to say hi? Hit reply... I’d love to hear it and hear from you! (yes I read every reply!!!)
