I’m a journalist, not a nutritionist, endocrinologist or neuroscientist. But I have friends who are nutritionists, body workers, naturopaths, doctors. Any errors are mine, but I strive for “do diligence.” If you find something wrong, please tell me so that I can correct it!
This reflects my journey, and I hope that by sharing information I have found that I can help make someone else’s journey just a little bit shorter and less bumpy.
Kathy E. Gill
Types of content
There’s a variety of content here:
- Book reviews (including an Amazon affiliate link)
- Curated content from other health and nutrition authors
- Diet and nutrition myths (debunked or validated)
- Diet and nutrition in the mainstream news
- Exercise (within reason)
- Menopause (because we are under-researched)
- Migraines (because this is a mostly-women disease)
- Recipes (not many and not intended to be a focus but who knows?)
- Research summaries (linking to, at a minimum, a public abstract)
- Research critiques (my analysis/opinion or that of a guest writer)
- Technology and health
What I plan to avoid:
- GMO/Non-GMO debate
- Organic pros/cons
Note: blog post dates for research summaries, news or curated content — in other words, date-sensitive information — will be timestamped with the original publication date, not when I wrote the post. This is the only way I can think of to make it contextually analyze research findings over time.
Bias number 1
I am biased towards estradiol (E2) and against conjugated equine estrogens (Premarin, PremPro). My misgivings about conjugated estrogens were initiated when I read Screaming to be Heard: Hormonal Connections Women Suspect and Doctors Still Ignore in February 2002. That’s just after my doctor switched me from Premarin to the Climera (E2) patch. Noteworthy: E2 (estradiol) cannot be patented; drug companies make their money by patents on the delivery mechanism. Climera is not cheap: co-pay for me is $60.00/month.
Bias number 2
I take the Women’s Health Initiative results with a large grain of salt, and not just because the only estrogens tested were derived from pregnant horse urine (conjugated equine estrogens). At the time, I railed against it. Subsequently, others have pointed out its many shortcomings. I’m frustrated at the historical lack of female-focused nutrition and health research. I feel like I’m channeling Network (YouTube): “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!”
Bias number 3
My faith in the scientific peer-review process has become thoroughly untethered, in part the result of reading Death by Food Pyramid by Denise Minger (2014) and Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health by Gary Taubes (2008). Mainstream media simplification and scaremongering coupled with celebrity culture and instant gratification contribute to the poor state of nutritional knowledge in America.