ENCORE: Q&A with Leyla, Part 1: America's Food Fight

Sleep, Growth Hormone, and Autophagy: How Rest, Diet, and Fasting Support Metabolic Health and Longevity: Nutritionist Leyla Muedin discusses how deep, early non-REM sleep boosts growth hormone for muscle, bone, fat burning, and metabolic health, and reviews a Cell study in which UC Berkeley researchers mapped hypothalamic circuits and feedback through the locus coeruleus showing a tight balance between sleep, growth hormone release, and wakefulness, with implications for metabolic disease and neurodegeneration. She connects poor sleep to higher blood sugar, insulin, and cortisol, which can suppress growth hormone, and advises avoiding sweet post-workout foods (e.g., smoothies, bananas, fruit yogurt) that stimulate insulin and blunt growth hormone, recommending protein and fat instead. She then explains autophagy and mitophagy as cellular cleanup processes linked to longevity, noting autophagy peaks after 12 hours of fasting, highlighting roles in mitochondrial quality control, immunity, and neurodegenerative disease, and mentions interventions such as fasting, exercise, ketogenic diets, and investigational inducers like rapamycin and urolithin A.

America's food fight and dietary guidelinesMy son-in-law suffers from bloating and abdominal pain. Any suggestions?I have positive but low anti-gliadin antibodies. Should I embark on a gluten-free diet?

I'm a 70-year-old woman with hip arthritis. Any recommendations?A treatment on the horizon for high Lipoprotein (a)?After chemotherapy to help shrink a tumor near my husband's spine, he now has numbness and neuropathy in his legsAnother study implicates meat, and now poultry and fish, in causing cardiovascular diseaseWhat do you think of Consumer Lab's recommendations on supplements?I take CoQ10, but I just heard about PQQ. What are your thoughts?

Understanding Pelvic Floor Health: Dr. Sarah Reardon, a board-certified pelvic floor physical therapist and author of "FLOORED: A Woman's Guide to Pelvic Floor Health at Every Age and Stage," delves into pelvic floor disorders, highlighting their prevalence, symptoms, and the importance of proper diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Reardon explains the anatomy and function of the pelvic floor, common misconceptions about Kegels, and the impact of life events such as childbirth and menopause. She also touches on the relevance of pelvic floor health for men, particularly in relation to prostatitis and other urinary issues. Practical advice on addressing these issues, including biofeedback, exercises, and lifestyle modifications, is provided. The episode emphasizes the need for greater awareness and proactive measures to prevent and treat pelvic floor dysfunction.

Dr. Hoffman continues his conversation with Dr. Sara Reardon, author of "FLOORED: A Woman's Guide to Pelvic Floor Health at Every Age and Stage."

Teaching Nutrition to Doctors: Dr. Nate Wood, MD, inaugural director of Culinary Medicine at Yale School of Medicine, discusses the persistent lack of nutrition education in medical training. Wood defines culinary medicine as combining nutrition science, medicine, education, and culinary skills to help patients and trainees cook health-promoting food. He reviews diet’s broad impact on chronic disease (cardiometabolic disease, dementia, cancer, mental health, MS), challenges in nutrition research, and Yale’s approach emphasizing plant-forward, minimally processed foods while addressing controversies. Barriers to adoption include crowded curricula, lack of trained faculty, unclear competencies, and limited exam coverage, though nutrition is being added to Step exams. Wood describes free patient classes, community outreach, research showing culinary training boosts counseling confidence, GLP-1s as complementary to lifestyle change, and his upcoming book, “Food Figured Out,” due in 2027.

Dr. Hoffman continues his conversation with Dr. Nate Wood, MD, inaugural director of Culinary Medicine at Yale School of Medicine.

MDs react to JAMA op-ed claiming autonomous AI will outperform doctors on routine medical tasks by 2030, spurring widespread layoffs: When even intravenous iron isn’t enough to stave off anemia; “Emergency “ home medical kits draw ire of medical experts: Meta dinged $567 for teen addiction—why spending it for therapy of adolescents who are hooked on social media may be a waste of money; Adequate vitamin D minimizes post-op pain; When is a second prostate biopsy called for? 

Cancer rise in younger adults may be explained by accelerated cellular aging; “Quadriceps activation failure” may explain common waking difficulty following successful knee replacement; Is “Calocurb” a good natural alternative to GLP-1 drugs? New study claims 4 to 6 servings of whole grains may be the key to heart health—but doubts arise due to its authorship in Iran, a hotbed of scientific research fraud; Splenda back in the crosshairs as new evidence points to genetic damage; Bright lights at night emerge as new heart disease risk factor. 

Concurrent Training for Healthy Aging and the Overlooked B12 Risk of Metformin: Nutritionist Leyla Muedin discusses how concurrent training—combining cardio and strength work—supports healthy aging by building endurance, preserving muscle, and maintaining independence and “healthspan.” She explains that aerobic exercise improves cardiorespiratory efficiency while resistance training preserves lean tissue and functional strength, and offers practical scheduling tips: place strength sessions on two non-consecutive days, add moderate cardio around them, separate hard sessions, prioritize recovery with rest days, sleep, and adequate protein, and avoid pairing heavy lifting with hard endurance work if explosive power is important. She then summarizes evidence that clinicians often fail to check vitamin B12 levels in diabetic patients on long-term metformin, despite guidelines; metformin can impair B12 absorption, leading to deficiency, anemia, and potentially reversible neuropathy, with higher risk in the elderly, high-dose users, vegans, and PPI users. She urges proactive B12 monitoring and supplementation, such as a multivitamin with at least 100 mcg B12.