Sunday Night Links

• The most popular schedule of rapamycin for longevity is 5-7 mg once a week. The schedule is well tolerated, according to yet unpublished results. It is based on the assumption that the intermittent schedule has fewer side effects than everyday doses. But this never was compared. For example, 1 mg rapamycin every day was also well tolerated in a clinical trial in healthy elderly. So, both schedules have negligible side effects. But are they equally effective for life extension? We do not know. In mice, the higher the dose, the longer lifespan. Therefore, in humans, the highest dose that does not yet cause unacceptable side effects (maximal tolerated dose) may be optimal for longevity. If (unacceptable) side effects develop, the dose should be decreased. In other words, anti-aging doses are maximal doses without side effects in a particular person. Then anti-aging doses are individual and side-effect-free by definition. Furthermore, if we do not know what exact doses are needed, there is no need to use doses that may cause potential side effects. [Mikhail Blagosklonny]
• Deep torpor is a metabolic state that is widely distributed through the mammalian family.  It is enhanced by the consumption and storage of polyunsaturated fats, in particular linoleic acid.  Molecular changes that occur during deep torpor include increased expression of SCD1 and high activity of the PPAR transcription factors with a relatively low contribution from PPAR alpha.  Metabolic changes during deep torpor include low body temperature, low metabolic rate and the ability to maintain body fat levels with relatively few calories. American consumption of linoleic acid increased dramatically between 1962 and 1991.  Our stored levels of linoleic acid increased, as did our desaturase index, indicating up-regulated levels of SCD1.  Recent blood tests from myself and many of you show high levels of very long chain saturated and mono-unsaturated fats, suggesting that we have very high levels of PPAR gamma.  The body temperature of Americans has dropped over the last 150 years. We have become very good at maintaining our fat mass. Are you in deep torpor? [Fire In A Bottle]
• When I was deep into Paleo and believed that sugar was evil, I often had a late-night snack of almond butter on sliced apples. These days I often eat a half pint of ice cream. Which is healthier? If you interviewed 100 people, I’d bet 99 would say the sliced apple with almond butter. Let us run the numbers. If you believe the premise that excess PUFA over time is stressful to the body and that one should keep their PUFA low (below 2-4%) then the ice cream wins. If however, you think sugar is worse than PUFA then the sliced apples with almond butter wins. My opinion changes over time, but right now I think PUFA is a much larger concern than sugar. [Critical MAS]
• If you asked me to identify a Straussian reading of the books, this would be it. That these volumes are not written to educate the public (who are portrayed as secondary characters anyways), but rather to train the next Lyndon Johnson. This is the modern liberal equivalent to Machiavelli’s The Prince- it is a guide for a person aligned with Caro’s politics on how to amass power in the American political system, and how to use that power to get things done the way Johnson was able to get them done. If you knew about some of the ways in which Johnson got things done, you wouldn’t treat this speculation lightly. [Dwarkesh Patel]
• When I heard that Ray had passed away, my first thought was what was to become of his website. Ray did a great job with his site. He published his articles and he left them alone. Unlike so many in the nutritional space, he kept his site going, and he didn’t move links. I run a broken link checker on this site and I’ve never once had to fix a broken link to RayPeat.com. I hope Ray has an assigned backup for his domain registration and if so, I hope they maintain his website. But I am doubtful. Many of his most popular followers have demonstrated the inability to keep their own websites up and running. See my 2017 post titled The Digital Graveyard of My Health and Fitness Mentors for examples. [Critical MAS]
• Australia will effectively ban recreational vaping, putting in place stricter regulations on e-cigarettes than the U.S. and many other countries over concerns that they are contributing to increases in smoking among young people. Australian authorities plan to end the sale of vaping products at convenience stores and other retailers, stop allowing most vapes to be imported from overseas and ban all single-use, disposable vapes. People will be able to buy a vape if a doctor prescribes it to help stop smoking, but flavors and colors will be restricted and the products will come in pharmaceutical-like packaging. [WSJ]
• To quality for tax credits under the IRA, for example, EVs must use batteries with a certain percentage of their “critical minerals” sourced either from the U.S. or a country that has a free-trade agreement with the U.S. Copper isn’t currently on the list of critical minerals, but some researchers and politicians—including senators in battleground states such as Arizona and Georgia—are already beginning to advocate its inclusion. [WSJ]
• If all six builds were to be constructed, OXY would be capable of capturing and permanently sequestering approximately 26 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of atmospheric CO2 where 35 billion tonnes of CO2 is emitted per year by humanity. The plant would be able to capture 0.00074% of yearly CO2 subsidized by tax dollars. The benefits written into US law seem endless for Oxy’s bottom line where the per-metric ton 45Q tax credit is substantially increased, now up to $85 for sequestered CO2 and $60 for CO2 that is reused. Oxy will essentially be awarded $60 per metric ton of carbon captured and reused even for enhanced oil recovery(EOR) to produce more oil and gas. [Energy Crisis]
• The EU is to propose a bloc-wide vaping levy as part of a shake-up of taxation on the tobacco industry that would also double excise duties in member states with low cigarette taxes, according to a draft European Commission document. The changes to legislation, part of a push by Brussels to cut smoking rates, will increase the EU’s minimum excise duty on cigarettes from €1.80 to €3.60 per pack of 20, which would raise prices in eastern European nations where packs can sell for under €3. [FT]
• Why, then, has Berkshire made such a big push into energy stocks? The simplest answer, according to analysts and investors who have followed Mr. Buffett over the years: The investor seems to firmly believe that even as a growing number of companies set ambitious goals to reduce their carbon emissions, the world will continue to need oil. Lots of oil. That should make it a commodity that companies like Occidental and Chevron can profit from selling for years to come. [WSJ]
• I quit consuming protein powder and bars years ago. I didn’t lose any muscle. I directed that money toward buying real food and my health improved. But I still needed to find a food to push me into a caloric surplus that meets all the above requirements. My body wanted ice cream. Ice cream is calorically dense. It has sugar, protein, saturated fat, and even some cholesterol. Matt Stone has a post comparing ice cream to mother’s milk, which is quite anabolic. And it tastes awesome! When I finish a workout and then have a bowl of ice cream, I can feel my body thanking me. Prior to adding ice cream into the rotation, I was losing weight too fast and my body felt cold. Since adding the ice cream (along with creatine), I’ve gained 4 pounds without increasing my waist size. [Critical MAS]
• Today when I sit down at a chest press machine I have no rep or weight goals. Where the pin is on the rack is not that important to me. The lighter the weight feels, the less efficient my rep speed will be. My goal is muscular fatigue not a specific amount of weight or reps. Once I’ve hit that level of fatigue, the workout is over. That might take as little as 5-10 minutes. But that is OK. I no longer have any interest in learning how to efficiently move more weights at the gym. The weights are tools to serve me. [Critical MAS]
• What really appeals to me about the Weston A. Price approach is how different cultures in completely different parts of the planet that had no way to communicate with each other, independently came up with similar solutions to food preparation. Only when modern cultures rejected traditional food preparation in favor of convenience and cost-saving did health begin to decline. Nutritional science is just beginning to catch up to what our ancestors knew about food. [Critical MAS]