Roger’s Health Research
What I’ve Learned — and What I’m Still Learning
What I’ve Learned — and What I’m Still Learning
Over the years, I have become interested in a number of health issues and have spent considerable time reading books and articles and watching interviews with physicians, scientists, and other experts.
This website brings together some of what I have learned, with a particular focus on metabolic health and low-carb diets, brain health and Alzheimer’s disease prevention, genetic risk including APOE4, autoimmune diseases, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and teen eating disorders. I also explore newer and sometimes controversial ideas, including the metabolic theory of cancer, why counting calories may not work for everyone, and whether steps to protect brain health should begin before symptoms of cognitive decline appear.
I believe we have to become our own advocates when it comes to medical care. Doctors often have limited time with each patient, and we may not even know which questions to ask. I want to understand what may be contributing to a health problem before symptoms reach the point where a drug or procedure may be needed.
My purpose is not to tell anyone what to do. It is to share information I have found interesting and useful, point readers toward sources I have found worthwhile, and perhaps encourage them to ask better questions.
Nothing on this site should be considered medical advice. Medical decisions should be discussed with appropriate healthcare professionals.
I am not a scientist or medical researcher. This website reflects my efforts as an interested layperson to understand health and medical issues that I find important. Some of what I have found represents mainstream medical thinking. Some represents emerging research. And some is controversial.
I do not believe that every health decision requires certainty beyond all doubt. Often the more practical question is whether there is enough evidence to make a thoughtful assessment of the potential benefits, risks, and uncertainties. Evidence also exists at different levels: an idea may be well established in human studies, supported only by observational evidence, promising but based largely on animal or laboratory research, or still highly speculative. I try to make those distinctions clear.
My goal is neither to embrace every promising new idea nor to dismiss an idea simply because definitive clinical trials have not yet been completed. I try to remain open-minded while maintaining appropriate skepticism, and to change my views as better evidence becomes available.
I have been using Perplexity and ChatGPT to help research medical and health issues. I have also used ChatGPT extensively in developing this website. I find these AI tools particularly helpful for researching topics, finding links to articles and studies, explaining complicated medical concepts, and editing and organizing the material.
I have tried to check important claims against original research and reputable medical sources. AI can make mistakes, and so can I. Readers should not assume that everything presented here is correct simply because it sounds authoritative.
The choice of subjects, researchers, articles, and videos—and the decision about what ultimately appears on the site—is mine.
My goal is to make complicated subjects easier to explore and to provide links that allow readers to look at the evidence and reach their own conclusions.
I am 82 and live in a continuing care retirement community (CCRC). My professional background is in finance and business. I have an MBA in finance and have worked as a financial analyst, entrepreneur, and financial advisor.
For more than 25 years, I have been interested in functional and preventive medicine. I have read widely about nutrition, metabolic health, cardiovascular disease, and brain health, including more than 15 books on health-related subjects.
My interest is also personal. I had a mild heart attack in 2004, and Alzheimer’s disease has affected both sides of my family. For more than three years, I have worked with a physician who follows Dale Bredesen’s approach to Alzheimer’s prevention.
I follow a largely low-carbohydrate, low-grain diet and have become increasingly interested in how nutrition, metabolism, exercise, sleep, and other lifestyle factors may influence long-term health.
I approach these subjects much as I approached problems during my professional career: read widely, examine different points of view, look at the evidence, and try to reach my own conclusions.