Frontline Health

#114 - Health Headline Highlights: Small Decisions with A Long-Term Impact

Troy Duell

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Small daily choices can change your biomarkers in a big way. We dig into the most useful health headlines of the month and turn them into simple, science-backed moves you can make today: why vitamin D3 beats D2, how to drink coffee for longevity, and what a single soda does to your liver over time—yes, even diet soda...

We start with vitamin D and the surprising research showing D2 can deplete D3, the potent form your body makes from sunlight. Then we shift to coffee’s polyphenols and chlorogenic acids, which are linked to slower biological aging, better heart health, and improved brain function. You’ll learn the sweet spot for intake, the role of genetics in caffeine metabolism, and how to time your cup to protect sleep while keeping the benefits.

From there, we break down a large study tying one daily soda to a significantly higher risk of metabolic dysfunction–associated liver disease, whether it’s sugar-sweetened or artificially sweetened. We talk practical swaps, gut health, and why water still wins. We also share a powerful take on kindness as a health intervention—how empathy circuits reduce inflammatory signals and spread positive behavior through your social network—and explore how fruit-rich diets can protect lung function in polluted environments through antioxidant and anti-inflammatory pathways.

To close, we unpack the new obesity definition that looks beyond BMI to waist measures that better predict real risk, and we get honest about GLP-1 medications. There’s a smarter way to protect muscle, prevent rebounds, and make fat loss stick: protein-forward eating, strength training, fiber, sleep, and consistency. Subscribe for clear, actionable insights, share this with someone who needs a nudge, and leave a review to help more people take ownership of their health.

Thanks for listening to this edition of Frontline Health by Centurion. Remember, you are your best health advocate.

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SPEAKER_00:

Today on the Frontline Health Podcast.

SPEAKER_01:

Attention, it said drinking more than one can of any soda daily was linked to liver disease. Its subheadline said drinking more than one can of any soda increases the risk for liver disease by at least 50%. And it specifically pointed out diet drinks, saying that they may harm liver health. And they did a study of over 120,000, 123,000 people, which is a lot, and they consumed just one serving of artificially sweetened drinks daily and saw an increased risk of metabolic dysfunction associated with liver disease by 60%, which was similar to sugar-sweetened drinks, which raised risk by 50%. So both diet drinks and regular sugary drinks saw a contribution towards fat buildup in the liver, inflammation, and fatigue. So we need to be mindful of that. I know we've talked about that on some former podcasts, how sugar can really affect the liver. But this is another study that just came out, which I would say, when you have 123,000 participants in it, certainly speaks volumes to the danger of continuing to drink these sugary and diet drinks.

SPEAKER_00:

Hello, and welcome back to another episode of the Frontline Health Podcast by Centurion Health, where we share health news, tips, and insights to help you elevate your health. My name is Evan Patrick here with me, Troy Duell, founder and CEO of Centurion Health. We're bringing you another round of health headline highlights from the past month. Troy, how are you today?

SPEAKER_01:

Great, Evan. Excited to be here. Had some uh crazy highlights that we came across in the last month for sure.

SPEAKER_00:

We really did. And what I love about this round is I think there are going to be a lot of practical applications for people that they can really take away. We're not just getting into things that are happening at sort of an upper level of the scientific community. I think there's a lot of real takeaways for people in this episode.

SPEAKER_01:

For sure. And I think the first one really uh jumped out at us when we looked at the headline. It said vitamin D2 supplements may deplete the more effective vitamin D3. And then the subheadline was choosing the wrong type of vitamin D supplement may do more harm than good, researchers say. And I think that really jumped out to me as we were looking at it because we're talking about having or telling lots of people they need to get more vitamin D, they need to get more vitamin D, whether that's through the sun or through supplementation. But I don't think we ever talked about the form of vitamin D. And the form really matters. There was new research that showed vitamin D2 supplements out of the University of Surrey, which I'm not sure where that is. Maybe that's in um, I don't know, sounds like Australia, maybe, but they found that people who took the vitamin D to improve their health may have unintentionally lowered their body's stores of vitamin D3, which is the more potent and beneficial form of the vitamin. So again, during the winter, especially when sunlight exposure is low, they're suggesting that we need to be sure that we're taking the vitamin D3, which is the cola calciferol. Not real easy for me to say, but uh that's the form that people need to be taking. Um, they actually did this study on 655 adults, and they found that it led to significantly lower vitamin D3 levels on average compared to those who didn't take vitamin D. And they really believed that it was because the body increased the enzyme activity that cleared both forms of the vitamin D in the body.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, so one thing you kind of alluded to is that a lot of people get their vitamin D from the sun. Uh, so my question then is what form of vitamin D are we getting from the sun?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so the form that we get is the colocalciferol. So that's the form that your body is making as soon as sun hits us. So you want to be taking that same form in order to make sure our body works. We know that vitamin D3 is the one that really helps with the bones, it helps with immune function, and just overall body regulation itself. So that's the one you want to look for. Make sure that it says either vitamin D3 or colocalciferol on the back of your vitamin supplements, and that's the way to go.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, that is good to know. I think a lot of people get kind of confused and lost in the weeds sometimes with supplements, and they they want to know how they can be sure that it's a good supplement because they're aware that there are so many bad ones out there. So very simple recommendation just looking for that vitamin D3 instead of D2.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00:

Our next health headline has to do with one of my favorite warm beverages, especially when it's cold outside as it has been getting cooler lately. The headline reads, I'm a nutritionist. Here's how I drink coffee for health. Subheadline, strategic sipping turns this daily ritual into a science-backed boost for longevity and well-being. Some of the highlights in this article, coffee offers wide-ranging health benefits. Beyond boosting alertness, research links regular coffee consumption to slower biological aging, improved heart health, reduced diabetes risk, and enhanced brain function. Coffee's benefits come primarily from its polyphenols and chlorogenic acids, which reduce inflammation and oxidative stress while supporting metabolism and vascular health. And we know that also it's really important to reap the maximum benefits, uh, moderation and timing, that they're really key in this. Studies are showing that two to four cups of coffee per day provides maximum benefits and lowers the risk of disease and death from all causes. Drinking coffee in the morning aligns best with circadian rhythms and metabolism, while filtered black and black coffee maximize antioxidants and minimize cholesterol-raising compounds. But we do know that there is a personal aspect to this, as there is with pretty much every area of our health. So personalized and mindful consumption of coffee matters. Genetic factors influence caffeine metabolism. We know that fast metabolizers tolerate more coffee safely, while slow metabolizers should limit their intake. Avoiding adding sugars, choosing fresh beans, and being aware of health conditions like hypertension, anxiety, or pregnancy help ensure coffee supports rather than harms long-term health. This is something that's really great to hear as a coffee drinker, and especially as somebody who really just likes to drink black coffee without adding anything into it most of the time. And I want to know that one of the things that it seems like you see all over social media is people advocating for delaying caffeine intake or coffee drinking for most people in the morning a certain number of hours after waking up. And when we read all of these benefits that coffee has for our health in terms of longevity and things of that nature, how can somebody get the most benefit from coffee with timing being a factor? Should people delay their coffee drinking a certain number of hours after waking, or is it okay to drink it immediately upon waking up?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I really think uh you hit the nail on the head with the summary, which was how it's so personalized. So different people respond differently, we know, to medications, to supplements, and in this case, even coffee, because it's the caffeine that most of us are looking for to try to get. I am not a coffee drinker, um, so it's not my thing, but it was an interesting article for me because my wife loves coffee and she has to have it about one in the afternoon, and she gets the iced coffee and she adds milk to it. But I I think the key with any of this is if you start to see that anxiety levels go up or your sleep patterns start to get interrupted and it messes up your routines and your health, then you want to change and maybe back up the time that you have the coffee. You know, it's one of those things that probably not great. Uh, there are certain people who are fast metabolizers that can take it around five o'clock or after dinner or something and not mess up their sleep. But if you notice that you can't sleep or that it's not a real restful sleep, then change your patterns and move it back and say, I'm not going to have coffee after three o'clock or two o'clock, whatever, whatever it is that helps you make sure that your body is responding the best way possible.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, that's really good. And it it sounds like there is kind of a time window, like you said, that's not hard and fast for everyone, but where people can kind of play around with and see what works best for them. Because I know I've heard the half-life of caffeine is somewhere around six hours. And so for people who do drink it later in the day, it's important for them to know that that caffeine is probably not going to be completely out of their system if they're drinking it later in the afternoon or evening when they're trying to go to sleep.

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. And again, uh, how do how do you drink your coffee? What do you do? Are you a first thing in the morning or do you typically wait or have you noticed?

SPEAKER_00:

You know, I don't have the uh the perfect influencer morning routine. So sometimes it kind of varies. Usually, if I am going to the gym in the morning or running, I will not drink my coffee prior to doing that, and I'll end up having my coffee a little bit later in the day. I do feel like I'm able to maybe focus a little bit better after that when I have, you know, because I'll typically eat my breakfast after a workout before drinking coffee, even. And I think they're there are different factors getting my blood flow in and moving, and then also getting some protein in first thing in the morning. I think that probably helps my focus as well. But also a lot of times I will just wake up and drink my cup of coffee while I'm reading my Bible in the mornings if I'm not working out that day. So, you know, to each his own. Uh, I've tried different things and I feel like both really work well for me. I enjoy drinking coffee in either scenario. So um I'm definitely gonna stick with it and keep playing around with different things.

SPEAKER_01:

Nice. I like it. I know uh to stick with our beverage theme, it seems like this next headline certainly caught our attention. It said drinking more than one can of any soda daily was linked to liver disease. Its subheadline said drinking more than one can of any soda increases the risk for liver disease by at least 50%. And it specifically pointed out diet drinks, saying that they may harm liver health. And they did a study of over a hundred and twenty thousand, hundred and twenty-three thousand people, which is a lot, and they consumed just one serving of artificially sweetened drinks daily and saw an increased risk of metabolic dysfunction associated with liver disease by 60%, which was similar to sugar-sweetened drinks, which raised risk by 50%. So both diet drinks and regular sugary drinks uh saw a contribution towards fat buildup in the liver, inflammation, and fatigue. So we need to be mindful of that. I know we've talked about that on some uh former podcasts, how sugar can really affect the liver, but this is another study that just came out, which I would say when you have 123,000 participants in it, certainly speaks volumes to the danger of continuing to drink these sugary and diet drinks. Uh, it does go on to say that sugar-sweetened beverages raised liver disease risk by spiking blood sugar, it promoted weight gain, and it increased uric acid. While those artificially sweetened drinks harmed the gut health, it altered insulin response and it disrupted the fullness cues. So our body wasn't sure whether it was full or not based on what it was drinking, and that it really went down to just one can per day. And I think it goes back and reiterates the fact that our safest bet with any beverage is to always go back to water and make sure that we're having the right diet, we're having the right fiber intake, real foods, fruits, vegetables, lean proteins to really help support our liver and our metabolic health overall.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, this is really pretty alarming when you sit back and think about it because a lot of people, you know, that's such an ingrained part of their daily routine. They go to the refrigerator and grab a can of soda, even diet soda, every single day and don't really think much of it. Whereas people are a little more attuned to the increased risk of liver disease connected to something like alcoholic beverages. And this is telling us that drinking one can of any soda, diet or regular a day increases the risk for liver disease by at least 50%. So that makes me kind of wonder, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

It it and I think before we got on and started talking about this, one of the questions you had asked was how does that compare with somebody who has liver disease from alcoholism? And we did a little bit of research just before we got on that showed that those people who drink heavily are the ones who have the biggest issue with liver disease versus just one can of soda per day. So there are some studies that show maybe medium intake on alcohol can affect your liver, but really leans towards those people who are on the heavy drinkers that cause liver disease when you're talking about alcohol intake, which is really kind of staggering to me because you we always think that, oh, well, if you drink a lot, you're gonna have liver disease. But the truth is, one can of diet soft drinks or sugary soft drinks has a greater effect on our liver than drinking heavily for people who drink alcohol.

SPEAKER_00:

Not to mention some of the other health risks we've seen, even with diet sodas that we've talked about previously on this podcast, like increased risk for type 2 diabetes and all kinds of other things as well, metabolic issues. I just think this is something that is not talked about enough. People really need to reconsider drinking sodas on a daily basis.

SPEAKER_01:

For sure. It should be a treat as opposed to the very first drink you go after on a regular basis.

SPEAKER_00:

On a much lighter note, our next health headline, How Kindness Can Enhance Your Life and Your Genes. The subheadline is kindness begins with empathy, activating brain circuits that mirror others' feelings and foster compassion. Kindness transforms both giver and receiver. And author Kent Nurburn's true story of driving an elderly woman to hospice. It illustrates how compassion creates profound human connection. His experience underscores that small, selfless acts like helping someone in need can provide deep emotional fulfillment and a sense of purpose. And this is not just anecdotal. You know, science actually shows that kindness has a real benefit to both the body and the mind. There are studies that reveal that performing kind acts not only boosts happiness, but also produces measurable biological effects, such as reducing inflammation-related gene activity and stress markers in immune cells. Neuroscience research also confirms that kindness activates empathy circuits in the brain, reinforcing emotional and physical well-being. And we know that kindness tends to spread and can actually be cultivated. Generous acts inspire others to act kindly. This creates a ripple effect through the networks and the people that we're around, up to three degrees of separation. It's kind of the pay it forward mentality. Simple practices such as mindfulness, awe experiences, and intentional habits, having the mindset of when X happens, I will Y to help build compassion as a daily reflex and making it something that is just kind of built into the rhythms of our life and helps improve individual lives and communities alike.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and I think uh it's a great uh headline and article to go over, especially as we move into Thanksgiving and that time of year where hopefully we're a little bit more mindful about being thankful. But it is interesting uh that piece about generous acts inspire others. I always uh am amazed when when you're driving in traffic and andor you're trying to get out of a parking lot or concert or whatever, you'll have somebody who waves you on to let them out, and then your automatic reaction is well, the next person that comes up that needs to come out, I'm gonna let them out. That's right. And it kind of does just become contagious uh when you're doing those things. And I think that's something that it is a good reminder for all of us.

SPEAKER_00:

And it works the other way as well. You know, negativity spreads and is contagious. So I think it's uh it's all about the intentional choice, like you said, to spread kindness and know that you're either going to be amplifying kindness or negativity. Why not choose kindness?

SPEAKER_01:

Absolutely. And uh kind of leading into our next headline, something that we talk a lot about is diet and exercise. This is one in particular talking about diets and our health, and that's what kind of made it jump out to me anyway, as a health headline that we needed to discuss. It says fruit may help shield lungs from air pollution. New study finds that eating more fruit could help keep your lungs healthier in polluted cities. Uh, pretty amazing statement and headline, but they did a study in the UK of about 200,000 people, and they found that women who ate four or more servings of fruit each day had significantly better lung function in polluted environments than those people who ate less. Uh, they did not see the same effect in men because men consumed less fruit overall, which is not all that surprising. We typically don't have as good of a diet as a woman does, and we don't pay as good of attention to our diet as women do. But uh their belief is that those antioxidants from the fruits and the anti-inflammatory compounds within the fruits was what really was driving the protective effect of those lungs, and found that those people who ate the fruits were able to get rid of the pollutants from their vehicles when they were driving around or from factories that were in the area. Um and then they typically recommend ways to reduce that air pollution, so increase your fruit intake, but then of course reduce air pollution by getting better air quality. Use those HEPA air filters indoors, avoid high traffic routes, and if you do go on high traffic routes, keep your windows up and make sure that your car has a HEPA wear um HEPA air filter in it. And then if it's truly a very polluted area, then they recommend the N95 mask to help with poor air quality. Now, some could say eh if you're doing a mask, you're inhaling a lot more carbon dioxide because you're not getting uh much oxygen, so you could have an argument against that, but um one way to help reduce that and hopefully decrease the exposure of uh the bad air and certainly make sure that your diet is filled with more fruits.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, that's really pretty fascinating because you know, I tend to when you're talking about something like protecting your body against air pollution, your mind goes straight to the air filters and things of that nature, but you're saying that our diet actually, by getting more antioxidants in our diet through, you know, things like berries, other types of fruits that have antioxidants can actually help protect us as well. I'm curious, how does this actually work in your body? You know, getting these fruits in your diet, how do these antioxidants actually work to protect your lungs from pollution?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, those antioxidants will go after any free radicals or toxins that come into your body. So they help bolster the immune system and attack anything that's not supposed to be there. And we know from having talked about things like quercetin and luteolin, which all are derived from fruits, those are the things that we're getting in our body that will help drive out any of those pollutants and toxins that we may be taking in, whether we breathe them in or even eat them, um, we will or consume them, we'll get them out of our body much more effectively if we have the right diet. And that's that's ultimately what we're trying to do is just uh keep those free radicals that are in our body that are trying to cause havoc on our cells. And uh those antioxidants come in and try to kick them out, make sure they don't do what they uh are trying to do in our bodies.

SPEAKER_00:

Amazing. As we'll see in our final health headline of the day, we really do need to be paying more attention to our diet and the things that we're putting into our bodies. This final headline reads nearly seven in ten American adults meet the new definition of obese. The definition takes into consideration body measurements such as waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio, and waist-to-hip ratio. A Harvard-led study found that nearly 70% of American adults now qualify as obese under updated criteria. As we just said, that includes waist circumference, body fat measures alongside BMI, which we do know historically BMI has been a little bit misleading. Uh so these other with these other factors being thrown in there, we can maybe have a little bit more confidence in this definition of obesity. Previously, only 43% were considered obese under BMI alone. Researchers say this new framework reveals the true scale of excess body fat in the population, and it's actually worse than we thought. Anthropometric measures capture the hidden health risks. The new definition identifies people with high waist to hip or waist to height ratios as obese, even if their BMI is normal or only slightly elevated. About 26% of participants who were previously labeled non-obese were reclassified, and nearly half of these individuals showed organ dysfunction or physical limitations, which are signs of clinical obesity. This has all kinds of broader implications for health policy and treatment. Experts argue the findings highlight the need for more nuanced obesity treatments as the new criteria better predicts risks for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and early mortality. The CDC continues to warn that obesity remains a major U.S. health crisis with the highest rates concentrated in the Midwest and the South. Troy, that's that's really kind of gloomy. Um it's not a good outlook for public health in the U.S. What's kind of your initial reaction to these findings?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, in a way, I think it's good because what it does is they have tried to create a better way of testing for obesity. I think for the longest time there was this idea that if it's based on weight and height alone, that there were some people who are being labeled obese that shouldn't have been. And then there are a lot of people who were obese that weren't getting labeled that way. And this way, I think it takes much, it takes into account people's health as a whole and doesn't just look at the BMI metric. Because I think the BMI metric is certainly something that uh was wrong. But obviously, the fact that now seven in ten, and I think it's not really much of a surprise for anybody who looks around, we certainly have an obese epidemic within our country. And hopefully this will wake people up and allow them to go, all right, I I can't fool myself anymore, or this new metric now allows me to see me as what I really am, and how do I now take uh the right steps in order to overcome that obesity as a whole? So I think it's a good thing. The other good thing that I saw out of this is it said the Midwest had surpassed the South in obesity, which I was never sure was ever going to happen. As a guy from the South, we get a bad rap uh for our fried foods and our obesity. Well, I don't know if we got better or if the Midwest just got worse. Um, but either way, we're no longer the bottom of the barrel when it comes to obesity, which is great.

SPEAKER_00:

And it's ironic that these are the regions of the country that often have the best food.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, it it certainly is the case because uh we like to keep our taste buds happy in the South for sure.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, that's right. Um, you know, one thing I want to point out that I think is pretty interesting from this, you mentioned that BMI, you know, what I have heard in the past is that BMI was misleading for people who were told that they were obese, but in reality they're probably pretty healthy. I had never heard of that working the other way around and misleading people into thinking that they're in a healthy weight range when they actually have too much body fat. So I think that's really interesting that that kind of works both ways because I've never heard anybody point it out in the opposite direction.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, so you could have somebody who has very skinny arms and skinny legs, and when they do a fat test, they could come out and almost average out, but they have a very, very big gut. Um, and that should still be considered obese. But because of the way BMI works out, they may not be considered obese because they've got very skinny legs and skinny arms, and with their height and their weight, if that's all you're taking into consideration, they may fall in line with those parameters. But if you get an individual who's maybe 5'10, not super tall, but they're a very stocky individual and they're very lean and lots of muscle, they could be considered obese because for their height, they're weighing more than they should, but they don't have any fat on them.

SPEAKER_00:

Um perfect example. Yeah. Sorry, I was just gonna say we we had fun with uh with one of my friends in high school. I remember a time we had a health fair, and this guy he was a little bit of an undersized linebacker, but a very skilled player, very fast. I mean, he probably had six to eight percent body fat on him, very muscular. And he was, like you said, you know, about six feet tall and and very muscular and stocky. And uh they told him at this health fair, based on his BMI, he really needed to seek out new forms of exercise and to change his diet, when in reality he was one of the best athletes at the school and in incredibly good shape.

SPEAKER_01:

Yep. Uh, which is why I'm I'm encouraged that we've at least changed that so we don't fool those who have an issue and shame those who don't have an issue at all. So hopefully we're moving in the right direction with that.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, something clearly has to be done. Uh kind of a final question for you. We see a lot of people who recognize that they need to lose body fat turning to these GLP1 medications that are so popular today, but we know that they come with other health risks, such as losing muscle mass, uh nutrient deficiencies, that kind of thing. What are your thoughts on this and what would you propose to be the real solution on a mass scale for decreasing the amount of obesity that we have in this country?

SPEAKER_01:

That's a uh a loaded question and certainly a difficult one to jump on because we'll probably step on some toes with the answer. You know, the GLP ones have shown to really help people lose weight and to lose it fast. The problem is you do lose about 50% of your muscle mass, which means if you get off that GLP1, there's a greater likelihood that you're gonna have a rebound and you're gonna end up having more fat and coming back to the same weight that you were before, but at an even less healthy rate. So, really, it comes down to a lot of discipline, watching what you're eating diet and exercise, doing those simple things will help along the way. Now, I also understand there's some people who diet and exercise, they've done it, they've worked on it. And if you do it for six months to a year, then maybe a month of the GLP ones or something along those lines may help kickstart it. But doing that short term and not letting it become a part of your ongoing um health routine, I think is the key to really using those things wisely and making sure that we aren't using it as a crutch, but instead using it as just uh a support to help kickstart something and then move you down the road and change your diet and exercise after you get that done right.

SPEAKER_00:

Fantastic insights. Thank you for sharing all of that, Troy. Is there anything else that you want to share with our listeners based on these headlines? Or just in general, before we sign off and into this episode?

SPEAKER_01:

I don't think so. I think obviously all of them really point to one of the main thrusts that we have as Centurion Health, which is helping us take ownership or better ownership of our health. And I think that's where uh good health comes from when we step up, when we see these areas, and then we start implementing them little by little. You don't need to jump in and eat the whole elephant in one bite, but certainly do some of these little things, cut out those sugary drinks, you know, recognize if you've got health issues and be honest with yourself and start taking the steps in the right direction. I think that's that's the best thing any of us can do in order to start taking better ownership of our health.

SPEAKER_00:

Great stuff, Troy. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Frontline Health Podcast by Centurion Health. As always, we encourage you to go out and take ownership of your health because you are your best health advocate. If you enjoyed what you heard today on the podcast, please consider leaving us a review. We would love to hear your feedback and connect with you further. You can also follow us on Instagram, X, TikTok, and YouTube. And for safe, effective, and affordable health and wellness products made in the USA, visit www.centurion.health. Thanks for listening. We'll see you next time.