Sibiriak

To be consistent, it should be pointed out that the author of the study you cite, Mark Messina, works for the soy industry. Not that that automatically discredits his many papers in support of soy, but it does suggest that his work is likely biased to some extent and that one should be sure to review research and arguments from other sources as well.

Epidemiological studies are not the same as purely logical mathematical proofs. They are rarely "refuted" outright. Generally they are subject to criticism of greater or lesser cogency related to methodological issues, possible confounding factors, doubts raised by other lines of evidence, etc. Regarding the study in question, here are a few examples of critical assessments: Brenda Davis Vesanto Melina, "Becoming Vegan: Comprehensive Edition" Harvard School of Public Health -- Straight Talk About Soy Soy Part 1—Main Controversies by Jack Norris, RD

Interesting point, Dean. First of all, I didn't refer to "high cholesterol" in that brief remark, but rather, admittedly vaguely, "higher cholesterol". And I certainly wasn't trying to make any kind of definitive statement about ideal cholesterol levels or initiate a debate on the issue. I need to pull up the studies I was thinking about, but here's one quickly. (It's getting late in my time zone, GMT +7.) Total cholesterol and all-cause mortality by sex and age: a prospective cohort study among 12.8 million adults (2019) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-38461-y

Two groups of overweight people with borderline high to high cholesterol, according to mainstream risk analysis. (Btw, there are a number of studies which show higher cholesterol levels associated with reduced all-cause mortality.)

Full text here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs40520-019-01364-7 Pretty high TC levels all around. (Same with BMI.) 6.13 mmol/L ≈ 237.05 mg/dL 6.47 mmol/L ≈ 250.20 mg/dL (To Convert From mmol/L to mg/dL, for TC, HDL, and LDL cholesterol multiply mmol/L by 38.67)

Tom, thanks for pointing out this study. I found a more recent full text article elaborating on the same study. Pilot Study of Novel Intermittent Fasting Effects on Metabolomic and Trimethylamine N-oxide Changes During 24-hour Water-Only Fasting in the FEELGOOD Trial (2019) Apparently the study shows that if you eliminate the substrate for TMAO production, TMAO production ceases, which would seem to be quite predictable. There appears to be no effect on the TMA-producing bacteria themselves, since upon resumption of food intake, there is a rapid resumption of TMAO production. The possibility that the TMA-producing bacteria are eliminated during fasting is seen as highly improbable: While fasting does give the cardiovascular system a short break from TMAO production, it would be entirely speculative to infer a long-term positive effect via that mechanism. In summary, intermittent fasting would produce intermittent breaks from TMAO production but would not reduce the total amount of TMAO production in a given extended period. Those intermittent TMAO breaks may or may not have positive effects. In order to reduce total TMAO production over a longer period, it seems one would have to: 1) reduce substrate (choline, carnitine etc.) and/or 2) reduce TMA-producing gut bacteria (through diet, cruciferous vegetables, garlic etc. intake, etc.), and/or 3) reduce the conversion of TMA to TMAO in the liver (as discussed previously.) Intermittent fasting no doubt has positive effects through various mechanisms apart from TMAO reduction. And there is still no compelling evidence that TMAO production is a problem for healthy folks on a low-calorie plant based diet who aren't supplementing with substantial amounts of choline/PC or carnitine.

Consuming wild Atlantic salmon looks problematic from an ecological standpoint.

Nice work. Interesting site. That is indeed a critical question.

Mike, it's a personal decision. In my case, I had confidence that the doctor performing the colonoscopy was highly competent, and I had the knowledge and experience to do an excellent (and enjoyable) prep. In those circumstances, the chance of a puncture are extraordinarily small. And it's not true that long-term consequences are simply a "big unknown" as you suggest. Furthermore, I do not believe a fecal test can prevent colon cancer incidence as a colonoscopy can when problematic polyps are detected and removed. Besides, "almost as effective" is not at all reassuring to me when it comes to a life and death issue (not to mention having to deal with all the pain, stress, inconvenience, discomfort and indignity of doing what it takes to survive colon cancer.) Again, it's a personal choice, as the article you posted discusses, risks vs benefits assessment being different in each individual case . I wouldn't second guess anyone else's informed decision.

Age is a key risk factor. My age right now alone puts me over 3%, even at a low BMI and zero additional risk factors. I've had two colonoscopies. I'm extremely glad I did, no regrets at all. The last one went so well, so smoothly, so easily--the whole process from beginning to end was in fact enjoyable. Prep consisted of a three day diluted vegetable juice fast (which I continued after the colonoscopy for a total of five days), a few enemas and a small prep check to confirm I was fully cleaned out. During with colonoscopy I was slightly sedated via fentanyl, which was quite pleasurable. I watched the video throughout and chatted with the doc. He commented that I had done an excellent prep and that I had a normal healthy-looking colon. Clean bill of health. Peace of mind. No gut problems whatsoever.

Thanks Karl for those interesting observations. Josh Mitteldorf has an informative discussion of the study here.

Thanks Tom, should be interesting. I doubt there will be any immediate disaster.

If you keep going this way, you could become the incredible McHulk.

That will be an adventure of sorts. Good luck! I'm curious, what kind of effects /endpoints will you evaluating? What's the time frame?

Thanks Ron for this recent article. I haven't read the whole text yet, but I jumped to the conclusion to see what the above statement was about.