Welcome to SELF Principle, a 501c(3) nonprofit focusing on evidence-based health, nutrition, fitness, and wellness research. I’m Dr. Sean Hashmi, board-certified kidney disease and obesity medicine specialist, father of two beautiful daughters and one lucky man to have married my soulmate. :) I got into medicine because of losing my sister. My passion for nutrition and wellness started with...

We have talked about all sorts of studies on living longer, lowering your risk of heart disease, heart attack, and stroke. But the one thing that we haven't touched on so much is what happens in our golden years. One of the most devastating illnesses is dementia. Essentially, this disease is about forgetting things: forgetting who you are; forgetting your...

What's the mechanism behind how coffee protects your liver? Well, it turns out coffee is incredible at doing several things. First, it lowers cell growth. So if you have cancer cells that rapidly divide, coffee will slow their growth. Coffee also stimulates the breakdown of cells. In other words, cancer cells die faster. That's called apoptosis. Another thing coffee...

How does coffee affect your risk of dying? What? Let's take a look at the evidence. One of the largest studies looked at ten European countries, half a million people, with a follow-up of 16.4 years. The authors found that your risk of all-cause mortality, meaning dying from any disease, was 12% lower for men and 7% lower for...

What's the link between exercise and kidney disease? The more you exercise, the healthier you become, the more blood you drive to the kidney, and you get more benefits. If you look at studies exercising as little as 30 minutes a day, three to five times per week, can lower your risk of getting kidney disease by 18%. So...

What are five simple things you can do right now to lower your risk of developing kidney disease? Number one, make sure that you're exercising regularly. Studies show as little as 30 minutes of exercise three or more times per week can dramatically lower your risk of developing kidney disease. Don't eat late dinners, and don't snack before bedtime....

Walking is one of the most underrated exercises. When it comes to diabetes, walking can be very helpful in lowering blood sugars. However, what is the best way to walk, and what time of the day is optimal for glucose control. Here we look at interesting research comparing 45 minutes of continuous walking versus 15 minutes of walking after...

Does exercising improve your metabolism and help you burn more calories? Can you increase weight loss? I sit down with an evolutionary anthropologist at Duke University, Dr. Herman Pontzer. We dive into his new highly acclaimed book, Burn, to debunk common myths about metabolism, weight loss, and more.

How do you achieve better nutrition in the quest for a healthier life? It's not through crash diets or quick-fix schemes. In this interview, we get to hear Dr. Benjamin Ha's approach to optimizing health through progress over perfection! Dr. Ben Ha is a native of North Carolina but has lived in Bakersfield, California since 2003. He followed in...

How does fiber compare to fermented foods when it comes to optimal gut health? Fiber has been shown to lower cardiovascular mortality, cancer mortality, and even all-cause mortality. As little as 10 grams per day increase in fiber can help protect our heart, our kidneys, improve our gut and lower our cancer risk. Fermented foods have been shown to...

Dr. Alex McDonald is a family medicine doctor with a specialization in sports medicine. He focuses on treating the whole person. He is a big believer in exercise, nutrition, and sleep. In this interview, he discusses his approach to fitness, whole-foods plant-based diet, and sleep. He also discusses the COVID-19 epidemic, which has claimed close to 2 million lives,...

Chili peppers have been shown to have lots of health benefits. They lower the risk of heart disease and certain cancers, according to research from the University of Scranton. Chili peppers are loaded with capsaicin, which is a potent fat-burning agent. When you consume capsaicin, your body releases a hormone called lipoprotein lipase (LPL). High salt diets can lead...

Sleep is such an important part of life. Yet, most people don't get enough sleep and try to catch up by sleeping in extra on the weekends. Can this really help make for our sleep loss during the week? Poor sleep is linked to weight gain, insulin resistance, and diabetes. Does weekend sleep help any of these areas? Let's...

What's the link between diet and inflammation inside the body? We know that inflammation can cause all sorts of problems — everything from belly fat to heart disease, obesity, and cancer. It's also associated with constipation, low energy, high cholesterol, anxiety, depression. Are there certain foods that are better at reducing inflammation? On the other side, what foods do...

Cyrus Khambatta, Ph.D. earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University in 2003, then earned a PhD in Nutritional Biochemistry from the University of California at Berkeley in 2012. He is the co-author of many peer-reviewed scientific publications and is the co-author of the New York Times bestselling book Mastering Diabetes. He is the co-founder of...

When it comes to diets, most studies examine population cohorts using food frequency questionnaires. This makes it hard to control all aspects of the study. Here we look at an extremely well-designed crossover study that looks at the differences between a plant-based diet and a ketogenic diet? Which one is better for weight loss? How about health?

Belly fat is linked to serious health problems such as diabetes, heart disease, strokes, high blood pressure, cancer, fatty liver, and even depression. What exercise is the most effective when it comes to reducing the 2 types of belly fat: subcutaneous and visceral? Let's look at the research to see how you can optimize your workouts right now. When...

What are the ideal foods to eat for heart disease, for overall health? I sit down with Dr. Columbus Batiste to discuss his work on the Slave Food project, his upcoming book, and how to make lasting changes in your lifestyle.

The obesity epidemic has been exploding. It's estimated that 85% of adults will be overweight or obese by 2030. The food we eat has a marked influence on our health. Poor eating habits can lead to a wide range of health issues, including heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. Let's examine what foods are the most...

One of the few MDs who is also a trained chef, Linda Shiue has dedicated her life’s work to bridging the gap between the medical, nutrition, and culinary worlds. She is the founder and director of Thrive Kitchen, a teaching kitchen at a large national healthcare system, where she educates patients on cooking craveably delicious, healthy meals. A practicing...