Naturopathic Medicine: An Admirably Specific Tool.

Modern medicine is often done at the expense of individual.  You may get your own dosage of a medication, but that medication must meet with a very wide audience before it is truly profitable.  The so called "orphan diseases" rarely have researched medications specifically for them because they don't represent enough of a market. 

In the same way that a hammer can be used to open a bottle of wine, modern medicine can be used for any purpose.  But if one wishes to preserve the shape and texture of the human individual involved, Naturopathic medicine provides a far more elegant method of intervention. 

Just as a corkscrew winds its way deeper into the layers of an illness, drawing out the illness bit by bit to its core, so also does Naturopathic medicine wind itself to the heart of the issue and withdraw the entire issue in one go.  It is slower going, and the impatient patient who wishes instant results sees the explosive power of the pharmaceutical drug and is intoxicated.  But after a few years of opening up their illnesses with a hammer, few patients remain as enamored with the side effects of the methods used.  At that point they search out the slower, more specific route to health.  See http://www.naturopathic.org/ for your local licensed N.D.

Now Here's a Diet Book: Don't Eat Anything At All!

The concept of Breatharianism is one that discusses starvation as a spiritual practice.  It is clear that humans can subsist on far less food than western societies consume.  But it is also clear that entire societies would REALLY benefit from widespread Breatharian practices because they have no food.  My suggestion is that all Breatharians become missionaries.  No more hanging out in spiritual retreats, if you've got a knack for living without food, then we need you to be on call. 

Here's an in depth look at a variety of Breatharians. 

Personally, I'm not here yet.  I haven't even given up meat, so I suppose I'm still way down on the whole perfect meal scale. 

One of The Few Business Leaders I Listen To. Tom Peters.

I listen to a great number of things and read business books whenever I get a chance.  Most of them have a single idea and run with it.  Tom Peters has lots of ideas, and they make sense.  Really inspirational stuff, and from a self-proclaimed geezer. 

People should stop following the bank robber geezer bandit and pay more attention to this guy.  One of his gems: women buy everything!  Sell to women. 

What Do We Know About Nutrition? Are Eggs Bad for You?

So Elaine Magee, who has written thirty five books on nutrition, posted: Nobody Needs a Six Egg Omelet.  Several readers pointed out that the cholesterol in eggs was the good, HDL, kind.  How did someone who posts on WebMD and has written that many books on nutrition miss this obvious fact?

The truth is, we can't even agree if eggs are good or bad.  I've posted the latest medline battle below.  Looks like both sides are determined they are right.  The take home message for the layman?  The experts don't know what they're doing.  Even the ones that WebMD has anointed as our nutrition gurus. 

Are Eggs Bad For You?




Can J Cardiol. 2010 Nov;26(9):e336-9.

Dietary cholesterol and egg yolks: not for patients at risk of vascular disease.

Spence JD, Jenkins DJ, Davignon J.

Stroke Prevention & Atheroschlerosis Research Centre, Robarts Research Institute, London, Ontario. dspence@robarts.ca

Abstract

A widespread misconception has been developing among the Canadian public and among physicians. It is increasingly believed that consumption of dietary cholesterol and egg yolks is harmless. There are good reasons for long- standing recommendations that dietary cholesterol should be limited to less than 200 mg/day; a single large egg yolk contains approximately 275 mg of cholesterol (more than a day's worth of cholesterol). Although some studies showed no harm from consumption of eggs in healthy people, this outcome may have been due to lack of power to detect clinically relevant increases in a low-risk population. Moreover, the same studies showed that among participants who became diabetic during observation, consumption of one egg a day doubled their risk compared with less than one egg a week. Diet is not just about fasting cholesterol; it is mainly about the postprandial effects of cholesterol, saturated fats, oxidative stress and inflammation. A misplaced focus on fasting lipids obscures three key issues. Dietary cholesterol increases the susceptibility of low-density lipoprotein to oxidation, increases postprandial lipemia and potentiates the adverse effects of dietary saturated fat. Dietary cholesterol, including egg yolks, is harmful to the arteries. Patients at risk of cardiovascular disease should limit their intake of cholesterol. Stopping the consumption of egg yolks after a stroke or myocardial infarction would be like quitting smoking after a diagnosis of lung cancer: a necessary action, but late. The evidence presented in the current review suggests that the widespread perception among the public and health care professionals that dietary cholesterol is benign is misplaced, and that improved education is needed to correct this misconception.

PMID: 21076725

Arch Latinoam Nutr. 2006 Dec;56(4):315-20.

[Egg: concepts, analyses and controversies in the human health].

[Article in Spanish]

Novello D, Franceschini P, Quintiliano DA, Ost PR.

Universidade Estadual do Centro-Oeste-PR, Brasil.

Abstract

Cholesterol rich-foods consumption has been related as a causing factor for heart ischemic disease. Because the high cholesterol content of the yolk, the egg consumption has been decreased in spite of it, egg is a complete food, rich in many nutrients, and economically accessible. The cholesterol content in egg yolk has also important properties for the human organism. The present work had the objective to review the scientific literature about egg's cholesterol, describing the possible consequences on the human health and wellbeing, its effect when they are enriched, and the chemical composition in relation to its lipidic profile. Information for this review was collected through national and international inquiries. According to this information, most of the studies on egg consumption are not related to the risk of cardiopathies in healthy people. Also, in people with diabetes mellitus, there is scarce evidence to drawn any conclusion about egg consumption and cardiopathies. Omega-3 egg enrichment presumably possesses a protective effect against cancer, despite its cholesterol content remains unaltered. Many of the Food Chemical Composition Tables contain different values on egg's fat composition, so it should be continuously update to reduce these discrepancies. Also, more studies on omega-3 enriched eggs are necessary for deeper conclusions on their cardio-protective effect.

PMID: 17425175

J Med Assoc Thai. 2008 Mar;91(3):400-7.

High-density lipoprotein cholesterol changes after continuous egg consumption in healthy adults.

Mayurasakorn K, Srisura W, Sitphahul P, Hongto PO.

Department of Social Medicine, Samutsakhon General Hospital, Samutsakhon 74000, Thailand. drkorapat@hotmail.com

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship between continuous egg consumption with Thai life-style dietary and serum lipids of healthy young people.

MATERIAL AND METHOD: Fifty-six participants with an average age of 35 were enrolled. In an experimental method of cholesterol intake, all participants were fed an additional egg per day to their basic diet. This project ran for 12 weeks.

RESULTS: The 12-week egg consumption significantly increased serum total cholesterol by 0.27 +/- 0.15 mmol/L (10.43 +/- 5.80 mg/dL) (p < 0.05). The HDL-cholesterol (HDL-c) increased significant by 0.55 +/- 0.06 mmol/L (21.80 +/- 2.25 mg/dL) (p < 0.001) while the total cholesterol (TC) decreased as the HDL-c ratio was 0.94 +/- 1.1 (p < 0.001). No significant changes were found in LDL-cholesterol (LDL-c) and triglyceride levels. The present study showed that small serum LDL-c changed in response to change of egg consumption. Additionally, 12-week egg consumption also resulted in an increasing HDL-c level.

CONCLUSION: In the majority of healthy adults, an addition of one egg per day to a normal fat diet could raise HDL-c levels and decreased the ratio of TC toHDL-c. Therefore, egg consumption might benefit blood cholesterol.

PMID: 18575296

What To Read This Winter: Ulysses.

After giving Homer his well deserved due, Joyce's Ulysses inspires more fear.  Homer is available in many very readable translations, but Joyce's text defies even printers.  They just found many more errors and printed an updated version, which is supposedly much clearer.  Certain passages are now much more readable, according to Joyce experts.  Could've fooled me. 

This time I started Joyce from the back.  The last chapter is stream of consciousness (no punctuation), but rewards the reader with some very vulgar things.  We've also got chapters as plays, a legal brief, and a range of other literary forms.  I really enjoyed it, because I allowed myself to skim it and didn't care that much about whether or not I "got" the plot line.  Not much really seems to happen, which is fine.  I was reminded of Tristan Shandy, who wrote a very vulgar, very wandering piece and was declared insane.  Joyce is declared a genius for doing the same thing.  Anyway, it passed a very long, snowed in afternoon this past month.  Recommendation:  skim, and see if it really is all that intimidating. 

  

Generation Xers: Finally, our own Superbowl Ad!

Penelope Trunk, she of the dollar tree book that really deserved better, has written a fitting description of Generation X today.  Little did I know that my own struggle with work and family describes what my generation has experienced.  Her blog connection is here.

Recycling from Weight Loss History: Simeons and HCG

Those who do not read history are doomed to spend their days starving themselves and giving themselves injections of pregnancy hormone.  Simeons' book has been rereleased, in large part due to Kevin Trudeau.  More importantly, now patients are able to buy pregnancy hormone over the counter.  It isn't very strong, but I wonder if it will lead to false positive pregnancy tests or people not realizing that they are pregnant.  I'm really not a fan, and I've written about why this should not be on your top one hundred possible ways to lose weight.  If you don't believe me (and you shouldn't believe anything you read on the web these days), have a look at the studies that have been done on Simeons work.  I have many ideas for weight loss that might actually work, and if you want to do a starvation diet of five hundred calories a day, for goodness sake do it with a trusted medical advisor.  Taking these drops and reading a book is really not a good idea.