Yaicha » Health

The Worms Crawl In

Ted Hopton — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:10:43 +0000

Can hookworms protect against allergies? In a quest to find out, David Pritchard infected himself.

This article literally makes me queasy. The thought of worms working their way around inside my body makes me want to throw up and completely grosses me out. Yet I have suffered most of my life pretty badly from allergies. I take Claritin all year, and now that I have moved to a farm it appears there are more allergens here than that medicine can overcome. The sneezing fits every morning are getting tiresome.

So, as disgusted as I am at the thought of having hookworms, I still find myself truly intrigued by the possibility of significantly alleviating my allergic symptoms. Could I overcome my aversion? Would the benefits outweigh the yuck factor, not to mention the health risk of parasites?

I’ll think it over. Hard. I’m really not sure I could go there . . .

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Salmonella Tomato Warning Expanded

Ted Hopton — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 22:36:27 +0000

I love tomatoes, so this news is discouraging. Think I’d better start growing my own.

At least 145 people in 16 states have been sickened by salmonella-tainted tomatoes; not all tomatoes affected, says the FDA.

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Your Brain: The Missing Manual

Ted Hopton — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 13:21:25 +0000

I’ve always liked the title of the series of technology help books called “The Missing Manual.” The accurate and perceptive premise is that manufacturers rarely provide as much guidance as you would like for the sophisticated technology they have sold to you. These books, written by a third-party expert, help you get the most out of your purchase, and teach you all kinds of tricks to make it easier to understand and use.

So, this title caught my attention — Your Brain: The Missing Manual. Very clever. I didn’t buy my brain, but it sure is a complex tool that I wish I knew how to use better, and there’s no user’s guide, either. I haven’t read this book, so I can’t comment on it, but I am curious about it and will look into it.

New Hints Seen That Red Wine May Slow Aging

Ted Hopton — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 00:05:26 +0000

You know, I have not even had time to read this article because I have to rush out to the liquor store to buy some wine

Red wine may be much more potent than was thought in extending human lifespan, researchers say in a new report that is likely to give impetus to the rapidly growing search for longevity drugs.

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The Worst Way of Farming

Ted Hopton — Sat, 31 May 2008 16:04:47 +0000

I got my first detailed, in-depth look at the problems of the industrial farming complex when I read Michael Pollan’s eye-opening book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma (which I highly recommend). This NYT editorial cites two reports, one by the Pew Charitable Trust and one by the Union of Concerned Scientists.

As new reports make it clear, the efficiency of industrial animal production is an illusion, made possible by prisonlike confinement systems.

Not only is the efficiency an illusion, it’s actually a disaster all around.

In short, animal husbandry has been turned into animal abuse. Manure — traditionally a source of fertilizer — has been turned into toxic waste that fouls the air and adjacent water bodies. Crowding creates health problems, resulting in the chronic overuse of antibiotics. And, because the modest profits in confinement operations require the lowest possible labor costs, including automated feeding, watering and manure-handling systems, these operations have helped empty and impoverish rural America.

What is it going to take to change this heavily-entrenched, politically-supported and publicly-financed system?
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Lotus Therapy

Ted Hopton — Tue, 27 May 2008 13:27:42 +0000

Mindfulness meditation has become perhaps the most popular new psychotherapy technique of the past decade.

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My Brain Is Just Getting Better

Ted Hopton — Mon, 26 May 2008 01:52:10 +0000

It doesn’t always seem that my brain is working better the older I get (anecdotal evidence I’ve observed might even suggest the opposite at times . . .), but the NYT says it is: “Older Brain Really May Be a Wiser Brain.”

“If older people are taking in more information from a situation, and they’re then able to combine it with their comparatively greater store of general knowledge, they’re going to have a nice advantage.”

Nice to hear some good news, for a change, about aging brains.

“It may be that distractibility is not, in fact, a bad thing,” said Shelley H. Carson, a psychology researcher at Harvard whose work was cited in the book. “It may increase the amount of information available to the conscious mind.”

So, when things that once seemed to be simple to call to mind no longer are, it’s not necessarily that we’re losing our edge. We may actually be gaining new, greater advantages that are not so easily noticed.

Some brains do deteriorate with age. Alzheimer’s disease, for example, strikes 13 percent of Americans 65 and older. But for most aging adults, the authors say, much of what occurs is a gradually widening focus of attention that makes it more difficult to latch onto just one fact, like a name or a telephone number. Although that can be frustrating, it is often useful.

Older really is wiser. I never really believed that when I was younger, but it makes perfect sense to me now

You Name It, and Exercise Helps It

Ted Hopton — Thu, 01 May 2008 02:35:14 +0000

Yet another reminder that it’s best to get up off the couch and get moving!

People with chronic health problems can improve their health and quality of life by learning how to exercise safely.

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Scientist Turns Microscope on Herself (while having a stroke)

Ted Hopton — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 17:04:23 +0000

One of the most fascinating talks at the TED conference so far was given by Jill Bolte Taylor, a neuroanatomist, who gave a riveting account of a stroke she experienced in 1996.

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Blogging’s Good For Your Health

Ted Hopton — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 16:59:03 +0000

Blogging can help you feel less isolated, more connected to a community and more satisfied with your friendships, both online and face-to-face, new research has found.

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