Every time I want to look up information on the nutritional value of a food, a quick search results in a website that provides such information on every food imaginable. Recently, because I have to justify adding radishes to my salad (being not that fond of them), I found comprehensive information on this vegetable on the website NutritionData.com. I thought that a worthwhile project would be to investigate these websites, their pros and cons, and see which ones I prefer and which ones might be good to avoid. Below is a list of such sites; in the future I'll include reviews.
Nutrition Data
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Winter is over and allergies begin again
I hate winter cold, but the one benefit winter brings to my life is a long break from allergies. Yesterday, being the first nice day of March, my wife and I did some yard work, and today my allergies are back with a vengeance. Awhile back I bought masks to wear during yardwork, but I'm sceptical they actually will do some good and so have failed to wear them most times. Well, today I'm convinced that I need to do something about these allergies! In the future I'll be doing some experimenting with wearing the mask and will report on my blog what I find out. Another strategy I have, and didn't follow yesterday, is taking a shower immediately after yard work to remove dirt and pollen from your hair and body.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Dr. Gabor Mate
I watched Amy Goodman interview Dr. Gabor Mate yesterday (2/3/2001) and was very impressed by Dr. Mate's analysis of addiction and other "disorders" of the mind as environmentally induced. His book In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts is most definitely on my reading list.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Is diet soda bad for you?
This question has been on my mind for awhile now. Searching the web for an answer, I easily found this typical response of the "experts", this one written by Mayo Clinic nutritionist Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D., that says 1 to 2 cans of diet drink a day shouldn't harm most people. Immediately after, though, she further qualifies her position, relating that some studies are suggesting that diet drinks increase your risk of obesity and Type 2 Diabetes. Huh? She then say it is preferable to go with healthier alternatives. Why?...If the diet drinks aren't that harmful?
Searching a myriad of other websites, skeptics counter with possible problems with diet drinks: the possible effect of sweeteners on our metabolism, bringing us to eat more sweets and food in general; studies that have linked aspartame to cancer in lab rats; the acid in diet drinks harms are teeth; and drinking too much diet drink crowds out water intake.
My own position on the issue is expressed best by Wes Jackson's idea that we adopt "an ignorance-based worldview." Jackson argues that we should always assume that we are more ignorant than knowledgeable on an issue, which would lead me to suppose that we might not know the negative effects of aspartame and other sweeteners because they haven't yet been discovered by scientists. Mainstream doctors and nutritionists always declare the safety of engineered chemicals because studies haven't found problems with them. But I think we should assume these chemicals are problematic, especially if they are ultimately unnecessary and don't have any positive health benefits.
I admit that have consumed diet drinks, recently drinking 1 per day or two. For the reasons enumerated above, it is definitely time that I quit. Above all, companies such as Coke and Pepsi contribute to environmental unsustainability and have a long history of oppressing workers. In Colombia, Coke has been in league with death squads. If not for my own health, I should quit drinking diet drinks for the health of others.
Searching a myriad of other websites, skeptics counter with possible problems with diet drinks: the possible effect of sweeteners on our metabolism, bringing us to eat more sweets and food in general; studies that have linked aspartame to cancer in lab rats; the acid in diet drinks harms are teeth; and drinking too much diet drink crowds out water intake.
My own position on the issue is expressed best by Wes Jackson's idea that we adopt "an ignorance-based worldview." Jackson argues that we should always assume that we are more ignorant than knowledgeable on an issue, which would lead me to suppose that we might not know the negative effects of aspartame and other sweeteners because they haven't yet been discovered by scientists. Mainstream doctors and nutritionists always declare the safety of engineered chemicals because studies haven't found problems with them. But I think we should assume these chemicals are problematic, especially if they are ultimately unnecessary and don't have any positive health benefits.
I admit that have consumed diet drinks, recently drinking 1 per day or two. For the reasons enumerated above, it is definitely time that I quit. Above all, companies such as Coke and Pepsi contribute to environmental unsustainability and have a long history of oppressing workers. In Colombia, Coke has been in league with death squads. If not for my own health, I should quit drinking diet drinks for the health of others.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Long winter illnesses
It seems like I get sick at least once a month in the winter. Recuperating from my most recent illness, I listed a number of questions regarding the common cold that I've had for some time, including:
Can a person be sick too frequently? What would be abnormal in terms of illness frequency?
Why do my colds last a full week, sometimes two weeks, when as a child they lasted a day?
How long should a person stay away from work when sick?
In doing some casual research on WebMD, I did find that an answer to the question regarding children. It happens to be the case that children suffer illness for much shorter durations. And their sicknesses tend to be much less severe, which means that they tend to not stay home and end up spreading illness. I found this claim to confirm with my own experience in childhood and adulthood. As a child, my illness rarely lasted two days, most often they ran their course in a day. Now, when I get a cold, I'm sick for at least 4 days, most often for a week, and sometimes for two weeks. These longer illnesses in adulthood have caused me to be extremely careful to not contract illnesses, almost paranoid. Perhaps working in a school is the culprit!
Can a person be sick too frequently? What would be abnormal in terms of illness frequency?
Why do my colds last a full week, sometimes two weeks, when as a child they lasted a day?
How long should a person stay away from work when sick?
In doing some casual research on WebMD, I did find that an answer to the question regarding children. It happens to be the case that children suffer illness for much shorter durations. And their sicknesses tend to be much less severe, which means that they tend to not stay home and end up spreading illness. I found this claim to confirm with my own experience in childhood and adulthood. As a child, my illness rarely lasted two days, most often they ran their course in a day. Now, when I get a cold, I'm sick for at least 4 days, most often for a week, and sometimes for two weeks. These longer illnesses in adulthood have caused me to be extremely careful to not contract illnesses, almost paranoid. Perhaps working in a school is the culprit!
Friday, December 18, 2009
Health care insurance is a racket
I have health insurance through my employer, a benefit that is supposed to help me when I have legitimate reasons to see a health care provider. Well, just this past fall I had issues with a rotator cuff injury that I'm just getting over. I saw a physical therapist for the injury, thinking that the expert advice he could offer would be worth the visit. Now that I've been to the therapist, a ***** from Healthcare Recoveries, a subsidiary of Trovers Inc., insists that I call her to speak of my treatment. From my brief time researching online, I determined that Trovers is in the business of getting back money for the health insurance companies, in my case, Blue Cross Blue Shield. Some of what they do is try to get the auto insurance companies, in case of auto accidents, or workmen's comp to pay for health care bills. But last time I called a company like this one, they were clearly fishing around for a pre-existing condition. Regardless, it is the insurance companies and parasites like Trovers, Inc. that are the problem with our health system.
I'm sick of these jokers. To get harassed every time I seek health care? This kind of administrative waste is exactly why we need a single-payer system.
I'm sick of these jokers. To get harassed every time I seek health care? This kind of administrative waste is exactly why we need a single-payer system.
Worried about hair loss? My experience with Minoxidil
Just two years ago in 2007 I noticed that I had a considerable amount of hair loss near the front of my hairline. The receding was significant half-way back from the front of my bangs, leaving a large tuft of hair in the center. Since my father is bald, and a slew of uncles as well, it was the moment of truth I was waiting for and I wasn't all too pleased. I decided to arrest the balding by using minoxidil, the drug behind Rogaine. Back in the 1990s, when Rogaine first came out, it cost around $50 a month. But today, due to the entrance of generics in the market, the brand Rogaine costs around a third of its original price and the generics much less. Now that it was affordable, I saw no reason not to give it a try.
In my case, there was a reason not to use Rogaine or one of its generics, however. The literature says that it isn't FDA-approved for use on a receding hairline in the front, only for pattern baldness at the crown. However, I tried it for my frontal receding hairline for over a year, perhaps almost two years, and thought that it had increased my hair density significantly. I was confirmed of that view when I stopped using it this year and I experienced significant hair loss again in the same frontal region. I'm convinced that the stuff works anywhere on the scalp, but if it works, why did I stop?
There was one side effect of minoxidil that I found very annoying, besides the pain of having to apply this greasy liquid to your scalp twice a day. The worst was the dandruff flaking caused by the product. I'm convinced that the flaking was caused by the scalp becoming more "fertile" and able to grow hair, but with the amount of flaking produced, I'd preferred at times to go bald! I also have a theory that people who use more medicines and chemicals in their lives, even if they are given the green light by the FDA, are increasing their risk of cancer and other diseases. The FDA isn't perfect, and some dangerous products could get approved. The more you use, the higher the risk. Minoxidil is a lifestyle drug, and it felt strange applying to you scalp this greasy chemical that causes dandruff. It just didn't seem worth taking any risks. I stopped using it, trying to come to terms with baldness by buying hats and devising a new, shorter haircut. But, now that the baldness is coming back, I'm not sure if I've come to terms. Do I really want to go back to the grease and the dandruff? No.... time to come to terms with vanity, get a new haircut and buy some more hats.
In my case, there was a reason not to use Rogaine or one of its generics, however. The literature says that it isn't FDA-approved for use on a receding hairline in the front, only for pattern baldness at the crown. However, I tried it for my frontal receding hairline for over a year, perhaps almost two years, and thought that it had increased my hair density significantly. I was confirmed of that view when I stopped using it this year and I experienced significant hair loss again in the same frontal region. I'm convinced that the stuff works anywhere on the scalp, but if it works, why did I stop?
There was one side effect of minoxidil that I found very annoying, besides the pain of having to apply this greasy liquid to your scalp twice a day. The worst was the dandruff flaking caused by the product. I'm convinced that the flaking was caused by the scalp becoming more "fertile" and able to grow hair, but with the amount of flaking produced, I'd preferred at times to go bald! I also have a theory that people who use more medicines and chemicals in their lives, even if they are given the green light by the FDA, are increasing their risk of cancer and other diseases. The FDA isn't perfect, and some dangerous products could get approved. The more you use, the higher the risk. Minoxidil is a lifestyle drug, and it felt strange applying to you scalp this greasy chemical that causes dandruff. It just didn't seem worth taking any risks. I stopped using it, trying to come to terms with baldness by buying hats and devising a new, shorter haircut. But, now that the baldness is coming back, I'm not sure if I've come to terms. Do I really want to go back to the grease and the dandruff? No.... time to come to terms with vanity, get a new haircut and buy some more hats.
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