Saturday, March 13, 2010 |
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Food-O-Rama |
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By Diana Hsieh @ 2:00 PM   
The school lunches served in America are downright scary -- particularly when compared with the far better lunches served in other civilized countries. Compared to the pictures on that blog, the school lunches when I was a kid were gourmet feasts!
Notably, the problem isn't just that we're feeding growing children disgusting junk that will have a lasting impact on their health -- or that we're training them to eat such junk for the rest of their lives. These school lunches send a very clear message to children: "We don't give a shit about you." That attitude pervades government schools in a million ways, many far more damaging. Yet to see it so plainly written on your plate would be particularly degrading.
What's in your fridge? The Anti-Fridge discusses the history of the refrigerator -- and alternatives to it. (The pictures are amazing too!)
I'm fascinated by traditional methods of storing and preserving foods. I don't wish to adopt them myself, absent some compelling reason to do so. I'm curious about the science behind them though.
I am seriously thinking about building a small root cellar in the barn, as that would be helpful for making fermented foods like sauerkraut. Then again, perhaps I can use the super-well-insulated "camping closet" in our basement for that purpose, once I move its contents to the new storage room in the barn. That would be easier!
Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal: A guest post by Joel Salatin on the slew of inane regulations affecting his work as a food producer. It's obscene.
Cooking Issues has been doing some great blogging on sous vide cooking. Enjoy!Labels: Food, Link-O-Rama
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Saturday, February 27, 2010 |
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Health-O-Rama |
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By Diana Hsieh @ 2:00 PM
Dr. Davis, the Heart Scan Doc, is offering 30 minute, one-on-one video consultations. As I said on OEvolve: "I can't imagine that most people on this list would need that, as we're a pretty well-read, well-informed bunch. However, I can see that someone's less-informed mother, father, friend, or whatnot might benefit from it."
Does consumption of saturated fat reduce insulin sensitivity and thereby put us on the path to diabetes? The conventional wisdom is "Yes," but Stephan Guyenet looks at the relevant studies and finds that the answer is "No." So what does reduce insulin sensitivity? Sugar (particularly fructose) and magnesium deficiency seem to be two major culprits.
The fascists in Washington are seeking greater control over supplements and raw milk cheese. These *@&#% aren't content with forcing us to be poor and stupid: they want us to be sick and miserable too!
Dr. Davis on the irrelevance of glycemic index.Labels: Health, Link-O-Rama
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Saturday, February 20, 2010 |
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Health-O-Rama |
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By Diana Hsieh @ 2:00 PM
South Carolina used to be The Iodine State.
Dr. Davis discusses a patient who nearly gave himself diabetes by eating lots of fruit. He concludes, "When you hear such conventional advice like 'eat plenty of fruits and vegetables,' you should hear instead: 'eat plenty of vegetables. Eat a small quantity of fruit.' Or, as one commenter said, "Fruit and honey, nature's junkfood. Although both have some redeeming qualities, unlike brownies." I used to be a fruit junkie, but now I eat maybe one to two serving of low-sugar berries per week. I don't want any more: it doesn't do good things for me.
Amazing but true! No one died or was injured from a terribly irresponsible experiment in which people deliberately overdosed on homeopathic medicine. As the organizer of the 10:23 event Martin Robin observed, "No one was cured of anything either." Gee, what a surprise!
Tom Naughton's hysterical take on laws limiting raw milk sales. Here's a sample:
Kentucky
Raw milk sales are illegal with one exception: An individual with a written recommendation from a physician may purchase raw goat milk.
"So why do I feel so terrible, doctor?"
"According to your labs, you have a rare intestinal disorder. It's called Capralactinecessitis."
"Oh my gosh! Can it be treated?"
"Yes, but only if you drink milk that would kill a healthy person. I'll write a prescription." Labels: Food, Link-O-Rama
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Thursday, February 18, 2010 |
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Link-O-Rama |
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By Diana Hsieh @ 8:00 AM
Wow, feminist entitlement meets dating. If I'd adopted that Platonic soulmate approach, Paul would have been rejected because he can't grow a beard. (Sad but true! I console myself by gazing longingly at Wolverine's sideburns from time to time.)
Reporter fired for believing in objective reality. Seriously. "In an e-mail statement, editor Matthew Cardinale says Springston was asked to leave [Atlanta Progressive News] last week 'because he held on to the notion that there was an objective reality that could be reported objectively, despite the fact that that was not our editorial policy at Atlanta Progressive News.'" That's straight out of Atlas Shrugged ... except that Ayn Rand couldn't have imagined something so insane.
Hooray! With the help of the good folks at the Objectivist Club Network, Rational Jenn is launching an Atlanta Objectivist Society.
Awesome news: "More than 65,000 19th-century works of fiction from the British Library’s collection are to be made available for free downloads by the public from this spring. Owners of the Amazon Kindle, an ebook reader device, will be able to view well known works by writers such as Charles Dickens, Jane Austen and Thomas Hardy, as well as works by thousands of less famous authors." Oh, and guess who's funding it? Not tax dollars stolen from productive people ... but honestly-earned dough from Microsoft. So it's all-around awesome.Labels: Link-O-Rama
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Saturday, February 13, 2010 |
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Health-O-Rama |
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By Diana Hsieh @ 2:00 PM
I'm delighted to report that Kelly Elmore has seen some remarkable improvement on desiccated thyroid and iodine. Here's her before post and after post. Lady Baker is also doing better on iodine alone, as she reports in her before post and after post. Hooray to feeling better!
Dr. Davis writes about heart health and magnesium deficiency. Here's an older post on the same topic from Dr. Eades. It's also worth considering whether you're getting the right amounts of potassium. And selenium. And everything else.
Jimmy Moore put together a great post on Whole Foods' new program to promote low-fat, high-carb eating. He's right to be critical of the program, but I don't plan to boycott Whole Foods, as some others are doing. Whatever his errors on diet, John Mackie has earned my respect for his free-market opposition to Obamacare. Plus, Whole Foods doesn't plan to change its product offerings. If it does, then I'll shop elsewhere.Labels: Health, Link-O-Rama, Thyroid
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Monday, February 01, 2010 |
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Link-O-Rama |
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By Diana Hsieh @ 2:00 PM
Some photos of newly-discovered species. I was about to say that I liked the "slug-sucking snake" the best, but then I saw the "glass frog." You can see its innards through its transparent skin!
Yesterday's Ads Predicted Today's Tech: The ads themselves are pretty cool, and the snarky comments are even better. I like Flash Gordon as the usher in the 3-D movie theater! Also, here's The 25 Funniest Vintage Tech Ads. The comment on the Apple ad just kills me.
What Would Ayn Rand Say? -- it's an interview (text and audio) with Yaron Brook, with some detailed discussion of the financial crisis.
Yes, please! Let's use "African-American" to refer to real Africans -- of whatever skin color -- who have chosen to become Americans. Or better yet, let's just drop all those damn hyphenated labels. American citizens are just plain old Americans.
I'm not much of a fan of Richard Dawkins, but he's correct to say that Pat Robertson's odious view that the earthquake in Haiti was God's retribution for sin represents true, Biblical Christianity. (Via David McBride)Labels: Link-O-Rama
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Friday, January 22, 2010 |
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Productivity-O-Rama |
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By Diana Hsieh @ 2:00 PM
Writing Five-Year Goals: John Drake tells us why we should know our five-year goals -- and how to formulate them. Then he tells us how he wrote his. Writing my own five-year goals is on my to-do list!
Jason Crawford has a new-ish blog "about startups, technology, entrepreneurship, business, leadership, and management." I really liked his November post entitled Query for Judgment.
Prepare for 2010 by learning from failed experiments: "This month, I'm trying out new stuff, going back and doing maintenance on previous failures, and watching things explode fairly spectacularly. Why? Because if I figure out all the failure points now, while I can mentally group all the failures in the bucket of 2009, then by the time I move into 2010, I'll already have figured out where the landmines are." I'm a bit slow in starting 2010, so I think that February will be my January. Or something like that.
GTD for Academics by Aeon Skoble. I implemented GTD in much the same way he outlines while in graduate school.Labels: Link-O-Rama, Productivity
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Monday, December 28, 2009 |
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Link-O-Rama |
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By Diana Hsieh @ 8:00 AM
I'm feeling somewhat brain dead, plus I'm trying to get myself organized for the new year. So I think posting will be somewhat light this week. (I have plenty of material to post, but nothing hefty.)
I laughed so hard that I cried: Wikipedia Content Versus Donation Plea. Here's another.
Cannibalistic Snow Monster. Enough said.
In 1985, a former Soviet agent spoke about the four stages of psychological warfare. (Via Robb)
Since I outed myself as a fan of Lady Gaga, friends have been sending me links related to her. The latest, from Guy, is this article from MSNBC. Oh, and in this interview, Lady Gaga explains why she never wears pants.Labels: Link-O-Rama
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Saturday, December 19, 2009 |
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Food-O-Rama |
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By Diana Hsieh @ 8:00 AM
Is foie gras torture? Although animal rights activists say "yes," the facts clearly say otherwise. The fact that these activists persist in their lawsuits against humanely-raised fois gras tells me that they're far more interested in diminishing human welfare (by preventing any use of animals for human ends) than in promoting animal welfare.
The Los Angeles Times reports on the growing criticism of fruit juice: It's time fruit juice loses its wholesome image, some experts say. Despite the connection to rights-violating "sin taxes," I'm glad to see questions raised about the health of juice.
What the World Eats -- a fascinating photoessay showing a week's worth of food for families around the world. The two American families stood out: almost everything on their menu seemed to be packaged junk.
Someday, I'd love to get a miniature Jersey cow. Seriously. Maybe I can get a curly-haired pig too. I've got plenty of room in my new barn!
Monica Hughes of FA/RM, OEvolve, and Ancestral Generation published an op-ed in the Denver Post this week on Animal fat, sugar and diabetes. She analyzes a study to reject the conclusion that exercise and low-fat diet prevent diabetes.Labels: Food, Link-O-Rama
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Wednesday, December 16, 2009 |
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Link-O-Rama |
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By Diana Hsieh @ 3:00 PM
The Funniest Facebook Snafus Of All Time. I've seen some of these before, but the new ones were gems! (Via The Agitator)
How a Web Design Goes Straight to Hell. Very funny! My mother was a graphic designer, and I remember that she had some experiences rather like described here.
I'm not too surprised to discover that religious morality is mostly just projection: Screw Jesus, What Would I Do?. That explains why so many people simply ignore the revolting barbarism of so much in religious scriptures, including submission to slavery, stoning of homosexuals, and the like. They don't think that's right, so surely God couldn't mean it!
Ari Armstrong provides a template for free-market reading groups: Liberty in the Books. I've definitely benefited from Ari's Denver "Liberty in the Books." I've been wanting to learn more about economics, and the groups provided me with the slight push that I need to read and then chew on a bit of economics each month.Labels: Link-O-Rama
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Monday, December 14, 2009 |
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Link-O-Rama |
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By Diana Hsieh @ 8:00 AM
A fool and his 127 million dollars are parted. What does the fool do? Duh! He sues.
Why men shouldn't write advice columns. I could imagine a similar one written by a woman, regarding the state of her hair and nails after that long walk home! (Via The Agitator)
Dr. Peter Watts, science fiction writer, was "beaten, pepper-sprayed and imprisoned by American border guards at a Canada U.S. border crossing December 8. Fascist police state, anyone?
Ari Armstrong on Abolish the FTC: New Blogging Rules. He's also posted a lengthy list of compelled disclosures.
Much to my annoyance, I need to waste my time in a similar fashion before the FTC takes note of my unseemly relationship with such blackguards of capitalism as the Ayn Rand Institute, The Objective Standard, and Amazon. I don't receive any money from the first two, but by the FTC's totally non-objective rules, our friendly relationship might be construed as violating their regulations, thereby subjecting me to thousands of dollars of fines.Labels: Link-O-Rama
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Thursday, September 17, 2009 |
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Link-O-Rama |
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By Diana Hsieh @ 3:00 PM
Some of these links are a bit old, as I'm trying to clear out my "To Blog" bookmarks. I need some better way to manage the stuff the I'd like to blog. Too often, I'm just filing and forgetting material that should be blogged in a week or so -- or that I should throw into a Link-O-Rama when I have a spare minute.
Rationing inherent in Obamacare: an op-ed by Ari Armstrong published in the Colorado Springs Gazette. (It's a bit old, but still totally relevant.)
Tweeting all the way to the bank: How will social media make money?
You've Got Voice Mail, but Do You Care? No!
USA TODAY's best-selling books of last 15 years: Take a guess, then click the link!
Conciliatory Fighting Words: In this op-ed, written just after the controversy about the speech at Notre Dame, E.J. Dionne gushes over Obama's deep religiosity. Unfortunately, he's got a point.Labels: Link-O-Rama
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Friday, March 13, 2009 |
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Link-O-Rama |
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By Diana Hsieh @ 12:01 AM
Broken Picture Telephone is not merely entertaining. It also illustrates a serious epistemological point about just how much more information is conveyed by just a few concepts as opposed to mere percepts. Granted, those percepts are often amazingly badly drawn. That's part of the humor. (Via The Hoodat Report.)
WOW: "It may be tough to get financing for a new car these days, but in Detroit you can buy a house with a credit card. The median price of a home sold in Detroit in December was $7,500, according to Realcomp, a listing service. Not $75,000. Remove a zero—it's seven thousand five hundred dollars, substantially less than the lowest-price car on the new-car market." (Via The Agitator.)
Can some teenager please verify that they can hear this sound? I can't hear a damn thing!
Uh, what part of Obama's body is this blond chick holding on to? (Yes, it is safe for work -- and damn funny.)
Rational Jenn on The Art of War for Parents and On Siblings. Good stuff.
25 Really Unromantic Album Covers. Heh.Labels: Link-O-Rama
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Saturday, February 21, 2009 |
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Food Link-O-Rama |
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By Diana Hsieh @ 8:27 AM
Dumb scare-mongering headline of the day, supported by a total non-story: How using Facebook could raise your risk of cancer.
Dr. Eades on the ethics of eating animals: A better way to die? As I said in a comment I posted, I'd really like to investigate this issue more. I trust Dr. Eades reports, but they're rather old. Today's accounts are too often driven by some kind of partisan agenda. So I'd like to know what might have changed for better or worse over the last 30 years. Undoubtedly, federal regulations and subsidies have exerted a major influence over farming in that time -- e.g. subsidizing corn-feeding of livestock and the clean up of large confinement operations, pushing small farmers out of business by eating up their profits with burdensome regulations, forcing the closure of a large number of slaughterhouses by federal certification requirements, and so on. I want facts -- and for that, I'll likely have investigate for myself.
Stephan of the always-interesting Whole Health Source analyzes a recent study showing some rapid health improvements from eating a "paleo" diet: Paleolithic Diet Clinical Trials Part III. The study was small, and the diet wasn't fully paleo. But the results were very suggestive:
Participants, on average, saw large improvements in nearly every meaningful measure of health in just 10 days on the "paleolithic" diet. Remember, these people were supposedly healthy to begin with. Total cholesterol and LDL dropped, if you care about that. Triglycerides decreased by 35%. Fasting insulin plummeted by 68%. HOMA-IR, a measure of insulin resistance, decreased by 72%. Blood pressure decreased and blood vessel distensibility (a measure of vessel elasticity) increased. It's interesting to note that measures of glucose metabolism improved dramatically despite no change in carbohydrate intake. Some of these results were statistically significant, but not all of them. However, the authors note that:In all these measured variables, either eight or all nine participants had identical directional responses when switched to paleolithic type diet, that is, near consistently improved status of circulatory, carbohydrate and lipid metabolism/physiology. Translation: everyone improved. That's a very meaningful point, because even if the average improves, in many studies a certain percentage of people get worse. This study adds to the evidence that no matter what your gender or genetic background, a diet roughly consistent with our evolutionary past can bring major health benefits. Here's another way to say it: ditching certain modern foods can be immensely beneficial to health, even in people who already appear healthy. This is true regardless of whether or not one loses weight. The lesson: don't suppose that a change in your diet won't do your body good just because you're not fat -- or not yet fat. Stephan has some more interesting comments; I recommend reading his whole post.
Cheeseslave on How to Make Lobster Stock. Yummy!Labels: Food, Health, Link-O-Rama
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Saturday, February 14, 2009 |
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Food Link-O-Rama |
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By Diana Hsieh @ 7:51 AM
15 Tips for Cooking Real Food for Beginngers from CheeseSlave. (I love that name!) I haven't yet tried coconut flour, as I just haven't done much baking in the last six months. However, I've nearly run out of the slew of mason jars I bought this fall with all the homemade stock I've been preparing and freezing lately.
What Is Attractive? by Fitness Fail. Or: Why look like a skin-and-bones model when you can look like a CrossFit girl? The linked video of the women competitors from the 2008 CrossFit Games is awesome!
Beware your olive oil. According to this fascinating New Yorker article, it's often adulterated with cheap, rancid vegetable oils for the sake of a quick buck. I'm not sure whether the fridge test discussed by CheeseSlave is reliable. Whole Foods says not -- and that they rigorously test their store-label brands for purity. Another alternative is to choose a boutique source like Bariani or Adam's Ranch.
Personally, I don't use much olive oil. I'm not much of a salad eater, so I don't use it for to make dressing. (And yes, I would make my own, as everything store-bought consists largely of industrial vegetable oil.) I use animal fats or coconut oil for cooking. I very much like the flavor they add to foods -- and they're more stable at high heats. From what I've read, olive oil ought not be used for high heat cooking. (For more on fats, see this post from Life Spotlight and this detailed article from the Weston A. Price Foundation.)
Yes, I do plan to make the bacon explosion at some point.
Canadian farmers should have the right to sell raw milk to their willing customers! RealMilk.com has a lengthy background article on the Michael Schmidt, the farmer brought up on charges for selling raw milk via a cowshare program. You can read his testimony at his trial. I'm not sure about the current status of his case -- perhaps it's still pending?
Are you looking for a source of raw milk? Check out these tips for evaluating the farm.Labels: Food, Link-O-Rama
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Friday, February 06, 2009 |
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Link-O-Rama |
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By Diana Hsieh @ 12:01 AM
Ari Armstrong says Free Our Beer from the inanity of government-imposed "choice" in an op-ed in the Colorado Daily. Here's my favorite bits:
The point of the free market is not to maximize choices in beer or any other item, but to protect liberty. If having the most beers available was the goal, the state could force all liquor stores to carry every single beer brewed throughout the world. State law could also force existing brewers to expand tenfold the styles of beer they produce. ...
Free markets do offer consumers vast choices by protecting their right to exchange on mutually agreeable terms. People naturally seek a wide variety of goods and services. When politicians attempt to ensure "choice" by forcibly intervening in trade, they destroy people's choice to buy and sell as they see fit.
Choice does not justify force. For example, we have fewer choices today in horse-drawn buggies, hand-sewn clothing and pet rocks. If politicians tried to force us to buy more of those things, they would undermine our choice to shop for other goods. Go read the whole thing.
I have no idea what to say about this new book: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies:
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies features the original text of Jane Austen's beloved novel with all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie action. As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton--and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she's soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers--and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield as Elizabeth wages war against hordes of flesh-eating undead. Complete with 20 illustrations in the style of C. E. Brock (the original illustrator of Pride and Prejudice), this insanely funny expanded edition will introduce Jane Austen's classic novel to new legions of fans. Um, okay. (Via Neatorama.)
Very clever-funny: the Pac Man pain chart.Labels: Link-O-Rama
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Monday, February 02, 2009 |
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Link-O-Rama |
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By Diana Hsieh @ 12:01 AM
CNN Money had a nice write-up of BB&T Bank Chairman John Allison's talk at the Ayn Rand Center in Washington last week.
John Stossel recently published a good op-ed on the college scam. He makes a good point, but the problem is not just that college is a waste of time and money: the whole educational system is seriously dysfunctional. Students should get a liberal arts education sufficient for a thoughtful and productive life via primary and secondary education. (That's possible now, for all students -- as the example of Colorado's own Ridgeview Classical Schools shows.) Instead, particularly in government schools, students are physically warehoused, intellectually stunted, and psychologically crushed. After 12 years of schooling, students have not been equipped for life.
I see the results in my own teaching at CU Boulder. Semester after semester, only about three students in a class of thirty can write competently. The rest are not stupid: CU Boulder is the best university in the state. Rather, they just haven't been taught the basics of reading, writing, or thinking. It's enormously frustrating for me: I want to teach philosophy, not remedial writing. The situation should be inexcusable to parents -- but most willingly accept it.
Inside the Belly of the Beast: Do Policymakers Listen to Pundits? by C. August of Titanic Deck Chairs. It's a fascinating -- and frightening -- look at the way modus operandi of the policy makers federal government, namely frantic, range-of-the-moment pragmatism.Labels: Link-O-Rama
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Thursday, January 29, 2009 |
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Link-O-Rama |
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By Diana Hsieh @ 3:07 PM
Jason Sheehan, the food critic of the Westword, Denver's alternative weekly newspaper, savages PETA's call to rename fish to prevent people from eating them. The title says it all: PETA in the news again: "Sea Kittens" campaign making me hungry. (Via Ari Armstrong.)
President Bush's Cheese Wars: In retaliation for the EU banning the US's hormone-treated beef, President Bush slapped a 100 percent tariff on a variety of EU goods -- and a 300 percent tariff on roquefort cheese. What ever happened to global free trade? Yes, I know, it's hiding in the basement with other supposedly outmoded concepts like "limited government" and "fiscal responsibility." Thanks, George.
For the record, although I prefer not to consume it, people should be able to buy and sell beef from cows treated with hormones freely. The law should only ban fraud, such as the labeling of hormone-treated beef as hormone-free. Unfortunately, that can be a genuine problem.
Your doctor's fine-looking white coat and your nurse's scrubs may be a serious health menace.
Too strange: Knitters Become Graffiti Artists. (Via Rory Hodgson.)Labels: Link-O-Rama
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Friday, January 16, 2009 |
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Link-O-Rama |
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By Diana Hsieh @ 10:10 AM
Could you imagine spending 13 years in jail without any kind of trial or criminal charges because some judge thinks you have money hidden away somewhere in a divorce proceeding? Probably not -- but that's what has happened to H. Beatty Chadwick, a former Philadelphia-area lawyer, thanks to one judge's application of the "murky legal concept" of civil contempt.
Kendall blogs about distortions due to subsidies and protectionism in domestic corn production. It begins:
When discussing government intervention in the economy, many times we see industries where government's role is primarily one of suppression of an industry. That is, regulation, taxation, and trade restrictions serve to depress an entire industry. This is true in my industry, the chemical industry. It is also true in the pharmaceutical industry. While there may be differences in impact from firm to firm, generally all firms suffer from government intervention, and generally all firms can be viewed in some ways as victims of government intervention.
But what happens in an industry when government subsidizes a particular set of players at the expense of another? Are all firms victims? No, The picture it turns out is very different. Go read the whole thing!
The religious want America to be more like China. After all, at least China bans porn. (Oh, that pesky notion of freedom of speech!)
Twincredibles: A mixed-raced couple has two sets of mismatched twins. Cool! (Via John Enright)
Ayn Rand for Treasury Secretary on Yahoo Finance. Ayn Rand's "fix" for today's economic crisis would involve much more than abolishing the income tax. It would entail a full return to laissez-faire capitalism. (Via Adam Buker.)Labels: Link-O-Rama
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Saturday, January 10, 2009 |
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Food Link-O-Rama |
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By Diana Hsieh @ 7:18 AM
Modern Forager's Best Blogging from 2008: You might want to check out Artificial Sweeteners Linked to Weight Gain and What Sweetener Should You Choose? Sugar? Honey? Agave Nectar?.
Dr. Eades recently pointed someone interested in the health effects of salt to The (Political) Science of Salt, a lengthy 1998 article by Gary Taubes. It's well worth reading -- particularly if you think that healthy eating for a normal person requires any kind of salt deprivation.
Is Being Healthy A Vain Pursuit?: Scott Kustes of Modern Forager got a rash of comments on this post. I didn't have time to add one, but I do think that the real question is moral, to wit: is it permissible to spend your own time, money, and energy pursuing the joys and pleasures your own life, rather than catering to others? Obviously, by any rational standard, the answer is YES.
Worried About Antibiotics In Your Beef? Vegetables May Be No Better: Scientific American reports that "new studies show vegetables like lettuce and potatoes--even organic ones--carry antibiotics." Here's the opening paragraphs of the article:
For half a century, meat producers have fed antibiotics to farm animals to increase their growth and stave off infections. Now scientists have discovered that those drugs are sprouting up in unexpected places: Vegetables such as corn, potatoes and lettuce absorb antibiotics when grown in soil fertilized with livestock manure, according to tests conducted at the University of Minnesota.
Today, close to 70 percent of all antibiotics and related drugs used in the United States are routinely fed to cattle, pigs and poultry, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. Although this practice sustains a growing demand for meat, it also generates public health fears associated with the expanding presence of antibiotics in the food chain.
People have long been exposed to antibiotics in meat and milk. Now, the new research shows that they also may be ingesting them from vegetables, perhaps even ones grown on organic farms.
The Minnesota researchers planted corn, green onion and cabbage in manure-treated soil in 2005 to evaluate the environmental impacts of feeding antibiotics to livestock. Six weeks later, the crops were analyzed and found to absorb chlortetracycline, a drug widely used to treat diseases in livestock. In another study two years later, corn, lettuce and potato were planted in soil treated with liquid hog manure. They, too, accumulated concentrations of an antibiotic, named Sulfamethazine, also commonly used in livestock. As the amount of antibiotics in the soil increased, so too did the levels taken up by the corn, potatoes and other plants.
"Around 90 percent of these drugs that are administered to animals end up being excreted either as urine or manure," said Holly Dolliver, a member of the Minnesota research team and now a professor of crop and soil sciences at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. "A vast majority of that manure is then used as an important input for 9.2 million hectares of (U.S.) agricultural land." Manure, widely used as a substitute for chemical fertilizer, adds nutrients that help plants grow. It is often used in organic farming.
The scientists found that although their crops were only propagated in greenhouses for six weeks--far less than a normal growing season--antibiotics were absorbed readily into their leaves. If grown for a full season, drugs most likely would find their way into parts of plants that humans eat, said Dolliver.
Less than 0.1 percent of antibiotics applied to soil were absorbed into the corn, lettuce and other plants. Though a tiny amount, health implications for people consuming such small, cumulative doses are largely unknown. Read the rest here. At some point, I'll blog about why I avoid meat from animals treated with hormones and antibiotics. Regarding this story, I'll just say that I don't want to be ingesting antibiotics without some specific medical reason for doing so -- not even in small doses.Labels: Food, Link-O-Rama
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Saturday, January 03, 2009 |
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Health Link-O-Rama |
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By Diana Hsieh @ 11:13 AM
Butter, Margarine and Heart Disease: Stephan compares butter and margarine consumption with rates of heart disease mortality for the last 100 years.
If I recall correctly, my family switched to margarine for a few years in the late 1980s, then we returned to butter after some news about problems with margarine. After that, I was skeptical that butter is terribly damaging, but I tried to use it in moderation. I certainly wasn't willing to endure the nasty fake taste of any of the supposedly healthier alternatives! However, now I'm lavish with butter, particularly with my vitamin-rich homemade raw milk butter. Life is so much better with lots of butter!
Epidemic Influenza and Vitamin D: Wow, could widespread Vitamin D deficiency cause our winter susceptibility to influenza? Free the Animal thinks so -- and for good reason. He links to and quotes from this fascinating report from a physician; it's the backstory of an academic paper. I very strongly recommend it. Also, FTA's earlier post on Vitamin D and pregnancy is well worth reading.
Regarding Vitamin D, the ever-useful Heart Scan Doc alerts us to a new $65 Vitamin D home test available from ZRT Laboratory and the Vitamin D Council. He also has a great post on the required doses of Vitamin D. He writes:
Though needs vary widely, the majority of men require 6000 units per day, women 5000 units per day. Only then do most men and women achieve what I'd define as desirable: 60-70 ng/ml 25-hydroxy vitamin D blood level.
I base this target level by extrapolating from several simple observations:
--In epidemiologic studies, a blood level of 52 ng/ml seems to be an eerily consistent value: >52 ng/ml and cancer of the colon, breast, and prostate become far less common; <52 ng/ml and cancers are far more likely. I don't know about you, but I'd like to have a little larger margin of safety than just achieving 52.1 ng/ml.
--Young people (not older people >40 years old, who have lost most of the capacity to activate vitamin D in the skin) who obtain several days to weeks of tropical sun typically have 25-hydroxy vitamin D blood levels of 80-100 ng/ml without adverse effect.
More recently, having achieved this target blood level in many people, I can tell you confidently that achieving this blood level of vitamin D achieves:
--Virtual elimination of "winter blues" and seasonal affective disorder in the great majority
--Dramatic increases in HDL cholesterol (though full effect can require a year to develop)
--Reduction in triglycerides
--Modest reduction in blood pressure
--Dramatic reduction in c-reactive protein (far greater than achieved with Crestor, JUPITER trial or no)
--Increased bone density (improved osteoporosis/osteopenia)
--Halting or reversal of aortic valve disease Wow. As soon as I can reasonably manage, I'll have Paul's and my Vitamin D levels tested. I'll report back the results, of course!Labels: Health, Link-O-Rama
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Monday, December 29, 2008 |
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Link-O-Rama |
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By Diana Hsieh @ 2:25 PM
Questions from 2008 Not Answered in Slate's Explainer column. Here's a good questions:
I live in Washington, D.C., and we have very long escalators coming out of the Metro. If I grabbed the handrail when I first step onto the escalator and did not let go until I was at the top, my body would be almost prostrate across the steps. As I go higher on the escalator, I have to readjust the hand that is grabbing the rubber handrail. Why can't the companies that make escalators sync the steps and the handrails so that they go the same speed? I suspect that the rail is traveling a longer distance than the steps yet moved with the same motor, so it must go faster. Here's a funny one:
Can men eat the Activia yogurt that is advertised exclusively to the modern woman in khakis? Will it have the same internal regulatory effects on the male system that are promised for the female bowels? If not, why not? In fact, the yogurt only works for women who wear khakis at least four days per week. (Actually, Activa is gross. They add cornstarch to it, presumably to make it less runny. Personally, I get all kinds of lovely natural bacterial cultures from my raw milk and raw milk yogurt.) And, I can't resist this gem:
How long can humans live when they are caught on fire? For example, when a car crashes and explodes turns into a gulf of flames, but humans are alive. Uh, dude, why do you need to know? Just FYI, it's a bad idea to set yourself or your fellow fraternity brothers on fire. (Via The Agitator.)
TUAW reviewed a cute little Christmas shopping app from Target. (Too late for to be useful now, I know.) How was life possible before third party iPhone apps?!? And why won't my tasks sync yet?!?
Does anyone else find it ironic that Britney Spears' two new singles contain lyrics rather strange for a young woman in conservatorship under her father due to mental problems? Womanizer includes the lines, "You say I'm crazy / I got your crazy." Uh, yeah. Circus has "I'm like the ringleader / I call the shots." Uh, I don't think so. Actually, I like both songs for the fluffy pop that they are, and I do hope to see more healthy, sane, and half-naked Britney shaking her rear for our enjoyment. Still, I'm amused.Labels: Link-O-Rama
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Saturday, December 20, 2008 |
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Food Link-O-Rama |
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By Diana Hsieh @ 7:29 AM
Because I don't have time to write up my planned post on barefoot running (!!), I'm going to dump some links on you from my overflowing "Blog Me - Food" bookmarks folder. It's good stuff, so enjoy!
I recently discovered Lorette C. Luzajic, a food writer for Gremolata, via a two part interview on Modern Forager: Part I and Part 2. I very much liked the interview -- and the two articles that I read:
- Spilling The Beans: The Trouble with Soy. If you eat tofu -- or processed foods of any kind, most of which contain soy -- you might want to think twice about this supposed health food.
- I'm A Natural Born Killer. Is vegetarianism the healthy lifestyle that most of us just don't have the willpower to adopt? Or is it just modern asceticism slathered in propaganda?
Also, her blog looks interesting, although not often updated.
Stephan has been kicking ass and taking names, yet again. Go check out his latest offerings. You'll never look at your french fries the same again -- and not because of the carb-heavy potatoes.
"Eat a Balanced Diet" and Other Useless Advice by Johnny Bowden. He nails the problem with advice like "eat a balanced diet," "everything in moderation, "eat less junk food," and even "eat more fruits and vegetables." He writes:
What is a balanced diet? What elements should be balanced? Everything in moderation? Does that include sugar for sugar addicts, or alcohol for alcoholics? What is junk food? Is it synonomous with fast food? All fast food, or just some of it? You mean "slow food" can't be junk? And which fruits and vegetables should we eat "more of?" How much more? Are they all created equal? Are fruits and vegetables even equivalent on the nutritional pantheon? He then offers some basic (and good) answers to those questions.
Inside the Story: Gary Taubes: What if It's All Been a Big Fat Lie? An interesting interview with Gary Taubes about his 2002 NY Times article, What if It's All Been a Big Fat Lie?. Here's a tidbit:
HENRY: Did the reaction to your NYT Magazine story surprise you?
TAUBES: Yes. Even though I knew the article would be the most controversial article the Times Magazine ran all year, it still shocked me. More than anything, it was the viciousness of some of the responses. One of my good friends in the science journalism business--someone who had written a book on obesity and concluded, as the establishment insists, that the culprits are over-consumption of fatty diets and inactivity--went from considering me one of the four or five best science writers in the country to accusing me of having had a brain transplant and making up the story to get a big book deal. I'm not surprised.
The Great Divide. A surprisingly good Washington Post article on the Weston A. Price Foundation.Labels: Food, Health, Link-O-Rama
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