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QotD: Necessary Wilderness
Apr. 17th, 2017 03:04 pmThousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wilderness is a necessity.
- John Muir
- John Muir
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Why I Don't Wear Flats
Nov. 3rd, 2015 01:27 pmI used to wear heels that made me six feet tall. I loved being tall and accepted my big feet for the anchors. I never liked my body much though, or my face, always found fault. When I was approaching 30 years old I decided to get in shape. I'd been in shape a couple of times before... from jiujitsu in high school and my first year of river guiding. My plan at age 30 had to do with biking, swimming, and walking, hopefully running but I had never been a runner.
( When I was living in Knoxville, )
( When I was living in Knoxville, )
Energy Medicine and Science
Jan. 9th, 2014 12:55 pmI'm not big on woo woo. When practitioners choose modalities simply because they "resonate" with them, I am skeptical. But when science backs up the use of something that has long been thought of as energy medicine, I am happy to recommend it. Of course people will tell you something is backed by science when it isn't, so you have to go look at the science for yourself, or find sources like me that you know are science-minded and skeptical to help filter the claims for you.
Here's a case of energy medicine turning out to be something real. Scientists have found that acupuncture points are detectable by CT (computed tomography, fancy medical imaging). All those points have a certain size of larger blood vessels, and also thick mats of fine blood vessels that have lots of forks (birfucations) in them. Piercing the tissues at these points is probably affecting the nervous system associated with those blood vessels. This supports my belief that energy medicine (that actually works) has a anatomical and physiological basis. Acupuncture is well proven to be effective for pain, short term at least. To treat pain longterm one must take the naturopathic approach and find the reason for the pain, and change that.
Here's a case of energy medicine turning out to be something real. Scientists have found that acupuncture points are detectable by CT (computed tomography, fancy medical imaging). All those points have a certain size of larger blood vessels, and also thick mats of fine blood vessels that have lots of forks (birfucations) in them. Piercing the tissues at these points is probably affecting the nervous system associated with those blood vessels. This supports my belief that energy medicine (that actually works) has a anatomical and physiological basis. Acupuncture is well proven to be effective for pain, short term at least. To treat pain longterm one must take the naturopathic approach and find the reason for the pain, and change that.
And that's just what we need to make the movie Idiocracy predictive. A recently published Harvard University meta-analysis funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has concluded that children who live in areas with highly fluoridated water have "significantly lower" IQ scores than those who live in low fluoride areas.
SOURCE
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/08/14/fluoride-effects-in-children.aspx?e_cid=20120814_DNL_artNew_1
SOURCE
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/08/14/fluoride-effects-in-children.aspx?e_cid=20120814_DNL_artNew_1
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The Capacity for Faith
Jul. 26th, 2012 07:32 pmI'm listening to an interview on NPR with an author (C. Beha) who is talking about the loss of his Catholic faith, and his subsequent exploration of the question of faith. (You can listen to it here: http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=3&islist=true&id=13&d=07-26-2012) He appears to be drawing an equivalence between having faith, and having a personal experience of God. I think that this equivalence is mistaken. I do not have faith, and yet I have mystical experiences on a regular basis. I do not Believe that these experiences are God because I know that there are too many other explanations to be sure of that attribution. I remain agnostic: I've had and heard of no mystical experiences that cannot be explained by other phenomena, yet there could of course be a spirit manipulating it all. I suppose that puts me in the camp of the faithless.
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A new study shows that patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) do not progress to dementia if they drink enough coffee! Gotta love it. I'm going to start drinking a whole pot, by golly. The researchers in this study think that it's the caffeine, and not the anti-oxidants, that has the anti-dementia effect, but according to mouse studies, it has to be coffee. Those patients with a little MCI who java it up enough to have a plasma caffeine level of 1200ng/mL did not go into dementia. 100%. The caffeine appears to inhibit an enzyme used in the manufacture of beta amyloid! They're also tracking cytokines in the plasma and finding that there's a particular profile assorted with conversion to Alzheimer's disease (low IL-6, IL-10, and G-CSF). In the future we might consider testing for those cytokines to detect impending dementia in healthy patients.
( notes!! )
( notes!! )
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Left-Handed People Die Young
Jun. 13th, 2012 03:44 pmTYPES OF HANDEDNESS
Redirected handedness = learned handedness
Natural handedness = genetic or inherited
Pathological handedness = caused by brain injury or other pathology
( notes )
Redirected handedness = learned handedness
Natural handedness = genetic or inherited
Pathological handedness = caused by brain injury or other pathology
( notes )
Body Burdens of Toxins
Sep. 14th, 2011 09:10 amBody Burden studies
Table of contents: http://www.ewg.org/sites/bodyburden1/toc.php
Body Burden 1 looked at how many chems are present in adults with various diseases.
http://www.ewg.org/sites/bodyburden1/es.php
Body Burden 2 looked at infants by sampling cord blood.
http://www.ewg.org/reports/bodyburden2/execsumm.php
Test yourself:
http://www.ewg.org/sites/bodyburden1/usertest/index.php
Table of contents: http://www.ewg.org/sites/bodyburden1/toc.php
Body Burden 1 looked at how many chems are present in adults with various diseases.
http://www.ewg.org/sites/bodyburden1/es.php
Body Burden 2 looked at infants by sampling cord blood.
http://www.ewg.org/reports/bodyburden2/execsumm.php
Test yourself:
http://www.ewg.org/sites/bodyburden1/usertest/index.php
The new finding is that 10 year old children of persistently depressed mothers have larger amygdalas. This new finding makes me wonder.......about our society. But-- a little orientation for those of you who don't read about the brain all the time. The amygdala is part of the mammalian or limbic brain, and it is the part that helps us feel fear and loathing, instinctive attraction and lust, and mystical or religious experiences. In other words, the amygdala drives a whole lot of instinct and emotion, and is completely distinct from rational thought. Another recent study showed that political conservatives have bigger amygdalas, whereas political liberals have bigger frontal cortices. So my question is this: is our current generational swing to the right side of the politic spectrum due to a generation of depressed mothers? Or were these mothers inattentive for other reasons? Did the advent of television cause a rewiring of our brains on a population level? Just asking. What other factors could have caused a generational swing toward amygdalic dominance??
( (new article from medscape) )
( (new article from medscape) )
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Breathing Innervation Question
Jul. 17th, 2011 08:16 amI've been told by meditation & yoga instructors and naturopathic doctors that inhalation is controlled by sympathetic innervation, and exhalation is parasympathetic. Based in this, we are taught to change our meditation breathing based on whether we desire to emphasize activation or calming. The idea is that by extending the inhale and shortening the exhale, you increase your sympathetic activity. More often the idea of extending the exhale to double or more the length of the inhale is used, to help us release the stresses of modern life.
( a question )
( a question )
Herbs: Scutellaria lateriflora (Scullcap)
May. 14th, 2011 09:15 pmfascinating factoid per Drs Szabat & Ambrose: scutellaria inhibits expression of IL6, 6/2011
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Family: Labiatae (MINT family)
( notes )
Family: Labiatae (MINT family)
( notes )
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Pediatrics (week 5): Neurology
May. 6th, 2011 11:57 amNeurology
( notes, Collins speaking after midterm )
( notes, Collins speaking after midterm )
Liberal and Conservative BRAINS
Apr. 8th, 2011 08:30 pmhttp://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/740517?src=mpnews&spon=12
Turns out that Liberals have more grey matter in the anterior cingulate cortex, making it possible to hold opposing views and consider subjects in complex ways, whereas conservatives have bigger amygdalas giving rise to greater fear and disgust responses, and also more religious thinking.
Turns out that Liberals have more grey matter in the anterior cingulate cortex, making it possible to hold opposing views and consider subjects in complex ways, whereas conservatives have bigger amygdalas giving rise to greater fear and disgust responses, and also more religious thinking.
