Newmark's Door

Discouraging but probably not surprising--part two

"How Chocolate Became a Health Food (Sort of)".

"Behind a cancer-treatment firm's rosy survival claims"

Sounds like another sad example of the perils of a non-random sample. 

"Your fat has a brain. Seriously. And it's trying to kill you."

Scientists now know that fat is not inert. It's worse than that. 

Three on health

"How Three Minutes of Exercise a Week Could Change Your Life".

Current advice from the NHS suggests that in order to stay healthy, adults should take either 150 minutes — that’s two-and-a-half hours — of ‘moderate’ exercise a week, or 75 minutes of ‘vigorous’ exercise.

But a growing number of studies — from proper scientists, not wacky weirdos — suggest that the benefits of exercise could be achieved in much less time if you go in for very short bursts of very high-intensity exercise.

How short? Well, just one minute, three times a week. Yes, you read that correctly. 

"The Benefits of Occasional Fasting".

It seems counterintuitive, but skipping meals helps you feel more energized, recover better from exercise, blast fat, and retain lean muscle mass, and even protects your body from heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and cognitive decline – which is why NASA is interested in looking at fasting to improve the cognitive functioning of pilots and unmanned-aerial-vehicle operators.

How does skipping meals provide these types of benefits? Because we were once hunters and gatherers who sometimes went days between meals, our bodies were designed to survive in times of feast and famine. Most Americans now live off a constant drip of processed food, which keeps blood sugars elevated and immune systems depressed.

"The Science Behind Coffee and Why it’s Actually Good for Your Health".

Here's why coffee may actually be one of the healthiest beverages on the planet.

I have so far resisted my doctor's advice to take a daily baby aspirin

Here's another reason why: "Aspirin 'triples chance of blindness disease'."

Something I didn't know about the harm of high blood pressure

The effect is, apparently, nonlinear over the 115 or 120 systolic we're supposed to aim for, with the almost all of the harm coming from a systolic above 180. See Spyros Makridakis, "High Blood Pressure and Iatrogenics". See also, "There is a non-linear relationship between mortality and blood pressure". 

Both links are via Seth Roberts who wrote this very interesting post, "Undisclosed Risks of Common Medical Treatments". 

"Stroke Warning Signs/Indications"

Professor John Palmer warns us rapidly againg folks about symptoms to take action on. 

"Why Is My Kid Such a Picky Eater?"

Genetics and environment. Which means it's your fault. 

"The Best of Medgadget 2012"

If we can just keep the government from interfering too much, a lot of wonderful medical technology will be coming.

See also "Local researchers leading the way in cancer treatment".

 

"Neutralize a Lethal Enzyme"

This claims that 5-LOX is the source of most our ills. 

It may surprise you that of the ten leading causes of death in this country—including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes—seven are linked to a single enzymein your body. [footnote omitted]