Health News

Weight loss pollutes your blood. I would also say that weight loss triggers autoimmune issues although I can't say if that is independent of or because of the pollutants. I don't think it's a coincidence that I rapidly lost 20lbs, got sick and ended up in the hospital last year. In my body, weight loss is not benign and I notice that I am actually sicker when losing weight than when overweight.

Still waiting for science to catch up to this observation.

1/2 of the people in the US have pre-existing conditions. It's not death panels I am worried about, it's the chronic disease panels trying to economize management of conditions like asthma that worry me.

Genes influence friendships. Fascinating stuff. The science says alcoholics flock with other alcoholics as part of their DNA. Also, by the way, most of us are related by virtue of the fact that Charlemagne was quite prolific in the bedroom. This was explored in a Smithsonian article years ago. All it takes is some guy powerful enough to 'sow his seed' wherever and whenever he wants to genetically link millions of people.

Low carb is gaining ground. An excerpt says it all:

"Fat is not the problem," says Dr. Walter Willett, chairman of the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. "If Americans could eliminate sugary beverages, potatoes, white bread, pasta, white rice and sugary snacks, we would wipe out almost all the problems we have with weight and diabetes and other metabolic diseases."

It's a confusing message. For years we've been fed the line that eating fat would make us fat and lead to chronic illnesses. "Dietary fat used to be public enemy No. 1," says Dr. Edward Saltzman, associate professor of nutrition and medicine at Tufts University. "Now a growing and convincing body of science is pointing the finger at carbs, especially those containing refined flour and sugar."

Americans, on average, eat 250 to 300 grams of carbs a day, accounting for about 55% of their caloric intake. The most conservative recommendations say they should eat half that amount. Consumption of carbohydrates has increased over the years with the help of a 30-year-old, government-mandated message to cut fat.

And the nation's levels of obesity, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease have risen. "The country's big low-fat message backfired," says Dr. Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. "The overemphasis on reducing fat caused the consumption of carbohydrates and sugar in our diets to soar. That shift may be linked to the biggest health problems in America today."