Confronting pain, strain, crud and bugs. Naturally.
This TED Talk presentation given late last year is worth a watch. It’s a 17-minute overview of the immune system, given by Tim Mossman of the University of Rochester. It’s got a lot of complicated charts and images that attempt to describe the infinitely complex immune system If you don’t view the whole thing ,at [...]
My daughter and her design studio friends in college put in a lot of late nights getting projects ready to turn in. In addition to consuming massive coffee, she and her fellow late nighters are drinking a lot of green tea as well. She buys the loose leaf stuff in the fancy store in the [...]
One of the concerns the consumer market has about foods, supplements, medications or pharmaceuticals (in other words, anything they put into their bodies) is safety. It seems every other week we’re reading about some new safety breach in a food product or a bottle of over-the-counter medicine. Could be the presence of heavy metals or [...]
We’ve long known that sun exposure help the body convert 7-dehydrocholesterol into Vitamin D, one of the most essential nutrients needed for good health. Science has suggested that regular sunlight exposure may also help maintain a healthy, balanced immune system. As one scientific summary states: “Exposure to both UVA and UVB radiation can have direct immunosuppressive [...]
Over the Thanksgiving weekend, we watched one of our favorite movies on DVD: Elf. In my humble opinion, it’s Will Ferrell’s best film and one of the best holiday movies anywhere. But enough of my Roger Ebert wannabe role. The point I want to make is about humor and laughter. There’s always been stuff written [...]
The core of immune balance is the notion that the human immune response is aggressive when necessary, and passive when appropriate. This means vigorously attacking antigens (germs, viruses) that can be harmful if allowed to proliferate when they enter the body. It also means staying at rest if harmless substances (pollen, dust, certain food or [...]
Another story today poo-pooing nutritional supplements. This one is on NPR. It reports on the recent University of Minnesota study of older women who took dietary supplements over the course of many years. The study shows a 2% greater mortality rate with the women who took supplements vs. the control group who did not. Of [...]
How do you measure improved immune function? Maybe by fewer sniffles and sneezes along with less itching and watery eyes during allergy season. Maybe by less coughing and wheezing along with reduced fever and body aches during winter crud season. Here’s another measure, especially if you are an employer that provides group health insurance to your [...]
The economic news continues to stay stuck in a rut. A gazillion homes continue to be under water. Foreclosure rates are still sky high. Unemployment appears to be glued at 9 percent. Many national and state economies are teetering on the brink. “Double dip” is a term always within earshot. As I continue to read [...]
One of my favorite beverages is beer. I’m probably not alone in that category. But, unlike my reckless college youth, I now prefer a small amount of a really good craft beer, rather than greater amounts of mass swill. One of my favorite beers is Millstream Windmill Wheat, brewed not far from my home, in [...]
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