My friend Ken Murishwar writes:
"Sugar is bad, not just because of the obvious argument about calories: Within the appropriate circles it’s a well known fact that it is very detrimental to ones well being – When the body experiences a “sugar-spike”, it is very fundamental in shutting down the immune system, whilst being converted & stored by the body.
"Every 24 hours, each cell, including our DNA, face upwards of 10,000 oxidative hits (1). Thus, when the Telomeres that bind the DNA strand become eroded by this process, a mutation can occur - which if unchecked, can go o to form the basis of a tumour. In addition, if the immune system is turned off, it lays the body open to a multitude of degenerative conditions. I hope this explains why sugar is actually VERY bad for one’s health & well being.
"(1) Oxidative hits = Oxidative Stress = Oxidation at a cellular level. This is why we are advised to ingest Anti-oxidants in the form of Vitamins etc. Having said this, it is particularly harmful to have fragmented, isolated vitamin supplements as they lack the natural symbiotic enzymes otherwise readily available in fruits & vegetables.
"I hope you don’t mind but nutrition is one of my hobby horses & I felt it important to comment. "
No, Ken, I don't mind.
I always welcome debate.
But I wasn't trying to argue that sugar is good for everyone. I was only pointing out that while sugar may be bad for MOST people, no one apart from you can tell what the right level of sugar consumption (or anything else) is for YOU.
The best guide to how much of what to eat is from being very aware of your own body and from listening to the signals that your own body is always giving us - if only we are able to listen.
Monday, 24 May 2010
Thursday, 20 May 2010
Light pollution
No, not "light" pollution, as opposed to "heavy" pollution.
Yes, the pollution caused by light....
The most vocal opponents of light pollution are astronomers, as their ability to see stars is affected. For example, the Sheshan branch of the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory was built on Sheshan Mountain about 38 km from Shanghai, as it was considered an ideal place for observations. However, the growth of Shanghai has meant that, in spite of the best instruments money can buy, Sheshan is no longer suitable for astronomical observations of the level needed, and so the equipment for the observatory is being shifted to another city in another province. The good thing is that China has made this area, Tianhuangping, Anji City, into a "night sky protected area".
Great idea. I hope other countries follow the example of China.
So why is this post on this blog, which is supposed to be about medical matters?
Because it turns out that light pollution isn't just bad for astronomical observations, it is also bad for our health!
According to Professor Dr You Jianxin, Deputy President of the Chinese Academy of Science and Technology Management Program at Tongji University in Shanghai, excessive light can cause an increase in headaches, stress, anxiety, eye disease and even a decrease in sexual function.
What I would like to ask Professor You is whether the research related to all kinds of light (natural as well as artificial) or only to one kind of light?
In other words, are the problems caused only by artificial light?
Yes, the pollution caused by light....
The most vocal opponents of light pollution are astronomers, as their ability to see stars is affected. For example, the Sheshan branch of the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory was built on Sheshan Mountain about 38 km from Shanghai, as it was considered an ideal place for observations. However, the growth of Shanghai has meant that, in spite of the best instruments money can buy, Sheshan is no longer suitable for astronomical observations of the level needed, and so the equipment for the observatory is being shifted to another city in another province. The good thing is that China has made this area, Tianhuangping, Anji City, into a "night sky protected area".
Great idea. I hope other countries follow the example of China.
So why is this post on this blog, which is supposed to be about medical matters?
Because it turns out that light pollution isn't just bad for astronomical observations, it is also bad for our health!
According to Professor Dr You Jianxin, Deputy President of the Chinese Academy of Science and Technology Management Program at Tongji University in Shanghai, excessive light can cause an increase in headaches, stress, anxiety, eye disease and even a decrease in sexual function.
What I would like to ask Professor You is whether the research related to all kinds of light (natural as well as artificial) or only to one kind of light?
In other words, are the problems caused only by artificial light?
Friday, 14 May 2010
Calories and Sugar in the human system
The most widely accepted view today is that too many calories are bad for health as they make for obesity, and that sugar (at least refined sugar) is best avoided completely.
Clearly, there are people who suffer from diabetes who should avoid sugar and be careful about the calories (particularly carbohydrates) they consume.
But I doubt that, for most ("normal") people, sugar is particularly harmful - and it may even be beneficial!
As evidence, I cite my own case: I have consumed vast amounts of sugar right from the time I was a child, and I am notorious in restaurants which know me, for eating as little as possible of the main course (which is vegetarian in any case) and of concentrating on the dessert. I often have two or even three desserts, as well as assorted cakes, biscuits, dried fruit and other suger-laden products such as commercially-produced cereal bars.
My weight has changed over the years gradually from the 60+ of my teenage years to the 70+ that I have now at the age of 61.
If I fast for a day or two, my weight drops by a little; if I indulge myself too much, my weight rises a little...for a little while.
That is because I try to eat as wide a variety of (vegetarian) food as possible, and try to be in tune with my body regarding how much of what food to eat.
If you are in normal health, my experience suggests that the best guide to the question of what and how much to eat is NOT your calorie-counter or your fashion magazine or even your doctor, but actually your own body.
It will tell you when you have eaten too much or eaten what is not good for you.
Get in tune with it. Communicate with it. Listen to it. You won't go wrong.
As for obesity, it is in my view entirely unrelated to how many calories one consumes. The sort of "obesity" one sees around the world today is a medical disorder that may be related to commercial soft drinks, to chemicals in our food or water, to plastics, to radiation, or some other factor. Some people may well be obese because they don't know how to listen to their bodies, and therefore eat too much of the wrong sort of food for themselves. However, in my observation, many obese people eat no more than normal people do.
Clearly, there are people who suffer from diabetes who should avoid sugar and be careful about the calories (particularly carbohydrates) they consume.
But I doubt that, for most ("normal") people, sugar is particularly harmful - and it may even be beneficial!
As evidence, I cite my own case: I have consumed vast amounts of sugar right from the time I was a child, and I am notorious in restaurants which know me, for eating as little as possible of the main course (which is vegetarian in any case) and of concentrating on the dessert. I often have two or even three desserts, as well as assorted cakes, biscuits, dried fruit and other suger-laden products such as commercially-produced cereal bars.
My weight has changed over the years gradually from the 60+ of my teenage years to the 70+ that I have now at the age of 61.
If I fast for a day or two, my weight drops by a little; if I indulge myself too much, my weight rises a little...for a little while.
That is because I try to eat as wide a variety of (vegetarian) food as possible, and try to be in tune with my body regarding how much of what food to eat.
If you are in normal health, my experience suggests that the best guide to the question of what and how much to eat is NOT your calorie-counter or your fashion magazine or even your doctor, but actually your own body.
It will tell you when you have eaten too much or eaten what is not good for you.
Get in tune with it. Communicate with it. Listen to it. You won't go wrong.
As for obesity, it is in my view entirely unrelated to how many calories one consumes. The sort of "obesity" one sees around the world today is a medical disorder that may be related to commercial soft drinks, to chemicals in our food or water, to plastics, to radiation, or some other factor. Some people may well be obese because they don't know how to listen to their bodies, and therefore eat too much of the wrong sort of food for themselves. However, in my observation, many obese people eat no more than normal people do.
Fat-analysis as an indicator of health - and disease
As I have a layman's interest in medical matters, I try to follow developments in almost all the medical systems of the world (Ayurvedic, Chinese, Hebrew, Homeeopathic, Unani or Greek, Chiropraxy, Feldenkrais, Dr Schussler's, as well as Allopathic or "modern"....).
None of them, however, investigates fat.
I have noticed that my fat has changed its nature over the years.
It is also interesting that, in order to make for a system in which the diseases of the Egyptians would not exist among the Hebrews, their Scriptures asked them never to eat the fat of animals - suggesting that animal fat has an essential relationship with the diseases of those with lifestyles involving little physical exertion.
I conclude that ways of analysing fat could offer important clues to identifying the existence and development of disease in human beings, particularly diseases that are most idenfitied with modernity.
None of them, however, investigates fat.
I have noticed that my fat has changed its nature over the years.
It is also interesting that, in order to make for a system in which the diseases of the Egyptians would not exist among the Hebrews, their Scriptures asked them never to eat the fat of animals - suggesting that animal fat has an essential relationship with the diseases of those with lifestyles involving little physical exertion.
I conclude that ways of analysing fat could offer important clues to identifying the existence and development of disease in human beings, particularly diseases that are most idenfitied with modernity.
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