The world's oldest living person, Hendrijke van Andel-Schipper, passed away today at age 115. She insisted that her daily helping of herring gave her a long, healthy life. Maybe there's magic in herring—or maybe there is magic in believing that what you are eating makes you healthy. Hmmm... You can read the full article about the Dutchwoman here.
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This morning I learned that Kevin Trudeau is headed for court... again. The date is set for August 30 over claims that Trudeau's infomercial for Natural Cures They Don't Want You to Know About is misleading.
First, you should know that I haven't read the book. But I have read a lot of opinions on both sides of the argument. From what I can tell, Natural Cures isn't a bad book; it just fails to deliver on some of the promises Trudeau makes in the infomercial that's helped to sell more than 3 million copies.
I've posted about Trudeau's work in the past. If you're interested in reading what I've written and the 30+ comments readers have left, try Kevin Trudeau's Natural Cures or Kevin Trudeau, Part 2. Or, if you'd rather, read MSNBC's latest coverage here.
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The local Highlands Ranch Herald ran a front-page story on August 11 that read, "Stroke strikes 9-year-old boy." Of course, I was shocked to learn that strokes can strike children, and I read the entire article.
The boy, Brady Jones, was in his physical education class when he suddenly dropped to the floor unconscious and unresponsive. What they first suspected was a seizure or massive migraine turned out to be stroke.
UPDATE: I recently corresponded with Brady's dad, Tommy. He provided some helpful information.
"12% of kids that suffer a stroke will die and more than 66% will be left disabled for the rest of their life. This only leave about 22% that will recover without harm. Guess what, Brady does not fall in that 12% or 22%. Life has been forever changed for him, us as parents and his 6-year-old brother. Post that fact."
Tommy told me the doctors have never been able to identify what caused the stroke. Brady was a healthy kid and he may not have lived had he not been as healthy as he was.
If you'd like to learn more about strokes in children, visit KidsHaveStrokes.org. Or if you'd like to help the Jones family directly, please visit Cause2Ride.com.
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Atkins Nutritional—the company responsible for manufacturing and marketing Atkins diet products—filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy last night. Fickle consumer preferences plus an enormous $300 million debt load finally caught up with the privately owned company.
Read the complete Atkins bankruptcy article here.
I've never been a fan of the Atkins diet. I personally believe the large amounts of protein advocated by the diet put too much strain on your organs.
Given my personal beliefs about Atkins, I thought I'd note an important observation buried in the last paragraph of the article referenced above: "In June, the Advertising Standards Authority called for an advertisement for the Atkins diet to be pulled because its claims that followers could 'enjoy a healthier lifestyle' could not be proved."
I guess it all depends on what you're comparing to. I'm sure Atkins is healthier than the Standard American Diet (SAD), but probably not as healthy as something like the raw diet. Your thoughts?
Update 8/3/2005: Loyal reader Kurt notified me to some misinformation I had published in my blog. Dr. Atkins did not die of a heart attack; he died because of a head injury. I got my information from the article linked to above. I just rechecked the article and they, too, have set the record straight. The old paragraph has been modified to read: "Atkins Nutritional lost its most effective spokesman when Dr. Atkins died [...] after slipping and hitting his head on icy pavement." On my honor, this same article, on August 1, said that he had died of a heart attack. You can read a full statement regarding Dr. Atkins' demise here.
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In today's news: "Schoolchildren and school employees are at significant risk of illness from the use of pesticides in and around schools, federal investigators reported today."
Another reason to homeschool, I guess.
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Related to your physical well-being...
A new study has revealed that talking on a cell phone while driving increases your risk of getting into an accident by 4.9 times, reports The Week Magazine.
If you opt for a hands-free set, you're still increasing your chances of an accident by 3.8 times. Not good odds at all.
What's interesting about the study is that the researchers didn't rely on the drivers' honesty—they cross-referenced the time of the accidents to the phone company's records to see whether or not each driver was indeed on the phone at the time of the accident.
Advice: carry a cell phone in your car in case of emergencies, but save your conversations for a time when you're not driving.
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Stay up to date on what U.S. health experts are saying, doing, recommending, etc., but don't place too much trust in them. That's the lesson we can learn from a recent scandal in Germany.
"The tobacco industry paid four top German scientists to produce research downplaying the dangers of cigarette smoking, Hamburg's Der Spiegel reported this week. Jurgen von Troschke of Freiburg University allegedly took nearly a half-million dollars from the German Association of Cigarette Manufacturers for a report concluding that cigarettes were not addictive." Source: The Week Magazine
I personally believe these conflicts of interest have probably tainted a number of health studies that supposedly prove one thing or another. How many studies have been affected, I wonder?
What defines a blizzard versus a snow storm? I don't know... But I do know it's been snowing a lot here. Probably 18 inches of accumulation already, and still snowing.
It's a typical spring snow: very wet and heavy. Each shovelful probably weights 10-20 pounds. If you get really ambitious (scoop as much slushy snow as you can), it's easy to load the shovel up with 30 pounds or more.
Here are a couple of photos of the blizzard from my house in south Denver. I took them just 15 minutes ago, at about 6:30 AM.
Weight loss tip of the day: shovel your own driveway when it snows. You'll burn more calories shoveling snow than you will going to the gym.
Just use some common sense. A couple of years ago when Colorado got hit with over three feet of snow, there were numerous reports of heart attacks induced by over-exertion.
I shoveled the driveway twice yesterday. And though I've no concern of heart attack, my biceps, shoulders, and back are sore. And, in about another 30-60 minutes, I'll get to shovel the driveway again! (Where's a massage therapist when you need one...?)
Americans' lifespans are decreasing for the first time in over 200 years. That was the news in Thursday's Daily Reckoning.
I'm a big fan of The Daily Reckoning. I read it as often as I can. They write primarily about financial news, but every once in a while touch on other subjects... like health.
Bill Bonner reports:
Fat tails threaten America. We seem to be the only ones on the story. We haven't seen it in the U.S. press. But according to the report in France's Le Monde, Americans eat so badly that they are now facing shorter life expectancies. Could it be true? If so, it represents an extraordinary fat tail event. You'll recall, dear reader, that "fat tails" are the statistical bulges at the far extremities of a bell curve. Most things that happen are in the middle. At the edges are the things that are only supposed to happen once in a blue moon, or not at all. They're the bets that are so far out-of-the-money that people don't bother to make them. They're the risks that are believed to be so remote there is no point in hedging against them. But then, they happen.
Here is a perfect fat tail event - something unexpected, but richly deserved. Americans have become so obese, said the front-page Le Monde report, that it has reversed the trend towards longevity. People in America have been enjoying longer and longer lives. The trend began soon after the country was founded and continued until only a few years ago. We became used to the idea that each generation would live a little longer than the one before it. We based our insurance, retirement, and health care projections on longer and longer life expectancies. The outlier event - a drop in American life spans - was hardly ever considered. It was a "black swan" - something that was theoretically possible, but not in the observed data upon which we made our forecasts. And yet, there it is. A big, fat tail.
The profit motive, blatant disregard for health, and just plain ignorance about proper health are all to blame for this interesting turn of events.
So what will shorter lifespans in America mean?
Here's a guess: shorter lifespans will accelerate change. For instance, it's already been guessed that the number of Baby Boomers pulling money out of the markets could cause a significant recession around the year 2016. But if Boomers start dropping like flies before then... well, the greatness of the change and the accelerated rate at which it could happen would be truly stunning.
One thing I know shorter lifespans won't change is America's love affair with unhealthy food. Not even the threat of death can alter a man's habits.
Maybe you'd like to venture a guess. If so, post a comment. What will shorter lifespans in America mean? I'd be interested in your thoughts.
Imagine you are driving to your doctor's office.
The funny part is, you feel great. No aches, no pains, no sickness. In fact, you're not going to see your doctor for any illness whatsoever.
Rather, you're going to see him for a prescription... for vitamin C.
A prescription for vitamin C? It sounds ridiculous, but this frightening scenario could come to pass as early as August of this year.
When I heard this news, I was incensed. In fact, I'm still incensed. It's a classic case of government destroying personal freedoms in orderd to "protect" us from ourselves.
Listen up. If you don't act now, it's nearly certain you'll see the entire health supplement industry become regulated overnight. You'll witness thousands of supplements vanish from the market. Some nutrients, like CoQ10, chromium, and selenium, will become illegal.
And you'll be powerless to stop it.
If you do one thing for your health this year, this is the most important. Read the article by Jonathan V. Wright. Read it thoroughly.
When you get to the bottom of the article, please—for all of our sakes—take the actions he recommends. I plan to follow through by the end of next week, and will keep you updated on any feedback I receive.
PS - If you'd like to read more on this topic, check out Jon Herring's article at Early to Rise and the discussion that's taking place on the Speak Out Forum (I've responded to the discussion as -RMH-).
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