The Health Blog by Ryan Healy

Do Cell Phones Cause Brain Tumors?

It's a question that's been on my mind for quite a while now. Because if using a cell phone does cause brain tumors, then that has huge implications on how I communicate. (I don't use a cell phone every day, but I do use it frequently.)

Furthermore, I've heard conflicted stories: yes, cell phones do cause tumors; no, the don't; etc.

Here's the news: cell phones do not cause tumors or brain cancer. At least that's what Newsbug.net reports today.

Apparently, Denmark conducted a two-year long study with 475 test subjects who had brain tumors and 822 who did not. The study concluded that there was no association between cell phone use and an increased risk of brain tumors.

That's great news for cell phone junkies. But the co-author of the study, Dr. Christoffer Johansen, cautions that cell phones might cause other yet untested health issues.

For instance, a friend of mine got appendicitis last year. He believes it's because he wore his cell phone toward the front side of his right hip all the time. Coincidence or cause? Hmmm...

I think moderation is the best course of action until more studies can be conducted. Use a cell phone when you need to, but don't overdo it.

AM2 Gold Alliance

I just applied for membership in the AM2 Gold Alliance. It's Armand Morin's and Alex Mandossian's exclusive coaching program.

Hang with me for a moment and I hope to show you why it's relevant to what's going on in my life, even though it may be far afield from the health articles I normally write.

On Wednesday of last week I put in my two weeks' notice with the company I work for. I had no idea I was going to do this. Here's how it happened...

Last June, I began working with a guy named Scott Kozak. He's been in the financial industry for over 20 years. I decided I wanted to do what he's doing, so I set out to get my Series 6 license.

I achieved that goal on January 22 of this year. And so I've been meeting with Scott (and his partner Mark Barrand) for brief training meetings to bring me up to speed. And I've been working to bring in some clients.

Last Monday morning, one week ago, I went in for what I thought was another quick training session. It turned out Scott and Mark were making me a job offer.

I had recently rewritten one of their marketing pieces in my spare time, so I assume they were impressed... because they asked me to take over all their marketing and lead follow-up responsibilities. The "job" is 100% commission, no health insurance, no vacation, etc.

How could I pass up such a great opportunity? :-)

I accepted on Wednesday and have been pressing forward since then.

But my plan is to do more than just work for Scott and Mark. I've been working for over a year to establish myself online. And I'm already making about $200-$300 a month from my online marketing efforts.

But I want to do more. And I want to do it better. I figure I'll still have time in the mornings (between 5 AM and 7 AM), when I'm not working for Scott and Mark, to get plenty of work done.

That's why I've joined the AM2 Gold Alliance. I've been doing online marketing work for the past three years and have had the opportunity of using numerous resources and listening to scores of "marketing gurus." I believe Armand Morin and Alex Mandossian are two of the best.

If you have an interest in taking your online business to the next level, I think you could stand to profit greatly from at least reading what the AM2 Gold Alliance is all about. Who knows? If you decide to join, maybe you and I will end up meeting at an upcoming seminar or teleconference.

Colorado Blizzard

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.

• Picnic table buried in snow
• Snowy street and sidewalk

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...?)

Bextra Yanked from Pharmacy Shelves

Since I published a warning about Bextra on November 22 of last year, I wasn't at all surprised to learn that the FDA yanked the popular arthritis drug from pharmacy shelves this morning.

In addition to canning Bextra, the FDA has also announced that more than a dozen popular prescription painkillers and over-the-counter NSAIDs must now carry some of the government's strongest warnings.

One of the comments I found most humorous: "Now, doctors must find alternative treatment for their patients."

I assume the article aims to make the reader feel sorry for the doctors... as if they will have nothing to do without their beloved Bextra.

I do not feel sorry for the doctors. Their job should not be to prescribe treatment, but rather to cure. Somehow, they've missed this.

Well, now that Bextra is on the way out (right on the heels of Vioxx), maybe doctors will finally start to wake up. Maybe they'll try to cure patients instead of treat them. Would that be such a bad thing? Only for Merck, Pfizer, and the rest, I suppose.

The Power of Desire

Two days ago, in my article about America's declining longevity, I wrote, "Not even the threat of death can alter a man's habits."

Later that same day I happened to be reading John Carlton's Kick-Ass Copywriting Secrets of a Marketing Rebel when I came across this statement: "The power of desire can trump survival."

Our statements were so similar, I thought here's a guy who understands what's going on.

Once you understand how powerful desire is, you'll finally have a hope of overcoming your personal struggle with smoking, over-eating, looking at pornography, etc.

My wife and I have had one big struggle in our marriage, a struggle that lasted for the first five years we were married.

It was one of those "vicious circle" kind of things. My weakness played on her weakness and her weakness played on mine. So around and around we went.

For those first few years, my wife would continually blame me for her behavior. "I feel this way because of what you're doing!"

I refused to accept her reasoning. "You're feeling the way you're feeling because you choose to feel that way."

Whoa, boy. My wife never enjoyed hearing that. But after a few years, she finally began to realize the truth of what I was saying.

Like my wife, most people choose to blame. But blame is useless.

Blame abdicates responsibility. Blame steals personal power. Blame turns you from a thinking human being into a reactive automaton.

Listen up. You won't even begin to change your eating habits... your exercise habits... your smoking habits... whatever... until you stop the blame game and choose to change for yourself.

Change happens when you want to change. Not when you have to change.

You have to want to change... for you and you alone. Not for anyone else. Don't fall into the delusion that you're changing for your spouse or your children or God. The fact is, you'll only change when you're selfish about it—when you do it for yourself.

John Carlton, in The Marketing Rebel Rant, put it this way:

"You won't quit smoking, you know, until you really want to. Not for the sake of other people (not even your loved ones). It will happen ONLY when you want it so bad, you will actually do something about it. For yourself."

'Ol Johnny C. knows what he's talking about it, even if he is a crass money-hungry copywriter. I know what he's talking about; been there, done that.

You, too, will be wise to consider what I'm saying, even if I've struck a nerve with you. Because recognition of the power of your own desire is where all change starts. (Just ask my wife... ever since she decided she wanted to change, the "big struggle" in our marriage has become a non-issue.)

Shorter Lifespans in America

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.

Enormous Omelet Sandwich

Burger King just unveiled its new Enormous Omelet Sandwich, a caloric giant among lesser fast-food breakfast sandwiches.

The hoagie-styled Enormous Omelet Sandwich packs 730 greasy calories and 47 grams of artery-clogging fat—even more calories and fat than it's lunch-time cousin, The Whopper.

CNN Money reports:

"Denny Post, chief product officer at Burger King, said Burger King decided to offer the Enormous Omelet Sandwich—which goes against current trends in the fast food industry of offering more healthy choices—in response to customers who said they wanted a more filling breakfast."

So you want a more filling breakfast, huh? How about foods that are high in fiber instead of foods high in fat? Did you ever think of that?

A few examples of filling breakfast foods that (I hope) will prevent you from choking down an Enormous Omelet Sandwich:

• Oatmeal
• Cream of Wheat
• Uncle Sam Cereal
• Fruit (bananas, apples, prunes)
• Scrambled Eggs with Toast

Granted, not all of these options I've listed are top-of-the-line health food, but they're certainly more healthy than Burger King's over-the-top response to consumer desires. [Ed. note: David has some strong words about this statement in the comments.]

So... what would you eat for breakfast instead of an Enormous Omelet Sandwich?

(Special thanks to my coworker Michael Ballard for tipping me off to Burger King's latest.)