What really happens to our muscles as we age if we are chronically active?
These are MRI cross sections of leg muscles. Via this recently published study in the journal Physician and Sports Medicine. See also.
Hostess, maker of Twinkies, files for bankruptcy.
Meanwhile, restaurants like Le Pain Quotidien and shares of Whole Foods and Lululemon are on the rise. This is capitalism at its best, and one of the main reasons why I’m optimistic about our nation’s health. You’ve got to fight capitalism with capitalism.
Hostess bankrupt? I’m intrigued by the possible health related outcomes here.
There will always be a special place in my heart for math related humor. That place would be the Asian half.
23 and 1/2 hours: What is the single best thing we can do for our health? (by DocMikeEvans via @CBM)
THIS! Everyone should watch this. Pass it along!
Today is the end of an era folks. Lipitor, the #1 selling branded medication in the world is going off patent. This means, instead of the $115 a month Pfizer has been charging, it is now a race toward the bottom for generic manufacturers to produce and sell it for hopefully $4 a month.
Despite Lipitor’s wild popularity, as you can see below, either 96 or 98% of people (depending on whether or not you have prior heart disease) who take Lipitor see no benefit. It does do what it says— it lowers your cholesterol. But prolonging your life and increasing the quality of your life is much more complicated than just lowering your cholesterol. Here are the numbers for:
Those without heart disease (just high cholesterol):
For those with a heart disease diagnosis:
Taking chronic medications like Lipitor is quite similar to receiving vaccines. You receive vaccines to not only protect yourself, but to also protect society. At the individual level, Lipitor is a very bad investment. At the population level, a very small percentage of Lipitor takers are helped. As you can see, if you’re a gambler, it’s not a very good bet to take Lipitor. And if you look at the entire population of people, less than 4% of those taking Lipitor will actually be helped.
This is modern medicine folks, bottled up and sold via daytime television.
And by the way, see that chemical structure up there. That’s called atorvastatin. It’s also called Lipitor. If anything changes in that chemical structure, it’s fundamentally different and can no longer be called atorvastatin. So if any of you are wondering if a generic is better/different from a branded medication. It’s simply not. If a generic medication were different/better, it would be a fundamentally different chemical compound. And that applies to all medications and vitamins. Don’t let marketers fool you that there’s a benefit to spending $111 more a month on a branded drug.
I had heard this was happening soon. The sad part is, a simple investment in eating more foods with fiber (like fruits and vegetables!) would cost MUCH LESS and have SEVERAL MORE BENEFITS on top of lowering LDL cholesterols.
thuc:
Happy World Diabetes Day!
This day was created by the International Diabetes Federation in 1991 and accepted by the United Nations in 2007. The theme this year is Diabetes Education and Prevention. During this week, I’ll be sharing a diabetes infographic each day.
If you’re interested in the fight against diabetes, you should check out the International Diabetes Federation.
You also need to check out a project on Kickstarter, Patient 13. It’s a project that’s trying to raise $30,000 in the next 17 days in order to finish producing their documentary on Scott King as he tries to find a cure for diabetes. Right now, they’ve raised $13,325.
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Scientists discover most relaxing tune ever
Sound therapists and Manchester band Marconi Union compiled the song. Scientists played it to 40 women and found it to be more effective at helping them relax than songs by Enya, Mozart and Coldplay.
Weightless works by using specific rhythms, tones, frequencies and intervals to relax the listener. A continuous rhythm of 60 BPM causes the brainwaves and heart rate to synchronise with the rhythm: a process known as ‘entrainment’. Low underlying bass tones relax the listener and a low whooshing sound with a trance-like quality takes the listener into an even deeper state of calm.
Dr David Lewis, one of the UK’s leading stress specialists said: “‘Weightless’ induced the greatest relaxation – higher than any of the other music tested. Brain imaging studies have shown that music works at a very deep level within the brain, stimulating not only those regions responsible for processing sound but also ones associated with emotions.”
The study - commissioned by bubble bath and shower gel firm Radox Spa - found the song was even more relaxing than a massage, walk or cup of tea. So relaxing is the tune, apparently, that people are being Rex advised against listening to it while driving.omg trrrip after i read the part that the beat synchronizes with the heart, it did :O
I’m almost overwhelmed at first like, “WHY ARE YOU BEATING TO MYY HEARTBEAT”
thuc:
The Childhood Obesity Epidemic
The increasing rate of childhood obesity is hard to watch, yet parents are still offended when health professionals tell them “how to raise their children”.
thuc:
Health Effects of Caffeine
Awww yeah, you KNOW I’m gonna reblog this.
A legal addictive substance for all ages! This list forgot to mention it improves exercise performance, though. I’m slightly disappointed.
Ron Swanson, soulmate.
Scientifically speaking, consuming bacon and eggs ramps up stimulation of the awesome glad in your brain. This in turn secretes more “awesome sauce” into your blood stream which leads to sexy results.
Fantastic! :)
Saw this earlier, and I am all for this. I had a class on melanoma last week. Let’s just say the pathways that create skin cancer are quite complex. However, cancer doesn’t care how complex it is. The simple fact is that skin cancer is showing up in younger and younger individuals. Cover up, use a good sunscreen. That is all.
For the lady followers: Hot guys showing you how to check for breast cancer.
If it helps, I’m on board.
THE “fact” that junk food is cheaper than real food has become a reflexive part of how we explain why so many Americans are overweight, particularly those with lower incomes. I frequently read confident statements like, “when a bag of chips is cheaper than a head of broccoli …” or “it’s more affordable to feed a family of four at McDonald’s than to cook a healthy meal for them at home.”
(via)
