Health – Page 14 – Auxiliary Memory

Sitting is the New Smoking

By James Wallace Harris, Tuesday, October 7, 2014

The new catch phrase I’m hearing is “Sitting is the New Smoking.” This statement conveys so much. It triggers memories about my dad, who died when I was 18, and he was 49. He was a smoker, and survived two heart attacks and a stroke before he died on his third heart attack. I always wondered how long he would have lived if he had never smoked. It’s a shame he didn’t learn that smoking was bad when he was growing up, but that knowledge just wasn’t common back then. What future common knowledge are we missing out on now? Is sitting really the new smoking?

I have to wonder if my life would have been different if I had known sitting was so bad. I’ve had back problems for years, and at the moment I’m having neck problems, with a pinched nerve. Writing this essay is causing increasing pain in my arm. And the pain is more than physical. I am reminded of a classic episode of The Twilight Zone about a bookworm named Henry Beamis. All he wanted to do was read put people wouldn’t let him. Finally he’s the last man on Earth and has all the time in the world to read, and he breaks his glasses. I retired thinking I’d have all the time in the world to write and read, and at this moment I can’t do either without aggravating my pains. I’ve become Henry Beamis.

Pack Matthews gives me hope though in his TED Talk, “Sitting is the New Smoking but you’ve got Options.”

Matthews says pains are like canaries in a coal mine, warning us that we need to do something different immediately. But he also promises that we’re never too old to improve. Our body’s ability to readapt is impressive. This video is well worth watching. Even if you’re not suffering, knowing that sitting is the new smoking when you’re young and healthy is very important too.

When I was a kid I was very active, but as the decades progressed I’ve become more and more sedentary. Even when I was a programmer and sat at my chair all day long I got up a lot, helping people out all over a four story building, and often in other buildings. Now that I’m retired I spend almost all my time sitting, and its caught up to me. I’ve got to develop routines of more activity. In the video above, Matthews shows people a simple test to measure potential longevity as it relates to physical mobility. Currently, I’d score very low. But he promises that it’s possible to increase my score.

Watch the video and try the test yourself. You might be surprised.

Just how bad is the sedentary lifestyle? Is it truly equal to the life-shortening effects of cigarettes consumption? The studies aren’t saying skipping exercise is bad for you, but the actual act of prolonged sitting is bad, and even causes cancer. The trouble is we all do a lot of sitting. Most of us work at a desk all day long at work or school, then we come home and watch TV for hours, or sit at the computer or play video games. Even the educational pastime of reading which is good for your mind is bad for your body.

Just read some of the many articles on Google about this topic.

The conundrum we face is how to integrate more activity into our ass-in-the-chair lives. I’ve been laid up where the only comfortable position I can find is reclined in a La-Z-Boy has made me think of alternatives for not being able to sit at my desk. One thing I’ve considered is dictating my writing and converting it with Dragon Dictate to Word files. That same solution would work with walking and standing. However, my spinal stenosis and degenerative disc problems limit my walking, but I am trying to walk more.

Matthews wasn’t the only TED Talker to attack sitting. Nilofer Merchant presented “Got a meeting? Take a walk.”

Of course, my problem is writing at the computer. How can I take a walk and write? Well, people have come up with a solution, the treadmill desk. I’ve seen stories about them on TV, and there’s lots about them on the Internet. Here Jordan Keyes talks about this treadmill desk after using it for almost two years.

The above video didn’t say much about the health value of using a treadmill desk to me until I saw this older video, when we see Keyes in a much larger body. Of course, he’s doing more than walking and typing to lose weight, but the two videos do effectively show how his efforts have made a change in his life.

But not everyone likes treadmill desks. I’m not quite ready to spend $1200-1500 yet, but I’m thinking hard about this. If anyone reading this blog uses a treadmill desk, please leave a comment below.

There are many things to consider in such a setup. Unless you’re always working at the treadmill desk you’ll have to have a sit down desk also, meaning two computer setups, or using a laptop you move around a lot. Many people are using standing desks that can adjust to sitting and standing. These come in a huge variety. And it’s possible to get just a flat treadmill to move under such an adjustable desk.

But if we stand around all the time, won’t standing become the new sitting? I would imagine the key is to keep moving in lots of positions. It’s really not practical to avoid sitting all day long. I often see advice suggesting we get up and move around more, maybe once an hour. I was recently told to think of my posture every time I go through a doorway, and was even given some exercises to try using with the doorway. My chiropractor told me my ears should be above my shoulder, and that I had bad posture. This fit right in with this graphic about ergonomics at the computer workstation.

Note how they want ears, shoulders and hip to line up. I’ve developed sort of an old man slump, with my head tilted forward like a turtle’s head coming out of its shell.

I’ve always learned a lot physical therapy. I think what I need to do, or even what we all need to do, if spend a few moments each hour doing yoga and physical therapy stretches. I’ve already begun to ride my exercise bike more while watching television, but dang, even that involves sitting.

Sitting might be the new smoking, but giving up sitting is going to be impossible, at least for me, so the most I can hope for is keeping my ass out of the chair as much as possible.

JWH

Are Our Brains Being Fucked Over by Fantastic Tales?

While watching the previews of the new Spiderman movie I wondered how could Spiderman do all that swinging from building to building? I don’t read comics, but is there some kind of theory as to why he can leap from location to location? What propels him? How does he have the strength to survive the G-forces pulling on his arms, or impacting on his legs? What generates his webbing? I know all of this is just for fun, but thinking about how it could ever be real hurts my brain. It’s just so fucking unbelievable that I have to wonder about its psychological allure.

Why are we so entertained by fantastic tales? Aren’t superhero movies just fairytales for adults? And aren’t they getting out of hand? Action movies are moving further and further from reality. Is this good for our brains? There’s a saying by old programmers, “Garbage in, garbage out.” It meant if you input bad data into the computer, the machine will spit out bad data. Couldn’t that also be true for our bio-computers?

Why do we so badly want to believe in magic? From the earliest days as toddlers, we are told fantastic tales. We watch TV that’s full of bullshit concepts. We read comic books and real books based on fantastic concepts. We teach our kids about the tooth fairy, Santa Claus, angels, witches, vampires, gods and God. As children grow their fantasy inputs becomes more sophisticated, switching to Harry Potter, Star Wars and Spiderman. They will tell you its not real, but what do they feel in their heart of hearts?

We let them watch old TV shows like I Dream of Jeannie and Bewitched where a crossing of the arms or a twitch of the nose can alter space and time. Does anyone ever wonder what is the science behind the God of Genesis ability to create? Is it a magic staff like Moses, or does he twitch his nose like Samantha? We subtly embed the meme that magic exists, while saying it doesn’t. Is it any wonder that some kids have a frail grasp on reality?

I’ve spent a lifetime reading science fiction, and bought into all kinds of crap that’s not supported by real science, or I did. I’ve now become an atheist to my own religion – science fiction. Once you question one bullshit theory, you question them all.

I know it’s supposed to be in fun, but how many people secretly wish for the fantastic? Deep down, how many people wish their lives were like the movies?

And haven’t action movies gotten a little embarrassing? Aren’t they really power porn? Sex porn is the dream of unlimited sex. Isn’t action movies and superhero movies just a desire to gorge on unlimited power? To be able to kill you enemies with enormous force and ability? Most people would never watch sex porn in public, but why aren’t people embarrassed to watch huge quantities of power porn in large groups? And isn’t it hilarious that both sex porn and power porn are about carrying different kinds of big sticks? Talk about your AK-47 envy. Isn’t this all just power fantasy?

What is the underlying need for binge TV watching? Is it any different from binge video gaming?

Isn’t it all about escaping reality – becoming one with fantasy?

What’s the exposure limit to fantasy before it becomes harmful?

JWH – 5/2/14

Nutritional Rating Systems

I’ve always eaten what I liked, usually junk food, but for decades I’ve longed to eat healthier and lose weight. Now I have to eat healthy because of my heart. Eating healthy has always been a vague concept: avoid junk food, eat natural foods. What exactly are healthy foods? What are junk foods? Is there a scientific, quantitative way of judging foods?

I started studying Dr. Joel Fuhrman, a health guru I discovered on a PBS fund drive. I made the pledge and got a bunch of books and videos by Fuhrman. From Fuhrman’s book Eat to Live I read about his nutrition index which I’ve since discovered evolved into the Aggregate Nutrient Density Index (ANDI). Just look at this chart to get an idea how it works. It’s rather revealing in a simple obvious way.

[Click for larger image]

Is kale really a 1,000 times better than a glass of Coke? That’s not hard to believe, I would have thought it infinitely greater. But what about something healthier sounding? Is kale 50 times better than feta cheese? Or 20 times more nutritious than peanut butter? Only if you’re just counting micronutrients. But Dr. Fuhrman believes phytochemicals are the real key to health. His books and lectures are quite persuasive in convincing me that eating very nutritional foods can actual reverse my clogged arteries and reduce my cholesterol.

The trouble is, when I tried his starter diet it made me feel awful, and I hated eating the prescribed food. Fuhrman claims there’s a barrier to get through, and once on the other side I’d feel great. I’m going to try again, but this time I’m going to work my way into slowly. Fuhrman doesn’t want his converts to be pussies, but to bite the bullet and jump into eating healthy cold turkey. I’m having a problem with that. So I’m going to improve my diet by improving my numbers.

My point however, in writing this essay is to explore nutritional rating systems. The idea of food coming with a score is appealing, especially when the rating is based on quality rather than quantity, which is essentially what calories count. When I look at the above list and see that carrots are almost ten times more valuable than an apple it makes me wonder why an apple a day keeps the doctor away. The ANDI system is far from perfect though, which measures micronutrient density per calorie. Almonds get a rating of 28, yet I’m seeing all kinds of reports about how almonds are good for you. And why is a white potato equal to brown rice? See, they both have equal levels of micronutrients, but the ANDI system makes no claim about macronutrients, or energy producing values of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Low value ANDI foods can and do include valuable chemicals that our body needs but is not reflected in their numeric scale.

There’s another rating system that is more complex, that also rates processed foods, called the NuVal, that scores foods from 1-100. In this system broccoli scores a 100, avocadoes get an 89, but Pepperidge Farm Goldfish are 20. Iceberg lettuce gets a 82 and pineapple gets a 99. That doesn’t seem to jive with the ANDI system, but that’s because it’s counting other qualities including fiber. NuVal is used in over 1700 supermarkets to help shoppers compare all kinds of foods.

Fuhrman’s ANDI system is designed to recognize the healthful benefits of phytochemicals in whole foods. It’s more of a specialized system. NuVal is a comparison system to be used by all food manufactures for marketing purposes. Both have their value. For my purpose, I value the ANDI system more. I want to create my own menu of healthy foods to cook, and want to get away from eating prepackaged processed foods.

I can also look at the bigger picture of any food by looking at sites like NutritionData – see this page for kale, which give extensive data, including the amino acids in the protein breakdown.

I doubt I’ll ever need this level of detail information. Dr. Fuhrman claims if you eat a variety of high value fruits and vegetables from the ANDI system you’ll get everything you need. But I’m a vegetarian and need to worry about protein. I do think the ANDI system is a great scale to eat by, but not the only one.

JWH – 12/5/13

Designing My Own Restaurant Style Menu for Healthy Eating

The other day I wrote, “Simplifying an Overloaded Life” which has inspired me to work on a single goal developing a healthy diet. This morning, in the predawn darkness of being neither awake or asleep, a good idea came to me. I imagined creating a menu, like the kind we use in restaurants, that would have all the healthy foods and dishes I could eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks, listed in an attractive way, that will remind me of what I might want to eat, or should eat. If it’s not on the menu, then I don’t eat it.

[click on photo for larger image]

I even imagined using Microsoft Publisher to lay out this menu with attractive lettering and appetizing photos, printing it on card stock, and even having it laminated. I pictured myself pulling out this menu whenever I got hungry so it would remind me just what I could eat, knowing that if I ordered from this Healthy Living Home Menu, I’d be eating just what I need to feel better and lose weight.

Of course, in the light of day, this appears to be quite an ambitious project. What if my menu offers twelve different dishes for breakfast, lunch and supper? That’s learning how to cook 36 meals. Damn, that sounds like a lot. 28 has always been my favorite number, so let’s go with eight items for breakfast, and ten for lunch and supper. Even that sounds too ambitious.

Of course I know myself. I cook one thing and eat on it three days, and freeze any leftovers. I tend to eat the same breakfast every day. Right now I live off of about six different meals I know how to prepare, but what I need to do is eat more variety of vegetables and fruits, so I need to expand that repertoire of items on my menu.

I’ve decided that December is the month I’ll totally focus on learning to eat healthy as my one and only goal. Here’s what I plan to do:

Gather all my diet/health/cook books into one place for study (see photo).
Read and compare these books for their best recommendations.
Write down the best advice and tips I read in Evernote.
Learn how to shop for the best foods I should eat – how to tell when fruits and vegetables are in season, at their best to buy, etc.
Learn how to store food for optimal quality – fruits, veggies, spices, condiments, dairy, eggs, nuts, etc.
Learn how to chop and cook food properly.
Select 20-30 recipes to master and start learning to cook them – save them in Evernote.
Create and print my menu of approved foods.
When at home, only eat from that menu.
Research menus at local restaurants for their most healthy meals and make a list of approved away from home menu items.
Make a list of all foods and ingredients I want eat and know about, and why they are good for me, and if they have any curative powers.

One problem I’ve always had when I’m at the store, especially a healthy one like Whole Foods or Fresh Market, is seeing all the fruits and vegetables and not knowing how to select and prepare most of them. Recently I’ve been adventurous and started buying avocados after some training with my friend Janis. I’m still never sure how to pick out a good one, but I’ve learn how to cut them open, even though I make a mess, but all I do is put a few slices on my salad and then I have half an avocado that I don’t know what do with. I really need to get to know fruits and vegetables.

I also need to learn how to use spices. I can cook by a recipe, but crudely. What I like to do is think of a selection of tasty veggies and make a stir fry or soup, but I’m never sure how to season my concoctions. So in studying my cookbook, I need to select a range of recipes that will educate myself about spices.

I assume my menu will be a good place to save all the recipes I want to master, so it might end up like a small book.

My ultimate goal is to simplify my life. I want to get past thinking about what I should eat. I want to get past thinking about how to live healthy. I want to learn what’s in my diet/health/cook books and then give them away. I want to stop worrying about what I should eat. I want to stop worrying about eating an unhealthy diet.

I want to start the new year without having to make any resolutions about dieting.

JWH – 12/4/13

Sex Hormone Pollution (Endocrine Disruptors)

I’m reading a fascinating book, Boys Adrift: The Five Factors Driving the Growing Epidemic of Unmotivated Boys and Underachieving Young Men by Dr. Leonard Sax. Dr. Sax’s fourth factor is endocrine disruptors – chemicals in the environment that mimic female sex hormones that are affecting male animals around the world, including human males. I had vaguely heard about this problem, but the research and theories Dr. Sax reports on is eye opening. Like our bodies, the environment is a soup of chemicals that works in a delicate harmony, and the amount of pollution the environment is receiving is reaching levels equal to taking medicine for our bodies.

Since the beginning of the industrial age we’ve been dumping billions of tons of countless man-made chemicals into the environment, and we’ve yet to learn the ultimate outcome of these actions. If climate change deniers are freaking out over the idea of global warming, based on one natural element being increased in the environment, what will they make over sex hormone pollution? It was one thing to hear back in 1996 that synthetic sex hormone mimics were affecting amphibians and fish, but it’s a whole other thing to think they’re affecting human boys growing up today.

A good recent overview of the problem is “How Chemicals Affect Us” by Nicholas D. Kristof in the New York Times. Also read his older piece, “It’s Time to Learn From Frogs.” A more sensational piece is “Boys with Boobs” by Beth Greer at Huffington Post. Greer has several recommendations on how to avoid the kind of chemicals that can affect our sex hormones. [Man, I’m giving up drinking from plastic bottles!]

To read more of these types of articles on your own follow this link to Google.

Dr. Sax’s theory about endocrine disruptors and boys takes these protests up a quantum leap.

Dr. Sax theorizes that endocrine disruptors are making girls reach puberty earlier and boys later, partly explaining why boys are having so much trouble in school. Girls are now doing much better in school and college than boys and his book Boys Adrift tries to explain why. One of Dr. Sax’s theories suggests that endocrine disruptors are changing boys at a sexual hormonal level thus affecting their learning personalities. I don’t know how much research has gone into this hypothesis but it’s a very interesting one. Plus, I must point out that Dr. Sax has an array of theories about various problems affecting boys, endocrine disruptors are just one – but I think a significant one.

Is sex hormone pollution enough to change the dominant gender in our society from men to women? Sax doesn’t say that, but that’s what I’m reading into the story. What will the climate change deniers make over that idea? If Dr. Sax’s hypothesis is correct, and I’m not saying that it is, this will take the whole issue of man-made pollutions to a much higher level of impact than ever before. It’s one thing to change the biosphere, it’s a whole other issue to fundamentally change humans.

You can read Boys Adrift at Google Books.

JWH – 10/31/13