I decided that working hard on a daily basis is fun but each Friday, a change in pace is required. I do a number of changes in my life from wearing non-formal cloths, sleeping in and just taking the day as it comes for a change. I hope this gives you a glimpse into how interesting and fascinating health actually is!

Banned Commercials

One thing led to another earlier in the week and I found myself on YouTube viewing some banned commercials that I found rather funny regarding various health issues, this blog is about extreme health – I hope the issues brought up in these videos give you both a chuckle and something to think about over the weekend. Feel free to leave a comment regarding what you are about to see!

Banned Good Vibrations Commercial

Why woman sexuality is still a taboo subject is beyond me, this commercial was banned in Korea.

Banned Durex Condom Commercial

This has to be the best video I have ever seen that clearly displays how condoms work in preventing pregnancy.

Learning English Using Fitness

Leave it up to the Japanese to put two completely unrelated things, in this case, a cardiovascular workout session and a hold-up into a very weird commercial that makes little sense. Wait till the 30 second mark and you will see what I mean.

Tennis the way it should be played

I think if all tennis matches ended like this commercial, their male viewership would jump exponentially during the next Wimbledon, I can only hope.

The Bottom Line

I hope you realize through watching these videos how broad the area of health really is.

For older patients who require close monitoring in a home setting, Duo-Cares wristband glucose and blood pressure monitor may be exactly what the doctor ordered.Features

Vital sign monitors run into the thousands of dollars but this wristbands advantage is its small form factor (meaning it can follow the patient anywhere) and relatively non-evasive fit factor. Although it doesn’t rack many other vital signs, most diabetics also suffer from secondary conditions which this will monitor. Additional features include:

• incorporates Fast Tracking Temperature (FTT) technology for accurate blood glucose readings even when the device and blood are two different temperatures
• step deflation on the cuff for blood pressure monitoring within 30 seconds
• advanced oscillometric algorithm (AOA) technology
• requires only a small blood sample (0.5ul) and gives readings in 5 seconds
• one button monitoring of various vital signs
• wristband monitor stores results and allows for easy data transfer to computer for clinical evaluations over time
• uses enzyme based test strips for accurate readings

The Bottom Line

There has never been a better time to be or become a diabetic, but don’t forget a healthy lifestyle incorporating physical activity (including weight training), proper diet and regular monitoring will go a long way towards reducing the likelihood of serious complications.

Buzzvia
http://www.medgadget.com/archives/2007/08/post_12.html

Corporate Site
http://www.duo-care.com/

Americans spend over 40 billion dollars a year on potions, products and programs designed for a singular purpose – to loose weight. Ironically enough, the more Americans spend on loosing weight, the more weight they gain! Frontline has looked into this phenomena in it’s documentary Diet Wars.

Summary

I believe this is worth watching but if you don’t have time, here is a summary of the key points outlined in the documentary:

• January is when most Americans think of shedding the weight
• many obese people realize the damage they are doing to their health but simply cannot change their habits
• heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, stroke, high cholesterol and cancer risk factors are all influenced by carrying excess weight
• 2/3rds of Americans are overweight with most living in a state of denial
• Pritikin diet consists of fruits, fish, vegetables, soy milk, beans, it’s basically an ultra-low calorie reduced diet
• Atkins consists of eating all the fat you can while limiting the starches, fruits and cereals
• Atkins contradicts everything the government and scientific community has told the public
• Atkins works by reducing caloric intake, just like all diets that are effective
• the anti-fat (low fat diet) dogma is difficult overcome
• in the 90s, the food industry began removing fat from our foods (to reduce caloric intake and reduce weight of consumers)
• all commercial foods are made up of protein, water, carbohydrates and fats but removing the fat from a product requires the addition of one of the other three (usually carbohydrates) which gives them the same calories as regular “non-low-fat” products
• 3 000 calories of carbohydrates = 3 000 calories of fat
• low fat era of the 90s caused Americans to before fatter then ever with a third being obese by the early 2000s
• eating too much refined sugars (rice, white bread, pasta) cause sugar rushes which then causes the pancreas to over-compensate with insulin which in turn stimulates hunger
• Atkins works by satisfying your hunger due to the high protein and fat content (it’s burned slowly by the body verses carbohydrates which are burned quickly)
• saturated fat and cholesterol help clog up the bodies arteries
• Harvard recorded the lifetime diets of health professionals and after 20 years of research they found out that saturated are animal fats are linked to heart disease and cancer but unsaturated fats from fish and vegetable oils help protect people from these conditions
• unrefined carbohydrates are filling and nutritious while refined carbohydrates have the opposite on the effects on the body
• nuts are very high in fat and protein but also very nutritious
• South Beach Diet outsells Atkins now in the United States
• 80-90% of people who loose weight from specialized diets gain it back within a year due to cravings and returning to old habits
• Weight Watchers keeps the weight off longer then other plans due to the community support lacking from many other diet programs, it isn’t a diet, it’s a lifestyle change
• Weight Watchers uses a buddy system, teamwork, to maintain weight loss
• 65% of Americans are overweight or obese
• Americans live in a dream world compared to our ancestors where food is plentiful and cheap without requiring physical activity to acquire it
• childhood obesity rates are skyrocketing due to improper diet and lack of activity (some 12 year olds already have type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol)
• one child in two within the United States is at risk of developing diabetes over their lifetime
• most school cafeterias are full of junk food which works against their abilities to get a proper education
• children don’t play outside as before, families don’t eat together and the television has become a baby sitters (societal values have changed)
• sedentary lifestyle reduces calorie requirements by the body so even a normal diet can cause obesity
• America On The Move promotes healthy weights by using pedometers, creating fun, goal orientated activities to loose weight
• schools that cut out physical education to save funds are now returning towards physical activity as part of the school curriculum
• food is an important part of American culture, which is why limiting food consumption is a difficult task for most Americans
• all diets are gimics, long term changes are required after the initial weight loss and self-control isn’t a sexy marketing catch-phrase

My Dieting Views

The entire diet industry is made up of a lie, that of money. To be more specific, that you need to spend money to get the body you want… things couldn’t be further from the truth. Instead of giving your power to a third party, save your money and time, invest in yourself instead!

The Bottom Line

Permanent weight loss is easy if you are willing to change your lifestyle.

Buzzvia
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/diet/view/

If you are unlucky enough to require the use of an artificial limb, I hope this gives you hope that the functionality desire may not be that far away.

Dr. Goldfarbs Background

Dr. Goldfarbs is a professor of mechanical engineering at Vanderbilt University who has been fascinated by prosthetic limbs since childhood, and did his masters degree into designing a robotic artificial leg. He later did his doctorate in developing a computer controlled brace that would allow paraplegics to walk with the use of electrical stimulation on their muscles! He’s currently doing research into dramatically improving the usability and functionality of artificial limbs.

Power requirements are the next hurdle

Dr. Goldfarbs realized while doing robotic research that the achiles heel of any powered prosthetics is the inability to function for extended periods of time without having to have the power supplies refreshed (plugged in). As a result, he exchanged motors for special materials that expand and contract based on varying voltage, functioning very much like normal muscle tissue. In 2000, while doing research for DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Project Agency), he developed a fuel source that simply used hydrogen peroxide instead of conventional motors and batteries.

Military needs artificial limbs!

With impressive advances in body armor, the number of casualties that the military suffers from was sharply down but as limbs are still exposed, a record number of limbs where being amputated. Having impressed other researchers, he then set his sights in 2005 towards developing an advanced prosthetic arm ever with 30 million dollar in funds from DARPA.

DARPA Results

The artificial arm developed by Dr. Goldfarbs was radically different then anything currently in the marketplace and has almost the same functionality of a real one! The artificial arm has more dexterity, freedom of movement and power then what is currently available with the added benefit of using a liquid fuel power system which can be refreshed when ever the user desires. Other researchers are also studying implantation of electrodes directly within the central nervous system to control artificial limb movement instead of using current methods.

The Future of Artificial Limbs

Dr. Goldfarbs is now researching the development of an artificial leg using the same technology he developed with DARPA funds for the next generation artificial arm.

Video

I found a video by Dean Karmen, I don’t know if the arm is the same as the one developed by Dr. Goldfarbs but the end of the video is interesting regardless.

The Bottom Line

Follow your strengths and success will surely follow.

Buzzvia
http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/Creating_The_Ultimate_Artificial_Arm_999.html

The entire “wellness” industry has been on its BS binge for quite some time now, although herbs have been used for many millennia to “cure” conditions, it doesn’t mean they are effective beyond a placebo. Sure, there are exceptions but when you pit a pharmaceutical drug vs one sourced from “natural ingredients”, the pharmaceutical version is more often then not far more potent.

What are Herbal Remedies?

I haven’t heard anybody give me a definition for what exactly “Herbal Remedies” actually are? I visit trade shows and it seems everybody has their own self-serving definition of what a Herbal Remedy is and why their product is better then any pharmaceutical grade medications out there. As a result, here is my unbiased definition

Herbal Remedy: product sourced from many natural ingredients whose origins are dubious, it’s effectiveness relies heavily on both the placebo effect and on generational trust (it’s been used for thousands of years, so it must work safely). Often promoted as a supplement in modern times without any double blind clinically based studies to backup incredibly exaggerated marketing claims. Herbal Remedies are sold in a variety of formats, from homemade bags to pharmaceutical looking packaging at various price points that aren’t related to effectiveness nor quality. Some are effective but the vast majority are not, relying on a shotgun approach verses a laser one by the pharmaceuticals.

Natural cures for EVERYTHING!

The “wellness industry” likes to promote the reason why their “natural cures” aren’t widely available is due to pharmaceutical companies trying to protect their turf and corrupt government agencies getting in the way of healthy alternatives. I am sure there is some elements of that but while the pharmaceuticals must spend billions proving their product works before reaching the marketplace, the wellness industry is hell bent on not spending a dime on studies that would prove (more likely disprove) their effectiveness. Instead, they rely on pharmaceutical sounding words, testimonials, slick marketing and promises that they must know are over-the-top. Among the most successful out there is Mannatech but there are many more out there as well.

The Wellness Industry Circumventing a Paradox

I believe the entire “wellness industry” is in sort of a paradox, it cannot prove their product work in a clinical setting yet they cannot gain acceptance by the medical field without proving their product works. How to circumvent this seemingly endless paradox? Well, keep telling people they work, if you say something often enough, the general populous will eventually believe it’s a fact. Open any health magazine (Muscle & Fitness, Cosmopolitan, Runners World, Flex etc… ) and you will see this effort in full force, listen to the radio and you will hear the same, watch television and commercials are pushing useless herbal remedies as well.

Times article about potential dangers of herbal remedies

Dr. Sanjay Gupta wrote an interesting piece for Time which outlines the “wellness industry” in rather stark terms, here is a summary:

• use of herbal supplements by the general public has jumped 83% in the past decade and is now worth 22.3 billion dollars a year!
• most common mistake herbal remedy users make is believing the product actually works
• 19% of herbal remedy users are trying to treat specific conditions, not general wellness and wellbeing
• 2/3 of herbal preparations have never been clinically proven for effectiveness
• 2002, the FDA put out a warning against the dangers of supplements using kava root due to its potential to cause liver damage
• 2004, FDA banned ephedra after it was linked directly to over 100 deaths
• Ayurvedic supplements (Indian and South Asian preparations) may be laced with heavy metals such as mercury and lead
• Saint-John’s-wort has an anti-depressive effect but also interferes with some HIV medications and heart drugs like warfarin and digoxin

What to do?

Well, before you spend another dime on naturally sourced supplements, be sure to visit a doctor and share your concerns. He or she knows far more about health then either of us and can lead you in the right direction. Secondly, tell your doctor each and every medication you are taking, some herbals that do work interfere with pharmaceuticals. Thirdly, if it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is, save your money.

The Bottom Line

Effective herbals may have their place in overall health but should never be taken in replacement or in conjunction with pharmaceuticals unless cleared by your health practitioner.

Buzzvia
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1625175,00.html