LegendaryLife Blog

The nursing blog has sent me a heads-up about some important information that they have put together regarding College students and STDs on campus. Most of this I already knew but some was still surprising. This should be mandatory reading for all freshmen and undergraduates!

Here is a summary, be sure to click the link for more detailed information:

• 25% of college students already have an STD (not surprising as this number is similar to that of the general US public)
• Condoms are only used about half the time
• 20% of girls have HPV, which can cause some problems with pregnancy later in life
• Half of the 20 million or so of new STD infections occur in people of college age
• 80% of those with an STD experience no symptoms, hence why most don’t even know they have it!
• HPV is the number one disease on campus
• 50% of alcoholic students consider contraception as an afterthought when engaging in risky behavior
• More than half of the students believe they can see an STD by looking, which is true but only 20% of the time when it’s actually “flaring up”.
• 60% of woman still have sex even if the guy doesn’t want to wear a condom.
• 60% of woman believed they were in a committed relationship while only 40% of men believed in the same.

I would also add that most STDs are curable but those that are not, such as HIV Disease, require regular medical attention and drugs for the rest of your life… not something to take lightly.

Buzvia: 10 Truly Shocking Stats On STDs and College Students

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

Canada, like many of the worlds countries, suffers from a substance abuse problem among a certain subset of its population. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry recently published a paper based off the research from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

The Results

• About 11% of Canadians have a problem with drug and alcohol abuse, this represents over three million people is equivalent to the entire population of the GTA!
• Substance abuse is more prevalent in mid-sized cities then rural or larger cities
• substances included in this study are alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, crack, speed, ecstasy, hallucinogens, glue, gasoline or solvents, heroin and steroids.
• Study benefited from a 77% response rate for a total sampling size of just under 37 thousand households
• British Columbia, Alberta had a substance abuse rate of about 13%
• Saskatchewan had a substance abuse rate of just over 14%
• Manitoba had a substance abuse rate of 13.5%
• Ontario had a substance abuse rate of just over 10%
• Quebec had a substance abuse rate of just over 9%
• New Brunswick had a substance abuse rate of just over 12%
• Nova Scotia had a substance abuse rate of just under 14%
• PEI (Prince Edward Island) had a substance abuse rate just under 10%
• Newfoundland/Labrador had a substance abuse rate of just under 13%

What does this all mean?

Statistically, considering the sample size, I would say these results are within a +/- range of a few percentage points, which essentially nullifies province by province comparisons. Generally, 11% of us Crazy Canucks enjoy a range of substances from alcohol to heroin to get us through yet another mind numbing day. I have lost both of my sisters to substance abuse and from that experience, I can easily say that those who take drugs are in deep denial to say the least (this includes tobacco users). Put another way, I doubt the foundations of this study if they simply relied on honest answers. You cannot expect an honest answer from a crook relative to how many items they stole anymore then you can expect an honest answer from a drug abuser high on self-denial.

The Bottom Line

Don’t drink, don’t smoke and don’t inject substances not given to you by a medical professional, otherwise, you WILL get more then you bargained for.

Buzzvia

http://www.camh.net/News_events/News_releases_and_media_advisories_and_backgrounders/addiction_geographical_rates.html

According to a BBC report sourcing a recent World Health Organization study, South African rates of obesity are approaching those in the industrialized world. I was surprised to hear this considering the only things we hear coming out of Africa are starvation, poverty and war.

According to the BBC/WHO:

• WHO estimates 400 million people worldwide are clinically obese
• Obesity crisis caused by fried fatty meat eaten during many meals
• HIV is the focus of many countries within Africa while obesity awareness and education fell off the wayside
• urban black woman have highest incidence of obesity, 67% to 72%!
• ill effect of obesity (morbidity) is being felt throughout society with higher rates of mortality
• in developing countries, where food is perceived to be scarce, being fat is a status symbol of wealth (culturally)
• if you are thin, people assume you have HIV or AIDS
• people fear going on weight loss programs for fear of being labeled HIV Disease positive
• South African government is saying that you cannot legislate peoples behavior

Ironic Twist

What I find incredibly ironic about this entire situation is that one very serious yet preventable disease (HIV Disease) is used as an excuse to create another very serious yet preventable disease (Obesity). South Africans are trading one epidemic for another! The very fact that their society as a whole thinks this is alright is deplorable, the South African government needs to step in to educate people that simply being thin doesn’t mean you have HIV Disease and that being fat isn’t healthy. Being obese leads to a number of major health problems including a shortened lifespan, diabetes, heart attack and the list goes on.

This being South Africa, I don’t expect this to happen anytime soon, with a corrupt government that still believes HIV Disease is caused by poverty, not a virus with no policy towards controlling its spread. This is ironic as well because Nelson Mandela’s own son died of AIDS a few years back (and he wasn’t poor).

The Bottom Line

Obesity shows it’s ugly head where ever ignorance and negligence live.

Buzzvia
Newspod for August 20th, 2007

I like seeing statistics about major events, they tend to summarize the level of engineering (physical and mental) involved to pulling them off. Here are a few from the upcoming 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.

Key Facts (so far)

• comprise of 28 programs encompassing 302 individual events
• 302 gold medals to be awarded
• almost 11 thousand athletes expected to participate in the games
• 21 880 touch bearers will have run 137 thousand kilometers over 130 days before the opening ceremony
• National Stadium (Bird’s Nest) covers an area of 258 thousand square meters
• highest ticket price is 5 thousand Renminbi (650$US) with the lowest being 200 Renminbi (26$US)
• Attendance is expected to exceed half a million internationally and 2.5 million domestic spectators
• over 800 hotels and 4 thousand hostels are providing 420 thousand rooms
• over 5 thousand IT professionals will help information flowing on over 12 thousand computers and two thousand printers
• Beijing 2008 Environment Construction Command Office is proposing 65 laws under five categories regarding keeping pollution down to a minimum during the games including a possible mandatory vacations for entire cities who don’t directly service the venues
• Beijing will demolish over 3.32 square meters of “illegal construction” to improve the aesthetics around the game venues
• smoking is banned at all venues
• Olympic expressways will open on nine Beijing freeways and five co-hosting cities
• China has launched a special zip code specifically for the Olympics in order to have speedy mail service during the games
• Pigs that will be fed to athletes are on a specific organic diet to ensure they are drug free

The Bottom Line

Sounds like fun… looking forward to watching the highlights on TV.

Buzzvia

http://virtualreview.org/china/zoom/348714/beijing-olympic-games-statistics

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,135974-c,currentevents/article.html