Fascinating Herb! Definitely worth further investigation.
There are many lifestyle changes which have impacts too, such as exercise...quantity and type. I would also be interested to see what, if any impact our change in diurnal rhythm by means of light bulbs etc may have on the body as a whole.
Krys you might be right our biological clocks were programmed generations before and messing with our sleep/rest cycles must have an impact on our mental and physical health and stamina. I'm guessing that light cycles play a big role too. I've done some basic research into plant light cycles and have learned that light duration can play a major role in sex determination (male/female) productivity and general heatlh of said test subjects.
Indeed....and light cycles in plants even determine flowering time.
In people, it's been shown that certain meds work better when given at nite...for example, some cholestrol lowering drugs work best when taken at night because that is when the liver processes that stuff...while we sleep.
I've been reading a lot of history lately and it's clear that not too many generations ago, people died much younger, lived in constant fear of infection and disease, and in many cases, ate a far worse diet than we do, especially during the winter and spring.
Today everyone in first-world countries at least has the choice to eat good, healthy food. Indeed, for most of us, the real challenge is to *not* eat so much food.
So back to the question "Has our Opulant lifestyle Created Problems?". No. I don't think so. We live better and longer despite cancer, heart disease and old age than we ever did. If we were were to go back to a better time, what would it be? 1956? Lots of canned food and pork. Also lots of DDT. Doesn't seem that great to me.
I think the real problem is fast food/junk food, overeating and lack of exercise. There's probably some truth to the omega-3 stuff as well. I eat salmon a couple times a week. I just don't believe the pesticide issue holds much water. Farmers do not use much of them because they are very expensive, and most pesticides are designed to affect very specific bugs and to degrade quickly after being applied.
Jim I agree we are living much longer and healthier lives today than a century or two ago. Most of that can be attributed to understanding what was causing disease outbreaks and eliminating the source or educating folks in better hygiene. I don't believe there is a *good old days* we should return to, just good new days ahead as we understand more about the world we live in.
I've done alot of study on pesticide use and its effects both here and abroad and unfortunately some countries we import food from still allow DDT (and other banned pesticides) to be used on food crops. So we are not nearly as safe as we think in that regard, fact is that stuff is sometimes applied at rates far above the recommended amounts by unskilled labor so there is a chance that even if the chemical is permitted the dosage could still be high enough to be toxic to both the farmworker and consumer.
I'm not aware of specie specific pesticides outside of some interesting developments in the GM field, Malathion for instance kills not only mosquitos but bee's and butterflies as well, something my city council was surprised to learn and while it may not persist in the environment for long, it is the route of exposure and duration that does most of the damage.
Comparative nutritional studies on sustainable vs conventionally grown foods is just now taking place so this study is one of the first to be released but you are correct, processed junk food leaves alot to be desired nutritionally and a lack of exercise only compounds the problem. My staff is assembling what little there is on this, if/when it gets placed into a report I'll post it here.
Herb....perhaps our opulant lifestyle is founding this war..perhaps we should let tha towl heads eat tha oil. and we could spend less money on gas and help funding fer intrution how to eat right
On the one hand, I believe "natural foods" with less chemicals and additives are FAR healthier. We have switched from the paste known as white bread to high fiber whole grain breads. Same for our pastas and cereals. We rarely eat white rice anymore, opting instead for the higher fiber varieties or a mixture of white and high fiber varieties. I haven't eliminated processed foods, but I have drastically reduced them. I take a number of vitamins that I believe are lacking in my diet and/or will benefit me due to other genetically inherited difficulties. I have once again resumed my exercise program as well. I feel MUCH better.
Of course, I had been down that road before and it didn't help me at all the first time. However, after being diagnosed with and treated for hypothyroid, adding those changes back into my lifesyle has done wonders.
On the other hand, I have done some reading on the Omega 3 fatty acids and it's effect on the brain/mood/disorders, etc. A number of studies claimed the Omega 3 fatty acids can treat ADHD, so I gave that a try for a time with my boys. Not only did it NOT work, but their symptoms seemed to worsen. Obviously that is just a personal experience and not a scientific study.
I think further research is certainly warranted. They can now take images of the brain that show specifically what area is misfunctioning with certain disorders, such as OCD, ADHD, and certain mood disorders. [My son's counselor showed me some pictures of these today - it was really interesting, you could see exactly what two areas of the brain are misfunctioning in a person with ADHD and how medications effected those areas.]. I think it could be interesting to do some long term studies using brain imaging to see if/how diet might effect the brain. Unfortunately, my understanding is the imaging studies require the use of low grade radiation - so long term studies might not be possible.
Suppose we lift up our vision and view the planet as a whole - - just as another point of view.
Things we've done to increase food production are great things inasmuch as we can feed more people. But that leads us into the faulty idea that we can probably feed everybody if we work hard enough at it. And the truth is, we can never even hope to begin to do that no matter how much we try, or how much we put into it. In fact, the more we put into it, we soon come to a place of diminishing returns where we get out less for our efforts which are increasing.
We irrigate by taking water from underground aquifers and we deplete them prematurely because we remove the water faster than it can recharge. As somebody in Florida who lost his house or car in a sink hole how much they liked that. Sink holes result from removing water from underground aquifers with a high water table. In addition, irrigation with underground water adds salts to the soil. Underground water holds dissolved minerals which are left behind in the soil after the plants are harvested. It's been estimated that after about 20 years of heavy irrigation like this, the soils have become so "salty" they won't support normal crops without cleaning out. That's a time consuming process (years) and depends on rainfall.
I should quit going on like that!
There is a balance of using what we know for the greatest good....and not more than that. Determining what the greatest good is, is the major problem. Is it feeding all the hungry??? or keeping the soils in great condition for farming? I don't want you thinking I have the answers 'cuz I don't - - just a big mouth with a whole lot of questions.
The Aral Sea lies within the former Soviet Union. During that regime it was used to irrigate farmland to increase food production. During the past 50 yrs waters have receded to about 1/2 of their former size due to agricultural drawdown. Since the sea lies at the lowest elevation point it has also collected all the run off from those farms which were heavily dependant on chemical ferts and pesticides which eventually meant that the receding shoreline became a toxic repository of those chemicals. There are now reports of serious health problems in the region.
Oh and some of these crops are being exported under one trade treaty or another.
Spme people thing the next global war will be over oil - - but I wonder if it will be other comodoties...like food, soil, land, water...stuff like that
"I've been reading a lot of history lately and it's clear that not too many generations ago, people died much younger, lived in constant fear of infection and disease, and in many cases, ate a far worse diet than we do, especially during the winter and spring.
Today everyone in first-world countries at least has the choice to eat good, healthy food. Indeed, for most of us, the real challenge is to *not* eat so much food. "
Our longer lives aren't due to how we eat but on interventive medical care, neonatal care and fewer accidents.
Every time I go to Africa I'm amazed out how healthy, vital & strong the populace is. Theeir low life expectancy is due to a high death rate at birth, accidents & lack of medical care when the big diseases hit. By comparison, us Americans are weak, pallid, foggy and tired. I always feel better after eating their food for a few weeks.
There's no chemicals on their food. They can't afford 'em.
Our longer lives aren't due to how we eat but on interventive medical care, neonatal care and fewer accidents.
Every time I go to Africa I'm amazed out how healthy, vital & strong the populace is. Their low life expectancy is due to a high death rate at birth, accidents & lack of medical care when the big diseases hit. By comparison, us Americans are weak, pallid, foggy and tired. I always feel better after eating their food for a few weeks.
Very interesting Evan. I know the farmers around here are in much better shape than I am. My farmer uncles lived into their 90's with lots of ice cream in their diets. As I sit here feebily pecking this out, a ray of light is shining in my foggy brain, saying excercise is the best cure all. And that's exactly what I plan to do, right after a nap.
Our longer lives aren't due to how we eat but on interventive medical care, neonatal care and fewer accidents.
Every time I go to Africa I'm amazed out how healthy, vital & strong the populace is. Theeir low life expectancy is due to a high death rate at birth, accidents & lack of medical care when the big diseases hit. By comparison, us Americans are weak, pallid, foggy and tired. I always feel better after eating their food for a few weeks.
There's no chemicals on their food. They can't afford 'em.
And do they have access to this healthy,nutritious food all year long? My statement was in the context of westerners in a temperate climate where, before refrigeration and jumbo jet freighters, we were limited to fresh fruit and vegetable for only a couple months a year. The rest of the time it was canned food or meat.
And as to the reasons for our long life, *the* major reason we live better is civil engineering. Civil engineers provided cities with clean, disease-free drinking water and disposed of sewage. The resulting increase in health and lifespan can be seen historically long before the advances in antibiotics and neonatal care.
Recommended Posts
krys
Fascinating Herb! Definitely worth further investigation.
There are many lifestyle changes which have impacts too, such as exercise...quantity and type. I would also be interested to see what, if any impact our change in diurnal rhythm by means of light bulbs etc may have on the body as a whole.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
excathedra
i have been reading nothing BUT th is subject for the last week or so
Link to comment
Share on other sites
herbiejuan
Krys you might be right our biological clocks were programmed generations before and messing with our sleep/rest cycles must have an impact on our mental and physical health and stamina. I'm guessing that light cycles play a big role too. I've done some basic research into plant light cycles and have learned that light duration can play a major role in sex determination (male/female) productivity and general heatlh of said test subjects.
Edited by herbiejuanLink to comment
Share on other sites
krys
Indeed....and light cycles in plants even determine flowering time.
In people, it's been shown that certain meds work better when given at nite...for example, some cholestrol lowering drugs work best when taken at night because that is when the liver processes that stuff...while we sleep.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jim
I never know what to make of these discussions.
I've been reading a lot of history lately and it's clear that not too many generations ago, people died much younger, lived in constant fear of infection and disease, and in many cases, ate a far worse diet than we do, especially during the winter and spring.
Today everyone in first-world countries at least has the choice to eat good, healthy food. Indeed, for most of us, the real challenge is to *not* eat so much food.
So back to the question "Has our Opulant lifestyle Created Problems?". No. I don't think so. We live better and longer despite cancer, heart disease and old age than we ever did. If we were were to go back to a better time, what would it be? 1956? Lots of canned food and pork. Also lots of DDT. Doesn't seem that great to me.
I think the real problem is fast food/junk food, overeating and lack of exercise. There's probably some truth to the omega-3 stuff as well. I eat salmon a couple times a week. I just don't believe the pesticide issue holds much water. Farmers do not use much of them because they are very expensive, and most pesticides are designed to affect very specific bugs and to degrade quickly after being applied.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
herbiejuan
Jim I agree we are living much longer and healthier lives today than a century or two ago. Most of that can be attributed to understanding what was causing disease outbreaks and eliminating the source or educating folks in better hygiene. I don't believe there is a *good old days* we should return to, just good new days ahead as we understand more about the world we live in.
I've done alot of study on pesticide use and its effects both here and abroad and unfortunately some countries we import food from still allow DDT (and other banned pesticides) to be used on food crops. So we are not nearly as safe as we think in that regard, fact is that stuff is sometimes applied at rates far above the recommended amounts by unskilled labor so there is a chance that even if the chemical is permitted the dosage could still be high enough to be toxic to both the farmworker and consumer.
I'm not aware of specie specific pesticides outside of some interesting developments in the GM field, Malathion for instance kills not only mosquitos but bee's and butterflies as well, something my city council was surprised to learn and while it may not persist in the environment for long, it is the route of exposure and duration that does most of the damage.
Comparative nutritional studies on sustainable vs conventionally grown foods is just now taking place so this study is one of the first to be released but you are correct, processed junk food leaves alot to be desired nutritionally and a lack of exercise only compounds the problem. My staff is assembling what little there is on this, if/when it gets placed into a report I'll post it here.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Littlehawk
Herb....perhaps our opulant lifestyle is founding this war..perhaps we should let tha towl heads eat tha oil. and we could spend less money on gas and help funding fer intrution how to eat right
Link to comment
Share on other sites
likeaneagle
bringing this up for a friend
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Abigail
I have mixed opinions on this.
On the one hand, I believe "natural foods" with less chemicals and additives are FAR healthier. We have switched from the paste known as white bread to high fiber whole grain breads. Same for our pastas and cereals. We rarely eat white rice anymore, opting instead for the higher fiber varieties or a mixture of white and high fiber varieties. I haven't eliminated processed foods, but I have drastically reduced them. I take a number of vitamins that I believe are lacking in my diet and/or will benefit me due to other genetically inherited difficulties. I have once again resumed my exercise program as well. I feel MUCH better.
Of course, I had been down that road before and it didn't help me at all the first time. However, after being diagnosed with and treated for hypothyroid, adding those changes back into my lifesyle has done wonders.
On the other hand, I have done some reading on the Omega 3 fatty acids and it's effect on the brain/mood/disorders, etc. A number of studies claimed the Omega 3 fatty acids can treat ADHD, so I gave that a try for a time with my boys. Not only did it NOT work, but their symptoms seemed to worsen. Obviously that is just a personal experience and not a scientific study.
I think further research is certainly warranted. They can now take images of the brain that show specifically what area is misfunctioning with certain disorders, such as OCD, ADHD, and certain mood disorders. [My son's counselor showed me some pictures of these today - it was really interesting, you could see exactly what two areas of the brain are misfunctioning in a person with ADHD and how medications effected those areas.]. I think it could be interesting to do some long term studies using brain imaging to see if/how diet might effect the brain. Unfortunately, my understanding is the imaging studies require the use of low grade radiation - so long term studies might not be possible.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
coolchef
my opinion on this is
who cares!! eat drink and be merry!!
we all all seeds wainting to be planted
enjoy today with some moderation!
Link to comment
Share on other sites
krys
Suppose we lift up our vision and view the planet as a whole - - just as another point of view.
Things we've done to increase food production are great things inasmuch as we can feed more people. But that leads us into the faulty idea that we can probably feed everybody if we work hard enough at it. And the truth is, we can never even hope to begin to do that no matter how much we try, or how much we put into it. In fact, the more we put into it, we soon come to a place of diminishing returns where we get out less for our efforts which are increasing.
We irrigate by taking water from underground aquifers and we deplete them prematurely because we remove the water faster than it can recharge. As somebody in Florida who lost his house or car in a sink hole how much they liked that. Sink holes result from removing water from underground aquifers with a high water table. In addition, irrigation with underground water adds salts to the soil. Underground water holds dissolved minerals which are left behind in the soil after the plants are harvested. It's been estimated that after about 20 years of heavy irrigation like this, the soils have become so "salty" they won't support normal crops without cleaning out. That's a time consuming process (years) and depends on rainfall.
I should quit going on like that!
There is a balance of using what we know for the greatest good....and not more than that. Determining what the greatest good is, is the major problem. Is it feeding all the hungry??? or keeping the soils in great condition for farming? I don't want you thinking I have the answers 'cuz I don't - - just a big mouth with a whole lot of questions.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
herbiejuan
The Aral Sea lies within the former Soviet Union. During that regime it was used to irrigate farmland to increase food production. During the past 50 yrs waters have receded to about 1/2 of their former size due to agricultural drawdown. Since the sea lies at the lowest elevation point it has also collected all the run off from those farms which were heavily dependant on chemical ferts and pesticides which eventually meant that the receding shoreline became a toxic repository of those chemicals. There are now reports of serious health problems in the region.
Oh and some of these crops are being exported under one trade treaty or another.
Edited by herbiejuanLink to comment
Share on other sites
krys
That's the kind of thing that bothers me.
Spme people thing the next global war will be over oil - - but I wonder if it will be other comodoties...like food, soil, land, water...stuff like that
Link to comment
Share on other sites
TheEvan
"I've been reading a lot of history lately and it's clear that not too many generations ago, people died much younger, lived in constant fear of infection and disease, and in many cases, ate a far worse diet than we do, especially during the winter and spring.
Today everyone in first-world countries at least has the choice to eat good, healthy food. Indeed, for most of us, the real challenge is to *not* eat so much food. "
Our longer lives aren't due to how we eat but on interventive medical care, neonatal care and fewer accidents.
Every time I go to Africa I'm amazed out how healthy, vital & strong the populace is. Theeir low life expectancy is due to a high death rate at birth, accidents & lack of medical care when the big diseases hit. By comparison, us Americans are weak, pallid, foggy and tired. I always feel better after eating their food for a few weeks.
There's no chemicals on their food. They can't afford 'em.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
rhino
Link to comment
Share on other sites
pond
I believe in excersize as well and not just the go to the gym and look good in the shorts type. daily extended get up get moving type of stuff.
Is alcohol and drugs playing into this trouble?
stress causes cancer that is for sure. We may be eating foods that our system has to spend so much energy to digest it hurts us.
I think we live longer but not really depends on which history you look at to decide.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jim
And do they have access to this healthy,nutritious food all year long? My statement was in the context of westerners in a temperate climate where, before refrigeration and jumbo jet freighters, we were limited to fresh fruit and vegetable for only a couple months a year. The rest of the time it was canned food or meat.
And as to the reasons for our long life, *the* major reason we live better is civil engineering. Civil engineers provided cities with clean, disease-free drinking water and disposed of sewage. The resulting increase in health and lifespan can be seen historically long before the advances in antibiotics and neonatal care.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
pond
just do not eat the bagged spinach.e-coli issues.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.