So go the Pimas, so go the rest of us
Anyone familiar with the American Southwest may have heard of the Pima Indians of south-central Arizona. The Pima are the modern descendents of the famous desert Hohokam who occupied vast swaths of south-central Arizona from roughly 200 BC to AD 1450. Famous among archaeologists for their massive and intricate canal systems built to deliver water . . . read more »
Intelligent Nutrition
Cultural impresario John Brockman and his wily band of third culture intellectuals over at the online magazine Edge.com, recently posted over 100 essays responding to this year’s Edge question, “What is your dangerous idea?” This newly emerging annual event – last year’s question was “What do you believe is true even though you cannot prove it?” – asked . . . read more »
It’s the Fiber Stupid!
Despite the “eat more fiber” campaign sweeping across the nutritional landscape of America, a person living today will likely eat less fiber than at any other time in human history. Why? In 1900, the average American received more than 30% of daily calories from fiber-rich whole-grain products. Today that number is less than 1%. We . . . read more »
How the colon got the shaft
Amidst the usual mob of protesters and tear gas, WTO ministers met last December in Hong Kong to discuss – among many things – the crippling global affect of low-cost export commodities from the US made possible by mammoth farm subsidies. However, the effects of US agricultural policies on global pricing continue to overshadow the . . . read more »
The fiber-colon connection – media keeps getting it wrong
ewspapers and health websites throughout the world plugged the story much the same, “Dietary Fiber Not Protective Against Colon Cancer” and the predictable follow-up, on “No Need To Eat Fiber Anymore.” The CNN website pretty much sums up the common theme among news reports with their own pronouncement “Harvard researchers burst a lot of bubbles . . . read more »
Strengthening bones through bioavailability
Osteoporosis. Just saying the word makes my bones ache. If you are a woman and over the age of 50, you have about 40% chance of suffering from an osteoporotic fracture. That’s higher than your risk to breast and ovarian cancer. Even worse, 50% of the osteoporotic hip-fracture patients never fully regain independence and more . . . read more »
C-sections, breastfeeding, and bugs for your baby
There I was, with a camera in one hand and wiping the tears from my eyes with other. It was delivery day – I was going to be a dad. Like an eerie scene from a B-rated alien movie, out popped his little head from an amazingly small incision in my ‘then wife’s’ stomach. The . . . read more »
Did Humans Evolve? Not Us, Say Americans
New York Times (Aug 15, 2006) In surveys conducted in 2005, people in the United States and 32 European countries were asked whether to respond “true,” “false” or “not sure” to this statement: “Human beings, as we know them, developed from earlier species of animals.” The same question was posed to Japanese adults in 2001. . . . read more »
