Richard points to another report, this time on vegetarianism. The report says that vegetarianism is effective for people wanting to lose weight, but Richard points out that he has no anecdotal evidence to support that position. He mentions my expanding tummy, despite my kosher vegetarian diet, as proof. I have to say that my weight gain over the last year is not due to eating vegetarian but due to eating badly. Eating vegetarian can be very unhealthy if it is not practiced correctly. Some people get into the vegetarian thing and end up eating more carbs and sweets than when they were carnivorous, thus increasing caloric intake and nullifying the value of a vegetarian diet. If all you eat is white bread and over-cooked (non-raw) vegetables, then your vegetarian diet will likely fail.

As the article points out, a vegetarian diet leads to "lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other life-threatening conditions linked to overweight and obesity." The thing is that vegetarians are, as a whole, much more concerned with overall health and nutrition, which means that they are more likely to know and follow healthy nutrition practices.

Labels: Health

My brother has made a big deal on his blog the last few days about people he knows who promote what he considers to be "junk science". I wonder if he considers me and Lindsey to fit in that category, especially considering the fact that we support and practice unassisted childbirth, no vaccinations, and quite a few other "alternative" viewpoints. I guess if the shoe fits....

As Lindsey mentioned to me, at least three of the "warning signs of junk science" given in the article linked above can be easily applied to modern hospital childbirth. What is extremely interesting is that the author of the article leaves out one key ingredient of true junk science: The belief that a scientific practice is valid because it uses the latest technology. The entire modern medical establishment stands on that belief, which is why consumers buy more medications now than ever before, go through elective surgeries at amazingly high rates, and expect the latest and greatest medical discovery to change their lives forever. Time-tested, proven practices, such as wholesome nutrition and regular exercise, will provide more for our health than the plethora of medical "discoveries" out there.

Don't get the impression that I am completely opposed to modern medicine. The thing is that I see its value in the repair of major issues, not in making my life easier while not requiring me to change what I am doing to hurt myself. I thoroughly support setting broken bones, fixing failing hearts, and developing cures for cancer; I do not support stapling stomachs, drugging kids with "ADHD", and having elective C-setions.

One of Richard's recent posts is about a study that apparently vindicates aspartame, the sugar substitute found in a large amount of processed food including diet soft drinks, of any harmful effect on the body. While I am not an expert, I do not see how this one study conclusively proves that aspartame is not dangerous, especially when there is a large corpus of evidence to the contrary. So, to counterbalance, here is a short list of resources, including articles by doctors, study results, and other information, all about aspartame and the harmful effects it has on the body.

• Article - Life after Aspartame
• Article - Aspartame: What You Don't Know Can Hurt You
• Article - Aspartame Disease: An FDA-Approved Epidemic
• Article - Emerging Facts About Aspartame
• Study shows that aspartame causes cancer
  • News Article
  • Study (PDF)
• Later analysis of the same study by other doctors shows more links to cancer
• Study - Increasing brain tumor rates: is there a link to aspartame?
• References cited in the article "Neurotoxic Potential of Aspartame" by Barbara Mullarkey
  • First half
  • Second Half

Labels: Health

Well, my sleep schedule is not much better now than it has been for the last few weeks. I have been getting enough sleep to function well, but the scheduling part of it is not sticking. We'll see where it goes.

The good news is that I am likely to live longer than those of you who sleep for 8 or more hours each night. My brother linked to a story about a 6-year study of 1 million people called the Cancer Prevention Study II. The study shows that people who sleep 8 hours or more each night are more likely to die [Update: likely to die sooner — thanks, Derek!] than people who sleep less (like 6-7 hours). Actually, insomniacs and other people who sleep only 3.5 hours each night are even more likely to live longer.

Labels: Health

The last week or so has been pretty hit-and-miss with my sleep schedule. I had a lot going on, missed some naps, and ended up messing up the whole thing. I have been attempting to switch over to the new idea I wrote about in my last update, and my goal now is to work that out this week. I am getting enough sleep to be functional, and occasional naps seem to help me out perfectly.

Labels: Health

I started an experiment with polyphasic sleep one week ago, and I wanted to post an update about how things are going. I felt fine for the first few days. Sticking to the schedule was not hard at all, and I was able to get a whole lot of things done, including finally getting my pictures from Israel online. However, around Thursday I began to hit the wall. I was still fine up until my 6:00AM nap, but getting up from that nap became almost impossible. I found myself oversleeping and having no cognitive ability unless I got at least a few hours of sleep. That was not what I expected at all.

I did some more research the other day, after not getting past this hump. One article that I read about sleep in general and polyphasic sleep in particular was enlightening. It is an interview with Dr. Claudio Stampi, a doctor who specializes in sleep research and specifically in polyphasic sleep, helping solo sailors figure out a sleep schedule that works best for them. In the interview, Dr. Stampi explains some things about sleep that I had not read before, most importantly, he explains a bit about "slow-brainwave" sleep and its relationship with REM sleep.:

...there are two types of sleep: REM sleep, which is important for memory and learning, and non-REM sleep, which restores energy and releases hormones for growth and development. Non-REM sleep occurs in four stages: Stage one is a light slumber; stage two marks the onset of real sleep, where the heart rate and breathing slow; and stages three and four provide the deep (or slow-brainwave) sleep that is most highly restorative.... Interestingly, the body seems to want its slow-wave fix first, and racks up most of the slow-wave quota in the first three hours. If you slash eight hours of sleep to four and your body has to triage, you retain 95 percent of the slow-wave sleep while ditching large chunks of REM and stage-two sleep.

This understanding of the two sleep cycles was reinforced by another article I found online, which says that "The first cycles of the night will tend to have shorter REM periods and longer periods of deep sleep. This trend reverses as the night goes on. The later cycles have longer REM periods and shorter deep sleep periods."

After reading these articles and some other information, I have decided to take a slightly different approach to my polyphasic sleep experiment. I am going to adjust my schedule to allow me to get 2-4 ninety-minute periods of sleep every night (probably 2) and supplement those with 3-4 thirty-minute naps at various points throughout the day. I hope to see this schedule keep me from having the same problems I was having in the mornings, and allow me to get some of the needed slow-brainwave sleep that I apparently need more than Steve Pavlina does.

I have read of some polyphasic and biphasic sleepers allowing themselves another sleep cycle or two one day each week. I might try that, as well (on Shabbat, of course), as long as I keep the increments in 90-minute cycles. That is the body's natural rhythm, and I don't want to fight my body too much. This adjustment to the addition of some "regular" sleep cycles should also help allay the fears of some of my friends about me shortening my life span, either through my polyphasic sleep or through just being Type-A.

I will post more updates as time goes by. This new schedule should be well under way in a few days.

Labels: Health

For a few months I have been considering the idea of trying out polyphasic sleep. Steve Pavlina has a lot of great information on his website (latest post here, with links to earlier posts at the bottom). The basic idea is that you sleep for 20 to 30 minutes at regular intervals throughout the day, usually every 4 hours. After an initial period, your body learns to enter REM sleep, the deepest and most-needed of the three sleep cycles, immediately and to wake up at or before the end of your sleep periods. Instead of getting about 1½ hours of REM sleep every 24 hours (the normal amount for a night's sleep) you end up getting 2-3 hours or REM sleep. I have been working a lot lately (3 jobs, about 60-70 hours each week), so my sleep schedule was already kind of messy. I figure that now is as good a time as any to try polyphasic sleep out.

So, I am officially on my first day. I am sleeping at 2AM, 6AM, 10AM, 2PM, 6PM, and 10PM for 30 minutes. This schedule allows me to still participate in all of our various activities (shul, Hebrew class, Bible study, etc.) while also giving me 21 hours every day in which to get work and other projects done. I started with my first nap at 2PM Monday February 27 (yesterday), and I hope to be over the hump within the next week or so. If you notice me acting weird during that time, don't worry, it's normal. Adjusting to the "non-hibernation" sleep mode can be a bit taxing, but, according to those who have made it through that adjustment period, it is well worth it.

I have noticed so far that my body is definitely used to sleeping for longer periods. In my first 4 sleep cycles it has taken me at least 10 minutes to fall asleep, mostly because my mind continues to run. It is kind of funny, too, because I am excited to be doing this, so a decent portion of the thoughts running through my head when I am laying there are things that I should add to my to do list now that I have time, and excitement that I will be getting up in 30 minutes.

I will post more as time goes by and I adjust to the new cycle. This should be interesting...

Labels: Health

Reader's Digest did a study on the 50 largest cities in the country, ranking them from cleanest to dirtiest, and Austin ranks number 8 on the list! The rankings were derived from EPA quality reports and other data for air, water, industrial pollution, hazardous waste, and sanitation. Austin's big issue is water, which I have always thought is gross (ours smells like pond water pretty often). That's what water purifiers are for, I suppose...

Of course, Houston is #41 on the list. If you have ever lived in Houston that's no surprise.

Labels: Health

With all the hype about Star Wars Episode 3, I have to pass along to you a link to a great movie I got from Biff. Store Wars.

Labels: Health

Lindsey bought some buttermilk last week for something or other, but it has been sitting in the fridge without being opened. I was hungry earlier, so I started looking for recipes that use buttermilk. It was not long until I ran into this one:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 Tablespoons oil

Mix the dry ingredients together. Mix the egg, buttermilk and oil together and add all at once to the dry ingredients.

Stir until slightly lumpy. Cook in a hot non-stick and lightly-greased or buttered skillet.

Makes about 4 regular-sized pancakes, or three with a 6" diameter.

Surprisingly, the recipe did not need any tweaking! (Unlike the peanut butter fudge recipe I have been adjusting for the last month or two.) I highly suggest that you use Earth Balance (or butter, if you must) in the skillet. I found the pancakes irresistible, and I ate mine without any syrup.

Labels: Health, Personal

Lindsey, Chaya, and I just got back from the brand new Whole Foods World Headquarters store in downtown Austin. I have to agree with a guy we heard talking on his cell phone as we passed by him: "It makes Central Market look like your local A&P."

The breadth of the items available there is amazing, and the customer service is just as great as it always has been at Whole Foods. I am completely amazed. A whole range of green building practices were utilized, all of the biodegradeable trash is being composted, other trash is being recycled—even the drain-off from the parking lot is being cleaned before it goes into the sewer system.

If you have a chance to check it out, do yourself a favor and do so. Here are some small pictures I took before the staff told me not to:

Labels: Health