Posts tagged medical
Stanford conventional v. organic study a pile of crap.
Sep 27th
Terra Infirma by Ron Baird
The question, really, is how could such a stellar research institution as Stanford U. publish such a pile of crap? Analyzing 237 existing studies and determining that organic fruits and vegetables are no more nutritious than conventional (read: industrial agriculture). Actually the study seems more a hack job to pay a favor to Big Ag donors, although the researchers made a point early that internal funds were used to fund the work. Does that raise your suspicions a bit?
The question, really, is how could such a stellar research institution as Stanford U. publish such a pile of crap? Analyzing 237 existing studies and determining that organic fruits and vegetables are no more nutritious than conventional (read: industrial agriculture). Actually the study seems more a hack job to pay a favor to Big Ag donors, although the researchers made a point early that internal funds were used to fund the work. Does that raise your suspicions a bit?
In the first place, they were almost certainly wrong. A number of recent studies have indicated organic produce has 10-30% more nutrients than conventional.
If they were trying to contribute to the body of knowledge, why not look into the environmental costs of industrial agriculture, such as pesticides in the water and air, the medical costs of workers exposed to such toxins.
Why ignore a whole other level of heath benefits of phytochemicals which are much more prevalent in organic produce because industrial agriculture intensive application of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and heavy watering have depleted the soil of nutrients need to produce phytochemicals.
How important are they?
Phytonutrients are nutrients derived from plant material that have been shown to be necessary for sustaining human life. Phytochemicals are non-nutritive plant chemicals that contain protective, disease-preventing, compounds. Their role in plants is to protect plants from disease, injuries, insects, drought, excessive heat, ultraviolet rays, and poisons or pollutants in the air or soil. They form part of the plants immune system.
Although phytochemicals are not yet classified as nutrients, substances necessary for sustaining life, they have been identified as containing properties for aiding in disease prevention. Phytochemicals are associated with the prevention and/or treatment of at least four of the leading causes of death in Western countries – cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension. They are involved in many processes including ones that help prevent cell damage, prevent cancer cell replication, and decrease cholesterol levels.
So—pretty damn important. But apparently not to the Stanford researchers.
But Big Ag got it’s headline, and that’s what’s important.
“The Skin I Live In” Is Unnecessarily Shocking
Dec 18th
“Unnecessarily Shocking”
“Hotshots” looks at a movie!
The Skin I Live In is the latest movie from Spanish writer and director Pedro Almodovar, and of all the movies that he has made, this is one of them.
The story begins in 2012 in Toledo, Spain, and there will be some flashbacks and dream sequences designed to enlighten and confuse the audience, respectively, whereas the purpose of the whole movie is just to lead up to a whopping shocker at the end.
Antonio Banderas plays Dr. Robert Ledgard, a renowned plastic surgeon who is experimenting with developing artificial skin that is sensitive to gentle touches and yet at the same time is indestructible.
The reason that Robert is obsessed with creating this artificial skin is that years earlier his wife was in an automobile accident in which her skin was horribly burned, and she died as a result of that accident.
So, Robert has a patient locked up in his house, a beautiful young woman named Vera whose whole body is being covered with the artificial skin.
One day Vera cuts herself across her breasts, and Robert saves her and repairs the damage, but Vera says, “If you want me to stop breathing, kill me.”
Robert points out to her that if she had really wanted to kill herself, she would have cut her jugular vein.
Robert uses pig cells to strengthen the artificial skin, which is illegal, and he is ordered to stop his experiments or else he will be reported to the scientific and medical communities.
Of course, he doesn’t, because otherwise there wouldn’t be any movie.
Robert keeps Vera locked up in her room, but he can observe her with all the surveillance cameras he has installed, and we learn more about Vera, Robert’s housekeeper, visitors to Robert’s house, and even about Robert himself.
When Robert is finished, Vera can boast of having the best skin in the world, but apparently Vera has now become attracted to Robert, and she tells him that she wants to live together with him as equals, like everyone else.
However, Robert’s housekeeper warns Robert that he has to kill Vera or Vera will kill herself. She also says that Robert shouldn’t have constructed Vera’s face to resemble the face of his dead wife.
The Skin I Live In is unnecessarily shocking and becomes even more unnecessarily shocking.
I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”
Holiday Season and Our News
Dec 4th
A 15 year old hacks into the pentagon, Boulder allows some 62 businesses to sell medical marijuana, president Obama plans to cut carbon emissions in the years to come, Switzerland tries to fight terrorism, H1N1 Swine flu vaccines run dry, more banks close, the rich get richer but it is the holiday season so lets all hope good ole Saint Nick makes it through another year in these tough times.
