Derek Sivers has a new book out.
September 19th, 2022
Your Music and People
He has a passage called "this is a test, this is only a test" in reference to the national radio test for everyone to be aware if some important information needs to be mass distributed.
What he is referring to is the reality that when you are testing something, the outcome is less important at the time than the experiment. When I am testing to see whether fasting makes me feel better, I am no wedded to the outcome. I am curious to the process and the results but not wedded to outcome.
Drug use is on the rise according to new federal study data. From the National institutes of health:
September 19th, 2022
Marijuana Use: Past-year, past-month, and daily marijuana use (use on 20 or more occasions in the past 30 days) reached the highest levels ever recorded since these trends were first monitored in 1988. The proportion of young adults who reported past-year marijuana use reached 43% in 2021, a significant increase from 34% five years ago (2016) and 29% 10 years ago (2011). Marijuana use in the past month was reported by 29% of young adults in 2021, compared to 21% in 2016 and 17% in 2011.
Dr. Katz
September 19th, 2022
"Human offspring come into this world much like the young of all other mammals, and like all the others, within minutes of our arrival, we are hungry. Food figures prominently in our lives ever after, but never is it more important than in childhood, when it serves as the literal construction material of those growing bodies and brains.
The initial food choice for human babies should be self-evident, as it is for all other baby mammals: the milk of their mothers. The provision of that milk is among the defining characteristics of the mammalian class; it is part of what makes us what we are.
The Enterovirus, Polio
September 12th, 2022
The enterovirus, Polio, is now heading into a transmission state of significance in New York according to new sewage viral tracking reports. The first known case occurred in July in an unvaccinated man in southern New York where polio vaccination rates are only in the 60% range. He developed paralysis, a rare but serious complication of infection. Sewage reports show that there is infection occurring in higher numbers than previously thought. It will only be a matter of time before more paralytic cases are seen in those without viral vaccination protection.
Volume 12, Letter 39
September 12th, 2022
Coronavirus Update 70 plus other stuff
North Carolina is in a good place.
No MIS cases.
In NC, we are at 5% of admitted patients needing a ventilator and 12% needing an ICU bed for Covid.
The 7 day moving average of cases for the US in recent weeks is 65,000 although we all know that this is vastly less than accurate with most people getting, using and not reporting positive home tests.
The risk of death is 0.000033 once vaccinated with a two dose series or survived natural infection.
Connection
September 5th, 2022
We all yearn for it. It leads to belonging which often leads to relationship and then love. To be outside of connection is to be lonely and disconnected which often leads to anxiety and depression. The pandemic isolated so many of us that mental health issues remain a major issue to this date. In this weeks podcast, Joy Warner and I go deep into why connection and leadership in school is so important.
Many children have struggles at home which lead to a lack of connection and happiness. School provides a safe location to connect and explore relationship with like minded or just accepting individuals. It also provides an adult mentorship that is life giving to many children in broken homes.
Robert Harrell 1927 to 7/13/2022
September 5th, 2022
Dear Children,
This is a letter I have neglected to write. But now that I have officially declared the "heart affair" an experience of the past, I must write to all of you to express the heart-felt thanks of your mother and dad.
One of the most beneficial and forever-lasting "side effects" of my heart bypass was the response of the Harrell Children. Your reactions to my misfortune were enough to make a grown man ponder what family really is. I have pondered and I have engraved on my heart and in my mind that your many acts of love and concern were a true and factual definition of family. What you five children possess and displayed cannot be found in many families.
Loss - In honor of Ethan Way Too Soon
September 5th, 2022
Loss has seemed to follow me more this year than any other. Whether it is a newborn baby that never had a chance to take a crack at life, an 86 year old who lived a rich life or now a 20 year old in his prime, the loss is profound each and every time. My exposure is clearly occupational as well. However, how do we continue to process this time and time again? Does it get easier? How do we talk about it with those that have lost? How do we keep the faith and live for our best selves as we are the ones left behind as the dead cannot suffer?
Coronavirus Update 69 plus other stuff
August 29th, 2022
North Carolina as the rest of the United States continue to act with pre-pandemic behavior packing restaurants and concerts. This makes sense based on hospital numbers and disease morbidity currently. Volumes are up in our area and at our clinic with little to no morbidity.
No MIS cases.
In NC, we are at 5% of admitted patients needing a ventilator and 12% needing an ICU bed for Covid.
The 7 day moving average of cases for the US in recent weeks is 90,000 although we all know that this
Video by Dr.Kaplan
August 22nd, 2022
Here is a good video by Dr. Kaplan to begin to understand the processes of cofactors in the brain.
Dr. M
Do lifestyle changes really make a difference in mental health?
August 22nd, 2022
A study by Dr. Loewen and team noted that a population-based prospective study of over 3400 - 10 to 11 year olds could show that lifestyle behaviors were measured with the Harvard Food Frequency Questionnaire and self- and parental-proxy reports, expressed as meeting recommendations for vegetables and fruit, grain products, milk and alternatives, meat and alternatives, added sugar, saturated fat, sleep, screen time, and physical activity. Mental illness was defined by physician-diagnosed internalizing, externalizing, and other psychiatric conditions. Negative binomial regression was used to determine the independent and cumulative
Biome Depletion Theory or Biota Alteration Theory
Augut 22nd, 2022
When we look at risk of disease over time in humans, we need to take stock in what was supposed to be versus what is. If we become mismatched genetically to the environment that we find ourselves in, then we will begin to suffer disease. The work of Dr. William Parker and colleagues is very fascinating here. His understanding of our immune solvency takes us back to a time when macrobes like parasites lived with us in a semi-symbiotic way. Most of them were harmless where a few were pathogenic. This matters tremendously because as we are learning, the microbes that exist within us play a major role in tuning the immune system towards tolerance and effective pathogen killing. This refined understanding adds to a large body of evidence that we are too clean and not exposed to enough pathogens leaving us poorly tolerant of the normal and natural world. This poorly tolerant immune make up leads to allergic and autoimmune diseases.
Massive Updates for COVID
August 15th, 2022
The massive update to this theory is finished for now: it is long, complex and interesting!
COVID Pathophysiology 2021/2022
Read the rest at this Link
Dr. M
Work and goal setting at younger ages
August 15th, 2022
Children who work towards a goal will have better self esteem than those that passively exist in the modern world of screens and sports only. Sports are important for exercise and team building understanding. However, they are not a substitute for real work and goal setting around that work. Getting dirty in work where there is struggle is a key to building awareness to life's chores and realities. At young ages, children should be expected to be a part of the family unit by cleaning not only their own room, but the main living space as well. They should be expected to clear the table after dinner and then progress to cleaning the dishes when old enough.
Volume 12, Letter 35 Coronavirus Update 68 plus other stuff
August 15th, 2022
North Carolina continues to act pre-pandemic with packed restaurants and concerts. This makes sense based on hospital numbers and disease morbidity currently.
We are still seeing limited Covid disease in kids. No significant MIS cases.
In NC, we are at 4% of admitted patients needing a ventilator and 12% needing an ICU bed for Covid.
The 7 day moving average of cases for the US in recent weeks is still plateaued between 100,000 to 130,000 although we all know that this is vastly less than accurate with most people getting, using and not
Diet, Obesity and Insulin in males
August 8th, 2022
Diet, obesity and insulin resistance are associated with smaller testicles in males
Rossella Cannarella presented data on the impact of obesity, hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes in a cohort of boys aged 16 years and younger on the testicles of male teens in Italy. Testicular volume, age, BMI, insulin, fasting glycemia, HbA1c and glucose levels at 120 minutes after an oral glucose tolerance test were all measured and reported.
The study cohort included 61 adolescents with normal weight, 53 with overweight and 150 with obesity.
Infants exposed to acid suppressing medicines increases the risk of asthma during childhood
August 8th, 2022
From the study: Of the 921 children in the cohort, 202 (22%) were exposed to Acid Suppressing Medicines (ASM) during infancy. Compared to unexposed children, those exposed to ASM were more likely to develop recurrent wheeze by age 3 years and asthma by age 6 years. ASM exposure during infancy was not significantly associated with the development of early childhood allergen sensitization.
This study lays on top of many others that have shown similar associations between acid suppressing medicines and issues related to asthma, food allergy and eczema.
The Truth About Lying Adults lie? Shocker.
August 8th, 2022
According to the research, most adults lie 1-2 times per day, but most lies are not damaging and often related to self inflation for ego or to spare another's feelings. That is great news. Most people are honest most of the time! Ok. Now that we understand that most people are good what are the realities of the others? What do our kids see in us? Over the coming months I am going to dissect Dr. Talwar's book for you in sections as I see them. You can get a big head start on all of this information by listening to the podcast #25 with Dr. Talwar herself.
Wastelands Book Review in NYTimes
August 1st, 2022
"North Carolina is in many ways the perfect setting from which to explore the real-life impact of concentrated animal feeding operations, abbreviated CAFOs, an official term for modern-day livestock factories. In the early 1970s, North Carolina had about 18,000 hog farms, with an average herd of about 75 hogs. Today, it has only 2,000 hog operations, with herds as large as 60,000 hogs. The state’s nine million hogs annually produce from three to 10 times as much waste as New York City does. But that hog waste isn’t sent to high-tech treatment plants. It is pumped into large pools, euphemistically called “lagoons.”
Volume 12, Letter 33 Coronavirus Update 67 plus other stuff
August 1st, 2022
North Carolina continues to act pre-pandemic with packed restaurants and concerts. This makes sense based on hospital numbers and disease morbidity currently.
We are still seeing limited Covid disease in kids. No significant MIS cases.
In NC, we are at 5% of admitted patients needing a ventilator and 11% needing an ICU bed for Covid.
The 7 day moving average of cases for the US in recent weeks has plateaued between 100,000 to 130,000 although we all know that this is vastly less