Category Archives: Health

Sugar is a Poison!

Yes, that is right Sugar is Toxic.  I happened upon this little fact about a year ago when someone shared a video from a Dr. Lustig entitled “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” that literally changed my life.

Dr. Lustig’s video is a bit technical so I will summarize it here. Dr. Lustig and a microbiologist found that Sugar (Fructose) is processed in the Liver in almost exactly the same way as Alcohol. As a result, its consumption has almost the same long term health consequences/risks.

Some of the health problems/risks are the very same chronic deseases that are increasing the cost of medical care for everyone including:

Nifty right?  It get better.  Sugar is also addictive.  Just as you can be an Alcoholic, most Americans are now Sugaroholics. That is because sugar:

  • Stimulates that same pleasure centers in the brain as opium
  • Sugar makes you hungry

So sugar feels good and makes you hungry for.. more sugar.
Continue reading Sugar is a Poison!

Brain Zapping, for Fun and Profit.

TMSOver at Wired, Melinda Wenner writes about transcranial magnetic stimulation where with a few Transcranial Zaps they can possibly treat migraines, depression, help you sleep better and even make you smarter.

Inducing brain activity may be a good idea in some cases such as brain disorders as exemplified by the coma patient that recently responded to a Brain Pacemaker. At the same time I think we have to be wary of the fact that the brain is trainable.

I worry the each time you use this device that you are inadvertently re-enforcing some random or not so random set of pathways with unknown consequences. Beyond this, TMS is considered safe ( relative to electroconvulsive therapy ! ) and there is a slight risk of siezures.

I think for now I will wait for a few others to become guinea pigs before I exchange it for counting sheep.