The power of natural medicine: "Naturopathic medicine is based on the scientific assertion that the body, when given the appropriate support, has the potential to heal itself. This isn't a 'magical and transcendent anomaly of physics.' It's how the body works -- and we've known it for centuries. Each time you heal from a cut, a cold or a broken bone, you're seeing vis mediatrix naturae, or 'the healing power of nature' at work. It's not magic, just good science. And this naturopathic approach has been regulated in Ontario for 85 years."
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
You or someone you know needs to read this
“It’s great to see someone who takes care of their teeth,” my dentist told me today, glumly.
Since my dentist works in a pricey part of town where presumably his patients have the education and resources for good dental hygiene, I had to ask what would prompt such a comment.
He told me how so many of his patients drink diet sodas instead of water, and that the acidic nature of these drinks wear away at people’s teeth. Not only that, “everybody’s an athlete these days”, and they’re drinking sports and endurance drinks that are an enamel-eroding blend of acids and sugars. Furthermore, many people are on SSRIs (a category of antidepressants including Prozac, Zoloft, Lexapro, and Paxil) which often have the side-effect of teeth-grinding and clenching. (The increased incidence of grinding and clenching he’s noticed in his patients could also be due to increased stress.) He’s seeing patient after patient (some in their thirties) whose teeth are visibly shorter and worn due to these practices. Many of them are in denial and don’t accept there’s a problem until thousands of dollars of damage has been done to their teeth.
I believe he called the required dental repair work “dental remodeling”, and he said it cost between $15,000 and $30,000 to do. He clearly did not enjoy doing this type of work, despite the obvious financial benefit he could enjoy if more of his patients needed such procedures.
So, here are a few things I would like to suggest, if you aren’t already doing them:
- STOP regularly drinking acidic drinks (especially sodas [even diet ones], sports drinks, etc.). Just think … if these drinks are doing this to your TEETH, what are they doing to the REST of your body????? DRINK WATER.
- IF you must continue drinking garbage, brush your teeth afterwards or at least drink a glass of water afterwards to rinse your teeth and gums.
- Ask yourself if you grind your teeth or clench your jaw. Do your teeth show unusual wear? If you look at photos from just a few years ago, do your teeth look different, smoother, or shorter? Do you wake up with headaches in the morning? If you have a partner who complains that you grind your teeth while you sleep, take it seriously. It’s a big deal.
- If you suspect you do grind/clench your teeth, talk with your dentist about getting a mouth guard to use while you sleep. Like my dentist says, a mouth guard can be replaced at ~ $400 a year (if you really do damage to it), but remodeling your mouth will be very expensive and never quite satisfactory. (Teeth grinding will damage or even shatter the porcelain used to replace your natural enamel.)
Your enamel will not grow back. Take care of your teeth so they can take care of you. This is all common sense, right?
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Friday, November 06, 2009
Guest Blogger Starling: Schrödinger’s Rapist: or a guy’s guide to approaching strange women without being maced « Kate Harding's Shapely Prose
FANTASTIC column. Excellent points and writing. Please read.
Guest Blogger Starling: Schrödinger’s Rapist: or a guy’s guide to approaching strange women without being maced « Kate Harding's Shapely Prose: "Let me start out by assuring you that I understand you are a good sort of person. You are kind to children and animals. You respect the elderly. You donate to charity. You tell jokes without laughing at your own punchlines. You respect women. You like women. In fact, you would really like to have a mutually respectful and loving sexual relationship with a woman. Unfortunately, you don’t yet know that woman—she isn’t working with you, nor have you been introduced through mutual friends or drawn to the same activities. So you must look further afield to encounter her.
So far, so good. Miss LonelyHearts, your humble instructor, approves. Human connection, love, romance: there is nothing wrong with these yearnings.
Now, you want to become acquainted with a woman you see in public. The first thing you need to understand is that women are dealing with a set of challenges and concerns that are strange to you, a man. To begin with, we would rather not be killed or otherwise violently assaulted.
“But wait! I don’t want that, either!”
...
When you approach me in public, you are Schrödinger’s Rapist. You may or may not be a man who would commit rape. I won’t know for sure unless you start sexually assaulting me. I can’t see inside your head, and I don’t know your intentions. If you expect me to trust you—to accept you at face value as a nice sort of guy—you are not only failing to respect my reasonable caution, you are being cavalier about my personal safety.
Fortunately, you’re a good guy. We’ve already established that. Now that you’re aware that there’s a problem, you are going to go out of your way to fix it, and to make the women with whom you interact feel as safe as possible."
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Darfur Peace and Development » Solar Cooker Program
Darfur Peace and Development » Solar Cooker Program: "The task of preparing a meal in Darfur brings a challenging set of problems and risks. The persistent conflict in Darfur has led to the deforestation of areas around IDP camps. Shortages of fuel wood have had severe negative impact on the safety and survival of Darfuri women, the primary collectors of firewood. Each month they must travel increasingly long distances to find wood for fuel. The personal danger inherent in the chore is formidable: women are at high risk of attacks and sexual abuse once they leave the camp. And as households consumes the limited energy source, the deforestation of Darfur advances.
With over two million displaced people — mainly women and children — the cycle of degradation and shortages will continue in Darfur unless effective alternatives are implemented."
Read more about how solar cookers - at $30 a piece - can address these problems. It's really quite remarkable.
Monday, November 02, 2009
Two books to be released about Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt
Two books to be released about Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt: "The other book comes from Ian Halperin, the same dude who just a couple of months ago published a Michael Jackson bio, like, 5 minutes after he died. Halperin’s work focuses on “Brangelina” and he too put a lot of emphasis on “new details of (Jolie’s) volatile relationship with and estrangement from her father Jon Voight, her struggles with suicidal impulses, her heroin use, her sexual exploits and her remarkable rise to become an Oscar-winning actress.' According to Halperin, Angelina’s 'personal lifestyle choices are not only affecting her growing family but causing serious and potentially irreparable tensions with Pitt.'
Great. Blame the bitch. Can’t wait.
Because that’s how you sell it, right? Whatever problems may or may not exist between the Brange, it is certain that Brad Pitt has been an active participant. It is well understood in the industry – he is a control freak, he can be ruthless, he is not a pushover, and he plays the media just as often, and maybe more, than anyone else. In this sense, they are made for each other."
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