Finding information you can trust

To make a good health-related decision nowadays one needs thorough and extensive research. But with modern unprecedented access to information the issue of its reliability becomes critical. Plainly speaking it is not easy to find information you can really trust.

Traditional criteria, like 'provided by reputable government agency or academic institution' do not guarantee you an honest answer to your question.

As it was already mentioned regarding sun block, some government agencies prefer to vocalize 'legally safe' opinions - i.e., the most conservative and mainstream-science-approved. These opinions may be ineffective or simply wrong - it doesn't matter. What matters is that no one can accuse an organization or individual for promoting them. 

In couple of years these highly regarded agencies and institutions might change their recommendations, but we must keep in mind that nobody ever said 'O-ops, sorry!' to people who already took another controversial pill.  

The referrals to a 'scientific study' also do not guarantee you truth, because depending on financial backing of the study, its interpretations may be more favorable to a certain drug producer.

And then there are honest mistakes, simplistic approaches and unwarranted conclusions...  

We also tend to trust general statements like 'scientifically proven' or 'FDA approved'. Unfortunately, the first can be groundless while the second - only relevant to immediate side-effects.

And one must always be very careful with a statement made by people intending to sell you something.  

I usually do my research in circles, refining key words in the process and providing comparative analysis to selected pieces of information. I also try to evaluate possible motives of their authors. Eventually this helps me to formulate the working assumption, and then I am looking for evidence proving or refuting it.  

My professional skills and knowledge in the areas of patent analysis and Anticipatory Failure Determination [1] come handy here by providing variety of tools for the purpose of revealing underlying root-causes and motives. But for those who are not familiar with any of these I would rather recommend listening to their gut feeling and common sense than mindlessly following any 'professional' advice.

In this free, abundant and challenging modern world no stranger is responsible for our well-being and pursuit of happiness.  

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[1] Anticipatory Failure Determination approach (AFD) – the methodology of revealing root-causes and predicting potential negative events. AFD is the part of the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ). 

My Anti-Bucket List

For  the last several years I have been collecting information on foods with reported anti-cancer properties, especially those that are recommended against breast cancer - i.e., my personal anti-bucket list.

To have this information at hand when needed, I printed the list out and pinned it by my working desk. From time to time I browse it through to refresh my memory and to see if some of the items are lacking in my diet. When additional useful information arrives I add it to the list and reprint it.

I do realize that anti-cancer properties of certain foods can be overestimated or simply not true. Still, they may as well work and definitely will not harm anyone.

Therefore, I am sharing this list below:

1. Brassica vegetables (regulate cell growth rates, and help to change a strong and inflammatory form of estrogen (estradiol) into a safer, less aggressive form (estrone); also an antioxidant),  including:
1. Broccoli sprouts
2. Broccoli
3. Radish
4. Cabbage
5. Brussels sprouts
6. Kale,
7. Mustard greens
8. Tofu 
2. Turmeric, ginger (suppress inflammation) - 1tsp dried spice daily
3. 1%-2% organic hormone free milk (not fat-free!)
4. Kefir and other fermented milk products
5. Omega 3 fatty acids in:
1. Fatty fish –

                       i.      Salmon

                       ii.      Tuna

                       iii.      Whitefish

                       iv.      Anchovies

                       v.      Mackerel  

2. Sea vegetables
3. Walnuts  
4. Eggs
5. Olive oil
5. Lentils and other legumes   (contains Folic acid - 600 mcg or more of folic acid a day)
6. Maitake mushrooms
7. Tomatoes (Licopene)
8. Flaxseeds
9. Antioxidant and detox properties in:
1. Green and white tea (Caffeinated brands have twice as much potency as decaffeinated)
2. Garlic
3. Onions 
4. Dark chocolate
5. Citrus, peel and white membrane of oranges
6. Cranberries
7. Apples
8. Grapes (Concord)
9. Dark cherries
10. Blueberries  
10. Coffee – for Women with BRCA1 gene mutations

Eventually as you can see, the list became quite long.

It made me think that I can live entirely on these foods feeling deprived of nothing. Besides, practically every item on this list is not just a single-benefit provider, but rather a multitasker targeting also other types of cancer, arthritis, digestive problems, immune deficiency and such.

This ability of a single common produce to tackle several scary conditions is still not rivaled by modern medicine.

My doctors once assured me that drug Tamoxifen was very good because it could reduce the risk of breast cancer up to 40%. 

Meanwhile  the research from Michigan State University in East Lansing found that those who ate raw or lightly cooked cabbage and sauerkraut more than three times a week were 72 percent less likely to develop breast cancer than those who had 1.5 or fewer servings. Now, add to the plate some salmon with beans and onions on the side...As for dessert, chocolate, anyone? 

A dinner like that can beat Tamoxifen down any day.

And NO SIDE EFFECTS, mind you!

Gains and Losses

In my mother’s last weeks with cancer my sister and I once met the lady manager of our apartment building. She enquired us about our mom and then said:

‘Your mother is blessed to have both daughters beside her!’

At that moment I was mostly impressed by the American way of finding good sides to any situation (Russian compassion would be typically expressed in graver terms).   

Later, however, the direct meaning of the remark caught my attention: indeed, those of us, who in the end are surrounded by the loving family, are lucky. Even if you have it to the last day, your siblings may be far away and head-over-heels busy.

But there is more to this picture than reassuring smiles and kind words. This is from the book I am currently reading:

 ‘…She took down extra pillow and quilts from the shelves, shoved the bed up to the window, and propped Eva where she could see the doings in the yard. She went back, put one syringe in the water, finished up the pies and put them in the oven, then brought a little tepid water in a cup for Eva to drink. She did drink, which was good, and her color was up. Her eyes brighter.’

‘The Master Butcher Singing Club’, by Luise Erdrich

Eva is a German immigrant, a butcher’s wife in the Prohibition era, who is dying of cancer.  ‘She’ – is her friend and neighbor, a younger woman without a profession, a high school dropout and daughter of a small town drunkard.  The woman earns her living by helping in the butcher shop. She also nurses Eva out of love and respect.

What is important, both these women are, in modern terms, ‘uneducated’. All their skills are limited to meeting household needs and taking care of others.

Frontier woman

The female characters in the book (as well as some women of the older generation, we know) are remarkable experts in what they do, but on the modern social scale their skills are evaluated very humble.  A woman today that stays at home and has no career aspirations is often considered not very bright, or lazy. She is almost expected to explain herself, and I know a few who feel inferior even for a temporary break in corporate career.   

On the other hand, the prestige of many professions, as well as their financial worth, notably devalues just because too many women are now pursuing them. 

Another sad social paradox. 

But there is a third side to the situation that bothers me most: what we have lost by persistently disengaging women with humble family matters.

…Those bright and creative, who a century ago channeled their natural observance and smarts into making life around them comfortable and dignified…

…Those strong and daring, who kept their loved ones safe and, by their own everyday example, taught children to face life challenges and to persevere…

Now, when we need a fraction of their domestic expertise we go to specialists.

Well, to do what an uneducated neighbor in the extract above did for Eva, we would need the services of:

A certified nurse (preferably, 24-7)

A personal chef (specifically instructed to make everything from scratch)

A skillful housekeeper - to maintain things that poor Eva could not do anymore for her family of five

But even if one has money to pay for all the above, a certain ingredient would still be missing – that is, the whole-hearted care.

It just cannot be bought!

This is not so, because there are good and bad nurses, or good and bad housekeepers, but because development of ‘thick skin’ is an unavoidable stage of professional maturity. You either suffer with every client of yours, destroying your mental and physical health, or you figure out the ways of protecting yourself during your job and - of getting over it, as soon as the job is done. 

This genuine care is not even a component, but rather the binding agent that turns detached impersonal services with all their ‘9-to-5’ limitations, lack of ‘current knowledge’  and ‘honest human mistakes’ into the adjusted to a tee, living and breathing supporting system.

It makes mother a better doctor than a member of the medical academy and - a better cook than French chef.       

Quietly women did it for centuries turning wilderness into civilization and chaos – into live. But the appreciation of society was elsewhere, and in search for this appreciation many started seeking more respected roles, leaving traditional occupations behind or delegating them to machines and services.

Now we take a pill for every ailment and battle child obesity.

Besides other, more material reasons, this is also the price we pay for the deeply rooted in modern culture look down on clothes mending, floor scrubbing and lullaby singing. 

Minor Side-Effects

Something was always  troubling me about so-called 'minor' side-effects of medications, though I never could clearly verbalize it. Then in the P. Weintraub article (see Statins and More) I read that certain drugs cause

‘…reduced energy and a lack of interest in activity, increased fatigue after exercise, erectile dysfunction…’

It just made me realize that many modern medications, which sole purpose is  ‘to control a condition’, or ‘to improve one’s quality of life’ in fact do nothing of the kind!

For the moment let’s disregard that such drugs are not intended to cure - with this old-fashioned and naïve idea I parted years ago. So, because they are incapable of curing modern drugs are largely focused on alleviating symptoms (see… practically any doctor-related posting of mine).

And though frantically trying to avoid pills myself, I always hesitated criticizing those who were not, as for many people medication might be the only way to manage through the day.   

Regarding possible side-effects I used to think like this:

‘As long as I am generally healthy I naturally do not want to put up with minor discomforts. But if my life were at stake, I might become much more tolerant to such things.‘

When I started reading fine prints more attentively it hit me that side-effects of modern drugs may be much more damaging then they seem.   

For example, when they warn you of ‘possible dizziness’ – it means - you might abandon your regular walks (out of fear to lose balance and fall).  Dizziness is also likely to lower appetite and weaken the determination to follow clean and healthy diet:

This is not easy to do even when you feel OK. Now imagine trying to eat right when you are nauseous and your taste buds are all confused.

When a drug instruction mentions such effects as ‘reduced energy and… increased fatigue after exercise’ – it means that your resolution to exercise regularly would be additionally and powerfully obstructed.  

It all looks like not a big deal, but healthy diet and exercise are exactly the factors that help body to heal: to strengthen its immune system, to increase metabolism, to suppress inflammation. This way diet and exercise contribute to prevention and reduction of practically all modern debilitating diseases!

Well, because of the side-effects of medications, people who need lifestyle changes most are particularly hindered in making these changes!

Quite a paradox.

Have you ever tried working out with an inflammatory back ache? 

Yoga, by the way, is highly beneficial against muscle inflammation. It increases blood circulation and flashes toxins out of your body.

But doing yoga with aching back or shoulder is hard. Almost every asana that you did with mindless ease hundreds of times turns into a pretty painful challenge. And it may take some time (weeks at least) to calm things down.

I know people who discontinued yoga for months in such conditions.

Even a zealous yogi would hesitate to work out while feeling ‘dizzy’ or ‘overly fatigued’ – that is, experiencing the most innocent of the common  medication side-effects.

It would present an even tougher challenge for a sedentary-living person. Would such a person dare to start exercising in these circumstances? I doubt it.

I also wonder how many people around me are driving every day with ‘minor cramps’, or ‘light markers of depression’ and other disregarded attention deficit inducers...

So it looks like the impact of drugs with minor side-effects basically comes to this:

Regular consumption of chemicals without cure

Experiencing all sorts of discomfort and having difficulty performing everyday tasks

Inability to assist natural healing processes

And then there are such effects as ‘lack of sex drive’ and ‘erectile dysfunction’ that do not physically hurt but may impact your life on a fundamental level.  

Who decided that these things are 'minor'?