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Indiscriminateness
March 28, 2007 03:23 PM
Evan Sayet, a comedian, gave a smart talk at the Heritage Foundation. Actually, it is quite brilliant. He builds on Alan Blume's book, The Closing of the American Mind, to present a funny and thoughtful analysis of the inability to think a problem through that I found in so many of the last generation of students that convinced me to leave university teaching. See it on YouTube. Evan Sayet's How Modern Liberals Think.
The themes are reminiscent of Karl Popper's, The Open Society and its Enemies.
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Things are getting better all the time
There is a nice jazz song with almost that title.
They are; almost every recent study from crime (see John Lott's article from an earlier post) to starvation (Lumborg's Skeptical Environmentalist), and just about any statistic you can find on quality of life or hazards in life, thing are getting better.
Two articles that are worth a close read are these: from the Reason Magazine Now for the good news and from Steven Pinker on the Edge web page A history of violence.
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Prius versus Hummer
I learned how dirty electric and hybrid cars were some time ago when a colleague was doing research on electric vehicles. If you can imagine, proponents of electric vehicles were not taking into account the environmental impact of producing the electricity to power the cars. Presumably because the generation was assumed to take place somewhere else, or because they thought they might get away with it. And, the batteries turned out to be a monster problem. Including their manufacture and disposal, along with the rare crash in which the contents spill or set off an explosion, made them damaging and dangerous.
Natural gas is about as clean as you can get for a fuel to run a car or truck and it is 130 octane. You could run very high compression ratios and really get the power and mileage up.
I was asked for the site that compares the Hummer and the Prius in full measure (over a lifetime cycle of use) and Feel good is not always good. I also do agree that cleaning or preventing the pollution of the waterways and air is a good thing. But, and I said this before, the way to do it is to improve property definitions and market institutions, not through general, centralized prohibitions. I don't like it when governments "create" markets because to do that they have to restrict a right in order to make it valuable. This is something that will happen quite naturally when waterways and the atmosphere is no longer a commons.
My friends and I showed how to create a property right in the electromagnetic spectrum and markets do exist for these rights and are more flexibly allocating spectrum use. It is not all that hard to do likewise with water and air.
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What Were We Thinking? Fashionable Thought
March 27, 2007 05:19 AM
Thoughts and beliefs are as fashionable as clothing. They change a bit more slowly, but the same kind of social dynamics are at play. Social learning is a kind of imitation of what we observe and hear. Our own thoughts and knowledge are only part of what we believe. The thoughts and actions of others are also influences. If a group of people stop to look up into the sky, people passing by will do the same thing. If everyone you see walks past a fallen person, you will tend to do likewise.
The global warming debate is similar. Right now a lot of people are looking up at something and many of us are stopping to have a look too. But, when the looking is over, what do we see?
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Crime Statistics
March 26, 2007 06:22 PM
John Lott nails the Police Executive Research Forum and the NYT on their analysis of crime statistics. See his The Crime-Statistics Con Job
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Cold Exposure
I have long practiced forms of cold exposure. The brief shock of cold encourages a stress response and increases adaptive capacity to those exposures that are unplanned and more lengthly or severe. The adaptive capacity extends to other stresses as well and, thus, may protect you against a heart attack or a life-stressing event. Warm and cozy all the time is one of the many pathways to obesity in this comfortable, physically non-demanding we live in.
One of our readers, Marios, is a medical doctor who had this interesting comment on cold exposure:
I don't know if I ever mentioned this before, but about 4-5 years ago, I started taking cold showers to prepare for adventure races and 24-hr orienteering races. Having access to only what was in my backpack while in the middle of the woods at night, I had to find a way of increasing my tolerance to cold (I nearly dropped out of my two first races because of hypothermia). Having once read that polar explorers prepared by taking cold showers, I decided to try it. Though it's hard to tell if it was the cold showers, I never became hypothermic in any subsequent race.Knowing my experience was purely anecdotal, I did some research to see if this was ever scientifically documented. What I found was much more interesting however, as it suggested that cold showers could increase resistance to oxidant stress.
The first article I found showed that people who took cold swims had higher levels of endogenous antioxidants (superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase). Though I was sold, there were no other papers out there supporting these results, or showing that the increase in endogenous antioxidants conferred a survival benefit. Being a medical resident, I considered writing a proposal to perform a few experiment on rats or other short-lived mammal, but I didn't think anyone would be interested in funding or supervising me given that most people wouldn't take cold showers even if they knew it would buy them an extra 20 years of health. Apparently, someone thought the idea was worthwhile, because I recently came across a paper which described an experiment in rats with similar results plus a survival benefit when the rats were injected with lethal doses of epinephrine. Still, it doesn't prove longevity benefits, but certainly does help support the idea.
There's a lot of anecdotal stuff out there with respect to cold showers and longevity. In fact, my mother had once told me about a very youthful and healthy russian patient of hers in his 90s, who told her his secret to longevity was that he never took a warm shower. Apparently he had to take care of all of his younger siblings, none of which shared his health in old age despite sharing 50% of his genes. Here's another anecdote from CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/04/24/living.well/.
Anyway, all this to say that you should read these two interesting articles - I know you have mentioned that you spray cold water on your legs following a shower to increase fat burning. There's also a body of work out there on cold shock proteins, but I haven't looked into it extensively enough yet to comment.
Enjoy, and keep the blog running,
I will report the results from the articles Marios sent me and make a few comments of my own. Thanks Marios.
LINK · Evolutionary Fitness · Comments (6)
Chapter One
March 24, 2007 03:46 PM
I have made Chapter One of my book Evolutionary Fitness available free at the link on the right of the main page. As you may know, this is in response to some pitiful wretch who is duplicating my web site and selling my work for their own benefit.
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Odds and Ends
March 21, 2007 09:15 PM
Been kind of busy and having fun. I have a few things to mention, not important.
1. I am going to make Chapter 1 of my book free. It turns out there is another site selling the chapter as their own product and they even have a PayPal account to send funds to. I won't mention the site as I do not want to send traffic there. The best way to kill their incentive is to give my chapter away. I will do that soon. So, don't buy it if you were thinking about it. Wait until it is free.
2. I did a Long Drive competition recently. I had little time to prepare, but managed to make it to the semi-finals. Just four of us left and I hit my best drives, but I did not get the soft draw I had planned for and the balls were just out to the right. I broke my long drive driver face the day before and used my older, stock R7. The winner qualified for the national event. Gregg told me that, had I qualified, I would have been the oldest person ever to have done so. I hit from 298 to 317 and there was no roll in the late evening. I usually hit that far with little or no effort. I think that is it as I have nothing to prove and really don't like golf that much.
3. My grandson and I went dirt biking in Stoddard Valley of the Mojave Desert near Barstow, California for three days. My new KTM 525 EXC was fantastic. It seemed a bit "too busy" in the previous rides, but in the deep whoops of the desert and higher speeds it was just right. I rode like I was 15; fearless, relaxed, and in that graceful ballet of high speed and movement that I love so much. Next month I do it again on the Isle of Elba off the Tuscany coast of Italy with European enduro riders and the famous Scott Harden of KTM Adventure Tours.
4. A documentary film producer making a film about innovative thinkers has been calling to set up an interview for his film. No date yet, but we will connect and I will be part of the film. Somebody at Harvard mentioned me to him and he has been on the blog. If it works, fine. But, I have been interviewed so many times and have seen how little impact it has had that it is only interesting, not important, to me. The topic is Evolutionary Fitness, though it could as easily have been complexity, movies, or financial securities.
5. I promised a post on beginning Evolutionary Fitness and will do it rather soon.
6. Congress is whoring its way through this session with the house leadership packing the defense bill with pork that will give their constituents trichinosis. These people are dishonest and incompetent and violating any trust we might have conferred on them. It is all about getting reelected. No more incumbents.
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Insulin Action and Food Intake: A Discussion
March 7, 2007 11:02 AM
This is part of an open discussion by scientists on insulin action. Note, in particular, two things:
1. When individuals are fed all they want to eat of a low carb diet they decrease they caloric intake by about 30%. They find it impossible to maintain their weight eating all they want. This makes the Evolutionary Fitness diet a no-brainer.
2. Even more interesting is the discussion of the beliefs of the scientific community and the way the low-carb diet was rejected for years in the "consensus" of the community. Now the evidence is too compelling to let this consensus stand. Find this under the "Cosmic Truths" comment.
There is an obvious parallel to the global warming debate consensus is no way to do science and it directs funding and rewards to the consensus instead of the promising ideas that go against the consensus. The discussion is in this Roundtable Discussion
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Reengineering the Human Body for Longevity
What are the use-by dates on your body and your mind? Which one will wear out first?
There is a fascinating exercise in reengineering the body and mind that evolution gave us to make us last longer (and better?). The article appears in this issue of the on-line edition of The Scientist.
It is curious that no mention is made of gene expression and diet. The loss of FT fiber and de-enervation of these fibers is briefly dealt with. Especially interesting is the potential link between food odor and hormone drives; perhaps seeing and smelling food triggers pathways that turn on reproduction and turn down repair (daf up, sirt down).
I have long subscribed to the free radical theory and its related entropy gain theory; the progressive loss of coordination between the systems in the body through the loss of hormone sensitivity. That is why good dynamics are crucial; they alter hormones so they operate in a pulsate fashion and retain their signalling functions. The continuous, low level infusion of hormones, the drip drip of modern life in place of the surges of ancient life, are at the root of the loss of information and progression of entropy.
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Aspects of Metabolic Health
March 6, 2007 05:24 PM
Metabolic fitness is a key component of my approach to fitness and health. More and more diseases are found to be diseases of metabolism, ie. the way diet and activity affect gene expression and the kinds of products circulating in the body and how they are used. That is why episodic calorie restriction, exercise, and a diet low in saturated fats and trans fats is protective; these are the fundamentals of Evolutionary Fitness.
Here is the conclusion from a superb review of cardio vascular disease (CVD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) and their overlapping characteristics. They are both diseases of metabolism. The study is in Molecular Psychiatry (2006) 11, 721–736. doi:10.1038/sj.mp.4001854; published online 20 June 2006.
Title: Apolipoprotein E, cholesterol metabolism, diabetes, and the convergence of risk factors for Alzheimer's disease and cardiovascular disease
"In Western countries, obesity and type II diabetes are becoming very common conditions. These are both known to be risk factors for atherosclerosis and other CVDs, and now also AD. The Western diet, known to be high in fat, particularly cholesterol, is known to increase considerably the risk of obesity and type II diabetes. As factors such as abnormal insulin regulation and abnormal cholesterol metabolism have been discovered in each of these conditions, overlap in pathogenesis has been suggested. In support of this, apoE alt epsilon4 does not appear to be as effective as apoE alt epsilon3 or apoE alt epsilon2 in the maintenance of cholesterol homeostasis, and possession of apoE alt epsilon4 alleles can increase the risk of most of these conditions as well.137 The treatment of AD patients with cholesterol-lowering drugs such as statins, already proven effective in the treatment of CVD, has been associated with a reduced risk of AD.49, 94 This reduced risk may be associated with reduced brain cholesterol levels and reduced Abeta production, however improved brain oxygenation may be equally relevant. ApoE also appears to be intimately involved in Abeta degradation in the brain, Abeta clearance from the brain, Abeta deposition, neurite outgrowth, and sulphatide content. The relative importance of each of these roles in AD risk is not yet clear.223, 227
Caloric restriction and exercise,233, 234 and diets with low fat content and high antioxidant, trace mineral, and fish content have been associated with a decreased risk of AD.235, 236 Possession of APOE alt epsilon4 alleles often does not increase the risk for AD in countries where people have low fat diets and more active lifestyles, supporting the concept that modifiable lifestyle factors may contribute significantly to the risk of AD.
An assessment of AD risk that takes into account both environmental and genetic factors may well provide the most useful model for clinical management in the future, with the emphasis on prevention. With mounting evidence for a convergence of AD and CVD risk factors, it is also apparent that improving metabolic health more broadly may well pay significant dividends in reducing the burden of these diseases in the future."
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Glutathione
March 4, 2007 07:35 PM
Here is the summary of a research article summarizing the effects of glutathione on immune function and susceptability to disease. The title is THE ROLE OF GLUTATHIONE IN AGING AND CANCER and the author is JOHN P. RICHIE, JR. American Health Foundation, Dana Road, Valhalla, New York 10595. It was published in Experimental Gerontoloty. Vol. 27, pp 616-626, 1992.
I note for completeness that the glutathione used in the experiments was injected. The form I use is taken orally, but has been show to increase tissue levels. Note also that acetaminiphine was used to deplete glutathione in the experiments. I never take it. And, you do know by now that I take glutathione.
Summary
Our hypothesis is that a deficiency in GSH results in an increased susceptibility to neoplasia, based on the importance of this compound in the detoxification of a wide variety of exogenous and endogenous carcinogens and free radicals, as well as in the maintenance of immune function. Previous results support this hypothesis, as a GSH deficiency was found to be a general property of aging tissues and organisms. Studies in experimental animals have suggested this deficiency is due to a lack of the precursor amino acid, cysteine. Further, a causal role of the GSH deficiency in the aging process was suggested by the increase in longevity obtained when the GSH deficiency was corrected by feeding a Cys precursor. The impact of the GSH deficiency on detoxification capacity in vivo was established using the drug acetaminophen as a metabolic probe. In these experiments, old animals were at greater risk to the detrimental effects of APAP than were younger animals, apparently because of the loss of GSH. Finally, human studies have revealed that a large segment of the elderly population has low blood GSH levels. Studies are underway to determine if these GSH deficient subjects are at greater risk to specific diseases and environmental insults.
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The Push Back Begins
More evidence against the greenhouse effect as the driver of climate change. This time in the form of a documentary Global Warming Lies.
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Too Much Cardio and Long Workouts Make You Fat
One of many paradoxes about human fitness and body composition is that too much exercise makes you fat. How can this be since exercise burns energy? Well, because in the long run a lot of low intensity exercise does not burn energy and it redirects energy flow to fat. Human metabolism is highly adaptive; if you burn more fat, the body will resupply more of it.
Why doesn't a lot of low intensity exercise burn off fat? It is easy to see in the gym that it doesn't. What are all the fat people doing in the gym? Walking on treadmills and cycling endlessly and at a very low level of intensity. The evidence is there for anyone to see. The same point is true of bicyclists and joggers; they have a high fat content (fat, skinny joggers). The point is equally true of guys who work out endlessly, doing multiple sets of high reps. Nearly everyone in the gym is too fat, not just in the real world outside, it is everywhere.
I made this point long ago in an interview with a performance publication; too much cardio makes you fat. Now just the other day I saw the point on a sign in Gold's. So I asked one of the trainers, who had no real explanation for it. Few likely do know how or why this happens and are less likely to see the same problem with body builders.
The basic reason is...
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