Endocrine Disruptor

Last weekend I read an interesting book on boys development and ADHD from "Boys Adrift" by Dr. Leonard Sax. He listed five factors that drive the decline of boys:

1. Video games
2. School teaching method (he advocate single sex class/school)
3. Overuse of medication for ADHD
4. Endocrin disruptor found in our environment and food supply chain
5. Social devaluation of masculinity (see The Simpsons)

For this post, I'm interested to expound further on the point 4 about the "Endocrine disruptor".

Have you recently be shopping for water-bottle or even milk-bottle for baby? If yes, you might have seen that numbers of manufacturer 'proudly' declare their product to be BPA-free. Apparently it was found that BPA (Bisphenol A), which is primarily use to make polycarbonate plastic, exhibit endocrine disruption effect, specifically it elevate rates diabetes, mammary and prostate cancers, decreased sperm count, reproductive problems, early puberty, obesity, and neurological problems.

BPA on the plastic bottle could leach when it is stored in warm/hot temperature. One way to identify of plastic that contain BPA is to check the recycling code number. Most plastic with number 3 and 7 do contain BPA. If you prefer to be safe, always choose a glass bottle. Beware as well with can-food (i.e. can tuna) where most of the time the can lining contain BPA. Always prefer fresh food rather than processed food.

Also read NYTimes article on "How Chemical Affect Us"

DNA sequenced of woman who lived to 115

The entire DNA sequence of a woman who lived to 115 has been pieced together by scientists.
The woman, who was the oldest in the world at the time of her death, had the mind of someone decades younger and no signs of dementia, say Dutch experts.
read more ...

Is fast food really cheaper than home-cooked meal?

Mark Bittman, a NYT Columnist, wrote an interesting article regarding the state of junk food consumption in US. Here are some nuggets of interesting paragraphs.

In general, despite extensive government subsidies, hyperprocessed food remains more expensive than food cooked at home. 

In comparing prices of real food and junk food, I used supermarket ingredients, not the pricier organic or local food that many people would consider ideal. But food choices are not black and white; the alternative to fast food is not necessarily organic food, any more than the alternative to soda is Bordeaux. The alternative to soda is water, and the alternative to junk food is not grass-fed beef and greens from a trendy farmers’ market, but anything other than junk food

in recent decades the adjusted for inflation price of fresh produce has increased by 40 percent while the price of soda and processed food has decreased by as much as 30 percent

A 2009 study by the Scripps Research Institute indicates that overconsumption of fast food “triggers addiction-like neuroaddictive responses” in the brain, making it harder to trigger the release of dopamine. In other words the more fast food we eat, the more we need to give us pleasure; thus the report suggests that the same mechanisms underlie drug addiction and obesity.

Is sugar toxic?

It's great to find that Lustig's argument on sugar caught public attention. Yesterday I found that NY-Times carry an article about this. Here is the link for the Lustig's lecture that I have posted sometime October last year.

To read more detail about all this sugar debate, I would recommend to go over to Alan Aragon's Blog.

Extremist in Veganism

"French vegans face trial after death of baby fed only on breast milk

Court hears parents became vegan after watching documentary about abattoirs and refused to eat any animal products"

This recent news is very sad. I guess these kind of people behavior that lead to the typical stereotype of a vegan as a eccentric and fanatical people. Human life is far more important than any animals in the world. Therefore I believe taking a moderate view of diet, such as flexitarian, is a better way to go.
For more historical records of such extremist parents, visit here: http://naturalhygienesociety.org/diet-veganbaby.html

Health Status

It's been a while since I started the shift to flexiterian diet (I didn't switch 100% vegan immediately but gradual) I already notice the benefit.

I just had my regular health checkup early this year and the result / improvement is great (considering that it is just a gradual change only over like 3 months). My triglycerides fall 45%. My LDL only drops a little bit (good thing it is not increase anymore). My HDL level remains the same, which I hope to increase through some exercise (it seems Pilates and Aerobic are good choice).

My BMI is back on normal range (I drop 5 kg since Oct 2010). It feels great that now I can use back my old pants  :-)