Delicious LiveJournal Links for 11-29-2010

[andrewducker]

• Auditors knowingly propped up bad banks
  (tags: banking uk)
• Results of world's largest dietary study are in. Eat less refined carbs, more protein, and you can eat until you feel full.
  (tags: diet health food science)
• US diplomats spied on UN leadership.
  (tags: wikileaks diplomacy intelligence surveillance un usa)
• Harvard scientists reverse the ageing process in mice. Humans next!
  (tags: health science aging medicine technology immortality)
• US embassy cables leak sparks global diplomatic crisis. Wikileaks does it again.
  (tags: wikileaks diplomacy intelligence usa afghanistan TransparentSociety)
• Beautiful picture of Edinburgh sunset in the snow, with the light behind the castle.
  (tags: photos photography edinburgh castle)
• The Top Ten Daily Consequences of Having Evolved
  (tags: evolution bodies)

Comments

[drainboy.livejournal.com]

I love the picture of Edinburgh Castle, though I noted that when I thought of it as a dawn picture, it gave off a completely different feel to when I thought of it as a dusk picture.

Try it. It's a bit like that picture that's two faces, as well as being a lamp.

[avatar.livejournal.com]

The price of immortality: greatly increase risk of cancer.

Pass.

[channelpenguin.livejournal.com]

OK, so the description of the various diets in the study does not mention fat content/proportion AT ALL leading me to assume that it wasn't controlled for - but the article does not say either way. Despite this, the "recommended diet" at the end is just plastered with the words "low fat"! There is nothing in the article to suggest that the study specfically supports or rejects this recommendation. There may be stuff missing from the article, of course, but that is then sloppy journalism - it's a factor of interest and the study would have taken SOME position on fat content - even if that was "not specifically controlled".

Also the adults in the study were pre-starved - I am seriously impressed that they managed to get compliance on 800kcal/day for 8 weeks. That's a serious crash diet. I suppose the study is of use for specifically post-crash-diet maintenance - but not necessarily for the general adult populace. The kids were not pre-starved, so for that, the study IS useful - and encouraging.

Another point is that it's not mentioned if the food intakes were all self-reported. I would think so, from the size and duration of the study. Self reporting on food intake is notoriously unreliable.

They note also a higher drop-out rate on the high GI /low protein group - I suspect that many dropped out cos they were gaining weight back faster even than those that stuck with it, which is not mentally consistent with being in a weightloss study - but that's speculation.

I'd really like to take a big bunch of people, run what genetic profiling we have, and then control their environment, exercise and food intake precisely - but until we have the evil dictatorship and associated mad scientists that just ain't gonna happen :-) Sigh.

[bohemiancoast.livejournal.com]

That dietary study; well, you know, I explained to a friend Paul McKenna's dieting tips:

1. Eat when you're hungry
2. Eat whatever you like
3. Eat slowly and chew every mouthful
4. Stop when you start to feel full


.. and she said 'yeah, of course. No shit. It's just that 98% of eating experiences aren't about that stuff'.

It's actually of no help to know that if I stuck to a high protein, low dairy-fat, no-simple carbs diet I could eat as much as I want. I'm pretty sure I already know that.

[andrewducker]

It sounds like you're already educated about diet stuff. The problem is the mass of people who are getting conflicting information. When I were a young lad, it was a high carb, low protein diet that I was recommended all the time. Eat lots of bread, on the grounds that it would fill you up, and avoid eating meat as it was more concentrated and would thus cause you to instantly put on weight. This advice was completely wrong, but a lot of people still seem to believe it.

Nailing down what a good basic diet is so that when "diet experts" try to recommend something else you can point out the rubbish they're talking will hopefully be good for clearing a lot of dead wood out of the diet conversations.

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

In re hiccups being uncontrollable:

I can think hiccups away, though I don’t know how useful this advice will be.

I have a distinctive hiccupish feeling when I have the hiccups, even between the hiccups. I just remember how it feels to not have the hiccups, and reset myself between hiccups so that I’m not hiccuping any more.

However, this isn't trying to take control in the middle of a hiccup.

[channelpenguin.livejournal.com]

I can also stop hiccups pretty much 100% of the time. Breathe right in really as much as you can.... then some more then just hold... if you sing or play brass or wind instruments, you will know what I mean when say use full support (helps to support and try to cram a bit more air in too before the final hold).

Others, try to hold the bottom of your ribcage out, your shoulders down and your lower belly in. Go look at a diagram of where your diaphragm is and imagine holding it dead flat.

Keep holding breath till you can't. Let it out as slowly as you can.

Works for me - but I dunnno if you need to be already somewhat breathing-trained to make it work.

[andrewducker]

Oooh, yes, something like that. It's the diaphragm tightening of Pilates, combined with holding my breath that seems to do it.

[andrewducker]

There's _something_ I do that seems to cure hiccups. But it's usually the seventh thing I try, and I never remember to make a note of what it was at the time. I really must do so next time.