linkstream2 microblog

http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/vitamin-b12-raise-iron-levels-blood-11782.html

The Mystery of the Wasting…Cats
https://www.NYTimes.com/2017/05/16/magazine/the-mystery-of-the-wasting-house-cats.html pets as the new coal-mine canaries, now turning up PBDEs (thyroid hormone analogs)

Sight Unseen http://www.NewYorker.com/magazine/2017/05/15/seeing-with-your-tongue/amp New devices let one see w/ one’s tongue; they also open the
possibility for new types of #perception

Gr8 Low-carb #Veggies http://www.HealthCentral.com/diabetes/c/17/20167/good-veggies Top: collards, spinach, #kale, chard, red peppers; Bottom: cukes, eggplant, mushrooms, alfalfa

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“In fact, the healthiest of all vegetables, according to "Nutrition Action Health Letter," is one that I had never prepared before: collard greens, with a score of 461.
…
The number 2 vegetable, spinach, with a score of 424, is one that I eat both raw and cooked. Like collards, and number 3 kale (score 410) and number 4 Swiss chard (322) all of these green leafy vegetables pair extraordinarily well with ham or bacon or other smoked meat and vinegar (a tip I picked up from Ruth Reichl’s Gourmet Cookbook).
Then comes red pepper (score 309), which I usually add to my salad but is also great cooked. Skipping a couple of high-carb veggies, the list then goes to broccoli at 179.
Next in order are okra, 165; Brussels sprouts, 143; lettuce, 141; and asparagus, 84. I was surprised that tomatoes and avocados, two honorary vegetables (technically fruit), ranked at 76 and 71 respectively. Wonderful cauliflower ranked even lower at 64, cabbage at 44. Near the bottom of the list are cucumber, eggplant, mushrooms, and alfalfa sprouts.
…
My attention went in that direction anyway after reading Michael Pollan’s He notes there that when we largely switched from eating leaves to seeds (as in grain), the problems with the so-called "Western Diet" began. It is indeed striking how many of the top veggies are leaves.”

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#VitaminD on Trial
http://the-Scientist.com/2012/03/01/vitamin-d-on-trial Interesting mail the med. trial where participants aren’t explicitly checked for compliance

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“Once a month for the next 5 years, 20,000 people across the United States will find a package containing 62 pills in their mailboxes. As participants in a clinical trial, the recipients agreed to swallow two of the pills daily. But inevitably as the years pass, some pill packets will become buried under a stack of letters, or forgotten in a drawer. After all, these pills contain only vitamin D, fish oil, or an inert placebo—a person doesn’t need them to make it through the day. Plus, no one monitors who takes the pills daily and who does not.”

….

Scientists critical of the VITAL study question whether the daily dose of 2,000 IU is enough to distinguish the treatment group from the controls. If this were a drug trial, the placebo group would go without the drug completely. But it’s unethical to ask anyone to go without vitamin D. Doctors inform all participants that they can take up to 800 IU of vitamin D daily (the national recommendation for people over 70 years old) in addition to the pills they receive in the mail. If they do, the control group will sustain more than adequate levels. But some participants might decide to break the rules and head to the nearest corner store for high-dose supplements after being told that vitamin D may help prevent cancer and other diseases. And of course, many participants won’t follow through with taking the pills they’ve been sent in the mail. “You hope drop-ins and drop-outs will be equal on both sides, but they may not be,” warns biostatistician Gary Cutter at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

A higher dose of vitamin D would widen the gap between the treatment and the control group, but Manson isn’t swayed. She says 2,000 IU will lift the treatment arm well above the level suggested to help protect against nonskeletal diseases, while she expects the controls to stabilize at levels sufficient for healthy bones. “Sure, we could have tested higher doses, but then right off the bat, we might have had safety issues,” Manson says.
…

Nonetheless, in other disease-prevention trials, investigators are gunning for better compliance and a fighting chance of showing an effect by doling out large, periodic doses of vitamin D. In the United Kingdom, a trial looking at the effect of vitamin D on respiratory infections (including the flu) is giving participants 120,000 IU of the vitamin every 2 months. And participants in the treatment arm of a vitamin D trial for type 2 diabetes prevention take an average dose of 89,684 IU once per week.
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http://enroll16.itsyouryale.yale.edu/medical-coverage

Easy comparison of smart care v choice plans

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A E T N A S M A R T C A R E P L A N
The Aetna Smart Care Plan provides quality care along with an expansive network of medical care facilities for your healthcare coverage.
How It Works: After you meet your deductible, the plan pays 90 percent for most covered in-network services up to the annual out-of-pocket maximum. Once the annual out-of-pocket maximum has been reached, the plan pays 100 percent.
…A E T N A C H O I C E P L A N
The Aetna Choice POS II medical plan provides coverage for a wide range of medical expenses. The plan also provides coverage for certain preventive and wellness benefits.
How It Works: Through Aetna Choice, you pay for care, except preventive services, until you meet the deductible which varies based on the plan you choose. Once you’ve reached your deductible, your plan pays for 90 percent for most covered services and you pay 10 percent until you reach the annual out-of-pocket maximum.
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https://member.teladoc.com/aetna

Delhi Closes >1,800 Schools in Response to Dangerous Smog
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/05/world/asia/delhi-closes-over-1800-schools-in-response-to-dangerous-smog.html Wow: #airquality equiv. to ~25 cigarettes/day

Pokemon GO players increased their activity levels by 25%
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/602706/pokemon-go-increased-us-activity-levels-by-144-billion-steps-in-just-30-days From doing query relating websearch terms w. band usage

A Big Tobacco Moment for the Sugar Industry
http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/a-big-tobacco-moment-for-the-sugar-industry Amazing how much impact ~5M in ’16$ & 1 @NEJM review had on the US #diet