I also find it interesting that “champignon” can refer to any type of fungus. I have to say, listening to French Radio has definitely taught me some interesting new words, often ones that I can’t imagine would come up in a class.

Maple Leaf from Montreal Botanical Garden

This year, I decided to give away some found money. Some of it went to Philabundance, and another portion went to City Kitties. Both are organizations that serve the Philadelphia area. The last portion went to one of Kristof’s susggestions: Sustainable Health Enterprises or SHE.

SHE’s goal is to provide low cost menstrual pads to girls in developing countries in an attempt to keep them in school. Apparently, many girls miss school during their periods because of inadequate menstrual supplies. I chose this program over the one Lunapads is associated with because—while I like the Lunapads products—SHE pointed out that the absence of clean water and soap is often a problem in the developing world. The lack of clean water makes reusable pads or menstrual cups a potential source of infection.

As at least one study has pointed out though, providing girls with menstrual supplies may not be enough to keep them in school. The comments on Kristof’s blog post about the article provide some hypotheses as to why.

Despite this study, I’ve chosen to donate to SHE because I think it’s important to talk about and to reduce the stigma surrounding menstruation.

Kraft wants to take over Cadbury.

I also stumbled accross an article saying that high protein, low carb diets may contribute to Alzheimers Disease. It’s intriguing and surprising—but also just one study in mice, so the results should be interpreted with caution.

For a new spin on urban farming, look at Detroit. While I’m not moving to detroit anytime soon, the article is a fascinating read, and some of the arial photos are astounding. [Found via the NYT Idea of the Day Blog.]

First, about my review of Edible Heirloom Gardening, there were two additional pieces of valuable information that the book provides.

First, Creasy explains the importance of attracting good insects, including pollinators. According to Creasy, having flowers growing near your vegetables is not only ornamental, but it can help attract beneficial bugs and pollinators, especially if the flowers are appealing to bees.

Creasy also provides information about related plants and explains how these plants can cross pollinate, perhaps giving you hybrid varieties that are unappealing and making seed saving a wasted effort. She also points out that it’s important to take this into mind when planning beds and rotating crops, so that you aren’t letting pests and soil pathogens establish themselves too firmly. She also lists some good cover crops to use in between edible crop rotations.

I’d also like to clarify my stance regarding vitamins and nutritional supplements. I’m not opposed to them across the board. I think that the added B vitamins in cereals, vitamin D in milk, and iodine in salt are valuable correctives to serious nutrient deficiencies whose absence we in the US now take for granted. (The lack of iodine in salt leads to Cretinism in parts of the developing world.) I just don’t feel like taking even more supplements is useful in the absence of a specific deficiency like iron-related anemia, vitamin D deficiency (which sometimes occurs in exclusively breast fed babies, especially ones with dark skin), etc.

I also have become skeptical of the value of taking vitamins, although I have to confess that’s partly because I just hate taking gigantic pills. I just learned that taking vitamins may interfere with the benefits of exercise, though, so perhaps I’ll just continue to not take them.

This post refers to:

Severson, K. When ‘Local’ Makes It Big. New York Times. May 12, 2009.

Wade, N. Vitamins Found to Curb Exercise Benefits. New York Times. May 12, 2009.

Diabetes is called it a silent scourge because people can live with diabetes and not know it. The result is that many people learn they have the disease when it becomes serious, or when complications occur. The complications are frequently gruesome, however. Most leg and partial leg amputations occur as a result of diabetes.

The saddest aspect of diabetes is how little is done to manage it. Some people refuse to believe that they are ill, until it is too late to save them from such complications as amputation, heart disease, or kidney failure. In some cases, people refuse to take their pills or insulin, or to check their blood sugar on a regular basis. They also neglect the lifestyle changes that are necessary to properly control diabetes.

It’s important to remember that individual choices are only part of the picture. The New York Times series also explores the social and economic conditions that contribute to diabetes’s toll. For many who need the most help in their fight against diabetes, there are few resources. They often are located away from places where they can get exercise or find healthful foods. Many may not have insurance coverage. Sometimes the stress of life is enough to wear down resolve.

It doesn’t help that health decisions are often driven by concerns about profit rather than health. Junk food is cheaper than health food, but it’s also easier to make money from it. Insurance companies and hospitals also look at preventive care for people with diabetes as a drain on profits. Hospitals can charge more for procedures like kidney dialysis than amputations, and both are more likely to be covered by insurance than preventive services like endocrinologist or podiatrist visits.

Recently, the link between Type II diabetes and genetics was confirmed. A variant of one gene in particular can increase the risk of developing diabetes by up to 45% in people who carry 1 copy of the variant gene, and 141% in people who carry 2 copies. Over a third of Americans may carry this gene variant, and scientists estimate that 7% of Americans carry 2 copies. The variant appears to be responsible for 21% of diabetes cases—over 4 million people.

If a screening test could be developed for this genetic variant, it’s possible that many cases could be prevented using diet and exercise. In order for that to truly happen, people must be provided with some extra incentives to do so.

This post refers to:

Kleinfield, N.R. “Diabetes and Its Awful Toll Quietly Emerge as a Crisis.” Bad Blood, Part 1. New York Times. January 9, 2006.

Kleinfield, N.R. “Living at an Epicenter of Diabetes, Defiance and Despair.” Bad Blood, Part 2.New York Times. January 10, 2006.

Urbina, Ian. “In the Treatment of Diabetes, Success Often Does Not Pay.” Series: Bad Blood, Part 3. New York Times. January 11, 2006.

Santora, Mark. “East Meets West, Adding Pounds and Peril.” Bad Blood, Part 4. New York Times. January 12, 2006.

Fountain, Henry. “On Not Wanting to Know What Hurts You.” New York Times. January 15, 2006.

Wade, Nicholas. “Gene Increases Diabetes Risk, Scientists Find.” New York Times. January 16, 2006.

In addition, although safety information is available in the package inserts that are included with drugs, they often aren’t read because it can be so difficult. They are often several pages long and in very small fonts. The information consumers want is also often buried among a lot of other information.

Even commonly used drugs that people might think of as safe still have risks that can be serious and should be known about. A recent New York Times article, talked about the dangers associated with acetaminophen. The drug is sold in several over the counter and prescription products, including Tylenol, Nyquil, and many narcotic-containing products. When taken in high doses, acetaminophen can cause serious liver damage, but infrequent use at the recommended dose is not harmful to most people.

In many cases, the danger comes not from the drug itself but from the way it interacts with other drugs or foods. Grapefruit and grapefruit juice, for example, have dangerous interactions with several medications, many of which are prescribed quite commonly. It’s important to always be cautious with everything you put in your body.

One of the sites I frequently use to check the safety information on a product is rxlist.com. The site contains the text and other information in package inserts, but the information is organized so it’s easy to find what you’re interested in. Near the top are tabs that provide information about dosing, side effects, and warnings. The text is presented in a font size is readable, and can be scaled up or down by the web browsing software. The drug search function is also “fuzzy,” meaning that you don’t need to know the exact spelling to find what you’re looking for. It’s best to be wary, however, because some drugs do have similar names that can be confusing.

This post refers to:

Franklin, Deborah. “Poisonings From a Popular Pain Reliever Are Rising.” New York Times. November 29, 2005.