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Health & Healing

Healthnotes

Tuesday, March 05, 2002

In the late 80's I was stressing myself to death. I started visiting a Buddhist nun who recommended that I turn off the TV--especially the news--and all newspapers for one whole month!

That month helped save my life. Although I stay informed today, it is through quick email headlines and summaries like those provided by www.newsisfree.com, www.MSNBC.com and now RSS channels through radio.userland.com and the Radio News Aggregator.

The AP Newswire does not seem to have the intent of ripping out your heart and leaving you feeling unsafe at home, work, in the car, or even under your desk. Can't say the same thing about Dan Rather-Awful or CNN or... the local news. Can you believe that some people spend the last 30 minutes of each day watching all the murder and mayhem that can be fit into 30 minutes?

And we wonder why we suffer from heart disease or flee to comfort foods (which are conveniently advertised during the same shows)?

11:20:32 PM

It's just after 11pm. If I had TV service, I'd probably be flicking through the channels or the stored shows. My wife probably would, too. Instead, she's happily reading a book while I blog away. It quieter, and there is little chance I'll consume an hour of ER's horrors prior to getting a good night's sleep.

To me, that's one of the real killers of most TV we end up watching. It's so easy (for me) to get caught up in the drama emotionally. After awhile, you get numb to pain and suffering or go crazy.

11:09:25 PM

Fifteen years ago, most people weren't ready for the kind of collective mind-meld that makes k-logging work. Five years ago, most people still weren't. Today...well, the jury's still out, but the mainstream interest in blogging tells me that maybe, just maybe, we're close to having a critical mass of people who are ready to live transparently, to narrate their experiences in order to better understand them, and to be informed by the narrations of others.

I hope it's going to happen this time around. But whether it does or not, let's be clear about one thing. Although the software needs to have a certain set of properties, software's not the gating factor. People are. [Jon's Radio]

In our CompuServe forums, less than 10% of the members participated ever. And that is fine. Not everyone needs to feel comfortable or "called" to become a public weblogger. Yet, knowing that people are receiving value (entertainment, information, even a feeling of being connected) makes the effort worthwhile.

11:05:36 PM

Study: Tomato Sauce Cuts Cancer Risk. A diet rich in tomato sauce, ketchup and other tomato-based products containing a powerful antioxidant can lower the risk of prostate cancer, a new study says. [AP Health]

So nice to read this while munching on a dinner of pasta with tomato sauce and fresh tomatoes.

Here's what Healthnotes has been saying about tomatoes for quite some time in our Cancer Prevention article:

Tomatoes
Tomatoes contain lycopene—an antioxidant similar in structure to beta-carotene. Most lycopene in our diet comes from tomatoes, though traces of lycopene exist in other foods. Lycopene inhibits the proliferation of cancer cells in test tube research.²¹

A review of published research found that higher intake of tomatoes or higher blood levels of lycopene correlated with protection from cancer in 57 of 72 studies. Findings in 35 of these studies were statistically significant.²² Evidence of a protective effect for tomato consumption was strongest for cancers of the prostate, lung, and stomach, but some evidence of a protective effect also appeared for cancers of the pancreas, colon, rectum, esophagus (throat), mouth, breast, and cervix.

10:15:35 PM

Study Ties Lung Cancer, Air Pollution. Long-term exposure to the air pollution in some of America's biggest metropolitan areas significantly raises the risk of dying from lung cancer and is about as dangerous as living with a smoker, a study of a half-million people found. [AP Health]

10:11:54 PM

Orson Welles: "I hate television. I hate it as much as peanuts. But I can't stop eating peanuts." [from EarlyToRise]

Week 2 of no broadcast television. During the Olympics--the women's ice skating finals to be exact--the family pet started having convulsions again. Born of a fruitful partnership between Microsoft's WebTV and a Dish Network satellite system, our Dishplayer 500 spasmed in the middle of Michelle Kwan's performance. After cycling the power, it came back to life but lost its memory... again.

The family loved this pet. Ever since we got it the arguments over coming to dinner diminished (just press pause, and come back to it). We watched shows when we wanted to, could pause to take biobreaks, and jump past commercials. We could start watching Survivor 20 minutes into the show and end at the same time.

Personal Video Recorders (PVRs) are a technology that is a hit with anyone who has one. I set my boss up with a TiVo system and his wife loves it so much she almost forgives me for also helping him fill his livingroom with a Sony 40" TV.

So why didn't we just get the pet fixed? Well, the reason it died, according to my sources within Dish Network (a few honest technicians) and a former employee / Dish Network retailer, nearly all the Microsoft-based Dishplayers were showing similar signs and it was software, not hardware, that was the culprit. A hotfix gone awry, so to speak. So while Dish was willing to swap my machine (for $70; out of warranty), and even give me 3 months of free Showtime, they gave no assurances that this would fix the problem. So Sandy and I decided to put it to sleep.

I'll have more on the grieving process... later.

9:46:15 AM