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Myopia, aka nearsightedness, is extremely common and can start in childhood or young adults. Over time it can lead to early-onset cataract, retinal detachment, and glaucoma. MedPageToday has an eye-opening article on treatments that can prevent myopia progression and complications. For example:
Common evidence-based treatments that offer both statistically significant and clinically meaningful efficacies include daytime multifocal soft contact lenses (MFSCL), overnight orthokeratology (ortho-k), and topical low dose atropine (LDA). Novel spectacle lenses also showed a promising myopia-inhibiting effect, albeit with limited availability in U.S. at the current moment. On average, these options slow myopia progression by 30-70%compared to conventional single vision glasses or contacts. With properly selected early interventions, not only the development of myopia stabilizes at younger ages, the endpoint of the progression is also much lower, resulting in significantly lower risk of complications. Furthermore, with lower level of myopia at stabilization, many myopic patients could be good candidates for refractive surgery with given corneal thickness.
I get the impression from the article than treatments need to be started in childhood.
Steve Parker, M.D.
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…according to an article at Annals of Internal Medicine. The study was done in a U.K. population over decade of observation. The 10% or more reduction in all-cause mortality was seen at a habitual consumption level of two or more cups of black tea daily. Most prior similar studies I’ve seen focus on green tea.
Steve Parker, M.D.
Click to purchase at Amazon.com. E-book also available at Smashwords. com.
“Transgender Americans shape our Nation’s soul — proudly serving in the military, curing deadly diseases, holding elected office, running thriving businesses, fighting for justice, raising families, and much more.”
— President Joe Biden, March 31, 2023
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Last year, more than 10,000 people in Canada – astonishingly that’s over three percent of all deaths there – ended their lives via euthanasia, an increase of a third on the previous year. And it’s likely to keep rising: next year, Canada is set to allow people to die exclusively for mental health reasons.
Only last week, a jaw-dropping story emerged of how, five years into an infuriating battle to obtain a stairlift for her home, Canadian army veteran and Paralympian Christine Gauthier was offered an extraordinary alternative.
A Canadian official told her in 2019 that if her life was so difficult and she so ‘desperate’, the government would help her to kill herself. ‘I have a letter saying that if you’re so desperate, madam, we can offer you MAiD, medical assistance in dying,’ the paraplegic ex-army corporal testified to Canadian MP
God gave me life. It’s up to God, not me, when it’s over. Over 40 years of practicing medicine, I’ve never had an patient ask me to “put them down,” like we would a cherished pet that was suffering during impending death.
Steve Parker, M.D.
PS: On a lighter note…
Chinese researchers reviewed the literature on time-restricted eating and metabolic effects on humans. I’m not paying $31.50 USD for the full text article, but here’s the abstract:
Time-restricted feeding (TRF), a feasible form of intermittent fasting, has been proven to benefit metabolic health in animal models and humans. TRF restricts the daily feeding window to 3 to 12 h for eating ad libitum, with fasting for the rest of the day. To our knowledge, specific guidance on the appropriate time period for eating during TRF has not yet been promoted. Therefore, the aim of the present review was to summarize the current literature on the effects of TRF with different eating windows in humans and compare their effects on metabolic health–related markers. Early TRF (which restricts food intake during the early period of the day) and delayed TRF (which restricts food intake during the later period of the day) studies have shown that both TRF regimens improve metabolic health in terms of reducing energy intake, decreasing body weight, improving insulin sensitivity, reducing blood pressure, and reducing oxidative stress. Differences between the consequences of early and delayed TRF were found, including differences in changes in blood lipid factors. These preliminary findings may help to provide guidance for choosing suitable eating windows during TRF. Future studies with rigorous designs and direct comparisons between the effects of TRF regimens with different eating windows on metabolic health markers are still needed.
Steve Parker, M.D.
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Ilana Mercer reminded me that testosterone levels in men have been falling for the last several decades. It’s unclear why. May be related to pollution, overweight and obesity, or decreased incidence of smoking. Not mentioned by Ilana is the dramatic drop in sperm counts.
It is very possible, even likely, that the feminization of society over the past 20 to 30 years is changing males, body and mind. It is very possible that the subliminal stress involved in sublimating one’s essential nature is producing less manly men.
Consider: When they are not twerking tush with transexuals, today’s tykes are required to hack their way through page-turners like One Dad Two Dads Brown Dad Blue Dads. Boyhood today also means BB guns and “bang-bang you’re dead” are banned.
Boys are hardwired for competition; the contemporary school enforces cooperation. Boys like to stand out. But team-work obsessed, mediocre, mostly female school teachers teach them to fade into the background. Boys thrive in more disciplined, structured learning environments; the American school system is synonymous with letting it all hang out.
Sons are more likely to be raised without male mentors, since moms, in the last few decades, are more inclined to divorce (and get custody), never marry, or bear children out of wedlock. The schools have been emptied of manly men and staffed by feminists, mostly lacking in the Y chromosome. Although boys (and girls) require discipline, the rare disciplinarian risks parent-driven litigation.
Steve Parker, M.D.
Click to purchase at Amazon.com. E-book also available at Smashwords. com.
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No, according to these three credentialed experts at The Conversation. A snippet:
There is a common belief that “good” posture is important to protect the spine from damage, as well as prevent and treat back pain. Good posture is commonly defined as sitting “upright”, standing “tall and aligned”, and lifting with a squat technique and “straight back”.
Conversely, “slump” sitting, “slouch” standing and lifting with a “round back” or stooped posture are frequently warned against. This view is widely held by people with and without back pain, as well as clinicians in both occupational health and primary care settings
Surprisingly, there is a lack of evidence for a strong relationship between “good” posture and back pain. Perceptions of “good” posture originate from a combination of social desirability and unfounded presumptions.
Click for more of my blog posts on low back pain.
Steve Parker, M.D.
Click to purchase at Amazon.com. E-book also available at Smashwords. com.
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From the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology:
Decaffeinated, ground, and instant coffee, particularly at 2–3 cups/day, were associated with significant reductions in incident cardiovascular disease and mortality.
“Cardiovascular disease” includes coronary artery disease (e.g., heart attacks), heart failure, and ischemic strokes.
The study was done by Australian researchers using a UK database.
Steve Parker, M.D.
Click to purchase at Amazon.com. E-book also available at Smashwords. com.
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I should have hit “publish” on this post when the news was fresh five months ago. But anyway, here ya go…
Dr John Campbell on mysterious excess deaths in Australia this year:
From ScienceDaily:
Starting twice daily flushing of the mucus-lined nasal cavity with a mild saline solution soon after testing positive for COVID-19 can significantly reduce hospitalization and death, investigators report.
They say the technique that can be used at home by mixing a half teaspoon each of salt and baking soda in a cup of boiled or distilled water then putting it into a sinus rinse bottle is a safe, effective and inexpensive way to reduce the risk of severe illness and death from coronavirus infection that could have a vital public health impact.
The irrigation, aka lavage, was not done by simply filling a spray bottle with the saline solution and squirting it up your nose. Participants used one of two high pressure devices: NAVAGE or Neilmed Sinus Rinse. The manufacturer’s of those devices provided at least partial funding for the study.
About a year and a half too late to the game, Joe Biden finally admitted in a Sunday broadcast interview with 60 Minutes that the covid pandemic is over, stating:
“We still have a problem with COVID. We’re still doing a lotta work on it. It’s — but the pandemic is over. if you notice, no one’s wearing masks. Everybody seems to be in pretty good shape. And so I think it’s changing. And I think this is a perfect example of it.”
Apparently, in the ever teetering mind of Joe Biden the prevalence of masks was a measure of the prevalence of covid. Of course, this all depends on where in the US or the world you have been living. In red states, masks have been gone for around two years with the majority of people not wearing them. And despite the predictions (and fantasies) of many on the political left, conservatives were not dropping dead in the streets; far from it.
Steve Parker, M.D.
Click to purchase at Amazon.com. E-book also available at Smashwords. com.
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Advanced Mediterranean Diet 