Organism as a Whole

Quote of the Day

2013-03-20T22:30:00.001-07:00

I was beaten by my ex-wife, both physically and emotionally.

After it started I stuck with her for four years thinking that I could make things OK again. I spent over £2,000 on marriage guidance counselling where the emphasis was on me changing my behaviour and my personality so that I could be "acceptable" to her. It was a given that as a man, I lacked emotional intelligence and she, as a woman, was emotionally superior. My self-esteem and my confidence suffered horrendously, which re-inforced their view that I was emotionally immature. The media, the marriage "guidance" business and society in general subscribes to the view that men are emotionally inferior and so, everywhere I looked for answers, her views were re-inforced. The case against me became so overwhelming that I began to believe it myself and I fell for the anti-male conspiracy (and that, I believe, is what it is). I questioned my very existence. At the lowest point I believed her when she said that I was clinically depressed, resulting in me being prescribed anti-depressants... (Source)

Viceral Fat a.k.a. Belly Fat

2012-09-09T17:12:00.005-07:00

(This is NOT a picture of me! Picture was from Wikipedia.)

Visceral fat (a.k.a. belly fat and love handles) is a response to an energy deprivation. Energy deprivation, such as a glucose deprivation, shifts the body to store fat rather than to utilize the energy. Visceral fat has been an adaptation to reduce starvation.

It's easy to gain and lose visceral fat. During starvation or fasting, the first place which fat is burned is in the abdominal area.

Why does visceral fat disappear so quickly? It is because it's intended to be stored as energy, 'rather like a squirrel hiding nuts'. says Dr Haslam. (Source)

The reverse is also true. Fat is easily gained in the abdominal area.

Evolutionarily, this makes sense. Animals who are susceptible to starvation tend to store visceral fat. This is in contrast to subcutaneous fat, which is to provide insulation. Unlike subcutaneous fat which is located everyone, abdominal fat is located in the abdominal area, which also happens to be the center of mass for the organism. Thus, an animal which stores fat in the abdominal area doesn't suffer from impaired mobility as if it stores the fat as subcutaneous fat.

Thus, it's plausible to hypothesize that preventing hypoglycemia (a state of energy deficiency) would reduce visceral fat.

A few simple ways could help to prevent hypoglycemia. There are many ways to regulate blood sugar, which include eliminating polyunsaturated fats (including eliminating fish oil) and supplementing with aspirin and niacinamide. Yet another one is blood donation. We will emphasize blood donation here.

First, there are a few controlled studies demonstrating that blood donation improves blood sugar levels.

Low iron status and enhanced insulin sensitivity in lacto-ovo vegetarians Nancy W. Hua1,2, Riccardo A. Stoohs3 and Francesco S. Facchini1,2,3* 1Department of Medicine, Division of Nephrology, San Francisco General Hospital, San Francisco, CA, USA

To test whether or not Fe status might modulate insulin sensitivity, body Fe was lowered by phlebotomy in six male meat-eaters to levels similar to that seen in vegetarians, with a resultant approximately 40 % enhancement of insulin-mediated glucose disposal ðP ¼ 0:0008Þ:

Blood Letting in High-Ferritin Type 2 Diabetes Effects on Insulin Sensitivity and Cell Function Jose´ Manuel Ferna´ndez-Real,1 Georgina Pen˜ arroja,2 Antoni Castro,2 Fernando Garcı´a-Bragado,2 Ildefonso Herna´ndez-Aguado,3 and Wifredo Ricart1

A statistically significant increase in insulin sensitivity was observed in the blood-letting group

Iron Depletion by Phlebotomy Improves Insulin Resistance in Patients With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Hyperferritinemia: Evidence from a Case-Control Study Luca Valenti, M.D.,1 Anna Ludovica Fracanzani, M.D.,1 Paola Dongiovanni, Ph.D.,1 Elisabetta Bugianesi, M.D.,2 Giulio Marchesini, M.D.,3 Paola Manzini, M.D.,4 Ester Vanni, M.D.,2 and Silvia Fargion, M.D.1

Baseline ferritin levels were associated with body iron stores (P < 0.0001). Iron depletion produced a significantly larger decrease in insulin resistance (P = 0.0016 for insulin, P = 0.0042 for HOMA-R) compared with nutritional counseling alone, independent of changes in BMI, baseline HOMA-R, and the presence of the metabolic syndrome. Iron depletion was more effective in reducing HOMA-R in patients in the top two tertiles of ferritin concentrations (P < 0.05 vs controls), and in carriers of the mutations in the HFE gene of hereditary hemochromatosis (P < 0.05 vs noncarriers).

Besides improved blood sugar, blood donation has been shown to have a significant reduction on blood pressure as well. In a 2012 study of subjects who donated 550-800 ml of blood, the phlebotomy group had significantly decreased blood pressure.

[Systolic blood pressure] decreased from 148.5 ± 12.3 mmHg to 130.5 ± 11.8 mmHg in the phlebotomy group, and from 144.7 ± 14.4 mmHg to 143.8 ± 11.9 mmHg in the control group (difference -16.6 mmHg; 95% CI -20.7 to -12.5; P < 0.001). No significant effect on HOMA index was seen. With regard to secondary outcomes, blood glucose, HbA1c, low-density lipoprotein/high-density lipoprotein ratio, and HR were significantly decreased by phlebotomy. Changes in BP and HOMA index correlated with ferritin reduction.

Among women, iron supplementation was significantly associated with higher waist circumference, higher blood pressure, high fasting glucose, and impaired glucose tolerance.

Iron-supplement users (n = 212/1000) showed significantly higher values of prepregnancy body mass index (BMI), actual BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure, fasting glucose, Homeostasis-Model-Assessment-Insulin-Resistance, and lower high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol than nonusers. The prevalence of GDM (70.8% vs 44.4%), hypertension (25.9% vs 9.8%), metabolic syndrome (25.9% vs 10.4%) was significantly higher in the former with a 2- to 3-fold-increased risk at multiple regression analyses. Most glucose values of the oral glucose tolerance test were significantly higher in iron supplemented women, both in GDM and normoglycemic individuals.

Besides metabolic syndrome, iron intake was associated with obesity, as well.

The relationship between iron stores and obesity in menstruating women was studied in 20 obese and 20 nonobese women matched for age and contraception. Although no difference was observed in serum iron or total-iron-binding capacity, the obese group showed significantly higher hemoglobin (137 +/- 9 vs 10 g/L, mean +/- SD; P less than 0.01), hematocrit (0.41 +/- 0.02 vs 0.39 +/- 0.03, P less than 0.05), and serum ferritin concentrations (48.0 +/- 44.3 vs 25.8 +/- 19.5 micrograms/L, P less than 0.05). There was no difference between obese and nonobese women in either the menstrual-cycle interval or the duration of the menstrual flow. Iron intake was significantly higher in the obese group (15.9 +/- 2.9 vs 14.1 +/- 2.9 mg/d, P less than 0.05). These results suggest that obese menstruating women are at low risk of depleting iron stores, possibly because of high iron intake. Iron-fortification programs might thus be undesirable in such subjects.

What to Eat on Vacations

2012-01-20T18:43:00.000-08:00

Do you fart a lot when you are vacationing? Well, it's probably the foods that make you fart on vacations.

For instance, eating ice cream will make you fart. A lot. Even while in the car. Your car will smell like shit. That shit will annoy your airline passengers, too. Stop that shit.

I'm not suggesting to avoid ice cream. No. Just don't eat ice cream which has carrageenan, so you won't experience those effects. Other side effects I have experienced with low-quality ice cream, are fatigue and acne. The wrong milkshake would cause the same effect.

When I was on vacation, I can't find any orange juice. Well, I actually can find orange juice, but all of them say "from concentrate." I don't like concentrate juice. So it's just that I could not find orange juice which was not from concentrate. Anyway, I went to gas stations. I went to the local stores there. I found nothing. The only thing I found was the "juice from concentrate." Sigh. Guess I was concentrating too much.

But plenty of milk exists on the counters. Bananas. Oh, bananas are widely available. And they're cheap, palatable, and easy-to-store. In fact, bananas are the third most popular fruit in North America. Probably it's because bananas are a "convenience food": What we mean is that they're cheap, widely available, palatable, and energy-dense. They are easy-to-prepare, too. You just peel the banana with your hands. However, bananas may have toxins. The serotonin in bananas, which is harmful, may be an abundance. The starch of bananas, if unripe, could feed gut flora. And the seeds of the banana may cause problems. Bananas are a common food in hotel breakfasts. Probably because bananas are a cheap food for their customers.

In addition to bananas, coffee is also a common food in hotels. Coffee and bananas would make the perfect hotel breakfast. Pour a lot of sugar into the coffee. Drink the coffee with bananas, and add a bit of salt into the coffee to balance the potassium in the bananas.

In fact, the first time I drank coffee was from a hotel. That took away my coffee-virginity. Interestingly, it happened only a year ago. I love hotel breakfasts.

Bananas & Coffee: The perfect hotel breakfast.

Vitamin and Mineral Supplements: The Preferred Forms

2011-11-30T14:54:00.001-08:00

The preferred form of Vitamin B-1 is Thiamine Diphosphate or Thiamine Pyrophosphate.

The preferred form of Vitamin B-2 is Riboflavin 5'-Phosphate.

The preferred form of Vitamin B-3 is Niacinamide.

The Preferred Form of Vitamin B-6 is Pyrioxidal 5'-Phosphate.

The preferred Form of Folate is Methylfolate. (Or at least Calcium Folinate.)

The preferred Form of Vitamin B-12 is Methylcobalamin.

A significant percentage of the population cannot convert the inactive forms of the B-vitamins, to the active forms of the B-vitamins. Therefore, I think it's plausible to get the preferred forms of the B-vitamins.

I have seen no commercial multi-vitamin product, or otherwise any B-complex, which has the preferred forms of all of the B-vitamins

Those other the nutrients related to the B-Vitamins:

Biotin Inositol Choline Para-Aminobenzoic Acid N-Acetyl-Cysteine R-Lipoic Acid Carnitine Carnosine Taurine Beta-Alanine Betaine

Choline, biotin, inositol, carnotine, carnosine, taurine, beta-alanine, and beta-alanine could protect against fatty liver disease. This has been shown in rats.

Carnosine could quench hydroxyl radicals. Free iron ions, or pooly-liganded iron, could react with oxidants, to form hydroxyl radicals. For instance, iron could react with hydrogen peroxide, to form hydroxyl radicals. The hydroxyl radicals are more damaging; as it could cause lipid peroxidation and deplete vitamin E. Carnosine could neutralize hydroxyl radicals, therefore it's an antioxidant, sparing vitamin E, and protecting against the effects of excess iron.

Zinc is a relatively non-toxic metal, and could be supplemented in cases of zinc deficiency or poor soil quality. Zinc oxide and zinc carbonate are poorly-absorbed, as they are not soluble in water. Therefore, they are not the preferred forms of zinc.[9] Preferred forms of zinc include zinc citrate, zinc picolinate, and zinc gluconate. Zinc sulphate is preferred likewise, but it could cause intestinal irritation.[9]

Zinc also reduces nitric oxide synthase, supports immune function, and inhibits aromatase, an enzyme which converts testosterone to estrogen.

Selenium supplementation: Do not get anything other than "selenomethionine" or "selenium from yeast." Any other form of selenium is more damaging. Damaging forms of selenium include "sodium selenate", "sodium selenite", "chelated selenium" and "selenium glycinate." Those forms of selenium are unmethylated, and they are toxic since unbound selenium ions are highly reactive and cause free radical damage.

[1] The Essential Toxin: Impact of Zinc on Human Health Laura M. Plum, Lothar Rink and Hajo Haase * http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/7/4/1342/pdf

[2] Zinc supplementation in oral rehydration solutions: experimental assessment and mechanisms of action. Altaf W, Perveen S, Rehman KU, Teichberg S, Vancurova I, Harper RG, Wapnir RA. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11838884

Zinc deficiency is associated with chronic diarrhea. This condition is generally linked to an overproduction of nitric oxide (NO), which induces secretion and cellular damage as a free radical.

[3] Zinc-Altered Immune Function and Cytokine Production1 Lothar Rink2 and Holger Kirchner http://jn.nutrition.org/content/130/5/1407S.long

[4] M.A. Beck, P.C. Kolbeck, Q. Shi, L.H. Rohr, V.C. Morris, and O.A. Levander, “Increased Virulence of a Human Enterovirus (Coxsackievirus B3) in Selenium-Deficient Mice”, J. Infectious Diseases 170, 351-357, 1994. [2] M.A. Beck, P.C. Kolbeck, L.H. Rohr, Q. Shi, V.C. Morris, and O.A. Levander, “Vitamine E Deficiency Intensifies the Myocardial Injury of Coxsackievirus B3 Infection of Mice”, J. Nutr.

This effect is reversed with selenium deficiency. Older mice that are also selenium deficient are as susceptible to the virus as young mice.

These tests employ lard, special fish oil with vitamin E removed, selenium and vitamin E. The vitamin E prevents the deleterious formation of aliphatic hyperperoxides from the high concentrations of unsaturated fatty acids in the fish oil. Fish oil administered without vitamin E depletes the body's store of vitamin E and potentiates the heart damage observed with the virus infection. (Normal fish oil contains a small but sufficient amount of vitamin E to prevent these problems.)

http://www.philsoc.org/1995Spring/2041minutes.html

[5] J Nucleic Acids. 2010 Sep 22;2010. pii: 725071. Prevention of mutation, cancer, and other age-associated diseases by optimizing micronutrient intake. Ames BN. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20936173

[6] FASEB J. 2011 Jun;25(6):1793-814. Epub 2011 Mar 14. Adaptive dysfunction of selenoproteins from the perspective of the triage theory: why modest selenium deficiency may increase risk of diseases of aging. McCann JC, Ames BN.

[7] Arther & Beckett. (1999) Thyroid function http://bmb.oxfordjournals.org/content/55/3/658.abstract?ijkey=142d514bc098871f0edbf58f0989a55060f2627a&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha

[8] Arther & Beckett. (2004) Selenium and endocrine systems http://joe.endocrinology-journals.org/content/184/3/455.abstract?ijkey=62929d24abdd3d8eb6509950b387320efd616459&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha+html

[9] Zinc and micronutrient supplements for children LH Allen - The American journal of clinical nutrition, 1998 - Am Soc Nutrition

How to Lose Fat without Dieting

2011-11-30T14:11:00.000-08:00

Sodium, magnesium, and calcium are a definite "yes." All of those minerals have indisputable evidence that they help to reduce stress.

Sodium reduces the RAAS system and vasopresson. All those systems have been shown to cause inflammation, oxidative stress, and artheroscoleosis.

Magnesium and calcium shuts down PTH, which also have those beneficial effects. David McCarron and others have showed that calcium releives hypertension.

Short-chain and medium-chain saturated fatty acids have indisputable evidence that they are anti-microbial and are metabolically enhancing. However, they are not necessarily for a healthy diet, if you are already PUFA deficient or have good microflora.

Corticosteroids have indisputable evidence that they slow down oxidative metabolism, causes excitation, and calcification of tissues. Adrenaline and noradrenaline have indisputable evidence that they, too, causes this. Estrogen increase corticosteroids, adrenaline, and noradrenaline, via the stimulation of the pituitary and hypothalamus to increase ACTH, or directly stimulate the conversion of cholesterol into corticosteroids in the adrenal glands. Free fatty acids could contribute to corticosteroid stimulation via a positive feedback loop. Estrogen also inhibits the detoxification of adrenaline, noradrenaline, and serotonin via its inhibition of MAO.

Estrogen has been claimed to be protective of Alzheimer's, stroke, hypertension, osteoporosis, and heart disease. However, those protective effects come with a cost of increased nitric oxide, corticosteroids, and catecholamines. A lot of the beneficial effects of estrogen supplementation (e.g. soy) are falsely attributed to the estrogen itself.

High estrogen levels are caused by zinc deficiency, inflammatory eicosanoids, interleukin, and fat mass. Decreased estrogen clearance could be cased by liver congestion, energy deficiency, B-vitamin deficiency, or protein deficiency. Biskind and Biskind showed how B-vitamin and protein deficiency could interfere with the detoxification of estrogen.

Carbon dioxide has been shown to be protective. It's anti-inflammatory and an antioxidant. Speeding up oxidative metabolism raises carbon dioxide retention. Also, maintaining a normal pH also retains carbon dioxide.

Ammonia is toxic. Ammonia is produced when there is not enough minerals such as calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium. A diet suffecient with those minerals clears ammonia. Glucose also helps to reduce ammonia.

Amylase is an enzyme which breaks down starch. Different people have different amylase enzymes. The Japanese have more amylase enzymes encoded in their genes than hunter-gatherers. This shows that amylase is selectively advantegous. Amylase is selectively advantagous because it breaks down the starch into mono- and disaccharides, which are less prone to cause endotoxin and intestinal inflammation. So it suggests that it may be more healthful to eat simple sugars rather than starch. However, it's physiological significance is questioned, as improved digestion could break down the starch entirely into its constituent monosaccharides.

Glycine relaxes the neurons, prevents neuron excitation, and the activation of the HPA axis. In contrast, glutamate and aspartate has the opposite of glycine's effects. Glycine also helps to store glycogen. This effect is shared with adenosine, too.

Tryptophan has shown to cause decreased lifespan, and serotonin release.

Caffeine has been therapeutic in inflammation and caffeine can function as an anti-oxidant due to its similarity to uric acid and its effect in inhibiting xanthine oxidase, which generates free radicals.

A1 milk and gluten are questionable, because even if you have perfect digestion, they could still irritate the intestines and cause inflammation and a leaky gut; unless your salivary and gastric enzymes break down A1 beta casein or gluten, entirely, into its constituent amino acids, before it enters the duodenum.

Fructose is good, at it helps to normalize blood sugar by repleshing liver glycogen, or to increase thyroid conversion. However, fructose has been claimed to cause glycation about seven times fater than glucose. However, it's physiological significance is questioned.

Based on the indisputable evidence, a safe diet is a diet based on salt, magnesium, calcium, coconut oil, ghee, vinegar, and cooked starch. Sufficient protein and B-vitamins should help with liver function. Monosodium glutamate and aspartame should be avoided. Glycine and proline-rich foods (such as collagen) should be supplemented. Baking soda, magnesium citrate, and calcium carbonate as supplements, digestive enzymes, systemic enzymes, and mixed tocopherols as supplements.

White rice, potatoes, white-fleshed sweet potatoes, taro, yams, and others. Oysters for zinc.

Limit tryptophan, methionine, and cysteine.

Sufficient iodine and selenium. Milk is a good source of iodine, containing 60 mcg per cup.

Blood donation. Iron has been shown to react with endogenous oxidants to produce even more dangerous free radicals. Serum ferritin should be between 30-40. Anthony Colpo commenter claimed that 30 is not enough - they had exhaustion. And Bruce Ames hypothesized that iron deficiency causes aging.

Tamoxifen is estrogenic.

Aspirin, coffee, and niacinamide as supplements. However, synthetic vitamins should be taken cautiously.

Supplementation with the digestive enzyme, DPP IV, by helping with the breakdown of allergic peptides, has been therapeutic in Celiac disease, and milk intolerance. In addition, DPP IV enzymes have been used to treat autism and ADHD, as they have been known to have gluten and casein intolerance, elevated serotonin, and lowered DPP IV production. However, possible allergens in the production of the DPP IV enzyme, or to an allergy to the bacteria, are not unheard of.

Food colorings are known to inhibit digestive enzymes, thus exacerbating the inflammatory cycle. In cases such as ADHD, food colorings has been know to exacerbate those symptoms. For instance, "caramel color" in coke might inhibit digestive enzymes, causing systemic inflammation. Sodium benzoate, an ingredient in coke, is a known digestive enzyme inhibitor, and it is known to deplete glycine.

All those are just based on that evidence alone.

REFERENCES

Plasma levels of alpha-tocopherol, gamma-tocopherol, beta-cryptoxanthin, and lutein were also higher in the winter and lower in the summer. Curr Med Chem. 2004 May;11(9):1113-33. Non-antioxidant activities of vitamin E. Zingg JM, Azzi A.

Is vitamin E an antioxidant, a regulator of signal transduction and gene expression, or a ‘junk’ food? Comments on the two accompanying papers: “Molecular mechanism of α-tocopherol action” by A. Azzi and “Vitamin E, antioxidant and nothing more” by M. Traber and J. Atkinson

Regina Brigelius-Flohéa, Kelvin J.A. Davies

Tocopherols and tocotrienols in membranes: A critical review Jeffrey Atkinsona, , , Raquel F. Epandb, Richard M. Epandb

RELATION BETWEEN SERUM AND URINARY CALCIUM WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO PARATHYROID ACTIVITY M. Peacock, W.G. Robertson, B.E.C. Nordin

VitRELATION BETWEEN SERUM AND URINARY CALCIUM WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO PARATHYROID ACTIVITY

M. Peacock, W.G. Robertson, B.E.C. Nordinamin D deficiency and renal calcium transport in the rat. M Yamamoto, Y Kawanobe http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC370503/pdf/jcinvest00710-0203.pdf

Calcium-regulated renal calcium handling in healthy men: relationship to sodium handling http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/83/7/2366.full

Milk alkali syndrome and the dynamics of calcium homeostasis [HTML] from asnjournals.org AJ Felsenfeld http://cjasn.asnjournals.org/content/1/4/641.full

Calcium clamp technique: suppression of serum intact PTH by induced hypercalcaemia in normal man and primary hyperparathyroidism

Bioconversion of dietary provitamin A carotenoids to vitamin A in humans1,2,3,4,5 Guangwen Tang http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2854912/

EFFECT OF ZINC AND FAT INTAKE ON ABSORPTION AND CONVERSION OF INGESTED ß-CAROTENE TO VITAMIN A IN LACTATING INDONESIAN WOMEN

Effects of short-term administration of growth hormone in healthy young men, women, and women taking oral contraceptives B. Edén Engström, P. Burman, A. G. Johansson, L. Wide, F. A. Karlsson http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1365-2796.2000.00672.x/full

EFFECTS OF OESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONE ON AGE-RELATED CHANGES IN ARTERIES OF POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN Yu-Lu Liang1, Helena Teede1, Louise M. Shiel1, Adrian Thomas2, Robyn Craven3, Nirupa Sachithanandan1, John J. McNeil2, James D. Cameron4, Anthony Dart5, Barry P. McGrath1,* Article first published online: 28 JUN 2007 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1440-1681.1997.tb01225.x/abstract

Effects of estrogen on gender-related autonomic differences in humans C. C. Liu,1,* Terry B. J. Kuo,2,4,* and Cheryl C. H. Yang3 http://ajpheart.physiology.org/content/285/5/H2188.full

Effects of estrogens and progestogens on the renin-aldosterone system and blood pressure Wolfgang K.H. Oelkers http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0039128X96000074

"High dose estrogens, especially ethinylestradiol (EE) and mestranol, stimulate the synthesis of hepatic proteins including coagulation factors, sex hormone binding globulin, and angiotensinogen (Aogen). In the steady state, high plasma levels of Aogen produce only a very small increase of angiotensin II (AII) and plasma renin activity, because AII inhibits the secretion of renin and lowers plasma renin concentration. However, the increase in AII is sufficient for a slight reduction in renal blood flow and a slight increase in exchangeable sodium and blood pressure; in susceptible women, blood pressure may rise considerably.

"Synthetic progestogens are commonly devoid of the mineralocorticoid receptor antagonistic effect of progesterone, and some are weak estrogen receptor agonists.

The metabolic clearance rate of progesterone in males and ovariectomized females. B Little, J F Tait, S A Tait, and F Erlenmeyer http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC292769/

Effects of sex steroid hormones on regional fat depots as assessed by magnetic resonance imaging in transsexuals J. M. H. Elbers1, H. Asscheman1, J. C. Seidell2, and L. J. G. Gooren1 http://ajpendo.physiology.org/content/276/2/E317.short

Progesterone Antagonists Increase Androgen Receptor Expression in the Rhesus Macaque and Human Endometrium http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/86/6/2668.full

Exogenous Progesterone Attenuates the Subjective Effects of Smoked Cocaine in Women, but not in Men Suzette M Evans1 and Richard W Foltin1 http://www.nature.com/npp/journal/v31/n3/abs/1300887a.html

Adrenocorticotropin and Cortisol-Induced Changes in Urinary Sodium and Potassium Excretion in Man: Effects of Spironolactone and RU486 http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/67/4/824.short

Estrogenic encounters: How interactions between aromatase and the environment modulate aggression Brian C. Trainor,a* Helen H. Kyomen,b and Catherine A. Marlerc

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2080681/

Effects of progestins on sexual behaviour in castrated lizards (Cnemidophorus inornatus) J. Lindzey and D. Crews http://joe.endocrinology-journals.org/content/119/2/265.short

Progesterone receptors mediate male aggression toward infants Johanna S. Schneider*, Marielle K. Stone*, Katherine E. Wynne-Edwards†, Teresa H. Horton*, John Lydon‡, Bert O'Malley‡, and Jon E. Levine*§ http://www.pnas.org/content/100/5/2951.full

"High T levels, however, do not necessarily decrease paternal behavior in many species (1, 2) and even promote paternal behavior in the California mouse, Peromyscus californicus (3) via aromatization to estrogen (4). Furthermore, T levels do not correlate with paternal behavior in common laboratory mice (5). In humans, some fathers experience a decrease in T levels immediately after birth of a child (6, 7); however, its association with paternal behaviors is not known.

"Although male Cynomolgus monkeys exhibit increased male-male aggression after medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) treatments (35), the specific effects of this progestin on infant-directed aggression in male primates have not been examined.

PROGESTERONE AND HETEROTYPICAL SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR IN MALE RATS J. M. DAVIDSON and S. LEVINE http://joe.endocrinology-journals.org/content/44/1/129.short "Male rats castrated during the first few days of life, but not later, show behavioural responses closely resembling those of normal females after treatment with ovarian steroids in adulthood. This suggests that testicular secretion in the neonatal period is responsible for the determination of future behavioural patterns (Grady, Phoenix & Young, 1965;

Sexual orientation in women: An investigation of hormonal and personality variables☆ C.P. Dancey http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/030105119090142J

Testicular function in transsexual men Although the sperm counts of 5 of 8 adult male-to-female transsexuals were low, other aspects of testicular function were normal. Plasma production rates of testosterone averaged 6.4 mg/24 hours, a value similar to the 5.7 mg/24 hours produced by heterosexual adult men. Production rates of 17-estradiol and estrone, 55µg/24 hours and 52 µg/24 hours, were also normal. Observed abnormalities of pituitary function and pituitary response to LHRH cannot be explained by abnormal testicular steroidogenesis.

"A technique of incubation of testicular tissue in vitro with radiolabeled precursors was applied in the investigation of the steroid biosynthesis by testes of four young men after long-term, high-dose estrogen treatment. A positive correlation between plasma and testicular steroid levels, and in vitro capacity of the testes to metabolize progesterone was demonstrated.

"Estrogen administration produced a very significant inhibition of plasma and testicular levels of testosterone. The in vitro synthesis of testosterone from progesterone was very severely impaired; especially 17α-hydroxylation of progesterone. 20α-hydroxysteroid-dehydrogenase activity was found to be increased after estrogen treatment, both in vivo and in vitro.

Fed Proc. 1959 Dec;18:1057-65. Effects of progesterone and synthetic progestins on the reproductive physiology of normal men. HELLER CG, MOORE DJ, PAULSEN CA, NELSON WO, LAIDLAW WM.

Optimal Waist-to-Hip Ratios in Women Activate Neural Reward Centers in Men Steven M. Platek1*, Devendra Singh2 http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0009042

Seasonal Variation of Testosterone and Waist to Hip Ratio in Men: The Tromsø Study Johan Svartberg, Rolf Jorde, Johan Sundsfjord, Kaare H. Bønaa and Elizabeth Barrett-Connor http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/88/7/3099.short

"Lowest testosterone levels occurred in months with the highest temperatures and longest hours of daylight. Waist to hip ratio paralleled the change in daylight and temperature, with the highest values during the summer and was thus inversely related to the seasonal testosterone variation.

Progesterone, prolactin, and gynaecomastia in men with liver disease. M J Farthing, J R Green, C R Edwards, A M Dawson http://gut.bmj.com/content/23/4/276.abstract

"Plasma progesterone was raised in 36 of 50 (72%) men with liver disease compared with 20 healthy male control subjects. Plasma progesterone was significantly higher in men with non-alcoholic cirrhosis with gynaecomastia than those without, but no similar relationship was found in men with alcoholic fatty change and alcoholic cirrhosis. Hyperprolactinaemia was found in 14% of men with liver disease but levels were unrelated to the presence of gynaecomastia. Increased circulating levels of progesterone and prolactin alone do not explain the development of gynaecomastia in patients with liver disease, but progesterone may be an additional factor acting in association with the known disturbances of other sex steroids.

Visceral fat accumulation in men is positively associated with insulin, glucose, and C-peptide levels, but negatively with testosterone levels Jacob C. Seidell , a, b, c, d, 1, Per Björntorpa, b, c, d, Lars Sjöströma, b, c, d, Henry Kvista, b, c, d, Rune Sannerstedta, b, c, d http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/002604959090297P

Progesterone: the forgotten hormone in men? M Oettel1 and AK Mukhopadhyay2 1Jena http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13685530400004199 "A progestin may stimulate weight gain and appetite in men as well as in women.

Effect of sex on the strain differences in hepatic metabolism of starved and nonstarved rats http://jn.nutrition.org/content/109/2/272.full.pdf

Biotin supplementation reduces plasma triacylglycerol andáVLDL inátype 2ádiabetic patients andáinánondiabetic subjects with hypertriglyceridemia http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0753332206000539

Effects on biotin, fat type and sodium nitrite on organ size, plasma constituents and liver fatty acid composition in rats* http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0271531785801743

The potential role of biotin insufficiency on essential fatty acid metabolism and cardiovascular disease risk http://www.direct-ms.org/pdf/EvolutionPaleolithic/Biotin%20Paper.pdf

Dietary biotin effects on desaturation and elongation of 14C-linoleic acid in the chicken http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S027153170580274X

5 - Hormones and the Development and Expression of Aggressive Behavior B.C. Trainor, C.L. Sisk, R.J. Nelson http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B978008088783800005X

"Throughout the chapter, a comparison is made between the regulation of rodent animal models of aggression and human aggression with the goal of emphasizing where further research is needed to understand nonadaptive or pathological aggression.

Activation of aggressive behavior by progesterone and testosterone in male tree lizards, Urosaurus ornatus

S.L Weiss , , M.C Moore http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016648004000024

Changes in brain testosterone and allopregnanolone biosynthesis elicit aggressive behavior Graziano Pinna *, Erminio Costa, and Alessandro Guidotti http://www.pnas.org/content/102/6/2135.long

Effects of estrogens and progestogens on the renin-aldosterone system and blood pressure WKH Oelkers - Steroids, 1996 - Elsevier Endogenous 17β-estradiol (E2) and low parenteral doses of exogenous E2 are vasodilators. High dose estrogens, especially ethinylestradiol (EE) and mestranol, stimulate the synthesis of hepatic proteins including coagulation factors, sex hormone binding globulin, and ... Cited by 172 - Related articles - BL Direct - All 6 versions http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0039128x96000074

Comment on progesterone effects in breast tissue http://www.springerlink.com/content/x125660612190317/

Progesterone modulation of androgen-dependent sexual behavior in male rats

Diane M. Witt , ∗, Larry J. Young†, David Crews†

"Mounting was observed in 75% of the T-alone males. More than half (64%) of the P-atone males and 100% P + T males exhibited mounting. In most cases, mounting was followed by intromission responses. Subsequently, intact and gonadectomized males received daily injections of the P antagonist RU486 along with hormone treatment. After receiving RU486, only 63% of the intact males and 71 % of the T-alone males mounted successfully. The facilitatory effects of P on copulatory behavior were completely abolished by RU486 treatment. The present studies provide the first evidence in mammals suggesting that P-dependent mechanisms influence neurochemical pathways involved in copulation.

Modulation by estradiol of serotonin receptors in brain A Biegon and BS McEwen http://www.jneurosci.org/content/2/2/199.full.pdf+html

Estrogens were found to exert a biphasic effect on the density of serotonin receptors in the female rat brain: an acute reduction in serotonin receptor density throughout the brain is followed 48 to 72 hr later by a selective increase in those brain regions known to contain estrogen receptors--hypothalamus, preoptic area, and amygdala. The acute reduction in serotonin receptor density can be mimicked by estradiol in vitro. We conclude that estradiol may have a fast, direct effect on brain membranes to modify serotonin receptor availability, while exerting a slow effect on the same receptors through an interaction with intracellular estrogen receptors in those brain regions that contain them. The observation that female sex hormones are involved in the regulation of serotonin receptors may have important implications in the understanding of female sexual behavior in the female rat and in the understanding of hormone-linked emotional disturbances in women

Estradiol-17 [beta] increase serotonin transporter (SERT) mRNA levels and the density of SERT-binding sites in female rat brain JK McQueen, H Wilson… - Molecular brain research, 1997 - Elsevier

Effects of estradiol and progesterone administration on human serotonin 2A receptor binding: a PET study EL Moses, WC Drevets, G Smith, CA Mathis http://directory.umm.ac.id/Data%20Elmu/jurnal/B/Biological%20Psichatry/Vol48.Issue8.2000/6836.pdf

Estradiol-17β increase serotonin transporter (SERT) mRNA levels and the density of SERT-binding sites in female rat brain Judith K. McQueen , Helen Wilson, George Fink

Effects of chronic 17β-estradiol treatment on the serotonin 5-HT1A receptor mRNA and binding levels in the rat brain Marie K. Österlund, Christer Halldin, Yasmin L. Hurd http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/(SICI)1098-2396(200001)35:1%3C39::AID-SYN5%3E3.0.CO;2-T/abstract

Thus, the previous findings together with the present results indicate that estradiol-induced alterations in 5-HT1A receptor mRNA expression appears within hours, but diminishes with chronic treatment when significant changes on the receptor-protein level are apparent.

Estrogen actions in the central nervous system [PDF] from uwks.ac.id Free from Publisher BS McEwen http://www.fk.uwks.ac.id/elib/Arsip/Departemen/Biokimia/Estrogen%20Actions%20in%20the%20Central%20Nervous%20System.pdf

M.A. Beck, P.C. Kolbeck, Q. Shi, L.H. Rohr, V.C. Morris, and O.A. Levander, “Increased Virulence of a Human Enterovirus (Coxsackievirus B3) in Selenium-Deficient Mice”, J. Infectious Diseases 170, 351-357, 1994. M.A. Beck, P.C. Kolbeck, L.H. Rohr, Q. Shi, V.C. Morris, and O.A. Levander, “Vitamine E Deficiency Intensifies the Myocardial Injury of Coxsackievirus B3 Infection of Mice”, J. Nutr.

This effect is reversed with selenium deficiency. Older mice that are also selenium deficient are as susceptible to the virus as young mice.

Metabolism of Linoleic Acid by Human Gut Bacteria: Different Routes for Biosynthesis of Conjugated Linoleic Acid Estelle Devillard, Freda M. McIntosh, Sylvia H. Duncan, and R. John Wallace* http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1899373/

Differences between human subjects in the composition of the faecal bacterial community and faecal metabolism of linoleic acid Estelle Devillard1,†, Freda M. McIntosh1, Delphine Paillard1, Nadine A. Thomas1, Kevin J. Shingfield2 and R. John Wallace1 http://mic.sgmjournals.org/content/155/2/513.full

Prevent Osteoporosis with Egg Shell Calcium, Vitamins D and K2, and Other Nutrients http://www.smart-publications.com/articles/prevent-osteoporosis-with-egg-shell-calcium-vitamins-d-and-k2-and-othe/page-2

serotonin + the thromboxane analog U-46619, in estrogen-deprived VMC were suppressed by >72 h in 17-estradiol. http://ajpheart.physiology.org/content/290/1/H295.short

Calcium paradox of aldosteronism and the role of the parathyroid glands Alex Vidal,1 Yao Sun,1 Syamal K. Bhattacharya,3 Robert A. Ahokas,4 Ivan C. Gerling,2 and Karl T. Weber1 http://ajpheart.physiology.org/content/290/1/H286.full

Is hypovitaminosis D one of the environmental risk factors for multiple sclerosis? http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/content/133/7/1869.short

Nat Cell Biol. 2008 May;10(5):611-8. Epub 2008 Apr 6. p53 regulates glucose metabolism through an IKK-NF-kappaB pathway and inhibits cell transformation. Kawauchi K, Araki K, Tobiume K, Tanaka N. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18391940

Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2003 Mar;284(3):H1028-34. Epub 2002 Nov 21. Endotoxemia stimulates skeletal muscle Na+-K+-ATPase and raises blood lactate under aerobic conditions in humans. Bundgaard H, Kjeldsen K, Suarez Krabbe K, van Hall G, Simonsen L, Qvist J, Hansen CM, Moller K, Fonsmark L, Lav Madsen P, Klarlund Pedersen B. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12446281

Biochem Pharmacol. 1995 Jan 6;49(1):65-8. Endotoxin inhibits glucuronidation in the liver. An effect mediated by intercellular communication. Bánhegyi G, Mucha I, Garzó T, Antoni F, Mandl J. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7840784

Effects of catecholamines on lactic acid output during progressive working contractions. by W N Stainsby, C Sumners, P D Eitzman http://www.mendeley.com/research/effects-catecholamines-lactic-acid-output-during-progressive-working-contractions/

Agressologie. 1973;14(1):25-30. [Aspirin, catecholamines and blood lactic acid]. [Article in French] Laborit G, Baron C, Laborit H.

Nutr Metab. 1976;20(1):41-61. Biotin status and lipid metabolism in adult obese hypercholesterolemic inbred rats. Marshall MW, Haubrich M, Washington VA, Chang MW, Young CW, Wheeler MA. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/958648

Aldosterone regulation of T-type calcium channels☆

Michel F Rossiera, b, , , Olivier Lesouhaitiera, Emeline Perriera, Liliane Bockhorna, Alberto Chiappeb, Nathalie Lalevéea http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960076003002012

Effects of estradiol and progesterone on the increased synthesis of collagen in atherosclerotic rabbit aortas☆ G.M. Fischer, M.L. Swain∗ http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0021915085901777

Effects of Progesterone and Four Synthetic Progestagens on Sodium Balance and the Renin-Aldosterone System in Man*

"50 mg of progesterone im caused, as expected, natriuresis, an increase in plasma renin activity (PRA), plasma angiotensin II concentration (PAC) and aldosterone excretion (AER), while plasma renin substrate concentration (PRS) remained unchanged.

Horm Metab Res. 2005 Jul;37(7):455-9. Aldosterone inhibits uncoupling protein-1, induces insulin resistance, and stimulates proinflammatory adipokines in adipocytes. Kraus D, Jäger J, Meier B, Fasshauer M, Klein J. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16034720

Effects of estrogens and progestogens on the renin-aldosterone system and blood pressure Wolfgang K.H. Oelkers http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0039128X96000074

"Endogenous 17β-estradiol (E2) and low parenteral doses of exogenous E2 are vasodilators. High dose estrogens, especially ethinylestradiol (EE) and mestranol, stimulate the synthesis of hepatic proteins including coagulation factors, sex hormone binding globulin, and angiotensinogen (Aogen).

"Endogenous progesterone is a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist. Endogenous or exogenous progesterone leads to sodium loss and a compensatory increase in renin secretion, plasma renin activity, AII, and plasma aldosterone, e.g. in the second half of the menstrual cycle. Synthetic progestogens are commonly devoid of the mineralocorticoid receptor antagonistic effect of progesterone, and some are weak estrogen receptor agonists.

Pediatr Nephrol. 1992 May;6(3):313. Normal ranges for urinary excretion of calcium and magnesium in Portuguese children. Sa G, Proença H, Rosa FC. http://www.springerlink.com/content/tp60q38002436510/

Absorption of Calcium as the Carbonate and Citrate Salts, with Some Observations on Method http://www.springerlink.com/content/dx8kyt8u2t0xm37l/ Absorbability of calcium from the carbonate and citrate salts was compared at 300 mg and 1000 mg calcium loads, ingested as part of a light breakfast meal.

Calcium Absorption Varies within the Reference Range for Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Robert P. Heaney, MD, FACN, M. Susan Dowell, PhD, Cecilia A. Hale, PhD and Adrianne Bendich, PhD, FACN

"AUC9 (± SEM), was 3.63 mg hr/dL ± 0.234 in participants pretreated with 25OHD and 2.20 ± 0.240 in those not pretreated (P < 0.001). In brief, absorption was 65% higher at serum 25OHD levels averaging 86.5 nmol/L than at levels averaging 50 nmol/L (both values within the nominal reference range for this analyte).

Urinary calcium excretion in Swedish children E Esbjorner1,*, IL Jones2

Dietary salt, urinary calcium, and bone loss Linda K. Massey1,*, Susan J. Whiting2 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jbmr.5650110603/abstract

Changes in Serum and Urinary Calcium during Treatment with Hydrochlorothiazide: Studies on Mechanisms Arnold S. Brickman, Shaul G. Massry, and Jack W. Coburn

Both the reduction in urinary calcium and increase in urinary phosphate after the use of thiazides may be due, in part, to potentiation of the action of the parathyroid hormone on the nephron. The rise in serum calcium could be due to thiazide-induced release of calcium from bone into extracellular fluid, particularly in states where bone resorption may be augmented, i.e., vitamin D therapy or hyperparathyroidism.

Impaired renal calcium absorption in mice lacking calcium channel ß3 subunits José F. Bernardo,* Clara E. Magyar,† W. Bruce Sneddon,† and Peter A. Friedman*† http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2955898/

The absence of ß3 subunits resulted in compensatory increases of TrpV5 calcium channels, the plasma membrane Ca-ATPase, NCX1 Na/Ca exchanger protein, and calbindin-D9k but not calbindin-D28k. We conclude that TrpV5 mediates basal renal calcium absorption and that a multimeric calcium channel that includes CaVß3 mediates stimulated calcium transport.

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM199707103370201 Trial of Calcium to Prevent Preeclampsia Richard J. Levine, M.D., John C. Hauth, M.D., Luis B. Curet, M.D., Baha M. Sibai, M.D., Patrick M. Catalano, M.D., Cynthia D. Morris, Ph.D., Rebecca DerSimonian, Sc.D., Joy R. Esterlitz, M.S., Elizabeth G. Raymond, M.D., Diane E. Bild, M.D., John D. Clemens, M.D., Jeffrey A. Cutler, M.D., Marian G. Ewell, Steven A. Friedman, Robert L. Goldenberg, Sig-Linda Jacobson, Gary M. Joffe, M.D, Mark A. Klebanoff, and Alice S. Petrulis, M.D.

Calcium supplementation did not significantly reduce the incidence or severity of preeclampsia or delay its onset. Preeclampsia occurred in 158 of the 2295 women in the calcium group (6.9 percent) and 168 of the 2294 women in the placebo group (7.3 percent) (relative risk, 0.94; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.76 to 1.16). There were no significant differences between the two groups in the prevalence of pregnancy-associated hypertension without preeclampsia (15.3 percent vs. 17.3 percent) or of all hypertensive disorders (22.2 percent vs. 24.6 percent). The mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures during pregnancy were similar in both groups. Calcium did not reduce the numbers of preterm deliveries, small-for-gestational-age births, or fetal and neonatal deaths; nor did it increase urolithiasis during pregnancy.

EFFECTS OF NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL MENOPAUSE ON PLASMA AND URINARY CALCIUM AND PHOSPHORUS M.M. Young M.B. Durh., OF THE SCIENTIFIC STAFF, B.E.C. Nordin M.D., Ph.D. Lond., F.R.C.P., DIRECTOR http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673667929613 "It is suggested that loss of œ strogenic activity at the menopause results in increased bone resorption.

Carbonated beverages and urinary calcium excretion1,2,3 Robert P Heaney and Karen Rafferty http://www.ajcn.org/content/74/3/343.long The excess calciuria associated with consumption of carbonated beverages is confined to caffeinated beverages. Acidulant type has no acute effect. Because the caffeine effect is known to be compensated for by reduced calciuria later in the day, we conclude that the net effect of carbonated beverage constituents on calcium economy is negligible.The skeletal effects of carbonated beverage consumption are likely due primarily to milk displacement.

Urinary calcium excretion in healthy school children Laura F. Alconcher, Cecilia Castro, Daniel Quintana, Nancy Abt, Luis Moran, Laura Gonzalez, Mabel Cella and Mabel Torelli http://www.springerlink.com/content/1rx6rc67tmnftjnk/

"The Ca/Cr ratio in the first-morning urine sample correlated poorly with the 24-h calcium excretion, suggesting that the Ca/Cr ratio in first-morning urine samples cannot replace the 24-h measurement.

Urinary calcium and oxalate excretion in children György S. Reusz, Mariann Dobos, Dennis Byrd, Péter Sallay, Miklós Miltényi and Tivadar Tulassay http://www.springerlink.com/content/q287536341qx30q7/

Urinary excretion of calcium and magnesium in children S. Ghazali, T. M. Barratt http://adc.bmj.com/content/49/2/97.abstract After a milk load of 700 ml/1·73 m2 the urinary calcium/creatinine concentration ratio rose in the first two hours, but in no sample exceeded 0·25 mg/mg.

Urinary calcium and calcium balance in young men as affected by level of protein and phosphorus intake M Hegsted, SA Schuette, MB Zemel http://jn.nutrition.org/content/111/3/553.full.pdf

The effect of dietary sodium on urinary calcium and potassium excretion in normotensive men with different calcium intakes JJ Castenmiller, RP Mensink http://www.ajcn.org/content/41/1/52.full.pdf

Effect of estrogens and calcium carbonate on bone loss in postmenopausal women RR RECKER, PD SAVILLE http://www.annals.org/content/87/6/649.short

Urinary excretion of calcium and magnesium in children S. Ghazali and T. M. Barratt http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1648734/

Effect of Estrogens and Calcium Carbonate on Bone Loss in Postmenopausal Women ROBERT R. RECKER, M.D., F.A.C.P.; PAUL D. SAVILLE, M.D., F.A.C.P.; and ROBERT P. HEANEY, M.D., F.A.C.P. [1] these techniques are sufficiently sensitive to detect age-related bone loss; [2] postmenopausal sex-hormone replacement measurably decreases age-related bone loss by suppressing bone turnover, resorption more than accretion; and [3] calcium supplements produce the same effect but at the dose we used were slightly less effective.

Can J Physiol Pharmacol. 1982 Mar;60(3):331-4. Role of acidosis in the protein wasting of fasting in the rat and the rabbit. Hannaford MC, Goldstein MB, Josse RG, Halperin ML. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7074421

A Novel Property of Povidon-Iodine: Inhibition of Excessive Protease Levels in Chronic Non-Healing Wounds Sabine A Eming1,3, Sigrun Smola-Hess2,3, Peter Kurschat1, Doris Hirche1, Thomas Krieg1 and Hans Smola1,4 http://www.nature.com/jid/journal/v126/n12/full/5700474a.html

"Iodine is strongly oxidative and easily reacts with the amino, phenol, and –SH groups of amino acids, with unsaturated fatty acids and nucleotides. For enzymes, this results in denaturation and loss of function and we suspect that it is this mechanism we observe in our experiments.

Acta Endocrinol (Copenh). 1981 Dec;98(4):556-63. The effect of varying iodine content on the proteolytic activity of rat thyroid lysosomes. Santisteban P, Lamas L. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6272517

"The proteolytic activity of lysosomal fractions from the various experimental groups towards thyroglobulin decreased slightly with increased iodide supply both in chronic and acute experiments. The results suggest that thyroid lysosomal activity may participate in the autoregulation of thyroid secretion by inducing synthesis of new enzymes and modulating thyroglobulin degradation.

J Nutr. 1969 Feb;97(2):246-54. Interrelationship of triglycerides with calcium, magnesium and phosphorus in the rat. Tadayyon B, Lutwak L. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/5767134 Fat has little to do with the absorption of calcium. Though vitamin D, lactose, protein, antibiotics, and growth hormone. Phytate and phosphate lowers calcium assimilation.

http://www.mgwater.com/bj0198.shtml

Effect of Magnesium Depletion on Responsiveness to Parathyroid Hormone in Parathyroidectomized Rats T. J. Hahn, L. R. Chase, and L. V. Avioli

Interaction of calcium and phosphate decreases ileal magnesium solubility and apparent magnesium absorption in rats EJ Brink, AC Beynen, PR Dekker http://jn.nutrition.org/content/122/3/580.full.pdf

Calcium antagonizes magnesium in rats, but not in humans.

Acta Endocrinol (Copenh). 1977 Sep;86(1):81-8. Studies on circadian variations of plasma TSH, thyroxine and triiodothyronine in man. Lucke C, Hehrmann R, von Mayersbach K, von zur Mühlen A.

Free Radic Biol Med. 2000 Dec 15;29(12):1302-6. Hyperinsulinemia: the missing link among oxidative stress and age-related diseases? Facchini FS, Hua NW, Reaven GM, Stoohs RA.

Metabolism. 2002 Oct;51(10):1230-4. A calcium-deficient diet caused decreased bone mineral density and secondary elevation of estrogen in aged male rats-effect of menatetrenone and elcatonin. Kato S, Mano T, Kobayashi T, Yamazaki N, Himeno Y, Yamamoto K, Itoh M, Harada N, Nagasaka A.

Cardiovasc Diabetol. 2009 Feb 3;8:7. Parathyroid hormone, but not vitamin D, is associated with the metabolic syndrome in morbidly obese women and men: a cross-sectional study. Hjelmesaeth J, Hofsø D, Aasheim ET, Jenssen T, Moan J, Hager H, Røislien J, Bollerslev J. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19187564

Arch Pharm Res. 2008 Jul;31(7):891-9. Epub 2008 Aug 14. Effects of calcium channel blockers on hyaluronidase-induced capillary vascular permeability. Halici Z, Suleyman H, Cadirci E.

Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Oct;88(4):877-85. Dairy calcium supplementation in overweight or obese persons: its effect on markers of fat metabolism. Bortolotti M, Rudelle S, Schneiter P, Vidal H, Loizon E, Tappy L, Acheson KJ.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18842771

Dig Liver Dis. 2009 Aug;41(8):541-50. Epub 2009 Feb 4. Transglutaminases in inflammation and fibrosis of the gastrointestinal tract and the liver. Elli L, Bergamini CM, Bardella MT, Schuppan D.

Acta Endocrinol (Copenh). 1977 Sep;86(1):81-8. Studies on circadian variations of plasma TSH, thyroxine and triiodothyronine in man. Lucke C, Hehrmann R, von Mayersbach K, von zur Mühlen A. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/578614

Urinary Excretion of Calcium Following an Oral Calcium Loading Test in Healthy Children F. Bruder Stapleton, H. Norman Noe, Gerald Jerkins, Shane Roy III http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/69/5/594.short

http://www.nature.com/nrc/journal/v2/n4/full/nrc780.html http://www.nature.com/nrc/journal/v2/n4/full/nrc780.html

NF-B inhibitors might also prevent progression to colorectal cancer by preventing expression of COX2 — another NF-B target gene. COX2 is responsible for inducible prostaglandin synthesis during inflammation. The link between COX2 and colorectal cancer is supported strongly by epidemiological and experimental evidence. COX2 is overexpressed in colon adenomas and carcinomas of human and mouse origin89, 90, and Cox2-null mice are resistant to colorectal cancer91, 92. Long-term consumption of aspirin or other COX inhibitors over a period of 10–15 years has been reported to reduce the relative risk of colorectal cancer by 40–50% (Refs 93,94).

Given the ability of both aspirin and sulindac to inhibit IKK99, 100, it is possible that some of their chemopreventive activity is derived from their ability to prevent NF-B activation. Inhibition of IKK activity using sulindac sulphide was shown to induce the apoptosis of a colorectal cancer cell line100. Curcumin — another less potent and even less specific inhibitor of IKK — is another anti-inflammatory compound101. Curcumin has been shown to reduce colon carcinogenesis in several animal models95, 102 and to inhibit the proliferation of colon cancer cells103. Its extensive consumption in the Indian subcontinent has been linked to low incidence of colorectal cancer104

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17622575 "By contrast, the anti-inflammatory effects of glucocorticoids are due largely to their ability to reduce the expression of pro-inflammatory genes. This effect has been predominantly attributed to the repression of key inflammatory transcription factors, including AP-1 and NF-kappaB, and is termed transrepression.

Physiol Behav. 1996 Jan;59(1):133-9. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs alter body temperature and suppress melatonin in humans. Murphy PJ, Myers BL, Badia P.

ALDOSTERONE & AMMONIA

Aldosterone effects on renal metabolism. R S Snart and E Taylor http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1282502/

The dose-response characteristic obtained for this aldosterone-stimulated ammonia release has been determined. 4. The effect of a high Na+ diet on the ammonia release has been studied. An initial decrease after 2 days may be associated with decreased endogenous aldosterone secretion. However, aldosterone (2.5 microgram/100 g body weight)injections into these high Na+ treated animals fails to restore the normal ammonia release. 5. The effects of aldosterone (2.5 microgram/100 g body weight), dexamethasone (2.5 microgram/100 g body weight) and corticosterone (2.5 microgram/100 g body weight) injections, in adrenalectomized rats, on ammonia release and tissue tyrosine aminotransferase activities have been compared.

Antiinflammatory Action of Glucocorticoids — New Mechanisms for Old Drugs Turk Rhen, Ph.D., and John A. Cidlowski, Ph.D. N Engl J Med 2005; 353:1711-1723October 20, 2005 http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra050541

Am J Vet Res. 1978 Jan;39(1):159-61. Effect of thyroid state on magnesium concentration of rat tissues. Oliver JW.

Stimulatory effects of hyperprolactinemia on aldosterone secretion in ovariectomized rats. Kau MM, Chang LL, Kan SF, Ho LT, Wang PS. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11928939

Metabolism. 2003 Aug;52(8):1072-7. Dietary sodium restriction exacerbates age-related changes in rat adipose tissue and liver lipogenesis. Xavier AR, Garófalo MA, Migliorini RH, Kettelhut IC.

Prog Lipid Res. 2000 May;39(3):231-55. Vitamin E: non-antioxidant roles. Azzi A, Stocker A.

Estradiol activates mast cells via a non-genomic estrogen receptor-α and calcium influx Masafumi Zaitsu,a Shin-Ichiro Narita,a K. Chad Lambert,a James J. Grady,b D. Mark Estes,a Edward M. Curran,a Edward G. Brooks,a Cheryl S. Watson,c Randall M. Goldblum,a and Terumi Midoro-Horiutia* http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2603032/

Metabolic acidosis stimulates protein degradation in rat muscle by a glucocorticoid-dependent mechanism. R C May, R A Kelly, and W E Mitch http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC423396/

Regulation of GH Secretion in Acromegaly: Reproducibility of Daily GH Profiles and Attenuated Negative Feedback by IGF-I Craig A. Jaffe, Wenqin Pan, Morton B. Brown, Roberta DeMott-Friberg and Ariel L. Barkan http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/86/9/4364.full

Yet, nocturnal GH augmentation persisted during the infusion of a supraphysiological dose of octreotide, so that the nocturnal decline in somatostatin is unlikely to be the cause of the augmented GH secretion (32). Similarly, a nocturnal rise in GH secretion persisted despite continuous infusion of GH-releasing peptide-6 (33). This suggests that a nighttime increase in GH secretagogue is also unlikely to be the driving force for nocturnal GH release. In contrast, a continuous infusion of GHRH antagonist eliminated nearly all of the nocturnal GH rise in normal subjects (2). Therefore, the role of central GHRH as a driving force in normal and, conceivably, in acromegalic subjects needs to be considered.

Steroids. 1996 Apr;61(4):166-71. Effects of estrogens and progestogens on the renin-aldosterone system and blood pressure. Oelkers WK.

Can J Physiol Pharmacol. 1982 Mar;60(3):331-4. Role of acidosis in the protein wasting of fasting in the rat and the rabbit. Hannaford MC, Goldstein MB, Josse RG, Halperin ML.

Steroids. 2005 May-Jun;70(5-7):347-51. Epub 2005 Mar 24. Nongenomic effects of mineralocorticoid receptor activation in the cardiovascular system. Mihailidou AS, Funder JW. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15862816

In rabbit cardiomyocytes, aldosterone increases intracellular [Na+] by activating Na+/K+/2Cl- cotransport, with secondary effects on Na+/K+ pump activity. Pump current rises approximately 10-fold within 15', is unaffected by actinomycin D or the MR antagonist canrenone, and not elevated by cortisol. Pump current is, however, completely blocked by the open E-ring, water soluble MR antagonist K+ canrenoate and stoichometrically by cortisol.

Pathophysiology of hypertension during preeclampsia: linking placental ischemia with endothelial dysfunction Jeffrey S. Gilbert, Michael J. Ryan, Babbette B. LaMarca, Mona Sedeek, Sydney R. Murphy, and Joey P. Granger http://ajpheart.physiology.org/content/294/2/H541.full

"Studies from several laboratories indicate that chronic NO synthase inhibition in pregnant rats produces hypertension associated with peripheral and renal vasoconstriction, proteinuria, intrauterine growth restriction, and increased fetal morbidity (23, 43). We have previously reported similar cardiovascular perturbations exist in the NO inhibition and RUPP models, the latter illustrated in Fig. 2 (94).

http://ajpheart.physiology.org/content/294/3/H1258.full

Transient receptor potential melastatin 6 and 7 channels, magnesium transport, and vascular biology: implications in hypertension Rhian M. Touyz http://ajpheart.physiology.org/content/294/3/H1103.full

Aldosterone and end-organ damage Annis M. MARNEY and Nancy J. BROWN http://submit.clinsci.org/cs/113/0267/cs1130267.htm

, MR activation induces oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction, inflammation and subsequent fibrosis.

Hypertension. 2004 Feb;43(2):358-63. Epub 2004 Jan 12. Epoxy-keto derivative of linoleic acid stimulates aldosterone secretion. Goodfriend TL, Ball DL, Egan BM, Campbell WB, Nithipatikom K. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14718355?dopt=Abstract

Prog Cardiovasc Dis. 2010 Mar-Apr;52(5):401-9. Aldosterone: role in the cardiometabolic syndrome and resistant hypertension. Whaley-Connell A, Johnson MS, Sowers JR. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14718355?dopt=Abstract

Review article Role of the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system and inflammatory processes in the development and progression of diastolic dysfunction Sebastiano SCIARRETTA*, Francesco PANENI*, Francesca PALANO*, Diana CHIN*, Giuliano TOCCI*, Speranza RUBATTU*† and Massimo VOLPE*†

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Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2002 Aug 1;22(8):1257-66. Vascular inflammation and the renin-angiotensin system. Brasier AR, Recinos A 3rd, Eledrisi MS. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12171785

Brief Review Aldosterone and Vascular Inflammation Nancy J. Brown http://hyper.ahajournals.org/content/51/2/161.full

The role of oestrogen and progesterone receptors in hum www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/bcr452.pdf

Corticosteroids mediate fast feedback of the rat hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis via the mineralocorticoid receptor Helen C. Atkinson, Susan A. Wood, Emma S. Castrique, Yvonne M. Kershaw, Crispin C. R. Wiles, and Stafford L. Lightman

J Nucleic Acids. 2010 Sep 22;2010. pii: 725071. Prevention of mutation, cancer, and other age-associated diseases by optimizing micronutrient intake. Ames BN. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20936173

FASEB J. 2011 Jun;25(6):1793-814. Epub 2011 Mar 14. Adaptive dysfunction of selenoproteins from the perspective of the triage theory: why modest selenium deficiency may increase risk of diseases of aging. McCann JC, Ames BN.

Arther & Beckett. (1999) Thyroid function http://bmb.oxfordjournals.org/content/55/3/658.abstract?ijkey=142d514bc098871f0edbf58f0989a55060f2627a&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha

Arther & Beckett. (2004) Selenium and endocrine systems http://joe.endocrinology-journals.org/content/184/3/455.abstract?ijkey=62929d24abdd3d8eb6509950b387320efd616459&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha+html

Gut inflammation in chronic fatigue syndrome Shaheen E Lakhan* and Annette Kirchgessner http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/7/1/79/

Obesity and the human microbiome RE Ley http://bcrc.bio.umass.edu/courses/fall2010/biol/biolh100-01/sites/default/files/ley_microbiome_obesity_review_2010.pdf

Serum Ferritin Is Associated With Visceral Fat Area care.diabetesjournals.org/content/28/10/2486.full.pdf

Obesity, Visceral Fat, and NAFLD: Querying the Role of Adipokines in the Progression of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease M. S. Mirza http://www.isrn.com/isrn/gastroenterology/2011/592404/

Beneficial effects of enzyme-based therapy for autism spectrum disorders by Mark A. Brudnak, Bernard Rimland, Roy E. Kerry, Margaret Dailey, Robert Taylor, Bruce Stayton, Frank Waickman, Michael Waickman, Jon Pangborn, Ilene Buchholz

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Ann Allergy. 1994 May;72(5):462-8. Foods and additives are common causes of the attention deficit hyperactive disorder in children. Boris M, Mandel FS. http://calmglow.com/pdfs/food-allergies-and-ADHD.pdf

Do Artificial Food Colors Promote Hyperactivity in Children with Hyperactive Syndromes? A Meta-Analysis of Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trials http://www.cspinet.org/new/pdf/schab.pdf

The effects of a double blind, placebo controlled, artificial food colourings and benzoate preservative challenge on hyperactivity in a general population sample of preschool children B Bateman, J O Warner, E Hutchinson, T Dean, P Rowlandson, C Gant, J Grundy, C Fitzgerald, J Stevenson http://www.cspinet.org/new/pdf/bateman.pdf

Traits which Women Find Attractive in a Man

2011-11-09T19:10:00.001-08:00

There are a lot of things that a woman find in a man attractive. Women are attracted to dominance, social status, confidence, ruggedness, height, a "strong" face, broad shoulders, muscles, body hair, large hands and feet, etc.

Social status is big for women. Women are also attracted to men who play "hard-to-get." And there are yet other features which women are attracted to. Women are attracted to men who are dominant. They are attracted to men who are leaders. They are attracted to men who are the "center of the attention."

Do you know why so many women are attracted to doctors, lawyers, businessmen, and cops? Because they have "authority." People look up to them, pay attention to them, listen to them, and learn from them. They are very attractive to women.

Fame is also attractive to women. Famous people such as actors, singers, and athletes are very attractive to women. Do you know why? Because fame is a sign of status. Imagine an actor who is in a movie. People watch the movie. People pay attention to the actor. It's like the actor being the "center of attention." Women are attracted to celebrities because they receive a lot of attention from people. It's a sign of authority.

I'm not saying that a man who tries too hard to *seek* attention is attractive. That's not. What I'm saying is the men who *receive* a lot of attention from others will be attractive.

Voice is a big thing that a woman will notice. Do you wonder why do those male singers get all the women? Do you wonder why a lot of women scream and cheer at concerts? Why do so many women have crushes on famous singers? Well, one factor is that those men have an attractive voice. Women are attracted to that. It's big. A deep, confident, and resonating voice is very attractive to women. That alone can make an average man very attractive to women.

But a lot of male singers have high-pitched, whiny voices. Why do they still attract a lot of women? Let's look at the positives. They're already famous, so their fame in itself will attract a lot of women. Besides fame, those men's voices are confident and resonating. They know how to tune the timing of their words, to make their voice sound confident. They sing loudly, which is also a sign of confidence. They use their diaphragm to make their voice resonate. A resonating voice is yet another sign of confidence.

Another thing which is attractive to male singers is "pre-selection." Pre-selection is a theory that a male will become more attractive if other women are also attracted to him. Famous male singers usually have millions of women going crazy for them, and that, in itself, would make them even more attractive to those women. And do you know why a lot of women are attracted to "taken" or "married" men? One of the reasons that those men are pre-selected by their girlfriends / wives.

There are other features which women find attractive. They are attracted to risk-taking men. Men who risk their lives are very attractive to women. A lot of women are attracted to firefighters, because they are risk-taking. Similarly, women are attracted to rugged, sporty men. And women are attracted to rich men, and men who dress like rich men. (i.e. Don't dress like a bum. Wear clothes which are tailored, clean, ironed, and fashionable.)

Body odor is huge. Pheromones are huge. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is huge factor in sex appeal, as well.

References

[1] Pheromone articles

[2] There's a whole community out there about men wearing commercial pheromone colognes to attract women. (www.pheromonetalk.com) Those commercial pheromone colognes seem to work for men, though there isn't solid evidence. It's based on their grossly inaccurate observations. (i.e. "a woman looked at me; she must be attracted to me", "a woman smiled at me, she must be attracted to me", or "a woman chatted with me; she must be attracted to me." - not to mention placebo effects)

The Myth of the Female Pecking Order (Part I)

2011-06-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

People have different reasons to dress well, look well, and exercise. They have many reasons behind this. They are doing it to look more attractive than members of the same sex, like competition. Why do they do that? There are many reasons.

They want to attract the opposite sex, by looking better than the competition, so they can have sex.
They want to impress others of how they look better than the competition, so they could feel good about their attractiveness, not necessarily to have sex.
They want to be looked as a respectable person, by dressing up, so people would look up to them.
They want to look better than others to make their partners jealous of them, in attempt to secure their mates.
Their habits, such as exercise and health eating, are intended to stay healthy rather than to compete with others.
I'm not saying that all people fit in all those categories. There are people who don't care about how they look. There are people who don't fit in any of those criteria.

More importantly, however, it doesn't address the ultimate preference if such attraction were correct. It doesn't address if such preferences really reflect what the opposite sex really desires.

Let's analyze women's habits on being attractive, for instance. You will eventually notice patterns. You will notice that it's not too common for women to spend so much time shopping for expensive clothing. It's not uncommon to notice that women buy boots which cost $200, while never realizing that their money can be well spent on other items, which can be far more effective in making them attractive. Women spend thousands of dollars on designer-label clothing, thinking that their hundred-dollar Polo Ralph Lauren shirt, that they rarely wear, would be worthwhile. Women spend so much on their Brooks-Brothers pants which cost $500, and spend $2,000 on their Louis-Vuitton handbag which you think is a wasteful usage of their money.

You wonder, "Why are women spending so much money, on things which don't matter?" Why are women buying those expensive, designer-label products, when in reality, men don't care. Men really don't care about them. You know, women don't look more attractive in them, by just wearing clothing which just have a label on it. Women don't look more attractive, by wearing clothing which is made by some expensive brand, when you can buy cheaper products from other brands.

Why do women do this? Why do women spend so much? And why don't women use their money on more productive things, rather than those expensive clothing that don't do a thing for men?

Do you know why women spend much more on clothing than men do? Do you know why women shop more than women do? Women buy expensive handbags and shoes. Do you know what's the reason?

Let me tell you a fact. Let's talk about status symbols. Some clothing items function like a status symbol. Handbags are a status symbol. Shoes are another status symbol. Status symbols are very popular with women. Do you know why expensive clothing is popular with women? Do you know why women like to spend so much time and money on shopping?

Here is the answer: Women think that they are impressing men with those expensive shoes and handbags. Those are status symbols, and women think that having status symbols would make them look richer, thus more attractive to men.

But they are wrong. Women are actually misconceived of what men like. This misconception is the root of the problem. Women are wrong that if they look rich, they would become more attractive to men.

Let's look. It's a fact that men generally don't pay much attention to women's shoes or any accessories. There are article warning women about this:

For the most part, guys do not notice or care about shoes and accessories (for the first few days I had to remind James that he needed to choose these). So instead of wearing those killer heels that you think he will appreciate, just wear whatever you want. High heels, flats, sneakers, doesn't matter. On that some note, guys also don't notice a lot of the time-consuming beauty rituals you obsess over, so you can also ease up on the heavy primp time.
Source: http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/w ... toViewer=9

Do you know why it's the case? Why don't men pay much attention on women's shoes? The reason is they aren't affected by status symbols, such as shoes. They don't care to look at shoes as much as women do, because men aren't affected by status symbols. Status symbols do nothing to make a women look more attractive.

Women are misconceived of what men want women to wear. Women think that men are attracted to high-status or rich women. So they buy expensive clothing, designer-brand shoes, gold/silver jewelry, and expensive purses. While in fact, cheap clothing would just work the same.

Women don't need to buy expensive clothing. A simple form-fitting t-shirt or dress would work. Women don't need to buy expensive shoes or sneakers. Any cheap sneaker or shoe would do. Women don't need to buy those expensive silver bracelets to turn men on. A steel bracelet would just do the same.

Women are spending way too much money on things that men don't care about.

But the reverse not true. The case doesn't exist for women, but it does exist for men. It had been proven several times that women are attracted to rich men. Therefore, if a man buys status symbols, such as $500 shoes, then he would surely improve his chances with women.

Do you know why women are attracted to rich men? Well, look, just look at all those businessmen. They have all the power, they control more resources than almost all other men control, and get all the girls. Why is that? Why are business men attract so many women? Isn't because women have an instinct for gold-digging? No. No way.

Then what is it? Isn't because it's an evolutionary instinct. Say, the women want men who can provide resources, and those men who controls business can provide the most resources for woman and their offspring? Isn't that? Isn't because women like men with all the resources so he can feed any offspring that she produce?

Close--but no cigar. Women don't like men who are rich because they have lots of money to provide for any children that she has. Women are attracted to rich men, not because of their rich resources in itself, but because wealth in an indicator of power.

Also, those rich men also have "authority," which means that lots and lots of men look up to them. Respect their decisions. And never questions their choices that they make. This is a symbol of leadership, and dominance: confident about telling other people what to do, and the subordinates obey their orders.

While the poor man has to work for another person, the rich men has people working for them. While the poor man is subordinate, the rich man is dominant over their employees. It's like a dominance hierarchy. First you have poor people being obedient to their rich bosses. And then you have the rich bosses controlling their less wealthy employees. See what this resembles? This perfectly resembles the pecking order of our ancestors. With the poor men being submissive. And the rich men being dominant. And this, is the reason why women like rich men.

Here is a study which is performed on mating preferences between the sexes. The study made those conclusions:

Women did not perceive traits directly referring to a mate's material wealth as more desirable than men (traits such as capability to earn, success in job, or to have money). The differences are obtained concerning the traits more indirectly related to material prospects of a potential mate, and to his readiness to share resources as well.
The hypothesis formulated on the basis of the evolutionary psychology perspective received qualified support: results indicate that males tend to attach relatively greater weight to physical attractiveness of potential mates. Nevertheless, sex differences in the evaluation of strength and thinness could be interpreted as referring to male physical attractiveness, and therefore as evidence of women's specific emphasis on mate's physical attractiveness.
Source: Todosijevic, B., et al. (2003). Mate selection criteria: A trait desirability assessment study of sex differences in Serbia.

This is an essential read:

Evolutionists and art historians agree that fashion is all about status. In their dress, women follow fashion more than men do: Yet women seek clues to status, which change with fashion, and men seek clues to fertility, which do not. Men should not care less what women wear as long as they are smooth-skinned, slim, young, healthy, and generally nubile: Women should care greatly about what men wear because it tells them a good deal about their background, their wealth, their social status, even their ambitions. So why do women follow clothes fashions more avidly than men?
I can think of several answers to this question. First, the theory is simply wrong, and men prefer status symbols, whereas women prefer bodies. Perhaps, but that flies in the face of an awful lot of robust evidence: Second, women's fashion is not about status after all: Third, modern Western societies have been in a two-century aberration from which they are just emerging: In Regency England, Louis XIV's France, medieval Christendom, ancient Greece, or among modern Yanomamo, men followed fashion as avidly as women: Men wore bright colors, flowing robes, jewels, rich materials, gorgeous uniforms, and gleaming, decorated armor. The damsels that knights rescued were no more fashionably attired than their paramours. Only in Victorian times did the deadly uniformity of the black frock coat and its dismal modern descendant, the gray suit, infect the male sex, and only in this century have This suggests the fourth and most intriguing explanation, which is that women do care more about clothes and men do care less, but instead of influencing the other sex with their concerns, they influence their own. Each gender uses its own preferences to guide its own behavior. Experiments show that men think women care about physique much more than they actually do; women think men care about status cues much more than they actually do. So perhaps each sex simply acts out its instincts in the conviction that the other sex likes the same things as they do.
One experiment seems to support the idea that men and women mistake their own preferences for those of the opposite sex. April Fallon and Paul Rozin of the University of Pennsylvania showed four simple line drawings of male or female figures in swimsuits to nearly five hundred undergraduates. In each case the figures differed only in thinness: They asked the subjects to indicate their current figure, their ideal figure, the figure that they considered most attractive to the opposite sex, and the figure they thought most attractive in the opposite sex. Men ' s current, ideal, and attractive figures were almost identical; men are, on average, content with their figures. Women, as expected, were far heavier than what they thought most attractive to men, which was heavier still than their own ideal. But intriguingly, both sexes erred in their estimation of what the other sex most likes. Men think women like a heavier build than they do; women think men like women thinner than they do.
However, such confusions cannot be the whole explanation of why women follow fashion because it does not work for other features of attraction. Women are far more concerned with their own youth than men despite the fact that they mostly do not themselves seek younger partners.
And yet the notion that fashion is about status revolts us in a democratic age. We pretend instead that fashion is actually about showing off a body to best advantage. New fashions are worn by gorgeous models, and perhaps women buy them because they subconsciously credit the beauty to the dress and not the model. Surveys reveal what everybody knows: Men are attracted by women in revealing, tight, or skimpy clothing; women are less attracted by such clothing on men. Most female fashions are more or less explicitly designed to enhance beauty; for example, a gigantic crinoline made a waist look small simply by contrast. A woman is careful to choose clothes that "suit" her particular figure or hair color.
Source: Ridley, Matt (1993). The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature. Pages 301-313.

Here is another misconception that a "deep voice" on women is sexy:

Although Hughes and her team expected women would raise the pitch of their voices to sound more feminine, the opposite turned out to be true.
"There appears to be a common stereotype in our culture that deems a sexy female voice as one that sounds husky, breathy, and lower-pitched," she says."This suggests that the motivation to display a sexy/seductive female voice may conflict with the motivation to sound more feminine."
The findings will be published this fall in the Journal of Nonverbal Behavior.
Lowering one's voice to indicate attraction may be a learned behavior derived from cultural stereotypes that are perpetuated throughout the media, the researchers say. "When a woman naturally lowers her voice, it may be perceived as her attempt to sound more seductive or attractive, and therefore serves as a signal of her romantic interest," Hughes says.
Source: http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/ ... attraction

I have another theory of why women like to sing:

Men who have a good voice turns women on. Women are attracted to male singers more than any other kind of musician because a resonating, confident voice is a huge turn on for them. The reverse is not true; you don't see many males idolizing female singers.

But women still believe that the other way around is true. They believe that men are roused by women who sing good too.

Have you noticed that women outnumber men in your school chorus? Have you noticed that a lot more women than men take singing lessens? Those women are in fact misconceived that men are aroused by women who can sing good. So women waste their money taking singing lessons, in their failed attempt to impress men.

Women think that they men care about status, even after men told them again and again that status doesn't matter.

I can think of many reasons for this:

1. Women are attracted to high-status men, so they think men are attracted to high-status women too.

2. Women tell other women that men like high-status women. The media reinforces the myth that men like high-status women.

3. Women will be too upset to find out that status doesn't matter. You see--a woman grows up and spent thousand of dollars on clothes, jewelry, and shoes. But she is soon told by her brother that buying expensive clothing won't make her more attractive. She will be upset by this if she is convinced. But usually, she will rationalize it away and believe that her expensive purchases are worthwhile. She's too afraid to admit to herself that all the money that she had spend on clothing is of no use. So she continues to believe that men find women in expensive clothing attractive. This is called post-purchase rationalization.

How to Avoid Being Called "Biased" or "Closed-Minded"

2011-04-29T10:16:00.000-07:00

If you are tired of people accusing you of being "biased" or "closed-minded", then you must make an impression to others that you have an open mind. Such techniques include accepting their opinions seriously. Take what you agree from them, and reject the rest. And if their opinion is not supported by evidence, assume that they might be right in some aspects, assume if some premises are true and then consider if their argument still holds, and research their opinions by yourself. If you do not let them know that you are listening to others, then others will see you as "closed-minded" and thus "biased."

Never reject their opinions even if they do not cite their sources of what they come from. Do not blame them for not referencing studies or links. Do not blame them by saying that you should be responsible for the "burden of proof." It is up to you to provide the "burden of proof" at all times, even if "he's the one who is responsible."

That may seem unfair to you, like a double standard: They should be allowed to express their opinions, without citing their sources; then why shouldn't you be entitled to that same luxury? But think of this: if you do the same as they do, then other people will accused of being "biased" or "closed-minded." So if you do not want people to call you "biased", then you must accept that double standard. People are quick to judge one another as "closed-minded" even if both are playing on the same level.

Also, if they gave advice without supporting evidence, it is just what they have to share in mind. This does not necessarily mean that they do not have evidence. They could mean that they do have evidence and studies which support their position, but they were just too lazy to provide references for the studies or articles which support their opinion. They do not want to write a long comment which no one is going to read.

If you disagree with someone, do not just say it. Cite your sources and provide proof that you disagree. All statements should be cited fully, no matter how minuscule it is. If you are too lazy to cite your sources, then do not mention your disagreement at all. Saying stuff without citing sources will make you lose your credibility.

Even if they don't cite any sources for their arguments, you should still cite your own arguments. This seems like a double standard, but if you don't want people calling you to be "biased" or "closed-minded", then you have to do this.

Even if they are "wrong", support their main point. Even if they are "wrong", you should still interpret their theories in a way so their theories can be true, in some aspects or conditions.

Likewise, do not accuse others who provide no references as ignorant or biased. As said above, people may just be too lazy to bring up links to support their position.

People with strong contrary opinions will rationalize away your evidence, unless you do an exhaustive and complete dissertation of your position, including counterarguments to all possible "holes" in your opinion.

In addition, avoid all vague statements, such as "everyone is different", "everyone is the same", "diets should be relaxed", "there should be limits on diets", "certain foods should be restricted". The last statement has problems with vagueness, because it does not specify what exact foods which should be restricted? Processed foods? Restricted at what levels? How much you should restrict them? Does that restriction allow "cheat" days? But people generally interpret such statement with such absolute sense, even if they are just exaggerations. This is the problem with vague statements. People talk over one another, and the statements, which are exaggerations, are interpreted literally when they are just trying to make a point.

How to Deal With (Non-Constructive) Criticism

2011-04-14T14:32:00.001-07:00

In the 180 Degree Health comments section, I have seen an anonymous commenter who had criticized another commenter named JT. Below, we will use it an guide of how to deal with non-constructive criticism.

Anonymous said: "JT: Your comments regarding nutrition, health and exercise are the most retarded, uneducated, psychological wannabe nonsense ever written. Wake the fuck up..."

JT said: "Maybe you are right!".

That sentence which JT said might be interpreted as insincere. It would be better if JT said "You may have some good points. I am willing to listen to your arguments if you post them here."

JT also said: "Are you able to point out what statements of mine are false, and give a rational explanation why?".

However, this comment might be interpreted as offensive. I do not think it is good to ask a question by saying "are you able to...". Saying "are you able to" implies that anonymous did not have the ability to be more persuasive. I think anonymous did have the ability to be more constructive, but chose not to because anonymous is frustrated that no one would hear what he/she said. Thus, because anonymous felt it would be a waste of time to make a lengthy post since anonymous thought no one would be listening, anonymous made a short and quick comment to JT which sounded rude. Therefore, anonymous made it short to express his frustration with JT. It would be better to say "I am willing to listen to you and take your seriously if you post your reasoning here."

The second clause could also be interpreted as an insult. Telling anonymous to give a "rational explanation" might imply that anonymous is "irrational." Rather than saying "give a rational explanation," it would be better to say "I am patent enough to listen to your ideas even if you made a lengthy comment."

It would be better if JT had let anonymous know that he will be listening so anonymous would have more patience be more argumentative, rather than to criticizing anonymous for being rude. Criticizing anonymous for being rude is counterproductive, since anonymous probably knew it. What we should really do is to let anonymous know that we will be listening, so anonymous would not be frustrated enough to make that comment. And, please, do not say "if you are more polite, then I will respect you more", because it is passive-aggressive.

The main point is to listen to others even if they are negative.

Update 8:34 PM est: Anonymous had posted a new comment:

I don't have time to debate people on the internet but I just had to relieve my frustration when people are giving others so much nonsense. You wanna feel good about eating junk... see a psychologist for approval but stop telling people that it's OK to eat the way u do JT. All of these internet blog responder "expert" discussions are useless. Get a life or stop spreading BS about diets just to make confused people feel better please... Stop advising others based on your personal experience which is biased and utter rubbish ;-]

Disclaimer: I am not anonymous.

How Internet Debate Can Lead to Prejudice

2011-04-10T13:40:00.000-07:00

Having been kicked off more than a few forums and blogs myself, I've learned the hard way that it's usually not WHAT you say that offends people, it's HOW you say it.

Forums and blogs are kind of one-dimensional, not allowing for nuances of face-to-face discussions, like tone of voice, facial expressions, hand gestures, and body language.

For example, all my doctors call me non-compliant, but a few of them say it in a friendly way, with a smile, which makes me much more likely to pay attention.

Let's all make a New Year's resolution to be more friendly.

-- Jim Purdy from Whole Health Source

However, I disagree with Jim Purdy for many reasons. Jim Purdy is blaming himself, but it should not be his fault. Communication is two-way, and if misunderstandings happen, it is the unclarity of communication and misinterpretation on both sides. Neither side should take responsibility if a misunderstanding occurs. But that does not mean that each side can learn from the situation. Each side, both the listener and speaker, should learn from this if misunderstandings happen. Each side should try the best to speak clearer and listen without misunderstandings.

That being said, I have encountered many people who were blocked, banned, and barred from web sites under false accusations.

I have encountered dozens of Wikipedia editors, who were banned for alleged sockpuppetry. Even though they were really innocent, they were still banned.

What causes this?

First, there is the confusion of constructive criticism with "hate." The confusion of constructive criticism with "ridicule." That was discussed in my earlier posts.

Second, there is the iterated confirmation bias. The iterated confirmation bias argues that, if a person is believed to be angry, then any subsequent words the person said would be interpreted to have a negative connotation. Words change meaning, depending on the perceived mood of the speaker, and if the mood of the speaker is presumed to be negative, you will more like misinterpret his words as negative.

Third, there is poor debating style. Each debater accuses the other one to be "selfish" when neither is he case. People do not show that they are listening. But because the moderator has the power, the less privileged user will almost always be banned in a conflict.

Fourth, there are implications of false accusations. When a person is falsely accused, he would act (or perceived to act) in a way that confirms to the accusation. I call this the "social placebo effect."

Fifth, when a moderator bans a member who is falsely accused, the moderator will "adjust" his sense of how evil people are and is more likely to view that more evil people exist than they actually exist. Therefore, they will be more "trigger-happy" to ban people. This cycle continues until the moderator bans more and more people who are innocent.

Yes, there are more reasons. But I am offering five.

Don't judge me as arrogant; but I'm not blaming you

2011-04-05T21:03:00.000-07:00

I knew it. I knew that a few people will judge me as arrogant.

Why? Why did I knew that some people will judge I was arrogant?

Let me explain. As you have seen, I have written some posts recently. Many of them are off-topic. And in some of those posts, I have said stuff that people may take offense.

So, what did I specifically say?

This is what I have saidt: Women should tight, and form-fitting clothing; women should wear heels; and buying more expensive clothing would not make you more attractive to men.

But I knew that a few people would misunderstand my writing, and take offense. Here is what I knew that some people would think:

I knew that some people will think that I am controlling them for telling them what to and what not to wear, all for my selfish pleasure.
I knew that some people will think I am a controlling misogynist for telling them what to wear, and am a "shallow" guy for judging her worth by her sexual appearance.
And I knew that some people will think I am arrogant for saying that all women should wear heels, because it is wrong to conclude that not all men like heels just because I (supposedly) like them.

But such thoughts do not accurately reflect me. I never wanted to "control them"; I am not "shallow"; and I am not "arrogant" for telling all women to wear heels.

The thing is, is that I am just giving my opinion of what women should and should not wear. I am actually helping them so they would look more attractive to men. Not to please me, but to attract other men if their intention is to do that. So that was just that. I am just helping some women what or what not to wear, so they do not have to buy so much expensive clothing.

Let us skip this topic for new, and understand what is happening, in the general sense. In general, do people judge people as "controlling" and "arrogant" when it is not the case? Yes, people do often misinterpret opinion as "controlling" or "arrogance."

For example, let us look at a similar case that sparked controversy.

On her blog, a women says that "men should not wear shorts." Here is a quotation:

Men in shorts?

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

That's the short answer about shorts. Men in shorts? No such thing. If you are in shorts, you are not a man. I'll make a small exception for certain sports, or if you are staying at home or in your own yard. But if you're going out in public in a non-sports capacity, put on some pants! This includes the postman!

A lot of men took offense to her words. They thought that the women is "controlling" for telling men not to wear shorts.

Some men were offended by what she have said, and commented to defend themselves:

Robert said...
Sorry, ladies. It's 92 in the shade, and not all that much cooler in my non-air-conditioned office. It's shorts, or nothing.
I'm very apologetic that my gender has put pressure on your gender to wear uncomfortable clothing for our aesthetic pleasure. However, that empathy does not extend to embracing reciprocity.
I don't wear stupid clothes. Long pants in August = stupid clothes.

spencer said...
I honestly can't stand people who bash others just because of what they wear, especially for something as ridiculous as shorts (obviously there are exceptions "cough" cross-dressers "Cough"). Is our society really that superficial nowadays? Two words come to mind, Chill out, stop worrying about other people and get your own life. If a few guys walking around in their revealing shorts , that probably only show off their calves, is really that disgusting then move to Alaska, I'm sure you'd fit right in there. Or better yet, move to Cali, from the sound of it you would probably walk off the plane and be so flustered you'd shit in place.

olus said...
This is about as idiotic as saying women should only be seen in dresses and high heels.

spinoza1111 said...

Please do not presume to tell men what to wear, and we men shall not presume to tell women what to wear.
Tolerance is a beautiful virtue and it is on the wane in favor of a pseudo-hip, but profoundly intolerant, anti-urbane, and childish presumption on the part of women that it is somehow liberated to start dictating what men shall or shall not wear.

Those men misinterpreted her comment as "controlling" what men should or should not wear. So those men are offensive by her comment that "men should not wear shorts."

Let us look at some other examples:

When a women tells a man that men should not wear socks with sandals, the man is offended. He would think that she is controlling him, but, in reality, she is just constructively criticizing. She is just saying that men who wear socks with sandals look unattractive to women, so men should avoid wearing them if their intention is to attract women.
When a man tells a woman that she should wear a dress, she would call him a "sexist" out of frustration. However, what the man really is doing is just giving his opinion on what women look good in.

This example has demonstrated that people do judge others to be "controlling" when they are not. So :I am not "controlling" at all. Case closed.

But they still might think I am "arrogant" for telling women to wear heels.

Yes, indeed I told them that wearing heels would make them look attractive.

The irony is that I, personally, do not find heels to be the most attractive footwear! In fact, I find strappy sandals to look much better on women, than heels. I also find white Keds on women, much more attractive than heels.

So why did I not tell them to wear strappy sandals or white Keds, instead of heels? If I like strappy sandals and heels better on women, then why did I recommend heels rather than such alternatives?

It is beacuse the news said that Heels are the world's #1 fetish.

So I am telling that women look good in heels, not because I find them attractive, but because heels are the world's #1 fetish.

Therefore, I was not being arrogant at all. I knew that all men differ, so it is false to generalize my preferences to the male population. So I recommended heels even though I personally do not have a thing for them.

I have also posted a comment which said: "Men have a desire to dominate women in the bedroom."

Again, I do not have a desire for such things, but I am just saying that men generally like, not necessarily myself. But people tend to attribute stuff which I say to myself. That was wrong.

The irony is that I always had known that a few people would judge me for saying such things. I took the risk for writing out such things, and not clarifying. I expected a few people to judge me as "controlling," "sexist," "misogynist," "full of myself," and "selfish."

Disclaimer: I am not blaming you for judging me as "arrogant," "controlling," and "selfish." I already knew that a few will judge me in such ways, at the time that I was writing it. I had chosen not to clarify what I really meant at that time, and I was fully accepting to the fact that a few people will judge me in such ways.

How Not to be Offended by People (Part I)

2011-03-30T17:29:00.000-07:00

If you do not want to be offended by people, then the first thing to do is not to assume that they are trying to offend you.

Below are some examples.

Myth: I am a man who likes to buy pantyhose in shops, but the female clerk said that men should not wear pantyhose. She is controlling me of what and what not to wear, so I am offended by her comment.

Fact: If a clerk said that men should not wear pantyhose, do not take offense. She is just stating her opinion of how men look in pantyhose. Her point is that if a man wants to be attractive to women, then men should not wear pantyhose. If that is not the case, and you have another reason to wear them, then she will likely respect your decision to wear pantyhose.

Most men nowadays wear clothing which look cheap, tacky, or mismatched. Thus, women will believe that most men do not have a "sense of style." Therefore, many women want to help men by giving them advice of what they should or should not wear. Their intention is to make sure that those men would not feel embarrassed if they wear clothing which looks tacky to women. Therefore, it's safe to assume that the clerk is actually helping you by stating her opinion of what you should or should not wear. (If the clerk is selfish, then she would not give her honest opinion of how horrible men look pantyhose. She would be too afraid to lose her job.)

Whether her opinion is right or wrong, you should not take offense to it. I do understand that fashion trends change, and men had worn tights and skirts in the past. It is possible that tights may lose their association with femininity in the future, which would thus make tights acceptable to men. However, this is 2011. At this time, women do not find tights attractive to men, and that is what she meant in her opinion. Please do not take offense.

Myth: People laugh at me when I purchase pantyhose for myself, because I have a fetish for them.

Fact: If a clerk laughed at you for purchasing tights, it still does not necessarily mean that she thinks that you are actually purchasing them for yourself. The fact that she is laughing at you does not reflect what she really thinks of you.

Think about that way: Let us say that you are in high school, in a class. The teacher said something which can be interpreted as a sexual innuendo. However, all of the students did not realize that what the teacher said can be interpreted that way. Eventually, a student realizes that, and reminds the whole class by telling a joke that what the teacher said can be interpreted as a sexual innuendo. The whole class laughed at that joke.

The fact that the students laughed does not actually mean that you believe that the teacher had actually intended to say something sexual. The fact that you are laughing suggests that the teacher's words can be perceived as sexual. In other words, your belief of what the teacher actually is and your belief that he has said something which perceives to be sexual, is incongruent with reality. That is what makes us laugh.

Laughter is a mechanism to relieve tension. For example, suppose if someone is pretending to be violent, when in fact, he is just doing it for a prank. If you know that it is a prank, then you will laugh uncontrollably. That is because what other people perceive him is incongruent with reality. In this case, he is perceived to be violent when in fact he is just doing a prank.

This incongruency is what triggers our laughter. Let us go back to the laughing clerk example. If the clerk laughed at you, it does not necessarily mean that she really thinks that you have a fetish. She could have laughed because you can be perceived as a fetishist by other people, even if she, herself, believes that your are purchasing them for your girlfriend. The incongruency with the perception of you and what the clerk really believed is what triggered her laughter.

Myth: I know I am a 17 year old boy buying panties but I dont get why the women tease me. One woman at at sears told me to "enjoy" and at another time the women look at each other and giggled. I have also heard "have fun". The women usually kept me at cash longer than I know I need to be. They make a show of not having enough change or needing to check prices Last night at La Senza the sales girl said "Aww, have fun cutie". Why do they always tease me?

Fact: Ignore the "enjoy" or "have fun" comments. Maybe they are not teasing you, and that is just their habit to say "enjoy" and "have fun" to all their customers, not just you.

One female cashier called me "sweetie" even though I was not buying any women's clothing. I think it is a habit for cashiers to call people "sweetie", "cutie", and "honey."

Once I was buying stuff from a store, a female cashier called had me "sweetie." I was waiting at the checkout counter, but she realized that she did not have enough change. She went out and took change, so I waited patiently. After she got the change, she realized that I was waiting patiently, so she called me a "sweetie" probably because I was patient for waiting.

I think that's what happened when the La Senza sales girl said to you "aww, have fun, cutie." You waited patiently for her to have change and to check prices. She thought you were nice waiting patiently for her to took change and check prices. She then called you "cutie" because she think that it is cute that you waited patiently for her to check prices.

Also, see that she said "aww, have fun, cutie." She said "aww" probably because she thought you were buying them for their girlfriend. That is what she said it.

So this explains her comment "Aww, have fun cutie." She is not making fun of you, she just thinks that you were nice for waiting for her to check prices, and she also thinks you were nice for buying them for your girlfriend.

Buying lingerie for your significant other can be one of the most romantic things you can do. It's an intimate gift which, if you get it right, shows you really care, really do understand her and have put the effort in to really think about a gift they will like.

Yes, there is still a small possibility that she was making fun of you rather than a genuine compliment, but the chance is small. If she really had the guts to make fun of you, then she would risk being fired from her job. Thus, it is safe to assume that her comment was a genuine compliment for you waiting patiently and buying them for your girlfriend.

Also, you should realize that being called "sweetie" and "cutie" happens a lot to young people. Young people are being called "cutie" or "sweetie." If you look young and feminine, then that is probably the issue. They are calling you "sweetie" and "cutie" because you have a baby face.

Maybe you are just nervous about buying panties, so you respond to it by judging people negatively. Calling you to "enjoy" and "have fun" does not necessarily mean "teasing." It could just be a habit of them calling all customers like that, as I said above.

Have you had much experience purchasing any other stuff besides panties? Do the cashiers there also say "enjoy", "have fun", and "cutie" to you when you purchase men's clothing instead of panties?

If you are not sure if they are teasing you, ask them. But please do not take their words with the intent to "tease you" or to "embarrass you."

The general principles of how not to be offended are:

Do not confuse constructive criticism with "hate."
Do not confuse constructive criticism with "attack."
Do not confuse constructive criticism with "control."
Do not confuse constructive criticism with "one-upmanship."

Do not confuse ridicule with "attack."
Do not confuse ridicule with "judgment."
Do not confuse ridicule with "lack of sympathy."

Do not confuse giving one's opinion with "arrogance."
Do not confuse the lack of apology with "blame."
Do not confuse the act of saving face with "excuse."

And so on...

Yes, some of those above principles seems to be the reverse of what is taught in Dale Carnegie's How To Win Friends and Influence People and Marshall Rosenberg's Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life . These are great books, especially the second one, but I am learning of how not to be judgmental towards people. All of those principles are derived from me observing conflicts at Internet blogs, message boards, Q&A websites, and opinion articles over the years.

The Heretic & The Feedback Loops of Negativity

2011-03-24T16:15:00.000-07:00

A lot of the negativity associated with "heretics" is caused, not by others, but by his own judgment against his adversaries. In turn, he would lash out, insult his opponent to be "ignorant," "stupid," or "judgmental," and then would result in a vicious cycle, ultimately inflicted by his own, misperceived, judgment.

If a heretic promotes a fringe position, no one would agree with him. Someone would call his positions as "bullshit." No one would pay attention to him. Thus, he becomes a opportunist. Degrading every position which the "mainstream" side as unjustified. And eventually, view the mainstream not the one who is listening to him.

Thus, heretics must take extra precaution if they debate with the mainstream. Heretics should actively avoid any attempt to win attention. They should be aware of their own rationalizations, or status-seeking behavior.

If not, a vicious cycle ensures. The heretic would shout at the mainstream for ignoring his views. However, it is due to his own judgment whether or not the mainstream was really insulting him, ignoring him, or belittling him. Hence, the heretic would see it as an attack. An insult. And see the mainstream as his enemy. The mainstream will respond, too, by judging the heretic. The vicious cycle continues to turn. Back and forth.

Why are social vicious cycles interesting?

Let us examine some situations which can lead to social vicious cycles.

Politically incorrect debaters
Feminists and men's rights activists
Children living under their parents' authority.
The falsely accused "criminal."
Students under the supervision of their teachers.
Falsely arrested people.[1]
Accused liars.

The implications:

Politically incorrect debaters exaggerate their opponents to be "enemies" or "conspiracies."
"Fringe movements" would seem more violent than they are.
Feminists would exaggerate male violence. Men's rights activists would exaggerate female violence.[2]
Children would be silenced, and would seem more rebellious than they actually are.[3]
The falsely accused would seem more violent than they really are.[4]
People who are accused of lying act nervous, which would make them look like liars despite being not.

References

Why I don't blame others for "not listening"

2011-03-24T15:24:00.000-07:00

When a person is not receiving attention from others, he would become angry. He would shout. He would say that "he hates" something.

But if a person is receiving enough attention, then he would not shoult. He would not say that he hates another.

A good example is Justin Bieber "haters." Those people actually do not really hate him. They just say that they "hate" Justin Bieber to create drama so they can receive their attention.

What they really think of Justin Bieber is that his music is unoriginal, and he does not write his own songs.

If a debate happens between two people, it is vital for you to listen to your opponent. Even if you know that you opponent is "obviously wrong," you still must listen to him.

I can think of seven reasons why you must listen even though you know that your opponent is wrong:

The substance of their argument may be correct, when certain conditions or aspects apply.
You opponent would not exaggerate, become angry, rationalize, or personally attack you to seek attention from you.
You will have a clearer understanding of their positions.
You opponent would not hate you as much. So they would admit that they are wrong if they knew it.
There would be less rationalizations, justifications, or bad arguments done by your opponent, which might confuse you, anger you, or lengthen the debate further.
If the debate is between a real-life individual, then your opponent would not hesitate to interrupt you since you were listening to them. If it is an Internet debate, then this could lead your opponent to ignore your arguments, not analyze your arguments, and/or not research your arguments further. You would not be taken seriously.
You may be, well, wrong. But that is rarely the case, since, almost always, your position can be correct when specific conditions or aspects apply.

Thus, it is never justifiable to call your opponent positions as "bullshit" even though you know that they are obviously wrong.

Hand them your microphone, and let your opponent talk. I call this microphone the "leader-microphone." Let them know that you are paying attention to them by asking questions about their positions.

Iterated Confirmation Bias

2011-03-24T15:22:00.001-07:00

When an individual is accused to be violent, his subsequent actions would be judged as malicious. Because his first impression was a violent individual, people distort evidence to confirm to that first impression. For example, his actions which are perceived to be as violent would be emphasized, and his actions which are perceived not to be violent would be ignored. Thus, it is ideal for people who are accused of violent crimes to be presumed innocent, and have a fair trial, to avoid the "iterated confirmation bias effect."

Female Attraction Misconceptions: Clarifications

2011-03-12T20:32:00.000-08:00

I used to think that the "fashion industry" did not have any involvement in promoting the thin figure. That is because I thought that men are attracted to thin women, as a result of evolution. Then, with amazement, I discovered that a critical flaw within my beliefs.

Shortly after, I corrected myself. It is indeed true that the fashion industry does promote a thin figure. Gay men and women work at the fashion industry, and they select thin females as their models. They select thin models, because those gay men and women think that thin females are attractive, which is found to be false. However, there are not ENOUGH straight men working in the fashion industry to correct that error, so thin models will continue to be selected. Unfortunately, straight women would then follow the fashion models in the industry. They will believe that those fashion models represent the "ideal" female figure. But they are not "ideal" as they seem.

For centuries, men are attracted to the classic "hourglass figure." That means, that those men are attracted to women who possess broad hips and narrow waists. In addition to this, men do not care if a little fat is stored around their hips, thighs, and face. Those preferences still stay intact amongst men nowadays, because they are inherent from result of evolution.

However, a lot of women are mistaken. Nowadays, some women think any figure which is bigger than the typical fashion model as "fat." Yes, they call them "fat" because they have a higher fat percentage compared to the thin models in the fashion industry. That is why so many attractive women call themselves "fat" even though they have a ideal face and body.

Even celebrities err on the side of the fashion industry. It is not uncommon to hear that celebrities starve themselves. It is not uncommon to hear that celebrities worry about their figure. Women may follow those celebrities, combined the fashion models, which results in a everlasting loop of social reinforcement.

However, I would not solely place the blame on the fashion industry. Women are biased to prefer to thin women, beacuse, well, they are women. Women dislike fat on men, so some women will conclude that men also dislike fat on women. In addition, women are attracted to narrow faces on men. Therefore, some women will mistakenly conclude that narrow faces on women are also attractive. (Ridley 1993) This belief, originating from the gay men or women working in the fashion industry, perpetuates throughout the media, until it becomes a well-established truism.

It is, therefore, not solely the fault of the fashion industry, but by an intuitive error stemming from the preference inversion of the opposite sex.

It is indeed a myth that men are sexually attracted by rich women, overly-tanned skin, and thin legs. Men may prefer slightly tanned skin, as they look healthier, but they do not prefer the overly-tanned skin of fashion models. Furthermore, even though wealth and tanned skin may be a status symbol, men are not influenced by them, because, status, in itself, has no influence on the sexual attractiveness of women.

(I did realize that I was not attracted to the overly-thin figures of fashion models. However, I ignored that fact as a result of my confirmation bias.)

References

Holland, Erik. Why are fashion models so skinny?

Ridley, Matt (1993). The Red Queen: Sex and the Evolution of Human Nature. Pages 301-313:

Each gender uses its own preferences to guide its own behavior. Experiments show that men think women care about physique much more than they actually do; women think men care about status cues much more than they actually do. So perhaps each sex simply acts out its instincts in the conviction that the other sex likes the same things as they do.

One experiment seems to support the idea that men and women mistake their own preferences for those of the opposite sex. April Fallon and Paul Rozin of the University of Pennsylvania showed four simple line drawings of male or female figures in swimsuits to nearly five hundred undergraduates. In each case the figures differed only in thinness: They asked the subjects to indi- cate their current figure, their ideal figure, the figure that they con- sidered most attractive to the opposite sex, and the figure they thought most attractive in the opposite sex. Men ' s current, ideal, and attractive figures were almost identical; men are, on average, content with their figures. Women, as expected, were far heavier than what they thought most attractive to men, which was heavier still than their own ideal. But intriguingly, both sexes erred in their estimation of what the other sex most likes. Men think women like a heavier build than they do; women think men like women thinner than they do.

Disclaimer: This was just a summary, not a well-sourced article.

Conundrums in Evolution

2011-03-02T22:20:00.000-08:00

Skinny models are NOT attractive to men, and yes, this is contrary to the preferences of the fashion industry. Click here for an explanation: Why are fashion models so skinny?

What does this mean? Does this mean that I must go to a prom party or I will die? No, because proms require tuxedos, and tuxedos symbolize masculinity. Masculinity does not accept death as an option. Masculinity chooses bravery rather than death. So for this long, masculinity advocates bravery rather than death. Death is no one. Death is the end of all nature. Death is the end of your eternity.

So going to the prom, you meet a women. You stare at her. You reproduce. That's the end-all-be-all of masculinity. There is no where else for a man to go. It's just about compassion. Reproduction. Giving your best genes to a woman.

The woman is adored by your compassion. She has an orgasm. A huge blast. Coming from the fierce lights from the towers of the sea.

Competition, like in business, is the end-all-be-all of masculinity. Men must compete to survive. Men must compete to pass on their genes. Competition is the never-ending-cycle in which males participate. Life is like a football game, or a pool game, if you will. Life is just about that, to a man.

So what now? So what should be do now? Should a man compete, for ever eternity, to give their precious genes to a woman? Should a man live in sodomy and faith in which a man shares his compassion to his women? Or should a man be as promiscuous as possible to fertilize all those women with good genes? Which on you choose, it is your decision.

We're both rock stars!

Look at rock stars. They have all the women. It's virtually unlimited. There are women yelling at rock stars. Women are struggling, competing with one another, for a mating opportunity with those precious rock stars. It's a never-ending fight with jealousy, envy, and money. Women just can't get enough of those precious men. It's like that they are fiercely competing for their attention.

Look, just look at the media. There are many celebrities that women worship. That women follow, in every area of their life. They stalk them. They film every action they do. Almost every thing a celebrity does, it is revealed to the public. Things like "privacy" is non-existent to celebrities. This, as you may know, seems unfair to those celebrities. But hey, if they can pass on their genes to virtually unlimited women, they shouldn't care about privacy at all. After all, reproduction the utmost importance to the man. Everything else is supplementary.

Not only should celebrities they not worry about privacy, they shouldn't worry about intelligence, too. Celebrities should be happy even if they are unintelligent. After all, if celebrities can fertilize unlimited women, they shouldn't worry about their intelligence. Look, as long as they reproduce as much as possible, then things like "privacy" or "intelligence" for them would have no use in increasing their reproductive strategies.

And, hey, look at all those businessmen. They have all the power, they control more resources than almost all other men control, and get all the girls. Why is that? Why are business men so sexy? Isn't because women have an instinct for gold-digging? No. No way.

Let's look at a rich man. A rich man has a high-status job. Usually, he is in the managerial/executive positions. Women like those men, because they have power over other men. Power of their subordinates, power over telling their employees what they do. So what's going on now? It's the power that women desire, and not their money. It's the power that they control more resources than other men. It's the power that they can purchase anything that they want, without going poor. It's sort of like "purchasing power", you know? Every heard of that term in economics? Yes.

So their "purchasing power" and control over their subordinates is what makes those men attractive. Also, those rich men also have "authority," which means that lots and lots of men look up to them. Respect their decisions. And never questions their choices that they make. This is a symbol of leadership, and dominance: not being afraid to tell other people what to do, and then people came respecting their decrees. (Not necessarily kissing their asses, but leadership by example.)

While the poor man has to work for another person, the rich men has people working for them. While the poor man is subordinate, the rich man is dominant over their employees. It's like a dominance hierarchy. First you have poor people being obedient to their rich bosses. And then you have the rich bosses controlling their less wealthy employees. See what this resembles? This perfectly resembles the pecking order of our ancestors. With the poor men being submissive. And the rich men being dominant. And this, is the reason why women like rich men.

Women are not power-hungry whores. They are not gold-diggers. They are just sexually attracted to rich men and athletic men. Those are the men who are more likely to have the highest quality genes. Those are the men who are deemed the most successful (which is reproduction-wise) during the Stone Age. So chill out. We all are the offspring of those rich ancestors. So chill out. And get off your arrogant podium. Thank you.

The faux business man: The perfect companion for the woman in faux fur.

So we now have the "faux businessman." Let's imagine a faux business man in a business suit. He's a poser. He looks like a business man, but he's not. He's just wearing a suit to get girls. All of them.

Really, but suits don't have a much luxurious look to it as suits did in the past. Look in the past: Suits are very expensive in the past. But suits aren't expensive right now. People can just buy a 100% wool suit at $200. That's what I found at 2011. So suits aren't an indicator of wealth as they used to be in the past. This may partially explain why suits are appearing less and less common: they are becoming a worthless indicator of wealth: you can just buy a polyester suit at $50 or a wool suit for $200. So even poor people can afford to wear a suit. So wearing a suit does not signify wealth as they used to be.

People are purchasing clothing which are more "designer-branded" rather than clothing made with a luxurious material, such as wool or linen. Even those wool trousers became an "old man's garment." That's what will happen as wool and silk becomes cheaper and cheaper with technology. People just don't think those materials are an indicator of your financial status anymore, so people will stop wearing them. So they instead chose "designer-brand clothing" which is a more accurate indicator of your economic rank.

Men wore suits in the past, but now they do not.

The sad thing is that people will continue to wear clothing. People won't be naked as they would be in their past. Bad luck. Bad luck. We won't be seeing any attractive women around anymore. That's because they wear clothing. Bad luck Bad luck.

That trend towards more "designer-label" clothing rather than luxurious materials will continue. Until leather Oxford shoes will became an "old-mans shoe" and eradicated. Until all khaki and wool trousers become replaced with those designer-brand sweatpants. Okay, sweatpants are not trendy right now. But they could become trendy after. Sure, sweat pants may look cheap. They may look like clothing that homeless people wear. But so are jeans. You know, jeans were originally worn by only laborers. But jeans became "adopted" as fashionable article of clothing as more and more celebrities wear them. So if jeans are "adopted" as a fashionable garment, then why not sweatpants?

Disclaimer: This post was intended to be a joke, and I do not advocate everything which is said here.

Bloody Urine (Again)

2010-10-20T23:32:00.000-07:00

I found out that I had bloody urine last night. I had a dinner of a little white rice with salted eggs and duck. No sweet potatoes. Not much fruits. And I saw I had reddish urine one or two hours later.

Later, I became very thirsty and drinking water won't help. So I eat three tangerines and I felt better and more hydrated. Before sleep, I had a banana.

I tried to eat duck at that time, but the duck tasted too salty. Even during tasting it, I immediately felt the sensation that I have to urinate. I also felt pain in my kidneys a little.

But during sleep, I had a few seizure-like symptoms. When I started to fell asleep, my body suddenly starts shaking for one or two seconds and my heart starts racing. Then I woke up. This happened a few times. But it got better within a few hours.

I had those seizure-like symptoms a few times before in China, so I'm not worried.

Perhaps I ate less fruits during the day? Indeed, I didn't any many fruits, because I had gone out shopping. Perhaps because I ate a lunch which contained too little protein and fructose and too much starch? So it may be because I had hypoglycemia due to too little protein and fructose to stimulate glucagon. I indeed became very shaky and tense two hours after dinner.

Lunch was a regular lunch with a normal amount of salt and stuff. I didn't feel the need to urinate even though it contained a normal amount of salt. Dinner was again a normal amount of salt but without sweet potatoes and fruit, and just white rice. So perhaps I should replace white rice with sweet potatoes so I will feel better.

I feel better with a diet lower in glucose, and higher in protein and fructose. That reduces my urination. So I'm sticking with this.

How to End Procrastion Rant

2010-10-02T01:59:00.001-07:00

You know, it's difficult to do productive work when you're feeling ill and painful. It's like having constant pain, but trying to focus on doing work, rather than letting the pain distract you. If you try not to focus on the pain, the pain will creep behind you. Trying to get haunt you. Trying to nag you. Trying to get your attention, rather than paying attention to the work itself.

It's difficult to do work, efficiently and effectively. If your work is a tedious and laborious job, and you know that you will be rewarded after, then you probably will do it. It's risk free.

But things are not the same if you do open-ended tasks. Tasks which involve creativity. Tasks which involve randomness, ingenuity, and preservation. Tasks without a deadline, which can be completed in any time, depending how creative you are. How determined you are. And how passionate you are.

These open-ended tasks are a difficult challenge. They are so difficult to complete when you're stressed. In fact, a researcher named Chris Masterjohn has explored this kind of procrastination. He had seen rats which are stressed. Stressed rats have a difficult time exploring new things. Stressed rats will stay in their cage.

In addition, there's another thing called "time preference." Time preference is how you prioritize getting rewards sooner rather than later. If you have "low time preference", you like to postpone rewards into the future. If you have "high time preference", however, you like to receive immediate short-term rewards. So if you're investing, then it's good to have a low time-preference, since you sacrifice short-term pain for long-term pleasure.

Stressed rats have a higher time preference. So they have a tendency to procrastinate and receive instant gratification, rather than work and delaying their gratification.

Another researcher named Ray Peat has also explored this phenomenon. He showed studies in which serotonin causes rats to hide rather than explore. This is known as "learned helplessness."

Personally, I procrastinate a lot. As you have seen, I write in my blog that I don't feel well a lot of times. But still I post nonsensical comments on other people's blogs. Why do I do that? This is because I check my email, read my newsfeeds, and check my read the news EVERY FIVE MINUTES. Yes, every five minutes, I do this rather than working. So this is a major distraction from my work.

Why do I do that? I do that I don't feel well at that time, and don't expect to feel well in the future. I sometimes remain very thirsty, but drinking water will not help, because I just urinate it all out. But eating fruit while drinking water sometimes help to keep me hydrated, for some reason.

Coupled with the pain of doing the work, along with the thirst that I expect to feel while doing that work, I somehow "predicted" that I will experience both of these pains during the entire duration of my work. I added up the pain from doing work, and the pain from experiencing thirsty while doing the work. As I evaluated the "sum" of those pains, it came out horrible. I just cannot imagine the thought of doing work while remaining thirsty for the whole time. So then my brain tells me that it's "not worth it" to experience that large amount of pain while doing the work. So I gave up and did some short-term gratification like reading my newsfeeds, rather than working.

So I must figure out that the only way to restrict procrastination is to convince myself that I will not experience any additional stressors for the whole time while working. The only way to convince myself that this will be the case is if I can figure out a method to keep me feeling hydrated rather than frequently feeling thirsty. So then I will not give up working because I know that the only pain is working and there will not be additional pain of thirtiness while working.

Other stressors include muscle cramps, shakiness two hours after meals, and feeling tense two hours after meals. I improved it by eating less starch during my meals, and by eating fruits when I feel these sensations of shakiness. I still will work on it and see if there's a solution...

Some Personal Observations

2010-09-28T07:19:00.000-07:00

You may get bored of reading my personal rants, but let me post a few personal observations.

I used to have trouble getting out of bed. Now, I get out of bed easily, and have a big appetite. Maybe it's because the weather is getting cooler here, so I'm functioning better. I don't know.

I tend to have kidney pain if I ate too much salt with my meals. But eating more potatoes and vegetables curbs my kidney pain. Is it the potassium that lets my kidneys to function better? I don't know.

I noticed that at exactly two and a half hours after dinner, I suddenly have the urge to urinate. I do urinate more after dinner, but the rate of urination suddenly increases at exactly two and a half hours later. Is it caused by hypoglycemia two and a half hours after dinner? I don't know. But what I do know is that hypoglycemia increases cortisol. And high cortisol causes sodium retention and potassium excretion. Is cortisol causing me to excrete too much potassium at that time? Does that explain my increased urination? I don't know.

After two and a half hours of dinner, I get really thirsty. Drinking more water doesn't help, because I realized that I would just urinate it all out. So drinking more water at that time will be detrimental, and possibly dangerous because of water poisoning. In fact, that was EXACTLY the same thing that I did before I went to the emergency room for water poisoning. Enough said.

At those times, I have tried to eat a salty meal along with water, but that doesn't help. It caused my kidney pain, several times. In fact, I was shocked to found out that I suddenly urinated out all my water, and my urine had a tinge of redness. That happened two days ago.

Will orange juice help? Never tried it at that time. I will try to buy orange juice and see. Coconut water is another possibility.

I would like to thank Hans at Beyond Paleo for mentioning a study that a potassium deficiency will induce urination. Orange juice has potassium, so I will experiment with that.

It would be REALLY interesting if I can get a blood glucose meter. I would like to see if it's really insulin resistance.

Finally, I found grass-fed beef in China! Then I realized that many of the cows in China are fed grass rather than corn, because corn isn't subsidized in China as in the United States.

In China, pork is the predominant type of meat. Pork is so popular here that "meat" and "pork" are almost synonyms. If you say "meat", then the they will immediately think you want pork. So it's harder to find beef here in China. In many places which sell pork, no one would sell beef.

People are so fearful of fats that they cut out all of the fat, and throw them out. But that's good news, because I probably can get fatty beef for free!

I can speak Chinese, but I can't read it well. So it will be difficult for me to travel and buy the things that I want.

Ruining My Kidneys

2010-09-21T17:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, and the day before yesterday, I think I ate a lot of salt, because I craved it and felt bad. But once I ate some fruits and vegetables, my salt craving was gone. This does NOT mean that I should restrict my salt intake. I don't want to experience what I had done in the past.

Another thing is that I ate salty meals before I go to bed. That helps me from getting up and urinating at night. So it reduces my urination to some extent.

But in the back of my mind, I always had an idea that something is wrong with this. If I ate a salty meal before bed, then my back near the kidneys hurt. I would also see a tint of redness in my urine. This is unlike the dark yellow color of urine when I'm dehydrated. So a salty meal before bedtime may be damaging my kidneys.

Therefore, I will try to eat a little less salt. But this will cause me to urinate more at night. It's a catch-22.

The only safe solution is to restrict my starch intake, so I wouldn't urinate too much.

Ever since I moved to China, I was "coerced" to up my starch intake. This isn't because I don't have the money—I have the money. This is because I can't find any fat in the farmers' market or in the grocery store. Maybe I hadn't looked enough.

Maybe because I have social anxiety, and I just don't want to search for more places to buy fatty foods. (I have mild social anxiety. But this isn't an excuse for me not to go out and ask strangers to buy stuff. I know I should interact with strangers more, so I can expose myself and get used to it. But I don't know how to start. My whole family doesn't want me to go outside without their guidance because they're worried that I will get lost or can't find my way. (Or maybe I'm rationalizing! Am I using my controlling grandparents as an excuse not to interact with strangers??? After all, they don't have absolute "control" over me. Not as much as my mom.))

I can shop online, but, sadly, I don't have a bank account. I can tell my mom to buy stuff, but I must get her permission.

On average, I eat about 400 grams of carbohydrates daily. This was more than what I ate before I had moved to China.

I will now try to replace some of my carbohydrate intake with fat. I'm trying to reduce my carbohydrate intake to 200-250 grams initially, and up it as I heal.

Yes, I found that my kidneys don't hurt if I ate a fatty meal.

It's proven that fatty acids are stored in fat tissue. But the half-life of PUFAs is two years. So I must be careful, as a priority, during this healing process so I will not damage anything while doing it.

I know my writing sounds like it's written by a third-grader (no offense to third-graders), but my style of writing depends on my mood. When I don't feel well, I don't write well. Enough said.

Butter/Ghee vs Coconut Oil vs Tallow (Rambling)

2010-09-11T05:53:00.000-07:00

Butter/Ghee is more nutritious than coconut oil. They contain fat-soluble vitamins, conjugated linoleic acid, gamma linolenic acid, dihomo-gamma linolenic acid, arachiadonic acid, DHA and EPA. But coconut oil contains only its precursors - linoleic and alpha-linolenic acid. So coconut oil is less nutritious in terms of fat-soluble vitamins and fatty acids.

Despite this, coconut oil has an advantage in terms of the antiviral, antimicrobial, and antifungal properties of its lauric acid content. In addition, its short and medium-chain triglycerides helps speed up the metabolism by the means of competitive inhibition of the polyunsaturated free fatty acids.

When it comes to total PUFA content, they make little difference. Butter/Ghee is 4% PUFA, while coconut oil is 2% PUFA. Since the PUFAs are spatially separated, they can't do much in terms of oxidizability (Ray Peat hypothesized this in his coconut oil article).

Grass-fed tallow has a nutritional profile similar to butter. It also has a similar fatty acid profile to butter - about 67% saturated, and 30% monounsaturated.

One misconception is that the cholesterol in butter and tallow will be oxidized during cooking. However, it's untrue because the more stable saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids will protect the cholesterol from being oxidized. So enjoy your butter/ghee and tallow!

One concern is that butter and tallow has a monounsaturated content of 30%, which is higher than coconut oil - which only 6% are MUFAs. MUFAs are less stable than saturated fats, so they will cause more oxidative stress. But I don't know how stable monounsaturated fatty acids are, so I can't give your any opinion.

But the big picture is that coconut oil, tallow, and butter are excellent cooking oils that comparing them makes so little difference when compared to the toxic polyunsaturated oils (which I'm currently consuming "in average quantities").

Butter (grass-fed) is the most expensive, at $6 per pound. Coconut oil is the second most expensive, at $2-3 per pound. But tallow is the cheapest by far - I heard that you can even get it for free in some places where the demand for animal fat is low.

Saturated Fats are Good (Warning: Low Quality Post)

2010-09-11T05:48:00.000-07:00

It's pretty much common sense that we can synthesize saturated fats from starch. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't have adequate intake of saturated fat from the foods we eat.

We need saturated fats to properly absorb fat-soluble vitamins. For instance, it's important to eat foods high in beta carotene with a saturated fat. Saturated fat is required for your body to convert the beta carotene into vitamin A.

Saturated fats are essential for the absorption of essential fatty aids. Consumption of foods high in essential fatty acids should be paired with a saturated fat. For example, there are fish-eating cultures in which people eat their fish with a saturated fat source such as coconut oil or lard. In this way, the essential fatty acids will be properly utilized as saturated fats protect against the peroxidation of essential fatty acids within our body.

In addition, saturated fats help protect against the peroxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids. So saturated fats are the ideal for cooking, as they don't oxidize at high temperatures, as olive oil will do.

Saturated fats can also protect your liver against toxins such as alcohol and polyunsaturated fatty acids. They do this by pretecting the peroxidation of PUFAs within your body. In the liver, saturated fats help to reduce liver disease by protecting against their peroxidation. In fact, it's important to eat a saturated fat when you drink alcohol to reduce liver damage.

Besides reducing your oxidative stress, saturated fats can also protect you against chemical toxins, such as industrial pollutants and heavy metals. They help reduce the absorption of those toxins within your digestive tract.

The short- and medium-chain fatty acids have mitochondria-stimulating functions. They can speed up your metabolism.

The lauric acid found in coconut oil have antimicrobial and antifungal properties which can boost the immune system.

Those are some reasons why saturated fat consumption is needed, despite that we can synthesize saturated fat from starch. So you should consume at least some saturated fat if you are eating a very-low fat diet. The saturated fat in you coconut oil or tallow that you use to cook your food with is enough. So my comment may be a waste of time for those who are on a very-low fat diet already using coconut oil or lard for cooking.

Skin Whitening Products: Mental and Physical Degeneration

2010-04-29T21:49:00.000-07:00

The use of some skin whitening creams, unusually popular amongst Asian women, ^[1] ^[2] has detrimental effects toward IQ. Skin whitening products, often contain toxic chemicals that affect the nervous system such as hydroquinone or mercury as the active ingredient. ^[3] ^[4] ^[5] ^[6] ^[7] A major portion skin whitening products, especially popular sold in stores around Asia, have been criticized by many, such as the FDA, for the presence of these toxic chemicals. ^[8] ^[9] ^[10]

When applied, mercury and hydroquinone absorbs through the skin into bloodstream. Studies shown that an increase in 100 micrograms of mercury in blood decreases IQ by an average of 14 points in children. The effects of mercury poisoning and hydroquinone poisoning have produced mental and physical disorders, such as autism, low verbal IQ, and low social intelligence, caused by the use of mercury-containing and hydroquinone-containing cosmetic products, including skin-whitening products. ^[11] ^[12] ^[13] ^[14] Thus, the IQs tested from Asians, might not measure their "potential" IQs because of mercury and hydroquinone poisoning from skin whitening products. The use of skin whitening products is especially popular in Hong Kong, ^[15] which is the nation with the highest average IQ (the average IQ is 107).^[16] However, a majority of products sold there are cited by Hong Kong officials to contain mercury as its active ingredient, often a whopping 27,000 to 60,000 times the "acceptable" dose. ^[15] Skin whitening products, which a majority sold in Asian nations contain mercury or hydroquinone, are also very harmful to the brain development of fetuses in pregnant women. ^[17] ^[18] ^[19] ^[20] ^[21]

Besides the effects on the brain, skin whiteners generally contain carcinogens, cause kidney failure and even death.^[7]

Effects of skin whiteners can be evidenced by the strong autism rate in Japan, occurring approximately 2 out of 100 births. ^[22] Some research has suggested that exposure to mercury can cause autism in fetuses and children. ^[12] ^[23] Therefore, studies have suggested that topical Hg-based skin creams, such as skin whiteners and infant teething powders, can cause autism due to its mercury content. ^[12] ^[24]

Effects of skin whiteners can also be evidenced by studies that found relatively low verbal IQ scores of Japanese children, compared to their high spatial IQ. (Lynn, 2006, pp. 121-148) Since mercury lowers verbal IQ, ^[12] the comparatively low verbal IQ of Japanese people might be caused by skin whiteners (the verbal IQ of Japanese is 101.4, still slightly higher than white average of 100^[25]). Also the high Autism Spectrum Quotient of Japanese people might also be caused by skin whitening products. ^[26]

References

^ In a survey, 28% of Koreans and 50% of Philippians say that they use skin whitening products. Skin lightening in Asia? A bright future?, http://www.synovate.com/knowledge/infact/issues/200406/
^ "Glamour at a price in Asia". http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/05/01/news/skin.php.
^ Counter, S. Allen (Dec 16, 2003), Whitening skin can be deadly, The Boston Globe, http://www.boston.com/news/globe/health_science/articles/2003/12/16/whitening_skin_can_be_deadly/
^ Heyward, Georgia (Feb 5, 2005), New York City Warns: Some Skin Creams Are Poisonous, The Epoch Times, http://en.epochtimes.com/news/5-2-5/26302.html
^ Mercury in Cosmetic Skin Whitening Creams, http://www.hgtech.com/Data/Other/Hg%20Cream.htm
^ "The Emerging Skin-Whitening Industry". http://www.counterpunch.org/mire07282005.html.
^ ^a ^b "Self-hatred leads to skin bleaching". http://www.thestatesmanonline.com/pages/news_detail.php?section=7&newsid=3866.
^ FDA Proposes Hydroquinone Ban, http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=64167 FDA bans hydroquinone in skin whitening products
^ Skin-lightening creams face FDA ban: Dermatologists defend treatment, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20070128/ai_n17159064 FDA bans hydroquinone in skin whitening products
^ Nyc Health Dept. Warns Against Use Of "Skin-Lightening" Creams Containing Mercury Or Similar Products Which Do Not List Ingredients, Jan 27, 2005, http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/pr/pr008-05.shtml
^ Skin Lightening, http://www.cosmeticscop.com/learn/article.asp?PAGETYPE=ART&REFER=SKIN&ID=25 Article that links skin whitening products to mercury and hydroquinone
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Countera, S. Allen; Leo H. Buchanan. Mercury exposure in children: a review. http://www.state.nj.us/health/eoh/cehsweb/kiddiekollege/documents/counter04_mercuryexpochildren.pdf.
^ Clarkson; Thomas, Magos, Laszlo. The Toxicology of Mercury and Its Chemical Compounds. http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/tandf/btxc/2006/00000036/00000008/art00001?crawler=true.
^ Mahaffey, Kathryn R., Dynamics of Mercury Pollution on Regional and Global Scales, http://www.springerlink.com/content/w245027uu23r4381/
^ ^a ^b Bray, Marianne, SKIN DEEP: Dying to be white, CNN, http://edition.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/asiapcf/east/05/13/asia.whitening/
^ Lynn, R. and Vanhanen, T. (2002). IQ and the wealth of nations. Westport, CT: Praeger. ISBN 0-275-97510-X
^ Asian Skin Tanning Article, http://www.chinatownconnection.com/asian_skin_tanning.htm An argument that links skin whitening products to the development of the brain of a fetus of pregnant Asian women, both mercury and hydroquinone. Therefore it is not WP:SYN
^ Mercury Fact Sheet, http://www.zeromercury.org/fact_sheet/index.htm Another argument that links skin whitening products to the development of the brain of a fetus of pregnant Asian women. Therefore it is not WP:SYN
^ Does Low Mercury Containing In-Lightening Cream (Fair & Lovely) Effect The Kidney, Liver, And Brain Of Female Mice?, http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a713930964~db=all Another argument that links skin whitening products to the development of the brain of a fetus of pregnant Asian women, both mercury and hydroquinone. Therefore it is not WP:SYN
^ Yang MG, Krawford KS, Garcia JD, Wang JH, Lei KY (1972). "Deposition of mercury in fetal and maternal brain". Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 141 (3): 1004-7. PMID 4645746.
^ Shafiq-ur-Rehman, Rehman S, Chandra O, Abdulla M (1995). "Evaluation of malondialdehyde as an index of lead damage in rat brain homogenates". Biometals 8 (4): 275-9. PMID 7580048.
^ Honda H, Shimizu Y, Misumi K, Niimi M, Ohashi Y (1996). "Cumulative incidence and prevalence of childhood autism in children in Japan". The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science 169 (2): 228-35. PMID 8871801.
^ Nelson, Karin B.; Margaret L. Bauman. Thimerosal and Autism?. doi:10.1542/peds.111.3.674. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/111/3/674.
^ Zahir, Farhana. Low dose mercury toxicity and human health. doi:10.1016/j.etap.2005.03.007.
^ Lynn, R. (2006). Race differences in intelligence: An evolutionary analysis. Augusta: Washington Summit Publishers.
^ Wakabayashi A, Tojo Y, Baron-Cohen S, Wheelwright S (2004). "The Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) Japanese version: evidence from high-functioning clinical group and normal adults" (in Japanese). Shinrigaku kenkyu : The Japanese journal of psychology 75 (1): 78-84. PMID 15724518.

Why are Asian People Short?

2010-04-27T19:29:00.000-07:00

East Asian people, who appear to be stereotypically shorter, have been increasing their average height relatively quickly through dietary improvements, as seen in nations such as South Korea and the People's Republic of China. ^[1] ^[2]^[3] ^[4] ^[5] Cultural influences, such as malnutrition and differences in diet, still prevalent in developing nations such as North Korea and the People's Republic of China, decrease the overall Asian growth rate. ^[6] ^[7] ^[8]

The short stature of East Asians may be contributed by micronutrient deficiency in developing nations or even consuming Asian diets in developed Western nations. These kind of malnutrition ^[9] such as low calcium intake partially due to lactose intolerance in 90% of their adult population, ^[10] ^[11] ^[12]^[13] limited consumption of protein, calories,^[14] ^[15]iron,^[16]^[17]^[18] vitamin A,^[19] reduced vitamin D, partially from their nutrition; and also from their darker skin that synthesize vitamin D at a slower rate than whites, ^[20]^[21] iodine, ^[22] ^[23] ^[24] ^[25] ^[26]^[27] amongst many other nutritional deficiencies. Other factors, such as the consumption of large quantities of soy products which contains isoflavone may reduce growth rate.^[28] ^[29] zinc,^[30]^[31] amongst many other nutritional deficiencies. Other factors, such as the consumption of large quantities of soy products which contains isoflavone may reduce growth rate.^[32]^[33]^[34]^[35]^[36] ^[37] Schools in The PRC is giving students soy milk. ^[38] Also, the Asian diet does not promote as much testosterone as Western diets do. ^[39] Consumption of white rice, the most popular staple food amongst Asians, and refined noddles and bread, can lead to micronutrient deficiency. ^[40] The consumption of white rice instead of whole grains, can also instigate a sudden increase of insulin production, which causes hormone imbalance and reduces growth hormones. ^[40]

Other factors such as their culture that devalues exercise ^[41]^[42] and calorie deficiency, and the Great Leap Forward that plausibly created famines, stunted the growth of many Chinese people. Fluoride poisoning and other environmental conditions, which have affects including growth stunting, and affect millions of East Asians. ^[43] ^[44] ^[45] ^[46]

East Asian cultures value white skin. ^[47] Many of the Asians often avoid participating in sports to avoid being tanned. ^[48] Therefore, they will not grow tall due to the lack of exercise and vitamin D defiency from avoiding the sun. ^[49] ^[41] Skin whiteners, which are unusually popular amongst Asians, contain toxic chemicals such as mercury or hydroquinone as the active ingredient, stunts growth of Asians including fetuses in pregnant women. ^[50]^[51]

Lactose intolerance only affects 2% of Swedish and 5% of Northern European adults and whites have the highest vitamin D intake. Thus, studies hypothesized that this might be an explanation for their relatively tall height.^[52] ^[53]^[54]^[55]

References

^ "By the time the baby boomers reached adulthood in the 1960s, most northern and western European countries had caught up with and surpassed the United States. Young adults in Japan and other prosperous Asian countries now stand nearly as tall as Americans do." American diet may explain height
^ "Calcium deficiencies is also very common, and is thought to be one of the reason for shorter stature of some Asian populations, such as Vietnam and Laos compared to their counterparts in other Asian countries such as Singapore and Taiwan."
^ Human nutrition in the developing world, http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/W0073e/w0073e00.htm
^ Effects of famine: Short stature evident in North Korean generation (2004) The Seattle Times
^ North Korea is failing to meet growth target (2004) Guardian Unlimited
^ Jiang Y (2006). "Effect of B vitamins-fortified foods on primary school children in Beijing". Asia Pac J Public Health 18 (2): 21-5. PMID 16883966.
^ Asians, Diet of
^ Kaiser, Ann P.. The Effects of Poverty on Parenting Young Children. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0161-956X(1996)71%3A4%3C66%3ATEOPOP%3E2.0.CO%3B2-%23.
^ Jiang Y (2006). "Effect of B vitamins-fortified foods on primary school children in Beijing". Asia Pac J Public Health 18 (2): 21-5. PMID 16883966.
^ Kerry, A. Jackson, Lactose Maldigestion, Calcium Intake and Osteoporosis in African-, Asian-, and Hispanic-Americans, http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/abstract/130/2/272S
^ Wang YG, Yan YS, Xu JJ, et al (1984). "Prevalence of primary adult lactose malabsorption in three populations of northern China". Hum. Genet. 67 (1): 103-6. PMID 6235167.
^ Enattah N, Sahi T, Savilahti E, Terwilliger J, Peltonen L, Järvelä I (2002). "Identification of a variant associated with adult-type hypolactasia". Nat Genet 30 (2): 233-7. PMID 11788828.
^ Lactose Intolerance: The Molecular Explanation, UC Davis Nutritional Genomics website
^ Energy Balance: Interpretation of Data from Rural China, http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Nov98/thermogenesis_paper.html
^ Position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada: Vegetarian diets, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3961/is_200307/ai_n9239758/pg_6
^ Zhu Y, Liao Q (2004). "Prevalence of iron deficiency in children aged 7 months to 7 years in China". Zhonghua Er Ke Za Zhi 42 (12): 886-91. PMID 15733354.
^ Yang F, Ma A, Zhang X, Jiang D (2006). "Status of vitamin A, vitamin B2, iron and an-oxidantive activity in anemic pregnant women in China". Wei Sheng Yan Jiu 35 (3): 320-2. PMID 16921759.
^ Georgieff M (2007). "Nutrition and the developing brain: nutrient priorities and measurement". Am J Clin Nutr 85 (2): 614S-620S. PMID 17284765.
^ Jiang J, Toschke A, von Kries R, Koletzko B, Lin L (2006). "Vitamin A status among children in China". Public Health Nutr 9 (8): 955-60. PMID 17125556.
^ Vitamin D supplements for Asian kids, say researchers. Nutraingredients.com, Europe: Health Condition News, August 31 2006
^ Asian Children Should Receive Vitamin D Supplements For Two Years From Birth, Medical News Today, September 1 2006
^ Consensus statement on iodine deficiency disorders in Hong Kong. http://www.hkmj.org/article_pdfs/hkm0312p446.pdf.
^ Mild iodine deficiency and thyroid disorders in Hong Kong, http://www.hkmj.org/article_pdfs/hkm0112p414.pdf
^ Heywood P, Marks G (1993). "Nutrition and health in South-East Asia". Med J Aust 159 (2): 133-7. PMID 8336591.
^ DONALD, McNEIL (December 16), "In Raising the World’s I.Q., the Secret’s in the Salt", The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/16/health/16iodine.html?ex=1177992000&en=f46e244ab67df1d0&ei=5070
^ Seshadri S. "Prevalence of micronutrient deficiency particularly of iron, zinc and folic acid in pregnant women in South East Asia". Br J Nutr 85 Suppl 2: S87-92. PMID 11509095.
^ Chen X, Wang W, Yan H, Yin T, Xu Q. "Studies on iron deficiency anemia, rickets and zinc deficiency and their prevention among Chinese preschool children". Prog Food Nutr Sci 16 (4): 263-77. PMID 1492154.
^ Fritz W, Wang J, Eltoum I, Lamartiniere C (2002). "Dietary genistein down-regulates androgen and estrogen receptor expression in the rat prostate". Mol. Cell. Endocrinol. 186 (1): 89-99. PMID 11850125.
^ Vitamin D Intake: A Global Perspective of Current Status. http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/135/2/310.
^ Seshadri S. "Prevalence of micronutrient deficiency particularly of iron, zinc and folic acid in pregnant women in South East Asia". Br J Nutr 85 Suppl 2: S87-92. PMID 11509095.
^ Chen X, Wang W, Yan H, Yin T, Xu Q. "Studies on iron deficiency anemia, rickets and zinc deficiency and their prevention among Chinese preschool children". Prog Food Nutr Sci 16 (4): 263-77. PMID 1492154.
^ Fritz W, Wang J, Eltoum I, Lamartiniere C (2002). "Dietary genistein down-regulates androgen and estrogen receptor expression in the rat prostate". Mol. Cell. Endocrinol. 186 (1): 89-99. PMID 11850125.
^ McVey M, Cooke G, Curran I (2004). "Increased serum and testicular androgen levels in F1 rats with lifetime exposure to soy isoflavones". Reprod. Toxicol. 18 (5): 677-85. PMID 15219630.
^ MacArthur, John "Soy and the Brain," The Weston A. Price Foundation for Wise Traditions, April 28, 2004
^ Fallon, Sally & Enig, Mary G. Soy: The Dark Side of America's Favorite 'Health' Food, The Weston A. Price Foundation for Wise Traditions, February 2004
^ Rutz, The Big Picture: Soy is making kids 'gay', WorldNetDaily, Dec. 2006.
^ Position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada: Vegetarian diets, http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3961/is_200307/ai_n9239758/pg_7
^ Soybean Milk Plan to Be Promoted in Schools, People's Daily, http://english.people.com.cn/english/200004/05/eng20000405_38343.html
^ Suhana N, Sutyarso, Moeloek N, Soeradi O, Sri Sukmaniah S, Supriatna J (1999). "The effects of feeding an Asian or Western diet on sperm numbers, sperm quality and serum hormone levels in cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) injected with testosterone enanthate (TE) plus depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA)". Int. J. Androl. 22 (2): 102-12. PMID 10194642.
^ ^a ^b Nutrition and fitness: Carbohydrates, Sugar, and Your Child, http://www.uhhospitals.org/tabid/390/newsid/40420/Default.aspx
^ ^a ^b How We Grew So Big, http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501041108/story.html
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