Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Selenium Cola and HIV
We know HIV is bad for you. That's rather obvious - it causes all kinds of nastiness. One of the big problems facing those with HIV is the virus' ability to mutate at astounding rates, and thus rapidly develop resistance to any treatments thrown its way. An experimental drug, etravirine, may provide needed relief in this area: resistant patients treated with approved antiviral drugs and etravirine seem to have lowered their viral loads much more than those on antivirals alone. Granted, this data is from a pharmaceutical company's press release, with no publication cited, but we can hope the effects are real.
While everyone knows HIV is bad, most people are aware that drinking lots of cola is probably not good for them. Unfortunately, an article in the July issue of the journal Epidemiology suggests that folks who drink more than two servings of cola per day (that's less than one of those 20-oz bottles!) had a higher risk of chronic kidney disease. The culprit seems to be cola's characteristic phosphoric acid, as other sodas and caffeinated drinks didn't show similar effects.
Finally, you probably thought that Selenium was good for you. Health food stores and "dietary supplement" companies have been touting it for years as a miracle for everything from cancer to obesity and beyond. Unfortunately, what looks like a pretty robust clinical trial has found that selenium supplementation appears to be linked to higher risk of diabetes. Granted, this result comes from secondary analysis, but still it should serve as a warning: we don't really know what all those "supplements" do to our bodies.
While everyone knows HIV is bad, most people are aware that drinking lots of cola is probably not good for them. Unfortunately, an article in the July issue of the journal Epidemiology suggests that folks who drink more than two servings of cola per day (that's less than one of those 20-oz bottles!) had a higher risk of chronic kidney disease. The culprit seems to be cola's characteristic phosphoric acid, as other sodas and caffeinated drinks didn't show similar effects.
Finally, you probably thought that Selenium was good for you. Health food stores and "dietary supplement" companies have been touting it for years as a miracle for everything from cancer to obesity and beyond. Unfortunately, what looks like a pretty robust clinical trial has found that selenium supplementation appears to be linked to higher risk of diabetes. Granted, this result comes from secondary analysis, but still it should serve as a warning: we don't really know what all those "supplements" do to our bodies.
Labels: AIDS, antiviral, cola, diabetes, diet, drugs, health, HIV, kidney, renal disease, selenium, supplements
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Staying Healthy
A treadmill-desk?? It's an idea that would probably benefit me as much as anyone - I often have to stop working and go walk, at least around the office if not outside, to regain my focus and release pent-up stress energy, but I doubt it'll ever catch on except for among the very wealthy.
NEAT sounds great, as long as you don't have to multi-task. I suppose that there are many people whose jobs can be done entirely on a computer, but all of mine have involved the need to have various books and papers handy as well. I just don't see jumping off and on a treadmill - especially during a client-phone call - as a realistic option. Especially because research indicates that we humans are not as good at multitasking as we think we are!
And, because I'm a bit brain-addled today, some quick-links:
- Yet another coalition has proposed a tax-break based health insurance plan. Tax-break based plan are just smoke and mirrors - when someone wants to sound like they're making an effort, it's what they propose. These plans only help the rich, who can afford out-of-pocket costs, never the poor, who need help.
- Alzheimer's vaccine patch shows promise in mice. Previous attacks on beta-amyloid have had severe autoimmune side-effects, but hopefully this will be different. I can't imagine why it would be, though.
- Selenium supplements may help lower HIV viral load. Cool!
- No drug, no pain cavity care? Please let this work!
- Sterilize your sponges in the microwave. Duh, I thought this was obvious!
NEAT sounds great, as long as you don't have to multi-task. I suppose that there are many people whose jobs can be done entirely on a computer, but all of mine have involved the need to have various books and papers handy as well. I just don't see jumping off and on a treadmill - especially during a client-phone call - as a realistic option. Especially because research indicates that we humans are not as good at multitasking as we think we are!
And, because I'm a bit brain-addled today, some quick-links:
- Yet another coalition has proposed a tax-break based health insurance plan. Tax-break based plan are just smoke and mirrors - when someone wants to sound like they're making an effort, it's what they propose. These plans only help the rich, who can afford out-of-pocket costs, never the poor, who need help.
- Alzheimer's vaccine patch shows promise in mice. Previous attacks on beta-amyloid have had severe autoimmune side-effects, but hopefully this will be different. I can't imagine why it would be, though.
- Selenium supplements may help lower HIV viral load. Cool!
- No drug, no pain cavity care? Please let this work!
- Sterilize your sponges in the microwave. Duh, I thought this was obvious!
Labels: Alzheimers, cavities, dental, health, HIV, insurance, multitasking, NEAT, office, selenium, taxes, treadmill
