Integrity and health

Integrity – has a two part definition – 1) regarding personal characteristic the aspect of honesty and having values – 2) regarding the physical state of wholeness, the person or substance or nation is complete and undivided.

Currently there is too much division in many areas between groups of people with different beliefs. Race,  religion, science, whatever the difference there is something in common, we share one planet. Infertility is increasing in humans and in many other species. Loss of insects causes a ripple effect up the food chain as plants are not pollinated and other species don’t have adequate food either from the loss of plants or the loss of insects. Infertility treatments are a costly procedure that is becoming common enough that some governments with nationalized health insurance have to decide about paying, which then leads to a question of who deserves the treatments and how many times. Five million dollars is the cost of fertility treatments in some areas of the world and there is no guarantee that it will work. How many treatments to attempt?

My own field of work experience could be described as a fertility expert – not an infertility expert who helps people conceive, instead a counselor who helped people who already had conceived have the healthiest pregnancy possible, or counseled about preparing for a healthy pregnancy for their next child. Something I heard frequently enough to stand out in my memory was something like, “I wasn’t trying to get pregnant, I had just worked really hard to get healthier and had lost weight and was exercising and now here I am pregnant.” Tragedy for many is not being able to conceive even with a variety of interventions. (information and statistics about infertility, cdc.gov) Focusing on health first was what seemed a successful method from a retrospective point of view. Tragedy did visit some, who was likely to miscarry? Not typically those who had achieved health first. The last post suggests also that adequate iodine and thyroid function may be part of the answer.

Self respect – confidence and faith in your own abilities and value.

How can I help you,” was recommended as a valuable question to ask for leadership or business. It is helpful in many roles. People don’t want to feel coerced or manipulated and are more likely to accept or participate with plans that they have had a part in making. The flaw in overly depending on the strategy is when people don’t know what they don’t know – if they don’t know about the possibility or value in something new than how can they ask for help with it? Horseless carriages and electric light-bulbs are two inventions that people were initially skeptical about trying. Elevators initially had elevator operators to push the buttons, in part to help people feel safer about riding in the new-fangled contraption, in part because the doors were not automated. A few elevator operators still work in higher price buildings, it adds a level of security as well as a prestige service. (The Benefits of an Elevator Operator).

If I felt that I could help and didn’t I wouldn’t feel good about myself however I can only help within my ability to help and continue to take care of myself. Mothers learn that being sick is no vacation from motherhood.

My goal with writing online and trying a few different website formats is for the purpose of trying to share self care information with those who seek it out. The preventative education prenatal/early childhood program in which was very effective and to me seemed even better than the care I had received from my health insurance covered medical care. Preventative health education takes time that typical medical appointments don’t have to spare. Providing self directed educational resources online can allow adult learners to access the information that they are interested in as they need it, as they develop the interest in seeking it out – answering their own question of “How can I help myself?

The Science of Self-Care: How climate researchers are coping with the U.N. report, Eric Holthaus @EricHolthausgrist.org.

Sea-level rise and flooding is one thing, people get wet, immigrate, and create huge problems. Loss of biodiversity means the human species as a whole is threatened to disappear. No joke. This is not discussed enough in the media.” – Eric Rignot @erignotgrist.org.

/Disclaimer: This information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes./

Is Success Money? Happiness? Survival? Promoting Change?

The definition of success varies for different people. As a public health educator I always felt successful when I heard ideas I had recommended being recommended to me – smile and nod and say What a great idea, do you mind if I share that with others?

Survival with health issues or other types of crisis often means making changes to old ways of doing things. Learning what works for some people in some situations can help others in similar situations or may be the idea that leads to their own adaptation of the idea to better suit their needs. I’ve had health problems all of my life, not too severe but often effecting my daily ability to breathe or think or move comfortably. I’ve had to make many changes and recognize when something is better for me to avoid than to try. Reading about the experiences or research of others has helped me improve my own health.

Many people can have similar great ideas, thinking and trying things is free. Sharing great ideas can help increase the number of people or places benefiting from the information.

My goal for success is survival of the planet and as many of its species as possible. Tragedy is occurring too often. Wildfires are part of the natural cycle of forest growth but become more dangerous when more people live in the area. The risk of wildfires occurring in Southern California and elsewhere in the dry areas of the southwest are expected to double by 2050 with the changes occurring in climate patterns. “The risk of devastating fires in Southern California will double by 2050. Southeastern states will also see more wildfires in the coming years.”  See: 13 Dire Impacts Outlined in the New Climate Report, politicalchange.org.

  • Building or rebuilding with more disaster or wildfire resistant construction and landscaping (including a perimeter of no vegetation around the building) is a topic with more information available, some links available here: Peace is privacy and shelter from weather.  Learning from a children’s story – don’t build with straw or wood, build with brick if you want durable construction. Buildings are made with fire alarms and sprinkler systems to reduce risk of fire spreading. Watch towers are placed intermittently throughout forests with a person to watch for signs of fire. In the days of early settlers townpeople or individuals would make fire breaks around settled areas to reduce the risk of wildfires spreading into the settled area. Sod construction was messy but less of a risk for fire except for the thatched roof. (Sod House/Wikipedia) Building in floodzones risks frequent flooding, more people in those areas are building on stilts or building floating houses, or the areas are being rezoned for other construction or are being restored as wetlands which help protect nearby areas from flooding. Adapting to the changing times in advance saves money and trauma later. (Knightsen Wetland Restoration and Flood Protection Project, Balance Hydrologics)
  • Links regarding trauma and recovery here: Peace is recovering from trauma.
  • This month’s tragedy was also a previous year’s tragedy and the goal is to have better plans in place for the future as the risks increase with warmer drier weather patterns. Information about volunteering or donating money to help with the current wildfire crisis in California can be found here: (California Volunteers).
  • Ideas about improving the early warning system for wildfire risk is discussed in this article: Response to California Fires: A New Warning System?, Guy on Climate.
  • How climate change can affect wildfire risk on the west coast of the U.S. and severe snowstorm risk on the east coast at the same time is discussed in the article: Consequences of the November Dipole, Guy on Climate. It isn’t discussed in detail in that article but the air mass over the west coast is likely increasing drought (Causes of Extreme Ridges That Induce California Droughts, Journal of Climateit is complicated).

The human impact on the planet and its species is undeniable. Just how fast or how severe and whether the rate matches predictions or not is splitting hairs. The fact is extreme weather events are increasing in frequency and severity and the ocean is becoming warmer and more acidic and pollution is showing up basically everywhere on the planet that has been monitored.

Currently the air quality is not very safe for breathing in many areas of California where wildfires occurred. For my personal health it wasn’t that good to begin with in some areas. I was congested within six hours visiting the Los Angeles area – I later spent a lot of time thinking and then writing down some ideas of my own and others regarding large air purification systems: Imagining Windmills – Solar Sail Revolving Ones. I can’t think well when I don’t have clean air, let alone breathe well, or do any other activities. My favorite places to visit in California included some national forests and a shady countryside walk along a creek.  I cannot survive well in a polluted area or where it is too hot, dry and sunny. Heat adds to inflammation for people with autoimmune problems. People are unlikely to enjoy themselves if they are overheated or disoriented from bad air conditions.

Some points from previous posts about health and air quality:

  • Information about smog: (Causes and Effects of Smogconserve-energy-future.com)
  • Having adequate B vitamins which are important for all aspects of metabolism and energy production in the body may help reduce the harmful health effects of breathing smog-laden air: (Could a Daily Vitamin Curb Smog’s Health Effects? webMD.com)
  • Banning indoor smoking helps a lot. Some states have banned indoor smoking in all public places but some still allow. I’m updating this post in a location that allows it in a section of the building and the odor is obvious to me throughout the main area of the building. It is a health risk that may be worse for people who have deficiencies or metabolic differences in B vitamins such as folate and B 12 which are discussed in more detail later. Other tips for reducing formaldehyde are discussed in this post: formaldehyde-health-risks-and-environmental-and-dietary-sources/
  • Formaldehyde is a common chemical in polluted or smoky air and folate is needed to help the body detoxify and excrete formaldehyde. It may be an underlying factor in risk for autism development as housing with poor air circulation and/or some types of new vinyl flooring is associated with a greater risk for autism in the family. Other pollutants that may effect children are included in this post: environmental-toxins-and-neurodevelopmental-disorders-in-children/
  • Genetic screening might be helpful for people living in smog areas -methylation differences can leave people unable to use the common supplemental type of folate called folic acid or vitamin B12. Methylated forms of both are available or both can be found in some typically used foods but if you did have a genetic difference in ability to methylate then it is better to avoid using the supplemental folic acid or un-methylated B12. It is like filling the body with puzzle pieces that fill the receptor spots that are open but which then can’t connect properly to other pieces. The unusable forms compete with any methylated vitamin that was available from dietary sources of B12 or folate that had been eaten that day. (Selfpay, for research purposes onlygenetic screening panel that I have used – meaning it isn’t approved as a diagnostic tool that you could get your health insurance to cover or doctor to prescribe.) We need to try new strategies if we hope to get different results.

People value different things, and that is valuable and looking at different ways to do things can help us adapt to a changing world.

Experience nothing – Visit Padasjoki, Finland. (Padasjoki.fi/fi)

Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes

Climate change, ocean currents, and an ice age

As glaciers melt at the polar regions the increase in warm water that is low in salt is likely to disrupt the currents that circulate ocean waters and which keep the United Kingdom and Europe fairly warm. (Ocean currents & circulation of heat is mentioned in: Anomalous Properties of Water) Historically a large flood is now believed to have preceded a thousand year ice age on the North American continent. Read more: Scientists may have solved a huge riddle in Earth’s climate past. It doesn’t bode well for the future. washingtonpost.com/

In case visualization is helpful, the climate scenario of a change in ocean currents leading to extreme cold in Europe and New York State was made into an action movie: The Day After Tomorrow, 2004.

The daily temperature around the globe is visualized in a color coded map at the site climatereanalyzer.org.

The most critical events that are occurring for our long term well being is the effects of pollution on the atmosphere and the oceans, and other human changes to the environment that lead to desertification or concrete instead of wetlands, both of which also increase flood risk. Climate change will be a variety of changes, erratic differences in extreme temperature and weather changes. Climate: A New Story is a book published this month which looks at the earth as a whole and discusses human effects on the atmosphere, the oceans, wetlands, soil health and other factors that all interact to  create the planet as we have known it. Geologically we have had fairly stable climate for thousands of years but over the longer eons there has been series of ice ages and more warm eras. The planet will go on, the question has more to do with how many other species, including humans, will live to see the next centuries. (Interview with Charles Eisenstein, the author of Climate: A New Story, available in a brief article: kellybroganmd.com.)

This decade is the time humans as a global whole need to seriously reduce our collective use of fossil fuels and other chemicals adding to climate change such as agricultural fertilizers in order to stop the most extreme changes in the atmosphere and ocean from occurring. Many of the chemicals involved will take decades to even centuries to breakdown. (previous post, Climate change is a 100,000 year change.) The changes in how we live and work could create more jobs and be an economic stimulus. More information is available in this article: It’s now or never on climate change, according to a new report. huffingtonpost.com/

Hotter temperatures can make it more difficult to learn or work and can increase risk of ill health in the very young or old and those with chronic illness. Building for a future with more extreme changes in temperature is a task that is already needed in some areas as seen with the heat waves and drought that have occurred this summer and in recent years. (Effects of heat on students.) (Previous post with links about Passive Energy Buildings – architecture for a more sustainable future.)

We all need to be heroes – one hero is not enough for the planet. It needs all of us to pitch in and help, if only in small ways. I care about our future and it starts today – everyday. I write about a variety of topics because life is complex and I care about all of life. We only have one planet and we and it are healthier when there is diversity of plants and animals.  Significant changes in our daily habits could help:

  • use less prepackaged foods, use a refillable water bottle;
  • walk, ride a bicycle, use public transport or carpool;
  • arrange virtual meetings and webinar conferences when possible instead of onsite meetings when people live in many different regions;
  • have virtual stay-cations and learn about interesting foreign areas online while enjoying local recreation and nature getaways;
  • work with local and state government and businesses to develop green parks and walkways that support wildlife and exercise or pedestrian travelers, and plan and fund sustainable architecture and energy resources;
  • take online courses about climate change and sustainability; such as: Act on Climate: Steps to Individual, Community and Political ActionCoursera.

My concern has nothing to do with me, I am but a drop of life in comparison to all the beautiful species who share this planet.

  • Free course on developing local water sources to help meet future water needs, starts September 24, 2018, Local Water Solutions for Global Challenges, (GaiaEducation.org).

I am serious, as serious as a melting glacier, which I saw in person one summer, when I was young, on a family trip throughout Alaska. Glaciers were really big then – they still are big, but they are smaller now. Our planet is a miracle and we are blessed to have such a paradise in which to live, let’s take care of it for all of us including our great grandchildren and their great grandchildren. Let’s not sacrifice tomorrow’s world for today’s quarterly profit or today’s comfort when we could build toward a more equitable future for all. 

Disclaimer: This information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use.

Climate change is a 100,000 year change

The buildup of greenhouse gases will take hundreds (link)  to possibly hundreds of thousands of years (link) to breakdown and return the atmosphere to levels that we have been used to during our years on earth as human civilizations. The climate changes are also likely to affect the oceans for hundreds of thousands of years. (link) The graph of the increase in the main greenhouse gases is fairly level and then exponentially increases in the recent past: The Big Picture Breakdown of Greenhouse Gases.

Brief article: There is a Real Risk that Earth’s Climate Could Run Out of Control.

Another brief article discussing a previous major change in climate which caused a mass extinction of species at the time: 

And an additional post on this site: Climate change, ocean currents, and an ice age.

This is serious.

Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use.