Interesting Articles from the Past Half-Year

January 4, 2013

"Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the Good"

--Voltaire.

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A sobering and there-but-for-fortune sort of essay, concerning the state of mentally ill kids and their families:

http://anarchistsoccermom.blogspot.com/2012/12/thinking-unthinkable.html

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This is a great reminder about the challenges Parenting Today, and it's good not only because of the comic at the end:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-morrison/motherhood_b_2271349.html

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Maybe the options aren't just “organic” vs. “conventional”--could be that the USDA's own researchers have a more nuanced view, if only people would pay attention!

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/19/a-simple-fix-for-food/?…

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An extremely insightful, and succinct, look at the definition of “parenting” - is it a job, or...?

http://www.askmoxie.org/2012/09/free-but-not-cheap.html

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Is Alzeimer's really Type III Diabetes? Insulin definitely seems like a big piece of the puzzle (but since when does saturated fat cause insulin levels to spike?? I like to read these articles with a grain of salt):

http://www.sott.net/article/250689-Food-for-thought-Eat-your-way-to-dem…

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The mainstream press is exploding with new and interesting stuff about the human microbiome:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/26/opinion/sunday/immune-disorders-and-a…

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This is the kind of project that I want to work on:

http://humanfoodproject.com/a-window-into-your-health/?utm_source=Ameri…

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An interesting look at what you should do about the arsenic content of your rice:

http://chriskresser.com/arsenic-in-rice-how-concerned-should-you-be

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More on autoimmunity and the microbes in us:

http://arstechnica.com/science/2012/10/book-review-an-epidemic-of-absen…

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Wait a minute!! You mean maybe we _shouldn't_ feed the babies so much starch?! Canada issues new feeding guidelines:

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1261710--hold-the-pablum-giv…

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My favorite body-mechanics blogger discusses the impact of shoes on your health:

http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/shoes-the-list/

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More concerning the microbes with which we live--researchers analyzed air samples from three different parts of a hospital, with interesting results:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/western-lifestyle-leading…

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Sometimes it's nice to have visuals to illustrate the issue:

http://dietheartnews.com/2012/08/illustrated-history-of-heart-disease-1…

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Sweet tastes mimic the physiologic effects of cocaine:

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0000698

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Eleven foods that you can make yourself, instead of buying:

http://nourishedkitchen.com/11-real-foods-you-can-stop-buying-and-start…

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Is the low-fat diet fad nearing the end of its reign?

http://grist.org/scary-food/2011-03-04-low-fat-diet-fad/

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I read this so long ago that I cannot properly synopsize, except to remember that butyric acid is much more interesting than I thought:

http://jmm.sgmjournals.org/content/59/2/141.full
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2009/12/butyric-acid-ancient-cont…

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This is GREAT, and I cannot recommend this series highly enough. Lea did some simple and systematic testing of various kraut-making techniques, and came up with some surprisingly simple ways to improve the quality and taste of vegetable ferments. This article has changed the way I make kraut:

http://www.nourishingtreasures.com/index.php/2012/07/03/sauerkraut-surv…

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Good posture for babies!

http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/spinning-babies/

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Some interesting perspectives on nut and seed nutrition:

http://chriskresser.com/another-reason-you-shouldnt-go-nuts-on-nuts
http://paleodietlifestyle.com/are-nuts-and-seeds-healthy/

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More info on antibiotic resistance:

http://bodyecology.com/articles/what-you-can-do-about-the-growing-epide…

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Probiotics and heart disease:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/donna-gates/probiotics-_b_1543045.html

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Does vaginal birth _really_ lead to weaker pelvic floors? I think not! Maybe it's not a good idea to let The Media translate studies like this without further questioning:

http://www.alignedandwell.com/katysays/urogenital-hiatus-is-not-another…

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Greg Bear and viruses:

http://scienceblogs.com/clock/2006/08/did_a_virus_make_you_smart.php

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One more reason not to work night shifts:

http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/news/20120411/shift-work-may-set-s…

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Really interesting findings concerning “brown fat”:

http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/news/health/2012/120511-pr-scientists-identify-p…

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The inimitable Ken Danford in the Huffington Post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kenneth-danford/eighth-grade-out_b_150146…

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This blog post inspired us to try a month with no artificial lights after sundown:

http://jdmoyer.com/2010/03/04/sleep-experiment-a-month-with-no-artifici…

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More on the stress-disease connection:

http://chriskresser.com/rhr-chronic-stress-cortisol-resistance-and-mode…

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Interesting blog considering nutrition in autoimmune/gut issues:

http://eosinophile.wordpress.com/

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Interesting new study—perhaps newborns' guts aren't actually sterile at birth:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21428603.800-babies-are-born-dirt…