Week of Links 012
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Tag Archives: health
Improve Your Diet: Go Gluten-Free
Last night I read an article that has all but convinced me to go gluten-free with my diet.
I’ve been in the process of reducing the amount of wheat and grain that I eat, going from highly processed white bread to whole wheat. I’ve also been avoiding unnecessary uses of bread: instead of making a lettuce, tomato, mayo, and turkey sandwich with two slices of bread I now use the lettuce to hold my sandwich together. That, along with other choice improvements in my diet – such as not eating as much – has been largely easy to maintain and keep.
With these changes I’ve seen incredible weight loss (thirty pounds) and improvements in my overall health. I feel better, more energized, and overall more healthy.
Who knew diet could be so powerful? Continue reading
Week of Links 005
The Singularity Movement
The Singularity movement believes that at some point in the nearer-than-you-think future “human beings and machines will so effortlessly and elegantly merge that poor health, the ravages of old age and even death itself will all be things of the past.” It has a bunch of notable people involved such as the co-founder’s of Google and famed inventor Ray Kurzweil who says he “conquered diabetes decades ago by changing what he ate and later reprogramming his body with supplements. He currently takes about 150 pills a day and has regular intravenous procedures.” The New York Times has a big six-page article all about the movement so go have a read.
23andMe Genetic Testing
I love new and cool technologies. This ranges from the supreme laziness afforded by an iRobot Dirt Dog to the awesome laziness afforded by a Segway. Yet these two gadgets pall in comparison to my somewhat fanatical interest in a (relatively) new company called 23andMe:
23andMe’s mission is to be the world’s trusted source of personal genetic information.
So exactly what does 23andMe offer? Personal genetic testing for health, disease, and ancestry. In brief they are a DNA testing laboratory that will give you a very thorough and complete breakdown of your own DNA. Sounds awesome to me.
I’ve been interested in trying out their services for a while however I cannot honestly rationalize their $500 price for something that I perceive as an awesome (and somewhat practical) luxury. Maybe I’ll give it to myself as a birthday present, or perhaps someone else will.
I recently found a very thorough breakdown and review of a blogger who bought and used 23andMe’s services. Go take a look at Paul’s write-up of his experience using 23andMe. Looks really cool to me, however it still looks to be a luxury purchase.
The future is coming sooner than I can imagine. I hope the next scientific development is personal body modifications. I would love to have claws like Wolverine. I would save so much on shaving costs.
Oil Spill May Strike At Home
Like everyone else, I’ve been keeping a wary eye on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. It’s horrible, destructive, and the last attempt to fix it failed. Fortunate for me and my East Coast friends we are out of harms way – at least for the time being. Although a solution seems to have been found it may not have been soon enough to prevent the ooze from reaching a major ocean current that could carry it through the Florida Keys and up the East Coast. Not good.