Perceptions On Reality

A new revision to a clinical report produced by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) on cholesterol has been released. It’s causing quite a discussion and many are outraged at the new policy which has been updated to include the use of statin drugs. This group of prescription medications have previously only been prescribed for adults. Studies supporting the use of these drugs in children “have generally been short-term” which opens the door to much criticism.

The AAP report includes this statement in summary. “For pediatric patients who are overweight or obese and have a high triglyceride concentration or low HDL concentration, weight management is the primary treatment, which includes improvement of diet with nutritional counseling and increased physical activity to produce improved energy balance.” The concern is that providing one more drug intervention will distract from this primary treatment. And you can bet it will.

A doctor is not responsible for the daily food intake and energy output of a child that comes into his office with high cholesterol. The parents and caregivers are responsible for this. If a doctor sees the same problem and circumstances are unchanged then other options are considered even when they are less than ideal. Doctors are charged with treating a problem. They have a whole list of solutions at their disposal. If you find a doctor that writes a prescription before offering diet and exercise as a treatment option then you should change physicians. But if a parent is unwilling to make lifestyle choices for a child’s long-term health, then how can we fault physicians for providing another treatment option for the symptoms of child obesity?

So I was reading a recipe blog this morning and it contained a curious link. It seems that watermelon has long been a cantankerous fruit to deal with. It’s hard to fit in the refrigerator and rolls around a lot. So whilst I’ve been unaware of the tremendous hassle watermelons have been to humanity, Japan has figured out a way to produce square watermelon. Problem solved!

These melons are grown in glass cubes and come out looking like something from a Nintendo game. They’re pretty cute really. These little guys can now be easily stored on a refrigerator shelf. And won’t roll off the counter while you’re trying to cut them. What a relief! I’m so glad someone stepped up and saved humanity from the pesky round watermelon.

Unfortunately, they’re also about three times the cost of the average watermelon. And at those prices, sales are only appealing to “the wealthy and fashion-conscious of Tokyo and Osaka…” I had to stop right there and give that a second to register. So watermelon is square because…

Yeah, I don’t understand either. Japan knows it’s fashion. But in this case I am certain that I don’t care what my round watermelon says about me.

There’s nothing like a simple mass e-mail to friends to send everyone spiraling towards that uneasy feeling that the world is changing. “Wut?! WHY!?”

And all I did was update my e-mail address. Sheesh!

Today’s Random Advice:

If you’re getting married soon, don’t send me a “save the date” postcard written with a fat Sharpie marker and then register for obscenely-priced gifts.

My Mom usually takes the major health nut approach to medicine. All throughout childhood, every time I had a sneeze, cough or sniffle, I was given some kind of natural remedy concoction. Garlic, lemon, echinacea and of course vitamins . You name it, and I’ve probably taken it in some form at one point or another. So you can imagine my shock and annoyance at having repeatedly choked down echinecea all those years for absolutely no reason at all.

The New England Journal of Medicine published a study in 2005 suggesting that echinacea does absolutely nothing to the common cold. Since people couldn’t prevent or shorten a cold with this once beloved product the sounds of bottles hitting the trash can could be heard almost nation-wide. Until today. A study published this week in The Lancet Infectious Diseases completely contradicts the findings of the widely publicized 2005 article. Echinacea does do something after all. It was found to reduce the incidence of a cold, as well as some of the symptoms and duration of a cold.

I can’t say I have a lot of faith in a research community that finds completely contradictory results in less than 2 years. So I’m going with the safer bet of relying on the “mother knows best” adage. Since I’m still alive to complain about my childhood.

I’m proud of my independence. I do things myself. Unless I’m hanging upside down over a precipice sure to result in a fatal fall, you won’t catch me asking for help. The mere thought of having to ask for help puts me in a rocking fetal position. So you can imagine my horror when not one but two events happened in the same week where I had to accept help. And by “accept” I mean, breathe normally.

My budget was short. Really short. An unexpected bill came up and I apparently was turning various shades of blue. My Mom hurriedly thrust a check at me just to get my coloring to return to the normal shade. I planned to work it off. And she agreed. A slightly more tolerable negotiation. I would live. A few days later, she asked that it be just a gift. I felt light-headed.

A few days later, my landlord’s cronies invaded my yard to “help” my apparent lack of green thumb. Or make up for the time I haven’t spent cultivating a green thumb. I had made attempts. I’d kept up a few things. Couldn’t they see I was a responsible person!? I needed a paper bag.

The well-intentioned advice had the resounding theme…it’s a gift, be grateful. The oxygen rush to my head and I flew into a rage. “Let someone else be grateful. It is physically impossible for me to be grateful for this!” As I thrust a finger toward my hacked-up yard. And then the pity party. “Why do I have to learn this lesson. Let someone else learn it.” I spent the rest of the evening in tears.

What is this wounding? Why is this such a big deal? We all have failures. We all need help with something. We can’t do it all.

I know this stuff. And I know I’m capable of processing thorough things within myself to find a place of gratitude. But right now, I’m still not breathing normally. So what blue looks good on me. And I’m still not grateful.

Karma and I have a sorted relationship. That is to say. She kicks my ass, um…constantly. Today was the day for procrastination payback. Normally I’m a pretty organized (read: boring) person. I pay my bills on time. I file my taxes early. I buy light mayonnaise. And wear a seat belt. But sometimes that bores me and I throw caution to the wind. My “well-planned” goes all haywire and I start pretending that the calendar date isn’t moving. So among the list of things I chose to ignore repeatedly…They all happened, or should have happened today.
1. Pay rent.

2. Have money to pay rent.

3. Parent’s anniversary.

4. Money to buy anniversary gift.

5. Buy anniversary gift.

6. Care about items 1-5.

Living in the technology age has all but killed our individual right to privacy. One freedom down. /shrug. Most people of my generation accept that as a general fact. And go about life as usual all the while assuming big brother has been watching for absolutely years. There are half a dozen new ways to incriminate ourselves via technology. We get that. We also have half a dozen new ways to communicate our thoughts, ideas, dreams and passions. Oh, and strong and opposing political opinions.

Which is apparently where the whole rights and freedoms thing gets blurred. People shouldn’t be too concerned that big brother is watching. They’re protecting us!…As long as you’re a strong supporter of our current president. (I’ll soon be blogging from the basement of some undisclosed location.) Otherwise your career could be ruined, your wife could get fired, your life could become a complete media fiasco, and you could become the center of a massive lawsuit that subpoenas everyone but the president himself. You’ll never go to parties again. That new novel idea is down the shitter. And no one wants to be seen with you. I mean, it’s not like our nation was built by a group of strong and opposing political opinions all concerned about our individual freedoms. They just didn’t want to bother with the “keep your enemies closer” thing and they really hated red.

Memorial weekend. Honoring the dead got you down? Why not try the Indie 500. Shopping. Or a barbecue! Ahh, America. Our holidays have a little something for everyone.

So I’m wondering. And I’m just gonna toss this out, randomly:

Why is dieting so prominently featured in magazines during the spring and summer months? You know, as compared to the other lesser “How to not gain weight over the holidays” and “10 indulgent ideas for a healthier Christmas”.
Do we really want to see people in bikinis anyway?

If you could get better abs using the exercises on page 27, do you think there would be a need for the article someone is already writing about that very topic for August’s edition?

Do we really want to see people in bikinis anyway?