Sunscreens, After-Sun Products & Benzene

from a recent Consumer Labs bulletin

Benzene, which has been linked to blood cancers, has been reported in a large number of sunscreens and after-sun products that were independently tested. The products included sprays, gels, lotions, and creams. Benzene was found in 43 out of 224 sunscreens and in 8 of 48 after-sun products. FDA guidance suggests that no level of benzene is safe, and it is not permitted in these or other products.

Among sunscreens, the highest average concentrations of benzene (2 ppm to 6 ppm) were in 4 sprays from the same brand -- although many other sprays and products from that brand had less or no detectable benzene. The next highest average concentrations of benzene (0.1 to 1 ppm) were in 12 products that were primarily sprays but included 4 lotions.

[UPDATE: 7/15/21: Johnson and Johnson announced the recall yesterday of all lots of 15 Neutrogena sunscreens and 1 Aveeno sunscreen, including 4 that we had listed as contaminated and 12 additional products (which have been added to our list). Internal testing by J&J identified low levels of benzene in some samples of these products.

After-sun products with the highest concentrations of benzene consisted of 4 gels and 1 spray. One of the brands of aloe vera gel found to contain a high concentration of benzene also failed to pass Consumer Lab's tests for aloe vera.

Active ingredients listed in contaminated products were also listed in products that were not contaminated, so you can't tell from these listed ingredients which products contain benzene.

We don't know the source of the benzene, but it could relate to how a particular ingredient was manufactured, where it was sourced, or how it moved through the supply chain. Consequently, products having the same ingredients can be different with regard to benzene contamination.

More about benzene: Benzene is known to cause cancer in humans according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the World Health Organization, and other regulatory agencies. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) defines benzene as a carcinogen and lists "inhalation, skin absorption, ingestion, skin and/or eye contact" as exposure routes.

Valisure, which conducted the testing, is asking for a recall of the contaminated batches and requesting FDA better define limits for benzene contamination in drug and cosmetic products. It is important to note that not all sunscreen products contain benzene and that uncontaminated products are available, should continue to be used, and are important for protecting against potentially harmful solar radiation.

Regarding the charts below:
     The highest concentrations of benzene were found in the first 4 products (2 ppm to 6 ppm) with the next 12 at 0.1 ppm to 1 ppm. Its advisable to avoid these products if possible.
 
Sunscreens:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            AVG
Brand Name/Type                                        Description                                     PPM       

Neutrogena (Spray) RECALLED ALONG WITH SPF 30, 50, AND 70 VERSIONS	Beach Defense Oil-Free Body Sunscreen Spray - SPF 100	3.18
Neutrogena (Spray)	Ultra Sheer Weightless Sunscreen Spray, SPF 70	3.02
Neutrogena (Spray) RECALLED	Invisible Daily Defense Body Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 60+	2.48
Neutrogena (Spray)	Ultra Sheer Weightless Sunscreen Spray, SPF 100+	2.30
Goodsense (Lotion)	Sunscreen Lotion SPF 30	0.71
Raw Elements (Lotion)	Eco Formula Sunscreen Lotion SPF 30	0.68
Neutrogena (Spray)  RECALLED ALONG WITH SPF 50 AND 100 VERSIONS	Cooldry Sport Water-Resistant Sunscreen Spray SPF 70	0.66
Neutrogena (Spray)	Ultra Sheer Body Mist Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Spray	0.49
Banana Boat (Spray)	UltraMist Deep Tanning Dry Oil Continuous Clear Spray SPF 4	0.36
Banana Boat (Spray)	Kids Max Protect & Play Sunscreen C-Spray SPF 100	0.18
Neutrogena (Spray)	Ultra Sheer Body Mist Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 45	0.15
Banana Boat (Spray)	Ultra Sport Clear Sunscreen Spray SPF 100	0.15
Neutrogena (Lotion)	Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Water Resistant Sunscreen SPF 70	0.13
Neutrogena (Spray) (RECALLED ALONG WITH SPF 70 AND 100 VERSIONS)	Cooldry Sport Water-Resistant Sunscreen Spray SPF 50	0.13
TopCare Everyday (Lotion)	Ultimate Sheer Sunscreen Lotion SPF 70	0.12
EltaMD (Spray)	UV Aero Broad-Spectrum Full- Body Sunscreen Spray, SPF 45	0.11
ADDED DUE TO RECALL: Aveeno (Spray)	Protect-Refresh SPF 60	Amount not given
CVS Health (Lotion)	70 Beach Guard Sun Sunscreen SPF 70	<0.1
La Roche-Posay (Spray)	Anthelios Sunscreen Lotion Spray SPF 60	<0.1
Aveeno (Lotion)	Baby Continuous Protection Sensitive Skin Sunscreen Lotion Broad Spectrum SPF 50	<0.1
Live Better by CVS Health (Spray)	Body Mineral Spray Sunscreen SPF 50	<0.1
Walgreens (Lotion)	Broad Spectrum Sport SPF 50 Sunscreen	<0.1
Raw Elements (Lotion)	Eco Formula Sunscreen Lotion Tin SPF 30	<0.1
Equate (Lotion)	Kids Broad Spectrum Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 50	<0.1
Banana Boat (Spray)	Kids Sport Sunscreen Lotion Spray SPF 50	<0.1
Babyganics (Spray)	Kid's Sunscreen Continuous Spray - SPF 50	<0.1
Ethical Zinc (Lotion)	Natural Clear Zinc Sunscreen SPF 50+	<0.1
Sun Bum (Lotion)	Oxy Free Zinc Oxide Sunscreen Lotion - SPF 50	<0.1
Banana Boat (Spray)	Protective Dry Oil Clear Sunscreen Spray with Coconut Oil SPF 15	<0.1
Solimo (Lotion)	Sheer Face Sunscreen Lotion SPF 55 (842379152474 Upc Description)	<0.1
CVS Health (Spray)	Sheer Mist Spray Broad Spectrum Uva/Uvb Cont. Spray Sunscreen SPF 70	<0.1
Neutrogena (Lotion)	Sheer Zinc Dry-Touch Face Sunscreen SPF 50	<0.1
Banana Boat (Spray)	Simply Protect Kids Sunscreen Spray SPF 50+	<0.1
CVS Health (Spray)	Sport Clear Spray Sunscreen SPF 100+	<0.1
Walgreens (Lotion)	Sport Lotion Sunscreen SPF 50	<0.1
TopCare Everyday (Lotion)	Sport Sunscreen Lotion SPF 70	<0.1
Max Block (Lotion)	Sport Sunscreen Lotion Water Resistance Blue 30 SPF	<0.1
Max Block (Lotion)	Sunscreen Lotion 4 Fl Oz Broad Spectrum Water Resistant SPF 30	<0.1
Walgreens (Lotion)	Sunscreen Sport SPF 50	<0.1
TopCare Everyday (Lotion)	Ultimate Sheer Sun Lotion Sunscreen SPF 55	<0.1
Banana Boat (Spray)	Ultra Defense Ultra Mist Clear Sunscreen Spray SPF 100	<0.1
CVS Health (Lotion)	Ultra Sheer Broad Spectrum Sunscreen Lotion SPF 100 (050428415528)	<0.1
CVS Health (Lotion)	Ultra Sheer Lotion Broad Spectrum Sunscreen SPF 45	<0.1
Coppertone (Spray)	Whipped Sunscreen Lotion Spray SPF 50	<0.1

 
After-Sun Products:
 

Sun Bum	Cool Down Gel	5.33
Fruit of the Earth	Aloe Vera Gel	2.78
CVS Health	Aftersun Aloe Vera Soothing Spray	2.30
CVS Health	Aftersun Aloe Vera Moisturizing Gel	0.81
SunBurnt	Advanced After-Sun Gel	0.38
Sun Bum	After Sun Cool Down Aloe Vera Spray	<0.1
Walgreens	After Sun Gel	<0.1
Up & Up	Clear Aloe Vera Gel	<0.1

The Latest: Walking vs Running

by Tom Venuto 
There's so much confusion about the benefits of cardio including the effects at different intensities (low vs moderate vs vigorous). An even bigger problem is the way so many people confuse health benefits, cardio fitness benefits, and fat loss benefits (these are 3 very different subjects!).

Many fitness enthusiasts believe that unless cardio is high intensity (like interval training), it's not beneficial (a "high intensity or nothing" mentality). In a similar train of thought, most people think that walking is not intense enough to improve your health much, and you always get more benefit from running.

Not according to a study from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The results found that walking briskly can lower your risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes just as much as running. In addition, the benefits increased in a dose-response manner.

This study looked at health benefits, specifically risk factors for cardiovascular disease in subjects ranging from 18 to 80 years old, clustered largely in their 40s and 50s. They found the following:

Walking reduced risk for first-time hypertension 7.2%, running reduced risk by 4.2%.
Walking reduced first-time high cholesterol risk 7%., running by 4.3%.
Walking reduced first time diabetes risk by 12.3%, compared to 12.1% for running.
Walking reduced coronary heart disease risk by 9.3%, running 4.5% .

Fascinating, isn't it? The researchers said benefits were "similar" but if you look at the numbers, walking was actually better.

Of course, the devil is in the details: they weren't comparing equal amounts of time spent, like 30 minutes of walking vs 30 minutes of running (running would win that comparison).  They were testing whether equal amounts of energy (calorie) expenditure by moderate intensity walking and vigorous running provided equal benefits.

When energy expenditure was equivalent the health risk reductions were similar.

So, contrary to what you may have heard, it's not that walking can't benefit your health as much as higher intensity types of exercise, walking is simply not as time efficient. It takes a lot more time walking to get the same energy expenditure you'd get with running.

It's the same thing if we change the subject to fat loss. Low, moderate, and high intensity cardio can all help with fat loss, but the higher the intensity, the more efficient the exercise is, because it burns more calories per minute. This is why people who are short on time, and are physically able to do intense exercise, often choose the higher intensity cardio.

The problem is, high intensity cardio is hard and not appropriate for everyone. The author of the study, Paul Williams, pointed out that walking may be a more sustainable exercise for many people compared to running.

He also said that people are always looking for an excuse not to exercise ("I can't run or do HIIT because of my knee, my hip, my foot" etc.). Thanks to research results like these, perceived barriers to exercise have been removed. Not as many excuses left for not walking!

There's a place for all kinds of cardio, depending on a person's goals, needs, and preferences, and make no mistake, I'm a fan of HIIT and other hard, brief cardio. However, I also love walking and hiking and have been encouraging people to walk more for years. That's one of the reasons I sponsor walking fitness challenges (based on steps).

An MD’s List of 6 “Super Weeds” That Deserve A Spot On Your Plate

from the “mindbodygreen” e-zine

The only difference between a flower and a weed is judgment. Isn't that how the saying goes? And according to family physician and science journalist Daphne Miller, M.D., we're judging common yard weeds way too harshly. In fact, she says we shouldn't regard them as "garden pests" at all: We should treat them like the nutrient-dense little grasses that they are—and call them superweeds. 

"They are all delicious," Miller says. "I pick them all and put them in my salad." Below, she offers up her favorite edible superweeds—they may be common, but they boast tons of nutrients and flavor.
 
1). Oxalis: Akin to a 3-leaf clover, this delicate, vitamin C and potassium-rich plant has a slightly sour taste (thanks to its oxalic acid content). Because of the high oxalic acid content, those with a history of kidney stones want to keep an eye on their intake. Additionally, other healthy greens like beet greens, turnip greens, Swiss chard, and spinach are also high in oxalic acid.
 
2). Dandelion: Ever heard of dandelion greens? These tiny daisies have a natural bitter flavor that's perfect for a fresh salad or sautéed side dish. They contain vitamins A in the easy-to-absorb beta-carotene form, K, E, and C; potassium; and fiber.

3). Bristly Oxtoungue: A rather bristly plant (hence the name), this roadside weed can be eaten cooked or raw, depending on your flavor preferences. The leaves are rather bitter, so you might want to coat it in spices and sauté before digging in. It’s nutritional profile is similar to the dandelion (as is its appearance).

Marlene’s Note: I’m seeing a pattern here; as with many edibles that have health-promoting or medicinal properties, there’s a bitter element in the flavor profile. That doesn’t have to be a deterrent though, there are many things (spices, dressings) that can be added to overcome that.

4). Dock Weeds: This weed comes in many forms (curly dock, broad-leaved dock, patience dock, etc.), but it generally has a sour, lemony taste—again, thanks to oxalic acid. Feel free to toss the leaves into salads, or you can always boil or sauté them to deepen the flavor. It contains fiber, vitamin C, iron, vitamin A, magnesium, manganese, and copper.

5). 3-Cornered Onion: What is a 3-cornered onion, you ask? Also known as a 3-cornered leek, it has flower stalks lined up in a three-cornered shape. It also has tender, crunchy stems and leaves—when crushed, these parts give off an onion-like odor and flavor. The entire plant is edible—from the bulb to the stem to the leaves—and it's a perfect fresh garnish for your salad. It contains sulphur which gives it the onion flavor and smell. Sulphur is needed for the synthesis of glutathione, a potent antioxidant, protecting cells from free radical damage. Onion weed also helps reduce blood cholesterol levels, acts as a digestive system tonic, stimulates the circulatory system, is antimicrobial and contains chlorophyll (cleansing in itself), fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

6). Mallow Weeds: Also called a “cheese weed” (as the fruits form in little cheese-like wedges), mallow is one versatile plant. You can eat it raw in a salad, stir it into soups to thicken the consistency, and you can also pick off the flowers and buds, pickle them, and use them as a substitute for capers. It has a long list of medicinal uses, including treatment of kidney stones and UTI’s, as a laxative, anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, immune-supportive, laxative, and calming digestive aid.   

The Take-Home Message: Perhaps this goes without saying, but you shouldn't pop just any garden weed into your mouth without some research. Yes, there's a variety of backyard edibles you can get your hands on, but make sure that you safely I.D. the plant (or consult an expert) before consuming it. 

Precautions aside, superweeds are a worthy find: "If you think about it, they have all the characteristics you really want in a plant," Miller notes. "They're climate-resistant and perennial. They really make it through dark times because they have survived without being watered or encouraged for generations, so they really have that persistence."

Wizards, Aliens, & Starships: Physics and Math in Fantasy and Science Fiction

From teleportation and space elevators to alien contact and interstellar travel, science fiction and fantasy writers have come up with some brilliant and innovative ideas. Yet how plausible are these ideas? Which concepts might actually happen, and which ones wouldn’t work at all? A professor of physics at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, Adler delves into the most extraordinary details in science fiction and fantasy—time warps, shape changing, rocket launches, and illumination by floating candle—and shows readers the physics and math behind the phenomena. From the works of Ursula K. Le Guin to Star Trek and Avatar, Adler considers what might become reality. He examines space travel and wonders why it isn’t cheaper and more common today, and discusses exoplanets and how the search for alien life has shifted from radio communications to space-based telescopes. He concludes by investigating the future survival of humanity and other intelligent races.

This lecture was recorded on February 16, 2014 as part of the Distinguished Science Lecture Series hosted by Michael Shermer and presented by The Skeptics Society in California (1992–2015).

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A New Look at Human Evolution

In a few decades, a torrent of new evidence and ideas about human evolution has allowed scientists to piece together a more detailed understanding of what went on thousands and even millions of years ago. Lesley Newson and Peter Richerson, a husband-and-wife team based at the University of California, Davis, have spent years together and individually researching and collaborating with scholars from a wide range of disciplines to produce a deep history of humankind. In A Story of Us, they present this rich narrative and explain how the evolution of our genes relates to the evolution of our cultures.

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4 Stretches to Keep Your Shoulders in Shape

from the Harvard Health e-zine 

The shoulder is the body's most complicated joint. It's where the ends of the collarbone, upper arm bone, and shoulder blade meet. And it's prone to arthritis (a wearing away of the cartilage between the bones), as well as tears or tendinitis (inflammation) in the rotator cuff — the group of tendons that helps you raise and rotate your arm. Shoulder pain can keep you from being able to raise your arms to get dressed, or reach up to a cupboard or out to a door.

But an easy way to stave off shoulder problems is to regularly stretch the muscles that support the joints. "The muscles need to be long and flexible to stay healthy. You're more vulnerable to injury when your shoulder muscles are tight and restricted," explains Clare Safran-Norton, clinical supervisor of rehabilitation services at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Muscles are a little like cotton fabrics. They may shrink up slightly, but if you pull on the fibers, you can stretch out the fabric again.

Stretching your muscles fixes the shortening that occurs with disuse and extends muscles to their full length. The more you stretch the muscles, the longer and more flexible they'll become. That will help increase your range of motion, ward off pain, reduce the risk for injury, and improve your posture.

The best way to stretch muscles is with long, static (motionless) stretches that last 30 seconds to two minutes. But don't jump right to this step.

Warm up the muscles first to get blood and oxygen to them and make them more pliable. You can do this with exercise (take a brisk walk, pumping your arms, or go for a swim). Or you can try a few minutes of dynamic stretching — repeatedly moving a joint through its available range of motion, without holding a position. Just roll your shoulders backward and forward a few times or make windmill motions with your arms (but not too vigorously).

Try the shoulder stretches we've laid out here. All you need is a doorway or wall.
Safran-Norton recommends stretching your shoulders three to seven times per week. "If you're really stiff, stretch daily. If you're already flexible, it's fine to stretch every other day," she says. But avoid stretching for too long or too vigorously: back off quickly if you start to feel pain.

Other tips: make sure you stand up straight when you stretch, and make sure you're hydrated.
 

Wall Climb: Stand up straight facing a wall. Extend your right arm with your elbow soft (not locked) and place your hand on the wall at shoulder height. Slowly walk your fingers upward, stepping in toward the wall as your hand climbs higher. Stop when you feel mild tension in your shoulder. Hold 10 to 30 seconds. Slowly walk your fingers back down the wall and return to the starting position. Repeat three to four times. Switch arms and repeat.

Chest & Shoulder Stretch: Stand alongside a doorway or wall. Extend your right arm and put your right hand on the edge of the door frame slightly below shoulder level, palm facing forward and touching the door frame. Keep your shoulders down and back. Slowly turn your body to the left, away from the door frame, until you feel the stretch in your chest and shoulder. Hold 10 to 30 seconds. Return to the starting position. Repeat three to four times, then repeat on the opposite side.

Cross-Body Shoulder Stretch: Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Put your left hand on your right shoulder. Cup your left elbow with your right hand. Roll your shoulders down and back as you gently pull your left elbow across your chest. Hold 10 to 30 seconds. Return to the starting position. Repeat three to four times, then repeat on the other side.

Shoulder Stretch with Rotation: Stand up straight with your feet hip-width apart and your hands by your sides. Place the back of your right hand against the small of your back at your waist. Your fingers should be pointing up. Slowly slide your right hand farther up your back as high as you can. Hold 10 to 30 seconds. Repeat three to four times, then repeat with left hand.
 

What About strengthening?  You won't have strong shoulders if you don't strengthen them. Safran-Norton recommends strengthening the shoulder muscles every other day.
The combination of stretching and strengthening will act as a preventive approach to keep even a complicated joint ready for action.

Doubt: A History

In a sweeping history, Jennifer Michael Hecht celebrates doubt as an engine of creativity and as an alternative to the political and intellectual dangers of certainty. Just as belief has its own history featuring people whose unique expressions of faith have forever changed the world, doubt has a vibrant story and tradition with its own saints, martyrs, and sages. Hecht blends her wide-ranging historical expertise, passionate admiration of the great doubters, and poet’s sensibility to tell a stimulating story that is part intellectual history and part showcase of ordinary people asking themselves the difficult questions that confront us all. Hecht views the history of doubt as not only a tradition of challenging accepted religious beliefs, including the existence of God, but also as a progression of attempts to make sense of life, the natural world, and the self, each on their own terms.

This lecture was recorded on July 10, 2005 as part of the Distinguished Science Lecture Series hosted by Michael Shermer and presented by The Skeptics Society in California (1992–2015).

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The Fringe of Where Science Meets Pseudoscience

Everyone has heard of the term “pseudoscience”, typically used to describe something that looks like science, but is somehow false, misleading, or unproven. Many would be able to agree on a list of things that fall under its umbrella — astrology, phrenology, UFOlogy, creationism, and eugenics might come to mind. But defining what makes these fields “pseudo” is a far more complex issue. Given the virulence of contemporary disputes over the denial of climate change and anti-vaccination movements — both of which display allegations of “pseudoscience” on all sides — there is a clear need to better understand issues of scientific demarcation. Shermer and Gordin explore the philosophical and historical attempts to address this problem of demarcation.

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Mark Twain and Alternative Medicine

BY HARRIET HALL, M.D.

What do you know about Mark Twain? That he was a famous humorist? That he wrote Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn? Maybe you know he questioned many conventions like organized religion. What you may not know is that he was an enthusiastic proponent of “alternative medicine” long before the term was coined.

Mark Twain, the pen name of Samuel Clemens, was born in 1835, long before germ theory, antibiotics, randomized clinical trials, or modern vaccines. The medicine of his day was pre-scientific and unregulated, splintered into sects with allopaths, homeopaths, hydrotherapists, osteopaths, and others battling each other for primacy. Anyone could practice medicine without a license. Twain had no rational basis for choosing one sect over another.

Twain always feared death, with good reason. In his day, life was very uncertain, with 25 percent of children dying before their first birthday, and 50 percent by age 21. Twain was a premature, sickly child. As an adult, he asked his mother if she had been afraid he wouldn’t live; he claims she said no, she was afraid he would! He saw four of his siblings die. Frequent epidemics of smallpox, cholera, and scarlet fever tore through the population; mortality was high due to poor nutrition and poor public sanitation.

As a child, Twain was so afraid of measles that he decided to put an end to the fear by catching measles; he deliberately exposed himself to a patient. He found that having measles was nowhere near as bad as the fear had been. He learned there was something worse than death: worrying about it.

Twain was raised with alternative medicine. His mother, Jane Clemens, dabbled in everything from homeopathy to spiritualism to patent medicines. As a boy, Twain saw a faith healer cure his mother’s toothache with suggestion. His mother frequently dosed him with Perry Davis’ “Pain Killer” — a mixture of alcohol, camphor, and cayenne pepper. All treatments apparently worked: he survived.

As an adult, Twain experimented with everything, sampling every system of medical treatment. He thought there was no reliable way to find out why people got sick or the best way to make them well. Back then, there wasn't; but today we do have a reliable way: science. Twain thought that if enough treatments were sampled, there might be a remote chance of finding one that actually worked. […]

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Resistance Bands: The Pros & Cons of Elastic Resistance

by Tom Venuto, from the Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle e-zine

Do resistance bands build muscle? Yes. You can build muscle with resistance band training, there's no question about that. If you stop lifting and switch to bands only, you can probably maintain most of the muscle size that you previously built with free weights as well (maybe all of it).  If you have more casual fitness goals, band training only or band training combined with bodyweight training is a perfectly valid option that can produce some nice results if you make it a point to train progressively.

Muscle is built through resistance training where tension is placed on a muscle and then the amount of tension is increased over time. This is known as progressive overload. Bands are a form of resistance just like free weights. Doing exercises with any form of resistance can build muscle, and muscle growth can continue with any type of resistance as long as you can apply progressive overload over time.

Pros And Cons Of Elastic Resistance Band Training: Maybe the biggest advantage of bands is they are light, portable and convenient. They can be tossed in a gym bag or backpack or packed in a suitcase. Even a whole set of bands is still incredibly lightweight. That makes bands fantastic for training while you are traveling. Even if training with free weights is your primary type of workout there's no question you can at least maintain your gains while you're on the road with band training.

The fact that bands are small and portable also means they're a great tool for people who want to train at home and don't want to join a gym. Whether that's to save driving time, to have solitude instead of crowds, or to save on gym membership dues, these are all valid reasons to train at home.

Versatility is another benefit of resistance bands. This is especially true if you compare bands to weight machines because many exercise machines only allow you to perform one exercise or just a few exercises. There's huge number of exercises you can do with a single set of elastic bands. There are so many, it's almost limited only by your imagination.

On a similar note, bands are unique in the way they offer resistance through various angles and planes of motion that can't be duplicated by free weights. That's because the bands don't depend on gravity to provide the resistance. With one band, you can do pushing and pulling exercises through countless different angles that would require multiple machines costing thousands of dollars each to duplicate. In addition, many of these angles can't be duplicated at all with free weights because gravity only pulls weight one way - down.

Many studies on band training were performed with elderly people as subjects. When you look at the results of this research you see that not only were they able to gain muscle and strength, but also the ease, convenience and safety of bands made them a good choice for that demographic, even people with osteoarthritis (fibromyalgia too). There are also clinical and rehabilitative applications for elastic resistance, as well as sports and athletic training uses. These are beyond the scope of this short article but chalk them up as yet more benefits for bands.

Bands are generally considered very safe, but they can break, resulting in an accident as minor (but painful) as a giant rubber band snap, or as serious as losing an eyeball. The quality of bands can vary and some may be more susceptible to breakage than others. If you overstretch a lighter band, when instead you should have moved up to a heavier band, that also increases the risk.

In addition, if a band is not properly secured to an anchor, it can snap back and strike you even though it didn't break. This can easily happen when you're standing on a band to anchor it and it slips out from underneath your foot. Bands are considered a very joint-friendly form of training, but as you can see, injuries can arrive in other forms than exercise-induced joint pain.

We also need to acknowledge the downsides of band training. One of the major drawbacks of elastic resistance is that it's more difficult to apply progressive overload with any kind of precision. You can apply progressive overload with band training, but it's harder to quantify. The more a band is stretched, the more resistance it provides. One band does not equate to one specific number of pounds of resistance. You can systematically apply overload by simply stretching the band more, but you can't quantify the resistance with an exact number.

It's much easier to track your progress and see the load increases with free weight training. You can count it right down to the pound by tracking volume load. With weight training, you can use a 100 pound barbell on workout one, and then 105 on workout two, 110 on workout three and so on, or whatever exact amount of resistance you need. Multiply the weight by the sets and reps and you have your total volume load and you can confirm if it went up or not. There are bands that provide different levels of resistance, and they are usually even advertised with a poundage number, but this still doesn't provide the precision of free weights.

Concluding Thoughts And Recommendations: If your goal is general fitness and a muscular physique, there's little doubt you can achieve your goals with bands alone, or bands combined with bodyweight and or free weight exercises. If you train at home, bands are a great tool to have. If you travel a lot, they are incredibly useful. I'd also recommend you learn how to do some bodyweight exercises as well. Bodyweight training can be almost equally useful for home and travel training.

If you're in the older age demographic and intimidated by free weights or suffering from osteoarthritis, bands can be an excellent tool. If you're working around joint pain or injuries, bands are a good choice for rehabilitation at any age. Bands can be useful to almost everyone for occasional variety or convenience. I think it's worth it for everyone, regardless of goals, to invest in some resistance bands and experiment with some band training.

Scientific References: Lopes J et al, Effects of training with elastic resistance versus conventional resistance on muscular strength: A systematic review and meta-analysis, Sage Open Medicine, 7: 20, 2019

Can Simply Listening To Nature Be Good For Your Health?

from The Optimist Daily e-zine

There are few things as relaxing as the whisper of wind through the trees or the camping sound of a mountain stream, but it turns out these sounds do more than just help you fall asleep. It turns out that the sounds of nature can actually be beneficial for your health. Listening to nature-made noise can decrease stress and pain, improve cognitive performance, enhance mood, and much more.

A group of researchers from Michigan State University, Carleton University, and Colorado State University partnered with the National Park Service to analyze 18 studies on how natural sounds can impact human health. Their results, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that listening to existing noises in nature has incredibly positive effects, including a decrease in stress and pain, an improvement in cognitive performance, an enhancement in mood, and much more. The research even goes into further detail outlining which particular sounds might bring about specific benefits.

Why we have such a positive response to certain natural sounds isn’t completely clear, but researchers have their theories. To explore the possible health benefits of natural sounds, the team studied more than 10 years' worth of studies conducted around the world. Researchers found that activity in the brain’s default mode network differed in listening to natural sounds versus man-made sounds. Natural sounds resulted in outward focus of attention, whereas man-made sounds evoked an inward focus of attention—a pattern linked to stress.

Buxton, a professor at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, conducted a statistical analysis with her team that synthesized results and found that bird sounds helped alleviate stress and annoyance. And water sounds enhanced positive emotions like tranquility, awareness, and relaxation. Buxton’s team encourages people to find inspiration in the Japanese practice of “forest bathing” by visiting a national park or participating in innovative programs, such as sound walks, designed to increase our appreciation of natural sounds that already exist.

The Cathedral Grove in Muir Woods, California is designed as a serene place  where visitors can appreciate nature quietly. So you can leave the Bluetooth speaker at home and let natural life provide the playlist.

But what if there is no escaping unwanted noise such as traffic? There’s good news as research suggests people can still benefit from natural sounds mixed with man-made noises. There’s evidence that natural sounds help mask the negative impacts of unwanted noise, such as cars, trains, and planes. Listening to natural sounds along with man-made noise has better outcomes for your well-being than listening to the unnatural noises on their own. That ocean sounds playlist you listen to every night to drown out the street noise might be doing wonders for your overall health—more than you may even realize!

The benefit of nature sounds to physical and mental health are well-recorded. Studies have linked experiences in nature to have a positive impact on well-being with a measurable decrease in mental stress, an improvement in cognitive performance, and high levels of creativity, as well as improved sleep.

Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment

Imagine that two doctors in the same city give different diagnoses to identical patients. Now imagine that the same doctor making a different decision depending on whether it is morning or afternoon, or Monday rather than Wednesday. This is an example of noise: variability in judgments that should be identical.

Shermer speaks with Nobel Prize winning psychologist and economist Daniel Kahneman about the detrimental effects of noise and what we can do to reduce both noise and bias, and make better decisions in: medicine, law, economic forecasting, forensic science, bail, child protection, strategy, performance reviews, and personnel selection.

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Quercetin: How to Increase Your Intake of This Important Antioxidant

 While most of us are aware that we need to include important vitamins and minerals in our diet such as vitamin C and zinc, there is a lesser-known compound that doesn’t get the attention it deserves: quercetin.

If you aren’t familiar with quercetin, it belongs to a group of plant compounds called flavonoids, which act as an antioxidant in your body and hunts for free radicals. Quercetin has been found to provide allergy-relief and reduce inflammation, as well as boost immunity. Board-certified internist Vincent Pedre, M.D. says part of the reason quercetin supports your immune system is because it acts as a prebiotic, which feeds the good bacteria in your gut.

"It also augments the effects of vitamin C, synergistically helping to prevent over-activation of mast cells, which secrete histamine when the body is inflamed," Pedre said. "Not to mention, quercetin acts as a zinc shuttle, getting natural antiviral zinc into cells where it can help mitigate viral replication."

Although there is no magic number for how much quercetin you should be getting daily, most supplements recommend dosages between 500 and 1,000 milligrams per day. If you simply make sure to include the following 21 foods in your diet, it should be more than easy to get your daily dose of quercetin.

1. Capers (most concentrated source)
2. Red onion (highest vegetable source)
3. Shallots
4. Red apples
5. Grapes
6. Berries
7. Cherries
8. Scallions
9. Kale
10. Tomatoes (organically grown tomatoes have up to 79% more than conventional fruit)
11. Broccoli
12. Brussels sprouts
13. Cabbage
14. Citrus fruits
15. Bell peppers (green and yellow)
16. Nuts (almonds and pistachios)
17. Asparagus (cooked has slightly more)
18. Buckwheat
19. Black tea
20. Green tea
21. Elderberry tea

The average person typically gets a maximum of 40 milligrams of quercetin per day, but by including these foods in your diet, you can up your intake to at least 500 milligrams and gain the most health benefits. There are plenty of quercetin supplements, but the best plan of attack for boosting your intake is to include a variety of quercetin-rich foods.

How long it took to develop 12 other vaccines in history

With the speed at which the COVID-19 vaccination was produced, there are as many questions about it as it provides us with answers. A look at history may tell us some of what we want to know, but much more data is required.

How long it took to develop 12 other vaccines in history

Understanding the Unidentified

 BY MICHAEL SHERMER

An advantage of having worked in the skeptical business for 30 years is institutional memory that enables me to place current claims and controversies into historical context. So, when the New York Times published their article on “The Pentagon’s Mysterious U.F.O. Program” in December 2017, and CBS’s 60 Minutes reported that “UFOs Regularly Spotted in Restricted U.S. Airspace” in May 2021—the reports bracketing the latest wave of apparent sightings—I immediately recalled similar waves dating back to the 1890s groundswell of “mystery airships” (later identified as dirigibles). Historian Mike Dash’s description of the 1896–1897 reports in his book Borderlands: The Ultimate Exploration of the Unknownwill sound familiar to those energized by the latest round of UFO videos:

Not only were [the mystery airships] bigger, faster and more robust than anything then produced by the aviators of the world; they seemed to be able to fly enormous distances, and some were equipped with giant wings … The files of almost 1,500 newspapers from across the United States have been combed for reports, an astonishing feat of research. The general conclusion of investigators was that a considerable number of the simpler sightings were misidentification of planets and stars, and a large number of the more complex the result of hoaxes and practical jokes. A small residuum remains perplexing.

Residues & Distortions

The final “small residuum” qualification hints at a reality in all skeptical and scientific investigations. No hypothesis or theory in any field accounts for 100 percent of the phenomena under investigation. The “residue problem” means that no matter how comprehensive a theory is, there will always be a residue of anomalies for which it cannot account. The most famous case in the history of science is that Newton’s gravitational theory could not account for the precession of the planet Mercury’s orbit, subsequently explained by Einstein’s theory of relativity. Darwin’s theory of evolution by means of natural selection could not account for anomalies like the Peacock’s large and colorful tail (which would be a bullseye for predators), but his theory of sexual selection did, demonstrating how females select for mates based on certain traits males develop to stand out from other males and to attract females.

The residue problem in UFOlogy is instructive because it enables skeptics to find common ground with believers and allows us to live comfortably with the fact that we can’t explain everything. For example, in her bestselling 2010 book, UFOs: Generals, Pilots and Government Officials Go on the Record, UFOlogist Leslie Kean notes that “roughly 90 to 95 percent of UFO sightings can be explained” as:

… weather balloons, flares, sky lanterns, planes flying in formation, secret military aircraft, birds reflecting the sun, planes reflecting the sun, blimps, helicopters, the planets Venus or Mars, meteors or meteorites, space junk, satellites, swamp gas, spinning eddies, sundogs, ball lightning, ice crystals, reflected light off clouds, lights on the ground or lights reflected on a cockpit window, temperature inversions, hole-punch clouds, and the list goes on!

So, the entire extraterrestrial hypothesis for explaining Unidentified Flying Objects and Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UFOs and UAPs, respectively) is based on a residue of data left over after the above list has been exhausted. What’s left? Not much, I’m afraid. […]

CONTINUE READING AT QUILLETTE

The Fine Art of Calming Down

by Lisa Firestone, PhD, for the Psych Alive e-zine 

We all have those moments when we come unglued. We’ve probably had a few more of those than usual this past year. This time period has tested us in entirely new ways, and more likely than not, we can all recount a recent example of flipping our lid. For some, it was that second month of quarantine while we were stress-washing a freshly delivered jar of peanut butter. For others, it’s followed a critical comment from our partner or a stubborn fit from our kids. The point is, we all get activated, and we don’t always get a handle the flood of emotion that overcomes us. What we can control is our response to it.

Calming down is an exercise in patience and self-compassion. It is a skill we can hone by understanding what’s going on in our brains when we feel overwhelmed and by taking actions to help ourselves get our cerebral cortex and the higher functions of our brain back online. When a person flips their lid, their emotions are firing out of control; they may even feel as if they’re in a state of fight, flight, or freeze. They’ve lost connection to their prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain that typically, in essence, “hugs” their limbic (emotional) system and helps them stay attuned, flexible, balanced, and regulated emotionally.

When triggered in moments of stress, our limbic system/emotional center of our brains, perceives a threat and overrides our prefrontal cortex. When this occurs, people lose their perspective and chaos ensues.

Think of that split second when you slammed the door on your partner, snapped at your kid, burnt out in a meeting, or panicked at a parade of thoughts marching into your head as you tried to fall asleep. These can all be examples of “flipped lid” moments. Making ourselves aware of what’s going on in our brains can help us hit the brakes and calm down, rather than reacting in ways that hurt us (or others) or we later regret.

The best thing to do in these heightened moments of stress is take pause and do something rhythmical and predictable like going for a walk or breathing. When we breathe in, we are going to breathe out. When we put one foot down, we pick up the other. The breathing practice of 4-7-8 is one very simple exercise we can try. The idea is to breathe in through our nose for 4 seconds, hold the breath for 7 seconds, and breath out through our mouths for 8 seconds. Doing this five times in a row helps our brain reintegrate and our nervous system calm.

When we get activated by intense emotions in a given moment, our reactions are  sometimes out of sync with what’s actually going on in the present. We react in a big way, but later, when those prefrontal cortex functions are back in place, we regret how we reacted and often hold a more balanced perspective. We may have insight into how we took our partner’s words out of context in an argument. We may realize that our kid was feeling overwhelmed when they acted unreasonably, and our response to them arose from our own feelings of inadequacy or frustration. We may start to see how a persistent feeling of being behind or “not good enough” at work finally got to us. And we may definitely realize how our overactive minds can transform into our biggest critics the minute we have time to sit and think.

In truth, many of our heightened emotional reactions are triggered or intensified by an old familiar feeling or implicit memory and not simply the events we’re facing in the moment. A specific word our partner uses to describe us can tap into an old feeling of insecurity and set off an ocean of self-attacks. A certain tone in our child’s whine can trigger memories of painful moments in our own childhood or a feeling we struggle to handle in ourselves.

Because these momentary reactions are like rivers running into old reserves of untapped emotion, we can use what Dr. Daniel Siegel calls “Mindsight” to step back and create a barrier between what we’re experiencing and how we react. Mindsight describes our “capacity to label, analyze and clarify our internal emotional world and how it responds to the world around us.” We can cultivate this capacity by using mindfulness skills.

Mindfulness allows us to see our thoughts and feelings like ships passing on the horizon. We can watch each silhouette sail by, but we don’t need to hop aboard and get carried away. So many of our thoughts and feelings overpower us and take the wheel when it comes to our behavior. By using techniques like meditation and simple breathing exercises, we can notice these thoughts and feelings with compassion and curiosity, but we can bring our attention back to our breath, which helps us to not over-identify with these thoughts or assign them too much meaning.

Every wave of emotion rises and falls. If we can help guide ourselves through these instances of intensity, we can return to a calmer state. The trick is to give ourselves permission to pause. If we can recognize two things, first, that our brains are overwhelmed and not functioning at their strongest capacity to regulate, and second, that our reaction probably has to do with a deeper wound or vulnerability within us, we can meet our uncomfortable emotions with patience, compassion, and perspective.

Giving ourselves this time and space to calm down is a productive action. It helps us reconnect to the wonderful functions of our prefrontal cortex. It helps improve our communication with our partner and model resilience for our children. It allows us to be curious about why we feel the intense ways we do at times, unlocking memories from our history that impacted us in ways of which we might not otherwise be aware. Finally, it allows us to act with integrity and care in how we treat others and how we treat ourselves.

A Conversation with William Nordhaus on the Economics of Global Warming, Pandemics, and Corporate Malfeasance

In this conversation, based on his book The Spirit of Green: The Economics of Collisions and Contagions in a Crowded World, Nobel Prize-winning pioneer in environmental economics, Dr. Nordhaus explains how and why “green thinking” could cure many of the world’s most serious problems — from global warming to pandemics. Solving the world’s biggest problems requires, more than anything else, coming up with new ways to manage the powerful interactions that surround us. For carbon emissions and other environmental damage, this means ensuring that those responsible pay their full costs rather than continuing to pass them along to others, including future generations. Nordhaus describes a new way of green thinking that would help us overcome our biggest challenges without sacrificing economic prosperity, in large part by accounting for the spillover costs of economic collisions. In a discussion that ranges from the history of the environmental movement to the Green New Deal, Nordhaus explains how rethinking economic efficiency, sustainability, politics, profits, taxes, individual ethics, corporate social responsibility, finance, and more would improve the effectiveness and equity of our society.

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Eating Habits to Avoid for Better Sleep According to Nutrition Experts

by Amt Shiffer for “Eat This, Not That”

If you're having trouble falling or staying asleep or feel like you aren't getting restful sleep, it may be time to look at your diet.

There are so many reasons why you might struggle to get good sleep, but one which you may not have considered is your diet. In fact, what you eat and drink on a daily basis has the serious potential to ruin your sleep.

"The food we eat impacts our sleep because of the process of digestion, which spikes blood sugar and causes the secretion of insulin in response to eating," says Lauren Minchen, MPH, RDN, CDN, nutrition consultant. "If our bodies are too busy breaking down heavy foods (particularly if we eat them right before bed), we may not sleep as deeply as we would if we ate healthier, lighter foods."

In order for our sleep to be more fully restorative, our whole body, including our digestion, needs to be at rest," Minchen adds, underscoring the important role the foods you eat before bedtime can have on your sleep. To make matters even more complicated, our diet doesn't just affect our sleep by interfering with our digestive processes, it can also have a direct impact on our circadian rhythm.

"If there is an imbalance of certain essential nutrients or fluid throughout the day, our circadian rhythms may be disrupted," adds Minchen, citing the importance of maintaining a well-balanced, regular diet throughout the day for optimal sleep health.
To get better, more restful sleep, we asked dietitians for the 8 eating habits that you should avoid.

1). Avoid Eating Dinner Late: "So many of us eat dinner late and go to bed shortly after or eat food prior to going to bed, and this can disrupt our sleep as our blood and energy is still going to our GI tract to digest our food," says Amy Shapiro, MS, RD, CDN, registered dietitian and nutritionist. "We want our stomachs to be mostly empty so our energy can be spent restoring and we can get into a deeper sleep. Also, if you are too full prior to going to sleep you can be uncomfortable, experience acid reflux and that can keep you up and disrupt sleep as well."

Adds Brenda Braslow, MS, RDN, LDN, registered dietitian, "The pressure on the esophageal sphincter can cause acid to backflow into the esophagus. This can be very uncomfortable and keep you awake."

2). Avoid Greasy, High-Fat Meals Close to Bedtime: "Fat takes longer to digest and so stays in the stomach longer, stimulating more stomach acid. This can result in heartburn," says Braslow. "Lying horizontally in bed makes heartburn worse because the stomach acid can more easily backflow into the esophagus." It all gets much worse if any of these 18 Foods Making Your Heartburn Worse are on the dinner menu.

3). Avoid Eating Too Much Sugar/Carbs: "Carbohydrates can make us feel drowsy, which may make us feel like they boost our sleep," says Minchen. "However, too many carbs or too much sugar (think sweets, too many starches, etc.) throughout the day can trigger sugar and insulin spikes that ultimately disrupt our sleep hormones and contribute to more wakefulness throughout the night and lighter, less restorative sleep."

4). Avoid Trying to Meet Your Water Intake Goals Too Close to Bedtime: "So many of us forget to drink water during the day and we try to consume most of our water needs in the evening," says Shapiro. "This can lead to disrupted sleep as you may have to wake up throughout the night to use the restroom. It is important to drink water throughout the day to support your body's digestion and detoxification processes and to promote energy.”

5). Avoid Drinking Too Much Alcohol: "Like carbohydrates, alcohol can make us feel sleepy. However, too much alcohol (and for some, any alcohol at all) can actually suppress the first two stages of REM sleep (there are four total stages we cycle through a few times each night), which contributes to a disruption of the natural sleep cycle and leads to less restorative sleep," says Minchen. "Alcohol can also lead to insomnia for some since they experience a delay/suppression of the first two stages of their REM sleep."

6). & 7). Avoid Drinking Coffee or Tea After Dinner & Avoid Generally Drinking Caffeine Late in the Day: 

6). "Caffeine blocks adenosine in the brain. Adenosine is a sleep-promoting chemical we naturally produce when we need sleep (we produce more as the day progresses). When caffeine blocks this brain chemical, we feel alert and awake," says Minchen. "Caffeine also has a half-life of 4-6 hours, meaning that only 1/2 of it has been broken down in that time frame. If you drink coffee or tea after dinner, you will effectively experience the alert feelings of caffeine all night, and the caffeine will only be metabolized closer to when you wake in the morning."

7). "Caffeine is a stimulant and gives us energy, clarity and focus. However, some people do not metabolize caffeine very efficiently and it can remain in our systems long after we consume it. This can prevent us from falling to sleep," says Shapiro. "I recommend my clients do not consume caffeine (from tea, soda, coffee or even chocolate in some individuals) after 12 p.m. If you reach for a 4 p.m. coffee to get you through the rest of the day and you don't sleep well you may want to consider switching to water, decaf, or other (unsweetened) non-caffeine beverages!"

8). Avoid Going to Bed Dehydrated: "Becoming dehydrated throughout the day disrupts our sleep cycles and may lead to more wakefulness and less restorative sleep," says Minchen. "Dehydration actually contributes to there being fewer available amino acids (proteins) in our bloodstream, which means we don't produce adequate amounts of melatonin. This may mean that being chronically dehydrated will disrupt our circadian rhythm and actually leads to insomnia. Further, not getting adequate sleep can then lead to dehydration, which feeds this vicious cycle. Adequate sleep helps our bodies regulate fluid retention through the secretion of vasopressin. If we cut sleep short, we may end up more dehydrated throughout the day."