The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science from Denial, Fraud, and Pseudoscience

In this engaging conversation on the nature of science, Dr. McIntyre and Dr. Shermer get deep into the weeds of where to draw the line between science and pseudoscience. It may seem obvious when you see it (like Justice Potter’s definition of pornography — “I know it when I see it”), from a philosophical perspective it isn’t at all easy to articulate a formula for science that perfectly weeds out all incorrect or fraudulent scientific claims while still retaining true scientific claims. It really comes down to what Dr. McIntyre describes as a “scientific attitude” in an emphasis on evidence and scientists’ willingness to change theories on the basis of new evidence. For example, claims that climate change isn’t settled science, that evolution is “only a theory,” and that scientists are conspiring to keep the truth about vaccines from the public are staples of some politicians’ rhetorical repertoire. In this podcast, and in more detail in his book, McIntyre provides listeners and readers with answers to these challenges to science, and in the process shows how science really works.

McIntyre and Shermer also discuss:

• the strengths and weaknesses of Karl Popper’s “falsification” criteria for the line of demarcation
• how conspiracy theorists draw their own line of demarcation between their version of the conspiracy vs. that of others within their own community
• the problem of anomalies that are not explained by the mainstream theory and what to do with them
• McIntyre’s adventure at the Flat Earth conference
• Graham Hancock and alternative archaeology
• Creationists and why they are wrong (and how evolution could be falsified)
• similarities between Evolution deniers and Holocaust deniers
• anti-vaxxers and their motives
• climate deniers and why they’re inappropriately skeptical of climate science, and
• how to talk to a science denier of any stripe.

Watch or listen to the entire discussion

Eating White Bread Makes You Fat, Right? Not if You Do This

Here's a little article you night find interesting.

Eating White Bread Makes You Fat, Right? Not if You Do This

Is Cousin Marriage Dangerous?

BY GABRIEL ANDRADE

How can one forget the dueling banjos of Deliverance? A group of urbanites goes deep into Georgia where they encounter hillbillies. One of the friendlier urbanites tries to establish a rapport with one hillbilly kid, whose countenance is creepy. He appears mentally retarded, suggested to be the result of inbreeding. Yet, he plays the banjo with great agility, to the point that he sets up a musical duel with the guitar playing urbanite. This is only a foreshadow of what will come later: the inbred hillbillies perform all sorts of sadistic acts against the urbanites.

The Ultimate Taboo

In this era of identity politics there is great concern for African-Americans, Latinos, Muslims, the LGBTQ community, and other groups, but nobody seems to care much about the degradation of Appalachian mountaineers in media and cultural portrayals. As far as everyone else is concerned, their incestuous ways make them seemingly subhuman. Indeed, incest has been the easiest means of character assassination throughout history, as the cases of Oedipus, Marie Antoinette, Anne Boleyn and so many others seem to illustrate. And there is the recurrent cultural trope that once relatives mate civilization collapses. Colombian novelist Garcia Marquez eloquently portrays this in his depiction of the Buendia family in One Hundred Years of Solitude, in which the Buendia family persists for centuries until two distant relatives have sexual intercourse leading to a child with a pig tail, and the disappearance of the ancestral Macondo village.

Cousins should not be encouraged to marry, in the same manner that women over 40 should not be encouraged to become pregnant. But, neither should they be forbidden.

The incest taboo can be counted as one of the truly universal human institutions. Yet, there is disagreement about how far this prohibition should go. There is the universal prohibition for someone to have sex with his/her siblings, parents or grandparents, but there are variations regarding cousins, uncles, and others on the family tree. More important, there is also disagreement about what the rationale for the incest taboo is. This latter point was tested in a well-known experiment by the psychologist Jonathan Haidt in which he presented subjects with the following scenario:

Julie and Mark are brother and sister. They are traveling together in France on summer vacation from college. One night they are staying alone in a cabin near the beach. They decide that it would be interesting and fun if they tried making love. At the very least it would be a new experience for each of them. Julie was already taking birth control pills, but Mark uses a condom too, just to be safe. They both enjoy making love, but they decide not to do it again. They keep that night as a special secret, which makes them feel even closer to each other. What do you think about that? Was it OK for them to make love? […]

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You’ll “Get Abs” If You Do Tons of Crunches, & Other Fitness Myths You Need To Stop Buying Into

By Rasha Ali for USA Today

Even though we know fad diets and fitness trends come and go, it's easy to get swept up in the idea that they could be true, especially when there are so many crazes hitting you from every which way.  One day protein shakes are the answer to everything. The next, there's a blogger telling us a mere 10 squats a day will give us better butts.

Rather than rely on wishful thinking, we asked dietitians and trainers to weigh in on five common fitness beliefs. Spoiler alert: they're mostly myths.

1). You need protein shakes to build muscle. Protein shakes are touted as a be-all-end-all solution. They're advertised as meal replacements and as a way to grow and maintain lean muscle. Turns out, you don't actually need to take protein supplements if you're getting adequate protein from food. Kelli McGrane, registered dietitian for Lose It, says although protein shakes can be convenient, you have to be cautious about which ones you pick because they could have added sugars and can cause bloating.

"There are many excellent high-protein foods that can help you build muscle, such as plain Greek yogurt, chicken, lean beef, fish, eggs and tofu," McGrane says. "Plus, in addition to providing protein, these foods also supply additional vitamins and minerals that are important for metabolism and cell growth."

2). Ab-based workouts will “give you abs”.  If you're after that chiseled stomach, doing 100 crunches a day won't help you get there any faster. "Abs are made through nutrition," Austin Dotson, personal trainer, says. "You can do billions of abs exercises, but if you do not consume the proper diet, Jesus will come back before your abs do."

You have to lose body fat to see your abs. To do that, you have to mix proper nutrition with both weight training  and cardio exercises (like running on a treadmill, jump rope or high-intensity interval training). In short, you can't crunch your way to abs.

3). Doing cardio is the only way to lose weight. Yes, cardio can help you shed some pounds, but it's not the only way to do so. In fact, you don't have to do any cardio at all if you only want to lose weight. It all comes down to the calories you're consuming, says James Smith, personal trainer and owner of James Smith Academy.

"Put it this way, Ross Edgley swam around the U.K. for five months, he swam 12 hours a day and came back 5 kilograms heavier. Alternatively, a housewife could manage her intake of calories and lose 5 kilograms in five months without going to the gym or doing any cardio."

Although cardio can be effective in helping burn calories, make sure you're not doing too much of it, Dotson added. "We need muscle to burn fat, so too much cardio is the fastest way to plateau and actually retain more fat," he says. "You need to add some type of strength/resistance training in your regimen  and switch up your methods of cardio."

4). Squats are the best butt-building exercise. Yes, squats can help you grow your gluteus muscles, but there are other exercises that are better suited for targeting that area. Celebrity trainer, Eric Fleishman says exercises like walking lunges and fire hydrants can transform your glutes faster than squats. They're less dangerous too. To add some volume to your backside, make sure you're focusing on all parts of the butt, Dotson says.

"You have to focus on all areas of the glutes: Maximus, medius, minimus, so squats alone won’t do the trick, you need to add in hip abduction, and abductors as well as glute bridges, lunges and deadlifts," he says. You also have to eat enough to sculpt your butt, Dotson says. Make sure you're getting enough protein and other nutrients for those muscle gains.

5). Your fat can turn into muscle. Fat and muscle are two entirely different types of tissue and you can't magically transform one into the other. However, lifting weights can help you build muscle and lose fat at the same time.  "Lifting weights can promote muscle growth, which in turn can increase your metabolism," McGrane says. "This metabolism boost, in addition to a healthy, calorie-balanced diet and general increase in physical activity, can help you burn more fat." 

You can do this by adding resistance training (along with any cardio) into your gym routine. Make sure to strike a balance, as too much cardio can end up burning up your lean muscle, Dotson says. 

Why drug expiration dates don't matter

Here's a little something I ran across. 
Your mileage may vary, but it's good for for thought.

Why drug expiration dates don't matter

The Shocking Phenomenon That Shows How Movement Starved Modern Kids Really Are

by Brandon Hall for The Stack E-zine

The serene interior of an elementary school classroom. Sunlight streams through the windows as a teacher scribbles basic arithmetic on the board. Some students follow along while others daydream. Suddenly, a crash. The kids immediately crane to see what caused the commotion. There, lying confused on the ground, is a child who inexplicably fell out of their chair. They sheepishly climb back into their seat, and the lesson resumes. A couple hours later, it happens again—albeit with a different child. Then again. Then again.

It sounds like something out of a science fiction movie, but it's the reality in many modern classrooms. Children accidentally falling from their seats is now a daily occurrence.

Christina Heyding, a Canadian elementary school teacher, recounted her experience with a class of first-graders in a 2015 piece for The Globe and Mail. "Imagine 23 penguins trying to sit on chairs. This is what my classroom looks like. One week I took a tally. In total, my students fell off their chairs 44 times. There's a vast variety of falls—the backward flip, the wiggly-leg tangle, the forward bang, the sideways slide and the slow-motion smash. No amount of cautioning can prevent these falls."

Ask anyone who works in an elementary school, and you'll hear a similar refrain. Kids dropping out of their chairs is the new normal. But why? What's going on that's making simply sitting in a chair a physical challenge for our youth?

Let's start with the vestibular system. The vestibular system, located inside our inner ear, is responsible for our sense of balance and spatial awareness. It also plays an important role in focus and attention, visual skills, and emotional regulation.

"Inside your inner ear are little hair cells. And we need to move in all different directions so that fluid moves back and forth and stimulates those hair cells, and that develops the vestibular sense. That sense is key to all the other senses. If that's not working right, it can affect everything," says Angela Hanscom, pediatric occupational therapist and author of the book Balanced and Barefoot: How Unrestricted Outdoor Play Makes For Strong, Confident and Capable Children.

Our vestibular system is stimulated and developed by moving through space in a variety of directions—particularly at high speeds. Thirty or 40 years ago, kids were getting all the stimulation they needed by participating in several hours of daily unstructured outdoor play. Not anymore. According to the Child Mind Institute, the average American kid now spends an average of just 4-7 minutes per day on unstructured outdoor play. Hanscom recommends, at minimum, three hours per day. Meanwhile, the average American kid spends about nine hours a day sitting down—whether that be at their desk or plopped down on their couch at home.

"They're not moving in all different directions," Hanscom says. "We're actually supposed to be moving in rapid directions on a regular basis. Kids should be rolling down hills, going upside down." Kids are naturally driven to move in all sorts of ways during unstructured outdoor play. They climb things, they chase one another, they jump from high places, they spin until they get dizzy. That wide array of movement helps develop a well-functioning vestibular system, along with countless other important physical and mental skills. Now that unstructured outdoor play has become an afterthought in the lives of children, that natural development has gone missing.

Modern playgrounds and overprotective adults don't help matters, either. In the early-to-mid 20th century, playgrounds featured towering slides, challenging climbs and fast-spinning steel merry-go-rounds. That all changed in the mid-1980s, as schools and local governments became increasingly fearful that litigious parents could have them fired or sued should a child suffer injury on their playground. Thus playgrounds began getting more and more watered down. Today, most American playgrounds are too short, too slow and too easy. Thus, fewer opportunities for diverse, challenging and vigorous movement.

"A lot of kids from an early age will master the playground equipment really quickly. My son, who is 3, can do the playground. My older girls, who are 11 and 14, they mastered it at 5 or 6, which means that now it doesn't offer the challenge it was originally designed to be. It's just basic physics that if you shorten swings, you shorten slides, you're going to get less sensory input. The merry-go-round is a really powerful vestibular input (that's gone away)," Hanscom says. In addition to the neutered equipment now available to kids; teachers, parents and school officials have also become overzealous in their mandates and rule-making.

"Ironically, we tend to tell kids, 'Don't spin, you're going to get dizzy.' Or, 'Get down from that rock, you're gonna get hurt.' But as therapists, we purposefully have swings in our clinics and will spin (kids) in all different directions so that they have a really good sense of body awareness," Hanscom says.
"(Schools) are taking swings away, or if they have swings, the kids have to stay upright now. They're not allowed to go on their bellies, they're not allowed to spin on their swings anymore…We've created unrealistic rules and restricted their movement. They can't sit on the monkey bars. They can't go upside down. And in therapy, we literally try to get them in an inverted position so they have better body awareness. We're going against each other."

The reduction in movement isn't just leaving kids with underdeveloped vestibular and proprioceptive systems, but it's also making them physically weaker. In 2012, Hanscom conducted a pilot study on American fifth-grade students to see how their balance and core strength compared to an average American fifth-grader from 1984. She found that only one in every 12 children could meet the 1984 standard in both measures.

The problem isn't limited to America, either. A study published in the Journal of Science and Medicine in Sportfound that in 2014, 10-year-olds from a town in England had 20% less muscle strength and 30% less muscle endurance than 10-year-olds from that same town 16 years earlier. The average boy included in the study went from being capable of achieving over 26 Sit-Ups in 30 seconds in 1998 to 15.4 Sit-Ups in 2014.

Weaker core and postural muscles, an underdeveloped vestibular sense, and too many consecutive hours spent at a desk without a break for physical activity—you put these factors together, and you start to understand why a kid might fall out of their seat at school. In addition to that phenomenon, fidgeting now seems to be at an all-time high among students. Years ago, there might've been one or two fidgeters in each elementary school classroom. Now, huge numbers of students are constantly fidgeting in their seats, and more children than ever are being diagnosed with attention deficit disorders. In Hanscom's eyes, it's a clear indication they aren't getting enough movement.

"Extreme fidgeting is a huge indicator that something's not right with their environment. The more I do this, the more I realize it's our environment that's a huge problem. This large number of children should not have trouble with attention and this number of children should not have a problem with sensory integration," Hanscom says. Since movement can help light up areas of our brain that relate to focus, fidgeting is often a self-regulation mechanism used by movement-starved children in an effort to better pay attention. Modern teachers also report that students now ask to get up to do things like sharpen a pencil or use the bathroom exponentially more frequently than students of previous generations, which could also relate to their craving for movement.

While our society can be quick to label kids who cause disruptions and can't pay attention as "problem children," Hanscom recommends considering the environment they're being asked to succeed in. "Some of this is hereditary, but a huge part is environmental. We have to look at, 'What are we doing? What are we asking of children?"

Comical side note: What did I learn during dodgeball? Plenty! 1). Size, strength, and good aim do matter, and if you don't have those, figure out how to get you some or, adapt as best you can. 2). Never stand still, always keep moving. 3). Keep your head on a swivel, you never know what's coming or from where. 4). Always be ready to abruptly duck, jump, and/or do a side slide to evade. 5). If you're lucky enough to get a ball, choose your target carefully for best advantage and aim well. 6). When possible, shadow behind larger players for optimal shielding and longevity. 7). If you get hit: a). Physically, it's a temporary sting (possibly a bruise), no big deal! b). Psychologically, you may kinda suck but it's not the end of the world, better luck next time, no big deal! Many good life lessons there, yes? 

What is Mental Illness, Anyway?

BY PETER BARGLOW, MD

In Mind Fixers: Psychiatry’s Troubled Search for the Biology of Mental Illness, Harvard historian of science Anne Harrington concludes about American Psychiatry that “firm understandings of major mental illnesses and their underlying biology continue to elude the field” (p.272). Harrington cites hundreds of published articles and books demonstrating her major conclusion that the biology of serious mental disease remains a mystery. Such a pessimistic verdict is paired with the implication that treatment of emotional disease has shown little progress, largely as a consequence of inadequate biological comprehension. In Chapter 1, Harrington describes questionable early-20th century psychologically based treatment efforts for hysteria and traumatic psychic war disability. In 1913, Treponema pallidum bacteria that caused Syphilis were found in the brains of patients suffering from the neurological psychiatric disease “General Paresis.” Later antibiotic remedies that destroyed Treponema also ended Neurosyphilis. Surely, one would think, the same kind of scientific advance could generate a cure for schizophrenia or depression? Alas this has not happened even by today.

But the book extensively describes the time period after 1910 when influential Swiss neurologist and emigrant to America Adolph Meyer emphasized that psychiatrists must study mental illness from a biological perspective. The following year (1911), psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler also Swiss who coined the term “Schizophrenia” agreed. He claimed that although this disabling disease had psychological characteristics its origins was organic pathology of the brain. Both physicians asserted that understanding mental illness required more than investigation of pertinent lifetime social and mental data, and must include the actual inspection of brain specimens and the study of heredity and genetics.

In Part I of her book, “Doctors’ Stories,” Harrington examines the history of concerted efforts by American Psychiatry to identify the biology of mental illness. Her comprehensive examination of research findings convinces her that most seriously ill patients whom we treat certainly do have a genuine disease. As a physician I too have no doubt that this is so. For her — and for me — this is certainly why Vladimir Horowitz, probably the finest classical pianist of the 20th century, couldn’t perform between 1953 and 1965. He suffered from a profound Depression Disorder, recovery from which was achieved only through repeated electroshock therapy.

In Part II, “Disease Stories,” Harrington reviews theories about the alleged brain causes of three disabling major mental illnesses: Schizophrenia, Depression, and Mania-Depression. These diseases afflict millions of Americans and lead to severe personal suffering, in addition to the large societal and economic cost from lost work and impaired social engagement. However, there is a serious omission in this section of the book: the necessary exploration of a fourth major mental disease, addiction. This disorder has caused 200,000 American opioid overdose deaths over the past 15 years and its absence from Mind Fixers is notable because of these drugs’ lethality. Even more relevant is that our understanding of the biology of addiction is considerably better than any of the three illnesses included in Harrington’s survey. Naturally occurring brain chemicals such as GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), glutamates, and dopamine have been identified as critical neuro-substances in this psychopathology. Their inhibitory and stimulatory functions, chemistry, and neurological substrates are well understood. As a consequence of this scientific advance in knowledge, effective medications such as methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone have been successful in ameliorating the ravages of both legal and illegal opioid substances. Also this comprehension during the last half century has generated sleeping medicines in the form of benzodiazepines that are far safer than barbiturates which were a major source of accidental overdose deaths during the 20th century So in this scientific medication domain, there has indeed been considerable progress. […]

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One Giant Leap: The Impossible Mission that Flew us to the Moon

On this July 16^th, the 50^th anniversary of Apollo 11, Michael Shermer speaks with veteran space reporter Charles Fishman who has been writing about NASA and the space program for more than 30 years.

In One Giant Leap he delivers an all-new take on the race to the Moon that puts Apollo into a new perspective in American history. Yes, the Apollo astronauts are the well-known and well-deserved public heroes of the race to the Moon. But the astronauts didn’t make the trip possible. It took 410,000 people to make the moon landings achievable. Every hour of spaceflight for Apollo required a million hours of work by scientists, engineers and factory workers on the ground — the equivalent of 10 lifetimes of work back on Earth. Fishman tells the story of the men and women who did the work to get the astronauts, and the country, to the Moon and back. Fishman and Shermer discuss:

• When President John F. Kennedy rallied the nation to go to the Moon in 1961, the task was impossible. None of the technology or techniques existed to do it. Engineers, scientists and factory workers in every state in the USA created that technology in just 8 years. They invented space travel on a deadline.
• Apollo is sometimes judged a disappointment because it didn’t usher in the Jetsons-like Space Age we thought it would. Fishman argues that the success of Apollo is the age we live in now — it opened the world to the digital revolution in ways that have never before been appreciated or written about. “The race to the Moon didn’t usher in the Space Age; it ushered in the Digital Age,” he writes. “And that is as valuable a legacy as the imagined Space Age might have been.”
• Secret tapes JFK made of meetings about space, along with other overlooked information from the Kennedy Administration, indicate that Kennedy himself was losing enthusiasm for the Moon race and the Moon landing by the fall of 1963. Had he not been assassinated, it’s not at all clear that Armstrong and Aldrin would have walked on the Moon in July 1969.
• The on-board computer for Apollo was the smallest, most flexible, most powerful, most user-friendly computer ever created when it flew the astronauts to the Moon — and it did its mission with less computing power than your microwave oven has today.
• Much of the most critical work to make the Moon missions possible was done by hand: the spacesuits were sewn by hand; the parachutes were sewn and folded by hand; the computer software was woven by hand; the heatshield was applied by hand, using a specialized version of a caulking gun.
• The iconic image of astronauts unfurling an American flag on the Moon almost didn’t happen. NASA had not even thought about carrying a flag on the Moon missions until just weeks before the first mission blasted off.
• Shermer ends by asking Fishman about the reputation of Wernher von Braun, the Nazi rocket scientist who built the mighty Saturn V rocket that took the astronauts to the moon: how can we reconcile his genius and vision with his Nazi past, especially his involvement in the slave labor that built the V-2 rockets that rained death down on England in the final year of the war?

Watch of listen

The Unspeakable Mind: Stories of Trauma and Healing from the Frontlines of PTSD Science

From a physician and post-traumatic stress disorder specialist comes a nuanced cartography of PTSD, a widely misunderstood yet crushing condition that afflicts millions of Americans.

The Unspeakable Mind is the definitive guide for a trauma-burdened age. With profound empathy and meticulous research, Shaili Jain, M.D. — a practicing psychiatrist and PTSD specialist at one of America’s top VA hospitals, trauma scientist at the National Center for PTSD, and a Stanford Professor — shines a long-overdue light on the PTSD epidemic affecting today’s fractured world.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder goes far beyond the horrors of war and is an inescapable part of all our lives. At any given moment, more than six million Americans are suffering with PTSD. Dr. Jain’s groundbreaking work demonstrates the ways this disorder cuts to the heart of life, interfering with one’s capacity to love, create, and work — incapacity brought on by a complex interplay between biology, genetics, and environment. Beyond the struggles of individuals, PTSD has a tangible imprint on our cultures and societies around the world.

In this conversation Dr. Shermer and Dr. Jain discuss:

• the history of PTSD and why no one talked about it after WWI, WWII, and Vietnam, but now we are
• how Dr. Jain diagnoses PTSD by characteristics presented by a patient
• how to treat PTSD through Cognitive Behavior Therapy through systematic desensitization
• the problem of tracking rates of PTSD because of the expanding bin of who is considered a victim of the disorder
• the difficulty of predicting deaths by suicide
• the difficulty of predicting who will suffer from PTSD, given the many people who have suffered severe trauma and not developed it
• why some stress is good for developing resiliency in life, but when too much stress causes harm, and
• the unseen costs of war.

Watch or listen

Power Foods That Fight Inflammation

Struggling With Chronic Inflammation? 
Skipping the Inflammatory Stuff & Adding These Foods Could Help
by Chris Tuttle, MS, RD

Inflammation is an immune response by the body to any damaged tissues. It is the start of the healing process, and without it the body would not be able to heal and recover. You may understand inflammation as the body's response to cuts, bruises, fractures, muscle tears, infection, and other forms of trauma where you see swelling and feel pain, but there's another kind of inflammation, one that's harder to detect.
Systemic inflammation is insde the body, where there are fewer internal nerve endings, and you don't feel it the same way. It often becomes chronic and can negatively affect many facets of your overall health. Symptoms of chronic inflammation vary, but some common symptoms include fatigue, joint pain, mouth sores, gas, bloating, chest pain, fever, and skin rashes.

Chronic inflammation can be caused by a variety of factors, but it is often lifestyle related.[1] High stress levels, poor sleeping habits, and a diet high in refined sugars and processed foods are all very inflammatory.Continually consuming inflammatory foods can make eating almost uncomfortable. People may think they have food allergies or intolerances, but what is really happening is that the GI tract is inflamed from the repetitive exposure to problematic food.

What can you do to fight systemic inflammation? For starters, make sure your lifestyle includes getting adequate sleep, stress management, and a balanced diet designed to lower inflammation.

Following an Anti-inflammatory Diet: Basically, an anti-inflammatory diet must be made up predominantly of foods that are rich in antioxidants, lower in refined sugar, high in monounsaturated fats, and high in omega-3 fatty acids. Focus on eating lean meats, nuts, healthy fats, and a variety of fruits and vegetables. For example, the Mediterranean diet is considered an anti-inflammatory diet; it emphasizes eating a variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, fish, and potatoes with a moderate amount of lean meat and dairy products, and it limits red meat.

I believe that following a diet lower in carbs and higher in fats can also help fight inflammation. If you have a known intolerance, you may consider eliminating or limiting gluten as well. My power food standouts include extra-virgin olive oil, turmeric, spinach, mushrooms, wild salmon, and berries—foods that are micronutrient dense and have a high content of antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids. There are many other great anti-inflammatory foods—such as almonds, walnuts, citrus fruits, broccoli, dark chocolate, and cherries, so no one should be limited to only these six.

6 (of many) Power Foods 

1. Berries contain anti-inflammatory compounds called anthocyanins and have a low glycemic index. They are also a good source of fiber and vitamin C. They're also very pleasant to eat, and can be used in a number of ways in your dialy meal plan. including dessert.

2. Fatty fish are a great source of protein and are high in the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA. These long-chain fatty acids are broken down into protectins and resolvins that fight inflammation in the body. Fatty fish such as wild salmon, sardines, herring, anchovies, and mackerel are all great sources of omega-3s; however, you want to avoid king mackerel, which is very high in mercury.

3. Extra-virgin olive oil and olives are high in monounsaturated fat and contain oleocanthal, which is an antioxidant with a strong anti-inflammatory effect. Note that refined olive oils do not contain as many anti-inflammatory benefits.
Marlene's Note: I featured a pic of Trader Joe's version as it's one of the more affordable options and the one I use myself.

4. Turmeric is a spice commonly used in Indian dishes that contains curcumin, which has been shown in studies to be linked to reduced inflammation.[2]

5. Mushrooms contain phenols and selenium, which have anti-inflammatory effects in the body. They are also high in B vitamins and copper. Note that we're talking about edible, store-bought mushrooms. Do not eat mushrooms in the wild. A number of wild mushrooms are poisonous, so you really need to know what you’re looking at when out in the field.

6. Spinach is referred to as a superfood by many for its high micronutrient content. Spinach is high in folate, potassium, vitamins A and K, iron, and magnesium and is a good source of fiber.

A balanced diet rich in these foods will not stop inflammation altogether, but it can help the body fight inflammation and elicit an appropriate immune response. Lowering inflammation requires a multifaceted approach. Get plenty of sleep, learn to manage stress better, exercise, and improve your diet.

References
   1). Liu, Y. Z., Wang, Y. X., & Jiang, C. L. (2017). Inflammation: the common pathway of stress-related diseases. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 11, 316.
   2). Chainani-Wu, N. (2003). Safety and anti-inflammatory activity of curcumin: a component of tumeric (Curcuma longa). The Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine, 9(1), 161-168.

The Church of the Latter Day Dude

I received this back in 2014. 

I haven't officiated at anything yet, but at least I'm ready.

In Dudeness We Abide.

Conquer Your Cravings: Break the Sinister Cycle That Promotes Overeating

by Julia Malacoff & Jennifer Nickle (for Precision Nutrition)

From ruining your progress to making you feel like a failure, food cravings aren’t your friend (no matter what they say in the ads). In this article, we break down the real reasons you can’t stop over-snacking and explain how to combine smart behavioral strategies with healthy junk food alternatives—so you can finally conquer your cravings.

Have you ever stared at a pile of crumbs, with a belly full of shame, and wondered, ‘How did I let this happen?’ We can relate. Because almost everyone can relate. Besides driving you to eat, cravings can drive you nuts—making you feel like an out-of-control failure who can’t keep from overindulging. But, you aren’t powerless against these urges, even if it seems that way.

What’s the secret to winning the cravings game? It’s not about eliminating your cravings altogether. That’s wishful thinking. The way you conquer your cravings is by outwitting them. How? By understanding why, where, and when they occur and creating a strategic action plan ahead of time. Think of it as learning “junk food jiu-jitsu”. And if you’re ready, you can start today.

Here are some insights to help you understand cravings so you can get off that train for good, followed by some strategies to help you take action.

     Insight #1: The root of your cravings. No one hates on themselves when they crave a salad, a protein shake, or a grilled chicken breast. But most cravings are closely tied to junk food and have little to do with true hunger. Further, each time you indulge these urges you reinforce the behavior, creating a “cravings cycle” that can hijack your progress… and your sanity.

The cravings cycle works like this: First comes the urge (the craving), followed by the behavior (finding a food that satisfies that craving). Then, you get the reward (eating the food you wanted). That last part is accompanied by a release of dopamine, giving your brain a chemical “hit” of pleasure¹.
From there it can snowball: The more often you reward your brain, the more likely it is to stimulate the craving, and the stronger that craving may become.

   Insight #2: Find your trigger. Ever had your mouth water at the mere sight of a McDonald’s drive-thru? Or smell that movie popcorn and make a beeline for the concession stand—even though you swore you’d skip it this time?

Cravings are often brought on by environmental cues such as sight, smell, taste, location, or company. Tracking when and where your cravings occur can you help you figure out what triggers them. From there, you can adjust your environment and habits to disrupt the cycle.

Each time you experience a craving, jot down the answers to these questions:
   1). What are you craving? (A specific food? A certain flavor or texture?)
   2). Where are you? (Note your location, but also any smells or visual cues—like a restaurant billboard or commercial.)
   3). What are you doing? (Driving? Working? Watching TV?)
   4). What are you feeling physically? (Shaky? Lightheaded? Tense?)
   5). What are you feeling emotionally? (Happy? Cranky? Rushed? Anxious?)
   6). What are you thinking? (For instance: ‘I might as well eat this… I’ve already blown my diet.’)
   7). Who are you with? (Be very specific.)

This isn’t a one-time exercise. It might be helpful to actually keep a cravings journal. Try it for a couple of weeks so you can see what patterns emerge. And trust us, there are almost always patterns.

   Insight #3: Identify & change your patterns. Let’s say you tend to reach for ice cream an hour after dinner every night. According to your notes, you’re not even really hungry; you’re just craving something sweet, salty, or crunchy… or maybe a combination of the three.

Or perhaps you’ve noticed that every day after your 2 pm conference call, you saunter down to the office cafeteria “just to see if there’s anything new.” (There’s not.) And you end up with a 500-calorie “treat” you didn’t need or even truly want out of sheer habit.

You now better understand your cravings and just identified a pattern. Now you can disrupt the cycle with these smart behavioral strategies.

   Strategy #1: Give your craving a time out. Yes, the strategy traditionally used with willful toddlers can also work with Rocky Road. Notice your snack urge and sit with it for 10-20 minutes without taking action.

This isn’t about exercising willpower. It’s about pausing just long enough to let your conscious mind say, ‘Hey, I’m in charge here!’ This gives you the chance to evaluate all your options, and make a rational decision, rather than a reactionary one.

Are you actually hungry? Or are you bored or stressed or procrastinating? Does a steak or baked potato sound good, or is it just those donuts in the break room? These are the kinds of questions you can take the time to ask yourself.

Maybe you’re truly hungry (in this case, have a meal or mini-meal). Or perhaps you’re just not having your best day. (Trigger alert!) Think of this as an opportunity to gather more data about your cravings, so you better understand them. (And give yourself a pat on the back for taking that 10-20 minutes.).

     Strategy #2: Choose an activity that doesn’t involve a form of food. What happens if you step away from the freezer and go for a walk, clean up your phone’s camera roll, or make a new Spotify playlist? By immersing your mind or body in an activity long enough, you may run the urge all the way out of your system.

That’s because cravings are more often psychological rather than physical. Intense compulsions such as cravings don’t usually last longer than 10 to 20 minutes. If you’re not really hungry, the craving will likely dissipate.

   You’ve probably even experienced a form of this “diversion therapy” before. Ever get so involved in a project that you actually forget to eat lunch? Or the afternoon flies by, and you didn’t even think about a snack? Same concept, only this time, you’ll do it on purpose.
   Once you sense a craving, choose an activity you can really dig into, such as:
1). Working on a project or pastime you’re passionate about
2). crossing an item off of your daily to-do list
3). Responding to a few emails
4). Calling or texting a friend
5). Playing an instrument or video (or other) game
6). Shooting hoops in the driveway
7). Drawing or coloring in a coloring book.
8). Exercising, gardening, or cleaning
9). Watching some short (but FUN) videos
   Remember, you’re looking to activate and occupy your mind and/or body. While different activities may work better for different people, watching TV probably won’t help (and in fact, is often a trigger).

     Strategy #3: Eat the right foods during the day. Though cravings can happen any time of day, nighttime cravings and overeating are very common. Over the years, our coaches have discovered clients who overeat at night are often restricting their intake throughout the day—knowingly or unknowingly. 

For example, they might be skipping breakfast and having a salad with little or no protein for lunch. By dinner, they could be making solid choices rich in fiber, protein, and healthy fats, but their appetite is already in overdrive, so it’s no wonder they’re feeling snacky before bed. What you eat during the day matters. 

Fiber (especially from low-calorie vegetables) helps fill you up, and protein keeps you full longer between meals. This makes eating a combination of these nutrients, in sensible portions at regular intervals, key for regulating appetite.

Through years of experience, our coaches have found that even small adjustments to eating habits, such as adding a daily breakfast with a healthy dose of protein and veggies—along with reasonable amounts of smart carbs and healthy fats—can help curb after-dinner overeating.

The message here is simple: If you have a voracious night-time appetite, look at what you’re eating the rest of the day. You may find if you do a better job of nourishing your body at other meals, you won’t hear that little “feed me!” voice when you’re about to brush your teeth.