From the Eat This, Not That e-zine
More and more people are becoming aware that limiting sugar intake is important for sustaining overall health. Thankfully, keeping track of our sugarconsumption is getting easier than ever due to the FDA's labeling guidelines for added sugar.
While food labeling can help people know how much added sugar is being consumed, a nutrition label is only as useful as people's understanding of what it means. Here's an overview of what added sugar is, the downsides of eating too much, and what a healthy limit for added sugar might look like.
What is added sugar? "Added sugar is sugar that is not naturally occurring in a food, but is added during its production and processing to enhance flavor and texture," says Lisa Samuels, RD, founder of The Happie House.
Canned fruit is a classic example of added sugar, says Toby Smithson, MS, RDN, founder of DiabetesEveryDay.com and author of Diabetes Meal Planning and Nutrition for Dummies. A plain peach wouldn't contain any added sugars, though it does contain sugar. If you take that same peach and store it in syrup, that food product would contain added sugars within the syrup.
Other common foods that contain added sugar include: fruit juices, soft drinks, coffee and tea beverages, energy drinks, sweets such as candy, cakes, pastries, and cookies, sauces and salad dressings, among many others.
Are added sugars from a natural source unhealthy? Just because added sugars are listed as being from naturally occurring sugars on a nutrition label, that doesn't necessarily mean they're healthy.
"A lot of added sugars come from natural sources," says Maxine Yeung, MS, RD, CPT, and founder of The Wellness Whisk. Common sources of added sugar include: agave syrup, brown sugar, cane sugar, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, honey, and molasses.
"Even though some sugars, such as honey, occur naturally, if they are added to foods or beverages during processing, by definition, they become “added sugars," Yeung says.
When it comes to whether added sugars are healthy, it's best to compare them to natural, whole food sources of sugar. Samuels explains that whole food sources of healthy sugar, like fruit, "also contain fiber, vitamins, and minerals [in addition to the sugar], which gives them greater nutritional value than foods with added sugar."
What are the downsides of eating too much sugar? No matter the source, too much of any kind of sugar can be bad for your health. "The worry with added sugar in food and beverage items is that too much sugar in your diet can increase your risk for many medical complications, such as dental cavities, pre-diabetes, diabetes, and high cholesterol," Yeung says.
"Sugar contains calories but little to no nutritional value; it contributes what we call 'empty calories' to our diet," says Samuels. "This means that it can cause us to gain weight without adding any nutritional value for our bodies. It also leaves less room for healthier foods in our diet."
In addition, sugar can also provoke inflammation and "increases the risk of developing certain chronic conditions such as heart disease, depression, kidney and liver disease, and certain cancers."
Excess sugar consumption can be especially concerning for people with conditions such as high blood pressure or diabetes. Smithson says too much sugar can raise triglyceride levels or increase the carbohydrate content in the diet of a person with diabetes.
How many grams of added sugar should you allow for each day? Okay, so eating too much added sugar isn't good for you, but what qualifies as "too much" and what should your daily sugar intake be? The answer isn’t “one size fits all”.
"The FDA and most recent dietary guidelines recommend that added sugars make up no more than around 10 percent of your daily calories," Yeung says. "This amount varies per person based on individual daily calorie needs."
Yeung says that as a general rule, a person eating 2,000 calories per day should consume no more 200 calories in added sugar each day, which is 50 grams of added sugar daily. "For a person who needs [fewer] calories, the maximum amount of added sugar is, of course, less than that." she says.
Examples of recommended sugar intake for different caloric diet are:
1,200 calories: 30 grams added sugar
1,500 calories: 37 grams added sugar
1,800 calories: 45 grams added sugar
2,000 calories: 50 grams added sugar
2,200 calories: 55 grams added sugar
2,500 calories: 62 grams added sugar
While the FDA's recommendations are meant for the general public, these guidelines may be different for people with special health considerations. For example, Smithson says, "AHA (American Heart Association) offers guidelines for people with heart disease." Those guidelines set the recommended limit for added sugar at 25 grams per day. Smithson says recommendations also vary for people with diabetes.
What’s the most practical daily added sugar intake? If your head is starting to swim, Yeung offers some practical advice for folks without special health considerations. "I recommend trying to limit added sugar as best as you can by focusing on eating a diet primarily made up of whole foods and foods that have been minimally manipulated,” she says.
While aiming for a maximum of 50 grams of sugar per day is a decent guideline, less sugar is obviously better—50 grams isn't something to shoot for; it's a limit to stay well under.
"While the FDA makes sure food is safe for human consumption, they are also concerned with putting out products that taste good and have a normal mouthfeel, so they might allow for that extra bit of sugar to keep consumers happy," Samuels says.
Carbs, including sugar, are the main energy source of the human diet. While technically, your body can function without any dietary carbs as long as you consume an adequate amount of protein and fat, your goal shouldn't be to eliminate every scrap of sugar from your diet. Instead, it's important to think about the food sources you obtain it from.
"I recommend that most of the sugar you consume comes from foods that naturally contain it… where you also get additional nutrients," Yeung says. "For instance, fresh or frozen fruit is a great way to sweeten up a dish; plus you get fiber, water, and various vitamins and minerals," which gives whole food sources of sugar greater nutritional value than just added sugar.
Some of the best sources of natural sugar to focus on for your daily sugar intake include: vegetables (Root vegetables such as carrots, squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and parsnips), dairy products (Greek yogurt), and fruit (berries, apples, bananas).
Above all, Samuels stresses that it's important to listen to your body. "It is difficult to tell people exactly what to eat, because everyone's bodies are different and they do not process things in the same way," she says. "However, the less added sugar you include in your diet, the better."
Wednesday, April 29, 2020
Friday, April 24, 2020
Carl Sagan - The Possibility of Life in the Universe
This lecture by Carl Sagan was delivered in 1979 to a packed university auditorium in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It reflects the science of that time, and in the Q&A Dr. Sagan addresses the related claim that not only is there definitive proof for the existence of Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence in the cosmos, ETIs have visited Earth. Dr. Sagan’s exquisite deconstruction of such claims is a classic exercise in skeptical and critical thinking.
Listen to the lecture (audio only)
Tuesday, April 21, 2020
The Biggest Mistakes You Can Make With Your At-Home Workout
from The Stack E-zine
The "Quarantine Craze" has us all regretting not taking the time to invest in a decent home gym, but that doesn't have to be your excuse to not get your workouts in!
The fact is, you can make serious progress and take advantage of this added free time. I'm not saying you can expect to break strength barriers or do the full routines you are used to at the gym, but you sure can make the most of what you have available. It all comes down to perception and determination. Instead of flooding the internet with more home workouts for you to do (there’s thousands out there already…), let's look at some of the BIGGEST mistakes you are doing while training at home during this crazy time.
You stick to the same routine: This one is by far the most common mistake I see. You get a workout and then decide to do it the very next day and the next and the next. Soon, the 2-mile run, 100 push-ups, 100 crunches, and 100 squats will get boring and have you dreading the next day because of the lack of variety and results. If you want to include that sort of circuit into your mix, fine, you just want to change things up to give both your mind and your body needed variety.
You don’t utilize your environment to add elements to your workout: Instead of the 2-mile run, go for a 6-mile bike ride, a 2-mile hike involving a hill, or bring back the roller blade fashion and hit the pavement for a few non-impact miles. Instead of 100 of the usual push-ups, try 50 with a pause at the bottom. Instead of 100 squats, try 25 moving lunges. Instead of 100 crunches, do 25 weighted twists each side. You get the idea.
Most of you have light weights for your workouts—setting personal records is unlikely, so you have to be creative with how you use them! Try using: 1.5 reps, Negative Reps, Pause Reps, Iso Hold Reps @ all portions of the movement, Constant Tension Reps
When it comes to surroundings, think about what you have! No inverted row bar? Take a broomstick overtop two chairs! No box? Try using stairs! Nothing to elevate your feet? Try the edge of a couch.
This goes the same for equipment. A bag of sand costs $5 at Lowe's and you can do an intense workout! Water jugs work great for dumbbells, and towels can be used under your feet on the kitchen floor for some kick butt elastic work.
However, be mindful when thinking outside the box, getting a little too creative can also get you into trouble…
Doing bodyweight (or other) exercises you aren’t ready for: I see it all the time. You a watching one of your HIIT DVDs, following along with the trainer doing everything from Shaun-t's craziest moves to bizarre dance-like moves you see on Dancing "With the Stars." The only issue is that you are nowhere near their ability level and end up getting injured or doing reps that look worse than your 90-year-old grandmother attempting it.
Many of you would be shocked how beneficial the basics can be. I highly suggest mastering the basics before you attempt a more advanced exercise. You’ll only risk injury and cheat yourself out of actual benefits. If you cannot perform 20 correct push-ups from your toes using proper form, then you have no business attempting to switch regular push-ups for 45 seconds of explosive push-ups or burpees with full push-ups.
The best & worst exercise; the burpee: I am not going to come right out and say I hate burpees, but I am not a fan of them for the vast majority. Why? The risk vs. reward.
The burpee involves forcefully throwing your entire body weight to the floor in hopes of having reciprocal strength to push yourself back up and jump. Problem is many people who cannot even do 10 push-ups are knocking out intervals of 40-plus seconds that starts turning into a bizarre looking exercise you would see on Animal Planet.
Let’s be honest, they are a great way to get the heart rate up, but so are nearly a thousand other things. If you truly want to stay injury-free, I wouldn't suggest adding burpees to every home workout you do. If you do, stick to them in portions where you are not already pre-fatigued so you have the strength to not throw your body onto the floor without doing a proper push-up.
While I am on the topic, I might as well add in a few others that are not worth your time doing:
Bench Dips: Weight bearing on internally rotated shoulders is NOT a smart idea.
Sprinting at FULL speed: Never suggest this, stick to 80-90% efforts in short bursts.
Clapping Push-Ups: No need, why risk injuring yourself.
Short range of motion Pull-Ups Just stick to a full range-of-motion pull-up, folks.
Excessive jumping drills lasting longer than 45 seconds: Counterproductive and much higher injury risk.
Sticking to the same rep counts for lighter and body weight moves that you use for weighted moves: This one is pretty simple. For Susan, those 4x12 Prisoner Squats might be tough because she is new to exercise and never went to a gym before. For Stan, who is a gym user 3-4 days a week and has a history of weight training, those 4x12 will not be producing the same benefit. Not all sets/rep schemes are created equal. Using the same rep counts for bodyweight moves is not a beneficial approach. A way to make it work would be to add density (speed) with time constraintsbecause that rep count over time would make a difference to your fatigue levels.
Too many cardio moves: So many at-home workout routines are prioritized around HIIT (high-intensity interval training) and cardio craziness. Now, I am not saying that is bad, but too much of it and you heap too much stress on yourself, wreck your cortisol levels, and end up worse than you started on your immune-building and/or fat-loss journey. The key is treating your cardio as a side dish and the strength work as the main course.
If you are sticking to your nutrition guidelines, excessive cardio is not necessary or needed. Remember, muscle is what is more metabolically active, so adding more to your frame is always a good idea!
If you want a couple workouts each week to focus around HIIT that is perfectly fine, but don’t be doing them daily.
Missing a key body area: We all are so focused on training and getting workouts in at home, but one of the most forgotten muscles also is the most important! Posture takes a huge hit for many of us while working our normal jobs, so making sure you spend time on your back will do wonders for keeping you healthy and maintaining solid upper-body strength.
However, many avoid adding them to their home workouts because they do not have the "main" pieces of equipment used for training it.
This doesn't mean you avoid it, though. There are plenty of ways you can hit the back! Try using the broomstick over two chairs setup as I mentioned earlier. Try adding Renegade rows, or one of my favorites are Gorilla rows. They not only fire up your upper back, but also hit your core for an added bonus!
Is it your environment, or your excuses? Be honest with yourself: Working out in your living room with your family on the couches beside you watching their favorite episode of "The Office" is not going to go over well. It is too easy to be distracted, and one set or round will serve as plenty for you, when in reality it's not!
On top of that, finding excuses to avoid working out will only be your biggest downfall when training at home. There is always something that can be done around the house. The same applies for me and my daily duties owning a business. I can find something to get in the way of my exercise every day, BUT, I choose not to and realize that my health and goals are important to me.
The same should apply to you. Don't let the load of laundry or dirty bathroom be a reason to miss your workout. If you are a neat freak, then prioritize and have a schedule of when you do house chores and schedule them around your workouts.
If I chose to let work/life get in the way of my workouts, I would be lucky if my son Noah and my job let me train ever! You are in control of your life. No one else. If you want to make your at-home workouts more effective, stop making excuses as to why you can't get them done.
Follow these tips and rest assured, your sessions will become a lot more productive!
Stay home and stay safe!
The "Quarantine Craze" has us all regretting not taking the time to invest in a decent home gym, but that doesn't have to be your excuse to not get your workouts in!
The fact is, you can make serious progress and take advantage of this added free time. I'm not saying you can expect to break strength barriers or do the full routines you are used to at the gym, but you sure can make the most of what you have available. It all comes down to perception and determination. Instead of flooding the internet with more home workouts for you to do (there’s thousands out there already…), let's look at some of the BIGGEST mistakes you are doing while training at home during this crazy time.
You stick to the same routine: This one is by far the most common mistake I see. You get a workout and then decide to do it the very next day and the next and the next. Soon, the 2-mile run, 100 push-ups, 100 crunches, and 100 squats will get boring and have you dreading the next day because of the lack of variety and results. If you want to include that sort of circuit into your mix, fine, you just want to change things up to give both your mind and your body needed variety.
You don’t utilize your environment to add elements to your workout: Instead of the 2-mile run, go for a 6-mile bike ride, a 2-mile hike involving a hill, or bring back the roller blade fashion and hit the pavement for a few non-impact miles. Instead of 100 of the usual push-ups, try 50 with a pause at the bottom. Instead of 100 squats, try 25 moving lunges. Instead of 100 crunches, do 25 weighted twists each side. You get the idea.
Most of you have light weights for your workouts—setting personal records is unlikely, so you have to be creative with how you use them! Try using: 1.5 reps, Negative Reps, Pause Reps, Iso Hold Reps @ all portions of the movement, Constant Tension Reps
When it comes to surroundings, think about what you have! No inverted row bar? Take a broomstick overtop two chairs! No box? Try using stairs! Nothing to elevate your feet? Try the edge of a couch.
This goes the same for equipment. A bag of sand costs $5 at Lowe's and you can do an intense workout! Water jugs work great for dumbbells, and towels can be used under your feet on the kitchen floor for some kick butt elastic work.
However, be mindful when thinking outside the box, getting a little too creative can also get you into trouble…
Doing bodyweight (or other) exercises you aren’t ready for: I see it all the time. You a watching one of your HIIT DVDs, following along with the trainer doing everything from Shaun-t's craziest moves to bizarre dance-like moves you see on Dancing "With the Stars." The only issue is that you are nowhere near their ability level and end up getting injured or doing reps that look worse than your 90-year-old grandmother attempting it.
Many of you would be shocked how beneficial the basics can be. I highly suggest mastering the basics before you attempt a more advanced exercise. You’ll only risk injury and cheat yourself out of actual benefits. If you cannot perform 20 correct push-ups from your toes using proper form, then you have no business attempting to switch regular push-ups for 45 seconds of explosive push-ups or burpees with full push-ups.
The best & worst exercise; the burpee: I am not going to come right out and say I hate burpees, but I am not a fan of them for the vast majority. Why? The risk vs. reward.
The burpee involves forcefully throwing your entire body weight to the floor in hopes of having reciprocal strength to push yourself back up and jump. Problem is many people who cannot even do 10 push-ups are knocking out intervals of 40-plus seconds that starts turning into a bizarre looking exercise you would see on Animal Planet.
Let’s be honest, they are a great way to get the heart rate up, but so are nearly a thousand other things. If you truly want to stay injury-free, I wouldn't suggest adding burpees to every home workout you do. If you do, stick to them in portions where you are not already pre-fatigued so you have the strength to not throw your body onto the floor without doing a proper push-up.
While I am on the topic, I might as well add in a few others that are not worth your time doing:
Bench Dips: Weight bearing on internally rotated shoulders is NOT a smart idea.
Sprinting at FULL speed: Never suggest this, stick to 80-90% efforts in short bursts.
Clapping Push-Ups: No need, why risk injuring yourself.
Short range of motion Pull-Ups Just stick to a full range-of-motion pull-up, folks.
Excessive jumping drills lasting longer than 45 seconds: Counterproductive and much higher injury risk.
Sticking to the same rep counts for lighter and body weight moves that you use for weighted moves: This one is pretty simple. For Susan, those 4x12 Prisoner Squats might be tough because she is new to exercise and never went to a gym before. For Stan, who is a gym user 3-4 days a week and has a history of weight training, those 4x12 will not be producing the same benefit. Not all sets/rep schemes are created equal. Using the same rep counts for bodyweight moves is not a beneficial approach. A way to make it work would be to add density (speed) with time constraintsbecause that rep count over time would make a difference to your fatigue levels.
Too many cardio moves: So many at-home workout routines are prioritized around HIIT (high-intensity interval training) and cardio craziness. Now, I am not saying that is bad, but too much of it and you heap too much stress on yourself, wreck your cortisol levels, and end up worse than you started on your immune-building and/or fat-loss journey. The key is treating your cardio as a side dish and the strength work as the main course.
If you are sticking to your nutrition guidelines, excessive cardio is not necessary or needed. Remember, muscle is what is more metabolically active, so adding more to your frame is always a good idea!
If you want a couple workouts each week to focus around HIIT that is perfectly fine, but don’t be doing them daily.
Missing a key body area: We all are so focused on training and getting workouts in at home, but one of the most forgotten muscles also is the most important! Posture takes a huge hit for many of us while working our normal jobs, so making sure you spend time on your back will do wonders for keeping you healthy and maintaining solid upper-body strength.
However, many avoid adding them to their home workouts because they do not have the "main" pieces of equipment used for training it.
This doesn't mean you avoid it, though. There are plenty of ways you can hit the back! Try using the broomstick over two chairs setup as I mentioned earlier. Try adding Renegade rows, or one of my favorites are Gorilla rows. They not only fire up your upper back, but also hit your core for an added bonus!
Is it your environment, or your excuses? Be honest with yourself: Working out in your living room with your family on the couches beside you watching their favorite episode of "The Office" is not going to go over well. It is too easy to be distracted, and one set or round will serve as plenty for you, when in reality it's not!
On top of that, finding excuses to avoid working out will only be your biggest downfall when training at home. There is always something that can be done around the house. The same applies for me and my daily duties owning a business. I can find something to get in the way of my exercise every day, BUT, I choose not to and realize that my health and goals are important to me.
The same should apply to you. Don't let the load of laundry or dirty bathroom be a reason to miss your workout. If you are a neat freak, then prioritize and have a schedule of when you do house chores and schedule them around your workouts.
If I chose to let work/life get in the way of my workouts, I would be lucky if my son Noah and my job let me train ever! You are in control of your life. No one else. If you want to make your at-home workouts more effective, stop making excuses as to why you can't get them done.
Follow these tips and rest assured, your sessions will become a lot more productive!
Stay home and stay safe!
Michael Shermer with Ann Druyan — Cosmos: Possible Worlds
In this sequel to Carl Sagan’s beloved classic and the companion to the hit television series hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson, the primary author of all the scripts for both this season and the previous season of Cosmos, Ann Druyan explores how science and civilization grew up together. From the emergence of life at deep-sea vents to solar-powered starships sailing through the galaxy, from the Big Bang to the intricacies of intelligence in many life forms, Druyan documents where humanity has been and where it is going, using her unique gift of bringing complex scientific concepts to life. With evocative photographs and vivid illustrations, she recounts momentous discoveries, from the Voyager missions in which she and her husband, Carl Sagan, participated to Cassini-Huygens’s recent insights into Saturn’s moons. This breathtaking sequel to Sagan’s masterpiece explains how we humans can glean a new understanding of consciousness here on Earth and out in the cosmos — again reminding us that our planet is a pale blue dot in an immense universe of possibility. Druyan and Shermer also discuss:
- how to write a script for a television series
- her 20 years with Carl Sagan and what their collaboration meant
- how she dealt with her grief after Carl’s death (and how any of us can deal with such pain)
- who the Voyager records were really for
- Breakthrough Starshot
- science and religion
- God and morality
- free will and determinism
- the hard problem of consciousness
- the Fermi Paradox (where is everybody?)
- women in science
- how we can eventually settle on other worlds, and
- how to reach the stars … and beyond.
Ann Druyan is a celebrated writer and producer who co-authored many bestsellers with her late husband, Carl Sagan. She also famously served as creative director of the Voyager Golden Record, sent into space 40 years ago. Druyan continues her work as an interpreter of the most important scientific discoveries, partnering with NASA and the Planetary Society. She has served as Secretary of the Federation of American Scientists and is a laureate of the International Humanist Academy. Most recently, she received both an Emmy and Peabody Award for her work in conceptualizing and writing National Geographic’s first season of Cosmos.
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
Foods That Can Cause Congestion
Your nosh could be a culprit fueling your congestion!
from Eat This, Not That
from Eat This, Not That
Feeling congested is a frustrating experience—you can't breathe comfortably through your nose or your throat feels like there's a thick coating of something you can't wash down. Sure, you can blame allergies or that pesky seasonal cold—but if you find yourself congested sporadically or even routinely, you may be consuming foods that cause congestion. "If your body is irritated or doesn't like a substance, it will make more mucus in an attempt to get that substance further away from irritating the cell lining," says Dr. Huml, certified clinical nutritionist.
Certain foods affect more people than others, and it all depends on how your body reacts to them. Even if you don't have a diagnosed lactose intolerance, it's worth taking note of how your body responds to the following foods that are more likely than others to cause congestion. If allergies are a whole other issue and have got you feeling sluggish, read up on 33 Foods That Make Your Allergies Worse.
1). Refined Sugars: "Sugar is very inflammatory, so the production of the mucus is usually because your body got irritated," says Dr. Huml. "It's the inflammation that prompts the body to make more mucus." If you have a tiny bit of sugar, you're not going to feel these effects as prominently; but if you're sensitive to sugar and eat plenty of it, you could feel a little stuffy. And FYI, refined sugars are one of the 14 Foods That Cause Inflammation and Are Keeping You Fat.
2). Milk: It's common for dairy to thicken your mucus temporarily. The result? This thicker mucus takes longer to travel out of your body, which causes the allergens to stay in your system. And while not all dairy causes excessive mucus production, studies have found that whole milk has been shown to not only thicken mucus but stimulate the production of it, too. If you're tired of mucus buildup but don't want to give up your cereal habit, check out our Guide to Every Dairy-Free Milk Substitute.
3). Ice Cream: First you have a generous dose of sugar, then, much like milk, ice cream also contains casein, which can cause nasal congestion. Learn more about What Happens to Your Body When You Eat an Entire Pint of Ice Cream, whether or not you're sensitive to dairy! It's eye-opening to say the least!
4). Cheese: Sorry cheese lovers! Eating this dairy product is begging for trouble if you have congestion issues, whether temporary or long-term.
5). Gluten-Rich Foods: Those with a gluten sensitivity will notice that eliminating that molecule will clear things up quite a bit. One of the biggest gluten culprits is wheat; and like many things on this list, if something inflames your body, mucus will likely be one of the results. Not sure what to think about gluten or curious to learn more? Start with these 35 Gluten-Free Questions—Answered in Five Words or Less!
6). Chocolate: Foods like chocolate contain refined sugar which can increase yeast in your body that can cause an overgrowth in bacteria, and that cause nasal congestion says Rene Ficek, Registered Dietitian. And then there's the dairy factor, too.
7). Spicy Foods: Did that delicious-but-spicy taco just make your nose run minutes later? You can thank histamine for that because spicy foods create more histamine in your body—adding to what's already an increased amount if you have any allergies. Histamine is an inflammatory compound produced by cells when your body is undergoing an allergic reaction. It's the thing that causes the tissue in your nose to both run and swell (which makes it stuffy). Love spicy food but need a break from the runny nose? Try our #1 Trick to Neutralize Spicy Food.
8). Tomatoes: While tomatoes are mostly known to be anti-inflammatory, it could make your allergies worse in some cases. This juicy produce can trigger an increase in histamine levels, thus promoting mucus production. Also, tomatoes have high acidity so they can be a hassle for those suffering from acid reflux—acid traveling to your throat could make it swollen and have mucus stick to it. Find out the 28 Best and Worst Foods for Acid Reflux because many of them go hand-in-hand with your congestion problems.
9). Pizza: If your body is more sensitive to certain foods and you're prone to congestion, pizza is like the trifecta of bad guys: Dairy from the cheese, gluten from the crust, and tomatoes from the sauce. The good news? If you feel awful eating a slice, you could be a step closer to knowing that what you eat is making you sniffle. The bad news? You'll need to see which of the ingredients is causing you the biggest problems. Like anything on this list, it's up to you to take careful note of how your body reacts after you eat a donut, chug a beer, or even have a handful of nuts. By scaling back on some of your favorite foods, it might actually help you breathe easier.
10). Alcohol: We hate to be the bearer of sad tidings, but your favortie adult beverages could be what's triggering your sinuses. "Sugar and alcohol are the most pro-inflammatory foods we consume," says Dr. Huml. Wine contains a natural histamine that can cause your nasal tissues to swell, causing that irritating stuffiness. Meanwhile, most beers have gluten and other go-to spirits (like whiskey) cause problems for people even though the gluten is supposedly removed in the distillation process.
11). Certain Fruits: The benefits of bananas are notable, but bananas can be a congestion nightmare for some people. The yellow fruit can prompt a release of histamine—which can mean your body is once again working overtime to attack the unwelcome visitors to your body.
Meanwhile, strawberries and papaya are histamine-releasers that can cause congestion, too. From your nose and to your other sinus areas, the histamine-powered mucus can cause quite a bit of discomfort in some people.
Adding to the list: Oranges have been known to possess proteins that mimic grass pollen, which can exacerbate allergy symptoms even more in the late spring. Sad news for such sweet treats.
12). Nuts: Nuts are notorious for causing some serious allergic reactions and could also be bad news for your sinuses. While many people only reap the benefits of nuts and don't have any adverse effects, others have bodies that panic and go into overdrive with histamine and working overtime to get rid of it.
12). Nuts: Nuts are notorious for causing some serious allergic reactions and could also be bad news for your sinuses. While many people only reap the benefits of nuts and don't have any adverse effects, others have bodies that panic and go into overdrive with histamine and working overtime to get rid of it.
Friday, April 10, 2020
Giving the Devil His Due
The following is an excerpt from Giving the Devil His Due. Reviews of the book will be posted on Michael Shermer’s website over time. We hope you enjoy the book!
Why liberals must own the 1stamendment like conservatives own the 2nd
In 2015 I was tasked with giving a speech at the California State University, Fullerton under the title “Is Freedom of Speech Harmful for College Students?” Since I matriculated as an undergraduate in the early 1970s on the wave crest of the free speech movement of the late 1960s, I was taken aback that anyone would doubt this central tenet of liberty. My speech was three words long: “No. Thank you.”
Of course, I explained why freedom of speech is sacrosanct for a civil society (not to mention a college campus), but it was what triggered the invitation that was revealing. The campus, it seems, was roiling over a controversy captured in a headline in the Orange County Register: “Cal State Fullerton Sorority Sanctioned for ‘Taco Tuesday’ Party.” The sorority’s sin was “cultural appropriation,” or arrogating someone else’s culture as your own, for which members of the originating group are allegedly offended. Never mind that there’s no evidence that Hispanics feel appropriated by us gringos eating Mexican food (in California no less), the very idea is absurd inasmuch as all cultures are an amalgam of appropriation.
Signs of trouble in the academy — now spilling over into society at large — were evident starting around 2013 with the deplatforming of controversial speakers, the call for trigger warnings about sensitive subjects in books, films, and lectures, the creation of safe spaces for students to retreat to when encountering ideas they find disagreeable, and the dispersal of lists of microaggressions, or words, phrases, and statements that might offend someone. The paroxysms of student outrage that have brought college administrators to their knees are by now well known, leaving onlookers to wonder, what went wrong?
“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people things they do not want to hear.” —George Orwell
First, paradoxically, because there has been so much moral progress over the past two centuries — the abolition of slavery and torture, the decline of war, crime, and violence, the franchise for all adult citizens, children’s rights, women’s rights, gay rights, animal rights, and even the rights of future generations to inhabit a livable planet. In other words, most of the big moral movements have been fought and won, leaving today’s students with comparatively smaller causes to promote and evils to protest, but with moral emotions just as powerful as those of previous generations, so their outrage feels disproportionate.
Second, the righteous liberal focus on historically victimized groups has morphed into a culture of victimhood, in which one gains status by finding ways to be a victim, even if it is in most cases not comparable to what oppressed peoples of the past experienced.
Third, with ever-elevating ethical standards there has been a puritanical purging of anyone who falls short of moral perfection, leading to preemptive denunciations of others before one is so denounced.
Fourth, virtue signaling has emerged on social media, in which members of a movement compete to signal who is the most righteous by recounting all the moral acts they performed and identifying all the immoral acts others have committed. This leads to an arms-race to signal moral outrage over increasingly diminishing transgressions, such as unapproved Halloween costumes at Yale University, which led to a student paroxysm that nearly brought the campus to a standstill.
Finally, and fundamentally, the lack of viewpoint diversity has crowded out the voices of those who would have spoken up about these problems. In the drive to further bend the arc of the moral universe toward justice by demanding diversity of race and gender in all areas of society, otherwise well-meaning liberals forgot about the diversity of views that is the central tenet of free speech, well captured by George Orwell: “If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people things they do not want to hear.”
This was the conclusion of the Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas in the 1949 case Terminiello v. Chicago, in which a Catholic priest named Arthur Terminiello was convicted of “breach of the peace” after he gave an inflammatory speech to over 800 people in a packed Chicago auditorium with a thousand protesters outside. Such speech, the law read, “may constitute a breach of the peace if it stirs the public to anger, invites dispute, brings about a condition of unrest, or creates a disturbance, or if it molests the inhabitants in the enjoyment of peace and quiet by arousing alarm.” Did it? No, concluded Justice Douglas, writing for the majority opinion that overturned Terminiello’s conviction: “[The] function of free speech under our system of government is to invite dispute. It may indeed best serve its high purpose when it induces a condition of unrest, creates dissatisfaction with conditions as they are, or even stirs people to anger. Speech is often provocative and challenging. It may strike at prejudices and preconceptions and have profound unsettling effects as it presses for acceptance of an idea. That is why freedom of speech, though not absolute, is nevertheless protected against censorship or punishment.”
“He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that.” —John Stuart Mill
Let’s remind ourselves why freedom of speech and thought must be defended as foundational, and why the censoring of it should be resisted:
- Who decides which speech and thought is acceptable and which is unacceptable? The majority? A thought committee? Historically, the control of speech is how autocracies rule.
- What criteria are used to censor certain speech? Anything that the majority determines is unacceptable? This is another form of tyranny — a tyranny of the majority.
- It is not just the right of the speaker to speak, but for listeners to listen.
- We might be completely right but learn something new in hearing what someone else thinks.
- We might be partially right, and by listening to other viewpoints we might stand corrected.
- We might be completely wrong, so hearing criticism or counterpoint gives us the opportunity to change our minds.
- Whether right or wrong, by listening to the opinions of others we have the opportunity to develop stronger arguments and build better facts for our positions. As John Stuart Mill wrote in his 1859 classic On Liberty: “He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that.”
- Arguments made in favor of censorship are automatically gainsaid the moment the speaker speaks — otherwise we would be unaware of their arguments.
- We are all wrong some of the time (and many of us most of the time) so the only way to know if you’ve gone off the rails is to tell others about your beliefs so that they may be tested in the marketplace of ideas.
- My freedom to speak and dissent is inextricably tied to your freedom to speak and dissent. If I censor you, why shouldn’t you censor me? If you silence me, why shouldn’t I silence you? Once customs and laws are in place to silence someone on one topic, what’s to stop people from silencing anyone on any topic that deviates from the accepted canon?
What about hate speech? Surely there are reasonable arguments to be made for censoring words that offend others, or are generally agreed upon to be deeply offensive, the N-word being the most obvious? No. Hate speech is best countered with free speech, better speech, or no speech at all (just ignore them). Censorship turns hate speech bigots into free speech martyrs, recognition that they most assuredly do not deserve.
Plus, one person’s hate speech is another person’s free speech. During the 1830s many U.S. southern states enacted laws to “protect” their citizens from hearing abolitionist speech, arguing that it could lead to slave rebellions and violence. In the words of South Carolina Senator John C. Calhoun, abolitionists “libeled the South and inflicted emotional injury.” In the 20th century, civil rights activists opposed viewpoint-based censorship, knowing that their call for black Americans to be granted the same rights as white Americans would be considered “hate speech” by a great many southern citizens.
What about speech that incites violence? In the 1919 case of Schenck v. United States the Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes’ precedent-setting judgment was that any speech that presents “a clear and present danger” must be censored, with “falsely shouting fire in a theatre and causing a panic” being the type specimen. The falsely shouted utterances were, in fact, 15,000 fliers distributed to draft-age men during the First World War that encouraged them to resist conscription as a form of slavery. According to the distributors of the fliers — Charles Schenck and Elizabeth Baer — military conscription constituted involuntary servitude, which is strictly prohibited by the Thirteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. “When you conscript a man and compel him to go abroad to fight against his will, you violate the most sacred right of personal liberty,” they wrote in their broadside. For this treasonous act of voicing their opposition to the draft (and U.S. involvement in a largely European war), Schenck and Baer were convicted of violating Section 3 of the Espionage Act of 1917, passed shortly after U.S. entry into the Great War, designed to prohibit interference with government recruitment into the armed services, and to prevent insubordination in the military and/or support for enemies of the United States during wartime.
Tellingly, as mission creep set in and “clear and present danger” expanded to include speech unrelated to military operations or combatting foreign enemies, Holmes dissented in other cases, reverting to a position of absolute protection for nearly all speech short of that intended to cause criminal harm, concluding that the “marketplace of ideas” of open discussion, debate, and disputation was the best test of their verisimilitude.
Let this be a lesson for today. Liberals need to embrace this history and carry it forward as a bulwark against the illiberalism of the Far Left and the censoriousness of the Far Right, and take a lesson from conservatives’ fetishization of the Second Amendment’s gun rights. Liberals need to own the First Amendment like conservatives own the Second. 
Thursday, April 09, 2020
Immune Boosters
By: Cat Ebeling, RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-sellers: The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix
With the rapid spread of Covid-19 around the world, along with the dramatic and scary news stories, it seems everyone is scrambling to grab supplements to boost their immune systems. While nothing takes the place of a healthy diet that lowers inflammation in your body, a good night’s sleep, stress reduction, exercise, and vitamin D production in your skin from sun exposure, certain supplements may be of help as well.
Once the SARS-CoV-2 or Coronavirus gets inside the human respiratory tract, it infects and multiplies in the cells lining the airways and lungs. This kicks the body’s immune system into action. In most people, the immune system does its work, then recedes and the patient recovers.
Normally, an immune response which causes inflammation is a normal and good thing in the fight against a pathogen or an injury. However, with this coronavirus, the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome that occurs in some people, happens as a result of a dysfunctional immune response to the presence of the virus. The uncontrolled immune response triggers an overproduction of immune cells and their signaling molecules which leads to a ‘cytokine storm’. This cytokine storm is generally what causes the severe and potentially fatal symptoms of severe pneumonia and breathing difficulties with a Covid19 infection.
It’s more about having a healthy immune system overall and reducing inflammation in the body, because if the body is already overridden with inflammation, leaky gut, diabetes, obesity, and other health problems, it’s possible this can contribute to the cytokine storm that’s being seen in some patients.
There are several supplements that actually help to strengthen the immune system and reduce inflammation, without overstimulating the immune system. One of the top nutrients for this is Quercetin.
Quercetin is a potent anti-inflammatory and antiviral substance found in certain foods, including red onions and apples. Many people take Quercetin in the fall and spring to help their allergies to tree and weed pollen. Lately research has been looking into Quercetin as a powerful agent to fight against SARS-Covid19. Quercetin has been shown in many studies to have fairly broad anti-viral properties against most viruses.
Quercetin is considered a bioflavonoid. Quercetin is found in the highest concentrations in red onions, berries, red wine, green tea, buckwheat, and apples.
Quercetin is now also undergoing trials in China for its effectiveness against Covid19. In a recent analysis published by the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Labs, they used high-powered computer modeling to look at which compounds or supplements might best prevent the coronavirus from binding to our cells.
This is key, because this is how this virus gets into to our bodies and starts reproducing. It enters our bodies through nasal passages, mouth, eyes, or respiratory passages. Once it binds to a cell, it finds its way into the cell, starts reproducing like crazy, and takes over the respiratory system, especially the lungs.
The coronavirus uses the ACE2 or Angiotensin Converting Enzyme receptor in our bodies to enter the cells. This is important too, because ACE2 receptors have to do with regulating our blood pressure—I’ll talk more about that below.
The analysis from Tennessee looked at several different compounds and nutrients to see which ones worked best at interfering with the virus’s ability to attach to a cell and get inside to do its damage. One of the top 5 virus-fighting natural compounds is Quercetin.
Quercetin is a natural supplement that has other big benefits including lessening reactions to allergies, as well as fighting aging and free radicals. Quercetin is often compounded with a digestive enzyme like bromelain, plus Vitamin C, to improve absorption. All good things.
Quercetin is also inexpensive, especially compared to some of the pharmaceutical grade antiviral drugs that are being used now. This broad-spectrum antiviral supplement has already proven successful for treating the Ebola and Zika viruses, according to Dr. Michel Chrétien, a researcher at the Clinical Research Institute of Montreal.
Does it work for sure? It’s too early for standard clinical trials to show positive proof, but the circumstantial evidence is strong in favor of its anti-inflammatory and antiviral capabilities.The best thing about quercetin is, even without clinical trials, we know that quercetin will not harm you, or cause your immune system to overreact. Including quercetin in your Covid19 weapons seems like a wise idea, along with these other practices as well.
Get good sleep: Poor sleep increases the risk of infectious illness. One study found that getting less than 5 hours of sleep over the course of a week, can increase the chances of catching a cold by 350%. Let’s apply this to Covid19 as well. Also, important to note is that lack of sleep can increase inflammatory levels in the body, creating higher risk for a cytokine storm. If you are having trouble sleeping, a small dose of melatonin at night may help you sleep better and keep your immune system strong.
Manage Stress: It’s no secret that stress definitely disrupts our immune function and increases our levels of inflammation, making us far more susceptible to getting seriously ill. Stop reading the news, follow precautions and find something relaxing to do—meditation, breathing exercises and exercising outdoors all go a long way to manage stress, reduce anxiety and strengthen your immune system.
Zinc: Zinc has been proven to reduce the activity of coronavirus and may prevent its entry into our cells while reducing its power. Zinc has proven powerful in fighting off regular influenza and the common cold as well. The suggested dosage for zinc is about 15mg – 30mg daily.
Vitamin C: Vitamin C has shown great promise in inhibiting inflammatory reactions and is thought to be very effective against Covid19 virus as well. Several clinical trials have found that vitamin C shortens the frequency, duration and severity of the virus that causes the common cold (a type of corona virus) and the incidence of pneumonia. Vitamin C can be taken in reasonably high doses as any excess is washed out of the body. In Wuhan China, a high dose vitamin C study is actually being conducted against Covid19 right now, but results are not in yet.
Other Immune Boosting Nutrients: Other foods to consider including in your diet are garlic, fresh ginger, berries, green tea, and even grass-fed butter and organ meat–full of vitamin A and other immune-boosting natural compounds.
One additional note about blood pressure and blood pressure medications involved in Covid19 risk. As I mentioned above, the Covid19 virus attaches to the ACE2 receptor on the cells. A receptor is like a doorway on the cell.
The ACE2 receptor or Angiotensin Converter Enzyme is a natural enzyme involved in the function of regulating our blood pressure. The coronavirus actually hijacks this receptor to get inside our cells. Many people who have high blood pressure take a pharmaceutical medication in the form of ACE2 inhibitors. This is what helps to lower blood pressure. However, when the ACE2 receptor is blocked because of blood pressure medications, your body may actually work around this creating more ACE2 receptors. More ACE 2 receptors may mean that more the Covid19 virus can enter cells. This is one reason why those with high blood pressure may be more at risk for Covid19 infections.
References:
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-feb-28-2020-1.5479561/as-coronavirus-spread-speeds-up-montreal-researchers-will-trial-an-anti-viral-treatment-for-covid-19-in-china-1.5480134
https://regenexx.com/blog/coronavirus-episode-9-can-Quercetin-help-covid-19/
https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-294/Quercetin
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4808895/
https://jvi.asm.org/content/78/20/11334
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-and-pharmaceutical-science/quercetin
https://doi.org/10.26434/chemrxiv.11871402.v3Stay well, be healthy, and remember, a healthy body is the best defense against any disease.
With the rapid spread of Covid-19 around the world, along with the dramatic and scary news stories, it seems everyone is scrambling to grab supplements to boost their immune systems. While nothing takes the place of a healthy diet that lowers inflammation in your body, a good night’s sleep, stress reduction, exercise, and vitamin D production in your skin from sun exposure, certain supplements may be of help as well.
Once the SARS-CoV-2 or Coronavirus gets inside the human respiratory tract, it infects and multiplies in the cells lining the airways and lungs. This kicks the body’s immune system into action. In most people, the immune system does its work, then recedes and the patient recovers.
Normally, an immune response which causes inflammation is a normal and good thing in the fight against a pathogen or an injury. However, with this coronavirus, the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome that occurs in some people, happens as a result of a dysfunctional immune response to the presence of the virus. The uncontrolled immune response triggers an overproduction of immune cells and their signaling molecules which leads to a ‘cytokine storm’. This cytokine storm is generally what causes the severe and potentially fatal symptoms of severe pneumonia and breathing difficulties with a Covid19 infection.
It’s more about having a healthy immune system overall and reducing inflammation in the body, because if the body is already overridden with inflammation, leaky gut, diabetes, obesity, and other health problems, it’s possible this can contribute to the cytokine storm that’s being seen in some patients.
There are several supplements that actually help to strengthen the immune system and reduce inflammation, without overstimulating the immune system. One of the top nutrients for this is Quercetin.
Quercetin is a potent anti-inflammatory and antiviral substance found in certain foods, including red onions and apples. Many people take Quercetin in the fall and spring to help their allergies to tree and weed pollen. Lately research has been looking into Quercetin as a powerful agent to fight against SARS-Covid19. Quercetin has been shown in many studies to have fairly broad anti-viral properties against most viruses.
Quercetin is considered a bioflavonoid. Quercetin is found in the highest concentrations in red onions, berries, red wine, green tea, buckwheat, and apples.
Quercetin is now also undergoing trials in China for its effectiveness against Covid19. In a recent analysis published by the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Labs, they used high-powered computer modeling to look at which compounds or supplements might best prevent the coronavirus from binding to our cells.
This is key, because this is how this virus gets into to our bodies and starts reproducing. It enters our bodies through nasal passages, mouth, eyes, or respiratory passages. Once it binds to a cell, it finds its way into the cell, starts reproducing like crazy, and takes over the respiratory system, especially the lungs.
The coronavirus uses the ACE2 or Angiotensin Converting Enzyme receptor in our bodies to enter the cells. This is important too, because ACE2 receptors have to do with regulating our blood pressure—I’ll talk more about that below.
The analysis from Tennessee looked at several different compounds and nutrients to see which ones worked best at interfering with the virus’s ability to attach to a cell and get inside to do its damage. One of the top 5 virus-fighting natural compounds is Quercetin.
Quercetin is a natural supplement that has other big benefits including lessening reactions to allergies, as well as fighting aging and free radicals. Quercetin is often compounded with a digestive enzyme like bromelain, plus Vitamin C, to improve absorption. All good things.
Quercetin is also inexpensive, especially compared to some of the pharmaceutical grade antiviral drugs that are being used now. This broad-spectrum antiviral supplement has already proven successful for treating the Ebola and Zika viruses, according to Dr. Michel Chrétien, a researcher at the Clinical Research Institute of Montreal.
Does it work for sure? It’s too early for standard clinical trials to show positive proof, but the circumstantial evidence is strong in favor of its anti-inflammatory and antiviral capabilities.The best thing about quercetin is, even without clinical trials, we know that quercetin will not harm you, or cause your immune system to overreact. Including quercetin in your Covid19 weapons seems like a wise idea, along with these other practices as well.
Get good sleep: Poor sleep increases the risk of infectious illness. One study found that getting less than 5 hours of sleep over the course of a week, can increase the chances of catching a cold by 350%. Let’s apply this to Covid19 as well. Also, important to note is that lack of sleep can increase inflammatory levels in the body, creating higher risk for a cytokine storm. If you are having trouble sleeping, a small dose of melatonin at night may help you sleep better and keep your immune system strong.
Manage Stress: It’s no secret that stress definitely disrupts our immune function and increases our levels of inflammation, making us far more susceptible to getting seriously ill. Stop reading the news, follow precautions and find something relaxing to do—meditation, breathing exercises and exercising outdoors all go a long way to manage stress, reduce anxiety and strengthen your immune system.
Zinc: Zinc has been proven to reduce the activity of coronavirus and may prevent its entry into our cells while reducing its power. Zinc has proven powerful in fighting off regular influenza and the common cold as well. The suggested dosage for zinc is about 15mg – 30mg daily.
Vitamin C: Vitamin C has shown great promise in inhibiting inflammatory reactions and is thought to be very effective against Covid19 virus as well. Several clinical trials have found that vitamin C shortens the frequency, duration and severity of the virus that causes the common cold (a type of corona virus) and the incidence of pneumonia. Vitamin C can be taken in reasonably high doses as any excess is washed out of the body. In Wuhan China, a high dose vitamin C study is actually being conducted against Covid19 right now, but results are not in yet.
Other Immune Boosting Nutrients: Other foods to consider including in your diet are garlic, fresh ginger, berries, green tea, and even grass-fed butter and organ meat–full of vitamin A and other immune-boosting natural compounds.
One additional note about blood pressure and blood pressure medications involved in Covid19 risk. As I mentioned above, the Covid19 virus attaches to the ACE2 receptor on the cells. A receptor is like a doorway on the cell.
The ACE2 receptor or Angiotensin Converter Enzyme is a natural enzyme involved in the function of regulating our blood pressure. The coronavirus actually hijacks this receptor to get inside our cells. Many people who have high blood pressure take a pharmaceutical medication in the form of ACE2 inhibitors. This is what helps to lower blood pressure. However, when the ACE2 receptor is blocked because of blood pressure medications, your body may actually work around this creating more ACE2 receptors. More ACE 2 receptors may mean that more the Covid19 virus can enter cells. This is one reason why those with high blood pressure may be more at risk for Covid19 infections.
References:
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-feb-28-2020-1.5479561/as-coronavirus-spread-speeds-up-montreal-researchers-will-trial-an-anti-viral-treatment-for-covid-19-in-china-1.5480134
https://regenexx.com/blog/coronavirus-episode-9-can-Quercetin-help-covid-19/
https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-294/Quercetin
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4808895/
https://jvi.asm.org/content/78/20/11334
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/pharmacology-toxicology-and-pharmaceutical-science/quercetin
https://doi.org/10.26434/chemrxiv.11871402.v3Stay well, be healthy, and remember, a healthy body is the best defense against any disease.
Tuesday, April 07, 2020
How is the Corona Pandemic changed how we view diseases?
Let's put the latest virus in perspective. Have we blown this out of proportion compared to historical numbers? Is what the world has done to address the current pandemic worth the economic costs? Has the sensationalized attention by the media hurt the objectivity of the COVID-19?
Do the science. Do your own research. Judge the data and statistics for yourself.
COVID-19 cases worldwide 1,379,168
H1N1 cases worldwide ~ 1,400.000.000
COVID-19 Deaths worldwide 78,223
H1N1 Deaths worldwide 525,000
Reference H1N1 Swine Flu Pandemic
How does the COVID-19 pandemic compare to the last pandemic?
While the Corona virus is certainly a serious issue, there are a number of things that take huge amounts of Americans lives each year, some several times the projected high end of the range of coronavirus, they are (in annual numbers);
Accidental: 169,936
Gun violence: 37,603
Seasonal Influenza and pneumonia: 55,672
Pandemic deaths:
Spanish Flu in 1918-20: 675,000
H2N2 in 1957-58: 116,000
H1N1 in 2009-10: 525,000
Heart disease 650,000
Cancer 600,000
Unintentional injuries 170,000
Chronic lower respiratory disease 160,000
Stroke 147,000
Alzheimers 120,000
Diabetes 84,000
Kidney disease 50,000
Do the science. Do your own research. Judge the data and statistics for yourself.
COVID-19 cases worldwide 1,379,168
H1N1 cases worldwide ~ 1,400.000.000
COVID-19 Deaths worldwide 78,223
H1N1 Deaths worldwide 525,000
Reference H1N1 Swine Flu Pandemic
How does the COVID-19 pandemic compare to the last pandemic?
While the Corona virus is certainly a serious issue, there are a number of things that take huge amounts of Americans lives each year, some several times the projected high end of the range of coronavirus, they are (in annual numbers);
Accidental: 169,936
Gun violence: 37,603
Seasonal Influenza and pneumonia: 55,672
Pandemic deaths:
Spanish Flu in 1918-20: 675,000
H2N2 in 1957-58: 116,000
H1N1 in 2009-10: 525,000
Heart disease 650,000
Cancer 600,000
Unintentional injuries 170,000
Chronic lower respiratory disease 160,000
Stroke 147,000
Alzheimers 120,000
Diabetes 84,000
Kidney disease 50,000
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