Patricia Holden MD|

Before I started going healthy, I was really just a walking trashcan - I would eat anything and everything and my favorite staple food would be bacon. Nothing wrong with that and I’m sure a lot of us love bacon, but there’s such a thing as too much fat in the body. Ergo, my digestive system would be skewed and it would always be hell whenever it’s time to do nature’s bidding.

Eat Fruits
Fruits are naturally fibrous. However, some of us eat fruits at the end of a meal - did you know it would be wise to eat them before a meal or even on an empty stomach so you can maximize its potential? If you’re not a fruity person, try vegetables.

Drink Lots of Water
There’ve been a lot of talk on how much water we should get and where we can get water (like perhaps coke contains water…so I guess that counts?) According to sciencedaily, the amount of water can vary and while “drinking water is the best way to replace lost fluids, other drinks such as milk, tea, soup, fruit juice and sports drinks are also effective”. Water helps you digest food better (lessening chances of constipation, ugh!), and helps process unwanted waste matter. Some people take this further by doing Water Fasting. Consult your doctor first before doing so.

Choose your Fatty Food…Carefully.
The more transfat you consume, the more strain to your digestive system. It’s better for your health overall if you consume less transfat. This means less chips, margarine, donuts, pastries and other convenience foods.

Eat MORE Small Meals
If there’s a chance to eat more here it is! But remember it should be small meals. This will pace your tummy’s digestive system, stabilize your blood sugar, and if you ever want to lose weight, eating small meals will help.

These are some small steps you can take to help your digestive system, and they’re all pretty easy - no need to spend as much on special diets or treatments to help your digestive system. What other tips can you give health conscious individuals like me?

In my last post, I mentioned the hind leg bones of whales as a possible sign of evolution. There are also clues from other species, such as humans, that could be used as evidence that species have slowly undergone evolution over a period of millions of years. As a devout Catholic, although I do believe in creationism, I also believe that the bible was not meant to be taken literally and that the theory of evolution could be accepted as truth. Here are three body parts in humans that could have been traces of our previous forms.

Tailbone - Also known as the coccyx. It is a set of fused vertebrae which is believed to be the last remaining trace of our tails before humans started to learn walking upright. Tails are designed to maintain balance for animals or even used to hang onto branches by some primates. For humans, a tail would essentially be useless given that we walk upright and do not need the tail for counterbalance. Our hip bones and muscles are the ones responsible for that. It is true, however, that the coccyx serves as support for minor muscles and pelvic organs, there have been no observed adverse health effects after its removal.

Body Hair - Alright, give me any seriously bad effects of being bald and shaving your eyebrows, armpits, or even your pubic hair. Can’t think of any? Of course. Aside from keeping sweat from going to your eyes (eyebrows) or helping deal with underarm moisture, the remaining hair on our body serves no other special purpose. Many scientists believe that it simply what remained of our once fully covered bodies but I’m still thankful. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be keeping this nice haircut I just had yesterday.

Toes - Admittedly, if we lost one or more of our toes it will be hard to keep our balance for a while. Eventually, it will just be the same as before. The truth is, the only toe we need for balance is the big toe. According to those who support the theory of evolution, the other toes were simply the remains of our history as tree climbers (like the chimpanzees).

There are other possible signs of us humans having evolved from other species such as a third eyelid and extrinsic muscles. If you are interested in the other ones, here’s a link for additional reading.

I was thinking of a follow-up post about jellyfish or jellyfish stings until I encountered this article about the growth of jellyfish population in oceans and how it is an indication that something has changed and how it poses as a threat to marine ecosystems. Usually, when someone mentions “species population” and “environmental degradation” we immediately think of words such as “pollution”, “global warming”, and “endangered species”. However, changes in the environment and ecosystems, or environmental degradation is not only hinted by a decline in a certain species’ population. A drastic increase or sightings of a certain species in one area (where it is uncommon) could also mean the same thing.

Phytoplanktons - I’m sure a lot of you have heard of this one, particularly in Ecology class. Anyway, phytoplanktons are best known to be one of the reasons for eutrophication (increase in primary productivity in lakes resulting in lack of oxygen needed by fishes to survive) in lakes and rivers. Eutrophication promotes excessive plant growth and decay and is likely to cause severe reductions in water quality. Enhanced growth of choking aquatic vegetation or phytoplankton disrupts the normal function of the marine ecosystem, causing a variety of problems. You won’t be able to see phytoplanktons directly, but a good sign of high density of their species in a body of water would be the water’s color itself. A bright green color would indicate that there are a lot of phytoplanktons in the water.

Crabs and other Crustaceans - 40 million years ago when the waters in the polar regions froze and lowered the temperature of the water around them, crabs and other marine predators were driven away. Now, with global warming becoming an issue and the temperature level of the waters around the poles increasing, those same predators are going back and would most likely be feeding on the defenseless marine creatures in their new territory. This would throw the ecosystem out of whack and would have a great impact on species diversity.

Jellyfish - Now for the article itself. According to Jacqueline Goy of the Oceanographic Institute of Paris, “Jellyfish are an excellent bellwether for the environment”. Why? This was answered by Ricardo Aguilar, the research director for Oceana, an international conservation organization. According to him, “Jellyfish have come to occupy the place of many other species; when vertebrates, such as fish, disappear, then invertebrates - especially jellyfish - appear. The collapse of fish populations boost this process in two important ways, he added. When predators such as tuna, sharks, and turtles vanish, not only do fewer jellyfish get eaten, they have less competition for food.” This not only poses a threat on the direct environment but also on humans as well. Just imagine encountering an army of those things while swimming. You’ll be covered in jellyfish stings and that would most likely prove fatal.

Well, there are ways to making your room look a bit spacier. Colors, reflections, furnitures, these are some of those you can use to make it like so. I used these tips for redesigning my daughter’s bedroom last weekend so I know these really work.

Limit the amount of stuff in the room - Of course, the more stuff that are in there, the more it would look cramped. Take out some of the stuff that are in the way and if possible put them inside the closet, behind doors, etc… Make them hidden.

Lighter Colors - Not only on walls and ceilings, but also on the furniture. If possible stick to one color, alternating light then dark colors give the impression of breaking up in space so it doesn’t help. Put narrow stripes on the ceilings too to create an illusion of being higher.

Mirrors and Glass - These give the illusion of increased space. Reflective surfaces or see-through surfaces would make the room appear larger than it actually is. Put them strategically along the walls and use light fabrics on windows to make it appear like so and to improve lighting in the room.

Dreams are not just random thoughts and images that appear in our mind when we sleep. More often than not, they are a reflection of what we feel about what goes on in our daily lives. As I mentioned in my last post, dreams usually occur during Rapid Eye Movement sleep but it also occurs during non-REM sleep. The latter is usually forgotten after waking up. Dreams have been a subject of interest for many years and is still not fully understood. Here are some of the more common dreams and how they are interpreted (non-scientific really, but still interesting nonetheless).

Running Dreams - It depends on the situation that occurs during the dream. If you are trying to run after someone or something (but in vain), it could mean that you are hopelessly chasing after a particular goal.On the other hand, if you are running away from someone or something, it usually means that you are trying to avoid someone, something, or a particular issue. Or you could have been watching too many horror movies.

Falling Dreams - Dreams of this type usually appear when you are insecure of something or when you need support (emotional) but there’s no one to give it. The dream reflects your emotions by putting you in a scenario where you are falling through a bottomless pit or a tall building. That, or you may have just fallen out of bed. You would know soon enough.

Recurring Dreams - Ever had a dream that seems to reappear day after day? Like 3 days or more? Dreams that reappear for more than a few days could indicate that a particular issue or problem is not being addressed. In my experience, I had a running dream that happened for 4 days. Apparently it was a social issue that I had to take care of and it didn’t reappear after facing the particular problem.

Do take into consideration that these are merely interpretations. People are different and as such, our thoughts could also differ. What works for one may not for another person.

So what’s the worst thing that could happen due to fear? A lot. You could experience heart failure due to excessive fear or worse - you may be driven to commit suicide. Here are some stories of people dying due to excessive fear.

Heart Attack - Scientists from Germany have discovered that heart attacks due to excessive fear do happen, making the phrase “The fear made my blood curdle” literally possible. According to them, they found out that anxiety and panic attacks increase blood clotting which may lead to a thrombosis or hear attack Read the article here.

Suicide due to fear of revenge - A jeweler committed suicide out of fear of a convict already in prison. Edward Lapierre, had an encounter with two professional thieves when the latter attempted to rob his store. In the exchange of gunfire, one of the cracksmen was fatally wounded. Read the article here.

Suicide due to insanity from excessive fear - A woman who was driven to madness out of excruciating pain and unwilling to be parted from her daughter committed suicide by turning on four gas jets and lay down silently to die. Mrs. Cora Levis Torgette took her daughter along with her when she committed the horrible act. Read the article here.

Phobia is an irrational fear of an object or situation. Irrational, meaning, there is no reason for the fear. Here are some of the most ridiculous phobias that I’ve heard.

Ablutophobia- Fear of washing or bathing.
Acerophobia- Fear of sourness.
Alektorophobia- Fear of chickens.
Alliumphobia- Fear of garlic.
Allodoxaphobia- Fear of opinions.
Amathophobia- Fear of dust.
Anthrophobia or Anthophobia- Fear of flowers.
Asymmetriphobia- Fear of asymmetrical things.
Automysophobia- Fear of being dirty.
Bromidrosiphobia or Bromidrophobia- Fear of body smells.
Chronophobia- Fear of time.
Consecotaleophobia- Fear of chopsticks.
Dendrophobia- Fear of trees.
Dutchphobia- Fear of the Dutch.
Francophobia- Fear of France or French culture.
Geumaphobia or Geumophobia- Fear of taste.
Hypnophobia- Fear of sleep or of being hypnotized.
Iatrophobia- Fear of going to the doctor or of doctors.
Ithyphallophobia- Fear of seeing, thinking about or having an erect penis.
Japanophobia- Fear of Japanese.
Judeophobia- Fear of Jews.
Kathisophobia- Fear of sitting down.
Numerophobia- Fear of numbers.
Oneirophobia- Fear of dreams.
Oneirogmophobia- Fear of wet dreams.
Optophobia- Fear of opening one’s eyes.
Osmophobia or Osphresiophobia- Fear of smells or odors.
Papyrophobia- Fear of paper.
Panophobia or Pantophobia- Fear of everything.
Sophophobia- Fear of learning.

Ridiculous, right? What’s there to fear from taste, odor, or even opening your eyes? I just don’t understand what goes on in people’s minds. But like any fear, these can be overcome with therapy.

A lot of people find insects amusing and beautiful, especially young boys. However, even with their small size, some can be fatal to large animals and even humans. Here are my top 5 most dangerous insects in the world.

5. Tsetse Fly - A large biting fly fom Africa that feeds on the blood of vertebrate animals. They are known to cause Sleeping Sickness in humans and Nagana in cattle. Sleeping sickness is a parasitic disease in people and animals that is caused by Trypanosoma, a protozoa transmitted by the tsetse fly. The symptoms for sleeping sickness begin with fever and headache then a swell on the back of the neck. Afterwards, the victim may experience daytime slumber and insomnia. It could lead to death afterwards.

4. Africanized Bees - Also called killer bees, are descendants of 26 Tanzanian queen bees that bred with other species after they were accidentally released from a hive in Brazil. What makes the bees deadly is their defensive nature and tendency to swarm. Also, they tend to follow victims even when already far from the hive. This aggressiveness when attacking potential threats ensure a very painful death for the victim. The venom that they secrete, however, is just as potent as a honey bee’s.

3. Deathstalker - A species of scorpion that is highly dangerous because of its venom. The venom is actually a powerful mixture of neurotoxins. Although, the poison would not kill a healthy adult, it could be fatal to kids and the elderly. Ironically, a component of the venom (peptide chlorotoxin) has the potential to cure human brain tumors while the other toxins may help against diabetes.

2. Black Widow - One of the most well-known spiders, especially because its venom could be fatal to humans. The venom is said to be more potent than that of rattlesnakes, however, their size and the amount secreted reduce its effectiveness. Both male and female have an hourglass shaped marking underneath their abdomen. The females are relatively larger than the males and contrary to popular belief, the females rarely eat the males after mating.

1. Anopheles Mosquitoes - Deemed the most dangerous creature on Earth. This mosquito causes more than 300 million cases of malaria annually, which results in between 1 to 3 million deaths. They can also carry dengue, elephantiasis, and yellow fever. They are usually active during the nightime so one way to protect yourself is to apply insect-repellents and wear longer sleeves.

Here are some abortion facts I found in the Guttmacher Institute’s website. I’ve decided to post these after the news about the 20 - 20 tie vote for the abortion requirement bill in Florida. The bill would require all women in Florida to undergo ultrasound before the abortion itself. Here are the facts (note that these is for the US only).

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* Nearly half of all pregnancies to American women are unintended; four in 10 of these end in abortion.

* About half of American women have experienced an unintended pregnancy, and at current rates more than one-third (35%) will have had an abortion by age 45.

* Overall unintended pregnancy rates have stagnated over the past decade, yet unintended pregnancy increased by 29% among poor women while decreasing 20% among higher-income women.

* In 2005, 1.21 million abortions were performed, down from 1.31 million abortions in 2000.

* Nine in 10 abortions occur in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

* A broad cross section of U.S. women have abortions:
o 56% of women having abortions are in their 20s;
o 61% have one or more children;
o 67% have never married;
o 57% are economically disadvantaged;
o 88% live in a metropolitan area; and
o 78% report a religious affiliation.
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There are different opinions regarding abortion between the pro-life people and the pro-choice side. I’m still open for opinions regarding the issue so don’t hesitate to post your comment. Let me hear your thoughts!

Here is something that came in recently which I believe is worth mentioning. The senate arrived at a rare 20-20 tie vote, putting down the bill that proposes to require all women here in Florida to have an ultrasound before an abortion.

Personally, as a mother and a doctor, I support the abortion requirement. Although it will entail some costs, it should only be proper that those who would perform the abortion know how old the fetus is. Other than that would be my personal bias. I became a doctor to save lives, not kill them.

Here are some notable quotes from the article:

”Unless you ovulate or have ovulated, we have no business as males interfering with your female decision on reproduction. A woman making a decision that she wants to abort, that decision should be honored.” - Jim King

‘If good medical practice dictates screening, what does no screening mean?’ Fill in the blank. It’s bad medical practice.” - Dan Webster

‘What is it that we might be afraid of in an ultrasound?’ Oh, I don’t know. Could it be that in the ultrasound she might see the baby — the unborn — putting his thumb to his mouth and sucking his thumb before she has an abortion? Could that be what we’re afraid of? So we think then she won’t have it and we think she shouldn’t have to see that?” -Ronda Storms

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So how about it? How do you feel about this particular issue?