JOURNAL
Too much sugar isn't so sweet for your wellbeing
Most Americans ingest an amount of sugar equal to their own weight each year. Consumption of such large doses of sugar (also known as maltose, sucrose, high fructose corn syrup, molasses, cane sugar, corn sweetener, raw sugar, syrup, honey or fruit juice concentrates) can increase a wide number of diseases.
According to the American Heart Association the average American adult consumes 22 teaspoons of sugar a day, and it's a whopping 68 kg per year. Teens consume even more – on average an American has 34 teaspoons a day.
From Outer Space to Endgaget Exchange: Advances in Growing
In the realm of innovative growing techniques aeroponic growing is among the more obscure. It challenges just about everything the average person knows about farming by cultivating crops not in soil or even water (as in hydroponics) but in open air. To understand aeroponics, imagine a plant plucked from the ground, roots and all, and held in place so that the roots remain suspended. An artificial light source supplies the energy needed for photosynthesis and a nutrient-infused mist is applied at periodic intervals. Direct, efficient uptake reduces water usage by an estimated 90 to 98 percent compared to traditionally grown crops, fertilizer by 60 percent. A sterile growing environment and the plant's healthy immune system eliminates the need for pesticides altogether. When not absorbing water and minerals, the roots receive a direct, abundant supply of oxygen, and the delicate seedling grows faster and more robustly than its soil-bound counterparts. Soon a crop is ready for harvesting.
Have You Been TILTed? A Look at the Dangerous New Allergies Sweeping the Globe.
Air – it’s one of the things that keeps us going, keeps us alive. It’s full of that wonderful stuff: oxygen, without which we would be writhing on the floor gasping for breath. It could never do us harm, right? Wrong. In recent years, there has been a frightening increase in allergies all over the world. It’s not just an increase in the number of cases either. Reported symptoms are more severe and illnesses more debilitating than ever before. What’s more, traditional allergy treatments aren’t working. So you may ask what’s causing these symptoms. What exactly is causing the allergy? That’s the scariest part. It’s being caused by almost everything – everything manmade, at least. It’s even in the air we breathe.
Sex, What's the Big Deal?
Our society tends to make quite the stink when it comes to sex. Sex is a basic human experience, yet we treat it as something other than what it is. We put it up on a pedestal. We judge it. We repress it. We exploit it. We label it as sinful or taboo. But we rarely accept it exactly as it is, as a normal, everyday thing. It begs the question, why is sex still such a taboo subject when industries like fashion and entertainment exploit it on a daily basis? Why are we, as a society, accepting of oversexed images everywhere we look, but we can’t be supportive of talking about sexuality in an open, honest, and real way? Anthropologist, Ava Mir-Ausziehen, says, "Sex isn't some strange, ethereal construct. It's as normal and necessary as eating and sleeping...when we regard sex as something apart from the mundane, we're causing anxiety, fear, and dysfunction." Could this be the answer to why our society struggles to have a healthy, positive relationship with sexuality?
A Farm-Load of Problems: Why an Animal’s Daily Dose Might be Killing You
Antibiotics are as close to a ‘cure-all’ as we have. Since Fleming’s discover of penicillin in 1929, numerous types of antibiotics have been developed to treat numerous types of illness, from everyday throat infections to life-threatening problems like pneumonia. However, they are far from perfect. One of the dangers of antibiotics is the development of resistance – and if we become completely resistant, we could see ourselves taking a step back in time, to a place where people die from even the most common infections. The worrying thing is, we are getting closer to that truth every single day. The bacteria that causes infections are becoming more and more resistant to more and more types of antibiotics and it is becoming an epidemic that we should be more concerned about. The question is though, why are we becoming so resistant and how can we stop it?
Quackery: The Dark Side of Alternative Medicine
Everyone has heard the stories in the news and on the TV; the miracle cures and the life-saving medications, the alternative therapies that offer heart-rending tales of lives saved, and the scary stories of what conventional medicine really does to our bodies. Alternative medicine, more often than not, comes with glowing testimonials and mind-blowing claims – and usually high price tags too. It’s easy to get sucked into the hype and with such media whirlwinds, it’s hard to know what to believe. This is especially true when people get frustrated with traditional doctors and their perceived lack of time or bedside manner. Patients feel lost and out of control. But just what are ‘alternative therapies’ anyway? And where is the harm, if someone wants to try something different?
Sex Addiction a real illness or just an excuse for impish behavior?
The term “sex addiction” has received a lot of press over the last several years, with celebrities like Tiger Woods, David Duchovny and Kayne West claiming to suffer from it. Even without knowing too much about the topic, the world had its doubts. Was this a real illness or just an excuse for naughty behavior? Could a person really be addicted to sex? While the answer to that question doesn’t yet have a simple answer, those claiming to suffer from it engage in a variety of different behaviors, and not all of them include cheating or extramarital affairs, as seen reflected in the press over the years.
In Cities, Mobile Farms Give New Meaning to the Term “Food Truck”
The challenges of growing food in the city -- pretty much any city, really -- are well documented, and topping the list of obstacles is the issue of space. In packed metropolises like New York, where back yards, patios, and roof decks are something of a luxury, finding the necessary square footage beneath adequate sunlight can be a tall order. Still, determined growers make due, farming in container gardens on their front stoop, snagging a coveted plot in a community garden, sneaking their crops onto roofs and fire escapes, maintaining small windowsill gardens, and even engaging in some guerrilla gardening in unused public space. Commercially, rooftop farms and indoor farming techniques are becoming increasingly popular means of supplying urban dwellers with fresh, locally grown produce.
The Addictive Nature of Carbs
Carbohydrates are a complicated business when it comes to eating healthy and losing weight. It's not easy when the advice seems to contradict itself, with some diets telling people to cut out carbs completely and others touting the benefits of a carb-laden eating plan. However, recent research conducted at the Boston Children's Hospital seems to have finally laid the carb question to rest, as findings suggest that processed carbohydrates are not only bad in themselves but that they can trigger cravings for further calorie-laden, sugary goods.
BandAid Solution to Low Sexual Desire
There is a new pill undergoing drug trials that promises to help women with their sexual desire issues. Intrigued? Research suggests that over 30% of women suffer from low desire to some degree. There are a number of different theories as to why women suffer from low desire, but researchers have yet to pinpoint an exact cause. Nevertheless, women who have this problem often suffer emotional and relationship stress because of it. Are new drugs like Lybrido and Lybridos the answer to women’s prayers? Or will the drug just cause a chemical change in the body leaving the psychological issues unaddressed?