Realfood is low sugar and high fiber. Processed food is high sugar andlow fiber.

RobertLustig

###

OK, Illget my food rant out of the way. Then no more for the rest of theyear, promise.

If itdoesnt work, do something different, has always seemed to meabout as obvious a maxim as any. In this season of make-and-breakresolutions, I think I can safely say that diets dont work, andmaybe its time to do something different.

Weretoo fat, right? Not you and me, of course, heaven forbid, but thecollective we. We as in the population of the US, withtwo-thirds of us overweight or obese. Thats according to the BodyMass Index system of assessing us. BMI is pretty crude, of course(using just two measurements, height and weight), but for mostpeople, BMI is related to the amount of fat in their bodies.

How do weknow diets dont work? Because theyre short-term solutions tolong-term problems. About 95% of people who lose weight by dietingwill not only regain it in a year or so, but most will end upweighing more. Our bodies are super-sensitive when they think theyrebeing starved (more people died from starvation than all the wars andepidemics combined), so they respond to diets by slowing ourmetabolism and craving food. Duh.

RobertLustig (quoted above) is an anti-sugar crusader; check out Sugar:The Bitter Truth. He offers a way of doingsomething different thats worthy of consideration, IMHO. Itsall about the hormones leptin and insulin. Leptin acts like athermostat: when it rises, you feel full. When it falls, you want toeat. (Its more complicated, of course were talking about thehuman body! Leptin also regulates metabolism and the rate of fatbreakdown.)

No leptin vs. leptin. The mouse on left is unable to produce leptin, resulting in obesity, constant hunger, and lethargy. (US Government/Bigplankton. Public domain)

Accordingto Lustigs model, most of us develop leptin resistance, whentheres plenty of leptin, but somehow the message isnt gettingthrough to our brains. Why? Blame insulin. Insulin blocks leptin,stopping it doing its job of messaging the brain about whether weneed to eat or not. And compared to 40 years ago, most of us haveinsulin levels two to four times what they were then.

Becausesugar. Sugar, as bloodstream glucose, tells the pancreas to releaseinsulin, the leptin-blocking hormone. Not only that, but high insulinlevels make the body store more food calories as fat. Turns out,were all OK, most of us are ingesting too much of the stuff,nearly 60 lb. a year on average in the US. Thats two or threetimes whats healthy, according to the World Health Organizationsguidelines on sugar.

You dontneed to know all this and Im just scraping the surface here.You (collective you) need to know that fiber is the antidoteto sugar. Yup, you can have your sugar, but only when it comeswith fiber. Fiber is, to a first approximation, the differencebetween processed and unprocessed food, see Lustigs epigraphabove. When we eat fiber that is, fruit and veggies it (1)slows the absorption of sugar in our intestines and (2) causes foodsugar to be processed farther down our intestines where its eatenby our microbiome bacteria.

And thatsthe magic of fiber. According to Lustig, a calorie isnt a calorie,because when you eat food with fiber, you dont absorb thecalories; your gut bacteria do! And they (being smarter than you)dont turn those calories into fat

So forgetthe short-term-solution diet. Itll just make you fatter andmiserable. Instead, eat your fruits and vegetables not exactlyrocket science. A good place to start might be the New York Times7-daysugar challenge.

Eitherthat, or move to Chad, wherethe diet is the healthiest in the world.

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GROWING OLD UNGRACEFULLY: Last Food Rant of the Year - Lost Coast Outpost

Being an adult man comes with its fair share of strange maladies that require attention. Backs and ears might sprout hairs; sweat might appear so much that its a problem. They happens and steps need to be taken. Areas should be trimmed and powders should be applied. Another area that often requires attention: particularly hirsute individuals need to pay more attention their hairy ass lest they suffer the dingleberried consequences after they go to the bathroom. This latter issue begs an important question: how do you wipe properly and poop cleanly when you have a hairy butt?

Maybe this isnt a grooming question youve ever asked. If so, good for you, oh smooth-ass-haver. But if that Chia Pet you call a fanny causes some problems, youre not alone. Having a hairy ass can turn even the most satisfying bowel movements into wiping marathons that only the Winter Soldiers left arm could handle and risk leaving your important area chapped and raw. Whats more, a hairy butt can leave you prone to an increased risk of everything from bacteria buildup to odious crap crust.

So, for those with the hairiest heinies out there, how can you avoid such fates? Well, that requires special attention to everything from grooming to diet to improved wiping technique. To offer some advice, we spoke to two experts Dr. Nikola Djordjevic, MD, board-certified family physician, and co-founder of MedAlertHelp.org, and Lisa Hugh, registered dietitian and producer of the Poop Problems Podcast. Both offered tips, tricks, and advice for taming your wooly cheeks, and making sure that your caboose is as clean and comfy as can be.

While neither of our experts disagree that a completely hairless butt may work for some, its important to know that a bit of fuzz is what nature intended. In terms of hygiene, hairless skin would be easier to clean, explains Dr. Djordjevic. However, it can be uncomfortable, especially in cold weather. And, depending on how much hair you eliminate, you could risk exposing your testicles to extreme cold, and compromise the fertility of your sperm.

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Hugh says that some men who completely remove the hair notice more sweating, likely because the hair absorbed some of the moisture. The hair back there also prevents skin-on-skin irritation, and direct contact of skin and feces. Plus, she adds, more butt hair seems to muffle the sound of passing gas. See? Having a hairy butt isnt all bad news.

Hairier bodies create certain hairy grooming situations. If youre interested in taming the birds nest of body hair, neither Dr. Djordjevic or Hugh recommend a complete backside Brazillian. In addition to the circus-level contortion required to safely and effectively shave the region, a completely shaved butt can do more harm than good.

Shaving will cause more itching and discomfort as the hair grows back, warns Hugh. Waxing is associated with ingrown hairs. And chemical products can cause burns on the sensitive skin. Instead, she recommends going to a professional for help grooming or at least trying a combination of tools and methods to find one that works for you. Djordjevic agrees. I wouldnt recommend shaving the hair altogether, he says. But, using a beard trimmer or detail clipper (we have some excellent options here) will allow you to leave just enough hair to maintain and make manageable. Whichever trimmer you choose, be sure to keep it in a separate drawer from the one you use on your face.

Keeping the skin your freshly-trimmed rump is essential to maintaining its health and good looks. Post-pooping, Hugh recommends using medicated wipes made with witch hazel, which is a popular astringent. The witch hazel can help clean and calm irritated skin, and the moisture is helpful for removing messy bits of poop, or pieces that may have dried on to the skin, she says. Dr. Djordjevic, meanwhile, recommends coconut oil. It is a natural antifungal and antibacterial all-in-one and will help hydrate the skin and make sure that bacteria has no chance of developing, he says. Any coconut oil from the grocery store will do. Just make sure to apply it at night so that it can soak in well, he adds.

Remember: youre not rubbing a lamp trying to summon Will Smith. The proper wiping technique is important for making sure your rump stays clean, healthy, and functional. The anus skin is protected by natural body oils that keep bacteria and harmful organisms out of your body, Hugh explains. Too much wiping can cause skin irritation, open sores, and ultimately leave the area prone to infections from bacteria, anal warts, pin worms, fungus, yeast and parasites. Dr. Djordjevic suggests following the rule of three when wiping. Anything more than three rounds of wiping each time can aggravate the skin. He suggests a pass or two with wet toilet paper and to avoid vigorous wiping that may tenderize the area.

A one-wiper is often rarer than a debt-free Millennial. But, it is possible, and it means your hairy hind quarters can stay as clean as possiblewithout excessively annoying grooming. Bowel movements are, of course, based on diet. The key to less aggressive BMs, then is a healthier diet.

Diets that include a lot of processed foods and artificial sweeteners tend to promote overall growth of more problematic bacteria, says Hugh. This can lead to poop that is more dangerous to the skin. Likewise, a diet that is low in fiber can lead to an unhealthy balance between good and bad bacteria.

Any trend vegetable-forward options will help your poop pass more smoothly. Wiping a lot is usually due to the entire stool not passing in one go, but rather in bits and pieces, and in the worst-case scenario in diarrhea, explains Dr. Djordjevic. Adding more veggies, brown rice, and whole-grains is a good way to get a more solid stool. If you still have messy stools, try to use a bidet to clean, if you have access to one, or a bathtub with an extendable shower-head can do the trick.By cleaning thoroughly with hot water, he adds, you can ensure that it is 100-percent clean.

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How to Wipe Properly And Poop Cleanly When You Have a Hairy Butt - Fatherly

The padded Hurtta Weekend Warrior Harness holds up beautifully no matter how big (and dirty) the adventure.

If you're doing a lot of strenuous outdoor activities with your pup, you need a harness that won't fall apart with repeated rock scrambling and ocean swims. But a strong harness made of resilient material is only half the battle. An active dog also requires a harness that fits comfortably on all-day adventures without restricting their movement at high speeds or on uneven terrain.

Enter the Hurtta Weekend Warrior, an extremely durable harness that is also built for comfort. Unlike most harnesses which are sized with the subjective terms small, medium, and large, the Finnish team behind the Hurtta measured the chest circumference of more than 200 dogs to inform this product's five sizes from a tiny 16 to 18 inches to a hefty 39 to 47 inches.

The soft, padded straps have four points of adjustment, two on the neck strap and two on the chest strap, to help you get a snug fit on a wide range of body types. Two buckles on the chest strap mean that you don't have to lift your dog's legs to get them into the harness. It is necessary, though, to slip the Hurtta over your dog's head, which can be a challenge for shy or handling-sensitive dogs.

The brand is a favorite of certified professional dog trainer Erika Slovikoski, owner of Stardog in San Francisco, California. I like Hurtta harnesses because they are extremely well made [with] durable material and buckles that look like new for years, she said. The design allows for full range of motion of forelimbs, too, which is so important to me.

Made for dogs that can't get enough of the outdoors, the Hurtta Weekend Warrior is fashioned out of soft, lightweight polyester and covered with a weatherproof material sturdy enough to keep the harness from soaking through in low to moderate rain. Each of the harness's eight colors, including two ECO versions made from 100% recycled polyester, is accented with reflective prints and piping for safety in low light. At the back, a sturdy stainless steel ring connects to the leash and a handle allows people to lend their dog a hand on steep trails without compromising their own balance.

The Hurtta Weekend Warrior is pricier than your average harness, but your money is well spent on both quality and design. Plus, the harness will last for years without looking shabby. Even if dogs roll in mud and swim in saltwater, these materials just rinse and dry and look like new again, Slovikoski said.

Pros: Ultra-durable, padded, five sizes, eight colors and eco-friendly versions available, strong hardware, easy to clean, good for intensive activity, reflective material

Cons: Pricey

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The best dog harnesses, according to professional dog trainers - Business Insider India

If you were toask a group of medical professionals to name the most significant public healthachievements of the past century, antibiotics and widespread vaccinationagainst infectious diseases would almost certainly top the list. The US Centers for Disease Control andPrevention2 (CDC) would add motor vehicle safety,fluoridated water, workplace safety, and a decrease in cigarette smoking.

If you were to saypesticides not only belonged on the list, but well toward the top of it, youwould likely be greeted with skepticism, if not incredulity. On this topic,highly educated professionals are little different from general consumers, whoget most of their information from media stories that overwhelmingly portraypesticides as a health threat or even a menace. At best, some open-minded interlocutorsmight concede that pesticides are a necessary evil that regulators should seekto limit and wherever possible, eliminate from our environment.

Yet by any ofthe standard measures of public health reductions in mortality, impairment,and infectious diseases, as well as improved quality of life the contributionof modern pesticides has been profound. An adequate supply of food is absolutelyfoundational to human health. Denied sufficient calories, vitamins, and othermicronutrients, the bodys systems break down. Fat stores are depleted and thebody begins to metabolize muscles and other organs to maintain the energynecessary for life. Cardiorespiratory and gastrointestinal functions falter andthe immune system is seriously compromised.

A 2019 report3 from the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) found thatone-third of children under age five are malnourished stunted, wasted oroverweight while two-thirds are at risk of malnutrition and hidden hungerbecause of the poor quality of their diets. And according to the World HealthOrganization1, undernutrition is currently an underlying cause in nearlyhalf of deaths in children under five years of age. Inadequately nourishednewborns who survive early childhood can suffer permanently stunted growth andlifelong cognitive impairment. Death results more often from undernutritionthan insect-borne killers like malaria, Lyme disease, Zika virus, dengue andyellow fever combined. In addition, it makes people more susceptible to suchinfectious diseases. Pesticides help to address all of these problems byincreasing the food supply, controlling the growth of harmful mycotoxins, andpreventing bites from mosquitoes, ticks, other disease-transferring insects,and rodents.

Food Securityis a Recent Phenomenon

The medicalcommunity knows all of the broad strokes above, at least in the abstract. Butliving in a time of unprecedented agricultural abundance, we often take forgranted the provision of adequate diets. We shouldnt.

As the economistRobert Fogel noted in a 2004 book,4 even in advanced, industrializednations, widespread food security is a relatively recent phenomenon. According toProfessor Fogel, per capita calorie consumption in mid-nineteenth century Britainbarely equaled what the World Bank would designate today as that in low incomenations. The availability of calories in early nineteenth century France would placeit today among the worlds most food insecure. It wasnt until well into the twentiethcentury that even the wealthiest nations reached the level of per capita calorieconsumption necessary to escape chronic undernutrition.

What made thatpossible was a rapid increase in farm productivity following World War II. Cropyields had been improving during the previous two centuries, to be sure, but ascan be seen in charts of historical yield trends,5 progress was slow and uneven. Thatchanged dramatically in the mid-1940s, when the gradually ascending yieldcurves suddenly turned sharply upward, climbing almost vertically to where theystand today.

Average wheat yieldsin Great Britain in 1942, which stood a mere thirty percent above their level acentury earlier, doubled by 1974. By the late 1990s, they had tripled comparedto 1942. Crops throughout Western Europe and the United States followed asimilar trajectory: slow growth or stagnation in the pre-WWII era, followed by rapidacceleration starting in the late 1940s. US corn yields per acre, which hadincreased only eighteen percent between 1900 and 1945, tripled in the next forty-fiveyears, and by 2014, had increased more than 460 percent.5

The EssentialRole of Pesticides

So, whatchanged to produce such dramatic improvements? The two factors most often citedare cheaper nitrogen fertilizers produced by the Haber-Bosch method of fixing nitrogen6 directly from the air, which came on line after 1910, and newhybrid crops created by Henry Wallace, which were first marketed in 1926 by hisseed company, Pioneer Hi-Bred Corn Company (later Dupont Pioneer and now Corteva Agriscience). Both innovations were rapidly adoptedby farmers in the first half of the nineteenth century the use of artificialnitrogen fertilizer by US farmers increased ten-fold7 between 1900 and 1944, and sixty-fivepercent8 were planting hybrid crops by 1945 buttheir use and development increased enormously in the post-war years.

Often ignored,however, was the post-WWII introduction of new, synthetic chemical pesticides thatdramatically reduced crop losses and made possible much of the yield growthstimulated by new fertilizers and seeds. Farmers had been using chemicalpesticides since the earliest days of agriculture, but up until the mid-1940s,these were largely simple chemical compounds containing sulfur and heavy metals.An example was copper sulfate, which organic farmers still rely on today due,ironically, to its high toxicity, indiscriminate pesticidal activity, andlong-lasting effects (i.e., persistence in the environment). Advances9 in organic (i.e., carbon-based) chemistry, however,provided farmers in the post-WWII era with a broad array of highly effectiveand increasingly targeted pesticides that have revolutionized agriculture.

According toone of the worlds leading experts in plant diseases, E.-C. Oerke of theUniversity of Bonn, these pesticides were responsible10 for nearly doubling crop harvests, from forty-two percentof the theoretical worldwide yield in 1965 to seventy percent by 1990. It hasbeen estimated11 by others that herbicides (which are a subset ofpesticides) alone boosted rice production in the United States by 160 percentand are responsible for a full sixty-two percent of the increase in US soybeanyield. Modern fungicides contributed11 somewhere between fifty and one hundred percent of theyield increases in most fruits and vegetables.

Yet even thesenumbers vastly understate the contribution of modern pesticides. As Professor Oerkeand others8 have pointed out, many of the critical attributes of moderncrop varieties that enable higher yields make modern crops more attractive topests; these include shorter stalks (which prevent damage from the elements butincrease competition from weeds), increased resistance to cold (which enablesearlier spring planting and double-cropping), higher crop density and increasedproduction of nutrients stimulated by synthetic fertilizers. Without theinnovation of new pesticides, much of the benefit of enhanced fertilizer useand even the survivability of new plant varieties that define agriculture todaywould be severely curtailed or even blocked.

The GreenRevolution

In the 1960s,rapid population growth worldwide raised alarms of mass starvation. Many of thefears were exaggerated, but the urgency was real. Over the next half century,world population doubled, with much of the increase taking place in poornations already chronically unable to feed their populations. That the worldaverted widespread famine is largely credited to one man: Norman Borlaug. Knownas the Father of the Green Revolution and the man who saved a billion lives,he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his tireless efforts to exportthe benefits of agricultural technology to struggling farmers around the world.The effects were dramatic: New high-yielding, disease-resistant wheat hybridsBorlaug introduced in Mexico, Pakistan and India doubled yields within a matterof years and helped turn those nations into net exporters.

Borlaug was adamant12 throughout his life that the success of the GreenRevolution was only possible because of modern pesticides. In a speech hedelivered a year after receiving the Nobel Prize, he forcefully condemned12 the environmental movements vicious, hystericalpropaganda campaign against agricultural chemicals.4 Insisting thatchemical inputs were absolutely necessary to cope with,12he expressed alarm that legislation then being pushed in the US Congress to banpesticides would doom the world to starvation.

Starting in the1960s, led by dramatic gains in developing nations, global crop productionbegan an impressive13 ascent. Tufts University Professor Patrick Webb13 has calculated, In developing countries from 1965 to 1990,there was a 106 percent rise in grain output, which represented an increasefrom roughly 560 kilograms per capita to over 660 kilograms per capita. And accordingto the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the rapid rise infood production caused a reduction in world hunger which is defined as nothaving adequate caloric intake to meet minimum energy requirements by more than half14 between 1970 and 2014. Behind that single statistic arebillions of premature deaths averted, billions of lives rescued from chronicdisease and suffering, and whole communities and even nations saved from anendless cycle of underdevelopment and grinding poverty.

From a publichealth perspective, those achievements can hardly be overstated. Unfortunately,they are rarely stated at all these days.

Fear, Not Facts,Prevail

The discussionof pesticides today largely ignores the challenges inherent in producing foodat the necessary scale and focuses instead on inflated fears surrounding them, althoughthey are among the most rigorously tested and tightly regulated of any class ofproducts. The result is a growing political and public backlash that retardsthe innovation of new products, restricts, and even bans from the market perfectlysafe, effective, and established products.

The increasingmomentum toward expanding bans on pesticides in Europe has called into question the very viabilityof agriculture15 on that continent. An avalanche of lawsuits16 in the United States against pesticides (such as theherbicide glyphosate17) universally deemed safe by regulators could put ourcountry on a similar path. Meanwhile, international development agencies suchas the UNs Food and Agriculture Organization which once championed the GreenRevolution are pushing the worlds poorest farmers to adopt agroecological approachesthat prohibit modern pesticides (and other technologies and products) and areas much as fifty percent less productive.18 That is a prescriptionfor potentially deadly challenges to food security.

It would be onething if this broad-based attack on modern pesticides approved by regulators hadscientific merit, but the obsessive focus by politicians, activists, and media onthe perceived risks to consumers collapses under scientific scrutiny. In this, itclosely parallels the public health challenge presented by the anti-vaccinationmovement, which is led by many of the same environmental groups. A criticaldifference is that the anti-pesticide movement is supported by billions ofdollars of annual funding from wealthy non-profits, governments (largely in theEU), and a burgeoning organic agriculture/food industry that seeks to increase its market share19 by spreading false and misleading claims20 about conventional farming.

And unlikeanti-vaccination propaganda, the media reflexively repeats and amplifies theanti-pesticide message with little qualification. (If it bleeds, it leads.) Evenseemingly authoritative voices in the health community, such as the American Pediatrics Association,21 advise the public to eatorganic food, mistakenly assuming that organic farmers dont use pesticides (they do,22 lotsof them23) or perhaps believing that naturalpesticides made with heavy metals are somehow less toxic than synthetic ones.(The EU has considered banning copper sulfate24 due to its human and environmental risks, but has continuedto reauthorize it because organic farmers have no viable alternatives.)Ironically, many organicpesticides are considerably more damaging to the environment.25

One of the mostsuccessful examples of anti-pesticide propaganda is the annual Dirty Dozen list26produced by the US activistEnvironmental Working Group (which also spreads vaccine fears),27 highlighting fruits andvegetables that have the highest detectable pesticide residues. The ability ofmodern technology to detect substances measured in parts per billion or evenper trillion is extraordinary, but the infinitesimal residues found on food arealmost certainly too small to have any physiological effect and by anyreasonable measure, represent a negligible risk to consumers.

Pesticideregulatory tolerances (safety levels) are calculated28 by dividing the highest dose of a pesticide found to have nodetectable effect in laboratory animals by a safety margin of one hundred to onethousand,28 which sets a maximum exposure limit on the cumulative amount of residue fromall approved products meaning regulators consider the sum of currenttolerances while determining the tolerance level for a new product. For tradingpurposes, maximum residue limits (MRLs) are set based on safety levelsmultiplied by an additional safety margin. So even if MRLs are exceeded, thereis very low risk of any health effect.

For example,the European Food Safety Authority29 noted in its most recent annual monitoring report onpesticide residues (2017), that more than half (fifty-four percent) of 88,000 samplesin the European Union were free of detectable residues. In another forty-twopercent, residues found were within the legal limits (MRLs). Only about fourpercent exceeded these limits, which still were unlikely to pose a safety issuedue to their trace amounts and built-in safety margins.

Paradoxically, regulatorsdont apply such large, conservative safety factors to other, more toxicsubstances we consume safely in much larger quantities every day. Consider, forexample, the difference between drinking one or two cups of coffee and drinkingone hundred to one thousand cups all at once. Given that a lethal dose ofcaffeine is about ten grams30 and a cup can easily contain 150 milligrams, sixty-six cupsmight well be fatal. Similarly, the absurdist nature of the EnvironmentalWorking Groups claims is seen in the calculations31 of the impossible quantities one would have to consume in asingle day e.g., 1,190 servings of apples, 18,519 servings of blueberries,25,339 servings of carrots per the Alliance for Food and Farming justto reach the no effect level.

Similarly,discussions of cancer risks commonly fail to acknowledge that most of thefruits and vegetables that are part of a healthy diet naturally contain32 chemicals that are potential carcinogens at high enoughdoses. Many, such as caffeine and the alkaloids in tomatoes and potatoes, arenatural pesticides produced by the plants themselves for protection againstpredators. Dr. Bruce Ames, who invented the test still used today to identifypotential carcinogens, and his colleagues estimate33 that 99.99 percent of the pesticidal substances we consumeare such natural pesticides which, of course, we consume routinely andsafely.

DiseasePrevention

The role ofpesticides in protecting public health is broad, varied, and sometimesunobvious. For example, the addition of the pesticide chlorine to publicdrinking water kills harmful bacteria. Hospitals rely on pesticides calleddisinfectants to prevent the spread of bacteria and viruses, and fungicides inpaints and caulks prevent harmful molds, while herbicides control allergen-producingweeds such as ragweed and poison ivy. Rodenticides are used to control rodentsthat spread diseases such as bubonic plague and hantavirus, and there are over 100,00034 known diseases spread by mosquitoes, ticks and fleas, whichinfect more than a billion people35 and kill more than a million of them every year; thosediseases include malaria, Lyme disease, dengue fever, West Nile Virus, andZika.

Even as thenumbers of tick- and mosquito-borne infections in the United States have surged,34 the CDC warns34 that we are dangerously unprepared in large part becauseof opposition36 to state-of-the-art pesticides by well-funded environmentalorganizations and the organic food and natural products industries, and the public fears37 they arouse.

Finally,naturally occurring toxins called mycotoxins,38 produced by certain molds (fungi), can grow on avariety of different food crops, including cereals, nuts, spices, dried fruits,apples and coffee beans. The most concerning of them are genotoxic aflatoxins,which can cause acute poisoning in large doses. Crops frequently affected by aflatoxins38 include cereals (corn, sorghum, wheat and rice), oilseeds(soybean, peanut, sunflower and cottonseed), spices (chili peppers, blackpepper, coriander, turmeric and ginger) and tree nuts (pistachio, almond,walnut, coconut and Brazil nut). Pesticides are effective in controlling thegrowth of these and other mycotoxins.

Epilogue

Certainly, justas with pharmaceuticals and medical devices, pesticides need to be well-regulatedand monitored, especially for potential effects on certain segments of thepopulation, such as farmers, who have the most direct contact (but have lowerrates of cancer than the general population). (See here,39 here,40 here,41and here.42)

The control ofpests has come a long way. The toxicity1of modern pesticides has already dropped ninety-eight percent and the applicationrate1 is down ninety-fivepercent since the 1960s. I grew up in the era of Better Thingsfor Better Living Through Chemistry (DuPonts advertising slogan from 1935 to1982) and lived through the worst of the backlash toward chemicals spawned inlarge part by the publication of Rachel Carsons compelling but often dishonestbook Silent Spring. Now, chemicals are being complemented, and sometimessupplanted, by biotechnology, but thats beside the point; the net benefit ofpesticides, whether chemical or biological, is irrefutable.

Our greatestpublic health challenge today isnt chemicals; rather, it is theinstitutionalized ignorance and fear-mongering that threatens to undo some ofthe twentieth centurys greatest technological and humanitarian uses of them.

Henry I. Miller, M.S., M.D., a physician and molecular biologist, is a seniorfellow in healthcare at the Pacific Research Institute. He was formerly a researchassociate at the National Institutes of Health and the founding director of theUS Food and Drug Administrations Office of Biotechnology. Please follow him onTwitter at @henryimiller.

References

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2. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Ten great public health achievements United States, 1900-1999 [Internet]. Washington, DC (US): CDC; 1999 Apr. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00056796.htm3. UNICEF. The state of the worlds children 2019. Children, food and nutrition: Growing well in a changing world [Internet]. New York, NY (US): UNICEF; 2019 Oct. Available from: https://www.unicef.org/reports/state-of-worlds-children-2019

4. FogelR. The Escape from Hunger and Premature Death, 17002100: Europe, America, andthe Third World. Cambridge (UK): Cambridge University Press; 2004. Availablefrom: doi:10.1017/CBO9780511817649

5. RitchieH, Roser M. Crop yields [Internet]. Our World in Data, Oxford (UK), Universityof Oxford; 2019 Sep. Available from: https://ourworldindata.org/crop-yields

6. Briney A. Overview of the Haber-BoschProcess [Internet]. New York, NY (US): ThoughtCo.; [updated2019 April 10]. Available from: https://www.thoughtco.com/overview-of-the-haber-bosch-process-1434563

7. Parker FW. Use of nitrogen fertilizers. Yearbook of Agriculture. Washington, DC (US): US Department of Agriculture, 1944. 562 p. Available at: https://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/IND43893965/PDF8. Warren GF. Spectacular increases in crop yields in the United States in the twentieth century. Weed Technol [Internet]. 1998 Oct-Dec;12(4):752-760. Available from: https://www.jstor.org/stable/39890999. SPEX CertiPrep Group. The evolution of chemical pesticides [Internet]. Pittsburgh, PA (US): Lab Reporter, Fischer Scientific; 2016(4). Available from: https://www.fishersci.com/us/en/scientific-products/publications/lab-reporter/2016/issue-4/the-evolution-chemical-pesticides.html10. Popp J, Pet K, Nagy J. Pesticide productivity and food security: A review. J Agron Sustain Dev [Internet]. 2013 Jan;33(1):243-255. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-012-0105-x

11. Gianessi L, Reigner N. The value of herbicidesin US crop production. Weed Technol 2007; 21(2), 559-566. Availablefrom: doi:10.1614/WT-06-130.1

12. Howe M. DDTs use backed by Nobel winner[Internet]. New York, NY (US): The New York Times; 1971 Nov 8. Availablefrom: https://www.nytimes.com/1971/11/09/archives/ddts-use-backed-by-nobel-winner-borlaug-denounces-efforts-to-ban.html

13. Webb P. More food, but not yet enough:20th century successes in agriculture growth and 21st century challenges. Boston,MA (US): Food Policy and Applied Nutrition Program, Tufts University; 2008 May.Available from: https://nutrition.tufts.edu/sites/default/files/fpan/Food_Webb_08_05_13.pdf

14. Roser M, Ritchie H. Hunger andundernourishment [Internet]. Our World in Data. Oxford (UK), University ofOxford; 2019 Sep. Available from: https://ourworldindata.org/hunger-and-undernourishment

15. European Crop Protection Association. Lowyield: Cumulative impact of hazard-based legislation on crop protectionproducts in Europe [Internet]. Brussels (BE): European Crop ProtectionAssociation; 2016 July. Available from: https://www.ecpa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/361315_CIA_report%2Bcover_corrected_digital.pdf

16. Scipioni J. Bayer now faces 11,200 lawsuits overRoundup cancer risk [Internet]. New York, NY (US): FOXBusiness; 2019 Feb 27.Available from: https://www.foxbusiness.com/industrials/bayer-now-faces-11200-lawsuits-over-roundup-cancer-risk

17. Schreiber K. Global regulatory andhealth research agencies on whether glyphosate causes cancer [Internet]. North Wales, PA (US): Genetic Literacy Project; 2019 Mar 26. Available from: https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2019/03/26/infographic-global-regulatory-and-health-research-agencies-on-whether-glyphosate-causes-cancer/

18. Stam C. Agroecology can feed Europepesticide-free in 2050, new study finds [Internet]. Brussels (BE): Eurativ; 2018 Sep 18 [updated: 2018Oct 15]. Available from: https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/agroecology-can-feed-europe-pesticide-free-in-2050-new-study-finds/

19. Schroeder J, Chassy B, Tribe D, BrookesG, Kershen D. Organic marketing report. Academics Review: 2014 Apr. Availablefrom: http://academicsreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/AR_Organic-Marketing-Report_Print.pdf

20. Miller HI. The organic industry is lyingto you [Internet]. New York, NY (US): The Wall Street Journal; 2018Aug 5. Available from: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-organic-industry-is-lying-to-you-1533496699

21. State Point Media. Is it important to feedkids organic food? [Internet]. New York, NY (US): State Point Media; 2012. Available from: https://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/news-features-and-safety-tips/Documents/Organic_Food_2012.pdf

22. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations,title 7, subtitle B, chapter I, subchapter M, part 205, subpart G [Internet].Washington, DC (US): National Organic Program; 2019 Oct 25. Available from: https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&SID=9874504b6f1025eb0e6b67cadf9d3b40&rgn=div6&view=text&node=7:3.1.1.9.32.7&idno=7

23. Organic Materials Review Institute. Downloadthe OMRI products list [Internet]. Eugene, OR (US): US National Organic Programstandards; 2019 Oct. Available from: https://www.omri.org/omri-lists/download

24.MustacichS. Is Copper Safe for Wine? [Internet]. New York, NY (US): Wine Spectator; 2018 Nov 29. Available from: https://www.winespectator.com/articles/is-copper-safe-for-wine

25. Clark M, Tilman D. Comparativeanalysis of environmental impacts of agricultural production systems, agriculturalinput efficiency, and food choice. EnvironRes [Internet]. 2017Jun;12(6). Available from: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa6cd5

26. Environmental Working Group. Dirty Dozen: EWG's 2019 shopper's guide to pesticides in produce2019 [Internet]. Washington, DC (US): Environmental Working Group; 2019. Availablefrom: https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty-dozen.php

27. Environmental Working Group. Overloaded?New science, new insights about mercury and autism in children [Internet]. Washington,DC (US): Environmental Working Group; 2004 Dec 13. Available from: https://docplayer.net/90328544-Overloaded-overloaded-new-science-new-insights-about-mercury-and-autism-in-children-summary.html

28. Reeves WR, McGuire MK, Stokes M, ViciniJL. Assessing the Safety of Pesticides in Food: How Current Regulations ProtectHuman Health. Adv Nutr [Internet]. 2019;10(1):80-88. Available from:doi:10.1093/advances/nmy061

29. European Food Safety Authority. The 2017European Union report on pesticide residues in food. EFSA Journal [Internet].2019 June 26;17(6). Available from: https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2019.5743

30.Murray A, Traylor J.Caffeine Toxicity. [Updated 2018 Nov 15]. StatPearls [Internet]. TreasureIsland, FL (US): StatPearls Publishing; 2019 Jan. Available from:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK532910/

31. Alliance for Foodand Farming. Safe fruitand veggie calculator [Internet]. Watsonville, CA (US): Alliance for Food andFarming: 2019. Available from: https://www.safefruitsandveggies.com/pesticide-residue-calculator/

32. Boobis A, Moretto A, Cohen S. WHOs IARCunder fire for ignoring exculpatory data on glyphosate: Should it be reformedor abolished? [Internet]. North Wales, PA (US): Genetic Literacy Project; 2017 June 16. Availablefrom: https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2017/06/16/whos-iarc-fire-ignoring-exculpatory-data-glyphosate-reformed-abolished/

33. Ames BN, Profet M, Gold LS. Dietarypesticides (99.99% all natural). Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A [Internet].1990 Oct;87(19):7777-7781. Available from: doi:10.1073/pnas.87.19.7777

34. Cherelus G. Tick, mosquito-borneinfections surge in United States: CDC [Internet]. New York, NY (US): Reuters;2018 May 1. Available from: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-health-insectillness/tick-mosquito-borne-infections-surge-in-united-states-cdc-idUSKBN1I2423

35. Omodior O, Luetke MC, Nelson EJ.Mosquito-borne infectious disease, risk-perceptions, and personal protectivebehavior among U.S. international travelers. Prev Med Rep [Internet].2018;12:336-342. Available from: doi:10.1016/j.pmedr.2018.10.018

36. Rea W, Napke E, Cummins J, Epstein S, GilkaL, Krimsky S et al. Beyond Pesticides. An open letter by Concerned Physiciansand Scientists to stop the indiscriminate friendly fire pesticide spraying[Internet]. Washington, DC (US): Beyond Pesticides; 2003 Nov 3. Available from:https://www.beyondpesticides.org/assets/media/documents/mosquito/documents/Open%20Letter.pdf

37. Staletovich J. Miami Beach doctor files lawsuit to stop mosquito spraying[Internet]. Miami, FL (US): The MiamiHerald; 2017 July 3. Available from: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article159506004.html

38. World Health Organization. Mycotoxins[Internet]. Geneva (CH): World Health Organization; 2018May 9. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mycotoxins

39. Laakkonen A, Pukkala E. Cancer incidenceamong Finnish farmers, 1995-2005. Scand J Work EnvironHealth [Internet]. 2008;34(1):73-79. Available from: doi:10.5271/sjweh.1167

40. Depczynski J, Dobbins T, Armstrong B,Lower T. Comparison of cancer incidence in Australian farm residents 45 yearsand over, compared to rural non-farm and urban residents a data linkagestudy. BMC Cancer [Internet]. 2018 Jan;18(1):33. Available from: doi:10.1186/s12885-017-3912-2

41. Lerro CC, Koutros S, Andreotti G, Sandler DP, Lynch CF, Louis LM et al. Cancer incidence in theAgricultural Health Study after 20 years of follow-up. Cancer Causes Control[Internet]. 2019 Apr;30(4):311-322. Available from: doi:10.1007/s10552-019-01140-y

42. Frost G, Brown T, Harding AH. Mortalityand cancer incidence among British agricultural pesticide users. Occup Med [Internet].2011 Aug;61(5):303-310. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1093/occmed/kqr067

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Is It Immoral To Oppose The Use Of Pesticides? - Science 2.0

Theres a really important reason why you shouldnt kill this snake, known to many as the Huntsmans friend.

The Black Cribo or Mussurana (Clelia Clelia) is known to feed on other snakes most notably the venomous Mapepire balsain or Fer-de-Lance (Bothrops atrox).

In other words, more Black Cribos means a healthier ecosystem and (possibly) less chance of being bitten by a Mapepire balsain during your forest hikes.

There's also the fact that the snake is protected by law under the Conservation of Wildlife Act.

Local conservation NGOSerpentariumfound a Black Cribo recently, saying the sighting was a positive omen for 2020.

Here are threereasons why you should never harm a Black Cribo:

1. The Black Cribo has rarely been spotted in T&T

According to information from the University of the West Indies (UWI), the snake is rarely ever seen and has been spotted only a handful of times in almost three decades. As a result, information on the animal's numbers is limited.

The snake is blue-black with an off-white underbelly, while the young appear bright red with a black crown with an off-white collar.

(Photo: a Juvenile Black Cribo, courtesy the UWI.)

The UWI said the snake has only been seen and documented about nine times over a span of 27 years.

The snake was seen in Matura, Guayaguayare, Brasso Seco, Brigand Hill, Cumaca Forest, Morugaand Chacachacare Island, among other places.

2. The Black Cribo isnt harmful to humans

The Black Cribo is not dangerously venomous to humans and feeds primarily on other snakes.

The Black Cribo is often referred to as Huntsman's friend because of their primary diet, the venomous Fer-de-Lance or Mapepire Balsain, which is dangerous to humans.

(Photo: A juvenile Black Cribo feeding on a Cat-eyed Night Snake. Photo via the Reptile Conservation Centre of Trinidad and Tobago.)

The Black Cribo also eats other snakes, providing a valuable role in maintaining balance within the ecosystem.

3. Black Cribos are nocturnal and will stay out of your way

These snakes live in heavily forested areas and hunt mainly at night. They rely on camouflage to be undetected and prefer to forage through underbrush and leaf litter.

Since the Black Cribo hasno heat-sensing pits it uses its tongue to taste the air for scent molecules from prey. The Black Cribo is primarily nocturnal and becomes active upon dusk.

Additionally, they are oviparous, meaning that they are egg-laying, and lay a clutch of about 11 eggs in early March, whichhatch in approximately three to four months.

There are four species of venomous snakes in Trinidad and Tobago - the bushmaster orMapepire zanana, the Fer-de-Lance or Mapepire balsain,Large coral snake andCommon coral snake.

If you spot a snake or other wildlife on your premises, please contact any of these NGOs to have them safely relocated:

Emperor Valley Zoo: 800-4ZOO (4966)

WEPTT:341-9983

El Socorro Centre for Wildlife Conservation:673-5753

The Serpentarium:766-8951

Have you ever seen a Black Cribo in the wild?

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Here's why you should never kill this snake (seriously) - Loop News Trinidad and Tobago

As the dust settles, part of Irans response to the killing of its top general by the United States seems to be pushing President Donald Trump to do what hes always wanted to in the Middle East: leave.

One message is coming from Iran and its allies (from Qasem Soleimanis daughter to Irans foreign minister and the head of Hezbollah in Lebanon): the end of the US presence in the region has started.

Our aim is clear. The response to [shedding] the blood of Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi [al-Muhandis] is driving out US forces from our entire region, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group, said in a speech at a memorial rally in Beirut on Sunday.

Thats a tall, if not impossible, order. And Irans military planners must surely have entered at least a brief period of recalibration around who they could trust and telephone safely after seeing their top military commander unexpectedly killed by a US drone strike outside the main airport of a friendly capital city.

Yet Iran compensates for its lack of military might compared to the US with shrewd tactics and affiliated militant groups to retaliate for them. And here they are hitting on an objective that Trump has himself espoused, albeit voluntarily.

Iraq has kicked off the process, its parliament asking the executive Sunday to force the departure of the US military and all coalition forces. These calls may dissipate over time, perhaps, but Americas Commander in Chief is hardly cooling tempers by threatening unprecedented sanctions on Iraq in response and even demanding billions of dollars of repayment for airbases built there before it exits.

However considered the decision to kill Soleimani was, Trumps off-the-cuff rhetoric, on and off his Twitter feed, is doing Irans job for them by fomenting anger at the US.

Slowly across the region, more militants will likely emerge claiming their mission is to send US troops home in coffins, in very much the same way Hezbollahs Nasrallah threatened on Sunday.

Nasrallah even hinted at a sustained campaign that would focus on Trumps chances of re-election later this year.

This is where an Iranian strategy might find some success. They are to some extent pushing an open door. In the past, Trump has called Syria sand and death and repeatedly said that its time to bring home US troops in the region.

Iranian violence may force Trump to resist these instincts initially as with Sundays rhetoric about Iraq but in the longer term this is what his White House has wanted to do.

A US departure from Iraq alone would be a huge strategic win for Iran, possibly commensurate retaliation to the loss of Soleimani. The USs presence in Syria would be immediately endangered, without a land border with Iraq to resupply troops from.

It means the US would lose the presence it has to the west of Iran while its slowly trying to leave to the east Trump simultaneously wants to leave Afghanistan, preferably after a peace deal with the Taliban (who have in the past received Iranian help, according to the US).

This may not be all Iran does.

A flare-up between its proxies and traditional US allies in the region (like Hezbollah and Israel and the Houthis and Saudi Arabia) remains possible. But rhetoric to this effect has been muted, so far.

It is also feasible that Iran could hit softer US targets globally, like diplomats outside of the region, or civilians. But Nasrallah went out of his way to make it very clear he does not want to see US citizens attacked.

They cannot be touched any harm to US civilians will only serve Trumps agenda, he said.

A cyberattack is something also western intelligence agencies have warned about.

But Iran has only actually done one thing in response to the killing so far, and it may be of the greatest long-term significance. It has said it will no longer abide by its key remaining commitment on enrichment under the nuclear deal.

It is unclear precisely what level of enrichment Iran may now seek, yet that is entirely the point.

When Iran signed the nuclear deal, it would be naive to think part of its elite did not have a plan for what it would do if the deal fell apart and they wanted to race for a nuclear bomb.

Estimates before the deal was signed in 2015 said it would take Iran about a year, or less, to breakout for a viable device if it chose to, according to multiple analysts.

If they choose to engage in this, or are already doing so, it will be done with great secrecy. Broadcasting any move would invite Israeli and US airstrikes on nuclear sites.

If Tehran is seeking to memorialize the death of Soleimani by changing the balance of power in the region, Irans first nuclear test would overwhelmingly achieve that.

A slow drip of US military casualties would also impact on those parts of the US electorate that saw the Soleimani strike as a wise deployment of American might by Trumps White House.

Iran has yet to loudly, publicly and violently respond to the attack with a speed that fits into Trumps 24-hour cable news diet. But that may be cause for greater concern, not relief.

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Iran's response to the US may happen slowly and that's more concerning - KYMA

NEW YORK As we launch into a new year, 70% of us who made resolutions have vowed to shred the weight for 2020. One diet that's getting lots of buzz? The keto diet.

From Hollywood to the gym, from professional athletes to your Instagram feed, chances are you've seen keto testimonials, full of six-pack abs. But what's the skinny on all that cheese, fat and bacon?

Jaime Herrera, owner of La Lotera in Greenwich Village, transformed his Mexican restaurant into a keto-friendly joint after doing a keto challenge with friends.

"I did it for a month and a half. We used a nutritionist and I lost like, 15 to 20 pounds," Herrera told PIX11. "I felt better than when I was eating carbs!" he gushed while building one of his signature keto tacos in his restaurant's kitchen.

Sausage, cheese, avocado and spicy mayo on his carb-free taco shell made from jcama.

The basic rules of the ketogenic diet, or keto for short, are: Eliminate virtually all carbohydrates, eat mostly fat and some protein, and limiting any carbs you do eat to vegetables and fruits that have the last amount.

But that's an eating approach that Dr. Shivam Joshi says can be a prescription for problems. Dr. Joshi is the clinical assistant professor for the department of medicine at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine.

As an attending physician at New York City's Health and Hospitals at Bellevue, Joshi said the keto diet can lead to issues. "It is high in fat, so will it raise your cholesterol? Will you get a kindey stone?" he warned.

Joshi said that while the keto diet was originally used for epileptic patients, to calm seizures, today's popular version raises a lot of concerns.

Keto devotees make a variety of claims; Having more energy, brain fog lifting and most notably, shredding their bodies. Joshi wants to see the proof. "There really isn't a lot of evidence supporting this," he said.

Joshi will admit, however, that some of the keto basics, like eliminating empty-calorie carbs, are healthy changes.

The doctor said "a lot of unhealthy carbs, sugars, corn syrup, high calorie foods," are smart to get out of your diet.

However, Joshi warns that keto limits many foods beneficial to our well being. "The diet does cut out a lot of healthy foods. It cuts out fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans. These are some of the healthiest foods on the planet."

The real answer to weight loss according to the doctor? "Alternatives to keto are any diet that cuts calories," he advised.

Head here for more information on how to enroll in a doctor-supervised weight-loss program through Bellevue Hospital.

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Keto diet craze: Does it work and is it healthy? - WPIX 11 New York

Ask your friends and family what their resolutions or goals are for the new year and Im sure you will hear a lot of this: I am going to eat healthier, Im going to eat more vegetables, Im going to lose 15 pounds.

It's probably not the first time they've had those goals and, after many attempts at dieting, youd think it would be easier to get started. In reality, though, the contrary is usually true. Beginning a weight-loss journey, especially when youve had multiple failures in the past, can be overwhelming and even flat-out daunting, but it can be done!

Here are five tips to help get you on your way in 2020:

Most of us have a diet history. We know what works and doesnt work. Perhaps you jumped on the keto bandwagon in 2019 only to fall off hard. Because, well, you just l-o-v-e your sourdough. You know if youre a carbs-in-the-morning or a skip-breakfast-altogether person. Dont attempt to make changes that you know wont match your lifestyle and preferences. This year, be realistic about who you are.

In other words, if breakfast is your favorite meal of the day and you know you overeat later in the day when you skip it, intermittent fasting probably isnt the best way to go for you.

If an afternoon snack is what you need to get you through your evening workout, then trying to stop all snacking isnt the best route to take. Instead, come up with three or four healthy on-the-go snacks you can put into rotation.

Its the journey that counts right? Im all for goals, but when you give yourself a specific date to reach a goal, it often sets you up to fail for a couple of reasons.

Trending stories,celebrity news and all the best of TODAY.

One, if you dont see progress being made fast enough (Im looking at you Valentines Day), you may say, Scrap this plan! even though youve actually made excellent progress.

Second, the stress of the date may work against you. Setting a deadline may only put extra pressure on you and cause your stress hormones to actually start working against you and your weight-loss goal. Instead, stay calm and healthy on.

Enjoy the life that youre living and enjoy being in the best health and at the the best weight you can be, even if that means being off a certain weight goal by a couple of pounds. Remember patience and consistency are key, and enjoy the process of reaching better health each day.

Its not all about the food. Even if you're focused and eating perfectly, other lifestyle factors may be working against you. Sleep and stress are two pillars of a nutritious life that I discuss regularly.

The good part is that if youre not managing these well, making a few necessary changes can show up on the scale. Create a new sleep routine and stick to it. Its just as important as diet!

Look for a daily activity to reduce stress.

Think about a not-so-great habit you have, that you do daily. Is it adding sugar to your coffee? Going for afternoon chocolate as a pick me up? Whatever it is, change it up with a new healthier alternative. You dont necessarily need to start pounding healthy wellness shots that have become quite the rage, sometimes, the smallest changes make the biggest impact.

A change as simple as swapping out the syrup from a daily coffee saves you 80 calories, and 20 grams of sugar, each and every day!

Since it is only one change, it wont be so overwhelming to adjust, and since it is something you do daily, that one improvement may have a great impact.

Be good to you! Celebrate small goals with small rewards and they don't have to involve food. Skipped soda all week? Feel good about that and reward yourself with a manicure.

Sometimes these rewards are enough to push us forward and up the motivation.

For more tips on how to live a nutritious life, follow Keri on Instagram @nutritiouslifeofficial

Follow TODAY Health and Wellness on Facebook and subscribe to the newsletter "One Small Thing" for easy tips to improve your life every weekday.

Keri Glassman, MS, RD, CDN, is a renowned nutritionist, healthy cooking expert and wellness thought-leader. Follow Keri on Instagram @nutritiouslifeofficial

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How to start a weight loss journey when you've tried before - TODAY