Mark Your Ballot Against Circumcision?
As a doctor for health who treats both children and adults, I have mixed feelings about San Francisco Superior Court Judge, Loretta Georgi’s, tentative ruling last Wednesday regarding the criminalization of circumcision. Although, according to Wikipedia, the origin of male circumcision is not known with certainty, one thing is certain, it has been a practice, for religious and health reasons, for centuries. Now, I am a doctor who honors the innate wisdom of the body to form every part of it–from appendix and pineal gland to eyebrow and foreskin–and to do so for reasons that have been beyond our full human understanding throughout the ages. In fact, as a lifelong health fitness proponent I say, if the body comes with it, don’t mess with it! In that way, I am much like the “intactivists” who formed the advocacy group, Prohibition of Genital Cutting of Male Minor. On the hand, when it comes to circumcision, though it may truly seem barbaric to some, it remains an acceptable practice for health and religious reasons for others, and has no discernible health risks. And, unlike female circumcision, sexual enjoyment is not affected when a male is circumcised, provided it is done properly. In any event, I don’t believe that circumcision is a “voting” matter, and I am happy with Judge Georgi’s decision to withdraw the measure to criminalize circumcision from the November ballot.
I’m Fasting for the Duration
Okay, about twenty years ago I read a health article (in a vegetarian magazine) about slaughter houses, and I became an instant vegetarian. And, though over the years there have been a few E. coli and even salmonella scares, I haven’t made any major food shifts since then. I love to eat good food and San Francisco has the best restaurants in the world! So, between our local farmer’s markets, my own “homegrown,” and eating out in great vegetarian style, I am in gastronomical heaven! Or, I was… Now, after reading about how many insect parts, rat hairs, rodent droppings, and similarly disgusting inadvertent additives are permitted in processed foods and food ingredients, I may not eat at all. I may just pop a few vitamin supplements, drink distilled water, and give up on food completely. When it comes to rat hairs in peanut butter, or insect fragments in pasta sauce, I’m way beyond “what you don’t know won’t hurt you”!
The limits for such unwanted things are set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), under Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 110.110, which permits the FDA to establish maximum levels of natural or unavoidable defects in foods that we, the people, can safely (and blissfully ignorantly) consume in a given year. Such guidelines have an impact on nearly everything we eat. Here in San Francisco, that means everything from the food you get at the Giants game to the food that’s in your kitchen pantry. Did you know that raisins, natural and golden, may contain up to 5% mold per 8 ounces, and up to 40 mg or more of sand and grit per 100 grams before being considered “unhealthy for consumption?
If that’s not enough, peanut butter may contain up to 30 or more insect fragments, 1 or more rodent hairs, and 25 mg of gritty, water insoluble inorganic residue per 100 grams. Tomato and pizza sauces may contain up to 30 or more Drosophila (fruit fly) eggs or, if you’d prefer, 15 or more fly eggs and 1 or more maggots, or 2 or more maggots per 100 grams in a minimum of 12 samples. Pasta may contain up to 225 insect fragments in 6 or more samples. And, cranberry sauce can contain up to 15 percent mold (frozen berries can contain up to 60 percent mold-containing berries). But, the most heartbreaking of all, chocolate may contain up to 60 or more insect parts per 100 grams!
As they say, “You can’t un-ring a bell.” Wish I hadn’t read what I just wrote! Bet you wish you hadn’t either…
Snakes and the San Francisco Zoo
I’ve been going to the San Francisco Zoo for years. As a family chiropractor, I often take a day off during the week so that I can be available on Saturdays for whole families to come in at one time, so it makes it easy for me to visit the Zoo on weekdays, non-summer and non-holidays, when it’s not so crowded and I can feel a certain oneness with the animals — just them and me — with fewer humans around to pull me away from my similarities with the rest of Nature. As anyone who’s a local “zooaholic” like me knows, our SF Zoo has had its share of problems, casualties, and tragedies over the year; and parts of it have been closed, now and then, for a myriad of reasons less dramatic. But, never in all the years that I’ve been visiting the local representatives of the wild-world-at-large, has the door been locked to the reptile exhibit. Let’s face it, besides hearing that a lion has escaped, the last thing you want to read on a sign on a locked door is “World of Reptiles is closed today – Egyptian cobra is missing.” But, that’s exactly what happened this past weekend at the Bronx Zoo New York!
That sort of thing sends chills up my spine (no chiropractic pun intended)! I’m not a complete herpetophobic. Okay, maybe I am! It could be possible that my desire for oneness with all life leaves out certain slippery, slinky, scaly creatures who crawl on there bellies. And, let’s face it, the Egyptian cobra is most likely the very asp whose venom Cleopatra used to commit suicide! This particular “missing cobra” was not full grown. An adult can reach a length of up to two yards! This one, an adolescent, was only 20 inches, but who wants to run into a teenage whose toxin can cause respiratory failure!!
My point is that the San Francisco Zoo, even with a few glitches here and there, is a fine, wonderful, safe place to visit year round and I encourage everyone to do so…but not necessarily on weekdays. That’s when I’m there communing with Nature.
Heads Up SF Pedestrians, a Driver May Have You in His Headlights!
Now, before I write about the ridiculous new finding regarding pedestrian/auto encounters, let me just say that I am a health care professional, a chiropractor in fact, who often “blames” his patients for the state of their health. Some things, like a healthy lifestyle are an obvious choice when one is considering their health and longevity. But, come on…cross the street?! A significant number of readers of the Chronicle have come out with the outrageous claim that pedestrians who get hit by cars, buses, taxis, etc., in essence, “have it coming. In fact, one reader had the audacity to say that “it is arrogant pedestrians crossing the street in front of cars” that’s the problem.
Now, it may well be true that here in San Francisco we are more foot-oriented when it comes to getting around town. And, because “green is beautiful” (finally) some of us may actually feel that the automotive monsters that we must share the street with are, in fact, a nuisance to be challenged by, let’s say, jaywalking or crossing when the pedestrian light is red.
But, when push comes to shove, who really has the heavy hand here. I think that Elizabeth Stampe, executive director of Walk San Francisco put it very well: “People should look where they’re going, but a pedestrian on a cell phone will only endanger him or herself but a driver on a cell phone is driving a big vehicle that could injure or kill somebody.”
So, heads up, SF Pedestrians. Those drivers may actually be out to get you after all!
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/chronrx/detail?entry_id=79527#ixzz1Dyz6Co00
A Hellish Health Care Trinity
Oh goody, more good news for San Francisco Bay and the rest of the nation. The new health-care law encourages doctors, hospitals and insurers to team up in treating patients. Hm-mm, what’s wrong with that picture? As a chiropractor I have seen chiropractic care reimbursement dwindle to nada by most insurance companies, and I have many medical friends and associates who see insurers as part of the problem with health, and not as a reasonable part of a negotiating committee! So, it comes as no surprise that this, hitherto inharmonious “trinity,” is already are at odds as they urge the government to set rules protecting their financial interests.
I am a solid supporter of health care reform, but I have serious doubts about the altruism of insurers. In fact, altruism is way down on my list of doubts. The top on my list is my doubts about their patient concerns in general (and though my doubts include a few doctors and hospitals, they are particular and not the collective doubts I have about insurers.
Certainly the Obama administration’s goals are to be lauded, and in this instance it was to impose efficiency on a health system, a system that currently is “viral” in its ability to drive up costs with its disjointed and excessive medical care. But, I have to say that the cohesive working arrangement between doctors, hospitals, and insurers in the past has been corrupt at best, and then the insurers went rogue and left the doctors and some hospitals out of the loop. Of course there’s much more to be said about this issue and many others as the new health care plan goes into effect. I’ve had my say on this issues. The Republicans in Congress, of course, may make any opinion on Obama’s health care reform moot!
Source: The Washington Post
Metaphysical Church in Flint, MI, Looks For “Sister” in San Francisco!
I was on a venture quest not too long ago to find a metaphysical church in San Francisco that might want to become a “sister church” to one of the metaphysical churches Flint (in the beautiful state of Michigan), the city made famous by Michael Moore. I discovered many churches of all denominations and non-denominations; some quite beautiful in structure, others more humble in structure, but beautiful in spirit.
And, speaking of “spirit,” I have to say that this was my first trip to San Francisco and its spirit lived up to its magical reputation! To be honest, I’d expected that my feelings of awe would be limited to sights like San Francisco Bay and the Golden Gate Bridge.But, such landmarks paled in comparison to the magic of the people of San Francisco. What an absolute joy to meet people of such diversity living together in an almost seamless tapestry of the heart.
Well, I have to tell you, I didn’t finalize the sister church thing because I want to come back to San Francisco again, and soon. Thank you, San Francisco. You are as magnificent as I’d always imagined you’d be. See you soon!
Chiropractic Marketing, the Best Online Marketing Firm
My friend Joe had been looking into ways to market his business, but then he decided that he needed to hire a company that specializes in Chiropractic Marketing. When he started looking online for a service to help him, he was not sure how to pick the best marketing firm. David called his brother Nick. Nick was more experienced with online marketing and David decided that his brother would know how to make the right selection. Nick was happy to help David and did a quick search for the best online marketing service. When he found the service he wanted he called David and gave him the website to look at.
No More Free Rides…For Our Groceries?
Did you know that San Francisco was the first city in the country to ban the pervasive plastic shopping bag? That right! Three years ago, right here in the city. Of course it didn’t take long before Palo Alto and Oakland followed suit, and we’re always happy to lead the environmental way, and to keep baggies out of the bay where they end up inside marine mammals and out of the landfills where they will still be usable a thousand years from now. As an environmentally-aware healthcare provider, this particular achievement has always made me feel good…about us. But, now, other cities are complaining about our San Francisco experiment, and even threatening lawsuits amongst themselves because they say that banning plastic bags “forces” customers to carry out their purchases in paper bags! And, of course, there is a point here because there is definitely an environment cost to producing more and more paper bags from trees.
So, what’s the environmentally healthy answer? San Jose, Berkeley and Santa Clara County want to persuade people to use “reusable bags.” Their first step, which they are working on now, is to establish ordinances that would restrict the distribution of paper and plastic bags at checkout. How will they inspire consumers? By banning both all together or charging fees for the store-provided totes.
Before the city ordinances went into effect, San Francisco residents used 3.8 billion plastic bags annually. It’s been estimated my local officials that the ban has but that total by 100 million, so obvious it wasn’t a “perfect” solution. But, since 90 billion plastic bags are distributed in this country every year, with no healthy destination once the groceries are put away, something needs to be done on a national basis. I say, if we can no longer get “free meals” in coach class when we fly but are “forced” to come prepared, maybe it’s time to charge for bags at the store so that we can plan ahead and bring our own. What are your thoughts on this?
A Sad Day for Happy Meals?
As a chiropractor and a parent I have mixed emotions about the vote today by Silicon Valley county officials to ban (in parts of Santa Clara) restaurants from giving away toys (and other freebies) that frequently come with high-calorie meals for children, i.e., meals that contain more than 485 calories, more than 600 milligrams of sodium and excessive amounts of fat and sugars. The effort, of course, is not to vilify toys, but to try to curb childhood obesity. In fact, county Supervisor Ken Yeager, who pushed for the ban, said “It is unfair to parents and children to use toys to capture the tastes of children when they are young to get them hooked on eating high-sugar, high-fat foods early in life.”
So, here’s my dilemma: As a chiropractor who witnesses everyday, firsthand, the detrimental effects that excess weight has on the musculoskeletal system of my patients as they age (and the degeneration is happening at a far earlier age these days), I am always in agreement with any regulation that favors health. So, if it were true that “toys” seduced children into eating in an unhealthy way, then “hurray,” let’s ban them from restaurants everywhere! But, on the other hand, who’s in charge of a child’s diet? Restaurants? Young children don’t take themselves to McDonald’s for a happy meal! I know that it isn’t easy for busy parents to say “no” to the convenience of fast foods when their children would prefer it anyway. But, I disagree with Supervisor Yeager. A child’s taste isn’t “captured.” Children learn what to eat, and they are taught by their parents and guardians.
Yes, it’s true that one in three American children is either overweight or obese, and I am all for reducing high calorie food from a child’s diet. But, I also believe that education, not regulation, is the answer.
Daniel Conway, a spokesman for the restaurant association, said fast-food chains already offer healthy options for children, including milk, carrot sticks, apple slices and whole grains, and suggested that the ordinance was a “simplistic attention-grabbing move rather than a comprehensive, thoughtful effort to curb a serious problem.” I hardly ever agree with big business, but in this instance, I feel compelled.
Bare-Footin’ in San Francisco
Sometimes the younger generation, be they “X” or otherwise, think that we Baby Boomers are “older than dirt,” or at least older than the design and/or invention of anything useful, like running shoes, for instance. So, it is interesting that when Harvard biologist and runner, Daniel Lieberman, had a simple question: “How did people run without shoes?” he didn’t just ask one of us! Instead, he did some research.
And according to a study by Lieberman in February’s issue of the journal Nature, the answer is “people seem to be born to run — barefoot.” The study found that running barefoot seems better for the feet because it produces far less impact stress compared to feet hampered by expensive running shoes.
People who grew up running barefoot (such as boys in Kenya’s Rift Valley province, which is known for endurance running champs) tend to land mostly on the front or middle of the foot when they touch ground. And when these runners do use shoes, they continue to run in that way, while people who have always worn cushioned running shoes usually hit the ground heel first.
The difference in the way the foot strikes the ground is important. People with running shoes strike the ground with the mass of the entire leg, nearly 7 percent of the body, which is more than three times the weight of impact for barefoot running.
For runners in cushioned shoes, “it is literally like someone hitting you on the heel with a hammer,” Lieberman said. But, he said that “the way in which barefoot runners run is more or less collision free.”
So, the next time you teens, or you twenty-/thirty-something, San Francisco runners take off for Golden Gate Park or maybe even the Golden Gate Bridge, leave your shoes at home and do as we, Baby Boomers, used to do before there were fancy running shoes, just go barefoot!