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Monday, July 23, 2012
The Most Common Causes of Preventable Suffering (and Their Simple Solutions)
July 23rd, 2012Top StoryThe Most Common Causes of Preventable Suffering (and Their Simple Solutions)By Adam Dachis
For the most part, health is a pretty simple affair. The problem is that lifestyle changes over several decades have changed the way we operate, causing us to make unhealthy decisions without really realizing it. This has caused a lot of unnecessary, preventable suffering over the course of our lives because we're not approaching our health in the right way. I spoke with my friend and medical student Yifan Xu, my lifelong dentist Dr. Wendy Bach, and fitness expert Roger Lawson to find out the easiest ways to avoid some of the most statistically common health problems. The solutions are easier than you think, and in many cases will make your life a lot easier in the long run. Note: While the tips in this article can help you make better choices about your health, it isn't a substitute for medical advice from a professional. Consult your doctor before making any significant lifestyle changes. Our bodies are all a little different, so it's always good to learn how your choices will affect you, specifically, before making them. Our Poor Diets Cause Serious Health Issues, Yet Are Easily Resolved with Small Social Changes
The Solution: The easiest solution is cooking at home, but many people don't want to spend the time or think they don't have it. Medical student Yifan Xu suggests that you can fix this problem with a few minor social changes. Her first suggestion is to start a cooking club with friends and co-workers. Chances are you have a decent relationship with a few people at work, so talk to them about making lunches together. If you can get five people together, each of you only needs to cook enough food for everyone once a week and you'll all have a healthier, homemade lunch at work every day. It takes about as much effort to cook for yourself as it does for five people, so you'll be cutting down your workload by 80%. On top of that, you'll get to try new recipes and enjoy foods you may otherwise never experience. You can do the same with your friends and dinner. This way you get the social benefits of eating out and lessen the workload involved with eating in. There will be times, of course, where you will need to cook for yourself. In these instances, don't worry about complex recipes. Yifan reminds us that cooking never used to be such a complex ordeal. For the most part, people would take a bunch of ingredients in their homes, make a stir fry or soup, and flavor it with a little salt and pepper. One of my favorite simple meals is just vegetable stir fry with tofu (which is a very meat-friendly option, too). A little salt, pepper, and garlic make it taste great and it takes about five minutes to put it together. I found it very easy to motivate myself to cook these simple meals by realizing I get to eat much faster this way. Takeout requires a fair amount of driving where I'm from, and delivery is even slower. When my stomach wants food, eating in almost always wins out because I've found that it actually requires a lot less effort and time. A Sedentary Lifestyle Is Damaging Our Bodies Because Our Lives Are Too Convenient
The Solution: All you really have to do is just move around regularly and incorporate a little physical activity every day. Thirty minutes of walking around, doing yard work, or playing a sport for fun (rather than competition) is sufficient for your daily exercise. If you'd prefer to work a bit harder, there are effective exercise routines you can accomplish in 20 minutes. For an added bonus, fitness expert Roger Lawson suggests five minutes of simple mobility exercises in the morning and evening. These short routines will help keep you from stiffening up during the day as well as avoid back, leg, and other related problems in the future. To get yourself moving around a bit more regularly, however, is most easily accomplished by inconveniencing yourself a little bit. For example, talk to people in person in the office rather than sending them an email or instant message. Drink out of a smaller glass so you'll have to get up and refill it up more often. Roger suggest that when you park your car, park farther away so you have to walk a bit more. Also, drinking plenty of water will help you go to the bathroom more often and force you to get up. If you want to play a video game, consider something like Dance Dance Revolution or Dance Central as those games are fun and offer quite a bit of physical activity. (This is actually how I used to stay active during college.) At first a few more inconveniences will be annoying, but after awhile you'll get used to getting up to handle certain tasks. Sugary Beverages Are Riskier to Your Teeth Because of How You Drink Them
The Solution: Because we don't just gulp down enormous amounts of either coffee (with cream and sugar) and soda over the course of a few minutes, the sugars stick around in our saliva during the day. To get rid of the sugar, Wendy suggests keeping a glass of water nearby and alternating between it and the coffee or soda. This way you'll wash the sugar out more effectively. When it comes to sour candies, however, this solution isn't sufficient as sour sugar has a level of acidity similar to a car battery. If you love this kind of candy and don't want to give it up, it's best to eat it when you can brush your teeth immediately afterwards. If not, simply limit your intake and the damage will be minimized. We Rely Too Heavily on Drugs and Too Little on Preventative Care
The Solution: Yifan suggests that the simplest fix to making irregular doctor visits is to simply use your regular ones. Yearly checkups are often avoided nowadays and taking part in this regular, preventative care is important. She also recommends that we put less emphasis on requesting drugs and ask our doctors what lifestyle changes would help us avoid the issues we're currently facing. There is most certainly a place for prescription medication, but it's a bad idea to think of it as your first choice. Schedule doctor visits in advance and make time to go for a checkup at least once per year. Life may be busy, but this is a very small and important commitment. Special thanks to Yifan Xu, Roger Lawson, and Dr. Wendy Bach for their contributions to this post. Photos by Dick Thomas Johnson, Dano, Be.Futureproof, Sara V., and viktordekabr (Shutterstock).  |
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What would a sequel to The Dark Knight Rises look like?
July 23rd, 2012Top StoryWhat would a sequel to The Dark Knight Rises look like?By Charlie Jane Anders
What would a direct sequel to The Dark Knight Rises look like? Maximum spoilers ahead... Seriously, we're going to assume from here on out that you've seen all three Nolan films. If that's not the case, quit reading now. Now that The Dark Knight Rises has made over $160 million in its opening weekend, it's clear that Warner Bros. won't want to wait too long before making another Batman movie. Warners can't make any more Harry Potter films, and even if they stretch out The Hobbit into a trilogy, that's the end of their Tolkien films. So Bruce Wayne is their main cash cow at this point. And rebooting Bats again, so soon after Batman Begins, is a risky endeavor. So you have to imagine they're looking at continuing the story that Christopher Nolan told in his three movies. In particular, I would be kind of shocked if they weren't at least talking to Joseph Gordon-Levitt about what it would take to get him back for a second trilogy.
This is a good point to emphasize that this article is pure speculation, and we haven't talked to anybody about this. It's just based on watching the movie and noticing how open-ended it actually seems to be. So just how open-ended is the ending of The Dark Knight Rises? It appears to set up "Robin" Blake (Gordon-Levitt) as the new Batman. At least, Bruce Wayne leaves Blake a package containing the GPS coordinates of the Batcave, and when Blake arrives, a platform lifts up, as if the Batcave has been programmed to await Blake's instructions. This fits in with the notion that Batman isn't a person, and anyone could be Batman. But we don't get to see Blake put on the Batsuit, so it's actually a bit of a tease. Meanwhile, Bruce is alive but retired — and presumably available to offer some advice to Blake if he runs into an especially tricky situation. At the same time, there are plenty of questions left unanswered at the end of the movie, and plenty of places a sequel could go. A lot would depend on who Nolan and Warners chose to take on Nolan's mantle and direct the next film — so you'd have to help they could find someone like Nicolas Winding Refn to take it on.
So what are the loose ends or story possibilities that the ending of Dark Knight Rises leaves open? Here are a few, off the top of my head: Rebuilding Gotham Batman on a shoestring The relationship between Batman and Commissioner Gordon Surviving villains The bottom line: It probably would be best if Batman takes nice a long rest after TDKR, or only appears in a Superman/Batman, Trinity or Justice League film. At the same time, though, a new solo Batman film seems inevitable — and it's hard to deny that the new status quo at the end of TDKR opens a lot of avenues for some really interesting storytelling. Or maybe we just really want to see one or two movies with Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Batman.  |
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One of Those Teenagers Who Makes Xbox Live Gaming So, Uh, Interesting Will Answer Your Questions Now
July 23rd, 2012Top StoryOne of Those Teenagers Who Makes Xbox Live Gaming So, Uh, Interesting Will Answer Your Questions NowBy Stephen Totilo
He's one of them. He's one of the kids that makes Xbox Live gaming the thing we know it is—the thing that never shows up in the official commercials for the Xbox experience. And now, because maybe you've never had a chance to do this, you can ask him anything you want. And he's here to answer, starting at 1pm ET. You know, you could ask: "Why do you make online gaming so unpleasant?" That sort of thing. Let's see how this goes, shall we? Ask your questions below.  |
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