ChottoDoctor

What's up, from your doc :)

[chottodoctor]

"But scientists aren't sure why dementia seems linked to fewer malignancies."

Here's a thought: INFLAMMATION -- what immune reaction causes and puts us through -- may be key to disease and protection (from disease) that determines the final balance of our health.

"too much inflammation" may cause allergies, asthma, other autoimmune disorders -- which are all on the rise in the recent decades

which in turn adversely affects organs/systems, such as brain ==> dementia, autism spectrum and other neurodegenerative disorders are all on the rise over the same time period

but active and well-functioning immune surveillance system is precisely what we need to ward off some cancers

Do you see what I mean?

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NSA Said to Exploit 'Heartbleed' Bug for Intelligence for Years

While this may be a sad truth, it's no longer a surprise to any of us around the world. Thank you, Edward Snowden, for enlightening us. :/

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Raising an Autistic Child Is Easy… Except When It’s Not

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'True Defective: GM' (#TDS)

GM knew of its ignition problem in 2001, had the ‘fix’ for it by 2005 — and yet decided against the fix because doing the right thing would have "cost the company too much” (the replacement part @ 57¢ each). Meanwhile, deaths and injuries to their customers continued.

Hey, GM, is it really that hard?! Doing the right thing would have earned you customer trust/goodwill...and SAVED LIVES! Next time you run a cost analysis for your company, be sure to figure that in. :/

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Letter from France | A Vegetarian and Gluten-Free Guide to Paris - (Above: Pousse-Pousse, founded by Lawrence Aboucaya (right), serves gluten-free and vegan dishes including daily soups and seed crackers.)

Even in 'cooking traditionalist' France, it's getting easier to go vegan and gluten-free  -- Yes, it's deliciously possible! :)

Soya, located in a former faucet factory near the Canal Saint-Martin, serves an all-you-can-eat Sunday brunch that includes vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options.

Tien Hiang, a Southeast Asian vegetarian restaurant in a working-class part of the 10th Arrondissement, offers a variety of faux meat and fish dishes.

Downstairs from the more expensive Verjus restaurant, you can sit at the Verjus wine bar, sip French wine by the glass and discover vegetarian creativity on its small-plate menu.

Santiago Torrijos, the Colombian-born owner and lead chef of Atelier Rodier, always has a vegetarian creation on his menu.

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Minnesota Teen with Asperger's Syndrome Writes to Inspire

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Protein May Hold the Key to Who Gets Alzheimer’s

It's one of the big scientific mysteries of Alzheimer’s disease: Why do some people whose brains accumulate the plaques and tangles so strongly associated with Alzheimer’s not develop the disease?

The research, published [19 March 2014] in the journal Nature, focuses on a protein previously thought to act mostly in the brains of developing fetuses which also appears to protect neurons in healthy older people from aging-related stresses. But in people with Alzheimer’s and other dementias, the protein, called REST, is sharply depleted in key brain regions.

Interesting: "REST appears to work by traveling to a neuron’s nucleus when the brain is stressed -- but in dementia, REST somehow gets diverted, traveling with toxic dementia-related proteins to another part of the neuron where it is eventually destroyed." Here, understanding why may help us correct the REST 'malfunction' in Alzheimer's and other related neurodegenerative disorders. Wow. Stay tuned.

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Eat Plants and Prosper: For Longevity, Go Easy on the Meat, Study Says

What we know so far from this and all other reports is that many of us eat more than we need to live. We do too much fat, sugar, salt...and now you can add protein to the list. And we're reminded, again,

that a diet based mainly on plant-derived -- rather than animal-based -- nutrients protects us from all causes of mortality in all age groups.

With one caveat: A current study from the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California found that

those over 65 (possibly 70, depending on health status) may need to adopt a moderate to high protein diet -- again, preferably plant-based -- to allow the maintenance of a healthy weight and protection from frailty.

The rest of the 'non-growing adult' population (ages 19 to 70) should be aiming for ~0.8g of proteins/kg of body weight/day -- a "low-protein" diet, with only 9-10% of calories coming from protein. In concrete terms, that's 1.7 oz (48g) of protein for a 132-lb (60kg) person, and 2-1/4 oz (64g) for a 176-lb (80kg) person...TOTAL in a day.

Sorry, red-meat lovers...Tofu wins. ;) And if all this is getting too confusing, just remember one thing -- EAT ONLY WHAT YOU NEED. You can't go wrong by sticking to a sensible diet of largely plant-based nutrients…in moderation.

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Moov fitness tracker actually coaches you in real time!

A powerful, low-cost device that 3D maps whatever it's strapped to...could seriously shake up fitness-oriented wearable tech.

No more excuses for not hitting the gym. They'll work in the pool, too. Out this summer -- and preorder is at a 50% discount now. :)

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The Best Time to Book a Plane Ticket, According to New Study

Fifty-four days before takeoff is, on average, when domestic airline tickets are at their absolute lowest price. The next best: between 104 to 29 days before your trip.

A ticket is at its highest price on the day before the flight. The second-highest is two days before the flight, the third-highest is three days before… and so on, all the way to 13 days before the flight.

Here are the “magic numbers” for some common international destinations:

Europe: 151 days

Asia: 129 days

The Caribbean: 101 days

Mexico: 89 days

Latin America: 80 days

Obviously this works only if you know what you're doing in 54 days -- because $200+ change fee per ticket! :/

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Ellen DeGeneres: Comedian, Maker...her story [Video]

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The Pasta is Gluten-Free and comes in all kinds of flavors...

with brussels sprouts, lemon and ricotta

with cauliflower, almonds, tomatoes and chickpeas

with baby broccoli, mushrooms and walnuts

with peas, ricotta and tarragon

with shrimp, kale and tomatoes (photo above)

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Why I Want to Live in a Tiny House

Always wanted a 1-room house. Small, tidy...and everything within your arm's reach, literally. A lot less work dusting and cleaning up...for sure. Just have to pick out a nice spot to park. :)

Also: What Is The Tiny House Movement?

Tiny Living encompasses:

Tiny houses

Life simplification

Environmental consciousness

Self-sufficiency

Sound fiscal plans

Social consciousness

Also: Tiny House Swoon

OMG, they're so cute!

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Pope Announces Overhaul Of Vatican Bureaucracy 

Pope Francis on Monday announced a sweeping overhaul -- the first in 25 years -- of the Vatican's bureaucracy, creating a new economic secretariat.

According to the Vatican, it is to "simplify and consolidate existing management structures, improve oversight, internal controls and transparency and provide more support for the Vatican's works for the poor."

Quiet and humble Pope from Latin America is quite a doer -- he gets things done. Pope Francis for President! <3<3

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At 4.4 Billion Years Old, Oz Crystals Confirmed As World's Oldest

The Hadean zircons —€ the” oldest bits of Earth yet found —€” were discovered near here, on a sheep ranch in Jack Hills, Western Australia.

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Mysterious 'polio-like' illness affects kids in California

"We don't have a final case count, but it's probably in the neighborhood of 25 cases, all in California," said Dr. Van Haren, a Stanford neurologist. The median age of those stricken is 12.

"The cause of most of these cases is not known. Some clinical and laboratory features, such as the pattern of inflammation seen in the spinal cord on MRI, are consistent with a viral process," according to the California Department of Public Health.

Van Haren suspects the culprit is an enterovirus. That is a family of viruses that includes polio but also the milder hand, foot and mouth disease, common in infants and children.

One more vaccine we'll be waiting for -- meanwhile, WASH your hands!

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Confirmed: Oldest Fragment of Early Earth is 4.4 Billion Years Old

By zapping single atoms of lead in a tiny zircon crystal from Australia, researchers have confirmed the crystal is the oldest rock fragment ever found on Earth — 4.375 billion years old, plus or minus 6 million years.

It's a bit older than 6,000 years...sorry, Creationists!