Messages posted by : pavelski
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WE are all aware of the various medical myths , hat even physicians pass along. Here is a British study which looks at some common myths such as; drinking 8 glasses of water per day, cuting hair, reading under dim light....
Have fun reading. Eight glasses of water a day - and other myths Headshot of Paul Taylor PAUL TAYLOR HEALTH EDITOR * E-mail Paul Taylor * | Read Bio * | Latest Columns December 21, 2007 You've heard these tidbits of medical wisdom many times before - possibly from your own doctor: Drink eight glasses of water a day. Reading in dim light ruins your eyesight. We use only 10 per cent of our brains. Print Edition - Section Front Section L Front Enlarge Image The Globe and Mail But they aren't true or there is little scientific evidence to back them up, according to a report by two U.S. researchers in the British Medical Journal. The year-end edition of the normally staid journal is usually devoted to lighthearted health issues. The myth-busting report, being published today, certainly falls into this time-honoured tradition. Even so, the researchers have a serious message for their medical colleagues: Be careful about the advice you dispense - it may be incorrect. "We can be wrong and need to question what other falsehoods we unwittingly propagate as we practise medicine," they caution in the article. For their debunking exercise, Rachel Vreeman of the Indiana University School of Medicine and Aaron Carroll at the Regenstrief Institute in Indianapolis looked at seven commonly held beliefs espoused by physicians and the general public. They used Medline, a database of medical literature, as well as Google to search for evidence to support or refute each of the popular notions. And despite their widespread acceptance, all the selected medical beliefs turned out to be either "unproved or untrue." Here is what their online investigation revealed: Drink at least eight glasses of water a day. There's a lack of medical evidence showing you need to down this much water daily. This common prescription can be traced to a 1945 medical recommendation that stated: "A suitable allowance of water for adults is 2.5 litres daily in most instances. An ordinary standard for diverse persons is one ml for each calorie of food. Most of this quantity is contained in prepared foods." If the last, crucial sentence is ignored, the statement could be interpreted as an instruction to drink eight glasses of water a day. Evidence suggests you can meet all your fluid needs through food and other beverages including juices, milk and even caffeinated drinks. We use only 10 per cent of our brains. This belief, which dates back at least 100 years, doesn't stand up to studies of patients with brain injuries, which suggest that damage to almost any area of the vital organ has specific and potentially lasting effects. Imaging studies also reveal that no region of the brain is completely silent or inactive. Hair and fingernails continue to grow after death. Morbid curiosity and popular culture seem to keep this myth alive. As former Tonight Show host Johnny Carson once joked, "For three days after death hair and fingernails continue to grow but phone calls taper off." Still, this belief may have originated from an optical illusion caused by a shrinking or retraction of skin around the fingernails and scalp after death. The growth of hair and nails, however, "requires a complex hormonal interplay" only possible in a living person. Reading in dim light ruins your eyesight. Dim lights may contribute to difficulty focusing, leading to dry eyes and eye strain. But once lighting conditions improve, these side effects don't persist for long. Shaving causes hair to grow back faster or coarser. Strong evidence disproves this common belief. Shaving removes the dead part of hair, not the living section below the skin's surface, so it can't affect the rate or type of growth. What's more, the stubble resulting from shaving grows out without the finer taper seen at the ends of unshaven hair, giving the impression of coarseness. Eating turkey makes people especially drowsy. This bit of ill-founded folk wisdom stems from popular reports that turkey meat is a rich source of tryptophan, an amino acid that plays a role in sleep and mood control. In reality, turkey has the same amount or less tryptophan than other sources of protein. Possibly the gobbling fowl gets a bad rap because it is usually served at feasts such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. Any large meal can induce sleepiness because blood flow to the brain temporarily decreases while food is digested. Mobile phones are dangerous in hospitals. This modern-day myth has been fuelled by news reports that cellphones disrupt medical equipment. Many hospitals have banned the devices, further perpetuating the belief. But rigorous testing in Europe found minimal interference and only at distances of less than a metre. And recent technological improvements may be lessening even this minimal interference. In fact, a recent study concluded that cellphones add to hospital safety because doctors can be immediately contacted when there is a medical emergency. * Share |
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What serious, objective and technical information about knee issues? Try this site;
http://www.genou.com/anglais/knee.htm Great graphics Great precise information Pav |
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No problem. It will be a pleasure!
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Iceghost,
I see that you strive for that "unique" look! I will send you via PM several sites that will wet your appetite. In the past 5 years there are several unique skiers that have created "cottage" industries in making their own skis! I suspect soon you will "create" your own ski building company! |
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While in university, I had a ski friend who was very quiet and unassuming. While we planned from day to day, he planned several years ahead. He knew the ski boom would come and so he saved his money from his two jobs and bought some land near a ski center. He then build a nice ski chalet and once it was completed, he wanted a great ski party. He was shy and knew few skiers outside our small group, so he asked me to plan the party. He would provide the chalet; I would provide the people and “atmosphere”! Little did he know what was to come! It had to be special! It had to be memorable...yet classy! Then it hit me, during a boring stats class! Here is the party you missed! Two weeks later 50 people got a letter, unsigned, inviting them to a ski house warming party. To confirm that this was not a joke or scam they could verify the with ski school Director at the nearest hill (he had been briefed)! He promised not to tell where the party was as long as he could come to watch the "snipping"! All participants had to leave homes at set hour (7 PM) and all were given directions to the first “drop-off” point! You see this was like a blind rally, with directions given every 4-5 kms. No one knew where chalet was! There were 10 pick up points in such places as; behind a church, under a bridge, in a desk in a police station, on a bench, in a bar etc…Of course the people in the restaurant, church and police station were consulted. All agreed once the final condition of the rally was told to them! The final condition was that each participant was allowed to wear only one meter of material! Any material was allowed. Any pattern was permitted! I can see you all smile now…..letting your imagination go! But wait…..there is more! Now it gets interesting! I had tested the course and timed how much each section should take! I had planned that the circuit would take 2 hours. That was with slow driving! The final condition made the party a memorable one! You see I wrote too all participants that there would be a “penalty” for ever 15 minutes late! The penalty was that we would cut off 10 cm. (Per 15 minutes) from the material! Imagine the stress! Soon on the night of the party, very “conservative” country people were watching couples running in cemeteries, in covered bridges, bars, etc… Word spread and “locals” were coming out to watch these city folks running about! The police were well briefed and so when they started to get calls about strange “couples” going under bridges and into cemeteries, they just chuckled! Two asked if they could join party! What could I say! I had never realized how imaginative skiers are! I had assumed that most would just cut one large section of material and cover their bodies! No it was not to be! Imagine one couple sewed two sections of material to make ONE covering. One in front and one in back! Not sure, what was between! Some very bright women modified the 1 meter material to cover essential parts of her body. It did not seem however 1 meter was used! As the 2 hour deadline approached, I knew our plan had a problem, only 10 people were on time! I did provide an “emergency” phone in case and soon it began to ring!!!!! ( This was before the GPS time). The police, for once were having great fun, had to “direct” many couples ! The local gas station, which was typically serviced by one man, now had 15 men casually milling about ready to help the lost girls! Word spread in the valley that something was “happening”! Soon we could see “convoys” of cars as the blind lead the blind into dead end roads! Local farmers now knew that “lost city skiers” were driving about! They purposefully told them how to get lost so that they would be back for another peek! I did say the 1 meter of material was “imaginatively” put together! By 11 PM I was getting worried, until the local policemen came to inform me that some of the “lost girls” were coming soon. Seems they had stopped at local bar for directions and the staff offered them free drinks! Those 15 men at gas station were soon at the local bar! At 12 PM all had arrived ( with more of the locals). A rule is a rule! So I asked the local police chief, (who had come to help two young lost nurses) to do the honors! The tape came out and soon he was snipping away! I had assumed that all would come with one flat 1 meter piece of material! No so! It made the job of measuring and cutting “challenging” With a straight face and great precision he did so! That took at least 1 hour since he had to stop to “relax” since he was under great tension! So by 1 AM we had 100 people who had never met dancing, admiring each others work and sharing skiing stories. I did say I invited 50? Those others were the local helpers, the guides, the police, the bar owner, the caretaker at the grave yard, the neighbors! Eddy, my quiet, unassuming friend that no one knew before the party, was in heaven! That land he bought,,,,well soon he had 15 fellow skiers that wanted some land! That lost girl the police chief helped? She always wanted to move to the country and that police chief had a great house! The party lasted all night since we were in the middle of no where, no neighbors and besides,,,we had the police with us! After the party,,the very next week, Eddy quit university and bought more land! Now 30 years later, Eddy is now the largest chalet builder in Mt. Tremblant! You see he paid $500 for 15 acres of land then! Now he sells one acre for 1 million! Every year however, he has a party! A special party and all the locals know about it! It is his way to thank all those first 100 guests who came to his “special party”! They showed him how “social and imaginative” skiers can get! He was a visionary and that party opened his eyes! Me? That is where I met my wife. She made me promise to never tell our kids how much material was taken off her 1 meter! All I can say is that she is never ever late for a meeting!!!! |
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Jan,
I also am a "neophyte" in the technical aspects of this unit. What little I know is that there are two major types of "locater" units. The ones you are referring to, and that you see more and more in ski jackets ( Spyder) and boots are passive units! They act like mirrors reflecting "sound waves" from units rescuers have! My Atomic boots have such units at the rear cuff! The other units (and more effective) are units which "beam" out pulses which can be localized! In my Spyder Jacket in the top left sleeve I have a small pocket which allows a Ipod size unit to be inseted! I am not sure if there is a standard wavelength for all units world wide! Allow me to check! I know that all serious heli-ski tours I have taken , we were given top of the line units with a range well over 200 meters! In my country it is mandatory to wear such units if you do nay "back-country" skiing! I do not think it is necessary to wear such units in most ski resorts! Better is the small radio/phone units you can get at any audio shops. Saved my life once in a large large ski resort! |
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There are many many sources of information on; equipement, techniques, workshops,great shops etc.....Some excellent ,,,some dated!
In the coming months I will post these sources for you with some side comments ( which are my opinions)! May I suggest that you get a "memory stick" so that you can download some of these sources. Pavel |
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Have lots of fun!
PS. You might consider "shortening" ski poles also ! |
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