Once again, this is an indictment on how macho and testosterone-driven our society has become and, further, and how insensitive to diversity our communities still are. We MUST teach tolerance and inclusiveness and the importance of diversity both in our homes AND in school. School is imperative because there is such a dearth of it happening at home. What's more, kids and parents watch the news and hear that insensitivity and inbred racism from our politicians (listen to recent speeches from GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum who hates gays so much he has said that, as president, he would invalidate all state marriage equality laws, re-institute DADT,etc.). In fact, the GOP candidates seem to be in virtual race to see who can be the most anti-gay.
But I have a further question: how did a 14-year old's sexuality become generally known? DId Philip Parker tell someone who gossiped it to a bunch of others? Or did he broadcast it in some way (one of my former 8th grade students wore a rainbow belt to school everyday to make sure everyone knew and he suffered constant bullying as a result. I suggested he not wear the belt because his sexuality should be a private matter). Or did Philip feel he was "different" or socially awkward in some way (many 14-year olds feel that way, just inherently) OR, was Philip effeminate and other students just assumed that he was gay? How did everyone knowing Philip was gay happen?
Most importantly, we must teach our children how to get along and what that means - i.e. what is appropriate interaction and what is not. Each person's right to their own individuality and how to stick up for yourself and others if inappropriate actions are occurring. Philip is just another example of a child who was ashamed or afraid to come forward and tell an adult about the bullying he was suffering - probably because he was not assured that there would be clear and decisive action against bullies. There must be absolute and clear-cut zero tolerance.
Warren
On Jan 23, 2012, at 3:31 PM, Jake West wrote:
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Diet & Fitness:
Huffington Post - David Katz, M.D. - 01/23/2012
As a preventive medicine physician who truly believes "if you don't have your health, you don't have anything," our prevailing behaviors have always been hard to fathom.
The parent who simply can't find time to cook a family dinner can, always, find time to take a kid to the ER or endocrinologist. People who can't afford mixed greens can afford diabetes test strips.
People who carefully and responsibly invest in the financial security of their retirement (although we know that's no guarantee of a good outcome!) routinely neglect altogether any investment in their health. If money can be put aside for future benefit, why can't time be "put aside" -- invested in physical activity, eating well, getting enough sleep? It can be, of course -- but our social norms don't encourage it, and it doesn't happen. A standard-issue, responsible modern adult -- carefully tends their money, and neglects their health. It's normal, and almost expected. But bizarre -- and often calamitously costly.
Many people reach retirement with the money they need, lacking the health they need to use that money for anything enjoyable. As a physician, it is excruciatingly painful to look into the imploring eyes of a retiree who has long anticipated their golden years -- and has cultivated the bank account to underwrite it -- now disabled by progressive diabetes, lung disease, brain disease or heart disease that need not have occurred.
And it is all too common. I have seen, and continue to see, many such patients. Patients who reach retirement age with robust good health and too few dollars come along, too, of course -- but far less often. And here's the news flash: Those with health but not much money are clearly a happier group than those with money but not much health. I have met them on the intimate turf of clinical care, and they have told me so.
This is the backstory for a careful consideration of the Alzheimer's disease crisis we now face.
There has been enormous attention of late to the grim and genuinely frightening problem of Alzheimer's disease. The problem is grim by its very nature -- there is little we contemplate with greater dread than the loss of our minds, our very selves. The problem is frightening at the personal level because we feel vulnerable to this increasingly common condition we don't know how to cure, and at the collective level, where estimates suggest it could cost the nation a trillion dollars annually by 2050. There is also the terrible burden on family members, who must face the high demands of care, compounded by the heart-wrenching loss of a loved one who is still there, yet already gone.
It is in this context that President Obama has declared a war of sorts on this scourge, calling for means of both prevention and treatment by 2025, or even 2020. There is lively debate about how realistic the goal is -- although on that issue, I note that the best way to predict the future is to create it. You don't get to the moon without committing to the trip.
To create the president's future, it will be important to develop new treatments, as it is for obesity and diabetes. But as with obesity and diabetes, it will be important not to let the hunt for breakthrough treatments become the tail that wags the dog.
Alzheimer's is overwhelmingly a vascular disease, and thus overwhelmingly preventable. Estimates are less well established than for other chronic diseases, but it seems likely the risk can be trimmed by nearly 80 percent -- and perhaps eliminated entirely but for the extremely genetically vulnerable -- by minding our general health.
It is only fair and honest to concede that we do not have perfect defenses against Alzheimer's. And, to some extent, we are hoisted on our own petard -- vulnerable to this condition of advancing age because we are better at living longer than ever before.
But the evidence is strong, if not incontrovertible, that whatever the genetic underpinnings, the epigenetics of Alzheimer's -- the exposures that influence how genes behave -- are of profound importance. By and large, Alzheimer's is a vascular disease. By and large, the practices that prevent cardiovascular disease -- eating well, being active, avoiding tobacco -- slash the risk of Alzheimer's.
Study after study after study after study that has shown an elimination of up to 80 percent of all chronic disease with the application of lifestyle as medicine has NOT carved out an exception for Alzheimer's. The evidence that we can alter gene expression with the power of lifestyle almost certainly pertains to Alzheimer's as it does to cancer. By minding our bodies, we can mind our minds, too. We can best mind both, by minding the short list of what matters most to health.
Available evidence suggests that controlling cardiac risk factors can lower dementia risk specifically by 50 percent or more.
So see a doctor at regular intervals to have your blood pressure and cholesterol monitored. High cholesterol can contribute to dementia by accelerating the development of atherosclerosis; controlling blood lipid levels with diet or medication can protect against this. High blood pressure can damage the blood supply to the brain in several ways, and is the leading risk factor for stroke. At least one European study suggests that treatment of high blood pressure all by itself can cut dementia risk in half.
While the scientific evidence linking cigarettes to dementia per se is equivocal, the link between smoking and vascular disease is clear and strong. So avoid tobacco to protect your brain by protecting the blood vessels that nourish it.
There is some evidence to support what most of us have heard about "brain foods." Fish consumption appears to protect brain function, most likely by contributing omega-3 fatty acids to the diet. An omega-3 oil supplement, one to two grams daily, is an alternative. Antioxidants in food appear to be protective as well, contributing to the reputations of blueberries, red wine and green tea.
But while an inventory of potential brain foods can be assembled, the evidence is much stronger for the importance of the overall dietary pattern. Eating well is as important to the brain as it is to the heart. Lower your risk of Alzheimer's with plenty of vegetables and fruits, whole grains, beans and lentils, olives and avocado, nuts and seeds. Limit consumption of highly-processed foods, fast foods, sugar, salt, saturated and trans fat. Physical activity, too, nurtures the health of body and mind alike.
There is some evidence that poorly controlled stress, lack of sleep and various nutrient deficiencies -- vitamin E, vitamin C, and vitamins B12 and B6 in particular -- may increase the risk of dementia. Controlling stress, getting adequate sleep and a balanced diet with or without supplements may all confer protection.
Finally, population studies consistently suggest that those who exercise their brains protect their minds from dementia. Crossword puzzles and Sudoku are aerobics for your brain. Just as physical activity defends the body against aging and infirmity, mental activity seems to help preserve the vitality of the brain. The Mayo Clinic and the Alzheimer's Foundation, among others, provide nice summaries of prevention strategies online.
As we mind our mind by minding our bodies, we can mind our business into the bargain. The price tag of Alzheimer's -- and chronic disease in general -- threatens nothing less than our national solvency. Only prevention can solve that problem. A breakthrough drug for Alzheimer's would be wonderful -- but who is naïve enough to think the drug would be dispensed for free? Serious chronic disease is bad financial news when we can't treat it, and still bad financial news when we can! The financial news turns to the good only with prevention. Lifestyle is not only the best medicine we have -- it is the only medicine we have already available to all, at essentially no extra cost, and without a prescription.
A healthy brain needs clear arteries, a sound heart, clear lungs, fit kidneys, a robust liver. Even if your brain is your second-favorite organ, you can tend it best by looking after all the other less-favored organs on which it is co-dependent.
Altogether too many of our loved ones have Alzheimer's already; and too many more will get it. There is no question we need the government, and big Pharma, and the biomedical community at large to wage the battle of treatment on our behalf.
But prevention is the greater prize in the long run -- and is largely already within our grasp. There is no need to wait for the government, or big Pharma. Take matters into your own hands. Mind your mind and mind your body with the zeal and diligence you routinely apply to minding your own business. Because, they are.Take Action:
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Gay Teenager Phillip Parker Commits Suicide Due To Relentless BullyingJan 23, 2012 / PerezHilton
This devastating trend needs to end NOW!
On Friday, an openly gay 14-year-old high school student in Carthage, Tennessee named Phillip Parker committed suicide due to bullying.Here's what the Phillip's grandfather Paul Harris had to say about him:
"A sweet kind person like Phillip took it out on himself, he killed himself to get out of the pain."
"Because he was gay, he got mistreated physically, mentally by several people out there at the school, and I am very resentful as a result of it."
More from Phillip's mother Gena Parker:"I should have knew something was wrong, but he seemed happy."
"We are going to find out who done it, we are going to get justice for Phillip and you will pay for what you did to my son."And more from Phillip's grandfather:"After he did what he did, we found out a lot that we didn't know and there is a lot of bullying that goes on at the school."
"Whether it's verbal or physical a counselor at the school should be on top of it and notify the parents. We weren't notified, and Phillip didn't tell us about it."Words cannot properly express how disturbing and upsetting this is. Our thoughts go out to Phillip's friends, family, and loved ones.
RIP Phillip Parker.Every gay and lesbian person who has been lucky enough to survive the turmoil of growing up is a survivor. Survivors always have an obligation to those who will face the same challenges."....JakeUrgent Notice: Our ObamaBiden2008 Group works hand - in - hand with Peckers PICS (Both groups were co-created to work with each-other). To prevent duplication of articles and questions, all members of this group are urgently recommended to join ObamaBiden2008 . We have the LGBT boycott list and discuss end of DADT, etc... There are 3 gay teen suicides in the USA - daily! There are Hate crimes against gay people. There are gay people who are fired over their sexual identity. There are gay people who died for our cause! These groups are focused towards Yahoo Members who sincerely care about LGBT rights and are interested in Gay Men's Health! Most important, we have a most critical election in 2012 that shall determine the future of LGBT rights and our health care (as many suffer from pre-existing illness)! Please Join Now!
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