Archive Year 2005 month 7

I'm one of those guys that lives 6 miles away from school and drives. Utter laziness. Here I am so concerned about the environment and I can easily hop into my 15 mpg vehicle and drive to campus.

I have an excuse!

I don't chase cars.

There is a monster hill on the way to school. In fact, it is about 1.5 miles long - at least. So what. Push your butt up that hill.

No can do.

As I am driving up that hill, pushing on the gas peddle of my car, there is some poor chap pushing his bike peddles up that hill gasping for air and getting pure exhaust.

That is my excuse. I don't chase cars that blast exhaust in my face.

I was not genetically programmed to effectively use carbon monoxide - yet it seems our body's hemoglobin prefers it. You ready for a little lesson about hemoglobin? You're gonna get one.

We all know that oxygen binds to hemoglobin and carries it around our bodies dumping it off to'

I will never forget the day my mom told me to wash strawberries. As a typical inquisitive 4 year old, I asked, 'Why?' Because fruit pickers pick their nose was her response. I then washed them - sometimes.

Now as a 31 year old, I buy organic produce which must mean it is free from boogers and by all means, it best be free from pesticides. But as a med student with a wife, two kids and a mortgage, the wallet feels stress when buying organic produce.

Demand has gone up for organic products, especially in Seattle, which has lowered the cost some; but not enough during the rough financial times.

So I find myself wondering which of the non-organic veggies and fruits are the safest to eat? A watermelon looks tough - it has a big thick skin. A juicy thin-skinned peach must be really tasty to bugs so the growers must spray the heck out of it.

This rationale obviously is not fool-proof and did not put me at ease when buying non-organic

As I was couch bound one evening, a 'cute' commerical for an eczema drug appeared. It stated that it treated eczema and that there was no cure for eczema. Needless to say, as a naturopathic medical student, I was furious. There is a cure for eczema. It is called prevention. But that is another issue.

The issue I want to address here: Elidel, the 'cute' eczema drug, causes cancer in three different animal species. That is not cute. Protopic also causes cancer in the same animal species.

The FDA advised doctors to prescribe Elidel or Protopic only if all else failed for eczema. Do not use long term and do not use on children under 2.

What are the advisories on Elidel and Protopic:

• Do not use on 2 years or younger
• Do not use on people with weak immune systems
• Do not use long term - only intermittently or short term
• Do not use until all other eczema treatments have