Bear's Blog

Sunday, June 28, 2009

The sun is NOT our friend

As the season of the sun revves-up it's easy to feel the lure of our beautiful central valley weather and our thriving outdoor lifestyle. Whether it's shopping at a flea market or spending a few hours at the ballpark, being outside "soaking up some rays" seems like a safe and fun way to recharge our batteries.

There is lots of evidence that being out in the sun, even on a cloudy day, is actually one of the UNhealthest things you can do - especially if you are a 'person of color.'

There are some recent articles that explain the threat (hit the links below). Rates of skin cancer are going sky-higher among people of brown-skinned races because most either don't understand the threat or believe that their skin color gives them immunity.

Culture and upbringing play a role as well. Fair-skinned people are often more coached about the dangers of the sun and tend to use sun-screen more; people of color tend to have backgrounds that emphasize outdoor work (i.e. construction or farm jobs) and play (sports), so we often become "people of the sun" with little-to-no exposure to cautionary messages about proper sun behavior. We weren't taught - and we aren't teaching our kids!

Melanoma often shows up differently in people of color so their rate of fatality from skin cancer is higher because it often goes undetected and untreated until it reaches the later stages. Melanoma WILL spread cancer cells to other areas of your body - it's what killed Bob Marley.

Often the benefits of sun-bathing are overstated (especially by the people trying to sell you tanning booth time!). There are way-safer means of getting vitamin D than sun exposure. And the trade-off of getting your vitamins from the sun? "Changed skin color" means you've killed lots of your skin cells, which in turn accelerates free radical damage (aging) and alters your DNA - the by-product of which can be the creation of carcinogens. Not to mention the depletion of collagen from your skin - the protein that gives your skin its' soft, elastic nature (ever heard Cameo sing "Alligator Woman?").

Of course the skin lotion people would have you believe that you can just slap-on some moisturizer and you're good to go - in reality what you apply to your skin will never penetrate deep enough to replenish the cumulative effects of baking your skin cells. Collagen can't be absorbed thru the skin, even though it is hyped as an ingredient in many cosmetics. Same with the SPF factor in make-up. Unless you are putting M•A•C all over your body don't believe the hype that your face paint is protecting you from sun damage!

When out in the sun I'm a firm believer in light-colored, long-sleeve shirts, long pants and hats! And if you are searching for me at the park look first under the biggest shade tree and work your way down!

Sure everyone has to die sometime, but I will wait for something else (more fun) to catch-up to me and not let the big, yellow monster cook me to a long, slow, wrinkly death!

Remember - there is NO safe tan!

Check out these links:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/05/29/race.skin.cancer/index.html

http://www.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=619485

http://www.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=626330

posted by Tony Bear! # 3:37 PM 0 comments

Pool party this weekend?

If you think your eyes are red because there's too much chlorine in the pool, think again... it's actually because there's not ENOUGH chlorine!

A recent article on CNN.com has me totally turned off from swimming anytime soon.

The story details the response from surveys of adults who hit the pool regularly, many of whom admitted to 'tinkling' in the pool, and to getting in the pool while suffering from runny noses, diarrhea or skin problems! Ewww!

The responses weren't a surprise to me, but they helped validate the reason why I just can't bring myself to go swimming at my apartment complex no matter how hot it is outside or how cute some of the swimmers look ;-)

The story goes on to discuss some of the ailments that might befall you from swimming with these people... including getting sick from "fecal contamination" or getting eye irritation and shortness of breath because you have been hit with "organic chloramines" - the chemical result of combining the ammonia found in sweat or urine with chlorine - ugh!

So if you see me at a pool party chillin' on the sidelines with some fly gear on, don't accuse me of trying to be cute.

It's just that organic chloramines ain't my thing.

Check out these links:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/05/22/pools.urinate.hygiene/index.html?iref=newssearch

http://www.americanchemistry.com/s_chlorine/science_sec.asp?CID=1270&DID=4750&CTYPEID=113

posted by Tony Bear! # 3:35 PM 0 comments

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Drinking your breakfast, lunch AND dinner!

I ran across some articles that made me think about how I do my thang while doin' my thang!

Think about it - one Saturday night you might see someone kill say three Long Island ice teas or margaritas, and then go to Denny's for breakfast. Including the drinks and the breakfast that's 3000 calories and minimum 160 grams of carbs - and I'm not sure if that includes the syrup! The worst part is while you sleep off all that fun your body is dealing with an insulin spike that is telling it to IMMEDIATELY STORE the 35 grams of fat in the meal - and the 3000 calories from the drinks. To "store calories" means "turn it into fat." Now considering that a grown 250 pound man should only be taking in around 2000 calories ALL DAY - that's a lot of storage getting ready to happen!!

Don't believe me? Click around this Web site and do the math yourself! It will make you think twice about how you roll next Saturday night - before, during and after the club!

http://eatthis.menshealth.com/articlesDetail.php?Summer-Cocktail-439=&page=1
http://eatthis.menshealth.com/articlesDetail.php?Beach-Booze-342=&page=1
http://eatthis.menshealth.com/articlesDetail.php?Classic-Cocktail-343=&page=1
http://eatthis.menshealth.com/restaurantsDetail.php?restaurantNum=130

And no, you don't do nearly enough "exercise" in one night to burn it all off! In fact a woman weighing 120 pounds will only burn 90 calories after 20 minutes of INTENSE dancing... which you won't actually be doing because you are spending all your time drinking the three Long Islands and choppin' it up with the guys who bought them! LOL

Here is a calorie burn calculator - sorry it doesn't give an estimate for how much you lose while "sheet wrestling" (which is related to mud wrestling - but not as messy on the clothes!)

http://exercise.about.com/cs/fitnesstools/l/blcalorieburn.htm

Here is one of the first articles I ever read about this

http://www.forbes.com/health/2005/08/10/cocktails-calories-lifestyle-cx_sy_0810feat_ls.html

TB!

posted by Tony Bear! # 11:57 PM 0 comments

Saturday, November 01, 2008

The keys to the castle

America is facing the greatest challenges of a generation. How will we ever come back? And is there really anyone who could lead us out of this mess?

Even if the election goes the way all signs seem to indicate, in a way it will be a tad bittersweet. I read something today that said it all for me - everything I've been thinking as Election Day draws closer:

"The empire is in decline, the culture is in decay, the democracy is in trouble, financial markets near collapse," said Princeton professor Cornel West. "It's almost Biblical. And you can imagine what the black brothers and sisters in the barbershops and beauty salons say: 'Right when the thing is about to go under, they hand it over to the black man.'"

I hope the candidate I've chosen (yes I early-voted) is fulfilling a destiny that indeed has a higher purpose, even though he will get handed the keys after someone else has driven the car into the ground.

Then I think of my own path, and that of people I know. There are so many people who, like me, strive to get to a point in life (career, lifestyle, even relationships) that we hope will be our pinnacle, only to learn the peak is actually a valley, and the trail up and out not an easy one.

At times like this what seems like an "opportunity" is really just a matter of your being the person willing to step in and take the problem off of someones hands as they moved on to greener pastures. For many of us we discover the "castle" we've acquired is the proverbial money pit: the roof in tatters, the plumbing old and rusted, the yard a shambles and the neighborhood in decline.

What's heartening is that when we have something to prove in situations like these it brings out the right stuff in many of us. The faith, perseverance and desire needed becomes "just part of our package," because we are driven to make a mark, even when feeling that our stick-to-it-iveness is being exploited lurks in the back of our mind. We do what is needed to put our stamp on things because it's just what we do; we believe it's our "calling." We are willing to wait for a higher reward, recognition on a different level, etc., sometimes not even caring if or when we will get a "pay-off."

Lets hope that Obama has that higher purpose, and a little bit of destiny working in his favor - and ours!

TB!

posted by Tony Bear! # 3:40 PM 0 comments