(토요모임) [Nov. 14, 2015] Saturday meeting topic

[Scarlet]

Howdy ! 

It's me Scarlett !   

This week we have 3 topics. 

◈ Men vs. Women

◈ Why medicine often has dangerous side effects for women

◈ The 5 Worst Foods For Your Brain

Hope you enjoy the topics. 

With luv 

Scarlett 

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Men vs. Women

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<Questions>

Q1. What is the biggest difference between men and women? 

Q2. What is  the advantages and the disadvantages of living as a male or a female in Korea? 

Q3. Why men make more money than women do? 

Q4. Have you ever driven a car under the influence of alcohol? 

Q5. According to an article, women have more life expectancy than men. What is the reason for that? 

Q6. If you can choose, what would be your gender choice during your reincarnation? and why?

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Why medicine often has dangerous side effects for women

TEDxProvidence · 15:29 · Filmed Sep 2014

We all go to doctors. And we do so with trust and blind faith that the test they are ordering and the medications they're prescribing are based upon evidence -- evidence that's designed to help us. However, the reality is that that hasn't always been the case for everyone. What if I told you that the medical science discovered over the past century has been based on only half the population?

I'm an emergency medicine doctor. I was trained to be prepared in a medical emergency. It's about saving lives. How cool is that? OK, there's a lot of runny noses and stubbed toes, but no matter who walks through the door to the ER, we order the same tests, we prescribe the same medication, without ever thinking about the sex or gender of our patients. Why would we? We were never taught that there were any differences between men and women.

A recent Government Accountability study revealed that 80 percent of the drugs withdrawn from the market are due to side effects on women. So let's think about that for a minute. Why are we discovering side effects on women only after a drug has been released to the market? Do you know that it takes years for a drug to go from an idea to being tested on cells in a laboratory, to animal studies, to then clinical trials on humans, finally to go through a regulatory approval process, to be available for your doctor to prescribe to you? Not to mention the millions and billions of dollars of funding it takes to go through that process. So why are we discovering unacceptable side effects on half the population after that has gone through? What's happening?

Well, it turns out that those cells used in that laboratory, they're male cells, and the animals used in the animal studies were male animals, and the clinical trials have been performed almost exclusively on men.

How is it that the male model became our framework for medical research? Let's look at an example that has been popularized in the media, and it has to do with the sleep aid Ambien. Ambien was released on the market over 20 years ago, and since then, hundreds of millions of prescriptions have been written, primarily to women, because women suffer more sleep disorders than men. But just this past year, the Food and Drug Administration recommended cutting the dose in half for women only, because they just realized that women metabolize the drug at a slower rate than men, causing them to wake up in the morning with more of the active drug in their system. And then they're drowsy and they're getting behind the wheel of the car, and they're at risk for motor vehicle accidents. And I can't help but think, as an emergency physician, how many of my patients that I've cared for over the years were involved in a motor vehicle accident that possibly could have been prevented if this type of analysis was performed and acted upon 20 years ago when this drug was first released. How many other things need to be analyzed by gender? What else are we missing?

World War II changed a lot of things, and one of them was this need to protect people from becoming victims of medical research without informed consent. So some much-needed guidelines or rules were set into place, and part of that was this desire to protect women of childbearing age from entering into any medical research studies. There was fear: what if something happened to the fetus during the study? Who would be responsible? And so the scientists at this time actually thought this was a blessing in disguise, because let's face it -- men's bodies are pretty homogeneous. They don't have the constantly fluctuating levels of hormones that could disrupt clean data they could get if they had only men. It was easier. It was cheaper. Not to mention, at this time, there was a general assumption that men and women were alike in every way, apart from their reproductive organs and sex hormones. So it was decided: medical research was performed on men, and the results were later applied to women.

What did this do to the notion of women's health? Women's health became synonymous with reproduction: breasts, ovaries, uterus, pregnancy. It's this term we now refer to as "bikini medicine." And this stayed this way until about the 1980s, when this concept was challenged by the medical community and by the public health policymakers when they realized that by excluding women from all medical research studies we actually did them a disservice, in that apart from reproductive issues, virtually nothing was known about the unique needs of the female patient.

Since that time, an overwhelming amount of evidence has come to light that shows us just how different men and women are in every way. You know, we have this saying in medicine: children are not just little adults. And we say that to remind ourselves that children actually have a different physiology than normal adults. And it's because of this that the medical specialty of pediatrics came to light. And we now conduct research on children in order to improve their lives. And I know the same thing can be said about women. Women are not just men with boobs and tubes. But they have their own anatomy and physiology that deserves to be studied with the same intensity.

Let's take the cardiovascular system, for example. This area in medicine has done the most to try to figure out why it seems men and women have completely different heart attacks. Heart disease is the number one killer for both men and women, but more women die within the first year of having a heart attack than men. Men will complain of crushing chest pain -- an elephant is sitting on their chest. And we call this typical. Women have chest pain, too. But more women than men will complain of "just not feeling right," "can't seem to get enough air in," "just so tired lately." And for some reason we call this atypical, even though, as I mentioned, women do make up half the population.

And so what is some of the evidence to help explain some of these differences? If we look at the anatomy, the blood vessels that surround the heart are smaller in women compared to men, and the way that those blood vessels develop disease is different in women compared to men. And the test that we use to determine if someone is at risk for a heart attack, well, they were initially designed and tested and perfected in men, and so aren't as good at determining that in women. And then if we think about the medications -- common medications that we use, like aspirin. We give aspirin to healthy men to help prevent them from having a heart attack, but do you know that if you give aspirin to a healthy woman, it's actually harmful?

What this is doing is merely telling us that we are scratching the surface. Emergency medicine is a fast-paced business. In how many life-saving areas of medicine, like cancer and stroke, are there important differences between men and women that we could be utilizing? Or even, why is it that some people get those runny noses more than others, or why the pain medication that we give to those stubbed toes work in some and not in others?

The Institute of Medicine has said every cell has a sex. What does this mean? Sex is DNA. Gender is how someone presents themselves in society. And these two may not always match up, as we can see with our transgendered population. But it's important to realize that from the moment of conception, every cell in our bodies -- skin, hair, heart and lungs -- contains our own unique DNA, and that DNA contains the chromosomes that determine whether we become male or female, man or woman.

It used to be thought that those sex-determining chromosomes pictured here -- XY if you're male, XX if you're female -- merely determined whether you would be born with ovaries or testes, and it was the sex hormones that those organs produced that were responsible for the differences we see in the opposite sex. But we now know that that theory was wrong -- or it's at least a little incomplete. And thankfully, scientists like Dr. Page from the Whitehead Institute, who works on the Y chromosome, and Doctor Yang from UCLA, they have found evidence that tells us that those sex-determining chromosomes that are in every cell in our bodies continue to remain active for our entire lives and could be what's responsible for the differences we see in the dosing of drugs, or why there are differences between men and women in the susceptibility and severity of diseases. This new knowledge is the game-changer, and it's up to those scientists that continue to find that evidence, but it's up to the clinicians to start translating this data at the bedside, today. Right now. And to help do this, I'm a co-founder of a national organization called Sex and Gender Women's Health Collaborative, and we collect all of this data so that it's available for teaching and for patient care. And we're working to bring together the medical educators to the table. That's a big job. It's changing the way medical training has been done since its inception.

But I believe in them. I know they're going to see the value of incorporating the gender lens into the current curriculum. It's about training the future health care providers correctly. And regionally, I'm a co-creator of a division within the Department of Emergency Medicine here at Brown University, called Sex and Gender in Emergency Medicine, and we conduct the research to determine the differences between men and women in emergent conditions, like heart disease and stroke and sepsis and substance abuse, but we also believe that education is paramount.

We've created a 360-degree model of education. We have programs for the doctors, for the nurses, for the students and for the patients. Because this cannot just be left up to the health care leaders. We all have a role in making a difference. But I must warn you: this is not easy. In fact, it's hard. It's essentially changing the way we think about medicine and health and research. It's changing our relationship to the health care system. But there's no going back. We now know just enough to know that we weren't doing it right.

Martin Luther King, Jr. has said, "Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle."

And the first step towards change is awareness. This is not just about improving medical care for women. This is about personalized, individualized health care for everyone. This awareness has the power to transform medical care for men and women. And from now on, I want you to ask your doctors whether the treatments you are receiving are specific to your sex and gender. They may not know the answer -- yet. But the conversation has begun, and together we can all learn. Remember, for me and my colleagues in this field, your sex and gender matter.

Thank you.

(Applause)

Article source: https://www.ted.com/talks/alyson_mcgregor_why_medicine_often_has_dangerous_side_effects_for_women/transcript?language=en

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<Questions>

Q1. Did you know that some of the medicines were just pretested on men? A recent Government Accountability study revealed that 80 percent of the drugs withdrawn from the market are due to side effects on women. How do you feel about that? 

Q2. Do you think what is the biggest physical difference between men and women? Do you think women are more susceptible to the disease? 

Q3. Do you think dose of drugs should be different according to their gender or severity of disease? Why can't we apply those customized prescription on each individual? 

Q4. When your children came down with disease, you might bring your kid to a doctors who has a specialty in pediatrics. We treat them in a different way because they are not just small adult and have different physiology than normal adults. 

In this context, why don't we apply same routine on women? Do you agree with this idea? 

Q5. How often do you take medicine? Have you ever affected by side effect of the medicine? 

Q6. Do you have any intention to take medicine which is designed for women only? 

Q7. How do you think about the personalized, individualized health care treatment for each individual?

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The 5 Worst Foods For Your Brain

What you eat can have a negative impact on your memory, 

cognitive function, and emotional health.

Grandparents.comBy Sara Schwartz

Posted: 11/08/2015 04:37 PM EST

SPECIAL FROM  2013-02-21

RICHARD JUNG VIA GETTY IMAGES

1. White Rice

    ▶ High glycemic-index foods increase your risk of depression.

Certain kinds of carbs can have a negative impact on your brain, resulting in an emotional health dip. A 2015 study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that post-menopausal women who eat foods with a high glycemic index, meaning refined carbohydrates like white bread and rice, cornflakes, and potatoes, have a higher incidence of new-onset depression. Conversely, the more lactose, fiber, non-juice fruit, and vegetables study participants ate, the less likely they were to get depressed.

The connection: Foods with a high glycemic index make your blood sugar shoot up suddenly, causing your body to produce a spike of insulin, says Kristin Kirkpatrick, M.S., R.D., Manager of Wellness Nutrition Services at Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute. “Consumption of highly refined carbs is linked to fatigue, mood swings, and other symptoms of depression,” she says. The reason why blood sugar can have a lasting effect on your mood still isn’t understood by the scientific community, but the strong correlation should make you think twice before dining on bread and pasta alone. Tip: If you want to indulge in a high glycemic-index food, make sure eat a sensible portion and pair it with a low glycemic index food, such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, or whole grains, to mitigate a blood sugar spike, according to the American Diabetes Association. 

RITA MAAS VIA GETTY IMAGES

2. Fruit Juice

    ▶ Sugar reduces cognitive flexibility, as well as short- and long-term memory.

Opting for orange juice instead of soda may seem like a healthy choice, but when it comes to sugar delivery, fruit juice is as big a culprit as cola — and that extra sugar could compromise your brain function. A 2015 study in the journal Neuroscience shows that mice subjected to high-sugar and high-fat diets ended up with significant cognitive decline. Their long- and short-term memory took a hit, as did their cognitive flexibility, described as the ability to problem-solve in the face of new information. The high-sugar diet group showed the biggest declines in brain function, especially cognitive flexibility.

To figure out why, researchers examined the gut bacteria present in the mice before and after their new diets. They found substantial changes: One bacteria, Clostridiales, flourished in the high-sugar environment, while another, Bacteroidales, was reduced. “This work suggests that fat and sugar are altering your healthy bacterial systems, and that’s one of the reasons those foods aren’t good for you,” said lead study author Kathy Magnusson in an article on the Oregon State University website. “It’s not just the food that could be influencing your brain, but an interaction between the food and microbial changes.”

YANIK CHAUVIN VIA GETTY IMAGES

3. Cheese

    ▶ Foods high in saturated fat hurt your memory and cause inflammation in the brain.

Cheese, followed by pizza, are the two biggest sources of saturated fat in the American diet, says the Harvard School of Public Health. Not only do high-fat diets correlate with poor memory (as shown in the Neuroscience study), but they are also shown to injure your hypothalamus, a part of the brain that helps control body-weight regulation, according to a 2011 study in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. After determining that rodents fed a high-fat diet (60% of calories from fat) sustain injury to their hypothalamus due to increased inflammation, researchers examined brain images of obese humans—and found injured brain cells in the exact same region. In other words, eating a high-fat diet hurts your brain’s ability to regulate the food you take in, making you prone to obesity.

A high-fat diet also promotes inflammation elsewhere in the body, including your arteries, which can increase your chance of stroke, says Kirkpatrick. “Think about inflammation of circulatory system—the same arteries flowing to the heart go up into the brain,” she explains. “Let’s say you have horrible high-fat diet. You might have a heart attack, but you might have blockage in the arteries leading to your brain.”

MONKEY BUSINESS IMAGES

4. DOUGHNUTS

    ▶ Fried foods increase your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

In terms of brain danger, eating too much fried food is related to saturated fat and cholesterol. The saturated fat in fried food is shown to damage the blood-brain barrier, says Martha Clare Morris, ScD, Professor and Director, Section of Nutrition & Nutritional Epidemiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Rush University. “One interesting observation from animal models is that it seems that diets higher in saturated fats disrupt the blood-barrier,” says Dr. Morris. “The barrier is a complex transport system for nutrients into the brain,” she explains. “When it’s disrupted, it can allow harmful substances to get in and perhaps injure the brain. It can also disrupt the uptake of nutrients that are important for brain function.”

In addition, fried food is also known to increase blood cholesterol levels. “Cholesterol is a central dietary component in the development of Alzheimer’s disease,” she says. “There’s a link between blood cholesterol levels and dementia.” A 2014 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association revealed that people who have high levels of bad (LDL) cholesterol and low levels of good cholesterol (HDL) are more likely to have a build-up of beta-amyloid proteins in their brain, which are harbingers of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. More research needs to be conducted to figure out whether high cholesterol is a cause or a result of Alzheimer’s progression.

SHUTTERSTOCK

    ▶ Trans fats hurt brain function and memory.

While the FDA aims to completely eradicate trans fats from the food supply by 2018, many foods still contain a hefty amount of this damaging fat, which remains solid at room temperature. The top offenders right now include stick margarine, frosting, frozen pizza, refrigerated dough, coffee creamer, and microwave popcorn. A 2011 study in the journal Neurology exposed two scary consequences of eating too much trans fat: less favorable cognitive function and less total cerebral brain volume. Furthermore, a 2014 study of 1,000 men found that participants who ate more trans fat performed worse on memory tests.

Though experts believe more studies are needed to confirm‎ the role trans fat plays in brain health, the well-established dangers of trans fats should be enough motivation to kick the stuff. In an analysis of 50 studies on trans fats, a recent review found that high-trans fat diets raise your risk of dying from heart disease by 28 percent, and from any cause by 34 percent. “Eating a high trans-fat diet will increase bad cholesterol and decrease good cholesterol, so it’s a double whammy,” says Dr. Morris. “In one study, we found that even a moderate intake of trans fat is worse than a high intake of saturated fats.”

 The Smart Brain Diet

Want to do everything you can to minimize your chance of getting Alzheimer’s Disease? Research has found that a new diet, known as MIND, can lower your Alzheimer's risk by 35-53%, depending on how rigorously you stick to it. A hybrid of the Mediterranean Diet and the American Heart Association-endorsed DASH diet, MIND relegates 15 primary foods into brain-healthy and brain-unhealthy categories.

• Healthy: green leafy vegetables, other vegetables, nuts, berries, beans, whole grains, fish, poultry, olive oil, and wine

• Unhealthy: red meats, butter and stick margarine, cheese, pastries and sweets, and fried or fast food

Basically, you should limit saturated fats and sugar, eat fruits, veggies, and whole grains often, and include fish in at least one meal a week, says Dr. Morris, who co-authored the MIND Diet study. And if you absolutely love French fries or pizza or other foods designated as “unhealthy?” “I wouldn’t say stop eating them, because some people really like those food items,” she says. “You should just restrict them. Maybe those foods can be your weekly treat. You’ll probably like them even better that way.”

Article source : http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-5-worst-foods-for-your-brain_563d1713e4b0411d30711ac4?ir=Fifty&section=fifty

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<Questions>

Q1. Have you ever had any foods among following 5 items, for instance, white rice, fruit juice, cheese, doughnuts or pop corn? Can you distinguish which one is healthy? 

Q2. This article shows us some of unhealthy foods for better brain functioning. How many items do you take on a regular basis?

Q3. Do you have emotional health dip? What is the principal reason for that? Was it caused by weather, foods, relationships or etc.?

Q4. Do you eat  foods with a high glycemic index, meaning refined carbohydrates like white bread and rice, cornflakes, and potatoes? If this is the case, you could easily fall into the mood swings.

In order to decrease the risk of depression, do you have any intention to change your eating habits towards more lactose, fiber, non-juice fruit, and vegetables oriented diet? 

Q4. To prevent Alzheimer’s Disease, we have to watch out our diet. Do you distinguish between healthy foods and unhealthy foods? How many items do you usually consume in those two categories? 

*** Healthy: green leafy vegetables, other vegetables, nuts, berries, beans, whole grains, fish, poultry, olive oil, and wine

*** Unhealthy: red meats, butter and stick margarine, cheese, pastries and sweets, and fried or fast food

Q5. Do you like stick margarine, frosting, frozen pizza, refrigerated dough, coffee creamer, and microwave popcorn ? According to an article, tans fats hurt brain function and memory. Do you have intention to change your eating habits to enhance your brain functioning? 

Q6. Can you give up chicken and beer for preventing yourself from Alzheimer’s Disease?

[세계일주]

매우 재미있으면서 전문적인 이야기네요,토픽선택이 다양하시네요, 질문도 예리하고-- 기대되네요 만남이

[Scarlet]

ㅋㅋㅋ 세계일주님 전문분야가 나오니 즐거우신듯. ㅋㅋㅋ 네 토요일에 뵈요.ㅋ
여러가지 지식을 전달해 주세요 :) ㅋ

[*시에나*]

언니~ 제 토픽이랑 항상 너무 차이나요 ㅠㅠ
멋지네용^^ㅋ

[Scarlet]

난 시에나 토픽 좋던데~ 여러모로 생각하게 해서... *^^*
다만 나는 그림과 인지적 차원에서 도표같은거 좋아하는 것일뿐.
엔지니어와 인문사회학도의 차이인거 아닐까? ㅋ 토욜에 봐 !!!~~~

[세계일주]

두분다 토픽준비하시느랴 수고많습니다.

[세계일주]

이거 저의 전문분야아니에요, 저는 칼잡이, 전 본능적으로 여자에대한 경외감으로 무장된사람입니다. ㅋㅋㅋ

[세계일주]

2번째 토픽은 speaker의 말을 보면서 들으니 다 도움이 되는것같네여

[Scarlet]

네 테드의 자료 활용이 영어 공부에 도움이 많이 되죠 ㅋㅌ 올려드린 자료는 스크립트 자료이니 참고하세요. ;) 세계일주님 열심히 하시는 모습 굿입니다. 화이팅이요 !

[세계일주]

감사합니다.응원해주셔서 scarlet님.