Saturday, February 24, 2007
it's good for my heart
CHICAGO -- Office nappers now have the perfect excuse: New research shows that a little midday snooze seems to reduce the risk of fatal heart problems, especially among men.
In the largest study to date on the health effects of napping, researchers tracked 23,681 healthy Greek adults for an average of about six years. Those who napped for about half an hour at least three times weekly had a 37 percent lower risk of dying from heart attacks or other heart problems than those who did not nap.
In the largest study to date on the health effects of napping, researchers tracked 23,681 healthy Greek adults for an average of about six years. Those who napped for about half an hour at least three times weekly had a 37 percent lower risk of dying from heart attacks or other heart problems than those who did not nap.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
The U.S. Roots Of Islamic Terrorism
It’s been said that Americans learn their geography by fighting wars. Otherwise we remain oblivious to most of the rest of the world. The same could be said of our education in the world’s religions.
Thus the importance of Lawrence Wright’s The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (Alfred A. Knopf, $27.95), a scrupulously researched and well-written account of the rise of radical Islam in the Middle East. It is the story of a movement; but it is also the story of men, Arab and American, and bureaucracies, the CIA and the FBI, that could not communicate with one another.
It begins, brilliantly, with an official of the Egyptian Ministry of Education, who would become much, much more.
Thus the importance of Lawrence Wright’s The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (Alfred A. Knopf, $27.95), a scrupulously researched and well-written account of the rise of radical Islam in the Middle East. It is the story of a movement; but it is also the story of men, Arab and American, and bureaucracies, the CIA and the FBI, that could not communicate with one another.
It begins, brilliantly, with an official of the Egyptian Ministry of Education, who would become much, much more.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Finding Sandalwood Mountain
THE DOCUMENTARY film "Finding Sandalwood Mountain: The Chinese Migration to Hawaii" started simply enough with the desire of producers Greg and Fawn Andermann to learn more about the Chinese experience in Hawaii. Over four years the project took on a life of its own, such that the couple now views it as a catalyst for encouraging understanding between the United States and China, and changing the world, for the better.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
American diet unhealthy for Okinawans
TOKYO -- Tomomi Inose is overweight and diabetic. Her poor health is a result of six decades of U.S. influence on Okinawa. Until a generation ago, residents of Japan's southern island were among the world's longest-lived.
Growing up in postwar Okinawa alongside the U.S. military's largest overseas bases, she developed a bigger appetite for hamburgers and sodas than for the fish and vegetables that sustained prior generations.
"My body instinctively craves for succulent meat," Inose, 46, said at the hospital where her blood-sugar level is tested monthly to monitor the type 2 diabetes that has impaired her vision and increased her risk of heart disease.
The island that boasts more centenarians per capita than anywhere else now has the highest prevalence of obesity in Japan, and life expectancy is falling rapidly.
Growing up in postwar Okinawa alongside the U.S. military's largest overseas bases, she developed a bigger appetite for hamburgers and sodas than for the fish and vegetables that sustained prior generations.
"My body instinctively craves for succulent meat," Inose, 46, said at the hospital where her blood-sugar level is tested monthly to monitor the type 2 diabetes that has impaired her vision and increased her risk of heart disease.
The island that boasts more centenarians per capita than anywhere else now has the highest prevalence of obesity in Japan, and life expectancy is falling rapidly.
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