Brain Drain, Smoking, and Jenny McCarthy
The past few weeks have been rough. I have a lot of project work going on, and I find myself staying up later and later to try to keep up with it all. I guess it’s one of the consequences of trying to build a new company, grow a family, and keep in shape. There just isn’t time to stare blankly into space for a few minutes and recharge the batteries.
I’ve considered trying to make a habit of drinking a glass of wine every night after dinner, but I just can’t get into it. It is, believe it or not, because of my doctor that I’m even trying; my cholesterol is great (well, my good cholesterol is *too* low), but he feels that one glass of red wine per day is good for the heart and strikes a balance that may have escaped over the course of a hectic day. What’s not to like about that kind of advice?
The only problem is, a recent study from Wellesley College and Boston University of more than 1800 people found that the more alcohol a person consumed the smaller their total brain volume. Aging is another factor in decreasing a brain’s size, and it’s this shrinking that has been linked with the progression of dementia, trouble learning new things, memory and cognition. Based on the information provided in the article published on Boston.com, this seems to be only a preliminary study with more in-depth investigation to follow, but why take a chance?
For some people it’s hard to give up that drink, but it’s even harder to give up smoking. The same article indicates that giving up such a vice after a hospital stay is up to 65% more effective when patients are provided with anti-smoking counseling both before leaving the hospital and after they arrive home. The biggest problem, apparently, are the cues of smoking that are much more prominent once someone returns home than while they’re in the hospital, and even those with the best of intentions are apt to fall into old habits once they’re back. I don’t deny it’s a difficult habit to break, but if the help is there, why not use it?
And it’s apparent that more and more people are refusing the help of vaccinations for their children, especially the flu vaccine. Another article on Boston.com explores not only the medical implications of skipping out on your flu vaccine this year, but also the social implications. Two families known to the author had children who died as a result of complications of the flu in their children, and 83 children nationwide died of the disease. Of those 83 children, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention estimated only about 5 or 10 had actually been vaccinated. Overall, 36,000 people die every year, close to the same number as those who die from breast cancer.
Author Carey Goldberg describes a concept of “herd immunity,” which essentially strengthens the effect of a vaccine by allowing a group of inoculated people to, in essence, protect one another by preventing an infection from creeping its way throughout each member of the group. The fewer members of the group that are vaccinated, the weaker the chain, thus giving the flu (or any other virus) the opportunity to break through and begin infecting multiple members of the group.
Dr. Ken Mandl of Children’s Hospital in Boston is cited in the article as saying that children are essentially “little bioterrorists,” because they can incubate and so rapidly propagate a disease among peers, parents and grandparents. In vaccinating them, you not only protect them, but you protect yourself, your parents and the community.
I thought it was a little harsh to think of my son as a “little bioterrorist,” but thinking back I realized that I have gotten sick much more often than I ever had before I had him…and he’s not even in school yet. It’s gotten to the point that my wife and I can almost gauge when we’ll get sick based on how he’s feeling. We’re all even getting over a sinus infection, which he absolutely started, as I write this post.
Unfortunately, I think that parents are paralyzed into thinking that the flu vaccine (and other vaccines, for that matter) could lead to autism in their children, and they therefore don’t take the measures recommended to prevent the infection and spread of these diseases. I’ve written several posts on this blog about this very topic, the most recent of which is here. The problem is that the possibility that vaccinations could cause autism has been so ingrained into our public psyche, we believe that the simplest answer, ceasing vaccinations, is the best one.
Jenny McCarthy exacerbates the problem by appearing on popular Hollywood magazines such as US Weekly and telling the story of her son, who suffered from autism but now is cured. She believes her son’s suffering began when he received his MMR vaccination and had a seizure shortly thereafter. I feel for McCarthy — I really do — but I don’t believe her belief in the cause of her son’s illness, without being substantiated by fact, should be spread to cause concern among parents already concerned about the best course of action for their children. A private, informed conversation should be taking place between parents and their doctors, and proper vaccinations should be discussed in great length to determine their necessity and effectiveness.
Maybe I would be less apt to dismiss McCarthy’s conclusions if one of my children were suffering from the disorder. But then again, maybe not. I just feel that, given the severity of the diseases against which vaccinations protect us, we put our children in greater danger by not protecting them. It is starting to bear out with a resurgence of Measles, and based on the information provided in Carey Goldberg’s article, I’m worried influenza will be next.
I know how I feel about it; what about you? As always, I encourage you to talk to your doctor to make a decision that’s right for you, because it’s a personal decision that involves the saftey of your child. Decisions should not be based on this new type of McCarthyism alone, with its finger pointed squarely at the vaccinations that were intended to help.
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Comments
Joe,
I agree completely. The issues become so much more complex and you have to battle with information coming at you from all sides, completely contradicting each other. And that “something in between” is something only you can come to…it should not be dictated by another party, regardless of how fervently they believe they’re right.
As for the cholesterol problems…I have to say, I enjoy olive oil so much more lately…
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It almost seems a battle of “herd mentality” vs “herd immunity”. It is just sad that so much of the general public has such a difficult time identifying the accuracy of claims that they just assume what they’re being told at the time is gospel. And then there is the other extreme that just assumes everything they’re being told is a lie and cannot be true. It is issues like this that force us to step back and remember that it is OUR responsibility to find out what is in the best interest of our families and ourselves. Maybe it is this side’s argument and maybe it is that side’s…but more than likely it is something in between.
Funny…doesn’t this tie in with the little political situation that exists in the US today?
Great stuff, Mariano. Oh, btw, I have the same “good” cholesterol issue as well. I just use it to justify extra olive oil in my diet, another one of those “tough” problems to work through, right?