Wabi Sabi - An Inoculant for Perfectionism

Perfectionism can have a devastating effect on mental health. The Japanese concept of wabi-sabi can help: Escape the perfectionist trap with the philosophy of "wabi-sabi"

CVS, Amazon, and the Disruption of Traditional Primary Care

Traditional primary care practices and healthcare systems should be quaking in their boots. The article CVS, Amazon Deals Might Be Good for Patients, Bad for Primary Care, gives the good and bad of the disruption of healthcare. We are in the early days of this transformation that will include technology and place a much greater emphasis on preventative care/wellness. Exciting times!

+For some of the challenges, see this article extracted from a recent Harvard Business Review: Amazon's Foray into Primary Care Won't Be Easy "....a fundamental question looms: Can profit-driven entrepreneurship and bottom-up innovation make the U.S. health care system work anywhere nearly as well as those in places like France, Sweden, Norway, Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Germany, and Switzerland? They may be relatively dull, but they keep people healthy at an affordable cost.".

How to be Bold

Anxiety short-circuits many decision-making processes for a wide range of the population. The article How to Be Bold discusses the implications and how to overcome anxiety inertia. Thanks, Laura!

Fasting and Cancer

I am interested in extending lifespan and health span, so I have read many papers on caloric restriction. Fasting to combat cancer is somewhat controversial but gaining momentum. Dr. Michael Gregor over at NutritionFacts has a great series of introductory videos for you:

• Fasting for Cancer: What About Cachexia?
• Fasting Before and After Chemotherapy and Radiation - mostly in vitro (test tube) and pre-clinical (mice).
• A third video, yet to be released, looks at the literature on humans...

+For a decent scientific review on caloric restriction and cancer, see this 2018 paper from Valter Longo's Lab: Starvation, Stress Resistance, and Cancer

Immersive Rights in the Metaverse

The Metaverse, "a broad societal shift in how we engage digital content, going from flat media viewed in the 3rd person to immersive experiences engaged in the 1st person," is coming, ready or not. As with all powerful technologies, we must consider their use and implications. The article The case for demanding "immersive rights" in the Metaverse touches on many of the potential issues. This article reminded me of some of the early warnings on the use and potential abuse of social media.

Immersive Virtual Environments Eases Pain During Hand Surgery

The article, Gaming tech could ease pain during surgery, reports the findings of a recent preliminary study looking at the effects of immersive VR on surgical pain: Virtual reality immersion compared to monitored anesthesia care for hand surgery. Adding this to my reading list.

Life Lessons Gleaned from Free Soloing El Capitan

The advice and life lessons came rapidly in the podcast, How free solo climber Alex Honnold faces fear. The interviewer, Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist at Penn, was positively giddy during the interview. This episode is well worth your time.

Rethinking Alzheimers

Last week I mentioned the re-examination of a foundational paper whose findings have been questioned. That re-examination, coupled with the little to no progress in the prevention or treatment of the disease, has led to renewed interest in alternate theories. The article Alzheimer's Might Not Be Primarily a Brain Disease, examines some of the leading alternate views.

Anxiety Screening Recommended for all Adults

A panel of experts gathered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a draft guidance this week recommending all adults 65 and younger are screened for anxiety: Health Panel Recommends Anxiety Screening for All Adults Under 65. One of the issues mentioned is what the U.S. will do with the increased volume of newly diagnosed anxious adults. The mental health infrastructure was inadequate before the pandemic. During the pandemic, the existing volume of patients struggled to find licensed mental health providers. It is unlikely the system will be able to keep up with all the newly diagnosed patients in need of services.

Stool Banking - Your Poop May Hold the Secret to Longevity

As we learn more about the microbiome and the aging process, the two are intertwined--especially around inflammation. Ten years ago, when trying to convince my chairman about the importance of this emerging area, I remember telling him that as we learn how important the microbiome is to health and wellbeing, the inevitable outcome would be the prevalence of personal stool banking. The article Your Poop May Hold the Secret to Long Life focuses on the logistical and ethical questions surrounding storing your stool.

Eric Topol

Eric Topol is constantly tweeting out fantastic resources. My favorite finds from this week:

• Long covid—an update for primary care | The BMJ features a great infographic.
• SARS-CoV-2 infection drives an inflammatory response in human adipose tissue through infection of adipocytes and macrophages | Science Translational Medicine investigates why obesity is a risk factor for severe Covid.
• Multimodal biomedical AI | Nature Medicine covers the promise of artificial intelligence in medicine.

Humans Evolved with their Microbiomes

The gut microbiome plays many vital roles in health and well-being. Humans evolved with their microbiomes, and like genes, gut microbes pass from one generation to the next discusses the co-evolution of humans and their microbial passengers.

The Search for New Pain Medication

The Economist had a great article on the search for new analgesics: Better medicines are needed to relieve pain

Quote of the Week

"Blind belief in authority is the greatest enemy of truth." - Albert Einstein.