SHOULD YOU BECOME A VEGETARIAN?

Last week I reported on beef, and celebrated yesterday by grilling a well-marbeled rib eye on my roof, which is now almost as pristine as the day I purchased this condo more than 30 years ago, save for one plant, Pearl's sunburst, which just bloomed:

Then a sunset over Punchbowl:

And now for the bad news about beef:

Do you need to be a vegetarian to lead a healthy life?

Not surprising, but nevertheless disappointing, for a major study of more than 70,000 Seventh-day Adventists (Protestants, approaching 20 million worldwide, 1.2 million in the U.S., who worship not on Sunday, but conduct services on Saturday, in combination with fellowship, nature walks and charity, while practicing a "healthy" lifestyle) provided a resounding YES!  It is said to be the fastest growing church in the USA.  Maybe they're just living longer.

Thirty five percent of Adventists are vegetarians, most who also adhere to kosher laws and abstain from alcohol, tobacco and drugs.  They maintain close social networks, and like Mormons, have outreach missionaries in over 200 countries and territories on humanitarian missions.  Healthcare is prominent and Loma Linda in Southern California is their largest medical school.   They don't bear arms, but in the 1950's, the U.S. government worked out a deal to have them serve as biological subjects for medical studies.  They, therefore, became over time, a model population to fulfill their patriotic duty.  

Earlier studies showed that Adventists lived from 4 to 10 years longer than the average Californian.  This recent study from Loma Linda University, reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Internal Medicine, included slightly more than half vegetarians.  But you need a legend to understand the results:

  -  vegan (7.6%, no eggs, dairy products, seafood and other meats)

  -  lacto-ovo-vegetarian (28.9%, okay for dairy and eggs, but no seafood nor meat)

  -  pesco-vegetarian (9.8%, okay for eggs, dairy and fish, but no terrestrial meat)

  -  semi-vegetarian (5.5%, ate anything, but meats only once a week)

Slightly half of the subjects were non-vegetarians.  In comparison, 2% of Americans are vegan, with 5% vegetarian and the rest, I guess, meat eaters of some kind.  Two-thirds also drink alcohol:

What were the results of the Loma Linda study led by Michael J. Orlich?  Some of these statements are slightly out of context, and, for reasons not explained, men benefited more than women:

1.  Compared to people like most of us, non-vegetarians, Vegan men were 55% less likely to die as a result of reduced blood supply to the heart, 42% less for cardiovascular causes and 28% less for any cause.  A vegetarian is 12% less likely to die of any cause.  Interesting that there was a 29% reduction of heart disease, but no corresponding benefit for women.

2.  Lacto-ovo-vegetarians reduced their risk of death from any cause by 9%.  

3.  Pesco-vegetarians reduced their risk of death from any cause by 19%.  Let me see, then.  It must be better to add eggs, dairy products and seafood to your diet.  Something must be wrong here.  Then again, if true, an important factor in your diet.

The researchers stated that :

None of this proves that vegetarians live longer than nonvegetarians.

Meaning that they were incredibly conservative or wanted more money to continue their study, and probably both.

Another analysis showed that vegetarians eat cheaper, with a vegan saving $1300/year relative to an meat eater:

So will I become a Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) and convert to a vegan diet?  Heck, no, for I continue to be puzzled at how anyone can believe in something like the afterlife, and I have only a few years left to enjoy wagyu beef.  SDAs liken death to sleeping forever (John 11:1-4) and don't believe in Hell.  Hmm...that seems reasonable to me.   But, aha, there is an inevitable escape clause, for Jesus Christ will return, someday soon, and raise to heaven the righteous dead.  Do SDAs actually buy this???  They do believe that God created the world and life in six days, less than 10,000 years ago.  Also, homosexuality is forbidden and women are subordinate to men.

I had a very expensive $14 Korean garlic chicken bento lunch from Kenny's with beer at Magic Island, where the waves were up to 12 feet face:

The wipeouts were spectacular.  I continue to be amazed that so few surfers drown.  Data is hard to find, but apparently Hawaii has 50 drownings/year, half visitors, and, maybe 4/year from surfing.  Even I got sprayed, but his photographer was indomitable:

I counted six Japanese weddings:

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Andrea, now at 60 MPH, became the first named tropical storm in the Gulf/Atlantic, but will not become a hurricane:

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THE LATEST RENEWABLE ENERGY NEWS

Every so often I review articles from:

1.  U.S. Renewable Energy Action is Brewing in Cities and States:  to quote:

Viewing the progress of clean tech in the U.S. through the lens of national politics can get pretty depressing. Continual gridlock on Capitol Hill, the federal budget sequester, key leadership positions (like administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency) being held hostage by partisan politics – it all makes fertile ground for breeding cynicism and despondency.

However, the report goes on to say that many states and metropolitan areas are leading the way towards sustainability.  The National 2013 U.S. Clean Tech Leadership Index was released two days ago:

If you click on that map the size increases so you can read the rankings.  California is #1 and Hawaii is #10.  Mississippi sits at the bottom.

Hawaii's Public Utilities Commission performed a remarkable public service by delivering "a stinging rebuke to Hawaiian Electric Company" for wide-ranging practices that tended to pad the pockets of their shareholders at the expense of consumers by maintaining non-progressive renewable energy policies.  This was somewhat unexpected because the relatively new chairperson, Mina Morita, our legislative leader for green energy when she was a State Representative, was reasonably accommodating to the local utilities, and regularly included their employees on her staff, until that became an issue.  This Star Advertiser editorial was somewhat arcane, but well explained the situation.

2.  The Solar Duel:  China vs. the United States, also includes Europe, for both are being compromised by the massive exportation of China's silicon photovoltaic systems.  Prices have precipitously fallen, a boon to consumers, but a danger to the general  health of this global industry.

“China and the U.S., and China and the E.U., are in the midst of a blame game as the solar industry is on the brink of collapse — and the tensions could infect technology and commercial development globally,” says John Deutch, the lead author of the study and Institute Professor at MIT. “All the players should understand that the PV industry is globally linked, and jobs and profits are available for those who manufacture and for those who innovate. Given the complex but productive relationships, nations need to find a way to better work together rather than flirt with protectionist measures.” 

The European Union has taken steps:

EU Imposes Duties on Chinese Solar Panels, But Keeps Door Ajar for Talks

Of course, we, too did this two weeks ago:

U.S. imposes tariffs on Chinese solar panels

China has figured out that you can make money from the sun and winds, and now leads the world.  How do our two nations compare?

3.  The title is sufficient, if you've been on the market for a PV system:

Is Solar at Risk of Becoming as Trusted as a Used Car Salesman?

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AMERICA'S GOT TALENT RETURNS TONIGHT

The eighth season of America's Got Talent (AGT) begins tonight with a two-hour program on NBC.  Anyone remember that the winners last year were the Olate Dogs?  Yes, a bunch of dogs jumping around.  Unlike American Idol, any kind of act of any age can qualify.  Previous #1's were all singers, with the first being Bianca Ryan when she was only eleven, and the judges were David Hasselhoff, Piers Morgan and Brandy Norwood, with Regis Philbin as host.  Cowell, himself, then, because of his American Idol involvement, could not serve as a judge for AGT, so he created yet another survivor reality series, The X Factor in 2011.

AGT is the brainchild of Simon Cowell, who started Britain's Got Talent, but, interestingly enough, while AGT appeared in 2006, BGT did not show until 2007.  Their first year for BGT saw judges Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan and Amanda Holden.  The 2012 series was won be Ashleigh and Pudsey, a girl and, yes, her dancing dog.  She won 500,000 pounds ($765,000), but the award has been dropped to 250,000 pounds this year.

The highlight program of any of these shows was, no doubt, the BGT Year 3 (2009) first audition of then 47 year-old Susan Boyle (left) from a village in Scotland.  You just got to click on it to watch the reactions of the judges.  This will be the best 5 minutes and 50 seconds of your day today.  You might even shed a tear or two.  Boyle only came in as runner-up, but her first album that year debuted as the #1 best-seller in charts around the world.    Here she is to the right above at the age of 52.  The winner in 2009 was Diversity, a dance troupe that essentially went nowhere, but still does tours, and can be seen later this year in Limitless.

Similarly, my favorite contestant, then 10-year old Jackie Evancho (right) in Year 5 (2010), only came in as  #2.  However, she that year became the best-selling debut artist of the year and the youngest to both do this and attain platinum status.  Jackie's first live audition on AGT.  She qualified via You Tube.  To the left is Jackie at twelve going on thirteen in January this year.  Winner in 2010 was Michael Grimm, a Mississippi Southern Soul Singer.  He never really hit it big.

The AGT award is $1 million over a 40 year annuity, plus a headline act in Vegas.  The judges this year will be Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, Howard Stern and Mel B, the Scary Spice:

Nick Cannon continues as host.  Auditions are eventually followed by the live shows, this year from the Radio City Music Hall in New York City beginning on July 23.

Incidentally, there are something like 52 countries now doing "Got Talent" TV shows or the equivalent:

Among the promising performers on night one were Anna Christine (another 10 year old superstar?) singing "House of the Rising Sun" and "B Double O T Y."  Why BOOTY?  Tone the Chiefrocca wants only to be a one hit wonder with this tune, which he wrote.  He and his brother will only perform this song if they keep going up the ladder.  How novel.  They want BOOTY to go viral like the Gangnam Style (which, by the way, has been viewed more than 1.6 BILLION times on You Tube--at this writing, BOOTY shows 265 pings) Guy.  Both Anna and Tone gained four votes, so on to Las Vegas.

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MY SECOND FIVE FILM WEEKEND

During the Memorial Day Weekend I went to five films.  This past weekend, I repeated this ordeal:

FILM                                WEEKEND  ROTTEN TOMATOES   MY
                                            RATING    CRITICS AUDIENCE  GRADE

Now You See Me                     2              44%        75%           B

After Earth                              3              12%         44%          B-

Frances Ha                            11               91%        81%          B-

At Any Price                          44              48%         53%         C+

Epic                                        5              61%         67%         ??

Now You See Me is a caper film using magic to befuddle the authorities and audience.  Maybe it was my hearing, but I just could not keep up with the dialogue sufficiently to understand what was totally happening.  I figured it out enough to realize at the end that Mark Ruffalo (right, FBI agent Dylan Rose) was the mastermind, but there were so many loose ends:  how did he gain so much credibility as to bring four second-rate unknowns to the big stage in Las Vegas, and where did he get the knowledge, connections and funds to pull off such an expensive series of ploys.  Clearly, it had something to do with The Eye, of which little was explained, leading, almost surely, to a sequel entitled, THE EYE.  At the end, it was a challenging enough of a film that one might be tempted to see it a second time to more adequately appreciate the nuances.  The most endearing character was Melanie Laurent (right) as Alma Varga, a semi-mysterious interloper from Interpol, mostly because of her French accent, even though I couldn't understand half her English, and none of her French, yet this was my PhD language.

After Earth had some excellent animation, but was a weak movie with huge technical loopholes.  What kind of idiocy overcame Will Smith and his son Jaden to team with M. Night Shyamalan, whose last few directing fiascos have been ignominiously embarrassing.  A 12% review is truly bad.  Hangover 3 got a 20% rating.  On the other hand, John Travolta's Battlefield Earth, yes another Earth, got only 2%.  I found Disney's 2009 Earth, though, garnering 87%.

For the record you got to admire Will for promoting his family, even though the marriage to Jada Pinkett is now unofficially thought to be an open one.  From all reports, it was the wife who first found another lover, Marc Anthony, former husband of Jennifer Lopez, all of 43, now dating 25-year old backup dancer Casper Smart.  As the world turns.

Frances Ha reminded me of Manhattan and Annie Hall, with Greta Gerwig playing Diane Keaton, and without Woody Allen's jokes.  Like Manhattan, Ha is in black and white, but the sense of the characterization leans towards Annie Hall.  Ha, incidentally, is not Chinese.  Ha is the contraction of a longer name beginning with Ha.  This was a charming film, but, kind of sad, in that at the end Frances seems to have given up on her dreams, even though she knew she was not much good at dancing.  Is a realistic and comfortable "rest of your life" better than a torturous existence bereft with disappointments and insults?  This is the final fork in the road now facing the rest of my life.

At Any Price has only been out for six weeks and has already sunk so low that it only made $23,000 for the entire weekend.  Life of Pi has been around for 28 weeks and earned $22,000.  Even though Monsanto and Genetically Modified Organisms [the prevalence of GMO crops: corn (88%), cotton (94%), soy beans (93%), and papaya (75%--I think it's higher)] are are in the headlines today, the drama on a modern-day farm I guess cannot draw crowds.  Dennis Quaid played a glad-handing cheater, who (and I guess this is why he took the part), gains a conscious at the end and almost redeems himself.  You wonder, though, if those fingerprints on that hammer will some day come back to haunt the family.  Ah a sequel.  Quaid and Zac Efron sneak back at night to retrieve this murder weapon, but gets caught, and is somehow rescued by their now famous older son/brother...nah, that's indeed a stretch, especially in Dekalb County, Illinois.

I said last week that I don't go to animated films.  Well I snuck into Epic, and suffered.  First, it was embarrassing, for every adult had at least one child.  Interesting that they all sat so far back in the theater.  No one was in front of me, and I was in the first row of the upper deck.  Why did I go?  Now You See Me had just ended and Epic was just starting, plus, what a list voices:  Jason Sudeikis as Professor Bomba, Amanda Seyfried (Bomba's daughter), Colin Farrell (Ronin the leader of the good leafmen), Beyonce Knowles (Queen of the leafmen), Christoph Waltz (Mandrake, the leader of the bad ones, the Bobbans), Pitbull (as Bufo, a bullfrog), and Steven Tyler (you know, the guy from American Idol and Aerosmith, as a glowworm).  After less than half an hour, I eased out of the building.

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GUT BACTERIA CAN PREVENT OBESITY, SALT MIGHT NOT BE BAD AND HOW TO LIVE LONGER

There are numerous problems with medical research dealing with nutrition and health.  First, they keep contradicting each other, second, pharmaceutical companies have far too much influence on standards of "good" health, and government agencies keep stumbling over each other.  Here is my recent compilation of recent studies:

1A.  My posting two days ago on beef has an update.  Hardening of the arteries may be caused by a malign interaction of certain compounds in meat with certain bacteria in your intestines.  Could there, then, someday be a cure for this bad relationship with the elimination of these germs?

1B.  It is more and more appearing that you someday will be able to control your weight by adjusting your gut microbes.  A 200-pound person is home to 6 pounds of bacteria.  How many?  Well, 100 trillion or so of them, most in your intestinal tract.  Not only obesity, but the following health conditions seem capable of being treated by adjusting your micro-bio system.:

Multiple sclerosis     Type 1 diabetes     Rheumatoid arthritis
Osteoarthritis           Lupus                    Inflammatory bowel diseases
Selenium                 Fibromyalgia          Chronic skin conditions
Kidney problems      Urinary conditions   Degenerative conditions
Crohn's disease                                    Myalgic encephalomyelitis

When will this treatment be available?  Actually, this bio-strategy is already in use.

2.  A drastic cut in salt intake does no good, and, in fact, can kill you.  Lower salt diets increase death from heart disease.  The irony is that the American Medical Association released this latter information just three months after the U.S. government began a public health campaign for companies selling food to reduce the use of salt.  The Department of Agriculture considers salt as Public Enemy #1, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now appears to be saying, consume salt normally, whatever that means.  Well, for one, after strenuous exercise, feel free to eat or drink more salt.  According to the New York Times today, in 1972, when the National Institutes of Health began their campaign to prevent hypertension (high blood pressure), no meaningful experiments had been done.  The rat studies used concentrations 60 times more than what humans consume.  Try taking 60 times more salt and you too will be affected.   Since then, studies have failed to provide evidence.  Most populations tend to utilize about a teaspoonful and and a half.  The Feds want you to reduce to less than a teaspoon.  From all the above, I would think that one to two teaspoons (including the sodium chloride from fast foods and other sources) should not be particularly bad, especially on the high end if you sweat a lot.  What is the truth?  I really don't know, but I know I won't now feel so guilty when I attend a luau (Hawaiian feast, which is very high in salt) or have a Zippy's bento.  The bottom line is use your best judgement while watching your blood pressure, if it is high.  Notwithstanding, be aware that too much salt is, probably, bad for  you.

3.  The first drug to increase your lifespan is already available.  Called rapamycin, this compound not only prolongs life, but wards off aging-related diseases.  While the data is sketchy, something along the lines of a 10% increase might be expected.  It is already approved for transplant rejection, but is not yet a medical solution for old age, as only tests with mice have been conducted.  Females got a higher boost.  You might want to give Rapamycin Holdings Inc. a stock analysis.  Also known as Sirolimus (international name) and Rapamune (Pfizer), rapamycin was discovered by Brazilian researchers as a product of Streptomyces hygroscopicus  from a Rapa Nui (Easter Island) soil sample.  Yes, this is where the moai (monolithic human figures) can be found.

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CARTOONS ON SATURDAY

An uncertainty about this blog and others is that we're not sure exactly what we can use and quote.  If we cite the cartoon (which really doesn't need to be identified, for the initials are prominently indicated), as this blog earns zero revenues and I'm not gaining any greater eminence by performing this public service, I should be able to now and then use them.  I hope.  Anyway, this is a Saturday, so let me bring you up to date on world events with cartoons.

Let me start with Rob Rogers of the Pittsburg Gazette.  The Republicans make a big deal of the IRS giving the Tea Party difficulty.  Did you know that political organizations cannot plead charity?

Here Rogers dumps on Michele Bachmann, something I've regularly also done (click on one of my Huffington Post articles):

Might as well finish with Michele:

From the ridiculous to the relevant, as hurricane season begins today for the Atlantic and Central Pacific.  The East Pacific already began two weeks ago, and is up to its second named storm, Hurricane Barbara, two days ago, that slammed into Mexico.  NOAA predicts that the Atlantic season will be extremely active, with 13 to 20 tropical storms, 7-11 becoming hurricanes, and 3-6 being at least Category 3 (higher than 110 miles per hour).  Thankfully, Hawaii is projected to have a mild season.  Hard to believe, but the last hurricane was Iniki, 21 years ago.  Iniki devastated the island of Kauai:

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