Let’s face it, the common cold ranks pretty high in the pantheon of annoying illnesses. It is nowhere near as aggressive or life threatening as pancreatic cancer for instance, but it creates just enough discomfort to significantly hinder your productivity and quality of life in the short term. As we probably all know from experience, constantly sneezing, getting the chills, feeling tired, and dealing with sinus pressure due to a cold or flu can make life pretty miserable for any of us. Thanks to modern science and medicine, we now have over the counter medications at our disposal to alleviate most of the uncomfortable symptoms of the common cold. There is a very important point to make here about over the counter cold/flu medications, and it goes something like this: the truth is that over the counter cold/flu medications merely alleviate the symptoms associated with the common cold and do not deal with the underlying cause. In plain english, while DayQuil or Sudafed might get you to stop sneezing and coughing all over the place for 4ish hours at a time while you fight off a cold, neither of them really do anything to correct the root cause that brought about the cold in the first place. I remember how “duped” I felt when I first learned this fact – “oh… no wonder the sinus pressure and sneezing bouts always return with a vengeance ~3.5 hours after my last dose” – I thought to myself. Regardless though, we should be thankful that we live in a time where we have remedies to quell the annoying symptoms of a cold. Can you imagine having to constantly deal with flu like symptoms all day every day for 10 straight days with no periods of relief while you try to be productive? Continue reading The nuisance also known as the common cold, and how to avoid it
Month: June 2016
Knowledge is power… wait, is that really true?
The merriam-webster dictionary defines knowledge as: “the fact or condition of knowing something with familiarity gained through experience or association”. The same dictionary also defines power as: “the ability to act or produce an effect”.
Whether we human beings want to admit it or not, all of us are power hungry to varying extents. The preceding statement might not be politically correct, but it is the blatant truth. The natural desire for power is nothing to be ashamed of because it is a very fundamental part of human nature. If we look closely, we find that our thirst for power is readily apparent at almost every level of human development. For example “terrible twos” cry, scream, and throw tantrums in a bid to bend the actions of their parents to their will. Little girls love the absolute control they have over their dolls and dollhouses. Teenage boys love the measure of control they wield over the video games or musical instruments they might have mastered. Company CEOs love the control they have over the vision and employees of their respective companies. The general theme with power is as follows – those who have it will in many cases do whatever it takes to keep it, while those who do not yet have power will either try all sorts of things to get it for themselves, or spend an eternity complaining about their lack of power. This has always been and will continue to be the way of the world simply because something very fundamental to our base nature cannot stand the feeling of powerlessness. As a result of this dynamic, the subject of gaining power has sustained a remarkably high level of interest in our collective human consciousness. We humans always want to know the answer to the following simple question… How do I get more power? Continue reading Knowledge is power… wait, is that really true?
How to lose weight effectively
Youth is a truly remarkable gift that most of us do not fully appreciate until we’ve moved past it. The vigor and vitality that comes with youth has allowed some of our fellow humans to achieve amazing physical and intellectual feats. Think of Sir Isaac Newton developing Calculus at age 26, Albert Einstein propounding his general theory of relativity by age 35, or a 23 year old Usain Bolt running a ridiculously fast 100m dash (in 9.58 seconds) at the 2009 track and field world championships. Also among the myriad of amazing “perks” that come with youth is having a quick metabolism. Ever notice how children can generally eat pretty much anything without putting on much weight if at all? Or how young boys in their teens and early twenties seem to get ravenously hungry every 2 hours? Well, the reason behind this dynamic is because young people need plenty of food to fuel growth, as well as to maintain normal bodily function. After the age of about 20 (when most of us stop growing in height), the average person only needs a fraction of that food intake to maintain normal bodily function. In addition to needing less food, the quality of the food you eat as you grow older should be relatively high if you are to maintain good health. In the ideal case, each person would adjust their diet to one rich in fruits, green vegetables, nuts, beans and seeds as they enter their 30s and 40s. Continue reading How to lose weight effectively
