Brian's World

We are what we eat! It's one of those cliché' statements that are both overused and true. That's why a recent study by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences caught so much attention across American media. It's a study that explored the correlation between fried foods and common mental health illnesses, like anxiety and depression.

The study found that people who consume high amounts of fried foods are at a 7% higher risk of depression, and a 12% higher risk of anxiety. It was a population-based study of 140, 728 participants over 11.3 years. "After excluding participants diagnosed with depression within the first two years, a total of 8,294 cases of anxiety and 12,735 cases of depression were found in those that consumed fried food, while specifically fried potatoes were found to have a 2% increase in risk of depression over fried white meat," writes Taylor Nicioli of CNN. "The study had also found that the participants consuming more than one serving of fried food regularly were more likely to be younger men."

Researchers pinpointed a known contaminant, Acrylamide, as the culprit. In fact, the World Health Organization has recognized Acrylamide as a human health concern. The Food and Drug Administration details the contaminant as, "a chemical that can form in some foods during high-temperature cooking processes, such as frying, roasting, and baking. Acrylamide in food forms from sugars and an amino acid that are naturally present in food; it does not come from food packaging or the environment." It's one big (or tiny) explosion of chemicals in our foods, including some of our favorites like French Fries.

"When high carbohydrate foods such as potatoes are cooked at these temperatures, their natural sugars and the amino acid asparagine, undergo a chemical change that producing the compound acrylamide," writes Devon Mendez of The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. Dr. Walter Willett of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health shared, "potatoes are a concern for possible effects of mood because they can cause large surges in blood sugar and then hormonal responses to these surges. However, these surges are partly blunted by fat, which would be provided by the fat from frying.”

But, is the depression/anxiety the result of the diet? Or, is the diet the result of the mental illnesses? It's common practice for real-world coping to real-world (outside the realms of the study) problems to involve infamous 'comfort foods'. “Unhealthy foods are detrimental to the microbiome and can exacerbate depressive symptoms, but at the same time those experiencing low mood tend to be more inclined to reach for ‘comfort’ foods such as fried foods and desserts,” says Dr. Uma Naidoo, Harvard University-trained nutritional psychiatrist and author of “This is Your Brain on Food.”

Dr. David Katz had similar thoughts, "however, the causal pathway could just as readily go the other way: people with anxiety/depression turn to ‘comfort food’ with increasing frequency for some semblance of relief.” Katz is the founder of the nonprofit True Health Initiative, a global coalition of experts dedicated to evidence-based lifestyle medicine.

Let's go deeper than the headlines were offering and devise a healthier and brighter life. This is episode 180. Leave notes and comments on the show's Instagram. Feel free to reach out to me directly on my Instagram and Twitter.

We're a long way from the sandbox. Smiling takes a little effort from this distance. We were born into innocence without the slightest clue of race or class. We probably stared at ourselves in a mirror (as babies - maybe we were carried into the bathroom and mum was washing her hands with us in her arms) and didn't even recognize ourselves. Those days are long gone. Now, not only are we critical of our own reflections, but we've got opinions about those around us too. We've grown into full blown adults, completely aware of our fears, concerns, inhibitions, complaints, and everything else that comes with the daily life of adulthood. For some of us, the journey from childhood to adulthood curls us up into pessimistic, skeptical, fearful, and isolated adults whose growth buds like an ingrown hair.

According to World Counts, 385,000 babies are born across the world each day. There's poetry there - 385,000 new stories begin across the world each day. Stories that are complete with failure, triumph, pain, loss, and other emotional climaxes. You can guarantee that each of those newborns will experience some of that in their life. Some could be born right in the middle of poverty or war and wouldn't know a thing. The National Institutes of Health says that the newborn infant is only conscious at a minimal level. Phillip David Zelazo of the University of Toronto says that children's growth of consciousness happens in 4 stages, leading to a "complex processing of higher-order and subordination". He also says that adults go through similar phases as they continue in life. The days pass on, some cloudy and others bright, and we continue to learn how to process it all. It's all part of the process of shedding the innocence of childhood. We get some bumps and bruises along the way and according to Medicine Today, some people become cynical, emotional, and behavioral crippling as they shed their innocence. Some develop gradual, or sudden, dangerous skepticism. The "gauntlet" of life is the painful bombardment of responsibility.

In fact, I've found that "The Gauntlet Theory" reveals a fork in the road (or, many of them) to the grave that points to adverse reactions to some of life's tough choices. The heartbreak that turned a romantic's heart cold, the thief who stole the soul of the generous, etc. The Psalmist Hayley Williams of Paramore sings about how tough this period can be in their song, Ain't It Fun. Losing that childhood (and even adolescent) innocence is a hard process. Life begins to happen and there's no one else to carry our burdens. We begin to experience social, spiritual, romantic, financial, health, and career pain along with an unspoken illusion of expectation of dealing with it all - perfectly.

Today's episode explores this journey to understand how skeptic adults are made. The dark cloud of adulthood is watching people who used to love to smile forget its power. We'll explore how The Gauntlet Theory takes a toll on our souls and creates two emotional responses based on research from Better Help. Then we'll analyze the science of defensiveness and discover the cure to it all, based on research from Science Daily. Our goal is to improve our connections with each other and seek other solutions to coping with adulthood instead of diving into a pool of skepticism, isolation, and fear. Those traits are not conducive to empowerment.

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Buffalo Bills S Damar Hamlin's collapse from cardiac arrest is a sports moment that we'll never forget. The National Institute of Health says, "cardiac arrest occurs when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops pumping. If this happens, blood stops flowing to the brain and other vital organs. Cardiac arrests are caused by certain types of arrhythmias that prevent the heart from pumping blood." Less than 12% of patients survive the ordeal, according to heart.org. I would argue that Hamlin's survival rate was higher given the speed and quality of care he was given on the field.

According to CNN, medical staff from both sidelines was on the field and administering CPR to Hamlin within 10 seconds. The ambulance was on the field within 5 minutes. We couldn't see what was happening but the looks on other players's faces told the story. It left us asking questions and trying to process the initial shock of what we had just witnessed. Victimsupport.org says that the rollercoaster of emotions we all were feeling is typical responses from anyone who would witness such a tragedy. We definitely didn't want to watch the rest of the game and apparently league officials felt the same way. The NFL's VP of Football Operations Troy Vincent was very vocal in his response to the tragedy, highlighting how the league had no intention of continuing play. He maintains that the only concern was Hamlin's health. It was a rough night in Cincinnati but it only took a few days for the sun to shine. 

Hamlin woke up from a medically induced coma on Jan. 5th and was able to breathe on his own again, just 24 hours later. He was then transferred to Buffalo General Hospital to be released on Jan. 11th. That's a less than two week recovery! Remarkable. Recent reports indicate that he's still got a fairly convoluted road to recovery ahead but Buffalo Bills Head Coach Sean McDermott says that Hamlin has been looking (and feeling) great. "It's limited, just overall, but he comes in, and I know he just started today or yesterday, just trying to get back to a little bit of a routine and just get himself acclimated again," McDermott said. "And taking it one step, one baby step, at a time." He says that Hamlin has been in the practice facility almost daily. 

Things are looking up! But what's the light at the end of the tunnel? Could Damar Hamlin be on track to return to playing the game he loves? Let's explore what life looks like for cardiac arrest survivors and compare it to Damar Hamlin's case. We believe that we could discover a roadmap to his return to football. We'll also explore Brian's proposed solution to lowering cardiac arrest fatality numbers, high prices for AEDs and more. 

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I'm not quite sure who is remotely interested in purchasing one, but the reports of a deadly VR headset being made are true. It's a (genius) piece of technology designed by the founder of Oculus, Palmer Luckey. He sold the company to Facebook for $2 Billion in 2014 and they now use his designs and virtual reality research as the base of its 'Metaverse'. 

His announcement of his latest work -- the deadly VR headset -- dominated headlines as many were in disbelief. “The idea of tying your real life to your virtual avatar has always fascinated me – you instantly raise the stakes to the maximum level and force people to fundamentally rethink how they interact with the virtual world and the players inside it,” Luckey wrote in his now-viral blog post. “Only the threat of serious consequences can make a game feel real to you and every other person in the game”.

It certainly does raise the stakes. There's no denying that. But, the question is, does it raise them 'too high'? Even he has concerns. “There are a huge variety of failures that could occur and kill the user at the wrong time,” he wrote. “This is why I have not worked up the balls to actually use it myself”. An article from ARS Technica points to similar ideas in gaming-tech but nothing like this - nothing deadly, you know? This thing basically triggers an explosive charge once you die in a game. Luckey shares that it's got a ways to go before it's ready. It currently just sits on his desk.

“The bad news is that so far, I have only figured out the half that kills you,” he wrote. “The perfect-VR half of the equation is still many years out”. He shares that it uses “three explosive charge modules” which are tied to a “narrow-band photosensor that can detect when the screen flashes red at a specific frequency”. 

“When an appropriate game-over screen is displayed, the charges fire, instantly destroying the brain of the user,” he said. Is it legal? Will it be available? We've done some digging to get some answers on episode 176.

I'm reluctant to say that I had a "bad" summer but it certainly was quite the load. One that I'll never forget. Even the bad moments are key lessons, though. 

Scientists call that approach the "growth mindset". The opposite is called the "fixed mindset". It's hinged on the idea that experiences in our life, good or bad, always present opportunities for self-improvement. According to Mindset Health, Dr. Carol Dweck was the first to describe the 'growth-mindset' and its benefits to human nature. Dweck writes, "the passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset. This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives." 

It certainly helped me get through my hellish-summer. Another thing that helped me was simply relying on the muscle-memory of simply being me; nothing more, nothing less. I find myself panicking in tough situations because I lose sight of who I am. We all have been there and some of us are better with it than others. Either way, the key is tap into muscle memory and handle adversity as our characters and personalities see fit. Nothing more, nothing less. Oxford writes," even the simplest everyday actions involve a complex sequence of tensing and relaxing many different muscles. For most of these actions we have had repeated practice over our lifetime, meaning that these actions can be performed faster, more smoothly and more accurately. Over time, with continual practice, actions as complicated as riding a bike, knitting, or even playing a tune on a musical instrument, can be performed almost automatically and without thought." I saved a lot of time during this summer's emergency moments by tapping into the automated tasks (and muscle-memory) of my being. The better we get at being ourselves, the better we get at life.

A whole diet also helped me. I usually would snack all day but I went into this summer with the idea that I would be sure to anchor my days with full meals. I'm glad I did because it powered me up for all the stress I would face. You see, food is energy (in fact, they call "calories" energy in Jamaica - God, I love that place). Just like "nickel and diming" our cars at pump keeps us on "E", so does not eating full meals. Kaiser Permanente writes, "the stomach and small intestines absorb the glucose [from food consumption] and then release it into the bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream, glucose can be used immediately for energy or stored in our bodies, to be used later."  Making sure that we're well-fed plays a great role in making sure that we're our best selves. Also, food is love. 

See? It wasn't a completely terrible summer because there were some lessons in it. There's always a silver lining, you know? Let's close Season VII with this introspective episode on my tough summer and the lessons that it provided. See you in Season VIII! 

Who would ever think that 'rumors' would have such a well-documented history? Well, I guess that actually does makes sense. The spreading of these weightless truths seem to be a natural extension of communication itself. There's a science behind everything and today we'll dive into the science of rumors. 

Merriam-Webster defines rumor as "talk or opinion widely disseminated with no discernible source," or, "a statement or report current without known authority for its truth." Research revealed historic practice of rumor-spreading, dating all the way to the ancient romans and their goddess of rumors, Fame. "This goddess was represented as a woman always in motion, constantly shouting and spreading good and bad news," writes Crescimbene et al (2012). "This winged monster allegorically represented rumors that arise, spread, gain credibility, do not distinguish between truth and falsity, and amplify and distort the facts at will."

Centuries later, we find ourselves still tongue-tied with half truths. We used to play a game in school named 'Telephone', which practically prepared us for the swarm of rumor-spreading that awaited us in adulthood. It was an innocent game of whispering down the line but rumormongering as an adult and professional can be dangerous. They can cause mass-hysteria and in fact, rumors have fueled wars. In 1942, the American government saw the risks of these rumors and spearheaded rumor research under the "Rumor Project".  Crescimbene et al continues, "To fight rumors that were deemed dangerous to civil morality and national security, the U.S. government decided to set up institutional committees; at the same time, social scientists began to study the phenomenon of rumors." 

Rumors are the fabric of various public relations tactics, also. I often re-visit one of my favorite campaigns, The Torches of Freedom. It's the brainchild of PR-Guru and legend, Edward L. Bernays. He used the power of rumor to change the narrative surrounding women who smoke and turned the habit into a sign of equality for women (to men). It spread like wildfire and powered the tobacco industry.

Recent research separates the different types of rumors in an effort to focus on what's most important: the dangerous and deadly ones. Sure, we may spend a Friday night at the local pub, sharing a sports rumor, or two. That's nothing compared to sharing a rumor that causes public health emergencies, terrorist behavior, or war. "We should distinguish between rumor and gossip, as each appears to function differently in its pure state," writes Rosnow and Foster for the American Psychological Association. Gordon Allport and Leo Postman are hailed as two prominent rumor researchers and they took an early attempt at distinguishing the importance of rumors. They created the 'basic law of rumor', an equation that sounds promising (pretty sturdy title, you know?) but proved to be ineffective as researchers in the common-era discovered that the law ignored the emotional context of rumor. 

Today, researchers spend their time understanding the different types of rumors by the person sharing it and the world around them. There are all sorts of clues in why they spread. Let's get to the bottom of it on Episode 174 and pledge to fight the deadly and dangerous ones. 

We've been swamped with all sorts of shocking and historical headlines in recent years. There was one that wasn't necessarily puzzling, more like intriguing. Society really lended it's attention to it, you know? That headline was titled, "The Great Resignation". It sounds like a movie and it may very well become one. It highlights an unprecedented time in American history where a record number of workers walked out of their jobs. 

According to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 47 million Americans quit their jobs in 2021. This wave of resignations was spurred by the strains of the pandemic but studies show that it was a ticking time bomb all along. A 2022 Pew Research survey exposed the truths about the American labor force and the harsh, sometimes exhausting, environments that our industries have created. Recently resigned workers point to 'quality of work' fallacies like unfair pay, stagnation, disrespect (towards the employee), and limited flexibility as reasons they left their jobs. Some were pointing to the more obvious concerns that the pandemic brought about like needing to be home with their children during virtual learning. A very small percentage of people were concerned about the COVID-19 vaccine requirements that was implemented during the height of the pandemic.

As highlighted by Joseph Fuller and William Kerr in the Harvard Business Review, "what we are living through is not just short-term turbulence provoked by the pandemic but rather the continuation of a long-term trend." You see, I believe that we are entering a new state of workforce here in the states. A moment in history that I believe will be healthy for us all as it serves as a reminder to employers to value the employees and curate healthy environments for them to work in. Greg Iacurci from CNBC feels the same way. In fact, in his article from last week (Apr. 11), he wrote, "These workers will likely account for a good deal of churn in the labor market as the so-called Great Resignation continues, and this suggests employers may need to reconsider pay, benefits and other workplace issues." “The power is going to the employee right now,” said Tim Glowa, who leads Grant Thornton’s employee listening and human capital services team. “They are in the driver’s seat.”

The driver's seat, the vehicle, and the journey; I believe the labor market has set its sights for brighter days. The power has returned to the talent and employers are being held accountable for greed. Let's investigate what's behind the "Great Resignation" and see where we stand in all of this. No policy, just facts. 

Let's get into all on Episode 171. Connect on Instagram, Twitter, or by email at [email protected].

On March 13th 2022, we were robbed of an hour of sleep. It's called the "spring forward" and it's the kickoff of Daylight Savings time (DST) here in the United States of America. According to National Geographic, about 70 countries practice DST. It was initially implemented in Port Arthur, Ontario in 1908 but it's biggest implementation came in Germany during World War I, 1916. We've come a long way since then and recent research has put a strain on our century-old habit of playing with the clocks. There's new legislation coming out of Capitol Hill that could make Daylight Savings Time the permanent measure of time in the United States of America beginning in 2023.

They call it the Sunshine Protection Act of 2022. It passed with unanimous votes in the Senate and must now pass in the House. Then, President Biden can sign it into law. It's brought up some heavy discussion about the cause & effect of making such a change. There's been conversation about what it can do to our bodies and the benefits (& negatives) of both standard and daylight savings time changes. If you ask me, the problem is in the changes, in general. 

You see, many researchers are critical of Daylight Savings because of what it does to the circadian rhythm. “Daylight saving time feels kind of like jetlag from traveling across time zones," Dr. Angela Holliday-Bell told ABC News last month. She's a pediatrician and certified clinical sleep specialist. “Your body needs time to readjust to a new light/dark cycle, so it can be hard on the body and hard on sleep," Holliday-Bell continued. That 'cycle' she refers to is the Circadian Rhythm. “It dictates all the processes that occur in your body -- including sleep, wake and digestion,” said Holliday-Bell. Even the immune system is controlled by your circadian rhythm, meaning "when you lose an hour, you’re losing some immune function as well," she explains.

DST is considered a 'deadly weekend' by many experts because of the strain that losing an hour of sleep puts on us. Many point to the uptick in deadly car wrecks as evidence of how abrasive the change can be. Others focus on the risks of heart attack, stroke, and other complications during the weekend of spring forward. "According to the American Heart Association, in addition to the fatigue, the transition can also affect your heart and brain. Hospital admissions for an irregular heartbeat pattern known as atrial fibrillation, as well as heart attacks and strokes, increase in the first few days of daylight saving time," writes Dr. Acholonu for ABC News.

It's worth noting that this charade with our circadian rhythm could be the actual issue - not DST itself. Let's explore what a permanent Daylight Savings Time could spell for us and then decide if it's something we need, let alone want. 

Episode 170! Enjoy.