I feel like you hit a new level of excellence in your "bottom lines" section, which was measured by the fact that I laughed out loud at least three times reading it.
I'm not sure any stores except pharmacies even have sel-tests on the shelf any longer. Maybe a maxi-store might have some, in the hygiene-section. As for face covers, apart from moslems only obviously mentally disturbed people still use those (unless it is for actual real reasons, like a dentist).
Had to endure the Swedish rail-system recently. Full six car X2000-train, no face covers, no restrictions, and not a single mention of Covid. Had some lovely pass-the-time chat with tourists from faraway lands though, marveling at the freedom we enjoy in Sweden.
I sometimes notice these things, such as when supermarkets put face diapers on sale near the check-out or the like. I'm rarely visiting pharmacies, so I really don't know, esp. since I'm fortunate not to be very sick, or even come down with a cold (last one was in spring 2019).
I regularly commute by train, and in summer one gets to chat with tourists: they have so mane stereotypes about 'the North', it boggles their minds when confronted with, well, reality.
One of my favourite misunderstandings is the size of Sweden, goes for Norway too. Many, if not most, seem to think Sweden stops some 100km north of Stockholm. Their faces when I tell them that Stockholm is in the southern to middle part - always priceless!
Same as when one tells them Norway borders Russia.
Figuring out what causes the seasonality in seasonal illnesses would be great. It is interesting that for respiratory infections the temperate zone regions tend to have one hump -- winter -- while more equatorial regions, especially those that have monsoons have a 2 hump pattern. This has lead to a lot of speculation that it has to do with people congregating indoors in the winter, and it is unrealistic to believe this has no effect, but as evidence against this theory we have the nation of Singapore. Fairly early on in its history Singapore invested heavily in air conditioning in government and private office buildings. The objective was to make it possible for people to work when it was hottest. This produced a remarkable behavioural change. Before, when it was hottest, people stayed at home, and did not work or socialise much. After, everybody huddled in the air conditioned buildings and worked like crazy. If 'people congregating together' was the leading cause of seasonality in respiratory infections we would expect the seasonality patterns to change. But they didn't. This is all very puzzling, as as to date the theories proposed to explain this 'it has to do with prevailing winds' and 'it has to do with relative humidity' seem a lot like special pleading. Though how we are to make an experiment to test such theories remains a hard problem.
But then you have to see why when Sweden started adding vitamin D to milk we didn't see respiratory infections fall off a cliff in the wintertime. :) Annoying these things which do not appear to have a single main cause.
Given that the stuff added to milk is fish oil, I am skeptical. I also take vitamin D supplements all winter long. I would love a reason to confirm that my belief is rational, but honesty compels me to see that the evidence is thin.
I supplement with fish oil, magnesium, zinc, vitamin D & C. Even though I live at northern latitudes I spend a lot of time outdoors. I’m rarely ill… but I also work with children and never seem to catch what they have. I’m so rarely ill I can remember my colds distinctly. February 2022 I got Covid (unvaccinated… a 3 day headache), 2015 a cold for a week in early Spring and before that winter 2006 another cold. I’m not tooting my own horn but I never really have colds or flus and don’t really know why. Although my dad the other tried to blame my great grandfather’s death on his lifestyle e.g. smoking, drinking and pork consumption. The poor man died at 96. He was a farmer in the west of Ireland born in the mid/late 1800’s (by my estimate). Smoking kills I guess?
I live at 61 degrees north, and I do daily vitamin D supplementation in winter (Oct. through March), and I'll drink about a litre of ginger tea (as in: raw ginger in hot water) a day. That's it, and I spend a lot of time outdoors everyday irrespective of the weather (comes with living on a farm).
What else do I do? I try to avoid processed food as much as I can, and I try to get enough sleep.
As to your great grandfather, well, I'm certain neither smoking nor drinking helps, but I suspect that it's not so much about either (that is, if you don't do it excessively) per se but about all the additives in, say, cigarettes (I read there's some 700 these days on top of tobacco) or booze (which is different from, say, distilling your own spirits).
Perhaps there's a 'best before' date on fish oil (seems odd, but who knows)? Could it be the way it's treated/processed? I mean, pasteurisation removes many, if not most, of raw milk's nutrients…
I feel like you hit a new level of excellence in your "bottom lines" section, which was measured by the fact that I laughed out loud at least three times reading it.
Well, thanks for the flowers.
Which passage made you laugh?
I'm not sure any stores except pharmacies even have sel-tests on the shelf any longer. Maybe a maxi-store might have some, in the hygiene-section. As for face covers, apart from moslems only obviously mentally disturbed people still use those (unless it is for actual real reasons, like a dentist).
Had to endure the Swedish rail-system recently. Full six car X2000-train, no face covers, no restrictions, and not a single mention of Covid. Had some lovely pass-the-time chat with tourists from faraway lands though, marveling at the freedom we enjoy in Sweden.
Makes you think. Or me, at least.
I sometimes notice these things, such as when supermarkets put face diapers on sale near the check-out or the like. I'm rarely visiting pharmacies, so I really don't know, esp. since I'm fortunate not to be very sick, or even come down with a cold (last one was in spring 2019).
I regularly commute by train, and in summer one gets to chat with tourists: they have so mane stereotypes about 'the North', it boggles their minds when confronted with, well, reality.
One of my favourite misunderstandings is the size of Sweden, goes for Norway too. Many, if not most, seem to think Sweden stops some 100km north of Stockholm. Their faces when I tell them that Stockholm is in the southern to middle part - always priceless!
Same as when one tells them Norway borders Russia.
Figuring out what causes the seasonality in seasonal illnesses would be great. It is interesting that for respiratory infections the temperate zone regions tend to have one hump -- winter -- while more equatorial regions, especially those that have monsoons have a 2 hump pattern. This has lead to a lot of speculation that it has to do with people congregating indoors in the winter, and it is unrealistic to believe this has no effect, but as evidence against this theory we have the nation of Singapore. Fairly early on in its history Singapore invested heavily in air conditioning in government and private office buildings. The objective was to make it possible for people to work when it was hottest. This produced a remarkable behavioural change. Before, when it was hottest, people stayed at home, and did not work or socialise much. After, everybody huddled in the air conditioned buildings and worked like crazy. If 'people congregating together' was the leading cause of seasonality in respiratory infections we would expect the seasonality patterns to change. But they didn't. This is all very puzzling, as as to date the theories proposed to explain this 'it has to do with prevailing winds' and 'it has to do with relative humidity' seem a lot like special pleading. Though how we are to make an experiment to test such theories remains a hard problem.
I’ve heard it put that ‘cold/flu season’ is in reality ‘lack of vitamin D season’. That that’s the real correlation.
But then you have to see why when Sweden started adding vitamin D to milk we didn't see respiratory infections fall off a cliff in the wintertime. :) Annoying these things which do not appear to have a single main cause.
It’s hard to know. It could be that absorption is better via natural sources? Sunlight, eggs, fish, mushrooms?
Given that the stuff added to milk is fish oil, I am skeptical. I also take vitamin D supplements all winter long. I would love a reason to confirm that my belief is rational, but honesty compels me to see that the evidence is thin.
I supplement with fish oil, magnesium, zinc, vitamin D & C. Even though I live at northern latitudes I spend a lot of time outdoors. I’m rarely ill… but I also work with children and never seem to catch what they have. I’m so rarely ill I can remember my colds distinctly. February 2022 I got Covid (unvaccinated… a 3 day headache), 2015 a cold for a week in early Spring and before that winter 2006 another cold. I’m not tooting my own horn but I never really have colds or flus and don’t really know why. Although my dad the other tried to blame my great grandfather’s death on his lifestyle e.g. smoking, drinking and pork consumption. The poor man died at 96. He was a farmer in the west of Ireland born in the mid/late 1800’s (by my estimate). Smoking kills I guess?
I live at 61 degrees north, and I do daily vitamin D supplementation in winter (Oct. through March), and I'll drink about a litre of ginger tea (as in: raw ginger in hot water) a day. That's it, and I spend a lot of time outdoors everyday irrespective of the weather (comes with living on a farm).
What else do I do? I try to avoid processed food as much as I can, and I try to get enough sleep.
As to your great grandfather, well, I'm certain neither smoking nor drinking helps, but I suspect that it's not so much about either (that is, if you don't do it excessively) per se but about all the additives in, say, cigarettes (I read there's some 700 these days on top of tobacco) or booze (which is different from, say, distilling your own spirits).
Perhaps there's a 'best before' date on fish oil (seems odd, but who knows)? Could it be the way it's treated/processed? I mean, pasteurisation removes many, if not most, of raw milk's nutrients…
That's a good question, I think.