Tramp Stamps, Millennials, and the Road to Cancer

In my youth, a tattoo was only seen on military men or bikers.  Otherwise it was something that was covered up.  One lady described it as her permanent reminder of temporary insanity. The poor choices made with the aid of an altered state of mind.  The label is or was a “tramp stamp”.  Today, it amazes me the number of individuals with tattoos.  Thirty eight percent of the Millennials (those born after 1980) (full report)have tattoos, compared with 32% of Generation X (1965-1980) and 15% of Baby Boomers(1946-1964).  Ironically, Millennials are more conscious of social issues, organic food, conservation via recycling, and healthful exercise.  For some a tattoo may be a way of feeling special, or an expression of individuality, devotion, or commemoration. 

Most of the health focus is on the self-imposed cleanliness of the operator, equipment and facility.  The famous last words from someone you don’t know…“trust me”.  Death by 1000 puncture wounds via the magical manifestation of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV, Epstein Barr Virus, tetanus, tuberculosis or any other imaginable blood born infectious disease?  While the initial and post tattoo pain is real, the other death by 1000 cuts is the slow un-noticed embracing of change with unwanted consequences that impact our heath.  The tattoo is nothing short of a future health risk.

The first rule of health is to avoid toxic material.  Few know the composition of tattoo ink that is no doubt toxic material foreign to the body.  So we inject toxic material into the skin.  The ink goes into the cell.  The impregnation of the cell is the fourth stage of disease.  The fifth stage is degeneration of the cell and the sixth is cancer.

The body has mechanisms to remove toxins from the body, which means the material may travel thru lymph fluid or blood to end up anywhere.  It is possible that the liver may not be able to process such chemicals, especially if viruses, nutrients, drugs or alcohol compromises it.  This means the toxin must be deposited in fat or connective tissue for storage.  This is the creation of a disease state that will never be connected to acts of youth.  Do we really need a more toxic personal environment?

Live Well!

Fishy Business

It is naturally confusing to consider that the news reporting the benefits of fish oil “may” be overstated.  Last week, The Journal of the American Medical Association published a conclusion that:  “Overall, omega-3 supplementation was not associated with a lower risk of all causes of mortality, cardiac death, sudden death, myocardial infarction, or stroke based on relative and absolute measures of association.”   I will suppress my sarcasm here…or not.  It’s not like every time I take fish oil; I think that I am beating sudden death.  I would actually prefer sudden death over some other choices. 

Studies are about the herd effect.  This means that we look at one supplement or intervention for a group of individuals. We then measure the outcome of a predetermined area such as heart disease.   Then we draw some conclusion that may or may not alter the choices we make.  There is no way to design a study that measures all the benefits, effects, or side effects for any group of individuals.  We have different genetics, diets, toxic exposures and are therefore all biochemically unique.  The true complexity is enormous.

How does one make sense of what supplements are beneficial?  After all, you can find information to substantiate any position.  I prefer a common sense approach.  For those that have studied fat biochemistry (or even care to) there is an amazing amount of “functional” information about fish oil and omega 3 fats.  Good fats contribute to how well each cell wall functions.  The cell wall is the brains of each cell as the gatekeeper of nutrients, waste, and cellular communication.  

As with any food, the quality of the fats you consume is imperative to your health.  Avoid all trans-fats and excess animal fat.  Quality fish oil adds balance to excess consumption of animal fats that become pro-inflammatory.  This means that fish oil can decrease inflammation to reduce pain in joints.  Fish oil is still a valuable supplement and can contribute to overall quality of life.

Stay Well!

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