Archive for 2017

STRATEGIES FOR NAVIGATING THE EMERGENCY ROOM. When my dad was sick, my youngest brother was surprised by my ability to give a complete but concise medical history and to suggest what might be wrong in the space of 60 seconds. Well, lawyers are good at that sort of thing. Doctors like it too, and also respond better to people who seem to have their act together, because they see so many who don’t. But it’s hard on people who don’t have someone like that. The healthcare system is hard enough to navigate when you’re healthy and thinking clearly.

VITAMIN D UPDATE: Researchers find lactose intolerance related to low vitamin D levels. “The researchers found those who had a gene associated with lactose intolerance (called LCT) consumed lower amounts of dairy products than those without that variation. The lactose intolerant also had lower levels of vitamin D in their blood – unsurprisingly, since dairy products are fortified with vitamin D, and most people don’t get enough of this vitamin from the sun or from other foods.” So if you’re lactose-intolerant, you need to make extra efforts to get enough vitamin D.

FEMINISTS WHO HATED BEING MOTHERS, but throw themselves into the role of grandmothers. “As a workaholic reporter in Washington covering the White House, I would push her on a swing and read a research paper at the same time. Today I love taking my granddaughters to the park, playing tea party, sitting on the floor with them coloring. My attention is all theirs. Most of the grandparents I know are like me: We’ll do anything to hold those babies.”

Plus, from the comments: “If you eliminate the category of ‘rich white woman gazes at navel,’ how much of contemporary media remains?”