Streaking and Colonics

     

         I like a good fad just like the next guy, but occasionally things get pushed a bit far.  For example, when I was in college streaking was at its heyday. For those uninitiated (or younger than 30) streaking was basically running naked in public, preferably where there was a lot of people.  I have to say here that I was not a participant as in college I was short, a bit dumpy, and very white so there was not a big demand for streaking gnomes, but I did enjoy watching Betty Sturdavent streak one lazy afternoon in the commons area of our dorm.  She was gifted in very many ways, but one of those was not speed, so we got a good look at all her other gifts.

A more recent fad is planking, where one lays flat either on the ground or on other stationary objects and inevitably has multiple pictures taken to display on their social media format of choice.  Fortunately for all of us the planking usually occurs fully clothed, as most of those who carry this out have no business being naked.

I am especially fond of health fads like swallowing goldfish and eating one’s placenta.  While most of these are harmless, I have a hard time recommending them to a general audience.  Between you and me, if you eat your placenta you should have an immediate psychiatric evaluation as you have no business being a parent, but I digress.  One of my current favorites is colonics.  This is a fun afternoon where you pay someone to give you an enema.  How can that not be a blast (literally!).  Besides the fact that it does nothing for your health, it just strikes me as odd that someone would voluntarily pay for what is normally a prep for a colonoscopy.

I recently ran across an Internet story that is not exactly a fad, but once I looked into it actually seemed to have some legitimacy.  Let me preface this by reminding folks of my interest in weight management.  I am always on the lookout for any tips and tools for weight control, so when I saw an article about carbohydrate intake I was immediately interested.  In fact this article claimed that a simple test could determine whether eating carbs could put inches on your love handles.  According to geneticist Sharon Moalem, author of The DNA Restart, you can discern how well your body digests carbs and illuminate your personal carb tolerance with something called "the cracker test."

The cracker test involves, surprise, eating a cracker and is based on the enzymes produced in the mouth. One theory of carbohydrate intolerance is based on the level of enzymes that break down the carbs to glucose.  The quicker you notice a change in taste or a sweetness, the more amylase enzyme you have and the lees likely you are to put on the pounds with carbs.  If the taste doesn’t change you probably need to void as many carbs as you can if you are trying to lose weight.

While this is a crude at best assay, there is some scientific validity (unlike the colonics!).  We have always known there is variability in persons tolerance of carbohydrates, and this may help identify those folks early on.