I thought I’d take a minute to share some news about my life as it relates to the blog. First, I graduated from Chinese medicine school a couple weeks ago. Hooray! While this certainly marks the completion of one chapter in my life, it also signals the beginning of a new one.
I’ll be taking the California acupuncture licensing exam in August. It’s a big, fat, crazy test that I’ll have to spend a lot more time than I’d like to preparing for. After I get my license, I plan to open a clinic here in the East Bay. And that will require quite a bit of preparation as well.
What this means is that, though I plan to continue with my research, I’ll probably have less time for writing in the months to come. So I’ve been thinking of other ways (aside from writing long articles, which is very time consuming) that I can continue to share what I’m learning with you. Keep reading to see what I have in mind.
The Healthy Skeptic gets all 21st Century with social media
You may have noticed that I’m now on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. You can stay connected with me through those services by clicking on their respective icons in the column to the right.
I post stuff to Twitter almost every day. Sometimes I share links to studies with a brief interpretation, sometimes links to other blog posts I like, sometimes little tidbits about nutrition and health. Most of this never makes it to the blog, so if you want more exposure to the topics and subjects you’ve read about here, following me on Twitter is the best way to do that.
The Healthy Skeptic has its own page on Facebook. I share a lot of the same stuff I post to Twitter there, but Facebook allows for more interactivity. Feel free to stop by and ask a question about something I’ve posted, or start a discussion with a question and I’ll be happy to answer it if I can.
I’m also on LinkedIn, but to be honest I don’t really know how to use it or what I should be doing there. Of three main social media services, it’s the one I understand least. For now I mostly just reproduce my tweets and blog posts there, so if you’re following me on Twitter or Facebook there’s probably no reason to join me there.
New ways of getting you the information you need
At first I felt sad that I wouldn’t have as much time to write, since it’s something I enjoy doing. But then I thought, hey, writing long articles is just one way of sharing information. Something I like to do is listen to podcasts while I’m cooking, or cleaning, or just kicking back. I also enjoy watching short videos on YouTube covering topics I’m interested in. I’ve been thinking of doing this on The Healthy Skeptic for a while now, and this seems like a good time to start.
The podcasts and videos will also take time to prepare, but my guess is they’ll be less time consuming than writing. Of course I don’t really know this since I haven’t done it before (maybe I’m kidding myself). So over the next few weeks I’m going to try to put out a few podcasts and video blogs and see how it goes.
Have a burning question? Send it to me and I’ll answer if I can.
Although I may do some topical podcasts and video blogs, I think a Q&A format works really well for these media. So if you’ve got a question about a health issue, nutrition, or any topic we cover here please send it to me using the contact form or leave a comment below. I’ll keep track of the questions I receive, and answer them in a podcast, video blog or future article.
Vote for the next Special Report
I’ve been doing a ton of research over the past few months. There are four subjects I’m considering for a future Special Report, similar to the ones I’ve already done on cholesterol/heart disease, heartburn/GERD, depression and acupuncture.
I thought I’d check with you to see if you have any preference for what comes next. Here are the choices:
- Fish, fish oil and essential fatty acids
- Thyroid health
- Diabetes
- Weight loss
As you might imagine, each of these subjects is clouded by misunderstanding, deception and bad science. As I’ve looked more deeply into each of them, I’ve learned some eye-opening things. Let me know which topic you’re most interested in!
My deepest gratitude for your generous donations
I want to thank those of you who have made a donation for your generosity and support. Here’s what I’ve purchased with your hard-earned money over the past few weeks:
- Blood Sugar 101: What They Don’t Tell You About Diabetes, by Jenny Ruhl
- Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution: The Complete Guide To Achieving Normal Blood Sugar, by Dr. Richard Bernstein
- Mastering the Thyroid: A Clinical Manual, by Datis Kharazzian
- Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms When My Lab Tests Are Normal, by Datis Kharazzian
- Graves’ Disease, by Elaine Moore
- Copies of full-text research papers at the UC Berkeley Medical Library
This blog is a free service to all, and is supported entirely by your donations. If you’d like to make a donation, just click the “Donate” button to the right on the sidebar.
Here’s what I’m asking you to do
- Send me your burning health and nutrition questions to be answered in future podcasts or video blogs. I’ll use first names only, or keep them completely anonymous if you’d prefer that.
- Leave a comment here or use the contact form to vote on what topic you’d like me to cover in the next Special Report.
I look forward to hearing from you!
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
I’d like to hear about weight loss and fish oi.
Thanks.
I vote for diabetes
Congratulations!
I think that items #1 and #3 are the most interesting and that both would have much to say about item #4 (weight loss).
I’d like to know more about:
1. thyroid
2. fish/fish oil/essential fatty acids.
Speaking of fish: Have you seen the documentary “The End of the Line”? (Filmmaker Rupert Murray traverses the world exposing the devastating effects that overfishing with modern technology is having on fish stocks and the real solutions to solve the crisis. Combining alarming scientific testimony with under- and above-water footage, Murray creates a hard-to-ignore sketch of the state of the globe’s oceanic ecosystems. This film is based on British environmental journalist Charles Clover’s book.)
I vote for thyroid.
Video blogginging is an exciting way to share your daily experiences with your family and friends. I have just started video blogging.’-
I vote for 1. thyroid; 2. weight loss. Love your blog.
I’d like to find out more about thyroid health.
could you get and review books by melvin page and robert mccarrison?
thyroid, please, and its various conditions such as Hashimoto’s
Have you not seen the last four articles on thyroid?
I’d like to read about iron overload. Seems that as you get older – especially women – you can get too much iron, which has a lot of negative effects. Including heart disease and arthritis.
Wondering if you could cover PCOS and endometrial hyperplasia… seems that it is connected to high insulin levels…??
I’m considering “naturally balancing hormones” as my next series, so PCOS would be covered. And yes, PCOS is caused by testosterone dominance, usually secondary to insulin resistance. Insulin up-regulates an enzyme called 17-20 Lyase in women, which converts estrogen to testosterone.