What do you read to stay up to date with health and medicine?
I read or skim several subscriptions for both science/medical news and general current events every day, and I have daily Google alerts for specific medical topics. I’ll read these articles or alerts and then look up the actual scientific papers if they refer to a study that seems important. When I need to research anything specific, I’ll look up the topic in the NIH’s PubMed database. I just have to say that PubMed is one of the best things we have created as a nation, accelerating and advancing science across the globe (I remember the days before PubMed, copying articles out of journals in libraries—they were bleak).
Here are the email subscriptions I read or skim almost every day (in order of importance):
Medical/Science/Health:
STAT Medical News—Great medical news website, but.I haven’t subscribed to the paid STAT+ because I feel like they’re a bit too cozy with the pharmaceutical and biotech industry (we need corporate and drug-pricing reform, so I just can’t support them)
Medscape Medical News—My favorite health news site but you might have to be an MD/DO to subscribe.
MedPageToday.com—Also quite good.
AMA Medical News—You may have to be an MD/DO to subscribe to the newsletter. I’m not sure.
Nature Briefing—very good, daily.
News from Science: Weekly Headlines—very good, Not free. I pay a small amount for this.
The Scientist Newsletter—Usually highlights a few interesting stories
Healio.com—articles could be written better, but it covers many important health topics
Examine.com—a great website for looking at the truth/scientific validity of supplement claims
ConsumerLab.com—paid subscription website that tests actual brands of supplements for contamination and for containing the contents that are claimed, also looks at the scientific validity of supplement claims
R&D Magazine
Drug Discovery & Development (DDD)
Forensic Magazine
PubMed — Website for searching the scientific literature. Again, this website is one of the U.S. government’s greatest and overlooked accomplishments. Its existence has greatly accelerated & continues to accelerate scientific progress. Can you tell I’m a big fan? You can also set up alerts for different topics on a weekly basis (I think I follow about 8).
Current Events: New York Times, Washington Post, The Atlantic, Voice of San Diego, San Diego Union-Tribune
(Other subscriptions: GenomeWeb, a few on aging, and too many others—I can add these links if anyone wants them.)
What are your favorite science and favorite health books?
Without a doubt, my favorite science book is I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life by Ed Yong (2016). It is a truly excellent book that is a must-read for any doctor or scientist (or human even). It will change how you see life on earth, evolution and your microbiome. I can’t say enough good things about this book.
The most impactful health book I’ve read came out several years ago now — Perfect Health Diet: Regain Health and Lose Weight by Eating the Way You Were Meant to Eat by Paul Jaminet, PhD & Shou-Ching Jaminet, PhD (2012). This book was very informative and finally convinced me that humans may not have evolved enough in the last 10,000 years to accommodate gluten without inflammation. However, I Contain Multitudes may point to bacteria having adapted quickly enough to digest gluten for us. I believe that in the era of antibiotics and purified and altered grains, some of us have lost the ability to effectively digest gluten because we’ve killed off too many of the needed bacteria. We do not evolve in a vacuum. For example, though my ancestors evolved to digest lactose (meaning that I have 2 lactase genes that persist into adulthood), I cannot digest lactose effectively without the right gut bacteria, as I painfully learned when my gut was destroyed by antibiotics and by a naturopathic SIBO protocol (I actually believe this is true for everyone). Luckily, each time my gut bacteria eventually grew back in large enough numbers that I could eat lactose again without getting sick. So, I believe the same could be true for gluten, or for lectin or for whatever the new food demon of the month is. If your health improves when you eliminate something from your diet, pay attention because you may not have the right bacteria or genes to digest that food, which can lead to inflammation, allergies, immunocompromise or other problems, but it also doesn’t mean that everyone will have the same issue as you. We are each our own ecosystem.
Is it true that you also write fiction?
Yes, I do. I enjoy writing. My first book is called Resonance, and I’ve planned the series arc to play out over six books. The genre is urban fantasy/paranormal romance, which is my favorite genre to read in my free time, and specifically, it’s a psychic romance since I have an interest in Neurosciences. The second book, Dissonance, should be out in a few months (I’ve had Long COVID so my life has been put on pause since March 2020). You can check out this side of my life at https://jennifergreenhall.com.
What are your favorite causes?
My favorite causes are:
1. Everytown for Gun Safety
2. Environmental Working Group
3. Planned Parenthood
4. Wikimedia Foundation
5. ACLU
6. San Diego Zoological Society
7. Public Citizen