#which used the same basic principle to measure how far certain points on a bone were from ��normal” bone shapes

[mangled-by-disuse]

it is just FASCINATING to me how the ads for Google Gemini seem entirely dedicated to "What's the single least useful thing we could suggest using GenAI for?"

Planning a date! Planning a holiday! Writing a cover letter for a job application! Designing an invitation for a Christmas dinner with your friends???

like I don't think there are that many good applications for this kind of genAI but if there are they sure as fuck aren't these

[imustbeamermaidrango]

The Optimism of Satan

by Mitch Horowitz

See article at: https://medium.com/s/radical-spirits/the-optimism-of-satan-eea5a1a24550

A friend of mine once had the opportunity to ask the Dalai Lama a single question.

“Who was your greatest teacher?” he asked.

The exiled leader replied, “Mao Zedong.”

I once felt provoked in my own sphere by a similarly unlikely teacher — Donald Trump.

Years ago, Trump the Developer asked an interviewer: “What good is something if you can’t put your name on it?” His comment is indelibly stamped on my memory, though I confess I cannot find a source for it. Did I imagine it? The sentiment, while coarse and easily rebutted, came to haunt me.

Did Trump, the showy conman obsessed with naming rights, capture a nagging truth of human nature — a side none of us can deny or push away, other than by an act of self-regarding hypocrisy? And did I, hopefully in a more integral way, share a kernel of his outlook? Was the voice even his — or something within me?

Soon after hearing Trump’s remark, I received what struck me as a bit of ridiculous advice from the editor of an academic spiritual journal. I told him in candor that I wanted to find greater exposure for my byline. “You don’t have to put your name on everything you write,” he replied. Such a principle could ring true only in the world of abstraction.

Trump’s statement about self-exaltation, however ugly, captured half a truth. The whole truth is that our lives, as vessels for various influences — some physical, some perhaps beyond — are bound up with the world and circumstances in which we find ourselves; and within that world we must, at the stake of personal happiness, create, expand, and aspire. Whatever higher influences we feel or great thoughts we think, or are experienced by us through the influence of others, are like heat dissipated in the vacuum of space unless those thoughts are directed into a structure or receptacle. Our purpose is to be generative. Questions of attachment and non-attachment, identification and non-identification, are incidental to that larger fact.

I came to feel strongly about this several years ago when I found that my spiritual search, a path of radical ecumenism with a dedication to esoteric interests, was failing to satisfy me. I began to suspect that I was not acknowledging what I was really looking for, either in spirituality — by which I mean a search for the extra-physical — or therapy. I came face-to-face with an instinct that few people acknowledge, and would deny if they heard it spoken. But they should linger on it. Because what I discovered captures what I believe is a basic if discomforting human truth: The ethical or spiritual search, not as idealized but as actually lived, is a search for power. That is, for the ability to possess personal agency. We pray, “Thy will be done.” We mean “my will be done” — hoping that the two comport. This is why, at least in my observations after thirty years as a publisher, seeker, and historian of alternative spirituality, many seekers in both traditional and alternative faiths are ill at ease, fitful in their progress, and apt to slide from faith to faith, or to harbor multiple, sometimes conflicting, practices at once.

Power is supposed to be the craving of the corrupt. Is it? The novelist Isaac Bashevis Singer, surveying the modern occult scene, wrote in 1967: “We are all black magicians in our dreams, in our fantasies, perversions, and phobias.” And to this I would add, in pursuit of our highest ideals. As Singer detected, we are not very different from the classical magician when we strive, morally and materially, to carry forth our plans in the world — to ensure the betterment of ourselves and our loved ones; to heal sickness; to create, sustain, and, above all, to generate things which bear our markings, ideals, and likenesses. All of this is the expenditure of power, the striving to actualize our drives and images.

I do not view the search for individual power, including through supernatural means (a topic I will clarify and expand on), as necessarily maleficent. Historically and psychologically, it is a fundamental human trait to evaluate, adopt, or avoid an idea based upon whether it builds or depletes our sense of personal agency. “A living thing,” Nietzsche wrote in Beyond Good and Evil, “seeks above all to discharge its strength — life itself is will to power…” The difficulty is in making our choices wisely, and ethically.

I know how far I’m extending my chin by quoting Nietzsche. I sound like a dorm-room libertine. A critic once accused me of harboring an adolescent wish to power. To that, I plead guilty — but with a catch. I do believe in universal reciprocity, an indelible oneness of existence, and I operate from a ground rule of nonviolence. By that, I do not mean abstention from self-defense but rather an unwillingness to violate the sanctity of another’s search, to knowingly do anything that would deprive another of his or her own pursuit of highest potential. And since the political question is never far away, I’ll note that my policy preferences run to a mildly redistributive social democratic state with single-payer healthcare, labor unions, and consumer protections with teeth.

As alluded, sensitive people often deny or overlook their power-seeking impulse, associating it with the tragic fate of Faust or Lady Macbeth. It can be argued, however, that all of our neuroses and feelings of chronic despair, aside from those with identifiably biological causes, grow from the frustrated expression of personal power. We may spend a lifetime (and countless therapy sessions) ascribing our problems to other, more secondary phenomena — without realizing that, as naturally as a bird is drawn to the dips and flows of air currents, we are in the perpetual act of trying to forge, create, and sustain, much like the ancient alchemist or wizard.

The ultimate frustration of life is that, while we seem to be granted godlike powers — giving birth, creating beauty, spanning space and time, devising machines of incredible might — we are bound to physical forms that quickly decay. “Ye are gods,” wrote the psalmist, adding “but yet shall die as princes.” Immortality and the reversal of bodily decline is the one magic no one has ever mastered. The wish to surpass the boundaries of our physicality is behind some of our most haunting myths and parables, from the Trojan prince Tithonus, to whom the gods granted immortality but trapped in a shell of misery and decay for failing to request eternal youth, to the doomed scientist Victor Frankenstein, who sought the ultimate alchemy of creating life only to bring destruction on everyone around him.

We live in a sphere of limitations. But we cannot desist from pushing against its limits. It is our heritage.

Many of us grew up learning the story of humanity’s fall from grace in the biblical parable of the garden of paradise, where the serpent — long associated with the Great Adversary (a guest who’ll soon be arriving) — seduces Eve, and then she Adam, into eating forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. But take a fresh reading, or a first reading, of the sparsely detailed chapter three of Genesis. When revisiting this familiar story in virtually any translation, you’ll see not only that the serpent’s argument is based in truth — the couple does not perish for eating the apple, and their eyes are, in fact, opened to good and evil (indeed, some scholars contend that the garden’s two trees, the tree of knowledge and the tree of life, are the same)— but also that Eve, contrary to a shibboleth about feminine nature, does not seduce Adam, who requires little coaxing. The serpent even suggests, as augmented in other texts, that Yahweh displays cruel hypocrisy by forbidding intellectual illumination, even as its availability sits in the garden’s midst.

We’re taught, too, that the denouement of Eve’s misstep was her son Cain slaying his brother Abel. But Cain’s tragic act of fratricide may reflect, in discomforting realism, the unavoidable consequence of creativity: friction. Competing ideologies and the wish to measure and evaluate may be the inevitable cost of awareness. But without the rebel, the malcontent, the usurper — the snake in the garden — how could humanity claim sentience?

Lord Byron used his 1821 drama, Cain, one of the dramatist’s most alluring and under-appreciated works, to take the marked brother’s side. And to introduce the most jarring literary re-conception of Lucifer next to Milton’s. Byron’s antihero, who befriends the rebellious Cain, is persuasive and penetrating in his denial that he was the serpent in the garden, yet he points out that the serpent greeted Eve as a sexual and political emancipator — an outlook embraced by many proto-feminists and political radicals of that century and the next. Byron’s dark lord is a fiery optimist on the side of the malcontents: “I know the thoughts/Of dust, and feel for it, and with you.”

I began to question whether the forces of creation with which I most identified — whether parabolic or metaphysical — were these same forces of Promethean defiance. Forces of aspiration who rallied to the cry of the demon Moloch in Paradise Lost: “Hard liberty before the easy yoke.”

Now, one could ask: why think of any of this other than in material terms? Why not put away my Bhagavad Gita in favor of Atlas Shrugged? Because, as noted, I believe that truth is not contained within flesh and bone alone. I think we participate in an existence that goes beyond the five senses. And I believe that our ancient ancestors were correct in deifying certain energies and understanding oneself in relation to them; they gave them names like Thoth, Hermes, Minerva, and Set. Hence, I began to take a long and considered look at such an energy, to which I have been alluding, but which I have not yet named: Satan. This term has its own complicated past, it has gotten me cast out of a garden or two myself, but I employ it both to acknowledge its colloquial primacy and as a bow to bluntness.

There exists a rich and underappreciated counter narrative of humanity’s encounter with what is called “Satanic” in Western life particularly, but not only, in the literature of the Romantics. This countercurrent of spiritual, political, and cultural history — and present — has been insufficiently understood, historically confused, and blurred by entertainment, conspiracy theorists, sensationalism, and fraud (such as the “Satanic Panic” of the 1980s).

My wish then, is to encourage a second look where we’re not supposed to be looking — that is, to take a more unadorned, elucidating, and even hopeful perspective on the Satanic. Milton has Satan say: “The mind is its own place, and in it self/Can make a Heav’n of Hell, a Hell of Heav’n.” Again, Satan is an optimist. Me too. No cards under the table: my journey — and perhaps yours — includes constructively wondering whether my own search for a personal, spiritual, and ethical philosophy (I have one — and it’s vital to me) lies east of Eden, or within what is popularly but incompletely called the “dark side.” That’s what I’ve been describing.

Darkness is not a void; it’s a womb. And in the territory of truth and consensual experiment, there exist no boundaries of exploration.

[mensbodybuildingtips]

Wanted: Balanced Arm Workouts

Everyone wants an amazing set of arms. They never ever come easy, unless you're among the genetically elite that can grow a tall actually peaked split biceps by simply flexing in the mirror. However, the process is one that, as soon as you obtain coming in the best instructions, will yield terrific results on an ongoing basis, with boosting arms and triceps dimension and also toughness being delivered as an outcome. Allow's take a look at each of the individual muscle teams, after that look into some added aspects which could influence your development and balance.

Triceps You could be a bit stunned that any type of short article on arm training would begin with a discussion on triceps. Sure, we understand they're important, but does not everybody always seem to position biceps first when training? The triceps muscles actually make up an excellent bargain even more of the mass of the top arms, as well as ought to therefore be trained with an earlier emphasis and also far more intensity compared to the arms. Start your arm day with them. Select 4 movements - 3 compound workouts and also one isolation motion will be adequate. Popular compound movements such as skull crushers, bench dips, and DB triceps press behind head serve to promote wonderful quantities of muscle fibers in the area, building both strength and dimension. Collections of 6 to 10 are most effective for these muscular tissue teams. You can choose for 4 sets of 10 to 14 reps of a seclusion activities such as triceps wire pressdowns, reducing down your repetitions for control, balance, and also full blood saturation.

Biceps Hitting the biceps is simple - Swirl, curl, and also after that crinkle some more! Three substance motions such as standing or seated barbell or pinhead curls will suffice, making use of collections of 6 to 10 representatives each collection. Scoot over to a seclusion activity or two, for 3-4 collections of 10 to 20 repeatings. Train light and also focus after getting to a factor of melt where your biceps could not move any kind of more. Just then are you at a point where you've done every little thing you could for biceps growth today!

Forearms Many lifters do not also trouble to strike lower arms, for worry that establishing them will certainly cause their biceps to appear small in contrast. If your biceps are that worthless, then you have bigger fish to fry! The forearms serve to deliver a sense of density and aesthetic shock in many basic postures. They likewise deliver an excellent bargain of functional stamina, valuable not just in educating the forearms and also arms, however also for activities entailing the shoulders, breast and also particularly, back. If you could not hold that weight, as well as your arms fall short before your back muscles, then you are doing yourself an excellent disservice by maintaining your forearm muscle mass little. Rather, you must educate them with a simple workout of 6 to 8 collections weekly. Simply 3-4 sets of wrist swirls for 10 to 15 repetitions, adhered to with 3-4 collections of reverse wrist curls, will certainly create your forearms to a relatively high level, leaving you time and also energy to concentrate energy upon your arms as well as triceps.

External factors Recovery is essential when it concerns developing fantastic biceps, triceps, and also lower arms. You could educate like a madman for 60 to 75 to even 90 minutes, but if you're slacking in the kitchen and when it concerns sleeping, then you are never ever going to grow to your optimum capacity.

Keep in mind that there is a custom to training concerning using steroids. The quads, shoulders, and also yes, the arms are stuffed loaded with muscle receptors which do in truth react fairly well when a lifter chooses to relocate to the "Dark side", or gets in a steroid cycle. The majority of leading physiques you see in magazines are both hereditary freaks and also customers of anabolic steroids or hormonal agents. It's simply part of the game. The body was never ever made to reach 275 pounds of muscle mass. Hormonal agent levels must be modified in order for this to occur. Building 22 inch muscle biceps is also something that mother earth never intended. You need to know the realistic side of the sport, need to your goals include growing to that degree.

You're so vain. Certain, that track most likely plays in your head whenever you stroll past a mirror and also laugh as you hit a side arms or triceps position. Nonetheless, other than sustaining the vanity in a small means, training the arms with weights alone will not force them to grow to their maximum capacity. Making use of random as well as frequent flexing will certainly also assist to bring them to life while enabling the arms and triceps to create at concerning the exact same price. Any kind of doing not have in one area will disappear as you flex the entire top arm, forcing out the capillaries and tensing every muscle stomach on command, numerous times each day. You can stand in the mirror for all to see, or just tighten up the arm as you work, surf the web or wait in website traffic each early morning. You don't require an audience to develop optimum mind-muscle link, do you?

The regulations of balance can aid you to ascertain if you are making strides in accordance with the efforts you are exhibiting for all muscle mass teams. Your arms, calf bones, as well as neck must determine identically. Your neck will certainly usually get the dimension initially. For the majority of people, the calf bones get here following, with the arms getting to that matching dimension last. If your calf bones are smaller than your arms, after that it's a winner you aren't striking legs hard enough. If your arms measure larger after that the various other 2, after that there's a great chance your top arms are actually also huge for where the rest of your body goes to the minute. The objective is balanced growth, so work to maintain the balance in location.

Building up a remarkable set of well balanced arms isn't really difficult. Typically, lifters with 140 IQ will certainly admire exactly how their 80 INTELLIGENCE garbageman have unwell arms as well as they're still revealing off 11 inch pipeline cleaners when bending. It's about hard job, smart training, as well as wonderful nutrition. Genetics will establish the speed of growth and also the shape of the arm when you expand, however it is your work principles and level of self-control which will certainly most impact your final outcomes. Great luck!

[borntoscratch-blog]

How do dogfights work?

If you read the first blog post of mine about how dogmen care for their dogs, perhaps you can better understand that dogfighting isn't exactly as it seems. Regardless, I think it is extremely important to preface this post by saying that just as with any industry in the world, there is a dark side and I do not intend to discredit the animals victimized by heinous participants in the sport. Mistreatment of dogs happens in the dark, streetfighting operations - just as cruelty has the potential to exist in every other aspect of the dog world. As such, I am NOT saying that mistreating dogs in the way some people do in this industry is okay. I am attempting to help people understand that there IS a responsible side to this sport and that it is possible to be a humane, compassionate dogman. It should also be noted that this post is not meant to encourage people break the laws. While I disagree that they should have ever been passed, I accept and recognize that they have been. Breaking the law is not okay! Without further adieu, let's delve into some of the big questions people have about dogfighting!

Are the dogs forced to fight?

No! To force an animal to fight would be to have the animal engage in combat against its will. Yet, the very principles of how a dogfight works (all contact at the dog's discretion) makes this idea of force laughable at best.

A dog match begins with two dogs being held in opposite corners. According to Rule 10 of the Cajun Rules (http://sporting-dog.com/select-pages/cajunrules.html), "The referee says, 'Let go', but the handlers must never push or shove their dogs and handlers shall not leave their corners until the dogs are together." This is called scratching and is not forced upon the dog. The handlers let go and the dogs immediately run towards each other.

Some may wonder "What if they hurt the dogs to make them run?" but yet again, this can be disproven. According to Rule 5 of the Cajun Rules, "the referee shall search the person named to wash the dogs and then have him bare his arm to the elbow and wash both dogs in the same warm water and rinse them each in his half of the warm clean water provided for that purpose." Why? To make sure there is nothing toxic in the water that would hurt the dog - or the dog biting him. Rule 6 says, "the referee must search handlers for means of foul play and see that he bares his arms to the elbow before he receives his dog and must keep his arms bare in such a manner during the contest." Simply put, the referee will not allow any foul play to occur that would cause the dog to run because it is being coerced into doing so. This also doesn't make sense, when you consider the principle of gameness.

Gameness is a canine virtue that is essentially the determination to overcome any situation and never back down, regardless of the current state of the body. It was developed in these APBTs by many generations of selective breeding and testing (through these aforementioned matches). This trait is just as innate to the APBT as the border collie's desire to herd and the pointer's desire to point. People often quote that "to deny a dog its nature is to do it great harm" but somehow this quote fails to pertain to the instinctual gameness rooted in a dog's genetics. The idea that these dogs don't want to fight and are forced to is grasping at straws. Watch the following video of a dog in the corner of a pit, up to scratch. Even before he is let go, he is pushing with all of his might to get the other dog! The body language is the same as any other dog when faced with an oulet to fulfill their innate drives. How is this one wrong but the others are accepted?

Some may say it's a matter of "consent" or lack of "comprehension of the consequences." That sure, the dog may want to fight, but they don't understand the repercussions and would no longer want to if they knew what the outcome would be. To this, I bring up the practice of courtesy scratching which is done after a match is over to allow the losing dog to have one more attempt to go at the other dog. This means that AFTER the dog has finished fighting, usually a bit dizzy and battered up, they still have the same desire to go after the other dog. Also, it must be remembered that dogs make negative associations and can easily become traumatized by something. If these dogs "wouldn't want to fight if they knew the repercussions" then why do some of the best game dogs have upwards of five wins? Why do these dogs come home from a long match and still show the same enthusiasm to fight the next time? Just because you wouldn't want to fight for hours in a pit doesn't mean it's cruel or that the dogs wouldn't want to. We recognize certain human individuals have a desire for combat (MMA, UFC), yet dogs that are selectively bred for this same desire are deemed victims of abuse.

How far do fights go? What damage happens to them? Is it to the DEATH?

Since these dogs will fight to the death if they are allowed to, humans have to interfere before that can happen - so no, they are not allowed to fight to the death! According to The Book of the American Pit Bull Terrier by Richard Stratton, "An actual death in the pit is a rarity for several reasons. First, a bulldog, while formidable, is also tough and hard to kill. Second, the rules provide that a dog loses and that match ends whenever a dog wishes to discontinue the contest. Third, dogmen do have a feeling for their dogs and are not going to leave them in to be killed for no reason."

As you can see, measures are taken to prevent death in dogfighting just like they are taken in other dog sports. But what about injuries?

Dogs used in fighting will be picked up before extreme injury. After hours of combat, they may be a bit dehydrated at the end and have a few nice scars to flaunt, but the idea that these dogs skin one another and pull out the other's guts is nothing but lore. In case of accidental extreme injuries, responsible dogmen are equipped with extensive first aid skills. According to California Jack's 2007 Indespensible Tips, the supplies a dogman should have on hand are:

• Lactated Ringers + IV Catheters Fluid Lines, Injection Ports, etc. Purpose: to replace lost fluid.

• Solu-Delta-Cortef (or Solu-Medrol) + Dexamethasone (or Azium) Purpose: Reduces swelling and discomfort.

• Antibiotics Purpose: To prevent infection.

• Salix (Furosemide) Purpose: Prevents kidney problems and aids in urination.

• Banamine Purpose: To relieve pain.

• Leather Shoestring or Equivalent Purpose: to be used with tourniquet to stop bleeding.

• Blood Stop Powder Purpose: To stop bleeding.

• Vitamin K Injectable Purpose: Clots blood and can stop internal bleeding.

• Gauze and Leg Tape Purpose: To secure ringers, splints and braces.

• 2 Full Cotton Rolls Purpose: Setting splints and leg wraps.

• 2 Adjustable Splints Purpose: Secures a broken limb.

• Spray Bottle of Betadine Purpose: Flushes out dirt and prevents toxins.

• Spray Bottle of 1 Quart of water and 25cc of Nolvasan (Chlorhexidine) Purpose: Same as above, but for deep cuts.

• Prepodyne Swabs Purpose: to cleanse the ears.

• Staple Gun (+ Removers) and Cat Gut Sutures Purpose: In emergencies, it can be used to close off serious wounds after they have been cleaned. The shtures can tie off bleeding arteries.

• Betadine Surgical Scrubs or Nolvasan Shampoo Purpose: Will prevent infection during cleansing.

• Scalpal and/or Surgical Razor Purpose: To cut away dead tissue in order to prevent gangreen and infecrion.

• Surgical Scissors Purpose: Same as above.

• Sterile Gloves Purpose: To prevent infection.

• Rectal Thermometer Purpose: To monitor temperature if a dog goes into shock.

• Sterile Vaseline or KY Jelly Purpose: Can aid in temperature taking.

• Super Glue Purpose: Repairing split ears and tails.

• Granulex Spray/Wonder Dust Purpose: Used during healing process to remove necrotic tissue.

• Two clean, dry blankets Purpose: To cover a dog while he is getting fluids and to keep him warm during recovery.

• Two Dozen 3cc Syringes w/ 12 Gauge Needles Purpose: For all needed injections

• Cytomax + Peak Condition Purpose: To provide a dog with life sustaining fluids, electrolytes and nutrients.

• Epinephrine "Epi" Purpose: In emergencies it can revive a dog whose heart shuts down.

Now, some may see this list and say "well, these people wouldn't need these supplies if it wasn't harmful!" Yet, most of these supplies are useful for any pet owner in the situation of a dog with an open wound and are used for basic hygeine and healing. Only a few items are used in extreme emergencies and are there for the rare chance something bad happens, not because it is a regular occurance! A dogman carries splints not because he expects his dog to break a leg, but because he wants to be prepared if worse comes to worst. But anybody reading this should keep in mind that dogmen are there for their dogs during these fights. In fact, in the Cajun rules it says "The dog's owner or his representative shall be allowed at all times to be near his dog and watch to see that no harm is done him," and "The handlers shall be allowed to encourage their dogs by voice or hand-clapping or snapping of fingers."

And, as owners who are there for their dogs, they certainly do not hesitate to pick them up if they are in danger. As John A. Koerner 'California Jack' says, "Assuming that you’re a concerned enthusiast, when your dog is getting overwhelmed, or even if he is winning but the win will cost him his life, his life depends on your judgment. The first step in exercising good judgment is to know when to pick up," and "...if the thought, 'I’d better pick him up,' pops into your mind, there is probably a reason, and that reason is you feel in your bones that he is in danger, and so you need TO ACT on that gut instinct."

Later, he says - in reference to dogmen who don't pick up their dogs at the right time - "instead of tolerating this type of person in our sport, what we should be doing is culling them from it. Therefore, don’t be a player like that, don’t deal with players like that, and make sure you yourself compete with class … and make sure you only deal with players who compete with class like that … and you will take a giant step in making our sport a better one all the way around, especially for our dogs."

If these dogs are well taken care of (see my previous post), have been selectively bred to WANT to fight, are picked up before death/major injuries and receive intense aftercare to prevent infection or worse... then why are people so afraid to accept it?

[fitness-tips]

Hollywood Nutrition Principles

This number is your body fat percentag Dieting has become an American obsession. Diet and nutrition are the most talked about topics in our popular culture. You cannot walk through a grocery store, turn on the TV, listen to the radio, or open your e-mail without being bombarded with the latest fad diet that promises a thinner you. Weight is an issue for almost everyone. Some of us really have to watch every bite that we eat; with much suffering and sacrifice, we are able to lose a little. Some of us have tried every diet, but nothing works. There are also people at the other ex- treme—who have to try very hard to maintain their weight. Too much work or run- ning around, and they are dropping weight like nobody’s business. For them, gain- ing weight would be a dream come true. Most of us are somewhere between these two extremes. You must understand both ends of the spectrum to figure out what will work best for you.

Body Fat

Your goal is to eliminate body fat. You will need the proper method to determine if your program is working. Your scale does not provide a clear picture of what is happening to your body. Your weight on the scale is only a small factor of this total picture. Before you begin, take measurements of your waist, hips, chest, each bicep, and thigh. This will provide valuable information to not only mark your progress but also to determine and concentrate your efforts. While the easiest method to determine results will be to monitor how your clothes are fitting, most of us need a more telling measurement. In addition to tak- ing measurements of various body parts, I recommend you determine your body fat percentage. This measurement will be your new guide and key indicator of your progress. It will provide you with a clear picture of what percentage of your total body weight is made up of fat and what percentage is made up of water, hair, bone, and lean muscle mass. Your goal is to create more bone and muscular density and reduce the percentage of fat.

How to Measure Your Body Fat

There are many ways to measure your body fat, such as hydrostatic weighing and bioimpedance, and there is a cost associated with taking these measurements. While going into a local gym and having a trained professional take a few measure- ments with skinfold calipers might cost $15, some other (and very accurate) meth- ods might cost thousands. In truth, you can get a fairly good idea of your own body fat percentage in the privacy of your own home, at absolutely no cost. You will need a scale, a tape measure (a new cloth or metal tape is preferable), a calculator, and perhaps an assistant.

BODY FAT FORMULA FOR WOMEN

1. Step on the scale and weigh yourself.

  Your body weight ________ × 0.732 + 8.987 = ________  

2. Measure your wrist at the fullest point.  

  Your wrist measurement ________ ÷ 3.140 = ________ 

3. Measure your waist at your navel.  

  Your waist measurement ________ × 0.157 = ________  

4. Measure your hips at the fullest point.  

    Your hip measurement ________ × 0.249 = ________  

5. Measure your forearm at the fullest point.  

     Your forearm measurement ________ × 0.434 = ________  

Now calculate your body fat. On your calculator:  

Add the totals for 1 and 2.  

Subtract the total for 3.  

Subtract the total for 4.

Add the total for 5.

This number is your lean body mass (muscle, bones, organs, hair, etc.). 

Subtract your lean body mass from your total weight

Total body weight ______ – lean body mass ______ = ______

This number is the weight of your body fat.

Body fat weight _____ × 100 = _____ ÷ Total body weight = _____

This number is your body fat percentage.

BODY FAT FORMULA FOR MEN

1. Step on the scale and weigh yourself.  

   Your body weight ________ × 1.082 + 94.42 = ________  

2. Measure your waist.  

   Your waist measurement ________ × 4.15 = ________  

Now calculate your body fat. On your calculator:  

Subtract the total for 2 from the total for 1.  

Measurement 1 ________ – Measurement 2 = ________  

This number is your lean body mass.

Subtract your lean body mass from your total weight.

     Total body weight _____ – lean body mass _____ = _____ 

This number is the weight of your body fat

     Body fat weight ____ × 100 = ____ ÷ Total body weight = ____  

This number is your body fat percentage.

Body Fat Basics

There are some basic rules about body fat. It is stored within fat cells. You are born with a certain number of those fat cells, which you essentially inherited from your ancestors. Those with ancestors from Northern Europe inherit more fat cells than those who are descended from people nearer to the equator. Until the end of pu- berty, you can grow even more fat cells. After puberty, you will not grow any more fat cells, but the cells you have will either grow or shrink. Any given fat cell can grow to be as large as your head or shrink so small that several dozen could fit on the head of a pin. You have and need a small percentage of fat. If you pinch the skin on the top of your hand (as opposed to your love handles or “saddle bags”) you can clearly see what “enough” means. For women, this minimal amount is 12 to 15 percent of your total body weight; for men, it is about 5 percent. Very fit and highly trained people can achieve these low percentages, but it is much more reasonable for women to be closer to the 20 percent range. Dip far below this and you might experience a loss of menstrual cycle, hair loss, and/or a loss of bone density. Men can strive for a healthy 12 to 14 percent. Body fat exists for your survival and should be thought of much like a reserve tank of fuel. It prevents starvation, and this starvation protection mechanism is hardwired into your system. To eliminate body fat, you need to outthink your nat- ural starvation protection mechanism.

Outthink Your Body

Your starvation protection mechanism is a primal system to ensure your survival. This system regulates what and how much energy to release to maintain your most basic bodily functions. The only tool this complex system uses is the regulation of body fat. In times of extreme hardship when there are prolonged periods without food, your body’s starvation protection mechanism works overtime—it stores almost every nutrient you eat within fat cells for later use. It then conserves all the energy it can and uses the barest minimum to keep your heart beating and your lungs breathing. This primal survival system has no idea that it is living in the twenty-first century. It does not know that food is as close as the nearest drive-thru window and that going without food does not equate to starvation. When you go for long periods without food, all this primal system knows is that you are not being taken care of. Your body equates not eating regularly with danger. When it experiences danger, it stores all it can within fat cells and releases very little of what is held in those cells. If you are not eating enough food for an extended period of time, something even more significant will occur. Your body needs energy, and you require energy to perform any activity. So when the starvation protection mechanism senses danger, it goes into survival mode and shuts down fat cells. If and when you do eat, most of these nutrients get stored within fat cells. Aside from fueling enough energy for heart and lung functions, this mechanism will not let any fat out of these cells. But you still need to walk from here to there or do whatever you have to do to get some food. That energy needs to come from someplace. Your body can easily consume body tissue to get these essential nutrients to fuel your activity. In the body’s starvation mode, muscle tissue, organ tissue, and brain tissue are literally cannibalized to provide you with the fuel you need. When most people go on a diet, they do not lose fat; they lose random weight. Approximately one-third of your weight on the scale is water, and most diets and diet products are simply diuretics. If you see products that say you can lose 10 pounds in 48 hours, this kind of water weight is exactly what you will lose. Diet centers and fad diets, however, will reduce your food (caloric) intake, and will do so to such a drastic extent that your body will think it is starving. If the diet is ex- treme—and most are—you will step on the scale and see that you have lost weight. But that weight loss will be water, muscle, and bone, but very little if any fat loss. When you can outsmart your natural fat storage system, you can naturally and effectively eliminate stored fat. To do this, you need to eat regularly and often. Most people make two serious mistakes: they wait too long to eat, activating the starvation alarm, or they eat too much, activating the fat storage system. This re- sults in the body storing almost all of what we eat as body fat because it fears star- vation. To reduce fat, your starvation protection device needs to be lulled into a sense of security. This is accomplished by eating a small snack-size meal every 2½ to 3 hours at approximately the same times every day. When this becomes a regular pattern—after two weeks or so—your body will begin to trust that it does not have to be on alert because there are no danger signs of shortage or starvation. When the starvation protection device relaxes sufficiently, it will begin releasing the nutri- ents stored within your fat cells, since they are no longer needed to ensure your survival. Eating small snack-size meals at regular intervals is key, but to attain the Holly- wood body in the shortest amount of time, you must choose what to eat carefully and thoughtfully.

Combining Proteins and Carbohydrates

During the digestive process, the molecular structure of food is broken down into smaller and smaller bits until these bits are small enough to pass through the intestinal wall and are released into the bloodstream. Once set free into the blood- stream, they can be used by the parts of the body that need them most. Your body ultimately derives amino acids from eating protein. Amino acids feed lean muscle. The less fatty the protein, the more efficiently your lean muscle can utilize the amino acids. When carbohydrates are digested, they are ultimately broken down into sugar or glucose. You need a certain amount of glucose to keep the body functioning prop- erly, but when there is too much glucose in the bloodstream, it will cause a hor- mone called insulin to be secreted. Insulin has one job: to take out all the extra glu- cose in the bloodstream and store it within the fat cells just in case it is needed in the future. Once nutrients are stored away in fat cells the body is very reluctant to part with what it has stored. It is therefore your primary objective not to flood the bloodstream with too much glucose. When choosing a carbohydrate, you will want to eat something that takes a long period of time to break apart in the digestive process, and you will find these foods listed in this chapter as primary carbohydrate selections. Because the molecular chains of these particular carbohydrates are difficult to break apart, glucose is re- leased into the bloodstream slowly over a longer period of time. The more difficulty the body has in breaking apart the molecular chain of the carbohydrate, the higher the carbohydrate will appear on the list. I am certain you know what fat is. Fat is butter, oil, lard—the stuff that hangs over your belt, the stuff you want less of. Fat is essential for the body. However, al- most every living organism on the planet contains some fat, so it is not necessary to add any extra fat to your food. When cooking, you should try to eliminate most, if not all, of the fat you can. Unfortunately, fat does add to the taste of food, so if you are going to add it, add it by the drop and not by the spoonful or cupful.

Portion Size

For any given meal, first decide which source of protein you will be eating, then determine the carbohydrate choice and corresponding portion size. If you want to rid yourself of fat, the portion size of your protein should be approximately the size of your palm. If you want to maintain your present weight, your protein portion should be the size of your palm extended to first joint of your fingers. If you would like to gain muscle mass, your protein portion should be the size of your hand. You will find a food list in this chapter that outlines which protein choices are best. Good proteins are found in protein powder, egg whites, most fish, skinless chicken breast, and turkey breast. These proteins have little inherent fat and are absorbed most effectively by your body’s digestive system. Secondary protein choices should be cut or very sparingly selected in your nutri- tional program. They include choice cuts of beef that are highly marbled, pork products, sausages, processed meats, cold cuts, duck, goose, lamb, and cheese. All of these secondary choices contain a higher proportion of fat and are not ab- sorbed as effectively by the digestive system. After your two-week initiation phase (described in chapter 6), you will combine your foods in a specific manner. Based on your choice of protein, you will then determine which carbohydrate and how much of that carbohydrate you should have. For instance, if you choose to eat one item from the list of primary protein selections, you can have twice that amount from the list of primary carbohydrate selections or the exact same-size portion of secondary carbohydrate selections. If you are eating a skinless chicken breast, you can have twice the amount of steamed cauliflower (a 1:2 ratio), or the same-size portion of rice, potato, bread, or pasta (a 1:1 ratio). If you choose to eat a secondary source of protein, you can have the same amount of a good carbohydrate or half that amount of a secondary carbo- hydrate. If you choose to eat a fatty protein such as beef pot roast, you can eat that same portion size of steamed vegetables or half the portion size of your protein in pasta. In addition, there are a number of free foods that do not count toward the equation, and you may have as much of them as you like if you are still hungry.

PRIMARY PROTEIN SELECTIONS

Chicken breast (not processed) - Cottage cheese (low-or nonfat) - Egg substitutes - Egg whites - Fat-free cheese Fish (any) - Lean ground beef (15 percent fat or lower) - Mock chicken or mock duck - Protein powder (whey)  Shellfish (any) Soy burger - Soy hot dog - Soy sausage - Tempeh - Tofu - Turkey breast (not processed) All others = secondary protein selection, which includes higher-fat red meats and poultry

PRIMARY CARBOHYDRATE SELECTIONS

Artichokes - Chickpeas - Mushrooms - Asparagus - Dried beans (any) - Navy beans - Bok choy - Eggplant - Pinto beans - Broccoli - Green beans - Red beans - Brussels sprouts - Kale - Soy beans - Butter beans - Kidney beans - Spinach - Cabbage - Lentils - Squash - Cauliflower - Lima beans - Zucchini - Starches -  Brown rice - Egg noodles -  Apples Grapefruit Plums - Apricots (dried) -Oranges Prunes - Berries (all) - Peaches - Tomatoes - Cherries - Pears  - Dairy Nonfat yogurt with fruit and sugar substitute 

Nonfat plain yogurt with sugar substitute 

Nonfat fruit-flavored yogurt with sugar

FREE FOODS

Celery - Cucumber - Crystal Light - Garlic - Jicama - Kohlrabi - Lemon juice -   Lettuce (iceberg, romaine, butter lettuce, endive, radicchio) - Lime juice - Mustard - Peppers - Radishes -  Salsa - Sugar-free ice tea - Sugar-free instant cocoa - Sugar-free Jell-O - Sugar-free popsicles - Sugar-free sodas - Vinegar

There are a number of ways that you can play with the 1:1/1:2 model. If you choose an excellent protein source and are craving a piece of bread, you can fit it into your meal in the following way: Look at the portion of protein on your plate. Divide that surface area in half. That will be the portion of your bread. You can have the same-size portion of primary carbohydrates, and you will have completed the 1:2 meal. I know it is really more like the 1:1½ meal, but you got the bread and you didn’t make yourself crazy. Still hungry? A small tossed salad is a free food; it does not count and is not part of the equation unless you have croutons or add a dress- ing other than vinegar, lemon, or a little salsa. So you might have a chicken breast, some vegetables, a little bread, and a salad. That is a really nice meal, and you wouldn’t feel like you were suffering if you did this five times a day. If you choose a secondary protein, simply have the same-size portion of primary carbohydrates or half that protein portion size of a secondary carbohydrate choice. Easy, right?

[postolo]

Trade Secrets — Intellectual Property’s Underdog

What do Google’s search algorithm, Coca-Cola and KFC’s original recipe, the selection criteria for the New York Times annual best seller list and the Big Mac special sauce recipe, share in common? These valuable recipes, methods and selection criteria are protected as trade secrets. Also called the “other intellectual property right (IPR)”, trade secrets does not dominate the popularity index with regard to the types of IP protection sought, corporations and individuals generally prefer other modes of IP protection. However, in the family of intellectual property rights, this right may be the oldest form because who does not have secrets. And what better measure to protect the secret than by keeping it undisclosed? Here a line of differentiation must be drawn between a personal and a professional secret as some professional secrets hold commercial value, like Coca-Cola’s recipe. What is the status of this form of IPR? A lack of consensus is found among nations and scholars alike regarding the recognition and treatment of trade secrets.

In this age of overcommunication, Coca-Cola’s recipe is one of the best kept secrets in the world. The company goes nostalgic in an account of its 125 years journey and presents proudly on its website some facts of its recipe.[1] The recipe was developed by John S. Pemberton, a pharmacist in 1886 and has been closely guarded, for more than a century.[2] Competitors have fiercely hunted for the recipe, yet apparently, this best kept secret has aided the Coca-Cola Company to become the successful, globally recognised brand it is today. Similarly, KFC has been a secret keeper for Colonel Harland Sanders’ recipe of 11 herbs and spices used by the fast food restaurant chain which has become its flagship product. The recipe is more than 70 years old and was apparently scribbled on the back of a door, which is being followed till date.[3] KFC has gone to a great length to protect this prized secret recipe, when it recently built a brand new, hi-tech home for the original handwritten recipe where the recipe is protected in a digital safe weighing more than 770 pounds encased in two feet of concrete with a 24-hour video and motion detection surveillance system.[4]

Where do these facts leave trade secrets with regard to the protection they provide and most importantly where does inclusion of trade secrets as a form of IP protection stand? Michael Risch opines trade secrets to be curious anomalies in intellectual property law and goes to argue that despite being the most important and litigated form of intellectual property, trade secrets are given derogatory treatment citing another work which terms this form “parasitic”.[5] On the contrary, trade secrets are justified by the economic benefits that flow from their existence, most notably incentives for businesses to spend less money protecting secret information or attempting to appropriate secret information.[6]

My Way or Yours? A Historical Perspective to Protection of Trade Secrets

The history of trade secret law is an interesting study in how certain intellectual property rights have developed. Whereas copyright, patent and trade mark law find legal justification through statutes, the trade secret concept and related reliefs grew out of the common law. Indeed, the very assumptions underlying patent and copyright laws—that government-granted rights can serve to incentivise the creation and sharing of new ideas and expression—are diametrically opposed to the notion of keeping information secret to gain a competitive advantage.[7]

The concept that so-called business or “trade secrets” were entitled to legal protection spread rapidly throughout the world. As early as the Renaissance, most European nation-States had laws that protected businesses (notably, the guild cartels) from those who used their secret processes and ideas without permission. During the Industrial Revolution, courts and legislatures translated these early laws into statutes that protected “industrial secrets”. Many of these statutes are still in force today, albeit in modified form. The modern trade secret regime traces most clearly and directly to the Industrial Revolution and is primarily an Anglo-American doctrine.

Currently, nations differ regarding their standpoint on treating trade secrets. Some have chosen to grant statutory relief to an act of trade secret violations while others treat the violations through popular principles of common law breach of confidence, etc. Looking at how nations seek to work together on various legal issues it is surprising how a unified treatment of trade secrets has not been possible. There is clearly no consensus on whether it be treated as a creature of contract law, tort, property or criminal law. With the continued confusion, none of these different justifications have proven entirely persuasive. Worse, they have contributed to inconsistent treatment of the basic elements of a trade secret cause of action, and uncertainty as to the relationship between trade secret laws and other causes of action.[8] Robert Bone has gone so far as to suggest that this theoretical incoherence suggests that there is no need for trade secret law as a separate doctrine at all.[9]

There is no State agency that “issues” (or even registers) trade secrets, thus categorising it separately from other forms of IP.[10] At the judicial level, courts will find misappropriation of trade secrets in two circumstances: (1) where the secrets were obtained by theft or other improper means, or where they were used; or (2) disclosed in violation of a confidential relationship agreement. However,  trade secret laws do not protect against independent discovery or invention. Nor do they prevent competitors from “reverse engineering” a legally (read fairly) obtained product to determine the secrets contained inside. Violations of trade secrets entitle the owner to damages and in some cases injunctions against the use or further disclosure.[11]

The International Framework of Trade Secrets

At the international level, the Trips agreement was the first international agreement to accord express protection to trade secrets. The agreement while defining trade secrets laid out its approach, based on the notion that in order to establish and maintain a fair and free market, protection against unfair competition should include protection for undisclosed information. While presenting this approach and defining the term, the Trips agreement referred to the prior existing protection as presented in the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.

Trade secrets are dual in nature, they are confidential as well as commercial. To get the commercial benefit out of the secret, the owner must share it with a limited number of people or partners. Thus, laws expect and account for a certain amount of protected disclosure, within a constrained circle.[12] Nevertheless, even if trade secrets are not “secret” in the strictest sense of the term, they must, in fact, remain non-public and known only to a limited number of people.[13] The Trips definition of trade secrets reflects a broadly similar understanding of the term across nations and addresses its dual nature as confidential but commercial. Moreover, in order to place all nations on a similar footing, the Trips platform took into consideration then current practices in many countries while laying down a path for shaping subsequent laws.

      7. Protection of undisclosed information.[14]

Article 39

In the course of ensuring effective protection against unfair competition as provided in Article 10bis of the Paris Convention (1967), members shall protect undisclosed information in accordance with Para 2 and data submitted to Governments or governmental agencies in accordance with Para 3.[15]

Natural and legal persons shall have the possibility of preventing information lawfully within their control from being disclosed to, acquired by, or used by others without their consent in a manner contrary to honest commercial practices so long as such information[16]:

           (a) is secret in the sense that it is not, as a body or in the precise configuration and assembly of its components, generally known among or readily accessible to persons within the circles that normally deal with the kind of information in question;

                (b) has commercial value because it is secret; and

                (c) has been subject to reasonable steps under the circumstances, by the person lawfully in control of the information, to keep it secret.

Members, when requiring, as a condition of approving the marketing of pharmaceutical or of agricultural chemical products which utilise new chemical entities, the submission of undisclosed test or other data, the origination of which involves a considerable effort, shall protect such data against unfair commercial use. In addition, members shall protect such data against disclosure, except where necessary to protect the public, or unless steps are taken to ensure that the data are protected against unfair commercial use.[17]

These three conditions define trade secrets in a manner covering a potentially very large scope of economic activity. The range of subject-matter covered by trade secrets may be open-ended, though often trade secrets fall into one of two broad categories: technical information (e.g. technical plans and formulae) and confidential business information (e.g. customer lists and marketing strategies).[18] However, an interesting point is that trade secrecy does not provide an exclusive right for a specific time-limit, which means its discovery by a second party through fair means or entry in the market, and they can run out in the regular course of the competition, unlike patented inventions or copyright protected content.

Conclusion

Trade secrets are a form of intellectual property, serving the same purpose as patent, trade mark and copyright laws i.e. promotion of innovation. While protection under trade secrets results in reduced investment in terms of money and time, on the contrary it does not provide an exclusivity over the secret, if a second party learns the information through fair means in the market. A proper understanding of trade secrets as an intellectual property right will let them be absorbed by society and encourage the formation of a law designed in order to promote innovation.

With varying patentability standards across nations, patent rights have become increasingly uncertain, especially when there is a movement in many countries to further raise the bar as far as the patentability criteria are concerned. To address this situation if the trade secret law is strengthened across the world, it will provide a viable option to inventors to keep their inventions secret. More importantly, stronger protection under trade secret law will ensure enhanced protection to tacit knowledge or know-how that may complement a patent, enabling the owner to protect his patented technology better in fact even beyond the patent period.

India does not have a dedicated law in place to protect trade secrets, however, there is a rich stock of jurisprudence that got introduced through cases, covering the definition and scope of trade secrets, protection remedies and so on. However, there is an increasing expectation that India introduces a statutory protection for trade secrets but time alone can tell whether it is to take place.

*Hetvi Trivedi is Research Associate, GNLU-GUJCOST Research Centre of Excellence in IP Laws, Policies & Practices.

[1]  Coca-Cola journey, available at <https://www.cocacolacompany.com/content/dam/journey/us/en/private/fileassets/pdf/2011/05/Coca-Cola_125_years_booklet.pdf>.

[2]  Ibid.

[3] What Made Us Great is Still What Makes Us Great, available at <https://www.kfc.com/about>

[4]  R. Mark Halligan and David A. Haas, The Secret of Trade Secret Success, available at  <https://www.forbes.com/2010/02/19/protecting-trade-secrets-leadership-managing-halligan-haas.html#77ea0d661372>.

[5]  Michael Risch, Why do we have Trade Secrets, p. 3 (2007).

[6]  Id., p. 5.

[7]   Id., p. 6.

[8]  Miles J. Feldman, Toward a Clearer Standard of Protectable Information: Trade Secrets and the Employment Relationship, 9 High Tech. LJ 151, 161-163 (1994).

[9] Robert G. Bone, A New Look at Trade Secret Law: Doctrine in Search of Justification, 86 California Law Review 241 (1998).

[10] Peter S. Menell, Mark A. Lemley and Robert P. Merges, Intellectual Property in the New Technological Age: 2017, Vol. I: Perspectives, Trade Secrets and Patents, p. 62 (2017).

[11]  Ibid.

[12]  OECD, Enquiries into Intellectual Property’s Economic Impact, p. 132 (2015).

[13]  Ibid.

[14]  Trips agreement, available at <https://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/27-trips.pdf>.

[15]  Ibid.

[16]  Ibid.

[17]  Ibid.

[18] Id., at p. 62.

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Fluoride

Fluoride Definition

Fluoride is a negatively charged fluorine atom (F–), also known as a fluorine anion. Fluoride is a naturally occurring ion, found in certain mineral and salty deposits. Certain levels of fluoride have been proven to be beneficial in fighting cavities and strengthening teeth. As a public health measure, fluoride has been maintained at low levels in municipal drinking water in many countries, including Australia, the United States, and several European countries. While there remains some controversy over the dangers of fluoride in water, the level is maintained well below the documented level at which negative symptoms are seen.

Biochemistry of Fluoride

Fluoride, as a negative ion, or anion, is capable of binding ionically to a cation, or positive ion. In the blood, there are many cations, but of utmost importance are H+ (hydrogen) and Ca2+ (calcium). These cations must be maintained in strict balance. If they are not in balance, the system will become more acid, and more calcium will be drawn from the bones and teeth, making them weaker and brittle. If a person has two little fluoride or too much fluoride in their system, these cations will also become unbalanced.

On the short hand, too little fluoride creates weak teeth, and allows bacteria to infiltrate and infect. This leads to tooth decay and cavities. Very low levels of fluoride prevent calcium from leaving the teeth, thereby strengthening them and preventing bacterial invasions. It is for this reason that water supplies are fluorinated on purpose. Fluoride provides an efficient, cost-effective method of providing a basic preventative health service.

On the other hand, too much fluoride in the system can be a bad thing. Just as too little fluoride weakens the bones, too much fluoride causes the same condition. Instead of limiting the system which balances calcium in the bones and teeth, fluoride can become the negative anion which pushes it out of balance. With too much fluoride in the system, the pH begins to lower. This causes the release of calcium, which can soak up acids in the blood. The calcium is then lost in the urine, and the bones and teeth become weaker.

Your body has this natural ability to process and remove excess fluoride, and can expel up to 50% of the fluoride intake per day. However, this means that long exposures to medium doses or single exposures to very high doses will take time to be removed from the system. At a certain point, they can become deadly, but this point is far above the threshold we keep our fluoride levels at.

Uses for Fluoride

Fluoride in Drinking Water

Health professionals have been maintaining low levels of fluoride in drinking water for many decades, as there is much evidence that it decreases tooth decay by killing bacteria in the mouth. The low levels of fluoride added to drinking water are far below the maximum limits of 7-10 mg per day that a human can safely consume. While many millions of people drink fluorinated water, controversy remains around its effects and potential side-effects. Much of this is due to the harsh effects of fluoride at high levels, seen in some natural ground water sources. Municipal sources of water are specially treated and screened to prevent high levels of fluoride. See “Dangers of Fluoride” below, for more information.

Fluoride in Dental Products

Fluoride is a common component in many dental products, including toothpastes, varnishes, and other teeth cleaning products. Fluoride has a proven history in the fight against mouth disease. It is also incredibly cheap, and reliable to work with. However, in the early days of using fluoride in dentistry there were some unfortunate accidents. Several people got sick, and even died, when they misused concentrated fluoride solutions provided by their dentists. While the solutions were intended to be spit out, the patients swallowed the concentrated fluoride. The high dose of fluoride disrupted their pH and calcium content enough to cause death.

These situation have been easily avoided by the setting of guidelines to the use of fluoride and strict warning labels on products which contain fluoride. Fluoride toothpastes usually contain a fraction of the daily advised amount of fluoride, and most of the fluoride is not absorbed when properly used. Concerns over children and fluoride poisoning have led to children’s toothpastes, which have a reduced fluoride content.

Other Places Fluoride is found

Fluoride is found naturally nearly everywhere. There is fluoride present in seawater, at nearly the same levels government fluorine their water. There is also some present in rainwater, which has fallen from the atmosphere after being deposited there by fires, volcanoes, and industrial pollution. The majority of fluoride on the Earth is found as the salt crystal fluorite (CaF2). This crystal can be mined, and the fluoride can be extracted for industrial applications. Because fluoride is found in rain and water, it is also found in plants. Therefore, everything we eat has trace amounts of fluorine.

Dangers of Fluoride

While there are virtually no well documented dangers to the levels of fluoride we are exposed to in the water, there is a danger of having no or too much fluoride. Fluoride is a necessary part of several biological reactions, and most living organisms need at least trace amounts of it to function properly. Where this threshold is exactly is not known, but even as little as half a milligram per liter of water can drastically improve bone and tooth health.

On the flip side, too much fluoride can have drastic consequences. Beginning symptoms of excess fluoride include dental and skeletal fluorosis. This is a condition in which the calcium starts to leave the bones to deal with the excessively high blood pH. As the calcium leaves, it is replaced by fluorine. This can make the bones and teeth excessively hard and brittle, causing them to break or shatter more easily. These symptoms can be slowly reversed by cutting fluoride out of the diet. These diseases have been documented in cases where the fluoride in the drinking water was above 10 mg/L, which is almost 10 times the amount in North American drinking water.

Exposure to higher levels of fluoride can cause more severe symptoms. At the far end of the spectrum is hypocalcemia. Your body, in order to counterbalance the huge amount of negation ions you just ingested, rapidly pulls the calcium from all of your tissues, not just the bones and teeth. As this happens, critical junctions at nerve and muscle cells can no longer function. Your body shuts down quickly, and you die. This condition is known as hypocalcemia. Fluoride has caused several deaths this way, mostly in accidents involving concentrated fluoride chemicals for industrial purposes. While fluoride is not a problem for nations with sophisticated water treatment facilities, high levels of fluoride are consumed by over 300 million people a year from untreated groundwater sources.

In drinking water in the United States, the fluoride is maintained between 0.7 and 1.2 mg per liter. A human can drink around 3-4 liters of water per day, which brings their total fluoride intake to somewhere between 4-5 mg. A daily intake of less than 10 mg is recommended, allowing much room before significant levels of fluoride are reached. In groundwater sources which contain more fluoride than this, the fluoride can quickly accumulate and cause a wide variety of issues.

Quiz

1. Is fluoride harmful or beneficial to your health? A. Harmful B. Beneficial C. It depends how much you take

Answer to Question #1

C is correct. All things can become poisonous if you take too much of them. Fluoride is no different. Your body needs some fluorine atoms to complete various chemical processes. However, your body is not used to dealing with too much fluoride, and because it is an ion, it can severely disturb bodily functions.

2. Which of the following is a serious concern about fluoride? A. The Communists are using it to control our brains B. Too much fluoride will cause mutations and deformations C. Too little fluoride will leave us with brittle bones and teeth

Answer to Question #2

C is correct. Of these choices, the most concerning is our oral health. Trace amounts of fluoride are apparently a necessary part of healthy teeth. While excess fluoride can be an issue, it doesn’t cause mutations and really isn’t a concern if you are drinking treated water.

3. Fluorite (CaF2) is the salt crystal which is mined to extract fluoride. Approximately how much fluoride is obtained from two grams of fluorite? Hint: you might want to look at the periodic table. A. 0.25 grams B. 1 gram C. 1.5 grams

Answer to Question #3

B is correct. When you look at the periodic table, you will notice that fluorine is atomic number 9, and calcium is number 20. That means that fluorine weighs approximately half of calcium. Fluoride is simply fluorine with a negative charge. Therefore, in 2 grams of fluorite (the crystal) there is approximately 1 gram of calcium (20) and 1 gram of fluoride (9 + 9 = 18). It wouldn’t be exactly 1, but that’s close enough for the answers to this question.

References

Bruice, P. Y. (2011). Organic Chemistry (6th ed.). Boston: Prentice Hall.

Nelson, D. L., & Cox, M. M. (2008). Principles of Biochemistry. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company.