Ketamine Hype Part 2

Last time we talked about how ketamine is currently receiving a bit of attention as a possible treatment for depression. This is interesting because historically ketamine has been used either as one of several drugs used to put a patient under for surgery or as a very risky and addictive recreational drug. 

Ketamine, also called Vitamin K, Special K, Kit Kat, Cat Valium, Super K, and more, is a dissociative anesthetic which  causes a disconnect between mind and body. Users experience what’s referred to as entering a K-hole The user undergoes a distortion of sight and sound for up to an hour. It’s often taken as a powder, snorted or put into drinks. The effects have been compared to that of LSD or PCP and include hallucinations and the user has little control during use.

We briefly talked about some of the benefits but what are some of the specific risks of ketamine usage? Well, it could raise your blood pressure or even destabilize your heart rate altogether. This is usually temporary but even more concerning is the impact ketamine could have on cranial pressure. It’s possible that there could be an increase in pressure which is why usage even in the medical arena should be closely monitored.  Additionally, as with most drugs, there is a risk of liver damage. This is specifically challenging with ketamine though as it interacts with a large range of other drugs. The interaction can obviously go beyond liver damage but in recreational settings where it's likely to be combined with alcohol, this is particularly concerning and even deadly. If you undergo professional ketamine treatment, be sure to disclose all the other medications as the list of dangerous interactions is extensive.

It’s also not uncommon to feel disoriented and confused as you come out of the hallucinogenic state. People have also mentioned aches and pains, imparied judgment, anxiety and a temporary decrease in cognitive functioning. 

So, considering the risks, what does ketamine do that other drugs do not which makes it worth consideration for some patients despite the negative side effects? Well, for starters ketamine’s effect on the brain does not end when the drug leaves a person’s system. In fact, the impact of ketamine is rooted in the brain's response to ketamine, not its presence. Ketamine stimulates the production of glutamate which is the foundation to the creation of new neural pathways. This paves the way for what some experts have referred to as a “reset” for the brain. The formation of these new pathways creates an opportunity for the patient to fortify neural pathways that aren’t shaped by depression and may protect against the return of depression in general.

Practitioners caution that because there are so many possible negative side effects attributed to ketamine and it is highly addictive, even the drugs made from ketamine should only be used once more traditional means have been unsuccessful. Additionally, ketamine-based drugs are not a cure all alone. Most treatment protocols also include behavioral therapy so that a patient doesn’t just continue the same lifestyle patterns that created their vulnerabilities to hormonal imbalances. As ketamine gains some traction in the spotlight, it’s important to note that it is a volatile and potentially dangerous chemical that should only be used with the supervision of a doctor with ketamine experience. Also, the ketamine based medications and the recreational drugs are not the same and ketamine, when misused, causes lasting cognitive and liver damage and sometimes death. Hopefully this gives you a  more balanced view of what some are referring to as a miracle drug for depression. Always talk to your doctor and get a second opinion when considering something largely experimental for your health.

Ketamine Hype?

You might have seen Ketamine in the news recently. As we live through an unprecedented series of global disasters and traumas, the impact on our collective mental health is easy to imagine. Depression and anxiety are both at an all time high. Our stress levels are spiking and everyone is seeking a way to alleviate the toll on our lives even though we are still experiencing the traumas every day. 

We haven’t talked a lot about mental health thus far but there are a number of things that support general health that are also effective for supporting one's mental health. Depression and anxiety are often tied to hormonal imbalances. Anything from a lack of serotonin and dopamine to too much estrogen and testosterone can cause a shift in how the brain operates. Some of these hormones are made while we sleep and some are boosted by regular exercise. We often think about how easy it is to pick up vices or bad habits but good habits like drinking enough water, getting regular amounts of sleep and consistent exercise also support the brain's ability to continue to pursue those same things moving forward. 

Sometimes though, we are forced to experience stressors of some kind or another. Recently we’ve all experienced the stress of a global pandemic. Some of us have endured financial difficulty from job loss, sickness or other factors altogether. Family issues, work strain, injury, etc. all contribute to the amount of stress you may experience day-to-day. While healthy habits will allow you to manage these challenges more effectively, stress will still cause hormones like cortisol to build up in the brain over time. Regular sleep helps to flush out these build ups but if the stresses drag on, we become more and more vulnerable to the build up of hormones that interrupt some of our healthier coping activities and can lead us to waste our energy trying to stay afloat. 

For many, the only way to halt a spiral down into detrimental cycles is to use a hormone based medication to supplement their normal production. One of the big risks of this option is that it may affect the body’s ability to naturally produce the needed hormones once an artificial source is introduced. Ketamine is gaining attention and a modest spotlight because it’s function is a bit different from traditional medications. Instead of artificially introducing the hormone that the brain is lacking, Ketamine stimulates the creation of the system that produces the needed hormone. This is also why medically administered ketamine causes long lasting benefits even after it's no longer being taken. You might also be aware that ketamine was and still is a very dangerous recreational drug and is incredibly addictive. So, while there seem to be some obvious benefits, there are also some extremely concerning downsides as well.  Next time we will talk more about the pros and cons of this new treatment and take a look at why some might still consider it if they have severe depression. 

Resources:

What is Ketamine? How it Works and Helps Severe Depression

Ketamine for major depression: New tool, new questions - Harvard Health

Ketamine and Its Effects on the Brain and Mental Health 

Ketamine (Injection Route) Side Effects - Mayo Clinic

Should We Ban Water Bottles? Pt. 2

Last time we looked at the reasons plastic bottles are probably a waste of space from water quality to chemical contaminants, but what about the use of water itself? Where does it come from and how is it processed? Is this an efficient system?

There are several different common sources for bottled water. One, as we mentioned, is literally tap water or Publically Source Water like what’s still used by Aquafina. Another is spring water. This water is taken from a natural source where water flows to the earth’s surface from deep underground. In slight contrast, well water is a manmade structure that taps a deep aquifer and creates access to this stored water. 

Water bottle companies usually source their water from one of the above and and then siphon off millions of gallons of water for bottling. The bottles themselves required oil to be extracted for their production and the amount of oil could power hundreds of thousands of homes. Add to that the facts that water is also used in the production of water bottles and the processing of water and the true the amount of water used by water bottle companies is staggering. For example, it take 6 liters of water to produce and cool 1.5 liters of bottled water. That means that not only are bottled water companies taking the millions of liters of water actually sold in store from springs and aquifers around the country, but they are also taking 4 times that amount just to process the water that is sold. The efficiency of this process is not only sorely lacking, but the environmental toll is staggering. 

Now, you may have heard a little about Nestle and their own water practices recently. Nestle owns one of the biggest water bottle companies in the country and they siphon water even from places that are suffering from a resource shortage. For example, in California, there have been several years of drought and fires and while communities are limiting their own water usage, Nestle is still pumping away millions of liters. It would still be bad if Nestle was paying back the communities it was taking from but as if to add injury to insult, in many cases, Nestle is paying a couple hundred dollars annually to pump millions of gallons of water from natural resources. In San Bernardino, CA for example, Nestle has been paying $524 for roughly 30 million gallons of water. That is a little over 5 dollars for 300,000 gallon. A dollar for 60,000 gallons. A penny for 600 gallons. How much is a bottle of water? $2 for something cheap. More if there is any kind of “enhancement.” For a penny, at the rate Nestle pays, you could fill 3,720 water bottles. I think it’s safe to say that we are all over paying for bottled water to an astronomical extent. 

So, at the end of the day, water bottles require huge amounts of water in addition to the water sold to be made. They require millions of barrels of fossil fuels and their cost is staggeringly disproportionate to the cost of producing them. All of that on top of the fact that disposing of plastic bottles takes a devastating toll on the environment and is one the the larger contributors to atmospheric pollution. 

So, should we ditch the plastic bottle? What do you think?

Should We Ban Water Bottles? Pt. 1

If you were offered a brand new bottle of water or a glass of water from the tap, which one would you reach for? We’ve talked before about how “enhanced” bottled waters are pretty gimmick-filled and may be more of an issue than a boon. We’ve also touched on the current water crisis as well as some of the current complications with tap water today. Any mention of Flint, Michigan will probably bring the dangers of water contamination and an overall shortage to mind for years to come. What about plain, bottled water? 

Bottled water has had a chokehold on the American preference for decades. Many of us grew up believing that bottled water was just cleaner and more heavily filtered than what came out of the tap. Even as we drank from hoses and accidentally swallowed lake water, we knew that just based on the cost alone, there had to be something special about that plastic-encapsulated H20. That’s one reason many of us were up in arms when it came out that Aquafina was literally straight from the tap. So, besides the possibility that they are identical to what comes from your kitchen faucet, what are the other big reasons that bottled water might be a bust?

The most obvious reason is right in the name: Plastic. Plastic waste is one of the biggest contributors to global warming and we, as a global community, need to be doing our utmost to combat such an unnecessary strain. More than 17 million barrels of oil are required to produce enough bottled water to meet America’s current demand. Even though some plastic bottles can technically be recycled, less than 1 in 5 are eligible. Even fewer make it into the recycling process. Most end up in a landfill or the ocean. Millions of tons of plastic bottles are currently floating in the Great Pacific Garbage Island. In addition, plastic often carries several chemical contaminants. Have you ever left a water bottle in your car and wondered if it was still okay to drink? The simple answer is, probably not. The longer answer is that the integrity of the plastic used for most bottles (roughly 93% of them) holds up until about 70 degrees. At that point, you are likely ingesting a significant amount of microplastics and heavy metals as well as an unknown cocktail of chemical contaminants that differs slightly between brands. So again, if you are considering drinking that hot, bottled water from the backseat, maybe just don’t!

Below we’ve included some additional reading resources and next time we will talk a little more about how the production of bottled water is ironically wasting a precious, limited resource: water. 

Resources:

The Real Reason You Should Stop Buying Bottled Water

The real cost of bottled water - Sustainability - University of Que    ensland

Reasons to Avoid Bottled Water | Sustainability at Harvard 

Moisturizer: Yes or No?

Do you use a daily moisturizer? There seem to be two main schools of thought when it comes to dry skin or just maintaining the health of your skin. One group swears by their particular moisturizer and wouldn’t be caught dead without it whether it’s cool or hot, dry or wet outside. The other group tends to view their skin care more like a “less is more” situation and they often swear by hydrating from the inside out. You might be surprised to discover that the research seems to support something of a middle ground. 

First, we know that drinking water is important. In order for the body to function and for all of the cleansing systems within the body to work, you have to have water. Not only is water the mechanism by which toxins and impurities are purged from the body but just about every rejuvenating bodily function also relies on water. Even the construction of new cells relies heavily on water to work as epithelial cells (and most cells, period) are made up of more than 70% water. It makes sense then that hydrating the body would go a long way to taking care of the body’s largest organ, a.k.a. the skin. Many celebrities call heavy water intake their secret weapon when it comes to great skin. 

However, there is something to be said about a topical moisturizer as well! Mainly this: Moisturizer is capable of trapping water that would otherwise leave the skin, against the skin, allowing the skin to absorb more of it and rehydrate. That is the main function of a moisturizer. You may be wondering about all the vitamin enhancers and mineral containing creams but most of those ingredients don’t survive sun exposure or they start to break down as soon as they hit the air. The true value of moisturizer is to serve as a vehicle for bringing and trapping water against the absorbent surface of your skin. That’s basically it. After that it is mainly a matter of preference or need. Some of us have sensitive skin so something with chemical fragrances or harsh additional ingredients is not going to be a great choice. Additionally, for someone with psoriasis or another skin condition, there might be a need for a medicinal ingredient, typically prescribed by a doctor. 

At the end of the day, researchers and dermatologists seem to agree that drinking water and staying hydrated is an excellent idea for the health of your skin and a simple moisturizer won’t hurt. 

Hydrogenated Oils

Hydrogenated oils. We’ve heard they aren’t great for our health but are they really that bad? Well, let’s talk about what hydrogenation entails. We know that many vegetable oils start out as unsaturated. A catalyst, usually nickel, is used to cause hydrogen molecules from a hydrogen gas to bond with the unsaturated bonds in the oil creating and increasing the fat’s saturation. The main benefit of this process is that the oil in question will have a higher melting temperature and will be more stable. The complete hydrogenation of oil used to be used to create candles and soap but now, partially hydrogenated oils are used in a variety of processed foods. 

This process has the added effect of creating trans fat. We’ve learned that it takes quite a bit of harm for the FDA to actually prohibit the use of something in the US but the FDA has actually recognized the harm that trans fat causes to the cardiovascular system and is phasing it out of production. Right now, a lot of products already claim to be “trans fats free.” However, you have to remember that nutritional percentages are still based on the serving size of a product. If there are less than 0.5 grams of trans fat per serving, that product can be considered trans fat free according to the current labeling standards. 

So, the main issue with hydrogenated oils is trans fat. It’s important to note that this is a risk with partially hydrogenated oil and not fully hydrogenated oils. Unfortunately, it is often so difficult to distinguish which type of hydrogenated oil was used, they are both avoided. The risk of consuming trans fat is serious enough that it is worth the precaution. Trans fat not only raises the detrimental cholesterol in your body, it also lowers the beneficial cholesterol. This has the expected result of increasing a person’s risk of heart disease, stroke and Type 2 diabetes. 

While some fats are very good for the health of your brain and the normal processing of your body, trans fat is not needed at all in the body and is actively detrimental to the processing of one’s body. Partially hydrogenated oils should therefore be minimized as much as possible. They are commonly found in fast food, from foods like TV dinners and pizzas, some ice cream and pudding, margarine and a lot of desserts. Donuts, cookies, pies, cakes and non-dairy creamers often all have partially hydrogenated oils and thus, trans fat. This is just one more reason to maximize the amount of fresh, unprocessed foods in your diet! The closer you can get to plucking your food from the earth, the better. 

Big Oil Undermining Climate Change Science in the Classroom

Let’s talk about the education system in Texas. This might seem a bit specific but the fact is, what happens in Texas, does NOT stay in texas. Many societal trends that take place first in Texas find their way into many other states rather quickly. While this sums up so many things we are currently dealing with, let’s focus on the impact of the oil and gas industry on the curriculum of Texas elementary and high school students. 

Now, why would the oil and gas industry care about what kids are learning in school? The same reason advertisers dedicate whole departments to targeting kids. The younger you lock in a group of people as supporters, the better for the longevity of your product. In this case, we are talking about the education of future voters and even political participants. It is in the best interest of oil and gas to ensure that they are viewed favorably by the next generation to maintain their foothold in the energy world. Particularly as the amount of bad press coverage due to increasingly obvious climate change caused disasters, rises. 

How do they even have the ability to inform curriculum though? Simple. In places like Texas where the oil and gas industry contributes heavily to education funding, their people sit on the boards. They make up committees and provide consultants who propose changes and modifications to the textbook language. They “recommend” the best way to introduce oil and gas based energy and make a blatant effort to downplay the role of big oil in contributing to climate change. They tie funding to an adherence to their recommendations and expect to be taken seriously when it comes to the language used in textbooks as they are a main source of funding for the creation of those textbooks. 

You might say, ok, but that’s just Texas. Why do I care what they print? It sounds like those textbooks may just reflect what the Texan population already believes about climate change. First, even if that were true, the continuation of detrimental concepts and beliefs being perpetuated through the public school education system in the largest state in the US is always going to be a concern for us all. Texas has around 40 electoral votes meaning Texas, by itself can provide almost 15% of the votes needed to elect a president. What Texans do and think will impact the rest of us. Secondly, Texas is one of the largest producers of textbooks in the country! Meaning, what they put into those books might be exactly what your 5th grader gets in their classroom in Vermont. 

Bottom line? Be vigilant. There are programs around the country that promote the idea that oil and gas either aren’t really contributing all that much to climate change or even that climate change “isn't so bad.” It doesn’t take a psychology degree to imagine the impact teachers parroting big oil might have on the next generation of Americans. Big oil has certainly run the numbers and decided it is worth the millions of dollars invested in industry-shaped education. 

Resources:

Subverting Climate Science in the Classroom - Scientific American

The ABCs of Big Oil: Why the Fossil Fuel Industry Infiltrated Schools

Pipeline to the classroom: how big oil promotes fossil fuels to America's children | Oklahoma | The Guardian 

Tea Time

As summer rolls in with a vengeance, the last thing you might be thinking of drinking is hot tea. However, the various health benefits may outweigh the heat. Teas derived from Camellia sinensis, like green teas, black teas, and the like are known for having a high antioxidant content, specifically flavonoids. You might remember from an earlier article that flavonoids, also present in dark chocolate, can mitigate the impact of free radicals, reducing some cancers and cardiac complications and improving arterial health.

Green tea is thought to reduce the risk of neurological diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. It has the highest  flavonoid content in this group of teas and can lower bad cholesterol and blood pressure. It’s also anti-inflammatory and promotes healthy skin! Matcha is a powder made from green tea and is thought to deliver even more of the same benefits as it is much more concentrated. 

Black tea is made from the dried and fermented leaves of the same plant but the process produces a much richer taste. With black tea you get some of the same benefits as green tea and it can also be used as a compress for dermatitis to alleviate inflammation.

Oolong tea is another Camellia sinensis tea and is partially fermented, though not as completely as black tea. The Oolong benefits package is very close to that of black and green tea and the caffeine content is also somewhere in between the first two teas. All three teas are sometimes referred to as true teas; drinking them is considered overall beneficial. It’s important to consider the fact that all of these teas have some amount of caffeine. 

If you are looking for something without the caffeine kick, you might try herbal tea instead. A few common ones include dandelion tea, which is great for kidney and urinary tract health. Echinacea tea is a common and effective way to boost your immune system. Chamomile tea is not only relaxing but may be preventative of diabetes, kidney damage and cancer. Ginger tea is great for digestive health and may also be helpful with inflammation of the joints. This makes it a great choice for those that suffer from arthritis. The possible benefits are honestly endless when you start looking into the herbal options. Tea might not be as integral in American life as, say, coffee has become, but it might be a habit we consider adopting if supporting our health is number one!

Resources: 

The Hidden Health Benefits of Tea | Penn Medicine

Types of Teas and Their Health Benefits 

Oolong Tea vs Black Tea: Which One is Healthier? – Sencha Tea Bar 

Ecobricking: Building a Future

Have you heard of ecobricking? Among the innovative solutions we have for plastic waste, this one’s geared specifically toward our daily and personal lives. Ecobricking takes the plastic we use on a daily basis and removes it from the typical industrial waste track. We’ve talked about how plastic not only hurts the environment and often ends up in the ocean, but how the production of plastic, the use of fossil fuels, contributes to the build up of greenhouse gasses, ultimately causing global warming and climate change. While supporting corporate and industrial, big picture solutions is the biggest way for us to see large and essential changes, personal changes in our everyday practices can make an impact as we work to change the larger system. Ecobricking is one of those lifestyle changes. 

So, what is ecobricking? Ecobricking is the process of using a PET or Polyethylene Terephthalate bottle to create a reusable building block. These bricks accomplish what is called plastic sequestration which isolates these plastics from the environment in such a way as to prevent degradation and the development of microplastics. These plastics will not be melted down, releasing greenhouse gasses into the air. They will not fill a landfill, leaching toxins into our groundwater. They won’t end up in the sea. Instead, these plastics will be turned into building blocks used to create anything from firepit seating to entire affordable homes. 

How do you create an ecobrick? Well, first you save your plastics. Rise them like you would for regular recycling but set them aside. Then, take a clean see-through bottle and prepare to pack. You will need small, packable or shreddable plastics. Stuff that will fit in a plastic bottle, obviously. You will also need a blunt stick to pack that plastic in as tightly as possible. You’ll want to alternate between softer plastics and harder ones, shooting for a min weight of 0.33g/ml. Remember that the color you start with will be the color of the brick so you might want to keep that consistent depending on the project you plan to use your bricks for. If you are ecobricking for your community or school, they might already have a color or group of colors in mind so make sure you check before you begin packing. We’ll include a link with more details about the process below this article. 

Once you’ve created a collection of bricks, you can use them to create whatever you want. They can be made to be incorporated into permanent structures, as with a building or larger outdoor structure. Or they can be made to be a little more flexible with the option to break them down and build them back up in new ways, as with lego style furniture. Really, the sky's the limit. Ecobricking is a great way to be aware of the amount of plastic waste your household creates and many organically begin to reduce their plastic use as they see how much plastic waste they create. Ecobricking is just one way we can reuse, recycle, and reduce all in one lifestyle change. For those who don’t feel like they can make a difference, it’s a calculable and quantifiable change!

Resources: 

What is an Ecobrick? 

Plastic Sequestration | Ecobricks.org

Bottle Bricks | Engineering For Change 

Our Projects 

Did You Know About the Garbage Island?

It is wild to think about the amount of plastic waste we create in this country and around the world. We’ve discussed how we produce about 380 million tons of plastic and a sizable chunk of that is dumped into the ocean each year and how as human beings we inadvertently eat a surprisingly high amount of plastic as a result. Microplastics are pervasive and small enough that they are consumed in our food, found in our drinking water and even in the air. We’ve talked about this before but did you know about the garbage island? 

The garbage island, known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch located in the pacific ocean between California and Hawaii and spans an area about three times the size of texas. You can only imagine how many marine creatures are impacted by a mass of plastic waste that large. Even more eye opening is that while the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the largest plastic waste site in the ocean, it is not the only one. It’s actually one of 5 very large sites of plastic waste contamination. It is estimated that in this one patch alone there are more than 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic waste weighing over 80,000 tonnes. 

Recently, groups like The Ocean Cleanup have begun trying to clean up this disastrous by-product of consumerism. Many are of the opinion that unless we turn plastic waste off at the source, there is little hope that we will be able to catch up with production and waste. One researcher speculated that if we stay on our current trajectory, in about 25 years, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish. While that may seem crazy, think again about how much waste is in this one garbage patch and how we are adding to it everyday. It’s thought that the patches are created by a vortex of currents that collects and holds the garbage together. As the bigger pieces break down, they create millions of smaller pieces that are consumed and often kill the wildlife around the patch. The wildlife that doesn’t die often becomes food for larger sea creatures, spreading the overall effect of this floating trash heap. 

We know that plastic waste is a problem. We know that we have a finite amount of water on this planet. We know that plastic in our blood, lungs and air is not sustainable. We know that we are now passing these problems one directly to babies just born and the cycle is getting more and more dire. We also know that we have a small window of time in which to implement changes that will have a real impact. We are perched on the edge of a point of no return. It’s time to act and protect our resources before we run out. 

Resources:

https://theoceancleanup.com/great-pacific-garbage-patch/

https://plasticoceans.org/the-facts/