Unknowns
My older, smarter sister with better grades and higher test scores and a real career introduced me to the idea of unknown unknowns when I moved once for health reasons and was rattling off some of the factors I KNEW were involved and some of my guesses about things I didn't know. This revolutionized my health approach and my life.
This post is quick and dirty and NOT MEDICAL ADVICE.
I was friends with a physician and he once said to me that the first time they scanned a woman's brain -- I think with an MRI -- they freaked out. "What is going on here? This is not NORMAL!"
All previous scans were on male brains.
In fact, MOST initial medical research and data in western countries is for upper class White males in their twenties. Why? Because they are medical students.
Medical students design a lot of medical research and medical students serve as research subjects for a lot of initial findings. So there tends to be a lot of research on White male diseases, less research on female and minority diseases.
This isn't in most cases intentionally malicious. It's just some young guy pursuing what interests him while trying to check a box to get his degree.
But we do know some research in the US has been intentionally malicious, such as the Tuskegee Syphilis Trials. I'm not Black and I have my blind spots and I also do not have high blood pressure, but -- insert X Files conspiracy theory style music -- I find myself wondering if telling Black Americans that salt is bad for their high blood pressure may be actively harming them.
This is a QUESTION in my mind NOT a conclusion. Here are some of the thought processes getting me there(and I'm not linking back to all the posts on this site that support this -- go find them yourself) post updated and LINKS ADDED (01/29/2024):
"For entertainment purposes only" and don't sue me if you decide to eat a fuckton of salt and die. I'm dirt poor anyway.
This post is quick and dirty and NOT MEDICAL ADVICE.
I was friends with a physician and he once said to me that the first time they scanned a woman's brain -- I think with an MRI -- they freaked out. "What is going on here? This is not NORMAL!"
All previous scans were on male brains.
In fact, MOST initial medical research and data in western countries is for upper class White males in their twenties. Why? Because they are medical students.
Medical students design a lot of medical research and medical students serve as research subjects for a lot of initial findings. So there tends to be a lot of research on White male diseases, less research on female and minority diseases.
This isn't in most cases intentionally malicious. It's just some young guy pursuing what interests him while trying to check a box to get his degree.
But we do know some research in the US has been intentionally malicious, such as the Tuskegee Syphilis Trials. I'm not Black and I have my blind spots and I also do not have high blood pressure, but -- insert X Files conspiracy theory style music -- I find myself wondering if telling Black Americans that salt is bad for their high blood pressure may be actively harming them.
This is a QUESTION in my mind NOT a conclusion. Here are some of the thought processes getting me there
- Some people with CF are scared of calcium and actively avoid it though they are prone to osteoporosis as early as their teens. I think this fear helps kill people with CF because I think we hoard calcium in our cells in a desperate attempt to buffer against other things.
- The above detail about them freaking out before realizing "Oh. It's the first time we scanned a WOMAN'S brain."
- Recently learned info that pork is crazy high in selenium.
- Looking up earlier today if selenium raises blood pressure and, yes, it does.
- Coincidentally, I recently posted a House clip to this site where a CIA agent has selenium poisoning from eating too many Brazil nuts, another food crazy high in selenium, and the treatment is chelation because it's a metal or metalloid chemically speaking.
- Salt helps remove metals from the system.
"For entertainment purposes only" and don't sue me if you decide to eat a fuckton of salt and die. I'm dirt poor anyway.
