I read an interesting article about a doctor, who, many years ago as a resident, had a habit of taking long, detailed histories of his patients. He also is a novelist, which may explain his interest in detail.

His patient was an older lady with respiratory problems that were growing worse and worse, to the point where they feared she might expire. Of course they checked out the usual: pneumonia, allergies, ashma, etc., and nothing turned up.

However, in the course of his long history taking, he determined that she lived next door to a magician, who kept birds (pigeons, I think)... more

Most people seeking to be healthier, whether pre-conception or otherwise, know enough to clean up the diet: throw out or limit the junk, transfats, dyes, and try to eat organic and hormone free. But did you ever think of what's entering your body through your everyday slather of hand lotion, spritz of perfume, or lipstick?

When I was little, I used to think human skin was just like saran wrap, some inert substance that kept the bag of innards and blood from falling out. Skin, however, is much more than that. It's the body's largest organ.

People rarely think... more

Brangelina.... hm...

...

I have to say that I admire Angelina Jolie for using her super-celebrity powers for good, not evil, and for bringing Brad over to a more serious and engaged-with-the-world side. To us PEOPLE readers, much of Hollywood seems to be overly involved with shopping, canoodling (to put it politely), and generally shallow and materialistic hedonistic pursuits, not to say the rest of the population never indulges in this, but we have a lot less money and generally don't do it in public, nor do we have tons of adoring fans looking up... more

P.S. Clue to the last one: Information on Mongolia from the ... more

Okay, I have to start with a confession. I am an inveterate reader of gossip magazines, and my sister and I love to chat on the phone about "Jessica and Nick" as if they were our eccentric neighbors.

I will go on further to admit that I actually have a subscription to PEOPLE, however, I will mention they were nice enough to review my novel, so I must say they have my full support as they once supported me.

So even if you just glance at the covers while in line at the supermarket, you probably see it's all full of who's pregnant, who's adopting from China, who's adopting and... more

Okay, so the cover is a bit flowery, but this book is a great resource for any woman, not just those who want to get pregnant. It's basically about "fertility awareness"--and with every woman, her cycle is different--and you can use this knowledge in many ways: getting pregnant, not getting pregnant, anticipating which parts of your cycle might be causing symptoms of PMS, etc., and possibly adjusting your lifestyle/diet accordingly.

There are also chapters of gynecological health and menopause, as well. Straightforward, no nonsense, nice index, easy to... more

Related to the previous post about technology making the business of categorizing who is a parent very muddy is another issue about technology: how much would you pay to have a baby?

Adrienne of the AdoptRussia blog was nice enough to alert me to this article on the Baby Industrial Complex. It's all about the business of fertility in all its rawness. Unfortunately, when people desire something, in our capitalistic system, it becomes a commodity, with all the attendant pitfalls. Scariest among them is the fact that the business is largely unregulated. Most people would look askance at going to Mexico... more

Here's an interesting article in The New York Times, about children born of donor sperm donors who want to seek their "biological fathers" (and sometimes, vice versa). An interesting topic that eerily parallels many of the issues of adoption as well. The urge to know where one came from is, it seems, universal.

The big question is, will the advances of assisted reproductive technology (ART) such as sperm and egg donation move too quickly for the ensuing moral questions? I had a few chums in college who donated sperm for the "extra bucks." They are all... more

Dr. Jiao, my acupuncturist, keeps getting on my case for being too stressed. It's true. Even when I'm doing things like exercise to de-stress, I am stressed: I run fast, charge on the elliptical trainer, etc., etc. I have a stressful life--I have a lot to get done! He can tell on my face every week if I'm on the wrong side of things.

"What's the use of writing great books if you die when you're fifty?"

Good point.

He also told me, last week, about a client who got pregnant with a little acupuncture help. He said she was also a stress-bucket and warned... more

Technorati Profile