NATURAL MEDICINE
AND
RACING THE PLANET

Greetings and welcome to The Deep column and the deepest radio show on Earth. The Deep is the science talk radio program that takes you from the depths of the ocean to the farthest reaches of the universe. This week on The Deep, aired at 6:00 this evening on K-57, we’ll talk about taking your health into your own hands. Then we’ll have an expedition call from Cathy Cole, the founder of Racing the Planet. We’ll also have some science news updates and we’ll be taking your phone calls. Tune in tonight and join host Jim Sullivan, Pam Eastlick and our expedition coordinator Peter Melyan for the latest in scientific news! Then log on to www.thedeepradioshow.com for more information on all the latest and deepest news!

HEALING HEALTH
As the Baby Boomers age, more and more of the media’s attention seems to be focused on health issues. There’s more heart disease, more kidney failure, more liver ailments, more diabetes, than there has ever been in human history. Why? Is it air pollution? Toxins in the water? No, there are simply more aging people to develop these conditions than there have ever been.

In ancient times, if a woman didn’t die in childbirth, she likely died of plague, infection, influenza, pneumonia, tuberculosis, malaria or any of a host of common diseases that either no longer exist today or are easily treatable. One of my favorite strips from the “For Better or For Worse” comic, shows Elly complaining to her friend about the downside of menopause. “How did our ancestors stand it?” she whines. Her friend replies “Most of them didn’t live long enough to have the problem.” And she’s right.

Since so many of us are surviving to old age, we must deal with the problems of an aging body. Seventy or eighty years puts a lot of wear and tear on bones, joints and organs. This is particularly true if the body has endured a lot of abuse like broken bones, hard work and the routine ingestion of toxins.

We blame many of our ills on pollution but many of our health problems are our own fault. For instance, you know what formaldehyde is used for. We all remember those creepy pickled things in the jars in science class. But how many of us know that when your body breaks down ethanol, it converts a significant portion of it to formaldehyde. The liver, the organ that deals with the body’s toxic waste, has to process this formaldehyde and if it’s forced to handle too much, it can be damaged. Ethanol, of course, is the prime ingredient in beer and all other alcoholic drinks. When people say, “He pickled his liver”, they aren’t kidding.

Then, there’s the drugs. And I’m not talking ‘ice’ here. I’m talking about the powerful drugs that many of us get from the doctor. Legally. All the drugs we take every day. The insulin, the heart drugs, the aspirin, the cholesterol drugs. When I look in my own medicine cabinet, I conclude that the war on drugs is over, and the drugs won. What are all these drugs doing to our bodies? How do the combinations affect us? What if we take over-the-counter drugs or illegal drugs at the same time without telling our doctor? Every week, there’s a new study about how that drug has previously unreported side effects, about how this food contains a substance that’s really bad for you (or perhaps, really good for you), about how bad it is for you to be overweight. We are constantly bombarded by health information, and much of it is conflicting. What is a sane person to do?

Well, for one thing, take charge of your body and educate yourself. Read about diseases and medical conditions and how they affect you. Eat a balanced diet and avoid junk food and alcohol. Remember something very important; you are LITERALLY what you eat. Every cell in your body has to come from somewhere and believe me; they aren’t generated from thin air. Did you really want a body made from rice, finadine, Spam, Budweiser and kelaguen?
Our guest this week on The Deep is Roni Sellmann, a lady who has a deep interest in health. She has multiple degrees in fields related to medicine and public health (Epidemiology and Maternal Child Care) and she’s also interested in oriental medicine and acupuncture.

We’ll be talking about the integration of western and oriental medicine and the pros and cons of homeopathic drugs. She’s also into hypnosis and we’ll talk about self-hypnosis as a treatment method for chronic pain and other ailments.
The path to good health has many branches. Join us on The Deep as we explore a few of them with Roni Sellmann.

EXTREME RACING
A couple of weeks ago, we had a marvelous interview with Lt. Brian Evans, a doctor stationed aboard the USS Frank Cable. He’s originally from Arizona and he plans to participate in the 150-mile long Gobi March, a race across one of the Earth’s most hostile deserts this coming May.

We discussed his training regime and the hazards of the Gobi Desert. We learned that he’s participating in this race on behalf of the Christopher Reeve Foundation. He had a good friend that was paralyzed from the neck down in a racing accident and he learned what a wonderful organization the Reeve Foundation is. The Gobi Desert race is sponsored by an organization called Racing the Planet.

This week on The Deep, we’ll continue our fascination with extreme racing by talking to Cathy Cole, one of the founders of Racing the Planet. The organization sponsors four races each year in some of the most hostile locations on Earth.

Coming up on 24 January is the race across what the Racing the Planet folks call “The Last Desert". Although most of us think of deserts as being very hot places, a desert is simply defined as a location with little rainfall. And “The Last Desert” is a place with virtually no rainfall at all. It doesn’t rain much there because it’s too cold to rain. “The Last Desert” is Antarctica.

There are 15 racers signed up for “The Last Desert”. In order to qualify for a place in this grueling event, competitors must have successfully completed the other three races sponsored by Racing the Planet. These include the Gobi March, the race in which Brian Evans will participate; the Atacama Crossing, a footrace across the Atacama Desert in Chile and the Sahara Race, a 150 mile race across the Sahara Desert in Egypt. For all these races, competitors must be self-supported. They must carry everything they need with only water rations and a tent provided by the race organizers.

The racers competing in “The Last Desert” will depart from Punta Arenas in Chile for a short flight to King George Island, Antarctica where they will board a private ship. Each morning competitors will leave the ship on a Zodiac for a short journey to the starting line of each stage. The stages, which total 150 miles, will take place on King George Island, Deception Island and Hope Bay, all in Antarctica.

The racers will have to contend with snow, ice, rocks and mud. Temperatures should average around 11 degrees Fahrenheit but may drop to as low as -20 degrees Fahrenheit. A steady wind with an average speed of 20 mph is likely. And don’t forget, it’s high summer in Antarctica!

Why would anyone want to compete in these extreme conditions and why on Earth did Cathy Cole found such an organization? Join us this week on The Deep to find out.

Whether we’re learning about being good to your body or extreme racing, The Deep, hosted by Jim Sullivan with Pam Eastlick and Peter Melyan is the place to be on K-57 tonight at 6:00 p.m. Don’t miss it!