Hint, you will need a calculator

Recently, my doctor recommended I start taking calcium supplements. As medical advice is often general in nature, I had to wonder if this advice was well-founded in research and whether it would be applicable to my specific circumstances, which include a very precisely crafted diet. As is often the case, the general answer was “it depends.” For some people, calcium supplements are a great idea. For others, not so much. What I can say is that no general rule like “more is better” or “less is more” applies when it comes to calcium. …

There are a lot of tough, fact-based questions in our everyday lives. For most of us, whether or not Trump won re-election is not one of them.

However, for an inordinately high number of questions that should be answerable through scientific inquiry, it is a struggle to balance conflicting studies and to separate independent research from efforts to produce scientific results that will sway purchasing dollars. At the same time, a variety of considerations, including a lack of funding for research with no foreseeable profit advantage, may result in a dearth of scientific findings on some matters. …

Organic beef, conventional/CAFO beef, plant-based “beef” or cultured “beef”?

For years, I did not truly grasp the difference between organic and non-organic beef and, not being much of a meat eater, I was not really that interested. With the advent of plant-based “beef” and cultured “beef”, the different “beef” options became even more perplexing. Where I live, organic beef can cost more than triple the cost of other beef so if you are going to pay for organic beef, it seems like a good idea to know why you are shelling out so much money. Meanwhile, tech investors are devoting substantial resources to creating laboratory-grown beef alternatives and quick service restaurants are scrambling to provide a faux beef burger. …

Assuming someday you have the luxury of choice

There are several Covid-19 vaccinations already being administered, as well as a number of vaccinations in the final stages of testing. If you are not first on the list and eager to be vaccinated, then by the time you choose to be vaccinated, you might find you have two or more options from which to choose. There are a multitude of factors that might influence your choice.

Two features that are consistent amongst all the vaccinations reviewed for this article are that they all require two injections to be given approximately 21 days apart and they have all been tested on animals. …

After basically a year in which a great deal of free time was spent sitting on the sofa and binge watching television, it appears that sometime in 2021 we may begin to socialize again. Since elastic waist pants were the fashion item of 2020, it seems fair to anticipate that for many, getting back into your old wardrobe may require some weight loss. To do that, you are going to need to eat 3500 calories less than you otherwise need in order to lose each pound of weight. This translates to 500 calories a day every day of the week below your caloric maintenance level. If you have been gaining weight, then you have been eating more calories that you need each day so your caloric reduction based on current daily consumption may be substantially more than 500. By adopting a healthy diet and using a calorie tracker, you can readily eat below your caloric requirement. …

Hot Meal Options that Maximize Nutrition and Minimize Calories

For me, the appeal of a cold meal declines dramatically in cold months. For years, eliminating cold meals at breakfast and lunch meant a significant reduction in my healthy meal options. When I switched to a keto diet, my previous go-to nutritious warm breakfast and lunch options came off the table. I was motivated to re-invent these meals in a way that maximized nutrition and minimized net carbohydrates while still eating warm meals.

And that’s when I re-discovered soup. Yes soup. Or at least, soup-like meals. Wait, hear me out. Soup can be nutritious and soup can enable you to adhere to a non-dairy, vegan and/or low net carb diet. Soup is also incredibly easy to prepare once a month, freeze and reheat to serve, minimizing dishes and daily meal preparation time. …

Let’s face it, Trump is an authoritarian, narcissistic sexual harasser with a short attention span. Advice on managing all aspects of that personality would take far more than a blog post. Maybe your boss is just an incompetent, manipulative, self-aggrandizing control freak who wants to surround himself with sycophants. If so, these suggestions should help.

Build alliances with powerful people and colleagues inside and outside your organization. These people can help you find another position within the organization, provide valuable references for you and counter, or at least not aid, your boss’ efforts to malign you.

Develop your own brand. This will make it much harder for your boss to impugn your reputation. Speaking, writing, and collaborating with others are all great ways to build your brand. …

Incompetent bosses are busy all day trying to fake it ’til they make it, and after that, fake it ’til they retire.

I’m not talking about the good-natured boss who is an excellent people manager that supports zir people even though ze is not an expert in the areas ze manages. I had one boss who would remind me before every meeting we attended that ze did not know anything about what we would be discussing. Ze let me be the expert while ze handled the team, the client along with the sales and service processes very effectively.

I’m talking about the boss that is a poor manager and knows very little about the work. This type of boss is busy all day scheduling and attending meetings so ze is never called upon to actually produce anything of value. …