April 3, 2019

Shortness of Time:

• Cool post from the Farnam Street blogon time. They start with some thoughts from Seneca on how we misallocate time (see quote below). Then they give 4 ways we misunderstand time in the modern world. We think we want to be productive, but really we want more time. 
• We should all make a conscious effort to use our time more wisely. To buy it back when we can. It is your most precious commodity. 

Admin:

• More links on the ubiquitous problem of excess administrative costs in medicine. This NYTimes piece is a great place to start, with multiple links / references. 
• Also see this new Pharos article from Dr Byyny covering burnout and the many contributors, chief of which is the burden on doctors who are being asked to “do more with less.”

Low Carb Pudding:

• Extremely easy recipe for a low carb, tapioca texture pudding: 1/3 cup chia seeds; 1 can coconut milk; cinnamon; vanilla extract; sweetener of your choice. 
• Takes about 1 minute to make, leave in the fridge for a few to 24 hours and enjoy. Thanks Mateo Bernal for the recommendation.

This Will Destroy You:

• This band is similar to Explosions in the Sky. “Post-rock” with no lyrics. A great Spotify or Pandora station for reading, studying, writing.

Vitamin K(2):

• Vitamin K is best known for its role in blood clotting (vitamin K1). But many people are unaware of a completely different compound, vitamin K2. K2 can come in many forms, with the two most common / useful being MK-4 and MK-7. Leafy greens are rich in K1, but completely different foods have K2: fermented foods (esp natto), most cheeses (Jarlsberg Swiss is the best), egg yolks, and many other foods are covered in the above post. But the take home pointsare: 
• Adequate Vitamin K2 very reliably proven / validated effects on bone health (decreased fractures), arterial vascular disease, and cancer incidence. Plus, this article: Dietary intake of vitamin K is inversely associated with mortality risk.
• Make sure you get enough vitamin K2 in your diet. If you do not, check out the supplements they recommend. 

Quote:

It is not that we have a short space of time, but that we waste much of it. Life is long enough, and it has been given in sufficiently generous measure to allow the accomplishment of the very greatest things if the whole of it is well invested. But when it is squandered in luxury and carelessness, when it is devoted to no good end, forced at last by the ultimate necessity we perceive that it has passed away before we were aware that it was passing. 
– Seneca

Martin Huecker, MD, is co-editor in chief of the free, open access Journal of Wellness. He is an Associate Professor and Research Director in the Department of Emergency Medicine (EM) at the University of Louisville. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. Dr. Huecker graduated from UofL’s EM Residency Program and (Chief Resident in 2011). He works full time seeing patients and teaching residents in the UofL Emergency Department. His diverse research interests include substance use, accidental hypothermia, and healthcare professional wellness. Dr. Huecker is also a Certified Lifestyle Medicine Physician (DipABLM). He loves books, (cold) trail runs, dogs, and coffee. His wife is an OB/GYN and they have 4 children with cool names.