What's Wrong With Wikipedia?

Around 2007, an entry in Wikipedia stated that Sinbad, an actor-comedian, died of a heart attack. Several people saw it and started calling and emailing one another. Word got to Sinbad’s daughter and she called him. He assured her that he was, in fact, not dead. In one of the interviews he said; “I wish that people would’ve called me back like this when I was alive. I gotta die more often.”

The lesson here is that anyone can post anything on Wikipedia, as well as on the Internet in general. There are no review standards with regard to content. There are no quality control mechanisms that verify the validity of the information. Not only that, the information is not stable. Websites come and go at the whim of their creators. Contents can be sneakily altered without prior notice. Locations and contents can change at any time. Worst yet, it can be a hoax.

In 2009, only hours after Maurice Jarre, a famous French composer, passed away, Shane Fitzgerald, a Dublin University student, posted a poetic but phony quote on Wikipedia. He said afterward that it was just “to test how our globalized, increasingly Internet-dependent media was upholding accuracy and accountability in an age of instant news.” Months went by and nobody noticed the editorial fraud. So Fitzgerald started emailing several media outlets concerning what he had done. But that was several days after the quote had been cut and pasted into different newspapers. Fitzgerald said; “I am 100 percent convinced that if I hadn’t come forward, that quote would have gone down in history as something Maurice Jarre said, instead of something I made up.”

I use Wikipedia as an example to show how unreliable the Internet in general can be.  In the Internet world anything that can go wrong eventually will go wrong, even a site that ‘appears’ reliable like Wikipedia.

Back to Wikipedia. It has improved tremendously since the days of Sinbad and Shane Fitzgerald. It tightened its content posting guidelines and notes at the top of each entry when information needs verification or references. There is an army of volunteers monitor content and entries at all times. Nevertheless, problems still exist with a site that is open to all like that. Lance Ulanoff, Editor in Chief of PC Magazine, wrote about Wikipedia in 2011. Shortly after that an entry about him appeared in Wikipedia. He said he felt honored even though there was hardly any information there. So he went in and edited it by adding his background and projects he was working on. Then, somebody changed it by adding new details about his life.  This individual said that he served in the French Foreign Legion, was a chef, and dated super models. He said all of those statements were “100 percent false.”

So trust your professor and your librarian when he/she tells you to use academic databases rather than Google or Wikipedia for your information searching.

By Kultida Dunagin

Finding Information on Diabetes from the TCTC Library Databases

The library has a number of databases and print resources that can be used by anyone associated with TCTC. This blog entry is about finding medical resources related to the topic of diabetes. You may have diabetes, and you may want to control it with your doctor’s permission. Also, you may be able to get off of medication with the proper control of the diabetes so that you can live diabetes free. We are not medical professionals but we can show you a variety of resources to use in making informed decisions to talk to your doctor about your specific condition.

I have copied the below article from the Health Source - Consumer Edition database for two reasons.  One is that I wanted to show you how easy the information was to understand.  Two is that is has good information and I wanted to share the article.  Yes, I could have just shared the citation but felt that the text of the article conveyed the quality of material available in the databases.  I thought about using the libraries megasearch option but decided that I wanted to highlight information for consumers.  So I used the Ebsco Health Source - Consumer Edition and typed in "diabetes" "type 2" "type 1" and came up with the below article.  The article is in italics with green text.

BLOOD SUGAR BATTLES: HOW TO PREVENT, TREAT, AND EVEN CURE TYPE 2 DIABETES. By: Bowden, Jonny, Better Nutrition, 0405668X, Nov2011, Vol. 73, Issue 11
Database: Health Source - Consumer Edition

 

Type 2 diabetes used to be called "adult-onset" diabetes. Not anymore. In fact, it's no longer uncommon to see it in teenagers, and it's even been reported in children as young as four. So what happened? And, more to the point, what can we do about it?

What's the Difference?

Type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes are entirely different diseases. In both types, there's a problem with the hormone insulin, but it's a very different problem. Type 1 diabetes is basically an autoimmune disease where the body attacks and destroys cells in the pancreas that produce insulin (the beta-cells). As a result, type 1 diabetics simply can't make insulin, or can't make nearly enough of it.

The widely shared view is that injectable insulin is the only available treatment for type 1 diabetes, since without insulin you would simply die. (Prior to the discovery of insulin in the 1920s, children with type 1 diabetes rarely lived beyond their late teens.) But the dietary and lifestyle modifications I'm going to suggest for type 2 diabetes are also a great idea for type 1 diabetics.

Type 2 diabetics make plenty of insulin -- it just doesn't get the job done. And since type 2 diabetes almost wholly results from poor diet and lifestyle choices, it's not only preventable, but correctable.

Sugar Struggles

When you eat, your blood sugar rises and the pancreas releases insulin to remove excess sugar from the bloodstream. How much insulin is released depends on the workload, which depends on the amount of sugar, which depends on what you ate. Simple, right?

Pure carbohydrates -- especially those that are high in sugar or convert to sugar quickly -- have the most impact on blood sugar. Protein has an effect as well, but not nearly as pronounced, and fat has virtually no effect at all. That's why diets higher in fat and protein and lower in carbs are terrific for controlling both blood sugar and insulin.

Insulin's job is to act as a sugar wrangler; it goes into the bloodstream, grabs extra sugar, and escorts it to cells to be burned for energy. Ideally, the cells that need sugar the most are muscle cells, since they're supposed to do the heavy lifting. But the system doesn't always work so well.

Modern Problems

For one thing, our bodies weren't designed for the amount of sugar and processed carbs we consume on a daily basis. And we're not just talking desserts and candy. Virtually all cereals -- except those that are really high in fiber -- as well as most pastas, white rice, white bread, crackers, and the like are high-glycemic, meaning they convert to sugar quickly and raise your blood sugar rapidly. This puts a heavy demand on the pancreas.

Unfortunately, our sedentary lifestyles doesn’t create much demand for sugar as an energy source. So when you eat a carb-laden meal, your blood sugar goes crazy and your pancreas starts pumping out insulin. Insulin floods the bloodstream, grabs up the excess sugar, and starts looking for places to drop it off. The muscle cells certainly don't need it if the only exercise they're getting is pushing the clicker on a TV remote. So the sugar has to go somewhere else. And that's a problem.

Rigid Resistance

The condition whereby muscle cells stop paying attention to insulin is called insulin resistance, and it's at the heart of diabetes. A good visual test for insulin resistance is to look at your belly. Men with waists over 40 inches and women with waists over 35 inches almost certainly have insulin resistance.

When muscle cells start resisting insulin, it takes its sugar payload to the fat cells. And they're more than happy to welcome it in.

In these early stages, the pancreas may produce enough insulin to prevent blood sugar from rising into the diabetic range, but there's trouble brewing. High levels of insulin essentially lock the doors to fat cells, making weight loss difficult. As you gain weight -- an inevitable consequence of insulin resistance -- those fat cells begin secreting hormones of their own, which are designed to keep you fat. The result is you become fatter while progressing toward a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes.

Healthy Solutions

The obvious answer is to lower your insulin levels to a normal, healthy range. And the way to do that is by eating foods that don't spike your blood sugar. When blood sugar is normal, there's no need for the pancreas to go into overdrive, and insulin levels will fall almost immediately. In fact, most experts believe that insulin resistance -- the hallmark of type 2 diabetes -- can be reversed within three days of eating mostly low-glycemic foods that don't produce elevated levels of blood sugar.

Since carbohydrates have the greatest impact on blood sugar, it makes sense that a low-carb diet is the ticket to preventing and treating type 2 diabetes. So an eating plan that's higher in protein and fat and lower in starchy carbs is the way to go.

Such a plan can also be helpful for type 1 diabetics, because it may allow them to lower their insulin dose. And that's a good thing because insulin has many other effects in the body besides lowering blood sugar. For one thing it sends a message to the kidneys to hold onto sodium, which raises blood pressure. And if you're interested in losing weight, high levels of insulin are exactly what you don't want.

An eating plan resembling the Paleolithic diet -- foods you could hunt, fish, gather, or pluck -- coupled with exercise, which creates demand tor sugar in muscle cells thus reducing insulin resistance, is the best plan for controlling blood sugar and insulin. And come to think of it, it's a terrific overall plan for anyone wanting to stay healthy for life.

For one thing, our bodies weren't designed for the amount of sugar and processed carbs we consume on a daily basis.

In addition to diet and lifestyle changes, certain vitamins, herbs, and nutrients can help bring your blood sugar into balance.
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Remember, we at the TCTC library are NOT medical professionals so please consult with your professional provider before making any medical, diet, or lifestyle changes when you are treating this condition.  The library has a variety of databases and books (both print and electronic) that discuss medical issues.  Start your research at this link: TCTC Library Health web page. 
 

Written By, Mel Chandler

Fall Book Club schedule and Library Social Networking Sites

Thanks to everyone who expressed interest in the TCTC Book Club and our social networking sites.  Feel free to “like” us on any of the sites and follow us for updates.

 

Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer? As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

 

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail (Vintage) Paperback - Cheryl Strayed
At twenty-two, Cheryl Strayed thought she had lost everything. In the wake of her mother’s death, her family scattered and her own marriage was soon destroyed. Four years later, with nothing more to lose, she made the most impulsive decision of her life. With no experience or training, driven only by blind will, she would hike more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail from the Mojave Desert through California and Oregon to Washington State—and she would do it alone. Told with suspense and style, sparkling with warmth and humor, Wild powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddened, strengthened, and ultimately healed her.

 

September 10 (pick up and general discussion of what do we want from the club this semester)

September 24 (discussion of Gone Girl first half of the book)
October 8 (discussion of Gone Girls and pick up Wild)
October 29 (discussion of Wild - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)
November 12 (discussion of Wild –Part 4 and Part 5)
December 3 (tentative final meeting)

 

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