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that show it can improve health, they have very small sample sizes and there is not enough data to be conclusive. It’s worth noting that fasting to lose weight can be an extremely difficult strategy to stick to, and according to one literature review, as many as 40 percent of fasters drop out of the diet. Furthermore, at least one study indicates that fasting is not superior to the average calorie- counting diets. In short, fasting is promising, but the data is inconclusive. It may help you live longer and fight off disease, but it is also notoriously tricky. The average dieter is just as well off with regular calorie counting, especially if you’re not looking to get too intense with your diet plan. Before you start skipping dinner every day, visit your doctor. If they say fasting is right for you, go for it. Just because the jury is still out doesn’t mean you can’t reap the benefits of the trend — just go into it with a healthy attitude, be safe, and understand that fasting is not magic.
say the diet’s success can be attributed to more complex factors as well. They argue that as the human race shifted from hunter-gatherers to world-conquering agriculturalists, we left our evolutionary path. Before crops existed, we weren’t wired to eat three square meals every single day. Instead, we made do with what we could find, often fasting for days at a time out of necessity. In addition, some researchers who advocate fasting point out the benefits it can offer regarding disease prevention and longevity. Autophagy, the process by which the body eliminates and replaces damaged cells, is believed to accelerate during intermittent fasting. As the thinking goes, the faulty cells die first during fasting, enabling the stem cells to start regenerating key tissues. The science backs up some of these claims, but there are a few issues regarding fasting research. Most of the research behind fasting doesn’t examine its effect on weight loss, and most of it comes from animal trials, not human trials. Though there are a few human trials on fasting
An Inside Job The Curious Case of the Disappearing Flags
Apparently, the wooden flagpoles attract groundhogs, something other groundskeepers have experienced as well. “I’m glad we don’t have someone who has taken it upon themselves to desecrate the stones and the flags in front of them,” said Hudson mayor Bill Hallenbeck. “We can all rest a little easier knowing that it was a critter and not a human defacing our flags, especially those of the veterans,” added Hudson’s police commissioner.
Like the year before, flags were placed on veterans’ graves in honor of Independence Day, and again, they went missing sometime in the night, this time taken from the graves of African American Civil War soldiers. Cemetery caretaker and veteran Vincent Wallace was appalled, as was the rest of his community. “I just can’t comprehend the mindset that would allow someone to do this,”Wallace said. Determined to find out who was to blame, police put up surveillance cameras and recorded the goings-on in the cemetery. As they watched the tapes, sure enough, they saw one of the culprits sitting atop a gravestone with an empty flagpole in front of him. It was a groundhog.
Theft is a serious matter, made even more grave when the victims are fallen war heroes. Such was the situation that stumped police in Hudson, New York, in 2012. The crime was first committed in July of the previous year. Flags had been placed around the graves of soldiers in Cedar Park Cemetery — only to go missing right around Independence Day. Veterans groups and locals were outraged and mystified by the crime. Some worried that a hate group was to blame, as the missing flags had adorned the graves of Jewish soldiers. Veterans worked to replace the flags, one by one, and right the wrong. No culprit was found, and the community moved on — until the following July, when the mystery repeated itself.
Turns out Punxsutawney Phil has some very naughty cousins — ones who aren’t subject to the law.
2 • StanoLaw.com
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