bi-seps fe-mor-is

Action

• Flex the knee (tibiofemoral joint)
• Laterally rotate the flexed knee (T/F joint)

Long head:

• Extend the hip (coxal joint)
• Assist the laterally rotate the hip (coxal joint)
• Tilt the pelvis posteriorly
  

Origin
Long head:

• Ischial tuberosity

Short head:

• Lateral hip of linea aspera

Insertion

• Head of the fibula

Nerve
Long head:

• Sciatic (tibial branch) L5, S1, 2, 3

Short head:

• Sciatic (peroneal branch) L5, S1, 2

sem-eye-ten-di-no-sus

sem-eye-mem-bra-no-sus

Despite food manufacturers claiming that refined vegetable oils were healthy, Americans experienced an up-rise in heart disease during the early 20th century. Like many new inventions, few questions were initially posited. Unfortunately, an alternate nutrient took the blame due to the research of a single scientist.

In 1951, American physiologist and professor Ancel Keys went to Europe in search of the cause of cardiovascular disease. In his quest, he went to observe the eating habits of individuals living Naples, Italy due to reports of a low prevalence of heart disease.

During this time, post-war conditions resulted in finite and unusual circumstances in regards to agriculture and infrastructure. Therefore what Keys perceived as a cultural tradition was dubbed the "Mediterranean diet".

Keys observed the residents in Naples consumed primarily pasta and plain pizza, with vegetables, olive oil, cheese, fruit for dessert, a moderate amount of wine, and very little meat (except among individuals belonging to a higher socioeconomic status).

Through an informal study measuring cholesterol serum levels among Rotary club members (those who could not afford meat, but could afford cheese) conducted by Keys's wife, whom at the time was a medical technologist, Keys deduced that avoiding meat resulted in a lower incidence of heart attacks.

Ancel Keys continued on his biased search for proof that a diet high in saturated fat is correlated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. He eventually compiled data from six more countries with high rates of heart disease and diets typically high in saturated fat. At first glance, Keys's research seemed logical and compelling. The evidence was based on the premise that individuals in America, who consumed high amounts of saturated fat, died from heart disease at a higher rate than individuals in Japan, who consumed low amounts of saturated fat.

Unfortunately, Keys had gained the interest of people in positions of power. Upon President Eisenhower's heart attack in 1955, Keys proposed his theory to the president's primary care physician, Paul Dudley White. Days following, White began to advise to the public to reduce the consumption of saturated fat and cholesterol in an effort to prevent cardiovascular disease.

Through his connections and influence, Keys soon joined the nutrition committee of the American Heart Association (AHA) which, based on Keys's research, released a report in 1961 that advised patients with a high risk of cardiovascular disease to reduce their consumption of saturated fat. (Interestingly enough, the AHA began its rise to prominence in 1948, the same year Proctor & Gamble donated over $1.7 million to the organization - resulting in the AHA indebted to Crisco.)

In 1961, Time magazine placed Ancel Keys on the front cover touting him as "the twenthiest century's most influential nutrition expert."

By 1970, Keys published the Seven Countries Study, which detailed his original research - this study has now been cited in over a million other scientific publications. While Keys associative observations between saturated fat and cardiovascular disease never proved causation, he had won the battle of public opinion.

With the help of Ancel Keys, the American medical community and mainstream media has advised consumers to stop eating the animal products that have been consumed for centuries, replacing them with bread, pasta, margarine, low-fat dairy, and vegetable oil. This was the dietary shift that was codified by the United States government in the late 1970s.

Central Committee for Medical And Community Program of the American Heart Association. (1961). Dietary Fat and Its Relation to Heart Attacks and Strokes. Circulation [online] 23, pp.133-36. Available at: https://circ.ahajournals.org/content/circulationaha/23/1/133.full.pdf [Accessed 26 Jan. 2019]

Keys, A. (1953). Atherosclerosis: A Problem in Newer Public Health. Journal of Mt. Sinai Hospital, [online] 20(2), pp.118-39.

Keys, A. (1970). Coronary Heart Disease in Seven Countries. Circulation. 41 (1), pp.1186-95.

Keys, A. (1995). Mediterranean Diet and Public Health: Personal Reflections. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, [online] 61 (6), pp.1321S-1323S. Available at: https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/61.6.1321s [Accessed 26 Jan. 2019]

Marvin, H. (1964). The 40 Year War on Heart Disease. New York: American Heart Association.

Mercola, J. (2017). Fat For Fuel. Carlsbad, California: Hay House.

Teichholz, N. (2014). The Big Fat Surprise. New York: Simon & Schuster, pp.32-33.

Ayurveda is considered a world medicine and the most comprehensive medical system available containing the ancient wisdom of healing, prevention, and longevity. Healers from all over the world gathered to impart their medical knowledge to India. The famous sage, Veda Vyasa, preserved the all of the knowledge of Ayurveda in texts. Some say Ayurveda was passed down from the Gods to humans.

The knowledge of Ayurveda includes methods of herbs, foods, aromas, gems, colors, yoga, mantras, lifestyle, and surgery. Health was, and to this day is, seen as as an integral part of spiritual life. It has been said that Ayurvedic teachings can be directly obtained via meditation or divine revelation, as guessing or animal testing was unnecessary. These revelations were transcribed from oral teachings into written form.

In the beginning, four main books, known as the Vedas: Rik, Sama, Yajur, and Atharva,  spirituality existed and included holistic integrated topics such as health, ecology, astrology, spiritual business, government, military, poetry, and ethical living. Ayurveda was used side by side with Vedic astrology, also known as "one's inner light", and is said to have its main origins in the Atharva branch (upaveda) which covered the healing aspects of life and spirituality as a whole. In sum, this branch shows how to remain balanced with nature. The Rik Vedas included topics such as organ transplants, prosthetics, and the use of herbs to heal imbalances of the mind and body to promote longevity. In addition, within the Rik Vedas are dialogs of the three constitutions (doshas): air (Vāyu  ["Vata"] ), fire (Pitta), and water (Kapha).

Ayurveda became scientifically verifiable once two Ayurvedic schools, the school of physicians (Ātreya) and the school of surgeons (Dhanvantari), transformed the science through research and testing. This caused Auyrveda to grow and became a widely used system of healing in India.

The Vedas are considered to contain eternal wholistic wisdom, adapting to the needs of time. Throughout the teachings, it is cleared stated that the first cause of illness is loss of faith in spirituality. In other words, when people do not recognize that all is one, including themselves, this separation of vision creates an opening, consequently creating a longing or suffering for oneness of vision. This suffering manifests as the beginning of physical, mental, or spiritual dis-ease.

People from cultures throughout the world, such as the Chinese, Tibetians, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Afghanis, Persians, and others, traveled to India to absorb and disseminate the wisdom. Ayurveda was first discovered by travelers on India's Silk Road, an established trade route spanning between Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.

The two schools of Ayurveda were created by two distinguished researchers: Charak and Sushruta. Charak represents the school of physicians which discusses physiology, anatomy, etiology, pathogenesis, symptoms and signs of dis-ease, methodology of diagnosis, treatment and prescription for patients, prevention, longevity, and internal/external causes of illness. As mentioned above, the internal cause of is the loss of faith, the loss of oneness. External influences on health includes the time of day, the seasons, diet, and lifestyle. Sushruta represents the school of surgeons which discusses sophisticated accounts of anatomy, surgical equipment, classification of abscesses, burns, fractures, wounds, amputation, plastic surgery, and anal/rectal surgery, all of which have been corroborated by modern scientific investigation.

Tirtha, S. (2007). The Āyuveda encyclopedia. Bayville, NY. Ayurveda Holistic Center Press.

ten-sor fash-ay la-ta