Pharmacist Ben Fuchs discussed natural health remedies and the vitamins, nutrients, and minerals that our bodies need to maintain good health. This included the benefits of vitamin C for increasing your immunity, and the importance of vitamins A and D, which he described as "actually hormones." Vitamin C, he said, was "phenomenally powerful" for staving off disease and should be taken in high dosages. But, he said, those doses should be staggered throughout the day. That's because vitamin C can cause gastric distress and diarrhea in high concentrations. Fuchs also discussed the importance of vitamin D, which he said can help ward off cancers, including skin cancer. Ironically, he noted, though the body can produce its own vitamin D with adequate sunlight, a lot of that production is blocked by the use of sunscreens, which some folks use due to fears of skin cancer.
Statins, which are often prescribed to help control cholesterol levels, also have a negative impact on the body's ability to produce vitamin D, according to Ben. He also discussed the importance of minerals, like zinc and calcium. But, he noted, we have a lot of calcium in our diets from dairy, which he said can throw off the balance between magnesium and calcium. Leafy greens are a good way of replacing that magnesium, he said. "Anywhere you see green in nature, you're seeing magnesium," he said. He also touched on selenium deficiencies, which can lead to cold sores, and the importance of drinking more water and taking in fewer calories. Drinking water with your meals can help reduce your caloric intake because it helps make you feel less hungry, he said. But drinking too much water can flush out water-soluble vitamins, like thiamine – a B vitamin – which helps with cognitive function.
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Author, technologist, and educator Simon Kenny, whose work combines probing questions with technical thinking, works as a software developer; reading and writing to better understand the contemporary world when not writing code. He discussed the history of the Tarot, and its change from a card game to a tool for divination and analysis. Kenny said while many books serve as introductions to and instructions for Tarot use, his new book is "a critical review" of the Tarot. That doesn't mean it's criticism, he was quick to point out. Rather, he said, the book is an attempt to understand the beliefs surrounding Tarot using the tools of philosophy. While he said the Tarot is mostly used in mystical practices today, it started as a deck for a card game. It's still played as a card game in Italy, France, Germany, and other European countries. The game, which is similar to Bridge, uses the minor arcana in the same way as a standard playing card deck and uses the major arcana as trump cards. Another use, he noted, is as a psychological tool. Many folks are using it in that manner, moving away from the predictive use to a self-development or analytical use.
He also noted the Christian origins of the Tarot deck. Though it's largely denounced by most Christian denominations today, at least for divination if not as a game, he said this was not always the case. He discussed how some Christians are still comfortable with other forms of divination, such as randomly opening the Bible to seek answers to specific questions, even if they eschew the Tarot. "I hope people will seek more information," he said, rather than denouncing the Tarot as something sinister.
During the last half hour George replayed a recording with spiritual warrior Bill Bean about his experiences battling demonic possession.