Twitter, Minerals, and a New Sweetener

Twitter under New Ownership

"Let the good times roll!" -Elon Musk, October 28

Twitter was one of the best sources of information for me during the pandemic. I found journalist Alex Berenson and others there whose information, even with Twitter's censorship, helped guide me through with accurate information.

Now some are in a tizzy because Elon Musk bought Twitter and promised to restore free speech to the platform. Twitter's new Head of Safety and Integrity tweeted, "Over the last 48 hours, we’ve seen a small number of accounts post a ton of Tweets that include slurs and other derogatory terms. To give you a sense of scale: More than 50,000 Tweets repeatedly using a particular slur came from just 300 accounts" (emphasis added). But if it's like "the gates of hell opened," I just haven't seen it in my feed--but then, I don't look for fights and I don't troll, scold or dox people. There's still the option to block people or simply not go looking for trouble, just like on the rest of the internet.

Despite the kerfuffle, I'm finding Twitter a more pleasant place, with more people I find funny and interesting and fewer screeching, cluster-B woke-scolds. Either the scolds all logged off at the same time, or--this is speculation on my part--the Tesla engineers Musk put in charge of Twitter's code shut down a big in-house bot farm. It would explain why he's planning to let go of three-fourths of the employees and already fired some of the executives.

Under "What's Happening," there are no more links to fact checkers (you know, the people who tell you that what you're seeing, hearing and figuring out for yourself is wrong) and I haven't seen any more "misinformation" warnings. Musk promised amnesty for all those in Twitter jail for minor offenses.

So the suppression of conservatives there is over. Even if you're a progressive, this is good: it's easier to exchange ideas without shadow bans, regular bans and misinformation warnings. Hearing other points of view and seeing new information helps you sharpen your own arguments--or change your mind.

Are you Absorbing Magnesium?

Since all the milk of magnesia has been contaminated with bleach (sodium hypochlorite), it's been hard to find a good, absorbable form of magnesium. Doctor's Best High Absorption magnesium tablets work better than most, but I've discovered a few supplements that are even better.

Doctor's Best High Absorption Magnesium Powder

It's the same thing as the tablets, but in a powdered form. I put some in my flavored coffee, along with Primal Kitchen Collagen Fuel, and it seems to work better than the tablets.

SodaStream with Bulk Supplements Magnesium

You can make magnesium water with a SodaStream machine and magnesium hydroxide powder. I bought a machine for about $100 on eBay and a packet of magnesium hydroxide from bulksupplements.com. It makes a really absorbable magnesium drink and I love the carbonation, especially when I add a little lemon or peppermint flavoring. There are YouTube tutorials on making the water.

Are you Getting Enough Iodine?

It looks like I wasn't. Iodine is an important nutrient, but it's overlooked even among people who recommend supplements. In a recent Zoom presentation, Dr. Davis discussed iodine and said that lowish free T4 and highish TSH (two thyroid markers) indicates low iodine. This was exactly what my last thyroid test showed. Coincidentally, I'd just started taking more iodine the form of kelp tablets--I'm up to 1,000 micrograms a day--and I feel a little more alive on it.

New Sweetener

I love a new sweetener called Whole Earth Stevia and Monk Fruit Liquid Sweetener in vanilla flavor. It has zero calories and you just need a few drops for, say, a cup of coffee. The container looks a lot like Trivia, so be careful when you shop for it. Product locator is here. I'm not an affiliate.

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Battered Cod and my Eclipse Pictures of my Colander

If you miss battered cod on a low-carb, grain-free diet, here's a recipe that'll satisfy your craving. It's based on a Dr. Davis recipe. Battered cod and cole slaw Ingredients 1 pound cod fillets 2 eggs 2 tablespoons butter, melted 1/2 cup ground golden flaxseeds 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese 1/2 teaspoon onion powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 teaspoon garlic powder Instructions Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice the cod into 1-1/2 to 2 inch pieces. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and butter. Beat continuously--don't let the butter cook the eggs. In a shallow bowl, combine the flaxseeds, cheese, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Coat each piece of cod in the egg mixture and then roll in the in the flaxseed mixture. Place on the baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes, turning once. Eclipse Crescent Shadows Today was the total solar eclipse, and my house was in the "path of totality."

My New Diet: How it's Going

Saturday I started a new diet to heal my cavities. It involves eating mostly foods high in vitamins A, D and K (fat-soluble vitamins) and calcium and phosphorus. I'm eating zero grains, but still eating a few chocolate candies (as in, three or so dark chocolate kisses per day) at work. To that end, on Saturday I bought a quart each of half-and-half and cream, two dozen eggs, liver, several tins of sardines on sale, and a bunch of salad ingredients. It's Monday and I'm already down to eight eggs and I've gone through half the cream and half-and-half. (I still have three-fourths of a pie dish of low-carb flan I made tonight with the dairy and eggs, and I fed a few of the eggs to my dog.) There's liver thawing in the refrigerator for tomorrow night and a can of sardines in my lunch (I already ate one can of sardines Saturday when I wanted a quick, easy snack). In other words, it's been incredibly easy to eat this food. I also changed my toothpaste to Xyliwhite(TM)

An Objective Book about Other Childhood Vaccines

Today's decision by the CDC to add COVID shots to the schedule of childhood vaccines has some people concerned about the rest of the vaccines on the schedule. Contrary to fact-checker claims, adding COVID shots to the schedule means children will be required in about a dozen states to get a COVID shot to attend public school. Indiana isn't one of them--our childhood vaccination law doesn't mention the CDC and such a requirement could run afoul of our ban on COVID vaccine passports. But even freewheeling Indiana has some vaccine requirements and this kerfuffle has people wondering how safe those vaccines are. There's a book called Vaccines: Truth, Lies and Controversy by Peter C. Gotzsche, DrMedSci and co-founder of the Cochrane Collaboration, about the safety and efficacy of all those vaccines, including COVID and others. Cochrane was founded to "to organise medical research findings to facilitate evidence-based choices about health interventions involving healt

Finding Relief from Muscle Strain

I love working in my garden, but lately it's left me feeling like I've been run over. Pruning an eight-foot-tall rose down to two feet to extract a trellis that the rose grew up through and pulled out of the ground, after I'd lifted weights the night before, forced me to take a day of rest. Aspirin helped, but chronic use of it can lead to ulcers. I wondered if there was still Bacillus coagulans in the yogurt I make, since one of the other strains in the yogurt could have crowded it out. B. coagulans is a bacteria that helps with muscle recovery. I took some packets of it and added a packet to my next yogurt batch, but bacteria don't work like drugs--it can take more time to feel any effects. What helped a lot were some videos from SpineCare Decompression , a YouTube channel run by Dr. Michael Rowe, a chiropractor who makes 10-15 minute videos showing how to use stretching exercises to relieve pain at home. Repeating the stretches every day has given me a lot more flex

Lousy Mood? It Could be the Food

Here's a funny AMV(1) on what it's like to be depressed, apathetic and overly sensitive. Note: explicit (but funny) lyrics in the video. Hearing this song brought a startling realization: I used to be emo, but with normal clothes. Sulking, sobbing and writing poetry were my hobbies. When I was a kid, my mother said that she wouldn't know what to do to punish me if I had done something wrong. And yet things got worse. Over a two-week period in 1996, my best friend moved away, I lost my job and broke up with my boyfriend. I lost my appetite and lived on a daily bagel, cream cheese and a Coke for the next few months. I had tried counseling, and didn't find it helpful; in fact, I found reviving painful memories was pointless. Not thinking about them, on the other hand, worked wonders. Later on, so did studying philosophy and learning to think through emotions instead of just riding through them. But what's blown away all the techniques is diet. Since I s

Pain, Pain, Go Away!

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