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.

Comments

My New Favorite Sweetener

If you're looking for a low-carb sweetener with no aftertaste, no franken-ingredients, and that doesn't upset your stomach, try monk fruit (also known as luo han guo). This is what Quest bars were sweetened with when they first came out. Monk fruit is Dr. Davis approved. You can buy monk fruit in powdered or liquid form; both are super-concentrated. They might seem expensive, but you use the powder by the spoonful (even in baking recipes) and the liquid by the drop. The baking recipes I've made with the powder have turned out well. Available from Amazon . Beware monk fruit sweeteners with erythritol. The package of powdered monk fruit sweetener I bought says, "Use 1/8 teaspoon to create the same sweet taste as 1 teaspoon of sugar." But it's so sweet that I use 1/10 the amount. To replace a cup of sugar, I would use 5 teaspoons of monk fruit sweetener. Tip: hand-stir this in before using the beaters. It's such a fine powder that it flies up and out of the ...

Mince Meat Pie Recipe, low carb

The star of Christmas dinner this year was made of unlikely ingredients. Fruit and beef tongue sound high carb or unpalatable, but mince meat pie was so popular 250 years ago that it was in many cookbooks from the time--and it wasn't just for Christmas. My version cuts the carbs by using tart cooking apples, cranberries, monk fruit sweetener and a nut flour crust. The main flavors are orange and slightly tart fruit; the meat and fat make it filling. Have it for dessert or with coffee or tea for breakfast. Make some soup with the collagen-filled broth and discover how tender and tasty the rest of the beef tongue is. Worth the time and effort. IMPORTANT--start this recipe the day before. Links in the recipe go to hard-to-find ingredients and directly to the cookbook with the recipe for the pie crust. (I made the almond flour variation of the crust.) Recipe 1 beef tongue (I get mine here ; look for farms or ranches in your area that sell directly to consumers) 2 Granny Smith apples 1 ...

Is the NIH Privately Helping Patients with COVID Vax Injuries?

In a recent letter from several attorneys general (AGs) demanding an explanation as to why so few vaccine-injured people have received so little compensation, the AGs asked a curious question: We have been told by constituents that NIH [National Institutes of Health] is privately helping patients across the country with COVID-19 vaccine–related injuries and is even bringing patients to NIH for study and treatment. Is that correct? Why have these activities not been better publicized? What sorts of studies of these patients is NIH currently conducting? What treatments is NIH administering? Photo from Pixabay . Most of the letter focused on compensation for COVID-19 vaccine injuries. As you know, vaccine manufacturers in the US have immunity from lawsuits, but people suffering from vaccine injuries can be compensated by the Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program (CICP). But among the 10,000 COVID vaccine related claims, only 20 claimants have received compensation. "And but for...

Magnesium Tea: Peachy, Minty, Refreshing

Most readers know that magnesium supplementation is important, especially on low-carb diets. Magnesium deficiency is common, and low-carb diets require more magnesium--a mineral that's important for heart, muscle and digestive function and helps regulate blood sugar. Photo from Unsplash . The magnesium powder in this recipe is the best form I've found--I had a lot of trouble with magnesium supplements during the pandemic not working, or giving me diarrhea, or (in the case of all the milk of magnesia) being contaminated with bleach. This magnesium powder doesn't require a carbonation machine, unlike some other powders. The peach flavor is only mildly sweet. Note--limit servings to two per day, preferably spaced out several hours apart. Too much magnesium at once can have a laxative effect. 4-5 mint tea bags filtered water (enough for 1 medium pitcher) Doctor's Best magnesium powder, peach flavor Boil a cup of the water and add tea bags. Let steep for five minutes. Add...

How would Dr. Oz Treat the DTs?

"You let me in your house with a hammer." -"Candy Shop" by Andrew Bird Low-carb proponent Gary Taubes appeared on the Dr. Oz Show March 7. In one entertaining segment, Dr. Oz spent a day eating a low-carb diet and complained of the greasiness of the sausage, feeling tired, constipation and bad breath. That's a drag, but when I stopped drinking Coke in 2007, I felt even worse: stomach ache, headache, tiredness, and mental fog. Should I have gone back to drinking Coke? If you quit a bad alcohol habit and start seeing snakes, do you need a drink? If my legs hurt from working out Monday night for the first time in two months (which they do), maybe I should resume my exercise hiatus indefinitely. I respect Dr. Oz for having Gary Taubes on his show and letting him share his ideas. I'd respect Oz even more if he looked into low-carb diets more carefully. What he didn't seem to consider regarding his one-day low-carb diet was that he spent a day...

Pain, Pain, Go Away!

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