Pain, Pain, Go Away!

This week, I uncovered layers of nonsense interspersed with some good information.  The Crappy Childhood Fairy on YouTube mentioned a book where she'd learned about tapping pressure points. I've used acupressure in the past and found some relief for a few different problems, so I looked up the book: The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk. It was a New York Times #1 best seller and has over 46,000 reviews on Amazon.  Yet as I read it, various things leapt out as improbable: a child who didn't recognize himself in the mirror; psychological trauma in childhood resulting in a lack of neurological development in the brain; and finally the story of a man who suddenly "remembered" being molested by a priest. Can that be right? Photo from Pexels . In humans' 2 million year history, children must have gone through much more trauma than kids of the late 20th century, let alone the current crop. How could they have functioned as adults lacking neurological dev...

L. Gasseri BNR17 Lactobacillus gasseri BNR17 is one of the bacteria we use over at Dr. Davis's Inner Circle. It's part of the SIBO yogurt because it creates seven bacteriocins (bacteria killers); it's also been shown to reduce waist size. So instead of making more yogurt with it, I fermented it with apples, carrots and spices (recipe here ). It's delicious, and it got rid of a lot of gas and bloating. My belly feels a little smaller too--always a good thing. I fermented it in my redneck yogurt maker with the heating pad set on high for three days. The bacteria digest the carbohydrate (greatly reducing the carb count) and it gives the apples and carrots a tart taste.  You can get L. gasseri BNR17 from Dr. Mercola's web site--it's in a product called BioThin . Once you ferment something with it, you can use the fermented food as a starter for the next batch; you don't have to keep buying supplements.  * * * * * Supplies Food choices are getting worse. I had t...

The young woman in this video shows several signs of being in a cult : submission, persecution complex, isolation with her group, cognitive dissonance, and appearance standards. How many like her will need to be deprogrammed after the two-year fear campaign and demonization of much of the population? I've watched a few hours of live streams from the Ottawa protest and kept up with events there. So far, the only violence I've heard of is a hit-and-run of four pedestrians. The suspect that Winnepeg police charged is a member of Antifa .  I wrote the other day that masks would soon look ridiculous and apparently they already do in downtown Ottawa. I don't want anyone to be harassed for their sartorial choices (though the photo in the video doesn't quite convey that to me). I'd rather see a comedy made about the Canada convoy when it's over. It has all the ingredients of a funny movie: pompous authoritarians: check. Snooty busybodies: check. Wily, fun-loving underd...

Note: the link on the video is now updated to start at the correct time. Apologies for any inconvenience. I had to laugh at  an article written by a COVID cultist over at  The Atlantic . Why do I say COVID cultist? The author wears an N95 mask outdoors by himself: check. Has a non-binary child: check. Refers to people who support traditional vaccines as anti-vaxxers: check. Still working from home: it sounds like it. Photo from Pixabay . The author, a 39-year-old, double-jabbed endurance athlete who mentions no comorbidities among his wife or young children, agonized over attending an out-of-state wedding. After much soul searching (that is, looking at people on social media out having a good time), he strapped on his N95 mask and ventured out. At the wedding, he was shocked to find people partying like politicians and celebrities do when they think the cameras are off. He shucked the mask and joined them . On returning home, he started feeling ill and got not one, not two, bu...

There's an idea going around that cancel culture isn't real, and the only people being "cancelled" are racists and alt-right types and conspiracy theorists. How do you know this is correct? Why, their opponents and the media outlets that deplatformed them tell you so! It's circular logic.   Likewise, people looking down their noses at "Dr. Google" and their warnings--"don't get medical advice on social media!" Consider the source, though: doctors and media companies, both of whom (in many cases) take money from pharma. There's no conspiracy theory here; rather, it's realizing that trying to cure yourself by listening to people selling medications meant to be taken indefinitely is worse than asking a barber if you need a haircut.  Some doctors promoting effective lifestyle changes--not quackery--have been deplatformed. Dr. William Davis, the Wheat Belly author, has said in online meetups that TV shows no longer have him on as a gue...

One of the greatest things about science is that it helps you get rid of wrong ideas. You might not like it when you see your hypothesis is wrong, but having the desire to think rationally, not emotionally, and to go wherever the facts lead, makes it easier to accept being wrong and trying to correct course. Thinking emotionally, on the other hand, is following a road that can leaf off a cliff.  Photo from Pexels . You don't have to look very hard to see cars heading for a cliff--or falling through the air. Australia is a penal colony again, New York state is about to fire over 80,000 unvaccinated health care workers in the midst of a pandemic and labor shortage even though whatever vaccinated replacements they can find can spread COVID, and everywhere there's a forceful push to vaccinate everyone even though it hasn't slowed down spread anywhere it's been tried.  It's not just policy makers: an online acquaintance thinks unvaccinated people are committing involunta...

Given all the warnings, terms and conditions of "Freedom Day" in England on the 19th, maybe I should have chosen this song for inspiration. Enjoy!

I don't normally get into online arguments, especially now that vegetrollians have gone away to start eating meat again or scolding people for--well, practically anything nowadays. But something set me off the other day and I finally realized why.  A poster on a forum asked how he could cheaply obtain several hundred rose starts to make a giant rose garden out of an uncultivated piece of ground at his house. I love roses, I've grown a lot of them, and know what's required to grow them. I asked several questions about cost and maintenance of such a project and pointed out potential pitfalls, all of which he waved away, even though he mentioned he was on a budget.  For anyone under the delusion that gardening is a dainty hobby, a garden this size typically has a crew and a professional horticulturist to plant and take care of it. Annual pruning alone would take one person two solid weeks of stoop labor. And since rose gardens went out of style with bridge games and Tupperware...

Mark's Daily Apple had a post today that ended with the author wondering about people who have done well in the pandemic. I think I've done pretty well--having my job and being an introvert have helped a lot. I'm also used to living far away from family, and I'm a homebody. Still, this year was pretty stressful  for me and I found some ways of dealing with it.  Years ago, two wise older friends both recommended ignoring overtures from a depressed former friend who wanted to reconnect. It sounded insensitive to me at the time, but they were right. Like a drowning victim, negative, depressed people can take you down with them, and crazy people can make you crazy, too. I've applied their advice continually over the past several months. Hitting unsubscribe to emails with black backgrounds. The self-flagellation will have to carry on without me. Unfollowing people who refuse on principle to wear masks. Likewise, t he fight to save our masks for Halloween will have to c...

I'd been a die-hard fan of low carb for years when, two years ago, I had complications from an infected tooth and a lot of stress. I had no more appetite for fatty food than someone with seasickness.   For that reason, I started eating higher-carb, lower calorie. Results? I re-developed acid reflux (though not as severe as before) and got a cavity--my first one since starting low-carb. I also had sugar crashes where I could hardly stay awake. There seemed to be a feedback loop where stress caused me to eat badly, which worsened my stress, which caused me to eat badly. I took probiotics, since strong antibiotics for my infected tooth made me queasy in the first place, and gradually ate less and less carb and more fat. It's only been in the past few weeks that I've been able to eat sardines again. Results from lower carb and higher fat? More energy--I mowed my whole lawn in one day last weekend, and yesterday, mowed it all without a break after doing a lot of other yar...

^^I wish he'd offer me some bacon. This is a post that doesn't apply to my readers, just to readers of other blogs. Not blogs that recommend limiting carbs or avoiding things like wheat or dairy, or show you how to cook, or dissect scientific studies, but blogs that tell you the few things you can eat, because everything else will kill you and destroy the planet. (You also need their book, exercise plan, supplements and $500 juicer to avoid dying.) These plans are complicated, difficult, expensive, subject to change, and of questionable validity and efficacy, but they have their benefits. There's the not dying part--and saving the world, too. You also get to feel superior, special and catered to. In other words, you get to be a fussbudget. Robert over at Living Stingy observes that being fussy confers status --or at least the feeling of status. Restaurants, for example, have to try to fill your very special order--that is, if they even serve anything you're ...

I've been seeing more and more articles by women (it's always women) whose heads have exploded trying to figure out life without yogurt and cupcakes. Oh, the shenanigans they get up to: bathroom problems from stuffing themselves with vegetables, paleo baked goods that don't taste the same as ones from the bakery, and especially the irresistible urge to eat "normally." The technical problems aren't hard to sort out: substitutes like baked goods will taste different because they are different, but an adjustment period of a few months will make those foods taste normal. And whatever you eat, don't stuff yourself. First, though, read a book by Loren Cordain or Mark Sisson to learn about the paleo diet before diving in. The articles I keep reading, though, have more to do with attitude: the urge to be exactly like everybody else or the urge to be helpless. If you're in the second category, I can't, by definition, help you. If you'd rather be Lu...

Most of us know the challenge of avoiding wheat, dairy, grains, potatoes, and high-carb foods in general, and a lot of people find it tough, especially at the beginning. But to avoid all added sugar in food--I hadn't guessed how hard it would be until I started reading A Year of No Sugar by Eve O. Schaub. Specifically, Schaub and her husband and two young daughters avoided all added fructose and most artificial sweeteners (fruit was OK), making a few exceptions: one dessert with added sugar per month, one personal exception with a bit of sweetener (such as ketchup or diet soda), and for the kids, they could choose for themselves whether to indulge at school, parties, etc. I can relate to the difficult transition to a non-whatever diet. Back in the 90s, I found out that almost everything contains wheat--not just bread and noodles, but almost anything in a box or a can. Same for sugar--salad dressing, most sausage, bacon, yogurt, cereal, pasta sauce--it's in there. Put on a...

It might be hokey to count your blessings, but counting your blessings got to be a cliche because it helps make you happy. I just turned 45 and instead of mourning the loss of my youth, I have much to be grateful for. I have better judgment than I did even a few years ago. Yes, I have more life experience, but mostly I credit hanging around critical-thinking low-carbers who inspired thinking and self-study. Simply remaining alive and calling it experience is like dumping puzzle pieces out of a box without putting them together. I feel better than I did in my 20s. Carbs weren't a good fuel for me; I was nutritionally deficient as well. On low-carb plus supplements, I reversed a boat load of health problems: weight gain, wonky blood sugar, fatigue, dental problems, GERD, acne, allergies, constant sinus congestion, and others. I'm better looking than I was at 26. Without wheat or dairy proteins, my acne finally cleared up after over 30 years. And I finally lost my baby fat....

A New Zealand school principal lifted rules against tree climbing, skateboards and a contact game called bullrush and saw decreases in bullying, vandalism and injuries. From The Independent,   Principal Bruce McLachlan did away with the standard playtime rules as part of a university study conducted by Auckland University of Technology and Otago University looking at ways to encourage active play among children.  The study, which ended last year, found pupils were so occupied with the activities that the school did not need its timeout area anymore, or as many teachers patrolling the playground, according to TVNZ .  Teachers also reported higher concentration levels from their students in the classroom. Mr McLachlan said: "The kids were motivated, busy and engaged. In my experience, the time children get into trouble is when they are not busy, motivated and engaged. It's during that time they bully other kids, graffiti or wreck things around the school."  ...

Hope you're having a Merry Christmas! It's the fourth anniversary of this blog and it's been almost that long since I started a low-carb diet and never looked back. That's not to say I never have a moment of weakness. Too much chocolate last week brought back the GI problems that I set out to solve four years ago. I can't eat chocolate bars in moderation, so I don't keep them around anymore. For others, it's Christmas cookies, stuffing, bread, pie, and other carbs that make this the most fattening time of the year. How to get back on track--or start a LC diet? Someone asked me this just yesterday. Since different approaches work for different people, here are a few sources for various types of people. Just tell me what to eat. Here's a quick guide to low-carb from Dr. Andreas Eenfeld t. I want to know how this actually works. Drs. Michael and Mary Dan Eades, who have treated thousands of patients with low-carb diets, explain diet, hormones and...

Need a dining room set? I'm selling mine since all it does is collect dust and papers. Not having many of those health-giving, life-lengthening, cortisol-dampening relationships, I haven't had company in two years. I replaced the old furniture with a papasan chair, which I've enjoyed more than I the casual acquaintances I went to some trouble to acquire, who came and sat at the table once or twice. Of course, I've read about studies showing close relationships making us happier and live longer, and studies showing that introverts are happier when they act extroverted. But what about real life? Most relationships are friendships of convenience. Acquaintances who aren't classmates, coworkers or neighbors take time and effort to meet, and I've come by very few who were worth the effort. As for playing a gadfly, what would a study find if it had people calling in sick and getting drunk instead of going to work--that they were happier? Probably, but like someone w...

December 17, 1999 found me so happy that I was jumping up and down and laughing. I'd just been laid off from my last engineering job, a job I could have done as a high school sophomore, a job so dull I felt a piece of myself dying every day as I sat through seven light changes to get out of the office park. No more. I was free of that miserable job. This should have been the reaction (in spirit) of my mom when her doctor fired her as a patient last week. She asked her nephew, an M.D. (who also left engineering) if a doctor could do that. Certainly--if you were a doctor, would you want to be forced to treat patients you felt you couldn't help? Call it at-will treatment. My parents' now-former doctor changed my mother's diabetes medication without giving her any advice to monitor blood sugar levels carefully or adjust her insulin, and my mother ended up with blood sugar levels in the 50s some mornings. My father didn't want to take a certain medication because of...

Regular readers know that I'm fully healed from an accident that happened a year ago. After a month with my arm in a sling, nine months in braces, and surgeries to remove and replace a broken tooth, I'm back to normal. And as of this month, so is my emergency fund. Readers may not know that the accident set me back $7,000. Most of my injuries involved my teeth, and American dental insurance generally doesn't cover braces for adults or dental implants for anyone. Now that the cost of health insurance has dramatically gone up for some people to the point that they can't afford it, having some savings has become even more important. Having savings gives you some security. It'll also save you money over having to get a loan or using credit cards. I thought about offering some money-saving tips, but those are easy to find, and my tips may not apply to everyone. Besides, it's not useful if you take the savings and spend it on something else. The real question is ...

I just spent five hours playing video games, by myself, and I don't regret it. I don't want my five hours back to sit on a bar stool, talk about Breaking Bad, watch whatever game is on with other fans, or do something, anything, else with another person. Constant company for a good life is one more piece of conventional wisdom I've scuttled. I like going home and bolting the door. I like to read, think, watch Netflix, play with my dog, and putter around the yard. None of this requires another person. I don't keep up with the Joneses and nobody gives me a hard time about much of anything. I've read that being alone is as bad for you as smoking, but as we like to say, correlation isn't causation. Even if it is in this case, I'll take my own company and take my chances. If you're lonely, I empathize. I've been there. But not all of us loners want company. If togetherness is so good, why have houses gotten so much bigger and households so much small...