Pain, Pain, Go Away!

In time for Halloween, here's a recipe for no-carb "cider" to sip while you watch scary (or mildly spooky) videos. Photo from Pixabay . Ingredients: Hot water Constant Comment tea Doctor's Best magnesium powder in sweet peach flavor Steep a bag of Constant Comment tea in hot water for a few minutes and remove the bag. Add one scoop of magnesium powder (sweet peach flavor). The combination tastes surprisingly like hot apple cider, but with zero carbs. Only have one, or at most two, cups at a time--too much magnesium at once will have you running to the bathroom. Constant Comment tea tastes good on its own if you've maxed out your magnesium dose for the day. You can find both the tea and the magnesium powder at Vitacost.com. Kroger and other grocery stores carry Constant Comment tea, but I've never seen the magnesium powder at a grocery store. With a hot cup of ersatz cider, enjoy a video in the spirit of the season. The Amazing Mr. Blunden Family friendly; mild...

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...

Move over, juicers: there's a new elixir in town. Boil some bones for a day, along with vinegar to extract the nutrients, and voila--you have the latest health drink. Well, you have it if you're willing to spend a whole day cooking it or pay $8 for a little carton of it. After all, it's water that bones were boiled in . Photo from  https://www.pexels.com/photo/white-skull-table-decor-417049/ Hold on, says Dr. Davis. He reports that bone broth is high in lead, and the ideal amount of ingested lead is zero. There's also not that much nutrition in bone broth. Who'd have guessed? Nutrients in bone broth. Note the vegetable ingredients, the source vitamins A and C. Click to enlarge. Source:  https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/fdc-app.html#/food-details/551729/nutrients When he said this at the last meetup, some members in the chat said, "What about organic bone broth?" Does it matter? Let's discuss. Even if organic bone broth isn't infused with (much) lead, it...

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 simpl...

Magnesium Supplements Corrupted? I've finally gotten to the bottom of the diarrhea, fatigue, and pounding heart that's plagued me off and on since February: magnesium. I've taken magnesium supplements for years and was making Dr. Davis's magnesium water recipe until all available milk of magnesia contained sodium hypochlorite, also known as bleach. When I ran out of milk of magnesia, I started taking magnesium citrate tablets, which I've taken before without any ill effect. In fact, my favorite electrolyte mix contains magnesium citrate, and it had never bothered me before. I don't remember when I started taking the tablets, but I didn't associate them with the diarrhea. I wondered if my yogurt got contaminated, so I started a batch with new bacteria. I took Candibactin, an herbal remedy for bacterial and fungal overgrowth. I tried sulfur tablets. I got a stool test that turned out negative.  Then I started getting fatigue, a pounding heart and insomnia. I k...

The Purge I've been nostaligic for the days five to ten years back when the worst interaction you might have online was a nasty comment or two. Moderators, who might have to deal with a few hundred comments at most, blocked the trolls if they became too disruptive. Now that Facebook and Twitter are excommunicating people wholesale, maybe we'll go back to smaller, moderated sites and leave the yelling and screaming to the maddening crowds over there.  Dave Rubin asked Tulsi Gabbard today how she'd moderate Twitter. In practice, I don't think it's possible. It's too big with too many users who are completely unhinged and ready to come after you IRL if they don't like what you say. Then there's Facebook, which seemed like a platform for narcissists during the few weeks I used it long ago. They say people used to live in groups of about 150--maybe it's time for virtual communities to return to something closer to that number. Not only was there less trou...

I wish I were one of those low carb/paleo people who never get colds, never get sunburns, never have a complaint. I've had a cold for two and a half weeks, sat in the sun yesterday, and got a sunburn. Monday I read the news that Indiana was offering COVID testing in Greensburg , an hour from home. I drove down there, answered some questions from National Guard members, and got ready to have my finger pricked. In reality, that's the antibody test. This was the test where someone pushes a swab into your nose halfway to the back of your head. It's the closest I've ever come to a violation of the Geneva Convention. I could still feel it an hour later when I was home. Two days later, I was going downhill. I emailed some coworkers that if I stopped answering emails and my phone to please call an ambulance. They asked if I'd like one of them to call me every hour to make sure I was OK, but about that time I got my test results back: negative for COVID. I went to urg...

I've kept a close eye on the coronavirus and found a few facts and trends: It seems to me the logistical plan here in the US is to have a lockdown for a few weeks, and in that time, set up hospitals and build personal protective equipment and ventilators night and day so that we don't end up with a bottleneck where there aren't enough supplies to go around.  Heart & lung disease, diabetes and high blood pressure (basically, diabesity) are high risk factors. This is worrisome for the US. I'm being careful to avoid high-carb foods that would raise my blood sugar. Some articles have said the virus is vulnerable to oxidation. I'm not taking high-dose vitamin C. It's being tried for people who are already very sick, but I'm not convinced it's a preventative. COVID-19 can be killed by UV light and heat (low oven for half an hour). Humidity seems to limit transmission. Light, humidity and UV rays sound a lot like summer, and countries in the tropics ...

Saturday, I quit taking NDT (natural desiccated thyroid) for a while, figuring my problems (pounding heart, feeling hot, lack of energy) were from taking too much. The problems went away, so I was right. Yesterday, I felt great: normal heartbeat, energetic, cheerful...then I went outside after work and felt too cold. My heart started pounding again. I woke up later that night and felt puffiness behind my eyes. This morning I was up a pound and my face was so puffy it looked like Elvis circa 1976. My stomach was rumbling after lunch and sending acid the wrong way. Not wanting to repeat the misery I went through from taking too much NDT, I waited until this afternoon, thought about making absolutely sure my iron and adrenals were straightened out this time, and finally said, screw it, if I don't like taking NDT, I'll stop. So I took 150 mg--and felt better.  My face doesn't look like I need to lay off the peanut butter, bacon and banana sandwiches. What I'm doing now...

Figuring out my endo problems has been hard. Palpitations can be caused by too much or too little potassium, magnesium, iron, adrenaline and T3 (thyroid hormone). Having experimented with the first three, I think I still have too much T3 in my system. That, and I felt a lot better a week ago after taking a break from taking it, then cutting my dose in half. Back when my adrenals were low, eating more carbohydrate made me feel better. It doesn't now. Another sign that the problem is too much T3. Lab tests last week showed almost everything was normal: iron, magnesium, potassium, hemoglobin, and various kidney functions. My fasting glucose was high, though (106); I'm hoping it's because I was in some distress. I'm also hoping that getting my iron straightened out will help downstream functions of adrenals and thyroid. I went about things backwards: first (says Nora Gedgaudas), it's iron, which affects adrenals, which affects thyroid. There's more to it than...

If you can sell a bag of potato chips, why can't you sell 1000mg potassium pills? I've finally found an answer to my cravings and heart palpitations, and unfortunately, it's potato chips. It's not that I've jumped on the safe starch bandwagon, it's just that it suits my current needs: I tend to get low on salt and potassium. The chips have a lot of both, making my heart and energy level feel normal. I'm too wound up about moving to be very hungry. Therefore, I can eat half a bag at a time because I'm not eating much else. I've turned into one of those people who's lost weight eating potatoes. My stomach hasn't been normal since those three courses of antibiotics from my root canal. The chips feel good on my stomach if I don't eat too many. Downsides: Acne, gas, a bit of reflux, and probably a lack of certain nutrients.  Potassium isn't one of those nutrients, though. An eight-ounce bag of potato chips has 3727 mg o...

As readers may know, I have to take mineral supplements. I also crave coffee and soda, which are both acid. Hmmm. Iron is better absorbed with vitamin C (aka ascorbic acid). Calcium is better absorbed with vinegar (acid). Lemon juice (acidic) breaks down meat (which contains minerals). It does it so well you can chemically cook fish in lemon juice to make ceviche. I put vinegar in the dishwasher to dissolve mineral deposits.  Cola is acid (the pH is around 3-4). Maybe my problem is due to low stomach acid. Years ago, I tried vinegar for GERD without success. Maybe it's time to try it for digestion. Why didn't I think of this before?

Thanks to my internet friend Larcana, who alerted me to the connection between iron deficiency and palpitations, I doubled down on my iron supplements and, for good measure, washed them down with Emergen-C. It's a cold medicine with a mega-dose of vitamin C, plus B vitamins and minerals. I don't think vitamin C does anything for a cold (a friend bought the stuff and left it at my house the last time she visited), but vitamin C does help iron absorption. After doubling up on iron in the last three days, I feel back to normal. (I'd already been taking quite a bit of magnesium and potassium, so I probably had sufficient levels of those.) How did I get so low on iron? Maybe it was too many Quest bars instead of red meat when I had odd cravings during my dental infection recently. Maybe because it's too hard to find liver at the grocery store and I haven't eaten much of it lately. Maybe the antibiotics damaged my intestines . And apparently, I'm a heavy bleeder . ...

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has officially acknowledged well-founded scientific findings(1).  Specifically, Saturated fat is fine. Cholesterol is fine. Red meat has important nutrients, such as protein and iron. They call red meat an "important source of shortfall nutrients, such as iron." They add, "The Academy did not interpret that recommendation as impugning the healthfulness of red meat or its place in recommended meal patterns as a protein..." Hooray! The fifty pounds of angus beef in my freezer has their blessing! They even called it healthful! But wait--don't eat too much of it: "...red meat consumption [at an average of 20 ounces per week] exceeds [our] recommendations for most subgroups and...a greater share of recommended protein consumption should be met by seafood, legumes and nuts." Let's break this down: red meat is entirely, or almost entirely, fat and protein. If protein is good, and saturated and monounsa...

My apparent reaction to epinephrine from a root canal continues. I know the epinephrine is long out of my system, but I'm still having to pop magnesium and potassium pills several times a day. People who dismiss palpitations as a reaction to a very low-carb diet probably haven't been through it. Peter at Hyperlipid called palpitations from ketogenic diets "interesting." Here's something I think is interesting: the change in my complexion. A few days ago I saw I looked like I was wearing orange makeup, which had matched my skin before. A cosmetologist selected a new shade for me. L to R: the new foundation and the old. I haven't been this pale since the early 2000s. I've been taking my iron pills every night (my complexion darkened when I started taking them some years ago). Maybe I'm not absorbing minerals well... But I'm happy to say my energy levels have been stabilizing--I'm even tired at 10PM, something brand new for me--and I...

Here are two annoying myths about low-carb diets: everybody on a LC diet can fast, and nobody will need supplements. I've been low-carb for over five years, and fairly strict: slip-ups give me acid reflux within a few days. But I can't fast and I still need supplements. I don't mind needing three real meals a day plus snacks or taking vitamins. What's annoying is people not believing me when I say I need to do this. "But, are you sure?" they ask. "Are you really low-carb? Did you just start? Is it just cravings? Have you stopped eating grains?" I'm sure I'm hypoglycemic: I had most of the symptoms most of my life and the blood glucose meter confirmed my falling blood sugar when I tried to fast. I quit eating wheat five years ago. I know cravings from hunger and don't have a history of binge eating. A medical test confirmed that I had iron deficiency anemia; if I don't take iron pills, I get so weak I can barely prise myself out o...

Jim said he didn't want no more damned adventures. - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Getting a shot of epinephrine once again made me feel tired and gave me palpitations. At least this time I knew to pop magnesium pills (good ones ending in -ate) like candy. I now carry three magnesium pills with me in case of emergency--they don't have any at hospitals. The second part of my root canal was Wednesday. Thursday was a major deadline at work, and when a code enforcement officer called me about some overgrown weeds in my front yard, I was all out of nice. Between the mostly cold weather, a dental infection and shots of the dreaded epinephrine, I hadn't felt up to anything but going to work and being bothered by a bureaucrat over some weeds was too much. But by Saturday, I felt well enough to weed the front yard, prune the tree there and clean the house. Today (Sunday), I found I felt better if I moved around--I spaded up part of the back yard to plant mo...

A few weeks ago, I started using a moisturizer with super hyaluronic acid to heal my chapped lips. I used it along with Carmex. In two weeks, they were healed. Now, after three and a half weeks' use, they're as soft as they've ever been. During the first two weeks, I used the two products several times a day (even though the HLA stings a little on broken skin). Last weekend, two of my fingers got chapped from using a carpet stain remover without gloves. The sores were small, but surprisingly painful--so much so that I couldn't stand to run water over them. I tried HLA and Carmex, and they were healed (but still tender) in two days. Reading up on HLA, it looks like it's a natural substance that humans and other animals produce, but less so with age. It's a polymer that helps with joint and eye health, and healing. It's degraded by ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and iron. If you're using HLA topically, made sure you're not using it with a  moisturizer ...

It's been a stressful year: my father rapidly declined and died, and my mother ended up in the hospital and then in a nursing home for a while. While she was staying with me for a few weeks, a relative told the county I was starving and stealing from her. (Of course, the county determined this was a load of horse shit.) Lately, the same relative has been meddling in my mother's financial affairs, making messes as fast as I can clean them up. From the time early this year when I was doing a lot of work on my parents' house (e.g., insulating their attic), I wasn't taking my vitamins regularly or eating liver and oily fish weekly. A few years before, I started what I called the cavity-healing diet to heal my teeth; surprisingly, it made my TMJ better. Given my gum graft surgery last summer, I should have really been diligent about the diet, but I wasn't. I ended up with redness in the area of the graft, roaming TMJ, and the beginning of a cavity between two molar...

One study after another over the past few years has shown low-carb, high fat diets to be good for correcting weight and lipids. Other studies have found iron deficiency is very common in women. So why do so many young women in the paleo community advise limiting red meat (high in iron) and animal fat and eating lots of vegetables instead? They remind me of the Intelligent Design crowd: people who recognize intellectually that the creation story in Genesis is a myth, but emotionally aren't ready to abandon it or make waves with friends and family who still believe. Some of the authors say (credibly) that they have or had an eating disorder; others seem to want to keep on being nice girls who don't eat too much or too richly and don't want to lead others astray. At least, that's how it comes off to me, someone from a blue collar family who grew up in the 80s when priss was an insult and a lot of girls went to McDonald's for lunch. What no nice paleo girl woul...