Pain, Pain, Go Away!

This is why I don't take the newspaper anymore: I'm tired of the sob stories. The latest is an article in The New York Times about how people in flophouses can't afford unprocessed food. They use the term "working class" to describe people living with no reliable stove or refrigerator or pots, pans and other basic utensils, which annoys me as someone living in a working-class neighborhood. We have our problems, but a lack of a working appliances and cooking utensils is pretty unusual. Some of the people interviewed in a book the article referred to said they were evicted from their last place, but there's no reason given (there never is in the news). First, I have to wonder whether people without cooking utensils care about cooking. It's just as well if they don't--moving to a place with working appliances really should be more important than figuring out how to sit down to poached salmon and asparagus in a lemon-butter sauce at home. And I doub...

...and I said nothing because I wasn't a drinker of sugary sodas. Now, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez of New York is coming for cauliflower, calling it "colonialist" in community gardens. Fox News' guest liberal, Cathy Arue, defended Cortez's statemen t, saying that cauliflower is a monocrop and the soil needs different plants to avoid becoming depleted, since the same old colonialist crops have been grown for generations. From what I understand, people rent plots in community gardens and grow whatever they like. If committees are dictating what crops are to be grown in community gardens in New York City, where Ocasio Cortez is from, maybe the committees, not the cauliflower, are the problem. In any case, is monocropping in community gardens a serious environmental problem? Looking at a few of New York City's 550 community gardens  on Google Street View, I didn't see anything that looked remotely like this: Photo by Gary Rogers. Wikimedia Commons...

Commentator Paul Joseph Watson posted a video on his observation that a lot of left-wing activists share a distinct look, like this man (Paul Crowther), who allegedly threw a milkshake on politician Nigel Farage: Photo from Facebook. I'll stick with coconut milk. Almost everyone he pointed out was overweight and had a puffy face. In another video, he remarked how depressed his soyboy critics were. I'm no expert, but it looks and sounds like hypothyroid. Maybe someone should think about offering everyone seaweed snacks instead of statins. In fairness to them, the standard of care for thyroid treatment, especially in the UK, is so bad that patients have taken to ordering medications from Mexico and Thailand. What got me thinking about hypothyroid was being diagnosed with it. Having been startled by a high BG rating about a month ago, I really whacked back the carbs...and became so tired I barely wanted to move. My heart was going like a jack rabbit. Remembering what I sa...

Or butter, ghee, bacon grease or coconut oil--not something out of a spray can. Eight people have allegedly been injured by exploding cans of cooking spray (like Pam) when putting the cans near a stove . When's the last time you heard of shrapnel from exploding lard? Besides, humans have been eating animal fats for millions of years, and butter and coconuts for several thousand, suggesting we're well-adapted to those foods. Industrially made oils used in Pam, not so much. If your lard comes from a pastured piggy (not a blue box on the grocery store shelf), it'll have lots of vitamin D and no hydrogenated oil. Find a farmer near you that sells lard. Sources I've purchased from and recommend here in central Indiana: Fischer Farms ( bulk orders of their meat, eggs, lard, etc. only) Smoking Goose Source: " 8 People Allegedly Disfigured by Exploding Cans of Cooking Spray Sue Conagra " by Zlati Meyer. USA Today, May  7, 2019.

23andMe, the genetic testing company, sent me a new report saying I have a 64% chance of developing diabetes based on my genetics. Having at least three diabetic grandparents and hypoglycemia from the time I was a kid, I already figured I was a case of diabetes waiting to happen if I didn't take precautions. If I followed 23andMe's crappy advice, I'd probably become one of those cases. GlaxoSmithKline, maker of the diabetes drug Avandia , owns a $300 million share of 23andMe . Some of 23andMe's advice for avoiding diabetes is good--avoid added sugars, refined flour and potatoes. Thanks to the work of journalists, bloggers, podcasters, and a few renegade doctors and researchers who attacked the low-fat orthodoxy, they have to throw that in now to avoid losing all credibility. But their advice on what to eat instead isn't very helpful for filling you up and keeping you from snacking on foods with flour and sugar: Fruit can be very high in sugar; beans are mo...

Over the past few months, my stomach is feeling a lot better and I think it's thanks to low-carb lattes I've been having for breakfast. Plus a lot of Pepto-Bismol. Doing a little research, it turns out that all the ingredients in the latte (coconut milk, cocoa powder, peppermint extract, and even coffee) are antibacterial. So is Pepto-Bismol. I've also been avoiding high-FODMAPS foods that cause bloating. So I think my problem was SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) after taking too many probiotics...and maybe some carb creep. Something felt off. I was tired, I'd gained a few pounds, and felt puffy. I got a new blood glucose meter and tested my fasting and post breakfast levels (breakfast being bacon, eggs, two lattes and some dried seasoned tomatoes). That was about 18 grams of carbohydrate. My blood sugar went from 91 to 146. Not good! After two hours, it went to 109 and stayed around there for the next four and a half hours, when I stopped taking readings...

Some people are still trotting out the old "Japanese are healthy because of their starchy diet" chestnut.  There are a lot of differences between Japanese and American diets and cultures. One I hadn't heard of until recently was annual physicals for Japanese citizens and ex-pats 30 and over living in Japan. The checkups are free--employers are required to provide them. Those without a regular employer can go through their city office. The results of these physicals are shared with your employer, who can tell you to shape up or ship out (or pass you over for promotions). With this in mind, many Japanese go on an annual "cleanse" to prepare for their physical. "They do things such as eliminating fried foods and alcohol, and pay close attention to getting more sleep, usually for a month or so beforehand," says ex-pat Jessica Korteman. A lot of Americans likewise make New Year's resolutions to diet and exercise--but we have a lot less skin in the ...