Oh, the Irony

OK, I am old, now who is this guy?  Besides, I think I am going to be busy that day, can't go to a concert.  I am not sure of the day, but I am sure I am busy.

Morrissey is coming to town.  Now I am generally suspicious of stars that go by first names only, but really, he is insisting that only vegetarian fare be served at the concert site.  And to appease him, the Staples center is trying to get nearby eateries to comply with his demands wishes?  And, how much "clean" radius does a music star need before he'll perform?

I need to warn Morrissey that he is going into some serious carnitas territory here.  Vegetarian fare near the Staples center would probably be a bean and cheese burrito, but then one really couldn't be sure..... Could a meat-eating, murderous carnivore have to go to the Valley or El Monte to get some serious carnitas?

Oh yeah, where was I?  Oh, right, so he has cancelled some concerts already, due to illness.  It seems he is having some severe stomach issues.

And I am thinking, "Hey, I used to have some serious stomach issues."  And many times, a vegetarian diet made things better.  Eventually I developed a long list of foods I could not tolerate.  Meat fat, tomatoes, soy milk, nuts, peppers, eggplant, sour cream, butter, vegan cold cuts, milk, beets, alcohol on and on.  And this is how the logic went down.

A + B => bad
A + C => bad
A + D => bad
Therefore, B and C and D are bad. 

This flurry of logic is an embarrassment for someone as statistically gifted as I am.  And yes, I was developing GERD before getting off the "healthy" vegetarian diet and onto a fat-swilling artery-clogging low carb diet.  And here is what I found out:

GERD has nothing to do with what time of the day I eat, but everything to do with eating wheat.  I can eat every food listed above (ok, except raw beets) without a problem as long as I haven't eaten any wheat.  For years I avoided all those foods when I really should been avoiding that one food.   The main reason I did not realize it is that wheat damage has a very long half-life for me.  Even when I was eating wheat about a couple of times a week, I still didn't notice the problem, because at least until the end, it was always at a constant, low level.

This Morrissey guy, he has severe stomach problems, and Barrett's esophagus, and he wants to insist that everyone eat like he does?  He could get cancer from this, and while I don't really know what he is eating, I am wondering if he is putting 2 and 2 together like I did.  And, now I am getting this uneasy feeling in my stomach again, as I realize that he is demanding that others take the same dangerous path he has taken.

Don't Feed the Hand that Bites You

I'll admit, I was away so long, I didn't even know what was happening.

I used to go to [redacted]people from time to time, and it seemed like many friends weren't there anymore.  Then I caught a blogpost by a low-carb friend explaining the reason she wasn't there as much anymore.

It seems like last November, our favorite CW dietitian, Becky Hand, wrote a very damning article about a low carb diet.  You can read more about her lies here .

You will note that unlike other blog posts, this post has no comments.  That is because the comments were taken down after tons of people complained about her post.  In the comments section, members expressed their outrage.  All the comments were erased and the blog post was edited.  Now you will see low carb myths, where before, she called them low carb lies.  It looks like the list of lies has also been edited since the last time I checked.

Some of my friends started some threads about this in the main message board.  Many were erased.  This is what remains.

I wonder if there will ever be a time when registered dietitians can be considered criminally liable for refusing to offer diet advice that can really help diabetics and people with metabolic syndrome.  There is plenty of data, they can't continue to deny that, and lie about their diet advice.

So, I am doing a bit of decluttering and taking my page down.

Slouching towards Macrobiotics - Who thought of it first? - Part 1

It seems like there is this common pattern.

Passionate guru/longevity-expert bursts on the scene, after some serious revelation, filling the world with his ideas for getting healthy, staying lean, and living the (real) high life.  Some aren't impressed, especially the food fascists like dietitians, who declare the recommended diet to be unhealthful because "it eliminates too many healthy foods", particularly fruits and vegetables and even dairy.

But soon, sick and forgotten groupies flock to the program, and they feel better for doing it, despite the sacrifices.  It is said to cure or eliminate cancer.

It is not just a diet, but it is a lifestyle.  In addition to the diet rules, which are based on a balance of cosmic and earth energies that science cannot seem to prove or disprove, participants are told that where they live matters in respect to their health, intelligence and reproductive fitness.  They follow an organic whole-foods seasonal diet, make fermented foods, enjoy plenty of the fruits of the sea, cook on a gas or wood stove (no microwave here, ma'am!).  They keep their homes simple, full of natural stone floors, simple furnishings, natural heating methods, natural lighting.  There is no room for plastic shoes, plastic take-out containers, plastic clothing, plastic anything, really.  Clocks, TV, other electrical appliances, well, not in the bedroom please, and no eating right before bed.  There should be fresh air and time spent outdoors every day, and of course, no fluorescent lights when indoors, and TV and computer use is strictly limited, because electro-magnetic radiation is unhealthy, unless of course, you're playing at an ocean beach.

It is weird.  The participants buy weird food, eat weird, dress weird, live weird.  Their families can be supportive, or not.  All the regular gurus are not supportive.  It is a dangerous fad.  This guy is nuts.  It is fake.  Don't do it.  Yes, you can eventually get down to two meals a day, but who cares?

The guru was fond of admonishing his followers for not following local, seasonal activities, but then his proclamations were made based upon his own locale.  Still, there was not alot of wiggle-room on the rules, no matter where participants lived.  Of course, abut the worst thing one could do is eat a banana in winter in Canada.  The second worst thing would be to eat a banana in the summer in Canada.

Some of the controversial conclusions of the guru involve the differences between men and women, and the differences (including intelligence) between people's living at different parts of the globe.  This belief results in the intention of the participants to move to different parts of the globe and to look down on other cultures as less in intelligence and certainly health.  Some lament, why can't it just be about a few diet rules?  Why do I have to remodel my whole house, re-do my cooking equipment, or move altogether?  And then there is all the accompanying woo-woo philosophy...Cosmic and earth energy raining down (and up?) on us, encouraged or discouraged by our food choices....syncretic adoption of Asian spirituality....dependence on mountaintop retreats and revelations...circles and spirals of improvement, just like the tides.....and that stupid idea that any participant/groupie had to run anything up the guru flagpole in order to find out if it was safe to eat, wear, whatever......it will all be revealed shortly.....

If you think I am talkin' about Jack Kruse, here, you'd be wrong.  It's about Michio Kushi, a popular choice for the founder of modern macrobiotics.  Hey, but what about the others?  Ever heard of  Dr. Hufeland?  I never heard of him either.  Michio is the guy who wrote some books about it more recently and started the expensive seminars.  I guess that is why he gets to be the guy who takes all the credit.  Certainly not Don Matesz.

P.S. as for the shameless title theft, thank you Dr. Feinman.  And, of course, This.

My Answer to Woo - Part 2

Woo says that no one is making the low carb faddists declare their reasons for going low carb.  I disagree.

Way back a long time ago, when the paleo pool was a bit clearer and not as much of a cesspool, people were free to eat what they wanted, as long as it was meat and veggies and they were both old.  Then some of the over-exercizers got tired of the lower carb thing, and in order to maintain their over-exercise-routines, began adding carbs.  Sisson came up with the nifty carb graph.  People seemed happy with all this for a time.

Even before AHS11, the carb wars intensified.

It used to be that low-er carb was the paleo standard, and that if people wanted taters, they had to give themselves permission to do some neolithic cheating.  Either from their exercise or diet guru, or by reading the tea leaves of their n=1.

Gradually, this situation changed into a plan where people were free to consume as much glucose-producing carbage as they wanted, as long as they could "cover it with exercise".

Gradually, some paleo luminaries changed this situation into a plan where carbs were again considered an essential nutrient, and people were required to consume a bit of glucose-producing carbage in order to counteract a carb deficiency.  Their brownshirt followers went all over the paleosphere enforcing this new rule.

Eventually, people like me were required to show a note from the doctor in order to continue eating a low-carb diet without constant ridicule.

Eventually, this turned into a carbbist-inspired krystalnacht event within the paleo cesspool, even worse than usual.  Folks casually mentioning to each other on a forum or two that they can't wait until the low carb people leave for good.

Problem with paleo popularity leveling off?  Blame it on those fat low carb people.
Problem with people thinking that paleo thing is just a fad?  Blame it on those red-faced low carb people.
Problem with eating disorders?  Blame it on the Low Carb scene.
Nope.  It's not the Jews, it's not the feminists, it is the LOW CARB people, its JIMMY!!!!!

Now, we are being told that we have eating disorders.  Eliminating. Entire. Food. Groups.  EEFG, set to appear in your next DSM.  What's next, a letter on our sleeve?  Or, maybe another comment like this: 

"From my nutrition training, it was well-known that those with eating disorders would hide behind the likes of vegetarianism or veganism in order to legitimise their food avoidance... it is an easy way to eliminate a boat-load of energy in one "legitimate" hit. "I don't eat meat".

There has been much talk behind the scenes about similar things occuring within the paleo community, especially with its increasing popularity and (unfortunately) links to the LC community (you just want to Hulk-smash those links, don't ya?)."

So, Paleo Guy, you are that much into hulk-smashing?  Tell me Paleo Guy, who says stuff like that?  No need for people like me to be afraid of a potato, when we have some hulk-smashing tater tots on board.

Rewarding Food Friday!!!!!

Announcing:  Several Extremely Disrespectful Low-Carb Zealots are staging a virtual internet progressive dinner.  How rewarding is that?

Check out Tess's decluttering series.
Then head on over to the pizza party at Woo's place.
Who wouldn't want to follow up all that goodness with this?

I am getting in some afternoon reading before an evening trip to the theater.  I don't have lots of time to cook, so I sliced off a chunk of turduken.  For the uninitiated, it contains pork sausage stuffed in chicken and duck, and stuffed in a turkey breast.

It was a bit dry so I served it over a bed of wilted......BACON!!!!

So, what is it?  A Paula-inspired bacon-wrapped turduken?  A turporky  baconducken?  A nutritional nightmare?  At least it doesn't contain horsemeat, or even DOG meat.  Oh well, you decide.

I hate censorship

I found a really great link on Jack Kruse's site the other day, only when I went back, it has seemed to disappear from where I thought it should be.  Maybe I just couldn't find it.

There was a small discussion on Paleohacks about Kruse's mitochondrial Rx.  As far as I know, the Rx hasn't been released publicly, but only to people with paid memberships or private paid consults.  But, by reading what others who have had the Rx "revealed" to them and what they were doing about it, I figured out it was similar to what another posted had shared in the comments section of Hyperlipid.

Over there at Hyperlipid, after a couple of folks asked Dr. K to elaborate on his "last 20 pounds" comment, another poster shot a piece over by Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum that looked pretty interesting.  I took a few notes, but it was late, so when I returned the next day, the link had been removed.  I haven't been able to find it again.

This new link was posted on Jack's forum by a participant.  I didn't bookmark it either, but I was able to find it again this morning.  It is by Dr. Sinatra.  In addition to providing the link, the poster also expressed disappointment that Dr. Kruse didn't give credit where credit was due.  This morning, I could not find the post, but I did find this one.  I am putting it here.

"Originally Posted by Zorica Vuletic

Pffft. Let's see about Jack:

He has super loads of money and is in position of power so that he can force his lifestyle (on others/his family) and be the one in control. He has oodles of resources etc. So for him what he does is different b/c basically he's a manic of sorts. For the rest of normal human beings who a. don't have all the resources like him and are b. not in control like he is....what do you do? Isolate yourself away from family in order to 'get all protocols right'? Or...stress about the impact of said isolation b/c it distances you away from family and friends?

Sorry to sound so bitter, but honestly it gets very ridiculous sometimes. Am frustrated to see also that so many people here are doing ALL THESE PROTOCOLS and supplements etc. and are still suffering so bad or that their health really is not improved. One aspect might have been improved only to have something else weird be uncovered...and for what? And for what of all the 'weirdness' and isolation we/you have to go through? I question that quite often. Like OK do I go out in the woods and live in a log cabin BY MYSELF just so that I can 'get all these things right'? *Btw that doesn't sound like too bad of an idea sometimes lol. But I don't have the eccentric gene in me...at least I don't think I do to that level. ....

 

[Dr. K's reply]

 

Pretty good time for me to chime in........Here is why some folks will never reach Optimal. Bad Thinking is your biggest obstacle. The mindset we are a collection of our past experiences.........That the past equals our future…….NEWS FLASH: Our biography is not our destiny, but our decisions however do 100% shape our destiny. Moreover, our decisions are what determines ultimate achievement and fulfillment in life. And Zorica this one is particularly just for you. Lack of resources do not limit us EVER, but our lack of resourcefulness is the the only issue behind our failures.

You don't know SH!T about me, or my history, but I love how you default to that belief. It tells me more about you and less about me. If you did, you might be awfully red in the face to see where I have come from. I promise you it far below your current situation. Your attitiude is your personal speed bump to Optimal.

No Rx, resource, money, situation can change that.


Only your resourcefulness can, and it is clear to me that you are saying loudly you may not have enough........if that is the case, cowboy up, and get some, before life passes you by.


I would be quite careful to tell others that they cant do something............focus on what you can do instead of what you can't. You really need to go somewhere and think about this post...........you need to stew in this for a while but I bet you get more pissed off then see the silver lining........and again that tells me how you see the world through your eyes. I hope this hits you squarely between the eyes, because you and I do not see life the same way and I think this is what really separates us and puts us in different paths in life. I am just glad their are others here that do not feel as you do...........they would rather create their life than wait for somebody to hand it to them.

Are you truthful with yourself? Do you keep promises you make yourself? Are you quick to forgive yourself? Do you accept responsibility for your actions? Are you consistent with your personal goals? Do you genuinely care and respect the life you have been given?

Integrity is the welcome mat at your front door......... Integrity is telling ourself the truth about our life. And honesty is telling the truth to other people when they may not see it. It's not what we eat, but what we digest that makes us strong; It's not what we gain but what we save that makes us rich, and not what we read but what we remember that makes us learn, and not what we profess but what we practice that gives us integrity.

[Jack's signature quote:]

Many people, especially the ignorant ones, want to punish you for speaking the truth for being correct, for being who you are. Never apologize for being who you are, for being light years ahead of your time. If you are right and you know it, speak your mind. Even if you are a minority of one, the truth remains the truth. Live it!!!"

Unfortunately for all of us, it looks like Hyperlipid is now more moderated.  Jane left an antogonizing comment after Jack posted his comments regarding the pentose phosphate pathway and d-ribose.  I just couldn't let it go, so I responded.  My response never saw the light of day, but when I checked, Jane's nasty comment had also been removed.  I don't believe my comment was nasty, but it was an unnecessary comment to have there if Jane's wasn't there already.

Jane attacked Dr. K for something he said about iron.  She really ripped into him, and sarcastically asked if he had read what Kresser says about iron.  I found the comment terribly funny, almost laugh out loud funny except I didn't want to wake up the cat.  I responded by saying that I am sure that Jack doesn't run all this theories by Kresser before he puts it out there.  (I am still laughing about this.  I can just see that hilarious vision, that of a meek Jack, timidly walking up to the tall and commanding "real" Dr. K, having Jack meekly raise his hand and ask if it was OK to ask a question.  Then the "real" Dr. K would remind this Weak Jack of his stature in the Paleo community and allow him to proceed anyway.  Weak Jack would stammer and try to force out the ill-formed questions and uncertainties concerning the role of iron in our evolution and our metabolism.  OK, I am still laughing.)

Oh anyway, where was I?  Oh yea, a friend who have been asking me all sorts of questions about metabolism but is also receiving several books from an activist vegan.  She insisted that I was taking tons of supplements and that she could get everything from food.  'Course, the woman was probably 80 pounds overweight and was on statins and has pre-diabetes, along with other problems.  I say fine, get all the CoQ10 from your food.   She also insisted that her newer version of statin didn't have all the other problems of the older statin, so she was OK.  (Oh, did I mention that the activist vegan was also diabetic, takes statins, and is scheduling a couple of cataract surgeries for the spring?  Oh, and that statins were OK for him since he had already had a heart attack?  Oops, the cat woke up again...)

Anyway, that got me thinking about my supplement list and whether it is extreme.  I recently started taking additional supplements.  Here's my list:

Multivitamin
Time-release C (when I don't have lots of low-carb citrus)
choline-inositol ('cause the multi doesn't have it)
K2 (when I am not eating grass-fed butter)
Alpha Lipoic Acid
Ubiquinol
Acetyl L Carnitine
Magnesium glycinate/amino acid chelate in the day
Magnesium malate at night
D-ribose

I started taking many of these supplements after reading Dr. Rosedale.  After a supply disruption with magnesium, I experimented with all sorts of kinds before I found the brands and formulations I now use.  Dr. Eades' blog was very helpful for information on magnesium. After seeing the link to Dr. Teitelbaum's article, I have been taking some of those supplements as well.  Based on my notes, here is what he recommends for mitochondrial health:

Ribose 5 grams 3 x a day for 6 weeks, then 2x a day for 6 weeks
CoQ10 400 gm 6 weeks then 200 a day for 6 weeks
Magnesium 200 per day 12 weeks
B complex 50 mg
Acetyl L Carnitine 500 mg 2x pr day 6 weeks, then 1x per day 6 weeks

I also get outdoors every day, and to the beach at least once a week.  I "ground" not with wires sticking out of my bedroom window, but because I am barefoot outside in the garden when I can be.  I did all that before reading Dr. Kruse, but since reading, I do go to the beach more often and also do regular CT.  I had already been avoiding my family in the evening because I don't like the fluorescent lights and all the trashy TV they watch.  And, yes, I do like the yellow glasses in the evenings.  I have never purchased any type of webinar or live seminar, and I am grateful for ALL the folks who have made such helpful information available for free on the internet.

But, Wow!, Jack.  You know that old saying paraphrase, that you can take someone out of trailer park, but it is harder to remove the trailer trash outta their head.  I'd say from Jack's post re-printed here that despite being transported to a wonderful home with a man-cave, a lake and a wine cellar, he's still living in poverty.  I really am not up for trashing the flock for not meeting all the expectations, no matter where you came from.

I'll end this post with another little quote about integrity.  Oh, and another, though I don't think it is really from Gandhi.  Good advice anyway.  Think I'll take it.

My Answer to Woo - Part One

I commented on this blog post, but now want to comment additionally.  I'll do it over here, since it is long, something I had wanted to say for awhile, and BECAUSE I WANT TO LEVERAGE WOO'S POPULARITY AND DRIVE TRAFFIC TO MY BLOG!!!!  (Guess at least n=2 on that plan, judging by the other visitors there.)

First a little note about Dr. K and his battle against IF.  I have read him since the beginning, and even though it wasn't 5 years ago, he has always warned people about IF.  He says that people who are leptin resistant shouldnt IF.  He is the only person in the whole paleo cesspool who ever gave any kind of explanation for this, and then later Stephanie Ruper did a post where she outlined some of the problems with women doing IF.  Her explanations were insufficient (and she might reconsider renaming her blog to Paleo for young women).

MY blogpost about it is here, of course with confounding factors.  My take-home clif-note version for my own situation is that I used to do IF and it worked, and then after menopause, along with a typical calorie-reduction plan recommended by [redacted]people, IF was a disaster.

This came up a few times on Paleohacks, with first a tepid response, and then a full-scale, jihhadist, lemming-like, mass-downvoting extravaganza by all the Wolf-pack and their extremely disrespectful zealot brofriend WOD-podners.  ("Oh, we can't let her get away with posting that HERE, now that the top dog in the Wolf-pack even put IF in the TITLE OF HIS BLOG!!")

Maybe Dr. K's explanation is wrong, too, but he was the only one at the time honoring the anecdote.  And, despite his posing, his revisionism, and his insane current marketing plan, I have never seen him waver on the IF prescription.   And that is, "NEVER NEVER NEVER until leptin sensitive."  BTW, you do not have to purchase any supplements or webinars to get the information about Kruse's leptin reset. 

At good time to add, I guess, that Dr. Rosedale also has a plan for making one leptin sensitive again.  And, despite what many tater-eatin' carbbists say, you do not have to eat any expensive supplements in order to do it.  In his book, he clearly explains uses of the supplements, and how to do it on a budget.  None are essential.  I got his book for free at the library.