Life is Healthy

It's 2:30 in the afternoon and I am sitting in my hotel room, having just eating cold soggy french fries and what I am sure was a hopelessly inauthentic Philly cheese steak from room service (at $14.00 before taxes, surcharge and tip, it was the cheapest thing on the menu and came without the promised fried onions).

The sound of my typing is being drowned out by yelling and the relentless cacophony of sirens on the street below, despite the fact that I am on one of the top floors of what was reportedly Philadelphia's first skyscraper.

I am having a weird day.

My departure for Philadelphia this morning was a bit fraught, the usual clutter and chaos being compounded by last minute additions to the Hallowe'en costumes (D. is going as Wolverine and S. went to school as a hippie and will be dressing up as Sarah Palin - not my idea - this evening. Last night, he was hobbling around the house with one hand on his hip, chirping "You betcha!"). I spent a good twenty minutes looking for the theatrical makeup (for Wolverine's facial hair and a peace symbol for the hippie), only to find it in the very first place I had looked, buried under a pile of rubble.

I managed to get out the door only slightly later than planned and, after 15 minutes of desperate waving, finally snagged a cab.

I sailed through airport check-in (did you know that there is a charge for every piece of luggage now?) and security and got into the line for US Immigration. I always get really nervous when I have to go through Customs or Immigration (doesn't matter which direction), even though I never try to smuggle or hide anything. When the only female worker waved me over for my turn, I was pleased, convinced that she would be more likely to be sympathetic to the purpose of my trip.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

Agent: "What is the purpose of your trip to Philadelphia?"

Me: "I'm going to a conference."

Agent: "What kind of conference?"

Me: "Breast cancer..."

Agent: "What's your job?"

Me: "I am a researcher with a union."

Agent: "Then why are you going to this conference?"

Me: "I'm a survivor."

That's when it started to fall apart. I babbled (I do this when I am nervous) something about it being organized by Living Beyond Breast Cancer and that it was called, "News You Can Use."

And then I told her that I was on disability (I am quite sure that I meant to say something else).

Agent: "How long have you been on disability?"

Me: "Ummm...since I was diagnosed...April 2006." (this is inaccurate but I was really flailing at this point).

Then I pulled myself together and said, clearly and forcefully: "But I have a good job to go back to and my insurance company pays x percent of my wage."

Agent: "OK."

Wow. I don't know if I've managed to convey her hostility but she really was very hostile.

I was shaking a little bit afterwards.

On the flight, I sat beside M., a very nice engineer from Alabama. We talked the whole way about Canadian winters (he had spent a winter in Ontario and enjoyed it), kids, blended families, the book I'm reading (Guantanamo's Child by Michelle Shephard) and life in general. I even took a stab at explaining what it means to live in a Constitutional Monarchy and the Canadian and provinicial electoral systems.

M., an employee of the US military, expressed his frustration that, in his opinion, dissent has come to be equated with a lack of patriotism in his country (he also said that the only part of the constitution with which he didn't agree was the right to bear arms).

He also said that he's hopeful that Obama will be elected and that he will bring about real and positive change ("these things don't happen overnight"), if he can build bridges and start work on some concrete projects (he used "energy independence" as an example).

I don't usually chat on planes but M. was a very cool seat mate and the 90 minute trip passed quickly (despite the fact that we weren't offered so much as a glass of water).

At the Philadelphi airport, I grabbed my bag and made my way to the taxi stand. When I announced my destination, the driver said, "I don't know if I can get you all the way there because of the parade."

The World Series parade! In the middle of the day! On Hallowe'en!

It wasn't long before we came apon the diverse (in every way imaginable), festive and very boisterous crowds.

We drove until we literally could go no further. I relinquished my cab to an incredibly happy young couple.

"Do you have to work today?" I was asked sympathetically.

I replied, "I just got here, I'm from Canada!"

"Wow!!!"

I wish sports could make me that happy.

I watched people dancing and singing, cheering and drinking. I saw strangers hug each other as they passed on the street and I saw a couple of gratuitous acts of vandalism.

Walking agains the flow of human traffic, I bravely made my way to the hotel (there were four large security guys standing outside, each with their eyes as wide as dinner plates) and checked in. I immediately went out again for wine and food. I secured the wine but quickly deduced that the only way I was going to eat was if I ordered room service (every restaurant within miles was packed or closed).

And now I find myself, a few hours later (I interrupted this post for a nap and a shower), typing in my pajamas, with a glass of wine by my side. I am starting to feel hungry again but don't really feel like venturing out again.

I don't feel like facing the last of the revelers. Or the sirens.

And I really don't feel like getting dressed.

Maybe I still have some trail mix in my bag.

You'll be hearing a lot from me this month. NaBloPoMo starts tomorrow (which is why my laptop is with me and the reason I am paying $10.95/day for internet. It's not because I'm addicted. Really).

I like fast-paced mystery novels that grab my attention from the first page and sustain my interest until the end.

I like books that are well written and that entertain without offending me and that use characters to move a story forward without resorting to stereotype.

And I like suspense novels that surprise me without stretching the bounds of credulity to their absolute limit (there is only so much disbelief I am capable of suspending).

On all of these fronts, Hell Bent, by William G. Taply delivers.

"Boston attorney Brady Coyne finds his own past coming back to haunt his professional life when his ex-girlfriend Alex Sinclair wants him to represent her brother. Augustine Sinclair was a notable photo-journalist, happily married with two small children - until he returned from a stint in Iraq, missing a hand and suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Now he's lost his career, his peace of mind and his family. Brady is hired to see him through the divorce but before they get very far, the photographer is found dead in his rented apartment, an apparent suicide.

But something isn't right and Brady starts to think the suicide is staged. With very little to go on and everyone around him wanting to close the books on the case, Brady soon finds himself in the midst of one of the most dangerous situations of his entire life, facing people who will do anything to avoid being exposed."

"I liked feisty, independent, competent, autonomous, self-contained women. I liked women who knew what they wanted and went after it. I liked women who thought they were at least as important and capable and valuable as men."

I woke up yesterday with one of the worst stiff necks I've had in a while. I have to get up all through the night to let the puppy out, so I think that I'm sleeping with one eye open. And then I never get in a comfortable position and end up sleeping in some twisted, mangled mess. Anyway, I feel better today.

I don't have a calorie count for yesterday because I wasn't counting. Also, my weight is up by three pounds. I'm not sure what's up with that. For the past two days, I haven't cared. But I have to get back into it. At least I haven't gained a lot. I think it's mostly water retention. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, menopause sucks.

I made it to the gym today. I did 49 minutes on the treadmill—24 minutes walking backward and 25 minutes walking forward with 15 of those minutes doing gradual inclines all the way up to 15%. Then I stretched for 10 minutes. And to make it all worthwhile, I saw My Gym Hunk. Tomorrow, I have to get back to the weights. I don't want to lose the muscle I've gained. I wish the aerobics classes would start up again.

I don't feel defeated in the weight-loss department, but I don't feel like—why am I even trying? If I just maintain, I'll be happy. But I'll keep trying. I don't know what else to do.

Not much else to say today.

Post Script
Two A-Holes Go for a Walk
I took the boys for a 30-minute walk at lunch time. That gives me a total of 79 minutes of cardio activity for today.

अय:पिण्ड इवोत्तप्ते खलानां हृदये क्षणात्।

पतितापि नेक्ष्यन्ते गुणास्तोयकणा इव॥

English Translation of Sanskrit Quote:

Just as a few drops of water falling on a red hot iron ball disappear (not seen) in a matter of seconds, so also the a few good qualities entering the heart of a villain's heart.

Commentary on Sanskrit Quote:

As I said elsewhere, it is not that a good man is totally good and a bad man is entirely bad. Good and bad things linger in everyone's heart. It is only a wise man who controls the bad in him and exposes the good in him. This couplet taken from the Sharngadharapaddhati from Sharngadhara, explains that in order to matter, good qualities are to be in a considerable measure. Otherwise the goodness of a good guesture is lost. Goodness has to overpower the bad elements in us. Without our knowledge, we pose such a nasty face to the society and still lament that no one recognizes our good. Good people can see through the bad intentions of a man as if through a crystal ball.

Simile happens to be one of the most ancient of the figures of speech. Poets have churned out hundreds of figures of speech in Sanskrit literature. Many of them seem contrived. But the power of Simile seems undying. It is the simplicity that lends such a grace and power to it. That is why the uncrowned monarch of Sanskrit literature, Kalidasa excels and revels in it.

Here, in this couplet, the author compares the hearts filled with bad things to a red hot iron ball. The moment a few water drops fall on it, the water drops evaporate so quickly that one hardly notices any traces of it.

The message is loud and clear. If you want to be a good man, bath yourself in goodness, so the goodness far outweighs the badness in you. That is the only way to purge the unwanted elements in our heart. Either the heat overpowers the coolness of a few drops of water, or the coolness and plentifulness of water cools the iron.

Some of you might remember the 1970s single-frame cartoon, “Love is…”

I think there’s fame to be found in a comic strip, “Food is …”

We’re in the season of “Food is…”, kicked off by Halloween.

I know it’s not officially Halloween, but here in Podunkville, it’s trick or treat night. And it’s snowing. And it’s 34 degrees. I’ve seen a lot of freezing cowboys, Batmans, Harry Potters and princesses this evening.

For me, the evening began around 4 p.m. and I was a little frustrated. I was planning my schedule for tomorrow and deciding what the heck I need to write in the next few days. Stress planted itself in the back of my neck. You know how sometimes you just want to throw the bills and to-do lists in the air and say, “Screw it! I’m moving to a cabin in the middle of nowhere with no phone or Internet connection. I’ll raise my own damn food, cook everything over a hearth and read books all day.” No? You haven’t thought of that? Hmmmm… I guess it’s just me.

Anyway, I had dinner all planned – gnocchi for hubby; spaghetti squash for me; sautéed mushrooms; asparagus for me; broccoli for hubby; and garlic toast (low-fat bread sprayed with Pam and sprinkled with garlic powder for me, leftover whole wheat hamburger buns spread with light butter and sprinkled with garlic powder for hubby). Yes, it really is that complicated cooking for two, however…you get used to it.

Husband Larry took the first shift of trick or treaters. We thought we’d have very few considering the weather. But oh-to-the-heck-no. Parents parked their SUVs on the snow-covered streets and their children’s trick or treating began in earnest. Larry spent most of the first hour outside while I cooked dinner. Our three dogs went nuts with all the activity outside, but I kept them quiet as best I could with rawhides.

Every once in awhile I could pop out of the kitchen and look outside at the groups of children and hear their laughter. It’s cold, it’s snowing and still, people are smiling. I love the interaction with trick or treaters, the ways parents interact with their kids (“What do you say?” “Trick or treat!” “What do you say now?” “Thank you!”).

I couldn’t wait to take over the second shift. When dinner was ready, I made a plate for my starving, cold husband who sat rigid on the couch and thawing. I sat at the dining room table and paged through Larry’s 1971 Betty Crocker cookbook, the one we had every intention of giving to second daughter Cassie. As I watched for trick or treaters, I glanced over the recipes and was surprised by the ones I recognized that my mother made when I was growing up. Russian tea cakes, various fruit and molded salads, 110 ways to cook duck, beef and chicken. Many of these recipes are omitted from the newer cookbooks and I’m not sure why. A few dietary adjustments – less oil, salt, things like that – would make them viable in today’s cookery, I’m sure. It’s like the older recipes have gone underground, like they’re illegal now in today’s “healthier lifestyle.”

Food is, for most of us I’d argue, comfort. Food holds memories and feelings in its fibers and sugars and fats. To me, the smell of roasted potatoes and the warmth they bring to the kitchen is almost as satisfying as their taste. The taste of candy corn reminds me of 5th grade and how I lost a molar biting into a handful of them at my friend’s house while watching reruns of “Gilligan’s Island.” (Full disclosure: I bought a bag of candy corn two weeks ago and – yay me! – three-quarters of the bad is still left. Yes, I’m that disciplined. Oh who am I kidding? Three-quarters of the bag is still there because I keep it in a cupboard I don’t open every day and I forget it’s there. I’m not disciplined. I’m forgetful.)

Back to my point. I took over the second trick or treat shift and read the cookbook and handed out pretzels and Goldfish (and bubble gum. Sorry, I couldn’t resist. I love bubble gum. And I only chewed one piece of apple gum and one cinnamon gumball. That was the extent of my Halloween indulgence. Promise.) I chatted very briefly (because it was so freaking cold) with the kids and their parent/parents/guardians, and felt that old familiar camaraderie, the unifying “thing” that runs through the Halloween trick or treating experience. We go door to door, dressed in costumes, and saying “Trick or treat!” and we get something dropped in our plastic pumpkin or pillow case. We say (usually), “Thank you!” and then go home and dig through the loot. It’s a few moments, maybe an hour or two tops, and yet a ritualitistic part of our culture. It’s expected, it’s what we do. It’s welcoming and soothing. When I think about all the times I took my kids trick or treating, I’m comforted. Those were really fun times.

Yeah, Halloween involves candy and scary things, and candy and scary is usually one in the same. But if we think about food in a larger context – its personal history of our lives, the way in which we see it and smell it and taste it in our minds – it begins to take on a life of its own. Food doesn’t need to be ingested to be appreciated. We can read about it and think about it. Reminisce and contemplate.

“Food is…”

I'm aware of twelve major controlled trials designed to evaluate the relationship between saturated fat and risk of death, without changing other variables at the same time (e.g., increased vegetable intake, omega-3 fats, exercise, etc.). Here is a summary of the results:

• Two trials found that replacing saturated animal fat with polyunsaturated vegetable fat decreased total mortality.
• Two trials found that replacing saturated animal fat with polyunsaturated vegetable fat increased total mortality.
• Eight trials found that reducing saturated fat had no effect on total mortality.

• Two found it was reduced when saturated fat was replaced with polyunsaturated vegetable fat.
• One found that is was increased when saturated fat was replaced with polyunsaturated vegetable fat.
• Six found no effect.

Beautiful Jen, from the Comfy Place, wrote a post that really got to me today.

"Last night came thoughts about how dying of cancer is in some ways a kinder way to leave those you love behind. It gives those we love time to come to terms with our demise well before it happens. I have even had my Mum remark that she feels she has been grieving whilst I am still alive. One of my close friends has said the same thing, in a sense. She says she has grieved already, she knows it will continue in fits and starts and she is sure that when I do finally pass she will grieve again but I have noticed how people seem to come to terms with their loss whilst the person with the illness is still alive and with them. I believe this is because they can think about it, as horrid as it is to think about the world without that particular person in it, they can think about it while safely knowing that the person is within touching distance or a phone call away. Then it came to me how children may not get this option of slowly grieving whilst the person they love is still alive. I think because we tend to protect them and want to shelter them from anything painful but I believe in cases like this, we are making it harder on them when the person does actually pass."

A few doctors around the United States are beginning to use an elegant new procedure to reduce the size of the stomach, without incisions, in gastric-bypass-surgery patients who have started to regain weight.

Because their stapled stomachs start to stretch out and enlarge, some 44 percent of gastric-bypass patients regain weight after a few years, and again become subject to the morbidities of obesity.

But with the new technique, called "ROSE" (Restorative Obesity Surgery, Endolumenal), doctors can reduce the patient's stomach pouch and the opening (stoma) to the small intestine to their original post-gastric-bypass size.

They do it by employing a small, flexible endoscope and a new EndoSurgical Operating System (EOS) created by USGI Medical Inc. The doctors guide these through the mouth and down into the stomach. With the EOS, the practitioners grasp tissue around the stoma and in the interior wall of the stomach and insert suture anchors, which are used to pull together the walls of the opening and the organ. This creates multiple tissue folds that reduce the size of both stoma and stomach.

And, voila!, the patient is once again on the road to weight loss.

"To date, revision options [for gastric-bypass weight regainers] have been expensive, difficult to perform and risky for the patient, effectively leaving them without any treatment options," said Dr. G. Derek Weiss, of Bluegrass Bariatric Surgical Associates in Lexington, Ky.

Weiss' colleague at Bluegrass Bariatric, Dr. John Oldham Jr., said, "By eliminating skin incisions, this new procedure may provide important advantages to patients, including reduced risk of infection and associated complications, less post-operative pain, faster recovery time and no abdominal scars."

Source: Empowered Doctor

Jeffrey Baker, MD, will perform a laparoscopic adjustable gastric band surgery, commonly known as Lap-Band® or Realize Band™ surgery, while Frederick Johnson, MD answers viewer questions, and talks about the benefits of adjustable banding procedures.

"This is a great opportunity for individuals contemplating weight loss surgery to learn more about a minimally invasive, proven option for surgical weight loss," said Frederick Johnson, MD, surgeon and co-medical director for the Unity Hospital Bariatric Center.

During the laparoscopic gastric banding procedure, surgeons make several small incisions and use long instruments, called laparoscopes, to place a silicone band around the top of the patient's stomach, creating a small stomach pouch. As a result, the patient feels fuller with smaller amounts of food, resulting in weight loss. The band can be further adjusted to limit or increase the amount of food the stomach can hold, or adapt to future lifestyle changes such as pregnancy.

Source: Unity Hospital

I sat down to eat my lunch and turned the television on. But instead of a picture it displayed a screen that was blank except for the ominous message "Enter PIN: ****". I worked out quickly what was going on when I realised that the remote control, instead of being in its usual home high up on the furthest bookshelf, had been on the coffee table. Clearly, my LOVELY SON had got hold of it and somehow set the parental lock. Though, I realised flicking through the channels, apparently only on ITV1. Not that I was going to watch Loose Women, and anyone who says I was is lying.

My son is obviously a child prodigy, as even with the manual I couldn't work out how he'd done it. Perhaps he's doing one channel at a time until all that's left is CBeebies.

At 13 months his understanding is really coming on. He's great on "Where's the car?" and "Where's your nose?", but "What's the Pin number?" was met with a blank shrug. At the very least he could have said, "For goodness' sake, Father, the 'N' in Pin already stands for 'number'. 'Pin number' is a tautology along the lines of 'safe haven' or 'free gift'". But no, his burgeoning genius only goes so far.

It's a bit annoying as I do sometimes watch programmes on ITV1, like, er, um... Well I guess in 2010 they might be showing some of the World Cup matches, so I hope he's learned to talk by then.

I made it back to they gym today. I did 25 minutes walking backward on the treadmill—very awkward I'm telling you. And I did 20 minutes walking forward with 10 of those minutes doing various inclines all the way up to 15%. I stretched afterward, and I feel pretty good. Tomorrow, I'll get back to the weights.

I weighed myself yesterday, I'm not doing too well. In fact, I gained three pounds from the last time I weighed myself. I don't know if it will still be the same tomorrow, but this is very discouraging. I did not cheat. For the record, I've done better than I have for a long time. I've been taking the boys for long walks. We did three miles on the Rail Trail on Sunday. So I think that I'm not going to lose any more weight until I'm actually menopausal. There are just too many hormone fluctuations right now. But I'm not giving up. Maybe I can at least maintain.

I do not have calories for yesterday (because I was so discouraged I did not care what I ate.) Sunday's were 1750.

The pups doing great. They love walking. I don't have to go home today because my brother is at home with them.

Today marks three years since Al died.

Today is one of the most challenging days of the year for me, my friends. It’s the day I buy…….

…….Halloween candy.

God knows it’s been on the shelves at WalMart since Valentine’s Day, but I’ve stayed away. Not because of any moral attitude, believe me. No, mostly I’ve stayed away because I agonize over what to buy.

This is a recent phenomenon, of course. Before I started losing weight, buying candy was never a real problem, you know? I bought what I liked. Didn’t matter if kids liked it. Picture this if you will: 300-pound me perched on my rocking chair on the front porch, big green bowl filled with Kit Kat minis and M&M single packs on my lap. (BTW, who are they kidding with that “single-serving” shtick?)

‘One for me,’ I’d think, unwrapping a candy.

“Trick or treat!”

‘One for the kids.’

A few minutes later.

‘Two for me.’

“Trick or treat!”

‘One for the kids.’

I know, I know. I could turn out my lights and hide in my office for two or three hours until trick or treating is over, but I love watching the parade of little kids in costumes and their parents lurking close behind in the dark. My friends bring their kids around and it’s fun to see them change year to year. No, I won’t miss trick or treating just because candy is my #2 weakness. I am stronger than that.

Still, I try to keep the temptation lower by buying candy that I don’t particularly like, which is NOT easy to do. Pretty much everything is fair game except Mary Jane’s and Almond Joy. I suppose I could be one of those “Thanks a lot” houses that give out toothbrushes or dental floss. That would pretty much guarantee I’d get no trick or treaters next year. Kids talk. I remember congregating with my friends before trick or treating and scoping out which houses to hit twice and which ones to avoid. I never want to be known as “the weird lady in the green house.”

Last year I handed out 3 Musketeer minis (each one has just 25 calories) and York Peppermint Patty minis (again, not too bad in the calorie department). I only ate one of each and I did that on purpose, not mindlessly rocking and popping them in my mouth. Maybe I’ll try that strategy again and perhaps throw in some gum to the mix. That’s good, right? A solid plan?

Normally I’d wait and buy candy the day of trick or treating (which in our silly town is tomorrow night) because the real challenge isn’t the mongo ginormous candy aisle at WalMart. The real challenge is where to put the candy when I get it home so I don’t see it and think about it. The reason I’m not buying candy tomorrow is because the forecast calls for 3-5 inches of snow tonight and 2-4 inches tomorrow. I’d rather have candy in my house than go out driving on the first day of snow. I’m more afraid of other drivers getting their snow groove on for the year than a big bag of 3 Musketeers.

So here’s my plan. I’ll go to the gym in a few minutes, come home, shower, eat some lunch, go to WalMart, pick out my pre-planned candy purchases, get home, stick the bags immediately in the crock pots on top of the fridge, put the rest of my groceries away (groceries that will include a goodly amount of fresh veggies which will act as the good angel resting on my shoulder) and go immediately into my office and write. I can do that. No problem.

No. Problem.

(Are you convinced yet?)

As we get a little older, those nights start to feel longer, and it shows up on our face the next morning. My problem in particular? Bags. Well, bags-b-gone because Roc Complete Lift Eye Cream is the truth. It's cheaper than most fancy eye creams ($20 v. $45), and it works 5 times as hard. Love!

Even years ago, when I watched my saturated fat intake, I always had a certain level of cognitive dissonance about it. I knew that healthy non-industrial cultures often consumed large amounts of saturated fat. For example, the Masai of East Africa, who traditionally subsist on extremely fatty milk, blood and meat, do not appear to experience heart attacks. Their electrocardiogram readings are excellent and they have the lowest level of arterial plaque during the time of their lives when they are restricted (for cultural reasons) to their three traditional foods. They get an estimated 33% of their calories from saturated animal fat.

Then there are the Pacific islanders, who often eat large amounts of highly saturated coconut. Kitavans get 17% of their calories from saturated fat (Americans get about 10% on average), yet show no trace of heart disease, stroke or overweight. The inhabitants of the island of Tokelau, who I learned about recently, eat more saturated fat than any other culture I'm aware of. They get a whopping 55% of their calories from saturated fat! Are they keeling over from heart attacks or any of the other diseases that kill people in modern societies? Apparently not. So from the very beginning, the theory faces the problem that the cultures consuming the most saturated fat on Earth have an undetectable frequency of heart attacks and other modern non-communicable diseases.

Humans have eaten saturated animal fat since our species first evolved, and historical hunter-gatherers subsisted mostly on animal foods. Our closest recent relatives, neanderthals, were practically carnivores. Thus, the burden of proof is on proponents of the theory that saturated fat is unhealthy.

There have been countless studies on the relationship between saturated fat and health. The first studies were epidemiological. Epidemiological studies involve collecting data from one or more populations and seeing if any specific factors associate with the disease in question. For example, the Framingham Heart study collected data on diet, lifestyle and mortality from various diseases and attempted to connect diseases to lifestyle factors. This type of study is useful for creating hypotheses, but it can only determine associations. For example, it can establish that smokers tend to die more often from heart disease than non-smokers, but it can't determine that smoking is actually the cause of heart disease. This is because multiple factors often travel together. For example, maybe smokers also tend to take care of themselves less in other ways, sleeping less, eating more sugar, etc.

Epidemiological data are often incorrectly used to demonstrate causality. This is a big problem, and it irritates me to no end. There's only one way to show conclusively that a diet or lifestyle factor actually causes something else: a controlled trial. In a controlled trial, researchers break participants into two groups: an intervention group and a control group. If they want to know the effect of saturated fat on health, they will advise the participants in each group to eat different amounts of saturated fat, and keep everything else the same. At the end of the trial, they can determine the effect of saturated fat on health because it was the only factor that differed between groups. In practice, reducing saturated fat also involves either increasing unsaturated fat or decreasing total fat intake, so it's not perfect.

I'm not going to review the epidemiological data because they are contradictory and they are "lesser evidence" compared to the controlled trials that have been conducted. However, I will note that Dr. Ancel Keys' major epidemiological study linking saturated fat consumption to heart disease, the "Seven Countries" study, has been thoroughly discredited due to the omission of contradictory data (read: the other 15 countries where data were available). This was the study that sparked the anti-saturated fat movement. Older epidemiological studies and those conducted internationally tend to find nonexistent or weak links between saturated fat and health problems, while more recent American studies, such as the Nurses' Health study, have sometimes found strong associations. I'll address this phenomenon in another post.

In the next post, I'll get into the meaty data: the controlled trails evaluating the effect of saturated fat on health.

Thanks to Rockies for the CC photo.

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"I feel safe in white because, deep down inside, I'm an angel." ~ Puff

New research ties eating tart cherries to lowering cholesterol, reducing inflammation and cutting one's body weight and fat - all major risk factors for heart disease.

This latest study, scheduled to be presented by University of Michigan researchers at the American Dietetic Association annual meeting, in Chicago, reached these conclusions after feeding whole tart cherry powder to obese rats.

After 12 weeks, the rats had 14% less body fat while maintaining lean muscle mass, compared to other rats who ate the same foods minus the cherry powder. The rats eating cherries also lost significant amounts of body weight - notably a loss of "belly" fat, a known risk for heart disease, according to the American Heart Association.

The rats eating a cherry-enriched diet also dropped their total cholesterol levels by about 11%. Levels of two known markers of inflammation linked to increased risk for heart disease also dropped by 31% to 40%.

Animal study is 'encouraging'
"Heart disease is the number one killer today, so it's important we continue researching ways people can improve their diet to help reduce key risk factors," study co-author Dr Steven F. Bolling, a cardiac surgeon at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Centre, said in a news release from the study's sponsor, the Cherry Marketing Institute. "We know excess body fat increases the risk for heart disease. This research gives us one more support point suggesting that diet changes, such as including cherries, could potentially lower heart disease risk."

Researchers said the animal study is encouraging and will lead to further clinical studies in humans to explore the link between diet, weight, inflammation and lowering heart disease risk.

Tart cherries, often sold as dried, frozen or juice, contain powerful antioxidants known as anthocyanins. In addition to providing the fruit with its rich red colour, studies suggest these plant compounds may be responsible for the fruit's health benefits.

Source: HealthDay News

Mother to 10 year old son: How did you get to be such a good kid?

Son: Good parenting?

If it’s out of sight, it’s out of my mind (except when it comes to certain types of food, unfortunately…I could think of chocolate chip cookies or banana bread or au gratin potatoes all day and they don’t have to be in my range of sight….mmmmm….cookies…bread….potatoes….See? I’m doing it again.)

How I mean “out of sight out of mind” today, at least, is that I tend to throw emails and links into a folder I named Blog Ideas thinking I’ll actually LOOK in the folder once in awhile for…well…blog ideas. I was just about to add another link to the folder this morning when I actually OPENED the folder and realized I haven’t looked inside in months. Umm….yeah. So I decided to clean house, as it were, and pass on a few of the links and stories I thought you might be interested in.

#1 – Blogs

I get info from a lot of various blogs. Some days I go from blog to blog – reading and clicking, reading and clicking – before waking up hours later from a blog-induced haze. In many ways, the blogging world is a lot like the old game “Telephone.” For instance, I read on Cranky Fitness that Fitness Fixation had a blog entry about the appalling pink patch that’s being marketed to teenage girls. BIG ugh. As if girls don’t have enough pressure to be thin. Anyway, I’m glad I discovered Cranky Fitness and have added it to my blog roll on the left.

#2 – iTunes Fitness Videos and Podcasts

I’m an iTunes junkie. More specifically, a podcast junkie. Each week I download: The News From Lake Wobegon, Audio Dharma, Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing, Meditation Oasis, Car Talk, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, This American Life, and Real Time with Bill Maher. I listen to them while I work out. I’ve stopped getting embarrassed when I laugh out loud at the gym. The people around me are used to the crazy lady on the arc trainer by now.

I got an email from the producers of Exercise TV a few months ago asking me to check out their new line of exercise videos on iTunes. I went to iTunes this morning to check out Everyday Yoga & Pilates, Ultimate Sculpt & Tone, and Slim Down Secrets. I looked at the 30-second clips of each segment (there are five workouts in each program) and read the few reviews that are posted, but it’s hard to make an assessment that way. Call me cheap, but I didn’t want to spend the $1.99 per episode or $8.99 per program to find out if I liked them or not, mostly because in the clips, the instructor was doing something with his or her wrists and shoulders that I would find profoundly painful if not impossible to do given the old Arthur-itis in those regions of my body. I apologize to the producers for not being able to give a more accurate review (or more timely), but if any of you reading this have checked these workouts out, please let me us know what you think of them.

Also, let us know what podcasts you like to listen to while you work out.

#3 – Potato chip lawsuit

Another link I had tucked away in my Blog Ideas folder is the CNN story “Settlement reached in potato chip lawsuit.” The first line of the story was the first thing to set me off: “Snack lovers, rejoice: Munching on potato chips just got a little healthier.” Right…like eating chips is EVERY healthy *insert big eye roll*

Anyway, what happened was that in August, four food manufacturers agreed to reduce the amount of acrylamide in their potato chips. The state of California alleged that acrylamide causes cancer. This is where being married to a biochemist comes in handy. I asked him to give me the real scoop on this alleged carcinogen, and here’s what he said:

“Acrylamide is one of the nastiest chemicals I work with. We use a lot of the pure solid powder, under careful conditions, and worry about it as a neurotoxin, not so much as a carcinogen. No one I know of has ever had any health problems. Having said that, the levels in chips and fries are so small that the real problem is, ‘Why are you eating so many chips and fries?’ The health risks from obesity are more real. It’s another example of processed foods converting nature’s chemicals into something unintended. And this story has been bouncing around for about 3-4 years now in the science lit.”

So potato chips with lower levels of acrylamide probably carry the same low cancer risk as chips produced with high levels of acrylamide, but it doesn’t mean we should EAT potato chips in the first place. (Full disclosure: I think about potato chips when they’re not in my house, too.)

So there you have it. I’ve cleaned out my Blog Ideas folder. Several “ideas” got dumped in recycling. They seemed interesting at the time I read them, but have not kept my interest over the last few months. I guess Blog Ideas are like clothing. If you don’t wear something for a year (and not because it doesn’t fit), time to get rid of them.

I’ll still pass along ideas I get in emails and blogs from time to time, but I promise to never share the “Before our father's death my mother died during giving birth of my younger sister and my sister is now critical ill with Cancer aliment. It is our desire to contact you to assist us urgently in receiving the sum of $26,600,000(Twenty Six Million six hundred United States Dollars) inherited from our late father Dr Leonard G. Las to your country for investment” emails with you. I netted three of them this week. Talk about *big eye roll*.

Happy Sunday, all!

This week was Halloween so I made the most of this theme by using it to add a bit of extra spice to the weeks events.

I wrote some Halloween plays and we sang an edited version of the 12 Days of Christmas called the 12 Days of Halloween, which was fun!

The Quemada was perfect for this week and afterwards we held ghost stories in the dark which was a nice change; although it started off slowly.
My magic had a darker twist to it too, which took me back to my old days of performing the more Bizarre magic; it was a lot of fun and folks enjoyed it which made it worthwhile. The Anglos got to read 'The Raven' by Edgar Allan Poe - Spaniards click the name to see the poem in full.
or check out YouTube for a variety of people reading it - the Vincent Price version is good ;)

I finally got to put a play into use, after over a year from when I wrote it and shelved it. As it had never been performed it was good to see the hard work had paid off and now was the time to put it to use and it worked well - especially Dracula!
The party was a Monster Mash with Halloween songs built in to keep the atmosphere undead!

It was good to see such wonderful people giving so much yet again and willing to do just about anything - thank you all for making my job even easier ;)

From Vaughan Town - Monfrague - Program 133

I had 1555 calories yesterday, and I did 30 minutes of walking with the boys. Yes, I'm still walking backward, and it's still working. My legs are feeling better and better everyday. I cannot believe this is all it took. Who knew? Well, someone did or I wouldn't know it now.

Next week I've got to get back to my routine. I'll still be walking the boys during lunch. And I'll have that time to walk backward as well. I want to start walking backward on the treadmill for about 10 to 15 minutes of my workout. I know it sounds weird that I'm excited about walking backward. But if you knew how bad my right leg ached. . . .And all it took my working on strengthening my hamstring muscles.

Well, I'll try to post more pictures of my boys today.

1. It was lovely enough to sit outside for a while today. The air was crisp and the birds were very, very loud. I had to come in for a phone appointment and meant to go out again but got swept up in other things.

2. We have a couple of good friends staying with us for a few days. We sat around at the dining room table this morning and I realized that the last time we had done that was when I had my head shaved in March 2006. Doesn't feel that long ago.

3. I am listening to an audio book and really enjoying it. It's The Ethical Assassin by David Liss. I am thinking of becoming his groupie.

4. The puppy (I need to take more photos of her, she is much bigger and hairier now) was spayed yesterday. She is feeling a little low, poor thing but I admit that I have enjoyed the quiet.

5. A few friends and I have formed a writing group. We are meeting one evening every month and I am very excited about it.

6. I have not had a major project on the go since finishing the book and I need one.

You all know I love PB2 by Bell Plantation – a dried peanut butter that mixes with water or jelly. I eat it almost every day. Last month, my maintaining diva friend AJ asked me if I’d tried the new chocolate PB2. I hadn’t explored the Bell site in awhile, so no, I hadn’t heard the news, but being such a huge PB2 fan, I went online immediately to order a few jars. I wasn’t disappointed. Chocolate PB2 has nearly identical nutritional information as the plain PB2 – 2 T for around 50 calories and less than 2 grams of fat – and so far I recommend it as a really nice dip for bananas. I’m looking forward to trying some of the recipes posted on their site.

PB2 is part of my monthly food budget. I order a case every month and the good folks at Bell ship it to me ASAP. Imagine my surprise when I found out this morning that I can get PB2 locally, right here in little tiny podunkville Clarion at a store called The Bathtub and Kitchen Sink! PB2, here in Clarion! I don’t have to trek 100 miles to Pittsburgh like I have to for so many other food products I like and can never get here.

I’m going to the Bathtub next week to thank Andrea, the owner, for carrying PB2 and to ask if she can order some low-fat cheese for me, too. While I’m at the Bathtub, I’ll stop in next door to Sage Meadow, a great little health food store that carries red lentils, edamame, my favorite tea, and low-sodium vegetable broth. The grocery stores around here don’t carry (very good) vegetable broth, let alone low-sodium broth, even in chicken or beef flavors. When I asked for it, the manager looked at me like I was questioning his hygiene or something. “No one will buy that,” he said. It reminded me of the time (and I promise I’ll be done bitching after this one) when I asked the bread manager (as in the guy who runs the bread department) where the pita bread was. He said, and I kid you not, “What’s pita bread?” Oy.

Anyway, why not browse the PB2 site to find a store near you that sells PB2? You might get lucky, like me, and find it’s being sold right down the street!

A few of you might remember several months ago when I asked about flax seeds and how you use them. I got some great suggestions and now add it to soups and cereal. I’ve also been putting it in the Hungry Girl pumpkin/pudding concoction (scroll down to #3) I love so much, too. That’s what gave me the idea to add it to Jell-O’s new sugar-free dark chocolate pudding. Seriously good. And filling. Grind up a tablespoon of flax seeds and throw it in the pudding. Maybe eat the pudding with a graham cracker instead of a spoon. Not that I do that or anything…hehe.

It’s time for lunch and then a hair cut. I’m thinking a bigass salad. Hmmm… Then maybe some pudding. Hmmmm… Then maybe some PB2 on Wasa with just a little homemade blackberry jam. Man, I’m really having an “I love food!” day. Oh who am I kidding? Most every day is an “I love food!” day! LOL

Have a great weekend, folks! I’ll check in with ya’ll on Sunday.

Yesterday I had 1543 calories and I walked for one hour with the pups--occasionally walking backward.

More Later.

Suet is a traditional cooking fat in the US, which is a country that loves its cows. It's the fat inside a cow's intestinal cavity, and it can be rendered into tallow. Tallow is an extremely stable fat, due to its high degree of saturation (56%) and low level of polyunsaturated fatty acids (3%). This makes it ideal for deep frying. Until it was pressured to abandon suet in favor of hydrogenated vegetable oil around 1990, in part by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, McDonald's used tallow in its deep fryers. Now, tallow is mostly fed to birds and feedlot cows.

I decided to make pemmican recently, which is a mixture of pulverized jerky and tallow that was traditionally eaten by native Americans of many tribes. I bought pasture-raised suet at my farmer's market. It was remarkably cheap at $2/lb. No one wants it because it's so saturated. The first thing I noticed was a yellowish tinge, which I didn't expect.

I rendered it the same way I make lard. It turned into a clear, golden liquid with a beefy aroma. This got me thinking. The difference between deep yellow butter from grass-fed cows and lily-white butter from industrial grain-fed cows has to do with the carotene content. Carotene is also a marker of other nutrients in butter, such as vitamin K2 MK-4, which can vary 50-fold depending on what the cows are eating. So I thought I'd see if suet contains any K2.

And indeed it does. The NutritionData entry for suet says it contains 3.6 micrograms (4% DV) per 100g. 100g is about a quarter pound of suet, more than you would reasonably eat. Unless you were really hungry. But anyway, that's a small amount of K2 per serving. However, the anonymous cow in question is probably a grain-finished animal. You might expect a grass-fed cow to have much more K2 in its suet, as it does in its milkfat. According to Weston Price, butter fat varies 50-fold in its K2 content. If that were true for suet as well, grass-fed suet could conceivably contain up to 180 micrograms per 100g, making it a good source of K2.

Tallow from pasture-raised cows also contains a small amount of vitamin D, similar to lard. Combined with its low omega-6 content and its balanced n-6/n-3 ratio, that puts it near the top of my list of cooking fats.

The EMEA's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has concluded that the benefits of rimonabant no longer outweigh its risks and the marketing authorisation should be suspended across the EU.

Following the assessment of the available information on the benefits and risks of rimonabant including data from studies completed since it was granted marketing authorisation, the CHMP confirmed at its October 20-23 meeting, that there is an approximate doubling of the risk of psychiatric disorders in obese or overweight patients taking rimonabant compared with those taking placebo.

The CHMP considered that the new data from post-marketing experience and ongoing clinical trials indicated that serious psychiatric disorders may be more common than in the clinical trials used in the initial assessment of the medicine. The CHMP was also of the opinion that these psychiatric side effects could not be adequately addressed by further risk minimisation measures.

In addition, the CHMP noted, that the effectiveness of rimonabant in clinical practice is more limited than was expected on the basis of the clinical trials, because available data indicate that patients generally take rimonabant only for a short period.

Prescribers should not issue any prescriptions for rimonabant and should review the treatment of patients currently taking the medicine. There is no need for patients to stop treatment with rimonabant immediately, but patients who wish to stop can do so at any time.

The CHMP opinion will now be sent to the European Commission for the adoption of a decision, applicable in all EU countries.

Source: Doc Guide

I try to only review things on my blog that I would recommend to others. When I don't enjoy a book that I have been asked to review, I usually keep the review over at Library Thing or don't review it at all.

I don't go out of my way to trash someone else's hard work.

Most of the time, if I write about it, I like it.

However, Belly of the Whale by Linda Merlino is an exception.

This novel, a thriller, is about Hudson Catalina, a 38 year old mother to three kids with breast cancer, is badly written, heavy handed and manipulative from beginning to end.

Hudson Catalina has given up. Having lost both breasts to cancer, she is emotionally and physically exhausted, no longer willing to endure the nausea and crushing weakness that chemotherapy causes. Until the wrecked-by-life young Buddy Baker arrives, bent on murder. Linda Merlino’s harrowing, touching story of despair, abuse, murder and survival takes you on a journey through the darkest places of the human mind and spirit, and in the end leads you back out of “the belly of the whale” enriched by the experience.

Yesterday, I had 1947 calories, way too many. I walked for 45 minutes with my boys. Today will be better.

After yesterday's walk, I realized my leg was, again, aching. I guess I'll have to go to a physical therapist, like it or not. I've not gone to gym all week in hope that it heals. I thought this would be a good time to recover since I'm trying to socialize the new puppy to my house. (He loves his big yard. And Chance is his hero.) But I guess I shouldn't have walked them so soon. But I really wanted to get them out, and I wanted to do a practice walk around the neighborhood to see how it would go.

Of course, it was a huge pain in the ass, requiring some real juggling skill. I had to switch leashes from hand to hand, sometimes in midair. I also had to be adept at securely holding one leash under my foot while untangling another leash from the legs of the other dog. It was quite a trip. I'm rethinking the whole retractable-leash thing. At moments, I felt like I was fishing--you know having to reel them in. So maybe two long leashes will workout better. Anyway. . . .

More later.

If I described a substance with the following properties, what would you guess it was?

-It's synthesized by the body from cholesterol
-It crosses cell membranes freely
-It has its own nuclear receptor
-It causes broad changes in gene transcription
-It acts in nearly every tissue
-It's essential for health

There's no way for you to know, because those statements all apply to activated vitamin D, estrogen, testosterone and a number of other hormones. Vitamin D, as opposed to all other vitamins, is a steroid hormone precursor (technically it's a secosteroid but it's close enough for our purposes). The main difference between vitamin D and other steroid hormones is that it requires a photon of UVB light for its synthesis in the skin. If it didn't require UVB, it would be called a hormone rather than a vitamin. Just like estrogen and testosterone, it's involved in many processes, and it's important to have the right amount.

The type of vitamin D that comes from sunlight and the diet is actually not a hormone itself, but a hormone precursor. Vitamin D is converted to 25(OH)D3 in the liver. This is the major storage form of vitamin D, and thus it best reflects vitamin D status. The kidney converts 25(OH)D3 to 1,25(OH)D3 as needed. This is the major hormone form of vitamin D. 1,25(OH)D3 has profound effects on a number of tissues.

Vitamin D was originally identified as necessary for proper mineral absorption and metabolism. Deficiency causes rickets, which results in the demineralization and weakening of bones and teeth. A modest intake of vitamin D is enough to prevent rickets. However, there is a mountain of data accumulating that shows that even a mild form of deficiency is problematic. Low vitamin D levels associate with nearly every common non-communicable disorder, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disease, osteoporosis and cancer. Clinical trials using vitamin D supplements have shown beneficial and sometimes striking effects on cancer, hypertension, type 1 diabetes, bone fracture and athletic performance. Vitamin D is a fundamental building block of health.

It all makes sense if you think about how humans evolved: in a tropical environment with bright sun year-round. Even in many Northern climates, a loss of skin pigmentation and plenty of time outdoors allowed year-round vitamin D synthesis for most groups. Vitamin D synthesis becomes impossible during the winter above latitude 40 or so, due to a lack of UVB. Traditional cultures beyond this latitude, such as the Inuit, consumed large amounts of vitamin D from nutrient-rich animal foods like fatty fish.

The body has several mechanisms for regulating the amount of vitamin D produced from sunlight exposure, so overdose from this source is impossible. Sunlight is also the most effective natural way to obtain vitamin D. To determine the optimal blood level of vitamin D, it's instructive to look at the serum 25(OH)D3 levels of people who spend a lot of time outdoors. The body seems to stabilize between 55 and 65 ng/mL 25(OH)D3 under these conditions. This is probably near the optimum. 30 ng/mL is required to normalize parathyroid hormone levels, and 35 ng/mL is required to optimize calcium absorption.

Here's how to become vitamin D deficient: stay inside all day, wear sunscreen anytime you go out, and eat a low-fat diet. Make sure to avoid animal fats in particular. Rickets, once thought of as an antique disease, is making a comeback in developed countries despite fortification of milk (note- it doesn't need to be fortified with fat-soluble vitamins if you don't skim the fat off in the first place!). The resurgence of rickets is not surprising considering our current lifestyle and diet trends. In a recent study, 40% of infants and toddlers in Boston were vitamin D deficient using 30 ng/mL as the cutoff point. 7.5% of the total had rickets and 32.5% showed demineralization of bone tissue! Part of the problem is that mothers' milk is a poor source of vitamin D when the mother herself is deficient. Bring the mothers' vitamin D level up, and breast milk becomes an excellent source.

Here's how to optimize your vitamin D status: get plenty of sunlight without using sunscreen, and eat nutrient-rich animal foods, particularly in the winter. The richest food source of vitamin D is high-vitamin cod liver oil. Blood from pasture-raised pigs or cows slaughtered in summer or fall, and fatty fish such as herring and sardines are also good sources. Vitamin D is one of the few nutrients I can recommend in supplement form. Make sure it's D3 rather than D2; 3,000- 5,000 IU per day should be sufficient to maintain blood levels in wintertime unless you are obese (in which case you may need more and should be tested). I feel it's preferable to stay on the low end of this range. Vitamin D3 supplements are typically naturally sourced, coming from sheep lanolin or fish livers. A good regimen would be to supplement every day you get less than 10 minutes of sunlight.

People with dark skin and the elderly make less vitamin D upon sun exposure, so they should plan on getting more sunlight or consuming more vitamin D. Sunscreen essentially eliminates vitamin D synthesis, and glass blocks UVB so indoor sunlight is useless. Vitamin D toxicity from supplements is possible, but exceptionally rare. It only occurs in cases where people have accidentally taken grotesque doses of the vitamin. As Chris Masterjohn has pointed out, vitamin D toxicity is extremely similar to vitamin A deficiency. This is because vitamin A and D work together, and each protects against toxicity from the other. Excess vitamin D depletes vitamin A, thus vitamin D toxicity is probably a relative deficiency of vitamin A.

I know this won't be a problem for you because like all healthy traditional people, you are getting plenty of vitamin A from nutrient-dense animal foods like liver and butter. Vitamin K2 is the third, and most overlooked, leg of the stool. D, A and K2 form a trio that act together to optimize mineral absorption and use, aid in the development of a number of body structures, beneficially alter gene expression, and affect many aspects of health on a fundamental level.

Thanks to horizontal.integration for the CC photo.