Life is Healthy

This is a simplified summary of the last two posts.

Polyunsaturated fats in the diet are mostly omega-6 or omega-3. These get converted into a diverse and influential class of signaling molecules in the body called eicosanoids. On their way to becoming eicosanoids, they get elongated. These elongated versions can be measured in tissue, and the higher the proportion of elongated omega-6 in the total pool, the higher the risk of a heart attack.

Eicosanoids are either omega-6 or omega-3-derived. Omega-6 eicosanoids, in general, are very potent and participate in inflammatory processes and blood clotting. Omega-3 eicosanoids are less potent, less inflammatory, less clot-forming, and participate in long-term repair processes. This is a simplification, as there are exceptions, but in a broad sense seems to be true.

In the modern U.S. and most other affluent nations, we eat so much omega-6 (mostly in the form of liquid industrial vegetable oils), and so little omega-3, that we create a very inflammatory and pro-clotting environment, probably contributing to a number of chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease.

There are two ways to stay in balance: reduce omega-6, and increase omega-3. In my opinion, the former is more important than the latter, but only if you can reduce omega-6 to below 4% of calories. If you're above 4%, the only way to reduce your risk is to outcompete the omega-6 with additional omega-3. Keeping omega-6 below 4% and ensuring a modest but regular intake of omega-3, such as from wild-caught fish, will probably substantially reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and other chronic illnesses.

Bottom line: ditch industrial vegetable oils such as corn, soybean, safflower and sunflower oil, and everything that contains them. This includes most processed foods, especially mayonnaise, grocery store salad dressings, and fried foods. We aren't meant to eat those foods and they derail our metabolism on a fundamental level. I also believe it's a good idea to have a regular source of omega-3, whether it comes from seafood, small doses of cod liver oil, or small doses of flax.

Manohara Odelia Pinot eventually return to Jakarta after picked up by her mother, Daisy Fajarina and her sister, Dewi Sri Asih to Singapore. They met at a hotel in that Lion Country as well. "She was picked up in Singapore. From there then Manohara be returned to Indonesia," Yuli Andre Darma, Daisy Fajarina family's lawyer said.

Yuli Andre claims does not know about the exact process of Daisy Fajarina can met with Manohara in Singapore. He also can not explain whether the meeting occurred in the hospital where the Sultan of Kelantan, Manohara's father-in-law had a treatment, "I don't know yet what was exactly happened, But they met at a hotel in Singapore," Andre said.

Manohara currently residing in Daisy's house in the area Slipi, West Jakarta. She was in a happy and healthy condition because finally she can back to Indonesia and meet her mother and her sister. "She was not ill. Her face was so bright as can be gathered together again with his mother," Yuli Andre said.

The story of Manohara was inviting people's attention, after his mother, Daisy Fajarina, reveals that this beautiful model was obtained violent from his husband, Tengku Temenggong Mohammad Fakhry, prince of Kelantan Malaysia.

From the testimony of the Manohara, mentioned that she had to get sexual abuse, mental and physical violence from her husband. Manohara even had time to mention that her breast was sliced with a razor blade by Prince Temenggong Tengku Mohammad Fakhry.

Daisy also mentions Manohara was abducted and separated from her after Umroh to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. That beautiful women was brought home to the Palace of Kelantan Kingdom.

Sustainable Agriculture Channel On Current.com/tv"

I am now the Curator of the Sustainable Agriculture Channel on Current.com/tv. Please join me if you are interested in conversations/action items about sustainable agriculture as it relates to environment, industrialization/GMOS, health, and also its relationship to water and water scarcity. This is the most important problem we will deal with in the 21st century with population increases, climate change, and economic turmoil.

This week started rockier than usual, as there was an issue with the venue in Salamanca so we were moved at last minute to Zamora, I also had a personal issue to deal with; so not the best start. However we sorted what we could and got on with delivering the program.

The hotel wasn't really to my liking. New building situated in an old run down part of the town. The hotel also had an industrial / post modern look and design to it which I'm not sure worked very well. The staff were friendly and helpful but the typical issues of being moved from room to room occurred again.

There were a few strong personalities this week, and although they had a lot of energy and ideas they needed to understand that things are done in a certain way for a reason and it’s a tried and tested method with years of practise that does work if you give it a chance. The levels were quite low which meant they really needed to work hard to get the most from the program, the higher levels were able to focus on their own weakness’ and it was good to see they were that self aware.

Sadly, I felt like a teacher, having to pull people up for constantly being late and talking when instructions were being given. The time we share together is very short and the Spaniards have paid a lot for the attention of the group and I find it very rude that people can't be where they need to be at a certain time.

The theatre was a little hard on the first day even though the sketches were simple – the Spaniards were looking at it as if it were class even though they were told to sit back and relax. I know it’s very hard when you know you have a low level of comprehension and want to understand everything, it's the same for me in Spanish. As the week continued and the theatre got harder they seemed to understand it better and maybe even understand the concept behind the purpose of the section.

All in all the week went well and the people enjoyed it but it wasn’t without its problems, what with the initial change from Salamanca, the food being below par (in my opinion). The food was very repetitive and not offering much at all in terms of variety and to top it all one of the Spaniards lost his iPhone.

The karaoke went well even though it started off slow. As for the party that too went very well as the hotel have a purpose built disco area set up which I took full advantage of: lights, music and smoke! Although it started off very complicated to arrange, we eventually sorted it out.
The photos of the weeks events can be found below

Vaughan Town - Zamora - Program 154

Sting, the rock star, stays super fit with yoga. For many years now he's been practicing Ashtanga Yoga and he typically spends an hour and a half a day performing the exercises.

Here are two photos, one taken when he was 49, the other taken when he was 55 years old. That is also the same year he wrote a foreward to a Yoga book called Yoga Beyond Belief.

I'm going to try alli. I'll start it this weekend. But, you know, just doing something about my binging is making me feel better. I'm gettin' ready to get back to work. I came too far in the past two years to just let it all go to hell in a hand basket.

Sorry, I was supposed to write an update today, but didn't get to it. I had to go the doctor first thing this morning. Allergies. And I have an ulcer that's bothering me. And my leg still hurts. I'm a mess. I almost called my niece to call to take me to the doctor. But then I thought, "My God, I'm not that old. I can get to the doctor on my own. What's wrong with me?" Anyway, I went. And guess what? I have allergies. No Kiding. I just spent $140 so you could tell me something I already know. But he was a nice guy overall. He suggested I use a neti pot--you know one of those nasal cleaning pots that Dr. Oz talsk about on Oprah all the time. Well, they work. When I was using it before, I had to try to remember if I did have allergies.

So that's all for now.

The world communities in anvanced countries and several developing countries in last few years prefer to use traditional medicines which all of the materials basically came from crops, plants and herbs, whereas previously known that they prefer to use the synthetic drugs. Trends of public uses of traditional medicines in many countries it is known as new green wave.

"Indication of the traditional medicine usage to help cure various kinds of diseases now extended to lots of countries in various parts of the world," This information was delivered by Prof dr I Gusti Ngurah Nala, lecturers from Study Program of Ayurweda Health Faculty of Indonesia Hindu University / Universitas Hindu Indonesia (UNHI) Denpasar, Bali.

That conditions triggered by the side effects which often arises from synthetic drugs and antibiotics, in addition to the development of public opinion, in both the western and eastern countries, that utilization of natural materials could be more secure than materials containing chemical substances.

Prof Ngurah Nala who is also professor of Faculty of Medicine, University of Udayana Bali assumes, the increasing of the world communities concerns to negative impact on the use of synthetic drugs start arouse awareness of the movement to start global campaign to back to nature.

This global movements is meant to re-use traditional medicine that mixed from natural materials that are easilly found in many places around our living environment.

This condition is a challenge as well as the opportunity to be anticipated quickly and precisely. Scientists are required to be able to develop medication and treatment based on traditional medicines that born from the wisdom and talent of the ancestors.

Large countries that has a great tradition of traditional treatments and traditional medicines, besides Indonesia is India, China, Korea, and Japan.

Therefore, Indonesia must take advantages from this momentum and make some huge plans to intensify Alternative medication and treatment from traditional medicines.

To support these efforts, now Indonesia has formed Spices and Medicinal Crops Research Institute / Balai Penelitian Tanaman Rempah dan Obat (Balittro) which has two sub-center located in West Sumatra and Lampung Province.

"In addition there are 12 experimental gardens and plantations of different types of plants, crops, herbs, and drugs that are located in Java, Sumatera, Kalimantan, and Maluku," Prof Nala said.

China To Move 330,000 People For Water Project

About 330,000 people in central China are to be evicted from their homes to make way for a reservoir that will form part of a massive water diversion project, state media said Sunday.

More than two-thirds of the people in Hubei and Henan provinces would be relocated to about 50 nearby counties and cities, the official Xinhua news agency quoted Zhang Jiyao, head of the project, as saying.

Zhang did not say where the remaining 100,000 would be placed to make way for the Danjiangkou Reservoir, part of the multi-billion-dollar North-South Water Diversion Project. The project aims to bring water from the nation's longest river, the Yangtze, to the parched north of the country, which is plagued by droughts.

Xinhua has previously said that by 2010, when part of the project will have been completed, up to one billion cubic metres of water will be diverted to Beijing annually.

According to the project's website, the relocation of the 330,000 people is expected to be completed by the end of 2013.
___________
Discontent over China's huge water scheme


I am really exasperated in continuing to read about the proliferation of dams not only in Asia but also in Africa. As we have seen from every example of a dam being built in these areas, it does nothing but displace people, cause environmental devastation, and threaten agriculture thus exacerbating the very conditions already plaguing farmers in China now. I sometimes really do find myself speechless.

My previous entry on Three Gorges Dam with comment:

Three Gorges Dam-Hydropower At A Huge Human Cost

I have to honestly state that I am sad regarding human behavior today. We see the crisis and yet we continue to shield our eyes from it thinking business as usual is going to solve it when it is really a paradigm moral shift that must occur in our consciousness that will bring us the answers. In short, we have forgotten what it is to be human (if we even know what that means) and instead only care on the whole about survival at any cost (which is really not survival) instead of survival in balance with peace and ecological consciousness.

Water is our lifeblood not a commodity to be used carelessly without regard for the consequences. I think China is learning that lesson the hard way.

Spain football club Barcelona FC ended Manchester United FC domination as European champions with an outstanding 2-0 victory in the final of 2009 UEFA Champions League at the Stadio Olimpico, Rome on Thursday may 28 2009.

This is Barcelona's third wins in Europe's premier club competition following their earlier successes in 1992 and 2006. The win gave Barcelona a treble, winning La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League. The club's win also gave Spain the most overall Champions League titles with 12, one better than both England and Italy.

Thierry Henry, Barcelona FC striker said "I've been waiting so long to get this title and finally today, The last five minutes were the longest of my life. You never know what can happen -- we were playing against best team in the world.

"It's amazing. All year we played the same way, we wanted to play football. I don't think we started well. We had to play better, then we passed the ball the way we can." Henry said.

This great victory for Barcelona also ended Manchester United's record 25-match unbeaten run in the competition and give them their first ever defeat in a European final.

Here's where it gets more complicated and more interesting. The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 matters, but so does the total amount of each. This is a graph from a 1992 paper by Dr. Lands:

Allow me to explain. These lines are based on values predicted by a formula developed by Dr. Lands that determines the proportion of omega-6 in tissue HUFA (highly unsaturated fatty acids; includes 20- to 22-carbon omega-6 and omega-3 fats), based on dietary intake of omega-6 and omega-3 fats. This formula seems to be quite accurate, and has been validated both in rodents and humans. As a tissue's arachidonic acid content increases, its EPA and DHA content decreases proportionally.

On the Y-axis (vertical), we have the proportion of omega-6 HUFA in tissue. On the X-axis (horizontal), we have the proportion of omega-6 in the diet as a percentage of energy. Each line represents the relationship between dietary omega-6 and tissue HUFA at a given level of dietary omega-3.

Let's start at the top. The first line is the predicted proportion of omega-6 HUFA in the tissue of a person eating virtually no omega-3. You can see that it maxes out around 4% of calories from omega-6, but it can actually be fairly low if omega-6 is kept very low. The next line down is what happens when your omega-3 intake is 0.1% of calories. You can see that the proportion of omega-6 HUFA is lower than the curve above it at all omega-6 intakes, but it still maxes out around 4% omega-6. As omega-3 intake increases, the proportion of omega-6 HUFA decreases at all levels of dietary omega-6 because it has to compete with omega-3 HUFA for space in the membrane.

In the U.S., we get a small proportion of our calories from omega-3. The horizontal line marks our average tissue HUFA composition, which is about 75% omega-6. We get more than 7% of our calories from omega-6. This means our tissue contains nearly the maximum proportion of omega-6 HUFA, creating a potently inflammatory and thrombotic environment! This is a very significant fact, because it explains three major observations:

1. The U.S has a very high rate of heart attack mortality.
2. Recent diet trials in which saturated fat was replaced with omega-6-rich vegetable oils didn't cause an increase in mortality, although some of the very first trials in the 1960s did.
3. Diet trials that increased omega-3 decreased mortality.

I was wondering if anyone has tried Alli? And whether the thought of the worst possible side effect actually happening keeps you in line? And does it work? Or just end up embarrassing you?

Ali lost 100 pounds in one year. She did this with the help of a personal trainer. She is very tall at 6'1' and she now weighs 175 pounds. When she first met her trainer and weighed 278 pounds, he told her she wasn't eating enough!

He asked her to eat six small meals a day and to make sure she got lots of protein in each meal. Now she is often eating chicken or fish at 10:00 in the morning. She says she no longer craves sugar.

When she first started losing weight she lost 20 pounds in the first month and that was very encouraging. See her weight loss story and picture here.

Three days. That’s all the time I took off from exercise, but it feels like it’s been three weeks. 60 may be the new 40, but for me, 45 is the new 80!

Combine the last five days’ tension, excitement and lack of sleep with a literal pain in ass (damn sciatica), the elliptical, arc trainer and a 19-month-old and you get one achy Grammy Lynn (emphasis on grandma).

Anyhoo….I’m not blogging today to bitch about my old body. OK, maybe a little. But really what I want to share is a follow-up email I received from a reader, Julie, who wrote a comment several months ago in a blog in which I wrote how my arm surgeon wants to fuse both of my wrists. Her question was how much weight did I lose before certain body parts stopped hurting so much. She was contemplating ankle fusion surgery and she wondered if losing weight would help ease her pain.

This follow-up email amazes me for so many reasons. First, let me share it with you:

“I've gotten myself from 311 to 256 and can tell a great difference in how the rest of me feels. Just not that ankle – stubborn joint! I'll be having joint fusion surgery in late July, and am already beginning the ‘how to maintain and/or keep losing while recuperating’ planning that will carry me into the fall.

“The decision to go ahead with the surgery was interesting. I was always afraid that I would have to choose the surgery because I was unable to lose weight. Being successful with weight loss freed me to make a decision that was based on wanting a pain free day, rather than being resigned to the option because of my failure. Same outcome – very different mindsets.

“Now, I recognize I have miles to go with a goal weight in the 180s (my 5'11" frame puts me at or near healthy BMI there). Funny, as a three-sport athlete in high school I weighed 176, and thought of myself as fat, overweight, obese, incredibly yucky. Now I know that weight was within a healthy BMI for my height and frame size. The toils we put ourselves through!”

Wow! That covers a whole lotta changed-mind/changed-attitude territory. Julie not only decided to do what she felt was best for her body based on what is best for her body and NOT what she felt was a weakness or lack, but she’s got a plan to stay at or keep losing while recuperating. Confidence will buy you a lot of open-mind real estate, my friends.

I love, too, how she can look back at her past body and realize that what she saw in the mirror and how her head interpreted that image was not what was real. She was a healthy body weight in high school, strong and agile, and yet what she saw was fat.

Julie is right. “The toils we put ourselves through!”

In her blog today, Lyn over at Escape From Obesity talked about beauty and the disease of obesity. She said, “There IS beauty in every body. But, to me, the most beautiful thing is a body... any body, even as imperfect as mine... that is as healthy as it *can* be. That's something we are all capable of: building strength and grace and health, day by day, step by step.”

That, to me, is what Julie has done – discovered her own past beauty and recognized her own strength at her weight now.

I really believe the best decisions we make about all aspects of our lives originate in how we perceive our entire selves. The more positively we view our bodies and the more we trust our innate wisdom, the better decisions we will make. Ankle fusion, wrist fusion, whatever it is we need to “fix” will be easier and recovery less difficult if we go in with a plan that is rooted in love of self and not in fear of or condemnation of self.

It’s emails like Julie’s and reading blogs like Lyn’s and Lori’s and Mara’s and Shauna’s and Debby’s and 45’s and Shelley’s and Miz’s and Vickie’s and Cranky’s and Charlie’s and everyone else’s that reconfirms for me every day that this weight-loss/weight-maintenance/fitness experience I live in day by day is more common than not, more good than bad.

Yeah, my body hurts a bit tonight. It’s getting older, doesn’t recover as quickly. But it doesn’t mean I throw out the baby with the bathwater. There is more right than wrong going on. I just have to look for it is all.

Sitting on the deck on this quasi sunny day, I’m surrounded by my beautiful garden and potted plants. The tomatoes have grown a foot! So has the basil and cilantro. The oregano is threatening to take over the daisies and mums, and the Asiatic lilies are just about to bloom. The dogs are happy, there’s a purple finch at the feeder, and my neighbor isn’t making obnoxious sounds with his power tools. There is food in the cupboards, clean clothes in the drawers and the porch is vacuumed (yes, vacuumed…gotta love Astroturf).

So I’m a little stiff? At least I can still move, right?

And when I can’t, I can trust that I’ll have a plan.

You know I couldn't leave you without a new favorite photo of my favorite granddaughter and favorite grandson. Claire loves touching her daddy's playoff beard. Go Pens! And Luca, well, some day he'll grow into his nook.

It teaches dieters how to lose weight easily and naturally despite having failed before. In his book, Dr. Cohen explains how three decades ago the Federal government tried to "fix" the problem of overweight adults by recommending low-fat diets for all Americans. They were wrong. As a result, four times as many Americans are overweight. Because most Americans believe that bad advice, they gain weight as they try to diet. The government blocks efforts to help those who are overweight or who may suffer from Type 2 Diabetes, unless they conform to that misguided government policy.

Dr. Cohen's weight-loss program has helped many. In addition to losing weight, people suffering from Type 2 Diabetes have been able to come completely off medications and reverse their disease.




Read more on: Medical News Today

I'll update tomorrow. I'm still suffering with sinusitis despite taking an antibiotic. I finally broke down and made an appointment with an ENT. I have suffered with allergies ever since I can remember. I can remember lying around on the couch because I didn't feel like doing anything else, and my mom being pissed at me because she thought I was being lazy. Anyway, my face is swollen (pretty picture, huh?), my nose is congested, and I feel like I can't breathe. And I have deep, dark circles under my eyes--which they tell me is because of an allergy to mold. Rain, rain go away.

Every time I take a vacation, I get sick. On the bright side, I have no appetite. But I don't feel like exercising. I had such big plans for this week. But anyway, I said I wasn't going to start over until June 5. And that's next week.

I keep dreaming that I'm waiting for a bus. I have to go through a maze to get to the bus stop, and then I'm not sure if I already "missed the bus" or not. I can remeber that "this is how I caught the bus before." And I'm hoping the same thing will work now. Pretty obvious, huh?

Or post-chemo brain rot.

But I loved this:

Exodus Tyson, Daughter of world boxing champion MikeTyson, died at Phoenix Hospital, Arizona, United States, Tuesday (26 / 5) evening local time. Previously, this four-year-old girl found strangled by their treadmill fitness machine's cable .

Police said that, Exodus are playing on the Treadmill machine in her home in Phoenix when the accident happens. Either dropped or not intentionally, head of this little girl was tangled into cables that hang on the machine. A cord looped around Exodus's neck and somehow choked her. She was unconscious and in critical condition when her brother found her and her mother dialed 911.

Police called the incident as a "tragic accident." Phoenix police Sgt. Andy Hill said that Exodus Tyson was pronounced dead by the doctors at 11:45 a.m. local time. "It's kind of a loop," Hill said. "Either she slipped or put her head in the loop, but it acted like a noose."

A day earlier, Exodus's older brother was watching TV and their mother was cleaning their house when Exodus apparently started playing with the treadmill machine alone.

The Tyson family said in their statements that, "There are no words to describe the tragic loss of our beloved Exodus, We're grateful for the tremendous outpouring of love and prayers from all over the world."

Tyson, who at 20 became the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history, was in Las Vegas when the accident happens. He flew home and was spotted outside St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center, where doctors tried for hours to save the preschooler's life.

The girl's mother, who had two children with Tyson, has been living in Phoenix for about five years. Neighbors called her a doting mom who was often seen outside playing with the kids.

Bank Indonesia (BI) hopes can make an agreement of currency swap with Japan worth 1 trillion yen, or approximately USD 10.6 billion. This cooperation as a follow-up of Japan's commitment in the Council of the Annual Board of Governor of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to lay a bilateral currency swap Arrangement (BCSA) worth 6 trillion yen with the countries in Asia.

BI Deputy Governor, Hartadi A. Sarwono said that "We expect at least be able to get 1 trillion yen. We try to negotiate with them. For Indonesia that is already good enough". Hartadi hope that BCSA could reduce dependence on the U.S. Dollar.

Previously we had works the currency swap with China Tiongkok worth RMB 100 billion or about USD 15 billion. Besides Japan, the Bank Indonesia as central bank is also exploring cooperation with Australia.

Through the swaps of currency, business performers in both countries can directly exchange currency in accordance with the agreement without having to switch to the U.S. Dollar.

"BCSA is to facilitate bilateral trade. So if we import beef or cow from Australia, Japan, China, we do not have to pay with the U.S. Dollar. We can use Yen, Renmimbi, and Australian Dollar (AUD), without looking at the dollar market," Hartadi said. Reduction of dependence on the USD that will ultimately strengthen the Rupiah.

By the middle exchange rate of BI, the rupiah appreciation to return to the position of Rp. 10,265,- per USD, stronger compared to a day before Rp 10,375,- per USD.

Hartadi said the main reason is a seemingly early signs of economic recovery of the world, including in the U.S. "Therefore, we will see the development, many said that the recovery can be faster than we expected".

Are these cool or what?

William Wijaya, older brother of David Hartanto Widjaja, Indonesian student who died in Nanyang Technology University Singapore 2 march ago, assumes that the video displayed in the courtroom related to David's death is the result of the engineering manipulation.

According to William, video image is very unclear and does not shows David Hartanto Widjaja's face. "I am sure that is not David, This video is artificial," William said.

From the results of the recording, only visible from the side of the face, and that is not clearly visible, that video also shows one person only. According to William, impossible that there are no other people in that place, because the activities of the campus has started.

The trial of David's death case has started since May 20 and will continue on June. The trial has been to bring a number of witnesses, including Chan Kap Luk, David's professor.

According to William, Chan Kap Luk has been doing a lot of falsehood, among others, when told that he had break the knife which David used to stabbing him. That knife, William said, large such as a carving knife, so logically may not easily be broken.

David's Family plans to bring 10 witnesses, including those who see David screamed "they want to kill me".

Soo-Yeun Lee, a professor of food science and nutrition from the University of Illinois has come up with a cinnamon-flavoured soy cereal that can reduce the risk of prostate and breast cancer. Unlike other breakfast cereals that can contain high levels of sugar and fat, the soy cereal has 10 grams of protein and five grams of fibre into each bowl. Diets high in soy protein are also effective in combating obesity. Soy protein is very high-quality protein and high-protein meals eaten early in the day stick with you so you eat less.


Read more on: New Kerala

Dr. William Lands, one of the pioneers of the eicosanoid field, compiled this graph. It may be the single most important clue we have about the relationship between diet and ischemic heart disease (heart attacks).

To explain it fully, we have to take a few steps back. Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are primarily omega-6 and omega-3. This is a chemical designation that refers to the position of a double bond along the fatty acid's carbon chain. Omega-6 fats are found abundantly in industrial vegetable oils (corn, soybean, sunflower, cottonseed, etc.) and certain nuts, and in lesser amounts in meats, dairy and grains. Omega-3 fats are found abundantly in seafood and a few seeds such as flax and walnuts, and in smaller amounts in meats, green vegetables and dairy.

The body uses a multi-step process to convert omega-3 and omega-6 fats into eicosanoids, which are a diverse and potent class of signaling molecules. The first step is to convert PUFA into highly unsaturated fatty acids, or HUFA. These include arachidonic acid (AA), an omega-6 HUFA, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), an omega-3 HUFA, and several others in the 20- to 22-carbon length range.

HUFA are stored in cell membranes and they are the direct precursors of eicosanoids. When the cell needs eicosanoids, it liberates HUFA from the membrane and converts it. The proportion of omega-6 to omega-3 HUFA in the membrane is proportional to the long-term proportion of omega-6 and omega-3 in the diet. Enzymes do not discriminate between omega-6 and omega-3 HUFA when they create eicosanoids. Therefore, the proportion of omega-6- to omega-3-derived eicosanoids is proportional to dietary intake.

Omega-6 eicosanoids are potently inflammatory and thrombotic (promote blood clotting, such as thromboxane A2), while omega-3 eicosanoids are less inflammatory, less thrombotic and participate in long-term repair processes.

Many of the studies that have looked at the relationship between HUFA and heart attacks used blood plasma (serum lipids). Dr. Lands has pointed out that plasma HUFA do not accurately reflect dietary omega-6/3 balance, and they don't correlate well with heart attack risk. What does correlate strikingly well with both dietary intake and heart attack risk is the proportion of omega-6 HUFA in tissue, which reflects the amount contained in cell membranes. That's what we're looking at in the graph above: the proportion of omega-6 HUFA in the total tissue HUFA pool, vs. coronary heart disease death rate.

You can see that the correlation is striking, both between populations and within them. Greenland Inuit have the lowest proportion of omega-6 HUFA, due to a low intake of omega-6 and an exceptionally high intake of seafood. They also have an extraordinarily low risk of heart attack death. The red dots are from the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT), which I'll be covering in a bit more detail in a later post. They're important because they confirm that the trend holds true within a population, and not just between populations.

In the next post, I'll be delving into this concept in more detail, and explaining why it's not just the ratio that matters, but also the total intake of omega-6. I'll also be providing more evidence to support the theory.

Finally, on sunday may 24, at 11:39 a.m.EDT, space shuttle Atlantis with the STS-125 astronauts landed safely on runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base in California, closing its bold mission to perform routine repairs and replace key instruments of the Hubble Space Telescope for the final time.

Previously, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) officials have postponed the space shuttle Atlantis landing until Saturday due to bad weather concerns. On its official web site, NASA mentioned that The first opportunity to land the Atlantis space shuttle at Florida's Kennedy Space Center will be at 9:16 a.m. ET Saturday 23 / 5 / 2009.

Space shuttle Atlantis launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 11. During the 13-day mission, astronauts performed five challenging spacewalks over five consecutive days, improving Hubble's discovery power and extending the 19-year-old observatory's lifespan by at least five more years.

According to the NASA statement, the Hubble Space Telescope was rejuvenated with new instruments designed to make some improvements of its capabilities by as much as 70 times, while extending its lifetime through at least 2014.

Ed Weiler, associate administrator for science at NASA headquarters, said in the statement, "This is not the end of the story but the beginning of another chapter of discovery by Hubble, Hubble will be more powerful than ever, continue to surprise, enlighten and inspire us all, and pave the way for the next generation of observatories."

Hubble, which has been in space for nearly two decades, can capture clear images that telescopes on Earth cannot, partly because it does not have to gaze through murky atmospheres.

About 20 thousand people attended the declaration of Mega-Pro, Megawati Soekarno Putri as the presidential candidate and Prabowo Subianto as vice president candidate in the area of Solid Waste Final Disposal / Tempat Pembuangan Akhir (TPA) Bantar Gebang, Bekasi, West Java, Sunday (24 / 5).

Chairman of the Local Executive Committee, Tumai, at Bekasi, said that thousands of people are cadres and sympathizers of Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), and Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra).

In addition there were also nine parties that supporting Mega-Pro coalition, among others The Functional Party of Struggle (Partai Karya Perjuangan), The Sovereignty Party (Partai Kedaulatan), Labour Party (Partai Buruh), Independence Party (Partai Merdeka), Nahdlatul Ummah Unity Party (Partai Persatuan Nahdlatul Ummah (PPNU)), Indonesia Union Party (Partai Syarikat Indonesia (PSI)), Indonesian Welfare Party (Partai Indonesia Sejahtera (PIS)), and Indonesian National Party Marhaen (Partai Nasional Indonesia (PNI) Marhaen).

"The people who attend beyond our estimation. Originally we targeted 10 thousand people, but to 11.00 WIB presented more than 20 thousand people of cadres and sympathizers, party supporters and the community," Tumai said.

The Mega-Prabowo declaration event conducted on the land of C three zone Bantar Gebang area of approximately 1.5 hectares, equipped with a main stage measuring 40x10 meters and two stages measuring 20x5 meters and also equipped with sound amplifier system.

Thousands of banners and flags to support Mega-Prabowo installed along the routes to TPA Bantar Gebang. East of the main stage there was a giant red and white flag 100x70 meter size and thousands of red and white balloons.

Around 1000 a combination of military officers, police, Satpol PP, Department of Transportation, the party task force, and Community Organization from Forum Betawi Rempug (FBR) participate in the event to secure this Mega-Pro declaration.

South Korea Ex-President, Roh Moo-hyun (62) have been killed simply because of suicide after a jump from the cliffs behind the house in the remote areas. Corruption scandals that Alleged to Roh Moo-hyun has been making desperate end of his life in a way that is very tragic.

According to his lawyer, Moon Jae-in, Roh was hiking in Bongha village when he threw himself off a steep cliff around 6:40 a.m. Saturday 23/5/2009, he said Roh left a suicide note.

In a short suicide note addressed to his family, Mr Roh described his life as "difficult" and apologised for making "too many people suffer". "Too many people are suffering because of me," he wrote, according to South Korean media.

"Don't be too sad. Isn't life and death all part of nature? Don't be sorry," the official news agency, Yonhap, quoted the note as saying.

"Please cremate me. And please leave a small tombstone near home. I've long thought about that."

Roh was taken to Busan National University hospital at around 08.15, but already can not be saved again. He declared dead at 09.30 with a gash in the head.

Before the chaos of another day begins, I wanted to thank you all for your warm wishes and congratulations on the birth of grandbaby Luca. He’s quite a little peanut.

My daughter Carlene and I have been holding down the fort here at Luca’s mom and dad’s house, namely watching g-baby Claire and cooking and freezing meals so Cassie and Matt can settle into life with two children without having to think too much about what to have for dinner.

Watching Claire, I’m reminded why MizFit calls her daughter The Tornado. I bought her a tricycle yesterday, and some friends gave me their sandbox so I also bought sand and filled it up. Claire wanted to ride her trike, then play in the sandbox, then ride her trike, then play in the sandbox, then ride her trike… Then she’d see her stroller in the garage and she’d sit in it and yell something that meant, “Hey! Push me around!” and so we’d go for little walks or I’d race her around in figure eights in the driveway. It takes a lot of energy to be Claire, but it takes even more to be her caretaker.

I don’t have time to ponder too much in this blog entry since Ms. Thang will be awake soon, but in the few quiet moments of this morning, I’m grateful once again to my 300-pound self for taking that first step down the scale. Often we chastise our past selves or wallow in the “How could I?”s or “What was I thinking?”s instead of looking at the feelings and emotions underlying our lives at that time. I was still a kind and loving person at 300 pounds. I wouldn’t have been able to chase around a toddler like I do now, but that doesn’t give me the right to beat up on what was. And so I choose to pay her homage and to thank her for looking out for me.

Thanks again for all of your support and kindnesses, not just as it pertains to Luca, but to my blogging and weight-loss/maintenance efforts. We all need support in whatever journey we’re on. I’m glad to have you along on mine.

Luca and Aunt Carlene

Almost running out of steam

Matt, Cassie, Luca, and Grammy Lynn hanging on to Steam Engine Claire

Roh Moo-Hyun, Former President of South Korea can not survive after the fall during a mountain climbing in the area of Gimhae, saturday (23/5). Yonhap news agency reported, police are searching for a certainty whether the Roh Moo-Hyun drop due to pure accident or there is a possibility of suicide. Until now, the results of the Roh's corpse autopsy has not been released to the public.

One of the official of National Police Agency of South Korea does not want his name mentioned explain, Roh Moo-Hyun experience severe bleeding in the head and exhale the last breath when brought from Gimhae to a hospital in the city of Busan, southern South Korea.

Roh and his wife had been under investigation for having received bribery money from Park Yeon-cha, general administrator of Taekwang, a large shoe manufacturer. His wife, Kwon Yang-sook, was scheduled to face re-summons today. The prosecution was planning to indict him for bribery next week.


Roh Moo-Hyun served as president of South Korea from 2003 until 2008.

P.S. It turned out to be the antibiotic. Cipro--it made me lightheaded and nauseated. Gak.

It's past midnight. I still can't sleep. My stomach has been full of air, making me into a burping machine. Anyway, it's starting to feel better. I think I will do something different tomorrow. I might go see the windmills. (No, I don't intend to fight them. I just wanna see 'em.)

Depression has been keeping close track of me. And I'm really feeling somewhat lucid. I want to go see the windmills.

My grandson, Luca Matthew, was born at 9:45 tonight. He is 7 pounds, 11 ounces and he and his mother are fabulous!! I will meet him tomorrow, just before Claire and I go buy sandbox sand. Oh, life....it's so malleable.

I have to take a brief intermission from the heart disease series to write about a very important paper I just read in the journal Obesity, "COX-2-mediated Inflammation in Fat is Crucial for Obesity-linked Insulin Resistance and Fatty Liver". It's actually related to cardiovascular disease, although indirectly.

First, some background. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) come mostly from omega-6 and omega-3 sources. Omega-6 and omega-3 are precursors to eicosanoids, a large and poorly understood class of signaling molecules that play a role in basically everything. Eicosanoids are either omega-6-derived or omega-3-derived. Omega-6 and omega-3 compete for the enzymes that convert PUFA into eicosanoids. Therefore, the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 in tissues (related to the ratio in the diet) determines the ratio of omega-6-derived eicosanoids to omega-3-derived eicosanoids.

Omega-6 eicosanoids are very potent and play a central role in inflammation. They aren't "bad", in fact they're essential, but an excess of them is probably not good. Omega-3 eicosanoids are generally less potent, less inflammatory, and tend to participate in long-term repair processes. So in sum, the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 in the diet will determine the potency and quality of eicosanoid signaling, which will determine an animal's susceptibility to inflammation-mediated disorders.

One of the key enzymes in the pathway from PUFA to eicosanoids (specifically, a subset of them called prostanoids) is cyclooxygenase (COX). COX-1 is expressed all the time and serves a "housekeeping" function, while COX-2 is induced by cellular stressors and contributes to the the formation of inflammatory eicosanoids. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin and ibuprofen inhibit COX enzymes, which is why they are effective against inflammatory problems like pain and fever. They are also used as a preventive measure against cardiovascular disease. Basically, they reduce the excessive inflammatory signaling promoted by a diet with a poor omega-6:3 balance. You wouldn't need to inhibit COX if it were producing the proper balance of eicosanoids to begin with.

Dr. Kuang-Chung Shih's group at the Department of Internal Medicine in Taipei placed rats on five different diets:

1. A control diet, eating normal low-fat rat chow.
2. A "high-fat diet", in which 45% of calories came from a combination of industrial lard and soybean oil, and 17% of calories came from sucrose*.
3. A "high-fat diet" (same as above), plus the COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib (Celebrex).
4. A "high-fat diet" (same as above), plus the COX-2 inhibitor mesulid.
5. An energy-restricted "high-fat diet".

I’m sitting on the deck at my daughter and son-in-law’s house. Claire is bathed and in bed. Her mother is in the hospital in labor.

We weren’t expecting g-baby #2 without induction, but this kid is already a sneaky enigma. He or she decided to start coming out around 10:45 this morning, despite Cassie’s doctor’s insistence that the baby wouldn’t come out on its own within a week.

I hope we have a birth by the time you’re reading this, but beforehand, I wanted to write about how this day has been a walk….no, SPRINT….down memory lane.

I was supposed to be in Pittsburgh for the day. A “one more day with just the girls” before the new baby. But when I got here, Carlene told me she was timing Cassie’s contractions and that they were coming 7-10 minutes apart. I had with me only the clothes on my back, my BlackBerry, and a Tupperware of soup. I was definitely not Grammy Ready.

Enter Grandpa Larry.

We have two cars – a newer model Subaru something or other and a ’95 Jeep Cherokee (my favorite vehicle ever). The Jeep isn’t allowed out of Clarion anymore since a hole appeared in the catalytic converter. However, in an emergency, such as the birth of a grandchild, we would allow it out of the county. Of course today it decided to have a sticky throttle and something wrong with its transmission. Thank god Larry knew of the one rental car place in Clarion and called to reserve a car. We’re now the proud renters of a shiny black Cobalt for the weekend. He packed my bag, my computer, my camera, face lotion, and toothpaste and brought it to P’burgh.

He was only here for an hour, but I really appreciated that hour. We took Claire for a little walk, but afterwards while she played in her sandbox, Larry watched her so I could get her dinner ready. I wasn’t sure how I was going to do that alone. It’s been 25 years since I was a pregnant 21-year-old mother of a 20-month old and about to give birth. Tonight I have renewed empathy for the long-ago me, and a new respect for my daughter, who will soon follow in my footsteps and be mothering two children in diapers.

I made Claire a chicken breast with a little olive oil and tarragon, green beans, black beans and for dessert, a fruit pop. In between cooking for and feeding her, I roasted myself some mushrooms and steamed an artichoke. I ate the mushrooms with Claire sitting on my lap and coloring, and I ate the artichoke, cold, after she had a bath and went to bed. I’m finally sitting down and eating a bowl of soup. I’m too excited to eat, too wired to sleep. Grandbaby will be here soon.

The love I have for Claire is enormous. I’m sure many of you can relate with your own grandkids/kids. I know I’ll love this new baby, too, but it’s still not real. I’ll let you know tomorrow how it all turns out. I just needed to get this part out, some photos out there, to document this moment. Claire and I have a big day tomorrow. She meets her new sister or brother and I my new grandbaby. We also have to buy sandbox sand and play in the pool and buy a few groceries. I’ll be in no mood to eat again tomorrow, I’m sure. Heck, I’ll probably forget! That doesn’t happen often, my friends. Not often at all.

Claire puts a hat on Grammy Lynn

Claire assesses her handiwork

Pope Benedict XVI, using the Facebook social network to run the religious mission. Through Facebook as the media, followed by hundreds of millions of people from all over the world, Pope invites the young Catholic servant to return to the church.

New Vatican Website www.pope2you.net offers a service called 'The Pope meets you on Facebook'. This service allows people to access the Pope Benedict XVI's speeches, greetings and messages through iPhone or Ipod.

This is a new pattern of communication that is run by Vatican.

Monsignor Paul Tighe, secretary of the Vatican’s Social Communications department said, "We recognize that a church that does not communicate ceases to be a church", "Many young people today are not turning to traditional media like newspapers and magazines any more for information and entertainment. They are looking to a different media culture, and this is our effort to ensure that the Church is present in that communications culture."

However, Pope's Facebook is not the same as the facebook service used by the public. You will not receive a 'friend request' from the Pope or write in his wall.

The development of franchise business in Indonesia predicted to increase significantly. Until now, the number of this franchise businesses has reached 1010 businesses with the contribution value around Rp. 81 trillion per year.

Director of Bina Usaha and Company Registration (Pendaftaran Perusahaan), Department of Trade Dede Hidayat in Semarang, Friday (22 / 5), reveal, contribution of those tens of trillions are from foreign franchise companies of Rp. 38, 8 trillion and the local franchises of Rp. 45, 5 trillion.

The number of franchise business in the current time, he said, reaching 1,010 units of franchise businesses, consisted of 260 foreign franchises and 750 local franchises in the country. "We predict, franchise business has increased about two percent to three percent per year," he said.

The Indonesian Government also provides encouragement that a national franchise business can grow and develop, because evidently contribute to the economy, especially with the employment, business opportunities, and accelerate the process of technology transfer.

This past week end, I attended my niece's 13th birthday party. It was a really big deal (over 100 guests in attendance), with great food and a DJ. We all had a great time.

I spend a little time on the dance floor (when the era was right. Music from the 60s to the 80s tends to call my name). At one point I noticed my spouse looking over at us rather intently. When I asked him later he told me that he was having a "poignant moment."

We were three strong women, all mothers, all activists in our own way and all at different stages of cancer survivorship. And we were tearing up the dance floor. We were smoking (if I do say so myself) and not just as cancer patients, not just as women over 40. We were three women who loved to dance and who were having a great time.

I remember thinking, I really love dancing with these women. And when I was on the dance floor, I didn't think of cancer at all.