Sounds weird, and it sort of is. And sort of not as weird as it sounds. If you think about it logically, then we can determine just how doing this, eating dirt, is how we as human beings, evolved. From there, we can look at this process from a scientific perspective and verify just exactly why we as humans need to, not actually eat dirt, but incorporate the activities and foods needed to bring about optimum health.
Dirt. If we examine the makeup of actual dirt, we can see that there are a large number of components. Primary, broken up and very fine particles of rock. This varies by region of course, but the first stage of soil production in any landscape is the weathering and breakdown of the parent structure of rock. Dirt. When we add in organic material, microbes, air and water, we get soil. Soil is a complex living mixture of these things, each and every one of them are required for plants to grow and thrive.
That should be a reminder to us humans.
As humans evolved, they ate a variety of things from the landscape around them. Rotting flesh of animals found out there on the savanna, leftover from some larger bigger carnivore kill. Nuts, fruits, sweet leaves from plants growing around. Sprouting seeds and grains, that process of which turns the residing carbohydrates, lectins and phytates within the seeds into sugars (Yes, that's probably why we developed a sense of taste for sweet) makes them taste sweeter. And of course, roots and tubers. Perfectly healthy, good sources for carbohydrate energy needed to run away from those carnivores, as well as fuel for the scavenging needs of the group. Here, let's look at what these early hominids did. They would find the growing plants, recognition of their use from the growing parts. Probably a result of higher brain or evolving brain functionality. Dig or pull up the root. Wipe off some of the dirt, then eat it.
That process would invariably include lots of the soil the root or tuber was growing in. Dirt.
Yeah, they ate dirt. With many of the meals our ancestors ate, they got big old helpings of rock dust and microbes along with the nutrition from the plant itself. Dirt. The startling thing is, these are things we evolved eating and in reality, are things we NEED to survive, to live a healthy existence. Microbes and minerals. I am hoping that if you are reading this, you know the importance of the human intestinal microbiota within each of us. Our gut bacteria are an integral part of our living systems. That biodiversity of bacteria need to be replenished. Frequently. Ancient evolving humans ate dirt. Later, civilized humans began traditions of fermenting their foods. For preservation, for inactivating some of the toxic portions of the foods (such as lectins in grains) and for flavor as well. Fermenting adds a huge amount of beneficial bacteria to our diets. Something lacking in our modern sterile lifestyles. The additions of chemical substances into our foods and food-like substances manufactured for the majority of the population are for the most part, devoid of any microbial activity. With a few exceptions, notably the FDA recalls of produce, processed meats and a whole host of food-like substances manufactured and then discovered to contain a literal plethora of dangerous bacterial contaminants. Of course the scary part is that when beneficial bacteria flourish, the nasty ones don't. Says a lot about food and food-like substance production.
So, reason number one to eat dirt. Microbes. Or at least eat some fermented foods.
Minerals. It isn't a secret. It's common knowledge. It's taught to each and everyone of us from way back in the fifth grade. Living cells are made up of a large number of mineral compounds. We need those minerals to live. If we don't get them, cell production will virtually cease. Humans will get sick and die without a steady supply of fresh minerals fueling our bodies. Few minerals (and vitamins as well) and we do not in any way, thrive. That's the way it is. This concept cannot be disputed.
Now comes the hard part. A diet rich in plant material, and some healthy animal proteins, will support optimal health by providing a rich source of minerals. (And of course the needed other stuff, carbs, fats and proteins) That however, is dependent on whether or not the plants, and animals, are themselves rich in the minerals that they need to thrive. Plants grown on rich soils, ones that have a rich diversity of the needed rock dust, organic material and microbes; will themselves be rich sources of vitamins and minerals. Modern farming methods in use today, and being promoted by the manufacturing corporations that control the majority of food production in the industrialized world; use chemical fertilizers to give the three most prevalent chemicals within plants. Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium. That however, is but a tiny fraction of the number of minerals needed by the plants to grow. And to thrive. This is exemplified dramatically with the current situation in Northern US and Canadian wheat farms. Non organic wheat farms are plagued with Fusarium Wilt making much of the crops unusable, even for animal feed. Whereas organic wheat farmers in the same areas are not seeing any such problem. Healthy soil, means healthy crops, and ultimately the same for humans when we eat those plants. We need a diversity of minerals and in healthy readily absorbable forms. There is a complex system within healthy soils where the microbial life there work to breakdown the rock dust into less complex and more usable minerals. When early humans ate the dirt stuck on their roots, they got a bit of minerals in there boosting their existence. Well, they also got healthy roots as well, grown in pristine soils.
In modern times, we wash everything. And the fact that modern farming techniques use chemicals to kill everything in the soil, (or attempt to anyway) as season after season goes by, the mineral constituents of the soil lessen to the point of that soil not being able to grow healthy plants. That's when the problems like those described above become commonplace. Non organic farms all across the world are suffering from that degradation of soil, loss of minerals and death of the microbial constituent. Dead Soil. The end result is plants, and ultimately the meats raised on those sick mineral starved plants, don't have the necessary mineral (and vitamin) reserves to nourish the humans that consume them.
Solution two, eat more dirt. Or at the very least, eat good healthy organic plants from farmers markets. Meats raised in sustainable methods and always always, eat healthy food choices. And take mineral supplements as well.
Our ancestors evolved eating dirt. We can replicate that, and we need to.
Yup
Monday, April 3, 2017
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
What's in your food part, 7. Oreos
Yes, I used to eat Oreos. I used to do a lot of things, and I weighed 320 pounds. I don't eat things like these anymore, not because I didn't like them, but because I now understand that the addictive nature, the drive to manufacture a food-like product entails the use of questionable ingredients as well as the methods of every single facet of the manufacture of these things are done with absolutely no regard for the health of the consumers that buy them. So, no, I don't eat them anymore.
I might try to make my own some day. But in reality, why? I don't need them. I've gotten used to not eating junk foods, no sweets, no meat, no processed anything. Yeah, and I weigh 235 now. That's something.
Oreos. Good memories or just plain bad horrific food?
Probably a little of both. Most wouldn't say they are horrific, and they are a long long way from being in anyway nutritious. Definitely not as bad as some of the other food-like substances that I reviewed here a year ago or so, these are just naturally, well, nasty. Two, Double Stuf Oreos, are 120 calories. 7 grams of fat and 21 grams of carbohydrate. Mostly in the form of High Fructose Corn Syrup. Well, sugar is actually the first ingredient on the list. More sugar than flour in the cookies. No wonder they taste so addictive. I mean good.
I suppose that here I could put in a link to that documentary about how Fructose is actually destroying our lives, 65 minutes of lengthy diagrams and charts of how the human body uses sugars, fructose and dextrose to run our systems. But realistically, most people that want that info already know it, the rest, probably lost by now and looking at photos of cats dressed in tuxes or some other such nonsense.
So, sugar, bad. HFCS, extremely bad. (HFCS and Hg) There's the Mercury contamination thing plus we know the stuff is GMO and although we have no idea if genetically altering plants actually will cause damage to humans down the road; we do know that they drench the plants with glyphosate. Roundup. Now, a known carcinogen. Flour, kinda bad. The fact is, 95% of all wheat in America and many other countries as well, is drenched in glyposate as well. This use of the stuff is worse as it is done 8 to 10 days before harvest in order to kill the plants and make harvesting the grain easier on equipment and to give a slightly larger yield. Slightly. Glyphosate is bad when sprayed on GMO crops while in the early stages of growth. The stuff slowly breaks down. When sprayed just before harvest, it's all there baby. You get the full dose.
So is that bad?
No one can tell you what to eat and what not to. It's up to you. You only get one body, in the long run, what you feed it, drives how it works down the road.
Yep
I might try to make my own some day. But in reality, why? I don't need them. I've gotten used to not eating junk foods, no sweets, no meat, no processed anything. Yeah, and I weigh 235 now. That's something.
Oreos. Good memories or just plain bad horrific food?
Probably a little of both. Most wouldn't say they are horrific, and they are a long long way from being in anyway nutritious. Definitely not as bad as some of the other food-like substances that I reviewed here a year ago or so, these are just naturally, well, nasty. Two, Double Stuf Oreos, are 120 calories. 7 grams of fat and 21 grams of carbohydrate. Mostly in the form of High Fructose Corn Syrup. Well, sugar is actually the first ingredient on the list. More sugar than flour in the cookies. No wonder they taste so addictive. I mean good.
I suppose that here I could put in a link to that documentary about how Fructose is actually destroying our lives, 65 minutes of lengthy diagrams and charts of how the human body uses sugars, fructose and dextrose to run our systems. But realistically, most people that want that info already know it, the rest, probably lost by now and looking at photos of cats dressed in tuxes or some other such nonsense.
So, sugar, bad. HFCS, extremely bad. (HFCS and Hg) There's the Mercury contamination thing plus we know the stuff is GMO and although we have no idea if genetically altering plants actually will cause damage to humans down the road; we do know that they drench the plants with glyphosate. Roundup. Now, a known carcinogen. Flour, kinda bad. The fact is, 95% of all wheat in America and many other countries as well, is drenched in glyposate as well. This use of the stuff is worse as it is done 8 to 10 days before harvest in order to kill the plants and make harvesting the grain easier on equipment and to give a slightly larger yield. Slightly. Glyphosate is bad when sprayed on GMO crops while in the early stages of growth. The stuff slowly breaks down. When sprayed just before harvest, it's all there baby. You get the full dose.
So is that bad?
No one can tell you what to eat and what not to. It's up to you. You only get one body, in the long run, what you feed it, drives how it works down the road.
Ingredients
SUGAR, UNBLEACHED ENRICHED
FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE {VITAMIN
B1}, RIBOFLAVIN {VITAMIN B2}, FOLIC ACID), PALM AND/OR CANOLA OIL, COCOA
(PROCESSED WITH ALKALI), HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CORNSTARCH,
LEAVENING (BAKING SODA AND/OR CALCIUM PHOSPHATE), SALT, SOY LECITHIN,
VANILLIN - AN ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, CHOCOLATE.CONTAINS WHEAT, SOY.
Yep
Monday, February 27, 2017
Cabbage Rolls, Southwestern Style
It's been said that I do things a little bit differently. I suppose that's true. Smoked Salmon Tamales. Sushi Ravioli. Stuff that comes out delicious, just different from anything anyone else does. So, not surprising that I make that old European favorite, Cabbage Rolls, into something completely different.
Why not though? Southwestern food is so unique, so flavorful, it lends itself to making EVERYTHING a bit better.
They might look a might odd, but that's because the sauce I used was my best selling 'Passion of the Garlic' salsa. I make it with tomatillos and lots of oven roasted garlic. A bit of spice and this stuff is the absolute bomb, as my old dear friend Key always told me about the foods I used to make for her.
This time, I had some organic pork from my friend Kenny the
Fishhugger. (Kenny) Nice stuff, I browned some and used half for some tacos for someone. The other half I put in a glass container in the freezer for a couple weeks. I bought a big head of Savoy Cabbage at the farmers market and said to myself, "Self, this is going to be spectacular" Saying stuff like that to yourself is okay, I never answer myself back so all's good. My shrink said it's okay. So, I took a half a red onion and a yellow bell and diced them up. a cup of cooked brown rice (I always have extra, I eat it nearly every day) And I diced up about 3 ounces each of Mozzarella and Asiago cheeses. Cooked the onion and pepper in a bit of olive oil about 4 minutes, then took off the heat and added a big bunch of fresh basil, oregano and thyme leaves from my patio garden in pots. Chopped of course. Threw in the frozen already cooked pork and let sit until the pork was thawed. Added the rice and cheeses, tossed well and then set aside. I love Savoy as the leaves come off easily. I removed eight of them, very few tears, so cool. I brought an inch of water to a boil in a stock pot and put the leaves in a metal colander and put inside the pot. Steamed them about ten minutes. Savoy are pretty hardy.
Then proceeded to let cool and roll them up into these babies. Oops, I poured about a quarter of the jar into the rice mix and tossed that as well. Then the rest of the jar of salsa, I mixed with a half jar of water. Poured a bit on the bottoms of the pans and after put the stuffed rolls into the pans, I poured the rest of the sauce over the tops.I covered with parchment paper, then sealed with aluminum foil. NEVER LET ALUMINUM FOIL TOUCH ANY FOOD!!!! That's why the paper first. Protection. And salsa is acidic, it would eat holes in the foil and if you ate that residue, then it does horrible things to your brain. Anyway, bake at 350 for an hour and holy cow, these are incredible
Yup
Why not though? Southwestern food is so unique, so flavorful, it lends itself to making EVERYTHING a bit better.
This time, I had some organic pork from my friend Kenny the
Fishhugger. (Kenny) Nice stuff, I browned some and used half for some tacos for someone. The other half I put in a glass container in the freezer for a couple weeks. I bought a big head of Savoy Cabbage at the farmers market and said to myself, "Self, this is going to be spectacular" Saying stuff like that to yourself is okay, I never answer myself back so all's good. My shrink said it's okay. So, I took a half a red onion and a yellow bell and diced them up. a cup of cooked brown rice (I always have extra, I eat it nearly every day) And I diced up about 3 ounces each of Mozzarella and Asiago cheeses. Cooked the onion and pepper in a bit of olive oil about 4 minutes, then took off the heat and added a big bunch of fresh basil, oregano and thyme leaves from my patio garden in pots. Chopped of course. Threw in the frozen already cooked pork and let sit until the pork was thawed. Added the rice and cheeses, tossed well and then set aside. I love Savoy as the leaves come off easily. I removed eight of them, very few tears, so cool. I brought an inch of water to a boil in a stock pot and put the leaves in a metal colander and put inside the pot. Steamed them about ten minutes. Savoy are pretty hardy. 
Yup
Friday, February 17, 2017
Shake shake shake... Yeah, music, dancing, weight loss miracles. Magic and Money
It wasn't that long ago that I was in the hospital for a kidney stone. September 22 of 2015. My weight at that time, 320 pounds. I am six foot two or so, might of shrunk some, as happens as we age. Monday at the gym, I weighed myself on both of their scales, and the readings were within a half pound. I am now 234 pounds. It was hard to do, and yet, incredibly easy. And at no time during the nearly 17 months did I ever once, NOT ONCE, add any money to the already frightening amount of money spent on weight loss in these United States.
Sixty Billion Dollars is spent annually on weight loss.
And it's all a waste of money.
Harsh, I know. But the reality is there for us to view. One out of three Americans are Obese. And still, 70% of adults are overweight. These numbers continue to climb, steadily. They have not once gone down since scientists started to look at this phenomena back in the fifties.
Yeah, weight loss spending for individuals might, and here it's a stretch, MIGHT show improvement. For specific individuals over a specific time frame. It does happen. Generally though, the majority of Americans spend their money, adding to that sixty billion dollar total, yet it's for short term losses that return once the money is no longer spent. The weight loss industry is based entirely on lies. Everything about their advertising, their slick marketing driven packaging for convenience and their very basic concept, is all about driving home that basic falsehood. That spending money, utilizing products designed for convenience, will allow you to be slim, trim and healthy.
It's all a lie. Yet humans are gullible. Always have been, pretty sure they always will be. Politicians that show themselves to be corrupt, get reelected. (Except Hillary, some out there saw through her rhetoric) Diet soda that has had independent studies showing it to cause weight gain as well as a large number of rather detrimental side effects, sell by the billions. And just as our ancestors spent their hard earned money on magic beans and snake oil, the weight loss industries of America keep raking in our money and giving dreams of Paradise, perhaps from a dashboard light. Which isn't far from the truth, advertising for all the crap out there comes from the hottest and best looking models available.
A friend's wife has begun posting online about her newest mlm group that she is now affiliated with. Shakes that satisfy, provide nutrition and her pounds are melting away. Magic Beans. I have no idea what she pays for each one, but I'm sure they aren't cheap. And as so many of the ones available at the stores, when I look at the ingredients, there's stuff there I can't pronounce, as well as the things that are right from the start, detrimental to any sort of plan to lose weight; either some form of sugar, or high fructose corn syrup. Remember Metrecal? People my age do. The Metrecal for lunch bunch. A food replacement product with all the nutrition of real food, in a handy shake. Made with sugar.
It's a popular ingredient, it makes humans addicted to that sweet sweet flavor. It isn't exactly nutritious. No matter how many artificial additives and processed vitamins and minerals are added to it. It's still just flavored sugar.
My weight loss has been based on an actual change in my attitude toward food itself. I used to eat meat, processed foods, breads, ice cream, packaged this and that. I stopped all that. I have been a vegetarian for about eight years now, just not a very strict one. That's all changed. I am very strict now. No meat, no processed foods, no sugar, no chemicals and lots and lots of fruit and vegetables. Organic when possible. Which is primarily most of the time as I get my food at the farmers markets and only buy organic at the stores. And never Chinese or Mexican organic.
It's pretty hard to do.
My weight has gone up and down during this time. Personal reasons, my inability to deal with relationship issues (always been a problem ** Three Divorces)((Insight into me)) thus giving me an excuse to sit and drink beer to excess. (Yes it's true what she told me, I do so very much enjoy playing the role of victim) (( Although it's not true, I do not feel superior to everyone, only those that I am superior too)) And of course the long term effects from before (black mold) and exacerbation of asthma, causing steroid use which makes you put on weight. However, for the most part, it has been a total commitment to be a smaller man and altering the lifestyle that I have led most of my life.
One thing that is consistent with me in my food routine, is most mornings I make a shake. Ta Da? No, not one in a can. Mine is simple. And has other health benefits designed right into it. Start with juice of a lemon and a quarter cup of Organic Apple Cider Vinegar. Add a half teaspoon of cinnamon, black cohosh root, gingko biloba, mullein and turmeric. Then a heaping teaspoon each of hemp seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds and nutritional yeast. Also called spent brewers yeast. Add a bit of water and mix a bit. then add an organic banana, a tablespoon of local raw honey from a local bee keeper, NEVER stuff from a grocery store. Add some fruit in season or a couple dates. Then top blender jar with organic plain yogurt. Blend, and it has more protein and all the right balance of everything you need to exist in about a couple hundred or so calories that will fill you up and keep you going for five or more hours. For about forty cents. Cheaper if you don't use organic stuff. But why? Be safe, organic is the only real option in today's weird world of toxin usage in agriculture.
Yep
Sixty Billion Dollars is spent annually on weight loss.
And it's all a waste of money.
Harsh, I know. But the reality is there for us to view. One out of three Americans are Obese. And still, 70% of adults are overweight. These numbers continue to climb, steadily. They have not once gone down since scientists started to look at this phenomena back in the fifties.
Yeah, weight loss spending for individuals might, and here it's a stretch, MIGHT show improvement. For specific individuals over a specific time frame. It does happen. Generally though, the majority of Americans spend their money, adding to that sixty billion dollar total, yet it's for short term losses that return once the money is no longer spent. The weight loss industry is based entirely on lies. Everything about their advertising, their slick marketing driven packaging for convenience and their very basic concept, is all about driving home that basic falsehood. That spending money, utilizing products designed for convenience, will allow you to be slim, trim and healthy.
It's all a lie. Yet humans are gullible. Always have been, pretty sure they always will be. Politicians that show themselves to be corrupt, get reelected. (Except Hillary, some out there saw through her rhetoric) Diet soda that has had independent studies showing it to cause weight gain as well as a large number of rather detrimental side effects, sell by the billions. And just as our ancestors spent their hard earned money on magic beans and snake oil, the weight loss industries of America keep raking in our money and giving dreams of Paradise, perhaps from a dashboard light. Which isn't far from the truth, advertising for all the crap out there comes from the hottest and best looking models available.
A friend's wife has begun posting online about her newest mlm group that she is now affiliated with. Shakes that satisfy, provide nutrition and her pounds are melting away. Magic Beans. I have no idea what she pays for each one, but I'm sure they aren't cheap. And as so many of the ones available at the stores, when I look at the ingredients, there's stuff there I can't pronounce, as well as the things that are right from the start, detrimental to any sort of plan to lose weight; either some form of sugar, or high fructose corn syrup. Remember Metrecal? People my age do. The Metrecal for lunch bunch. A food replacement product with all the nutrition of real food, in a handy shake. Made with sugar.
It's a popular ingredient, it makes humans addicted to that sweet sweet flavor. It isn't exactly nutritious. No matter how many artificial additives and processed vitamins and minerals are added to it. It's still just flavored sugar.
My weight loss has been based on an actual change in my attitude toward food itself. I used to eat meat, processed foods, breads, ice cream, packaged this and that. I stopped all that. I have been a vegetarian for about eight years now, just not a very strict one. That's all changed. I am very strict now. No meat, no processed foods, no sugar, no chemicals and lots and lots of fruit and vegetables. Organic when possible. Which is primarily most of the time as I get my food at the farmers markets and only buy organic at the stores. And never Chinese or Mexican organic.
It's pretty hard to do.
My weight has gone up and down during this time. Personal reasons, my inability to deal with relationship issues (always been a problem ** Three Divorces)((Insight into me)) thus giving me an excuse to sit and drink beer to excess. (Yes it's true what she told me, I do so very much enjoy playing the role of victim) (( Although it's not true, I do not feel superior to everyone, only those that I am superior too)) And of course the long term effects from before (black mold) and exacerbation of asthma, causing steroid use which makes you put on weight. However, for the most part, it has been a total commitment to be a smaller man and altering the lifestyle that I have led most of my life.
One thing that is consistent with me in my food routine, is most mornings I make a shake. Ta Da? No, not one in a can. Mine is simple. And has other health benefits designed right into it. Start with juice of a lemon and a quarter cup of Organic Apple Cider Vinegar. Add a half teaspoon of cinnamon, black cohosh root, gingko biloba, mullein and turmeric. Then a heaping teaspoon each of hemp seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds and nutritional yeast. Also called spent brewers yeast. Add a bit of water and mix a bit. then add an organic banana, a tablespoon of local raw honey from a local bee keeper, NEVER stuff from a grocery store. Add some fruit in season or a couple dates. Then top blender jar with organic plain yogurt. Blend, and it has more protein and all the right balance of everything you need to exist in about a couple hundred or so calories that will fill you up and keep you going for five or more hours. For about forty cents. Cheaper if you don't use organic stuff. But why? Be safe, organic is the only real option in today's weird world of toxin usage in agriculture.
Yep
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
This is what you NEED to understand before allowing ANY doctor to prescribe Testosterone Creams
I think that anyone that has watched a television show in past twenty years has seen the ads for the miracle cure that science has found for a condition that the medical profession has hyped into another one of the popular health conditions that they have appropriately named as 'Low T'. This condition has been touted as the reason for everything wrong in a man's life. Everything. Below is a list of a few of the symptoms from the Google search for Low T.
Except, wait a second. Isn't every one of those symptoms also related to the simple basics of good health, poor diet, no exercise and excess consumption of alcohol?
Well, yeah, they are. The difference being in that doctors can't get those wonderful incentives from the drug manufacturers if they have you do a little self discipline and lose weight, exercise and stop drinking alcohol.
And the pharmaceutical companies can't make billions in profits if we as consumers don't want to take the easy way out and instead of practicing that self discipline, opt for the easy cream, patch, pill, or liquid instead of attempting to better ourselves with lifestyle changes.
So here's the thing, doctors prescribe testosterone creams based on what the lab result is for your individual level of free testosterone in your blood work. And that's the problem. Free testosterone and bioavailable testosterone both vary dramatically in EVERY individual on a daily basis. T levels follow the same basic circadian rhythms that control so many of our bodily functions. Our natural levels rise and fall dramatically, by up to 43%, DAILY. Lowest in the early afternoon, highest at night and early morning after and during sleep. Getting a single blood test to acquire a definitive level of testosterone for any individual is not best medical practises.
Then there are the simple effects that the body has in response to other stimuli. Our testosterone levels vary depending on whether or not we've had vigorous exercise within a 24 hour period. Whether or not we've been sexually active, or whether or not there was a lot of alcohol ingested. Yeah, it's true, alcohol suppresses the production of testosterone. Especially distilled alcohols.
All of these factors need to be considered and multiple blood tests done to get an accurate picture of what's happening with your individual body's ability to manufacture the testosterone you need to exist. A diagnosis from one single blood test taken in the afternoon on a day in which you haven't done any physical activity for several days is going to be misleading and may result in a prescription that may do more harm, than any good possible.
Again, if you ever watch any television at all, you've seen the commercials from lawyers that are trying to drum up business by letting you know that if you ever took any testosterone cream and had any of a large number of deleterious events happen to you, then you can sue everybody and get compensated. This is of course a product of our litigious society. But with a good reason. The fact is that excess testosterone does cause horrific problems with our bodies. Chief amongst them,blood clots in the lungs. This is a very serious and often fatal consequence of taking a medication to increase the available free testosterone in your body when in fact your natural ability to produce testosterone is working fine and it was environmental factors that led your doctor to diagnose you as having low T.
Be careful. Doctors are not the end all be all pearls of wisdom and they don't know every single thing about you as a patient unless you tell them and question every thing that they tell you. All doctors want to get through as many patients in a day as possible and to prescribe as many medications as possible. Those are their goals. If you want the best care possible, question them, make them think about what it is they are doing, let them know that you are not patient XYZ, you are YOU and you think!
Yep
Google search for low t
Peak and low values for testosterone
Physical Signs and Symptoms
- Erectile dysfunction (impotence: inability to develop or maintain an erection)
- Fatigue (lack of energy)
- Muscle mass and strength (reduced)
- Body fat (increased)
- Back pain.
- Osteoporosis development (reduced bone mass/density and increased risk of fracture)
Except, wait a second. Isn't every one of those symptoms also related to the simple basics of good health, poor diet, no exercise and excess consumption of alcohol?
Well, yeah, they are. The difference being in that doctors can't get those wonderful incentives from the drug manufacturers if they have you do a little self discipline and lose weight, exercise and stop drinking alcohol.
And the pharmaceutical companies can't make billions in profits if we as consumers don't want to take the easy way out and instead of practicing that self discipline, opt for the easy cream, patch, pill, or liquid instead of attempting to better ourselves with lifestyle changes.
So here's the thing, doctors prescribe testosterone creams based on what the lab result is for your individual level of free testosterone in your blood work. And that's the problem. Free testosterone and bioavailable testosterone both vary dramatically in EVERY individual on a daily basis. T levels follow the same basic circadian rhythms that control so many of our bodily functions. Our natural levels rise and fall dramatically, by up to 43%, DAILY. Lowest in the early afternoon, highest at night and early morning after and during sleep. Getting a single blood test to acquire a definitive level of testosterone for any individual is not best medical practises.
Then there are the simple effects that the body has in response to other stimuli. Our testosterone levels vary depending on whether or not we've had vigorous exercise within a 24 hour period. Whether or not we've been sexually active, or whether or not there was a lot of alcohol ingested. Yeah, it's true, alcohol suppresses the production of testosterone. Especially distilled alcohols.
All of these factors need to be considered and multiple blood tests done to get an accurate picture of what's happening with your individual body's ability to manufacture the testosterone you need to exist. A diagnosis from one single blood test taken in the afternoon on a day in which you haven't done any physical activity for several days is going to be misleading and may result in a prescription that may do more harm, than any good possible.
Again, if you ever watch any television at all, you've seen the commercials from lawyers that are trying to drum up business by letting you know that if you ever took any testosterone cream and had any of a large number of deleterious events happen to you, then you can sue everybody and get compensated. This is of course a product of our litigious society. But with a good reason. The fact is that excess testosterone does cause horrific problems with our bodies. Chief amongst them,blood clots in the lungs. This is a very serious and often fatal consequence of taking a medication to increase the available free testosterone in your body when in fact your natural ability to produce testosterone is working fine and it was environmental factors that led your doctor to diagnose you as having low T.
Be careful. Doctors are not the end all be all pearls of wisdom and they don't know every single thing about you as a patient unless you tell them and question every thing that they tell you. All doctors want to get through as many patients in a day as possible and to prescribe as many medications as possible. Those are their goals. If you want the best care possible, question them, make them think about what it is they are doing, let them know that you are not patient XYZ, you are YOU and you think!
Yep
Google search for low t
Peak and low values for testosterone
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Aluminum and Alzheimer's Disease, the link, the mystery, the... What was I thinking again...
So, where are we with Aluminum? It is a multi-Billion dollar industry. Aluminum products are everywhere. Beverage containers being the biggest. However the stuff is everywhere, cookware, building materials, beds of pickups, and as an adjuvant ingredient to every vaccine out there.
Here's the thing, pretty much all scientists agree, Aluminum is not necessary for life. In fact it is a known neurotoxin. That cannot be disputed. The controversies regarding this abundant element are whether or not, incidental exposure, meaning the tiny amounts ingested, injected or inhaled, are in fact harmful and the cause of neurodegenerative diseases. With of course, Alzheimer's being the most targeted.
Ever since the discovery of mitochondrial damage due to aluminum in the brains of AD patients back in the sixties, there has been a lot of research into just how aluminum affects humans. Without actually taking live humans, feeding injecting and blowing aluminum dust into their lungs and then finding out how many die horrific deaths; there is no absolute way to conclude with certainty if aluminum is the culprit. They've done that with rats, and the results are inconclusive. How do you tell if a rat loses its memory? they can measure and record the physiological damage, which is extensive; but there's no way to determine the consequences of that damage on the rat's family, friends, and ability to live and exist within the rat society.
Aluminum is however, a multi multi billion dollar industry. And Industry lawyers, lobbyists and ultimately politicians determine what is safe, and what is not. Sort of like, lead in gasoline. Science proved it was bad, industry scientists gave us differing facts, and we all breathed lead fumes from gasoline for decades. Industry money pays for a lot of elections, third homes, fancy cars, vacations and probably underage boy toys for politicians all the time. That's why lead, DDT, PCB's and so many other products that are KNOWN to be detrimental to human existence are allowed to be manufactured for the profit of a few.
Profits always take precedence over the health of the populace.
That's just the way it is. It takes monumental scientific evidence to change anything. It does happen, but in the case of the biggest money making industries, it is ridiculous as to how BAD things have to get before changes are made. And of course, the biggest, get away literally, with murder. Cigarettes, the leading cause of death in America. The scientific evidence is conclusive. The damn things are sold everywhere. Yeah, I smoke cigars. Tobacco is not inherently bad for humans. What is causing cancer are the 26 chemicals added to tobacco in the manufacture of cigarettes. Those are what causes problems. Not necessarily the tobacco itself.
So what do we do?
Just like the cigarette industry, we have the ability to help ourselves and avoid contamination in our lives.
Do you want to take the risk just so industrial giants can profit?
Yep
NCBI on AL role in AD
More in depth treatise from NCBI info repository
Washington Post article with lots of research links
University Health News article - not the most unbiased, but good info
The other side of the story - Scientific American. but then look at all the ads in that rag
Here's the thing, pretty much all scientists agree, Aluminum is not necessary for life. In fact it is a known neurotoxin. That cannot be disputed. The controversies regarding this abundant element are whether or not, incidental exposure, meaning the tiny amounts ingested, injected or inhaled, are in fact harmful and the cause of neurodegenerative diseases. With of course, Alzheimer's being the most targeted.
Ever since the discovery of mitochondrial damage due to aluminum in the brains of AD patients back in the sixties, there has been a lot of research into just how aluminum affects humans. Without actually taking live humans, feeding injecting and blowing aluminum dust into their lungs and then finding out how many die horrific deaths; there is no absolute way to conclude with certainty if aluminum is the culprit. They've done that with rats, and the results are inconclusive. How do you tell if a rat loses its memory? they can measure and record the physiological damage, which is extensive; but there's no way to determine the consequences of that damage on the rat's family, friends, and ability to live and exist within the rat society.
Aluminum is however, a multi multi billion dollar industry. And Industry lawyers, lobbyists and ultimately politicians determine what is safe, and what is not. Sort of like, lead in gasoline. Science proved it was bad, industry scientists gave us differing facts, and we all breathed lead fumes from gasoline for decades. Industry money pays for a lot of elections, third homes, fancy cars, vacations and probably underage boy toys for politicians all the time. That's why lead, DDT, PCB's and so many other products that are KNOWN to be detrimental to human existence are allowed to be manufactured for the profit of a few.
Profits always take precedence over the health of the populace.
That's just the way it is. It takes monumental scientific evidence to change anything. It does happen, but in the case of the biggest money making industries, it is ridiculous as to how BAD things have to get before changes are made. And of course, the biggest, get away literally, with murder. Cigarettes, the leading cause of death in America. The scientific evidence is conclusive. The damn things are sold everywhere. Yeah, I smoke cigars. Tobacco is not inherently bad for humans. What is causing cancer are the 26 chemicals added to tobacco in the manufacture of cigarettes. Those are what causes problems. Not necessarily the tobacco itself.
So what do we do?
Just like the cigarette industry, we have the ability to help ourselves and avoid contamination in our lives.
- Stop buying and drinking beverages in aluminum cans
- Stop using aluminum cookware, even anodized aluminum is harmful. Throw it all away
- Stop using aluminum foil in cooking. Use parchment paper, and cover the paper with foil to seal.
- NEVER get any vaccine. Especially the flu vaccine. Even the CDC admits that they are at most 10% effective
- NEVER vaccinate a child under the age of two with any vaccine. Their immune system needs time to be able to develop the pathway to eliminate aluminum
Do you want to take the risk just so industrial giants can profit?
Yep
NCBI on AL role in AD
More in depth treatise from NCBI info repository
Washington Post article with lots of research links
University Health News article - not the most unbiased, but good info
The other side of the story - Scientific American. but then look at all the ads in that rag
Sunday, December 4, 2016
the Chemical Feast - America at its most profitable
When I was a youth, growing up in Arizona, my family ate all of the foods associated with the good modern life/ Meat, potatoes, white rice, frozen vegetables. And white bread. Everyone ate white bread. It was a staple. For pretty much every American wanting to live the American Dream. House, car, job, mortgage, taxes, a TV and two point five children playing on the swingset in the backyard. The American Dream.
Back in the fifties, families bought white bread every couple of days. That's because the bread would go stale quickly, and within a week, it would grow mold on it. Back then, bread was made using enriched white flour, yeast, water, sugar and salt. They beat the hell out of it to whip air into the batter and that's why it was light and fluffy. It also wasn't exactly nutritious, the enrichment process developed back in the late thirties and early forties only replaced eight of the forty-six nutritional minerals and vitamins that occur naturally in real whole wheat grains. Eight, versus forty-six. Marketing and advertising helped to feed the desire for non-nutritive foods versus their healthier counterparts. White bread became the staple of the American Dream, lack of nutrition not with standing.
But it made great grilled cheese sandwiches.
While I was in high school, junior year I believe; I did a book report on a book written by an attorney under the guise of the Ralph Nader group. It was very critical of the FDA and their policies regarding the introduction of several hundred chemicals to be added to what has morphed into the GRAS, or Generally Recognized As Safe list of chemicals that food manufacturers can add to foods. At that time, it was about three hundred. Chemicals that did some extremely profit enhancing things to foods. Tricks, actually. Compounds that actually enhanced flavor, chemicals that allowed baked goods to st on shelves for months with no loss of perceived freshness, and the hardest one to believe; chemicals derived from coal tars, that were bright colors. Artificial food dye. This class of chemical compounds were added to the GRAS list, because no one ever tested to see just how carcinogenic they really are. It's only in the last twenty years that a number of them have been dropped from GRAS, but are still allowed to be used in food manufacturing because they are cheap, and the American Dream includes foods that have bright colors.
Things have changed dramatically in the food world since that book was published. Today, the FDA admits that they track three thousand chemicals on the EAFUS list. (Everything Added to Food in the US) However they also admit, that food manufacturers don't even have to submit new chemical compounds to the FDA for determination if they themselves, meaning those that manufacture the chemicals, find them to be relatively safe. There are over a thousand compounds on the GRAS list, and again, the FDA admits that they don't give a rat's ass about American Health and as long as the manufacturer of a chemical says they tested it and they themselves claim it is GRAS, then the FDA are fine with it being added to food.
Isn't that like parents buying a hundred six packs of beer and putting them in the garage with a hundred cartons of cigarrettes and then telling their teenage kids that they are leaving for the summer. It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt.
Maybe that's the problem. No one has actually died from the Chemical Feast that is American Food. Well, at least they didn't just eat a burger and keel over dead anyway. I've never heard of that. However, what we know, WE KNOW is happening to the American Dream is that Americans are suffering greatly increased incidences of Cancer, Heart Disease, Diabetes, Infant mortality, Autism, the list is endless. But the worst thing possible, greater numbers of Americans suffer from two, three or more degenerative long term diseases.
WHY?
Poor nutrition, perhaps. Environmental toxin exposure, maybe. Definitely in some areas. Radiation from fallout, nuclear accidents etc., possibly. Chemtrails, REALLY? that one is kinda whacko. But how about the huge numbers of chemicals added to food to make it sweeter tastier less metallic tasting (from other additives) colorful lighter fluffier whiter more shelf stable and the big one, MORE PROFITABLE. Isn't that possible. When the manufacturer of a chemical gets to determine whether or not it is safe, that sort of sets the stage for greater amounts of chemicals to be added to food for that driving force in all of America, profit.
Here's the big one though. Even if there was no motivation for getting approval for chemicals to be added to manufacturing processes, if the testing done on any one specific chemical compound was done in the true spirit of finding and testing said chemical, determining it it's safe and without any possible deleterious effects on humans; that testing could never encompass just how that specific chemical would interact with any other of the three thousand KNOWN chemicals that the FDA does track. Let alone the seven or eight thousand additional chemicals that Princeton University estimates are ACTUALLY being used in food manufacturing. And it isn't like the FDA has never heard of interactions. It happens all the time. In the drug industry, and in the food industry. And with eleven thousand chemicals to randomly select to interact, do we know where we are?
Then again, it isn't just chemicals directly added to foods during the manufacturing process. There are indirect additions of chemicals that get dumped in as well. (see footnotes below) Everything from machine oils, to sanitizing agents to pesticide usage inside manufacturing plants. And of course, these have nothing to do with the inherent contamination of the basic crops grown by modern mechanized farming techniques that liberally douse growing plant crops with weed killers, insecticides, fungicides and petrochemical fertilizers.
Yeah, those are all allowed in the processed manufactured food that is part of the American Dream.
Back in the seventies, I got my first wheat grinder. I began to grind my own wheat into flour and then bake real bread. Over the years, I have stopped eating more and more of the processed foods that contain chemicals listed right on the packaging. Chemicals that when you look them up, are found to be, not so good for us. But the FDA allows them to be added because we are Americans, Living the Dream in our very own American, Chemical Feast.
Yep
Expose on FDA and one specific toxin allowed in food
Oops, FDA on GRAS and EAFUS numbers
FDA EAFUS list
FDA stating that the 40 pesticides are no longer reglated
Chemical Industry report on total number of chemicals in use
Indirect additives to food from the FDA viewpoint
Because they can do these things
Back in the fifties, families bought white bread every couple of days. That's because the bread would go stale quickly, and within a week, it would grow mold on it. Back then, bread was made using enriched white flour, yeast, water, sugar and salt. They beat the hell out of it to whip air into the batter and that's why it was light and fluffy. It also wasn't exactly nutritious, the enrichment process developed back in the late thirties and early forties only replaced eight of the forty-six nutritional minerals and vitamins that occur naturally in real whole wheat grains. Eight, versus forty-six. Marketing and advertising helped to feed the desire for non-nutritive foods versus their healthier counterparts. White bread became the staple of the American Dream, lack of nutrition not with standing.
But it made great grilled cheese sandwiches.
While I was in high school, junior year I believe; I did a book report on a book written by an attorney under the guise of the Ralph Nader group. It was very critical of the FDA and their policies regarding the introduction of several hundred chemicals to be added to what has morphed into the GRAS, or Generally Recognized As Safe list of chemicals that food manufacturers can add to foods. At that time, it was about three hundred. Chemicals that did some extremely profit enhancing things to foods. Tricks, actually. Compounds that actually enhanced flavor, chemicals that allowed baked goods to st on shelves for months with no loss of perceived freshness, and the hardest one to believe; chemicals derived from coal tars, that were bright colors. Artificial food dye. This class of chemical compounds were added to the GRAS list, because no one ever tested to see just how carcinogenic they really are. It's only in the last twenty years that a number of them have been dropped from GRAS, but are still allowed to be used in food manufacturing because they are cheap, and the American Dream includes foods that have bright colors.
Things have changed dramatically in the food world since that book was published. Today, the FDA admits that they track three thousand chemicals on the EAFUS list. (Everything Added to Food in the US) However they also admit, that food manufacturers don't even have to submit new chemical compounds to the FDA for determination if they themselves, meaning those that manufacture the chemicals, find them to be relatively safe. There are over a thousand compounds on the GRAS list, and again, the FDA admits that they don't give a rat's ass about American Health and as long as the manufacturer of a chemical says they tested it and they themselves claim it is GRAS, then the FDA are fine with it being added to food.
Isn't that like parents buying a hundred six packs of beer and putting them in the garage with a hundred cartons of cigarrettes and then telling their teenage kids that they are leaving for the summer. It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt.
Maybe that's the problem. No one has actually died from the Chemical Feast that is American Food. Well, at least they didn't just eat a burger and keel over dead anyway. I've never heard of that. However, what we know, WE KNOW is happening to the American Dream is that Americans are suffering greatly increased incidences of Cancer, Heart Disease, Diabetes, Infant mortality, Autism, the list is endless. But the worst thing possible, greater numbers of Americans suffer from two, three or more degenerative long term diseases.
WHY?
Poor nutrition, perhaps. Environmental toxin exposure, maybe. Definitely in some areas. Radiation from fallout, nuclear accidents etc., possibly. Chemtrails, REALLY? that one is kinda whacko. But how about the huge numbers of chemicals added to food to make it sweeter tastier less metallic tasting (from other additives) colorful lighter fluffier whiter more shelf stable and the big one, MORE PROFITABLE. Isn't that possible. When the manufacturer of a chemical gets to determine whether or not it is safe, that sort of sets the stage for greater amounts of chemicals to be added to food for that driving force in all of America, profit.
Here's the big one though. Even if there was no motivation for getting approval for chemicals to be added to manufacturing processes, if the testing done on any one specific chemical compound was done in the true spirit of finding and testing said chemical, determining it it's safe and without any possible deleterious effects on humans; that testing could never encompass just how that specific chemical would interact with any other of the three thousand KNOWN chemicals that the FDA does track. Let alone the seven or eight thousand additional chemicals that Princeton University estimates are ACTUALLY being used in food manufacturing. And it isn't like the FDA has never heard of interactions. It happens all the time. In the drug industry, and in the food industry. And with eleven thousand chemicals to randomly select to interact, do we know where we are?
Then again, it isn't just chemicals directly added to foods during the manufacturing process. There are indirect additions of chemicals that get dumped in as well. (see footnotes below) Everything from machine oils, to sanitizing agents to pesticide usage inside manufacturing plants. And of course, these have nothing to do with the inherent contamination of the basic crops grown by modern mechanized farming techniques that liberally douse growing plant crops with weed killers, insecticides, fungicides and petrochemical fertilizers.
Yeah, those are all allowed in the processed manufactured food that is part of the American Dream.
Back in the seventies, I got my first wheat grinder. I began to grind my own wheat into flour and then bake real bread. Over the years, I have stopped eating more and more of the processed foods that contain chemicals listed right on the packaging. Chemicals that when you look them up, are found to be, not so good for us. But the FDA allows them to be added because we are Americans, Living the Dream in our very own American, Chemical Feast.
Yep
Expose on FDA and one specific toxin allowed in food
Oops, FDA on GRAS and EAFUS numbers
FDA EAFUS list
FDA stating that the 40 pesticides are no longer reglated
Chemical Industry report on total number of chemicals in use
Indirect additives to food from the FDA viewpoint
Because they can do these things
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