Latestarter's ramblings/musings/gripes and grumbles.

[Devonviolet]

I actually took out the 5 day course of steroids to start tomorrow if there isn't more improvement.

I know you get a huge improvement in your pain level, when you take the prednisone. However, please keep in mind, that even fewer doses, than you have been taking, can wreck havoc with the immune system and cause longterm joint and organ damage. I have a friend, who has been taking prednisone for years, to help with disease related inflammation, and now she is miserable from all the joint and organ damage, that the prednisone caused.

I went to the store and picked up some milk and a few other items (bananas, salad mix, baby spinach, carrots, celery - gonna try to eat a bit more healthy ).

YAY!!! Healthy food!!! You go, LS!!!

Another thing to keep in mind, is that regardless of whether or not you are sensitive to gluten, because of the genetic engineering, of modern wheat, it most likely causes inflammation in everyone. DH isn’t gluten or wheat sensitive, but he still notices, that when he eats a lot of bread, his joints hurt him a lot more. He cuts back and the sore joints get better.

Sugar (and carbs in general) also cause an increase in inflammation. I know since I went low carb, my ankle hasn’t been hurting nearly as much . Something to think about, LS.

 

[Mike CHS]

Teresa and I both are feeling less pain in places we have felt pain for years since going low carb. I'm like @babsbag in that I can't handle the high calories of strict keto but low carb works for me. Even my shoulder that got operated on last March has more mobility and low back pain that I have always had is not there today. Having lost 15 pounds in my case was just a plus.

 

[Latestarter]

These pain meds that I have in reserve are just that... reserve. I don't take them for a hang nail. They come out when I get to the point that I can no longer function. I have a pretty high tolerance to pain and have been living with it more and more over the past year or so. I'm making changes, and trying. IMHO, I'm not gonna be able to "undo" 40-50+ years of damage. I might be able to see a bit of improvement and hopefully prevent any further. But I'm not getting any younger and never will. The most difficult thing I ever did was stop smoking. The changes I'm incorporating will happen gradually over time.

There are a thousand and one "diets" out there designed to lose weight, ease pain, eliminate issues, heal any/all illness, prevent disease, eliminate the need for meds, etc. etc. etc. etc....... there are supplements and snake oils touted to do everything under the sun. Many have no clinical backing or proof to document any of the pronouncements. Each person's DNA is their own. What works for one won't necessarily have the same effect on another. Some folks handle certain things better than others. Some folks are predisposed to have certain issues as they age. Bottom line is IMHO, eliminating anything completely from your diet is NOT the right thing to do. Our bodies need a varied diet incorporating a little of all of it... fats, carbs, proteins, minerals & vitamins, etc. A "BALANCED" healthy diet should go a long way. Smaller portion sizes, not eating right before bed, getting up and moving (as best I can), getting some exercise, getting more proper rest, yes losing some (a lot) of the weight. All of these things should help. But I feel obligated to break the bad news to y'all... I will never be an Adonis type body builder again...

Thanks for caring all! I do appreciate it!

 

[greybeard]

because of the genetic engineering, of modern wheat, it most likely causes inflammation in everyone.

Just to be clear, there is no GMO wheat commercially planted, grown, harvested, sold or allowed to be used commercially anywhere in North America, Europe, or Eastern Europe.
It's against federal (USDA/FSIS) guidelines for GMO wheat to even be grown outside test plots.
Wheat tho, just like almost all forages, and other plant species has been altered but not on the molecular level via genetic encoding, generally referred to as "genetic engineering". As of December 2017, no GM wheat had been approved for release anywhere in the world.

"Brett F. Carver
Ph.D., Regents Professor and holder of the Wheat Genetics Chair in Agriculture, Dept. of Plant and Soil Sciences, Oklahoma State University, USA

No matter where it occurs, today’s wheat varieties are the product of the painstaking process of crossing parents and selecting offspring, often called conventional breeding. To suggest anything else would be misrepresentative of the current science, and art, of wheat breeding, which truly began in the United States in the 1920s. More specifically, parents with complementary traits are hybridized via natural fertilization to produce offspring with new genetic combinations (not new genes). New combinations are chosen that may lead to slightly higher yield potential, better resistance to diseases or insects, or perhaps better characteristics that enable such a wide variety of foods to be consumed from one plant species."

This is no different than breeding the best traits of one animal to the best traits of another animal and farmers have been doing it to both plants and animals since the dawn of agriculture, and in fact, the domestication of wild rice (often cited as the #1 most important advancement of mankind) happened exactly this way around 5000BC as different cultivars were mated and developed from wild rice to enable it to be consistently grown domestically.

https://www.kitchenstewardship.com/wheat-is-not-genetically-modifiedso-why-so-many-sensitivities/

 

[Devonviolet]

What works for one won't necessarily have the same effect on another. Some folks handle certain things better than others. Some folks are predisposed to have certain issues as they age. Bottom line is IMHO, eliminating anything completely from your diet is NOT the right thing to do. Our bodies need a varied diet incorporating a little of all of it... fats, carbs, proteins, minerals & vitamins, etc. A "BALANCED" healthy diet should go a long way. Smaller portion sizes, not eating right before bed, getting up and moving (as best I can), getting some exercise, getting more proper rest, yes losing some (a lot) of the weight. All of these things should help. But I feel obligated to break the bad news to y'all... I will never be an Adonis type body builder again...

Yes, we all have different genetics, and all will respond slightly differently to the same eating plan. However, while it has it’s place, relying solely on “scientific/documented” research is a big mistake. There is a lot of anecdotal data (reporting) out there, that over time, has proven to show that some of the old time interventions do work. Many times, the only way a scientific study (which is very expensive to do) is done, is if there is money to be made by the group doing the research - i.e. pharmaceutical companies doing studies on new drugs. They want to PROVE that the drug works, and do it relatively quickly, so they can sell it and make BIG money.

When it comes to more “alternative” ways of improving health, there is no financial gain from doing a big, expensive “double blind study”, so the study isn’t done. That’s not to say a person wanting to know if something (i.e. a certain diet or herb or supplement) works, shouldn’t do a bit of research, to see if it works before trying it. Personal reports, of people, who have tried a method, can be almost as good as scientific data.

Because our bodies respond differently, it would behoove us to read the comments, consider if they might help us, and give it a GOOD try (not a few days or a week, but minimum a month or more). If it doesn’t work, “shake the dust off” (that’s scriptural ), do more “research” and move on to the next option. The saying, “Try it, you’ll like it!” might just apply.

In the end, one has to decide just how desperate they are, and how miserable they are to effect change, to the point that they really want to get better. I personally have decidedd that I need to make the LOW (not NO) carb diet a permanent way of life, because I am tired of being over weight and in constant pain.

As far as finding a balance in nutrients, there is a lot to be ssaid for the low carb way of eating. In order to follow this way of eating successsfully,, it is important to balance your carbs, fat and protein. The best way to do that is to eat lots of non-starchy vegetables (no potatoes or legumes), some fat (bacon IS allowed - but no processed deli meats like pepperoni or ham), and some protein - too much protein is not good for weak kidneys. By eating lots of vegetables, some lower carb fruits (like strawberries ARE allowed), eggs, higher fat dairy (like butter [NOT margarine ], cheese, sour cream and even half and half in your coffee), and meat, you will more than satisfy your nutritional needs, which includes carbs, protein, fat and vitamins and minerals.

And you are so right about lower calories being an important part of the equation. Some people start a low carb diet with the thought that they can eat all the fat they want (and more fat DOES help satisfy hunger pangs). However, as you said there has to be a balance.

I found a food diary, that allows me to keep track of my carbs, fat and protein for each meal of the day. It is called My Fitness Pal:

myfitnesspal dot com

When you first register, you input your height and weight. At the home screen, you click on “Goals”. That takes you to a page where you can set your calorie intake as well as carbs, fat and protein percentages. From what I have read, the recommended percentages should be carbs: 5-15%, fat: 65-70%, and protein 15-20% (depending on your kidney function). If you look at the numbers when. You first get to that page, it will give you a ballpark idea of what numbers work for a healthy weight loss. You can adjust it according to what works for you. My calorie range is 1000-1200. It started at 1200 and I put it down to 1100. If I go a little over one day I don’t worry about it. If you go too low, it will tell you, that you did not eat enough calories for maintaining health.

The cool thing about it is, all you do is input what you eat at each meal and/or snack (there is an “add food” button under each meal and snack (3 allowed a day). It does the calculations (percentages and total grams) for you. At the end of the day, when you click a button to close out the day, it tells you, “If you continue to consume what you ate today, you will weight ___lbs in five weeks.”

One thing that I really like about it, is that if I am planning my meals (i.e. what’s for dinner?) for the day, I can put in what I’m planning and if it adds too many carbs or fat, I can click on the food item, (in the diary) and it will allow me to change a portion from a whole serving (1) to a half serving (0.50) and it will calculate the difference, for that item. Easy-peasy!!! AND the best thing about it is, that it makes it easy for me to no eat too many carbs and/or fat.

Something else to consider doing, is to buy a pack of “KetoStix”, which when dipped in the urine, will tell you if your ketones are too high, if they are, you just add a few carbs to your diet, and continue to test until you are at a lower level.

And by the way . . . Some people equate ketones to ketoacidosis. They are not the same thing. Simply put, ketones are what spills into your blood, when you eat low carbs. Ketoaciedosis is a condition which comes from a diabetic having out of control blood sugars (too high and/or too low). If you are diabetic, it’s a good idea to check your blood sugar levels several times a day, and you should check with your doctor before beginning a low carb diet - especially if you are on meds to control blood sugar, as blood sugar levels will naturally drop when eating low carb and if you continue to take diabetic meds, you can end up with negative health issues.

 

[Devonviolet]

Just to be clear, there is no GMO wheat commercially planted, grown, harvested, sold or allowed to be used anywhere in North America, Europe, or Eastern Europe.

To clarify, I should have really said that because of many generations of hybridization (and I am going back to the ancient grains like the most recently reintroduced ancient grain, Einkorn), the size of wheat kernals and gluten have been greatly increased. By breeding increased size of kernals, per acre production has increased and nutrition has decreased. By increasing gluten, bread dough is more elastic - creating tastier breads, and the incidence of gluten sensitivity has increased, due to higher exposure of gluten in the daily diet. IMO neither of these is a good thing.

 

[greybeard]

Ketoaciedosis is a condition which comes from a diabetic having out of control blood sugars (too high and/or too low).

Ketoacidosis is almost always caused by high blood sugar and high levels of Ketones, coupled with low insulin production or the ability to utilize insulin. It's very very rarely an issue with low glucose levels. People with Type 2 mellitus (diabetes) very rarely have an issue with Ketoacidosis. It's the leading cause of death for those with Type 1 tho.

Low glucose (and other issues) can cause a different problem called Ketosis, which as you said, is the presence of Ketones but not high enough levels to cause acidosis.
The two do sound similar, but are different.

 

[Bruce]

4th of July Barrow Ak.

That does NOT look like fun!

Naw. I hear they roam in gangs and carry knives and guns......

They don't need knives, they can cut just fine with their "mouths"!

 

[greybeard]

By increasing gluten, bread dough is more elastic - creating tastier breads, and the incidence of gluten sensitivity has increased, due to higher exposure of gluten in the daily diet. IMO neither of these is a good thing.

I suspect you are correct. The big change in wheat due to natural selective hybridization has been in the height of the plant. Dwarf wheat. It's height was reduced to lower the amount of damage to the crops from wind, as well as problems in harvesting the tall varieties.

Even in non-gmo corn sold for home gardens, we have seen the same thing done. When I was very young, almost all corn stalks, sweet and field corn, in this country were quite tall.
Anyone that's ever grown corn knows how easy it is for their garden crop to blow over in a little wind storm and they have to go "stand it back up", which is a pitb but has to be done in order for the pollen to fall down onto the silks.
Most sweet corn today, has little short spindly stalks, but it doesn't blow over nearly as easy as it did back when it was a 5-6-' tall stalks.

 

[Mike CHS]

myfitnesspal dot com

Thank you - that is very easy to use.