If you find no new block entry here – does it mean your blogger is sitting idly around at the beach?
No. She is immersed in the novel she tries to finish before she dies. What is it you must finish before you die? Remember Miss Rumphius? Her grandfather had told her the three things one has to accomplish in life: To travel foreign lands; to live at the ocean (You might remember that “Miss Rumphius” is a Maine story); to leave the world a more beautiful place.
Husbands always feel one should clean out the attic before I die, or such – but we, who should do it, lack enthusiasm for the attic. Given one wouldn’t want to leave the mess to one’s children to sort out – but then again, who is going to die die THAT SOON??
There are tons of bucket lists on the Internet what to do before we die. Here is mine:
1. Finish your novel.
What are other people aspiring to do before they die? Skydiving, bungee jumping, parachute jumping. Too much jumping, it seems. Too short-lived and not along my alley. How about these:
2. Learn a musical instrument (or painting or wood working or weaving or pottery).
3. Grow your own vegetables and herbs. And perhaps blueberries.
4. Forgive that incredible jerk/bitch (we all have one in our lives).
5. Climb a mountain. Doesn’t need to be Mount Everest – but should be bigger than the Blue Mountains near Boston. Take part in a long bike ride. Or learn tai chi – anything that gets you moving out of your comfort zone.
6. Do a vegetable broth fast for a whole day. Once a week – until you have your ideal weight; then go to once a month.
7. Learn a new language.
8. Take a cold shower. Every day.
9. Read Les Misérables (or War and Peace, or Our Mutual Friend – or the other thousand-pages-plus tome you always wanted to read).
10. Sleep under the stars and watch a sunrise.
Others I liked: Walk the Great Wall of China, Visit Paris, Publish a book, Touch an Iceberg. Many of those traveling goals sound like fun – but they expand your carbon footprint enormously. Visiting Paris or leaning to play the cello? I have done both; nothing against Paris, but the instrument beats the town by miles.
Find Your Soul Mate would be a worthy goal, wouldn’t it be? But that is not in your hands. Strive for something attainable - you don’t want to build your life on Grace or Fate or Incredible Luck. Read More
Blog: On Health. On Writing. On Life. On Everything.
Nuts and Seeds 1
June 14, 2010
Nuts would be the ideal food if it were not for their fats and calories.
True?
The problem with nuts and seeds is not their fat contents; it is that we don't regard them as food; we eat them as snacks. Which is to say, we eat already too much at lunch and dinner, and in between we delight in the taste of nuts.
Uh-oh. Thus their calories will end up on our hips.
But if your lunch would be a handful of almonds and a fresh fruit, you would get your all your nutrition requirements in an ideal vehicle:
• Nuts don't need refrigeration (at least not in the short run) or re-warming
• Nuts contain all three major building blocks - proteins, carbohydrates and fats - mostly 'good' fats
• Nuts are full of minerals and vitamins
• Nuts are full of enzymes - and enzyme inhibitors.
They contain natural and essential phyto-nutrients, and we are just beginning to understand their importance for health.
How do the enzymes work in the nut? Nuts and seeds are carrying within them the ability with sprouting new life - all what they need is water. For creating new life, hundreds of actions to build future plant tissue are required. And for those actions to happen, the seed is packed with enzymes. But the actions should not happen prematurely, while the conditions are not right yet. To hinder too early action, nuts and seeds contain enzyme inhibitors.
The moment one adds water, one destroy the enzyme inhibitors - basically, the germinating starts. Soaking nuts and seeds in water over night also makes nuts more easily digestible.
Nuts might help weight loss.
Weight loss on nuts? Am I nuts?
Indeed, nuts and seeds can help lose weight - despite their infamous fats.
• Nuts need thorough chewing. And one reason of binge eating is that a gallon of ice cream, soda pops and donuts do not satisfy your jaws' desire to chew. There's nothing more satisfying than crunching your way through a handful of nuts.
• The high fat content of nuts and their enzyme inhibitors delay stomach emptying, making nuts last longer. In comparison, sugar and starches (which are nothing more than one sugar molecule after the other in a long chain) will be digested in seconds - and will you make crave more soon.
• Nuts quench cravings by offering many nutrients.
Quench cravings? How does it work?
If one eats a doughnut, one basically eats a ball of starch and sugar, baked in bad fats, coated and sprinkled with sugar. Its white flour is devoid of any of the bran, good oils, minerals and vitamins the wheat grain originally possessed - everything has been milled out. After one doughnut, your brain feels a wonderful rush of incoming brain fuel - sugar - and wants more of the same. So you eat another one. Your brain feels high, but your body screams for the rest of the stuff that used to come with sugar and fat: the minerals, the vitamins, the enzymes. Not knowing better what your body really wants, you grab a third doughnut. Read More
Dupuytren - The Telltale Sign
June 11, 2010
Dupuytren is a hardening of the fascia of the palm that leads to a contracture of the fingers – most often the fourth. One can see and feel the hard string right under the skin. Often, the non-dominant hand is involved – but I have seen it in both hands, too.
The cause of Dupuytren is unknown but it clearly runs in families, and seems linked to diabetes, abnormal blood fats, and increased alcohol consumption. It is seen more often in people of Scandinavian descend, and is ten times more common in men than in women.
A similar affliction of the penis is called Peyronie’s disease. One side of the penis shaft gets hardened, which leads to a permanent bend in the organ.
Often a surgeon tries correction – not always successful. Several not-yet satisfying drugs and procedures have been developed.
For me, Dupuytren is one of those diseases which seem to affect only a small part of your body – that funny area there in your hand. In reality, it is a systemic disease, affecting many more organs. I view Dupuytren as a metabolic disorder. Getting lipids under control is of utmost importance. A diet high in vegetables and herbs, no fried or fatty foods, especially no dairy, less meat and no alcohol can soften the hardened fascia and reverse the process. Read More