Vitamin D Y'all!

Okay - I was believing my fuzzy-headed thinking was much better, but I just ran into the kitchen after hearing the siren call of my coffeepot (beep beep beep) signaling that coffee is ready! Only to find a carafe of hot water.

Ooops!

And my brilliant plan for yesterday was to blog the day's events at the end of the day.

Ya.

Challenging!

I met with my lovely natural hormone therapy doctor yesterday to go over my latest blood work. Much improvement and several areas that are being stubborn. What I do know to be different is when I went to him last year I was having a million about 25-30 hot flashes during the day. Now I might have 1 or 2.

But that stubborn Vit D is still in the crapper and my DHEA is still low.

So a continued plan for those deficiencies and reevaluate in six months.

My doc was telling me something fascinating that might be common knowledge. Higher levels of vitamin D correlate with less multiple sclerosis disease activity and progression.

He said when he found out about the study he got "pissed" that this wasn't HUGE news. It was out there here and there with a google search (of course), but mainstream media let it lie. No attention to something that should have the biggest spotlight on it. (Here is an article about it I just found with a quick search.)

We have MS in our family on an in-law side and I asked Pup to speak to his BIL about his Vit D levels.

My doctor brought it up during a conversation he and I were having about Big Pharma.

He is a physician and is hesitant to say that doctors are in the pockets of BP, but did say that the system does not reward prevention by route of behavior changing diagnosis. Most doctors throw prescriptions at their patients rather than go with a try this or try that approach.

I kinda love this guy.

My prescriptions from him are definitely not tied with Big Pharma. The biggest clue is their cost. Without insurance my two bio-identical prescriptions cost around $30. One monthly and the other one about two to two and a half months between refills. Ya. No co-pay required.

I'm kinda all over the place with this post, but he said another amazing thing to me while we were discussing how to get my Vit D levels UP (gah!!). I mentioned getting in the sun as much as possible during the day and should I be using my tanning bed (we have one, but don't use it too much - last year doc suggested I use it a couple of minutes a day to dissuade Seasonal Affect Disorder).

He told me that as we age and our hormones get so messed up with the aging process, nutritional deficiencies, free-radical crap, etc. we are less able to effectively absorb Vit D from the sun. He told a story of a fellow doctor friend of his that lives in Arizona, golfs every day, has a bald head, wears no sunscreen or hat. I was expecting a lecture about sun screen (he actually thinks we don't need it as much as we need a good Vit D level), but he went on to finish the story by telling me that despite all of that, his doctor friend's levels were 7! A good level is 50. Mine are crappy and they're 23!

These are the things that are making us sad and fat and depressed and out of balance.

He also said Vit D is a balance with DHEA levels as well. A low level of DHEA will not allow proper Vit D absorption.

So complicated.

I wish I had taken thorough notes yesterday. I wish I played golf with my doctor! Imagine the stuff I'd learn!

Primal Blueprint 21-Day Challenge

I've flirted with this for a while. This morning while cruising around I read Mark's Daily Apple and saw a challenge had started a few days ago.

I'm jumping in right now. Even though I just had peanut-butter-sprouted-wheat-toast a few minutes ago.

I'm in! Anyone else?

Here's to Day One.

Resistive Carbs

Are you following a nutritional model where you resist certain carbs such as pasta, wheat, rice, and russet potatoes?

Science does tell us that eating these types of carbs in over abundance will cause our body to release extra insulin and science also tells us that these insulin spikes can cause these excess carbs to be stored as body fat. You can disagree all you want, but this is truly part of the science behind eating more complex carbs and the reason so many eat lower carb when trying to lose fat.

Some hand-slappers will vehemently state that it's easy to resist the empty carbs because this is the nutritional path we should be on. What's wrong with you? If you're drawn to the dark-side, then you need to find the deficit within you that is causing these cravings, behaviors, weaknesses (weakness is never really spelled out, but that judgment is there - I put that out there myself at times).

The truth is all of us wish we were better in our food choices. I wish I only ate veggies, pristine protein sources, and good fats. But it simply isn't the case all the time.

So I search out help for myself so I can make better choices every day.

For instance, I have discovered when I butter my beloved peas, the insulin response is lessened because of the good fat. I have discovered that real cream in my coffee is the best thing about getting up every morning. I have discovered that Stevia does not taste like ass once you get used to it.

So, poking about, I have been hearing the chatter about resistant carbs and how they can benefit.

I'm not falling head first, but here is some of what I'm walking away with.

1. When I cannot resist pasta, on occasion it will be in my 20 percent column to eat it al dente. I rather prefer my pasta this way truth be told. The science claims that if your pasta is not cooked to the saturation point it will not release all the sugar from the carbs in your small intestine. Saving the bulk for the large intestine. Less insulin spike! BTW - wheat pasta is no better for you regarding insulin. The same spike occurs. Wheat pasta is just as processed as the kind you grew up with. 
2. If you want a bit of rice with your meal, eat it room temperature. The relationship between sugar chemistry and temperature is what makes the difference here. I'm still wandering around to find definitive science behind this. What I do know is the sugar is released slower when the food is cold. Resistant!
3. Green bananas. Same thing basically. The riper the fruit, the more sugar. Enjoy your bananas on the green side. I prefer them this way. Interestingly enough, I had just read something yesterday about eating your banana as ripe as possible for some sort of health benefit. It's never easy peeps! There is always a divergent view!

I am not running out immediately to stuff myself with spaghetti and meatballs (love!), but when I do decide to make it, it will be al dente!

Manji!