Odds & Ends

My Personal Statistics & Plugs For Things I Like…If Anybody Cares

Throughout this site I have emphasized that I do not inject insulin and that I do not take any diabetic drugs so here is what I DO take every day.  I am not advocating that anyone reading here take these, they are just what I have customized for myself.

10,000iu Vitamin D–2,560mg Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega Fish Oil–1,500mg Twin Labs Flushing Niacin–1,000 mg Acetyl L-Carnitine–1,000mcg Methlcobalamin–800mg GTF Chromium–200mg Jarrow CoQ10–90 mcg K2 (MK-7) Natto–12.5mg Iodoral Iodine

My doctors have hounded me for years to take statins (see below) and I have basically told them to kiss off.  Number one I wouldn’t take statins on a bet for any reason and number two they elevate blood sugar levels.  Terrific, a diabetic on statins.  I am not the least bit concerned about my cholesterol levels-it is the ratios that count and as you can see, my ratios look pretty good.  Below is from just a couple weeks ago and the graphs are from the last almost 3 years so you can see the trends are lookin’ good.  I wouldn’t have a clue as to why my last A1c went back to up 6.0 except that I tested 2 products that elevated my blood sugar within a month of my test or…not…maybe just wishful thinking.  The letter I got from the doctor’s office after my most recent test results said something to the effect that for my age and whatever I have done to change my lifestyle is working so keep it up…uh, OK Doc.

UPDATE:  February 19^th, 2015  A1c  5.7

Your Total Cholesterol of 233 is BORDERLINE
Your LDL of 117 is NEAR OPTIMAL
Your HDL of 102 is OPTIMAL
Your Triglyceride level of 70 is NORMAL

For anyone in the know it’s not about your numbers and it’s all about your ratios. If you want to check your numbers and ratios you may do it here: http://www.hughcalc.org/chol.php

Cholesterol/HDL ratio is: 2.28 - (preferably under 5.0, ideally under 3.5) IDEAL 
HDL/LDL ratio is: 0.872 - (preferably over 0.3, ideally over 0.4) IDEAL
Triglycerides/HDL ratio is: 0.686 - (preferably under 4, ideally under 2) IDEAL

This is a lagniappe in the wrong place-on the wrong page-Oh Well.

Did you know that Red Rice Yeast in the United States DOES NOT contain statins?  The statin in Red Rice Yeast is identical to lovastatin and in order to protect Big Pharma the FDA banned its use.  The FDA has determined that red yeast rice products that contain more than trace amounts of monacolin K are unapproved new drugs and cannot be sold legally as dietary supplements.  It is the monacolin K that you would be looking for.

In 1998, the FDA determined that a red yeast rice product containing a substantial amount of monacolin K was an unapproved new drug, not a dietary supplement. On several occasions since then, the FDA has taken action against companies selling red yeast rice products that contain more than trace amounts of monacolin K, warning them that it is against the law to market these products as dietary supplements.  After all, Big Pharma can’t make any money pushing rice but they sure as hell make money pushing statins.

Despite the FDA actions, some red yeast rice products currently on the market in the United States may contain monacolin K. (Some products tested as recently as 2011 have been found to contain it in substantial amounts.) Other products may contain little or none of this component. Consumers have no way of knowing how much monacolin K is present in most red yeast rice products, and therefore have no way of knowing whether a particular product is safe, effective, or legal. The labels on these products usually state only the amount of red yeast rice that they contain, not the amounts of monacolin K or other monacolins.

In any case, it seems that the dog may be chasing its own tail.  You have no way of knowing what you are taking when you take any particular Red Rice Yeast product and if it does have more than traces of monacolin K it is illegal and…it is still a statin with all the attending problems i.e. depletion of COQ10, blood sugar elevation, muscle pains, liver and kidney problems etc.

I totally agree with Dr. Mercola and for further reading about statin drugs please see http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/07/20/the-truth-about-statin-drugs-revealed.asp

I could not live without this.  I use at most 1-1½ teaspoons in any given recipe and it has more flavor-bang for your buck than anything else I can think of.  I guarantee it will change your foodie life.

PISTOL RIVER MUSHROOMS right here in Oregon are the real deal and I have been using this brand for many years.  The price is a scant 1.69oz. (26.95 when you buy a l pound canister) and is totally worth every penny. The mushrooms are grade A and imported from Italy. Pistol River Porcini Mushrooms or Pistol River Porcini Dust

The absolute best bases for everything under the sun.  I could not live without R L Schreiber Premium Chicken Base.  I only know about them because of my association with the food industry.  If you actually end up ordering any of them you will need to call in the order.  They are less expensive than shown on the website and though I have been using these for years, I don’t think their website even works.  Best to order the 2.5 lb sizes which fits well in your fridge.  R.L. Schreiber  Ask for Irene Ames.  You will see this used many times in my recipes.

A PLUG FOR MY FAVORITE TEA  This is a plug for Market Spice Cinnamon Orange Tea that I have been drinking since 1987 from my days living in Telluride, Colorado.  A friend gave me a cup of this one day and I swear I could not believe it did not any have sugar in it.  For all the world, you would think it was filled with sugar.  This is the link to read about and order it. http://www.marketspice.com/store/products/marketspice-cinnamon-orange-tea-16oz-package  I guarantee that this will become a favorite.  It is available in 4oz, 8oz, and 16oz, loose leaf as well as individual bags.  It is also available through Amazon and this is a link to read the reviews. http://www.amazon.com/MarketSpice-00204010-Tea-1-Bag/product-reviews/B0007XPS98/ref=sr_1_1_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1   If you are not into caffeine then this is not the tea for you-it does have caffeine and as the company says, it needs to be stored in a glass jar once one of the larger bags has been opened.  I buy four 16oz. bags (like the picture) at a time and have a dedicated ½ gallon glass jar to keep it in.  I also have a dedicated (used to be) stainless pan that I use to brew it in.  Buying it loose leaf allows you to determine your own flavor and strength.  Summer or Winter Iced or Hot -I think it is the best.

Fried Pork Skins…my diabetic popcorn.  I fry my own pellets in my own rendered pork fat and I buy 8 lbs. at a time from Willies Pork Rind Pellets To order you need to call 1-217-623-4340 or 1-217-725-6209

 

About Time Whey Protein Powder  It is tasty and has zero carbs while most others I have found do have some carbs.  It comes in 11 flavors. Netrition

 

The Just Like Sugars.  I use all three of them. Available at Netrition

 

 

Byrd Mill Peanut Flour This is very good in desserts and also as a breading for fried chicken and no, it does not make your food taste peanutty. Available at Netrition

 

 

Nevada Manna Chocolate Chips  I think most people use these as chocolate chips which is not what I do.  I use them for making ganache so I don’t care if they come in one big melted mess.  I just shave what I want and leave the rest alone. Since most of you want chips, order during cool weather. Sadly these are no longer available.

EZ-Sweetz  After mountains of reading it is my opinion that Splenda (Sucralose) is perfectly safe to use in any amount and for any length of time.  It is the largest companies with their own vested interests in their own zero carb products and/or the sugar producers and/or the corn growers that have bad mouthed Splenda from here to kingdom come and if you think Big Agra and the whole of the sugar industry is going down without a fight you would be wrong.  There are billions of dollars at stake and these companies have every reason to make you think that Sucralose is bad for you.  Cargill would be a great example of this.  They own the Truvia brand which competes with Splenda.  And of all companies Monsanto owned Aspartame/Nutrasweet and Equal until they sold it.  Personally, I use liquid Splenda because Splenda Granules has maltodextrin in it which does have carbs.  Available at Netrition

This is an article I would urge you to read regarding the safety of Sucralose.  http://www.splendatruth.com/news?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Branded+-+Safety&utm_term=is%2520splenda%2520toxic&utm_content=CGTr9uPP|pcrid|2873816600|pkw|is%2520splenda%2520toxic|pmt|

And this from Dr. Michael Eades http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/sugar-and-sweeteners/splenda-misinformation/

Mt Olive If you have not tried these all I can say is they are great.  I have tried other low carb bread and butter pickles and they don’t hold a candle to these products. Available at Netrition

 

Burzynski The Movie*****This will set you on your ear.  It is, by far, the best documentary I have ever seen (and I have seen a lot of terrific documentaries) and if you don’t think much of the FDA and Big Pharma you will think even less of them after seeing this.  It is my belief if you were a fan of David Kessler…you won’t like him much either. The reviews on Amazon are virtually all 5 stars. You can see it on Youtube here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBUGVkmmwbk or if you have Netflix you could see if they have it.  There must be a lot of people who think the same thing I do because this video has been watched over 385,000 times and who knows how many 100’s of thousands watched it on the Documentary Channel which is where I saw it for the first time.  There is now a second documentary just released on July,1 2013.

Ronald Reagan famously said, “Trust but Verify”.  At the signing of the INF Treaty, his counterpart Mikhail Gorbachev responded:  “you repeat that at every meeting,” to which Reagan answered:  “I like it”…I like it too.