Mood & Food Overview; music - food for the ears, energy drinks & caffeine.
October top posts & update on my health journey. Movement - writing is too much like sitting.
Welcome new subscribers and readers!
My top posts for October per Substack:
20 Herbs from Tribal Domain for Remedying Acidity, by Dr. Deepak Acharya, via GreenMedInfo, (Substack)
Choline, weight gain and Alzheimer's hippocampal damage; myasthenia gravis & oxidative stress; brief sulfide comment. (Substack)
Autoimmune Mysthenia gravis and choline transport across nerve synapses; my current structured water hot beverage recipe. (Substack)
Update on my health, thanks for your support. I saw a family doctor yesterday and will have lab results to help see what’s going on with my thyroid levels and general labs. I am not sure if any autoimmune labs were ordered yet. Next week I have an eye appointment scheduled.
Movement!
Leg swelling/lymphedema feedback - more exercise, more movement. Sitting is part of the problem, which means being at the computer too much is part of the problem. Not just salt, or stress, or salicylate excess, or Cox 2 inhibitor excess or whatever.
That means using a standing desk for part of the time can help - but leaf raking would help more. Good point. It is easy to spend too much time at the computer. I used to take a book for a walk that way I could continue reading while also getting fresh air and exercise.
Bad mood yesterday morning:
Based on feedback, I should probably just quit blogging and focus on my own health and life, however the goal of Cancel Culture is to discourage people from persevering as well as ruin their reputation and reach. I don’t have to comply with that agenda.
My book reviews of lengthy books is appreciated, thanks. Inflammation Mastery by Dr. Vasquez is quite good, but at 1200 pages, quite lengthy (or the same book is called ‘Textbook of Clinical Nutrition… Part 1 and 2’ - still lengthy but I like that. (inflammationmastery.com)
Dividing the info I already have written on restoring or preserving health into more bite size user friendly info - would make it more findable by me again, or others too. Substack has added tags to posts, but finding my previous posts is still difficult here. Title keywords are most reliable.
I do like the idea of organizing my work so it is more accessible. Substack is harder to use than my WordPress site transcendingsquare.com for behind the scenes organization of posts and drafts. I did find a couple new areas to look into among my title ideas but a lot of the topics is info I have covered - somewhere in the haystack of my archives.
Chaplain joke - “How do you eat an elephant?”
“One bite at a time.”
We can only accomplish things one step at a time and looking at the big goal can seem overwhelming compared to seeing it as steps.
Chronic illness is increasing at epidemic rates even without CoV injection harm. I learn for my own health’s sake and also to try to help others find solutions that work. It is depressing to be told that there is no cure. It is easy to give up and stop looking for solutions that restore function.
Focusing only on CoV topics is not reasonable in my opinion as CoV is only adding to many problems that already existed. It is just one more factor, a BIG factor but only one factor in what is making people sick and tired and chronically so. It is accelerating the rate of deterioration or cancer progression though. Prevention and early treatment is always important for degenerative conditions but it is more critical now. We need to improve modern life problems for health like sitting too much, EMF, loud noise, bad air, cranky moods and overscheduled time, toxic food and water, etc. Happy Holiday! ;-) …and therefore treatment needs to be broader than focusing just on the chimeric spike issues (which are large but it is pomegranate season again!).
Pomegranate Peel Prep Tips (Substack)
Ways Pomegranate Protects against Spike (Substack)
Updated pdf in my Dropbox with the page G13. Pomegranate info on effectivecare.info/G13 (*the webpage is not updated with the Substack post material yet) plus the two more recent graphics and Substack links above. Pomegranate Benefits and Preparation, (Dropbox pdf)
Easier question - content planning suggests only posting once a week and then promoting that all week. I don’t generally post only once a week and have typically posted daily and occasionally more often if news or new resources turned up. I don’t really want email subscribers who would view that as spamming. {I realize in retrospect that the word content in the online world is possibly a negative - written work is a created product and with template website creation the ‘content’ is the individual text that is being fit into the template boxes and may be repeated or varied in a few different ways.
Spoiler - I will probably continue to do whatever I want. I am interested in your feedback though.
After letting it go for a day, I think I will work on the series. It would be nice to have it organized. I will post it to transcendingsquare.com so I have another way to access it behind the scenes and post it here under the How-To’s for Health tab. People can unsubscribe if not interested in whatever it turns out to be. I do surprise myself with my writing - in the flow, in the zone can lead to unexpected places.
What I do tend to mix into my deNutrients - News-to-Use posts are recent news or research items, resources and webinars that I find interesting - a mix rather than an organized course which the series might lead to.
Mood and Music - feed the ears, or eyes, or mind if boredom or other emotional eating is a problem.
Peaceful Guitar: The Spanish Collection (Youtube)
Tibetan Flute Music, Releases Melatonin and Toxin | Eliminate all negative energy calm down and mind, (Youtube) *This one is very relaxing. I am calmer. It has a lot of gentle vibration and chimes in the background of the flute. {** Yesterday morning’s bad mood ended here and I went on with other things for a while instead of posting.}
Mood & Food Overview and Energy Drinks can be a cardiovascular & mood risk.
Mood and Food are closely linked. We get hungry and then cranky. Starches are calming in a stressful moment and too much can lead to sleepiness. When low on energy we might grab something sugary for a quick lift and burst of energy but without a protein rich snack within 20 minutes or so, the blood sugar can crash and leave you even more tired and cranky or in tears.
Food & Mood is a major theme of my podcast series How Are You Feeling? which explores what are symptoms might be trying to tell us about our diet or lifestyle. Links to the audio or transcripts with the reference lists are on this page of (peace-is-happy.org)
Energy drinks are also a quick fix that might lead to a crash as well as excess acidity for the body and mitochondria to cope with. Also dental decay from the sugar combined with acidity - “2.4-fold increase in dental erosion.” (Alsunni, 2015)
Energy drinks have been found to have some benefits on athletic performance. (Alsunni, 2015) Caution is needed to not become dehydrated from a diuretic effect or over acidic. Moderate use would be safer for caffeine containing beverages and taurine is a stimulating amino acid that is likely safe for most users. Gene differences in methylation cycles may affect taurine metabolism within the body making excess a rare possibility for some people.
Benefits of caffeine include “improved memory, increased alertness and elevated mood.” (Alsunni, 2015) Coffee has beneficial polyphenols and is a good source of niacin. A good rich fresh brewed black coffee can be a health benefit if used in moderation and the acidity and diuretic potential is offset with less acidic foods and adequate water or other non-diuretic fluid.
Cardiovascular risks that have been observed in human studies on consumption of energy drinks include:
Common: increased heart rate and arterial blood pressure.
“…significant cardiac manifestations such as ventricular arrhythmias, ST segment elevation and QT prolongation have been documented following energy drink overconsumption. (8)
“…in healthy teen boys (14 and 16 yrs/old) - atrial fibrillation, (9)”
“Recently, energy drink consumption has been related to myocardial infarction in healthy 17-and 19-year-old boys. (10, 11) "
“…consuming energy drinks reduces endothelial function and stimulates platelet activity through arachidonic acid-induced platelet aggregation in healthy young adults. (12)"
“…energy drink overconsumption [has been found to be related to] arterial dilatation, aneurysm formation, dissection and rupture of large arteries.(13)"
Neurological: ‘Several reports have suggested that energy drink may contribute to ischemic stroke and lead to epileptic seizures. (18) "
Neurological and psychological effects of energy drink use:
“In vitro studies found that a combination of caffeine, taurine and guarana may promote and enhance apoptosis by reducing both superoxide dismutase and catalase activities on human neuronal SH-SY5Y cells. (21)" (Alsunni, 2015)
Caffeine excess or intoxication:
Symptoms typically develop with intake of 200 mg or more. Hallucinations may occur with more than 300 mg of caffeine a day, “(19)” , possibly due to caffeine induced cortisol increase which may add to a tendency to hallucinate. “(20)” (Alsunni, 2015)
Symptoms of caffeine excess include:
“anxiety, insomnia, gastrointestinal upset, muscle twitching, restlessness, and periods of inexhaustibility. (14)”
“acute and chronic daily headaches by stimulating a pro-nociceptive state of cortical hyperexcitability. (15)”
“A study of adolescents between 15- and 16-years-of age demonstrated a strong correlation between caffeine intake and violent behavior as well as conduct disorders. (17)”
Four caffeine-induced psychiatric disorders have been recognized by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition: Including caffeine intoxication, caffeine-induced anxiety, caffeine-induced sleep disorder and caffeine related disorder. (16) (Alsunni, 2015)
Mood - Overview of planned topics *Dates may change
11/2/23 - Mood and food overview. Lack of B vitamins and magnesium can result from any type of excess stress. (taurine in energy drinks may help or become excessive). *See above - this post was meant to be yesterday’s post.
11/7/23 - Less stress, less gut dysbiosis, less pain/increased hypersensitivity due to protein modifications which change function leading to more pain reception/more sensitivity to environmental chemicals.
11/12/23 - positivity is healing - Positive attitude is simply healthier for the body. Be nice to self and others because your health will thank you for it.
(11/20) Microbiome, stress, gut dysbiosis and loss of B vitamin production or absorption
11/27/23 - Glycine & mood, inhibitory vs excitotoxin excitatory
12/2/23 - Glycine & sleep
*If the sleep topic is of interest see this post: Sleep and Health (Substack)
12/6/23 - Mood & histamine & pomegranate fruit and peel
12/18/23 - Mindfulness for food & symptoms. Journaling can help. Mindfulness in eating, calm planning for meals and snacks that support mood instead of adding to Hangry and Hanxious moods later on. Avoid excitotoxins, avoid skipping meals for coffee and a sugar fix, which can lead to a hyperglycemic crash and overeating later. HALT
See: Peace may take practice (meditation/mindfulness tips by Jon Kabat-Zinn), (peace-is-happy.org)
12/24/23 - Mindfulness about boundaries - what is too much to ask of you? When are you crossing your own boundaries of preferred behavior & values? Altruistic helping vs feeling made to serve and be submissive due to social messaging.
See: Peace is not tolerating what you don't want. (peace-is-happy.org)
12/27/23 - Creative outlet, sense of purpose
12/30/23 - Baths & topical magnesium focus ‘Lack of B vitamins and magnesium can result from any type of excess stress.’
1/1/24 - Essential oils, aromatherapy, terpenes as a healing remedy.
1/6/24 - Body armoring and trauma healing. (Sense of autonomy and control of self. Trauma healing may be a need.)
If emotional issues and trauma healing is of interest, my peace-is-happy.org blog and Topic page on Relationships may be of interest.
1/7/24 - Gratitude, trust, faith that you can get through this even if it is hard. Hard things provide learning challenges and can increase mental and physical strength to go on. Trauma healing may be a need.
1/12/24 - Mindfulness, nature & grounding, negative ions from salt crystal lamps
1/16/24 - Lack of B vitamins adds to poor metabolic function & increased mental illness symptoms and pain and membrane breakdown on the skin or in the gut lining.
1/20/24 - niacin protocol, schizophrenia & 4 D’s
1/26/24 - Gut dysbiosis adds to lack of B vitamin absorption.
1/28/24 - Journaling - hand-written ideally! ‘Creative outlet, sense of purpose’
2/7/24 - Sense of autonomy and control of self. Trauma healing may be a need.
2/11/24 - Mood – let go of emotional repression for health.
Disclaimer: This information is being provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use and is not intended to provide individual health care guidance.
Reference List
(Alsunni, 2015) Alsunni AA. Energy Drink Consumption: Beneficial and Adverse Health Effects. Int J Health Sci (Qassim). 2015 Oct;9(4):468-74. PMID: 26715927; PMCID: PMC4682602. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4682602/
That's a lot of work in there, Jennifer. I can easily appreciate the amount of labour that goes into keeping all this writing going. Stick with it; "Damn the torpedos, full speed ahead."
Jen I am glad you are thinking about exercise more, and focusing on your own health. - I think movement is key, expecially if you are having edema! Someone showed me a little thing under her desk that she can pedal, like a bike. I'm not sure standing is that much better than sitting? I find standing exhausting! Ari Whitten writes a lot of stuff, I am using a breathing exercise from him.... And, the heat lamp under the desk is really nice for me, it helps to increase circulation in my legs when I am sitting. Near infra-red, I love it. But my metabolism is opposite of yours, and it might just be inflammatory for you :-( And what about a grounding pad, while you are sitting, or sleeping, at least you could discharge some of those positive-not-positive charges from the EMF....
Do you set a timer when you are sitting? Get up for a little exercise break with music? Unleash your inner belly dancer?
Enjoying my pomegranate :-)