Sunday, January 2, 2011

Happy New Year!

I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday season!  I did, however I'm ready for things to get back to "normal"  One step for me is to get off my not quite as fat as it once was, ass and start writing again!

Over the summer, I strayed form my healthy eating regimen.  Too many bar-b-cue's and cookouts to resist!  I still drank lots of water; as a matter of fact it is closing in on one year since I have had a soda or a glass of juice.  However I did but on some of the 35 pounds that I lost.  Nine of them, to be precise.  My goal for the new year is to try and stick closer to my self imposed healthy eating manifesto.

By the way the burger is still in my drawer!  It's one desiccated fucking hamburger!  This is what it looked like near the beginning:

This is what it looks like today:

Yum!

Moving on...

I have been doing a lot of reading (In case you didn't know, I screwed up my right wrist and have not been working much of late) about vitamin D.  There seems to be some doubt if D is really a vitamin as the human body can make it, albeit with the assistance of the sun.  If you have no exposure to the sun then you need to take it (D) in supplement form which then meets the criteria of a vitamin.  D2 is the man made as opposed to the made by man D3  Got it? Clear as Mud, right? D2 is the supplement form of D and D3 is what your body makes when you are out in the sun.  D2 (ergocalciferol) is made from yeast sterol ergosterol by chemical procedures. D3 (cholecalciferol) is made in the human  body from cholesterol and 7-dehydrocholesterol. Does it matter?  I have no fucking idea!  If I had to guess, I'd say that the more you body makes the better

It seems that one reason we "catch" more colds in the winter time may be related to lower levels of vitamin D.  Vitamin D also lowers inflammation.  Vitamin D produces over 200 anti-microbial peptides, one of which is Cathelicidin, which is a natural broad spectrum antibiotic. D also helps regulate insulin levels, and prevents heart disease.  People that live in northern countries have higher incidences of heart failure in the winter months.  I am going to make an effort to get out in the sunshine more often this winter.  Naked sledding anyone?

One thing that I am happy to see is an overall increase in the availability of organic foods and grass fed beef.  The Swarthmore Co-op even has ground, grass fed local beef in the freezer case.  I'm hoping that as more and more people eat it, they will start to carry it fresh.

One thing that pisses me off it my inability to find a decent stainless steel water bottle.  Why won't they make a water bottle out of stainless that looks like a regular plastic water bottle?  Those dumb ass contrivances that they choose to use as lids drive me nuts.  It's like sucking at the tit of the Borg.  On most, you suck until your head is about to implode and then pull free while the bottle sucks air back in.   I don't know about you but I don't seem to have a problem removing the cap on my plastic water bottle, taking a sip and then replacing the cap.  Then there is the other end of the spectrum, the stainless steel bottles with the wide mouth lid.  These are a fucking treat to use when you are driving!  I can drink and shower at the same time! Here is a tip to the stainless steel bottle manufactures:  Take a regular old plastic water bottle (not those one molecule thin ecco plastic bottles, a real one) now make one out of stainless steel!  Trust me, you will sell a shit load of them.

That's it for now.  Check back often as I promise to post regularly.  In the mean time, Eat REAL food!