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February 21, 2005
First day of the Third Quarter, woot
First up, linkage. And on deck, something I like to call "We Are So Dumb". Yup... when we create a fleet of dangerously oversized vehicles, allow any fool to purchase them regardless of their driving skill (and please, how many times have you seen someone precariously trying to park... or unpark... in one of these things?), and then try to fix it all with a website and public education campaign--Hey, be careful with these monsters!--then you know: We are so dumb.
Second, OTHER people being smart, blurb at BoingBoing. When communist guerilla fighters get it and the world's strongest empire doesn't, then you know: We are so dumb.
So today was the first day of class. Yay. All I really had today was Deep Tissue in the morning and Deep Tissue Practice after dinner. Normally there would be a Clinical Practicum in the afternoon, but this week that's on Thursday.
First day of class is always slow, mostly talking, going over the syllabus and introductory stuff. This looks like it will be the most challenging class yet. We have to be spot on with our knowledge of muscles, their attachments, and actions. Warren, the instructor, said that he felt "deep tissue" was a misleading title, and that the class would be more aptly called "specific tissue"... that means if we don't know where things are, specifically, we can't do the work.
I took the free afternoon to mostly clean my room. I made quite a dent in it, but there's more to go.
About an hour before dinner, Jamison invited me to... climb trees(!). I was never much of a tree climber as a kid, but there are wonderful trees here. We sat up in the branches and talked about our wonderful Valentines days, break, the near future, and suchlike.
There was the best tofu ever at dinner... marinated in a sesame sauce. Normally I don't eat much tofu... technically, it's not a whole food, and so not the best for people generally... and with it's cooling thermal nature, it's not that great for me specifically. But this was so good... I put some ginger powder on it to warm it up.
I overheard Paul telling a kitchen staff member that tempeh and natto are really the best of the soy products... and I was reading in his book last night that tempeh, when made properly, is a B12 source. B12 sidebar: nutritional yeast is a good source, and vegetarians & vegans on a whole foods diet need less B12 than meat eaters, although they should still get their levels checked. Apparently it's also not a good idea to take a B complex, but to supplement B12 by itself.
I've been reading online about glyconutrients... something Paul said he's very interested in. "They" say that only 2 of an essential 8 are present in the mainstream American diet, although it looks like 4 are present in a varied whole foods vegetarian diet, 6 if you consume kelp and shitakes regularly. That leaves N-acetyl-galactosamine, present in a red algae called Dumontiaceae--apparently hard to get outside of Japan--and N-acetylneuraminic acid, aka sialic acid, in whey protein isolate and hens eggs.
Well any isolate is simply unacceptable... the antithesis of whole foods... you know when researchers first began to show that soy helped reduce breast cancer, companies flooded the market with soy extracts and isolates... until some scientist found that, while whole soy improved cancer conditions, soy isolates did nothing at best, and actually increased cancer growth at worst.
Whole foods are incredibly complex, and scientific understanding of how they affect our bodies is still actually quite limited. What we do understand is that breaking wholes up into parts and consuming the result seems to have very negative effects.
Anyway, hen eggs are something I (and probably most Americans should) try to avoid... so that leaves one glyconutrient conspicuously missing, even from a non-vegetarian diet (I'd sooner eat chicken than eggs).
Our bodies can manufacture them, although the process itself is unhealthful--it's much better for us to consume them pre-made. Perhaps it's enough to get 7 out of the 8 in order to effect shifts in one's health.
Posted by Josh A. at February 21, 2005 10:04 PM
Comments
A vegan's B12 perspective: Shira and I have never had our B12 levels checked, and didn't take supplements for years. Then I read an article about a very old vegan guy who suddenly lost his mind, baffling doctors. His physician hit upon the idea of B12, gave the guy supplements, and he, well, got his mind back. Striking example.
Anyway, the article said vegans usually get enough B12 just by accidentally eating whey or milk solid ingredients in mislabeled foods or in restaurants - but because I'm paranoid, I bought us some Red Star Nutritional Yeast, which is amazing and delicious, and packed with B12.
Posted by: Ari Moore at February 22, 2005 05:52 AM
So apparently the B12 that is so abundant in animals is necessary, if you're going to eat them, "for immunity and quality blood formation in the highly acidic mucoid environment created by abundant meat, dairy products, and eggs."
Do you eat the nutritional yeast every day? Some people here do, as it looks like that much intake can be necessary.
Instead of just being parannoid and guessing, is there an easy way for you two to get your B12 levels tested?
Posted by: Josh A. at February 22, 2005 01:58 PM
Well, I don't think we need much, since we're vegan, and we only have it a few times a week, when we want the flavor, or when I'm feeling B-deficient. Rather than getting tested, I think we'll just bungle along as we have been, and go to to the doctor if we suddenly go crazy.
Posted by: Ari Moore at February 22, 2005 02:09 PM
As you wish :-)
Posted by: Josh A. at February 22, 2005 02:20 PM