Author: Henry Barnard

I am a voracious reader and also enjoy writing. I often have a very different point of view than the popular one. I do see value in debate, and thought it might add to the public debate on controversial issues if I were to express my contrarian opinions. I also started keeping my poems recently (I've written little pieces my whole adult life but never kept any); and I've been a photographer now for over 25 years. So I will be adding an occasional poem and hopefully interesting photograph to the blog along the way, just to spice things up.

Absence of Any Real Diplomacy

What has caused this current conflict in Ukraine is the absence of real diplomacy by the West. Anyone could have foreseen the consequences of the relentless expansion of NATO to the east — that it would eventually cause Russia to react due to their security concerns. The Russians don’t want to see NATO-alliance missiles parked at their doorstep. Who would?

The obvious diplomatic solution to this situation would have been to do the following: guarantee that Ukraine would never be allowed to join NATO, guarantee from the Russians that they would respect the Ukrainian borders, and separate those Russian-majority sections of eastern Ukraine as separate republics.

But the West wasn’t willing to make the prudent compromise of keeping Ukraine out of NATO. So I ask you — who really is the aggressor here? NATO or Russia? Russia invaded, but NATO’s intransigence (and expansionism?) caused the problem.

Ukraine

Ukraine

Putin and Russia are reacting just as Kennedy reacted in the Cuban missile crisis. They don’t want Ukraine to be a part of NATO with nuclear missiles there pointed at Russia and only minutes from hitting their targets. That’s what this is all about.

The relentless expansion of NATO into eastern Europe and ultimately Ukraine is what is causing this crisis, not Russia.

Avoiding Nuclear War

Over 60?

Most nutritionists recommend that people over 60 increase the amount of protein in their diet, as the older have less ability to metabolize protein, so the same amount of protein means less is actually absorbed by the digestion of the body. As a consequence, to get adequate amounts those who are over 60 have to increase the amount of protein in their diet to actually utilize the same amount that their bodies metabolized when they were younger.

The only question is how much should be the increase? On the high end is the recommendation that those over 60 should have 1 gram of protein for each pound of weight. So someone over 60 at 150 pounds would need 150 grams of protein in their diet. This seems a bit excessive to me, but there is no way of knowing what the right amount for the increase should be.

But the risk, if you are not getting enough protein when older than 60, is that poor absorption would reduce this amount still further, and therefore possibly lead to serious muscle loss — muscle loss being a cardinal issue for people over 60.

Support Your Immune System

Keto Madness

The Keto diet does allow one to lose weight and to deal with Type 2 Diabetes, largely through the benefits of ketosis, but this diet has serious consequences relative to heart disease due to the high levels of saturated fat and so higher levels of cholesterol. And the amount of fat in the blood vessels gets to dangerous levels.

The other risk factor with Keto is that a diet with heavy meat consumption — they know — stimulates a growth hormone that is better left unstimulated in fully grown adults. The reason is that this hormone when stimulated, unfortunately, facilitates tumor growth. So one must keep in mind the equation animal protein equals higher growth hormone equals potential tumor growth.

So you will lose weight and deal with your diabetes with Keto, but you risk both heart disease and cancer.

But why even go down this hazardous road? You can instead get all the benefits from ketosis with intermittent fasting, but on a plant-based, whole-foods diet, you have no heart disease risk. And guess what, plant protein doesn’t stimulate the growth hormone, so no associated cancer risk either.

Therefore, relative to both heart disease and cancer, the latter diet with intermittent fasting is the healthier choice, not Keto madness.

Butyrate

Butyrate

You have reached a certain level of understanding of nutrition when you have a real handle on knowing all about Butyrate. Until then, you are a lost sheep in the woods.

If you know about Butyrate, chances are good that you do understand leaky gut syndrome, which is another significant milestone on your nutrition self-knowledge journey.

Propionate is yet another serious milestone when you truly understand it.

Support Your Immune System

Nutritionally Intense (as in over the top) Chocolate Smoothie

To create the predominant taste:

Cacao powder (not its cousin cocoa, which you should avoid) – generous amount (the only ingredient in chocolate that has nutritional value). (Recommendation: Don’t eat chocolates or believe the hype that dark chocolates are healthy (they are full of unhealthy fats and refined sugar — yuck), but do consume cacao regularly (very intense antioxidants — put the powder into smoothies and the nibs into salads).

Ka’Chava Chocolate powder – generous amount (its ingredient list has amazing nutritional value, much of which comes from plant-based foods unique to South America that you just don’t see in US supermarkets).

Frozen blueberries (optional, as you may or may not like the chocolate/blueberry blended taste — I do).

KAL stevia to sweeten (zero calories, but plant-based sweetener).

Actual plant ingredients:

Entire baby bok choy.

Generous amount of mixed leafy greens (kale, spinach, etc.).

Optional: cruciferous vegetables either broccoli or cauliflower or both.

Additional ingredients, whose favors are all masked by the chocolate/blue/stevia blend above.

Powders:

Chlorella.

Flaxseed.

Red Beet crystals.

Maca.

Moringa.

Chaga.

Wheatgrass (a very small amount, as this has a very foul taste).

Vega One powder for plant-based nutrition.

Super Greens.

Seeds:

Hemp (high in protein).

Chia.

Mixed sprouted seeds (“good fats”).

Other ingredients:

Nutritional yeast.

Bee pollen.

Zinc pill (supports the immune system).

Kelp for some iodine.

Liquids:

Almond milk.

Chilled water.

Baby Potatoes