Leaky Gut

I keep coming across references to problems developing when there are breaks in the lining of the small intestines, which leads to inflammation.  Apparently that wall that separates the small intestines from the blood vessels is only one cell thick.  It seems that that problem, a leaky gut, can lead to all kinds of problems. 

The last one I read about had to do with plaque in the blood vessel.  The author asserted that with a leaky gut, proteins that shouldn’t have gotten into the blood vessel, do get in.  This causes a white blood cell attack on them but also, indiscriminately, on LDL as well (the white blood cells go crazy attacking all proteins), which can lead to a break down in the cholesterol molecule, which creates the smaller version of the cholesterol that tends to stick to the blood vessel walls.  So if this is true, a break in the lining is a prime cause of plaque build up in the blood vessel. 

But if there is a break in the lining, a huge range of baddies, like toxins, can get into the blood vessels and cause havoc.  I suspect a lot of the autoimmune problems today stem from breaks in the lining of the small intestines, as the white blood cells go on a tear and attack everything.  Anyway, here’s a very good reason not to juice, as you toss out that precious fiber, which ultimately keeps that lining intact.

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Sidewalk Odds and Ends

A worn out iron bolt with corroded threads,
A single glove,
A brown leaf,
A clear plastic box cover,
A yellow comb,                                                                                                                                  The eraser end of a snapped pencil,
A paper receipt,                                                                                                                                    A bottle cap,
A red toy soldier with movable arms and legs,
A golf tee.

Discards from life.                                                                                                                            The litany is endless.                                                                                                                  Fugitives spit out by fate.
How did they all end up where they lie?

Alone now in life.
All family and friends long departed.
No grand purpose anymore; no pressing desire.
How in the world did I end up here?
Just one of the odds and ends, ’tis me,
Washed up from the sea onto a distant shore…

A bit of debris on the sidewalk, nothing more.

All Poetry — Henry Barnard

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Bear Markets

All those young investors who have never tasted the bitter taste of a bear market are about to get a nasty surprise when they see their accounts at the end of this month.  The market fell through long-term support in the middle of last week and now could plummet to any level lower.  Eventually you can expect sharp, short covering rallies that, when they hit their peaks, will then collapse very sharply to new lows, as most of the buyers propelling such rallies were not longs but rather shorts just covering their positions.  You can trade bear market rallies but you don’t want to be long in them.  Bear markets are a lot more treacherous than bull markets.  You have to know what you are doing in bear markets.  If you don’t, stay in cash or CDs.  Not bonds this time, as bonds are in a bigger bubble than stocks.

Will be interesting to see if gold finally wakes up from its long hibernation.  Oil and commodities in general are dead in the water.

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Losing Body Fat

This guy I see at the indoor pool swims religiously every day for 45 minutes and never loses any weight.  He has very bad knees and I think it must therefore sit a lot during the day.  But wasn’t losing any weight at all, and was just enormous around the midsection. He must be at least 100 pounds overweight with a huge waist line.  So a couple of weeks ago, I got up the nerve to tell him about intermittent fasting.  Actually sat down with him and explained how and why it works to reduce body fat.  And he said he would look into it.  Fast forward 2 weeks and I run into him again at the pool.  He’s all excited about intermittent fasting and is doing OMAD.  I’m only doing 20:4 but he’s already passed me and doing OMAD!  Will be interesting to see if he begins to really thin down over the next 6 months.  Drop that 100 pounds of body fat.  There’s a skinny person inside him trying to get out.

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Government and Food

What’s disappointing is how little government interferes with these practices of loading processed foods with sugar, salt, and oil.  The food industry can do just about anything it wants to do, and you don’t hear a peep from government.  Government not exactly looking out for our interests.  And if it is not doing that, what good is it?

Actually, it might even be worse with regard to government and food.  I read recently that our government is subsidizing high fructose corn syrup.  Think about that.  We have an epidemic of diabetes, and yet the government is subsidizing HFCS!!!

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Oils

Everyone knows how much sugar in various forms the food industry puts into processed foods — even bread has added sugar now. What is perhaps less well known is how much oil they add to everything as well. So many processed foods that you wouldn’t think require any added oil have oil added to them. Again, just manipulation of the taste to get people to crave the item. Yet the oil adds a ton of empty calories. Doesn’t seem that our food industry cares very much about your health and well being.

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