Sunday, December 30, 2012

On Traffic

Marcus Aurelius 2.1

Say to yourself first thing in the morning: Today I shall meet people who are meddling, ungrateful, aggressive, treacherous, malicious, unsocial. All this has afflicted them through their ignorance of true good and evil. But I have seen the nature of good is what is right and evil is what is wrong;

So:  Today as I venture forth into traffic I shall meet people who are aggressive beyond reason, in a rush to get wherever, speeding toward their death, and the road slugs, and oversize who require assistance. I will encounter those ignorant of traffic law, and those who claim the right of way, displaying there hubris. They now not what they do, and they are ignorant of traffic laws, speed limits, and how much they risk the lives of others. All this has afflicted them through their ignorance of true good and evil.

I will encounter the highwaymen and the revenuers taking pictures. Forgive them, for they are just trying to make a living.

Focus, as though it were the last day of your life, and if we fail to do, it may be.

Marcus Aurelius...I can neither be harmed by any of them, for no man will involve me in wrong, nor can I be angry with my kinsman or hate him; for we have come into the world to work together...


Something happened with comments; Lori said: Given the Stoics' reverence for reason and living in accordance with nature, they'd be all over paleo and/or low carb if they were around today. 

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Duty of Care

We, I, owe a duty of care to myself. What does that mean? The I that I speak of is the awareness, the logical, the reasoning I, consciousness I. The self, the non consciousness I includes body, emotions, and the like, which are not responsible, has irrational desires and genetic impulses. It is not responsible, but just is.

Once I rapped my mind around this, that my mind has two parts, only one of which is responsible, that reasoning part of the mind is responsible for all. It has a duty of care for the remainder, which is beyond my power, beyond my control. That is the Stoic way of thinking. It is the thinking, believing that makes it so, just as the belief in a god makes it so. The effect is real, whether the belief is exactly right or not. It is this reasoning portion which has the duty of care, stewardship, and that the body must follow, not the desires, which everyone sells to, promotes food to, like the taste of exorphins, and the like.

It is the duty of reason to control the food it the body wants to much of the wrong foods. We go wrong through ignorance not intent. Our bodies and desires trying to control. But no. Reason must. We must not go through life "jerking to the strings of selfish impulse and desires.", even though the media, religions and marketers (the modern highwaymen) would like that.

That is not to say religion is all bad, they do have some useful concepts. "Lead us not into temptation (home of food pushers, old girl friends) and deliver us from evil (modern highwaymen, old employers)". Oh well, shit happens.

Please feel free to express any thoughts on this subject or any other burning desires you may have.

 

Monday, December 24, 2012

Mental Objects

Ideas, concepts and the like are mental object. A mental object is just something some of us call any of these. When we look at something, we create a mental object of that item in our mind, when we thing about something, or even an action, feeling, each are mental objects.

It is to these mental object that we react, not the object it's self. Until this is established in our minds, we flail.

A common mental object is god. It is not a real object, but a mental object. Thinking it is real makes the effect real to us. But this is just an example. Now that we know it for what it is, we can move on.

Now, we can say that desire to indulge in food is also a mental object, and it is the desire that must be looked at to suppress it. It is the job of reason to crush desire into something suitable for human consumption.

The ego is a defence structure which automatically defends us against anything that could change our thinking, and create a "problem" for us to resolve. It was created in the mind by the mind and is just another mental object that springs into action of defence. It means nothing. What are we? A collection of mental objects, plus a body.  

The concept of a mental objects puts life into perspective.  It is the foundation for moving forward into the new world of tomorrow, that  is entirely unknown. We react only to mental objects, and the words are just dull pointers to the idea. There are many pointers, and many handles. The handle I have grabbed is mental object.

Mental objects go through a "conversion matrix", and some come out as "volitions" or actions, other take up other parts, like verbs, or modifiers. Some just stimulate other mental objects that cause pain. But these too, are mental objects. we can see them as mental objects and let go of them, and accept that which is, and move on.

Enough

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

The answer to obesity lies in personal philosophy

I have come to the conclusion that the answer to obesity lies in a personal philosophy that put food, society and life in the proper perspective. It also need to put many other things into proper prospective, and provide defence against the "forces of evil." 

I have gone through live without examining many things in detail, the detail that they deserve. It has become apparent to me that this country, and the US to the south, were founded on the principle of greed, packaged as "anybody can have anything if the work hard enough" or steal enough, or either, we are not particular.  The people with true ethics will often fail, and fall onto the scrap pile of humanity. We need resilience to pick ourselves off that scrap pile, and stand without grovelling, begging, or compromising our ethics. 

Reading the Stoics, it has become apparent to me how sick this society really is and what some of the issues really are. The first is that I am basically uneducated in the ethic, morals, and similar areas.  I say that, having gone through high school, 2 years of technical training, a B.Sc. in engineering, and enough post grad courses for two masters degrees, and 40 years of studying at nights. (those damn thesis were just too much crap).  That is not to say that we are all sick, but our society is like a barrel of bruised apples, or potatoes, destined to rot quickly. It is time to study ethics for a while.   

Yoni got me going today: http://www.weightymatters.ca/2012/12/parental-no-files-but-its-just-one.html
Professional Beggars are good at separating you and your money. These well paid groups study how to get you to reach in your pocket and give. The defence is to recognise this, and explain this to children early. You must realize that little of the fund raising money actually reaches the intended target. It is another form of buddhist theft, taking money and using it for purpose that it was not intended for. The solution is all in your personal philosophy.

Gouging is also theft  even when is just the rounding error in cents, that always goes to the banks. The financial industry are the worst offenders, but what do we do? Use barter? Trading goods or just cash? 

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Expectations

What are my expectations of the food industry? To have available at the store, fresh produce and meats. That's all, not to much. But what do they provide? Well, that is a long list of processed foods that are slow acting poisons, dose dependent, that somebody must be consuming. But the customer votes with there feet and wallets.

Now I know that the farming industry is one of the lowest paying industry, and one must be large to survive to the standard which we would like to be at. That is the problem, expectations. Happiness is meeting our expectations. If we have no expectations, or our expectations are small, we should be happy. I am more or less happy with the food industry, as a consumer. We have a good little butcher shop, that sells good meats for every day, but there cuts are a bit large for a retired couple. Oh well, life goes on. Most of the beef is grass fed, with grain added for finishing. That's mainly barley here, no corn, although, some are trying corn for fall pasture, along with some grain swath feeding in early winter, often oats.

The market gardens are dying out here. The best land is being swallowed by cities, and due to climate and labour costs, we can import winter produce cheaper than producing it here. Oh, well, that life. Just too short, no mater how long it is. We have it good though, there has always been enough food in the stores, big storms are typically small in area, and our population is about what the land can support.

There is no doubt that I have lived through the peak of development, and from here society will be declining in some areas. Decay is occurring. The natives are moving in, along with the welfare, government support, and a culture of low effort and motivation of many. Government support of the conquered race should stop, and they need to make a decision; become part of society, or forever be on the margin. Yes, I am a bigot. I can accept there philosophy, but we should only support the ones that were alive at the treaty time. The remainder should either get into society, or be supported at the level of there ancestors, just enough to keep them alive in there youth and you years. It was said, by my grandfather,  "I never saw a grey Indian, when I came to this country in 06." (to Canada in 1906 from Iowa)

I have nothing of value to say. Thank you for reading this. Please feel free to express any opinion you like. I use my third finger for deleting.

Friday, December 14, 2012

Government.. bah

Responce to Sharma's Post

http://www.drsharma.ca/should-public-health-focus-on-calories-in.html 

I wish you all good luck with getting the food industry and the government to effectively address the obesity problem. Calories are just the counters of obesity, not the drivers.

We, the people, are the only ones that can change the obesity drivers. Appetite for processed foods, sugar, grains, and the like that taste great, according to our minds, is what drives consumption, in reaction to our endocrine system. It is our minds that need adjustment, and the government will not go there. Once we realize how dangerous sugar, wheat, grains in general, omega 6 oils, exorphins, and all those other chemicals are, we, the people will not eat them. A chain reaction can be broken at any link. Problem reduced or solved. Processed food is what is driving obesity.

Now I know that Sharma is opposed to elimination of specific food groups as a solution to obesity, but it works. Look around and I have found many normal sized, and exobese people living well on the Paleo / Primal / whole foods / real food life style.  It is realizing how damaging those exorphins really are that is being added to processing as flavour enhancers and preservatives that provides the solution, as these create the majority of the problems.  

Fructose is mainly stored as fat, beyond a few hundred calories. We need to deplete free glucose and get through hunger before we can start burning fat. Sugar is half fructose, HFCS is even higher. 

Matforman is a drug that slows the production of glucose from glycogen, which reduces the morning glucose level. It also keeps the glycogen storage full, which speeds the production of fat. The other side of the coin, it therefore encourages the burning of fat for energy, reducing the time need to switch to fat burning, and reduces hunger. It has the same effect as stopping eating carbohydrates. How about that?

Our personal aim should be to make government food policies redundant by ignoring them and living well at a reasonable weight with real food. That has been achieved by many exobese by changing our attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge about digestion, eating, food, and life in general.

It is not necessary for you to believe as I do, but it is one proven method. 

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Reframing - bullshit

http://blogs.plos.org/obesitypanacea/2012/12/12/reframing-obesity-as-caloric-overconsumption/

I do believe that obesity does need to be reframed, but not anything to do with calories. I believe it need to be reframed as wrong beliefs in respect to what food is, and is not. It is an food-endocrine problem, not total food energy as measured by calories. Calories and metabolic use are different issues. Many of us are carbohydrate intolerant. We make fats from carbohydrate, not usable energy. There are also other wrong beliefs, like eating when hungry; it is better to eat to little and deal with hunger than eat to much. Obesity is worse than hunger; therefore choose hunger. Obesity is worse than cravings, therefore endure cravings; this to shale pass.

Food does not contain sugar, wheat, omega 6 oils, exorphins, exocannopioids,  endocannopioids, or hormones. Grains, nuts, and starches should be very limited. For older overweight people, carbohydrates and protein should be limited to your height in meters, squared times about 20 grams. Use fats to adjust your weight, after those cuts.

There are things that are worse than death. Slow death, in suffering, for one. Obesity is just slow painful death for the old with medical problems. If you come from a death denying religion, you could have a problem with this.
 

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Stoic Dip

This morning I awoke at 4:00 AM with hunger. It was severe enough to wake me. But now I know that it was due to too much carbohydrates last night, and the first true hunger is the gut signal that it is about to switch from external source of energy to internal source of energy. Oh well, there are worse things in life than hunger, like obesity.

I recognise that is a departure in thinking from what I used to think. If hungry, eat, was the old thought pattern. Perhaps it is the stoic stuff I have been reading.

Each idea, concept, is opened up and the belief behind that idea is explored. This is unlike modern approach where there is not time for looking at beliefs, of it is never taught, or I just missed it. Something so valuable should be looked at in a substantial way. I guess that is my next field of study, obsession. The stoics, and what they believed, one concept at a time.

Epictetus, ~300BC, seem to have realized that it is not the situation that makes the suffering, but our way of thinking about the situation. Secondly, he seems to state that we have no control over any thing out side of our bodies, and even our bodies. He claims that the only thing we have control over is our thinking, our mind, and I even doubt that any more. We may have control of portions of that, but we are losing control due to the electronic media constant input, and no recuperation, study of the crap being feed to us by the media.

Deep, substantial thinking is required, and not to much external stimulation. The US military teaches stoic methods to it's solders, but likely never calls it that. It divides thinking/acting/balance into five areas; physical, family, social, emotional, and spiritual. It teaches resilience and moral excellence to overcome the extremes of environment they experience. Its training includes honour, duty, respect are the superior attributes to strive for. It places republic above life, but that I cannot buy, for government are a bunch of self-centred demi-gods. But the US is a foreign power, so they can have that thought. I need not.

More study on the stoics I think.   
Link to US Army video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MTBOiQ2C8s 
 

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Christmas to an Alien?

On Sunday afternoon, I stopped at TimHorton's, at Walmart for a tea, and sat there to watch the zoo that is humanity. A thought came to me. How would you explain Christmas to an Alien? There is what I think of it all.

According to Christian mythology, Christmas is a celebration of  the birth of there first leader, although he was more of a philosopher than leader, without enough language to describe the ideas that he exposed. The concept of gift giving comes from something that was translated as giving of your self, which I believe is enthusiasm, motivation, effort, not monetary. By about the 12 or 13 century, gifts to the poor was started. It is all based on giving is to make us feel good, doing something for others.

It has become giving money that we do not have to stores in exchange to goods we do not need, giving those goods to others who do not need them or even want them, all as a gesture of something that we are no longer sure of and do not get. It is our duty to drive the economy, and little else. Many of the products we pass on are not good for humans (alcohol, sugar, chocolate), but those feed addictions, and are therefore the most desired of those in active addiction, and most feared of those in activate recovery.

This is all done by the unconscious, often under stress. The conscious step back and ask why are we doing this? It is great for the kids, and perhaps for the retired grandparents, but between these bookends it makes little scene. It is great for generosity, but I pay taxes, and that does my generosity just fine. The government is supposed to pass on enough for the poor to survive, if they toe the line.

All I need do is keep on breathing for today anyway. If I don't, it is all someone else's problems anyway.          


Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Reward Theory

Reward theory is a concept that may be generally right yet wrong in several ways. It is not about dopamine but exorphins and exocannopioids. Sure it uses the same receptors, but these are not in normal concentrations. Some of it is just endorphins and endcannopioids being displaced, or production over stimulated, resulting in surging concentrations.  

It only effects a small subset of the population who are particularly sensitive to these peptides.  We a a self selecting subset of the population who are opioid sensitive, and are unaware of the real issue, and unable to break the cycle. Complete separation is required.    If can not accept this, it is your problem, not mine. If your endocrine system is saying eat, you are going to eat. No real choice there.

The solution is leave out wheat and dairy, and the hunger is much less. Cut sugar, grains and starches for weight loss. Balance the omega 3/6 by cutting O6. Eat meat without hormones. No SGO6EEH.

For those of us that have it, the proof is in N=1 testing.

The other proof is food addictive, usually sold as flavour enhancers, are increase sales by about 30%. Exorphins are being sold as flavour enhancers. These are also added to soft drinks for a double whamie.  

The brain is in a protected environment fed by our blood supply. The question becomes: Does insulin cross the BBB blood brain barrier in more than trace amounts, and does the BBB become insulin resistant? And if it becomes insulin resistant, how about leptin resistant? Insulin and leptin are big molecules, that do not enter cells, so what makes you think the brain sees them in the same concentration as they are in the blood? Look at the difference in concentration of insulin in the portal vein and in circulation. The liver stand between them. 

So you give the brain a shot of insulin, and it stops hunger, and what else? I will bet that a shot of insulin in the brain would stop lots of things, and it could also be near lethal. 

End of lecture. What is normal? Look at the magnesium levels during fasts. 

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Trinity

Obesity has at least three areas that need to be simultaneously addressed, or in series, to beat obesity:

  1. Physical food issues, physical body issues
  2. Emotional / psychological causes of eating
  3. Philosophy of eating/not eating, of life, and what is food
Now that we know no SGO6EEH, how do we deal with the emotional and philosophic issues and what are those issues?

First eating for any reason beside hunger is an issue. Dealing with social food pushers, is difficult. Some of these people border on the insane with what they perceive a socially acceptable eating behaviour.  Their eating is disordered, and in one case a eating disorder is likely, but it is not causing them a problem, yet. Should she suffer an injury, look out.

This season is hell for use overeaters: Temptation everywhere.  I think I will just stay home. No problem. Society is sick.

Just how sick is our society. They do not know what they are eating, and have no connection with there food. We have 60% obesity. Does that not say sick society. So what is healthy way of thinking? What is a health philosophy? There are so many alternatives. See a Psychologist? The two that I know cannot manage there own lives, so where does that leave me? I went to see one about my eating problem, a government ( Capital Health) referral, and she was bigger than I was, and that was 60kg ago.

Perhaps I should just fall off the rails and adopt Tolle philosophy, totally, without question, or look at it compared to my current beliefs.

Feel free to comment of suggest an approach.       

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Insulin Summary

Steve does a nice summary of what insulin does


But that’s not all insulin does. It also 1) impairs breakdown of glycogen into glucose, 2) stimulates glycogen formation, 3) inhibits formation of new glucose molecules by the body, 4) promotes storage of triglycerides in fat cells (i.e., lipogenesis, fat accumulation), 5) promotes formation of fatty acids (triglyceride building blocks) by the liver, 6) inhibits breakdown of stored triglycerides, and 7) supports body protein production.

Steve does not speak of insulin stopping gluconeogenesis, unless point 3 referrers to that. But then the other source or my memory could be out to lunch.  

Saturday, December 1, 2012

The Fat Organ

http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/obesity/are-carbohydrates-fattening/

The fat organ converts FFA and glucose to triglyceride, the storage form of fat, within the cell. Everything has a cost, and our body has a pecking order for it's energy demand. First choice is glucose, fresh glucose. Then glucose from storage, then FFA and free triglyceride, ( some split into ketone bodies), then ometal fats, and lastly stored fats.

When we ingest excess glucose and overflow glycogen storage, it goes into fat storage first. So fat is first in, (after current demand), last out, if we are eating carbohydrates. It is no wonder we get fat with all the excess carbohydrates around that are really great tasting poisons to us easily fattened low activity persons.