Immunity and cancer

Here is the video (related to my previous post) that was recorded at SENS3. To view it properly just enlarge the video at the bottom right. It is very interesting!

Zheng Cui
http://richardjschueler.com/wp-gallery2.php?g2_itemId=56888

There are also a few other videos there from SENS 3 conference.

How to Leave in 24 Hours

Packing for L.A.

On the way to Santa Fe you get a phone call. It's for your husband. You overhear snippets and wait patiently. There is interest in another script. Real interest. Driving talk turns on a dime from the grocery list (where you just added butternut squash in bumpy cursive) to the wisdom vs. craziness of dropping the day's plans and booking a flight to LAX. You sit quietly in the hot car, squinting at the blur of sunbaked sage along the highway while your husband thinks it over (and inside you are jumping like a kindergarten inmate, yelling, Why not? Let's go! This is everything you've dreamed of- script meetings, casting conversations- but, really, it's his call). You do your best to embody Zen detachment.

What do you think? he turns and asks. 

You just smile. He knows what you think. You've been bitching about being under-stimulated for weeks, getting all gloomy again. There are more phone calls. Then suddenly it's a go.

You're leaving in twenty-four hours.

You start picking through dirty jeans and shirts. Distracted by the early morning slant of sun warming the tumbleweeds, you leave the laundry to grab a camera. Five minutes later you notice the bowl of ripe tomatoes on the blue tiled counter. You can't just leave those. So you wash them gently, slice and toss them into a roasting pan with olive oil, herbs and cloves of garlic. You add a splash of balsamic vinegar. You slide the pan into a low-heat oven.

Tomatoes ready for roasting.

The house starts to smell like an Italian villa. You fold and iron and fold. You plug in your iPod Shuffle and choose 250 songs (no Sting). You think about Santa Monica and the last time you saw your son, Colin. You add some of his songs to your mix. Then you notice the roses you photographed this week (they have seen better days). You empty the pitcher. You get distracted by the beauty of the dead petals and dried leaves against the white garbage bag. You grab your camera.

Still life with garbage.

You air out the luggage that has been in storage since May- sliding it into the bright afternoon sun (you'll have to tip it sideways later to scoot a frantic lizard back to his usual vertical perch on the adobe wall). You wonder if the tomatoes are done. It's been two hours. Or more. You peek into the oven and inhale the slow roasted garlicky dense tomato scent.

You try not to panic about what the heck you'll eat for the next week (staying at the one hotel where you could get a last minute reservation in your price range- there's no kitchenette, no microwave). You imagine bags of chips and jarred salsa dinners. You hope Real Food Daily will have choices that are gluten, onion, bean- blah blah blah- free.

But you don't really care.

Somehow it will all work out. Or maybe you're just deep in denial, you think to yourself. You breathe.

Then there's the last bit of autumn roasted green chile to think about. And half a bag of small gold potatoes. One big mother of a sweet potato. And one lonely uncooked organic burger. Might as well make a green chile stew before you hit the road.

So you heat some olive oil in a pot, toss in some chopped onion, garlic, and crumbled beef, and sprinkle said ingredients with cumin and chili powder and stir until browned, humming a K T Tunstall tune. You throw in cut up gold and sweet potatoes and the last of the chopped roasted green chile. You stir up some organic beef broth and pour it in. A dash of agave. You let the stew do its stew-y thing while you contemplate which pair of sneakers to wear on the plane- Rocket Dogs or Skechers? Tough call. You'll decide later.

There are toothbrushes and socks to be packed. But first, a glass of white table wine. Then a bowl of green chile stew.

This is the part of the movie when she looks at her husband sitting by the window, back lit by sweet light, and your chest aches in recognition. You see, the thing is, you always knew it. In your heart you just knew. Those movies everyone told you were fantasy? The on-screen or off-screen marriages that crackled with mutual admiration and no bullshit and you pined for that while those closest to you clucked in favor of sticking with your marital misery because - and I quote- No relationship is perfect and every marriage takes work?

Then why, Dear Reader- this time around, after twelve easy years- does it just keep getting easier? And life just gets more interesting? It's all about the risk. And trusting your gut. Whether it's making up a soup or reevaluating your career choice, or facing down familial opposition and sexual inertia because you actually believe in true love- it comes down to this. 

You have this minute. 

This second.

So. 

What are you going to do with it?

Cancer cure 'may be available in two years'

Thats the headline from the telegraph
The results were actually quite amazing, and it looks promising. There were some important things in there that I think are relevant to our quest for longevity and good health. The resistance to cancer was heavily influenced by a) stress levels b) season. So it might be wise to practice yoga or stress relieving activities. The good news is that once the stress is gone, the neutrophil's become better at killing cancer cells. The other thing that should be quite clear now is that we need to keep our vitamin D levels up, by taking a supplement preferably if you want to stay looking young too :) And possibly getting enough daylight hours, so getting up when the sun rises and going to sleep when the sun goes down :)

Anyway, here is a cool little video (it's sped up) with a neutrophil chasing after bacterium. CooL eh!?



Here is another video with those granulocytes killing cervical cancer cells (video posted by new scientist 3 days ago

Beef + Mushroom Stuffed Acorn Squash

A hearty stuffed acorn squash recipe- comfort food for omnivores.

Yours truly has been stewing. Not in the culinary sense, Darling. Stewing about Sting. And Oy, the photo of him ducking his head down in the back seat of his silver SUV outside the "exclusive" Hamburg brothel Relax. Ouch. A sheepish duck that possibly allegedly connotes canoodling guilt (okay, maybe he didn't actually canoodle-- maybe he innocently indulged in some very chaste and proper lap dances in a post-concert-suffering-from-exhaustion kinda way, you know, while sans wife Trudie and his six children).

Whatever.

I know I'm a little old-school on the whole marriage fidelity thing. I admit it. Marriage- in my book- means monogamy. If you can't keep it in your pants, Buster, why on Earth bother to marry? Go have fun. Who's stopping you? And, yes, even while I'm snug in my quaint monogamy I am well aware that many celebrity marriages are, shall we say, open arrangements (if not totally a sham-- arranged strictly for PR to hide a secret life and keep the heart throb action hero millions flowing in). But I have to ask. Exactly what brilliant meta message in a bottle does this send to your three beautiful daughters, Gordon? 

Oh well. I'm trying my best not to judge. Maybe Trudie's fine with it. Maybe she just got tired of all that tantric sex Sting blathered about in the press while their daughters were in middle school.

Back in the humble world of non-rock star status I may have to edit my Honda Fit driving playlist. I mean, there I was, scooting down to Santa Fe with my muffin-baking dish-washing stripper-free husband (to buy acorn squash, grass fed organic beef, roses and wine for our guests) and every other song blasting over the audio system- it seemed- was a Sting song. I spent half the time in the car reaching over to push the next button.

Man, said my ho-free husband, You're tough. So are you ever going to listen to him again?

The post-feminist warrior mother goddess stirred inside.

Done with Sting, I answered.

Read more + get the recipe >>

Responsible supplementation by MR

I thought I'd direct you to an excellent post on supplementation by Michael, which can be found at the CRS lists. Here is a direct link to that post.
Responsible supplementation

I've only been taking 1/3 of the full dose of Essential mix for a while now, this was not long after some of his earlier posts on the issue... While I've taking some taking more targeted supplements like zinc, magnesium, vitamin D3, and Calcium especially. It seems for myself my Magnesium need is quite high, I don't know if this was to do with the amount of stress I had earlier this year or what. But I know it prevents quite a few symptoms I was having... One of them being benign heart palpitations (had all sorts of tests done - check earlier posts) from excess adrenaline, and also little annoying muscle twitches. When one is low on magnesium you do produce more adrenaline so it has an effect on the muscles, including the heart... These symptoms 98% cured by extra Mg, even though I was already getting around 500mg or so from my diet! Unfortunately as Michael says there are few reliable tests for mineral deficiencies, magnesium is one of them as it is mostly intracellular.

Take a read of that post anyway, it's a sensible view on supplementing.

Gluten-Free Goddess in Newsweek? Rock on.

We just returned from our weekly Saturday jaunt into Santa Fe- to shop at Whole Foods, Trader Joe's or Wild Oats, depending on our mood and our menu plans. Today's mini road trip was a tad more exciting than our usual gluten-free shopping extravaganza, however, because today we stopped by Borders and picked up a copy of the September 17th Newsweek magazine- the one featuring an excellent article on celiac disease, titled Waiter, Please Hold the Wheat by Anne Underwood.

Steve turned to page 62- to see if the buzz we'd heard was true (as I was busy fumbling in my over-stuffed shoulder bag trying to locate my reading glasses with no success). How cool is that? he said, pointing to the resource box and reading aloud, Browse more than 200 creative recipes and cooking tips from an experienced gluten-free chef.

Whoa, said I (ever the eloquent wordsmith). Pretty darn cool. Gluten-Free Goddess blog makes good.

Big congrats go to the chic and hard working Kelly Courson of CeliacChicks, the totally fab Heidi Collins, Alice Bast, and Vanessa Maltin of the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, and Shauna James Ahern, author and blogger at Gluten Free Girl- all featured in the article, which by the way, Dear Reader is one of the better mainstream pieces on celiac disease this gluten-free goddess has read. And I'm not prejudiced. Really.

Pick one up and see for yourself.

Sunbutter Cookies

Here's an easy gluten-free cookie recipe made with sunflower butter- a post-modern peanut-free take on those retro peanut butter cookies your Aunt Lizzie used to make. You know, with those jars of Skippy peanut butter (or was it Jif?).

Instead of using traditional peanut butter in this recipe, I used sunflower butter, which has a golden nutty flavor not unlike peanut butter, but slightly different. Kinda like peanut butter's wacky, geeky brother. You know, slightly nutty. Fun. Like a bright new bike.

And they taste so good you just might want some more. Now, please.

I adapted this recipe from a peanut butter cookie recipe (submitted by Erin Smith) to Beyond Rice Cakes, an easy, fun cookbook (especially for teens and students) by Vanessa Maltin, director of outreach and programming at the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness.

Sunbutter Cookies Recipe

These tasty nibbles are gluten-free, grain-free, milk-free, peanut-free and soy-free. Phew. Did I miss anything? Oh yeah. And they're tender-scrumptious.

Ingredients:

1 cup chilled natural sunflower butter

1 cup organic light brown sugar, packed

2 organic free-range eggs, beaten

2 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon bourbon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda

A small pinch of sea salt, if the sunbutter is salt-free

See options below for add-in ideas.

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Combine the chilled sunflower butter, light brown sugar and beaten eggs in a mixing bowl. Add vanilla, baking soda and salt; mix well with a wooden spoon.

If the Sunbutter you use is too wet, your dough may end up being too loose (this is why I chill it). Add a tablespoon  or two of brown rice flour to the dough, if you need to.

Pull off pieces of the dough with oiled hands and roll into 1-inch balls. Place the balls on a foil-lined or parchment-lined baking sheet. Using a fork, press the balls slightly to make a criss-cross pattern- making the cookies roughly 1 1/2 inches. Note: If the dough is still not stiff enough to do this, wrap and refrigerate for an hour to stiffen the consistency.

Place the baking sheet into the center of a preheated oven and bake for 9 to 10 minutes, until they are golden and set. They will be soft until they cool. Cool the sheet on a rack for a minute or two before removing the cookies to a cooling rack.

This recipe- as is- makes about 12 cookies. If you add 1/3 cup of optional add-ins, it makes a few more. Or you could just make bigger cookies. Whatever makes you happy.

Add-in Options:

• Try raisins, as suggested by reader Tricia- thanks Tricia!

• Semi-sweet chocolate chips, or gluten-free white chocolate chips.

• Chopped walnuts, pecans, cashews or macadamia nuts.

• How about pine nuts- for a more "grown-up" cookie?

Recipe Source: glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com

All images & content are copyright protected, all rights reserved. Please do not use our images or content without prior permission. Thank you. 

Notes:

Reader Daisy reports- this recipe works without eggs; use your favorite egg replacer. She also mentions using these cookies crumbled as a crumb crust for cheese cake or pies. Hungry yet?

New video

A new video just got posted over at the CRS, so thought I'd put a link up here:


CR VIDEO

You've gotta check out this video, especially around half way when the comparison of the two monkeys come up. This one is different that what you may have seen before. Even though we have seen previous examples, I was amazed by this.

It really does look like CR with a very high probability will at least keep us looking far younger than our ages as we continue to do calorie restriction.

Good Karma Meatloaf Pie with Dill Mashed Potato Crust

Got leftover meatloaf? Make a shepherd's pie, Baby

 

I'll just say it. If you like comfort food you're gonna love this meatloaf pie recipe with a mashed gold potato crust. It's simple, hearty comfort food. Because I'm a home-style cook. I'm no chef. I know my way around a kitchen but eviscerating a chicken? I'll pass. And I've never been attracted to truffles. I could care less about honing my knife skills. I chop slow and steady. Without fanfare.

My soul is built for comfort not for speed.

Read more + get the recipe >>

Face Book Calorie Restriction Group

You must have all heard about face book recently? It's very popular now and many use it to keep in contact with friends. I have found it amazing so far as I've now discovered that other people from my old high school have also got face book profiles.

Anyway, here is the link to the Calorie Restriction Face Book Group

I've put my profile settings so anyone can view it, others have chosen for theirs to be private. You can view their profiles by just adding them as friends.

Now go join!

September the sick?

...If you feel under the weather today you're in good company, because September 6th has been identified as the day Britons are most likely to fall ill...

Heres the article

So make sure you all sip your green teas, eat your garlic and wash your hands frequently. No picking your nose or putting your hands in your eyes either as these are other ways you are get infected.

Just the other day I was watching some Discovery science and a program came on about colds, and how easily it is transmitted. It did show that you have to wash your hands with soapy water for at least 20-25 seconds under a running tap to be effective. The more time the better, but don't get too obsessive ;p

I'm hoping this will be a good year for me, and for all you CRONies out there too. so far so good. Although I can't say the same for a few of my relatives and friends who have today come down with colds over the last couple days.

CBS Calorie Restriction Video (Paul and Meredith)

CR CBS VIDEO

The women from the ADA needs to do her home work, clearly.

Enjoy

Heres the article too

Memories...

Before I get started on this post, I have to say that Face book is one of the greatest sites since google! -- I can't believe just how many of my old school mates and friends from long ago are on there! It's an awesome networking site!

Running out of things to blog about -- which is a good thing because things are going well now, except that I will not be attending the conference this year in Cambridge. Still, I'm certainly going to the next one with much time to prepare and save.

My CR practice has been going good, no struggles, weight stable at around 110 lbs with no fluctuations. I've been looking at what other foods I can eat as my diet has pretty much stayed the same in the last 2 years 7 months I've been on CR. I'm going to arrange a full panel of blood tests shortly though, as I think its about time now... Everyone on CR who maintains a BMI below 18 should at least get 1 round of tests a year for safety and just for the fact it keeps you motivated to maintain that cholesterol level, or glucose level.

My legs feel a little weak right now though because I've been working on my legs by doing some squats with 30kg bar. Kind of too much for my little legs I think as I now have some tightness and cramp / weak / heavy feeling in my legs. Which usually happens when I push it too much. However my arms are startin to look a little better now that I started the weights. Still like skinny, but better muscle definition.

Just a little while back I was talking to some one about my weight and he mentioned that I lost weight in 2003 when he seen me at a funeral we went to. This was about the time that I started reading articles by Ray Kurzweil, other science stuff and nutrition etc... It was the time that I started making subtle changes to my diet, not restricting on purpose, but replacing refined cereals with whole grain cereal, putting fruit like strawberries and banana on it. Drinking orange juice rather than fizzy drinks... all the little things one does to improve their diet. These things can lead to weight loss.

My mother also said to me after I came home from college in summer 2003 that I looked skinny, and not having a typical male physique, being more like a skinny girl! lol. Shortly after that I actually went to the doctors because my family made me worry about my weight. The doctor measured my height and weight and the BMI was 18.5. She said "it's nothing to worry about, you're normal a weight... some people are just skinnier than others". So that was that. Except my brother, mother and her friend (who is very obese) made me really nervous prior to seeing the doctor, making me feel phyiscally sick and weak with anxiety as it seemed they were suggesting I had some terminal illness or something. Of course that wasn't the case, i'm still here.

My cousin who I hadn't seen since 2002 also said to me in 2003 "matt you lost a lot of weight haven't you?". So it wouldn't actually suprise me that I might have actually already been through TWO STAGES of CR weight loss. One was unintentional, and the latter in march 2005 was intentional CRON. My weight prior to 2003 wouldn't have been that High because I know for a fact I've never gone above BMI of 20. Now memories are coming back to me when I weighed myself in the gym, I was actually close to 125 lbs at one time (I have it written down here somewhere because I was starting some weight lifting and measuring progress), and when I intentionally started CR I was 118 lbs. If this is correct, then my real plain old CR date would have been when I was only around 18 years old (and I'm 23 on October the 21st 2007).

Also I like it when this happens. Two days ago I woke up a little late, some plumber guy was sorting out something in the house, after he finished he asked me to sign the paper and said "you off to school now, you're in your last year?" (that would mean he thought I was 15-16 years old), I chuckled and said no I left high school over 6 years ago! -- he said "sorry". I said no, thats good, thanks, I'm trying to live forever!... and he laughed :)

See thats the thing, before I started CR I was actually gutted that I looked so young for my age, now its really good. It's amazing that If you look around on the net you find people just like the old me moaning about looking younger than my age.

This summer has helped me though, the dark circles that was quite apparent around my eyes has gone now... that was all the crappy stress I've had over the year. Finally things are better! whoooO!

Anyway, here is todays dinner... minus the tuna that I threw on the top. I don't really go for presentation, as long as its nice :)

How To Make Roasted Green Chile Sauce

Fire roasted green chile, fresh from a roadside roaster.

How to make a roasted green chile sauce New Mexico style? First you start with bags of fresh roasted Hatch chiles.

The Fall Equinox is right around the corner. And in our small corner of the world that means only one thing- it's chile roasting time. New Mexicans are passionate about their state's most distinctive crop. Smoky, spicy and sweet all at once is the best way I can describe the complex flavor of New Mexican roasted chiles.

Roasters are ubiquitous now- along the roadsides and in parking lots- stoking their fires outside Whole Foods and Walmart alike, turning barrels of fresh Hatch chiles over open flames. The aroma is enough to make you weep.

With spicy chile happiness, that is.

Read more + get the recipe >>