My health

No eggs or bread of any kind for breakfast
anymore. It should have been like this
for my whole life.

I had my annual checkup last week and things seem to be going about average for me. My test results are permanently posted in the upper left corner of my blog page, but here's a link anyway.

Within the docs there are links to articles that explain what each particular test concerns.

• My A1C was 2 points over the top margin for normal.
• Vitamin D was low by 4.2 ng/mL
• Glucose was 5 mg/dL over the top margin for normal.
• HDL Cholesterol was 1 mg/dL below the bottom margin for normal
• LDL Cholesterol was 2 mg/dL above the top margin for normal
• RBC (red blood cell) count was low by 0.09 
• HGB (hemoglobin) count was low by 0.3 g/dL
• MCHC corpuscular hemoglobin concentration) was low by 0.4 g/dL

So this means I'm Anemic with Pre-Diabetes. I was told as a child that I had an iron deficiency. It was also revealed to me after I was forty years old that when I was a child a doctor told my mother that I might have Celiac disease. If it was the case it was never treated. Now I know why my stomach hurt and I was so sleepy during my first two hours of school each morning.

I was always falling asleep in class. It was just written off as being lazy and shiftless. My whole f*ing life spent in a fog of deficiency. It's no wonder I never achieved much. If your kids complain at school of being hungry and very tired despite having a large breakfast. They need medical attention.

###
Follow-up on 01/27/2019: I started taking Iron supplements and noticed a change right away. My energy level is more stable now and does not crash right after eating a meal. I'm no longer feeling exhausted all the time and climbing the stairs doesn't leave me tired either.

Quest for Food

The Light House Restaurant, Rochester, IL

Yesterday I crashed hard after breakfast. I ate two pieces of whole wheat toast and drank some Orange juice. I think it was the carbohydrates, so this morning I had some unsweetened juice concentrate I found at the Vitamin Shoppe, some Beet Root, Tart Cherry, and Cranberry. Then I followed up with coffee and four slices of Bacon.

I'm sitting here now, a half-hour later, and I'm not feeling the weight of the world washing over me. That wave of inexplicable exhaustion, like an invisible weighted blanket. Maybe too soon? Maybe other circumstances?

According to Nutritiondata.self.com, bacon has a one star rating when it comes to weight loss, but only a two star rating for weight gain. One might think they should be diametrically opposed. 

I heard recently that dietary fat and cholesterol were given a false bad rap by the sugar industry. I did a little research and posted the links at the Cringing Consumer blog.

So, this morning before I go workout at Planet Fitness, I'm looking up foods that are highest in Protein and Potassium, and lowest in total Carbohydrates and total Fat. Here are just a few of the "999 results:" Spoiler alert: Mostly Pork, Poultry and Dairy with fresh fruits and vegetables.

• Chicken, broilers or fryers, breast, meat only, raw 
• Cheese, mozzarella, nonfat 
• CAMPBELL Soup Company, V8 Vegetable Juice, Lemon Twist V8 
• Watercress, raw 
• Margarine, vegetable oil spread, stick/tub/bottle, 60% fat 
• Cowpeas, leafy tips, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt 
• Cabbage, chinese (pak-choi), cooked, boiled, drained, without salt 
• Cabbage, common, cooked, boiled, drained, with salt 
• Radishes, raw 
• Tomatoes, red, ripe, cooked 
• Beef, cured, pastrami 
• Pickles, cucumber, dill, low sodium 
• Peppers, sweet, green, raw 

The trouble is with making sandwiches, pizza or including pasta. Healthline.com suggests there are ten viable substitutes for "conventional wheat bread," I'm going to look at the Carbohydrate content of each to see which is the lowest. I'll just look at the three most easily accessible:

• Corn Tortillas - 8 grams of carbohydrates. Tend to fall apart raw, shatter, 3.5 star rating for weight gain.
• Rye Breat - Nope. 15 grams of carbohydrates.
• Sourdough Bread - Nope - 18 grams of carbohydrates

Normal wheat bread has 12 grams of carbs, and white bread has 23 grams if carbohydrates!
Then there is Rice Bran Bread with 12 grams of carbs.

It's been over an hour and I still feel pretty darn good.