My doctor agreed to let me cut my thyroid pills in half. My blood test numbers were 'weird', with the tsh indicating that it was low, but my t4 high (I don't have the numbers, should get them). Since I've been having premature heartbeats (heart palpitations) and felt 'high' he agreed to try cutting my dose. If that doesn't work, I may have to switch to armour or a combined t3 and t4. With the help of the diet, and it's effect to slow down the autoimmune reaction against by thyroid, as well as better providing the nutrients my thyroid needs, I think this will work. I think my thyroid will step up to the plate and start working more like it should naturally.

It's been over a week and my heart rhythms are better, feeling pretting good, though I think my hair may be shedding a little more than usual now. I'll give it more time and see.

Went on a little vacation, and was a little less strict on my diet while there. Seemed to do ok though, and successfully avoided anything that would wreck the vacation. Did buy and bring some beneficials and fresh fruit, and walked my tail off, so I feel pretty good. I'm ready to eat right again though, it was starting to wear me down a bit.

Sad news though, my grandmother passed away. I'm going to her funeral in a couple days, hopefully I can catch up on work by then, but I'll go even if I haven't. I'm glad it wasn't a long, drawn-out, painful thing, as many cancers are, though I wish we'd all been given more time with her. My baby gave her a kiss on the cheek last time we saw her, and it was a sweet visit. My father was very close to her, so I hope he's doing okay; they're all so busy getting everything in order that we haven't had time to talk.

It's amazing how long it takes to learn from my body. Yesterday I was hungry and found myself in close proximity to a potato. I need to plan for moments like that, but needless to say, I ate just a few bites. Always thought potatoes didn't do anything to me, but this time I noticed some pain in my lower back that, recently, has been a rare occurence.

I've been eating too many carbs, very busy, stressed, and figure eating some rice is better than skipping a meal, though I'm not sure that's the case. My new health food store stopped selling free range beef, and I haven't made it to the other HFS. Sad because it wasn't frozen, it was fresh, now I'll have to go back to frozen. Did find out more about Norwegian salmon that my grocery store carries, it's antibiotic free, though given some type of immune booster as a smelt that I'll have to read into, and it's feed is all-natural, whatever that means. Sounds better than regular atlantic salmon, and it's not frozen. I still plan to order some frozen wild alaskan salmon.

Making jerky later today...mmmm.

As a O non-secretor my selection of sweeteners is very limited, no table sugar, no artificial sweeteners, no stevia, no honey, no maple syrup, of course no corn syrup, no dextrose, fructose, rice syrup or barley malt...the list goes on. What I can have are molasses and vegetable glycerine. Molasses works in some things, though for somebody who's not used to it, it just doesn't cut it. So I tentatively tried vegetable glycerine. I found it at one of the two local health food stores, in the skincare section. It didn't have any nutritional info on the bottle but did say it was derived from vegetable oils and pure enough to be taken internally. I was a little nervous at this point, so I did more research when I got it home. Heidi has some good information on it, and I've since noticed it as a main ingredient in a lot of prepared foods like protein bars, granola bars, baked goodies, etc.

I've discovered in my reading that not only is it safe & classified as a food, it actually has some health benefits and is big in weightlifting and athletic circles. I've also found it listed in some recipes for diabetics, even though one website says it does have an effect on blood sugar and that diabetics should be careful with it. It's been through some confusion as to whether it should be classified as a carbohydrate or a fat, presently it's classified as a carbohydrate. It's naturally occuring in the body, a product of the breakdown of fats. I'll have to get my Health Library Diabetes book back in my hands, as I heard it is mentioned in there pretty often. From what I understand the body will use it for glucose if it's short on glucose, but will use it as it would use a fat instead, if it has enough energy. For Os, fats are better than sugars most often. Like sugar alcohols, it doesn't interfere with ketosis, but unlike sugar alcohols (ie sorbitol, malitol), it doesn't cause digestive problems and diarrhea. I suppose that is because it is a naturally occuring substance in the body, easy to digest, and not perceived by the gut as a frankenfood.

That is my layman's read on glycerine; of course, remember moderation is best with all neutrals, for me glycerine is something that makes my occasional 'treat' more compliant.

Now on to the taste, it's quite sweet, a thinner liquid than maple syrup, and seems to be water soluble even though it seems like a oil. Works well in lemonade, herbal tea, brownies, chocolate...I'm continuing to experiment. When I made brownies with it they started smoking toward the end. The flavor was fine afterall, not burnt, but I'll reduce the temperature and/or baking time next time. One more try with it and the recipe should be postable.

I find it ironic that the only sweetener that doesn't cause cravings for more food and more sugar is the only one that isn't marketed as a sweetener. It just seems like a bit of a conspiracy, related to listing MSG as "Flavorings" in the ingredient lists even though it is somewhat addictive and dangerous for many consumers. The food industry seems to be able to protect it's interests and, in the process, fatten us all up quite well.

It's been a few weeks since I went jogging, my cold and allergies were just awful for a while there, but I feel better now, and needed some stress reduction, so at sunset tonight I loaded up the baby in the stroller, covered the whole load with a mosquito net, and some natural repellant, and took off on foot. Walked faster than usual to the park, but couldn't even manage my minimum 1/2 mile of running. Granted, the stroller makes it more challenging and the hike up the hill is a serious incline even for serious-looking mountain bikers. It was a good workout, and I even managed to fit in a hot bath afterward. I didn't eat well today (as in enough food), and I'm sure that didn't help the endurance. But hey, I went and got my blood flowing, and that counts for a lot!

The sunset was gorgeous tonight, they're all beautiful here, but this was really spectacular, wish I had taken a picture to post...but I didn't want to slow down. Flaming orange rays coming off the horizon, just about every type, color, and size of clouds, the colors all reflecting off the lake, and the muted-deep-colored hills seeming to vibrate with their last warmth of the day...just amazing.

g'night!

I've had a few comments/questions come in, so I will use this blog to respond to them.

Hi Debbie- about psyllium husks for fiber supplement, from what I remember methylcellulose is more agreeable for most Os (though I have trouble finding any regular brand without avoids, check the health food store). I never quite feel well with psyllium husks. The very best thing for O's regularity in my experience is protein in the morning. Odd that a high fiber cereal would stop me up, while eggs or meat just gets everything moving right along. Also, for fiber supplements, the Larch Arabiniglactan in the store here, is great. It's a little more pricey, but for the benefits, it's well worth it, as promotes better health in so many ways. It also doesn't take as much per dose. There are also some posts about using flax seeds that have been soaked overnight, do a search on Heidi's column for info on that.

Thanks to Debra for pointing out that citric acid is in the ingredients in coke. I haven't checked the ingredients for a few years, and it's pretty common for them to shuffle around from time to time. I'll have to look out for that come next Christmas eve! P.S. I'll pray for you too!

Thanks to Chris for pointing out a new book I may have to pick up and add to my library, "What Your Doctor Doesn't Know About Nutritional Medicine May Be Killing You", sounds interesting.

Thanks to Natalie also for your comments, I always enjoy reading your blog and basking in your community spirit.

Luis asked about the status of Vitamin C for O's, I seem to remember that it has to be from good natural sources like rose hips or acerola cherry. I think there are some problems with the standard drugstore vitamin C sources causing trouble for Os acidic digestion. I know that I never really thought of taking Vitamin C for that reason, until I saw it listed in some of the health protocols, like the Allergy protocol for non-secretors.