Posts

Back in the Saddle

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Well, pardners, it's been a wild ride this last year or so.  As rough as 2020 was, I have a lot to be grateful for, and a lot that I've learned along the way. For one thing, I learned that it's possible -- though not easy -- to write a book in a year (as long as you steal lots of content from a blog you've already written). (Crazy!) I also learned that folks really do want to hear more about food, health, wellness and thriving, no matter what your condition. (Cool!) And I learned that I'm enjoying life when I'm putting words on a page, and when I'm challenging myself to put those words out there, whether through a blog like this one, a book, or a YouTube Live series . (Koo-koo-kooky!) Which is why I find myself back at this little keyboard, pecking away with a bit of drivel, and ripping off old-timey cartoon images, on a Thursday morning. Hope you guys are able to pick up what I'm puttin' down, and do subscribe here, or on my Youtube channel above,

Going to Print!

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Hey, Gang! I know it's been a while since I've posted here, and I'm sure you've been absolutely lost without my witty, thought-provoking drivel. But I haven't been sitting on the couch watching TV and feasting on pork rinds (that is to say, that's not all I've been doing). No, sir.  I've been working with a great group of fellow writers and an editor to help me take my work to the latest and greatest, most bleeding-edge format: a book! While this blog can be kind of all over the place, the book will specifically focus on the stories of people -- myself and others -- who are living and thriving with epilepsy, thanks to a low-carb or ketogenic diet. It's a project I've been wanting to do for quite some time.  There's lots of information out there about keto, and there are lots of stereotypes about people with epilepsy.  In this book, I mean to upend the stereotypes by telling the true, inspiring stories of folks who have taken contr

Bedicine

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Last night at a party, a fellow working-stiff friend and I were giving a hard time to two of our retiree buddies.  “You need to be productive,” my friend said.  “Napping all the time, goofing off… you need to accomplish something.” It brought me back to one of my favorite reads (and re-reads) this year, Dr. Matthew Walker’s Why We Sleep .   Walker, a sleep scientist at UC Berkeley and self-described “ Sleep Diplomat ” gives a fascinating and layperson-friendly overview of the science behind why we need sleep and the hundreds of benefits that it offers.   From the benefits for memory (forget the all-nighters, kids), heart health, muscle and bone repair, athletic performance, mood, cognition, hormone regulation, and more, he shows that your sleeping hours are, in fact, the most productive hours of your day! The book (and, for the attention-span-deprived, his TED Talk )  is chock-full of mind-blowing facts and scientific studies.  But at this time of year, one seems parti

Gut Check

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Doctors have known since the 1920s that a  ketogenic diet is effective in treating epilepsy .  What they still don’t know is how .   Ketogenic diet therapy is really pretty simple. You cut carbs, forcing your body to burn fat for fuel; your body turns that fat into ketones, which run through the bloodstream; and when there are more ketones in your blood, your brain works more efficiently.  This might explain why the diet is being explored for many other neurological problems, like autism, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, MS, and more .  That the diet is effective for many (though not all) people is well-known.  But again, the mechanisms by which it works are still a mystery.  Like the Totally Awesome Roller Racer , everyone wants to know, "How's it go?"  But two new studies have come out suggesting that the path leading from bacon in the belly to benefits in the brain might run straight through the gut. The gut microbiome is the wild and wonderful world of tri

Working Up a Passion for Your Work

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Last week I attended my college’s Employee Recognition reception.  At this somewhat cheesy annual event, the VPs get up and announce the folks in their divisions who have stuck around for 5 years, 10 years, 15 years, and so on.   It was a record-setting year: a colleague in my division celebrated his 50 th year at the college. An entire career — an entire adult life, in fact — spent at one job, at one institution.  Inconceivable!  I know people who quit jobs like it’s a bodily function, and whose resumes are thick as a phone book.   But that’s not even the impressive part.  You’d think that after being at one place for so long, still grinding away in his seventies, he’d be burned out — phoning it in, cruising along, collecting a paycheck.  You’d be wrong.  In fact, he’s the most dedicated, most passionate, hardest-working guy in my division.  When I compare myself to him, I have to blush at how I fall short. How is this possible?  It’s not supposed to be that way.  Or is

Crazy Easy Ketolicious: Gameday Grub!

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Well, it’s here: America’s pig-outingest holiday .  And I'm a man who loves to eat.  Unfortunately, for the past nine months, I’ve been staying in dietary ketosis by following a low-carb diet called NSNG (No Sugar, No Grains).  What’s a big guy to do?  After all, what’s game day without pizza, nachos, wings and beer?   It ain’t always easy.  Especially when you’re as lazy as I am.  But in the words of baseball great Jimmy Dugan, “the hard is what makes it good.”  So here’s the low-effort, low-carb game day grub that helped me spin-maneuver my way through a glorious undefeated season (and brutal post-season) by my alma mater. Guacamole: Avocados are a keto dieter’s favorite fruit.  Buttery-licious, nutritious, and easy to eat.  When it comes to guac, it’s best to make your own, since packaged brands have tons of preservatives.  This recipe from goop  requires only 4 ingredients and almost no prep.  But how can you have guac without chips?  Somehow, you need to transport all

Iron Man

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“Can you donate blood?”  The question catches me off-guard.  I’m in the office of my new family doctor, reviewing the results of my recent blood tests.   So far, no big surprises.  My cholesterol is okay, I’m low on omega-3s, my insulin sensitivity is so-so, my genetics are generally good…  This new doc is a bit unconventional, but very thorough.  When she orders blood tests, she orders BLOOD TESTS. The report is 5 pages long and has a dizzying list of letters and numbers that, for me, might as well be hieroglyphics (or a quarterly 401k statement).  But she flies through the report, decoding the numbers and offering me helpful lifestyle tips, like eating less sugar and more fish. All good, until we get to the blood-donation thing.  “Um, well… I haven’t donated blood,” I admit, sheepishly.   “Okay, but I mean, will they allow you to?  The reason I ask is that your ferritin levels are quite high.” “Ferritin?” I say, reaching back for a scrap of knowledge from high schoo