Done. Sorry it took so long.

I have a great physician (female) who will order whatever tests I want within the political constraints she and all MD’s here in BC work under. The College of Physicians & Surgeons sets standards for treatment. MDs who don’t follow these standards can be called before the board. One way the College can check on the activities of a doctor is to run the MDs physician’s number to see how many prescriptions an MD has written and for what pharmaceuticals. When E-Health is up and running things will get really bad because it will be easy to run profiles to see what action is being taken in response to lab results. For example if an MD does not consistently prescribe statins for elevated cholesterol I think it probable that Big Brother will be quick to let them know they are not adhering to professional standards and could face the lose of their license.

Patients may be able to initially sign some sort of release stating them don’t want statins or any drug. But I think it will only a matter of time before such patients will be labelled ‘liabilities to the system’ and will either face punishing premiums for health care or be made inelegible for coverage altogether. Big Brother has ways of motivating people to comply.

As you are probably aware doctors in BC are under a directive to not write requisitions for 25-OH-D tests even though it is well documented that vitamin D deficiency affects about 97% of Canadians. You can get test kits from either the vitamin D council or GrassRoots Health. So far I have not had a problem getting the materials back and forth across the border for my 25-OH-D blood spot tests. However, I am holding my breath.

One option is to try a private (you pay) clinic or travel into the US for tests you can not get through the plan. Meridian Labs is one that comes to mind. Perhaps Dr. Eades or others have some suggestions to offer.

Mine also came with a huge number of the paper filters (350?) and actually, the filters are reusable at least 4-5 times if you give them a quick rinse (there are few grounds on them when you peel the filter off the “puck”).

We found if we set our grinder just one or two notches less fine on our burr grinder than for our automatic espresso machine, it was perfect for the Aeropress (more coarse than for espresso but more fine than for automatic drip coffee or French press).

We just did a northern CA road trip and the Aeropress was great! We heated water in the motel drip machines and made espressos and Americanos in our motel room. For the road, I made a 4 shot Americano in our Thermos container right before checking out. At one motel at North Lake Tahoe (the FireLite) the 4 cup Sunbeam drip coffee machine gave the water a plastic-y taste (which ruined the coffee), so we used the microwave to heat water instead. I tried an immersion heater in a 2 cu Pyrex before we left, but it was really slow so we didn’t bother with that.

After brunch at the Squeeze In after we departured Lake Tahoe (thanks very much for that recommendation!) the waitress filled our thermos with hot water and I made “bumper” espresso Americanos at our car parked right outside. My son videotaped me making it but I haven’t done anything with that yet.

Crema – I know what you mean, we love crema, too. The Aeropress does makes some crema, but not as much or as long lasting as the crema produced by our “Italian Princess” automatic machine. You can hear it at the end of the pressing process as the steam and air in the chamber is forced through the grounds and filter. Actually, what I discovered is that the crema forms mostly on the underneath side of the filter holder and clings there (I tend to scrape the bottom of the unit across my cup edge to catch the crema when I’m done pressing). My husband (the espresso drinker) says the crema forms better when there is more coffee and less water when brewing with the Aeropress. I usually make Americanos, so I tend to be liberal with the water.

Thanks for the info. I just ordered one through Amazon and had it sent to where I’m going to be traveling next week. I’ll let you know how I like it after a few cups. Hope it’s as good as everyone seems to think it is. If so, it will make traveling a lot easier for us. No more lousy, in-room coffee in the various hotels.

Thanks for the interesting post Dale too.

There is a doctor online (Mercola is his name) who claims that washing with soap after sun-exposure washes away vit D3 that has just been synthesized. He said he used to think he had to wait 2 hours before washing so Vit D from the epidermis could be fully absorbed, now he says it’s 48 hours and recommends only washing with water! This seems a bit unlikely to me as I would assume everyone in western countries wash everyday with soap… and that would make everyone even in equatorial areas highly deficient in Vit D — Mike do you know of anything in the literature about this, or is it just baloney?

On a side note — I supplement with 5000IU a day of vit D3, because my mother has MS and the neurologist said to keep levels about 100 nmol/L. My challenge is that my calcium levels end up getting too high — so I especially avoid milk (a cup of tea with lots of milk was my treat, kinda like my “desert”, on a low-carb diet… sometimes a few cups!)

Anyway, thanks again for the link to the Vit D council.

Take care and great blog as always Mike!

Michael

I also had my first 25-OH-D test done by LifeLabs. From I have read the toxicity issue has been overstated.

I have recently joined a vitamin D study sponsored by D-Action. Every 6 months I complete a health survey and submit a blood spot sample for analysis. For those who are interested you can participate in the vitamin D study by joining D Action at http://www.grassrootshealth.net. There’s the Call to Action on the site from a consortium of concerned parties and scientists representing a number of universities.

Vitamin D study participants must submit 2 tests per year at a cost of $40 US per test (I paid $120 to have a 25-OH-D test done by the local lab). The range recommended by D-Action is 100-150 nmol/L. The Vitamin D Council recommends 125-200 nmol/L (NBV: nmol/L is 2.5 x US values). The Vitamin D Council claims the body does not reliably store vitamin D when serum levels are <100 nmol/L.

My first test in the study was 127.5 nmol/L which resulted from regular full body sun bathing for about 30 minutes close to noon (weather permitting) and D3 supplements of 5,000 units per day. I exchanged emails recently with a participant close to me area who has his own sun bed. He sun baths regularly but takes only 400 IU of D3. His serum levels were lower than mine but still within the recommended range. So you can just imagine what most people's levels are who are either avoiding the sun or using lots of sun block. Studies suggest that about 95% of Canadians are deficient in terms of the minimal 40 nmol/L recommended by Health Canada. Some have no detectable trace of vitamin D in them.

There is a wealth of excellent information on the Grass Roots and Vitamin D Council (www.vitamindcouncil.org) web sites including some excellent lectures.

And you will probably have to find another endocrinologist to get a script for dessicated thyroid.