Photo food diary Tuesday Dec. 2, 2008
Vanilla shake Dec 2, 2008
Started off the day with a Vanilla shake with just a touch of caramel syrup in it.
Didn’t eat lunch until early afternoon. MD and I went to the Habit, which is a well-trafficked Santa Barbara hamburger/sandwich chain. It was a chilly damp day today in SB, but we ordered at the window and ate outside. MD whined about the cold, but she manned up and ate outdoors with me.
Note the line to the left of the soft drink machine. More about which later.
Here is the menu. Pretty simple but inexpensive and very good.
Habit menu Dec 2, 2008
MD ordered a BBQ Bacon Char burger protein style (with a lettuce wrap instead of a bun) and a regular drink. I also ordered a BBQ Bacon Char and a Tri-Tip Steak sandwich and a regular drink. We got our drinks first, then waited for our lunch. Here is how it came.
2 BBQ Bacon Chars and 1 Tri-Tip Steak sandwich 12/2/2008
Here is my Tri-Tip sandwich up close and personal. (Tri-tip is a Santa Barbara special cut of beef. I’ve never seen it anywhere else, but every place here has a tri-tip sandwich.)
Tri-Tip Steak sandwich Dec 2, 2008
I told you it was good. Plus I had the BBQ Bacon Char as did MD.
BBQ Bacon Char sandwich Dec 2, 2008
We both finished our sandwiches and ate all the little peperoncini in the cup in the 2nd photo above.
We had soda water (or seltzer) for our drink. I don’t know how many of you know this, but you can get soda water out of most soft-drink self-serve vending machines. There is a little button that is sometimes in the back, but more often in the front of all the dispensing levers. All you have to do is put your cup under the spout and push the little button and you get non-caloric, fizzy soda instead of HFCS- or aspartame-containing soft drinks. Here is MD dispensing.
Dispensing soda Dec 2, 2008
Here is the little button up close:
Soda button
As MD and I ate and watched the other diners, I noticed a pattern. People would come to the window, order their meal, and get their drink cup and a numbered ticket. They went immediately to the soft drink dispenser and filled their cup. I watched at least 20 people, and ALL of them got the HFCS-sweetened drinks. I didn’t see a single diet drink customer. These folks would all slurp on their drinks while awaiting their orders. Once their orders were called, they walked to the counter, picked up their food, walked by the soft drink dispenser and refilled or topped off their drinks. Then they sat down and ate. After they ate, they disposed of their trash (we’re a clean lot here in Santa Barbara) and walked by the soda machine for one last refill before they walked away. Each of the regular cups holds what looks to be about 16 ounces, but with ice, probably holds , say, 12 ounces. Each 12 ounce soda contains about 40 gm of high-fructose corn syrup. Multiply that by 3 (or at least 2.5) and that gives you how much HFCS each of these people consumed during their lunch.
Late in the afternoon, I scarfed into a bag of mixed nuts and threw back TWO handfuls of the following size.
Handful of nuts Dec 2, 2008
For supper, MD made chili. No beans. Just meat, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes and whatever she uses to make the chili sauce that holds it all together.
Chili Dec 2, 2008
I had this bowl and the rest in the skillet, which was probably about 3/4 this much. We had diet tonic to drink.
Pomegranates and blackberries Dec 2, 2008
If you can believe it, we still have this stuff left from when we bought it early last week. I’ve got to admit that despite how much I love it, I’m beginning to get a little tired of it. MD tells me that there is enough for one more go round. Then, thank God, it will be gone.
I’m going to go ahead and post this now. If I eat a snack tonight or drink anything other than a non-caloric beverage, I’ll put it up at the head of the list on tomorrow’s digital diet diary post.
Dr. Mike,
Just got back the lab results for my earlier comment.
Total 268
TRG 59
HDL 40
I’m disappointed that my HDL did not go up but the TRG/HDL ratio dropped slightly to 1.5 from 1.8.
The doctor wants an appointment to discuss these results and I will insist on having the LDL particle size measured if they think more tests are required.
What is the name of the test that I should ask for? Just say particle size test?
The only thing that has changed in my diet over the last few years is 3 weeks prior to the first blood test I started Finasteride 5mg per day for BPH. Could that cause my Total Cholesterol to be over 200? (not that 200 is meaningful and Prior to the Finasteride I have been below 200)
Thanks,
Dan
Just ask for a LDL particle size – they should know what you’re talking about. I wouldn’t get too wrapped around the axle over this anyway. These measurements can change from day to day. And there can be lab error. Given what you’ve been eating and your low TRG, I’m surprised your HDL is what it is. I would have expected much more. And there may well be on the next lab.
magnesium oil… I have read all the stuff about the mag oil. As said it is expensive and who knows if the results equal the hype. Since I am a chiro and do a lot of musculoskeletal work, the idea of getting more mag into tight, spasmed muscles is very appealing. I had a friend who is a compounding pharma who made me some mag glycinate in a base to carry it through the skin. Seems to work pretty well. Better than oral? Not sure. The mag citramate Dr. Eades had here works better than any others I have used and you can’t beat the price.
Some options may be:
1) order mag oil through Amazon.. it’s cheaper and you could help this site.
2) soak in epsom salts (mag sulfate), it’s cheap and do it at night and sleep like a baby.
3) take the mag citramate
I’m betting mag need would go down if following a low carb diet due to lowered stress hormones and less blood sugar spikes. Getting it inside the cell would probably be much easier.
Doc, I wonder if people who do respond favorably to the oil are doing so because their guts are so inflammmed from all the grains, etc that the mag is hard to get through?
Just some of my musings since I have thought a lot about this over the years due to working with a lot of fibromyalgia and autistic pts where mag is so vital
I, too, often recommend soaking in Epsom salts for those who can’t tolerate oral magnesium. It works like a charm – and without side effects. Thanks for reminding me.
You could be right about the oil working better for those with inflamed guts.
Alternatively, buy some magnesium chloride crystals, dilute roughly 50 / 50 on purified water and buy yourself an atomiser spray bottle.
It’s *very* inexpensive that way,
Thank you so much for the link to your wife’s blog on alternative sweeteners. It answered a lot of questions I have.
I’m not sure, though, how exactly using them “in moderation” translates. Is that subjective? Is it one serving per day? And if so, is one serving equal to one diet soda, less, more? I can’t seem to get a definitive on this, no matter how much research I do.
I guess in moderation is in the eye of the beholder. I would say in moderation is the equivalent to two or three soft drinks per day.
Robert: “magnesium oil… I have read all the stuff about the mag oil. As said it is expensive and who knows if the results equal the hype.”
I haven’t tried magnesium oil yet. So I don’t know if the claims made for it are hype. And I won’t know until I do try it. What I do know is that the results I have experienced after only 9 days on high doses of magnesium chloride hexahydrate in a concentrated solution far exceeded what I had experienced with any supplement I have taken in the 40 or so years I have been taking supplements. This includes the experience I have had with magnesium citrate with malic acid which is what Thorne Research Citrimate is.
Claims are being made for the advantages of magnesium chloride over other forms of magnesium which I seriously doubt are hype. And getting my hands on magnesium chloride hexahydrate USP powder took considerable effort. So I doubt anyone is making a killing selling the stuff. I suspect that it is probably easier to get high grade heroin or cocaine (if I were wanting such substances). When I finally succeeded in finding a sympathetic pharmacist who sourced and ordered magnesium chloride hexahydrate USP powder for me I paid $36 for half a kilo (500 grams).
Magnesium chloride hexahydrate yields a little less than 12% magnesium. So you have to take a gram of magnesium chloride hexahydrate powder to get 120 mg of magnesium. I make a concentrated solution of magnesium chloride hexahydrate by adding enough water to 25 grams of powder to make 50 cc of solution. One cc = 60 mg of magnesium. I take about 3 cc per dose (180 mg) in anywhere from 4 to 6 doses spread throughout the day. In addition, I also take other forms of magnesium such as aspartates, orotates and citric malates (Citrimate) because it is not always practical to take the liquid.
A warning. Magnesium chloride hexahydrate in a solution has a brackish, salty taste that takes some getting used to. I tried more dilute forms. But I found it harder to get them down than a smaller, more concentrated dose. Chasing a dose with club soda helps kill the taste. After a while you get used to it.
In a future post I will list some of the benefits I have experienced from magnesium chloride hexahydrate in a solution. For now the most significant benefit I have experienced is an almost euphoric increase in physical and mental energy. Maybe it is exclusive to me. But is is something I would wish on anyone. So hopefully others will have the same experience.
I mentioned that I experienced significant benefits after 9 days. Unfortunately, I ran out after 9 days because I initially only ordered 100 grams. It took several weeks to obtain a new supply. During this interval I took as much magnesium in other forms as I could without having non-stop diarrhea. Despite this I regressed considerably. I did not regain lost ground until I resumed taking magnesium chloride hexahydrate.
Here is the web link to the article that first piqued my interest in magnesium chloride.
http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/chris/2005/09/15/magnesium_chloride_in_acute_and_chronic_diseases.htm
Tim Rowe: Alternatively, buy some magnesium chloride crystals, dilute roughly 50 / 50 on purified water and buy yourself an atomiser spray bottle.
It’s *very* inexpensive that way,
You can also just massage the same mix onto your skin. Sensitive areas may sting for a while. But I have not experienced any lasting effect.
Some sort of agent is added to mgcl hexhydrate to increase the absorption. I came across a post on a web site that told how to make magnesium oil with this agent. I could be wrong, but I suspect that magnesium oil is something of a marketing entity intended to create a mystic by which to leverage the profit in magnesium chloride hexahydrate powder. I don’t think making magnesium oil is exactly rocket science.
On the hormonal situation from your answer to my previous message…what do you mean specifically and where can I get more info on this particular topic? You have piqued my curiousity.
Many thanks and keep up the good work!
Alicia
It’s difficult to get reliable information on this subject. I’m trying to goad MD into putting up a long post about it. There is some info in our new book coming out in March 2009, but not a huge, indepth discussion.
Thanks, Dr. Eades for the response regarding whey for the elderly (My elderly husband had 16′ of his small intestine removed 4 years ago due when they were blocked and “died” due to a bowel infarction). I work hard to find the balance of foods that are healthy but will put on some weight. (While I’m forever trying to lose!) He much prefers eating eggs or puffed wheat! Since your posts I have made him a couple of protein shakes with about 1/4 of ensure added (good or bad??), but now can feel free to add some whey also. It’s really a learning process.
And, thanks to MD for her chili recipe. I’m fixing it this week.
We really enjoyed your photo diary of meals. It was amazing how much it added when you actually picture foods, not just read a list of them! Not a bad idea for all of us to do for a week or two occasionally!
Ensure is probably good. Will give him some easily absorbed calories.