Polite Requests.

I delivered a large wad (0.25"/6mm thick) of studies with a covering letter to my mum's new GP on Monday 17th Jan 2011. Here's what I wrote in the covering letter:- Personal information deleted.

"Dear Sir/Madam,

I have some requests concerning Mrs *****.

1) Please monitor Mrs *****’s serum B12 & homocysteine. Until Jan 31st 2010, Mrs ***** was receiving 1,000ug/day methyl B12. This was stopped by the management of Lashbrook House after I complained too much. Long-term use of PPIs in old people can adversely affect B12 absorption (evidence attached).

2) Please advise the staff at Acacia Lodge to walk Mrs ***** using the 3-wheeled rollator that I bought for her as often as she is able. Prolonged inactivity results in Insulin Resistance (IR) in skeletal muscle (evidence attached). IR results in hyperinsulinaemia on eating sugars & starches. Hyperinsulinaemia results in drowsiness and stupor (which makes it more difficult for Mrs ***** to do anything).

3) Please advise the staff at Acacia Lodge to reduce Mrs *****’s intake of sugars & starches. A low-carbohydrate/ketogenic diet is beneficial for people with impaired cognitive function (evidence attached). I have recently persuaded Acacia Lodge to give Mrs ***** cooked breakfasts and have supplied Acacia Lodge with Burgen Soya & Linseed bread (12g carbs/slice). This has resulted in improved cognitive function in the mornings.

I don’t want to impair Mrs *****’s quality of life, so she can still have chips or mashed potato (not both in the same meal as happened on Fri 10th Jan, after which I found Mrs ***** asleep in her wheelchair slumped over with her nose squashed against the arm of the chair). She can also have desserts and the occasional chocolate and/or biscuit.

4) Please allow Mrs ***** to have 5,000iu/day Vitamin D3 (provided by me), as UVB cannot penetrate window glass. 5,000iu/day is much greater than the RDA of 600iu/day but it’s a safe amount (evidence attached). That amount of Vitamin D3 has many beneficial effects (rather a lot of evidence attached!) other than bone health (for which 600iu/day is sufficient).

Thank you,

Nigel Kinbrum (son & attorney)
01252 ****** (24-hr Ansafone)
07768 ******"

The GP phoned me on Friday 21st Jan. He's taking my requests seriously and has asked for a week to read all of the evidence that I provided. Here's hoping!

I love onions.

I also love the ONION. The following YouTube video is safe for work.

New directions.

When Rosso suggested to me in December 2008 that I start a Diet & Nutrition blog, I said to him "but whatever will I write about?"

Well, 100+ (quality?) posts later, I seem to have found a thing or two! The thing is, talking about just Diet & Nutrition can become a bit boring after a while, hence the "+ Random stuff".

I shall be having more pictures and music videos.

QUIZ: What is the object in the picture below and how old is it?


Here's Perfect 10 sung by Julie & me at the Woodcutters in Bracknell on 20.1.2011. It's darker in there than it was in 2009.


Any requests (other than "no more singing!")?

Quiz solution: The object in the picture above is the original timing belt from my mum's 1998 VW Polo 1.0L. Not bad for nearly 13 years old.

My kind of town (Yateley is)

Another random post with a musical title. On my walks, I pass several places of interest. Here are some pictures. Permission to publish all pics granted.

1) The White Lion (a foody pub).


2) Yateley War Memorial.


3) Jessie's (part of Yateley Industries for the disabled).


4) Yateley MOT Centre (where I go to get my car serviced/repaired).


5) The Co-op (where I go to get loads of bargains).


6) Yateley Medical Centre (where I go to get myself serviced/repaired).


7) St Peter's Church (taken after dark, so a longish exposure).


8) The Dog and Partridge (a musicy pub, former official headquarters of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party).


9) The Highwayman (a foody pub on the Monteagle estate)


10) Boots (where I go to get my drugs).


11) Chez Nige (where I live).

Half a breakfast

This morning, I microwaved 2 rashers middle bacon, 2 sausages, 2 eggs & a chopped onion.


I could only eat half of it. Yes, I know that it doesn't look very appetising. I don't really care what my food looks like. It's the aroma, taste & texture that I care about and by golly, that breakfast smelled delicious (I love the smell of microwaved "fried" onions).

If anything, food that looks like crap tends to suppress my appetite, which for me is a good thing.

I shall have the above for lunch.

Treats

I've found that allowing myself a small treat when I go for a walk makes the walk that much more enjoyable, even if it's freezing cold, pouring with rain and/or blowing gale-force winds.

While walking in Henley-on-Thames during mum's lunch break, I scrumped some Asian pears off a tree growing on the other side of a fence with razor wire on top. Here's one I nicked earlier! :-D

While walking in Yateley today, I scrumped some Crabapples. They were well bletted by the frosts and tasted delicious if a little mushy in texture.


On a later walk today, I bought a Co-op 100g "Truly Irresistible" Christmas pudding. It must have been quite resistible as it had been reduced in price from 44p to 29p.

You may have noticed that a lot of my blog post titles contain song lyrics or song titles. I have a musical bent and I enjoy singing karaoke. I had a great time last Sunday down at the Cherry Picker in Slough as it was Julie (the presenter)'s birthday. We sang "The Time of my Life" and another song. Here's Julie & me in February 2009 at The Woodcutters in Bracknell doing that song. It's a bit dark & noisy in there!

Product review: Weightwatchers® Berry Fruits Layered Fromage Frais

The great thing about "Eat Less, Move More" is that the "Move More" part gets me out of the house and away from the computer at regular intervals. I tend to go for a 10 minute walk to my local Co-op (formerly Somerfield), wander around the store picking up bargains on their sell-by date, chat to the girls on the checkout and then walk home.

Today I picked up the above product for 40p (normally £1.75). It's four 100g pots of fat free vanilla flavour fromage frais with fruits and sugars and sweeteners. The four varieties are Blackberry, Cherry, Forest Fruits and Raspberry. There is 1 WW point per pot.

INGREDIENTS (Blackberry): Fromage Frais, Blackberry (12.5%), Water, Fructose, Fructose-Glucose Syrup, Modified Waxy Maize Starch, Modified Maize Starch, Stabilisers: Pectin, Locust Bean Gum, Xanthan Gum; Flavourings, Acidity Regulators: Citric Acid, Calcium Citrate; Sweeteners: Aspartame, Acesulfame K; Preservative: Potassium Sorbate.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION PER 100g POT (Blackberry): Energy 64kcal (274kJ), Protein 5.3g, Carbohydrate 10.4g of which Sugars 9.0g, Fat 0.2g of which Saturates 0.1g, Fibre 1.0g, Sodium 0.04g, Salt equivalent 0.1g.

WHAT DID IT TASTE LIKE? The Fromage Frais tasted O.K. The fruit compote beneath contained a fair amount of fruit but was oversweetened, so there was no sharpness and there was also a slight artificial taste.

WAS IT FILLING? Sadly, no. My stomach likes some fat to keep it happy and this product didn't contain a significant amount. I ate all four pots one after the other.

WOULD I BUY IT AGAIN? For 40p, definitely. For £1.75, no way José!


Other odd & sods:

Anthony Colpo roasts Robb, and a few other things as well!

Muscletalk's Bodybuilding terms in pictures.

Scientific Expt by Brainiacs(Sky one) exploring whether looking at Breasts for 30 min is like Working Out for 30 min. Note: Brother B's doing it wrong! ;-p

My Blackberry Is Not Working! - The One Ronnie, Preview - BBC One (thank you Paul Jaminet).