Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
LOL.  Thanks for the suggestion, Linda.  It actually is ok with my doc
and nutritionist to indulge that kind of stuff occasionally (not to
rub this in but I happen to have real low cholesterol, too).  Seems
though I got into a "rut" of eating healthy food years ago and can't
seem to break out of it.  :^)
  

    
Eat a stack of pancakes. Ride all morning. Eat a couple hamburgers.
Ride into the afternoon. Stop and eat a candy bar or two. Ride into the
evening. Get a motel near a nice restaurant (mom and pop diners are
good). Have a big dinner that includes mashed potatoes and gravy, pie
and ice cream for dessert. Go back to the motel and watch tv until you
fall asleep.

Repeat.
  

    
Thanks for the suggestion, rob.  I'll follow it as closely as I can,
particularly the part about riding the bike all morning and afternoon. 
I'm really, really, looking forward to riding season.  I think I might
take a ride up to Portland, Seattle and then into British Columbia
this summer.  I'm trying to get my riding buddy (witih whom I rode to
Yellowstone last summer) to go along again.

And here is the kicker to the food issue.  The problem is with
appetite, or lack thereof.  I get a full, bloated feeling easy and just
don't feel like eating.  A lot of this is exaccerbated by medications
I take for other medical conditions that cause stomach upset.   So the
only drugs that increase appetite so far are marijuana and Marinol.  
So I have legal prescriptions in California to indulge myself with both
should I choose.  The idea is to try to bring on a massive case of the
munchies.  Sometimes it helps.  (I know, life is rough).
  

    

I had a look at this book in The WELL's office, before it went off 
in the mail to specific readers -- and I stayed late one evening 
to read several chapters before putting the book in an envelope, 
something I have almost never.

First, I enjoyed the silly but informative tone.  For those of us who read
<health.> - one of the fine long-term conferences on The WELL - the good
doctor flash is known for his word play.  Sometimes in the midst of talking
about farts or blood conditions or fitness a pun is a welcome diversion.  Or
perhaps I am merely a glutton for punishment.

A glutton I can indeed be.  Two areas I follow in popular health media
coverage are weight and allergies.  I seem to recall a section in this
book on "hidden" asthma.  What was that again, and how does it manifest?  
I find that from February to June, I will avoid exercise to avoid 
breathing issues, so these things seem connected, in my experience.  
  

    
one of the most common kinds of asthma is exercise induced asthma. if
you get unduly short of breath when exercising (especially if you
wheeze) it's not unlikely. and it's really easy to treat.

exercise induced asthma doesn't mean you need to limit your exercise,
either. lots of memmbers of the last US winter olympics team had it. 

controlling it is easy.  just take your inhaled bronchodilator before
exercise, or take a singulaire tablet a couple of hours before, and it
shouldn't be a problem.

the problem with asthmatics that i see a lot is that many don't want
to admit that they've got it, and need to take care of it. i call this
"cleopatra syndrome."

you remember who cleopatra was, right? 

queen of denial.
  

    
oh, and as for gaining weight - remember that your "appestat" doesn't
notice liquids as foods. be sure to drink mild or juice instead of
water -  a glass of juice a day should add 15 pounds a year to your
bottom line (or waistline, as the case may be).

if you drink milk, or use it in cereal, etc., be sure it's full fat,
not the 1% stuff.  also, make some smoothies with fruit and some heavy
whipping cream. those calories add up, fast.

but don't be concerned about putting on weight. i know that nobody
wants a case of "the slims," but there's a lot to be said for the
saying "you can never be too rich or too thin."

remember that until recently the only way to make animals live longer
lifespans in experimental settings was to starve them to about 30%
less than their normal body weight. however, it was recently found
that mice would live just as long *without* starving them into
skinniness by giving them all the food they wanted, but only on
alternate days. with this method, their weight stayed the same as that
of "normal" mice, but they lived as long as skinny mice.

i think the take home message is that hunger is the *normal* metabolic
state, and as such has health benefits. i predict that in the not too
distant future, the "3 meal a day" concept will be as outdated as
monocles.
  

    
Fascinating.
  

    
Thanks, flash.  I get ribbed quite a bit about not being able to gain
weight.   But that's ok.

The only issue with your suggestion about a glass of juice a day is
that I am trying to control high triglycerides, and part of that is not
eating simple sugars, like juice.  I tend to water down my morning
orange juice about 4 to 1 with water.  I actually recommend this as a
nice drink, particularly when you just want the taste of something in
your drink and don't want all the calories or sugars. I am taking the
rest of what you say to heart.

And yes to full fat milk!!!!   I have that every day in my oatmeal (a
whole grain breakfast).   Eating a healthy diet isn't so bad, it's just
that it makes it hard to gain weight (duh!).   I have a choice between
losing weight and eating all the things I have been taught is bad for
me.   I like being bad (sometimes), but not in that way.

We are getting near the end of the two weeks where your book is
featured.  I was wondering if you had anything you wanted to say that
was not brought up in the discussion so far?
  

    
I, too, am keen to hear whatever more flash has to share. This has been a
great an informative stint here in the Inkwell. We're turning the "virtual
spotlight" towards a new guest today, but we're in no hurry to chase you out
the door.

Please, do stay as long as you'd like. And thanks for your contributions
these two weeks.
  

    
And before <flash> goes, I would like to hear about his past patients.

I seem to recall that he has treated many famous people during his
career and done some amazing things. Can we know more?
  

    
And if anyone has any question about anything I brought up here,
please do let me know.   It is looking like San Francisco is on the
verge of a warm wave today, so I am going to spend a little more time
riding the motorcycle over the next few days.   Mid May is a nice time
in San Francisco, often the chill of winter is gone, and the fog of
summer has not yet settled in.

Good riding and good health to you all.
  

    
WRT famous folks as patients: yes, i've treated a good number of folks
whose names are recognizable.

one was a well known female performance artist whose work i *really*
admired. i was so thrilled that i got to meet her and take care of her
that i *framed* the check from her management company, just to have it
as a souvenir.

about 6 months later i heard from their accountant, who wanted to know
if i'd gotten the check. i said that i had, but that i had framed it.

she said "OK, i'll void it out, and we can send you a new check, just
so we can mark this paid. OK?"

"sure."

so, they sent me a new check.

i put it in the frame next to the first one.

i never heard from them again . . .