A Seattle Diversion

Ballard Locks

How could something so boring be so captivating?

We were in Seattle for the weekend with friends from Calgary, and due to a missed exit on my part we ended up at the Ballard Locks. We had been in the neighbourhood the night before for dinner at Ray's, so once we found ourselves in that part of town it was easy for me to say "I planned it this way".

Now normally you'd think that watching boats go up and down in a lock, and watching mature salmon migrate upstream through a fish ladder would be really boring. Especially to people who have no particular affinity for boats and boating (or fish and fishing).

But it turns out that all four of us had a really great time watching the whole process. A few times. And the fish swimming up through the fish ladder was a bonus - that's really cool too.

So the net-net of all this is if you ever find yourself in Seattle, don't just do the average touristy stuff - the Space Needle, Pike Place and the Underground Tour, but go have a look at the locks on a nice day (I imagine in the rain it wouldn't be quite as captivating). All it will cost you is parking - access to the locks and park is free.

Underground Seattle - Old Wooden Water/Sewer Line

Here's The Problem With Our Diet

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Credit: Lam Thuy Vo / NPR

I happened upon this article from Mother Jones, called "The American Diet in 1 Chart".

The article goes on to talk about the chart, but I don't think it needs any explanation.

If you're searching for a cause of obesity (and the consequential Type II Diabetes, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, and a host of other problems) look no further. Taking processed foods out of your diet (especially sugar) solves almost the entire problem.

On another note, I had a visit with my doctor yesterday, and we discussed the lab results from a few months ago - I had to get a requisition for new lab work to see how things are progressing.

He was quite pleased - my risk ratio is now lower than he has ever recorded for me. When I asked "what's the typical HDL level for someone with no cardiovascular disease" he said about 1.2 in his practice.

My HDL is now 1.8.

HDL and Triglycerides are the best predictors we've got for heart problems, so I've got a real interest in keeping my numbers as good as I can. With as few drugs as I can.

I've been off Niacin for a couple of months now, so am very interested to see what my bloodwork looks like this time. Today, the only thing I'm taking for heart/stroke risk is a baby aspirin once a day.

Results from the lab should be in a couple of days.

ADDENDUM - June 20/2012
Just got the results back and I now have even more questions than before. A link to my results is here. Total cholesterol and LDL are quite high, but not alarming (after all the fat I've been eating - no wonder). HDL is still higher than most of the population, but started back on Fish Oil every day to see if it bumps it up a bit more. Hesitant to go back on Niacin.

Fish Oil Supplements and Heart Disease

Alan Bell via Compfight

Since I've gone off the statin (Crestor) and now the Niacin (2g a day) I was supplementing with 1000mg of fish oil every day to do two things:

1. Try to get more Omega 3 (N-3) fatty acids in my diet - our current diets have a preponderance of Omega 6 (N-6) fatty acids in them, and the ratio of the two should be much closer than it is now. That's why all the encouragement to eat oily fish (salmon, sardines) twice a week.
2. Several previous studies had promoted N-3 as being protective to your heart - something where I need all the help I can get. I opted for fish oil capsules over some expensive pharmaceutical (Plavix, Crestor).

A recent study of 12,500 at-risk people (diagnosed diabetics, which have a high rate of cardiovascular events) called  n–3 Fatty Acids and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients with Dysglycemia showed that there was a very, very small difference in ultimate outcomes (death) between patients receiving the N-3 and a placebo.


The study appears to be really well constructed (double-blind) - and factored out as many variables as possible. The full protocol for the five year study is here.


So now I'm in a quandary - there seems to be no statistical advantage to taking fish-oil supplements if you're a diabetic (I'm not a diabetic, but this is a really high risk group, so if you think an advantage would show up with someone, it would show up here).


The study really is quite interesting to read, and even if all you can handle are the conclusions they reach, there are several of them. But in the end, they wrapped it all up in one paragraph:

In conclusion, the administration of 1 g of n–3 fatty acids did not reduce the rate of death from cardiovascular causes or other outcomes during a period of 6 years in patients with dysglycemia and additional cardiovascular risk factors. Whether similar results would have been observed at higher doses is unknown. Furthermore, these findings may not be relevant to dietary recommendations to consume more fish, because dietary change not only increases the intake of foods containing n–3 fatty acids but is also associated with a reduction in the consumption of foods such as red meats, which may be harmful.21

So I think the best course of action for me (and for anyone, really) is to increase their consumption of oily fish, and ditch the supplements. Much like multivitamins, it turns into expensive pee! 

First Time Author

Nice photo, huh? I took it.

First things first - I submitted my sleep ebook to Amazon for publishing today - it's available as of now in English (I don't know if it actually comes out in any other language - this is a first for me). I had to list it for $2.99 so that Amazon would let me give it away for free five days out of the next ninety. If you price it any less than that, they take away all their incentives. Call me selfish.

I'll be posting a date for a free version as soon as I figure out how to do that ... and would appreciate any comments you might have on the book itself - please post them directly on Amazon.

I've also started to write a second book - fiction this time, and it involves sailboats. So much for anyone who might like to read it ... audiences for nautical books are somewhat wanting ... so I'm trying to make it less about the boat, and more about the story. I'll thrown in a little time travel and some history just for fun. I've been reading up on Captain James Cook and Captain George Vancouver for the history part of the book. Pretty fascinating stuff, actually. These men would think nothing of coming to the Pacific NW, down to California, across to Hawaii, over to China, down to Australia and New Zealand, and then do it all over again. Several times. Amazing.

I'm also thinking I should formally document all the stroke stuff as well. So much to do, so little time!

I kinda like this writing thing. Hopefully, you will too.....

Does Sugar Make You Stupid?

 Socar Myles via Compfight

I read a report in Neuroscience News that was thought provoking, to say the least.

In a nutshell, researchers at UCLA took two groups of rats, both fed a diet high in fructose. Both groups were fed a diet of rat feed, and trained on a maze for five days before the experiment. The maze included landmarks so that the rats could more easily remember their way around it. After the five days, one group was fed fructose only while the other group was fed fructose plus flaxseed oil and DHA (both Omega 3 fatty acids).  This went on for six weeks. The results were interesting.

1. The group that received the fructose, but no extra Omega 3, had a measurable decline in their brain activity, and increased their insulin resistance. This was determined by both how fast they navigated the maze, and in examining their brains after the experiment.
2. The second group (with the Omega 3's) performed much better than the first in navigating a maze. 
3. They never explained how well the rat's performance compared to pre-fructose for either group.

The thinking is that too much fructose changes the way your brain responds to insulin, and that DHA can help mitigate much of the damage. So the net-net is to:

1. Cut down the amount of fructose (sugar in whatever form) you consume.
2. If you do eat the sugar, supplement with DHA or another Omega 3 fatty acid like salmon or walnuts at the same time to help mitigate the damage.

So grab the berries and the whole-fat greek yogurt, and throw away the Coke and the chocolate cake!