“Time you enjoyed wasting was not wasted.” [John Lennon]

(Photo taken in English Bay, Vancouver, aboard Chi-Ling)

“Honor yourself in deciding how to spend your time, and then let yourself be and enjoy it. Moments come and go too quickly to waste one worrying about another that’s past. So enjoy your moments today, whatever that means to you, and know in doing that you’ve had a successful day.”  [from tinybuddha.com]

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Today’s the day both Ian and I start our drug dependencies…
(see previous post about mine; his is something else)

Everything that I’ve ever put in my mouth to date has been optional. But now I begin taking something I can never quit taking. EVER. At the moment of putting that first tablet in my mouth, dang, it took courage.

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Today I feel like I’ve been offered a miracle for the “aging” symptoms I’ve been feeling for months!

Bear with me as I tell this story with essential background.

Aging: we all do it, right?

I’m 61 years old. I keep a journal about my aging. It’s not a negative thing, just objective observations, tracking symptoms (such as looking in the mirror and seeing my mother—sheesh!) But this year I stopped making entries because this year it has just seemed like I’ve had an accelerated progression, symptom after symptom appearing. Figured it was time to stop writing it all down and just work on acceptance. I’ve come a long way with the latter, and I can honestly say that each day still feels like it’s better than the last. Aging doesn’t bother me psychologically or emotionally; it’s just the dang body wearing out that’s annoying.

Annual physicals are important

June is my month for an annual physical. My doctor knows and accepts that I self-manage my health, so was cooperative when I called to get a requisition form for some blood tests in advance of the physical. I requested blood sugar, cholesterol, and thyroid tests. The thyroid request was just an impulse. Five years ago, the test had shown my TSH was a little high; then I self-treated with kelp supplements (for the iodine), and the TSH count went down a bit the next year, so I’ve been figuring it’s all good. However, I tend to follow my impulses—I believe my instincts are based in self-knowledge at various levels, so I usually follow them. When I thought about getting a new thyroid test, I went for it. Good thing, in this case!

I went for my physical. Everything seems in excellent order. I’m very healthy. I didn’t bother to mention most of the minor symptoms I’ve been encountering this year, having chalked them all up to aging and having accepted them and having begun learning to cope with most of them quite well.

Test results & symptoms I didn’t recognize

Then the Doctor got to the thyroid test results. She even asked why I’d ordered up that test. I said I just thought it was time again for it. Then she said my TSH is now very elevated, indicating hypothyroidism! She asked if I’ve been feeling fatigued lately. “Nope,” I said, and I added that, though I was unfamiliar with the symptoms of hypothyroidism, I really don’t have any symptoms of bad health at all. Just of aging.

We chatted as we went through the various routines of a typical physical. I mentioned a few niggling health things (my “aging” symptoms) in order to ask some advice about treating them nutritionally. In every case, for every “niggle”, her response was, “That’s one of the symptoms of hypothyroidism.” By the end of the discussion, I finally had to say, “So… I actually AM having quite a few symptoms of hypothyroidism. And all this time I’ve been thinking it was just about my body getting older!”

A “miracle”

Now I feel like I’ve been offered a miracle for this “rapid aging” I’ve been having for months! Thyroid replacement hormones. Yes, I prefer to treat dis-ease naturally when I can, but the power of kelp in the human body only goes so far. There’s nothing else I can try. My eating and lifestyle habits are already superb in terms of promoting and increasing health. In fact, when I said to the Doctor that I want to try some nutritional or other natural approaches rather than the hormone supplements, she said, “Well, if you find something that works, you’ll be rich!”

So, after doing my research and giving it a lot of thought, today I’m going to start thyroid hormone replacement therapy. I’m really looking forward to the decrease in my many “aging symptoms”. Ha, ha, I can laugh at that now—PLUS I’m happy for the reminder that layman self-diagnosis needs to include consultation with a medical professional.

All of a sudden it’s like getting (another! yet another!) new lease on life. Wahoooo!

(The downside: Thyroid hormone replacement is for life—no going off it later, because the hormones shut down the thyroid and replaces its work. Sounds pretty drastic, but in fact mine has already begun to shut down on its own.)

I’ve since been doing a lot of reading on the internet, of course. For anybody interested, below is an extensive list of symptoms of hypothyroidism, collated from various websites. I have 18 symptoms from this list! (Most of them quite minor at this point.) People can have one or several or many of these, and some people have none at first and for a long while. I read that many people are like me—they chalk up these symptoms to aging. At first. Until the symptoms get so bad they begin to worry, then finally get tested. Hypothyroidism doesn’t reverse itself; it gets worse and eventually begins to destroy so many body functions and systems.

**NOTE that I am not a medical professional, so do your own research and talk to your own doctor if you have concerns about your own body.

Symptoms of hypothyroidism

• weight gain or increased difficulty losing weight despite rigid adherence to proper diet and exercise (especially common for women) 
• tiredness / fatigue / excessive sleepiness / sluggishness
• cold intolerance (you can’t tolerate cold temperatures like people around you)
• dry, rough pale skin
• thinning hair or abnormal hair loss, particularly from outer part of eyebrows
• coarse, dry, and/or brittle hair
• brittle nails that split or break easily
• muscle weakness
• muscle cramps, frequent muscle aches, vague aches & pains, muscle tenderness, stiffness
• joint pain, stiffness, swelling
• carpal tunnel syndrome
• puffy face, hands, feet, legs
• decreased sweating; perspiration may be decreased or absent even during heavy exercise and hot weather
• constipation
• heart palpitations, a low heart rate, low blood pressure
• anxiety
• depression / irritability / wild mood swings
• memory loss
• abnormal menstrual cycles
• infertility
• decreased libido
• increased cholesterol levels
• decreased concentration, foggy brain

Resource websites

• Is Your Thyroid Out of Balance?
• Hypothyroidism Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment
• Hypothyroidism: Wikipedia
• Hypothyroidism: Introduction, causes, and symptoms of hypothyroidism
• How Your Thyroid Works – “A delicate Feedback Mechanism”
• What Does the Thyroid Do?
• What Does the Thyroid Do?
• Interpretation of Common Thyroid Tests
• Tests: Normal Ranges
• (and there are hundreds more out there!)

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I got this blender earlier this week and I’m so excited and enjoying it so much I want to tell you about it. There are other BlendTec & Vitamix reviews out there (see links below), and here’s my take on it all.

1. Why did I want it? Why liquify my fruits & veg?

Actually, for me it’s more about getting a bunch of veggies into one serving. It’s hard to sit and eat a snack of 4 big carrots, an apple, a tomato, and some fresh ginger, as well as a cup or two of water. I get bored and full. But I thought if I could buzz it all into a drink, including some of the carrot greens, make an easy-to-consume-in-one-sitting (and delicious) drink… well I just knew I’d be eating way more whole foods and more often. That’s what I want to do.

So recently, I decided I wanted a juicer. But I had one in the past, a really expensive one too, commercial quality, high powered, best of the bunch at the time. Ended up hating it. Not using it. Hated cleaning the pulp out of everything. Hated that it wasn’t using the whole food. Felt like a huge waste. Tedious cleanup meant I didn’t get it out and use it much. So this time around, I wanted something that would liquify the whole fruits or vegetables and be a fast clean up.

On a different line of thought, I was thinking for the thousandth time that it would be a luxury to have an ice cream maker, and that maybe I finally deserved one for my retirement years. “Back in the day” I really loved making homemade ice cream with a friend in his ice cream maker.

I didn’t have a blender…well, just one of those electric wand jobbies. I’ve made my smoothies for years with it. But it doesn’t chop up fruit, just blends stuff. I have a great Cuisinart food processor, but it doesn’t make smoothies very well, and anyway, it’s too big for making single- or even double-serving smoothies. And a tedious cleanup.

Then I remembered a long discussion last year with Christa, when she’d told me about the Vitamix blender. It could do all of the above — make whole-food juice, ice cream, and blender-style cleanup. So I went back to my bookmarked websites about the Vitamix.

2. Research

I knew I needed a high-powered blender. Didn’t want to be disappointed again about the results, especially for smoothies. A short googling session about Vitamix revealed to me the newer kid on the block, the BlendTec– because googling for Vitamix reviews kept bringing up “Vitamix vs BlendTec” sites. I found out that these are the only 2 units on the market that will liquify even tough vegetables, manage ice cubes right in the mix, cope with thick nearly-solid creams during ice-cream making, etc.

I began reading the comparisons and reviews. I focused on the ones written by people who have used both products. The others are all by people giving praise for their own blender, with no idea what the other one is like. Kind of pointless, except for reading what features people love in the one they selected.

• The Vitamix site: http://www.vitamix.com/index_int.asp
• BlendTec’s site:http://www.blendtec.com/
• An excellent unbiased review from a person who’s used both: http://www.greensmoothiegirl.com/robyn-recommendations/blenders/best-blender/
• A good side-by-side comparison chart of features: http://www.totalblender.com/vitamix-blendtec-blender-comparison-reviews.html
• Another good unbiased comparison review: http://gotgreensrevolution.com/Vitamix-versus-blendtec-review.html
• An extensive BlendTec commentary with a big chart listing features: http://www.chezbettay.com/pages/tools/tools_totalblender1.html

3. Why did I pick BlendTec?

They both seem like great machines. I can honestly say I’d buy either one for the job.The home models are both in the same price range, without specials, discount coupons, etc. Vitamix is slightly more expensive, but both are expensive for my fixed-income budget But I know you do have to expect that when you want a high end machine with lots of power.

So it all comes down to priorities for features. My main reasons for my choice, in order of my own priorities:

• SIZE was the main reason. I have a miniscule kitchen. I want the blender on the countertop, and ALL my countertop has cupboards over it. The Vitamix at 20.5″ is too tall to fit under there. The BlendTec at 15.5″ fits perfectly.
  
• PROGRAMS: BlendTec has 30 preprogrammed operations, plus fully manual options like 10 speeds, pulse. Even better, the programs run themselves. The speed goes up and down as needed for the item(s) being processed, and best of all, the machine stops at the end of the program. No babysitting the blender. VitaMix doesn’t have that.
• WARRANTY. Warranties mean something to me. Not so much because of getting free repairs done. More because of what they imply about how the company stands behind their product. At first I was disappointed to see all the reviews mentioning BlendTec’s 3 year warranty compared to VitaMix’s 7 years (with an optiion to purchase more, for 10 years). BUT! I called BlendTec and they said yes, they have 3 years on everything, AND they have a LIFETIME warranty on the blade and the driveshaft/motor. Lifetime! That tells me it’s a well made machine.
• SERVICE. I found out there’s a local vendor for the BlendTec, and that they are also a Canadian service depot for the machines. IF there’s ever a problem, I won’t have to wait for parcel service for the repair/replacement. 
• IMPATIENCE. Once I’d decided on which machine I wanted, I wanted it NOW and it was great not having to wait for an internet order to arrive. I just went to the local vendor and bought it.
• FAST CLEANUP Basically, it’s just rinse and put back on the base. If the task contained oil or something that doesn’t rinse as well, you just have to put a cup of water and a drop of detergent, pulse, and rinse. (But it’s dishwasher proof if you want to. So far I haven’t felt the need.)

Question from a relative: “The BlendTec though? Sounds a little excessive as it can blend an iPad and a rake.”

(See the fun “Will It Blend?” series of videos!)

My reply: The ipad and rake are just illustrations of the motor power and durability. I’ve tried with other blenders in the past that could never do the juicing thing properly. I have a food processor that can’t even make juice or even good pulp out of some veg & fruit. Ever try sawing your fireplace logs with a kitchen knife? It’s not about overkill, it’s about getting the tool for the job you want done properly. There are only two blenders on the market that can take up the whole plant and make it drinkable. This one can make whole juice out of even the tough veggies, make fresh hot (!) soup from a pile of them, pulverizing the pulp too so you get all the fibre & nutrition as well as the juice. You can throw in the seeds, hulls, skins (of some), all of which hold fibre and nutrition. And it can make green smoothies — a drink of kale every day, that’ll clean yer tank (and make you healthy, ya!)

4. So anyway…

I’ve had my BlendTec for a week and I’ve used it more than anything else in my kitchen this week. I’m such a happy camper! I’m experimenting with recipes 3 or 4 times a day. Tonight I’m going to make some real, homemade ice cream — with real cream, real vanilla pod, real excited kid-feelings. YaY!

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I have to say, I was very doubtful about being able to enjoy a green blender drink. Not the color–just the idea of drinking liquified greens. I do eat healthy food and lots of greens, but I figured some of them just need to be cooked. Raw liquid kale? chard? spinach? Um….

But I finally braved it.

I’m a convert! This drink was absolutely delicious — like I mean REALLY delicious. I’ll be having more of this yummy health drink and trying lots of variations to it. What was in this one?

1/2 c. water
1 c. skim milk
1 slice of pineapple, with core and eyes
2 leaves of kale
1/2 a lime, roughly peeled
1 ripe banana
1 cup ice cubes

Oh so good.

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Two reasons: nutrition & pesticides
(not the only 2 reasons, but these are a good motivational start for organic-newbies)

To me, the percentages from the studies below are fairly convincing. 

1. Nutrition: Milk is one good example
(from http://www.realage.com/tips/the-organic-product-with-more-nutrition)

“In the study, organic milk sported 39% more alpha-linolenic acid and 60% more conjugated linoleic acid than the conventional milk. Good stuff; research suggests that these healthy fats may help fight cancer and protect against type 2 diabetes. The milk from organically raised bovines also provided more vitamin E, beta carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin.”

Another article I just came across (and borrowed the above photo from):
Two Uncomplicated Reasons to Choose Organic Eggs and Milk
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mairi-beautyman/two-uncomplicated-reasons_b_107…

2. Pesticides: 12 Foods Where Organic Makes Sense
(from http://www.realage.com/tips/12-foods-where-organic-makes-sense)

Avoiding the “dirty dozen” could dramatically cut your exposure to pesticides. What’s the dirty dozen, you ask? It’s a watch list of the 12 most pesticide-polluted fruits and veggies. Solution: Grab the organic versions. …going organic with these 12 fruits and veggies could cut your exposure to pesticides pesticides as much as 90%!

Fruits
•    Peaches
•    Nectarines
•    Strawberries
•    Cherries
•    Apples
•    Pears
•    Imported grapes

Veggies
•    Spinach
•    Lettuce
•    Potatoes
•    Celery
•    Sweet bell peppers

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A new term for me today, “slurls” — slurred URLs. The sometimes unfortunate results of putting company names into URLs without spaces. Read the following URLs. I mean read them.

• www.whorepresents.com – Who Represents, celebrity agent database
• www.lesbocages.com – Les Bocages, tree nursery
• www.expertsexchange.com -  Experts Exchange, where programmers can trade advice
• www.ladrape.co.uk – La Drape sells high-end quilted bedspreads
• www.angelfire.com/alt/americanscrapmetal – American Scrap Metal, recycling
• www.speedofart.com – Speed of Art, art designers collective
• www.therapistfinder.com – Therapist Finder directory

Andy Geldman, author, has compiled 150 pages of slurls in his book Slurls: They Called Their Website What? Gelman said, “In a world without spaces we mentally insert out own. And you might not stick yours where I stick mine.” 

Check out the hilarious slurls quiz on Facebook.

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If you get a chance to see this movie, I highly recommend it! I just happened upon it on HBO and I’m so glad. Clare Danes is amazing in her portrayal of this amazing real-life person. Here’s the trailer:

Before I watched the movie, I watched the documentary about Temple Grandin. If you’re interested, here are the YouTube links to the 5 parts. Ms. Grandin and her life are fascinating!

• The Woman Who Thinks Like A Cow – part 1
• The Woman Who Thinks Like A Cow – part 2
• The Woman Who Thinks Like A Cow – part 3
• The Woman Who Thinks Like A Cow – part 4
• The Woman Who Thinks Like A Cow – part 5

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