Interview with the pilot who dropped the first atomic bomb

Here's a link to an interview of Paul Tibbets, who was the pilot who dropped the first atomic bomb, on Hiroshima:

http://dalesdesigns.net/interview.htm

[[MORE]]There are some interesting lessons here:

1. To get someone to kill thousands of innocent civilians, all you need to do is convince them that it's for the "greater good" -- the fact that the people being killed are, in fact, innocent, has no bearing. Applying that concept to the world as it is today leads to some pretty ugly thoughts.


2. The US made plans to nuke Europe at the same time as Japan. I don't recall hearing that before. Hitler was vilified for having thousands killed in Berlin in the last days of the war; imagine how many more would have died if a bomb had been dropped there. Also, the US almost certainly would not have been able to withdraw their forces before the bomb was dropped, due to secrecy.


3. The winners write the history, and spin it their way. The pilot and crew of the plane that killed thousands is a hero. If Japan had won, the US would certainly have been cast in a much different light.


4. There was a third bomb. From the tone of the discussion, it sounds like Japan would have had a third one dropped on them if they hadn't surrendered. I don't recall ever hearing that before, either.

In case it's not clear, I actually agree with the reasons why the bombs were dropped on Japan -- but that's a subject for another post.

Seasonality of Influenza

On the subject of the seasonality of influenza, here’s an interesting chart that shows the seasonality of Vit D levels and the correlation with the flu season.  The chart is from the following article:

http://www.jsonline.com/features/health/44680902.html

Note, however, that the 30 ng/mL that it calls “optimal” is now considered much too low (Dr Joe Prendergast recommends a target range of 100 to 200 ng/mL).

Getting enough Vitamin D

Dr John Cannell at the Vitamin D Council did a thorough review of the literature and found that 10,000 IU of Vit D3 is safe for long-term supplementation.  The skin can make that much Vit D after a relatively short exposure to the sun (well before it turns pink). In some parts of the world (such as the UK), local atmospheric conditions absorb significant amounts of UV light, so even being outside in the sun isn’t a guarantee of having enough Vit D.

It’s not uncommon these days for people to need one to three months of 50,000 IU/day to get their levels corrected.  Always take Vit D3, not D2, and take it in the morning.  Bio-Tech is a good brand; they are a high-quality manufacturer.  I've used them for years, and have followed-up with lab tests to verify levels, with excellent results.

[[MORE]]One Vit D site I like:
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/

Dr T at Nephropal talks a lot about it:
http://nephropal.blogspot.com/search/label/vitamin%20d

Dr Joe Prendergast’s talk to the Smart Life Forum is also worthwhile:
http://smartlifeforum.org/wiki/2007/02
He suggests a target range of 100-200 ng/mL (250-500 nmol/L)

Carlson makes a liquid version, with 2000 IU per drop, in a coconut oil base (sugar free):
http://www.iherb.com/Carlson-Labs-Ddrops-Vitamin-D3-2000-IU-10-ml/10364
Adding the drops to a little cream works great.

Vit D isn’t really a vitamin in the usual sense; it’s actually a pro-hormone.

Vit D is a strong immune booster; my family and I take a loading dose at the first sign of a cold or sore throat (or before being in a confined space with many other people for an extended period, such as on a plane flight overseas), and have found it to be very effective (much better than Vit C).  It’s also important for vasodilatation (blood pressure) and insulin sensitivity.

One interesting statistic I remember is that although cancers seem to start in any season, the most common season people die from cancer is in the Winter, when Vit D levels are at their lowest.

If you shop at iHerb (my favorite online vitamin store, and they have very inexpensive overseas shipping, too), you can get $5.00 off of your first order by using my referral code, if you like: RIC830 (if you do, they also give me a small credit).

Increased fasting blood glucose in low-carb diets

When you're relatively insulin resistant, even a slight rise in glucose production or intake can cause a blood glucose (BG) peak.

It goes something like this: low-carb intake reduces insulin; low insulin activates hormone-sensitive lipase (LIPE); LIPE breaks down triglycerides in the muscle or adipose tissue and releases non-essential fatty acids (NEFA); NEFA induces insulin resistance.

[[MORE]]In the morning, you normally have a growth hormone surge; that causes NEFAs to peak, and you have a spike in fasting BG (FBG).  When you eat a low-carb meal, the protein in it will cause insulin to be released -- although not nearly as much as if you ate carbs.  The insulin inhibits LIPE, so NEFAs decline; insulin sensitivity comes back; BG goes down.

However, if you have too much protein, BG can decline too far; then the body secretes catecholamines (adrenaline) to help bring BG back up again; that stimulates GNG (I'm not sure of the mechanism--it may be by stimulating glucagon release from the pancreas); you start to feel jittery; if it happens in the evening, it can contribute to insomnia.  Sometimes people mistake the jitteriness from low BG with what they feel from caffeine.  Also, you can become acclimated to the elevated catecholamine levels, which is why diabetics can be at severe risk for not recognizing low BG (a diabetic relative of mine passed out at the wheel and was killed as a result of this).

Caffeine and cocoa

One of the goals of the Paleo diet is to reduce the level of insulin in the body.  Insulin is a pro-aging hormone; it encourages excess energy to be stored as fat, and acts to inhibit lipolysis.  One of the side-effects of a low-carb diet is increased insulin resistance, which can lead to higher levels of insulin and larger peaks in blood glucose (BG) levels (high BG levels are worth avoiding because they can damage many internal systems, particularly nerves).

[[MORE]]Maintaining insulin sensitivity, or even increasing it, should be part of a comprehensive Paleo program.  There are many ways to do that, but I thought I would mention two that might be of interest: caffeine and cocoa.  In addition to improving insulin sensitivity, caffeine also decreases TNF-alpha, which lowers inflammation (which should, in theory, also be anti-cancer).  Cocoa contains not just caffeine, but also flavonoids, and cocoa consumption has been documented as having a strong inverse association with mortality from heart disease.

More details at Dr. T’s Nephropal blog:
http://nephropal.blogspot.com/2009/10/beans-coffe-and-cacao.html

Part of what this means to me is that drinks with coffee or tea or cocoa and cream, are acceptable on a Paleo diet not just for their low-carb, high-fat content, but because of the caffeine and flavonoids too.

Here's a link to a study that supports the idea that a low-carb diet increases insulin resistance:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=7895958 

As it says in the abstract: "Studies in both humans and experimental animals indicate that the adaptive (phenotypic) response to low-carbohydrate intake is insulin resistance."

What happens with a low-carb diet is that with lower levels of BG, muscles adapt to burning fat as fuel.  Then, in order to conserve glucose for areas like the brain, the muscles become insulin resistant.

The often-neglected issue with the high-carb Kitavans is that they have a high sensitivity to insulin that's derived directly from their genetics; that's how they can get away with a diet like that and remain healthy.  Most people don't share those genes.

Here are links to a few more related papers:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=9288547

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=pubmed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=10889799

Here are a few references for coffee and cocoa/chocolate (low adiponectin is associated with insulin resistance):

Williams, CJ, et al: Coffee consumption is associated with higher plasma adiponectin concentrations in women with or without type 2 diabetes: a prospective cohort study. Diabetes Care. 2008 Mar;31(3):504-7.

Janszky I, Mukamal KJ, Ljung R, Ahnve S, Ahlbom A, Hallqvist J: Chocolate consumption and mortality following a first acute myocardial infarction: the Stockholm Heart Epidemiology Program. J Intern Med. 2009 Sep;266(3):248-57.

Ding, E, et al: Chocolate and Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: A Systematic Review. Nutrition and Metabolism. Jan 2006, 3(2):1743-707

Grassi D, et,al : Short-term administration of dark chocolate is followed by a significant increase in insulin sensitivity and a decrease in blood pressure in healthy persons. Am J Clin Nutr 2004;81:611– 4

I'm not trying to suggest that caffeine or flavonoid supplementation is a requirement; I'm confident that you can be perfectly healthy without them.  Rather, it seems like they could be an optimization, particularly for people who don't get enough vigorous exercise.

In addition to the Paleo diet, our evolutionary metabolic environment also included plenty of moving around, which decreases insulin resistance.  For those of us who are relatively sedentary, foods like caffeine and flavonoids may offset some of the negative effects of not getting enough exercise, by helping to maintain insulin sensitivity.

Calcium supplementation and Paleo

Most people don’t require calcium supplementation, particularly when eating Paleo.  Meat and green vegetables are rich sources of highly bioavailable forms of calcium.

I would even suggest the reverse, which is that most people get too much calcium.  Calcium is actually a cellular poison; if too much calcium gets into a cell, it dies; before it dies, it becomes sluggish and poor-performing.  One aspect of arteriosclerosis is arterial calcification, which may be encouraged by having too much calcium.

[[MORE]]Also, since magnesium deficiency is so wide-spread, and because they offset each other in your muscles, supplementing calcium while magnesium is low could cause or aggravate all sorts of problems, including muscle cramps, migraine headaches, blood pressure spikes, etc.

This is true even with osteoporosis: calcium supplementation can do more harm than good (osteoporosis is not a disease of insufficient calcium).  One theory of osteoporosis is that excessive calcium can slow down or kills osteoblast cells, which are responsible for building bone.  Those cells are apparently affected before the osteoclasts, which break down bone; less effective bone building + continuing bone break down = a net loss of bone.

The above associations with heart disease and osteoporosis are reasons why EDTA chelation therapy, which pulls a lot of calcium from the body, can be an effective treatment for both conditions.

There are of course exceptions, but unless you have a documented need, I would avoid calcium supplements.  Getting enough vitamin D is much more important.

An approach to high blood pressure

The best approach to high blood pressure will of course depend on the cause.  Metabolic syndrome (chronic high levels of insulin with associated insulin resistance) is one well-documented cause of hypertension, as is diabetes.  The theory is that chronically high BG (even below levels considered diabetic) can damage nerves, including the autonomic nervous system, which is responsible for controlling blood pressure (among many other things).  In the long-term, the Paleo diet should help improve things by eliminating what may have been one aspect of the initial cause.

[[MORE]]There are many other causes too, though.  Calcium is required for muscles to contract, and magnesium is needed for them to relax – that includes the muscles in arterial walls, which, when they contract, raises your blood pressure.  Increasing your magnesium to the point of bowel tolerance for a few months helps some people.  Unfortunately, magnesium deficiency is wide-spread and often hard to correct.  Avoid magnesium oxide; amino acid chelates, such as magnesium orotate or aspartate are much more readily absorbed.  Time-release mag chloride (“Slow Mag”) is another option. Mag citrate (Natural Calm) is also OK, although you need to take more of it to get the same effect.

Another area that helps for some is nitric oxide (NO) releasers, such as arginine, ginkgo biloba, panax ginseng, resveratrol, green tea, garlic and quercitin.  NO is involved with blood vessel dilation.  Since NO is a strong oxidant, be sure to take extra antioxidants with NO releasers.