Meet the weird neighbors

This isn't about some unusual herb or
combination of minerals; it has more to do with commission vs
omission. Specifically, omission. I must confess (LDS readers don't
shoot!) that I'm no stranger to coffee. I've even tried the “energy”
drinks. Most of them I immediately rejected, WAY too much sugar. Even
the one that claimed to be natural fruit juice (Sambo, or Bongo,
something like that) didn't work for me. I have since found the one
called Vitamin Water energy formula, and another called Hydrive,
which also purports to have vitamins. These two I like better than
the others. Basically, they're a vitamin water formula that's low
sugar, no artificial sweeteners, and caffeine added.

But really, that's NOT what this is
about. For years I've struggled with physical energy. But now, I
think I have it conquered for good, provided I maintain the method.
Which is WHAT you're wondering?? Simple...cut the size of your meals
in half. You can always carefully munch on something in between meals
if the need arises. Before, I could drink 4 cups of coffee, and feel
just normal. Now, I have to be careful with a couple cups, so that I
don't have that too much coffee feeling.

I do know for sure that for many years
I've had to be careful with sugar intake. I'm surrounded by people
who would be aghast if I said “Maybe I'm slightly diabetic”. To
them, it's related to a confession of faith, your spoken words can
work against you too. Well, I understand the reasoning, really I do,
but I tell them that you can't fix a problem till you admit that you
have it. One of those paradoxes in life. Here's a good rabbit trail:
I've thought about listing the great paradoxes I've seen, in order of
their magnitude, but then I realized that trying to order them might
be a paradox in itself. And no, I don't think about these things too
much, you just let you mind go to mush in front of the TV, so there!
Oh yeah...while you're turning off the A-musement (no think), grab an
energy drink...just kidding.

Have I talked to a doctor about this
sugar intake thing? No, not yet. I try to live debt free, which means
I spend an inordinate amount of time keeping old things working, and
I moved to a part of the country that's “economically challenged”.
So I'd get there, he/she would say that I have a mild issue with
sugar, but if I watch what I eat, and exercise moderately, I'll be
fine...and I owe them $500 please. Some things I can figure out on my
own; in fact, I wonder if we humans haven't gotten out of touch with
the signals that our bodies send us...but here again is my propensity
for rabbit trails.

More about this eating thing: the
following may be pure baloney, or it may be a bulls-eye. Either way,
it's worth thinking about. Horses and founder. If you know nothing
about horses, you would probably make the same fatal (for your horse)
mistake that many new horse owners make, that is regarding them as
like other pasture animals. They_are_not. Consider the differences in
suspension and gearing between a Porsche and a freight truck. Each
one does what the other does not. So it is with horses and cattle. In
order for a horse to be as fast and powerful as they are, a design
compromise was made. A horse has one small stomach, and must eat
cleaner food than a cow. No moldy hay here. Founder is a very common
condition among horses, if you're not careful, I can almost guarantee
that it will happen to yours.

Let's say that Mr. Horsey finds a
full, opened bag of sweet feed. This is grain coated with molasses,
horses like it as much as people do ice cream. Anyway, Horsey gorges
himself on the grain, then stands there in his corral or stall. His
little stomach can't handle all that rich food, so it sours. A common
saying about horses is that they have “5 hearts”. What is meant
is that there's one heart in the chest, and just above each hoof is a
bunch of small blood vessels. When the horse runs, these blood
vessels pump blood back through the body. The bad news is that when
food sours in a horse's stomach, the toxins clog these fine blood
vessels, and the horse is injured for life. If you catch it in time,
and walk the horse around for a few hours, it might be saved,
otherwise, it'll never run or pull harness again. It's called
FOUNDERED, you absolutely must remember this if you own or work with
horses.

Another rabbit trail? Not this time. I
wonder if we don't do something similar to ourselves when we overeat.
Think about the tiny vessels around your heart, man they work 24/7.
They would be in contact with toxins more than other veins. And think
about how very TINY the veins in your brain must be. People talk
about a “sugar buzz”...could this be what's happening? Sure, I
know about things like insulin and dopamine, but this is worth
thinking about...call it “food for thought”. Bad enough to use
old cliches, worse still to abuse them. Wait, I know, call it food
for a-musement.

Whatever you call it, man this works
for me. And keeps working...some things work for like a week, then
fizz out, not this.