The ‘Cisnormative’ Gender Scam

IMAGE: Youtube

The gender-neutrality movement has advanced to such a degree that Canada actually implemented a disturbing law that requires those employed by government-funded institutions to use newly manufactured gender-neutral words, such as “ze.”

To gain some basis to understand this term, I went to the horse’s mouth, “The Queer Dictionary“(QD).

This shadow language starts with a term called cisgender. The QD says this is an adjective used to describe someone whose gender identity matches their body and the gender assigned to them at birth. It’s extended to include all who view human beings through the prism of one of either sex, male or female. For the discordian neo-Marxists, that would include just about everyone. They give as an example, “I’m am cisgender: although I’m a tomboy, I’ve been identified as a girl my whole life and I have always considered myself to be a woman.”

Even in the LGBT community, the vast majority of homosexuals and bisexuals self-identify as cisgender. Transgenders — if this statistic is to be believed — make up 0.3% of the U.S. population. How many among this 0.3% insist on being addressed as “ze” is undetermined.

So after establishing that about everyone is cisgender, the QD defines cisnormativity as 1, implying, creating or prescribing a norm or standard and 2. expressing value judgments or prescriptions as contrasted with stating facts. The prevailing standard is the male or female view.

So what are the facts in this case? Transgenders are not in the norm, in fact they are a very small fraction of the population. Even by their own admission, the QD states that “although transgender-identified people comprise a tiny percentage of the human population, many trans* people and allies consider it to be offensive to presume that everyone is cisgender.

Winter Watch takeaway: notice the use of the word, “allies.” The QD goes on to say, “Although cisnormativity is rarely deliberate, it is almost always perceived as hurtful and offensive to the trans* community.” So here we are asked to believe that a tiny group is almost always offended if someone fails to proper pick up on their “gender”. Is that even true, and if so to what degree? Practically speaking one would not only have to be highly sensitive but also a mind reader to navigate this.

This extremely low-bar definition is equivalent to tripping on an uneven sidewalk crack. Unless you run in trans circles, there’s no reason to be concerned about offending a trans because you use language or reactions gleaned from thousands of years of evolution and custom.

I have knowingly interacted with only one transgender person in my entire life. He (or ze) was midway through some kind of gender change. He (or she) was a mess, and I felt sorry for ze more than hostile. This was an uncomfortable social interaction for sure. Regardless this person showed no offense to me stumbling around with the gender to address whatever he or she, or ze was. But that was 25 years ago.

In hindsight, the pronoun “ze” might have been useful, but how the hell was I supposed to broach the subject of what ze wanted to be called? Ze’s apparent goal was to be a her. Although I interacted in good faith, I admit being cisgendered clueless about that whole scene. Is that really my problem? Regardless, legislating this whole issue with sanctions is like tripping people on sidewalk cracks. It is also like utilizing a dishonest translator.

On Being ‘Offended’

I have a female friend who once in a while calls me “old man.” She uses it as a term of teasing endearment. Do I like this term? Not especially, but it’s very low on my list for rattling cages or having tizzy fits.

Do I see signs of ageism as I get older? Yes, some- but it is not overt hostility. Except there are some now rooting for “baby boomers” to die off, that is rather offensive. When we see a more severe economic downturn this one may gain traction as a disturbing scapegoat subversion for what in actuality is Crime Syndicate looting. It seems they are positioning this as patriarchal, as if “old white men have wrecked society” and it will “be better when they are gone, etc.”

Is there age stereotyping: yes, but in general this allows society to function more efficiently relative to old men. In fact not only is it not practical, it would be narcissistic for old timers to insist on be handled as individuals, with individual requirements by strangers. If you want that, you need to be in a clan or extended family. But that’s discouraged as well.

It’s mostly expressed as deference, such as being offered a seat on public transport. But any “hurtful” reaction would mostly be a reflection of my own insecurities about aging, not societal norms. Alas, we now learn that there are real and imagined ageism stereotypes. Whodathunk. I say get over it.

What is This Scam Really About?

Therefore, we must assume that the cis-scam is first and foremost attention-seeking or even narcissistic behavior and, secondly, societal subversion and ultimately a power play and enslavement.

The cis scam, once it goes into the realm of “rights” and the laws, is nothing more than political subversion. Canada’s so-called legislation also shows how deep the neo-Marxist fifth columns have burrowed into vulnerable Western institutions. The “trans community” is irrationalized and using “trans” as a herding tool for Post-Modern Marxist agendas.

Language has been weaponized for quite some time (Islamophobia, racist, Nazi, etc.) in a quest to destroy Western society. In summary, this issue is not so much about “trans’ people and their rights as it is neo-Marxist ideology and the control of society.

Addressed by the great Asha Logos.

Asha Logos Calls for a Revived Culture as the Pathway Forward

Russ Winter Joins Operation Scorpio and the Brain Trust to Put Forth Asha Logos’ Masterpiece

Lights Turned Off at the Gateway Arch Every Night to Assist in Bird Migration for 325 Species

lights-turned-off-at-the-gateway-arch-every-night-to-assist-in-bird-migration-for-325-species
By Kenny Nguyễn

From the majestic whooping crane to the smallest songbird, an iconic American landmark in Missouri is making the skies safer for spring migrating birds who follow the Mississippi River to reach their summer nesting grounds.

Since 1965 when it was unveiled, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis has punctuated the cityscape at night with lights that illuminate its most visited US National Park. But all during the month of May officials will turn off the lights at night to facilitate safe passage for more than 325 bird species following the route each year on their spring migration.

“St. Louis sits right beneath the Mississippi Flyway, a major migration highway,” said Jeremy Sweat, Superintendent, of Gateway Arch National Park.

For over a decade the exterior lights have been turned off for two weeks each May—and again in September—to help minimize the possible disorienting effect the lights may have on the migrations. But this year the park will keep the lights off for the entire month of May.

Gateway Arch National Park is both a building and program partner with Lights Out Heartland, an organization that works with partners to provide migrating birds safe passage along the Flyway during the high-intensity migration months of May and September.

CHECK OUT: Villagers Went Without Streetlights for 45 Days to Help a Bird and Its Hatchlings

According to the St. Louis Audubon Society, sixty percent of North American songbirds and forty percent of waterfowl are anticipated to migrate this spring and fall.

Cranes by J.M. Garg, CC license

“Other ways we are trying to help the birds is to focus the lights better on the Arch,” said Pamela Sanfilippo who works at Gateway Arch National Park. That way, “light doesn’t go up into the sky.”

The towering silver Arch was built to honor a different kind of journey that began in 1804 when President Thomas Jefferson launched the Lewis and Clark Expedition that mapped a path to the Pacific Ocean from the middle of the continent. Two scientist set out with a team of scouts and mapmakers from the river port of Saint Louis, which opened up the West. Today, the Gateway Arch attracts 1.62 million visitors annually.

ANOTHER MAJESTIC RIVER: Once Biologically Dead, London’s River Thames Rebounds – With Seahorses and Seals

In Canada, Toronto has been combatting the hazards of glass buildings for our featured friends, and even made history when they became the first city in the world to mandate bird-friendly buildings.

The Arch’s exterior lights will be turned back on beginning the evening of June 1, 2023, and the monument will be lit nightly thereafter until September.

In recent years, cities and states beneath other migration routes have been turning off the lights for birds, including Texas and Philadelphia.

FLY THIS Good News to Bird Lovers on Social Media…

A Surprising Reason Why You May Need More Carbs in Your Diet

Download Interview Transcript | Download my FREE Podcast | Video Link

  • A ketogenic diet can be very useful initially when transitioning people who are metabolically inflexible. However, continuing in ketosis long term can lead to problems, including stubborn weight gain or the inability to lose unwanted weight

  • The reason for this has to do with cortisol. Your body needs glucose, and when deprived for too long, your body will release cortisol to stimulate the production of glucose by your liver. Cortisol also promotes inflammation and central obesity, so you don’t want chronically elevated cortisol levels

  • Your metabolic rate is strongly affected by the type of sugar you consume. High fructose corn syrup promotes ill health while whole fruit, raw honey and pure organic cane sugar are readily metabolized without promoting weight gain

  • When adding in more carbs, you also need to reduce your fat intake to avoid elevating your triglycerides

  • Restricting dietary fat and/or blocking the oxidation of fat inside of the cell have strong therapeutic effects against cancer by forcing the cell out of its excessive fatty acid oxidation state

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In this interview, Georgi Dinkov and I continue our discussion about diet, diving into some of the finer details that can make or break your health. Dinkov is a student of Ray Peat, who passed away around Thanksgiving 2022, leaving behind a legacy of iconoclastic wisdom on how to optimize biological health.

For example, a ketogenic diet can be very useful initially when transitioning people who are metabolically inflexible, which is about 95% of the population of the United States. So, in the short term, the vast majority of people can benefit from going keto. However, if you continue in ketosis long term, you’re going to run into problems.

As just one example, while weight loss is a typical response when going on a ketogenic diet, months later, maintaining that weight loss often becomes a struggle again. Dinkov experienced this firsthand. Once he started following Ray Peat’s recommendations, he lost the weight again and kept it off.

“My take is it’s an endocrine problem,” Dinkov says. “So if you’re struggling with weight you cannot lose, I think it’s a good idea to do a blood work [panel] for the steroids … Every single person that has been struggling with excessive weight that has emailed [me] their blood results, without exception, their cortisol is either high-normal or above the range, both the AM and the PM value.

Their thyroid is less than optimal, in fact, pretty bad for most people … They’re at the upper limit of normal. A very large number of people are basically hypothyroid … I think we are eating foods that are lowering our metabolic rate. We’re living an excessively stressful lifestyle.

That’s probably not a surprise for anybody. Many people think, well, stress is good for you. It’s good as a hormetic response in an acute situation, but not when you have chronically elevated cortisol. Every doctor will tell you if you have a chronic elevated cortisol, you will develop the so-called spectrum of Cushing syndrome …

One of the defining features of elevated cortisol is that you have central obesity. So that, to me, is really the problem. We have higher than desirable levels of stress, suboptimal diet, and we’re surrounded by a number of different endocrine disrupters which are now proven to reliably cause obesity in animal models, even in very small amounts. Most of those are found in plastics.”

One factor that makes a big difference in your metabolic rate is the type of sugar you consume. Contrary to popular belief, there’s a dramatic difference between high fructose corn syrup and cane sugar. They’re really two different foods. If the high fructose corn syrup is properly processed to remove all starch, then it’s very similar to cane sugar because it’s about 55% fructose and 45% glucose.

However, studies have shown beverages sweetened with high fructose corn syrup contain a tremendous amount of starch, which isn’t accounted for in the calories listed on the label. Once the starch is factored in, the caloric content of many sodas can easily quadruple that on the label, so you’re getting FAR more calories than you think.

Additionally, because the starch is made up of such tiny particles, they can enter your blood circulation unprocessed via your digestive system, potentially causing an allergic reaction.

They can also trigger a low-grade inflammatory reaction, which will trigger the release of histamine, nitric oxide and serotonin. As noted by Dinkov, if you’re sneezing and have itchy eyes even though it’s not allergy season, you may well be having a reaction to something you ate or drank, and high fructose corn syrup may be the culprit.

Starch particles also serve as fuel for pathogenic bacteria in your gut, and the endotoxins from these bacteria contribute to inflammatory conditions. Small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is one example of what can happen, especially if you’re on a proton pump inhibitor, as these drugs decrease the amount of stomach acid you’re producing. Stomach acid is there not only to help with digestion but also to keep bacteria in check.

“If you’re not producing a sufficient amount of acid, you’re going to get bacteria colonizing your small intestine, either from food or creeping up from the large intestine. And that’s not a good thing. Basically … the portion of the intestine that is supposed to be clean and just focused on absorbing food is now harboring a microbiome.

And then, if you give it any kind of a food that the bacteria can process, you’re increasing the turnover [which] result in the endotoxemia that is now accepted to cause a large number of diseases, especially cardiovascular disease, obesity and neurological disease.

Alzheimer’s has been conclusively tied to chronic low-grade endotoxemia. They’re still claiming there’s a genetic component to it, but they’re now admitting that endotoxin is a causative factor in Alzheimer’s disease,” Dinkov says.

Most people who embrace natural health believe sugar is a pernicious evil, but Peat’s and Dinkov’s position is that the negative effects are primarily caused by high fructose corns syrup, and that pure cane sugar can actually be a useful strategy to counteract some of the challenges that people can get into when on a strict low-carb diet. Dinkov explains:

“Cane sugar, if it’s pure, has a very different overall systemic health effect than high fructose corn syrup … I think most of the sugar sold in the crystal form, especially organic ones, is pretty safe. Heavy metal contamination used to be a problem in sugar distillation but it looks like most of the western countries have sorted this out …

Now, some people that have an issue with sugar are saying, ‘Well, it’s just empty calories and whatnot.’ Multiple studies demonstrated that honey, which is very similar in composition to plain white sugar, does not trigger the normal hyperglycemic response that most of the other simple carbohydrates do. In fact, it improves the hyperglycemia in Type 2 diabetic patients despite being pure sugar.

I think that’s the greatest confirmation that we have that sugar is not evil. It depends how you’re getting it and in what form. One animal study demonstrated that rats, when given free access to [Mexican] Coke sweetened with cane sugar, they were eating the equivalent of 8,000 calories daily … without gaining an ounce of fat.

So sugar is not dangerous. It’s perhaps the only nutrient that we evolved to metabolize for fuel. But the other two micronutrients, even though we can metabolize them as fuel, come with a lot of strings attached …

If you’re oxidizing PUFA, then all hell breaks loose. If you’re oxidizing saturated fats, it’s far less dangerous. But in the long run it still puts you, due to the Randle cycle, into the semi-diabetic state because it decreases your insulin sensitivity.

So pure sugar is what we are meant to oxidize for fuel. If you get it from ripe fruit, great. If you can get it from [raw unadulterated] honey, probably just as good if not even better. But if not, then the pure white variety, preferably organic, that you get from the store, I think is a very good source of most of the carb calories that you intend to eat throughout the day.”

In my book “Fat for Fuel,” I argued that healthy saturated fats generate fewer free radical species in the electron transport chain than sugar. However, I’m starting to revise my views on this, based on Peat’s work.

The problem is that if your glucose level is low because you’re on a low-carb diet, your body is going to compensate by self-generating glucose, and that stimulus to make glucose is part of the obesity puzzle, because one of the ways in which your body produces glucose is by secreting cortisol.

And, as explained by Dinkov, if your cortisol is chronically elevated, you end up with central obesity and chronic inflammation, which clearly isn’t good. So, you’ve got to have a certain amount of glucose, and it’s best to get it from your diet rather than forcing your liver to make it, as cortisol is then also being churned out. Dinkov explains:

“If glucose is oxidized properly going through the Krebs Cycle and electron transport chain, it generates more carbon dioxide per molecule of glucose oxidized than do fats.

Now, carbon dioxide has this kind of controversial role in medicine. It used to be considered a metabolic byproduct that could potentially be dangerous. People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have higher than normal levels of carbon dioxide in the blood.

But then, medicine started to look into this more closely, I think, over the last 10 years, outside of Dr. Pete’s research, and said, ‘Hm. Carbon dioxide seems to have a lot of positive effects in the body.’ One of them is vasodilation.

So basically, if your metabolism is not working properly, if you’re not oxidizing glucose properly, you’re not going to produce sufficient amounts of carbon dioxide. What happens then? Vasoconstriction. And since that is actually a problem, it raises blood pressure and all kinds of other things; all hell breaks loose. The body then releases an emergency vasodilator, known as nitric oxide. And that is now acquiring a bad reputation.

Even in mainstream medical circles, they’ve started seeing that people who are taking the drug nitroglycerin, which used to be the mainstream drug for angina — chest pain — for cardiovascular disease and blood pressure.

With nitroglycerin, you’ll quickly lower blood pressure. But over time, the inflammatory nature of nitric oxide ensures that these people actually get worse. And, in fact, most people who take nitroglycerin on a long-term basis die from a heart attack or ischemic stroke.

So, if you’re not eating enough glucose, your body will make it. And, in fact, the primary evolutionary role of cortisol, the acute role, is actually preventing blood glucose from dropping too low, because that will put you into a hypoglycemic coma.

In the longer run its secondary role is to dampen down inflammation. So really, the acute, the lifesaving role of cortisol on a daily basis, is to prevent you from dropping into a coma because your blood glucose went too low.

But we don’t want that process because it’s going to get the glucose from the tissues. So, we need glucose [in our diet]. I think even the ketogenic proponents are now getting to the point of saying, ‘We cannot be always in ketosis.’ In the long term, it’s not good.”

In recent years, ketogenic diets have also been hailed for their ability to prevent and treat cancer, but even this may turn out to be a misunderstanding in the end.

“I think some of the ideas around glucose feeding cancer stem from two basic misunderstandings,” Dinkov says. “One is that cancer is an evil cell, genetically mutated, and that your only chance is to kill all of those cells because they’re not going away by themselves.

First of all, that’s not true. Spontaneous remissions of cancer are known, and they vary depending on the cancer. Prostate cancer has a pretty high rate of spontaneous remission … A paper that came about five years ago … from the MD Anderson cancer center in Texas … said it’s always been the position of medicine that cancerous mutations [happen] and after that, the cell becomes metabolically deranged.

But it looks like we’ve had it backwards. It’s the metabolic derangement that happens first, and, over time, this triggers the genetic mutations, because the cell, being in an energetic deficiency, cannot properly maintain its structure. That was a huge admission …

So what we need to be doing here is not trying to kill the cancer cell, because it is not a cancer cell. It is actually a normal cell that is metabolically deranged.

If we could compare it to anything, it’d be a diabetic cell [and] diabetes is now known to be caused by hyperlipidemia — too much fat in the body, too much fat in the blood. Basically, the cells are getting stuck in oxidizing fats, due to the Randle cycle.

And then, the glucose that’s floating around in diabetes, a good portion of it — because it cannot be metabolized — is being peed out … or you’re converting it into lactic acid. This [MD Anderson] paper said the exact same thing is happening in cancer.

We are seeing an abnormal rate of fatty acid oxidation, because the cell is stuck in the cycle due to oversupply of fat.

The glucose, the ‘cancer cell’ cannot actually metabolize it, but because the cell needs its glucose for a variety of purposes — not just synthesizing energy, but also synthesizing DNA and RNA, and those two … can only be synthesized from glucose, not from fats — the cancer cell says, ‘Oh, I’m in a state of extreme deficiency of glucose. Give me more.’

So, it increases the synthesis of these glucose transporters known as GLUT1 through GLUT4. Basically, that’s why when you give a patient with cancer a little bit of radioactive sugar, it accumulates mostly into the tumor, because the tumor has a much higher capacity for uptake of sugar.

However, and this is the key difference, it has a much lower capacity for oxidizing that sugar. So, you’re going to see a lot of radioactive sugar accumulation in the tumor, but most of it will get converted to lactic acid. So this paper that came out said, ‘We need to do something that gets the cell out of its stressed state.’

And I think we already agreed that excessive oxidation of fat is a stress state. Right? We don’t want to produce lactic acid, and as long as we are over-oxidizing fat, we will be producing lactic acid, and we will be uptaking more glucose …

Several studies have come out since then … and they said, ‘OK, how can we restrict the supply of fat?’ assuming the fat is the problem. There’s only really two macronutrients that can go to the cell. Assuming cancer is a metabolic disease, and assuming a cell can only oxidize fat or sugar, then if it’s not the sugar, it’s got to be the fat. There’s nothing else.

And if it’s not the mutations, if the mutations are secondary to the metabolic derangement, it’s got to be one of these two macronutrients that we can manipulate to actually try to cure the cancer. They already tried glucose restriction … That did not cure cancer. It did have a sensitizing effect to chemotherapy, but it did not result in actual cancer remission.

So now we’re back to the other micronutrient, restricting the supply of fat. Multiple studies … I have at least 30 on my blog … have shown that restricting lipolysis by administering the beta blocker propranolol … lowers lipolysis.

The way [propranolol] lowers blood pressure is by blocking adrenaline. If you’re blocking adrenaline, you’re also lowering lipolysis, because adrenaline is the primary activator of the hormone-sensitive lipase enzyme. Basically, you’re going to be restricting the supply of fat from your own tissues to the tumor.

What else can be done? Well, that’s not the only source of fat. You’re also getting it through the diet. Other studies have tried doing low-fat diets for cancer, and are getting actually good results. Not cure, but good results. The propranolol induced full remission in the cancer.”

Dinkov also cites research in which the beta oxidation inhibitor etomoxir, prescribed for heart disease, induced full remission in neuro glioblastoma, which is thought to be incurable. So, in summary, either restricting dietary fat or blocking the oxidation of fat inside the cell appears to have strong therapeutic effects against cancer by forcing the cell out of its excessive fatty acid oxidation state.

“And, once you do that, there’s no metabolic damage preventing the cell from oxidizing glucose,” Dinkov says. “It’s all functional. If you flood the cell with fat then, basically, that’s what the cell will oxidize, because it’s overabundant relative to the glucose that is getting to the cell. If you stop that process, or at least greatly restrict it, the cell starts oxidizing glucose again.”

Here, I’d like to share a personal story. In an effort to adopt this new knowledge, I increased my carbohydrate intake to about 250 grams to 300 grams, depending on the day and the fruit availability. When I got my blood work back, I was surprised to find my triglycerides were in the low triple digits, just over 100, which is abnormal.

Normally, I’m closer to 50. In my clinical experience, elevated triglycerides is almost always related to excessive carbohydrate intake, which seems to conflict with what Dinkov just explained. But here’s the key: When you increase carbohydrates, you also have to lower fat. If you don’t, you could end up with complications, as just happened to me. So, now I’m lowering my fat intake. Dinkov confirms my experience:

“Most of the animal studies say, ‘High sugar diet causes this. High sugar diet causes that.’ But if you look at their diets, these animals are already on a high fat diet. All they did was add more sugar on top of it. Well, of course, in a situation like that, you’re going to have an increase in the triglycerides, increase in LDL cholesterol, because the body can synthesize cholesterol from the sugars.

So, you’re going to get these biomarkers associated with cardiovascular disease to increase, but it’s actually not really a fair comparison. What you should be doing is keeping the diets isocaloric, the same. And also, not increase the total amount of calories, just replace some of that fat with sugar …

Another thing that is probably important is that since there’s always some baseline lipolysis going on, when you’re increasing the carbohydrate intake, the excess that cannot get metabolized will get converted to triglycerides and then stored.

When you are increasing the carbohydrate intake, you should be decreasing the amount of fat. If you’re not, then at least you should be taking something that stimulates the oxidation of carbohydrate so that it doesn’t result in the raising of triglycerides.

Aspirin, caffeine, especially vitamin B-3 niacinamide, all of these are known to lower triglycerides and, by now, the consensus mechanism of action is that all three of these components are increasing the oxidation of carbohydrates.

So, if you’re increasing carbohydrates and you’re getting an increase in triglycerides, two things, either you’re eating too much fat or your baseline metabolic rate is not where it should be, so you can use some metabolic stimulation from these substances.”

In addition to increasing the oxidation of glucose as fuel, aspirin, caffeine and niacinamide may also inhibit the oxidation of fatty acids, specifically linoleic acid, and the most foundational strategy that anyone could implement to improve their health is to lower their linoleic acid, the omega-6 intake. These supplements will also lower inflammation, which in turn will lower your baseline cortisol.

The metabolite of aspirin, salicylic acid, also has an inhibitory infect on the enzyme 11-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase Type 1. This enzyme synthesizes active cortisol from the inactive precursor cortisone.

“So, aspirin will actually lower your synthesis of cortisol directly, not just by lowering inflammation, but also lowering the actual synthesis of cortisol,” Dinkov explains. “A recent study demonstrated that baby aspirin, 81-100 milligrams daily, decreased fatty acid oxidation by about 30% …

Aspirin also has an anti-lipolytic effect, not as strong as niacinamide, but it’s got these three different things that are basically helping to lower both the supply of fat to the cell and excessive oxidation of fats even at these tiny dosages.”

Be mindful about the aspirin you use, though. Immediate-release aspirin made with cornstarch is the preferred version that is now hard to find. Extended-release aspirin is not recommended due to the additives they put in it. Your best option would be to use a salicylic acid or willow bark supplement.

Dinkov also reviews the benefits of other supplements, such as vitamin E, which inhibits lipolysis, improves glucose metabolism, acts as an estrogen antagonist and helps counteract much of the damage caused by linoleic acid and other polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs).

According to Dinkov, research suggests your need for vitamin E can be directly calculated by your PUFA intake. You need about 2 milligrams of vitamin E from all sources per gram of PUFA that you’re eating. So, if you’re eating 50 grams of PUFA daily — which is about 10 times what you should be getting — you need about 100 mg of total tocopherol.

Importantly, PUFAs aren’t just the omega-6s. It’s also omega-3. In the interview, Dinkov goes into detail as to why omega-3 supplements such as fish oil are mostly garbage and shouldn’t be used. I also recently wrote an article about this very topic.

Whole food, in this case, small fatty fish and wild-caught Alaskan salmon are really your best bet. It’s virtually impossible to find fish oil that’s not rancid. So, to review, when you’re calculating your PUFA intake you also need to include your omega-3s. Ideally, your daily PUFA intake would be below 10 grams.

In closing, Dinkov reviews some of his top dietary recommendations for optimal health. No. 1 is keeping PUFA intake below 10 grams; below 5 grams would be even better. No. 2 is to avoid high fructose corn syrup when adding carbs. Stick with the simple sugars from ripe fruit, raw honey (make sure it’s not adulterated with high fructose corn syrup, as many are) and/or pure organic cane sugar.

As for the macro composition of your diet, equal amounts of fat, carbs and protein seem to be best for otherwise healthy individuals, so he recommends getting one-third or 33% of your daily calories from each. If you have metabolic problems or some kind of inflammatory disease, he recommends cutting down on fats.

Lower fat intake will also allow your body to digest protein better, as bile acids are released in response to fat, and bile interferes with the absorption of protein. Next, he recommends adding:

  • Vitamin E, based on your PUFA intake (as detailed above)

  • Aspirin or willow bark extract

  • Niacinamide at a dose of 50 mg to a max of 100 mg, three times a day. In addition to antiobesity effects, niacinamide will also help synthesize NAD+, which has important health benefits

  • Caffeine — BC powder, sold as a headache remedy, contains both aspirin and caffeine. According to Dinkov, research has shown that taking caffeine with aspirin increases the blood concentrations of both and prolongs their effects. Taking 50 mg of aspirin with 50 mg of caffeine can raise your metabolic rate by about 7% and keep it elevated for up to 12 hours

  • Copper — Copper is the rate limiting factor for cytochrome c oxidase, (Complex 4). With aging, the amount of copper in that enzyme decreases while iron increases, and the less copper you have, the lower your metabolic rate. Ideally, get your copper from whole foods such as liver, oysters, shrimp or acerola cherry. If using a supplement, bisglycinate is a good option with high bioavailability

If you’re using time-restricted eating, or considering starting, then this final side note will be important. If you’re metabolically inflexible, insulin resistant, and unable to easily switch between burning sugar and fat as your primary fuel, then a TRE program, such as that described by Dr. Mindy Pelz in my recent interview with her, may be quite beneficial, and this is true whether you’re eating a ketogenic diet or not.

However, once you regain your metabolic flexibility, which can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, you will need to increase your eating window. The reason for this goes back to the glucose-cortisol connection, Dinkov explains in this interview. Your body needs glucose, and if you deprive it for too long, it will produce cortisol to stimulate your liver to make it.

This increased cortisol can contribute to chronic inflammation and cellular damage. Therefore, once you are no longer insulin resistant, it is best to vary your eating window between eight and 12 hours, and avoid going lower or higher than that window. It is also best to avoid eating before sunrise or after sunset and at least three hours before bedtime.

To learn more, be sure to listen to the entire interview, as we dive into far greater detail than what I’ve summarized here. Georgi is an absolute fire hydrant when it comes to biochemical details.

Also check out Georgi’s blog at www.haidut.me or follow him on Twitter. You can also obtain a major sampling of Ray Peat’s work for free by going to these two sites: wiki.chadnet.org/Ray-Peat and RayPeat.com.

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Assisted Suicide for the Poor Recommended by Canadian Ethicists

Two authors from the University of Toronto published an interesting article:

Thanks to our paying subscribers, I shelled out $45 and purchased a PDF copy of the article so I do not go just by the abstract. This post would be impossible without you, my generous paying subscribers!

The article discusses allowing medically assisted suicides for desperately poor people who cannot afford a dignified life or expensive medical treatments.

The authors ask:

Should MAiD be available to people in such circumstances, [poor economic conditions – I.C.] even when a sound argument can be made that the agents in question are autonomous?

They answer this question using a “harm reduction approach,” which is essentially economics and evaluates the economic worth of assisted suicide for the poor.

we use a harm reduction approach, arguing that even though such decisions are tragic, MAiD should be available

Their definition of “harm reduction” is absurdly self-referential.

I highlighted the awkward attempt to define “harm reduction” in blue and underlined (in red) the only part that has a prescriptive meaning:

The authors explain that “harm reduction” is “lesser evil,” reserving the definition of “evil” for themselves.

The real reason for allowing euthanizing the poor shows up a couple of paragraphs down and is, no surprise, a financial one: Canada has a collapsing healthcare system, and euthanizing poor people “clogging hospitals” would allow more deserving individuals (note my sarcasm) to use medical services. The authors stop before saying that out loud, but this is my interpretation of why they brought up collapsing healthcare.

So, the authors argue for expanding medically assisted suicides to people who want to end their lives due to poverty. Their “harm reduction” analysis suggests, without saying so outright, that MAiD for the desperately poor would alleviate “collapsing healthcare.”

Nobody, besides quadriplegics, needs MAiD to end their lives. A few feet of rope is all anyone needs – and there is no need to ask for anyone’s permission. The importance of MAiD is that it makes ending one’s life easy, painless, and socially acceptable. Doctor-assisted euthanasia is glorified and advertised in creepy commercials, such as the infamous “blue whale” clip:

Creepy

The picture below shows a poverty-stricken family during the Great Depression. The wife looks unhappy. The husband looks tired. The grandma has likely seen worse in her younger days and is completely undisturbed. What gives this picture hope is the kids, who look like they have bright futures ahead.

Should any member of the above family end their life? Who would benefit from it?

Many people, even those who are successful at some point, become poor at some other point in their lives. Life is unpredictable. People make bad financial bets, divorce, get hurt or sick, etc. The “social mobility” that we value, allowing dirt poor people to become successful, sometimes works the opposite way.

Becoming “suddenly poor” and experiencing desperate circumstances is traumatic. Help is sparse. Bills mount up. Things seem hopeless.

Imagine someone in such desperate, but possibly temporary, circumstances. Would it be helpful to have a MAiD provider show up, at the worst moment in their lives, with a fancy suicide machine and offer those people a euthanasia option? Is that even a good idea?

It is not a good idea if you ask me! There are many reasons why the authors are wrong, but the most important one is that circumstances change, and people recover or accept their new lifestyle. Incentivizing them to kill themselves robs them of giving recovery a chance.

Do you know someone who experienced desperate circumstances, with no hope whatsoever, whose life unexpectedly improved? Would those individuals possibly make a wrong choice, if given a seemingly painless option to end their lives at their worst moment?

How many lives would this “euthanasia for poor people” take needlessly?

Let me know your thoughts on this proposal by Canadian ethicists from the University of Toronto!

(and thanks again to my paying subscribers)

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Oil Refinery Factory Being Transformed into Green Cultural Park to Showcase Fossil-free Future in China

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© Engram (released)

The Dutch architecture firm MVRDV has won a competition to design the Hangzhou Oil Refinery Factory Park, transforming a former industrial district that sits alongside the southern end of China’s Grand Canal.

With an eye-catching art and science museum at its center, the project includes offices, retail, and a wide variety of cultural experiences set in a green environment interwoven with the remnants of the past.

The Grand Canal is the world’s longest and one of the oldest man-made waterways. Currently, China is taking steps to transform its entire length, turning this industrial infrastructure into a social amenity by allowing access to, and enjoyment of, the water to millions of people that live along the canal’s 1,700-kilometer length.

The 45-acre Hangzhou site (18-hectare) was formerly occupied by an oil refinery—and the new design integrates renewable energy sources to serve as a prime example of the transition from fossil fuels to sustainable energy, a transition that China has embraced in recent years.

With the canal’s future in mind, MVRDV capitalizes on the potential of industrial-to-cultural transformations. The towers of the refinery buildings are retained and integrated into the park’s landscape, with stairs and platforms providing views across the park.

The centerpiece of the park is the Art and Sci-tech Centre, a new museum which, with its cylindrical exterior, is imagined as a vastly scaled-up version of the silos which once peppered the site. A series of terraces are connected by stairs and bridges that serve to enliven this public area within the museum, enabling performances, large-scale installations, or events.

© MIR (released by MVRDV)

The outer façade of the museum is permeable, allowing breezes to penetrate the structure. The space inside is thus heated and cooled passively, fluctuating slightly in temperature depending on weather conditions but serving as a thermal buffer to dramatically reduce the energy required to fully heat and cool the building’s programmed spaces inside the boxes.

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With its appearance, the façade also cements the building’s status as the focal point of the park. Covered in an array of LEDs, the museum lights up at night to create a media façade that can be used to entertain visitors or to advertise the events taking place inside.

In addition to these lights, the façade also incorporates thousands of small photovoltaic spots to generate energy from sunlight. These spots form a “solar painting” that was designed with a parametric approach, considering the solar exposure, prevailing winds, and most notable views to place a higher density of photovoltaics where they are most needed.

“As a planet, we know we need to move on from oil on a massive scale”, says MVRDV founding partner Winy Maas. “But that raises the question, what should we do with all this infrastructure that was created? It is somehow, at the same time, tempting to make a clean break with history, and romantic to imagine a future where we build upon the ruins of the past.

© MVRDV

“With this project we do both: we incorporate the old industrial structures, while newly built elements – which are clearly distinguishable from the old – show us a better, more sustainable future. The old ‘fossils’ turn into energetic drums.”

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In the remainder of the park, existing structures are transformed into offices or retail spaces. Many of the structures that have already been demolished are recreated with a modern approach – taking the same dimensions as the previous structures, but built with glass and using the same photovoltaic spots that are used on the museum’s façade.

Hangzhou Oil Refinery Factory Park- copyright Engram (released)

By turning every newly built building surface also into an energy generator, the park can become energy-negative in operation, contributing energy to the grid.

From immersive art experiences to retail kiosks to enclosed gardens, these structures help to keep the park lively at all times, ensuring that there is always something to do even after dark.

Top 30 Ways Adults Pay Homage to Lost Loved Ones and Keep Their Memory Alive

top-30-ways-adults-pay-homage-to-lost-loved-ones-and-keep-their-memory-alive

A new poll has unveiled the top 30 modern ways we remember lost loved ones.

The list was compiled from a poll of 2,000 adults and shows that wearing a football shirt from their favorite team, running marathons, and retelling their jokes are three of the best ways.

Ticking off items from bucket lists never fulfilled was also among the ways people celebrate the legacy and memories of family and friends who are no longer with them.

Other popular ways to pay tribute to loved ones included getting tattoos, going on a day trip to a meaningful place, cooking a recipe learned from them, or creating a piece of art.

The survey carried out by OnePoll was commissioned ahead of Celebration Day on Sunday May 28 to encourage people to pause and celebrate those no longer with us—and 77 percent agree it’s important.

“Talking about death is still seen as a taboo subject, but it is so important that we continue to share stories, rituals, and tales about our loved ones who have died,” said Julia Samuel MBE, grief specialist and psychologist.

72% of adults would be interested in planting a tree to remember a loved one, saying that protecting the environment—and finding trees peaceful—makes the choice particularly meaningful.

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65 percent believe that, aside from birthdays, there are too few opportunities where everyone feels encouraged to come together and talk about lost loved ones, but 70 percent enjoy hearing stories about them.

Most people (63%) don’t have a regular ritual to remember a lost loved one, but one in five would like to talk more about loved ones who have passed.

“Having a special day like Celebration Day where we can say their name, talk about them and laugh helps us as we go forward,” said Samuel.

TOP WAYS BRITS CELEBRATE LOVED ONES WHO HAVE PASSED AWAY
1. Look through photographs of them
2. Share a story about them
3. Raise a glass / make a toast
4. Light a candle
5. Donate to a charity in their memory
6. Listen to their favorite song
7. Plant a tree or flowers in their memory
8. Share a post on social media
9. Re-tell their favorite jokes and catchphrases
10. Visit their favorite place
11. Send a message to someone about them
12. Cook a recipe you learned from them
13. Sit on the bench overlooking a view they liked
14. Create a memory book
15. Watch their favorite movie
16. Send a card to someone close to them
17 Cook their favorite meal
18. Wear their favorite color
19. Give a gift to someone in their memory
20. Dog walking in the place they loved
21. Create a virtual tribute
22. Get a tattoo in their memory
23. Create a piece of art
24. Buy an item of clothing because you know that person would have approved
25. Wear a football shirt from their favorite team
26. Continue a collection they had started – e.g. magnets, coins, matches, etc
27. Have their ashes made into jewelry
28. Install a bench with a plaque
29. Have their clothes made into a blanket or teddy
30. Have an announcement made over the PA at their favorite sports club’s next game

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