This Just In and Food Related: The Turtle Burger

From GrubGrade.  Leave off the bun, and you have a completely Paleo-acceptable picnic food.

"Well, barbeque season kicked off yesterday and it got me thinking. Thinking about how awesome Memorial Day is. Sure Christmas has presents and an overweight guy who breaks into your house, and Thanksgiving has gravy… lots of gravy. Well Memorial Day is a day of honoring those who made it possible for us to do what we are doing, which is putting giant slabs of meat on a fire. It’s what you should be doing anyway. My coworkers and I feasted on many things yesterday, but the piece de resistance was clearly the Turtle Burger.

It’s a full pound of ground beef, stuffed with hot dogs and wrapped in bacon. It shouldn’t taste as good as it does. It’s life affirming. Thanks to those who sacrificed so I could partake in the Turtle Burger."

Turtle burger on the grill

This Just In: The Paleo Diet in North Carolina Again--Is It Illegal to Advocate the Paleo Diet?

From Reason.  If it's okay to advocate Christianity, it should be okay to advocate Paleo.  You don't see anyone asking for credentials of door-to-door bible-thumpers, do you?  Not that they'd have any anyway.

"Free speech is all too often a joke in this land, and one of the more ridiculous attempts to shut people up by law is hooked to "occupational licensing." Sometimes, says the government, you can only say certain things if some state-powered cartel gives you legal permission to do so.

The state of North Carolina's attempts to shut down Steve Cooksey's blog about how he believes the paleo diet helped him deal with diabetes on the grounds that he needs to be licensed by the state's Board of Dietetics/Nutrition is one of the sillier, and yet still grossly offensive, such cases to arise lately.

The Institute for Justice agrees, and has stepped in to file a lawsuit, Cooksey v. Futrell et al., in federal court against the state Board, which will be officially filed tomorrow, to stand up for Cooksey's right to speak what he thinks is true about diet and diabetes.

Summing up the case, from IJ's press release:

In December 2011, Steve Cooksey started a Dear Abby-style advice column on his blog to answer reader questions.  In January 2012, the North Carolina Board of Dietetics/Nutrition informed Steve that he could not give readers personal advice on diet, whether for free or for compensation, because doing so constituted the unlicensed, and thus criminal, practice of dietetics. 

The State Board also told Steve that his private emails and telephone calls with friends and readers were illegal.   The Board also ordered him to shut down his life-coaching service.  Violating the North Carolina licensing law can lead to fines, court orders to be silent and even jail.....

What is at issue goes far beyond diet advice:

This lawsuit seeks to answer one of the most important unresolved questions in First Amendment law:  When does the government’s power to license occupations trump free speech?

“Advice is protected speech,” said IJ attorney Paul Sherman.  “Just because the government can license certain types of expert professional advice doesn’t mean the government can license every type of advice.”

While whether Cooksey is "right" about the paleo diet and diabetes isn't what's important about this, IJ points out that a lot is at stake beyond the principle of free speech here as well:

Steve Cooksey began offering dietary advice because he is concerned about America’s diabetes epidemic. 

Over 25 million Americans have diabetes, including approximately 800,000 in North Carolina.  The human and financial toll is staggering.  Diabetes is now a leading cause of stroke, blindness, kidney failure requiring transplantation, and amputation.  Because diabetes is a condition of elevated blood sugar, Steve advocates eating foods that keep blood sugar low.  

After being diagnosed with Type II diabetes, Steve did research and learned that the high-carb/low-fat diet his doctors recommended to him may not be best for diabetics because carbohydrates raise blood sugar.  He adopted the low-carb “Paleolithic” diet of our Stone Age ancestors: fresh veggies, meats, eggs and fish, but no sugars, processed foods or agricultural starches.   

Steve lost 78 pounds, freed himself of drugs and doctors, normalized his blood sugar and feels healthier than ever.   He believes a low-carb diet is the simplest, cheapest and most effective way to treat diabetes...

I blogged in April about the these absurd attempts on the part of North Carolina to quell Steve's speech.

IJ's full litigation backgrounder on the case.

Dedicated website for what IJ is calling the "paleospeech" case.

Mike Riggs blogged a few weeks back on IJ's great report on the general idiocy and overreach of occupational licensing law in these here United States."

This Just In: Colombian Cole Slaw Uses No Mayonnaise

From the Gloucester Times (MA).  This is a Paleo-friendly recipe.

"Want to try a cole slaw made without mayonnaise? 

Diana Rodgers is a nutritional consultant and avid follower and believer in the Paleo diet. This cole slaw, which she first learned of from a friend in Colombia, has been a favorite for many years and just so happens to fit into the Paleo diet, too. And because it doesn't have mayonnaise, it safer to serve at picnics and barbecue, because the lime juice used inhibits the growth of bacteria.

Rodgers says that her friend from Colombia grew up eating this salad almost every day. "When you taste it you would think that there are more ingredients because the tastes are so complex," she says, "but there are a few simple ingredients and it is very easy to make."

The secret to the great taste is the use of fresh mint leaves and fresh-squeezed lime juice. Slice fresh cabbage thin and mix it all together with the cilantro, mint, lime juice and salt, and it is ready to eat. Rodgers also adds a small amount of red pepper flakes for a slight kick, but that would be up to your own taste.

To get extra flavor she suggests letting it sit for at least an hour before serving. It will also keep in the refrigerator for a few days. 

"Use as a salad or with Coconut Cassava Crepes (recipe, video coming next week) with some pulled pork for an amazing 'Paleo taco'!" says Rodgers.

Colombian Cole Slaw

1/2 of a medium sized green cabbage, sliced very thinly

1 handful fresh mint, minced

1 handful fresh cilantro, minced

Juice from one lime

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

For the salad, add all ingredients together and toss.  If you have the time, let sit for 1 hour before serving."

Made with red cabbage

Feeling Lackadaisical? Sleep Apnea Could Be to Blame

From HealthDay News.

"Millions of Americans plod through each day exhausted. Not because they're working too hard, over-exercising or not taking enough vitamins.  The real reason, experts say, is because they unknowingly have a sleep disorder.

As many as 18 million Americans have obstructive sleep apnea, according to the National Sleep Foundation. But researchers estimate that as many as 90 percent of them don't know they have it.  Sleep apnea causes people's airways to become blocked while they sleep, depriving them of the oxygen the body needs. 

Many people with sleep apnea are chronic snorers. Their partners probably complain of loud snoring during the night, which may or may not be accompanied by gasping or choking sounds. People with sleep apnea are often startled awake many times during the night as the body becomes starved of oxygen. Often, though, people don't even realize that they've briefly woken up. 

However, it's these numerous interruptions in sleep, though brief, that can cause severe daytime sleepiness. "It's such a slow process that it can go on for years," said Dr. Joyce Walsleben, an associate professor of medicine at the New York University School of Medicine in New York City. "People think, 'Oh, I'm older, it's normal not to be as peppy,' and they blow off their symptoms."

Sleep apnea can be particularly difficult to uncover in women, she said. "Unfortunately, women don't snore as much," Walsleben said. "They tend to report vague symptoms of not feeling well or having a sense of depression or anxiety."

The effects of too little sleep, however, can go beyond feeling tired during the day.

"Besides a lack of energy and the byproducts of too little sleep, sleep apnea can increase your risk of a car accident by as much as 15 times the normal risk," said Dr. Steven Park, an integrative sleep surgeon at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. "It also puts you at greater risk of industrial accidents." 

In addition, he said, sleep apnea increases people's risk for a host of other ailments, including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, heart attack, stroke and early death.  "I've seen estimates that life expectancy is lowered by 20 years if you have untreated sleep apnea," Park said. 


What causes an airway to close during sleep can vary from person to person. Obesity is a major risk factor because it narrows the airway. A tongue that's too large for the jaw can fall back and block the airway. And, in some people, Park said, a narrow passage through the nasal cavity or chronic allergies also can cause sleep apnea.

The standard way to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea has been to have an individual spend a night in a sleep lab, where the quality of the person's sleep is monitored along with the number of episodes of apnea, when breathing stops for 10 seconds or longer, or of hypopnea, when breathing nearly stops. A sleep apnea diagnosis requires more than five episodes of apnea or hypopnea an hour while asleep, Park said.

Today, though, at-home studies can be done, too, though Walsleben said that home tests don't give as much information as an in-lab sleep study. 

But "for the vast majority of people," Park said, at-home studies are sufficient. "You have many less leads, and it's much simpler and much more conducive to sleep when you're at home," he said. People who have other medical conditions, such as heart disease or nighttime leg movements, that could mimic sleep apnea symptoms still should have a study done in a sleep lab, he said. 

Once diagnosed, doctors generally prescribe continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, to treat sleep apnea. "A machine blows general positive air pressure and keeps the throat open," Park said, adding that the flow of air can be adjusted so that it's not too weak or too forceful. The person usually wears a mask connected by a tube to the machine.

"CPAP is the gold standard in sleep apnea treatment, and people should be encouraged to try it," Walsleben said. "If one mask isn't comfortable, there are others you can try." She said the machines have more options these days, and options such as a heated humidifier can make the device more comfortable to use. "It can take trial and error, but don't give up," she advised. "Talk to your physician." 

 Park agreed, saying that five to 10 common problems with CPAP can usually be solved with just a little effort. "Some people love CPAP," he said, but noted that some others just never get used to it.
Other treatment options include dental devices that push the lower jaw and tongue forward, and surgery if there are obvious airway issues, such as a nasal blockage from a deviated septum. In children with sleep apnea, Park said, removal of the tonsils often helps.

The bottom line, according to both experts, is that sleep apnea is underdiagnosed and undertreated.
"Sleep apnea is more common than you suspect," said Walsleben. "Snoring isn't something to just laugh about. You need to pay attention if your spouse tells you you're snoring." 

 And if anyone has doubts, remember that the disorder can have far-reaching effects, Park noted.
"A lack of quality sleep affects every part of your body and mind," he said. "People often get treated for other conditions caused by a lack of sleep from apnea, like depression or high blood pressure, but you have to treat the root of the problem."

To start with, you might try giving up your pillow--personal experience led me to this pillow (until allergies to latex appeared), then to no pillow at all.  I thought about how the airway becomes constricted, then about the old mouth-to-mouth instruction to clear the airway by tipping the head all the way back.  Well, how does one tip the head all the way back to gain more air when pillows force your head forward?  The object is to get the back of your head a lot lower than the chin to clear your airway, and if that means sleeping with your head hanging over the side of the bed, or pulling the top of your bed away from the wall and ditching the pillows, that will save you the cost of CPAP masks and servicing (yes, you nave to buy a new face mask part every month or so to avoid inhaling bacteria).

The mouth-to-mouth airway-clearing head tip:

You can't do this with a pillow under your head, unless it's one of those wave neck pillows.

If this doesn't work, or you can't make it work, then resort to the CPAP.  There are masks that cover the nose and mouth, and some that only cover the nose.  The bed-table machine can be as big as a clock-radio or as small as a garage door remote control.

And there's even a tubeless travel CPAP.