There is no magic bullet

 Diagnosis, My MCL  3 Responses »
Jun 262009
 

I just hate it when people ask me for advice about what I’ve done [and am still doing] to keep my MCL at bay for so long. I hate it because I really don’t have a good answer, and I don’t want to mislead anyone.

Sure I drink a lot of green tea, and a lot of red wine, but I’m not really convinced they have been effective in holding my MCL at bay. There just isn’t any scientific evidence proving their efficacy. I am hopeful, and believe that in moderation, taking only what can be obtained naturally, can’t do any harm. I won’t take and EGCG or Reservatrol supplements.

The main reason I drink lots of green tea is to ensure I hydrate myself enough, and I drink red wine, well… because I like it.

There are however, some practices I follow which I believe have been effective in extending my longevity, i.e. restricting caloric intake, and intense exercise, but I haven’t seen any scientific evidence to prove the effectiveness of those practices either, although there is this one anectdotal study on the restriction of caloric intake by Arthur B. Robinson, which seems plausible to me.

So despite everything I continue to do, I don’t have any illusions that there is a magic bullet out there. Principally, I believe it is just the luck of the draw, that has allowed me to last this long [without treatment], and the fact I likely received my MCL diagnosis earlier than most people.

Of course that doesn’t mean I won’t keep looking for that magic bullet either, nor do I plan to stop riding my bike, or drinking green tea and red wine.

 Posted by at 5:53 am

A semi decent birthday present

 Life, My MCL  4 Responses »
Jun 232009
 

It’s hard to believe I’ve actually made it to another birthday. My 61st to be exact.

When I was diagnosed with MCL over 7 years ago, I said I would be happy if I could just get 5 good years. Well, I’ve far exceeded that goal, and now have come to realize, that another 5 years won’t be good enough. 

And why should it? I’m not feeling significantly different than when I was first diagnosed. Sure I’m 7 years older, and I’ve slowed down a little, but who doesn’t once they get over 50?

The only real problem is always dealing with the fact of an incurable disease hanging over your head, and never really knowing when the shoe is going to drop, and things start to get worse. [Fortunately I've got a good support group close by to help me with that.]

But at least for now, everything is the same. My latest blood work is in, and everything is still stable, essentially the same as it has been for the past 18 months. My platelets and LDH were even slightly improved over last months, which is good, but I attribute that more to lab variation than anything more profound happening.

So happy birthday to me!

 Posted by at 11:43 am

I keep having these moods

 Cycling, Life  4 Responses »
Jun 202009
 

And I’m having them a little more often than I would like.

The hardest part about getting older is realizing how profoundly everything changes, and this mornings bike ride just seemed to emphasize that point way too much.

Now while I’ve only been a member of this bicycle club for the past two years, I’ve been riding with them regularly for at least the past 5 years. Still as I surveyed the parking lot of riders this morning, I realized a few of the usual riders, ones I have come to enjoy socializing and riding with, were missing, and this wasn’t the first time.

Plus it’s not just Saturday’s ride, but the Wednesday ride, has changed, as well, with new riders participating, regulars not, and even going to a different destination. Admittedly, the Wednesday rides have mostly gone back to the ride I’ve grown accustomed to, but this past Wednesday, none of the usual riders, who push the pace, showed up, so it was slower than it has been. Plus one of the regular riders wasn’t feeling good, and didn’t go to the coffee shop.

Then there’s the fact that since I’m doing more hills, and I’ve lost some weight (which has helped me in the hills), I’ve lost some speed, making it harder to keep up on Wednesday’s and Saturday’s.

Oh well, it’s just been one of those weeks.

Hopefully things will change as summer approaches, the weather gets better (it rained today which may have helped contribute to this feeling of malaise), and all the teachers start participating more during the week, now that school is out.

 Posted by at 12:37 pm

How much would you pay?

 Food & Wine, Life, Vacations  8 Responses »
Jun 152009
 

How much are two nights at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, one 6 course and one 7 course dinner at Charlie Palmers Aureole restaurant, and three midday food preparation demonstrations, all accompanied by no less than 69 French, California and Washington wines worth?

I have to admit when I first received the email describing this event, I was skeptical. There was no way to know how big this event was going to be, nor were there specific description of the dinners, or wines that would be served, to really make an informed decision about the event.

Still, after considering the package included 2 nights at the Mandalay Bay, and 2 dinners at Aureole restaurant I didn’t think we could go too wrong by attending. Plus it just sounded like a good excuse to get out of town for the weekend.

So we decided to go, and headed out early Friday morning, as the first event, a pate preparation demonstration, was scheduled for 2:30 PM.

Well the only thing I can say is the event was definitely worth the price. In fact it was probably worth twice the price. Of course we might not have attended if it cost twice as much, but it still would have been worth it.

There were only 29 attendees at the event, making all the demonstrations and dinners very intimate, allowing everyone an opportunity to ask questions, and actually learn something. It was also great interacting with the chefs, the sommeliers and the entire restaurant staff, who were as friendly as anyone could ever expect.

And then there was the food and the wine, all of which were spectacular.

It would be hard to describe the food as other than near perfect, although Friday’s 7 course Lyonnaise inspired dinner was slightly better than Saturday’s American inspired dinner, but that would be expected as chef Vincent Pouessel is French. Still both dinners were excellent, and we got to taste everything from crayfish to bison.

And the wines. All I can say is WOW! They were way beyond anything I expected or could have even imagined. Some examples of the wines we tasted were

  • 1984 Joseph Phelps ‘Eisele’ Cabernet Sauvignon
  • 1976 Beaulieu Vineyards ‘Georges de Latour’ Cabernet Sauvignon
  • 1970 Mayacamas Napa Cabernet Sauvignon
  • 1990 Jaboulet ‘La Chapelle’ Hermitage (Rhone)
  • 1998 Guigal Hermitage

Just to name a few.

And contrary to what I have come to expect after tasting wines brought to parties by friends, that weren’t nearly as old as the wines we had this past weekend, these wines were all good. Some of these wines may have been past their prime, but despite that, they all had enough fruit and all of the character and balance you would expect from a quality, older wine, but just having the opportunity to taste these wines was an experience I will not soon forget.

In my opinion this was a once in a lifetime event, and Charlie Palmer’s Aureole restaurant will have a hard time topping it, but I plan on attending the next event, regardless of the price, that is assuming it is within reason.

 Posted by at 7:35 am

I don’t know what it is

 Life  2 Responses »
Jun 122009
 

Ever since screwing up the transmission in the Camry, getting back from Grand Turk, and learning Becky was going to be off work for [up to] two months, I seem to have succumb to a general feeling of malaise.

And those aren’t the only things.

Over the past month, I’ve managed to lose 7 pounds.  That has helped my climbing prowess on the bike, but has resulted in a loss of speed on flat ground, so now I don’t know if I should continue to my goal of 145 pounds (another 6 pounds), or just maintain this weight, but train harder.

Then of course, there’s the switch to ‘real’ caffeinated green tea which may be having an effect. Now while I haven’t been experiencing any of the heart palpitations I was concerned about, I do think I am drinking a lot more of it, and maybe the caffeine is having some other side effect I can’t quantify.

And finally there are the changes that are just inevitable, that come because time doesn’t stop, people move on, for any number of reasons, and new people take their places. Sometimes that’s good, sometimes it isn’t, but regardless it’s change, and when you get to a certain point in life, most change is unwelcome.

Now I understand why advertisers focus on the 18 to 49 year old group.

Oh well, hopefully a weekend of over indulgence in Vegas [at the Mandalay Bay Aureole Wine Weekend] will help put a different perspective on things.

 Posted by at 5:39 am

The green tea phenomenon – Part II

 General Health, My MCL  No Responses »
Jun 062009
 

I’ve started writing 3 different posts on 3 different subjects this past week, but haven’t finished any of them. I just don’t seem to have any drive to inform the world of what is going on in my life.  And who really cares anywaze?

So instead today, while I sip a bit of green tea this morning, I thought I would discuss some of the things I’ve learned, during this past week or so, about drinking the good stuff, i.e “real” green tea, not the stuff from Trader Joe’s or Fresh and Easy, but the loose leaf variety, that actually looks green after brewing.

The best thing I’ve discovered so far is the extra caffeine, I’ve been getting, hasn’t resulted in any heart palpitations, and I’ve drank over 40 cups this week.

But more importantly I think I’ve finally come up with the perfect brewing technique to optimize flavor and EGCG intake.

  • I use two (2) grams of tea for every eight (8) oz of water, and I don’t reuse the tea leaves.
  • I use only filtered water. (The Brita water dispenser works great for that purpose.)
  • I heat the water to just below the boiling temperature, about 200°F. [Now boiling the water is supposed to optimize the extraction of EGCG, but for the best taste the water should be heated to between 175°F and 195°F, depending on the particular green tea you have chosen, so I decided to compromise.]
  • Next, I brew the tea for 5 to 7 minutes. [This is also another compromise, since the optimum brewing time for taste is 1 to 2 minutes, but to optimize EGCG extraction, brewing time should be 5 to 10 minutes. So to make up for the lower water temperature, I go a little longer on the brewing time, which seems about right, and I feel comfortable I'm getting the most EGCG, without compromising taste.]
  • And finally, I discovered it is important to use a good filtering (infusing) system for brewing the tea. [Contrary to the review I read, the ingenuiTEA (by Adaigio) just doesn't do the trick. The loose leaves clog up the filtering system, resulting in slow drainage into the cup, and lots of loose leaves entering into the cup as well (which results in a bitter taste after a while). So I went and bought two of these infuser cups (one for work and one for home), which were recommended by some one I consider very knowledgeable on the subject of brewing green tea.]

Ok, hopefully that was informative for everyone.

Now I can go have breakfast, and start gettiing ready for my morning bike ride, confident in the knowledge I have performed my self imposed requirement to post at least weekly to my blog, no matter how benign the post may be.