Today was an odd day. It was the first day back to work in about two weeks now, which in itself was a lot of fun, given what we have on our plate. Prior to that though I had to go a few tests down at Chilliwack General Hospital as a final follow-up to all that garbage I went through with my c. diff. infection years ago. Thankfully everything checked out ok, and I think I can finally put that whole health saga finally behind me. That said, I got nothing but sympathy for anyone who ...

Most people probably wouldn't look at aging like one, but aging is actually fairly similar to a disease, one that ultimately catches up with everyone. There's no real smoking gun with regards to what causes us to age, but there are a few culprits: Every normal cell has within it an ultimate limit on the number of times the cell can divide before dying. This limit is known as the Hayflick Limit, and ultimately determines when cells in the body die. It is believed that this limit is a direct result of the influence of the enzyme telomerase ...

Strangely enough, most people in Vancouver probably don't remember me as ever being super skinny. For whatever reason, I've always had a bit of meat on my bones. You can chalk it up to a slow metabolism, or crappy genes or whatever, but there are not many times in my life where I've been rail thin. The first time I came close though was probably around grade 11. I was playing three sports at the same time, getting lots of rest, and for the most part, lived a pretty stress free life. I couldn't tell you what ...

The American Heart association has just gone on record as recommending that sugar consumption be drastically reduced. I should point out that this is in stark contrast to their longly held assertions that saturated fat is the primary cause of heart disease, and carbohydrates essentially are harmless. I personally wouldn't be surprised at all if you'll continue to see these ongoing shifts in policy, up to the point where the policy has completely changed to recommend that refined carbohydrates be cut-out or severely limited as well. I mean, if the research ultimately shows that refined carbohydrate (including ...

With regards to my post from yesterday regarding c. diff. First, I want to thank my mom for the eighty or so phone calls and emails she's sent me regarding the subject since that blog entry went up: thanks for caring, mom. Don't worry, I'm ok. Second, I've decided to change my diet in the short term to see if I can find a food trigger. Pretty much the only time I've felt normal again for a period of time was actually when I was in Cancun in March. For basically a whole week, my ...

So I finally had an appointment down at the Vancouver Sleep Center in Burnaby. For as long as I can remember, I've always had trouble sleeping through the night. It's been going on for so long that I can't even remember if there was a time when I used to sleep soundly or not. I often wake up every hour or so and feel rather anxious, and most nights it takes me at least an hour to nod off. It could be the traffic or some sound that wakes me, but I've never really ...

Just got back from my appointment this morning. Some lady spent 20 minutes giving me impromtu eye tests, and measuring my face and eye positions. There's one tool they use to measure eye displacement which is actually slightly painful because they force it to sit on the edge of your eye socket and press it there. Unfortunately, my left orbital bone is slightly out of place so it's hard to get an accurate measurement using that device. Anyways, once I finally talked to the surgeon, he basically indicated that another surgery at this stage is probably too risky. ...

Trans fat is the dietary equivalent of the devil. It provides no nutritional value, and reeks havoc on the body's ability to transport fats through the blood. In terms of the different types of fat that people obtain through their diet, the following effects take place: Saturated fat raises LDL (the bad cholesterol), but basically leaves HDL (the good stuff) in tack Polyunsaturated fat raises HDL (the good stuff), so it helps you Monounsaturated fat typically raises HDL, but sometimes raises LDL, so while it usually is good for you, in excess it can sometimes be bad for you Trans fat raises ...

Back at it again. Now that the Junos are over, I'm basically full swing back into the daily grind. I have an interesting optimization problem at work that I'll write about at some point (from the perspective of how to speed up compilation of a project), but other than that, it's just business as usual. I started getting a tickle in my throat yesterday which has somehow exploded into a full-on sore throat today. So, while I'm at work, I feel like I'm on the verge of getting sick. It's most likely related to being on ...

So, it's only been about 5 days since I started, but I thought I'd drop a quick update. As most of you know, I am a big supporter of low-carbohydrate diets, mostly because a great deal of research show they are superior for treating things like diabetes and heart disease, but also because I once lost a great deal of weight (with relative ease) by just giving up carbs. Effectively, the last few days have really been a transition from a moderate carbohydrate to a low-carb one for me. I've been keeping accurate food, weight and activity logs, ...