Homocysteine, vitamin B and me

About eight years ago I examined the evidence (in recent articles at a level I could understand) that high levels of homocysteine (>15 micromole/L and the threshold is about 10-11) were  linked with cognitive decline in the elderly and that supplements of B6, B12 and folate (folic acid) could slow the decline.  So at that time, I searched out B supplements that were close to those used in the studies, but that wasn't easy since the studies were sort of all over the map. But I did find a brand by Country Life (Basic B Caps) that I liked and which didn't seem to upset my stomach. I had no testing to show my homocysteine levels were high, but the articles I read reported that it was elevated in the elderly.  The studies in the U.S. are different than those in other countries because since the 1960s by law our food is fortified with folic acid, so this affects how useful additional supplements would be late in life.

Recently I have reexamined the issue of high levels of homocysteine and health problems in the elderly, including cognitive decline, cardiovascular events, atherosclerosis and strokes.

I'm a librarian, so my article of choice is always begin with a review article, and I've found several that update what I'd read eight years ago. Review articles have extensive bibliographies which saves time in wandering around the internet. I also always look for full text, and sometimes only the abstract is at the journal site, but may be somewhere else, like Research Gate.

The issues of heart disease and stroke still seem to be unclear, but homocysteine's affect on the brain seems more clear--it damages it--cognitive decline, white matter damage, brain atrophy, neurofibrillary tangles and dementia. Some studies suggest the jury is still out on whether high homocysteine is a marker or a cause, but whichever, supplements of vitamin B are slowing down the damage.

In Sweden, all patients with memory problems are routinely screened for high levels of homocysteine and if they show elevated concentrations, B vitamin supplements are recommended. The Smith/Refsum article concludes that 17 million people (30%)  in the U.S older than 60 could benefit from lowering their homocysteine levels.

"Homocysteine, B vitamins, and cognitive impairment," David Smith and Helga Refsum, Annual Review of Nutrition, 2016, 36:211-239. This includes and additional 15 pages of supplemental material https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305418844_Homocysteine_B_Vitamins_and_Cognitive_Impairment

"The controversial role of homocysteine in neurology: from labs to clinical practice," Rita Moretti and Paola Caruso, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2019, 20, 231. https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/20/1/231

Both articles suggest further research.  Meanwhile, I'll stay with the B vitamins, but will try to get more naturally through leafy green vegetables (Romaine lettuce, asparagus, broccoli, kale, spinach) for folate B9  https://www.myfooddata.com/articles/foods-high-in-folate-vitamin-B9.php  which may act differently than folic acid (disagreement on this) which is what most supplements have, and B12 (meat, fish, dairy--beef, chicken, pork, lots of cheeses, tuna, salmon ) https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/diet-nutrition/g1967/vitamin-b12-super-foods-47012607/   https://www.myfooddata.com/articles/foods-high-in-vitamin-B12.php#vitamin-b12-requirements and B6 (turkey, beef, Tuna, sweet potatoes, potatoes) http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=108

Gene mutations that affect homocysteine are very rare.  https://www.skepticalraptor.com/skepticalraptorblog.php/mthfr-gene-vaccines-facts-myths/

"5,10‐Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase 677C→T and 1298A→C mutations are genetic determinants of elevated homocysteine,"  R. Castro, QJM: An International Journal of Medicine, Volume 96, Issue 4, 1 April 2003.

210th anniversary of Lincoln’s birthday

“While the Civil War raged in late 1862, Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant wanted to stop the trade of Southern cotton. A number of Jews were involved in the cotton trade, including some in black market activity, and on Dec. 17, Grant issued a shocking order calling for the expulsion of all Jews from a wide swath of the South.

Fortunately the order had little impact because of faulty army communications – and to President Lincoln. When Lincoln heard that Grant was attempting to banish Jews, he quickly reversed the order.

“To condemn a class is, to say the least, to wrong the good with the bad,” Lincoln said. “I do not like to hear a class or nationality condemned on account of a few sinners.””

https://www.jta.org/2019/02/12/opinion/when-president-lincoln-fought-for-the-jews?

He complains that he's homeless--he's lost his party home

There's an article in the Atlantic by a former Republican who says he can now see the "other side." He describes what the Republican Party used to be when he was part of it during Reagan and Bush: "Republicans argued for limited government, economic growth, and free trade. The party respected the role of religion in public life and envisioned America as a welcoming society to immigrants and the unborn." In other words, everything the Democrats didn't then and not now, not ever. And Trump is all of that. He has NEVER rejected legal immigration. The author is a never Trumper; he's warped his mind so he has gone to "the other side" of socialism, infanticide, religious restrictions, and slow growth. In short, he hates Trump.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/02/i-left-gop-because-trump/581965/?

How many bartenders are there in Congress?

That's not how we do it, AOC.  She says she's the only 29 year old bartender in Congress, so that shows how Congress doesn't represent the American people. There are a lot more 29 year old female librarians than there are 29 year old female bartenders, and I don't ever recall one of them being in Congress. For good reason.  That's not how our Representatives are elected, m'am--by employment category. In fact, in the universe of employed women in the country, just how many 29 year olds are middle class, college educated barkeeps?

It’s not easy being green—Ben Shapiro

Episode 713 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBZ8sT8Omjc
Jeff Bezos exposes the National Enquirer as a blackmail racket, the Democratic Green New Deal gets off to a rough start, and we check the mailbag!

Episode 712  https://youtu.be/oEQlZcRb0hc
It's not easy being Green, and it's not easy these days for the MSM to continue to cover for the racism, lies and anti-Semitism of Democrats.

The racism on today’s college campuses

I saw this in a closed Facebook group, so I'll only share parts. A parent posted (with the texts) that his college student son (enrolled at Berkeley I believe) was studying Chinese with a classmate. His son is white, the classmate a member of a "protected" minority, but they are friends. The friend told his son that they probably couldn't study at his dorm because whites were not allowed to be in the building although blacks, Latinos and Asians were, and he'd check, but he thought if he did come there he would have to sign some sort of form. So the 2 of them were looking for a different study space.

I attended college in the bad old days of residential segregation, employment discrimination and open racism of the 1950s-1960s, but my U. of I. dorm McKinley (owned by the YWCA) had blacks, whites, Asians, and many immigrants (most from Chicago, the daughters of refugees from both Nazis and Communists), and my roommate was Chinese. We had all varieties except boys--they were welcome only on the first floor public area and in the basement serving our meals. What amazing freedom college kids had in those days.

Update: I checked the race and gender page of Berkeley's enrollment information.  21.3% white and 32% Asian.  But to make that look better, each Asian is broken out by country--China, Korea, Japan, etc.--9 categories for Asians, but only one for whites.  Not even immigrant Irish or Swiss or English.  Just White. Like that white blob at the SOTU last Tuesday.

Men in drag—shameful

Apparently, not all American blacks found blackface offensive--some even used clownish make-up that way, but most do. What was once considered fun and vaudevillian by the majority, even TV and film stars, must go.

OK. Now let's get rid of adult men dressing in drag. Since I first became aware of it maybe 50 years ago I have found it extremely offensive for men to make fun of us that way. Oh sure. The drag queens don't call it that, but how else would you describe the emphasis on prosthetic breasts, caked on make-up to hide stubble, ballooning wigs, ridiculing the way women move, walk and talk? Isn't that vaudevillian? Isn't that "womanface?" Whether it's called cross dressing, transvestite, impersonation, or clown face, it's insulting to women.

Just as there is nothing wrong or shameful about a real black face and physique, there is nothing wrong with a woman's face or body. We're built this way for a reason--to fulfill God's command to be fruitful and multiply. We were made in God's image, not from dirt, but from bone and flesh. Women wear make-up to look attractive and sexy--some more successfully than others. Blue lips and green fingernails no matter which sex applies them, do not suggest health, vitality and fertility. Having men ridicule us for profit or fun or just plain meanness, is not a compliment, and it certainly isn't amusing. Let's make dressing in drag as acceptable as Confederate war hero statues.

Hide your yearbooks and annuals in case Democrats ever take up this cause (they won't since they are confused about sex and gender anyway). I know you'll find it even in my high school year book from the 1950s with the athletes dressed as the cheerleaders wearing skirts and wigs for a school skit.

What else do they want to take from us?

In the name of equality, which Dennis Prager says is the ideology that killed 100 million people in the 20th century, what else besides fossil fuels, borders,  religious rights, history and memorials, wealth, the unborn and language do the Democrats want removed or controlled by the government?  Creativity, curiosity and critical thinking.  Those minds are very dangerous to Socialists.

Why the women in white who cheered and chanted are so frightening

“I've spent the majority of the day today, as I do every day these days, feeling my unborn baby move. But today, I've been more in tune to the precious life that's growing inside of me. I feel her rearranging herself, kicking, and trying to get more comfortable. I feel her hiccups. I feel her react to different things I eat. Especially if it's cold or if it's chocolate. I feel her respond to her daddy's hand on my stomach or his voice talking to her. I feel her respond to music I play. I feel her excitement when she hears her sisters playing and laughing. I feel her stillness when things are chaotic, listening to hear what's going on. I feel her. Living. She's a living, breathing life. Right now. In my womb.

Last night, I sat and listened to the POTUS ask congress to put an end to late term abortion. LATE TERM ABORTION. As he spoke, half of the room erupted in standing applause. The other half is what completely perplexed me. I watched in horror as Nancy bit whatever it is she bit in her mouth the entire night. I watched as Chuck smirked and smiled about the murdering of babies at full term, in the birth canal. And I watched as the women in white sat stone cold silent, arms crossed, grimaces on their face, seemingly in opposition of this request.

When did this happen? How did this happen? When did LATE TERM abortion become ok or acceptable NATIONWIDE? Are you telling me that not a single one.... NOT ONE, of the women in white oppose the murder of innocent blood? Is that really a democratic thing? I know a ton of people on the left who oppose late term abortion. Some of them even oppose abortion in general. You're telling me not one of our elected democratic representatives oppose it up to the day of birth? I don't get it. Do they really lack in the most basic of morals? Or, are they scared? So scared to stand and applause the life they fight so hard for in other settings, in front of their fearless leader chomping at the bit behind the podium? Are they scared of their constituents? What are they afraid of? They sure aren't afraid of the God who breathed His own breath into these unborn children, the SAME God who created them. The God who says He Himself knit us in the womb, and that He knew us before He formed us. They aren't scared of Him.

I got the message loud and clear. You wore white. You stand in unity for "women's rights"- women who agree with you at least. You cheered, chanted, and applauded your own huge accomplishments of beating out your male opponents. You are proud. You should be. You have the chance to make a difference and to speak truth, to make changes. But last night, you failed. You were an embarrassment. You were a bunch of cowards. Your silence was selfish. You were selfish. You were everything a strong woman is not. And you do not represent me.”

Sarah Dolan Cox

SOTU analysis

President Donald Trump delivered his State of the Union address Tuesday night, February 5, 2019 and Heritage Foundation experts weighed in with analysis of the president’s policy proposals. Here’s what they had to say.

• Immigration
• Economy
• Law
• Defense & Foreign Policy
• Life
• Energy & Infrastructure
• Health Care
• Education

Now many states want to offer clear skating—no longer a slippery slope

“According to the grand jury, Gosnell's method of "abortion" in these late-term cases was infanticide, plain and simple. He or an untrained staffer would induce labor, deliver the baby alive, and then perform the procedure they called by the chilling euphemism "snipping"--slashing the infant to death with scissors to the neck and spine. "Over the years, there were hundreds of 'snippings,' " the grand jury found. But bodies had been disposed of and files destroyed, so the evidence was sufficient to prosecute in only seven cases. One of those victims, a neonatologist testified, was a boy of "32 weeks, if not more, in gestational age." That is, his mother had been at least 7½ months pregnant.

Why were these horrors allowed to persist for decades? Even if the infanticides had been concealed, there were ample other irregularities in the clinic's operations, including filth, unsanitized instruments, unqualified staff and dangerously inappropriate use of drugs. When the clinic was finally raided in 2010, it was the result of a federal narcotics investigation.

Part of the reason for the regulatory failure was simple bureaucratic indifference or incompetence. Inspectors from the Pennsylvania Department of Health visited several times between 1979 and 1993, noted problems, and didn't bother following up. But after 1993, the inspectors never reappeared until the 2010 raid. The reason was political.

In 1994 Tom Ridge, a pro-abortion Republican, was elected governor, succeeding the antiabortion Democrat Bob Casey. According to the grand jury, Ridge administration officials "concluded that inspections would be 'putting a barrier up to women' seeking abortions. Better to leave clinics to do as they pleased." The new policy did away with all regular inspections of abortion clinics. Mr. Ridge's lassitudinous approach was bipartisan, continued by his successor, Democrat Ed Rendell, who resumed the inspections only after the 2010 raid.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Gosnell and have already obtained guilty pleas from eight of his former staffers. The grand jury's report should also be seen as an indictment of America's post-Roe abortion industry. Its indifference--at best--to legal limits made possible the deaths of untold numbers of babies, lending credence to the argument that legal abortion is a slippery slope to infanticide.”  From WSJ writer, April 19, 2013, James Taranto http://jamestaranto.com/gosnell.htm?

10 SOTU with no applause from Democrats

#1 Jobs: President Trump reported that more Americans now have jobs than ever before — 157 million.  “Nearly 5 million Americans have been lifted off food stamps” thanks to all that job creation.

#2 Record-low minority unemployment:  “African-American, Hispanic-American and Asian-American unemployment have all reached their lowest levels ever recorded.”

#3 Healthcare: Only one Democrat stood to applaud when the President highlighted the “Right to Try” bill, which gives critically ill patients access to lifesaving cures and his commitment about bringing down exorbitant prescription drug prices.

#4 Cutting stifling regulations: "We’ve cut more regulations than any other administration in its entire tenure,“ President Trump said, receiving applause only from the Republican side of the House chamber.

#5 Energy independence: "We have unleashed a revolution in American energy. The United States is now the number one producer of oil and natural gas anywhere in the world. And now, for the first time in 65 years, we are a net exporter of energy,” Only Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia applauded among Democrats.

#6 Veterans: President Trump praised bipartisan efforts to deliver “historic VA reforms” in the last Congress, noting that “after four decades of rejection, we passed VA Accountability so we can finally terminate those who mistreat our wonderful veterans.”

#7 Combating anti-Semitism: While President Trump decried anti-Semitism, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi thumbed through her copy of the speech.

#8 Fair trade deals: "Tonight I am also asking you to pass the United States Reciprocal Trade Act, so that if another country places an unfair tariff on an American product, we can charge them the exact same tariff on the exact same product that they sell to us,“ President Trump said.  Democrats now oppose it.

#9 Stopping Infanticide: When President Trump asked Congress "to pass legislation to prohibit the late term abortion of children who can feel pain in the mother’s wound,” Democrats were silent.

#10 Anti-socialism: Bernie Sanders’ dismayed expression spoke volumes when President Trump boldly declared that “Tonight we renew our resolve that America will never be a socialist country.” That sentiment used to be taken for granted by both parties.

https://patriotpost.us/opinion/61067-the-10-best-trump-quotes-that-received-no-applause-from-the-democrats

Today’s message from Vantage Point Devotional

“A January 2005 article in TIME magazine reported: “Studies show that the more a believer incorporates religion into daily living—attending services, reading Scripture, praying—the better off he or she appears to be on two measures of happiness: frequency of positive emotions and overall sense of satisfaction with life.”

Are you a happy believer?  The psalm that contains today’s key verse begins with the confession of a very sad person.  Several times, he asks, “Why are you cast down, o my soul?” But he answers his distressing call with hope, praise and prayer.

Among answers to depression given in a 2016 article in Psychology Today, are to resist the urge to dwell on the past, and focus on what is going right.  The article suggests that one incorporate structure into every day. So the TIME magazine article had it right: attending services, reading Scripture, praying! And so did the psalmist: He sings into the night. The question, are you a happy believer, is worth repeating. More, it is worth doing something about. There are many unhappy people in government if the nightly news is any indicator. Pray that they would find the Lord first of all, and then, that they would find the night song in their souls.

Recommended for Further Reading: Philippians 4:4-9 “

Elizabeth Warren’s family lore

Even the MSM are commenting (gently) on Warren's claim to native ancestry, and her suggestion that she was given no advantage. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt--that she was just sharing family lore and in the mid-80s was completely unaware that minorities were in demand by colleges, HR, companies and honoraries. But the departments in those companies and colleges certainly knew it because they made those rules. And seeing those magic words on a registration or application certainly would have at least moved her up on the list assuming all else was equal.

I worked at Ohio State in the 80s and 90s and chatted with departmental faculty who were beating the bushes to find minorities (that's 1/32 to qualify and it's self-described) so they could be in good standing with university administration. And of course, the bigger and wealthier schools could offer the better financial package, and high school graduates were lured to an environment that guaranteed struggle and failure, whereas they might have succeeded in a different school. Minority women were a 2-fer and at interview time nearing graduation their dance cards would be full, while men languished hoping for even one interview. Of course, now 25-years later we pile category on category--first woman, first openly gay woman, first transwoman, first black transwoman, etc. A blonde, blue eyed, wealthy, privileged white woman is going to be disposable.

Neologisms

How Democrats justify abortion for any reason

Some Democrats have in the past justified abortion by attributing the drop in black violence and homicide after the mid-90s to the legalization of abortion in the 1970s. You don't hear much about that anymore, but it's lurking in their literature, both academic and popular. 

"Fertility declines for black women are three times greater than for whites (12 percent compared to 4 percent). Given that homicide rates of black youths are roughly nine times higher than those of white youths, racial differences in the fertility effects of abortion are likely to translate into greater homicide reductions." Quarterly Journal of Economics "The impact of legalized abortion on crime" by John Donohue III and Steven D. Levitt. (2001) This was popularized by the book Freakonomics, the authors both Democrats (Levitt is one of them). Democrats have long seen abortion as a social policy to reduce crime and poverty, unfortunately the target turns out to be blacks a group whose abortion rates are at genocide level. 

That said, the goal of the women in white at last night's SOTU is just Marxism, aka Feminism. For that, the family needs to be destroyed as the foundation of any nation.

The women in White

  What a vision of middle school solidarity or the KKK without hoods to mess up their make-up. They sat on their hands and wouldn’t applaud the President when he denounced socialism and infanticide and 3rd trimester abortion. They are certainly not virginal or pure.  Their party is only about sex and race, and their track record on race is Jim Crow and the Klan.  They have yet to denounce Hillary Clinton and other Democrats for eulogizing Robert Byrd in 2010, and he was actually a member, not a 35 year old photograph.

Exercise and aging (are you over 30?)

“Although the causes of muscle loss are numerous and complex, there is now copious evidence to suggest that exercise may prevent or reverse many of these age-related changes, whereas inactivity will accelerate muscle aging.”

https://www.the-scientist.com/features/how-muscles-age--and-how-exercise-can-slow-it-64708

Charles Payne on Don Lemon

“This is amazingly sad and pathetic. Asking Gladys Knight if she's worried about losing her career for singing the national anthem at a venue where 75% of participants are Black millionaires.”

Racism and Democrats

The Democrats have dumbed down racism. Instead of job or housing discrimination, instead of Jim Crow and KKK hoods (which were their methods 70 years ago), Democrats claim the problem is MAGA hats. Instead of "separate but equal" schools, the Democrats now tell kids they can't succeed unless government gives them extra boosts. Democrats now claim it's our President saying there are good and bad people on both sides of an issue, something MLK or Gandhi would have said. They say it's restricting visas for groups of people the former president had warned us about because of chaos in their countries. That racism is declaring that the United States has borders worth protecting. Democrats who voted for The Wall are now saying the wall is racist. Democrats who voted for $20 billion for the wall, now say not a dime. Some are so ridiculous they even say not hiring a failed football player is racist. But strangest and most delusional of all are those Democrats claiming a 35 year old photo of someone in black face is more racist than taking the lives of black babies.