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Hello everyone.

Greetings from Montecito. For reasons only we seem to know, MD and I made a mad dash last week by car from Dallas to Montecito, then after one day here, to the Thunderbird Golf Club for some R&R. It wasn’t nearly enough time. Now were back to Montecito surrounded by books and all kinds of other stuff we’ve been meaning to bring from Texas, but never had space in the plane. During all the Sturm and Drang, I ended up getting sick with some kind of URI that has laid me low. I have threatened abbreviated aversions of The Arrow in the past, but ended up coming through with a full one. This one is going to be abbreviated, I guarantee. I’ll make it up next week. Let me see how far I can go before I completely collapse and MD has to finish the last sentences.

Comments, Poll Responses, and Emails

Kevin Hall

I’m going to start off this week with a poll response I got a couple of weeks ago and let slip, so I’ll address it now. The poll respondent was short and sweet.

As you might recall, Kevin Hall was the guy I wrote about a couple of weeks ago who gave up his dream job at the NIH to save his health insurance.

I don’t know Kevin personally, though we have had a handful of Twitter jousts and some back and forth over blog posts I had written. He is pretty well known in the community as being a CICO zealot and using his NIH position to promote CICO.

Almost no one can post on Twitter/X (where I do most of my posting) anything positive about the carbohydrate-insulin-model (CIM) without an immediate follow up by Kevin presenting a handful of papers in argument. Now I’m not saying scientific argument is wrong; it’s not. It’s the way scientific topics are hashed out and sometimes settled. But they shouldn’t be solved on Twitter.

Here is one in which Kevin attacks Ben Bikman and Ralph DeFronzo for a paper that defies Kevin’s CICO.

Most don’t know of Ralph DeFronzo because he’s a former generation, but he did much of the work on insulin resistance we rely on today. I was lucky enough to meet him a few times and attend a number of his talks.

Since I don’t know Keven all that well, and don’t know my Poll respondent at all, I will give her all the space she wants to lay out her argument that I have completely misrepresented Kevin Hall. Write it up and send it to mreades at proteinpower.com and I’ll publish it when it comes in. But I may have some commentary as well.

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Man Falls On Snake, Pt 2

A lot of people enjoyed the snake story, but not all. I would say most (of those who commented) did. So, I’ve got part 2 for you. I would have put in last week, but I had totally forgotten about it until MD reminded me.

My friend and I were off on this adventure in his Volkswagen bug, a car I was later to purchase from him. I ended up trying to change the oil in the thing, and dropped the entire engine on my right hand. I ended up with the terminal digit of my little finger smashed to smithereens. I still bear the scars. That was his revenge for the snake incident, I suppose.

Anyway, after all the drama of my friend falling on the live rattler, I killed the thing, and threw it in the car to take home and cook. As I mentioned last week, rattlesnake is delicious if you know how to cook it.

For those of you who don’t know, the gas tank of a VW Bug is in the front, where the engine is in a normal car. I don’t know if they still are now, but in this 1960 something version, they all were.

And way back in those days, you didn’t have self service gas stations. You pulled in, the attendant came up to the window, you said fill ‘er up, or whatever. The guy then filled the car with gas, and while he’s filling, he’s washing your windshield and windows and checking your tires. They really did that back in the 1960s/1970s. (I know because I worked in a gas station back when I was in school.)

So I throw the dead snake, which was of considerable size, say pretty close to 6’ long in the front of the VW. I don’t know how many of you have ever thrown a snake, but when they hit wherever they’ve been thrown, they just kind of naturally coil in a natural position. It makes it difficult to tell whether they are alive or dead.

We’re a million miles from anywhere, with a giant rattlesnake under our hood. We take off for home. After an hour or so, we decide we’re hungry and almost out of gas. I happened to be driving. We see a gas station that has some kind of food purveyor next to it, so I wheel into the spot to get gas, and tell the guy who comes to the window to fill it up. The hood cover release is inside the VW, so as I tell him to fill ‘er up, I pull the lever, so the hood releases.

I totally, completely, forget about the giant snake in the front. Had I remembered, I swear I would have told the guy about it. But I didn’t. As he headed to get the nozzle, I headed for the food. He had no idea what awaited him under the hood.

I hadn’t even gotten my order in before he was on me. He accused me pretty aggressively of leaving a live snake in the car. I told him the snake was dead as a door nail, and I went over and picked it up. I told him I had absolutely forgotten about its being in there, and I apologized effusively. I don’t think he quite bought my apology, but he didn’t continue any efforts to beat the crap out of me. We parted on okay terms.

When my buddy and I got back in the car and away from the station, we both laughed ourselves silly. The only thing I regret is that I did'n’t get to see the guy’s reaction when he opened the hood. But I’ve imagined it a thousand times.

Blood Pressure Standards Thanks to Big Pharma

I got an email from a guy I used to play a lot of golf with who is an Arrow reader. His doc had him on high blood pressure meds to keep his systolic (the upper measurement) from going over 120 mm Hg. This guy is not overweight, he’s in great shape, and gets plenty of exercise.

He’s also very smart. So he looked up the standards in other countries he thought might be less under the thumb of Big Pharma than we are in the US. Here is what he found in a Japanese paper.

As you can see, the high normal blood pressure in Japan is 130-139 over 85-89.

Compare that to the US, where high blood pressure in considered elevated if systolic pressure is between 120-129 and the diastolic is over 80. If BP is between 120-129, it is considered “pre” hypertension as long as diastolic is under 80.

Now when you consider that the Japanese smoke at much greater rates than Americans, yet have vastly greater longevity, why would their blood pressure standards be so much higher than Americans?

Reminds me of this graphic from a few years ago in the NY Times on all the different countries, how much they spend on medical care, and what their longevity is.

Take a look at Japan, then take a look at the US. Huge difference both in medical expenditures and longevity. The Japanese are way ahead of us.

I believe this tells us why our high blood pressure standards are more stringent than the Japanese. The lower the BP ‘normals’ are pushed, the more docs are going to subscribe BP meds. And BP meds are not benign. No medicine is benign. Let me write that in bold: No Medicines Are Benign. All medicines have side effects. Not all of them for all people, but many of them for many or most people. Why take a medicine to reduce a number (BP) when you might incur some other problem from doing so.

I’m in my late 70s, and when I go to give blood, my BP Is always in the 110/65 range. But if the standards continue their ever-downward trajectory, I could imagine a day in which my BP could be considered high. That’s what happened to those happy folks whose blood pressure was 129/82 just a few years ago. Now they’re being badgered to take BP meds.

My friend said, No, I’m not taking BP meds for a BP of a little over 120. It’s insane to try to keep in under 120 and experience symptoms. Sorry.

There is so much that needs to be fixed in modern medicine that it is unbelievable. Until you take a look at the longevity graphic at the top of this section, then it’s pretty clear something’s gotta give.

Buc-ees: The Place to Go For BS

I’m talking as in the opposite of NBS, which we all now know what is food-wise. You want NBS, i.e., no bad shit in your food. You want to eat clean. Just food, nothing else.

Buc-ees is legendary for its fantastic, clean restrooms and it’s tasty, plentiful foods, but falls way short in the nbs department.

Many of you probably don’t know what Buc-ees are. They are giant restaurant/gas station places scattered along all the main highways leading into or out of all the major cities in Texas. They are far enough away from the major cities that you’ll be hungry by the time you get there, and the stores will be far enough that the land on which they sit will be vastly less expensive than anything close to the major cities. Here’s a tiny corner of what one looks like inside:

But these huge crowds are not what you come for. You come for the food. And you come for one other convenience Buc-ees supplies in volume: Restroom space.

You know how annoying it is when you’re on a road trip and you need gas. And you need to pee. You pull into the station, throw the gas nozzle in the car, and get the gas going, and you run inside only to find a big OUT of ORDER sign on the restroom. Or that an entire family has taken up residence in the one working head.

You never, ever have to worry about this at Buc-ees, because Buc-ees knows you’ll wait for them, so they build for you. Below is a standard Buc-ees male restroom.

And this is just half of it. There is a whole other mirror image side to the left. I’ve been in countless Buc-ee’s restrooms, and they are never full—never even close to full, in fact—and never dirty. They are the princes among road-side restrooms. If you see a Buc-cee’s coming, wait for it.

Once you’ve done your business, there is the food. Sadly the food matches the restrooms in being over the top. But in the case of the food, it is over the top with BS.

We reconned some Buc-ee’s food—which people who eat it absolutely love—while we were on our way west. You’re not going to like seeing what makes Buc-ee’s food so toothsome. Here are a few selections.

A Chopped Brisket Sandwich.

A lovely Italian hoagie filled with … bad shit

And a Club Melt loaded with a long list of whatever.

I would have gotten a few more shots, but one of the managers was giving me the hairy eyeball, so maybe I’m not the first one who has given the Buc-ee’s labels a thorough look.

Casey Means, sister of Calley Means who has been all over the tube the last year promoting clean eating, has been nominated for Surgeon General. As it stands now, I’m not sure she’ll make it. But I’ll bet a buck Bobby is pushing for her.

She’s had kind of a weird career. She started out as a academic superstar, going on to Stanford Medical school, where she excelled. Then to a prestigious ENT (Ear, Nose, & Throat) surgery residency that she abandoned a few months before she was to complete it. Then she makes a 180 degree turn from a traditional surgical career to going into ‘good energy’ medicine. I made the same kind of turn myself, but it wasn’t on a dime.

She works with a company that sells supplements, which makes her look even worse in the eyes of traditional practitioners.

She has Jay Bhattacharya from Stanford on her side…maybe. They both were there. I think she’s a Bobby pick all around. The nominee she replaced was a vaccinator of the deepest dye, and I didn’t figure Bobby would let her hang around long.

I’ve got a copy of Casey Means book that I started months ago, but didn’t like all that much, so I put it down. I’ll pick it back up and have it read by next week and let you know what I think of it.

Meanwhile, I’m off to bed to beat down whatever has its claws in me. I should be back at my station by next Thursday with a full Arrow bulging with info.

Odds and Ends

• 7 foods and beverages that have the most microplastics (and what to eat instead). I didn’t realize tea bags were made of plastic. I thought they were paper.

• 1,800-year-old horse carefully buried with grave goods suggests deep bond between a Roman soldier and his steed.

• Short video shows why rotisserie chickens have remained so cheap while every other food has gone up. If you’re guess is they’re filled with BS, then you get the prize.

• State, which was one of the biggest pushers of mandates and lockdowns, now wonders why public health still hasn’t reckoned with which Covid policies and interventions failed.

• Trump bans risky—and controversial—gain-of-function virus research that likely led to COVID pandemic.

• Experienced research scientist hired to oversee Pfizer Covid vaccine test. She reports total lack of proper procedure and is immediately fired. Now she has sued. Pfizer could be destroyed if she wins. If she loses…?

• In case you were not aware, MedPage is a Pharmaceutical industry-funded marketing (synonym: Propaganda) operation posing as an objective source of medical truth. I read it all the time. All it takes is a quick glance to know the truth.

• George Clooney’s debut “Good Night, and Good Luck” became the highest-grossing play in Broadway history last week, drawing $4 million in a single week.

• It used to be the case that NGOs, many of which are charities, were more trusted than any other institutions, but this no longer holds true. No more. Now NGOs take your money then campaign against you.

• RFK Jr. just made his best hire yet with Dr. Vinay Prasad (and that's saying something)!

• The great conclave secret: What do would-be popes eat? And how is it dealt with so that no secret messages can be sent? Much intrigue in electing a pope.

• Six genetic myths still taught in schools (that science says are wrong). At least science says so today.

• It’s time to fix the CDC—and better respond to the next pandemic. One of the best things already done is getting rid of Redfield, the co-author of this article. His rant during his tenure on the value of masks was one of the most idiotic things I had ever heard. Look it up and listen in wonder.

• The ornate sword commissioned by Napoleon during his rise to power Is heading to the auction block.

• I’ve been mesmerized by German politics for the past two years. Couldn’t believe when I woke up to this this morning. “New Merz government orders the pushback of all illegal migrants at the German borders, effectively abolishes asylum as a path into Germany” And strikes out against AfD. Wow is all I can say.

• Mind boggling story here. Young, male anesthesiologist hides cameras in his bathroom to compare his member to others. Anesthesiology is the one specialty in which docs typically see their patients unclothed. Why not just look at them to compare? He can think about it, I suppose, in his months in jail.

• Compared to earlier models, results suggest a greater degree of cognitive control by early human tool makers than previously recognized. In other words, flint knapping was more advanced than was thought before this study.

• The most beautiful words in the English language…according to linguists. I think other linguists might disagree.

• The wind and solar power flaw has finally been exposed. It’s called storage.

• Long essay by one of my favorite writers on the story of the managers’ rise to power everywhere, not only in politics but throughout every corner of our societies. It is the story of the fall of liberal democracy—and perhaps of something even more precious than that as well.

Newsletter Recommendations

Video of the Week

Most of you have heard of Billy Strings, but did you know that Doc Watson was one of Billy Strings’s heroes. All you’ve got to do is close your eyes and listen to a lot of what Billy plays to hear Doc shining through. Doc has a special way of picking using a single pick rather than a finger pick. It makes the music different. Below is a video of Doc Watson playing and singing Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right. Imagine Peter, Paul, and Mary or any traditional finger pickers playing this song, then compare to Doc. Then compare how Billy Strings plays many of these same finger picking songs. You can hear the Doc Watson in them. It’s the same tune, just different guitar picking technique.

Time for the poll, so you can grade my performance this week.

That’s about it for this week. Keep in good cheer, and I’ll be back next Thursday.

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This newsletter is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not, nor is it intended to be, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and should never be relied upon for specific medical advice.

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Finally, don’t forget to take a look at what our kind sponsors have to offer. Dry Farm Wines, HLTH Code, Precision Health Reports, and Jaquish Biomedical.

And don’t forget my newest affiliate sponsor Lumen. Highly recommended to determine whether you’re burning fat or burning carbs.