For IVF go to Europe
This article about IVF in The Times caught my attention.
Whatever your views on the subject and I don’t have particular ones either way, this is a subject we should take seriously, as it seems being childless is for some a disaster. I can’t comment, as I am the father of three and didn’t have to make the decision.
But we have to bear in mind that everyone’s pregnancy is a cost to the NHS. This is not a problem with a single birth, but who pays for multiple births, which often have complications.
I would also throw in the fact that as a coeliac, if I was a woman I might have problems in conceiving. I know of women who on being diagnosed have quite quickly got pregnant and successfully had a child. I also know that no women in the coeliac line of my family have given birth in over a hundred years. I’m no doctor, but could it be that if your vitamin-B12 and folates are low, you’re not going to conceive a healthy baby.
This is yet another reason for everybody to be checked for coeliac disease.
It’s Not the Size of the Dog
Ask a postman and he’ll tell you that he’s more likely to get bitten by a irate dachshund than a large brute of a German shepherd. And if there’s a serious dog fight, they’ll usually be something like a Jack Russell involved. It’s just that small dogs seem to have more fight.
Now I’m 60 kilos (9 st. 6 lb.) or thereabouts wet through. Not that that I usually get wet outside of a bath or shower. And I’m just 1.71 metres (5 ft. 7 in. and a bit). Which means I’m somewhere in size between a flat and a jump jockey or about the size of a lightweight boxer. I’m also 62 in August.
I was probably being stupid by wearing a watch in Naples, but then I’d done it before and hadn’t had a problem. But thinking about it, when I had done it before, it had been cold and I’d been wearing my elderly Gieves and Hawkes jacket. The jacket is the sort that British gentleman wore all over the Empire, as it’s capable of dealing with knives and small arms fire.
So as I was walking around the city with a lady friend, a thief struck and tried to take my Rolex. Now it is not just any Rolex, but one my late wife gave me as a Christmas present two weeks after she died. It is inscribed with something personal and it is very precious to me.
Subconsciously, I gripped my hands together and as one would expect from a watch like a Rolex, the strap held, giving me some bruises on the wrist. We ended up rolling on the floor, with nobody giving me any assistance. I chided my friend afterwards for not doing what women should do in these sort of circumstances and that is scream and scream loudly. She just tried to kick him in the balls.
As we rolled, I was able to grab his index finger with my right hand and still I think keeping my left locked tight to my right wrist. Something snapped and it wasn’t anything of mine and my assailant was up on his feet and jumping on to his accomplice’s scooter. Did I just wrench his finger or break it? The doctor I saw in the UK, who was built like a prop forward, said it was an easy thing to do.
So it was a win on points to the terrier. Especially as the thief was perhaps well under half my age and perhaps fifty percent heavier. Hopefully, he’s a good bit wiser and will think twice about attacking small Englishmen.
I didn’t come out unscathed in that I had a large cut on the back of my head and I was bleeding quite badly.
No-one helped or came forward, so we eventually ventured into a pharmacy, where the pharmacist patched me up and called an ambulance. Only then did some of the local women come forward to say how sorry they were. But not a man said a thing. Is this silence because of the fear that people have for the local thugs and the Mafia?
At the hospital, everything went well and I left an hour later with seven stitches in my head and a clean CAT scan, which checked that nothing more was broken.
As to the Rolex, it cost just £2 to have the strap straightened at Wigg’s in Newmarket.
Now would I go back to Naples?
Of course. It’s a wonderful city with marvellous museums, Roman sites galore and lots of good food. I had a glorious gluten-free pizza in the Umberto restaurant. And that’s just the city itself.
Dr. Egerton White
I am fairly unique amongst people these days in that I was delivered by my GP; Dr. Egerton White.
He was your classic GP of the time in North London. He had the Rover 90 or 110, the corporation, waistcoat and watch-chain, the kindly face and warm hands, and everything else that went with the job.
But why did he come all of the way from Winchmore Hill to my parent’s home in Cockfosters?
It was a drive of about five or six kilometres and all of my friends and neighbours used doctors who were much closer. My father always said that it was because his was one of the first houses built in the area and there weren’t any doctors. He may also have been a client of my father’s printing business. But then that wouldn’t add up, as the house was built in 1936 and I don’t think my father was working there at the time.
It has always been a puzzle.
I can still see Dr. White’s face in my mind, as he came many times to see me at home. I should say, that I also went to see him and his partner, Dr. Curley, at Winchmore Hill just as many times too. It was an unusual face in that it was round and covered in dark pigmented spots.
Only now, do I know what the problem is with my health. I am a coeliac, which means I’m allergic to the gluten found in wheat, barley and rye. But in those far off days of the late 1940s and early 1950s, no-one knew how to diagnose my problem. He thought I may have had an egg allergy, but try as he could, he missed the diagnosis. Incidentally, go through my medical notes and you’ll see all sorts of symptoms that now I put down to being a coeliac.
Note that I don’t use coeliac disease. I suffer from a diet-controlled non-illness.
One incident stands out. At about seven, I caught scarlet fever. Or did I?
I had all the symptoms and was placed in isolation at home. But according to Dr. White, I was the only case in London. So was it some weird manifestation of my allergy. I don’t know and I suppose I could find out if I had a test for the antibodies. But does it really matter? No! In the grand scheme of things.
About seven years ago, I bought a new car. The salesman had the same skin colour with the pigmented spots as Dr. White. And the salesman was black or of mixed-race!
So does this partly explain the reason how the good Dr. Egerton White came to be my family’s doctor in North London?
Maltodextrin
I did think about calling this post the evil of wheat maltodextrin. It was close as that is how I feel at times, especially when I’ve got the runs from something that contains this as a cheap substitute for sugar.
Here’s what Wikipedia says about it’s production.
Maltodextrin is enzymatically derived from any starch. In the US, this starch is usually corn; in Europe, it is commonly wheat. This is important for coeliacs, since the wheat-derived maltodextrin can contain traces of gluten. There have been recent reports of coeliac reaction to maltodextrin in the United States. This might be a consequence of the shift of corn to ethanol production and its replacement with wheat in the formulation.
Other authorities on gluten maintain the source does not matter because maltodextrin is such a highly processed ingredient that the protein is removed, rendering it gluten free. If wheat is used to make maltodextrin, it will appear on the label. Even so, the maltodextrin will be gluten free.
The nutritional supplement industry and the food industry frequently make claims concerning ingredients derived from common allergens (such as soy,corn and sometimes wheat, which are ubiquitous) stating that the substance in question is so highly and completely processed that none of the original material remains, however, when tested in human blood of allergic individuals these substances do elicit reactions.
As do many coeliacs, even the traces of gluten in this sugar substitute are enough to upset me, so what are the EU doing. They are making wheat maltodextrin exempt from the allergy rules on gluten.
Who dreamed that one up?
I should think it was probably due to pressure from food manufacturers as it is cheaper than sugar.
But then sugar is considered evil as it makes you fat. So does wheat maltodextrin!
I generally only eat proper demerara sugar, as I have a lovely friend who was born there!
Coeliacs and Bi-Polar Disorder
I’ve been a coeliac all my life, but I was only diagnosed a few years ago. I wish I’d been diagnosed earlier.
The more I look at my condition, the more I find surprising links to other diseases.
As we all know, bi-polar disorder is something that is difficult to live with and control. It is not pleasant and in the worst cases it leads to all sorts of complications and trouble. So many families I know have all but been destroyed by mental illness of this type.
But type coeliac bi-polar disorder into Google and you get lots of stories about people who believe that the two are connected. Look at the snippet below from this article.
Sharla is a friend and a fellow blogger, her blog can be found at Jones Family Blog. Like myself, she suffers from bipolar disorder. But Sharla also suffers from celiac disease, as do two of her children.
Now is there a connection between coeliac disease and bi-polar disorder? And all of the other mental
problems, slight or otherwise?
Whilst I was undiagnosed, I didn’t suffer from too many mental problems, but I did suffer migraines, without any pain luckily, and various mood swings and temper problems. The migraines have gone and I’m a lot calmer, despite the other things that have happened to me.
But let’s look at the body and the mind from the point of view of an engineer. I was trained to be a control engineer, which is all about why systems work, so this might, or might not, give me a greater insight. You judge! Not me!
For any system to work well, and the brain is just a very complicated system, it needs to be supplied with everything it needs and all of the components must be in the best condition. Just think how poorly your car runs, when you haven’t topped it up with oil and water!
Now, coeliacs are often short on vitamin-B12 and folates, as their gut is damaged and these don’t get into the system. I still get an injection every three months to make sure my levels are where they should be.
This is what Wikipedia says about vitamin-B12.
Vitamin B12 is a water soluble vitamin with a key role in the normal functioning of the brain and nervous system, and for the formation of blood. It is one of the eight B vitamins. It is normally involved in the metabolism of every cell of the body, especially affecting DNA synthesis and regulation, but also fatty acid synthesis and energy production.
So if your vitamin-B12 is low, does this mean you might show all sorts of brain malfunctions, such as bi-polar disorder?
Type vitamin-B12 brain into Google and you get lots of interesting articles.
Like this one, where the research was done by the University of Oxford. And this article which says that the University of Highlands and Islands is researching the link between gluten and schizophrenia.
If there is one personal conclusion, then it is get your vitamin-B12 levels checked.
And on a general basis we need a lot more research, not just into this link, but into all the effects of gluten.
Dietary Specials Shortcrust Pastry
For lunch today, I had a hand-made Cornish pasty made from gluten-free pastry. It was not bad at all, even if it was a little bit crumbly. But then if pastry is gluten-free it usually is!
The pastry is by Dietary Specials and I got mine from Sainsbury’s in Haverhill.
Tiffin-in-a-Box
Yesterday, we had this Rich and Creamy Tiffin from Waitrose for lunch. It was more than enough for a snack for two, despite being labelled as being for one. There is also a Hot and Spicy Tiffin.
Both are gluten-free and suitable for coeliacs.
On-Line Pick-and-Mix
Woolies is back as an on-line store.
They’ve apparently got Pick-and-Mix. With sounds as you drop the sweets into the bag.
I don’t eat sweets as I can’t be sure they don’t have the dreaded wheat maltodextrin in them. Why can’t they use sugar? It’s natural and safe.
Dundee (or Essex) Marmalade Lamb Chops
This is an interesting recipe. I originally found it because I had some nice Welsh lamb chops and wanted a different way to cook them. I had just bought a jar of decent marmalade and typed marmalade and lamb into Google.
It came from RecipeZaar.
These are the ingredients.
- 4 leg lamb chops
- 2 1/2 fluid ounces vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 4 tablespoons real marmalade (i.e. with sugar and not wheat maltodextrin – Tiptree is ideal)
- 4 slices oranges, for garnish
- 2 ounces unsalted butter
- 2 1/2 fluid ounces water
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- salt and pepper, to taste
And this is how you cook it.
- You will need a frying pan with a heavy base and a close-fitting lid.
- First, brown the chops in the butter.
- Sprinkle the ginger, paprika, salt and pepper over the chops and add water and vinegar.
- Place a generous tablespoon of marmalade on the top of each chop.
- Bring to a slow simmer and cook for 45 minutes on a very low heat.
- If required, add a little extra water.
- Serve with a twist of orange on top of the chops and with boiled potatoes and fresh vegetables.
It is absolutely disgusting. But wonderful.
Sausage and Red Wine Casserole
We cooked this last night.
It was quite simple, quick and we were able to go down the pub for some Aspall Cyder, whilst it cooked in the AGA.
The recipe came from Cook Simply. It was modified to make it gluten-free.
The casserole needed the following ingredients.
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 6 Musks gluten-free pork sausages
- 150 g bacon rashers, chopped
- 250 g shallots, peeled
- 1 tbls (20 g) gluten-free plain flour (Doves Farm)
- 350 ml red wine
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped
- 400 g can tomatoes, chopped
- 150 g button mushrooms
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
Unfortunately, we didn’t have any mushrooms and we had to use onions instead of shallots. But it was still quick and easy.
The method is as follows.
- Heat the oil in a large casserole and brown the sausages all over.
- Remove from the pan and fry the bacon and onions.
- Sprinkle in the flour and stir in the wine gradually.
- Put the sausages back in the pan, add the garlic, bay leaf, thyme, tomatoes and season well.
- Cover the pan and allow to simmer gently for 30 minutes.
- Add the mushrooms and leave to cook for a further 10 minutes before serving.
We cooked the casserole in the bottom oven of the AGA and it took just over an hour.
There was also two sausages left over, so they were put into a small freezer tray and frozen. I’ll let you know what it is like when I get it out.
The Anonymous Widower 