Dat 154 Back to the Books!

Life is busy.  Shopping for holiday gifts, wrapping, mailing and going out and doing it all over again another day.

I don't know if I've mentioned it or not, but I think there are wonderful "finds" in gift shops.  My favorite gift shops are those associated with an art museum, but interesting shops abound, just about anywhere there is an "attraction."  My lovely sister-in-law got me these lovely Monet inspired water lilies from the Chicago Art Institute.

INow there is a new type of store I can add to my shopping list - antique shops.  C and I had great success yesterday at a shop that held about a hundred vendors. We found awesome stuff for the people we care about and made some interesting discoveries as well.  One vendor had, in perfect condition, newspapers from the early 1950's.  We discovered an attempt on the life of President Truman that neither of us had ever heard about.

A trip like this is great fodder for conversation as well.  It's an amazing time to find out how old your kids really think you are (LOL).


I'm also hitting the books again, this time trying to find out why sugar has such a hold on me, and looking at information regarding Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD).  About 30% of Americans currently have NAFLD, and a large portion of them don't even know it.  

For many, the thought of liver disease is closely associated with alcoholics, i.e. the town drunk, as he was known in the old days. And nobody, nobody wanted to be that guy.

This liver disease, however, has little to do with alcohol consumption and more to do with the food we eat and the exercise we give our bodies.  While there are some that claim this thing or that will erase our belly fat and turn us back into the slim young thing we were years ago, the truth is, you need to do both; diet and exercise work hand-in-hand. 

I went to the library today and checked out three books. Gary Taubes's The Case Against Sugar, Peter Walsh's Lose the Clutter Lose the Weight The Six-Week Total-Life Slim Down and the one I started reading first, Skinny Liver A Proven Program to Prevent and Reverse the New Silent Epidemic - Fatty Liver Disease by Kristin Kirkpatrick MS, RD.

NAFLD generally doesn't reveal any symptoms in its early stages, and won't be caught unless your doctor orders a per liver enzyme test.  NAFLD impacts your brain, your eyes, heart, and thyroid. More severe symptoms include: "persistent fatigue, muscle weakness, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, memory loss, mental confusion and other worrisome signs (Kirkpatrick pg 17)."

The good news is, if the disease hasn't reached a critical stage, the liver has the amazing ability to heal itself.  Not providing the stresses that damage the liver help that process.

Don't use the symptoms above to self-diagnose.  If you have some of these symptoms, talk to your medical professional, who  has the ability to order the correct blood tests to make a determination.

So, I have my work cut out for me over the next several days, if not longer.

Oh, and if you are still searching for something to get someone for their holiday tradition, I highly recommend the book by Tim Ferris, Tribe of Mentors Short Life Advice from the Best in the World, a book that provides some interesting insights into the people who are rocking it out there according to Ferris.

Happy reading all.