Fascinating Friday

May the 4th be with you.

Today I wanted to (mostly) take a break from theology and talk about different topics of interest to me. The main thing I wanted to share, however, is related to health care because it was something I didn’t know before. Amelia and I are starting the Keto Diet based on her doctor’s recommendation and have been doing a lot of reading about it. I’m already starting to feel a little better! (Amelia says she'll post more about it soon.)

One thing that jumped out to me in my reading this week was a reference to Alzheimer’s disease and dementia related to diabetes. I had two grandparents growing up who had type 2 diabetes and I’ve known people with type 1, but I had never heard of what I read this week.

"Alzheimer’s disease is often referred to as type 3 diabetes. It is a metabolic syndrome of the brain. Insulin resistance is a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease. When Alzheimer’s sets in, the brain can no longer use glucose for energy, so it must use a different source. Enter ketones! Adding medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) in high doses multiple times a day, alone with a keto diet, helps patients who suffer from memory loss." - Maria Emmerich in her book "Keto."

Generally I find the world of healthcare confusing and contradictory. Sometimes it seems like no one actually knows anything about this stuff. While I understand that referring to Alzheimer’s Disease as type 3 diabetes is not yet the standard in the medical community, there is strong evidence supporting it. I find the whole discussion fascinating. In the mean time I’ll focus on the hard work of cutting out as much excess sugar as I can and eating better food instead of the easy stuff.

And now here are some other interesting tidbits I found this week...

Spiritual Quote

“Never confuse the person formed in the image of God, with the evil that is in him; because evil is but a chance misfortune, an illness, a devilish reverie. But the very essence of the person is the image of God, and this remains in him despite every disfigurement.” + St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ

Science

Mount Kilauea is in the middle of a rather large eruption in Hawaii.

Christian News

The Crown prince of Saudia Arabia seems determined to change his country. I was shocked to read that Christian churches will be allowed to be built for the Christian minority.

Luther Quote

Did you know that Luther allowed for prayer for the departed?

A Lutheran friend sent me a quote from a homily Luther preached in 1544 that was surprising for me to read. What was maybe most surprising is that Luther admitted there is uncertainty that final judgment has been passed at death, which is very different than what I was taught growing up as a Lutheran.

"The fourth question is: Shall we pray for the dead; since here in the Gospel there is no intermediate state between Abraham's bosom and hell, and those in Abraham's bosom do not need it, and it does not help those in perdition. We have no command from God to pray for the dead; therefore no one sins by not praying for them; for what God does not bid or forbid us to do, in that no one can sin. Yet, on the other hand, since God has not permitted us to know, how it is with the souls of the departed and we must continue uninformed, as to how he deals with them, we will not and cannot restrain them, nor count it as sin, if they pray for the dead. For we are ever certain from the Gospel, that many have been raised from the dead, who, we must confess, did not receive nor did they have their final sentence; and likewise we are not assured of any other, that he has his final sentence." - Martin Luther

Pictures!

As seen on Facebook, coutesy of the Art of Manliness...

In honor of pay day...

Stephen found an easier way to hold the baby this week so he can carry her around the house now. Don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but it's cute!...