I love the way the Google ads at the top of the page find key words totally without qualitative assessment. Those of you who have the premium membership are missing out on the fun there. But to illustrate, with  the election year coming up I could very well use my blog to declare “Candidate X has a face like a penile wart, a personality like a crushed slug, no soul, no clue, and just wants a good slap in general,” and Google would very likely match that with an advertisement supporting candidate X.

 

So we have one ad suggesting Vitamin B6 is the devil right next to another ad selling the stuff. Too funny.

 

Well, a few posts ago the title was “And the Wind Prayed Back, Thank You.” Why? What on earth does that mean? Nothing actually. It was my temporary title. I never replaced it. Usually, I just type in a single letter so I can run spellcheck as I go along. I happened to be listening to “Several Species of Furry Brown Animals Sitting in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict” from Pink Floyd’s “Ummagumma” album. It’s a lovely bit of Roger Waters studio shenanigans which follows the sublime “Grantchester Meadows” on the second disc. Towards the end of the song a storyteller or orator with an extremely thick Scots burr seems to enter the ‘cave,’ launching into a completely incomprehensible though passionate speech which seems to end with, “And the wind prayed back – thank you.”

 

Ah – will Imeem cut it down to 30 seconds? I may try posting it in my comments page. Check it, if’n you like.

 

Great album. The first disc is a 1969 concert with four longish songs, including the legendary “Astronime Domine,” and a rippingly good rendering of “Careful with That Axe, Eugene.” The second disc is each band member – now without Syd Barrett – contributing a half side of his own creation. A highlight is Gilmour’s “The Narrow Way.” Of course, “Grantchester Meadows,” the Roger Waters contribution, is one of my favorite songs in the whole wide world. It’s proto-Rhubarb Valley.

 

So.

 

I pretty much have the whole day off to write. I’ve got things in my head. What are they called? Thoughts! That’s it – I have thoughts. I’d love to write about Lincoln in 1861 and in 1863. I’ll throw a quickie essay together – maybe after a morning walk. But I’ll only post something new after I’ve gotten a comment or two on the last one. Please bear in mind my holistic approach to – what cometh out. It defiles me not, in any case, but I can trip all over the universe just to say G’morning. The Lodge is quite noisy today, too.

 

Here’s the lyric to “Grantchester Meadows.” It’s really nice.   

 

“Icy wind of night, be gone
This is not your domain
in the sky a bird was heard, crying
Misty morning whisperings and gentle stirring sounds
belied a deathly silence that lay all around
Hear the lark and harken
to the barking of the dog-fox gone to ground
See the splashing of the King-fisher
flashing to the water
And a river of green is sliding unseen beneath the trees
laughing as it passes through the endless summer
making for the sea
In the lazy water meadow I lay me down
All around me, golden sunflakes settle on the ground
basking in the sunshine of a bygone afternoon
bringing sounds of yesterday in to my city room
Hear the lark and harken
to the barking of the dog-fox gone to ground
See the splashing of the King-fisher
flashing to the water
And a river of green is sliding unseen beneath the trees
laughing as it passes through the endless summer
making for the sea

In the lazy water meadow
I lay me down.
All around me,
Golden sunflakes covering the ground,
Basking in the sunshine of a by gone afternoon,
Bringing sounds of yesterday into my city room.
Hear the lark and harken to the barking of the dog fox gone to ground.
See the splashing of the kingfisher flashing to the water.
And a river of green is sliding unseen beneath the trees,
Laughing as it passes through the endless summer making for the sea.”

- Roger Waters

Al Green sings “Something.” It’s too good. It’s perfect.

 

Where are we in this thing of ours? I could write about how Abraham Lincoln established a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1863. You know, every year we just have to be treated to some documentary exposing the “Myth of Plymouth Rock.” What have I told you about myths? They are more true than fact – that’s the idea. The story, or legend if you will, of a feast held at the Plymouth Rock colony between the Puritan settlers and some of their Indian neighbors had been well-established in folklore by the time Lincoln institutionalized the Thanksgiving holiday as we know it today. It may or may not have happened at all, or it may be based on several incidents. Who cares?

 

The story hits all the same points today that it did then, and it serves the same purpose.

 

In any event, they would have had deer venison, especially if the Indians were involved. Of course, several states already had established days of Thanksgiving, and George Washington had declared a National Day of Thanksgiving in 17-something which had been a one-time thing. All Lincoln really did was to nationalize what had already become a traditional practice. Days of Thanksgiving were usually declared to commemorate a particular event, but a party… is a party. Heck, we had so much fun last year why not do it again?

 

I think I might like to write about Lincoln further tomorrow. Though revered today, he was at times immensely unpopular during his presidency, and certainly controversial. Some of the things he did would just make you absolutely plop if they were tried today even by a popular president. But there it is – tomorrow maybe, a great story and a discussion perhaps about what is actually written in the Constitution. In those days the ink was still drying, too.

 

Well, here is Lincoln’s proclamation for any of you who may not have read it before. And – Happy Thanksgiving! Don’t forget to thank God for me. (I’m awfully darned wonderful, after all.) I’ll be doing the same for you.

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Squabbler of State

Last week Fibber and Molly took a train trip to visit Uncle Dennis, only to find that Uncle Dennis had come to visit them. It's funny how everybody in Wistful Vista happened to be on that train. Well, today they have returned home, expecting Uncle Dennis to be in their house waiting for them. He is missing, but his after-effects are most in evidence.

**

My son was home today from school, sick. When the White Tornado arrived for work I told her he was home so she gave him a hug and a kiss. I mumbled something about feeling a little under the weather myself, but it got me nowhere. I have noticed her maternal way with the boys several times now. Children and dogs - that's how she rolls.

I also got a funny e-card for Thanksgiving from the same friend who sent me the picture in the last post. Things like that brighten my days considerably, just as did the words of encouragement and the shared videos in my comments train over the last few days from purple fly and Rosie, and others. So, it was a good day following all that joy and hope. And I'm reminded of why I began this blog in the first place, and I won't stray from that. It's a good place, The White Lodge. A little drafty maybe.

Thank you for reading. I appreciate you more than I can express. 

 

The interesting thing about this picture is the sea, nevermind the flying saucers. But it’s prime Sister Midnight. I don’t know when she painted this – some time before I met her.

 

In our arrogance we speak often of “the shrinking world,” “the fragile planet,” and by other absurd affirmations pretend to have a clue, perhaps because you and I can communicate instantaneously across immense distances about nothing important. That we who are already dead can share in ghostly electronic whispers the childish falsity of our self-importance changes nothing about the size of the universe, or of “the planet,” (as the word is intoned with reverence by small-minded materialists who have nothing else to worship). But in fact, increased or enlarged understanding opens perception not to a shrinking finite sum but rather to an unimaginable immensity. The sea is symbolic of this.

 

A few weeks ago I was writing about Science. Some of you may remember.

 

What happens out there in the sea? A person may easily become lost in a relatively populated area like mine and die of exposure in a wilderness much bigger than his body, much smaller than the sea. It still takes the better part of a day to walk a mere 20 miles. Flying saucers often visit a town near to me, and they can be a hazard for drivers passing through the area late at night. It is not the world that is becoming smaller; it is the minds of those who say so. I would be happy to drop a few of these power-mad little men off in the middle of the sea and let them swim the now much shorter-than-ever-before distance home. One has already lost his soul who has lost his sense of awe.

 

Well, a friend sent me this. It came without provenance, but if I had to guess (and I do) I would say the painting was entered in an art show at a Science Fiction writers’ convention.

 

On the general topic, I happened to catch the movie rendering of “I, Robot” the other night on television, actually sat down to watch it through once I recognized what it was that I was seeing. I thought it was a fairly intelligent treatment, and unusual insofar as the special effects (which were tediously amazing) did not entirely upstage the story – which is too often the case with post-digital movie versions of classic philosophically-minded Science Fiction stories. I would be curious to see how the goose-stepping socialist Hollywood establishment would handle a story such as “Foundation,” also by Asimov, an early influence in my own thinking. (I had dutifully reported to the author years ago to have my prized first edition signed by him, and we ended up exchanging dirty limericks.)

 

Tediously amazing says I – yes. There comes a point – and that point is now a memory – where our “oohs and ahhs” for “Jason and the Argonauts,” “2001, A Space Odyssey,” “Star Wars,” and so on, must turn into sighs of contempt when such marvels are commonplace. Re-makes of such incredible torpidity they could make the cat weep are routinely churned-out to offer not more but far less thought provocation than the originals they couldn’t hope to replace, with special effects mastery usurping rather than enhancing everything that made the stories good.

 

Squabbler the movie critic, right?  Well…

 

This painting inspires those sorts of thoughts from me this morning, perhaps because I knew the artist. She was certainly unplugged from any purely material way of looking at things; a sense of awe she most certainly possessed. Her paintings generally depicted the ordinariness of the unlikely when I knew her: primitive portraits of people and animals in a context of the immensity of the universe, this usually achieved through an application of color which was entirely her own.

 

You’ve all had enough of my ramblings for one day, I gather. Fibber and Molly will be along later. Good day to you.      

 

I’ve found a few articles this morning on the dangers of taking high doses – or “Mega” Doses as advertised on over-the-counter “energy shots” – of vitamin B, particularly B-6 which, it turns out, is not water soluble. I’ve also found an article written by a vitamin B-6 proponent who recommends the substance specifically for children with autism.

 

I am particularly interested in the temporary neuropathy some have reported experiencing on large doses of B-6 because the description exactly describes what seemed to be afflicting me last Thursday after ingesting a product called “Mega Shot” which – although the bottle did not provide the quantity in grams – boasted that it provided “2000%” of daily recommended dosage of B-6, (and “10,000%” of B-12, and “5,000%” of vitamin C… just to give you an idea of the packaging.)

 

The cases of neuropathy seem to occur over time, which suggests my reaction – if B-6 was indeed the culprit – must be very rare indeed. I admit it’s anecdotal, but I can report that I had never in my previous experience suffered from any numbness in my hands, arms, or feet. Nor am I generally afflicted with circulation difficulties. So, while finding this information does not give me complete vindication – (and I know there’s big money involved, and people trying to sell products; studies and statistics are tweaked by bias on both sides) – it does confirm for me that I should certainly not be ingesting that particular product again.

 

My opinion in general you already know. All life moves towards its end; we all die, and it really doesn’t matter when, though there is a qualitative assessment connected to the how. Life contains an element of risk which the individual mitigates as he must see fit. I believe that no authority, no government, can be given the power to arbitrate in such matters over the individual without being tyrannical, and I believe that such agencies as do so must be abolished if we are to be free.

 

Having said that, and acknowledging the caveat emptor which one must apply to everything someone sells him to eat or drink, it is essential to have organizations both for-profit and non-profit which are devoted to supplying us with information so that we may base our decisions in some sort of knowledge. 

 

The first article is from a British nutritional website, BNET Research. I’ve edited the content and highlighted in bold the parts which intrigued me.

 

The perils of vitamin B6 megadosing

The easy availability of over-the-counter vitamins and the popular view of them as "natural" wonder foods that can ward off disease have made megavitamin therapy widely acceptable. Many Canadians take supplemental vitamins, occasionally in amount 10, 50, even 250 times the recommended daily intake, often without professional advice. Although megavitamin proponents claim benefits for conditions as diverse as wound healing, poor sexual performance, premenstrual discomfort, stress and depression, no firm scientific evidence supports the claims for vitamins overdosing.

Most people don't need vitamin supplements.

In large doses vitamins act as drugs

In megadoses, vitamins are no longer considered to be nutrients but regarded as "pharmacologically active substances" (drugs) that -- like all drugs -- may produce harmful side effects. They can also interact with other medications being taken. In the U.S., all vitamins (except folic acid) are classed as nutrients, with no legal restrictions on the dose or potency of products marketed. But in Canada vitamin preparations are viewed as drugs and must be approved by Health and Welfare Canada's Bureau of Nonprescription Drugs before being offered for sale. When the manufacturer applies for a drug identification number (DIN), Health and Welfare Canada checks the dosage against existing legislation to make sure it's not too high. For example, the upper limit or maximum potency allowed by Canada's Food and Drug Act for an oral dose of vitamin B6 is three mg per pill. No daily dose should exceed it, although authorities cannot control the number of pills someone takes. One expert at the Health Protection Branch of Health and Welfare Canada suggest looking for the "DIN" symbol followed by a six or eight digit number on any vitamin preparation. If the product doesn't bear this mark it is not officially approved and thus cannot be sold legally.

Even water-soluble vitamins can be toxic in megadoses

Whereas the dangers of megadosing with fat-soluble vitamins, especially vitamins A and D, are widely acknowledged, many vitamin advocates assume that any surplus of water-soluble vitamins will be harmlessly flushed out of the body by the kidneys, in urine. However, scientists have now shown that even some water-soluble vitamins can be harmful in large doses. More specifically, research confirms that vitamin B6 can be neurotoxic (nerve-damaging) in amounts over 200 mg a day. Megadoses of other water-soluble vitamins, such as vitamin C, in amounts over one to one and a half grams a day may also damage health. Excessive ingestion of vitamin C can cause diarrhea, increase the risks of oxalate type kidney stones and even lead to "rebound scurvy" (when megadosing stops and the body falsely reacts as if short of vitamin C).

Megadoses advocated for many conditions

As distinct from the limited use of vitamins to offset a deficiency or correct some fault, megadoses aim to saturate certain biochemical pathways in the hope of accelerating some of the body's activities to improve health or overcome complaints. In the early 1950's, some megavitamin proponents promoted the use of various vitamins in doses much higher than recommended daily amounts to treat a wide range of disorders. Megavitamin or "orthomolecular" therapy, as it was dubbed by the U. S. physicist, Dr. Linus Pauling, might involve taking 10 to 600 times the Recommended nutrient Intake (RNI) of any particular vitamin.

Many people today regularly take [B.sub.6] in far greater amounts than the recommended daily requirement, some consuming 50, 500, even 1,000 mg of vitamin [B.sub.6] each day --- truer in the U.S. than in Canada. Undeniably, vitamin [B.sub.6] is important to health. But studies show inconsistent results for the benefits of [B.sub.6] therapy. There's no proof of its efficacy in treating PMS, carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis or other complaints, and megadosing can damage health.

 

Next is an article from the Nutrition Bytes repository of the University of California, Los Angeles, (Ingvild Gangsaas (1995) “Dispelling the Myths of Vitamin B6 ”, Nutrition Bytes: Vol. 1: No.1, Article 2.

http://repositories.cdlib.org/uclabiolchem/nutritionbytes/vol1/iss1/art2

 

Once again, I’ve edited for brevity.

 

“In 1942, pyridoxine (a form of vitamin B6) was determined to cause severe weakness and pathological changes in peripheral nerves and dorsal root ganglia in dogs and rats. Although the non-species-specific effects should have suggested human vulnerability to pyridoxine neuropathy, it was not until 1983 that human neuropathy was reported. In fact, further studies demonstrated that humans were even more sensitive to the neurotoxicity of pyridoxine than rodents (1).

 

Despite these and other compelling studies regarding the toxicity of pyridoxine, it continues to be abused. The reason behind this abuse is the existence of unscientifically founded myths. In the following, the various myths and the

startling evidence against them will be presented.

 

MYTH #1: Vitamin B6 is water -soluble and hence not toxic in doses exceeding RDA recommendations.

 

RDA recommendations of vitamin B6 range from 1.5 to 2.2 mg per day2. Extensive literature suggests that vitamin B6 is toxic in doses exceeding RDA values. The following outlines the findings of these studies (in chronological order):

 

(1) Seven adults developed progressive sensory ataxia and profound limb impairment of position and vibration sense after consumption of large daily doses of pyridoxine (2 to 6g) for 4 -40 months (3).

 

(2) Daily doses as low as 500 mg of vitamin B6 may result in neuropathy (5).

 

(3) Sensory neuropathy from low-dose pyridoxine occurred in individuals ingesting 0.1 to 4.0 g for 6 years (2).

 

(4) Photosensitive lesions, vomiting, and peripheral neuropathy developed in children with Down's syndrome being treated with high doses of pyridoxine (1).

 

(5) 103 women demonstrated impaired neurological function while attending a private clinic and ingesting an average of 117 + 92 mg of pyridoxine for a period ranging from 6 months to 5 years (3).

 

(6) Acute sensory neuropathy-neuronopathy from pyridoxine developed in an individual ingesting 61 g for 3 days (2).

 

(7) Excessive amounts of pyridoxine appear to cause degeneration of dorsal root ganglia (4).

 

(8) Daily digestion of a high dose B-vitamin was associated with an acneiform eruption that promptly improved after discontinuation of the vitamin (6).

 

(9) A woman exposed for 13 years to high daily doses of vitamin B6 (up to 10 g)

developed sensory neuropathy with a slight motor component (2).

 

In general, most patients suffering from pyridoxine toxicity complain of progressive ataxia, particularly in the dark (loss of visual cues), accompanied by numbness of the feet and severe sensory dysfunction. This dysfunction is characterized by a decrease in joint function and vibratory sense, a decrease in the sense of touch in the distal symmetric distribution, and a decrease in the sensation of the lips and tongue. Standard electrical studies reveal degeneration of large axons and small unmyelinated fibers reflecting pathologic changes in the dorsal root and gasserian ganglia (5).

 

http://repositories.cdlib.org/uclabiolchem/nutritionbytes/vol1/iss1/art2

 

REFERENCES

1. Snodgrass, R., "Vitamin neurotoxicity", Molecular Neurobiology, 6(1): 51, 61-73, 1992.

Gangsaas: Dispelling the Myths of Vitamin B6 3

Produced by eScholarship Repository, 2007

2. Morra, M., Philipszoon, H. D., D'Andrea, G., ananzi, A. R., L'Erario, R., Milone, F. F., "Sensory and motor neuropathy caused by excessive ingestion of vitamin B6: a case report", Functional Neurology, 8(6): 429-432, 1993.

3. National Research Council, Recommended Dietary Allowances, 10th Ed., National Academy Press, Washington D. C., 1989, pp. 14, 146, 220.

4. Schaumberg, H., Kaplan, J., Windebank, A., Vick, N., Rasmus, S., Pleasure, D., Brown, M.J., "Sensory neuropathy from pyridoxine abuse", NEJM, 309(8): 445-448, 1983.

5. Shils, M.E., Olson, J.A., Shike, M., Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease, 8th Ed., Vol. II, Lea & Febiger, Philadelphia, 1994, pp. 1358-1361.

6. Sherertz, E.F., "Acneiform eruption due to megadose vitamins B6 and B12", Cutis, 48(2): 119-120, 1991.

7. Moline, M.L., "Pharmacologic strategies for managing premenstrual syndrome",

Clinical Pharmacy, 12(3): 187-196, 1993.

8. Rudman, D., Williams, P.J., "Megadose vitamins", NEJM, 309(8): 488-489, 1983.

9. Weinser, R.L., Morgan, S.L, Fundamentals of Clinical Nutrition, Mosby, St. Louis, 1993, pp. 80-81.

10. Power, L.P., "Vitamin B6 accident spells relief for asthmatic patients", Food and Fitness, 1986.

4 Nutrition Bytes Vol. 1 [1995], No. 1, Article 2

 

Finally, I have excerpts from an editorial by vitamin B-6 adherent Bernard Rimland, Phd., Autism Research Institute, San Diego, CA.

 

http://www.autism.com/ari/

 

“In my own experience, covering almost 30 years, and many thousands of autistic children and adults, I have, to the best of my knowledge, encountered only four cases of peripheral neuropathy. In these cases the numbness in the hands and feet was noticed by the parents, who reported that the child would: a) shake the hands as though to try to get the circulation back, b) have difficulty in picking up objects, such as bits of food, or c) have difficulty walking, because of numbness in the soles of the feet. When the B6 was discontinued, or the dosage was markedly reduced, these symptoms went away very quickly and completely.

 

It seems that some individuals are exceedingly sensitive to larger than normal amounts of B6. These cases are very few and far between, and discontinuing the B6 seems in all cases thus far to resolve the problem.

 

If you contrast these findings with the findings reported on a daily basis on the drugs that are used for autism, it becomes instantly clear that the B6 is immeasurably safer. There has never been a death or serious illness associated with ingestion of even very large amounts of B6. Deaths and permanent disability from prescription drugs are commonplace.

 

My own son, now 40, has been taking about 1 gram per day of B6 (along with 400 mg of magnesium, and other nutrients) for some 30 years. If there is a healthier person in North America, I would be surprised. Mark's only health problem to date occurred in his early 20s, when a dentist found one small cavity in one tooth.

 

Despite the extraordinary safety of B6, I have been told, over the years, by thousands of parents, that their physicians have warned them against giving their children high doses of B6, because of the supposed risks involved. It is unfortunately very typical of most of the medical establishment (which of course makes its money by prescribing drugs) to denigrate and exaggerate the dangers of taking nutritional supplements.”