Watched "Unrest" the Movie

I was beginning to feel guilty that I hadn't seen the movie Unrest yet, even though it's been available to stream for several weeks.  It almost feels as if it is the duty of every ME patient to see it and so my wife and I watched it last night on Amazon Prime for $0.99.  (Also available on PBS.com for free.)

First, as in most posts on my blog, I assume you're either an ME patient or an advocate, and you're generally familiar with this movie even if you haven't seen it yet.  Let's skip the usual introduction/summary.  Suffice it to say, Unrest is a documentary film written, directed, and starred in by ME patient Jennifer Brea about ME.

The filmmakers speak to two completely different audiences simultaneously: ME patients and those who have no real knowledge of ME.  Unrest seems aimed more directly to the latter (non-patients), with satisfying undertones that only patients will recognize.  The film neatly accomplishes this dual-level communication without losing direction.  The reviews from non-patients, mostly professional reviewers, have been  universally positive. It has a 100% Rotten Tomato critics score.

As a patient, this was a different viewing experience from almost any other film.  Normally, I sit down to a movie and my attitude is just: "Entertain me, Movie!"  With Unrest, I felt almost nervous.  The focus is on severe patients, as it should be. (I am not in the severe category.)  But, this film and the severely ill patients depicted in it will carry the flag for all ME patients.  Unrest will speak for all of us even if that wasn't the intention.  I worried that it could present the disease differently than I would have hoped--every patient has a slightly different perspective on how ME should be be presented to outsiders.  So how did it do?   

The challenge in trying to present ME to the uninitiated is, "how far down the rabbit hole do you go?  How far is the audience willing to follow before they say, this is crazy, and tune out."  Brea and her team chose to go pretty far down some rabbit holes (the camper in the desert, the mere mention of fecal transplants, for example), perhaps realizing that this was necessary to capture and maintain a general audience's interest.  They needed a hook. At the same time, they always manage to pull the perspective back and make the point that, one, they are aware this seems crazy, and two, they were only driven to these extremes as last resorts, by the unbearable frustration of having so few resources for care, treatment, and research available.  Every time the filmmakers started down a path that made me begin to question their choice (Is this rhetorically counterproductive?), they ultimately justified their choice through the strength of the overall narrative.

It is astonishing that Brea and her team were able to pull off a movie like this.  As long as I've been a part of the ME community, there have always been various attempts to raise broader awareness for ME, many of them moderately successful but seeming only to reach others in our community.  Over time, it's tempting to think that this is a cursed disease and nothing will ever change.  I would not have thought it was possible to create a movie of this quality about ME and to achieve the broad distribution, awards, and promotional backing of Unrest. That's the real accomplishment.  A large number of people outside of the ME community are actually seeing this movie.

Unrest will pay dividends for ME patients for many years to come. The next time there's, say, an NIH hearing about the future of ME research, this movie and its successes can be referred to as evidence of a growing public demand.  Nobody's going to want to be the next Per Fink (hopefully), standing in the way of medical progress.  On an individual basis, if a patient's family member or doctor doubts them, they can refer the person to this movie.  (Even if the referred person never watches the movie, its mere existence lends credibility.)

This movie should be mandatory viewing for every ME patient and their family members and caretakers (if they're willing).  It is an emotional experience and it will be difficult for many patients to be reminded of how much they've lost.  But it is unquestionably worth it (if you can handle it).  I can't say enough how impressive it is that Jennifer Brea and her team were able to pull this off.  Brava.

Book Review: Why Can't I Get Better?, by Dr. Richard Horowitz

[Note:  This review can also be found on my Book Review Page.]

Why Can't I Get Better? by Richard Horowitz

Before I get into the details of this book, I want to mention that this review is written from the perspective of an ME/CFS patient reading a book that is primarily about chronic Lyme disease. The book overall has excellent reviews on Amazon  and it actually reached the New York Times Best Sellers list, which is remarkable for a specialty health book.  Clearly, Dr. Horowitz did something right here.  

I read this book for two reasons.  I had recently received a questionable Lyme disease diagnosis, and I wanted to read a book about Lyme to see if it would help me decide whether I truly have Lyme or, if not, what else I could do to shed more light on this murky topic.  The second reason was that ME/CFS and Lyme seem to have a large amount of overlap in symptoms, test abnormalities, and treatments.  A Lyme book could be valuable reading for an ME/CFS patient.  

At times I found this book to be a bona fide page turner; I was learning new things on nearly every page. Mind you, if you've been an ME/CFS patient for any period of time, you probably won't learn anything new on a "macro level"—that is, you won't discover any new concepts or treatments.  But the book offers a deeper understanding of many of these old concepts, like mitochondrial dysfunction, the HPA axis, immune dysfunction and others.  Dr. Horowitz views Lyme, ME/CFS, Fibromyalgia, autoimmune diseases, and other neuro-immune illnesses as being part of a spectrum he terms MSIDS (more on that later...), so it's relevant regardless of which neuro-immune disease one might have.

Usually when I read a health book, I'm constantly assessing how I might rate the book.  For over 400 pages, I had this book pegged as a solid 4 stars, despite its flaws.  Then on page 437 I came across this (in Chapter 19, called "Lyme and Exercise"):

"Patients with Lyme disease, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue syndrome (myalgic enchephalomyelitis) find their fatigue and pain syndromes improve with increased exercise, independently of other changes in their medical regimens."

Uh oh!  It gets worse. Later, he says:

"Aerobic exercise has been shown to be effective in reducing fatigue among adults with chronic autoimmune conditions, as well as those with depression, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and chronic fatigue syndrome."

Later he recommends "a graded exercise program."  In the span of two pages, the book went from a 4 to a 1 star.  I was left wondering, how could someone who purports to be an expert on, among other things, ME/CFS be unaware of all of the studies showing that exercise makes ME/CFS patients worse—that it is, in fact, dangerous?  The book has a copyright date of 2013; two years before the Institute of Medicine (IOM), in conjunction with the National Institute of Health issued its report which attempted to rename the disease SEID, or systemic exertion intolerance disease. One wonders if Dr. Horowitz took note of the IOM report when it was published and if future editions of the book might contain a revised Chapter 19.

But let's not allow the review of a 532 page book to be about 3 sentences.  Although I probably risk being ostracized from the ME/CFS community for saying this, the rest of the book does have some value.

The Good.  To build on something I said above, Horowitz does an excellent job of taking the reader on a wide ranging, comprehensive tour of the various systemic failures and corresponding treatment options for patients with chronic neuro-immune diseases.  A brief scan of the chapter headings for chapters 5 through 18 gives an idea of the breadth of this book:  Immune Dysfunction, Inflammation, Environmental Toxins, Functional Medicine and Nutritional Therapies, Mitochondrial Dysfunction, Hormones, the Brain, Sleep Disorders, Autonomic Nervous System Dysfunction/POTS, Allergies, Gastrointestinal Health, Liver Dysfunction, and Pain.

Despite having read extensively about most of these topics in the past, many of them were explained in a more clear, logical way than I'd previously encountered. For that reason alone, I'm glad I read the book and I'm glad I have it in my library as a reference source, despite the glaring flaw regarding the "e" word.

The Bad.  Besides the exercise disaster mentioned above:

1)  Dr. Horowitz tries to coin a new term: MSIDS, which stands for Multiple Systemic Infectious Disease Syndrome.  This is meant to be a sort of overarching spectrum upon which the various neuro-immune diseases fall.  The problem is, we don't need another acronym. This is obviously not a term that will catch on in the larger medical community.  The goal of a book like this should be to make the subject less esoteric, not more.

2)  Similar to the above, Dr. Horowitz proposes an MSIDS diagnostic algorithm amusingly called "The Horowitz Sixteen-Point Differential Diagnostic Map."  Every time he refers to it throughout the book, which is often, he repeats the full 7-word eponymous title.  I pictured the author in an infomercial, and whenever he says "...the Horowitz Sixteen-Point Differential Diagnostic Map" we hear the chime of a spoon against a crystal glass as a cartoonish gleam flashes on the doctor's smarmy grin.  A voice-over adds "TM."

Things like this make me question an author's motive.  Is he a true scientist at heart, nobly trying to expand the knowledge base and heal people in the process, or is he trying to become the next celebrity doctor, ala Dr. Oz?  I don't want to be questioning this when I'm simply here to find some answers to my health problem.  It makes me want to say:  "It's not about you, doctor. It's about the patients."

3)  Each chapter follows roughly the same format: There is an explanation of the scientific evidence regarding the topic of the chapter, be it Immune Dysfunction, Inflammation, etc., and a review of various treatment options.  This is often done quite masterfully.

Then each chapter concludes with an anecdote or case study, lasting anywhere from 2 to 6 pages. These quickly become tedious and formulaic.  A patient comes to Dr. Horowitz very sick and desperate.  Dr. H applies The Horowitz Sixteen-Point Differential Diagnostic Map* (TM) and this results in him trying one or two treatments.  The patient returns a few months later still feeling miserable.  Dr. H digs deep inside himself and has a brainstorm.  He adds another treatment.  The patient returns a few months later smiling and singing. They hug. The end.

These anecdotes add very little except unnecessary length to an already long book.  The book would have been better without them.  They also serve as the vehicle for some eye-rollingly corny jokes.

4)  Dr. Horowitz struggles with objectivity at times.  He mentions that he has treated thousands of "MSIDS" patients but we are rarely let in on the big picture. What percentage are recovering fully?  Are they staying recovered?  Instead, the aforementioned anecdotes leave the reader with the impression that Dr. H is a kind of miracle healer.  It makes one want to run out and immediately board a plane to New York to track him down.  It is, of course, acceptable to use anecdotes to make a medical book more engaging, and naturally, the successes make for the best stories.  But the author should take care to emphasize that the results in the anecdotes are not typical, and that many patients (presumably) remain ill despite using the very same treatments described in the anecdotes.

The same goes for Dr. H's coverage of controversial testing and treatment procedures. It is OK for the author to pick a side on these controversies, but he should first explain both sides and then explain why he picked his side.  For instance, in the Allergies chapter, he discusses so-called IgG allergy testing and comes out heavily in favor of it.  There is very little credible evidence that IgG allergy testing is valid, and in fact, the weight of the evidence seems to suggest it is probably not effective. At the very least, it is highly debatable.  But you wouldn't know this by reading WCIGB.

Another example is Dr. H's reliance on controversial Lyme testing laboratories and other laboratories that test for metals and environmental toxins.  They are all controversial in their own way.  Dr. H should explain both sides of the controversy before choosing a side, so that patients can make their own informed decision.

Despite these flaws, I would have still rated this book fairly high if it wasn't for the melt-down in Chapter 19.  As an ME/CFS patient, I can't in good conscience give it anything other than a 1 star (★)

  

App calculates Vitamin D intake from sun exposure

As one of my doctors, Dr. W., has repeatedly emphasized, people with ME/CFS are almost always low on Vitamin D and need supplementation.  I tested quite low on blood tests and have since been supplementing with 5,000 to 10,000 IUs per day until my vitamin D levels returned to what's often considered the "optimal range" -- in the 60s and low 70s.  I continue to take that same dose for maintenance, and I believe it has helped.  

On a day when I receive virtually no sun, I will always take 10,000 IUs.  If I get some sun exposure, I will usually reduce my intake to 5,000 IUs or less.  However, I was always unsure of how much to reduce my supplementation on days when I received significant sun exposure.

Someone on HealClick recently posted about an app that helps with that.  It factors your location, time of day, time exposed to sun, percentage of skin exposed and some other parameters and calculates how many IU's of vitamin D you received.

Here's the description of the App by its creators:  

"The idea behind this application is that it will help you track and manage your Vitamin D.
You setup basic information one time, like your height and weight and skin type and then any time you are outside, during the prescribed hours (and parts of the year), you can have it compute the amount of D you are getting in a stopwatch interface. It will also track how long you can stay out and warn you when the time is up. 

The application will notify you with the next opportunity to generate vitamin D.
Each day, you can see forecasts based on your location, and you can also see the solar position, [and] your generated vitamin D vs. target etc."

Here is a link to the Apple version of the app.   And here it is for Android.

There's also an interesting little YouTube video about Vitamin D and sun exposure from the makers of the app.  I learned a few things from it.  It's worth a watch.

I've just downloaded the app so I haven't had a chance to use it yet.  I'll come back and add a review after I've had a chance to 'take it for a spin...'

So this exists: Paleo Magazine

I was in the checkout line at my local organic grocery store and saw Paleo Magazine staring back at me. I had never even heard of the Paleo diet until I came down with ME/CFS and started networking with other patients. I know it's been getting more and more trendy in non-ME circles but wouldn't have guessed there's a whole magazine devoted to it.

Of course I had to buy a copy for curiosity's sake. I'll update after I've had a chance to read it. 

If you haven't yet, you REALLY need to check out HealClick.com

[Edit: post removed]

Review of Julian Bakery's paleo breads and cookies

It seems that Julian Bakery is all the rage on the CFS message boards and facebook groups these days.  I see them mentioned frequently.   Because I've been ordering products from them for a few months I thought I'd offer my review of some of their products.

About Julian Bakery

Based on their website, Julian Bakery was a small bakery with apparently just one brick and mortar location in La Jolla, California.  But because of their unique take on healthy baking, they seem to have exploded in popularity nationally via internet orders and contracts with retailers like Whole Foods and regional health food stores.  Apparently there's a huge unmet need for paleo, low carb, and gluten free bread products and Julian Bakery is one of the very few in the market.  

The first time I placed an order with Julian, it took two weeks to receive my shipment.  The second time: three weeks.  Toward the end of the third week I emailed the bakery to find out if my order got lost.  They nicely responded that they were running a little behind in fulfilling their orders due to large demand.  So the next time I ordered, I placed the order about 3 weeks before my last order ran out, expecting another delay.  The order showed up on my doorstep 2 days later!  If you're a glass-is-half-full, you could look at this as another exciting element of the process - like a game of roulette.  When will my goodies get here?  Who knows!

By the way, Julian sells many more types of breads besides just low carb and paleo breads.  Their focus is really on healthy breads of all kinds.  And while my local Whole Foods carries Julian's products, they only seem to carry the gluten free, full carb products.

For those of you who like to support Christian-run organizations, Julian includes a few subtle clues on their packaging and website indicating that their owners are Christians.  

Bread Products

So far, I've tried the following bread products from Julian: Paleo bread made from almond meal (1 carb); paleo bread made from coconut (1 carb); Zero carb, gluten free cinnamon bread; Zero carb, gluten free regular bread, and Smart Carb bread (3 carbs).  

These first two types of bread, made from almond and coconut respectively, really aren't "bread" at all, in the traditional sense, because they don't contain grains.  They are, however, my favorites because they seem to have more flavor.  The breads that are made from actual grains achieve their low carb-ness by relying heavily on fiber content so that the net carbs are reduced to nothing, or next to nothing.  

If you're going to enjoy these products, you may have to adjust your expectations slightly.  Julian's breads are not large, fluffy slices of traditional grocery store bread.  They're smaller, drier, and much denser, resembling small loaves of artisan breads.  While Julian's loafs vary in size, a typical slice is about 1/2 go 2/3's the surface area of traditional bread, and about half as thick.  On the other hand, each slice probably weighs more than "regular" bread because it's so dense.  

The density and the dryness took some getting used to when I first started sampling Julian breads.  I often found that I needed a glass of water to help wash down each bite due to the dryness.  But then again, traditional bread is full of unhealthy grains, sugars and carbs anyway, so it's probably best if you start thinking of those big fluffy slices as the junk food that they are.

I figured out quickly that it really helps to follow Julian's advice from their website and toast the bread -- heavily.  For some reason, this seems to give it a texture and taste that's more similar to regular bread.  

Once I adjusted my expectations, I found myself almost giddy about welcoming bread back into my life.  It revived a whole palette of convenience foods options.  Ah, the ubiquitous sandwich: I missed you.  Toast and jam: where have you been?  (That's no carb jam from Sprouts, by the way.)  My wife also discovered that using these breads to make French toast is a nice way to moisten them up.

If I had to recommend trying any of their breads first, I would suggest the coconut Paleo Bread.  It has an interesting flavor and texture that goes well with everything from jam to almond butter to french toast batter.

No Carb Cookies

Zero carb cookies.  Yes, these exist. Get them.  End of review.

OK, I was going to leave my review at that, but I guess I should say a little more.  Julian offers three flavors of zero carb cookies: Cocoa Delight, Ginger Spice, and Strawberry Banana.  I've tried all three and love them, ranked in the order listed above.  They're a little bit firmer than the gooey store-bought cookies that are full of preservatives, crisco and who-knows-what-else, but the flavor is almost as good. 

Again, the zero carb-ness is achieved by high fiber content and the use of erythritol as a sweetener instead of sugar.  

The biggest drawback here is the price, at $8.99 per box of ten (almost a dollar per cookie).  Again, I think the secret is to adjust expectations.  Whereas in my pre-sick days, I would often sit down with a box of cookies and pop 6 or 10 at a time like they were M&Ms, now I treat these cookies more like rare delicacies: one per night after dinner.  That's it.  And that's enough to make a satisfying desert.

A Different Perspective 

At least one blogger, "the Diet Doctor," claims that Julian Bakery's net carb counts are deceptive, arguing that their breads raise blood sugar more than Julian's stated carb counts would indicate.  A representative of Julian Bakery then drops by in the comments section and things get a little ugly.  

My take on it: who knows who's right?  But does anyone really doubt that Julian's breads are healthier than typical grocery store bread?  I suppose it depends on how strict your particular low carb/paleo diet is.  If you're truly aiming for no carbs, ever, then maybe the above blog post gives you some pause.  But if you're just trying to keep carbs to minimum (my goal is less than 70 per day, pursuant to Life Without Bread by Christian Allen, et al) then Julian's breads can certainly be a good way to meet your goals and still enjoy some of the flavor and convenience of bread. 

Where Do We Go From Here?

I'd be curious to hear from others who may have tried Julian Bakery's products.  What ways have you found to use these unique breads?  I'd also be interested to know if there are any other companies that make similar bread or dessert products, as I am not aware of any.

   

More Stevia Product Reviews: Chocolate & Sodas

In previous posts, I reviewed flavored liquid stevia drops, and a homemade recipe for stevia chocolate sauce.  I've since had the opportunity to try a few more products: two stevia chocolate brands and two soda brands.  The two chocolate brands reviewed below are the only two stevia chocolate brands on the market - at least that I've been able to find.

Stevia Chocolate by Dante Confections

Dante Confections' stevia chocolate bars are available for order on Amazon for $29.95 for eight bars.  The price works out to about $3.74 per bar, which is pricey but not outrageous.  Premium chocolate bars with sugar care comparably priced.  For those of us PWMEs on no-sugar diets, stevia products are one of our few indulgences.  I forgo so many other expensive activities with ME/CFS that I'm comfortable spending a few dollars on chocolate.  

Dante Confections produces a darker variety of chocolate.  Their product only comes in one flavor: straight up chocolate.  Nothing fancy here, just coco goodness.  

My Amazon order arrived within five days, with each small brick of chocolate individually wrapped in thin tissue paper, which in turn were wrapped inside ordinary sandwich bags.  As I opened the package, I felt like I was receiving illicit contraband!  

If you're a dark chocolate lover, this is your brand.  I loved every bite of it, but then again, I can handle the relative bitterness of dark chocolate.  My wife, who prefers sweeter chocolate, sampled it and said, "I don't know how you can enjoy this stuff."  So it depends on your taste palette. 

One benefit of the darker chocolate was that I found it lasted longer.  I was much more likely to savor each square and let it melt in my mouth -- usually being satisfied with two small squares as an after-dinner treat.  With the YC brand (below), I found myself eating whole bars at a time.  I think darker chocolate forces one to savor it more, which might be a good thing when we're talking about such a pricey commodity.

The ingredients list is simple, which I found reassuring.  Three ingredients:  Chocolate liquor, stevia, and pure vanilla.  That's it.  (Incidentially, chocolate "liquor" should not be confused with chocolate "liqueur."  There is no alcohol in it.  It simply means that it's made from hardened liquid chocolate.)

Personally, I couldn't tell much of a difference between the stevia chocolate brands I review here and regular chocolate bars made with sugar.  It all tastes delicious to me.  But some of the more "sophisticated" chocolate lovers on Amazon claim they can tell the difference.  Take that for what it's worth...

Stevia Chocolate by Coco Polo

The other brand of stevia chocolate is Coco Polo.  Their chocolate is of the more milk chocolate variety, with various flavors to choose.  I ordered the variety pack of 12 bars, which I believe are no longer available.  They currently offer an 8 piece variety pack for $42.00.  This works out to about $5.25 per bar.  

I ordered Coco Polo directly from the company's website which, in my case, was a mistake.  It was 21 days from the time I placed my order until the goods arrived at my house.  When you're out of chocolate, this is an unreasonable amount of time to wait!  At about day 17, I sent an email inquiring about the status of my order.  It was never returned.  I've since discovered that Coco Polo is also available on Amazon, which might be the better choice next time.  

The Coco Polo packaging is much more professional looking, if that kind of thing matters to you. The bars arrived each sealed in gold-colored wrappers, which in turn were inside printed paper sleeves.  The sleeves contained the usual Nutrition Facts and ingredients sections on the back.  

Interestingly, the main sweeteners (by weight) in these bars is not stevia, but rather erythritol and inulin.  I'm finding that this is pretty common with "stevia" products.  I gather that it's difficult to approximate the flavor of sugar with stevia alone, but you can get pretty close with a combination of stevia and these other natural sweeteners.  Stevia is the last ingredient listed in the Coco Polo bars, which could mean that the bars only contain trace amounts of it.  But, erythritol and inulin are also both low on the glycemic index and arguably don't feed candida.  

The chocolate itself tasted much sweeter than the Dante Confections chocolate -- probably due to the darker chocolate mixture, but also because Dante doesn't use erythritol and inulin.  And of course, it was nice to have the variety of six flavors: Almond, cherry, elderberry, cocoa dark, nibs and ginger.  The only flavor that I found to be a little....odd was ginger.  Who's ever heard of ginger chocolate?    

All in all, I liked both brands for different reasons.  In the future, I'll probably alternate my orders between the two companies.  

Zevia Sodas with Stevia

Finally, I've been sampling Zevia brand sodas, which I purchased from Whole Foods and Sprouts markets (although they can also be ordered directly).  They are sold in ordinary 12oz. soda cans, packaged in six-packs, with 15 flavors available.  So far I've tried five of them: Black cherry, orange, caffeine free cola, Dr. Zevia, and ginger root beer.  

Again, it's been over eight months since I've had a regular soda with sugar or aspartame, but these sodas taste almost as good if not exactly as good as "the real thing" to me.  Prices are reasonable, although not as cheap as name brand products.  For instance, a 24 pack can be ordered from Amazon for about $19, or about $0.80 per can.  

Again, as with the chocolate reviewed above, be aware that the dominant sweetener by weight is not stevia, even though the product says "sweetened with stevia" on the can.  While this statement may be correct, Erythritol is listed four ingredients higher than stevia on the ingredients list.  But, I don't begrudge Zevia their marketing strategy, which I think is fair enough and not overly deceptive.  Anyone can look on the back of the can before buying.  

All in all, I think it's a good product and I'm grateful to see more and more options enter the marketplace for those of us who avoid sugar and artificial sweeteners.

                                                      Blue Sky Free Sodas with Stevia

7/27/12 update:  I've since discovered another brand of canned stevia sodas while shopping at Sprouts Market, called Blue Sky Free.  It is apparently manufactured by the more well-known Hansen Beverage Company.  While I've only had an opportunity to sample one flavor so far, Cherry Vanilla Creme, I find that it tastes about the same as Zevia.  And like Zevia, they also sweeten with Erythritol in addition to stevia

Their price at Sprouts Market was a little lower than Zevia - although I can't remember the exact amounts.  On Amazon, it seems to be a little cheaper as well: about $17 per 24 pack, or about $0.70 per can.

Blue Sky offers a different range of flavors than Zevia, so it's nice to have a choice between the two brands.  In addition to the usual flavors like Cola and Root Beer, Blue Sky's selection includes Lemonade and Jamaican Ginger Ale, among others.  For the full selection, see their website.

I'll try to update this post later when I've had a chance to try more Blue Sky flavors. 

Eureka: Stevia Italian sodas

There are many of us PWME's who can't (or shouldn't) drink anything with caffeine, sugar or artificial sweeteners, which basically leaves only water and herbal teas.  If you're like me, every so often you get a craving for a sweet drink.  A really bad craving.

Sure, you can try to tell yourself that primal humans drank only water.  But then again, primal humans didn't know what they were missing!  I've spent 35 years drinking whatever I want, whenever I want.  One can't simply turn off a life-long habit.

I have to credit Mrs. Calvin for this idea.  Walking through Whole Foods Market, she discovered the existence of flavored liquid stevia.  Two ounce bottles of this little magical elixir come in flavors like vanilla, lemon, orange, chocolate, raspberry and others.  From this discovery (and possibly from reading the side of the bottle) Mrs. Calvin came up with the idea of adding the flavored stevia to sparkling water to make Italian sodas.  So we tried it.

I don't want to ruin the surprise, but please sit down before you take your first sip.  And make sure your socks are on tight.

The bottles of flavored stevia that we purchased at Whole Foods cost about $13, but can probably be purchased online for less.  You only need a few drops to flavor a whole glass, so the bottle should last a very long time.

Happy gulping.

P.S.  Did you know there's a commercial brand of stevia sodas called Zevia?  If anyone's tried this, I'd like to hear from you.

P.P.S.  For more of my stevia product reviews, click here.

Stevia chocolate: a godsend

Since eliminating all bread and processed sugar from my diet in November, my taste buds have been protesting against this cruel depravation. They're screaming for stimulation. Much like me, they've been struggling to adjust and accept their new limitations.  Also like me, they try to bargain with these limitations, to cut corners, and to cheat the system. And as we have both found out, there aren't too many ways to cheat the system.  For the most part, we're stuck with our new limitations.

As part of this bargaining process, we went online a couple of weeks ago to explore what stevia-made sweets might be available for mail order. As it turns out, there are virtually none. The US stevia industry is simply too new to have gained a foothold. My heart sunk.

That's when Mrs. Calvin came to the rescue.  Being nothing short of a genius in the kitchen, she concocted a bowl of stevia chocolate syrup, which, upon first taste, almost had me weeping with joy.  OK, not really "weeping," but, it's difficult to overstate how glorious a bite of chocolate can be after a four month drought.  

We now keep a bowl of this chocolate syrup in our refrigerator at all times.  I drizzle it on plantains, berries, yogurt, almonds, walnuts, and just about anything else that fits in my diet.  I even made chocolate milk using almond milk.  The picture below is my dessert tonight.  Or, I should say, was my dessert.

Stevia chocolate on plain yogurt, topped with flax seed meal

If you'd like the recipe for Mrs. Calvin's stevia chocolate syrup, let me know in the comments and we'll figure out a way to get it to you.  I can't publish it because it's a modification of a recipe that is published elsewhere and...well...I don't want to get sued.