Author: Shawn

I am a practitioner of the martial arts and student of the Buddhist faith. I have been a Type 1 Diabetic since I was 4 years old and have been fighting the uphill battle it includes ever since. I enjoy fitness and health and looking for new ways to improve both, as well as examining the many questions of life. Although I have no formal medical training, I have amassed a wealth of knowledge regarding health, Diabetes, martial arts as well as Buddhism and philosophy. My goal is to share this information with the world, and perhaps provide some sarcastic humour along the way. Welcome!

One Can’t Help But Wonder…

The past ten years have seen an incredible amount of advancement in my Diabetes and self-care. It wasn’t until 2015 that I discovered carb-counting… It seems pretty ridiculous when I say it, now. I’m not sure how I survived without proper food calculations and knowing how much insulin to take in relation to the food I ate. There’s also been significant education on what constitutes something that will affect my blood sugars or not. Realistically, everything affects blood sugars but I mostly mean in relation to food.

The introduction of the insulin pump and continuous glucose monitoring has been life-changing for me and has seen me through some of the most controlled blood sugar levels and the best A1C results in my life. Although we did the best we could with what we knew throughout my youth, a lot of what I’m doing now would have been available or could have been taught to me. In light of the many years of complications, comas and issues that resulted from my Diabetes, it’s been raising an important question in my mind in recent years: I wonder if it could have different?

I have to admit that it’ll come off sounding a bit like bragging… And that’s mostly because it is. But I pretty much brought myself back from the brink during my childhood. Insulin resistance and complications made it so that I was given a pretty short life expectancy that wouldn’t have seen me past my teens. When I joined karate, I pretty much put myself through hell in order to grow, heal and get better. Insulin resistance eliminated, I was able to push forward and start accomplishing some actual goals in life instead of assuming that I’d likely die before I reached adulthood.

The bragging part comes from the fact that I managed to keep training, developing and pushing myself despite these obstacles until I reached black belt and became an instructor. I also had dreams of becoming a police officer so that I could help others. I had to get myself through basic training and develop myself further in order to accomplish that goal and actual earn my badge. And once I had that badge, it took me very little time to grow and become the one who taught others to earn their badge.

At the height of my martial arts peak, I considered myself to be good. Extremely good. I won’t be vain enough to say I was the best because Sensei could still beat the living shit out of me and even if he hadn’t been in the picture, there’ll always bee someone more skilled. To think otherwise would be ignorant. But I was fast, strong and beyond capable. So what would have happened if all this knowledge, education and resources had been available to me when I had been going through all of that? Would my skills be even further than they are now? Would I have been faster and stronger still?

I can’t help but feel tat I’ve lost an opportunity by only learning everything I have about my own self-care in the past few years as opposed to the past few decades. It boggles the mind to think that all of those avoided complications and better health would have not only forwarded my life in martial arts and fitness respects, but perhaps I would have increased my longevity by a significant amount, as well. Who knows? I certainly don’t because that ship has sailed. Perhaps it’s time to revisit that hell I put myself through, all those years ago, and start working towards getting back some of what I’ve lost in recent years. Some food for self-thought… ☯️

Weekend Family Chronicles, Vol. 2

Last weekend, we were trying to decide what we could do with the boys as an activity outside the house. Sometimes we bring them to a play structure or a public park, which allows them to burn off some excess energy and doesn’t cost anything. The latter makes me sound pretty cheap. But getting the former accomplished is no easy task, especially when having Nathan and Alexander together is like mixing oil and water. Unfortunately for us, Nathan has developed a taste for the finer things, preferring the likes of the trampoline gym or indoor climbing structures that cost half a fortune.

It presents an interesting challenge, considering we’ve pledged to do something with them outside the house every weekend. Although it wasn’t raining, we had received some snow in Regina last Friday, which cooled everything overall. Temperatures on Saturday morning were in the single digits, which meant that there was a significant chill in the air. Although i don’t hide from the cold, I don’t enjoy being in it unless I have to. And being idle while standing outside makes the cold all that much more penetrating. My wife likes the cold even less, dressing warmly even in the summer months.

Alexander, making his way through the play structures

We decided to try dressing warmly and bringing the boys to candy cane park. An outdoor play park, it features a number of different ares of play, including a giant, concrete sculpture of a Canada Goose featuring all the different wildlife found around Wascana lake and has a slide and different tunnels. It a pretty fun place to play, especially since it also has a rubberized surface all over, preventing serious injury when kids tumble and fall. The idea was to let them play for a while and grab them some lunch from somewhere that they could takes bites from as they played.

All the things he could be playing on and he decides to dig with a random stick…

I thought the colder weather would allow for a quieter amount of people but i was quite wrong. In fact, i was surprised at how many people were either wearing shorts or sandals, making mu theatrics about how chilly it was seem a little excessive. It didn’t take long for both my wife and I to start shivering and being uncomfortable. Since my wife is usually colder than I am, I offered to have her drive back home for something warmer and grab lunch for the boys while she came back. She happily accepted.

Some local wildlife decided to snoop about the park, as well.

The boys both made friends and played at their leisure. When my wife finally came back, she had happy meals in hand and the boys started snacking away. The sky had turned completely cloudy and we had some concern of rain, so we coaxed Nathan to the car with the promise of hot chocolate when we got home, which he fully took advantage of. Alexander didn’t seem to care either way, content to follow wherever we took him.

These two look like trouble!

Once everyone was home and fed, we took advantage of Alex going down for a nap to close our eyes for a short period of time. Weekend naps are the best, and Nathan actually left me alone long enough to enjoy one, this time. Even if it was a bit on the colder side on Saturday morning, we managed to find a way to get some enjoyment out of the day. I’m sure as permanent, warmer weather starts kicking in, we’ll be enjoying more things like swimming and splash parks. ☯️

If I Go To Hell, I Won’t Go Hungry…

Every culture and person has their own conception of hell, whether drawn from descriptions in Holy scriptures or from cultural beliefs and even mainstream media. Some cultures even have multiple hells or different levels thereof. But some people will often joke about how some situations or tangible locations would be their own personal hell. For me, that place would be Costco. If I died and went to hell, I’m pretty confident I’d land squarely in the middle of a fucking Costco. Allow me to explain…

First, I should probably clarify that i don’t actually hate Costco. In fact, I very much love Costco. A can of energy drink that retails at $3.69 at the corner store for $1.40 instead? Yes, please! And it isn’t always the lower cost on an item, since some of their prices are no better and in some cases higher, than other retail locations. But the fact you can get some of that stuff in bulk is also a significant draw, and usually results in my filling my cart with a few hundred dollars’ worth of items when I only intended on grabbing a couple of small things.

No, the issue I have with going there is the people who shop. I altered my work schedule recently in order to make an unplanned trip out to our city’s only Costco location. I got off of work early and drove out, thinking that since the work day hadn’t ended for most people yet, it should be pretty quiet. Boy, was I wrong. The place was packed, which usually triggers a whole bunch of acronyms in my behaviour, not least of which is the fact that I dislike being held up by large crowds and being surrounded.

My journey began with a walk through the liquor portion of the warehouse. In a hilarious irony, someone was providing free samples of beer. I accepted a half ounce of cerveza, which was delicious and light. I thought my shopping trip would be smooth and easy. Problematically, people who shop there always seem to move like a decomposing zombie horde, moving with the kind of speed the one would expect to see a snail, tree sap or a tax refund move at. And this is the part that drives me batty because for the most part, even when I don’t know what I’m in there for, which is pretty rare, I move briskly and get through the store in due time.

Meanwhile, everyone else leans on the handle of their cart, moving about slowly, casually glancing about and acting as though they can’t see me even when I ‘ahem’ and cough loudly next to them. I especially love the ones that are blocking the way through a certain area and staring at a single item for a full two minutes. Dude, either grab the item or don’t and get the fuck out of the way!!! Seems like a pretty simply concept, right? And then we even make eye contact, they see someone waiting to get by and they just turn away and keep gawking.

Having me navigate the shopping warehouse is not without its comedy for anyone who may be watching or who knows me. That’s why I said if I go to hell, I wouldn’t go hungry. There’s tons of food there. But I can see hell being something where I’m trapped in a crowd of slow-moving people who refuse to hurry up or get out of the way. The good news is a got a couple of flats of energy drinks at an incredibly reduced price, so it made the journey worth it. ☯️

Another Day Off…

Sometimes I get a little cheeky in my writing because you have to admit, there are a lot of weird and strange holidays out there… When you consider things like National Hugging Day, Donut Day and as much as I get a kick out of the gimmick of it, Star Wars Day (May the 4th), it’s easy to see how holidays have become a bit of a staple of society. Social media posts are always filled with tons of posts about these holidays. But once in a while you get one that’s official and it usually isn’t as recognized as some of the goofy ones.

Today is Victoria Day in Canada. For those if you from elsewhere who may not be familiar with the monarchy that oversees Canada, Queen Victoria was the grandmother of King George V, who was subsequently the grandfather of Queen Elizabeth II, the current reigning monarch. Queen Victoria reigned from 1837 until her death in 1901. In 1845, Queen Victoria’s birthday was declared a national holiday in Canada. Upon her death 1901, an act of parliament declared it as a legal holiday. In modern days, it’s used as an excuse to go away for a long weekend.

Having a three-day weekend is always a catch-22 for me… Although it’s great to have an added day off to kick back, relax and do whatever, it’s also an added day of work to catch up on, once I return to the office. Plus, it makes the remainder of the work-week shorter, meaning there’s less time to get certain tasks done. This pretty much undoes any of the relaxation I may get from being off today. But that kind of sounds like a “tomorrow me” problem… For now, time for some caffeine and to actually enjoy the added day. Hope everyone got to do something pleasant for their long weekend! ☯️

A Review: Rambo Last Blood (Major Spoilers)

I was born in the late 1970’s, which made me an unfortunate child of the 80’s without reaching my true teen years until the 90’s. if I’m being true to myself, which I always like to do, I got the best of everything. I grew up during the decades with the best music, the best technological innovation and the best movies. Not that we don’t have significant and fantastic technological advancements now. But I was there to use 8-track tapes and marvel as they were miniaturized into cassettes. Then I marvelled and nearly blinded myself with the wonder that was compact discs. I’ve seen movies on beta, followed by VHS and DVD, long before streaming services became a thing. One could say I’m a bit of a historian, in that respect…

When I was but a wee lad, i sat through a slow-moving yet captivating film called “First Blood.” Released in 1982, First Blood told the story of a Vietnam War vet who mustered out of the military and came home after his service. With no known family and nowhere to go, he sought out his old unit compatriots, only to discover they were all dead and gone. He wanders through a small town where he’s discriminated base don his appearance by the local sheriff and all hell breaks loose as he delivers military-grade justice against the sheriff’s department and the entire area as a whole.

As a 5-year old boy in the 1980’s, it was everything I could expect it to be. It had guns, shootouts and action, without much of the gore and violence that would actually be expected from such a movie. Having been born a few years after the end of the Vietnam War, I can’t say that I fully understood the implications of what I was watching. Having a grandfather as a War World II veteran taught me a few things, however. The film series saw sequels released in 1985 and 1988, respectively, with the former covering a return to Vietnam and the later being the conflict between Russia and Afghanistan. Despite critic reviews, I felt all three movies were fantastic and fit perfectly into the perspective I had of the action movie genre.

It wouldn’t be until a year before I joined the Force that they would release “Rambo” in 2008, which saw the titular character venture into a war-torn jungle to rescue Christian missionaries who were capture by insurgents. Considering all of these movies star Sylvester Stallone and he isn’t getting any younger, one would be inclined to think that perhaps it would be time to set down the compound bow and let Rambo lie where he was left; much like “Rocky Balboa,” where the titular character fights one final time and then has the god graces to bow out. Even in the recent Creed movies, Balboa takes more of a secondary role.

Apparently, the gun-toting, blade-wielding Rambo needed one last hurrah in Rambo:Last Blood. This final chapter (that we know of, so far) sees the titular character settled down in Arizona, having raised a young Mexican girl as his niece. He runs a small ranch with a bunch of bunker-style tunnels built beneath the surface and when the niece decides she needs to find her deadbeat father in Mexico, all hell breaks loose when Rambo has to go to Mexico to rescue her, only to have her die on the way home. When Mexican cartels come knocking, he’s ready and delivers Rambo-style justice in a way only an 80’s action hero could.

It has its fair share of cheesiness but it’s a good flic, with a fair share of gratuitous violence and gun play, as well as some imaginative traps and obstacles placed by the titular character. That last part is a bit surprising, since in previous sequels, Rambo mostly depended on shooting his way out of most situations. But in this one, he actually plans ahead and sets traps, which is a significant change. One could almost surmise that he’s gained some insight in his golden years and uses that to his advantage.

He takes a couple of wounds during the final battle, which is expected of a Rambo movie but I genuinely thought these wounds would be the end of him. And maybe they were. the movie ends with him riding off into the horizon on horseback, which could easily be symbolism for him passing away. Who knows? Maybe it’s up to the viewer to use their imagination. I’ve written about remakes, reboots and sequels decades after the fact on a number of different occasions. Depending on the movie, my opinions differ. A part of me is always happy to nostalgically relive the glory days of kick-ass movies. The logical part of me thinks Hollywood should develop an original idea.

All of that being said, if you’re looking to relive the glory days of classic action movies, Rambo: Last Blood may be right for you. Although the tone and gore of the movie may bot be right for some of modern society’s more tender sensibilities, it can still appeal to the remainder of my generation. I highly recommend it, if you’re looking for an easy, action-base watch on a slow evening. And best of all, it’s only an hour and a half long. considering the popular trend these days is to make movies two hours or longer, it even allows my generation to hit the sack all that much earlier. ☯️

Humming Boyz II Men…

Despite how loud and outspoken I tend to project myself as, I’ve never really been a social butterfly and I rarely keep an increased social circle within my personal life. This isn’t because I don’t WANT friends… Far from it, in fact. But the nature of how I live my life, mixed with familial and home obligations, doesn’t make for much free time to hang out and spend time with friends. And that’s fine. I have a handful of people whom I call “friend,” they know who they are and I get to see them when our respective lives allow us to.

With that in mind, it’s a normal thing for people to come in and out of our lives. Sometimes it happens organically and doesn’t really change a great deal. I have people that I spent TONS of time with, twenty years ago and somehow life carried us in different directions and life has progressed all without the sense of loss that should normally come with that lost connection. However, once in a while a person may make an impact on one’s life that makes it a little bit harder to accept their departure when fate deems it necessary for them to step away.

We usually navigate our own lives oblivious to the direct impact we have on other individuals. And that impact can be either negative or positive but the reality is that any given person will ALWAYS have an impact on others. When you meet someone genuine, someone who is helpful, a teacher, guide, mentor and friend, that impact is all the more measurable and important. It’s made all the more special by the fact that these people often don’t assume or consider how much of that impact they’re responsible for. And that’s kind of what makes it special… If a person did all these things with the purpose of being recognize and considered as a genuine, impactful person, I think it would lose a little something.

In some cases, many cases, we are oblivious of the importance of such people until we’re at risk of losing them. And that loss can come in many forms, whether illness, death, falling out and misunderstandings, moving away to a new location or simply unavoidable circumstances of life. Once they’re gone, it leaves a significant gap and sense of loss and one can suddenly regret that the requirements and rigours of life prevented more time spent with these individuals. But, such is life! That’s why it’s important to value and appreciate the important people in your life while you have them. Because you never know when someone who impacted your life significantly will have to leave. ☯️

If it Isn’t Hard, Is It Even Worth Doing?

I read an interesting quote by Ashton Kutcher, of all people, that says, “If it doesn’t seem insurmountable, how is it going to be a life purpose?” An interesting quote and deep meaning behind it, confirming my opinion that knowledge and wisdom can come from any source. Of course, as some of my readers would and have pointed out, a quote is only as good as the confirmation of its source. Realistically, unless one is in a position to actually speak to the source to confirm the quote’s accuracy, it’s up in the air. However, that makes the words no less true. But I digress…

The point and purpose is to speak about those “insurmountable” goals and life purposes and how you can get past the BELIEF that they’re insurmountable. When I look back at my life, I recognize that some of the goals and purposes I planned for myself seemed impossible at the time. Considering I’ve achieved almost everything I set out to do in life, it almost seems laughable that I was as concerned as I was that I would REACH those goals. But Everest always looks insurmountable until you’re touching the flags at the top, right?

When I was younger and I stepped into a dojo for the first time, my health was waning, I had no support from the outside on my choice to start training and I believed my life would end before I reached my late teens. That first class was among one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, considering my blood sugars dropped, I had no physical constitution and the workout was gruelling for those who had been there for a while so you can probably imagine how difficult it was for me. But like taking that first step up the mountain, completing that first class paved the way for me to push froward and reach my goals. The same can be said of most things in life.

It’s important that goals and purposes be difficult. Nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight. If you can simply coast through to the finish line, it technically isn’t a race, right? But while contemplating that thought, it’s important to bear in mind that difficulty is a subjective thing. Maybe walking ten minutes to the corner store is a fuckin’ joke to me and I don’t consider it exercise, despite walking for twenty minutes, round trip. But someone else may have difficulties in mobility, health issues and other problems that make walking for twenty minutes a significant challenge. This means that it’s important never to judge someone else on their chosen goals, even if they may seem like less to you.

Another important quote that I like, in case y’all haven’t noticed that I love quotes, is attributed to Muhammed Ali who said, “Often it isn’t the mountains ahead that wear you out, it’s the little pebble in your shoe.” Getting started and building one’s momentum is what will usually get you there and accomplishing your goals. Just remember that when it gets hard, and it will, that’s normal. If it isn’t hard, it isn’t worth doing. The easy path isn’t challenging. Food for thought… ☯️

Cresting One Hill Brings You To The Other

It’s been a hell of a month and half, with the recovery of a physical injury I sustained at the beginning of April, only to get sick with some kind of flu or virus immediately after. And no, before anyone panics, it isn’t COVID-19! But for those of you who may not have read earlier posts from a month ago, I attended a karate seminar and took a strike to the left rib cage, which resulted in a sharp, piercing pain that I assumed, at the time, was a broken rib. Although x-rays negated that possibility (allegedly) the pain and limited movement has kept me pretty isolated and unable to train and move freely for well over a month.

For about two weeks, despite the stiffness and slow movement I have been recovering well. I can breathe and move somewhat normally and can now sneeze, cough and fart without nearly passing out in pain, which is something you don’t necessarily recognize or take for granted until you can’t do it. This week, I contemplated returning to karate, which would be my first class in 46 days. The fact I’ve been counting those days should give you some indication as to how anxious I am to return and how much it means to me. Monday classes are usually at 8 pm, which is a later start than I’ve ever had at previous dojos. For this reason, I’m usually on the fence about attending on Mondays.

Last Monday, i got home spent and exhausted from my day’s work and opted for my usual, which was to skip. This sounds pretty bad and it’s not something you would have heard out of me, twenty years ago. but as one gets older and wiser, quality over quantity becomes the new norm. By Tuesday afternoon, a wave of nausea and clamminess struck me. I was dizzy and felt physically ill. I worked my way through the rest of the afternoon but by the time I got home, I was done for the day. not only did I find myself unable to eat, I spent my evening cradling a bucket and wound up sleeping downstairs so I wouldn’t wake the entire house if I retched and threw up. Lovely.

The irony is that Wednesday would have been my first karate class since the injury, having skipped on Monday. I had full intentions of attending but of course fate had other plans. I had hoped whatever this was would pass during the night, but I woke up still feeling like shit on Wednesday morning. By Wednesday evening, I made my peace with the fact I wouldn’t be attending. Come this morning, I still feel like crap. Things have a tendency of turning on a dime for me, what with the whole Diabetes thing. So you never know what this evening may bring or whether I may be able to attend. Just one more step towards understanding that life doesn’t care about one’s plan.

Since I’ve never caught “man flu” in my life, one can safely assume that if an illness is bad enough to slow me down or stop me, it’s likely because it’s serious. Not serious enough to put a stop to me, of course. I’ll get over this like I get over everything else. It just pisses me off that it had to happen RIGHT when I had recovered from an injury and intended on returning to karate. Such is life. I’ll get there. The irony, and the good part I suppose, is that none of this seems to have affected my blood sugars. Even skipping some meals. Small favours… ☯️

Quit Apologizing…

Society is very much divided into two parts; those who seem compelled to apologize for everything they do and those who seem to feel they are entitled to the moon and all its sand without any thought or care of others. This is a pretty broad generalization, I admit, and many people fall somewhere in between of those two extremes. But for the most part, it’s pretty accurate, based on my observations.

Some people feel compelled to apologize for every day things, even if they’ve done nothing wrong. This can be a problem, bordering on the annoying, especially when it hinders conversation or required actions on the apologizer’s behalf. I recently read a really good post about things we should all stop apologizing for. They made some really good points and some of them were even funny. I thought I would share my list of top things I feel people should stop apologizing for…

Saying No: This is a big one for me, because people have a tendency to want to avoid awkwardness and try and please others. Not always, minds you but in most cases. More often than not, people will be afraid of saying no to something, either at work or in their personal lives, in order to avoid confrontation or having to explain themselves. It’s important to remember that it’s okay to say no. If you’re unable or even simply in wanting to do a particular thing, you have every right to say no and it isn’t something you should be apologizing for.

Being Sick/Ill: Another big one in my life, given how I grew up. There’s nothing worse than calling in sick or being absent due to illness and feeling you need to apologize for it. Recovering from any illness isn’t something you need to say you’re sorry about and you shouldn’t feel bad about taking the time you need to recover. I know many employers will sometimes take issue when an employee calls in sick. And some family or friends may often feel slighted if you tell them you aren’t meeting them because you’re feeling unwell. But self-care is importantly and these parties likely wouldn’t appreciate it if you spread your sickness among them.

Being Wrong: This is important because no matter what side of the argument you fall on, we’re all human and we’ll have times when we’ll be wrong about SOMETHING. It’s the height of ignorance to assume that one is always right. But even if you’re wrong about something, it’s okay to acknowledge that you were wrong, it’s important to recognize that you were wrong, if it has affected someone else. But you’re human; you shouldn’t have to apologize for making a mistake.

There are likely many more and I’m sure you can all think of some I haven’t named. These are just the top ones that grate on me when someone apologizes for it. The article I read (I wasn’t able to find it to link it, SORRY) had included passing gas… Effectively, people in a couple should stop apologizing when they pass gas in front of each other, since it’s GOING to happen as a natural function of the human body. There was more to it than that but I thought it was hilarious.

Don’t feel the need to apologize for every little thing you do. If you feel that something is a problem, then work to fix the problem. This will go much farther than saying you’re sorry for it. And if it’s something that relates to your health or self-care, you should never have to apologize for the choices you make. After all, how can you help or take care of others if you haven’t taken care of yourself, first? Food for thought… ☯️

The Iron Maiden…

Iron plays an important role in the function of the body. In fact, it serves a number of different roles, including helping the body to make hemoglobin, which is the protein that carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. It also contributes to make myoglobin, which carries oxygen to one’s muscle tissue. oxygen is kind of important to, well… stay alive, so y’all can see how maintaining good iron levels can be extremely important. As with all things in life, the key aspect is to strike a proper balance between too much and too little.

People don’t often realize it, but iron also helps convert one’s blood sugar to energy, which means it plays an integral role in Type-1 Diabetes and the proper overall control of one’s blood sugar levels. All of that, combined with the fact that it will also help to strengthen one’s immune system makes iron a pretty tough supplement. Get it? Tough? Iron? No…? No one gets it? Very well… Moving on! There are a number fo different sources to get iron in one’s diet. Let’s look at a few of my favourites…

Spinach: Besides having a reasonable level of iron, spinach is also high in Vitamin C, antioxidants and can decrease inflammation in the body.

Legumes: Most people don’t necessarily know what’s meant by “legumes,” but they’re far more common in people’s diet than they realize. For example, my wife and I enjoy beans in our homemade chilli. Beans, along with lentils, peas and a few others, are high in iron as well as a reasonable source of folate, magnesium and potassium. they also tend to pack a decent fibre punch.

Red meat: Alright, if things are misspelled from this point on, it’s because I’m drooling at the thought of a decent-sized steak, brazed over a hot grill with delicious seasonings, and served with a side of steamed greens covered in butter… FML, I’m hungry… but seriously, most red meats contain zinc, selenium, B vitamins and, you guess it! Iron. There’s no need for me to tell you that red meat contains a reasonable protein punch as well, making it a perfect all around food to accompany whatever side you see fit.

Dark chocolate: Sign me up! Besides the fact that dark chocolate has a decent dose of iron, the higher the percentage of cocoa, the lower the total sugar. It apparently has to do with the difference in process from making milk chocolate. Who knows? What am I, a chocolatier??? All I know is that my wife and I usually prefer dark chocolate over milk chocolate anyway, so life is good.

Fish: What can I say? I’m a Maritimer, born and raised. I love fish in all its forms and all its preparations. And fish have a bunch of stuff that’s good for you but it’s also high in iron.

Although all of this sounds great and you’re likely writing up your grocery list for a kick ass barbecue, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Too much iron in one’s body will result in organ damage, organ failure as well as cirrhosis and even lead to Type-2 Diabetes. Moderation is key. A simple blood test will reveal your iron levels and where you’re sitting. So, what if your iron levels are too low? That’s what we’ll cover next…

If you read that first paragraph again, you’ll notice that one of the main functions of iron is to carry oxygen. Lack of oxygen in the bloodstream will cause numbness in the limbs, weakness, pale skin and fatigue. You may also experience headaches, dizziness and blurred vision. How do I know all of this, you may ask? I could be a smart ass and say I looked it all up. And you’d be right. But I also know all of these things because my wife recently discovered numbness in her right arm and fingers. Considering we both have fatigue and weakness, it was hard to think much of it until she pushed the issue at the doctors office and a month later with iron supplements, oxygen flow to that arm is back to normal and no more numbness.

We often think that since we’re not hungry after we eat that all is well. Nutrition is about more than just filling one’s belly and not being hungry. But when it comes to something as important as iron, finding that happy medium for YOU is important. Too much iron, big problems. Too little iron, also big problems. Finding the balance, as with all things in life, is the key to ensuring proper nutrition and proper health. Food for thought… ☯️