Guy's Gotta Talk About Diabetes, Breast cancer, and Alzheimer's

Sunday, August 18, 2024

DIABETES RESEARCH RIGHT NOW! #20: First-Ever Cure for Type 2 Diabetes??? Through Stem Cell Treatment?

PAUSE. At one time, the ONLY place to get these kinds of cells was through the use of the embryos of aborted fetuses. That has changed in the third decade of the 21st Century. They CAN use the stem cells that are found in all of us, no matter our age. “‘Induced pluripotent stem cells’” are a type of cell that can be generated directly from a somatic (YOUR body cell) with the introduction of four specific genes. Doctor Shinya Yamanaka was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize along with Sir John Gurdon “for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent.”

Not ONLY that, Pluripotent stem cells hold promise in the field of regenerative medicine. Because they can propagate indefinitely, as well as give rise to every other cell type in the body (such as neurons, heart, pancreatic, and liver cells), they represent a single source of cells IN EVERY PERSON'S BODY that could be used to replace those cells or organs lost to damage or disease.

“Since these stem cells can be derived directly from adult tissues, they can ALSO be made in such a way that EVERY PERSON could have their own pluripotent stem cell line. The unlimited supplies of these pluripotent cells could be used to generate transplants without the risk of immune rejection. ***This technology has not yet advanced to a stage where therapeutic transplants have been deemed safe.** They ARE being used in personalized drug discovery efforts and understanding the patient-specific basis of disease. And work continues to make the use of these organs an effective and common procedure.

“The hope is that personalized pluripotent stem cells may one day be able to differentiate these cells into functional pancreatic islet cells – cells in the pancreas that secrete hormones, including insulin and glucagon, that help regulate blood sugar levels.”

Another advantage of using these ‘Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells’ is “to generate germ layer/tissue-specific stem cells from PSCs, which proliferate in vitro and are capable of differentiating into mature lineages, in this case, mature, functioning islets of Langerhans – the cells that produce insulin – because they are developmentally close to the desired mature cell type from the beginning, changing them into insulin-producing cells should be more efficient. Also, their restricted developmental potential provides a system to study various cell-cell interactions during differentiation into insulin-producing pancreas cells.

This treatment is NOT coming to a hospital near you any time soon!

HOWEVER, it IS COMING! Maybe not soon enough for me, but MAYBE soon enough for any of my kids or grandkids should they find themselves in the same situation I am!

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induced_pluripotent_stem_cell
Links: https://cells4life.com/2024/05/stem-cell-therapy-achieves-cure-for-type-2-diabetes/
Image: https://asploro.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Diabetes-Research_Open-Access.jpg

Sunday, August 4, 2024

GUY’S GOTTA TALK ABOUT…TYPE 2 DIABETES #23: Ozempic, Rybelsus, and Me

For the first time since I started this blog eleven years ago, it’s going to be about me. I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes two weeks ago. While people are happy to talk about their experiences with diabetes, I WASN’T comfortable with talking about diabetes. My wife is Type 2, as are several friends of ours. The “other Type” of diabetes was what caused the death of my Best Man a year after my wife and I got married. He was diagnosed with diabetes when he was a kid. It was called Juvenile Diabetes then. Today it’s Type 1. Since then, I haven’t WANTED to talk about diabetes at all. But…for my own education and maybe helping someone else, and not one to shut up for any known reason, I’m reopening my blog rather than starting a new one. I MAY take a pause and write about Breast Cancer or Alzheimer’s as medical headlines dictate; but this time I’m going to drag anyone along who wants to join my HIGHLY RELUCTANT journey toward better understanding of my life with Type 2 Diabetes. You’re Welcome to join me!

So…I’ve started to take the pill-form of OZEMPIC (Which helps control blood sugar spikes and reduces hunger pangs.) …AND “certain people” have leaped on the bandwagon DEMANDING to be able to use the WONDER-WORKING MIRACLE WEIGHT LOSS DRUG THEY CAN INJECT AND EAT ANYTHING THEY WANT AND *POOF!!!* THEY WILL LOSE WEIGHT WITHOUT MAKING A SINGLE CHANGE IN THEIR LIVES!!! AND WHY SHOULD DIABETIC PEOPLE GET TO HAVE ALL THE FUN????)

Anyway, I’ve started taking Rybelsus® because my A1c climbed to 7.7 this last time after holding at 7.1 from 9/22-4/23; jumping to 7.6 in 1/23; dropping to 7.0 on 10/26; and re-leaping to 7.7 on 7/25…

So, besides having to start taking Rybelsus (I DID NOT FEEL LIKE GIVING MYSELF SHOTS!!!), what does all this MEAN?

Let’s start at the beginning.

Both Rybelsus and Ozempic are from a family of drugs called “semaglutides” What precisely does that MEAN in relation to Type 2 diabetes?

So, there seems to be no simple explanation of what a semaglutide is, so I get to do my Translating the Science schtick again! It’s been a while. Hope I’m not too rusty.

Before delving into WHERE it came from, I thought I’d share some startling information with you. So often, I hear about how “AMERICANS” are big, old fat food pigs and that the epidemic of Type 2 Diabetes is caused by our extravagant food-eating and exercise-o-phobic society.

The semaglutide and tirzepatide, which was being developed for the control of Type 2 diabetes SEEMED TO ME to be subsumed by the absolutely INSANE demand for the drugs known as the semaglutides Ozempic, Wegovy, HERS, HIMS, Mounjarno, IVY RX, or the oral, tablet version of semaglutides called tirzepatide Rybelsus, Zealthy, Effecty, and others.

But what do they DO?

From the Mayo Clinic (main HW is here in my home state of Minnesota, in the place my sister and her husband live); “Semaglutide injection is used to treat type 2 diabetes. It is used together with diet and exercise to help control your blood sugar. This medicine is also used to lower the risk of heart attack, stroke, or death in patients with type 2 diabetes, obesity, and heart or blood vessel disease.”

OK, still a bit vague. Let me dig a bit more. First an image:

Then an explanation...

First, the semiglutide is a molecule that MIMICS the effect of a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist. Glucagon is “a hormone formed in the pancreas which promotes the breakdown of glycogen to glucose in the liver”.

Glycogen is “a substance deposited in bodily tissues and is a form of “stored” carbohydrates in the liver and your muscles. It’s an ABSOLUTELY INSANELY complicated molecule formed of zillions of glucose molecules. Glucose is the SIMPLEST sugar and THE energy packet that powers EVERYTHING in your body. It is broken down by “hydrolysis”, which happens when enzymes chop up a glucose molecule and release energy and something called pyruvic acid (don’t worry about it here!)

Ozempic, Rybelsus and all the rest are a molecule that MIMICS the effect of a glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist…

The #&$%@*!!! Does THAT mean????

I thought you’d never ask, because it’s really simple: “GLP-1 agonists are medications that help lower blood sugar levels and promote weight loss.”

YOU probably don’t really want to know what that means, but me being me (a former science teacher and a biology major in college), I DO want to know…

More specifically, an agonist is a chemical that turns on some kind of reaction in a cell when it hooks up with a receptor. The receptor is a molecule on the outside of a cell’s skin that reacts to a particular kind of molecule. When the two hook up, in the case of active ingredient of Ozempic or Rybelsus or Monjarno, or any one of the others, it does a WHOLE BUNCH OF STUFF:

First, it makes your pancreas dump insulin into your blood, scooping up the extra sugar that gives you high blood sugars.

Second, it blocks glucagon – which is out of whack in anyone that has Type 2 diabetes – from telling your liver, “MORE SUGAR! MORE SUGAR!”

Third, it slows how much food gets digested (turned into glucose) and gets dumped into the blood stream, leading to (duh) high blood sugar!

Fourth, it makes your stomach feel full, so you don’t eat so much. If you don’t EAT so much, there won’t be so much food being digested, and there won’t be as much glucose released into your blood.

So– now that I UNDERSTAND what Rybelsus does to my insides; what Ozempic used to do to my wife’s insides…I can take the (stupid…but LESS stupid now that I know what my meds do…) meds to keep me from getting all the other crap I can get if I don’t try and get my diabetes under control…

The drugs are to HELP ME do something I can’t do anymore. Get it? Got it? Good! (

Me, too!

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semaglutide, https://www.worksheetsplanet.com/what-is-glycogen/
The Actual Real Science Article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK603723/#:~:text=Mechanism%20of%20Action&text=The%20mechanisms%20through%20which%20semaglutide,tract%2C%20pancreas%2C%20and%20brain.

Image: https://www.hcd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/living-well-with-diabetes.jpg

Saturday, July 13, 2024

ALZHEIMER’S RESEARCH RIGHT NOW! #19: Slowing Down Alzheimer’s!?!?!?

From the first moment I discovered my dad had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, it seemed like I was alone in this ugly place. Even ones who had loved ones suffering in this way; even though people TALKED about the disease, it felt for me like they did little more than mumble about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I added a section to this blog…

VERY sporadically, I’ll be highlighting Alzheimer’s research that is going on RIGHT NOW! Harvested from different websites, journals and podcasts, I’ll translate them into understandable English and share them with you. Today:
“FDA Approves a Second Alzheimer's Drug That Can Modestly Slow Disease” PLUS “First-of-its-kind test can predict dementia up to nine years before diagnosis”

“Researchers at Queen Mary University of London have developed a new method for predicting dementia with over 80% accuracy and up to nine years before a diagnosis. The new method provides a more accurate way to predict dementia than memory tests or measurements of brain shrinkage, two commonly used methods for diagnosing dementia.”

“U.S. officials have approved another Alzheimer’s drug that can modestly slow the disease, providing a new option for patients in the early stages of the incurable, memory-destroying ailment. The Food and Drug Administration approved Eli Lilly’s Kisunla…for mild or early cases of dementia caused by Alzheimer’s.”

DO YOU SEE THE POSSIBLE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS???

IF doctors and scientists are able to consistently predict dementia using fMRI scans from 1,100 volunteers taken from a UK database holding a half a million participants. From that study, they can then estimate the strength of connections between ten regions of the brain that make up the most significant parts of the brain.

After they figure out that I’m a candidate for developing Alzheimer’s, they should be able to the new drug to slow the disease SOME during the early stages of the disease – more specifically “for mild or early cases of dementia caused by Alzheimer’s.”

While no use for Dad, and ALSO given that knowing that I had/have a sporadic fear that with my dad diagnosed with Alzheimer’s I’m more likely to be diagnosed with it ANY DAY NOW!!!...

Yeah, I know, my own brain drives me crazy sometimes! (OH! “Crazy” is not the same as “Alzheimer’s”!

Finally, I searched and found this: “…statistics related to the risk of developing Alzheimer’s in your lifetime digs up some 3 million hits from Google!

I COULD pore over them and feed my fear, or I could accept the reality that if I’m 60 years old today (I’m currently 67) the odds of developing Alzheimer’s are 4.8%, or in other words, there is a 95.2% chance that I WON’T develop the disease.”

You (like me) might as, “is that a general chance or does it include people whose parents were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s?” The research reaches the following conclusion, “If you have a first-degree relative with Alzheimer’s disease (e.g. mother, father, sibling), your risk of developing the illness is about two to three times higher than someone else your age who doesn’t have a family member with the illness.”

OK – that seems straightforward. That puts my chance of developing Alzheimer’s at (using 2.5 times 4.8 = as likely) at 12%. That’s two chances in twenty-five or about one in twelve; twelve and a half to be precise. So, if we put twelve and a half people in a room, I will have Alzheimer’s, eleven others will not, and there will be a grisly murder for someone like Hercule Poirot to solve. (Which, being in a writing state of mind, puts an idea into my head…)

So, I live in the decade where it has become to not ONLY figure out if I’ll develop Alzheimer’s, it’s now possible to TREAT that diagnosis.

While I’m certainly not immune, I can add to the reasons that it’s unprofitable to worry about being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. I hope it helps you as much as it quieted my own heart; ‘cause it helps a bit.

Resources: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/06/240606152250.htm,https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2024-07-02/fda-approves-a-second-alzheimers-drug-that-can-modestly-slow-disease
Image: https://www.charities.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/ADR.png

Sunday, June 30, 2024

DIABETES RESEARCH RIGHT NOW! #19: After Fasting, Why the @!&%$ Are My Blood Sugars STILL Through the ROOF???

From the first moment I discovered I had been diagnosed with DIABETES, I joined a HUGE “club” that has been rapidly expanding since it stopped being a death sentence in the early 20th Century. Currently, there are about HALF A BILLION PEOPLE who have Type 2 Diabetes. For the past 3500 years – dating back to Ancient Egypt – people have suffered from diabetes. Well, I’m one of them now… Not one to shut up for any known reason, I added a section to this blog…

Every month, I’ll be highlighting Diabetes research that is going on RIGHT NOW! Harvested from different websites, journals and podcasts, I’ll translate them into understandable English and share them with you. Today: “One of the most confusing aspects for patients with type 2 diabetes is that we have high fasting glucose levels.” So – WHAT’S THE ANSWER???

“The World Health Organization (WHO) considers type 2 diabetes, one of the pandemics of the 21st century…it is a condition that results in high levels of circulating glucose -- the cellular energy fuel -- due to a deficient insulin response in the body…When blood glucose, also called blood sugar, levels rise after you eat, your pancreas [is supposed to] releases insulin into the blood. Insulin then lowers blood glucose to keep it in the normal range…In T2 patients, the glucose synthesis pathway in the liver (gluconeogenesis) is hyperactivated, a process that can be controlled by drugs such as metformin. ”

But metformin has never CURED T2. It wasn’t meant to. It’s a way to CONTROL T2. This group of researchers noticed something odd. From the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic, “…factors involved in the control of gluconeogenesis [which is the liver making blood sugars and injecting them into our bloodstream]… sometimes patients hospitalized with COVID-19 showed high glucose levels…[it] seems to be related to the ability of the virus to spark the activity of proteins involved in starting the liver up making glucose and sending it to the bloodstream…”

So, that response of the bodies of people with COVID sometimes made their body react as if they were also Type 2 diabetic. Now, I take FOUR metformin tablets every day. I was SHOCKED to read this: “The mechanisms of action of metformin, the most commonly prescribed drug for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, which reduces how much glucose is in the blood, are still not fully understood.”

In other words, researchers, doctors, and pharmacists DON’T KNOW HOW METFORMIN WORKS!!!!!!! While I intentionally made that more alarm than I could have, the fact is that as researches dig into the method of metformin function, they’re finding out WAY more than they expected, up to and including the effect of metformin in REDUCING AGING!!! “Early evidence highlighted the liver as the major organ involved in the effect of metformin on reducing blood levels of glucose. However, increasing evidence points towards other sites of action that might also have an important role, including the gastrointestinal tract, the gut microbial communities and the tissue-resident immune cells.”

“At the molecular level, it seems that the mechanisms of action vary depending on the dose of metformin used and duration of treatment. Initial studies have shown that metformin targets hepatic mitochondria; however, the identification of a novel target at low concentrations of metformin at the lysosome surface might reveal a new mechanism of action. Based on the effectiveness and safety records in T2DM, attention has been given to the repurposing of metformin as part of adjunct therapy for the treatment of cancer, age-related diseases, inflammatory diseases, and COVID-19.”

Rest assured, I’ll be poking around this paper more as time goes on!

To briefly recap, it seems that HOW metformin works is even deeper than just at the level of CELLS – but deeper still into the “powerhouse” of every cell in your body: the mitochondria…

So, that’s it for now. Obviously I’ll continue to dig deeper into HOW metformin works. (I commented to my wife with a sigh, “Oh, great, now metformin with become as hard to get as Ozempic because the rich will start to pop the pills to stay young and beautiful!”

*sigh* I vote we should just suppress THAT little bit of information!

Links: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/06/240607121434.htm; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4214027/; https://fagron.com/news-media/post/exploring-the-multifaceted-benefits-of-metformin-hydrochloride-beyond-diabetes-management/ ; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41574-023-00833-4

Image: https://asploro.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Diabetes-Research_Open-Access.jpg

Sunday, June 16, 2024

GUY’S GOTTA TALK ABOUT…TYPE 2 DIABETES #22: Getting Older With Type 2

For the first time since I started this blog eleven years ago, it’s going to be about me. I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes two weeks ago. While people are happy to talk about their experiences with diabetes, I WASN’T comfortable with talking about diabetes. My wife is Type 2, as are several friends of ours. The “other Type” of diabetes was what caused the death of my Best Man a year after my wife and I got married. He was diagnosed with diabetes when he was a kid. It was called Juvenile Diabetes then. Today it’s Type 1. Since then, I haven’t WANTED to talk about diabetes at all. But…for my own education and maybe helping someone else, and not one to shut up for any known reason, I’m reopening my blog rather than starting a new one. I MAY take a pause and write about Breast Cancer or Alzheimer’s as medical headlines dictate; but this time I’m going to drag anyone along who wants to join my HIGHLY RELUCTANT journey toward better understanding of my life with Type 2 Diabetes. You’re Welcome to join me!

I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2022, so it’s become a “part of who I am”.

I’m gonna confess it right here – I haven’t changed in most ways. I DO exercise more (I bike, on average of three miles a week, between nine and 21 miles a week – depending on how much time I have, the temperature, windiness, rain, and even if I feel like it or not! Even so, my accumulated miles over the past two years went past 1000 a couple weeks ago! AMAZING!

However, I still do Dairy Queen occasionally; I eat peanut-butter/better roll ups for lunch sometimes; eat cookies, candy, and other stuff that’s not good for me…OTOH, I DO watch my diet better than I ever did before my diagnosis. I’m more aware of how foods and exercise affect me; so overall, I’m more cautious about what I eat and how much I exercise than I EVER was in my entire life!

I’m aware of my blood pressure as well. Research has clear connections between diabetes and high blood pressure: “High blood pressure can lead to many complications of diabetes: eye and kidney disease; heart and circulation problems; damages arteries and makes them targets for hardening, called atherosclerosis. That can cause high blood pressure, which if not treated, can lead to trouble including blood vessel damage, heart attack, and kidney failure; coronary artery disease or heart disease; stroke; peripheral vascular disease; hardening of the arteries in the legs and feet; heart failure. Even elevated blood pressure that's at the higher end of normal (120/80 to 129/80) [!!!! My current 20 day BP average is 115/82 – and the bottom one, “diastolic” is more important than the top one “systolic”] impacts your health. Studies show that you have a two to three times greater chance of getting heart disease over 10 years.”

So – how does my upward creeping age affect my diabetes?

“Many of the things you do for your diabetes will also help with high blood pressure:

Control your blood sugar – working on it.
Stop smoking – never did.
Eat healthy – I try…
Exercise most days – yes.
Keep your weight in a healthy range – what the heck is THAT??? Ideal weight 177-188…in the name of perfect transparency: I’ve been 250 +/- for a LONG TIME…
Don't drink a lot of alcohol – don’t do this AT ALL…never have.
Limit how much salt you eat – lately I’ve been experiencing water retention (one of the bits of advice in the article referenced below “Your symptoms may be different”. I’ve never experienced water retention – I suppose that’ll be a great subject for my next “GGTA: Diabetes”…
Visit your doctor regularly – done

With that, I bid you adieu…

Source: https://www.healthline.com/health/type-2-diabetes/changes-after-age-50#changing-symptoms , https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/high-blood-pressure
Image: https://www.hcd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/living-well-with-diabetes.jpg

Sunday, June 2, 2024

DIABETES RESEARCH RIGHT NOW! #18: Researchers Discover New, Safer Treatment Using An OUTDATED Diabetes Drug!

Therefore, in the sight of Americans, TZDs were EVIL! HORRIBLE! USELESS! We want our drugs to do everything – including the laundry and make Big Macs calorie free and make beer non-alcoholic and calorie-free (but not different in ANY other way)

Drugs like TZD and others related to it provide other benefits: “…anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties…slow the progression…of coronary hyperplasia ( = “the enlargement of an organ or tissue caused by an increase in the reproduction rate of its cells, often as an initial stage in the development of cancer.”)…beneficial effects on endothelial function, atherogenesis, fibrinolysis, and ovarian steroidogenesis ( = “the processes by which cholesterol is converted to steroid hormones”.)

There are several undesirable side effects to thiazolidinediones, particularly with long-term use. The risks versus benefits require discussion with patients, and alternative first-line agents (metformin, using insulin injections) attempted before using TZDs.

But they are very specific and not common.

Edema and Congestive Heart Failure: (20% of patients; lower doses decrease the risk of edema and weight gain); NOT useful for people who have CHF)

Weight Gain and Fluid Retention: TZDs expand fat tissue mass and can increase weight. Fat gain occurs primarily in tissues just under the skin, sparing the belly area.

Fractures: increased risk and decreased bone density, and are most likely in the forearm, wrist, ankle, foot, tibia, rather than in the hip, pelvis, femur).

Bladder Cancer: One of the TZDs has, in some studies, shown correlations with an increased risk of bladder cancer. However, the most recent analyses do not support an increased risk, and only one of the TZDs increased the risk.

Diabetic Macular Edema: IF an individual takes both the TZDs and regularly use insulin, there may be an increased incidence of diabetic macular edema at 1-year and 10-year follow-up. (Macular edema happens when blood vessels leak into a part of the retina, making it swell, causing blurry vision.)

Increased Ovulation and Teratogenic Effects: This may result in ovulation in some premenopausal women, leading to improved rates of spontaneous pregnancy, but TZDs have some fetal abnormality potential.

So, this research led to a way AROUND using the original TZDs in a totally new way.

How? When fat is inflamed, macrophages release tiny bits of instructions to the cells called microRNAs, small fragments of genetic material that help control what the DNA does for the surrounding cells. These are called exosomes. Released into the bloodstream, they’re picked up by the liver and muscles. This can then lead to changes in obesity and insulin resistance – REDUCING BOTH.

The researchers treated a group of obese mice with a TZD drug. Those mice became more sensitive to insulin, but they also gained weight and retained excess fluid.

When the researchers split the exosomes OUT of the fat tissue, they then injected the macrophages into A DIFFERENT group of fat mice and ALL OF THE positive effects of the TZD worked with none of the bad. The researchers were also able to identify the specific microRNA within the exosomes that was responsible for the beneficial metabolic effects of rosiglitazone. This molecule, called miR-690, could eventually be leveraged into new therapies for type 2 diabetes.

One of the researchers noted, “There's plenty of precedent for using microRNAs themselves as drugs, so that's the possibility we're most excited about exploring for miR-690 going forward.”

It’s NOT today, but because of the discontinued use of one drug, researchers have been able to use increasingly sophisticated procedures to turn it into a NEW drug!

Who knows when? But this is certainly “What’s Next!”

Links: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/04/240411130116.htm, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK551656/

Image: https://asploro.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Diabetes-Research_Open-Access.jpg

Sunday, May 19, 2024

GUY’S GOTTA TALK ABOUT…TYPE 2 DIABETES #22: WHAT Does “Exercise” ACTUALLY Mean?

I chose this image because for most of my life, that’s how I defined “exercising”:

Let’s look at the WORD itself: exorcise (v.) c. 1400, "to invoke spirits," from Old French exorciser (14c.), from Late Latin exorcizare, from Greek exorkizein "banish an evil spirit (or fatness); bind by oath" (see exorcism).

Oops!!! That’s not EXERCIZE – that’s EXORCISE!!! Like the old/new movie!

Hmmm…truth be told, I have about as much interest in exercising as I taking part in an exorcism…Not even sure how much difference there is between them, to be honest.

At any rate, exercise carries so much weight (pun originally NOT intended, but let’s roll with it), in my mind that even the mention of it or seeing commercials with people exercising in them brings me out in a cold sweat. NOT a hot sweat, so worrying about exercising isn’t gonna do me any good.

Lemme get back on track, I go to an etymological website (no, NOT a bug website!) to explore the ORIGINS of words. In this case, the word exercise has these roots: “…condition of being in active operation; practice for the sake of training," from Old French exercice.”

I’m going to change one word in there – not really change it, but at two letters. Where it says, “…condition of being in active operation; practice….blah, blah, blah”.

I’m going to amend that to a “…condition of being in active COOPERATION…” because you have to cooperate with others if you are actually going to exercise…I suppose you can go it alone, but bringing a cheer squad with you is helpful!

I’m NOT talking about the adolescent acrobatics depicted in the picture above. What I’m THINKING about is the image at the top of the column.

Just start walking…biking…gardening…cleaning up a nearby park…counting hummingbirds for your local or state County or State Park Reserves…band migratory birds or even just COUNT them for population studies. Walk in the winter, too! You don’t have to walk miles – in the winter I started by walking from our house to the graveyard at the top of the hill (TALK ABOUT MOTIVATION!!!) Moving is a good thing. ANY AMOUNT OF MOVING CAN BE GOOD. I’ve said it before and I’ll keep on saying it. So if you don’t want to hear this “moving stuff”, just don’t read my blogs if they have the word “move” in it…

A reasonable read about the benefits of exercise from the Mayo Clinic’s website: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/exercise/art-20048389
Image: https://cathe.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/shutterstock_410678884.jpg Image: https://www.hcd.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/living-well-with-diabetes.jpg