How to Make a Thick, Fluffy Protein Smoothie: Breville vs. Vitamix

Chocolate Protein Smoothie

I'm not a big eater and I don't consume a lot of meat.  Without supplements I probably wouldn't get enough protein, so I have a smoothie with whey protein powder every day.  This is no great hardship because today's blenders make it easy to whirl up a concoction with the taste and consistency of a milk shake.  The basic recipe takes protein powder (chocolate or vanilla), milk, and ice.  With vanilla smoothies I add frozen fruit (so less ice) and half a banana; with chocolate I add a couple of small peppermint patties, crushed.

I've had a series of Breville blenders, which are quite good.  They're well made, quiet, and have a special smoothie setting that produces an ideal thick, creamy result.  The downside is dealing with Breville.  Their customer support is uneven, to say the least, and ordering parts can be difficult.  (When I wanted to get a new rubber ring, I was told I'd have to buy a whole new container, $50 please.)  So, when the most recent Breville died, I decided to get a Vitamix.  Vitamix blenders are well known for their outstanding quality, but that comes at a price, about $500 in my case.  On the other hand, the machine I bought has a seven-year warranty; $500/7=$71, the annual cost of owning a Vitamix.  A $200 Breville that lasted 2.5 years would have an annual cost of $80.  Buying fewer machines is easier for me and better for the environment, so I went for it.

So far I'm impressed with the Vitamix.  It came with good instructions and a very nice cookbook demonstrating the full range of its capabilities.  The only distinct negative was that the smoothies weren't as good.  They tend to be watery and to have a grainy, icy texture.  I called Vitamix Customer Support and the representative advised me to turn the machine to the highest speed and leave it there for a couple of minutes.  I tried that and the results were no better.

At that point I started to analyze the problem: what was the Breville doing that the Vitamix wasn't?  The Breville's smoothie cycle automatically alternates between pulsing and blending for a few seconds for a total of one full minute.  Sometimes I had to do a second one-minute cycle but not always.  The advantage of this method is that it gets a lot of air into the mixture but, because the blades aren't continuously running and getting hot, it doesn't melt the ice.

With the Vitamix (and probably other blenders as well) you can simulate this process by pulsing a few times and then processing 10 seconds or more.  When I'm making two drinks I pulse 15 times and process for a count of 25. I repeat these steps until the surface of the mixture looks shiny rather than grainy.  I tend to get better results if I add the ice in two stages. When I'm using frozen fruit, I do everything but the ice first and mix then add the ice and repeat. If the ingredients stop rotating, I stop the machine, pick up the container and shake it from side to side to get rid of air bubbles.  It takes a little longer and you can't just push a button and walk away but it does produce a thick, fluffy, delicious smoothie.

Update: Two new smoothie recipes with anti-cancer ingredients appear here and here. Healthy drinks without the terrible taste.

Should I Be Taking This? 6

The most important information you should know about Cymbalta:

Antidepressants can increase suicidal thoughts and behaviors in children, teens, and young adults. Suicide is a known risk of depression and some other psychiatric disorders. Call your doctor right away if you have new or worsening depression symptoms, unusual changes in behavior, or thoughts of suicide. Be especially observant within the first few months of treatment or after a change in dose. Approved only for adults 18 and over.

Cymbalta^® (duloxetine HCl) is not for everyone. Do not take Cymbalta if you:

• have recently taken a type of antidepressant called a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) or Mellaril^® (thioridazine)
• have uncontrolled narrow-angle glaucoma (increased eye pressure)

Before taking Cymbalta, talk with your healthcare provider:

• about all your medical conditions, including kidney or liver problems, glaucoma, diabetes, seizures, or if you have bipolar disorder. Cymbalta may worsen a type of glaucoma or diabetes
• about all your prescription and nonprescription medicines. A potentially life-threatening condition has been reported when Cymbalta was taken with certain drugs for migraine, mood, or psychotic disorders
• if you are taking NSAID pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners. Use with Cymbalta may increase bleeding risk
• about your alcohol use
• about your blood pressure. Cymbalta can increase your blood pressure. Your healthcare provider should check your blood pressure prior to and while taking Cymbalta
• if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant during therapy, or are breast-feeding

While taking Cymbalta, talk to your healthcare provider right away:

• if you have itching, right upper-belly pain, dark urine, yellow skin/eyes, or unexplained flu-like symptoms, which may be signs of liver problems. Severe liver problems, sometimes fatal, have been reported
• if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles, which may be symptoms of a potentially life-threatening condition
• if you have skin blisters, serious or peeling rash, hives, mouth sores, or any other allergic reaction. These may be serious, possibly life-threatening, skin reactions
• if you experience dizziness or fainting upon standing. This tends to occur in the first week or when increasing the dose, but may occur at any time during treatment
• before you stop Cymbalta or change your dose
• if you experience headache, weakness, confusion, problems concentrating, memory problems, or feel unsteady, which may be signs of low sodium levels
• if you develop problems with urine flow

Most common side effects of Cymbalta (this is not a complete list):

• nausea, dry mouth, sleepiness, fatigue, constipation, dizziness, decreased appetite, and increased sweating

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of Prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Other safety information about Cymbalta:

• Cymbalta may cause sleepiness and dizziness. Until you know how Cymbalta affects you, you should not drive a car or operate hazardous machinery.
• People age 65 and older who took Cymbalta reported more falls, some resulting in serious injuries.

How to take Cymbalta:

Take Cymbalta exactly as directed by your healthcare provider. Cymbalta should be taken by mouth. Do not open, break or chew capsule; it must be swallowed whole. Cymbalta can be taken with or without food.
Cymbalta is available by prescription only.
See Prescribing Information, including Boxed Warning about antidepressants and risk of suicide, and Medication Guide.

Cymbalta is indicated for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). The efficacy of Cymbalta was established in four short-term and one maintenance trial in adults.

Cymbalta is indicated for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). The efficacy of Cymbalta was established in three short-term and one maintenance trial in adults.

Cymbalta is indicated for the management of diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain and fibromyalgia.

Cymbalta is indicated for the management of chronic musculoskeletal pain due to chronic osteoarthritis pain and chronic low back pain.

The Only Rule

As a young child growing up in the 1950’s, I used to believe that there were lots of rules. Years later, with decades of life experience behind me, I have decided that there is only one rule that counts: PAY ATTENTION. In the natural world, attention and alertness are qualities that keep animals safe. While a wild creature loses the ability to notice and approaching predator or to find food and shelter, its days are numbered. Here in the developed world we have able-bodied people walking into walls or in front of cars because they are totally engrossed in their cell phones.

The other day I saw a pleasant sight. A young mother was walking down the street with her little boy, holding him by the hand. Then I noticed that her other hand was holding a cell phone to the side of her head as she continued a conversation. Was the little boy aware that he was being ignored? A recent article cites studies showing that children take more risks when they’re not being watched. Over the past five years, the number of unintentional injuries to children under five has sharply increased after years of decline. Some researchers believe that this change may be related to texting while parenting.

Many people believe that they are proficient multitaskers but most of them are wrong. Research has shown that only about 2.5% of the population can juggle several activities at once; “our brains are wired for ‘selective attention’ and can focus on only one thing at a time.”A driver talking on a cell phone may actually not see another car up ahead. In a column entitled “Yes, Sell All My Stocks. No, the 3:15 From JFK. And Get Me Mr. Sister.” Jared Sandberg tells a series of hilarious and unsettling anecdotes illustrating the hazards of multitasking.One marketing firm actually sent direct mail offers to 4000 nuns with the greeting, “Dear Mr. Sister.”>

The effects of divided attention are also apparent in the medical care business. The connection between doctor and patient is central to the healing process but that relationship is now being curtailed to fifteen-minute meetings devoted to reviewing test results and prescribing drugs. The radiologist who told me I might have breast cancer did not turn off his cell phone during our conversation and it rang once while we talked. Maybe that was part of the reason why I asked for a second opinion (rightly, as it turned out). If I’m having a routine physical and the doctor gets an urgent call, I don’t mind waiting for a few minutes, but what could be more important than telling someone that they might have a fatal illness?

The following incident was reported in the 10/6/12 issue of the Bloomington Herald-Times.  Auto technician Tracy Grubb was driving home along a rural road and noticed a man lying on the ground next to his truck near the side of the road.  By stopping and offering help, he probably saved the life of William Fox, who had suffered an allergic reaction from a bee sting.  Grubb later noted that about 30 cars had driven past while he was waiting for the ambulance.  He said, “I don’t feel that I done anything special or anything.  I was just paying attention while I was driving.”

Finnish Study: “Eat Your Tomatoes, Preferably Processed.”

A few years back I read about a study showing that people who drank fruit and vegetable juice three or more times per week were 76 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than people who drank juice less than once per week.  Since my mother died of Alzheimer’s, drinking juice seemed like a sensible thing to do.  We bought a juicer and started making fruit and vegetable juice a couple of times a week, as I described in a blog post.  We have fruit juice for breakfast and vegetable juice (mixed with commercial low-salt tomato juice) for lunch or dinner.  Since then, we don’t seem to get sick very much and, when we do, we get over it quickly.  Coincidence? Maybe.

Now it turns out that the tomato juice part may also help to protect us from stroke.  A Finnish study of 1031 men has shown that those with the highest levels of lycopene had a 55% lower risk of stroke than those with the lowest levels.  Tomatoes are the best source of lycopene and processed tomato products, especially tomato sauce and tomato juice, have 7-10 times the amount of lycopene found in a single tomato.

Exercise Is Powerful - but the Body is Slow

Ten years ago I began to get pains in my shoulders and upper arms.  I started lifting heavier weights and the pains went away.  Fifteen years ago I would get out of breath from going upstairs.  That doesn’t happen anymore.  These days, at the age of 66, I do a brisk 33-minute cardio routine that feels challenging but not exhausting.  I also do jumping jacks and plyo, which I started only a couple of years ago.  Recently my feet, which had given trouble for years, have started to improve.  Is it the impact exercise I have been doing? Who knows? 

Exercise can accomplish truly amazing things.  If it were a drug, everyone would want to take it.  It’s safe (apart from the occasional injury), doesn’t interact with foods or medications, and has lots of collateral benefits, like counteracting depression and improving sleep.  The downside to exercise is that it requires actual work.  Being in good condition at my age is a luxury; spending 8-9 hours a week working out is the way I pay for it.  (Side note:  When I first starting trying to get into shape I used to exercise 12 hours a week doing a less intense routine.  By gradually increasing the difficulty of my workouts I’ve been able to cut back the time while still improving my condition.) 

I started this personal fitness project twelve years ago as a way of avoiding statins, which my doctor had recommended because of my high cholesterol.  In those days, when I would work out on the cross trainer, my heart rate would max out at 125 beats per minute and I would never break a sweat.  I think that my muscles simply weren’t strong enough to work any harder.  Later on I started taking a protein supplement and proteolytic enzymes and gradually found that I could do more.  Technology has accustomed us to believe that results should be instant and life should be user-friendly but that’s not the way the body works.  The human body has its priorities (mainly ensuring its own survival and comfort) and it is not going to be rushed.  If you’re older and have a slow metabolism like me, that’s true in spades.  When I start a new exercise program I don't expect to see results for at least a month.  If there are no changes after 6 weeks, I conclude that I'm on the wrong program and try something else.  To work into P90X so that I could finally do all the classes (mostly) took 2-3 years.  It has taken 12 years to get to my present level of fitness. 

One of the unfair aspects of exercise is that some people have to work a lot harder than others in order to see results.  I am naturally muscular and strong so you would think I could do less.  Instead, I have a physique that you really have to hammer on in order to see results.  (I suspect that may be true of muscular people in general.)  Walking, even brisk walking, and swimming do absolutely nothing for me and, with the cross trainer, my heart rate needs to be over 80% of maximum in order for me to maintain my current condition.  In order to see improvement I need to be working near the upper edge of what I can do.  It’s a delicate balance:  too much and it’s tiring and too hard on my body, too little and I put on weight and feel sluggish. 

Developing a fitness routine is a process of self-discovery:  it’s important to try different types of exercise to find out what works for you.  It takes time, persistence, and patience but the potential rewards are huge:  feeling better than you ever have in your life and being totally comfortable in your own body.

Predictive Health and Health Coaches

About a year ago, in a post entitled “Let’s Rediscover Preventive Health Care,” I wrote about how health coaches could play an important role in helping to create a health care system that would be more effective, better suited to individual needs, and less expensive.  I recently read a review of a new book, Predictive Health: How We Can Reinvent Medicine to Extend Our Best Years by Kenneth Brigham and Michael M. E. Johns.The authors are the founders of the Emory-Georgia Tech Predictive Health Institute which practices “personalized medicine, combining genomics with the study of how proteins and other molecules act in the body. “

The Institute, financed by private foundations, uses “the latest biological tests, including measures of body fat, bone density, circulatory function, physical fitness, and brain function.”  Four ‘biomarkers’ are thought to be especially significant in predicting future health:  inflammation, oxidative stress, immunity, and regenerative capacity.  After data on each patient has been collected she or he works with a health coach on an individualized plan that involves diet, exercise, and medical care.

I wanted to know more about the program so I went into the Emory website and found an interview with Kenneth Brigham, director of the Institute.  Brigham describes America as having a “disease care non-system” with a vertical relationship between doctor and patient that doesn’t work.  He cites studies showing that “half of the people who see doctors don’t do what the doctors tell them to do.”  At the Institute, health partners (health coaches) engage in a horizontal relationship with patients;   they seek to inform patients and to encourage them as they work toward their individual goals.  Of course, the bottom line is money.  We all know that the present system is unsustainable, but will the PHI program save money in the long run? The Institute hopes to collect data to show that the approach is cost effective so that it can be adopted on a larger scale.

Health coaches could play an important role in enhancing quality of life and preventing illness.  Under our current system doctors see so many patients per day that it is impossible for them to know each person well.  The emphasis now is on ordering tests and prescribing medications rather than attaining a holistic view of the individual.  By contrast, health coaches could get to know patients personally and follow their progress on a regular basis.  Doctors primarily seek to identify and treat disease.  Health coaches could observe characteristics like balance, posture, muscle tone, and flexibility that can contribute to later health problems.  They could then pass along valuable insights to doctors in order give them a more complete picture of each patient.  They could also help patients understand more about their own bodies and participate directly in their own health care.

Here in Indiana we currently have an ideal opportunity to try out this new approach.  Indiana University is about to establish two Schools of Public Health, one in Bloomington, the other in Indianapolis.  The Bloomington School will be the successor to the current School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, which has a well-regarded program in kinesiology.  Why not use this occasion to try a cooperative program between the Department of Kinesiology and the IU Med School to train health coaches?

Make Yourself Uncomfortable: Learning a New Skill

This blog has now been around for over a year and is getting pretty long.  As a result, some worthwhile posts that new visitors might actually want to read are hard to find because they are buried several layers down.  In order not to tax their patience unduly I’ve decided to create a website, “the no body’s perfect archive,” that will have a rotating featured post from the past stock, a navigation system by topic with access to all posts, and, later on, some new cool features.  I’ve done websites before, though not recently, so I already knew basic HTML but I had assiduously avoided learning CSS.  To add to the pain, my HTML editor was HotMetalPro, now extinct and too obsolete to be of any use. 

I started off with SiteSpinner, an inexpensive and not-too-bad program, but it limited my access to HTML.  So it was on to Dreamweaver.  Since Adobe doesn’t provide a manual for this software (!#@%!!), I ordered Janine Warner’s Dreamweaver for Dummies right along with it.  The book was good except that it didn’t have any exercises to work through and, without knowing CSS, I still had trouble wrapping my brain around DW.  So I’ve spent parts of the past couple of months learning CSS from two good books, one by David Sawyer McFarland, the other by Eric Meyer.  

This has all brought me back to thinking about the experience of learning a new skill.  As I worked on CSS this summer, I was aware of four basic phases.  I started off feeling hopeful and confident (“This won’t be too tough – I can learn it in a couple of weeks!).  Then I hit a wall.  Procedures got more complicated and I couldn’t actually do anything with the new stuff I had learned (“Maybe I should quit.”)  A while later I found that I could actually start doing some CSS on my own, apart from the exercises in the book (“The fog is beginning to break.”).  The final phase, where I am now, is where the whole thing sort of makes sense, I can do a fair amount, but I need a whole lot more practice.  How hard it must be for young children, who have to do this kind of thing all day, every day, little hands struggling to wield a crayon or use a pair of scissors for the first time.  It’s awkward, time-consuming and, for an adult, embarrassing too.  No wonder we avoid situations like this!

But making yourself uncomfortable by learning a new skill provides some benefits (over and above having the skill itself). According to proponents of the new theory of neuroplasticity, activities that force you to focus your attention, that get you out of your comfort zone, are good for the health of the brain.  Michael Merzenich, who founded the brain-game company Posit Science, believes that learning a new language in old age can help the brain’s attentional system stay sharp (Norman Doidge, MD, The Brain that Changes Itself, 86-87).  Other scientists have demonstrated that learning can prolong the life of neurons (Doidge, 252).  If you do physical exercise too, you get an added bonus because exercise can stimulate the growth of new neurons.  So I feel a little better about the weeks of drudgery learning CSS.  I’ll keep you posted about the website.

Update, same day:  Just listened to "Brain Exercise," an episode of the public television show "Life Part 2," which had an excellent discussion about which activities help the brain as we age and the relative strengths and weaknesses of older and younger brains.  It turns out that older people have the edge when it comes to making important decisions and seeing the big picture, though they may miss some details.