(Part 2 of 3) [Part 1 , Part  3]

In the previous segment of this article on insomnia, I mentioned food ingredients that cause me to not be able to fall asleep. Briefly, here are a few comments about each ingredient I mentioned earlier, as well as two I forgot to list, BHA and BHT.

Anything processed and preserved potentially can have chemicals that I really shouldn't have.
For example: Grocery stores used to have meat cutters (they were regarded as expensive, mostly union, labor) so, anymore, stores like Wal-Mart buy meat already cut but preserved in or with chemicals called sodium phosphates. I'm not a vegetarian, but I don't eat as much meat as I used to, mostly because you can't get really fresh and wholesome meat anymore. I buy meat only at stores that hire meat cutters and get their meat as carcasses and cut it there in the store. It's fresh meat, not preserved. At Wal-Mart you'll see meat that is real, real red and in little sealed "caskets," with cellophane stretched real tight across the top (like a drum), and you'll see that sodium phosphate solution at the bottom, under the meat. Sodium phosphates (mono-, di, and tri-) are used for a variety of industrial purposes. As I recall, their use in foods began about when sodium nitrate was found to be carcinogenic and banned from use in food. Sodium phosphates are commonly found in processed meats and baked goods. They are found in some brands of baking powder. Trisodium phosphate (TSP) is available in most hardware stores in crystalline form, for use as a de-greaser and cleaning agent to prepare surfaces for painting (yummy!)

MSG (monosodium glutamate) is put in lots of foods: mostly in processed meats and baked goods. It is a taste enhancer to make people think the food is actually better than it really is (like cooks who over-salt their bad cooking, or use too many spices). Some people call MSG an "excitotoxin."

Calcium Disodium EDTA and Disodium EDTA are used to make vegetables in cans have the color they had before they were cooked and canned! The canners seem to think people will like their veggies better if they don't look so cooked. (Strange, but I always like my cooked food to look cooked!)

TBHQ (tertiary butyl hydroquinone), BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole), and BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) are antioxidants used to make crisp foods (like cookies and crackers) not go stale. (I believe they used to put this stuff in the cardboard around the food instead of in it!)

Speaking of antioxidants, some vitamins that are antioxidants (namely Vitamin C) are put into foods in huge quantities. Some fruit juices have so much that one serving (an average sized drinking glass) has 70 to 100% of the vitamin you'd need for a whole day! Just what you need right before turning in for the night! Some cereals are so over-saturated with supplemental vitamins that they are even advertised as such: for example, (being silly here) "New!: Complete Cereal---one bowl has more vitamins than you'll need in ten lifetimes!"

I avoid taking any kind of minerals or vitamin supplements in the evening. A zinc tablet at night will be a sure ticket to insomnia. Ditto, a magnesium tablet. (I take the latter because coastal Texas water is soft water, and people in areas with hard water tend to, on average, live longer considerably. Also, magnesium chelates the blood so that one doesn't get calcium kidney stones, a problem I've had in the past. Incidentally, soy can lead to kidney stones, another reason to avoid it.) I think one's body in the late evening tries to slow down the metabolism, and any strange dosage of anything, even natural (but large amounts of) nutrients, just revs it back up. (I can't even eat an orange close to bedtime because it just has too much of a Vitamin C kick. Ditto with cranberry juice!)

Transdermal reactions:

Bizarre food ingredients are not the only elements involved in my insomnia. I have identified several things that affect me merely by skin contact. I have found that shampooing my hair at night is a surefire way to loose sleep. The problem largely is all the weird chemicals in most shampoos, but I even have the problem when I wash my hair with a very plain clean-rinsing soap. So I "theorize" that somehow just the removal of the body oils on the skin somehow causes some sort of transdermal effect of soap, so I wash my hair in the a.m., so that by night whatever the effect from washing it, it will be abated by bedtime.

I have found that highly perfumed laundry detergents cause me problems, so I wash my clothes in as plain a detergent as possible, one that is free of perfumes or dyes. I also don't use fabric softeners (these are loaded with perfumes). I'll stay out of a room that has been sprayed with air fresheners until the smell dies down, so that I won't be breathing perfumes into my metabolism. (I prefer to "freshen" the air inside with just good ol' clean air through open widows and vacuuming.)
I don't pump gas at night. If I get a wiff while I'm pumping it, I can count on a sleepless night. Diesel: I can't get it on me any at all after noon. If so, I can't wipe or wash it off fast enough. No sleep! (Hmm, I wonder about biodiesel?)

Over stress of delicate nerves (neck, shoulders, wrists, fingers) is another way to scare away the sandman. I pointed out my problems with fibromyalgia in an earlier blog.* There are several interconnections with that condition, my insomnia, and tinnitus (ringing in the ears). In fact, I get tinnitus when I've eaten the wrong things (the aforementioned things). Sodium phosphates...tinnitus. Soy...tinnitus. Work too much on the computer...tinnitus. It's all very consistent. Whenever I've eaten something I shouldn't have or got something on me I shouldn't have, like diesel, I get tinnitus. I get tinnitus and insomnia when I've stressed delicate nerves too much. This is one reason I don't hold a book at night when I'm reading. I'll either read it flat or prop it up on my chest with the blanket. Also, weird, I read at night with cotton gloves on so as not to get transdermal soy inks into my bloodstream. I have a set of The New Handbook of Texas, in which I have eight articles published. (My ancestor, William C. Gill, was at the Battle of San Jacinto. I'm seventh generation Texan. My family has been right here in this and an adjacent county since 1831.) If I so much as touch those books, I don't sleep! (So, at night if I am researching, I go online to look up stuff that's in books right there at the head of my bed!)

Some people suggest weird stuff like don't listen to the world's problems on t. v. or radio before you go to sleep. I really don't think emotions (except in really extreme cases) keep us up. In fact, t.v. and, to a lesser extent, talk (i.e., snooze) radio just lull me right to sleep. People seem to have the cart before the horse: they stay up "worrying" about stuff because there's nothing much else to do if they have insomnia (HELLO!). That doesn't mean that what they think about is what is keeping them up; it's all the environmental and physical factors such as I've listed.

Continued (Next time: Things I take when I have a bit of trouble falling asleep...yep Chamomile tea...!)

*This article first appeared on February 4, 2007, as a blog entry in my Y!360 social-networking blog.

[Part 1 , Part 3]

All of my adult life, I have had problems sleeping. Knock wood, I have it very much under control now. It's even safe to say that I have "cured" myself of the condition. My problems with insomnia began during late adolescence and have greatly, negatively impacted my life. I went to doctors several times about the situation and my problem was always treated as a temporary bout; thus I was only occasionally put on any medications. One particular, fruitless doctor-visit gave me the resolve to once and for all discover the cause of my sleeplessness and to rectify the situation for good. Except for my answers given on Yahoo!Answers and in a few notes to people met through Yahoo!Answers and Y!360, this* is the first time I've really gone into detail about my insomnia. For over a thirty year period, no doctor ever correctly diagnosed my problem: I discovered most of what I mention herein myself. I'm not ludicrously taking credit for discovering the negative effects of caffeine or MSG, but I am listing them with other things that I have found have caused problems for me. Thus, this blog is to explain what I have found concerning chemical sensitivities in the hope that others will be helped from my listing of the things that I know cause me not to sleep.

Insomnia is a very complicated matter, and much attention is given to it in the media. Unfortunately, such coverage is often simplistic and usually involves the silly subject of "sleep hygiene," which is just obvious suggestions such as "Sleep with the lights off," "Go to bed at a particular time," and "Get comfortable." Oh, please, as if most of us don't instinctively know all that! Indeed, to suggest that someone can not sleep because of turning in late a few nights is silly and totally misses the mark. So, here's a side of the story the media (except for its usual mention of caffeine) never covers.

I began to have trouble sleeping at about age 17. That's not much after I began to drink coffee at times in the evenings (not then really being concerned by its effects). I remember going to school a few times with no sleep at all (oh, the joy of p.e. after no sleep!). A diagnoses then would have been rather simple---lay off the coffee except for in the mornings. I'm sure that another culprit, mono-sodium glutamate (MSG) was responsible for my losing sleep some of those nights, but it wasn't as much an additive in foods then as it is today. Another contributing factor to my insomnia then was fluoride (only I wasn't aware of its effects then). At that time, my family lived in a small town that had fluoridated water. Also, the stuff even then was in most toothpastes (today you can't buy toothpaste without that stuff in it). As I'll mention later, I've found ways to cope: for example, I brush my teeth during the day with toothpaste, but in the evenings with just a bit of baking soda.

My big-time problems with insomnia began with the introduction into the American diet of (excuse me while I scowl...!) soybeans. (Gosh, if I had the power to make just one thing extinct...!) Oh, the mighty soybean was the agricultural darling of the '70's. Agribusiness was in love! They started putting that junk into everything. Now vegetarians could get their protein and obese people could lay off meat and consequently the fat that was causing "all" their problems. Yeah, right, and business could get richer by putting something as cheap (and tasty) as dirt in our food! Today, you can hardly buy a loaf of bread made without soy flour! I can eat food that has soy oil in it, so whatever is in soybeans that causes insomnia for me is in the solids. I particularly have a problem with soy lecithin. (The body's nerve tissues contains phosphatides called lecithin! So I wonder, is the lecithin from these beans that make me hyper somehow reacting with the lecithin in my nerves? The dictionary says that these phosphatides are found in nerve tissue, blood, milk, egg yolk, soybeans, corn, etc., and that they are used as a wetting, emulsifying, and penetrating agent. Oh, goody, soybean lecithin penetrating my nerves!) [**Read this article for the solution to the soybean riddle just posed herein: It explains why I was not able to sleep due to ingestion of soybean solids---because soy flour and other soy solids are processed with MSG!  I came across this herein-cited article just shortly after I had first* posted this blog on my Y!360 site, along with a few others that basically stated that soy solids and certain acids are placed into aluminum tubs or vats along with MSG to kill the bean taste, thereby making it possible to make a flour that can be used to replace more expensive wheat flour.  (Or hydrolysis is used in place of acids. At any rate, MSG is used in processing the soy flour.) So, for several years now I have eaten bread made with wheat flour and avoid bread made using soy flour or containing any soy solids, such as soy lecithin.]

I've been a "health nut" most of my life. I was given a copy of Organic Gardening and Farming magazine at age 17, and became something of a fanatic about naturally grown foods. After years of coping the best I could with three (sometimes even four) nights a week with no sleep at all, I went to a family practitioner after my regular doctor had moved. This guy was absolutely certain that I was merely a druggie trying to rip him off of a prescription for drugs. After I made the comment that my father had just passed away but I didn't think that emotional upset was causing what was a much longer-existing problem, he gave me a prescription! (I'm sure he was just looking for the right angle through which to just cover his ***!) I was furious, I reasoned that if coffee could keep people awake, why couldn't other things. I threw the prescription away and came home and emptied the trash so I could read food labels. The highly-processed turkey and gravy I had eaten the night before was loaded with MSG. Since then I have read food labels and have identified the following as ingredients to avoid: mono-sodium glutamate (MSG), sodium phosphates, disodium edta [look for this in canned goods---it's to give your cooked veggies a phony-looking raw color---hmm, I always wanted my cooked food to look cooked!], calcium disodium edta [also used in can-goods and was for quite some time used in 7-Up], and TBHQ. Besides these chemicals, I've also found that I have to be careful of eating in the evenings heavily vitamin- and mineral-laced foods, such as cereals, fruit drinks, and so on.

(Continued in next blog.) [Part 2 , Part 3]

*This article first appeared on February 3, 2007, as a blog entry in my Y!360 social-networking blog.

One of the most famous politicians in the history of Kentucky was John Rowan.  His distinguished career in law and public service, through which he gained his prominence, was long and varied.  His life was an interesting mixture of lofty successes and heart-rending misfortunes.  As fascinating as many of the events and accomplishments of his life and career were, likewise intriguing is the strange, repeated occurrence that has been associated with him in death.

Born near York, York County, Pennsylvania, on July 12, 1773, John was the son of Revolutionary War veteran William Rowan and Eliza (Cooper) Rowan.  In 1783, the family moved to Louisville, Kentucky, where John received most of his early education, and in 1790, he settled in Bardstown, Nelson County, to begin his classical education at Salem Academy, then headed by Doctor James Priestly (later president of Cumberland College). He completed his studies in 1793.  (Later, during the first and second decades of the new century, Rowan served as a trustee of Salem Academy and the subsequent Bardstown Academy.)

Rowan moved to Lexington, Kentucky, and studied law under Kentucky's first attorney general, George Nicholas. In 1795, he was admitted to the bar and commenced private practice in Elizabethtown.  He became one of Kentucky's most eminent attorneys and was especially esteemed for his work as a defense counsel.

Politically he espoused the principles of the Democratic-Republicans, dedicated to individual liberty and limited government.  He represented Nelson County in Kentucky's second constitutional convention, which convened in Frankfort on July 22, 1799. Adopted by the convention on August 17, the state constitution reflected Rowan's values of legislative superiority to the judicial and executive branches and for greater involvement of the populace in government.  (It called for the direct election of the governor and state senators.) In 1800, Rowan removed to Frankfort to practice law in the Court of Appeals.

On February 3, 1801, Rowan fought a duel with Dr. James Chambers.  On the night of January 29, a group of gentlemen, including Rowan and Chambers, were engaged in a game of cards at McLean's tavern in Bardstown. A conversation arose between the two over which was the better in speaking some of the ancient languages. Discussion became argument, which led to shoving and attempts at blows, prevented by the others present. Chambers's challenge ensued and the duel was fought about a mile and three-quarters south of Bardstown in the woods near Jacob Yoder's plantation on the Beech-fork.  Chambers was killed, the pistol ball entering four inches beneath the left arm (which he had raised to support the pistol upon the left elbow).  Rowan was arrested and brought to trial but acquitted due to insufficiency of evidence.

Though a tragic end to a socially and professionally prominent figure, the affair of honor had no effect upon John Rowan's political career. In 1804, he was appointed by Governor Christopher Greenup secretary of state. Elected in 1806, he represented Nelson County in Congress from March 7, 1807 to March 3, 1809. He was elected to represent Nelson County in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1813 to 1817. Jefferson County, in 1822 and again in 1824, likewise elected him to the state house. From 1819 to 1821, Rowan was a judge in the Kentucky Court of Appeals. In 1824, he was elected to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1825, to March 3, 1831, during which period he was chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary. Returning to Kentucky in 1831, he divided his time between Bardstown and Louisville. In 1838 he became the president of the Kentucky Historical Society, which position he held until his death. He was appointed a commissioner for carrying out the terms of the 1839 treaty with the Republic of Mexico.

Married to Agnes Anne Lytle on October 29, 1794, Rowan built the Federal-style mansion known as "Federal Hill" on property deeded by the bride's father, William Lytle, as a wedding gift. Composed of thirteen rooms from original construction in 1795, but completed through additions in 1818, this magnificent plantation home is today a cherished historical site which with 235-acres constitutes "My Old Kentucky Home State Park."  A cousin of Judge Rowan was the composer Stephen Collins Foster who composed the song "My Old Kentucky Home" (first published in 1853).  Folklore maintains that the mansion inspired the song but there is no conclusive proof that Foster ever visited Federal Hill, and the lyrics of the song concern an old and little cabin, not a mansion.  Rowan was also the uncle (by marriage) of Ohio politician and Congressman Robert Todd Lytle.

Tragedy struck the Rowan home in July of 1833 when three children of John and Agnes Rowan and two of their spouses died from the second year of Asiatic cholera to hit Kentucky: daughter Mary Jane (Rowan) Steele; her husband, William Steele; son William Lytle Rowan; his wife, Eliza (Boyce) Rowan; and son Atkinson Hill Rowan.  Rowan also lost 26 of his slaves to the dread disease. (Atkinson, named for his father's business partner, Judge Atkinson Hill, had served as diplomatic envoy to Spain representing the administration of President Andrew Jackson).

John Rowan died on July 13, 1843, in Louisville, Kentucky.  Reportedly he instructed his family not to place a marker on his grave. It is said that he felt his mansion was memorial enough of his life and achievements. He further stated, so the story goes, that his father and mother had been buried in modest unmarked graves and for him to be buried otherwise would be disrespectful. He was first buried in Bardstown Cemetery, but later (apparently the late 1850's) his body was re-interred in the Rowan family cemetery at Federal Hill.

Feeling the need to mark his grave site with a memorial befitting his prominence, the family had a tall obelisk-style marker erected, listing his many achievements and offices. Within a short time of its placement, the stone due to no apparent cause toppled from its base. Stonemasons called in to reset it suggested that tree roots or ground settling may have been the cause. Just a matter of weeks later their services were again needed, the stone had fallen over a second time. Rumors began to spread that the dissatisfied spirit of John Rowan was manifesting his displeasure, and some of the workers refused to return to the site.  Restored to its position, it soon fell yet again, this time directly onto the grave.  Rumors grew yet stronger and stonemasons, by now certain that a restless spirit was to blame, refused to do any more work on the monument. Thence forth, cemetery caretakers have handled the task which has been necessitated from time to time throughout the years.

A memorial of a different sort was made by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1856 when the 104th county of the state was created from parts of Fleming and Morgan counties and named Rowan County. Perhaps that act was a commemoration more to the liking of John Rowan.

Photos: (Top) John Rowan. (Center) Grave and marker of John Rowan in Federal Hill Cemetery (Credit: RosalieAnn on Findagrave.com).  (Bottom) Kentucky statehood quarter featuring Federal Hill in its reverse-side design (Credit: United States Mint).