Sue's Spaghetti Sauce
an LDD thiamine awareness day favorite.
Can you imagine being so hungry that you wouldn’t leave the stewed prunes you had been looking forward to, not even if bullets were flying over your head? This is a true story, as told by my dad’s dad aka The Walking Miracle Sr. who fell 27,000 ft out of the sky and lived to talk about it.
We began to wonder as to our fate when this time did come. Would this area become a battlefield? Would the Germans bombard our camp as they retreated? Everyone began to wish that the slit trenches were still intact, but they had all caved in as the lining was taken for firewood………Days wore on and we began to get very hungry, wishing that we were on the road again where we could find more to eat. Wally and I had been saving prunes and raisins for days to have enough for Sunday breakfast. We also had been hearing the sound of big guns in the night for several nights. So, Sunday morning, April 29, on the tenth day of our stay in Stalag 7A, Moosburg, found Wally and I busily engaged around a small cooking fire watching hungrily as our Klem can full of raisins and prunes began to bubble. All of a sudden, a machine gun chattered, bullets whined over our camp and the process of liberation was upon us. Bigger guns began to bark, more machine guns rattled, along with the snapping of rifle fire. Some of the infantry boys in our tent began to dig foxholes, and Wally and I squatted lower around our bubbling can as bullets began to come uncomfortably close. German guards were running around with their hands held over their heads in hopes of being able to surrender. Never once did Wally and I leave our prunes during the fireworks. We’d had our hearts set on eating those prunes Sunday morning, and not even a few bullets could change our minds. They were just about done by the time the fireworks began to subside when a roaring cheer rang forth from thousands of voices. We jumped to our feet—what was it?—what could it be?—a thrill like an electric shock ran up and down my spine as I beheld one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen in my life. Old Glory was flying full in the morning breeze showing to all the world that we were free men. Tears streamed down our cheeks as we cheered and shouted for joy. Joyous joy that can only be known by those who having lost their heritage as free men suddenly find restored to them again that great God-given blessing for which Old Glory shall ever stand. Wally and I smacked our lips that morning, for the prunes turned out extra special, and as we sat there eating, General Patton rode into the camp standing on a big tank, pistols and all. He didn’t stay long. He looked around and said, “This is no place for American boys, we’re going to get you out of here.”
from Grandpa’s WWII POW and Hunger Story
I didn’t know my grandfather very well because I don’t really remember a time when he did not have Alzheimer’s, but my dad tells me that he was a good father. I do remember how much grandpa loved a good meal and how he hated seeing food go to waste, probably because knowing what starvation feels like has a profound effect on a person who has experienced it, and I’m thankful that I’ve never had to go without a meal like he did. It’s odd what Alzheimer’s does to the brain, simple daily tasks and my own name were easily forgotten while vivid war stories could be re-told, 50 years later, as if they had just happened the day before. My husband, The Chicken Whisperer, and I have been watching Masters of the Air, but in small doses, because the reality of everything that happened to all of those men in those planes is hitting me a little harder than watching the Memphis Belle movie did when I was younger and hadn’t yet experienced as many funerals as I have now. I think Masters of the Air is also probably a bit grittier and more realistic than the Memphis Belle movie was, so there’s that.
You’re probably wondering what my dad’s sister’s love of wine and the best spaghetti sauce I’ve ever tasted has to do with the survival of a WWII tail gunner (grandpa wasn’t the only one), but I wouldn’t be here writing this today if things had not worked out in his favor, so let me connect the April 29th liberation dots for you. You see, April 29th isn’t just the day grandpa was liberated from a German POW camp, it’s also the day Aunt Sue’s husband, Gary, was liberated from the suffering stomach cancer inflicted on his body, and he would want that to be remembered and shared with as many people as possible, so here I am honoring his wishes. Also, there was a big eclipse the year Uncle Gary died, but it happened in August instead of April, and it is a reminder of how I will be seeing people like grandpa and Uncle G again someday. I believe in the resurrection of the body and the reunion of it with its spirit, and Leaving Death in the Dust has a lot of resurrection themes in its name, so there’s that.
Did you know that like cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease, is also a mitochondrial/metabolic disorder that has impaired glucose metabolism as a common denominator?
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia in elderly individuals and is associated with progressive neurodegeneration of the human neocortex. Thiamine levels and the activity of thiamine-dependent enzymes are reduced in the brains and peripheral tissues of patients with AD………Oral thiamine trials have been shown to improve the cognitive function of patients with AD; however, absorption of thiamine is poor in elderly individuals. In the early stage of thiamine-deficient encephalopathy (Wernicke's encephalopathy), however, parental thiamine has been used successfully. Therefore, further studies are needed to determine the benefits of using parental thiamine as a treatment for AD.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an incurable neurodegenerative disease. Numerous studies have demonstrated a critical role for dysregulated glucose metabolism in its pathogenesis. In this review, we summarize metabolic alterations in aging brain and AD-related metabolic deficits associated with glucose metabolism dysregulation, glycolysis dysfunction, tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) deficits, and pentose phosphate pathway impairment.
Frontiers | Metabolic Dysregulation Contributes to the Progression of Alzheimer’s Disease (frontiersin.org)
With all of this in mind, I would like to make April 29th, a Leaving Death in the Dust, Thiamine/B1 awareness day in loving memory of grandpa and Uncle G by sharing a Thiamine/B1 rich food list with you. Paid subscribers will also be given access to Sue’s to die for spaghetti sauce recipe which is as fine as the dry red wine you will be making it with as well as the link to the rest of my grandpa’s POW, walking miracle, WWII story. If you use ground pork instead of ground beef, and pasta made from whole wheat or red lentils in making your spaghetti, you will also be having a very delicious and B1 fortified meal because some of the foods that are highest in B1/Thiamine are-
Pork
Salmon
Whole Grains
Flax Seeds
Beans
Green Peas
Sunflower Seeds
Firm Tofu
Acorn Squash
Lentils
Macadamia Nuts
Asparagus
Mussels
Pistachios
Things that can cause B1/Thiamine deficiency or interfere with absorption:
restrictive diets, high carbohydrate diet, keto diet (switching), gastrointestinal disease, anorexia, bariatric surgery, alcohol dependence, gut microbiome dysbiosis, coffee, tea, mycotoxins.
See more here- Thiamine Deficiency: Genetic Causes (geneticlifehacks.com)
So, in honor of Leaving Death in the Dust Thiamine Awareness Day and people like my grandpa who thoroughly enjoyed delicious food as much as Julia Child did, let’s make nutritious meals that are so tasty, we will hear angels singing when we eat it. Eating should be pleasurable, not mindless, and not disordered, which reminds me of how much my dad has been enjoying the nourishing meals mom has been preparing for him through his cancer free journey. If you haven’t had a chance to check out our recipe section, you can do that by clicking here-
Recipes | Leaving Death in the Dust | Stephanie Schaible
As I end this newsletter, I would like to put in a good word for Azure Standard, where you will not find v-words in the produce section. *I am not affiliated with Azure or anyone else, I just like sharing good things with others.
And, in loving memory of Uncle G, here is his testimony.
Additional thoughts and resources-
The curious part of me can’t help but wonder if grandpa’s poor POW diet contributed to his cognitive decline. It does seem like he was quite young when his brain began to go. And is America’s white bread sort of like Japan’s white rice?
Thiamine Therapy - Stephanie Schaible Substack
How Killer Rice Crippled Tokyo and the Japanese Navy - Gastro Obscura (atlasobscura.com)
Beriberi, the deadly disease among Allied POWs during WWII • KajoMag
Beriberi in a well-nourished Amazonian population - ScienceDirect
Thiamine Deficiency Disease, Dysautonomia, and High Calorie Malnutrition | ScienceDirect
What do we mean by heaven, the Resurrection of Jesus and the rapture?
Best wishes,
Stephanie
*Leaving Death in the Dust is a newsletter and is not a replacement for professional, regulated, medical, healthcare. This is informational and educational. Some of us in this community may have worked in the healthcare system, but we are not your medical provider and whatever you find here is not the establishment of a professional medical relationship or medical advice. **That is an MT behind my name not an MD.
