"How a Caveman Saved This 21st Century Woman"

This is a story I asked my cousin-in-law to share with the world via my wildly popular blog.  I feel stories like these are the real reason for the success of paleo and/or primal.  People are sick, people try paleo, people get drastically better, people make their success story available to the world via the internet, and doctors are dumbfounded.  I have to thank Bridget for taking the time to write this and for being so open about what she has worked very hard to overcome.  Anyways, here it is, feel free to pass it on:

Chuck has asked me to share my story of how eating like a caveman has changed my life.  I have put it off because I didn’t think I could fully encapsulate my transformation into a single post.  I can’t even say it’s a totally new me, but a return to the old me I thought was all but lost.

About six years ago, I remember Chuck talking about some websites he had read and how he thought thet could really make a difference in my particular situation. He knew I was struggling with infertility due to PCOS. He mentioned something about eating like our ancestors ate and how grains were actually bad for our bodies. He cited research, to which I remember quickly dismissing and throwing out the line, “Well if they’re so bad for us, why do they make up the base of our food pyramid?”  Chuck just smiled and didn’t say another word. However, I do recall him pulling out a glucometer and checking my blood glucose level one morning (which happened to be over 200 before I ate breakfast).

Well, the years passed and my list of anomalies grew.  I had Hashimoto’s (for which half of my thyroid was removed), I went through unsuccessful infertility treatments that resulted in an ectopic pregnancy and the loss of one of my fallopian tubes, severe eczema, uterine polyps (that had to be surgically removed twice) and I was hospitalized for hemiplegic migraines.  These migraines caused me to have all the symptoms of a stroke. I was 35, I felt like I was 70 and I thought I might be going insane.  I hardly had enough energy to work.  I was taking multiple medications daily and worse than anything was how different my mind felt. Due to the type of migraines I had, I felt like I was losing myself…losing who I was. My lowest point was the day I had taken 11 pills and 2 shots for my migraines, and still did not feel relief.  To say I was a train wreck was putting it mildly.

I contacted Chuck and let him know that I was going to finally give this Paleo thing a try.  But, I wasn’t giving up my multi-grain toast with peanut butter for breakfast.  I would do it my way.  Again, my dear cousin-in-law smiled and sent me The Paleo Solution and that Blood Glucose Monitoring System we had played around with six years ago. 

Well, I devoured the book.  I couldn’t read it fast enough.  It was as though Robb Wolf had personally written it for me.  I felt as though he were literally speaking to me. (Who knows, I was on so many meds at that time, it could have been a hallucination, but I swear he called me by name.)

On July 1, 2012, I dove head first into the Paleo life-style and haven’t looked back since.  Within two weeks (yes, 14 days), I immediately felt a difference.  I hadn’t had to take my reactionary migraine medication one time. And, energy, by God I had energy again.  It was almost as though I were on speed!  I felt almost super-human.  Also, my blood glucose level was staying between 90-100 all day long.   And, most importantly, I felt like the true Bridget was coming back.  For the first time in years, I felt like I was finally beginning to be me again.

I used all the resources I could get and Chuck was definitely my number one resource.  I would text him specific foods with a question mark and he would respond yes or no. I asked about grocery shopping, recipes, ways to cut costs, anything and everything that came to my mind and he would answer all of my questions and more.  I think having him as my support system made all of the difference in the world.

A few weeks ago I went to my endocrinologist for my yearly check-up (she handles my PCOS and thyroid issues).  She couldn’t get over the weight I had lost (over 20 pounds), how amazing my thyroid numbers were and how energetic I was.  I told her I owed it all to my Paleo life-style.  She said I was doing so well I no longer needed to see her.  My family doctor could handle my synthroid prescription and she wished me well.  I hope I didn’t offend her for giving so much credit to this diet.  Regardless of the reason, that is one less doctor I need to see now.

Well, at the beginning of this post I said I wanted to be succinct.  And believe it or not, this is succinct for me.  Thanks to our ancestors and the diet they started well over 10,000 years ago, I have found myself again.  Actually, I’m even better than that woman I had longed to be again for so many years. Who would have thought that a caveman would be the key to finding myself in the 21^st century?

CP

Let's Consider "Essential Nutrient Density"

Mathieu Lalonde is a charismatic and intelligent chemist studying and teaching at Harvard.  He decided to analyze almost 8,000 foods based on their essential nutrients.  Let's go to the trusty Wiki for a definition:  

An essential nutrient is a nutrient required for normal body functioning that either cannot be synthesized by the body at all, or cannot be synthesized in amounts adequate for good health (e.g. niacin, choline), and thus must be obtained from a dietary source.

So basically he set out to measure what foods are really important for us to be eating on a frequent basis.  Our bodies are amazing and we have many mechanisms for survival.  But we cannot survive let alone thrive without these nutrients only available to us via food.  So this talk can get very sciencey but he has an engaging way of presenting.  Enjoy.





I understand if you don't want to or have the time to watch the full presentation.  Skip to here for the "surprise" ending.  Bottom line is when food nutrition is analyzed in an intelligent and methodical manner, it appears that maybe we've been duped about nturient values for a long time.  It would be really interesting to see the result  of analyzing pasture raised animal products.  I seriously doubt the USDA data included that.

CP

Eating for Optimal Performance

I frequently post stories on athletes eating to optimize their performance.  I wonder, why is fuel for daily performance only important for athlete's?  Most of us are professional's at something.  We have personal lives that also need to be considered.  We all perform in different ways all day, every day.  Why shouldn't everyone optimize their diet for optimal performance?  Is your diet optimized?  Is your health optimized?  Is your performance optimized?

CP

It is Amazing....

I have been reading about this stuff for almost 7 years now.  I am amazed to see the tide turning.  I didn't think it would happen so soon but this sort of information is now popping up everywhere.  It certainly isn't because we are hearing it from our doctors.  The internet has spread this information and made many take it seriously a lot faster than I thought possible.



CP

A New Way to Explain Healthy Eating....

I kinda like this presentation.  Nice, easy analogies.  Over the years, I have seen many ways to describe how to eat healthy.  Many are redundant but this seemed new to me.  Oh well, you never which message is going to resonate with someone.  




CP

Why Do They Make It So Difficult?

Panera Bread's New Top Secret Menu

Even before I stopped eating bread, I wasn't a huge fan of Panera Bread's food.  Sure, their bagels that are so popular seemed to be freshly made.  Their lunch and dinner menus just seemed to be pre-made and shipped from some warehouse.  They may not have been but that is how it seemed to me.  I literally have not eaten at one of those places in years.  

Panera has added some pretty decent options to their offereings.  I think one of two things have happened at the braintrust at Panera.  Someone in corporate realized the bread and pasta they are selling really isn't all that healthy.  Or they realized there is a growing population of consumers who have learned that bread and pasta is not the panacea of a healthy diet.  I strongly suspect it is the latter.  The low carb, paleo, Wheat Belly diets have cut into their bottom line and they needed to react to boost revenue.

The weird part is they are keeping quite about these new offerings:

"Panera's "off-the-menu" dishes offer nourishing options that make sticking to New Year's resolutions simple. All of these meal selections are an excellent source of protein and contain limited processed carbs. But you won't find these items on banners in our cafes, or even on the menu board.

Here's how you get the dishes -- just tell one of our associates that you're ordering from the "Hidden Menu", and they'll take care of it from there."

As I look at the new dishes, they appear to be pretty damn good options for a place with the word "bread" in it's name.  I suspect this is why they are being so secretive about it.  I think their marketing gurus know this is contradictory to the core of their business.   I wonder how this conversation went.  "Sure, we now have these great options but they are low margin.  We cannot distract our customer's from the high margin items that they are so addicted to.  Besides, we don't want people asking us questions about whether bread is healthy or not."  

Oh well, baby steps I guess.

CP

Funny But Oh So True

Source

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Just....Say....No!

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

This is pretty funny.  You know what is also funny is food manufacturers often add wood to the food they sell.

CP

How Will You Spend Your Time and Money in 2013?

Source

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An Anti Cancer Diet???

Credit: Diet Doctor

CP

Choose Your Exercise Carefully

CP

It is Happening Folks....

The Paleo/Primal, Ancestral, Evolutionary health and wellness movement is becoming extremely popular.  I am going to highlight only a few recent signs of this.

First is an article today from a Connecticut based site writing about how 5 of their local restaurants are featuring paleo friendly dishes on their menus.  I wonder if they cook these dishes with butter, coconut oil, or lard?  Who knows but it is encouraging that businesses are recognizing a need to offer these healthy options to their customers.  

The second example is from UCLA.  They recently announced a curriculum called "Evolutionary Medicine".  

"Evolutionary medicine is an emerging field that combines the disciplines of ecology and evolutionary biology, anthropology, psychology, and zoology with medicine to create new paradigms for investigating and understanding disease. The field is growing both nationally and internationally as leaders from varying fields recognize that novel translational insights can be gained by adopting a functional perspective."

I hope this revolutionises healthcare.  I am hopeful but I won't hold my breath.  This will not become the standard of care any time soon.  It will turn out some smart people who will hopefully rock boats and rattle cages.  I am interested to see if there will be other institutions that will follow suit with similar programs.

The last example I have is an interview by actress Judy Greer.  She has a video series on Yahoo called "Reluctantly Healthy".  It appears to be a chronicle of what is popular today in nutrition and fitness.  Anyway, this little interview appears to be a chill conversation among the cool kids.

This is all great stuff.  The message is obviously spreading to a wider audience and for good reason.  People who clean up their diet with paleo end up being advocates because of the many positive results they see.  The weird thing is, the less proselytizing I have become, the more people engage me about this stuff.  Maybe there is a lesson here.

CP

This Is An Enlightening....and Frightening Video

I first want to say that I am not advocating a ketogenic diet for everyone.  I do believe it can be safe and effective for many ailments such as neurologic disorders, diabetes, and cancers .  This video simply illustrates the problem with medical care today.  Although this video is almost 20 years old, the problem seems as bad as ever.  So many physicians practicing medicine today take the Hippocratic oath, written by Hippocrates, the father of western medicine.  The sad thing is most doctors don't know about one of his most profound quotes:

"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food."

CP

Dr. Davis is Perfecting His Message

I follow his blog and whenever he is interviewed on TV, he posts the interview there.  He is getting very good at delivering a clear and concise message as to what his book is about.  Over a year after the initial release of the book, he is still being interviewed by major networks.  I suspect his book is having a real impact.


CP

My Epic Weight Loss Fail

This was me Wednesday afternoon.

I've written about this topic in the past.  I think the goal of "losing weight" is stupid.  It should be about getting healthy and losing body fat.  There is a distinct difference between that and "losing weight".  Setting a target weight goal is even more ridiculous but sometimes necessary.  In the past year I have competed in 2 weight lifting competitions.  I have done well for myself but have not won anything by any means.  

I have competed in the 83 kg (about 183 pounds) weight class.  According to my home scale,  my everyday walking around weight is about 172 pounds and I am relatively lean.  I am competing against guys who cut their weight down from about 190 or so.  They are bigger than me and stronger than me.  I knew I wasn't going to be winning any championships but my competitive spirit got the better of me.  Tomorrow I am competing again.  A while ago, I decided for this competition I would compete in the 74 kg weight class to have a better chance of placing higher.  That meant I had to lose about 9 pounds.  Last November during a stressful time I dropped to the low 160s so I thought I could get there again through some careful restriction of food and water.

Last week I started dialing back my food a bit.  A few days I skipped breakfast and lunch only to eat at night.  I figured I would dial back my calories and carbs.  Then I could sweat out a bit of water and I would get there by Saturday morning.  This past Tuesday I was down about 5 pounds with only 4 to go.......until I got on a different scale.  On Wednesday at my globo gym, I had just finished a very sweaty session of light exercise and some time in the hot tub.  I was hoping to wring out some water weight.  After I was done, I got on their scale with only shorts on.  I weighed 170.  WHAT?!?  How could this be?  Which scale was right...this one or my home scale?  That night I went to a store and stood on 8 different scales and what I discovered was that my home scale is lite by about 4 pounds.  I immediately stopped trying to lose weight because I knew it wasn't in the cards for me to be that lite AND also be able to be strong enough to compete.

This short weight loss mission was very stressful for me.  Since I changed my diet almost 6 years ago, I have had the good fortune of being able to eat a lot of food to maintain my health and body composition.  I enjoy indulging in many different types of food without calorie restriction.  It was a very weird change.  Starving myself to reach that number was mentally hard.  I have never had to do something like this before.  

I noticed some negative health issues flaring up.  I had weird muscle pains despite really dialing back my training.  I got some acne and dry skin blemishes.  I got a cold sore on my lower lip.  And I got a slight cold.  While eating well and to satiety, I had been coasting along feeling pretty damn good without these problems.  I attribute these recent issues to lack of nutrients, dehydration, and stress.

This whole fiasco reaffirmed my hatred of "weight loss".  The mirror, how you feel, and an accurate body composition test should be one's barometer for a successful body transformation.  If a poundage number is your goal, you may be very disappointed when you possibly gain muscle OR when you step on a different scale.  In the last year or so, I have changed the way I trained.  My wife and I have noticed visually changes in my body and the scale has crept up a few pounds.  But I have realized, I cannot get down to the low 160s again.  I think I have put on a few pounds of muscle, which is good.

This was a tremendous learning experience for me.  I have sympathy for those starving  themselves hoping to see a difference on the scale.  I don't feel sorry for them though.  They need to change their goal and change their focus.  Their physical appearance may not change overnight but they need to realize their isn't a quick fix to a problem created over a lifetime.

CP

Real Answers based on Real Science

This is interesting.  I am curious to see what comes out of this group.

CP

Plant Based Diets Are NOT Inherently Healthier

It is quite sad really.  People often cut meat from their diet for the perceived health benefits.  I am sure there are more healthy ways to do this than others but the bottom line is, meat is not the evil, human killing food it has been made out to be.  It is an integral part of a healthy diet.

I have to admit a morbid habit I have.  Every time a celebrity passes away, I Google their name with the words "vegan" and "vegetarian".  I am not sure why these diets seem to be more popular among the celebrity crowd but it doesn't seem to be saving them from chronic diseases.  Although I suspect their diet could be part of the problem, I am not going to make that absolute deceleration because I don't know everything about these people.  What I will say is that this way of eating does not seem to be saving their lives.  The latest celebrity to pass who was also a vegetarian was Michael Clarke Duncan.  He died September 3rd of complications from a July 13th heart attack.  He was 54.  He was a vegetarian for the last 3 years.

He follows these celebrity vegan/vegetarians who also passed recently:

Robin Gibb – died of liver and colon cancer at age 62
Davey Jones – died of heart disease at age 66
Steve Jobs – died of pancreatic cancer at age 56
Adam Yauch - died of salivary gland cancer at age 47

I feel bad for the family, friends, and fans of these celebrities.  By all accounts they were good people who passed too soon.  Please when considering a diet change, do a deep dig into how it came to be assumed that a plant based diet was a surefire way to achieve long term health.  You will be surprised to find that much of the negative claims against meat are false.

CP  

Chicken....Meh

BORING!

Chicken bores me.  Compared to pork, beef, and seafood, it does nothing for me.  I know it is a decent protein source that is widely available and relatively inexpensive.  I just find it kinda bland and tasteless.  I do eat it though because of the previously mentioned attributes and it is popular with other people I eat with.  I get the less expensive but more flavorful dark meat cuts on the bone.

I WILL NOT cook chicken in my house without brining it first.   In my opinion, brining has a wide definition but it typically involves a salty marinade for a period of time.  I have done many different brines of my chicken.  Just pick some flavors you like and let the chicken soak at least overnight to impart the desired flavor.  Do yourself a favor and google "brining chicken"and try it yourself.  You will not be disappointed.  You will however, change how you cook chicken forever.

CP

All Calories are Not Equal

This is a follow up to a post I did on this study a while back.

Fill your diet with nutrient dense, satisfying foods to get yourself on a path toward better health.  The latest research says meats (especially organ meats) are the most nutrient dense, then veggies, then fruits.  Most grains cannot be eaten without being processed and cooked.  In the end, these grains end up being pretty nutrient deficient in comparison to many other foods.  Of course using this information in a helpful way requires one to seriously question the validity that fat and cholesterol in our food is detrimental.  That subject has been beaten to death on this blog and by many, much more educated experts.  I do think even some of the most ardent followers of conventional wisdom are starting to question the whole cholesterol/ fat hypothesis.

CP

I Don't Care.....

I really do not care if I rarely do original thought posts anymore.  I always thought my blog as more of a gateway for people to dig deeper elsewhere and find more detailed information that helps them. I will always pass on pertinent info after I find it.  For me, there will be no shame in this because I feel it is working.  Information like I post here is getting to the masses and it is having a great effect.  Credit to DietDoctor for sharing this:

CP