As sort of a follow-up to the last post, an update on some general conclusions that have been ascertained over the years of research and blogging, is this puppy ? ?Appetite for Destruction.
First off, it pleases me tremendously to title something after an album that debuted at the exact same moment that high levels of testosterone debuted in my gonads as a young lad. The timing was perfect, and only the Metallica ?One? video conjures up greater symbolism of manhood at that time in my life, after years of eagerly playing with He-Man dolls in anticipation of my impending man juice.
Anyway, here are what I’m attempting to call ?The 4 Pillars of Metabolic Ruin.
1. The first pillar of metabolic ruin is nutritional deficiency. As one of the earliest researchers in nutrition history discovered and firmly established, nutritional deficiency of any kind ? from a protein deficiency to any B-vitamin deficiency, brings with it great devastation to neurological, endocrine, and digestive systems. All kinds of striking metabolic changes could be seen in any species of laboratory animal and with any form of deficiency upon necropsy. The head honcho of this research was legend Sir Robert McCarrison. His commentary? I have been brought to the conclusion that much of the gastro-intestinal disorder so common at the present day, and much of the endocrine disorder probably almost equally common, though less readily recognizable, are attributable to deficient and ill-balanced food.
2. The second pillar of metabolic ruin is habitual usage of substances which overactivate endocrine glands and neurotransmitters ? better known as ?drugs. These include everything from prescription medications, most of which have a direct impact upon the biochemical system in some way, to recreational drugs, to ‘street drugs? such as artificial sweeteners, refined sugars, alcohol, and caffeine ? all of which are recognized to be highly addictive precisely because they are stimulating in ways that normal foods are not. Citizens of the United States, considered by my criteria to be the unhealthiest people on earth ? have the highest per capita consumption of artificial sweeteners, refined sugars, and caffeine. In the words of Melvin Page? ?Probably the danger in diet is due to the refined carbohydrates ? sugar, candy and all foods made with sugar ? and the effects of caffeine from drinking coffee, and the ?empty calorie? foods all of which upset the normal function of the glandular system?Anything that is a foreign substance to the body, which the body cannot handle in a normal way, usually upsets the proper functioning of the glandular system and this in turn accounts for unbalanced body chemistry of which too high a cholesterol level is one dangerous symptom.
3. The third pillar of metabolic ruin is excessive exercise and/or caloric and macronutrient deprivation ? better known as ?dieting. This is a classic case of fighting fire with fire. Dieting is a practice adopted by a person that typically has a poor or damaged metabolism that overstimulates weakened organs and glands while simultaneously undernourishing them. The promotion of dieting (from Atkins to Weight Watchers to Veganism) for health is perhaps the most counterproductive advice ever to penetrate the psyche of the masses. This is unfortunately strengthened by initial perceived benefits as these foolish practices are adopted. Long-term results vary between mediocre to catastrophic.
4. The fourth and final pillar of metabolic ruin is probably the least understood and acknowledged of them all ? poor heredity. The mainstream mindset still maintains that genes are set in stone ? just like if mom had attached earlobes, you will too. Because of this, the boat has been entirely missed. Heredity is fully capable of declining and degrading from generation to generation. The metabolic health/glandular function of the parent generation greatly influences the health of the offspring. Weston A. Price did an excellent job of documenting this, but any idiot can observe the drastic declines in health from generation to generation. Obesity, type II diabetes, mental and behavioral problems, infertility, crooked teeth, tooth decay, and poor eyesight are but a few of the most prominent worsening conditions. It’s also why grandma was able to ?eat chocolate candies all day long, smoke cigarettes, and be thin as a rail to age 97,? while no one else appears to be able to get away with doing such things. As a species, we are weakening, and the significance of it is drastically underestimated and remains virtually unrecognized. Pillars 1-3 make the 4th and perhaps most important pillar of metabolic ruin exponentially worse.
If there was a fifth and sixth pillar, they would probably be excessive consumption of oxidized and rancid vegetable oils and toxic burden of industrial/agricultural chemicals and food additives.
?All degenerative diseases are a result of malfunctioning of the endocrine glands, either due to heredity or damage by environment, (primarily due to a bad diet), or a combination of the two factors which is more common.
-Melvin Page
?Welcome to the jungle, it gets worse here every day.
-Axl Rose
?[Insert pillar of metabolic ruin] has taken my sight, taken my speech, taken my hearing, taken my arms, taken my legs, taken my soul, left me with life in hell.
-James Hetfield
Thanks Matt, I am getting inspired to make real changes. But I am wondering about all the Eastern cultures who have used caffeinated tea forever, but still seem pretty robust. Do you think there is any difference between coffee and tea?
I have made it a goal to completely give up sugar, caffeine, wine, and my Rx opiate sleeping aid. Could you possibly give me a hierarchy of evil, so that I can start with the most evil first. I think doing it all at once would be stressful. Or if i had to hang onto one, which is the lesser evil?
I know that makes it sound like my diet is awful and I am weak! But aside from these occasional indulgences, I only eat meat, eggs, tubers, roots & some green veg and fruit! But I really am tired of half-assing it and want to feel my best.
Thanks…S.
Is olive oil a rancid vegetable oil/pillar of metabolic ruin? I prefer it to butter (in moderation).
Matt,
You mentioned in your book that readers could experience weight gain for a little while after adopting your diet before the metabolism healed up and started correcting for excessive subcutaneous body fat. Could you comment on how long this stage can be? I ask because I've been gaining about 1 lb per week since switching to your diet, up from 230 to now 236.5 as of this morning. It's a bit disconcerting.
To address your likely questions, I've been pretty good I think about avoiding your "pillars of destruction." Sugar, vegetable oils, and alcohol are completely out and the only caffeine is the occasional cup of green tea. No coffee. I am certainly not suffering from any sort of deficiency, as I eat plenty of good food and take a few vitamin supplements too (per Weston Price's guidelines). I do not exercise excessively, and have no history of doing so.
Things I haven't tried yet are fish oil supplements (although I have them on order) and thyroid supplementation (seems expensive). Body temp in the mornings is usually around 97.1.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Brock
Brock,
That's definitely a low body temp. Until body temp comes up to the 98 range, you probably won't feel a whole heck of a lot better. Without a history of metabolic sins, it's likely that the metabolic sins were created in your early youth or in the prior generation (hereditary).
But you can fix this. Continue to try diet alone, but be wary that you may need glandular support. That's what this blog post was all about. And it doesn't have to be expensive – $.25 – 1.25 per day depending on needed dosage…
http://www.nutri-meds.com/Nutri_Meds_Desiccated_Porcine_Thyroid_Capsules_p/nm-g-ptc.htm
Anon…
Olive oil is fine. Veggie oils just aren't a healthy food, and the proposed evidence against them is gigantic. Try refined, flavorless coconut oils instead (expeller pressed).
A little caffeine in tea is not enough to destroy someone's metabolism if everything else is in check. Caffeine is probably less offensive than refined sugar (but refined sugar makes up 25% of some people's diets, so how can you compare that to 500mg of caffeine per day?) In fact, a well-nourished, refined-sugar free person with excellent heredity could get away with caffeine for a lifetime, even in larger doses.
But the real question is, once you're screwed up, can you still have caffeine and heal? I think the probable answer to that is no.
E.M. Abrahamson on caffeine (Body, Mind, and Sugar)-
?There is no glamorous cure for hyperinsulinism that can be bought in a package. Its diagnosis and treatment demand pains from the physician and sacrifices from the patient, who must give up candy, sugar, pies, alcohol, coffee, and sometimes smoking.
p. 65
?As [Dr. Seale Harris] pointed out, overindulgence in caffeine is a common cause for [hyperinsulinism]. Harris conducted his research in Birmingham, Alabama, the heart of the South, where various beverages consisting of sweetened and flavored water ‘spiked? with caffeine are water substitutes. Hyperinsulinism may be induced in persons predisposed to the condition by the very combination of caffeine and sugar found in these beverages.
p. 67
?This means no sugar, candy, or other sweets, no cake with icing, no pies or other pastry, no ice cream, no honey, no syrup, no grape juice or prune juice. And regrettably, our string of ?no’s? includes cocktails, wines, cordials, and beer. Finally, if you have hyperinsulinism, you must avoid caffeine as you would the pest.
p. 98
?Americans are the largest consumers of coffee in the world. Not content with that excessive use of caffeine in the fine aromatic and ancient faffa of Abyssinia, we have concocted and popularized by stupendous high pressure advertising a host of soft drinks previously unknown to the civilized world. These sugar-laden and caffeine-containing carbonated beverages are imbibed by adult, teen-ager, and even children in an ever-increasing and staggering volume.
Matt, what do you think about salicylate intolerance? I've been reading the plantspoisonsandrottenstuff blog and a lot of my symptoms seem to match hers. When I cut out fruit I noticed that I could sleep much much better. I am having strange reactions to eating meet (brain fog, kind of a high feeling in the top of my head) and am thinking it might be amine related. Is there a way to increase tolerance?
Also, what do you think of the idea that short fasts actually speed up the metabolism, making intermittent fasting a reasonable option?
Sure, a person could have salicylate intolerance, but that probably stems from some kind of excretion problem – like someone who is autistic accumulating loads of mercury, while a normal person does not. Makes it hard to blame the mercury.
I think fasting can improve health and glandular function. It's a practice that I do acknowledge as potentially beneficial.
I seriously doubt that true IF, eating every other day, is healthy. I think it is probably extraordinarily harmful and the last thing most people need to heal. Plus, it is a really difficult, destablizing, and crippling to follow such extreme health protocols. Even if it did work in the short-term, how many people could realistically follow IF for a lifetime? Not many.
To improve tolerance and just about anything else, I recommend closely monitoring your basal temperatures. Once they have achieved normalcy, you are much more likely to have more dietary freedoms and better overall health.
Matt, I appreciate your response. I think I have many of my problems narrowed down to a salicylate intolerance (rashes, itching, insomnia), but I also recognize that my intolerance may be due to a hormonal imbalance. What do you think of my current diet? I eat eggs, bacon, beef, lamb, potatoes (not skins), butter, occasional white bread, and occasional beer. Thanks
D,
My response was basically stating that the reason we're all so weakened and pathetic with all kinds of food sensiivities and intolerances and ridden with so many health problems – physical, mental, and otherwise; is due to the multi-generational habits of eating lots of sugar as part of an otherwise inferior and deficient diet.
Your current diet seems fine to me, although I hesitate when it comes to beer of course, but that is up to you to decide whether it's appropriate or not. I personally drink beer a couple times per month without negative repurcussion, but if I drink more regularly it's bad news bears – acne, emotionality, and so on. My metabolic disorders of the past are probably what leaves me so hypersensitive.
Matt,
Thanks for the link on the thyroid supplement. That's the best price I've seen, and I'll place an order tonight.
I agree that of the four pillars, #4 is my cross to bear. My grandmother thought ice cream Sundays were something you marked on a calendar, and the diet she fed my mother growing up was not in any way healthy by anyone's standards. My grandmother eventually developed every metabolic disorder they have a name for, and my Mom only avoids the same fate by a strict adherence to the Polish "Optimal Diet" very similar to yours. I hope that if I nip this soon enough I won't have to watch my carbs as closely as she does (I love me my yams), but we shall see.
Thanks for the input.
All good things,
Brock
Wow, coincidences, I didn't know that other people knew about Nutri-Meds. Hey Brock –
I've been on the Nutri-Meds porcine thyroid and the bovine adrenal glandular for the past 5 days. I gathered from the reviews that taking both the adrenal and the thyroid glandulars together produce a better effect…and if you want to compare it to Armour Thyroid, one pill of the Nutri-Meds thyroid (130 mg) is about equal to 1 grain of Armour (60g.) Just thought I'd mention that. Good luck.
I agree with your Axis of Evil, or Quandrangle of Evil, if you will. Can anyone hypothesize why I can only tolerate bananas as fruit. Even small amounts of other fruit makes me insane. Very manic, my thoughts become a bit crazy, detached from reality. I had a small tangerine this morning and even had effects from that! Why and what makes bananas different? (I also wonder if that is what happened to Bruce with all his fruit juice.) Thanks…
Bananas are the only fruit that doesn't contain salicylate, so you might be sensitive to this (like the reader commenting above). It's quite common apparently, probably because fruits picked unripe are particularly problematic.
A question for Matt: I know you're not a supporter of low-carb diets long term, but how bad do you think they really are? I mean, could they push you into metabolic ruin as well, or is only ketosis dangerous?
Harper I had just recently emailed Nutri-Meds asking them how to gauge dosage of their pills compared to Synthroid or Armour.They wrote back saying they are prevented by law to not give any dosage calculations.
I understand that and was saddened by the fact.Where did you getyour info on how to dose Nutri-Meds to Armour??
@ Anon – Here's where I found the info:
http://forum.lowcarber.org/archive/index.php/t-270589.html
This is what one of the posters said, but I can't vouch for how accurate it may be:
"I spoke with the lady at the company and she suggested that one tablet 130mg is equivalent to approx a grain (60 mg) of armour. others on the natural thyroid hormone yahoo group think its less though. so if you are taking 260 mg or 2 tablets a day this is only equal to two grains or less. and if your temps are that low, you probably need more."
can anyone surmise what the affects of fresh air and sunshine are on the metabolism? i know i'm severely lacking, and it seems like it could be a big modern issue……
its been cloudy here in san diego for two weeks now… no sun… my mood had been in the crapper, and my skin has lost the glow… also getting mild acne here and there….
please come out sun!!!!
troy
I don't know any specifics, but I would imagine that lack of sunshine would affect vitamin D status and considering how vitamin D is linked to so many functions, it probably affects the metabolism in some way.
Troy, I know what you mean! I have been getting daily sun, and then there was that period here with those constant cloudy days between May and June. I was so happy when the sun finally came out the other day. Come inland a little, I live by Cowles Mountain and can usually get in a nice sunny hike starting around 10 or 11 AM.
Long-term low carb diets are probably fine for many people, but I would hesitate to call them ideal. Ketosis is probably not a good long-term diet.
The 4 pillars of metabolic ruin are just the most common and most powerful disruptors of a healthy, balanced metabolism. To catalog the whole list, you might need 500 pillars, maybe 1,000.
For someone who does nothing but sit in front of a computer all day long, perhaps sunshine, fresh air, and exercise would be more metabolically healing than any diet. Any truly imbalanced lifestyle can translate into a metabolic imbalance.
I don’t see why alcohol is prohibited. Hundreds of studies have shown it to be beneficial. To avoid drinking wine and consequently have a shorter life is madness. So you guys get all emotional when you have a drink and now we all have to give up one of life’s great pleasures and live shorter duller lives. The more I read this blog the more I get the impression that you are just influenced by how you are feeling on any one particular day and then try to craft a whole nutritional/exercise philosophy around that. You feel a bit emotional, blame it on a drink and so incorporate alcohol into one of the pillars of metabolic ruin’seems a bit pathetic.
Ha, that's funny.
There are hundreds of studies that show it is harmful as well. You flip the coin. I'd "call the whole thing off."
The bottom line is that the feelgood chemicals that alcohol and any other psychoactive substance causes a closure of receptor sites for those same chemicals if usage becomes habitual. The result, is that you feel worse when not drinking/smoking/drinking coffee/eating refined sugar/etc. than you would if you had never had it. The result is that you feel the same amount of displeasure for every spike of pleasure. The greater the pleasure, the greater the counterbalancing pain. You might experience greater highs than someone who doesn't drink, but you also experience greater lows.
Last time I checked, it wasn't drinkers that had the most exciting lives, but young children who have never even tasted alcohol. Does the family dog need drugs or alcohol to be in a good mood in the morning? Do you really think my life of living in places like Aspen, Maui, Napa Valley, Jackson Hole, spending a lot of time outdoors, and working 6 months a year is dull? Do I seem like a boring bump on a log? Should I drink more to have a better life?
Plus, I do drink. I'm not advocating total abstinence. But habitual use? That's more than this sick, sorry, group of 300 million ill Americans can take.
P.S. – No one on earth just wakes up feeling emotional without a cause.
Matt, how did you come to live in all those places? And do you have a travel/lifestyle blog that tells more about you and the places you've lived and what you did there? Your "Meet Matt" page on your website is not very detailed.
I don't get this. People attacking Matt for saying alcohol is toxic. I, for one, appreciate Matt for his honesty, and of course his excellent and very helpful research.
Concerning alcohol – where I live, a very common teenage hobby is to get completely drunk a few days per week. And when they grow up, people can hardly enjoy themselves (on let's say a party) without drinking excessively. If that doesn't influence people's health somehow, then I don't know what does.
It might be drinking a little is beneficial for some issues, but that's completely different from getting drunk so you have a hangover next day. Also, studies that showed alcohol to be beneficial only show association. I think if one doesn't drink at all he or she might very well also be socially not that well adapted – meaning they are somehow different to start with from people who do drink.
Matt, I have been checking my basal temp and I am normally somewhere around 96.4-96.7. I ordered the thyroid and adrenal gland supps., but am not sure what diet to follow.
Would a low-carb, but not into ketosis, diet be best? Or would a more anabolic type diet be better? I was going to do low carb three days then eat just carbs the fourth day and repeat. I was going to use sugars and do mostly juices and things, but would starch be better? Thanks for your help.
Also, I was wondering if a switch from synthroid to the nutrimed system could be done instantaneously or if you should gradually wean off of synthroid or something. I don't take it, but was just wonder b/c many of my family members do.
To anonymous above, I really don't think that the Nutrimeds dessicated thyroid is strong enough for you if you're on Synthroid. You should really try and switch to Armour thyroid, instead. It is dessicated porcine thyroid but concentrated. I speak from experience. I took about 10 of the Nutrimed thyroid/day and it didn't do much for me.
P.S. You might want to take a look at this, http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/armour-vs-other-brands/
PS I just said I didn't take it personally, I was just wondering about if someone did and wanted to switch.
Just a quick question.
Is there anything wrong with honey that has been heated?
Starches are almost always preferable to simple sugars if you can digest them well. I would certainly not advise anyone to go into ketosis except as some kind of last resort. Ideally, a high-starch, high-fat, high-calorie zero sugar diet would be best for metabolic stimulation.
My knowledge of switching between synthroid to desiccated thyroid is nonexistent. Only someone who frequently prescribes medication and is not an idiot (an unlikely combination, ha ha) would be qualified to give such specific details. From what I understand though, switching over is no big whoop.
And as far as going for dessiccated vs. concentrated, always start with the lowest dose possible. You want to take the least amount that you need.
There's probably nothing wrong with heated honey that isn't wrong with unheated honey.
_’street drugs? such as artificial sweeteners, refined sugars, alcohol, and caffeine ? all of which are recognized to be highly addictive precisely because they are stimulating in ways that normal foods are not.'_
Didn't some healthy cultures use coffee, and alcohol? I have no stimulant effects from coffee. It does nothing for me now, while eating the HED. Weak modern people are hyper-sensitive to things. I can eat salicylates all day with no reaction and sleep like a baby. People who have to avoid things are damaged. They can heal. Or they can be cowards and avoid things, which does nothing to heal them. They'll end up like Emma, painted intoa a corner of diet dogma and fear. I choose another path, confronting problems head-on. Matt used to favor that path and it has shown benefits for people with thyroid trouble and chemical sensitivity, as well as all kinds of other issues.
I don't habitually use coffee and I have not drunk in like 2 months. I don't have fear of them, nor any cravings for them. I've never been drunk or had a hangover. Binge-drinking is definitely unhealthy & totally different than moderate alcohol, like 1-2 drinks a day. Anyone who drinks to inebriation is an idiot, IMO.
yeah, well anyone who thinks that they're God and finds it acceptable to use up public resources by acting insane, suicidal and bipolar on a lark while claiming that he's so smart that he can repress all of that is an idiot, IMO
Quote where I said I was God. And where did you get the idea public resources are used to pay for medical care in the USA? Also, I did not go to the hospital of my own will and I repeatedly asked to leave. Yet I'm being given a bill for treatment. I'd say the system that allows such a travesty to occur is idiotic and people like yourself who rationalize it are also idiots. Yet another Anonymous Coward on the web making ignorant statements.
Hi Matt,
I've been reading your blogs and archived posts for a couple months. I've been a WAP believer for a few years, and made good progress with transitioning to a better diet – good fats, better proteins, more organic fruits and veggies, virtually no processed or fast foods, or soy. Exceptions are I still drink coffee and tea, use sugar, and love my desserts. Even there I have cut back though. I walk a lot, and do some strength training. Very rarely do I work out intensely.
My problem – infertility, 151 lbs at 5'5" and fatter at that weight than previously. I'm 37 and have a child. Trying to conceive. I take high vitamin CLO and butter oil. Started drinking raw milk for the last couple months.
I have the Schwarzbein book, and I've read the HED posts. I'm not sure where to begin. I know I have some hormonal imbalance – low progesterone during the luteal phase, low body temp. What should I do next? I like the idea of healing my metabolism, but Schwarzbein seems against sat. fats, and I eat a fair amount of those. Typical day – egg, cheese, corn tortilla(no preservative), maybe tea with milk and sugar. Chicken salad or sandwich or salmon, fruit, maybe a veggie. Dinner a starch, protein, veggie or salad. Fruit or less often a dessert (fig netwtons, ice cream). And a snack between lunch and dinner.
I continue to try to cut back on sweets and caffeine. I'm thinking to add a snack and make sure not to get hungry, try to eat more calories. I ate about 600 at breakfast today – 34g fat, 23g protein, 53g carbs.
I'd appreciate your thoughts, or the thoughts of others. I am female, and older than some of you, so I don't know if your approaches will work for me.
Thanks for reading!
Amanda
Hi Amanda…
In such an extreme case as yours, where you are trying to become fertile, I would recommend a more extreme diet (which would allow you to heal as fast as possible). The Raw Paleo Diet is the diet I know of which has given most people fertility/sperm counts back.
Just make sure it's a meat based raw paleo diet, like the original one of our ancestors. Like, if you go into the wild right now, do you think there'd be lots of edible plant food (veggies or fruit?). Most fruit in the wild is seasonal, tastes sour, provides no calories, and 95% of all "veggies" in the wild are toxic.
To improve your fertility I would recommend you stick to raw, certified organic, grassfed ruminant meats and organs. Make sure you include raw organic liver, kidney, heart in your diet. You should have your fertility back at a peak in 3 months. If you want to try speed up the process, try getting some raw, wild-caught oysters (for zinc) – although don't get them if you are unsure of the source. I would also recommend you try and stay away from fiber and don't overindulge in sweet fruit and never eat veggie juices. Remember to get plenty of fat (otherwise the raw paleo diet will not work) in the form of suet. If you don't like the taste of vacuum/wet aged meat (as most people don't), get dry aged meat. People on the raw paleo diet take ages to adapt to the taste of wet aged meat, but most find the taste of dry aged meat very pleasant and can adapt to eating raw meat in a matter of days.
After your fertility is back and you have conceived/given birth (to a baby that's going to be very healthy if you eat this way!) You can try to go back to a cooked diet, with white rice and potatoes as your starch source, some raw dairy like butter and cream, and boiled meats and veggies and broths. Don't eat raw salads, they are not absorbed or utilized by the body and irritate the intestines. If you want your child to be healthy and intelligent I also recommend that you breastfeed until the child is 4 years of age (all while you eat a nutritious diet with no soy, flax oils, health food junk, but instead only traditional foods). I would also suggest that you stay away from Cod Liver Oil, no matter how cold pressed it is, since you get enough Omega3s from grassfed meat. Oils, in any form (with poly unsaturated fats) are highly prone to oxidation, even if refrigerated.
This solution I just proposed might seem as extreme to many, but you asked and I answered!!
This is the fastest way to health as I and others have observed. If you don't have a local butcher or farm that dry ages meat and provides you with organic/grassfed, Slanker's (texasgrassfed beef) or North Star Bison ship vacuum packed meat to your home (search them up online). North Star Bison ships fresh too. See also: http://www.eatwild.com
If you find the raw paleo diet "unsustainable" or difficult then the next best thing would probably be a metabolic healing diet that excludes plant toxins (raw veggies), soy, processed foods of any kind, and includes mostly boiled starches, boiled veggies, boiled meats and little raw dairy.
But, who'd want "next best thing" when it comes to their health?
http://www.rawpaleoforum.com
http://www.rawpaleodiet.com
Hi Amanda:
I'm a few years older than you and had my first child at 36. I'm trying to heal my metabolism right now after years of oral contraceptives, weight watchers and other starvation diets.
I'm assuming you have had your partner checked for his sperm health? It's amazing how many fertility problems are assumed to be with the female. The sperm count is the easiest/least invasive test in the world of fertility treatment, but most doctors won't even do it till you've been trying for more than a year. I don't want to undercut Matt's advice to you in any way, but before one or both of you start living la vida homo erectus you may wanna zero in on the fertility problem first. Just sayin.
Above all, don't panic. It's good that you are addressing the problem from a dietary standpoint. At 37, you've loads of time. Yes, the risks for down syndrome and other genetic diseases go up at our age, and yes, that means you'll be XX years old when your kid graduates from high school, but so what? There are things that suck about having a kid at 25 too. (Like having a kid at 25 instead of say backpacking around Europe or whatever) But seriously, listening to the tick tick ticking of the biological clock is not something that's gonna help heal your metabolism.
Well, the thing about the response of the raw paleo-ness is that there's no guarantee it's the quickest way to health. What is health and how quickly can you really reach it? How will raw meats suddenly balance hormones? It seems less about magic, and more about pure cause and effect. Perhaps the cause and effect are more general than people want to believe; like a matter of just eating natural foods, cooked or not, in a way that will allow you to rebuild all the needed hormones for function. Keeping in mind eating certain groups of foods in disproportion to each other (low-fat diets, low-carb diets) can effect adrenaline, cortisol, and insulin (by Schwarzbein definition, the major hormones that effect every other hormone). We should be focusing on what levels these hormones out – including habits beyond diet, like stress.
Infertility seems to be right up Schwarzbein's ally with all the hormonal relations to it. But you said that you had read her book, and in the book there's stories of middle age women that heal themselves with her methods (I guess depends on the book you read), you know, her approach with hormonal and metabolic repair.
What I'd like to here from the advice from the most recent anonymous is if raw foods are really the answer to that, or rather, to everyone's problems or if they only seem to be the quickest solution. So it's definitely, I think, too much of a simplified and not very explained answer. Just a "do this for your problem". Which, lots of diets are alll talk and no game.
If you ate only raw meat and no other substance (just as example, not that that was suggested), can we say there would be progress? Or no matter the disproportion in protein (however good quality it is) – does it always boil down to the fact that carbs, proteins and fats together are the best approach to a healthy metabolism. If it was all raw protein, carbohydrates and fats all in one meal – would it be a surefire way to heal faster than a cooked meal with the same thing? I think it all depends entirely on each individual situation. Something worth completely breaking down and analyzing.
Also, hearing about most cultures where sugar came into play and the effect caffeine can have on adrenal hormones is something I wouldn't want to risk eating when attempting to get that balance of hormones.
I've heard that Robb Wolf has had a lot of success with people and fertility issues, and he is in favor of a pretty paleo-style diet.
He's got some great stuff worth checking out too:
http://robbwolf.com/
Thanks everybody for your ideas –
rawpaleo – checked out the sites. interesting ideas, but I don't think a lifestyle that will work for me.
Jennythenipper: we've had a full work up by the same docs that got us preg. the 1st time. Sperm is fine. I have trouble ovulating, a hx of PCOS, and that low progesterone. Plus I had a polyp removed. Been trying 3 cycles now. Taking a break this one. I get stressed out for sure – so I am taking Schwar. advice and trying more de-stressing activities. I've added that extra snack the last 2 days. Per the SPP, the only "bad" things I ate today were – organic black tea with 1/2 tsp raw honey, and a very small scoop of good quality ice cream after my dinner that was low in carbs.
I think i've got the adrenal burnout she talks about. I was 15 lbs heavier a year ago and dropped weight super slowly when I began eating 3 meals and a snack (moderately balanced meals), and still ate something sweet almost every day. Basically I cut out mindless eating.
chlOe:my book didn't have those stories, but I went to the store and read that one. That was helpful to see what the progress really looked like. I think eating all the food groups makes sense. I have a really hard time with the idea of totally giving up sugar. I don't "need" a lot of it…I'm such an addict! Caffeine – I have at most one cup of tea or a cup of half caff coffee, so I'm not too far off on that one.
Does anyone understand why Schwarzbein has a problem with saturated fats, at least for some types? I read it but I don't understand why she'd have you avoid butter or coconut oil. I'm also not clear on how much fat to consume if I followed her plan. I know I'd get about 70g protein, and maybe 120g carbs not inc. veggies. Anyone know?
Mattew: I looked at Robb Wolff. Seemed very Zone-y and intense exercise-y.
Amanda
Amanda, the PCOS and low body temp are classic signs of a low metabolism. Low metabolism is certainly a state of physical conservation that is anti-reproduction. Reproductive capacity goes up with the metabolism.
I believe the best way to overcome that is to do 2 things:
1) Eat no sugar whatsoever. It appears that once you've become oversensitized to sugar, even a trace amount can cause problems.
2) Eat as much food as you can and don't exercise too much.
I would avoid the caffeine as well. The difference between a little and none of both caffeine and sugar is night and day.
If you gain weight at first – great. Weight should be gained by all women prior to conception if you ask me.
If after a couple months you are unable to make any progress with your early morning body temps, then you might want to consider a little glandular support.
I would also highly recommend NOT trying to conceive until you've corrected your metabolism. Deal with your health problems first or they will passed down the line.
Schwarzbein originally was a proponent of saturated fat, then she kind of backed away from it thinking that saturated fats interfered with insulin function. That's too bad. Eat as much saturated fat as you like – and then eat more!
A raw paleo diet is EXTREMEly unlikely to help you overcome this problem. Eat what you like and lots of it. Give yourself a break from sugar for at least a month – then you can resume eating it once or twice a week, but not daily.
Hi Matt,
I don't know if you'll even see this post, but I wanted to update you…
I didn't see your June 23rd comment til today! I've been away a lot the past few months. Anyway, I am 12 weeks pregnant! We conceived naturally which I did not expect, at the end of a month I spent in Spain. Interestingly, I was still supplementing with HVCLO and HV Butter Oil, and I was eating very healthy – lots of homecooked protein, veggies, olive oil, butter, boiled potatoes, melon, yogurt with honey. Vices – still had a cup of coffee with some sugar, and an occasional ice cream or custard. I am happy to say Spanish desserts are not very good, so I ate cleaner than at home. I ate as much as I wanted, generally 3 meals a day.
I haven't been able to check temps, but BBT used to be 96.1 to 96.4.
These days I feel crappy in the typical pregnant way. I need to eat small and often. CLO and HVBO make me want to gag. I'm a little concerned by what you said about passing on metabolic problems, but it's too late (I think). I had read that what we are eating at the time of conception turns off/on certain genes in the baby – good fats were important. So maybe he/she will be ok.
Thanks for your suggestions and ideas and for having this blog.
Amanda
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