Last night, it was announced by my brother-in-law during dinner (ALWAYS while we are eating – is my family the only family like this?), that he will be going in for a colonoscopy later this week. Then, to my horror, other family members chimed in and started talking about their colonoscopies. I decided to eat in peace, and not get into it.
With many things in mainstream medicine, people have begun systematically going in for routine check-ups on certain things as if it is some rite of passage somehow – like twice annual fluoride treatments. This is good business, but going in for a?colorectal screening?is typically unnecessary, can be dangerous due to bowel injury (perforation), sedative side effects, and side effects from bowel preparation (with colonoscopy), and in the case of barium enemas and CT colonography, it exposes you to massive amounts of radiation. And, at the end of the day, it doesn’t do much for you even if they do find cancer while they’re snooping around.
Having perfect digestion is the best preventative step one can’take to prevent colorectal cancer. I would describe that as being able to eat a wide variety of foods without bloating, indigestion, painful or excessive gas, foul fecal odor, foul gas odor, hard stools, overly loose stools with the typical pain, burning, and discomfort?of diarrhea, and little or no need for wiping. Movements should come twice daily, be soft, and pass in seconds without straining. Anything less than that?and you should keep searching and experimenting for a way to achieve that. That is how you prevent colon cancer.?Standard colorectal screening?is not the answer, and can do tremendous collateral damage while giving you?limited protection even if there is early detection.
Just like many medical screenings, such as mammograms,?colorectal cancer screening is a false safety net that is often served with a baked potato of radiation with all the fixins, and makes a lot more cents than sense. It may?come as a’shock, but the American Cancer Society and the American College of Radiology endorse the kind of’screening that gives you a massive dose of radiation!
Sure, if you are 73 years old, both parents died of colorectal cancer, you’ve had IBS your whole life, and your ass is now mysteriously bleeding?- by all means go get screened. But this is not some test that the mainstream public in the low-risk category, like my brother-in-law,?needs to be getting routinely.
How to RAISE YOUR METABOLISM.
Sadly you are not the only one to have such dinner time conversations. I grew up (and currently live with) two parents with digestive health issues, along with a slew of other serious conditions.
Just the other day I was treated to hearing about a biopsy for a fungal skin infection while I was trying to chew my breakfast oatmeal. MMMmmmm.
Yep, same here… If it can offer any consolation, no, you're family is not unique in that respect… haha.
On a more serious note though, I've been re-experiencing with higher carbs lately and have found that my poop isn't as optimal. Nothing even close to the days when I was a vegan, a decade+ ago, but not as nice as when I was lower-carb. I suspect, as always, that it might be the gluten, which I hadn't consumed at all following a lower-carb diet.
The other thing I've considered and wondered about is some and often wondered about is some degree of fructose intolerance. I notice that whenever I bring up my fruit consumption to more than a couple of pieces a day, I get more gassy. And, get more pimples too. Nothing to do with "I'm afraid of fructose in whole foods" but, more from a gastrointestinal perspective… I wonder if my genetic background of Scandanavian/Northern Europeean and Native American could be a reason…
My doctor wants me to get a colonoscopy as my sister has Crohn's. I asked him about the risk of radiation and he said it's not an x-ray, it's a video camera. So where do the radiation concerns come from?
Eric-
Does that happen when you eat fruit on an empty stomach? Like first thing in the morning without any other food? I personally cannot mix fruit with many other foods. By itself fruit treats me really well. There are quite a bit of fermentables in fruit so a little gas is expected. But a slow moving digestive tract can also cause excessive fermentation of those fermentables when they should otherwise be speeding through there.
Princess –
No radiation from a colonoscopy, just from the CT colonography and barium enemas. Your doctor probably would want you to get a colonoscopy even if your neighbor's former roomate's cousin once farted. I can understand though. I want you to buy my ebooks because your sister has Crohn's lol.
NOOooooo… Not Food Combining revisited :) Do you mean acid fruits with protein is OK, but never with starch, and then neutral and sweet fruits with non-starchy vegetables only. Oh, and melon. ALWAYS on its own… Just kidding :-P I hear what you're saying Matt and indeed, I do not consume fruits, generally speaking, on an empty stomach, but more as a dessert. I'll have to "revisit" with the latter suggestion maybe but, will also experience with gluten/no gluten, just to see…
Thanks, Matt. I've been wondering about that for ages. Haha, well I've already bought your books!
I've been debating whether or not to go ahead with it. I'm still waiting for my appointment to be given. I had one a number of years ago and I still remember the agonising pain from the preparation. I remember literally crying on the toilet, too scared to let go.
An issue some family members of mine have run into is that their doc sends them for the colonoscopy and then their insurance won't cover it–and they are by no means cheap. It seems like everyone wants to talk about them (my husband's buddy even offered to show the video they gave him)!!
I have reverted to eating mostly fruit (so yes on empty stomach) and feel great, but I am more broken out (skin-wise) than I was, and I remember that when I ate mostly fruit for several years (until 2007) I would periodically break out then too. I used to think it was 'detox.' Now, I'm just confused by why I should be feeling so good and yet have this borderline unsightly, definitely not healthy-looking effect.
I'd appreciate any thoughts.
the bowels issue is truly baffling to me. i have had my fair share of the "perfect movement" as you describe in this post, but certainly not on a twice-daily or even regular basis! i feel there are too many factors involved b/c even if i eat the exact same foods every single day the bm's are not the same. what gives?! i suppose i should be cramming the enzyme supplements. my husband on the other hand i am convinced has ibs or something similar and refuses to believe anything is amiss. i'd appreciate a post on how to get to optimal digestion with the as many variables and examples as possible if that is truly the panacea of health.
Friend of the family died several years ago due to perforation. She had kidney trouble, though, hence her body couldn't handle it and she died. Better to shit blood your whole life than get that test.
Matt wrote:
"It may come as a shock, but the American Cancer Society and the American College of Radiology endorse the kind of screening that gives you a massive dose of radiation!"
That's because the American Cancer Society is in "business" to make money — not help save lives (like they would have us believe) — shocker, right? The ACS is the wealthiest "non-profit" in the WORLD. And it's financially "backed" largely by pharma and cancer drug corporations. Cancer is big business. Heck, that's why the ACS was formed.
The FDA, the medical community, big pharma, as well as the American Cancer Society have all known about (yet conspired to suppress–see video below) a highly successful, non-toxic(!) treatment for cancer that has been saving lives (curing cancer) for over 15 years — for those lucky enough to find out about it.
I'm sure this comes as no surprise to many of you here either. I just wish the rest of America would finally wake the kcuf up to these things. The only way that *might* happen is to keep spreading the word of videos like these.
Watch this shocking video and pass it on!
http://burzynskimovie.com
(scroll down the home page a bit to watch the video)
Why do Americans continue to let this kind of thing happen in the so-called freest country in the world? Doesn't America lay claim to be the land of the free and the home of the brave???
(that will make more sense after you watch the video).
P.S. And if the video itself isn't shocking enough, you'll really be shocked by the *twist* at the end of the video.
Yes, perforation is not just a little oopsie. It's a big deal, and probably happens even more often than it is reported.
Team Smith-
Bowel health is not so much controlled by the food you eat directly, but is a metabolic event. So stress can cause major changes. Sleep loss. Dehydration. Your mental state when you eat. Everything effects digestion and transit time. It's perhaps the most complicated process that takes place in the human body. Sorry about your husband's hyperchondria. Many of us dudes are just like that. "It's just a flesh wound!"
Ela-
Some hypothesize that this is the linoleic being flushed out of the skin and causing inflammation and irritation. Ray Peat likes to pump up the vitamin A by taking a little vitamin A supplement, as he seems to think the increased metabolism increases vitamin A requirement.
Me, I don't know. Have you tried experimenting with one fruit at a time? Each fruit is totally different and many contain highly allergenic compounds.
How long did the acne last years ago when you ate that way? What were you eating with it?
Damn this health whack-a-mole crap!
Matt this has nothing to do with this post, but I've been reading your metabolism ebook (I looove it) and I'm just confused. In the book you recommend eating little amounts of fruit and more starches but reading through your blog I'm seeing that you're eating more fruit and less starch. Is there a post somewhere explaining why?
AS-
I just watched that today right after posting this. Nice.
I was being totally facetious in that comment. It's not shocking at all that the people who make a living doing radiology and treating cancer recommend the treatment that uses radiology and causes cancer. Talk about a conflit of interest. Reminds me of Steve Martin's accusation in Father of the Bride that some "big shot" over at the weiner factory got together with some big shot at the bun factory to not sell the same number of hot dogs and buns.
Sarah-
It's an ongoing conversation for sure. In calorie excess when you are specifically overfeeding, you are more likely to convert excess fructose to fat in the liver. James Krieger at Weightology.com did a good post on this that I could have written myself on fructose and it's "choose your own ending" nature.
Nearly everyone thinks that is a bad thing. Ray Peat thinks it's great.
In my experience, intentionally overeating a mixed diet with a bunch of fruit in it, particularly if you are going big on the fats, is very fattening and fuels out of control hunger (and in my case, even a drop in body temperature).
So why I may be on the fruit kick right now in a somewhat different context, I'm not backing off of a formula I know works. Not enough to rewrite the book.
If you like fruit, I bet you would do well overfeeding on it. I sure as hell do. But I can't seem to eat a bunch of fat and meat with it and have the same results.
Maybe you could do a couple of weeks of each for us and be a guinea pig??? Oh please please please???!!!
Matt,
I knew that you were being facetious about that and I knew you wouldn't be surprised by the video I posted. FYI- that was the video I tried to post a few days ago but that comment mysteriously disappeared lol!
That's interesting that you just watched it today. How did you hear about it? Just curious how word is getting out.
The hot dogs and buns thing- was hilarious! And probably true lol.
Here's that link to Krieger, with some good comments by some 180 locals (carbsane and organism)…
http://weightology.net/?p=434
I think it's more of a palatability issue than anything else though. For me, adding a fruit or juice dessert to a full meal just makes the whole experience overly palatable. I tend to have a runaway desire for sensory stimulation through food.
I think the best way to go about RRARF is eating pretty ho-hum starches, vegetables, and animal protein with very small amounts of added fat if any. As much as you care for or slightly beyond. It should feel a little boring, but you should never feel the slightest hunger. After a few weeks eating should be something that is no longer a pornographic event with oo's and aah's and drooling and watching the Food Network like a zombie.
But eating a diet that is like 50% fruit-based or higher is an option too. That's how I eat now and I love it. Truly. But the first time I did RRARF from a low metabolic state was really awesome too. And I had no fruit while doing it.
Be open I guess. That's a general rule anyway. Just remember RRARF is a specific strategy for a specific problem (low metabolic rate). There may be other much more specific recommendations for those with lingering health problems that don't disappear upon raising metabolism.
AS-
My friend Toni Fairchild sent it to me. Hey Toni!!! You reading this? Nice email to David Brown the other day too. That got forwarded to me haha. Love ya.
Good to know that it's getting around. I hope it gets through to the sheeple.
Oh, who cares?! I'm gonna get away to a tropical paradise and live in a treehouse! :-)
Matt–whack-a-mole is right!
Years ago–I really just ate fruit, greens (loads) and some nuts/seeds a few times a week. I wasn't ever much for looking in the mirror back then, but my sense from my friends' comments was that I would break out periodically for a few days (and I had no cycle back then, so who knows if it was hormonal).
Now, I'm eating some cooked starch and occasional 'excursions' (e.g. we were at a wedding and there were gluten free cookies and I had some).
I mostly do eat one fruit at a time. I have identified that this time around, bananas really don't feel good (bummer) but dates, grapes, mangoes, pretty much everything, actually feels great (apples and pears less good). I can even eat oranges and drink oj–last year, even half an orange would trigger instant reactive hypoglycemia…
We'll see if my face clears up soon–I've been avoiding PUFAs for a while now.
Speaking of colons, another problem I had on my last fruit adventure was a tendency to constipation. No such thing now (I think my tendency to restrict calories and overexercise was mostly to blame before).
Matt, a sure fire way to get others to rethink getting this routine procedure, is to tell them about the fact that those scopes cannot be fully sanitized between customers.
Yeah, they admit that there could be other patients junk still creeping around on the cope as it goes into you.
Makes the dinner convo even more interesting!
AS
I live in New Zealand and somebody emailed me that video the other day, so it is getting out there, which is a good thing. The more people who know about that kind of carry on, the better.
I’ve got Ray’s latest newsletter. He doesn’t like fermentation, colon bacteria, or fiber. The fiber in fruit is OK if you get enough calcium and saturated fat.
"Soft with little wiping? can be achieved with fruit and veggie fiber, but too much grain fiber leads to lots of wiping.
Matt – are you eating any other starches throughout the day?
Unfortunately I've to chime in with the fruit causing acne. I ate some mangos, bananas, berries, apricots, peaches and apples and i got breakouts, especially on my forehead.
I probably should eat them solo and only one serving to find out what fruits causing me problems.
And white potatoes do havoc with me, too!
Sweet Potatoes on the other hand are fine, they're even cleansing. Pineapple is also an amazing food for the skin. I get a nice glowing skin from eating it and I haven't noticed any problems.
I just want to share my fruit experience once more, to the ones suffering with acne on a high sugar diet.
In the beginning I had the worst break-outs (face, back, chest)
After about 2 months on sugar -no more acne.
Time is of essence here -at least it was for me.
ok, I've one little question: is it true that fructose lowers free fatty acids by reducing stress hormones? this is one of the reasons why ray peat has so much love for sucrose.
Wow what timing (typical of ol Matty boy). My mom is flying home from Minnesota today after a 3 days @ Mayo getting doped, scoped & CT'd. Twas her 2 year anny of "stage 4" colon cancer.
I have a flashbulb memory of an awkward convo my dad and I had when I was ~12. I was getting something out of the medicine cabinet (probably Vaseline ;)) and a little pink box fell out and hit the ground. It had a cryptic name and a picture of a woman on it. I asked what it was and he said something like "it helps women go to the bathroom". I guess that was the day I realized women took dumps.
Speaking of dumps, I pass all the tests except (accept) for twice daily. It's once for me and always at 5:58 in the morning. I'm just a little guy so maybe I don't eat enough for a DDD (double dump day).
Ela – I was eating fruit-only before noon experiment this week and freaked out last night about the creeping chub & zits. After noon, I was eating veg, starch, and fish or lentils, low-ish fat. This morning I wanted eggs & whole wheat toast like nobody's business! Did a month-RRARF last fall on starch, felt terrific and even lost a little body fat. Ah, well, I am a starch girl.
Oh, a little thing you can do to minimize the zit-age is to drink red clover infusions. This "cleanses the blood" in a couple of days.
Mishkam wrote:
"AS
I live in New Zealand and somebody emailed me that video the other day, so it is getting out there, which is a good thing. The more people who know about that kind of carry on, the better."
Thanks for letting me know, Mishkam- that's good to hear.
Even if it does get around, it's tough to get people to watch the whole 2 hours of it. I tell people to make it the next "movie" they watch — with the whole fam, with friends, with the one they love. Here's to hoping they watch :-)
Forgot to add about my brand of breakouts- I typically only breakout along the hair line on the neck or chin/jaw when I have eaten a food I do not tolerate, i.e., chocolate and pasteurized dairy. So heaps of fruit seem to be in the "intolerant" category right now. I guess I could tough it out but I can't afford to buy bigger clothing. ;-)
Oh and I just read some good info on potatoes:
Potatoes can add plenty to waistline – http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-diet-obesity-20110623,0,865620.story
The problem, said study coauthor Dr. Walter Willett, chairman of the nutrition department at the Harvard School of Public Health, is that "we don't eat potatoes raw, so it's easier [for the body] to transform the starch to glucose."
Since spuds prompt a quick increase in blood sugar levels, they cause the pancreas to go into overdrive trying to bring levels back down to normal. As blood sugar spirals down, people usually experience hunger, which leads to snacking. Over many years, this cycle can result in drastic weight gain and a fatigued pancreas, possibly contributing to the development of Type 2 diabetes.
Finally the almighty health authorities are beginning to realize the dangers of consuming so many carbs (poison). Maybe this study will help them realize the benefits of a healthy low carb lifestyle.
"A large baked potato ? without any fixings ? will set you back about 278 calories…"
Horrors!
You have to wonder about how good the research was. The researchers say a large baking potato with nothing on it has 278 calories. My nutition guide says the potato has 145 calories. I do wonder if the research project showed potatoes are more digestible than seeds.
My mother died of colon cancer at 52, my father died of same at 86. My father's brother had a colostomy as did his son. I've had 3 or 4 colonoscopies and am due for another one in 2012. The gastroenterologist wants me to have one every 5 yrs. I had a few benign polyps removed when I had the first one. Not sure whether to deviate from that though I doubt I would be interested in conventional cancer treatment should I ever be diagnosed…I'd cross that bridge…and probably seek alternatives. My husband has never had a colonoscopy and doesn't seem interested in ever having one. His digestion/transit time is the opposite of mine.
I had a battle with constipation most of my life. (I wasn't breast fed and have taken many courses of antibiotics in my life until about 10 yrs ago) I can get constipated from chocolate, dairy – especially cheddar cheese… Why will one person get the runs from something that will constipate someone else.
My brother-in-law just cancelled his appointment. He'll probably die of colon cancer in a year and my sister will hate me. He's going to pursue some other testing methods though. Non invasive and radiation-free.
Johnny-
I had no idea potato chips and french fries were fattening! I'm shocked! We should also do research to see if Krispy Kreme doughnuts are fattening. We need funding to solve these riddles!!!
Trix-
No doubt that a lifelong tendency towards constipation and family history yields much greater need for vigilance. I think if you can keep your digestion flowing you'll greatly improve your chances. This stems back mostly to general metabolic activity. The higher the metabolism generally the softer and more moist the poop.
Ela-
Constipated eating fruit! Now that's a low metabolism!!! Didn't realize it was even possible!
Also Johnny, I love how they base everything in that study on glycemic index but fail to point out the contradiction that the more fat added to the potato (lowering the glycemic index of the food), the more fattening it was. A one-dimensional perspective will always fail when it comes to solving big issues.
Batty-
I eat starches too. Yesterday I ate tons of fruit all day and then had potatoes, roast pork, roasted carrots, and collared greens for dinner. I'm planning on having that again as a late lunch.
I eat oatmeal, rice, corn, and beans several times per week as well. I'm not a fruit-only guy by any means. I like it, but eating nothing but fruit tends to make me feel weak and lightheaded after too long without something more substantial, unless I really crush the fruit which is hard to do because it's pretty gross in super humongous quantities.
why would you eat these matt? http://www.collaredgreens.com
:-)
Sheila, Thanks so much for reminding about your fruit experiences vis-a-vis breakouts. I'm curious to see how it'll go with me this time: like I said, last time around I seemed to break out intermittently. (But back then, I was regularly eating nuts and seeds, albeit in small amounts, so maybe constantly putting fructose and PUFA together).
Veiled Glory, I haven't noticed any chub since going back to fruit: if anything the opposite. I'm sorry that you're noticing that, but I do wonder whether it might abate with time.
Matt–yes, I think you nailed it. Super-slow metabolism, very underweight, still eating some PUFAs; guilty as charged. Possibly messed up gut flora implicated too.
Thank you for the link to gutsense.org. I found it interesting. Do you recommend his book "Fiber Menace" and his products? I recall your stating somewhere that eating just fruits and veggies will cure constipation. That seems like a low-fiber contradiction. Thanks.
Hi Matt, I think I answered my own question – p. 84 of 180 Degree Digestion: "…eating more food than you desire while resting up, …is certainly the best lasting remedy for constipation….eat, eat, and eat some more." Right?
I had colonoscopy last year and after the screening I have noticed that it might be affected the rectal sphincter as its difficult to control the expulsion of gases that has never happened to me before that. Fortunately, nothing was found, but I remained with this collateral damage as a result.
Any help?
What an interesting thread. I live in Canada and just finished doing a colorectal screening. For three days you collect your own feces specimens and smear them into little boxes and send them in for screening. If anything shows up they let you and your doctor know and then you do a colonoscopy. So far I’ve been fine. My grandmother had colon cancer but when asked by my MD if I wanted a colonoscopy I declined. I don’t want to over tax our healthcare system and I don’t want procedures done needlessly. I am married to a family doctor and he too feels that PSA, Mammograms and colonoscopies on those without risk or indication are rather useless, spend money and create undue anxiety. I too eat a low card diet – having type II diabetes and when I have sugar all things turn sluggish and foul. My two cents worth.