It’s been an eventful week and there’s a lot of news to share and people to talk about.
CrossFit NYC Talk
First, Shou-Ching and I are very excited to be visiting New York this Saturday, Nov 19, to speak at CrossFit NYC. The talk is at noon. After the Ancestral Health Symposium, John Durant asked us to come down to speak to the Eating Paleo in NYC group. It remained to find a venue and time. The owners of CrossFit NYC generously agreed to host the event; thank you so much, Court Wing, Joshua Newman, and all the folks at CrossFit NYC.
Since many of the attendees will have read our book and blog, I’m going to provide as much new or unfamiliar material as I can; and as befits a talk at a CrossFit gym, it will have a fitness/athleticism component. The basic structure of the talk:
- Some often overlooked sources of evidence that guide us toward the optimal diet;
- The most important factor driving an athletic (lean, muscular) body composition;
- A review of various factors that impair health and fitness, and 20 tips for maintaining optimal fitness throughout life.
In addition to the talk, we’ll take questions and sign books. Books will be available for purchase at a discount. There will be a $15 door charge to cover expenses. CrossFit NYC is located at 25 W. 26th Street, 3rd floor (between Broadway and 6th Avenue). More information can be found at the Crossfit NYC web site.
This will be our only visit to New York for the foreseeable future, and is a rare opportunity to meet and chat with the elusive Shou-Ching. We’d love to meet our New York area readers, so please consider attending!
Kindle and eBook Editions
I have good news regarding the Kindle edition. Reader Jason Voegele is helping prepare Kindle and other e-book editions. I expect the editions to become available in December. Thank you, Jason!
Upcoming Posts
Coming soon is a series elaborating my view of the cause (and cure) of obesity. The main idea will appear in my CrossFit NYC talk, insofar as it relates to body composition – the strategy for building a lean, muscular body.
But before that series, I’ll have three interesting posts.
First, Jay Wright – better known to those who frequent the comment section as “Jaybird” – will share his weight loss story. He started our diet in March this year at 250 pounds, had a steady drop to his normal weight of 170 pounds by September 26, and has maintained that weight without difficulty for two months. Here are before and after pictures:
I met Jay in Dallas at the Wise Traditions conference and he is a handsome, slender man. You would never guess that he was recently obese.
I’m intrigued by Jay’s experience because his weight loss of 80 pounds in 6-7 months was remarkably smooth. He consistently lost about 2.5 pounds per week with none of the “plateaus” or weight regains that are evidence for “set point” theories of obesity.
Second, one of my Facebook friends appears to have found an effective dietary treatment for her bipolar disorder. I’ve briefly begun to look into the literature and it appears her technique may be applicable to many bipolar patients. This is an important discovery, so I’ll post on it as soon as I’ve done enough research into the science.
Third, Dr. Ron Rosedale is working on a guest post which will appear here. I’m excited to provide a forum for Ron, one of the pioneers of low-carb dieting and a gentleman as well as a scholar.
Dr. Mercola
I spent last weekend at Wise Traditions 2011, the annual conference of the Weston A. Price Foundation, where I was honored to meet the keynote speaker, Dr. Joseph Mercola.
Dr. Mercola attended my talk and invited me to appear in a video interview on his site. He’s going to post an article presenting his take on Jimmy Moore’s “Safe Starches Symposium”; our video interview will appear in December.
Wise Traditions 2011
I’m very grateful to Sally Fallon for inviting me to speak at Wise Traditions 2011. It was a fabulous conference. There were about 1500 in attendance, the food was delicious (although lacking in rice and potatoes!), and the event was flawlessly run by PTF Associates.
Best of all, it was an extraordinarily friendly group of people who were all a delight to be with. I made a lot of friends, and am looking forward to seeing them again in the future. I was also pleased to meet some of our readers and commenters in person.
About 600 people attended my talk, and many came up to me afterward and said the material was new and very interesting. The Weston A Price Foundation will be selling a video of the talk on DVD; I’ll post here when that is available.
There is much I could say about the people, vendors, and talks at the meeting, which were full of rich information. I got the most out of talks by clinicians, such as Natasha Campbell-McBride who spoke on Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) and Dr. Tom Cowan who spoke on low-dose naltrexone (a therapy I’ve been meaning to blog about for quite some time). But I’ll save my discussion of those matters for future blog posts.
Conclusion
It’s been a busy week, and as we head into the holidays I’m more excited than ever about blogging, speaking, and the great people I keep meeting through this work! Thank you all for being a part of our shared journey toward good food and great health.
via this link:
Paul,
It was a pleasure to meet you this past weekend, and I greatly enjoyed both of your presentations – learned a lot!
…Tim
Thanks, Tim! It was great to meet you.
Lucky folks in the Big Apple. Jaybird is indeed a handsome guy and very athletic looking. Good work.
why on earth would you associate yourself with an uber quack like Mercola. bad choice
erp, it’s no fair looking so much better than the author!
anon, Dr Mercola is not a quack. His advice is usually sound, he is a strong voice for natural healing and healthy eating, and he is very popular. But even if those reasons were lacking, it still wouldn’t necessarily be wrong to associate with him. A good man, when asked why he associated with sinners, said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.”
Paul, in my book, the author is in a category all his own!
Paul, I feel jealous. I wish there was some way the rest of us could hear you.
Totally jealous, too. I so wish you’d come to the PNW!
If fact, I just used some of your info to discuss Omega 3:6 with my ND, L.Ac professor. Sally Fallon spoke at my school, the National College for Natural Medicine, last year and you should too.
Great thing Rosedale will post here. Thx a lot for the effort.
why on earth would you associate yourself with an uber quack like Mercola. bad choice [anon]
You probably read SBM too much. Mercola is far from quack, and although I don’t like his method of presentation and so on, the info presented is mostly correct, and certanly can’t harm.
I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to meet you, Paul, but I very much enjoyed your presentations. I think I was sitting near Jaybird. I was going to ask, but he was explaining the basics of PHD to the woman next to me, so I didn’t interrupt.
I bought a kraut pounder at one of the exhibits – a useful souvenir. Did you know you can’t get those through security, lol? Had to go back out and check my bag. I’m looking forward to getting some cabbage at the farmers market this weekend and trying it out.
Fabulous weekend!
Paul-
I’m excited that you will be posting about LDN (low dose naltrexone). I have been on it for a year for my MS and have been trying (unsucessfully) to get a prescription for my mother who has Chronic Lymphocystic Leukemia. She insists it come from one of her doctors but they are all under the impression it depresses the immune system having encountered naltrexone at higher doses in the past (despite my sending them material to the contrary!) Maybe your future post will help. Quick question-lots of info in the news recently about iron deposits in the brain of people with neurological diseases. I avoid supplements with iron, follow PHD but I am a non-menstruating woman who with MS can’t give blood anymore. Should I be avoiding foods with iron also-red meat, dark greens etc.?
Hi Jennifer,
I would love to do it, but Portland is a long way from Boston.
Hi Betsy,
I wish I could have met everyone, but I know how tough it is. I wanted to meet a number of the other speakers and failed!
Hi Sara,
LDN does depress immunity transiently but then can elevate it the rest of the day. I would think of it more as an immunomodulatory tool than an immune suppression-promotion tool. It can help normalize immunity in people with disrupted endorphin signaling.
Do you check your ferritin levels at the doctor? You can ask your doctor to let blood for you if it is too high.
Unfortunately keeping dietary or blood iron levels low may not be sufficient to prevent iron buildup in the brain in these diseases, since it is a pathological process. However, ketogenic dieting can really help. Iron is involved in glucose metabolism and ketosis, as well as being neuroprotective, may reduce iron buildup. See http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?p=2434.
Since I think MS is infectious in origin, ketogenic dieting and intermittent fasting should be therapeutic. Do you like coconut oil?
Best, Paul
Hi Paul
It was great to meet you and I really enjoyed your session, especially since I had purchased your book this past summer. I’m the one who asked you about brown rice syrup (plus a couple of other questions). Later on it occurred to me that I forgot to ask you another question. I believe that most of the traditional peoples that Dr. Price studied did not eat grains, however, he did find two that thrived on them, the peoples of Loetschental Valley in Switzerland and peoples on an island off the coast of Scotland in the outer Hebrides.
How do you explain that those folks were able to thrive on a diet that relied a lot on grains (rye and oats respectively)?
Thanks again for your work. It’s be very helpful.
Paul-
I should have mentioned that I do practice ketogenic dieting (thanks to you!) and I definitely feel the benefit. I have not been successful finding a doctor who will treat me with antibiotics but will continue to search. I do the coconut oil but I am prone to fungal infections so I am careful not to take too much. I once lived in an apartment for over 2 years working out of my home and when it was time to move out noticed mold on the ceiling and after further investigation discovered that the heating ducts were filled with it. I’m pretty sure this is where my health problems began.
I have had no new lesions since first being diagnosed and looking at me you would not know that I have MS, however, lately have noticed that my right leg doesn’t seem to be working in unison with my left for several seconds when getting up from a seated position. I got slack on the ketogenic dieting and feel that may be the reason. I also think I have a zinc deficiency so I am trying to correct that having read that zinc helps flush iron out of the body. The LDN has definitely helped but the diet with it I think is just as important. I don’t think people (at least with MS)will see a huge benefit without a following your diet. The two together I feel are a powerful potion.
Thanks for all that you do Paul, it is a frustrating disease but I am very optimistic (hey! the LDN helps with that too!)
Re: Dr. Mercola
I have been reading his articles and newsletters for close to a decade and still can’t decide if he is Chicken Little or The Canary in the Coal Mine. Perhaps a little of both. I don’t think he is a Quack, though. I am eternally grateful to him for introducing me to the problems with grains, soy and aspartame and the benefits of interval training, Vit. D and Emotional Freedom Techniques.
I am looking forward to his article on PHD and interview with you.
Paul & Sou-Ching, I am so happy for you that your message is reaching such a wide audience! You are doing awe-inspiring work and helping so many people! Cheers from your fans in Holland, Claire
Hi Paul,
Your session at Wise Traditions was very informative. It also helped me finally find a way to get my son to eat rice…I told him about the study that says people who ate rice were smarter. He ate two helpings of rice (he hadn’t voluntarily eaten rice in years!) LOL! thanks! Also, you said you would be posting the handout material here online as there were not enough copies to go around during the lecture. Can you tell me where to find that link?
thanks again!
I’d be interested to hear about diets that can help people with bipolar disorder. I’d be a little wary, though, if it is intended to be monotherapy and replace medications. In my own experience, the medications have been extremely helpful.
Hi Lee,
Great story! Re the handout, we’ll distribute an improved version at the CrossFit NYC talk, and I’ll post a copy in my next Around the Web.
Hi Daniel,
We do not deal in medications here, only diet, so there’s no intention to replace medications. I do believe that optimizing the diet is almost always a desirable adjunct therapy. It’s up to the patient and their doctors to figure out optimal medication. Getting on the optimal diet may reduce or alter the needed medication.
I’m glad you’re controlling yours!
Best, Paul
Hi Paul,
I must admit I did a double-take when I heard that Dr. Mercola was going to be the keynote at a WAPF sponsored event. Mercola just sets off my buttons. He may be right about a lot of things … heck for all I know he’s right about everything he says (as regards safety of many things). But his alarmist way of presenting it turns me off. Methanol in your Equal, chlorine in your Splenda to name two. Is everyone probably better off without these two? Perhaps. But I don’t think either rises to anywhere near the threat level Mercola assigns to them (oh yeah, and the lack of referencing of the studies and such also drives me nuts!). It just makes me question most of his claims from the get go. That WAPF had him speak concerns me about WAPF now. 🙁 Sigh.
Ev
Hi Ev,
He’s a marketer/salesman and passion sells. As long as people understand that and discount it, I don’t think it does any harm. I too would like to have references, but I can research issues if I care to.
He seemed a nice man in the limited minutes we spoke.
As for the WAPF, they seem to be concerned about legal issues — legalization of raw milk, freedom for small farms to market their goods, basically ways to maintain a traditional food supply without everything going through big industrial food. To achieve this, a political coalition has to be built. I have no inside information, but I would imagine there was hope to reach out and engage his audience more in the natural foods effort, which he already supports, or to find ways to work together for common cause.
Dr Mercola’s article is up:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/23/low-carb-high-fat-diet.aspx?e_cid=20111118_DNL_art_C3
Hi Paul:
You hit the head with regard to Dr. Mercola: he is a marketer/salesman and for many this obscures the message. It also seems that $$$$$ are a prime interest of his
Will try to come to your NYC talk, but noon start may be tough. Will see.
Thanks for the good work
I think Mercola is a quack. I don’t always agree with your methods but would never apply that term to you, Paul and Shou-Ching. Peace!
Steve,
Maybe I can start late for you. A little song and dance … It will be a long presentation and the new material starts 20-30 minutes in, so don’t mind if you’re a bit late.
Hi Emily,
Thanks, and Peace!
Paul-
Would you ever consider writing a book about infections, and ways to address them?
Given your experience and evidence-based style, I think this kind of book would be a PERFECT complement to your other volume.
Hi Kamal,
Yes, I am considering it.
I probably have at least a year of research to do first though. And Russ Farris I believe is working on something along the same lines, his will probably be excellent.
“Dr Mercola’s article is up”
Be ready for an increase in traffic to your site. I trust your servers are up to date with a recent grease & oil change.
Hi Paul, do you think infection is as prevalent as inflammation? Can chronic inflammation in specific parts of the body somehow lead to infection, not unlike how some sinusitis started off as simple allergic reactions? Inflammation isn’t a diseased state but it could be a precursor to myriad of diseases. I’ve had flare-ups of chondromalacia patellae which at times is refractory to physical therapy. Basically it’s painful inflammation involving cartilage in my knees, I got this from years of ballet training. Trying to avoid meds at all costs. What do you think of taking chondroitin for cartilage repair and such?
Hi Paul:
I am hoping that you can do a detailed comparative analysis of Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride’s GAPS diet with the PHD. Although there is much overlap, there are also some distinct differences.
Is there anything that you would suggest her target audience do differently?
Keep up the fantastic work!
Jana,
Just anecdotal and completely unscientific as evidence, but I took Glucosamine/Chondroitin for general joint pain and cartilage loss in one knee. They were completely ineffective and after a couple of years, I stopped taking them. Hope dies hard. 🙂
I eventually had a full knee replacement which while not the panacea I had expected, has lessened the pain to a tolerable level.
Good luck.
Hi Jana,
I’d say give it a try. Some people do respond to glucosamine/chondroitin. Probably best to use the sulfate form. I do use it as part of a treatment plan for myself.
erp and Kris, thanks for the info.
Great talk.
Only thing, visit New York more often!
Hi Paul,
After reading the Mercola article I’ve come to the following conclusion: You are TOO DAMNED NICE!!!
Clearly he’s on the no-starch bandwagon and his title implies Rosedale is “the” expert. After all, you are *only* a lowly PhD astrophysicist, and Shou Ching is but a Harvard researcher (what, no mention of her letters?). Neither of you have ever practiced medicine. Sheesh.
I forgot. These self righteous medical practitioners are better than the 99% of their profession they routinely malign. Apparently nobody actually looking at the science can understand how it applies to real people, and yet they persist in misrepresenting what actually does happen in real people.
Somehow human metabolisms are changed in controlled clinical trials. That’s the only explanation I can come up with for why all the magical clinical outcomes never seem to materialize in a verifiable context.
Keep up the good work!
Ev
@Sarah H
If you want to do the antibiotic treatment for MS you can easily buy the antibiotics online and follow the protocol outlined on the website http://www.cpnhelp.org
The community there will support you with advice and encouragement. I have done the antibiotic treatment for MS and it has really helped.
Good health to you.
Jeez … Mercola changed the title from “Expert Explains Why You Don’t Need Non Fiber Carbs” to “These Two Natural Foods Will Throw Your Blood Sugar Out-of-Whack”. Typical of Mercola alarmism I suppose. Interestingly, the “tab” on my browser still has the original title!
Hi Darrin,
I guess I misunderstood the date his newsletter goes out, I think it’s Nov 23.
Hi Jana,
That’s a hard question to answer because infection and inflammation are both universal.
Inflammation always biases the immune system in some direction, which typically makes it more effective against some pathogens but less effective against others. However, if you have simultaneous signals trying to bias the immune system in different directions, then the net effect can be worse than no biasing at all.
Chondroitin sulfate is a good idea, but it’s only one ingredient in a joint. The best way is to make bone broth soups, with a lot of white joint tissue attached, as frequently as possible. For dinner have soups or stews made in the bone broth; you can drink the fluid as a beverage.
Hi Ian,
I would have to study up on her diet to do such a comparison.
Two suggestions for things to do differently would be: (1) Don’t automatically assume that eliminating starch is a good idea, though it is helpful in some people. Also, keep rice syrup in mind as a potential carb source in those who don’t tolerate starches. It is the fiber, not the glucose, which is usually the problem. (2) Learn your pathogens first, eg via tests like the Metametrix GI Effects stool test, and adapt your diet to the pathogen mix. My impression is that GAPS doesn’t allow enough dietary variation to cope with the diversity of infections that can arise.
Hi Ev,
I think I’m appropriately nice. It took me 46 years or so, including 6 years of full-time study, to come to a reasonably sound understanding of what human diets are healthy and why. I see no reason to scorn anyone who hasn’t reached that point yet.
Re Dr Mercola, my reading was that when he talked about Dr Rosedale he was on Dr Rosedale’s side, and when he talked about me he was on my side. This may not be a logically rigorous way to proceed, but it is not an uncommon pattern – many people like to be agreeable more than they like to be accurate. I am happy that my views were presented fairly and accurately, with links to my site. I don’t think either Mercola or Rosedale are self-righteous.
Best, Paul
Hi Agatha,
Thanks for sharing! May I ask how you learned about the antibiotic protocols and cpnhelp.org? Was it from us?
I’m glad your MS is better!
Hi Ev,
I just saw that. I guess he really is taking the no-starch side.
It was great meeting both of you in New York this past Saturday.
Thank you for a great presentation!
Best Regards,
Howard
Thanks, Howard! It was a lot of fun, and a pleasure to meet you.
Paul, the only thing you misunderstood was me….your not alone there…..i was just saying, expect to see an increase in web traffic to your site, after the article was put up on the Mercola site (ie. i hope your servers can cope, tongue-in-cheek)
Hi Darrin,
No, I misunderstood my communications with Dr Mercola’s staff … I thought his newsletter would go out Saturday but it looks like Wednesday, so that’s when the traffic spike should be.
….i get ya now
Hi Paul, I was being a little tongue in cheek there, but Mercola unmistakably dissed you and Shou Ching with the “only a PhD” and not citing Shou Ching’s degree. Disrespectful. His blog title apparently went from “Experts Discuss The Benefits of a Low-Carb, High-Fat Diet” to “Expert Explains Why You Don’t Need Non Fiber Carbs” to “These Two Natural Foods Will Throw Your Blood Sugar Out-of-Whack” … what next? Battery acid??
Paul, everyone knows a Ph.D in physics trumps an MD, but then who’s counting… and you are too nice.
Us regulars should read comments and posts on our readers to give newbies a chance to log on here quickly.
Hi Paul:
Excellent presentation in NYC. Nice to see you in person! Regarding Mercola comments:
r Mercola, my reading was that when he talked about Dr Rosedale he was on Dr Rosedale’s side, and when he talked about me he was on my side
Well, the truth is he agrees with you on sat fat, but not on starch while he agrees with Dr. Rosedale on starch but not on sat fat! Interesting thing is i looked at Dr.Rosedale website and lo and behold, 2 slices of low carb bread ok, as is Wasa crisp, but not recommended. Not making it up.
Regards,
Paul,
Apologies if this has been elsewhere covered. I’m interested in reading or viewing the new presentation, and I’m interested in reading about your new obesity theory.
So please let us know when you plan to post the new stuff you spoke about at Crossfit, and also whether this is similar to the talk you gave at Wise Traditions Dallas, 2011.
Best,
Hi JMLK,
It shares many slides with the Wise Traditions talk, but had a different emphasis and structure.
I’m going to be blogging on the material over the coming months – obesity in December, and other nutrient issues early next year in preparation for our cookbook.