There’s an exciting new podcast up: Paleo Magazine Radio, which launched in January, is now up to Episode 3, and it interviews me and one of our most respected readers — erp. Listen to the episode here.
Paleo Magazine says erp is 78 years old — which is odd, I remember 77, and 76 before that, it’s almost as if every year she changes the number just to confuse me — and she was also an early adopter of the Perfect Health Diet, which helped her lose weight (dress size from 16/18 to 6/8) and eliminate food cravings. Erp was the inspiration for Cranky Grouch’s Spaghetti. She hasn’t commented much recently, but she remains a beloved part of the PHD family, and my first choice when Tony Federico, producer of Paleo Magazine Radio, suggested it would be fun to hear from a PHD reader. (Update for erp fans: She sends her fond regards to all. Her daughter and son-in-law, who were severely burned in a plane crash last summer, are doing well, but still have a long recovery ahead. She is grateful for all those who prayed for them; prayers are still welcome.)
Tony would like to interview more PHD readers in future episodes, as he sees Paleo Magazine Radio as the home of “ordinary Paleo dieter” personal stories. Of course we’d love for their audience to hear of the good results Perfect Health Dieters have obtained, so if you’re interested in appearing on Paleo Magazine Radio, send me an email (pauljaminet@perfecthealthdiet.com) and I’ll introduce you to Tony.
via this link:
Great to hear E’s story! I never think of her as “E,” but rather “Erp.” As in Wyatt ____, without the “a.” đ
To Paul and all:
I apologize for getting older every year. I assure you it isn’t my idea.
Update on the patients. Both are doing well, but are far from finished with their recoveries. Thanks to all who have sent their prayers and well wishes. They help more than can be imagined.
I still glance at the posts and comments, but don’t have the time nor brain-width to do them justice.
Fond regards to all old and new PHD’ers.
erp
Since Paul posted about your daughter and son-in-law, I’ve thought of you and them often. So glad to have an update and to hear that things are improvingâeven if the recovery is a long one.
Our family holds yours in our thoughts.
Katherine
Thank you.
I don’t understand why fructose being shunted to the liver is a sign that it is dangerous, while coconut oil’s MCTs being shunted to the liver is a sign that MCT is a good thing? Am I over-simplifying here?
Hi Wes,
It’s a good question. Fructose and MCT oil are shunted to the liver for different reasons. Fructose is actually used in cells to make certain carbohydrate modifications to proteins, but it is toxic so the body uses glucose as its universal sugar (and storage sugar) and manufactures fructose in cells only as needed. MCT oil on the other hand has no uses in the body, the fatty acids are too short to be usable in membranes. So it is shunted to the liver to be transformed into ketones or other lipids.
The main difference is that an excess of fructose is more likely to cause problems in the gut or liver than an excess of MCT oil. So fructose toxicity is much more of a concern than MCT oil toxicity.
Thank you Paul! This makes a lot more sense to me now.
Loved your book. I’ve been following your diet+supplement regime for the past month and have been feeling fantastic.
Wes
Hi Paul,
I know you have raved against the USDA recommendations quite a bit. But I would also be interested to hear your take on the glorification of vegetarians and vegans in the US, like this article: http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/02/the-lovely-hill-where-people-live-longer-and-happier/272798/
or this article:
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/02/study-vegetarians-have-much-healthier-hearts/272793/
!
It’s not just the USDA but the mythology that vegetarians and vegans can and will be healthier, live longer, have better hearts, etc.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/28/my-vegan-marathon/
I remember you and Shou-Ching writing about blue-zones, these areas where people live a long time.
PHD seems to focus on okinawans, while nytimes, latimes, et. al love to focus on loma linda california or greece and stress the almost vegetarian or almost vegan nature of the diet.
so what’s your opinion on the media deification of vegetarian diets? And are there are any more blogs on blue zones by you? As far as I can tell, the only things these places have in common is sun and usually the ocean.
Thanks!
http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/happiest-places/blue-zones-california-photos/
Hi Lyon,
All of these topics are things I plan to blog about in the near future! So I’ll hold off answering for the moment.
Paul,
Have you started writing anything about the Blue Zones yet? I’ve been curious about your opinions on it.
Hi Rodney,
I have dropped comments on them here and there, but haven’t written anything extensive. I think they support the view that (a) they support eating natural whole foods rather than industrial/processed foods, but other than that it is hard to detect dietary influences on longevity because diets, in nutritional space, don’t vary enough globally; and (b) lifestyle factors, especially circadian rhythm factors — sun exposure, natural sleep, social interactions, exercise such as walking up and down mountains daily, daily ambient temperature cycling — are very important for longevity. Most of the Blue Zones are places that were slow to get electricity and so people were limited to natural lights at night, which are red-yellow and don’t disrupt circadian rhythms, and got abundant sleep.
Paul,
Thanks for taking the time to respond to my query.
That’s interesting about places being slow to get electricity. I hadn’t thought of that. And I hadn’t looked much into circadian rhythms and health. So do you think the weather has a big impact on longevity – so if you want to live long you need to live in a Mediterranean climate?
Also, I’m not sure I understand what you mean about diets in nutritional space not varying enough globally to detect dietary influences on longevity. I would think there is a lot of differences between the vegetarian Seventh Day Adventists in Loma Linda, California and the standard American diet for example. Or the folks on Sardinia and other places around the world. Do you mean there isn’t much of a difference in macronutrients or micronutrients?