Q & A
This page as an open thread for reader questions, especially questions about personal health concerns.
I am putting this page up as a way to share knowledge — my knowledge with questioners, but also so that others with similar concerns can read the conversation, and readers with relevant knowledge can chip in with their own thoughts.
Please keep in mind that I can’t research questions in any depth, so my answers should be considered tentative, incomplete, and subject to later correction. Also, I am not a doctor, and nothing I say should be construed as a substitute for medical diagnosis and treatment. I am only sharing opinions about disease origins and general therapeutic strategies which may or may not be applicable in any given case.
To get the page started, I’ll put up a few questions from recent emails. Here is an index by disease, with clickable links:
- Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
- Bloating, acid reflux, anxiety, depression, hypoglycemia, hypothyroidism, fatigue
- Lupus
- Depression
And here are my answers.
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
Paul,
Been following your work on the PHD before the publication of the book and commented on my CLL and the usefulness of Vitamin D once on your blog and you responded to keep an eye on my Vitamin K intake, which I do now.. Am fortunate in a way to have my form of CLL as it indolent which gives me the opportunity to experiment without the pressure of undergoing conventional treatment. The PHD, I think, is helpful in this regard.
Wonder if you could point anything out to me that may be useful. Anything at all. And I will be happy to share with you my results.
Surely you know of the helpfulness of green tea with CLL. You may not be familiar with research that points out that those with low levels of Vitamin D need treatment for CLL far sooner than those with elevated levels.
Feel strongly that your version of a ketogenic diet would be helpful but also feel I need some direction in this area. Do you have any suggestions?
Warmest Regards,
A
Hi A,
I remember your comment, thanks for writing back. I’m glad you’re enjoying our diet and wish you the best.
Thanks for the tips about green tea and vitamin D. Neither one surprises me.
Most likely CLL is caused by a viral infection. So enhancing viral immunity is probably a good idea. Good strategies may include: (1) low-protein dieting, which inhibits viral reproduction and can promote autophagy; (2) maintaining high vitamin D levels; and (3) intermittent fasting, which promotes autophagy.
Some food compounds have been reported to have antiviral effects. An example is green tea catechins, eg http://pmid.us/16137775, http://pmid.us/18313149, and http://pmid.us/18363746, and this could be why green tea is helpful against cancers, http://pmid.us/21595018, which are usually viral in origin.
I might search Pubmed for herbs and spices with antiviral effects, and use them abundantly in cooking, along with antiviral foods. Turmeric / curcumin is a good choice, this needs to be taken with black pepper to enter the body. See http://pmid.us/21299124, http://pmid.us/20434445, http://pmid.us/20026048.
Coconut oil / lauric acid also has some antiviral properties, so inducing ketosis with coconut oil could benefit you even aside from the ketosis. You could also try monolaurin supplements which may enter the body better and which some people have reported to help viral infections.
You might also try HDL-raising tactics as discussed in this series: HDL and Immunity, April 12; HDL: Higher is Good, But is Highest Best?, April 14; How to Raise HDL, April 20.
Another possible tactic is high-dose riboflavin with UV exposure on the eyes. This requires going outdoors at midday and not wearing glasses or contact lenses. Riboflavin+UV is toxic to blood-borne viruses, and the retina is a location where UV can reach circulating blood cells. Sun exposure will also help you optimize vitamin D.
That’s a few ideas, at some point I’ll do some research to come up with more and do a blog post. Do keep me posted on your results!
Best, Paul
Bloating, acid reflux, anxiety, depression, hypoglycemia, hypothyroidism, fatigue
Just came upon your website and had a question for you. I have had some health concerns for the last four years, bloating, acid reflux, anxiety, depression, hypoglycemia symptoms, female complaints (I am in my forties), thyroid antibodies at 333, weight gain around my middle and too tired to work out like I once did. I used to be fikiiled with energy and great health no depression or anxiety. My doctor thinks these symtoms are all from peri-menopause and wants to treat me with Zoloft.
Needless to say I have tried to avoid the Zoloft. I have tired every avenue out there to cure myself. Most recently the Primal type diet. When I eat no grains or dairy I get horrible hypoglycemia symptoms and don’t feel great like everyone else on a low carb diet. I feel weak and more anxious. Do you think your diet would be easier for me with the addition of rice and potatoes?
G
Hi G,
Yes, I do think our diet will be better for you. You should eat enough starches to avoid hypoglycemia.
The key thing for you is treating the infections which are consuming so much glucose and making you glucose-deficient if you don’t eat enough carbs. Whatever pathogen(s) this is, it seems to have infected your gut and caused the various gut problems; circulating pathogen-derived toxins and immune cytokines are probably responsible for the anxiety and depression. Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism may be either due to circulating toxins or a thyroid infection.
I would suspect some kind of protozoal or parasitic infection due to the hypoglycemia, but what I really recommend is getting your doctor to have a stool sample analyzed for pathogens. Metametrix has a good test. Once you know what pathogen to treat, and get on a better diet like ours, you should improve quickly.
Lupus
I am writing on behalf of my mother … We live in Dhaka Bangladesh …
Before her illness, my mom was 105 lbs, 5 feet tall and always 10ft tall in spirit…. When she was diagnosed with Lupus at the age of 30, we were all overwhelmed and out of our depths. My beautiful, athletic mother was in a wheelchair and given 6 months to live….
The doctors has advised her to eat literally nothing, minimum protein (1 small piece of chicken/fish, limited to 20g protein per day), only 2-3 types of vegetable and 2-3 fruits and of course lots of carbs to apparently compensate for her failing KIDNEY and LUPUS. She is on tons of medication, no food except the wrong foods (carbs) and in chronic pain. She currently weighs 139 lbs.
Please advise. — S
Hi S,
I believe lupus is a catch-all diagnosis for a variety of conditions which are probably caused by undiagnosed infections. In the US the infections are usually bacterial. I’ve known several people with diagnosed lupus who were cured by antibiotic treatments – in one case the problem was Lyme disease (Borrelia). I have no idea what the likely pathogens would be in Bangladesh. If she does better on low carb and coconut oil, that indicates bacteria; if she does better on high-carb, that indicates protozoa.
A healthy diet is very important. It is very bad advice to “eat literally nothing,” it is essential to be well nourished. Protein is necessary for healing and immune function, and 20 g/day is too little. Fasting is good, but it should be intermittent – not starvation! She needs healthy fats, more protein, and lots of micronutrients. Eggs, shellfish, seafood, bone broth soups, vegetable soups, and fermented vegetables may all be helpful. Coconut milk is probably good for her. You should basically follow the program in our book.
I would try to put her on a good diet, give her a little time for kidneys and other tissues to heal, and then try antimicrobial medicines. Usually, if they’re not working, then you don’t notice an effect. Any strong effect, good or bad, means they are working. Bad effects mean that pathogens are dying and releasing a lot of toxins as they disintegrate. If this occurs, detox aids (salt, water, and one of cholestyramine/charcoal/bentonite clay; also glutathione supports and vitamin C) will help.
Please stay in touch and let me know how things go.
Best, Paul
Depression
I’ve suffered from depression for decades. A few months ago, I decided to try the Dr. Kruse protocol for jumpstarting leptin sensitivity and 2 interesting things happened.
When I went very low carb – below 50 gm -. I had half-day periods where the depression suddenly lifted (something that has rarely happened otherwise). However, I also suffered from darker than normal periods.
I stopped the Dr. Kruse protocol after 6 weeks, and went back to regular paleo (approx. 200 – 300 gm. Carb/day). I’m now generally more depressed than usual, without the good periods.
These changes seem to indicate that I can have an influence on my depression with diet, but not sure what diet to try. Thoughts?
Hi Jersie,
I think your experience on very low carb is diagnostically telling.
I would interpret it this way:
- Your depression is caused by an interferon-gamma mediated immune response in the brain, probably caused by a viral or bacterial infection. This leads to tryptophan being directed away from serotonin and toward the kynurenine pathway. So you have a serotonin deficiency and kynurenine excess.
- A ketogenic diet is both therapeutic (promotes immunity against bacterial and viral infections) and mood-improving (clears kynurenine).
- However, you are at risk for hypoglycemia in the brain (especially if the infection is bacterial) and hypoglycemia causes irritability/anxiety and can aggravate depression.
So the very low-carb diet had mixed effects (ketosis, hypoglycemia).
What I would do is follow our ketogenic diet advice. Eat at least 50 g/day carbs from starches to get sufficient glucose, plus sufficient protein to reach 600 calories/day protein+carb, but add in large amounts of MCT oil or coconut oil. Also, do intermittent fasting – eat all the carbs within an 8-hour window; eat at least half the MCT oil in the 16-hour fasting window.
Once on a good diet, I might experiment with antibiotics to see if they relieve symptoms.
Please let me know how things go.
via this link:
Great, thanks Paul.
Hi Paul,
First of all, I really appreciate you writing a great book. I’ve loaned it to a friend and may have to buy myself a second copy soon. (And a third to send to a pre-diabetic family member.)
I wanted to ask you, what kind of diet would you eat if you a) had rosacea, and b) were homozygous apoe4? The apoe4 part is tricky, as there’s debate surrounding the amount of fat that should be eaten. I just wanted to ask what you would do if you had both of the above conditions — what you’d eat (and which supplements you’d take, etc.) I’m sure the two are connected, too, as apoe4 is supposed to make someone much more prone to inflammation in today’s world.
Thanks so much!
Mary
Hi Mary,
I would eat our standard diet, but with around 600 daily carb calories (more if you do aerobic exercise). The slightly higher carb/plant intake is for the rosacea.
I don’t think the ApoE4 allele removes the advantages of a high-fat diet, as long as it is high in saturated and monounsaturated fat and balanced in omega-6/omega-3.
Supplements – pretty much our standard group. If you go for more, I would go for extra minerals — eg zinc, sulfur/sulfate as from Epsom salt, potassium from tomatoes, potatoes, bananas — and collagen-supporting nutrients: vitamin C, gelatin or bone broth, again a sulfate source.
Thanks for the thorough and fast response, Paul. Your book and website really are amazing resources, and it’s amazing of you to be so hands-on in responding to readers’ questions. Please keep up the excellent work.
Thanks again,
Mary
Thank you for the clarification! The nerve bundle just under the stomach does make a lot of sense! Also good to know that chronic protozoal or bacterial infections cause cold intolerance – I always have a hot water bottle on hand even in the summer (but ok I live in Holland ;)) and body temp of 95 F.
Rice syrup indeed goes fine (as do small amounts of other simple sugars) so I will use this from now on and just forget about the starches for a little while.
I am not sure if the gluatamine helps – I will stop it – taking too many supplements to know whats what anyway.
Then a question about the epsom salts. Is that internal or external use? I have tried it internally: 1 tsp in warm water which leads to extreme bloating and wind for 3 days straight. It doesn’t seem to be very positive – or is this a normal reaction? I do find it nice in bath though!
Hi claire,
Good, I would stop the glutamine and take more rice syrup. By doing intermittent fasting, coconut oil or MCTs during the fast and plenty of glucose / rice syrup during the feeding window, you can get the best of both worlds against different kinds of pathogens.
I have started using epsom salts both internally and externally. When I first tried them, at a time when I had a fungal infection, I had a severe allergic-type reaction, probably due to increased immune function and fungal die-off toxicity. Now I have very little reaction, even though I take much more, and I find wound healing is faster and skin quality is better. I think immune function is better with it.
Right now I am drinking 1 tsp/day in water with lemon juice plus I put 2 tbsp in water and spread that on my skin once in a while.
In your case, the bloating and wind could be a positive or negative sign – it could be some die-off effect. It also acts as a laxative, so don’t take much at once – I spend about 6 hours sipping my 1 tsp. The bath is good.
Hello Paul
I am concerned about toxins in fat which might accumulate in adipose tissue of industrially treated animals, especially because fat doesn’t pass liver.
Since I can never be sure how big is animal exposure to toxins, do you have some insights about it, or could provide relevant keywords, links or anything at all.
Thanks in advance.
Paul, is MSM something one can use for sulfur as well?
Hi maj,
That’s a good question and I wish I could give a definitive answer. Many people have studied toxin levels in supermarket meats and fats and most report that they are generally very low. However, there is a large body of people who think the dangers are under-estimated and thus that grass-finished beef and pastured animal meats, milk, and eggs may be much healthier.
I am agnostic on the matter. If cost is not a concern I definitely recommend grass-finished animals, but for those who are on a budget I wouldn’t worry about the fairly low toxin levels in supermarket meats.
Hi Bill,
I don’t know. Personally I’ve never noticed an effect from MSM, but I have noticed positive effects from sulfate in epsom salts. Maybe I didn’t take enough. Maybe I wasn’t sulfur deficient when I tried MSM. But sulfate is the most desirable and biologically useful form, so I’m happy with epsom salts.
Paul thanks so much for sharing your experience. I will take it slowly with the epsom salts. I like the best of both worlds description you gave. I’m pretty sure I can manage it and will let you know in a couple of weeks if I’ve found improvement 🙂 Take care, Claire
Hi Paul,
Why do you think the Epsom salts improved your immune function? Does the supplemental sulfate conserve the body’s supply of cysteine and glutathione? Just curious.
Does this outweigh the cost of aiding some anaerobic respirers that use sulfate as an electron acceptor? (I don’t know if any of these are pathogenic.) Again, just curious.
Hi AA,
I need to investigate pathogens and their use of sulfate … it’s possible the sulfur promoted the fungal infection too, that could also have led to the increased immune activity. At that time I quit the epsom salts very quickly.
At this point I am fairly infection free and the effect seems clearly positive. It’s possible that when I had scurvy 5 years ago I lost a lot of sulfur along with my collagen and never adequately repaired the deficiency.
Much to learn … I think sulfur probably has the highest ratio of biological importance to available research of any mineral I’ve looked at.
Hi Paul,
Very interesting.
I don’t know a great deal about fungi, but looking around a bit it seems there is some preliminary research suggesting that metabolites (especially hydrogen sulfide) of sulfur-reducing bacteria correlate with and may be causally-linked to some unpleasant pathologies like ulcerative colitis.
I suspect you’re on to something though. Perhaps it’s another instance of trade-offs when it comes to optimizing against microorganisms.
Could you give advice on how to treat acne? Also, you you recommend non-homogenized milk, or only cream as a liquid dairy?
Hi Paul —
When you speak of a ketogenic diet, I understand that ketones are produced. However, does this mean that they are produced in sufficient quantity to show up in the urine and darken a “ketostick”. Please advise.
Thx
Tom
Hi tom,
Not necessarily. You can have a mild ketosis without much being excreted. It’s best not to have a large amount in the urine. Aim for low to middling amounts.
Hi c,
Acne is a bit complicated. I’m planning to do blog post(s) on it.
However, mainly I would focus on 3 things:
(1) Healthy collagen/skin. Key nutrients include vitamin C, gelatin/cooked collagen eg bone broth for the relevant proteins, sulfur, starch/glucose, and various minerals and vitamins.
(2) Toxin removal, since circulating toxins can promote acne. This involves kidney and liver health, and eating salt/electrolytes and drinking water (for kidney-urine excretion) and bile support via vitamin C, taurine, cholesterol for liver-feces excretion, possibly aided by detox aids such as charcoal or clay in some cases.
(3) Clearing relevant infections. This can include gut dysbiosis leading to circulating toxins, see (2).
(4) Clearing other causes of inflammation, eg food allergies.
Basically the program in our book is a good way to start, but nutrient status may need some fine-tuning and clearing gut or systemic infections may take some time.
Hi claire,
Re the Epsom salts, AA sent me a paper indicating that some gut bacteria can metabolize sulfate to hydrogen sulfide with negative effects. This indicates to me that Epsom salts should be applied to the skin, not taken orally. That might also explain your negative reaction to them.
Paul, Isn’t this scholarly study amazing?
A while back I substituted one square of this each day for tiring and time-consuming exercise.
I love it when science catches up with me!
Hi erp,
As Ben Franklin might have said, chocolate is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy and healthy.
You were ahead of your time! Let me know any other scientific breakthroughs you’ve made, I’ll be happy to publicize them.
I have a weird question.
I have no sense of smell. This has gone back for as long as I can remember. Have you ever heard of this? Do you have any suggestions? I am fine with never being able to smell, but if I can do something I would like to.
Thank you.
Hi Paul,
I have some complicated food sensitivities leading to acne which you suggested indicated a small bowl dysbiosis. You suggested a detox aid, and since then I’ve had great luck with activated charcoal. (Thank you!)
Q1. Am I right in assuming that activated charcoal is not a long-term solution?
Based on my history, I suspect the dysbiosis to be fungal, and probably very well entrenched. I already take probiotics and eat fermented vegetables daily, and have for quite some time. Judging from your replies to similar questions, I’m guessing you’d recommend an anti-biofilm strategy such as InterFasePlus + antifungal foods, herbs, supplements + probiotics, including something with S. boulardii.
Q2. Are biofilm enzymes a short-term intervention or a long-term treatment? I’m assuming anything with ETDA would be short-term.
Q3. I understand that a chelator will be depriving me of metals along with the biofilms. Once I’ve completed a round with InterFasePlus, what additional foods or supplements would you recommend to reverse deficiencies?
Many thanks!
Hi doug,
I haven’t heard of that. I would suspect some nerve or brain issue, but that would only be a guess.
Hi Charlie,
Great!
Q1. Yes, the charcoal is just relieving symptoms by reducing toxin levels. You have to discover and fix the source of the toxins.
I would avoid EDTA until a last resort, so I would recommend Interfase over InterfasePlus.
Q2. They are therapeutic, so you can take them until you’re cured and then stop.
Q3. The chelation would be removing minerals, like zinc, copper, magnesium, iron. However, I’m not sure I’d recommend any changes in diet or supplements, our diet and supplement program is reasonably mineral rich to begin with and you could risk toxicity with too many supplements.
Thanks Paul for the reply.
I had about a half inch tip of a pencil pop out from under my eye when I was 8. Who knows how long it had been in there. Self-induced baby lobotomy perhaps.
Hi doug,
Heh. Seems as logical an explanation as any.
Hi Paul,
I updated some info to my D3 query over here;
http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?page_id=1066#comment-30139
which you may have missed.
its only minor in the big scheme of things, but if you get a chance to have a look & respond that would be great.
I sustained a concussion a few weeks ago and am still experiencing vertigo. (Fell while exercising and hit back of head on ground.)
Would you recommend any tweaks to the basic PHD (or PHD supplements) for people recovering from concussions?
Thanks much for your time and insights.
Paul Lee,
A friend who suffered a concussion from falling off her horse about three weeks ago has had good results for her vertigo with very high potency of arnica prescribed by homoepathic doctor. She had taken arnica 200 c on her own, but still had the vertigo. She was also helped by cranial sacral work done by an osteopath. She had some cranial sacral work done by a massage therapist, which made her feel better physically, but didn’t fix the vertigo. The osteopaths who do this are more fully trained
Hi Darrin, I answered over there. Sorry to have missed it.
Hi Paul,
I guess there’s two factors, helping the brain heal and fixing any other causes of vertigo that may have developed.
Collagen / extracellular matrix is crucial for healing so you could put extra emphasis on nutrients needed for that: gelatin / cooked collagen (eg from bone broth soups), vitamin C, sulfate eg from epsom salt baths.
For vertigo, you could try the Epley maneuver exercises, see my response to shelley http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?page_id=4228&cpage=2#comment-29713.
Googling might give you some more ideas for dealing with vertigo. I don’t know what arnica does. Cranio-sacral therapy has helped a few people I know.
Best, Paul
Dear Paul and Shou-Ching,
Congratulations on your superb book!
May I ask for advice on chronic, persistent urea plasma? This responds to antibiotics [e.g. 50mg/day of Minocyklin] but comes back again soon after the course is finished-even if the course last months. This is in both of us-as it is sexually transmitted as well as apparently arising spontaneously, its not great for our relationship!
I note with interest the advice on pages 243-251 of PHD. Could this be optimised in any way for this infection? or any specific supplementation?
Thanks so much,
Robert+Klara
Hi Robert+Klara,
Mycoplasma infections are very hard to clear as you’ve found; they generally require combination antibiotic protocols. Here is a protocol for Chlamydophila pneumoniae, a Mycoplasma protocol will be similar: http://cpnhelp.org/treatment_protocols.
I had, most likely, Chlamydophila pneumoniae, and the tactics described in Step Four of our book made antibiotics much more effective. I strongly recommend intermittent fasting with coconut or MCT oil consumption, and following the rest of our program including supplements. However, you will need antibiotics too, and a combination protocol is preferable.
Best, Paul
Thank you Paul, I look forward to that post. I believe milk to be a food allergy/cause of inflammation for me that exacerbates my acne, however, I find the calcium in milk helps me concentrate better. Perhaps I will replace it with cream and see if that works as well. I will try and find vitamin C to help collagen synthesis.
I forgot to ask. Do you think the ketogenic version of PHD can help with concentration problems like ADD as well as simultaneously heal one’s food allergies and inflammatory related diseases? Are starches absolutely necessary or can you use fruit as your source of glucose? And why do you not advise milk even if it is from healthy cow? Thank you.
c, have you tried any nootropic ? My friend has great success with ADD and racetam family + low carb + fish oil + C.
Hello!
Am doing quite well on PHD, but the search for “safe starches” has become my nemesis.
Like Claire, potatoes and sweet potatoes produce joint pain for me. As do yams. Any more than 1/4 cup or so of cooked rice puts me to sleep, although other starches do not. I tried making some tapioca starch crepes, but that stuff is pure white, refined POWDER, like cornstarch, and makes me nervous (although it seems inert and innocuous when eaten, with no ill effects).
Few of us have access to taro, cassava, etc. You suggested “starch substitutes” to Claire like rice syrup and “glucose-dominant fruit” like bananas and plums. From this, may I conclude that those things may actually be used as safe starches?
Having Hashiomoto’s, I avidly followed your Carbohydrates and the Thyroid series, and have found there is DEFINITELY a thyroid improvement (energy levels, reduced neck swelling) when some carbs are in my diet. Like Claire, on PHD my thyroid medication was reduced, but to 1/3 of the previous dose. This is all thrilling … now if only I had a list of easily obtainable “safe starches!!!!”
Thank you so much for all your work.
Have you tried chestnut paste for “safe starch” ?
Hi Paul,
At your talk last night you mentioned that Chinese medicine was a good source for anti-fungals. Are there any Chinese remedies you would recommend in particular for fungal overgrowth in the gut? Any for systemic fungus?
Thank you,
Charlie
Hi Paul,
I have a relative with Huntington’s Disease and a friend with Neurofibromatosis type 1. They are both genetic disorders and are supposed to be untreatable. Do you think there might be a change that they are treatable? Do you have any theories or suggestions for these disorders?
Thanks, Tim
Mercola just talked about Natto (fermented soybeans) being an excellent source of Vit. K2. Any thoughts?
Also, wonder how you feel about xylitol made from non-GMO Birch bark. It seems to be the only sweetener right now that doesn’t affect my blood sugar.
And do you have the fructose/potassium content for cranberries and pomegranate?
Thanks so much.
-Alison
@Alison,
http://nutritiondata.self.com will give you both fructose & potassium info.
After you search & select your food item, you will need to page down & may need to select one of the ‘more details’ tabs to get the info you are after.
if the info is missing give this one a go
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au
for the cranberries, make sure you choose/specify ‘dried’ or ‘raw’ depending on what you are after.
This site is also very useful for calorie checking; http://www.calorieking.com/foods
because it allows you to specify you own weights (in oz or grams). This site has less detailed info than the first two ie. does not breakdown sugar info (but does include potassium on some foods).
ps. my 2 cents on Xylitol.
I do not use sweeteners myself, but have found xylitol to be the best of the ‘sugar alcohols’ when found in processed food. Maltitol and Lactitol seemed to provoke a hunger response in me.
Hi Paul,
With flu season coming up, what’s your view on who should get the flu shot/vaccine?
Thanks,
Mark
You gotta be joking ? Those are of the worst kind and still contain thimerosal, even for kids.
Use Vitamin D and C.
Hi,
A concerned family member suggested your site to me but, I don’t fully understand what I’m reading. I also feel like the questions aren’t right for me, so I thought instead of reading a lot of different places I would tell you what I am observing in my life and see if you have any suggestions or knowledge.
I’m 18 years old and I have some health problems that don’t affect my everyday life now but, I fear they will some day.
First I am taking a daily .025MG dose of Levothyroxine for Hypothyroidism
I also take a daily Omeprazole 40MG for nausea, stomach pains and acid reflux.
I have Vitiligo and am going prematurely Gray in my hair but, not in patches which leads me to suspect it is not from the Vitiligo
I have a constant rash either across my stomach, arose my chest and on my arms.
I have Gynecomastia and I am obese.
I have been obese my whole life.
I have tried multiple diets. I have eaten the “normal diet” of low fats that a nutritionist suggested.
I have eaten Paleo and cut carbs and sugar out of my diet.
I even did a week long juice fast to see the effects it would have on my body.
All these different methods and I am only able to lose around 20 pounds and then I plateau.
I never thought of all these symptoms as connected together until recently and i’m not sure how to go about looking for this information as a whole. Does you have any suggestions of where to look or what to look into?
Any info would be great!
Thanks!
Geoff
Hi c,
Ketogenic diets probably do help with ADD, they help with most neurological problems.
You can use fruit in place of starch if you’re on a low-carb / ketogenic diet. But I think starches have a lot to recommend them, as long as you tolerate them.
Milk is OK if it’s fresh from a healthy cow and you have a healthy digestive tract.
Hi Becky,
Intolerance of the starchy foods indicates a gut dysbiosis in the colon. Often, people with that problem are able to tolerate sugars, so rice syrup or fruits are able to provide carbs. While they’re not “safe starches”, they may be safe and healthy carb sources.
As majkinetor says, you can find a lot of unconventional plant foods that are rich in glucose, like chestnut, breadfruit, plantains, etc. You could play around on nutritiondata.com using their search tool looking for plants high in starch low in sugar.
I’m glad your Hashimoto’s is better!
Hi Charlie,
I’ll do a blog post on anti-fungal Chinese medicines. It’s hard to describe them in a comment.
Hi Tim,
I expect they can be improved with diet. Gene expression patterns can change dramatically with different diets. They should at least try a ketogenic diet and see if that helps.
Huntington’s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntington%27s_disease) I would try a low-protein ketogenic diet. There’s some preliminary evidence this might be helpful: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21501628.
Neurofibromatosis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neurofibromatosis_type_I) is apparently rescued in mice by a low protein diet: “a low-protein diet decreased bone protein synthesis and normalized bone formation and bone mass in Nf1(ob)(-/-) mice without affecting other organ weight”, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17141628. I would go for a low protein ketogenic diet.
Best, Paul
Hi Alison,
Natto is a good source of vitamin K2. However, I don’t much care for the taste, and am not a soy fan, so I prefer to supplement. Natto provides only the bacterial MK-7 form, not the MK-4 form which is produced in mammals.
Xylitol is good, we use it ourselves, and it’s listed on our recommended supplements page.
Fructose and potassium content can be looked up at http://nutritiondata.com.
Hi Mark,
I don’t like to usurp doctor’s roles and advise about treatments, even vaccines. It’s too hard to keep up with the literature on all those things. However, I can say that I don’t get vaccines myself. Flu viruses are so heterogeneous, the vaccine isn’t that likely to work, and if your vitamin D status is good and your diet good you shouldn’t need it. Vitamin C is also antiviral.
So personally I would follow majkinetor’s advice.
Hi Geoff,
You do have a long roster of health issues. It is good that you are thinking about how to address them.
I hope you will excuse me if my first advice is to follow our diet and supplement program. You have so many problems and diet is likely contributing to many of them. A good diet will solve some of them and clarify the rest, and it will be easier to figure out effective next steps at that point.
I would try to get off the omeprazole as soon as possible, and use fermented vegetables, probiotics, enzymes, and betaine hydrochloride to address the acid reflux. The trouble with the drug is that suppressing stomach acid ruins the immune barrier of stomach acid and promotes overgrowth of pathogens in the gut.
You can see some discussion of Vitiligo in the comments to this thread: http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?p=788#comments.
Graying of the hair could be due to hypothyroidism, to mineral deficiencies, or to inflammatory conditions. First step is to follow our diet and supplement program, second to work on healing your gut.
Here is our weight loss advice: http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?p=2145. But focus on health first, weight loss second. I bet that once you clear your various infections and gut dysbiosis that weight loss will become much easier.
Best, Paul
Thank you Paul and majkinetor.
I don’t like fish oil (gives me gerd) but I do eat a lot of seafood. I might try cutting out the milk for cream and seeing if that helps my ADD and acne together but being more ketogenic.
Paul, what do you think of shredded coconut for making on-the-go type ket0 snack foods. Is there any negative effect on the gut I should watch out for because of the fiber?
Hi c,
Well, fiber is food for gut bacteria, and if you have a dysbiosis then that can generate negative symptoms. However, usually it is beneficial.
Just watch yourself to see if you have negative effects, and if you do work on improving your gut flora. You could try making fermented coconut …
Dear Paul,
Lots of folks are ticking time bombs and eating an iron rich, Paleo/Primal diet may be making their timers tick a lot faster!
We need someone to sound the alarm about HEMOCHROMATOSIS and I think YOU are the perfect person to do it! 🙂
http://americanhs.org/whatisit.htm
Please alert people to the dangers of this common hereditary iron overload disorder and let us know what you recommend we do to optimize “The Perfect Health Diet” if we have it.
Thanks so much for your time and help.
Sincerely, Sweetfeather