This page documents health changes our readers have experienced after adopting the Perfect Health Diet. If you have improved your health on our diet, please leave your story in the comments. Sharing your results encourages others — it lets them know that healing is possible! — and encourages scientists to investigate natural healing methods. We also welcome any reports of difficulty, since we and our readers can help you troubleshoot; such questions may be posed on the Q & A page.
Our sincere thanks to everyone who has posted a success story!
Reader reports are arranged by condition:
- Obesity, weight loss, food cravings, binging
- High blood pressure
- Mood and cognitive function
- Mental health conditions (depression, anxiety, OCD, BPD, bipolar)
- Digestive disorders (acid reflux, Crohn’s, IBS, celiac, etc)
- Autoimmune disease
- Sleep quality
- Allergies, rhinitis, sinusitis
- Anemia
- Fatigue, low energy
- Dry eyes or skin
- Autism
- Constipation
- Fungal infections
- Hypothyroidism
- Carpal tunnel syndrome
- Arthritis, joint inflammation, crepitus
- Back pain
- Raynaud’s syndrome
- General health
- Chronic infections
- Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Acne
- Infertility, amenorrhea, PCOS
- Genetic disorders
- Migraines, headaches
- Kidney stones
- Diabetes & glycemic regulation
- Atherosclerosis
- Body composition, strength, athleticism
- Gout
- Dyslipidemia
- Oral & dental health
- Eczema
- Hair loss
- Heart palpitations
- Cramps, menstrual cramps
- Multiple sclerosis
- Body odor
Also, a few of our favorite reader success stories have appeared as blog posts:
- Jay Wright’s rapid and lasting weight loss: Jay Wright’s Weight Loss Journey, Dec 1, 2011.
- Kate’s cure of migraines, anxiety, and Raynaud’s syndrome: A Cure for Migraines?, March 29, 2011.
- Relief from pain and spasms for the NBIA kids, Zach and Mathias: Ketogenic Diet for NBIA (Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron Accumulation), Feb 22, 2011.
Obesity, weight loss, food cravings, binging
Person |
Quote |
Health Issue |
Mary(more here) | There is a whole pan of dark chocolate gluten-free brownies in my kitchen, and I’ve had no desire for them all day. I’m crediting the supplements (I’m on all the PHD recommended supplements save kelp), and I’m particularly thinking copper has made a big difference (I’ve suspected a copper deficiency for some time as I started going gray young). Or perhaps also selenium. (I’m hypothyroid…hoping for some improvement there.)In any case, I feel great physically, I’ve not been binge-y or nearly as much as a sweet freak (and I’ve been known to eat an entire bag of caramels in less than an hour, and then head out to the store for more), and I’ve felt mentally stable and pretty happy. I feel great on this plan, and maybe more importantly, I’ve noticed that I have many more calm, good mood days than otherwise. I think it’s the combination of the Perfect Health eating plan and the recommended supplements. I’ve not lost more weight since my last check-in – I seem to be at a plateau – but I’m still seven pounds down since I started, so that’s good. |
Reduced cravings, improved mood, weight loss |
LizardFace | I’ve been doing PHD for 6 months after 45 years of eating the SAD. I wasn’t super overweight, but was gaining every year, 6′, 200 lbs. I craved sweets. Six months later I am down to 180. I eat rice and sweet potatoes but don’t crave them, never crave sweets, don’t think about food all the time like I used to. Try it yourself and see. |
Reduced cravings, weight loss |
erp (comment 1 and comment 2) |
I agree completely with Paul that when you’re well nourished, you’re never hungry. I’ve been following the PHD/cum supplements coming up on one year next month and can honestly say, I have no cravings and am never hungry. When I see one of my former nemeses like hazelnut biscotti, while walking the aisles of the grocery store, I need only remember that I have visible ribs now and have moved down from size 16 to size 6, to smile and move on. It took a while, but the trip is well worth it…. I’m 77 and over the years, I’ve tried to lose weight by going low carb. The weight losses were successful, but I didn’t stop craving high carb/sugary stuff and would always gradually go back to the bad old ways and gain the weight back. One year later strictly following the PHD, I lost almost 40 lbs and not only don’t I crave carbs and sugar, I am actually repelled by the smell of a bakery. Yeast and cinnamon are off putting. When grocery shopping, just knowing that I have a visible rib cage is enough to keep me moving out of the cookie aisle. Whether it’s self-hypnosis or balanced nutrition, I say thank you to Paul and Shou-Ching and all the people who comment here. |
Reduced cravings, weight loss |
Nancy | I am a 64 year old woman who has fought weight control all my adult life. January 2011 I started following Dr. Harris’ 12 steps, J Stanton’s “Eat Like a Predator” and the Jaminets PHD. I am maintaining my weight loss without cravings or white knuckling and feel great. Thank you! Thank you! I have printed out so much from each of your blogs and share with all who ask. My husband is also on board. I may even take up hunting this season! |
Reduced cravings, feel great |
Peter | After approximately six months of PHD I have zero craving for sweets and have easily resisted entire tables groaning with plates of cakes, doughnuts, cookies and so forth. Resisted is the wrong word though – it’s as if all desire for a (formerly craved) substance has left my body. I’m not sure if it’s related, but I have no desire to drink alcohol these days. |
Reduced cravings |
Stabby (also here) | I have been eating the PHD for a while, and it has really reduced any sort of cravings and tendency to mow down, even if the food is really yummy. My gut feels better, I have better digestion with less bloating from I have had other improvements in health since discovering books like the |
food cravings |
Katelyn | I was ZC but am no longer-I cycle carbs by using white potatoes. Leanness, satiaty, energy, bathroom habits, etc. have all improved! I owe thanks to you and to Kurt Harris, whom I respect a lot, in getting me to not fear adding them. I was scared to, but have had only positive results! Keep up the great work! |
weight loss, food cravings, low energy, digestion |
Sarah Atshan | I also had an mental adjustment period of accepting white rice. I had cut starch out of my diet for so long. I found including 400 calories of white rice &/or potatoes, reduced my cravings for something sweet. My calories naturally lowered without hunger. I was also able to start intermittent fasting, something that was impossible for me to do before the starch. |
food cravings, hunger |
Erik (comment 1 and comment 2) |
Your book and writings have totally changed the way I think about my diet, nutrition and health. So in the past year, I have minimized grains, cut out processed food, do not eat sweets and avoid omega-6 rich cooking oils like the plague. I have increased my intake of saturated fat by several fold and use butter and coconut oil as my cooking oils. I eat eggs for breakfast and add cream/coconut milk to my coffee. I eat sardines and salmon weekly. I get plenty of sunshine and exercise several times a week. I eat just as much fruits and vegetables as I did in the past. I do however consume more sweet potatoes and potatoes. I use to avoid the “evil” potato as well!… I basically do not calorie count and eat to what I feel. I have actually lost weight and my skin has become healthier as well. My lips do not become chapped like they use to in the past. I always had chapped lips for most of my life…. I have been well overall. The phd is working great for me. Also, my son’s gastrointestinal issues have been improving from the addition of probiotics and better nutrition. He is also starting to say a lot more words this summer. He is asking for things with words for the first time. I can’t say what helped him since there are so many variables interplaying but I am happy to see improvements in language. Our pediatrician was shocked and excited about his improvements. I think his probiotics, gluten free diet, vitamin supplements and intensive ABA therapy have helped a lot. My son’s autism has been a very good learning experience. I feel very lucky to have you as a fantastic resource of information. Many thanks again for your help and kindness! |
weight loss, chapped lips; his son: autism, GI issues |
jtl | When I began implementing PHD a few weeks ago I cut fruit back to about 80 calories/day and upped starch intake with sweet potatoes, potatoes, sourdough buckwheat pancakes, and white rice. Within a couple of weeks chronic health issues such as itchy, flaky scalp, tense painful neck and shoulder muscles, and cyclical vaginal itching had disappeared, my mood had improved noticeably, and I was able to do a little weight-lifting without it wiping me out physically and mentally. 2 weeks ago I cut out fruit entirely and began getting all my carbs in PHD proportions from white rice, sweet potatoes, sourdough buckwheat cakes, and potatoes and saw a dramatic improvement in mood and ability to work-out without negative effects, and the fuzzy-headeded/blurry-eyedness that I’ve felt intermittently throughout the day for as long as I can remember disappeared. For the first time in my life I felt happy, relaxed, patient, care-free, clear-headed/eyed, and not hungry (I’ve always noticed being hungry in my head, not my belly). |
fungal infections, impaired mood, fatigue, dry eyes, food cravings |
Gary | I’d be glad to offer testimony confirming that PHD is a weight-loss diet. My own loss isn’t dramatic, about 15 lbs. in the past year. My primary health problem is sleep apnea, which I’ve had for many years/decades. It has led to high blood pressure and weight gain. It is not caused by my weight but rather sleep apnea caused me to gain weight. I’ve been thoroughly tested and know the reasons for the apnea and am recovering primarily by using a cpap breathing machine at night. PHD got my attention because it was primarily about good health. I started following it a year ago and can say that it has significantly improved my health. In addition, I also began to lose weight, a welcome side benefit. I follow the basic diet recommendations and take all the supplements. I get enthusiastic about PHD and tell my friends about it, but the most frequent response I’d get was that it may be great, but it means home cooking everything. I’d counter that home cooking isn’t hard. So finally I set up a small website that shows how I’ve done my own interpretation of a PHD meal plan and the home cooking that make it possible to do it during the week, working 50-hour days and making 2 or 3 meals a day for me and my spouse. I call it “10 minute meal.” It might be of use to others: 10minutemeal.com |
weight loss, high blood pressure |
Jaybird | I have been shocked that unlike all previous diets for the first time in my adult life I consistently, not just choose, but desire the PHD foods over the crap foods. I feel full and more satisfied as well as crave PHD tastes. Even my craving for a pizza with its wheat crust has reduced greatly after the first 3 months on PHD. On past gov’t pyramid diet, vegetarian acid/alkaline diet, and even a strict paleo diet, they seem to require a herculian will power to choose to eat “healthy”. I had to definitely choose the less food reward. I came accept this was just the way it is in life…until PHD. You definitely can lose weight on the PHD! I don’t understand the Jaminets conceding PHD is not a weight loss book. Their section on weight loss is the best advice I’ve found in years of reading diet info. I went from 250 to now 182 in 6 months! It seems to me you need to get more clear exactly what PHD recommends for weight loss. You seemed confused in your description of PHD weight loss. 400 cals? I now eat 600 calories a day of safe starches and continued to lose weight at 2 lbs a week. Remember, total calories is king and the PHD foods will satisfy at a lower calorie intake like no other. Also, you can add lemon in your water throughout the day. |
weight loss, food cravings |
S, |
Two weeks ago my doctor diagnosed me with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. After chatting to me a little about nutrition and its effect on the body, he wrote down the title of your book “The Perfect Health Diet” and said that it could help me. I went home and immediately ordered the book online and received it a few days later (yippee!) Although I’m not even half way into the book (I decided to start again after discovering it’s not light bedtime reading!) I am certainly seeing sense in what the book says and am already feeling a lot better just in myself – more energy, happier, less hormone mood swings and not bloated at all. I’ve lost a bit of weight since I started two weeks ago (6lbs) and my skin is… well… the least spotty its been since I was about 11 years old! I’m certain that the diet is the reason for these changes. |
PCOS, weight loss |
gp2x | I can’t believe how much better I feel!… I had been eating (very) low-carb and high-protein for the better part of a decade – and I had gotten a lot of practice arrogantly dismissing suggestions (from any source) that I should change anything about my diet…. Results: (after 1.5 months or so.)
It |
food cravings, mood, alertness |
Robert | I started PHD a few weeks ago, after finding the blog, and then reading the book. I have only positive experiences to report. I had been overweight in the past, and lost weight by low-calorie dieting on processed foods, along with strength training. After a while I would revert to some degree of overeating, and have to diet again. I’m mildly overweight now but I have been losing 2 lbs. per week on the PHD. Keep in mind this is before any calorie counting. I keep telling myself I will plug things in to Fitday, but so far my hunger is autoregulating itself and the weight is coming off. Besides weight loss, I feel great. I haven’t wanted to eat any take-out or sweets, and that is unusual for me. |
weight loss |
Morris G (comment 1, comment 2, comment 3) |
A couple of months after starting PHD there was an obvious improvement in mood and cognitive function. Now 12 months later the mental improvements persist but do not seem to be growing. … I’ve had joint “noises” for about 20 years (I’m 72yo) but no direct discomfort from the noise effect. The frequency and magnitude has increased over time but only very slowly. I tend to think that the degree of crepitude correlates (weakly) with general joint health eg time to recover from episodes of tendonitis or discomfort caused by overuse. I have ignored this “crepitude” as being an unavoidable aging effect until recently, when my manageable back/neck aches spontaneously improved and that happened about 3 months after adopting the PHD diet (although I didn’t know at the time that the diet was PHD). For example I can sleep on my back for the first time in 8 years and turn my neck 90 deg without any discomfort. My exercise regime has not changed from pre-PHD and is not too strenuous, about 2-3 hrs total/week of which most is moderate effort cardio with some resistance. The odd thing is that pre-PHD, with the same exercise effort, if I increased calories my fat would easily but slowly increase, but not now…. I feel great … |
mood, cognitive function, joint function, weight |
Richard M, email of Oct 19, 2011 |
May I firstly congratulate you and Shou-Ching for writing such a wonderful book. After researching nutrition and health in my spare time for many years I have never come across a book that has been able to tie all of the major aspects of a healthy diet together in such a concise manner whilst being so extensively well referenced. The amount of improvements that I have seen since implementing this diet |
energy, food cravings, weight, illness |
Connie | As far as the PHD only being for healthy people, I wanted to share my experience. I’ve lost about 60+ pounds on the low carb (mostly back in 2000). My low carb methods evolved over time and eventually I avoided all fake sugars including diet sodas and almost all prepared foods (including low carb products) and had to be careful of dairy and nuts – trigger foods for me which caused me to overeat. I also thought that low fat would bring me more success, so tried to stay low fat. Whenever I would stop doing low carb, I’d gain some weight back. But it was very difficult for me to stay low carb because I was doing low fat and also not getting enough omega 3. And when I did cheat with sugary foods, I’d eat a lot of it. Then I discovered PHD this year. I was afraid of “safe starches” and fat, So, my problem of overeating isn’t totally gone, but my diet and weight |
weight loss |
David | I’m still very new to this diet, and I’ve been generally getting in shape and losing weight for a while now, but one thing I can comment on already is the effect it’s had on rhinitis. Simply put, my rhinitis has disappeared completely. I no longer wake up One other benefit: I’m never hungry on the PHD and I’m really enjoying all |
rhinitis, appetite |
L.B. | I have been following a “paleo” diet for the past seven months – a combination of the PHD book, Mark’s Daily Apple and Kurt Harris’ blog. I am a 47 year old male, 6’ 1” and 175lbs. My health and fitness improvements include the following:
This fitness plan has had a profoundly positive impact on my life. My wife |
weight loss, gout, creaky joints, IBS, heartburn / acid reflux, dyslipidemia, oral health, reduced cravings, blood pressure |
David Z. | My success story: I’ve been eating what was mostly a “health food” diet for twenty years. I followed the various trends and tried vegan, vegetarian, raw, and more at different time periods. I’ve done juice fasting and cleansing. At some times I followed it more religiously and other times less so, but nonetheless slowly gained weight over the years. This year I read Wheat Belly and started to think about cutting out wheat, I lost 25 points in the first two months on the diet, going from 215 lbs 190 is not a bad weight for me; I am 5’11″ and lift weights so while Thanks! |
weight loss, body recomposition |
Karin | I have particularly severe, chronic, complicated, and often silent migraines. I have had these since childhood all day everyday. Because they were often silent (no pain) they would manifest in various other ways, thus leading to misdiagnoses of mood disorders and schizophrenia for many years. At one point I was also misdiagnosed with epilepsy as well. After one particularly smart neurologist saw and tested me, I was placed on blood pressure medications for migraines. This worked. The problem is that my body constantly fights to readjust to the medications. After a few months at one dose, it seems I start to get migraines again. So it would go up and the same thing would repeat again. I was looking for a different solution and I stumbled across this article. I’ve been on the keto diet for nearly a month and it is the best thing |
migraines, mood, sleep, energy, weight loss |
Jim, email of April 2, 2012 | . I am down from 341lbs to 272lbs doing mostly Paleo, but modified with some safe starches per your book. Just so you know this is not just about weight loss for me, I was a type 2 diabetic with full metabolic syndrome and most importantly, I had popping capillaries in my retinas that were leading to blindness. All is better now, no pills etc. |
diabetes, obesity, diabetic retinopathy |
Roxy Rocker | I am the smallest I have ever weighed as an Adult. I weigh 218. When I switched to Paleo/highfat I was 284 about 14 months. |
obesity |
Elyse | I’ve been adding starches to my diet for the past 6 months and find that I am more satisfied and eat far less “treats”– just 1-2 squares of 85% dark chocolate most days. Definitely agree that food just isn’t that big of a deal any more. |
food cravings |
Connie Warner | After doing very low carb for so long, I was worried too. I started with fruit and sweet potatoes and it was hard to stop eating them at first. But now that my diet is more balanced, I have it under control. I think there was an adjustment period. I’m now taking the recommended supplements as well as some of the suggested supplements and am following the PHD guidelines, which have helped. My Omega 6/Omega 3 ratio was way out of balance for a long time. Paul has said the cravings are due to missing nutrients. It’s great to have a balanced diet – carbs, protein & fat – with NO cravings – it’s an amazing feat for me! I feel better and happier and don’t feel deprived. I also do the Intermittent Fasting (16 hour fast with 1 Tbs coconut oil and an 8 hour feeding window) and this has helped me too. Food is less important to me, it really is a lot easier than it sounds (I’m not suffering!) and I choose my foods carefully to get all the nutrients I need in 2 meals with a snack in the 8 hour window. Sometimes I just have a spoonful of rice syrup to get some carbs. Or you could add it to a homemade salad dressing or drizzle it on some plain yogurt. |
food cravings |
Java Gal | Ok, have to comment – can’t contain myself anymore! I am a lurker of the worst sort, but here goes. As a 54 year old woman, I am more energetic, flexible (yoga three times a week), and healthier than I have been for, oh, decades. My doc, a wonderful, but dye-in-the-wool vegetarian, told me to keep doing what I was doing – cholesterol dropped, good TSH levels(I’m hypo), and down 5 sizes. Talk about replacing a wardrobe! My worry, of course, is gaining it all back, which, sorry to say, is an experience I have had already in days of yore. I was an avowed low-carber back then and I can attest that, while it was effective for losing weight, it was not a good long term strategy. So far, as long as I stick to basic PHD principles, things are going swimmingly. In general, PHD has been a huge success. Thank you Paul and Shou-Ching! |
obesity, energy, flexibility, dyslipidemia, hypothyroidism, general health |
Jennifer Fulwiler | As I look for something to wear this weekend, I’m reminded that I am in the middle of the wardrobe crisis that I’ve been waiting to have for ten years: all my clothes are too big. I don’t mean a little loose; I mean I perpetually look like I’m headed out to an M.C. Hammer costume contest. Over the past few months I’ve lost 25 pounds. That’s a good thing, mainly It’s too long of a story to explain in detail here, but the short-short |
weight loss, stamina & energy |
Meli | Hi Paul,
I just wanted to let you know that I was finally successful at adding back As a bonus, my eyes are no longer blurry, and my hair appears to have You have my deepest gratitude, and respect. ~ Meli |
Weight loss, dry eyes, hair loss |
Anonymous (also here) | I have Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and am taking a very low dose of risperdal (same drug in higher doses used to treat schizophrenia). I had been doing very low carb for many years and do now wonder if it Better mood I have found that following the PHD diet (in particular, getting enough Very nutritious, no cravings This diet is super healthy and does allow plenty of choices: meat, fish, Intermittent fasting – easy This is optional, but I’m so happy I discovered this. Fasting sounds Raynaud’s Another benefit of the PHD is that my Raynaud’s is much better now and I’m So give PHD a try if you want to feel better and be healthy too. I highly Thank you so much, Paul and Shou-Ching, for all you do! 🙂 |
Borderline Personality Disorder, mood, energy, anxiety, food cravings, Raynaud’s |
Timothy J Hicks | Background: I was an Atkins dieter in the 1990’s. Lost a lot of weight, but staying on it was difficult. Last year I came off a bout of depression determined to beat it without I lost a total of seventy pounds. As a man at fifty-five years old and 195 What is even better is that the recommendations in the Perfect Health Diet To go back to the beginning, the Atkins diet had two flaws which 1) Atkins diet “phases” lead to the idea that somehow you lose 2) When Atkins wrote the Diet Revolution book, he didn’t have access to The Perfect Health Diet is written so that you can read to whatever depth This book is a good companion volume to “Why We Get Fat: And What to The only qualification that I would add is that the book recommends eating Again, as a person who has lost seventy pounds and now enjoy a life free |
depression, obesity |
Jon (email of Feb 7, 2012) | Dear Paul,
Following your PhD diet I have continued to lose weight at a rate of one Since I’m eating 1500 cal per day and 54% of that is fat, 26% is carbs, I must tell you, that being insulin resistant, I was a prime candidate to I’ve been gaining weight for years, and there has been no solution to the I’ve got about 50 pounds left to lose! I plan to lose it the slow way, I Thank you thank you thank you, Jon |
Weight loss |
hadrion | I decided to give Perfect Health Diet a go first and see where that takes me. What I’ve learned from asking question to the Jaminets and reading their answers is that a little sugar here and there in products and the sugar in fruit isn’t going to kill you. I can’t do a low carb Paleo diet as I never feel right on that kind of After 2 weeks on Perfect Health Diet I’ve seen some pretty impressive This leads me to a few things, chiefly, that gluten is not good for my While I’m not dismissing Peat’s philosophy of diet, so far I feel pretty What I would encourage any of you dealing with inflammation or who feel So far, following the plan set out in the PHD has led to some nice |
Skin redness, bloating, weight loss, eczema |
Ole | I have been on the PHD diet for over a year now. (I bought the draft version in September 2010). My health has improved a lot. I have lost about 25kg and I’m now about 87kg (i’m 185cm tall). I’m probably healthier than an average person on just about any performance metric. (Picture of me in summer of 2010 and 2011. http://blisunn.no/2011/07/min-brors-nye-livsstil/) |
weight loss |
Shelley | I’ve been reading paleo, WAPF, low-carb sites for over a year now and following your PHD as well. You can add me to the list of your success stories as I lost 15 pounds , have no “cravings” eliminated GERD, heart palpiations, panic attacts and other annoying pains. |
weight loss, food cravings, GERD / acid reflux, heart palpitations, panic attacks / anxiety |
P.wen | Paul & Shou-ching,
Just want to thank you guys for all that you do. I’ve been doing paleo for |
weight loss, binge eating, food cravings |
Els and here and here | I have been on PHD for almost 2 weeks now, doing IF 16/8 at the same time, and have started with the supplements you have recommended 4 days ago. Since I started PHD I do no longer crave for sweets. I used to eat chocolates almost everyday and haven’t had it for over 2 weeks now. 🙂 I am so happy I found your blog and got your book. Keep up the good works…. 5 weeks ago I found PHD website and ordered the book. I am now on my 4th Btw, I continue to shed off some more fat even after I’ve increased my |
food cravings, cramps / menstrual cramps, sleep, acne / pimples, body composition |
Brian P. | Many thanks for your book and blog as it has helped me lose 35 pounds and counting over the last 5 months, along with a general improvement in energy level and “evenness”. Extremely gratifying to find a way of eating which is sustainable, totally satisfying and results in natural weight loss. And, I have yet to add high intensity workouts to my normal morning and afternoon walks. I have been talking to anyone who has expressed interest as the potential of the diet is obviously tremendous!! P.s. I strongly suspect PHD played a pivotal part in my wife getting |
weight loss, energy, mood, infertility |
Peter | When I ate a VLC diet I found that hard liquor was extremely satisfying. As soon as I added back starches, my desire for alcohol diminished greatly. Like Cheeseslave’s experience when she IF’d, I wonder if a craving for |
craving for alcohol |
Clarissa | Just adding in my similar experience to Peter’s. When VLC Paleo I was sucking down 2-3 glasses of wine a night. I’ve bumped up my carbs to the PHD level, and have been able to stay off alcohol entirely for the last couple of months. I’ve also lost about 5 more lbs since upping my carbs and quitting alcohol. Now when I get a strong craving for alcohol, I can “satisfy” it by having a few starchy carbs. Since going off alcohol and upping carbs I’ve seen improvements in my mental function and sleep pattern. |
craving for alcohol |
elizabethe | I’ve struggled all my life with overweight, binge-like eating disorder symptoms, and fluctuating weight and (undiagnosed but quite obvious) volatile blood sugar. I’ve been roughly following PHD for some months now and it has seriously reduced all of my previous binge-eating, hunger craving symptoms, as well as vastly increasing the amount of time I can go between meals without feeling frantic or emotional. I haven’t lost much weight, but my weight has stabilized whereas before I was on a steady gaining trend. |
binge eating, weight gain, glycemic regulation |
High blood pressure
Gary | I’d be glad to offer testimony confirming that PHD is a weight-loss diet. My own loss isn’t dramatic, about 15 lbs. in the past year. My primary health problem is sleep apnea, which I’ve had for many years/decades. It has led to high blood pressure and weight gain. It is not caused by my weight but rather sleep apnea caused me to gain weight. I’ve been thoroughly tested and know the reasons for the apnea and am recovering primarily by using a cpap breathing machine at night. PHD got my attention because it was primarily about good health. I started following it a year ago and can say that it has significantly improved my health. In addition, I also began to lose weight, a welcome side benefit. I follow the basic diet recommendations and take all the supplements. I get enthusiastic about PHD and tell my friends about it, but the most frequent response I’d get was that it may be great, but it means home cooking everything. I’d counter that home cooking isn’t hard. So finally I set up a small website that shows how I’ve done my own interpretation of a PHD meal plan and the home cooking that make it possible to do it during the week, working 50-hour days and making 2 or 3 meals a day for me and my spouse. I call it “10 minute meal.” It might be of use to others: 10minutemeal.com |
weight loss, high blood pressure |
Advocatus Avocado | I’m a great proponent of the PH diet. I’m pleased to report that after dramatically increasing my saturated fat intake and following some of the proscriptive measures in the book that my blood pressure has decreased from 130/85 to 118/74. My resting heart rate has also decreased, and I now sleep much more soundly. |
blood pressure, sleep quality |
L.B. | I have been following a “paleo” diet for the past seven months – a combination of the PHD book, Mark’s Daily Apple and Kurt Harris’ blog. I am a 47 year old male, 6’ 1” and 175lbs. My health and fitness improvements include the following:
This fitness plan has had a profoundly positive impact on my life. My wife |
weight loss, gout, creaky joints, IBS, heartburn / acid reflux, dyslipidemia, oral health, reduced cravings, blood pressure |
Mood and cognitive function
Mary(more here) | There is a whole pan of dark chocolate gluten-free brownies in my kitchen, and I’ve had no desire for them all day. I’m crediting the supplements (I’m on all the PHD recommended supplements save kelp), and I’m particularly thinking copper has made a big difference (I’ve suspected a copper deficiency for some time as I started going gray young). Or perhaps also selenium. (I’m hypothyroid…hoping for some improvement there.)In any case, I feel great physically, I’ve not been binge-y or nearly as much as a sweet freak (and I’ve been known to eat an entire bag of caramels in less than an hour, and then head out to the store for more), and I’ve felt mentally stable and pretty happy. I feel great on this plan, and maybe more importantly, I’ve noticed that I have many more calm, good mood days than otherwise. I think it’s the combination of the Perfect Health eating plan and the recommended supplements. I’ve not lost more weight since my last check-in – I seem to be at a plateau – but I’m still seven pounds down since I started, so that’s good. |
Reduced cravings, improved mood, weight loss |
Bella | Perhaps this is as good a place on your site as any to share the improvements I experienced after switching from a gut healing diet that generally can be described as VLC Paleo to PHD. What’s even more remarkable than the improvements themselves is that they occurred *within 48 hours* of seriously increasing my safe starch consumption. I couldn’t have special ordered it any better. 1. Constipation is gone. 2. Fungal (?) rash is gone. 3. Powdery substance in urine is gone. (After reading here about how VLC diets can cause excess excretion of uric acid, I’m certain this was the problem.) 4. Energy and mood are way better. 5. I like what I’m eating now, I am sated, and my instincts are no longer telling me something’s missing. This intangible effect has made perhaps the biggest impact on my day-to-day quality of life. Thank you PJ and S-CJ! Your PHD came into my life at exactly the right time and produced exactly the changes I needed. Sweet relief! I am still working out some hormonal issues, and fighting fungi, but my glucose deficiency symptoms are gone, and I feel better than I have in a year, which is to say I feel normal, finally. My husband has virtually no symptoms of colitis now. We’re looking forward to his upcoming flex sig to prove that the disease process has been reversed, so that the GI doctor will stop telling us that there’s no way dietary changes alone could’ve cured the disease, that my husband must be in symptomatic remission with a still-flaming colon. Doc doesn’t know what to make of us. So indulge me in a bit of gushing when I tell you I’m utterly grateful for both your product (the book) and service (advice on your site). The one-on-one advice is a very powerful way to connect with your audience. It’s as if I can *feel* the sense of community and healing when I’m on your site. You’ve got a special thing going. |
fungal infections, low energy, impaired mood, constipation |
jtl | When I began implementing PHD a few weeks ago I cut fruit back to about 80 calories/day and upped starch intake with sweet potatoes, potatoes, sourdough buckwheat pancakes, and white rice. Within a couple of weeks chronic health issues such as itchy, flaky scalp, tense painful neck and shoulder muscles, and cyclical vaginal itching had disappeared, my mood had improved noticeably, and I was able to do a little weight-lifting without it wiping me out physically and mentally. 2 weeks ago I cut out fruit entirely and began getting all my carbs in PHD proportions from white rice, sweet potatoes, sourdough buckwheat cakes, and potatoes and saw a dramatic improvement in mood and ability to work-out without negative effects, and the fuzzy-headeded/blurry-eyedness that I’ve felt intermittently throughout the day for as long as I can remember disappeared. For the first time in my life I felt happy, relaxed, patient, care-free, clear-headed/eyed, and not hungry (I’ve always noticed being hungry in my head, not my belly). |
fungal infections, impaired mood, fatigue, dry eyes, food cravings |
Deacon Patrick | Thank you for the gift of better brain function you have given me! A few months ago I switched to ketogenic diet, and now a completely Paleo diet based in large part on your Perfect Health Diet — the differences I’ve experienced are amazing…. The more ketogenic my diet, the better my brain capacity, cognitive energy, energy stability, longevity, and the better I feel…. |
brain injury recovery |
Pia | I am struck by this from Paul’s post: “Good health, I believe, leads to good spirits.” Have been on PHD for only about 3 weeks and I am amazed by my new outlook on life. I was not ‘unhealthy’ before (by modern standards)– but I feel so much more able to see the positive now. Thanks a million. |
mood |
gp2x | I can’t believe how much better I feel!… I had been eating (very) low-carb and high-protein for the better part of a decade – and I had gotten a lot of practice arrogantly dismissing suggestions (from any source) that I should change anything about my diet…. Results: (after 1.5 months or so.)
It |
food cravings, mood, alertness |
Lisa Weis | Yours is by far, the best Paleo / Ancestral diet that makes sense…. I was very strict Paleo for a good 8 months, and yes felt fantastic and lost 10ks etc. But then started feeling tired, moody. Enter some carbs (from the suggestion of your book) in the source of potato and rice and taro – and now I’m feeling a whole lot better. Did I put on weight. Of course not! Essentially now I eat what my body craves. I can listen to it now and it responds accordingly. It knows when it needs more carbs (eg., after exercise). And it knows how much as well. |
fatigue, mood |
Sarah | I eat circa 100g carbs from starch a day not including veg and this has been one of the best things I’ve ever done for my health along with including a vitamin C supplement. My low-level depression and anxiety have completely disappeared and the diet is considerably more varied and easier to stick to than VLC. |
depression, anxiety |
Morris G (comment 1, comment 2, comment 3) |
A couple of months after starting PHD there was an obvious improvement in mood and cognitive function. Now 12 months later the mental improvements persist but do not seem to be growing. … I’ve had joint “noises” for about 20 years (I’m 72yo) but no direct discomfort from the noise effect. The frequency and magnitude has increased over time but only very slowly. I tend to think that the degree of crepitude correlates (weakly) with general joint health eg time to recover from episodes of tendonitis or discomfort caused by overuse. I have ignored this “crepitude” as being an unavoidable aging effect until recently, when my manageable back/neck aches spontaneously improved and that happened about 3 months after adopting the PHD diet (although I didn’t know at the time that the diet was PHD). For example I can sleep on my back for the first time in 8 years and turn my neck 90 deg without any discomfort. My exercise regime has not changed from pre-PHD and is not too strenuous, about 2-3 hrs total/week of which most is moderate effort cardio with some resistance. The odd thing is that pre-PHD, with the same exercise effort, if I increased calories my fat would easily but slowly increase, but not now…. I feel great … |
mood, cognitive function, joint function, weight |
Peter | After eating a meat and vegetables diet for a 1.5 years I read PHD and added back starches. I had been craving them, so it wasn’t hard to do. The addition of starches warmed my body temperature (always an issue Of all the symptoms of glucose deficiency the most concerning was the flat Many thanks to Paul! |
hypothyroidism, bowel function, mood |
Karin | I have particularly severe, chronic, complicated, and often silent migraines. I have had these since childhood all day everyday. Because they were often silent (no pain) they would manifest in various other ways, thus leading to misdiagnoses of mood disorders and schizophrenia for many years. At one point I was also misdiagnosed with epilepsy as well. After one particularly smart neurologist saw and tested me, I was placed on blood pressure medications for migraines. This worked. The problem is that my body constantly fights to readjust to the medications. After a few months at one dose, it seems I start to get migraines again. So it would go up and the same thing would repeat again. I was looking for a different solution and I stumbled across this article. I’ve been on the keto diet for nearly a month and it is the best thing |
migraines, mood, sleep, energy, weight loss |
Michelle | IME, a comprehensive stool test proved helpful. I found a fungal infection which I treated with two bottles of ProEnt-2. I found bacterial overgrowths, which I treated with Natren probiotics. The stool test showed gluten intolerance as well, and seeing the results on paper helped me to take the leap & kiss gluten goodbye. I was also positive to toxoplasma, which I have not treated due to cost I had a sudden severe arthritis flare and have been on low dose pulsing My thyroid function has improved as I’ve gotten healthier. My guess is I’m no longer anemic. I used SAM-e successfully, for 2-3 years at 200-400 mg per day, upon I can’t tell you how empowering it felt to take steps, and to slowly see Good luck to you! There are often many pieces to the puzzle! You may find |
Infections, arthritis, hypothyroidism, anemia, mood |
Anonymous (also here) | I have Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and am taking a very low dose of risperdal (same drug in higher doses used to treat schizophrenia). I had been doing very low carb for many years and do now wonder if it Better mood I have found that following the PHD diet (in particular, getting enough Very nutritious, no cravings This diet is super healthy and does allow plenty of choices: meat, fish, Intermittent fasting – easy This is optional, but I’m so happy I discovered this. Fasting sounds Raynaud’s Another benefit of the PHD is that my Raynaud’s is much better now and I’m So give PHD a try if you want to feel better and be healthy too. I highly Thank you so much, Paul and Shou-Ching, for all you do! 🙂 |
Borderline Personality Disorder, mood, energy, anxiety, food cravings, Raynaud’s |
KH | I’m type 1 diabetic …
Just this morning, I took my A1c home test (by Bayer) which includes two test 1- 5.2 test 2- 5.3 … I know the diet here is helping me a lot and I’ve been feeling more |
Type I diabetes, energy, mood |
Brian P. | Many thanks for your book and blog as it has helped me lose 35 pounds and counting over the last 5 months, along with a general improvement in energy level and “evenness”. Extremely gratifying to find a way of eating which is sustainable, totally satisfying and results in natural weight loss. And, I have yet to add high intensity workouts to my normal morning and afternoon walks. I have been talking to anyone who has expressed interest as the potential of the diet is obviously tremendous!! P.s. I strongly suspect PHD played a pivotal part in my wife getting |
weight loss, energy, mood, infertility |
Peter | After eating a meat and vegetables diet for a 1.5 years I read PHD and added back starches. I had been craving them, so it wasn’t hard to do. The addition of starches warmed my body temperature (always an issue Of all the symptoms of glucose deficiency the most concerning was the flat Many thanks to Paul! |
Hypothyroidism, energy, adrenal fatigue, bowel function, mood |
Mental health conditions
Sarah | I eat circa 100g carbs from starch a day not including veg and this has been one of the best things I’ve ever done for my health along with including a vitamin C supplement. My low-level depression and anxiety have completely disappeared and the diet is considerably more varied and easier to stick to than VLC. |
depression, anxiety |
Kate | I too have had Raynaud’s all my life … In the past two months, I have modified my diet in line with Paul’s suggestions for Migraine. I now eat 200 calories worth of safe starch, all the recommended supplements, and as much coconut oil as I can stomach. I am also doing the 16/8 fast. My Raynaud’s has further improved, as measured by the fact I sometimes forget to turn the heat up in the morning, and cold extremities don’t always alert me to my forgetfulness!… Thanks for asking about the Migraines. They are in fact vastly improved, which I attribute solely to your recommendations. I can say that, because I have tried virtually everything else in the past…. Clearly something remarkable is happening, thanks to your recommendations! A little history. I started getting these headaches in my late 30s. (I am now 52). In the beginning I thought I had the stomach flu, because in addition to the headache I would always throw up or have dry heaves. The worst headaches would keep me immobilized in bed for up to two days. My brother-in-law, a neurologist, convinced me they were migraines. I finally consulted a doctor, who put me on midrin, which did not help, and a few months later I started on imitrex, which did help, at least at first. Eventually, my headache pattern evolved, and I had at least a mild headache every day, punctuated by the occasional doozy. Apparently, this is a pretty common progression, especially with women my age. I always suspected there was something wrong with my lifestyle or diet, and over the years I have tried numerous experiments, but nothing ever worked. … In January, in my blog travels, I stumbled on your site. I ordered the book and was intrigued by your and Shou-Ching’s ideas about disease and chronic conditions. I was already familiar with the idea of a ketogenic diet for epilepsy, so I was immediately interested in trying a more ketogenic diet for myself. I ordered all your basic supplements, and immediately upped my kelp to two capsules. I had been using coconut oil for curries, so I started using it habitually. Started eating 200 calories of starches that you recommended—this was a little scary, after studiously avoiding them for four years! I was afraid I they might keep me awake at night, but I am sleeping like a log. Started fasting 16/8, which was easy once you absolved me for having cream in my morning coffee! Within a week of starting this regimen my chronic headache started to disappear! Some days I would only have a headache for part of the day, and occasionally I would have no headache at all! I read somewhere on your site that NAC is good on a ketogenic diet, so I ordered it too. I had never heard of this supplement before. It seems to have made a further positive difference. I have started taking it twice a day. Once before bed, and once in the late afternoon, when the headache sometimes starts coming back. Since I added NAC, I have been nearly headache free. Another amazing development concerns anxiety. Over the years I have become somewhat anxious when I drive on highways. I grip the steering wheel tightly, sit forward in the seat, and am generally hyper vigilant. I always chided myself for my lack of nerves, but that didn’t help. As mentioned above, this was magnified by the Topomax. I never had this issue when I was younger; indeed I used to fly helicopters in the army. Two weeks ago I drove up to New Jersey to pick up my daughter, a 3.5 hour trip from where I live in Northern Virginia. I stopped two hours into the trip to make a pit stop, and I suddenly realized I was totally relaxed, and had been for the entire trip! The PHD is strong brain medicine indeed! Thanks for all your research, insights, and ideas. I think the Perfect Health Diet is going to be a game changer for many people. Hopefully it is the start of a sea change at how we approach the chronic maladies of our times. |
Raynaud’s, migraines, anxiety |
Stephanie | When I went on the Perfect Health Diet plan, I hoped to clean up my eating habits and address some of my thyroid issues through food choices. As it happens, the PHD plan is not just about food; there is actually a pretty aggressive recommended supplement plan. (Aggressive, that is, for me, as I’ve traditionally been a “multi-plus-maybe-some-vitamin-D” person.) Since the supplement plan didn’t involve drastically cutting sugar or giving up the fresh, hot gluten-filled rolls I was habitually baking for my family (as the food plan does, sigh), I did the pills first. Because I was not expecting to get any bang for my vitamin and mineral Within a few days after I was on everything, I noticed a major change, not This was strange! And it took a little mental work for me to accept that Then, the real test: I had an upset in my personal life, the sort of thing With minimal research (laziness being central to my character), I learned I may in the near future try eliminating selenium for a bit to see if my If you grapple with OCD, you might want to give selenium a try. Note that |
Obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety |
Anonymous (also here) | I have Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and am taking a very low dose of risperdal (same drug in higher doses used to treat schizophrenia). I had been doing very low carb for many years and do now wonder if it Better mood I have found that following the PHD diet (in particular, getting enough Very nutritious, no cravings This diet is super healthy and does allow plenty of choices: meat, fish, Intermittent fasting – easy This is optional, but I’m so happy I discovered this. Fasting sounds Raynaud’s Another benefit of the PHD is that my Raynaud’s is much better now and I’m So give PHD a try if you want to feel better and be healthy too. I highly Thank you so much, Paul and Shou-Ching, for all you do! 🙂 |
Borderline Personality Disorder, mood, energy, anxiety, food cravings, Raynaud’s |
Timothy J Hicks | Background: I was an Atkins dieter in the 1990’s. Lost a lot of weight, but staying on it was difficult. Last year I came off a bout of depression determined to beat it without I lost a total of seventy pounds. As a man at fifty-five years old and 195 What is even better is that the recommendations in the Perfect Health Diet To go back to the beginning, the Atkins diet had two flaws which 1) Atkins diet “phases” lead to the idea that somehow you lose 2) When Atkins wrote the Diet Revolution book, he didn’t have access to The Perfect Health Diet is written so that you can read to whatever depth This book is a good companion volume to “Why We Get Fat: And What to The only qualification that I would add is that the book recommends eating Again, as a person who has lost seventy pounds and now enjoy a life free |
depression, obesity |
Shelley | I’ve been reading paleo, WAPF, low-carb sites for over a year now and following your PHD as well. You can add me to the list of your success stories as I lost 15 pounds , have no “cravings” eliminated GERD, heart palpiations, panic attacts and other annoying pains. |
weight loss, food cravings, GERD / acid reflux, heart palpitations, panic attacks / anxiety |
Digestive disorders
Angie | It’s anecdotal, but all four people in my family experienced a variety of new symptoms (seasonal allergies, constipation, worsening of heartburn, bladder spasms, dry eyes, increasing tiredness and low energy) when we did GAPS. These problems didn’t resolve until we luckily stumbled upon PHD and added back safe starches. I think GAPS would be much improved by allowing more PHD safe starches and doing away with all the honey and nuts which are considerably harder on many people’s systems (they definitely are on mine!) than potatoes and white rice. |
Allergies, heartburn, dry eyes, low energy |
Dr. Jacs | In an effort to jazz up my nutrition and increase my energy availability, I’m doing the target=”_blank” title=”Perfect Health Diet”>Perfect Health Diet with a vengeance. I really love this way of eating, and feel well on it. It’s good for my gut and my sleep. |
digestion, sleep |
Erik (comment 1 and comment 2) |
Your book and writings have totally changed the way I think about my diet, nutrition and health. So in the past year, I have minimized grains, cut out processed food, do not eat sweets and avoid omega-6 rich cooking oils like the plague. I have increased my intake of saturated fat by several fold and use butter and coconut oil as my cooking oils. I eat eggs for breakfast and add cream/coconut milk to my coffee. I eat sardines and salmon weekly. I get plenty of sunshine and exercise several times a week. I eat just as much fruits and vegetables as I did in the past. I do however consume more sweet potatoes and potatoes. I use to avoid the “evil” potato as well!… I basically do not calorie count and eat to what I feel. I have actually lost weight and my skin has become healthier as well. My lips do not become chapped like they use to in the past. I always had chapped lips for most of my life…. I have been well overall. The phd is working great for me. Also, my son’s gastrointestinal issues have been improving from the addition of probiotics and better nutrition. He is also starting to say a lot more words this summer. He is asking for things with words for the first time. I can’t say what helped him since there are so many variables interplaying but I am happy to see improvements in language. Our pediatrician was shocked and excited about his improvements. I think his probiotics, gluten free diet, vitamin supplements and intensive ABA therapy have helped a lot. My son’s autism has been a very good learning experience. I feel very lucky to have you as a fantastic resource of information. Many thanks again for your help and kindness! |
weight loss, chapped lips; his son: autism, GI issues |
Jordan Reasoner | I have battled Celiac disease for some time and got about 80% better with a Paleo diet… but the Perfect Health Diet was the first book that could finally answer that last 20% with science based logic. |
Celiac disease |
Brussie | About 5 years ago, I started having horrible stomach problems (pain, bloating, etc.), extreme fatigue, weight gain of about 15 lbs, and anemia. After many useless visits to traditional doctors, I finally went to see a naturopath who put me on a restricted diet: no sugar (or fruit), no grains other than rice, no cow dairy, no legumes, no nuts. It was actually pretty much a PHD diet. Within 4 months on this diet I felt 80% better; the fatigue was gone, I lost the weight, and the anemia went away (with some help from iron supplements), and my stomach pain was intermittent and brief when it did occur. I went on like this for about 2 years. Then, about 2 years ago, I discovered the paleo diet. It was already similar to the way I was eating with some minor tweaks: upping the fat content of my diet, eliminating rice and sweet potatoes, adding back some moderate fruit. Within a year of eating this way, I began experiencing some additional stomach discomfort, more bloating and pain. I went to see a doctor for some help. Unfortunately, she just made the situation worse…. Well, I adopted the PHD in October 2010 and I am happy to say that my stomach issues are almost completely gone…. I would definitely recommend PHD to anyone looking for a healthy way of eating. I would also recommend it for anyone who is still experiencing stomach issues while on a paleo diet. |
digestive problems |
Peter | After eating a meat and vegetables diet for a 1.5 years I read PHD and added back starches. I had been craving them, so it wasn’t hard to do. The addition of starches warmed my body temperature (always an issue Of all the symptoms of glucose deficiency the most concerning was the flat Many thanks to Paul! |
hypothyroidism, bowel function, mood |
Alex | I recently had my carotid arteries evaluated via ultrasound for plaque and narrowing and was told there is no evidence of either. A year ago, just before adopting a PHD type diet, an MRI of my heart revealed “significant” plaque on one of my coronary arteries and less significant on another…. I’m in my mid 40s, lean, active, and have seen many health improvements since adopting the diet (less joint stiffness, no more chronic back pain, milder colds, fewer allergy symptoms, less gas, less bloating, need for less sleep. |
atherosclerosis, joint stiffness, back pain, allergies, bowel distress |
L.B. | I have been following a “paleo” diet for the past seven months – a combination of the PHD book, Mark’s Daily Apple and Kurt Harris’ blog. I am a 47 year old male, 6’ 1” and 175lbs. My health and fitness improvements include the following:
This fitness plan has had a profoundly positive impact on my life. My wife |
weight loss, gout, creaky joints, IBS, heartburn / acid reflux, dyslipidemia, oral health, reduced cravings, blood pressure |
Joan | Hi Paul
I haven’t posted for a while but continue to be an avid reader of your Quick background: Crohn’s for 16.5 years. Steroids for most of that time I’ve particularly concentrated on raising my Vit D levels All these things improved my general sense of well-being and energy levels I did a Metametrix GI Effects Stool test in March hoping to find something During this time, since coming off steroids, I was able to observe the So, re-reading you assertion that intra-cellular bacteria can only feed on It is very unlikely that anti-MAP antibiotics will be made available to Regards, Joan Footnote2: My sister continues to be free of eczema. Thanks so much, |
Crohn’s, hypothyroidism, general wellbeing; eczema |
Raham Robert Fodrek | Thank you so much for all the support you offer. I have been following your diet for a few months and in many ways feel much better. Last year at this time I could barely walk (29 years old). I was diagnosed with Crohns along with several other autoimmune diseases (including a lesion on the spinal cord). |
Crohn’s, autoimmune diseases, spinal cord lesion |
Nick | Hi Paul,
Thank you so much for the fantastic information! I am one of the new |
acid reflux |
hadrion | I decided to give Perfect Health Diet a go first and see where that takes me. What I’ve learned from asking question to the Jaminets and reading their answers is that a little sugar here and there in products and the sugar in fruit isn’t going to kill you. I can’t do a low carb Paleo diet as I never feel right on that kind of After 2 weeks on Perfect Health Diet I’ve seen some pretty impressive This leads me to a few things, chiefly, that gluten is not good for my While I’m not dismissing Peat’s philosophy of diet, so far I feel pretty What I would encourage any of you dealing with inflammation or who feel So far, following the plan set out in the PHD has led to some nice |
Skin redness, bloating, weight loss, eczema |
Brian | Paul, Many thanks for the excellent work and great book.
I started PHD a few week before Christmas, and even with a few holiday I have no serious health issues as such, but a number of smaller/low level Gradually over a few shorts weeks the aforementioned issues have either I’ve recommended your book to family and work colleagues as a result. I think the main plus point of the diet is that it is ‘doable’. Being allowed to each ‘safe starches’ has been great, as I’ve found All in all I’m delighted, and so glad I found your website & book. Many thanks |
headaches, acid reflux, fatigue, bloating, weight gain |
Shelley | I’ve been reading paleo, WAPF, low-carb sites for over a year now and following your PHD as well. You can add me to the list of your success stories as I lost 15 pounds , have no “cravings” eliminated GERD, heart palpiations, panic attacts and other annoying pains. |
weight loss, food cravings, GERD / acid reflux, heart palpitations, panic attacks / anxiety |
Peter | After eating a meat and vegetables diet for a 1.5 years I read PHD and added back starches. I had been craving them, so it wasn’t hard to do. The addition of starches warmed my body temperature (always an issue Of all the symptoms of glucose deficiency the most concerning was the flat Many thanks to Paul! |
Hypothyroidism, energy, adrenal fatigue, bowel function, mood |
Autoimmune disease
Raham Robert Fodrek | Thank you so much for all the support you offer. I have been following your diet for a few months and in many ways feel much better. Last year at this time I could barely walk (29 years old). I was diagnosed with Crohns along with several other autoimmune diseases (including a lesion on the spinal cord). |
Crohn’s, autoimmune diseases, spinal cord lesion |
Sleep quality
Dr. Jacs | In an effort to jazz up my nutrition and increase my energy availability, I’m doing the target=”_blank” title=”Perfect Health Diet”>Perfect Health Diet with a vengeance. I really love this way of eating, and feel well on it. It’s good for my gut and my sleep. |
digestion, sleep |
Kathy | After cutting back on coconut oil and adding all the supplements suggested by PHD I am sleeping 6 hours straight and can dose the next two hours, a ginormous improvement. Oh, and I upped my carbs! Delightful! |
insomnia |
Advocatus Avocado | I’m a great proponent of the PH diet. I’m pleased to report that after dramatically increasing my saturated fat intake and following some of the proscriptive measures in the book that my blood pressure has decreased from 130/85 to 118/74. My resting heart rate has also decreased, and I now sleep much more soundly. |
blood pressure, sleep quality |
Karin | I have particularly severe, chronic, complicated, and often silent migraines. I have had these since childhood all day everyday. Because they were often silent (no pain) they would manifest in various other ways, thus leading to misdiagnoses of mood disorders and schizophrenia for many years. At one point I was also misdiagnosed with epilepsy as well. After one particularly smart neurologist saw and tested me, I was placed on blood pressure medications for migraines. This worked. The problem is that my body constantly fights to readjust to the medications. After a few months at one dose, it seems I start to get migraines again. So it would go up and the same thing would repeat again. I was looking for a different solution and I stumbled across this article. I’ve been on the keto diet for nearly a month and it is the best thing |
migraines, mood, sleep, energy, weight loss |
Janusz | I’ve been on the PHD for about 3 weeks. Beginning the first week I could feel the difference in terms of energy and better sleep. |
sleep, energy |
Els and here and here | I have been on PHD for almost 2 weeks now, doing IF 16/8 at the same time, and have started with the supplements you have recommended 4 days ago. Since I started PHD I do no longer crave for sweets. I used to eat chocolates almost everyday and haven’t had it for over 2 weeks now. 🙂 I am so happy I found your blog and got your book. Keep up the good works…. 5 weeks ago I found PHD website and ordered the book. I am now on my 4th Btw, I continue to shed off some more fat even after I’ve increased my |
food cravings, cramps / menstrual cramps, sleep, acne / pimples, body composition |
Allergies, rhinitis, sinusitis
Angie | It’s anecdotal, but all four people in my family experienced a variety of new symptoms (seasonal allergies, constipation, worsening of heartburn, bladder spasms, dry eyes, increasing tiredness and low energy) when we did GAPS. These problems didn’t resolve until we luckily stumbled upon PHD and added back safe starches. I think GAPS would be much improved by allowing more PHD safe starches and doing away with all the honey and nuts which are considerably harder on many people’s systems (they definitely are on mine!) than potatoes and white rice. |
Allergies, heartburn, dry eyes, low energy |
Alex | I recently had my carotid arteries evaluated via ultrasound for plaque and narrowing and was told there is no evidence of either. A year ago, just before adopting a PHD type diet, an MRI of my heart revealed “significant” plaque on one of my coronary arteries and less significant on another…. I’m in my mid 40s, lean, active, and have seen many health improvements since adopting the diet (less joint stiffness, no more chronic back pain, milder colds, fewer allergy symptoms, less gas, less bloating, need for less sleep. |
atherosclerosis, joint stiffness, back pain, allergies, bowel distress |
David | I’m still very new to this diet, and I’ve been generally getting in shape and losing weight for a while now, but one thing I can comment on already is the effect it’s had on rhinitis. Simply put, my rhinitis has disappeared completely. I no longer wake up One other benefit: I’m never hungry on the PHD and I’m really enjoying all |
rhinitis, appetite |
Anemia
Michelle | IME, a comprehensive stool test proved helpful. I found a fungal infection which I treated with two bottles of ProEnt-2. I found bacterial overgrowths, which I treated with Natren probiotics. The stool test showed gluten intolerance as well, and seeing the results on paper helped me to take the leap & kiss gluten goodbye. I was also positive to toxoplasma, which I have not treated due to cost I had a sudden severe arthritis flare and have been on low dose pulsing My thyroid function has improved as I’ve gotten healthier. My guess is I’m no longer anemic. I used SAM-e successfully, for 2-3 years at 200-400 mg per day, upon I can’t tell you how empowering it felt to take steps, and to slowly see Good luck to you! There are often many pieces to the puzzle! You may find |
Infections, arthritis, hypothyroidism, anemia, mood |
Fatigue, low energy
Angie | It’s anecdotal, but all four people in my family experienced a variety of new symptoms (seasonal allergies, constipation, worsening of heartburn, bladder spasms, dry eyes, increasing tiredness and low energy) when we did GAPS. These problems didn’t resolve until we luckily stumbled upon PHD and added back safe starches. I think GAPS would be much improved by allowing more PHD safe starches and doing away with all the honey and nuts which are considerably harder on many people’s systems (they definitely are on mine!) than potatoes and white rice. |
Allergies, heartburn, dry eyes, low energy |
Bella | Perhaps this is as good a place on your site as any to share the improvements I experienced after switching from a gut healing diet that generally can be described as VLC Paleo to PHD. What’s even more remarkable than the improvements themselves is that they occurred *within 48 hours* of seriously increasing my safe starch consumption. I couldn’t have special ordered it any better. 1. Constipation is gone. 2. Fungal (?) rash is gone. 3. Powdery substance in urine is gone. (After reading here about how VLC diets can cause excess excretion of uric acid, I’m certain this was the problem.) 4. Energy and mood are way better. 5. I like what I’m eating now, I am sated, and my instincts are no longer telling me something’s missing. This intangible effect has made perhaps the biggest impact on my day-to-day quality of life. Thank you PJ and S-CJ! Your PHD came into my life at exactly the right time and produced exactly the changes I needed. Sweet relief! I am still working out some hormonal issues, and fighting fungi, but my glucose deficiency symptoms are gone, and I feel better than I have in a year, which is to say I feel normal, finally. My husband has virtually no symptoms of colitis now. We’re looking forward to his upcoming flex sig to prove that the disease process has been reversed, so that the GI doctor will stop telling us that there’s no way dietary changes alone could’ve cured the disease, that my husband must be in symptomatic remission with a still-flaming colon. Doc doesn’t know what to make of us. So indulge me in a bit of gushing when I tell you I’m utterly grateful for both your product (the book) and service (advice on your site). The one-on-one advice is a very powerful way to connect with your audience. It’s as if I can *feel* the sense of community and healing when I’m on your site. You’ve got a special thing going. |
fungal infections, low energy, impaired mood, constipation |
jtl | When I began implementing PHD a few weeks ago I cut fruit back to about 80 calories/day and upped starch intake with sweet potatoes, potatoes, sourdough buckwheat pancakes, and white rice. Within a couple of weeks chronic health issues such as itchy, flaky scalp, tense painful neck and shoulder muscles, and cyclical vaginal itching had disappeared, my mood had improved noticeably, and I was able to do a little weight-lifting without it wiping me out physically and mentally. 2 weeks ago I cut out fruit entirely and began getting all my carbs in PHD proportions from white rice, sweet potatoes, sourdough buckwheat cakes, and potatoes and saw a dramatic improvement in mood and ability to work-out without negative effects, and the fuzzy-headeded/blurry-eyedness that I’ve felt intermittently throughout the day for as long as I can remember disappeared. For the first time in my life I felt happy, relaxed, patient, care-free, clear-headed/eyed, and not hungry (I’ve always noticed being hungry in my head, not my belly). |
fungal infections, impaired mood, fatigue, dry eyes, food cravings |
Hunter‘s wife | My wife and I have been VLC for a couple years now, myself probably a little longer than her and I tend to eat more saturated fat too. She recently stopped taking birth control and her menstrual cycle just stopped. Also for years and years, maybe as long as the past decade, she’s been chronically constipated, depressed, and always tired and wanting to sleep 10+ hours. She’s been thru tons of tests and no doctor can find anything wrong with her. I started doing some research on her results from multiple blood tests and found her TSH has been slowly increasing and was at 3.13. We started checking her basal body temperature in the mornings and she’s usually around 96…. Both of us have also avoided salt for most of our lives as well as most packaged/processed foods that might contain salt. So we started supplementing Iodine, starting about a month ago and slowly increasing the dosage each week, as well as eating about 200-400 carb calories a day from white rice, taro, and cassava (all covered in pastured butter). Some mornings now her temperature has reached as high as 98.2 and her constipation has suddenly improved a lot. |
hypothyroidism, fatigue, constipation, amenorrhea |
Lisa Weis | Yours is by far, the best Paleo / Ancestral diet that makes sense…. I was very strict Paleo for a good 8 months, and yes felt fantastic and lost 10ks etc. But then started feeling tired, moody. Enter some carbs (from the suggestion of your book) in the source of potato and rice and taro – and now I’m feeling a whole lot better. Did I put on weight. Of course not! Essentially now I eat what my body craves. I can listen to it now and it responds accordingly. It knows when it needs more carbs (eg., after exercise). And it knows how much as well. |
fatigue, mood |
Richard M, email of Oct 19, 2011 |
May I firstly congratulate you and Shou-Ching for writing such a wonderful book. After researching nutrition and health in my spare time for many years I have never come across a book that has been able to tie all of the major aspects of a healthy diet together in such a concise manner whilst being so extensively well referenced. The amount of improvements that I have seen since implementing this diet |
energy, food cravings, weight, illness |
Karin | I have particularly severe, chronic, complicated, and often silent migraines. I have had these since childhood all day everyday. Because they were often silent (no pain) they would manifest in various other ways, thus leading to misdiagnoses of mood disorders and schizophrenia for many years. At one point I was also misdiagnosed with epilepsy as well. After one particularly smart neurologist saw and tested me, I was placed on blood pressure medications for migraines. This worked. The problem is that my body constantly fights to readjust to the medications. After a few months at one dose, it seems I start to get migraines again. So it would go up and the same thing would repeat again. I was looking for a different solution and I stumbled across this article. I’ve been on the keto diet for nearly a month and it is the best thing |
migraines, mood, sleep, energy, weight loss |
Java Gal | Ok, have to comment – can’t contain myself anymore! I am a lurker of the worst sort, but here goes. As a 54 year old woman, I am more energetic, flexible (yoga three times a week), and healthier than I have been for, oh, decades. My doc, a wonderful, but dye-in-the-wool vegetarian, told me to keep doing what I was doing – cholesterol dropped, good TSH levels(I’m hypo), and down 5 sizes. Talk about replacing a wardrobe! My worry, of course, is gaining it all back, which, sorry to say, is an experience I have had already in days of yore. I was an avowed low-carber back then and I can attest that, while it was effective for losing weight, it was not a good long term strategy. So far, as long as I stick to basic PHD principles, things are going swimmingly. In general, PHD has been a huge success. Thank you Paul and Shou-Ching! |
obesity, energy, flexibility, dyslipidemia, hypothyroidism, general health |
Jennifer Fulwiler | As I look for something to wear this weekend, I’m reminded that I am in the middle of the wardrobe crisis that I’ve been waiting to have for ten years: all my clothes are too big. I don’t mean a little loose; I mean I perpetually look like I’m headed out to an M.C. Hammer costume contest. Over the past few months I’ve lost 25 pounds. That’s a good thing, mainly It’s too long of a story to explain in detail here, but the short-short |
weight loss, stamina & energy |
Janusz | I’ve been on the PHD for about 3 weeks. Beginning the first week I could feel the difference in terms of energy and better sleep. |
sleep, energy |
Anonymous (also here) | I have Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and am taking a very low dose of risperdal (same drug in higher doses used to treat schizophrenia). I had been doing very low carb for many years and do now wonder if it Better mood I have found that following the PHD diet (in particular, getting enough Very nutritious, no cravings This diet is super healthy and does allow plenty of choices: meat, fish, Intermittent fasting – easy This is optional, but I’m so happy I discovered this. Fasting sounds Raynaud’s Another benefit of the PHD is that my Raynaud’s is much better now and I’m So give PHD a try if you want to feel better and be healthy too. I highly Thank you so much, Paul and Shou-Ching, for all you do! 🙂 |
Borderline Personality Disorder, mood, energy, anxiety, food cravings, Raynaud’s |
KH | I’m type 1 diabetic …
Just this morning, I took my A1c home test (by Bayer) which includes two test 1- 5.2 test 2- 5.3 … I know the diet here is helping me a lot and I’ve been feeling more |
Type I diabetes, energy, mood |
Joan’s sister | Hi Paul
You will remember 12 days ago I asked you about my sister who has CFS and You wrote: My guess is that there is a high level of oxidative stress Your advice was spot on and the results have been miraculous. She started Not only that, but some of her CFS symptoms have improved. Her constant I’ve ordered a couple of copies of your book and I’m sure she will be more Any interesting note: prior to starting the anti-oxidants she craved the In searching the net I found this paper that seems to support your advice: And this letter in the Nutritional Neuroscience discussing the paper’s Thank you once again, Paul, for your generosity in sharing your knowledge Kind Regards Joan |
chronic fatigue syndrome, eczema |
Brian | Paul, Many thanks for the excellent work and great book.
I started PHD a few week before Christmas, and even with a few holiday I have no serious health issues as such, but a number of smaller/low level Gradually over a few shorts weeks the aforementioned issues have either I’ve recommended your book to family and work colleagues as a result. I think the main plus point of the diet is that it is ‘doable’. Being allowed to each ‘safe starches’ has been great, as I’ve found All in all I’m delighted, and so glad I found your website & book. Many thanks |
headaches, acid reflux, fatigue, bloating, weight gain |
Brian P. | Many thanks for your book and blog as it has helped me lose 35 pounds and counting over the last 5 months, along with a general improvement in energy level and “evenness”. Extremely gratifying to find a way of eating which is sustainable, totally satisfying and results in natural weight loss. And, I have yet to add high intensity workouts to my normal morning and afternoon walks. I have been talking to anyone who has expressed interest as the potential of the diet is obviously tremendous!! P.s. I strongly suspect PHD played a pivotal part in my wife getting |
weight loss, energy, mood, infertility |
Peter | After eating a meat and vegetables diet for a 1.5 years I read PHD and added back starches. I had been craving them, so it wasn’t hard to do. The addition of starches warmed my body temperature (always an issue Of all the symptoms of glucose deficiency the most concerning was the flat Many thanks to Paul! |
Hypothyroidism, energy, adrenal fatigue, bowel function, mood |
Dry eyes or skin
Angie | It’s anecdotal, but all four people in my family experienced a variety of new symptoms (seasonal allergies, constipation, worsening of heartburn, bladder spasms, dry eyes, increasing tiredness and low energy) when we did GAPS. These problems didn’t resolve until we luckily stumbled upon PHD and added back safe starches. I think GAPS would be much improved by allowing more PHD safe starches and doing away with all the honey and nuts which are considerably harder on many people’s systems (they definitely are on mine!) than potatoes and white rice. |
Allergies, heartburn, dry eyes, low energy |
Melinda | I had severe dry eyes while eating too low carb. Following Dr. Paul’s recommendations at “Perfect Health Diet”, I upped my carbs to his minimum of 50 grams of starch per day and the dry eyes went away. He says that minimum keeps mucus membranes intact and protective. |
dry eyes |
Susan | I’ve instituted “Paleo” in our house since 1/1/11. Very strict about only plants and protein. About 4/1/11 I realized I was experiencing extremely dry eyes and mouth. I read your post about glucose deficiency and added rice and potatoes back into our diet. This cleared the problem up within 3 days and I was super grateful. It also *normalized* our diet, as it’s easy to go out to lunch and have rice/potatoes while avoiding wheat/grains. |
dry eyes |
Erik (comment 1 and comment 2) |
Your book and writings have totally changed the way I think about my diet, nutrition and health. So in the past year, I have minimized grains, cut out processed food, do not eat sweets and avoid omega-6 rich cooking oils like the plague. I have increased my intake of saturated fat by several fold and use butter and coconut oil as my cooking oils. I eat eggs for breakfast and add cream/coconut milk to my coffee. I eat sardines and salmon weekly. I get plenty of sunshine and exercise several times a week. I eat just as much fruits and vegetables as I did in the past. I do however consume more sweet potatoes and potatoes. I use to avoid the “evil” potato as well!… I basically do not calorie count and eat to what I feel. I have actually lost weight and my skin has become healthier as well. My lips do not become chapped like they use to in the past. I always had chapped lips for most of my life…. I have been well overall. The phd is working great for me. Also, my son’s gastrointestinal issues have been improving from the addition of probiotics and better nutrition. He is also starting to say a lot more words this summer. He is asking for things with words for the first time. I can’t say what helped him since there are so many variables interplaying but I am happy to see improvements in language. Our pediatrician was shocked and excited about his improvements. I think his probiotics, gluten free diet, vitamin supplements and intensive ABA therapy have helped a lot. My son’s autism has been a very good learning experience. I feel very lucky to have you as a fantastic resource of information. Many thanks again for your help and kindness! |
weight loss, chapped lips; his son: autism, GI issues |
jtl | When I began implementing PHD a few weeks ago I cut fruit back to about 80 calories/day and upped starch intake with sweet potatoes, potatoes, sourdough buckwheat pancakes, and white rice. Within a couple of weeks chronic health issues such as itchy, flaky scalp, tense painful neck and shoulder muscles, and cyclical vaginal itching had disappeared, my mood had improved noticeably, and I was able to do a little weight-lifting without it wiping me out physically and mentally. 2 weeks ago I cut out fruit entirely and began getting all my carbs in PHD proportions from white rice, sweet potatoes, sourdough buckwheat cakes, and potatoes and saw a dramatic improvement in mood and ability to work-out without negative effects, and the fuzzy-headeded/blurry-eyedness that I’ve felt intermittently throughout the day for as long as I can remember disappeared. For the first time in my life I felt happy, relaxed, patient, care-free, clear-headed/eyed, and not hungry (I’ve always noticed being hungry in my head, not my belly). |
fungal infections, impaired mood, fatigue, dry eyes, food cravings |
Doris | I reached my weight loss goals by eliminating grains and limiting dairy to butter and cream and reducing fruit intake. That said, over the last month or so, I was wondering why my body seemed to be drying out from the inside out. I want to tweak my diet to optimum health and found your book. The information about the importance of mucin was helpful. What was missing in my diet was the carbs that you and the missus recommend. Sweet potatos, white rice etc. Maybe less protein than I’ve been eating and more saturated fat. (I’m alarmed by the stomach and other cancers suffered by long term adherence to the Optimal diet …) I’m having better results every day. I am fascinated that I have a laboratory of my own body to put your ideas to a test and have them show positive results. Thank you both so much for your work and above responses to questions and comments. |
Dry eyes, GI tract |
Autism
Erik (comment 1 and comment 2) |
Your book and writings have totally changed the way I think about my diet, nutrition and health. So in the past year, I have minimized grains, cut out processed food, do not eat sweets and avoid omega-6 rich cooking oils like the plague. I have increased my intake of saturated fat by several fold and use butter and coconut oil as my cooking oils. I eat eggs for breakfast and add cream/coconut milk to my coffee. I eat sardines and salmon weekly. I get plenty of sunshine and exercise several times a week. I eat just as much fruits and vegetables as I did in the past. I do however consume more sweet potatoes and potatoes. I use to avoid the “evil” potato as well!… I basically do not calorie count and eat to what I feel. I have actually lost weight and my skin has become healthier as well. My lips do not become chapped like they use to in the past. I always had chapped lips for most of my life…. I have been well overall. The phd is working great for me. Also, my son’s gastrointestinal issues have been improving from the addition of probiotics and better nutrition. He is also starting to say a lot more words this summer. He is asking for things with words for the first time. I can’t say what helped him since there are so many variables interplaying but I am happy to see improvements in language. Our pediatrician was shocked and excited about his improvements. I think his probiotics, gluten free diet, vitamin supplements and intensive ABA therapy have helped a lot. My son’s autism has been a very good learning experience. I feel very lucky to have you as a fantastic resource of information. Many thanks again for your help and kindness! |
weight loss, chapped lips; his son: autism, GI issues |
Constipation
Bella | Perhaps this is as good a place on your site as any to share the improvements I experienced after switching from a gut healing diet that generally can be described as VLC Paleo to PHD. What’s even more remarkable than the improvements themselves is that they occurred *within 48 hours* of seriously increasing my safe starch consumption. I couldn’t have special ordered it any better. 1. Constipation is gone. 2. Fungal (?) rash is gone. 3. Powdery substance in urine is gone. (After reading here about how VLC diets can cause excess excretion of uric acid, I’m certain this was the problem.) 4. Energy and mood are way better. 5. I like what I’m eating now, I am sated, and my instincts are no longer telling me something’s missing. This intangible effect has made perhaps the biggest impact on my day-to-day quality of life. Thank you PJ and S-CJ! Your PHD came into my life at exactly the right time and produced exactly the changes I needed. Sweet relief! I am still working out some hormonal issues, and fighting fungi, but my glucose deficiency symptoms are gone, and I feel better than I have in a year, which is to say I feel normal, finally. My husband has virtually no symptoms of colitis now. We’re looking forward to his upcoming flex sig to prove that the disease process has been reversed, so that the GI doctor will stop telling us that there’s no way dietary changes alone could’ve cured the disease, that my husband must be in symptomatic remission with a still-flaming colon. Doc doesn’t know what to make of us. So indulge me in a bit of gushing when I tell you I’m utterly grateful for both your product (the book) and service (advice on your site). The one-on-one advice is a very powerful way to connect with your audience. It’s as if I can *feel* the sense of community and healing when I’m on your site. You’ve got a special thing going. |
fungal infections, low energy, impaired mood, constipation |
Vincent | I thought others might be interested in the results of my experiments with preventing constipation over the last few months. (See my previous comments and Paul’s recommendations to me in this thread for background.) My regimen was as follows… Diet: Added enough white rice to raise consumption of safe starches above 600 calories daily; ate berries, turmeric, oregano, spinach, and fermented vegetables regularly; initially eliminated tubers (which I had difficulty digesting) and later replaced them with fermented tubers; and replaced coconut oil with olive oil. Anti-fungal medicines: I respected Paul’s advice regarding anti-fungal drugs, but decided to postpone using them until after I had tried non-prescription supplements. Supplements: Conformed my nutritional supplements to the PHD recommendations and added NAC; added grapefruit seed extract, olive leaf extract, Kolorex advanced candida care (horopito), Now Foods candida clear, and occasional activated charcoal; and tried a few probiotics, including ThreeLac. After a few weeks of little improvement, I experienced my Many |
constipation, fungal infection |
Anna | I’m so grateful to you for this information. I’ve been suffering for weeks but I took the recommended supplements and did nothing else — and experienced relief the second day. In a world full of useless and confusing information, having a good source is such a godsend. Thank you for all that you do. |
constipation |
Hunter‘s wife | My wife and I have been VLC for a couple years now, myself probably a little longer than her and I tend to eat more saturated fat too. She recently stopped taking birth control and her menstrual cycle just stopped. Also for years and years, maybe as long as the past decade, she’s been chronically constipated, depressed, and always tired and wanting to sleep 10+ hours. She’s been thru tons of tests and no doctor can find anything wrong with her. I started doing some research on her results from multiple blood tests and found her TSH has been slowly increasing and was at 3.13. We started checking her basal body temperature in the mornings and she’s usually around 96…. Both of us have also avoided salt for most of our lives as well as most packaged/processed foods that might contain salt. So we started supplementing Iodine, starting about a month ago and slowly increasing the dosage each week, as well as eating about 200-400 carb calories a day from white rice, taro, and cassava (all covered in pastured butter). Some mornings now her temperature has reached as high as 98.2 and her constipation has suddenly improved a lot. |
hypothyroidism, fatigue, constipation, amenorrhea |
Betty | You have blessed my life. I had one final symptom that was chronic all my life. Constipation. I e-mailed you last week and you offered up some suggestions. PRAISE THE LORD! I have had NO IBS, or constipation since following your advice. I am, and will be forever grateful. |
constipation |
Robin | I had been on a Paleo diet for about six months when it dawned on me that I needed the rice to avoid constipation. Addition of starchy roots and a bit more animal fat did not help the situation. Once I reintroduced rice ( 1 cup on a daily basis) , the problem was solved. |
constipation |
Anonymous | I’ve been following the PHD and taking the recommended supplements and many of the therapeutic supplements for several months. Last week, I just started supplementing with Zinc and NAC. This week – no more constipation for the first time in many, many years – amazing! Thank you so much! |
constipation |
Helena’s mom | Hi Paul, Thank you again! You helped my mom who has suffered with chronic constipation for 60 plus years. She had taken Senna for decades. I read your post about using Magnesium Citrate instead. It works like a charm and she is no longer taking toxic Senna. Thank you! |
constipation |
Fungal infections
Bella | Perhaps this is as good a place on your site as any to share the improvements I experienced after switching from a gut healing diet that generally can be described as VLC Paleo to PHD. What’s even more remarkable than the improvements themselves is that they occurred *within 48 hours* of seriously increasing my safe starch consumption. I couldn’t have special ordered it any better. 1. Constipation is gone. 2. Fungal (?) rash is gone. 3. Powdery substance in urine is gone. (After reading here about how VLC diets can cause excess excretion of uric acid, I’m certain this was the problem.) 4. Energy and mood are way better. 5. I like what I’m eating now, I am sated, and my instincts are no longer telling me something’s missing. This intangible effect has made perhaps the biggest impact on my day-to-day quality of life. Thank you PJ and S-CJ! Your PHD came into my life at exactly the right time and produced exactly the changes I needed. Sweet relief! I am still working out some hormonal issues, and fighting fungi, but my glucose deficiency symptoms are gone, and I feel better than I have in a year, which is to say I feel normal, finally. My husband has virtually no symptoms of colitis now. We’re looking forward to his upcoming flex sig to prove that the disease process has been reversed, so that the GI doctor will stop telling us that there’s no way dietary changes alone could’ve cured the disease, that my husband must be in symptomatic remission with a still-flaming colon. Doc doesn’t know what to make of us. So indulge me in a bit of gushing when I tell you I’m utterly grateful for both your product (the book) and service (advice on your site). The one-on-one advice is a very powerful way to connect with your audience. It’s as if I can *feel* the sense of community and healing when I’m on your site. You’ve got a special thing going. |
fungal infections, low energy, impaired mood, constipation |
Vincent | I thought others might be interested in the results of my experiments with preventing constipation over the last few months. (See my previous comments and Paul’s recommendations to me in this thread for background.) My regimen was as follows… Diet: Added enough white rice to raise consumption of safe starches above 600 calories daily; ate berries, turmeric, oregano, spinach, and fermented vegetables regularly; initially eliminated tubers (which I had difficulty digesting) and later replaced them with fermented tubers; and replaced coconut oil with olive oil. Anti-fungal medicines: I respected Paul’s advice regarding anti-fungal drugs, but decided to postpone using them until after I had tried non-prescription supplements. Supplements: Conformed my nutritional supplements to the PHD recommendations and added NAC; added grapefruit seed extract, olive leaf extract, Kolorex advanced candida care (horopito), Now Foods candida clear, and occasional activated charcoal; and tried a few probiotics, including ThreeLac. After a few weeks of little improvement, I experienced my Many |
constipation, fungal infection |
KirkC | I started PHD ten months ago after having previously pursued a low-carb paleo approach. At that time, I had a toe fungal infection which made the toenail of my right toe nearly black, plus it made my foot half-numb. It was getting so that I didn’t even like to go for long walks, which I have done all my life. After six months of PHD eating, some of the fungus had receded and some feeling had returned to my foot. Recently, after a discussion or two on your blog mentioned Epsom Salts, I added a nightly foot soak in Epsom Salts. It seemed to me that almost immediately there was a reduction in both the visibility of the fungus as well as a reduction in the numbness. As of today, most (but not all) of the feeling has returned to my right foot. Although I suspect the most recent improvement resulted from Epsom Salts, it might also be due to other changes which finally registered results. Those changes, in reverse order (most recent changes first): Nature’s Way Primadophilus, Yerba Prima Bentonite, intermittent fasting, recommended supplements, PHD nutrition. |
fungal infection |
jtl | When I began implementing PHD a few weeks ago I cut fruit back to about 80 calories/day and upped starch intake with sweet potatoes, potatoes, sourdough buckwheat pancakes, and white rice. Within a couple of weeks chronic health issues such as itchy, flaky scalp, tense painful neck and shoulder muscles, and cyclical vaginal itching had disappeared, my mood had improved noticeably, and I was able to do a little weight-lifting without it wiping me out physically and mentally. 2 weeks ago I cut out fruit entirely and began getting all my carbs in PHD proportions from white rice, sweet potatoes, sourdough buckwheat cakes, and potatoes and saw a dramatic improvement in mood and ability to work-out without negative effects, and the fuzzy-headeded/blurry-eyedness that I’ve felt intermittently throughout the day for as long as I can remember disappeared. For the first time in my life I felt happy, relaxed, patient, care-free, clear-headed/eyed, and not hungry (I’ve always noticed being hungry in my head, not my belly). |
fungal infections, impaired mood, fatigue, dry eyes, food cravings |
Juan Camilo | Thank you Paul, you’ve been a huge help and so far, the one who’s had the right answer to many problems. |
fungal infection |
Bill (comment 1 and comment 2) |
VLC sucked the life out of me… maybe I didn’t do it right but for a young active male it is a definite no go for me and I never had dandruff until I went ZC…. Got way better with starches and is now on it’s way out with starches plus antifungals!… I thought I would share an update on my antifungal therapy. I have been taking 200mg of Diflucan along with 2 caps of Kolorex for almost 2 weeks now… so not much time but I have seen some very significant changes in that time period. I am eating a diet high in sweet potatoes and lower in fat/protein. Probably anywhere from 50-60% carbs, 20-30% fats and 10-20% protein. Before when attempting this high carb diet, my digestion went to hell. 3-5 bowel movements a day, starting with 1 good one and then each one after got worse. Never diarreah but not well formed, etc (sorry to be TMI). My sebhorreic dermatitis would flare up even though my skin was more moist and healthy (maybe increased oils flared this). Allergies seemed to be worse. Sleep was sometimes better and easier, sometimes worse. I went high carb because I seemed to develop some thyroid symptoms on low carb that were easily erased with a high carb PHD. Now, two weeks into Diflucan, my digestion is almost perfect. 1-2 solid bowl movements a day all well formed. No IBS like urgency at all anymore. Better athletic performance, smoother healthier skin (the seb derm redness has vanished but there is still some minor flaking… upping the bone broths, vit C, vitamin A to speed healing). Congestion is much much better and my gums have stopped bleeding! |
fungal infections |
Kirk | I forced my toenail fungus into a major retreat by switching to the Perfect Health Diet (which added more carbs, which, according to Paul, supplies the body the glucose needed to fight fungal infections). I also added in a number of their recommended supplements. |
toenail fungus |
Hypothyroidism
Am doing quite well on PHD … Having Hashimoto’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 … Thank you so much for all your work. |
|
hypothyroidism |
ET | I am extremely grateful to you and Shou-Ching. Your book and this website has helped me tremendously. I had soft tissue recovery issues, joint inflammation, skin issues etc. After endless doctors visits, a smart dermatologist suggested I had a leaky gut and gluten sensitivity. At one point Hashimoto was also thrown into the mix. Paleo and GAPS took care of most of the joint inflammation and skin problems, but my T3 and some of my thyroid symptoms got worse while I was on the (unintentional) ketogenic healing diet. Your posts on this issue have been helpful, and I am now upping my carb intake. I have bought the book to a few people in my family and my best friend…. I am so happy. |
joint inflammation, skin issues, hypothyroidism |
William Trumbower MD | What a wonderful series of posts!! I treat thyroid problems in my practice and have Hashimoto’s myself. I check FT3/RT3 ratios on almost everyone. I think this is the best lab test for your thyroid related metabolic state. The most useful is the old fashioned history and physical exam. Old time thyroid docs did this with no lab tests to guide them. The thyroid gland controls the metabolism of the hypothalamus and pituitary. TSH allows the hypothalamus/pituitary to receive adequate thyroid hormone in the face of a hypometabolic state (starvation etc). Chronic elevated systemic inflammation and malnutrition inhibit thyroid function and thus ALL endocrine function, including adrenals. The longer I am on the PHD and appropriate supplements, the less desiccated thyroid I require. It used to take 21/2 tabs daily and now I use 1/2 tab daily. I have increased my safe carb intake as weight loss is no longer my main goal and feel great! Thanks Paul |
hypothyroidism |
Hunter‘s wife | My wife and I have been VLC for a couple years now, myself probably a little longer than her and I tend to eat more saturated fat too. She recently stopped taking birth control and her menstrual cycle just stopped. Also for years and years, maybe as long as the past decade, she’s been chronically constipated, depressed, and always tired and wanting to sleep 10+ hours. She’s been thru tons of tests and no doctor can find anything wrong with her. I started doing some research on her results from multiple blood tests and found her TSH has been slowly increasing and was at 3.13. We started checking her basal body temperature in the mornings and she’s usually around 96…. Both of us have also avoided salt for most of our lives as well as most packaged/processed foods that might contain salt. So we started supplementing Iodine, starting about a month ago and slowly increasing the dosage each week, as well as eating about 200-400 carb calories a day from white rice, taro, and cassava (all covered in pastured butter). Some mornings now her temperature has reached as high as 98.2 and her constipation has suddenly improved a lot. |
hypothyroidism, fatigue, constipation, amenorrhea |
Peter | After eating a meat and vegetables diet for a 1.5 years I read PHD and added back starches. I had been craving them, so it wasn’t hard to do. The addition of starches warmed my body temperature (always an issue Of all the symptoms of glucose deficiency the most concerning was the flat Many thanks to Paul! |
hypothyroidism, bowel function, mood |
Joan | Hi Paul
I haven’t posted for a while but continue to be an avid reader of your Quick background: Crohn’s for 16.5 years. Steroids for most of that time I’ve particularly concentrated on raising my Vit D levels All these things improved my general sense of well-being and energy levels I did a Metametrix GI Effects Stool test in March hoping to find something During this time, since coming off steroids, I was able to observe the So, re-reading you assertion that intra-cellular bacteria can only feed on It is very unlikely that anti-MAP antibiotics will be made available to Regards, Joan Footnote2: My sister continues to be free of eczema. Thanks so much, |
Crohn’s, hypothyroidism, general wellbeing; eczema |
Michelle | IME, a comprehensive stool test proved helpful. I found a fungal infection which I treated with two bottles of ProEnt-2. I found bacterial overgrowths, which I treated with Natren probiotics. The stool test showed gluten intolerance as well, and seeing the results on paper helped me to take the leap & kiss gluten goodbye. I was also positive to toxoplasma, which I have not treated due to cost I had a sudden severe arthritis flare and have been on low dose pulsing My thyroid function has improved as I’ve gotten healthier. My guess is I’m no longer anemic. I used SAM-e successfully, for 2-3 years at 200-400 mg per day, upon I can’t tell you how empowering it felt to take steps, and to slowly see Good luck to you! There are often many pieces to the puzzle! You may find |
Infections, arthritis, hypothyroidism, anemia, mood |
Java Gal | Ok, have to comment – can’t contain myself anymore! I am a lurker of the worst sort, but here goes. As a 54 year old woman, I am more energetic, flexible (yoga three times a week), and healthier than I have been for, oh, decades. My doc, a wonderful, but dye-in-the-wool vegetarian, told me to keep doing what I was doing – cholesterol dropped, good TSH levels(I’m hypo), and down 5 sizes. Talk about replacing a wardrobe! My worry, of course, is gaining it all back, which, sorry to say, is an experience I have had already in days of yore. I was an avowed low-carber back then and I can attest that, while it was effective for losing weight, it was not a good long term strategy. So far, as long as I stick to basic PHD principles, things are going swimmingly. In general, PHD has been a huge success. Thank you Paul and Shou-Ching! |
obesity, energy, flexibility, dyslipidemia, hypothyroidism, general health |
Agatha | Thanks for this Paul – very helpful. I have noticed my temperature has increased since starting PHD – I used to be always cold and being warmer feels much, much better – being constantly cold is a miserable way to live. |
hypothyroidism |
Peter | After eating a meat and vegetables diet for a 1.5 years I read PHD and added back starches. I had been craving them, so it wasn’t hard to do. The addition of starches warmed my body temperature (always an issue Of all the symptoms of glucose deficiency the most concerning was the flat Many thanks to Paul! |
Hypothyroidism, energy, adrenal fatigue, bowel function, mood |
Carpal tunnel syndrome<
Justin (and here) | I started feeling terrible in the winter of 2007. I went to five doctors, none of them knew what was wrong with me. I had blood drawn about 15 times for various lab tests. I was afraid I would be bedridden one day because of the pain. The first doctor who helped me did so by diagnosing me with fibromyalgia. He started me on Savella 50mg/day. I improved on Savella, and was told to I tried a few different things, natural supplements, and diets. Some gave I learned of the Perfect Health Diet from a friend in the summer of 2011. In light of my previous failures, the key that made the avoidance of wheat I thought all would be cured by avoiding gluten, so I started cutting back I decided I would put more effort into the other parts of the PHD. Next in Next, I went half in on the supplements. I noticed the magnesium had In fact, it took some forced thinking to recall how far I’ve come. I used Now, I do still have elbow pain and some psoriasis/rash, so all is not THREE AND A HALF MONTHS LATER: I posted earlier about my progress with being on Savella for a I delayed reporting because I wanted to be sure symptoms would not flare |
fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel |
Arthritis, joint inflammation, crepitus
ET | I am extremely grateful to you and Shou-Ching. Your book and this website has helped me tremendously. I had soft tissue recovery issues, joint inflammation, skin issues etc. After endless doctors visits, a smart dermatologist suggested I had a leaky gut and gluten sensitivity. At one point Hashimoto was also thrown into the mix. Paleo and GAPS took care of most of the joint inflammation and skin problems, but my T3 and some of my thyroid symptoms got worse while I was on the (unintentional) ketogenic healing diet. Your posts on this issue have been helpful, and I am now upping my carb intake. I have bought the book to a few people in my family and my best friend…. I am so happy. |
joint inflammation, skin issues, hypothyroidism |
Morris G (comment 1, comment 2, comment 3) |
A couple of months after starting PHD there was an obvious improvement in mood and cognitive function. Now 12 months later the mental improvements persist but do not seem to be growing. … I’ve had joint “noises” for about 20 years (I’m 72yo) but no direct discomfort from the noise effect. The frequency and magnitude has increased over time but only very slowly. I tend to think that the degree of crepitude correlates (weakly) with general joint health eg time to recover from episodes of tendonitis or discomfort caused by overuse. I have ignored this “crepitude” as being an unavoidable aging effect until recently, when my manageable back/neck aches spontaneously improved and that happened about 3 months after adopting the PHD diet (although I didn’t know at the time that the diet was PHD). For example I can sleep on my back for the first time in 8 years and turn my neck 90 deg without any discomfort. My exercise regime has not changed from pre-PHD and is not too strenuous, about 2-3 hrs total/week of which most is moderate effort cardio with some resistance. The odd thing is that pre-PHD, with the same exercise effort, if I increased calories my fat would easily but slowly increase, but not now…. I feel great … |
mood, cognitive function, joint function, weight |
Alex | I recently had my carotid arteries evaluated via ultrasound for plaque and narrowing and was told there is no evidence of either. A year ago, just before adopting a PHD type diet, an MRI of my heart revealed “significant” plaque on one of my coronary arteries and less significant on another…. I’m in my mid 40s, lean, active, and have seen many health improvements since adopting the diet (less joint stiffness, no more chronic back pain, milder colds, fewer allergy symptoms, less gas, less bloating, need for less sleep. |
atherosclerosis, joint stiffness, back pain, allergies, bowel distress |
L.B. | I have been following a “paleo” diet for the past seven months – a combination of the PHD book, Mark’s Daily Apple and Kurt Harris’ blog. I am a 47 year old male, 6’ 1” and 175lbs. My health and fitness improvements include the following:
This fitness plan has had a profoundly positive impact on my life. My wife |
weight loss, gout, creaky joints, IBS, heartburn / acid reflux, dyslipidemia, oral health, reduced cravings, blood pressure |
J.L. | I just returned from a book club meeting where we discussed The Perfect Health Diet at length. I have to say, I am most fascinated by the chapter focused on chronic disease and infection! I am a living testament to the power of diet and “immuno- warfare”, if you Since beginning to uncover secrets of old three years ago, I have eaten a Thank God for my integrative MD…He ordered Metametrix testing, and lo and I can sometimes feel the anger welling up inside me when I think of the Thank you kindly for joining the crusade and bringing your diet and this |
rheumatoid arthritis, chronic infections |
Michelle | IME, a comprehensive stool test proved helpful. I found a fungal infection which I treated with two bottles of ProEnt-2. I found bacterial overgrowths, which I treated with Natren probiotics. The stool test showed gluten intolerance as well, and seeing the results on paper helped me to take the leap & kiss gluten goodbye. I was also positive to toxoplasma, which I have not treated due to cost I had a sudden severe arthritis flare and have been on low dose pulsing My thyroid function has improved as I’ve gotten healthier. My guess is I’m no longer anemic. I used SAM-e successfully, for 2-3 years at 200-400 mg per day, upon I can’t tell you how empowering it felt to take steps, and to slowly see Good luck to you! There are often many pieces to the puzzle! You may find |
Infections, arthritis, hypothyroidism, anemia, mood |
Thomas | An unanticipated but very welcome result of getting on PHD has been relief of arthritis in my ankles. I sprained my ankles dozens of times while playing basketball growing up, and had slight arthritis in both ankles by the time I was 26. Since then, any type of prolonged running makes my ankles sore and painful for hours, with a little bit of swelling. In the last month that has stopped completely- I feel great after playing ball now. I don’t know if PHD is responsible for the relief, but I can’t imagine what else it could be. |
arthritis |
Back pain
Alex | I recently had my carotid arteries evaluated via ultrasound for plaque and narrowing and was told there is no evidence of either. A year ago, just before adopting a PHD type diet, an MRI of my heart revealed “significant” plaque on one of my coronary arteries and less significant on another…. I’m in my mid 40s, lean, active, and have seen many health improvements since adopting the diet (less joint stiffness, no more chronic back pain, milder colds, fewer allergy symptoms, less gas, less bloating, need for less sleep. |
atherosclerosis, joint stiffness, back pain, allergies, bowel distress |
Raynaud’s syndrome
Becky | Hat tip and thank you: After I started reading your blog, and adding in “safe starches”, my Reynaud’s largely cleared up with temperatures over 20F. This wasn’t the intention, but a wonderful side-effect. Last month, when the sun came out and the temps got over 25, I enjoyed a successful 2-mile snow hike for the first time in three years. =) |
Raynaud’s |
Kate | I too have had Raynaud’s all my life … In the past two months, I have modified my diet in line with Paul’s suggestions for Migraine. I now eat 200 calories worth of safe starch, all the recommended supplements, and as much coconut oil as I can stomach. I am also doing the 16/8 fast. My Raynaud’s has further improved, as measured by the fact I sometimes forget to turn the heat up in the morning, and cold extremities don’t always alert me to my forgetfulness!… Thanks for asking about the Migraines. They are in fact vastly improved, which I attribute solely to your recommendations. I can say that, because I have tried virtually everything else in the past…. Clearly something remarkable is happening, thanks to your recommendations! A little history. I started getting these headaches in my late 30s. (I am now 52). In the beginning I thought I had the stomach flu, because in addition to the headache I would always throw up or have dry heaves. The worst headaches would keep me immobilized in bed for up to two days. My brother-in-law, a neurologist, convinced me they were migraines. I finally consulted a doctor, who put me on midrin, which did not help, and a few months later I started on imitrex, which did help, at least at first. Eventually, my headache pattern evolved, and I had at least a mild headache every day, punctuated by the occasional doozy. Apparently, this is a pretty common progression, especially with women my age. I always suspected there was something wrong with my lifestyle or diet, and over the years I have tried numerous experiments, but nothing ever worked. … In January, in my blog travels, I stumbled on your site. I ordered the book and was intrigued by your and Shou-Ching’s ideas about disease and chronic conditions. I was already familiar with the idea of a ketogenic diet for epilepsy, so I was immediately interested in trying a more ketogenic diet for myself. I ordered all your basic supplements, and immediately upped my kelp to two capsules. I had been using coconut oil for curries, so I started using it habitually. Started eating 200 calories of starches that you recommended—this was a little scary, after studiously avoiding them for four years! I was afraid I they might keep me awake at night, but I am sleeping like a log. Started fasting 16/8, which was easy once you absolved me for having cream in my morning coffee! Within a week of starting this regimen my chronic headache started to disappear! Some days I would only have a headache for part of the day, and occasionally I would have no headache at all! I read somewhere on your site that NAC is good on a ketogenic diet, so I ordered it too. I had never heard of this supplement before. It seems to have made a further positive difference. I have started taking it twice a day. Once before bed, and once in the late afternoon, when the headache sometimes starts coming back. Since I added NAC, I have been nearly headache free. Another amazing development concerns anxiety. Over the years I have become somewhat anxious when I drive on highways. I grip the steering wheel tightly, sit forward in the seat, and am generally hyper vigilant. I always chided myself for my lack of nerves, but that didn’t help. As mentioned above, this was magnified by the Topomax. I never had this issue when I was younger; indeed I used to fly helicopters in the army. Two weeks ago I drove up to New Jersey to pick up my daughter, a 3.5 hour trip from where I live in Northern Virginia. I stopped two hours into the trip to make a pit stop, and I suddenly realized I was totally relaxed, and had been for the entire trip! The PHD is strong brain medicine indeed! Thanks for all your research, insights, and ideas. I think the Perfect Health Diet is going to be a game changer for many people. Hopefully it is the start of a sea change at how we approach the chronic maladies of our times. |
Raynaud’s, migraines, anxiety |
Anonymous (also here) | I have Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and am taking a very low dose of risperdal (same drug in higher doses used to treat schizophrenia). I had been doing very low carb for many years and do now wonder if it Better mood I have found that following the PHD diet (in particular, getting enough Very nutritious, no cravings This diet is super healthy and does allow plenty of choices: meat, fish, Intermittent fasting – easy This is optional, but I’m so happy I discovered this. Fasting sounds Raynaud’s Another benefit of the PHD is that my Raynaud’s is much better now and I’m So give PHD a try if you want to feel better and be healthy too. I highly Thank you so much, Paul and Shou-Ching, for all you do! 🙂 |
Borderline Personality Disorder, mood, energy, anxiety, food cravings, Raynaud’s |
General health
Kate | “However, some of the effects of nutrient deficiencies are insidious and might easily escape notice, because they develop gradually over months or years.” I could not agree more. Moreover, while your your body may give you hints all is not well, that does not necessarily point you in the right direction. Particularly when you are embracing the latest ill thought out nutritional theory de jour. In my case, I went from “carb loading” on my swimteam as a teen, to thinking carbs were the most healthful food, which segued into low fat, whole grain obsession as an adult. By my late forties, I had a number of niggling health problems, which were partially resolved by a 180 shift to a low carb diet, which I took to further extremes, which created more issues…I think many people know their body is trying to tell them something, but in the midst of the cacophony of government and health agencies’ dietary advice, most people have no idea what to do. I am finally finding my way out of a dark tunnel using the PHD framework of optimizing macro and micro nutrition, getting tests, and careful experimentation. This is the first diet and approach to health I have seen that really tries to reconcile all the research, and consider all the traditional wisdom, in contrast to the usual practice in recent decades of enshrining one or two possibly good ideas to extreme and ultimately damaging dietary prescriptions. |
miscellaneous issues |
Richard M, email of Oct 19, 2011 |
May I firstly congratulate you and Shou-Ching for writing such a wonderful book. After researching nutrition and health in my spare time for many years I have never come across a book that has been able to tie all of the major aspects of a healthy diet together in such a concise manner whilst being so extensively well referenced. The amount of improvements that I have seen since implementing this diet |
energy, food cravings, weight, illness |
Jeanie Graham Campbell | My husband is doing fabulously on the PHD. It stalled my weight loss, but I felt great. Once I get down to where I want to be (another 7 or so pounds), I’ll be rockin’ the PHD!!! |
A. b. Dada | I added back white potatoes and even white rice based on Dr. Harris’ advice and definitely feel better (less orthostatic hypotension) — plus I’m actually slimmer than I’ve ever been, yet my muscles are much stronger. Low carb for 12 years before this year! |
orthostatic hypotension, body composition |
Ellen | MM’s nighttime numbness made me think about a similar mystery that I experienced. I have had for the last several years, not exactly numbness, but a strange burning sensation in feet and/or legs only at night when I would wake. not every night, but frequently. If I moved my legs a bit it would go away. It started after being VERY low carb for over six months. I hadn’t noticed, but now that I think about it, it seems to have dwindled significantly, perhaps completely. I have been eating 200 C safe starches for a three and a half months now. Chalk up another one for PHD! |
strange burning sensation |
Chronic infections
Jesper | I was struggling for a while and had to keep upping the abx dose every couple of months to get the same effect as before, and not deteriorate. I read about some of Pauls tips and started eating high fat low carb, and i felt there was a difference. Also started doing ketogenic fast in the morning. I have a lot less symptoms now than before and i feel like the abx hits harder, especially true during my morning fast. I think high fat low carb is a good idea for the people with this bacteria especially those who struggle with abx resistance. |
chronic bacterial infection |
Natalie | As someone dealing with chronic disease (a very unfun combination of Lyme, Babesia, and Bartonella), I know I’m always looking to find out more of what has worked and what did not work for others. This blog along with many of the readers of this blog have been a tremendous help to me personally. For example, I now know I can avoid the daily “coma naps” if I don’t go crazy on the carbohydrates. I’ve actually received some excellent diet advice from my doctor, but he never told me to chill on the carbs! |
chronic infections |
Thomas | The part of this blog post that starts “Thus common symptoms of a bacterial infection of the brain are those of cognitive hypoglycemia and serotonin deficiency” and continues for several paragraphs describes precisely the mysterious changes I have experience over the last decade of life (I am now 33), with the one variation being that I suffer extreme fatigue rather than insomnia or restlessness. Every other sympton, including the odd mental state you mention, is a perfect match, and I experience them all to a marked degree…. I have been diagnosed with general anxiety but never depression. I do not feel sad ever, just irritable and anhedonia-ac, if I may coin a word. Anti-depressants, and I’ve tried a bunch, do absolutely nothing for me. I began to decline after suffering the second subdural hematoma of my life at age 20 when I was in Italy, followed by a 5 year binge on alcohol…. I’ve been doing PHD for about 7 weeks now, and tried a ketogenic fast this past weekend. I ended up going 33 hours with some coconut oil and cream. It was a bit tough having to eat a bunch of oil on an empty stomach, but nothing too bad. I can’t say there was any improvement cognitively or with anhedonia, but there seemed to me to be a pronounced calming effect after about 24 hours of fasting. I often stutter or stumble over words (again, for about 10 years now), which usually goes away only with two or three alcoholic drinks. But the speech problems stopped almost completely during the fast, which makes me thing that there is some link to anxiety and stuttering. I’ve been on PHD for a few months, and about a month ago went to the low-carb therapeutic ketogenic version of the PHD. After reading some of Paul’s posts, I believe that I might have a brain infection as a result of a head injury from more than a decade ago (Paul, if you recall, my condition has a lot of similarities to the one you once had). I started taking doxycycline a few days ago, and I have already noticed pronounced improvement (whether due to the diet or the antibiotic or both) in controlling the irritability and anxiety that have plagued me for years…. I definitely feel great since making the diet changes. My blood pressure, which has been creeping upwards over the last few years to 135/80 or so, is back down to 110/70. My testosterone is 824, and I am pleased to see that I maintaining my strength in the gym despite being on a ketogenic diet. The improvements I’ve seen recently have done more for my well-being than anything in the last decade, and I am profoundly grateful to you for all your excellent advice. |
brain infection |
J.L. | I just returned from a book club meeting where we discussed The Perfect Health Diet at length. I have to say, I am most fascinated by the chapter focused on chronic disease and infection! I am a living testament to the power of diet and “immuno- warfare”, if you Since beginning to uncover secrets of old three years ago, I have eaten a Thank God for my integrative MD…He ordered Metametrix testing, and lo and I can sometimes feel the anger welling up inside me when I think of the Thank you kindly for joining the crusade and bringing your diet and this |
rheumatoid arthritis, chronic infections |
Michelle | IME, a comprehensive stool test proved helpful. I found a fungal infection which I treated with two bottles of ProEnt-2. I found bacterial overgrowths, which I treated with Natren probiotics. The stool test showed gluten intolerance as well, and seeing the results on paper helped me to take the leap & kiss gluten goodbye. I was also positive to toxoplasma, which I have not treated due to cost I had a sudden severe arthritis flare and have been on low dose pulsing My thyroid function has improved as I’ve gotten healthier. My guess is I’m no longer anemic. I used SAM-e successfully, for 2-3 years at 200-400 mg per day, upon I can’t tell you how empowering it felt to take steps, and to slowly see Good luck to you! There are often many pieces to the puzzle! You may find |
Infections, arthritis, hypothyroidism, anemia, mood |
Louise | My 10 yo daughter is being treated for a lyme/bartonella infection and her LLMD is supplementing her with the B6 metabolite P-5-P, L-methylFolate and methylB12 to address the MTHFR defect that is so prominent in a lot of kids with lyme induced autism and immune disregulation. My daughter is responding well to treatment; her speech, executive function, handwriting, sound/light sensitivities have improved greatly with antibiotics and supplementation, and the ~80% implementation of your diet. Thank you so much for your hard work, you are helping so many. |
Lyme, bartonella |
Fibromyalgia & CFS
Justin (and here) | I started feeling terrible in the winter of 2007. I went to five doctors, none of them knew what was wrong with me. I had blood drawn about 15 times for various lab tests. I was afraid I would be bedridden one day because of the pain. The first doctor who helped me did so by diagnosing me with fibromyalgia. He started me on Savella 50mg/day. I improved on Savella, and was told to I tried a few different things, natural supplements, and diets. Some gave I learned of the Perfect Health Diet from a friend in the summer of 2011. In light of my previous failures, the key that made the avoidance of wheat I thought all would be cured by avoiding gluten, so I started cutting back I decided I would put more effort into the other parts of the PHD. Next in Next, I went half in on the supplements. I noticed the magnesium had In fact, it took some forced thinking to recall how far I’ve come. I used Now, I do still have elbow pain and some psoriasis/rash, so all is not THREE AND A HALF MONTHS LATER: I posted earlier about my progress with being on Savella for a I delayed reporting because I wanted to be sure symptoms would not flare |
fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel |
Joan’s sister | Hi Paul
You will remember 12 days ago I asked you about my sister who has CFS and You wrote: My guess is that there is a high level of oxidative stress Your advice was spot on and the results have been miraculous. She started Not only that, but some of her CFS symptoms have improved. Her constant I’ve ordered a couple of copies of your book and I’m sure she will be more Any interesting note: prior to starting the anti-oxidants she craved the In searching the net I found this paper that seems to support your advice: And this letter in the Nutritional Neuroscience discussing the paper’s Thank you once again, Paul, for your generosity in sharing your knowledge Kind Regards Joan |
chronic fatigue syndrome, eczema |
Acne
Els and here and here | I have been on PHD for almost 2 weeks now, doing IF 16/8 at the same time, and have started with the supplements you have recommended 4 days ago. Since I started PHD I do no longer crave for sweets. I used to eat chocolates almost everyday and haven’t had it for over 2 weeks now. 🙂 I am so happy I found your blog and got your book. Keep up the good works…. 5 weeks ago I found PHD website and ordered the book. I am now on my 4th Btw, I continue to shed off some more fat even after I’ve increased my |
food cravings, cramps / menstrual cramps, sleep, acne / pimples, body composition |
Hunter and here | Well I can comment on the topic of acne. Since starting to follow the perfect health diet around the beginning of this month my acne has completely cleared up. To give you a little history, I discovered both Cordain’s the paleo diet and Sisson’s primal blueprint nearly 2 years ago and upon cutting out grains and dairy I saw immediate improvement in my moderate acne that I have been struggling to find a cure for since I was about 15. I turned 34 this month. At first I thought for sure that it must’ve been the 3+ glasses of milk plus cheese plus yogurt plus ice cream that I was consuming nearly everyday, but my acne did continue even though I was following a relatively strict paleo diet, although acne inflammation was usually to a much lesser degree than before I had changed my diet. I have still not been able to nail down the cause, until now I think… Cordain’s advice has been to avoid saturated fat and simply eat all the I increased my sat fat intake, mainly from coconut oil which I had All of those changes I think are good, but I believe that in particular BTW, I had already been experimenting with intermittent fasting for the … I’ve been |
acne |
Infertility, amenorrhea, PCOS
Hunter‘s wife | My wife and I have been VLC for a couple years now, myself probably a little longer than her and I tend to eat more saturated fat too. She recently stopped taking birth control and her menstrual cycle just stopped. Also for years and years, maybe as long as the past decade, she’s been chronically constipated, depressed, and always tired and wanting to sleep 10+ hours. She’s been thru tons of tests and no doctor can find anything wrong with her. I started doing some research on her results from multiple blood tests and found her TSH has been slowly increasing and was at 3.13. We started checking her basal body temperature in the mornings and she’s usually around 96…. Both of us have also avoided salt for most of our lives as well as most packaged/processed foods that might contain salt. So we started supplementing Iodine, starting about a month ago and slowly increasing the dosage each week, as well as eating about 200-400 carb calories a day from white rice, taro, and cassava (all covered in pastured butter). Some mornings now her temperature has reached as high as 98.2 and her constipation has suddenly improved a lot. |
hypothyroidism, fatigue, constipation, amenorrhea |
S, |
Two weeks ago my doctor diagnosed me with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. After chatting to me a little about nutrition and its effect on the body, he wrote down the title of your book “The Perfect Health Diet” and said that it could help me. I went home and immediately ordered the book online and received it a few days later (yippee!) Although I’m not even half way into the book (I decided to start again after discovering it’s not light bedtime reading!) I am certainly seeing sense in what the book says and am already feeling a lot better just in myself – more energy, happier, less hormone mood swings and not bloated at all. I’ve lost a bit of weight since I started two weeks ago (6lbs) and my skin is… well… the least spotty its been since I was about 11 years old! I’m certain that the diet is the reason for these changes. |
PCOS, weight loss |
Brian P. | Many thanks for your book and blog as it has helped me lose 35 pounds and counting over the last 5 months, along with a general improvement in energy level and “evenness”. Extremely gratifying to find a way of eating which is sustainable, totally satisfying and results in natural weight loss. And, I have yet to add high intensity workouts to my normal morning and afternoon walks. I have been talking to anyone who has expressed interest as the potential of the diet is obviously tremendous!! P.s. I strongly suspect PHD played a pivotal part in my wife getting |
weight loss, energy, mood, infertility |
Genetic disorders
Zach and Mathias | My son, who is 6, … has been on the diet for less than one month and his hands have relaxed enough for him to regain his pointing ability (which had been lost). Zach, the 12 year old on the diet, is much further progressed in the disease. Zach has been on the diet since late October, 2010, reaching 80% fat levels towards mid-December. The following are the improvements that have been noted by Zach’s family and therapists: Zach has begun holding up his head even though his neck has been hyper extended backwards since he was 9, he has begun pointing with his finger again instead of the palm of his hand, he is moving his right arm again some, and the latest thing is that he is now able to go from a laying position to a sitting position on his own by hanging on to something or someone. He has not done this since he was 9 years old. Both boys have begun smiling and laughing all the time…. Zach has gotten off all pain medicine and only has a small amount of 3 [anti-spasmodic] medicines left which hopefully he can get off of over the next year. |
Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron Accumulation (NBIA) |
Migraines, headaches
Rob Sacks | By day 23 [of a ketogenic fast] I became free of headaches. There was still some sort of migraine activity — I could often feel the sensations that in all my previous life, had always been followed by a headache — but no headache resulted….Then I started following a diet similar to those used by neurologists at Johns Hopkins to treat children with epilepsy, with calorie restriction, frequent meals, and a ratio of fat to protein (by weight) of four to one. After two days of this diet, my headaches stopped again. That was only 48 hours ago but I’m sure the diet is working because I challenged myself last night with a sure-fire migraine trigger by staying up past my bedtime to watch the eclipse. Normally this would create a debilitating headache, but the only result was a slight migrainy feeling that was easily controlled with two aspirin. Before the fast, aspirin had no apparent effect on my migraines…. A bad varicose vein is dramatically improved, and a teary eye problem (which I think was caused by a clogged tear duct, and which I previously controlled with large amounts of vitamin C) has resolved almost completely. |
migraines |
Kate | I too have had Raynaud’s all my life … In the past two months, I have modified my diet in line with Paul’s suggestions for Migraine. I now eat 200 calories worth of safe starch, all the recommended supplements, and as much coconut oil as I can stomach. I am also doing the 16/8 fast. My Raynaud’s has further improved, as measured by the fact I sometimes forget to turn the heat up in the morning, and cold extremities don’t always alert me to my forgetfulness!… Thanks for asking about the Migraines. They are in fact vastly improved, which I attribute solely to your recommendations. I can say that, because I have tried virtually everything else in the past…. Clearly something remarkable is happening, thanks to your recommendations! A little history. I started getting these headaches in my late 30s. (I am now 52). In the beginning I thought I had the stomach flu, because in addition to the headache I would always throw up or have dry heaves. The worst headaches would keep me immobilized in bed for up to two days. My brother-in-law, a neurologist, convinced me they were migraines. I finally consulted a doctor, who put me on midrin, which did not help, and a few months later I started on imitrex, which did help, at least at first. Eventually, my headache pattern evolved, and I had at least a mild headache every day, punctuated by the occasional doozy. Apparently, this is a pretty common progression, especially with women my age. I always suspected there was something wrong with my lifestyle or diet, and over the years I have tried numerous experiments, but nothing ever worked. … In January, in my blog travels, I stumbled on your site. I ordered the book and was intrigued by your and Shou-Ching’s ideas about disease and chronic conditions. I was already familiar with the idea of a ketogenic diet for epilepsy, so I was immediately interested in trying a more ketogenic diet for myself. I ordered all your basic supplements, and immediately upped my kelp to two capsules. I had been using coconut oil for curries, so I started using it habitually. Started eating 200 calories of starches that you recommended—this was a little scary, after studiously avoiding them for four years! I was afraid I they might keep me awake at night, but I am sleeping like a log. Started fasting 16/8, which was easy once you absolved me for having cream in my morning coffee! Within a week of starting this regimen my chronic headache started to disappear! Some days I would only have a headache for part of the day, and occasionally I would have no headache at all! I read somewhere on your site that NAC is good on a ketogenic diet, so I ordered it too. I had never heard of this supplement before. It seems to have made a further positive difference. I have started taking it twice a day. Once before bed, and once in the late afternoon, when the headache sometimes starts coming back. Since I added NAC, I have been nearly headache free. Another amazing development concerns anxiety. Over the years I have become somewhat anxious when I drive on highways. I grip the steering wheel tightly, sit forward in the seat, and am generally hyper vigilant. I always chided myself for my lack of nerves, but that didn’t help. As mentioned above, this was magnified by the Topomax. I never had this issue when I was younger; indeed I used to fly helicopters in the army. Two weeks ago I drove up to New Jersey to pick up my daughter, a 3.5 hour trip from where I live in Northern Virginia. I stopped two hours into the trip to make a pit stop, and I suddenly realized I was totally relaxed, and had been for the entire trip! The PHD is strong brain medicine indeed! Thanks for all your research, insights, and ideas. I think the Perfect Health Diet is going to be a game changer for many people. Hopefully it is the start of a sea change at how we approach the chronic maladies of our times. |
Raynaud’s, migraines, anxiety |
Sharon McAllister |
Before the Perfect Health Diet, I was getting migraines almost every day. I was on a low-fat, high fiber diet which is, necessarily a high carbohydrate diet. I ate lots of legumes, lots of whole grains, and lots of fruits and vegetables. I also ate low-fat and non-fat dairy. As you can see, the only good thing in my diet was the vegetables. I was on this diet for about 4 years. My bowels were regular for the first time in my life, and it did feel good to not always be constipated. I believed I was doing all the right things. I now know that slowly over time toxins were building up in my system. Eventually, I realized that immediately after eating a meal (a meal that I thought was superfood healthy), I got a migraine before I could even get up from the table. I couldn’t understand it! I began to research, and by the grace of God, I found your diet and immediately purchased your book. I have many migraine triggers, so they are not completely gone, but the frequency and intensity have reduced substantially. My doctor has put me on several different maintenance drugs over the years that were suppose to reduce the frequency and intensity of my migraines, but none of them worked at all. Your diet has done far more than anything else I’ve tried. I am still hoping that one day I will be migraine free, but with my hormone related migraines, it will probably not be until after menopause. I’m 48 years old though, so maybe not too much longer to wait. My adult niece has also been a migraine sufferer for years and she is now on your diet, and it is working great for her too. We both owe you a great deal of thanks! |
migraines |
Karin | I have particularly severe, chronic, complicated, and often silent migraines. I have had these since childhood all day everyday. Because they were often silent (no pain) they would manifest in various other ways, thus leading to misdiagnoses of mood disorders and schizophrenia for many years. At one point I was also misdiagnosed with epilepsy as well. After one particularly smart neurologist saw and tested me, I was placed on blood pressure medications for migraines. This worked. The problem is that my body constantly fights to readjust to the medications. After a few months at one dose, it seems I start to get migraines again. So it would go up and the same thing would repeat again. I was looking for a different solution and I stumbled across this article. I’ve been on the keto diet for nearly a month and it is the best thing |
migraines, mood, sleep, energy, weight loss |
Brian | Paul, Many thanks for the excellent work and great book.
I started PHD a few week before Christmas, and even with a few holiday I have no serious health issues as such, but a number of smaller/low level Gradually over a few shorts weeks the aforementioned issues have either I’ve recommended your book to family and work colleagues as a result. I think the main plus point of the diet is that it is ‘doable’. Being allowed to each ‘safe starches’ has been great, as I’ve found All in all I’m delighted, and so glad I found your website & book. Many thanks |
headaches, acid reflux, fatigue, bloating, weight gain |
Kidney stones
George (email of Oct 14, 2011) |
Just a quick thank you for your website and the book which I purchased a month ago. I had been a low carber for several years and over that time have suffered 4 painful bouts of kidney stones. Your post on kidney stones on a LC diet was eye opening. My urologist did various tests and I ended up with having high levels of uric acid and oxalates. Incorporating your PHD, I dramatically brought down my uric acid levels. I hope this and the other benefits of your PHD will help prevent future stones. |
kidney stones |
Diabetes & glycemic regulation
PeterC’s dad | There might not be a perfect known diet for diabetes, but approximately six months ago, my dad, an obese man in his early 70s with Type II diabetes and recovering from congestive heart failure (with other health problems as well), began following a not-especially low carb version of PHD along with daily intermittent fasting. Not only has he lost around 30 pounds, he’s been able to go off all his He feels the best he’s felt in a long, long time. Where he used to say, I could write a lot more about him and plan to do so in the future. |
diabetes |
Daniel’s stepdad | My step dad was diagnosed T2D and had to take Metformin (high dosage) I convinced him that his problem wasn’t high glucose but high insulin levels and that Metformin was just a bandaid. I managed to get him to read Sisson’s articles at MDA and follow the Primal Blueprint. This was NOT easy-he is very stubborn. But Mark does have a way with words and now my step dad-in 8 months-has great BS readings and does not take any medication. His best friend is also T2D and used to take 6 “mega shots” (his words) of insulin everyday and now, after about 6 months, he is down to one shot per day. They both have lost weight and both are in their late 50?s. Dont give up! the PHD or Primal Blueprint are actually perfect to handle diabetes. Just dont listen to the ADA!! |
diabetes |
Newell Wright | I am a type II diabetic and a Perfect Health Diet follower, so I want to chime in with my experience…. I switched from the Atkins Induction diet to the Perfect Health Diet. I Today, my fasting blood glucose reading was 105. Note that since following For dinner tonight, I had a fatty pork rib, green beans, and a small baked So not only am I losing weight on the Perfect Health Diet, my blood So for me, as a type II diabetic, this “safe starches” exclusion |
diabetes |
Jim, email of April 2, 2012 | . I am down from 341lbs to 272lbs doing mostly Paleo, but modified with some safe starches per your book. Just so you know this is not just about weight loss for me, I was a type 2 diabetic with full metabolic syndrome and most importantly, I had popping capillaries in my retinas that were leading to blindness. All is better now, no pills etc. |
diabetes, obesity, diabetic retinopathy |
KH | I’m type 1 diabetic …
Just this morning, I took my A1c home test (by Bayer) which includes two test 1- 5.2 test 2- 5.3 … I know the diet here is helping me a lot and I’ve been feeling more |
Type I diabetes, energy, mood |
elizabethe | I’ve struggled all my life with overweight, binge-like eating disorder symptoms, and fluctuating weight and (undiagnosed but quite obvious) volatile blood sugar. I’ve been roughly following PHD for some months now and it has seriously reduced all of my previous binge-eating, hunger craving symptoms, as well as vastly increasing the amount of time I can go between meals without feeling frantic or emotional. I haven’t lost much weight, but my weight has stabilized whereas before I was on a steady gaining trend. |
binge eating, weight gain, glycemic regulation |
Atherosclerosis
Alex | I recently had my carotid arteries evaluated via ultrasound for plaque and narrowing and was told there is no evidence of either. A year ago, just before adopting a PHD type diet, an MRI of my heart revealed “significant” plaque on one of my coronary arteries and less significant on another…. I’m in my mid 40s, lean, active, and have seen many health improvements since adopting the diet (less joint stiffness, no more chronic back pain, milder colds, fewer allergy symptoms, less gas, less bloating, need for less sleep. |
atherosclerosis, joint stiffness, back pain, allergies, bowel distress |
Body composition, strength, athleticism
Ryan | In a month on your diet, I haven’t lost a single pound—I wasn’t really overweight to begin with when I start—but my body fat % has decreased 2.5% from 17.5 to 15. I have never had an easier time putting on and maintaining muscle in my entire life, despite the fact that I am not really doing any exercise, well, save for a half hour of yoga, 5 days a week. |
body composition, muscle development |
David Z. | My success story: I’ve been eating what was mostly a “health food” diet for twenty years. I followed the various trends and tried vegan, vegetarian, raw, and more at different time periods. I’ve done juice fasting and cleansing. At some times I followed it more religiously and other times less so, but nonetheless slowly gained weight over the years. This year I read Wheat Belly and started to think about cutting out wheat, I lost 25 points in the first two months on the diet, going from 215 lbs 190 is not a bad weight for me; I am 5’11″ and lift weights so while Thanks! |
weight loss, body recomposition |
Billy | Greetings from Liverpool UK! I recently bought your book and converted from paleo (one year) to using your safe starches and more fat which works much better for me – i’m 28, athletic build and live a very active lifestyle so super low carb made me look like i was literally starving – gaunt and not good. I have some colour back in my cheeks now and much more energy! |
body composition, energy |
Matt | Dear Paul
I completely agree with the review on your book given by Chris Kresser. It I’m an amateur bodybuilder and I’ve been struggling to gain muscle mass I’ve read your book and greatly increased my saturated fat intake from What’s really surprising is that my calorie intake is higher and I’m |
bodybuilding, gaining muscle while losing fat |
Java Gal | Ok, have to comment – can’t contain myself anymore! I am a lurker of the worst sort, but here goes. As a 54 year old woman, I am more energetic, flexible (yoga three times a week), and healthier than I have been for, oh, decades. My doc, a wonderful, but dye-in-the-wool vegetarian, told me to keep doing what I was doing – cholesterol dropped, good TSH levels(I’m hypo), and down 5 sizes. Talk about replacing a wardrobe! My worry, of course, is gaining it all back, which, sorry to say, is an experience I have had already in days of yore. I was an avowed low-carber back then and I can attest that, while it was effective for losing weight, it was not a good long term strategy. So far, as long as I stick to basic PHD principles, things are going swimmingly. In general, PHD has been a huge success. Thank you Paul and Shou-Ching! |
obesity, energy, flexibility, dyslipidemia, hypothyroidism, general health |
John D. | After ‘standard’ PHD (maybe too low carb PHD) for about six months I’ve been doing Leangains-style for the past 3-4, and I too have better success than before. (Success = weight loss without significant muscle loss.) In my case I lift once a week (Body By Science-style), and on that day I By watching calories (1600 off day, 2000 workout) I’ve (slowly) lost So I am a fan of LG + PHD. The big question is what happens when I stop |
weight loss, muscle gain |
A. b. Dada | I added back white potatoes and even white rice based on Dr. Harris’ advice and definitely feel better (less orthostatic hypotension) — plus I’m actually slimmer than I’ve ever been, yet my muscles are much stronger. Low carb for 12 years before this year! |
orthostatic hypotension, body composition |
Mowgli | When I started primal/phd, the numbers on the scale didn’t change, but I went from a 4 pack to a solid 6 pack, and got much faster despite less running. |
running speed, body composition |
Els and here and here | I have been on PHD for almost 2 weeks now, doing IF 16/8 at the same time, and have started with the supplements you have recommended 4 days ago. Since I started PHD I do no longer crave for sweets. I used to eat chocolates almost everyday and haven’t had it for over 2 weeks now. 🙂 I am so happy I found your blog and got your book. Keep up the good works…. 5 weeks ago I found PHD website and ordered the book. I am now on my 4th Btw, I continue to shed off some more fat even after I’ve increased my |
food cravings, cramps / menstrual cramps, sleep, acne / pimples, body composition |
Gout
L.B. | I have been following a “paleo” diet for the past seven months – a combination of the PHD book, Mark’s Daily Apple and Kurt Harris’ blog. I am a 47 year old male, 6’ 1” and 175lbs. My health and fitness improvements include the following:
This fitness plan has had a profoundly positive impact on my life. My wife |
weight loss, gout, creaky joints, IBS, heartburn / acid reflux, dyslipidemia, oral health, reduced cravings, blood pressure |
Dyslipidemia
L.B. | I have been following a “paleo” diet for the past seven months – a combination of the PHD book, Mark’s Daily Apple and Kurt Harris’ blog. I am a 47 year old male, 6’ 1” and 175lbs. My health and fitness improvements include the following:
This fitness plan has had a profoundly positive impact on my life. My wife |
weight loss, gout, creaky joints, IBS, heartburn / acid reflux, dyslipidemia, oral health, reduced cravings, blood pressure |
Java Gal | Ok, have to comment – can’t contain myself anymore! I am a lurker of the worst sort, but here goes. As a 54 year old woman, I am more energetic, flexible (yoga three times a week), and healthier than I have been for, oh, decades. My doc, a wonderful, but dye-in-the-wool vegetarian, told me to keep doing what I was doing – cholesterol dropped, good TSH levels(I’m hypo), and down 5 sizes. Talk about replacing a wardrobe! My worry, of course, is gaining it all back, which, sorry to say, is an experience I have had already in days of yore. I was an avowed low-carber back then and I can attest that, while it was effective for losing weight, it was not a good long term strategy. So far, as long as I stick to basic PHD principles, things are going swimmingly. In general, PHD has been a huge success. Thank you Paul and Shou-Ching! |
obesity, energy, flexibility, dyslipidemia, hypothyroidism, general health |
Mike Gruber | My TG seem to run a little lower if I eat some carbs. Pre-Paleo, I was 114. Post-Paleo, it had run as high as 167, and was 139 when last tested in May of ’10. I added “safe starches” and started the full PHD supplementation |
dyslipidemia |
Oral & dental health
L.B. | I have been following a “paleo” diet for the past seven months – a combination of the PHD book, Mark’s Daily Apple and Kurt Harris’ blog. I am a 47 year old male, 6’ 1” and 175lbs. My health and fitness improvements include the following:
This fitness plan has had a profoundly positive impact on my life. My wife |
weight loss, gout, creaky joints, IBS, heartburn / acid reflux, dyslipidemia, oral health, reduced cravings, blood pressure |
Ray | Among many of the benefits of giving up gluten completely has been the disappearance of a life long dental plaque problem (I’m currently 51); a problem so bad I needed to have my teeth cleaned every four months to keep my dental hygienist happy. |
dental plaque |
Eczema
Firlefanz | I’ve had a sore on my right hand for over two months now. Nothing I did really helped, I tried fatty salves, zinc salve, disinfectant spray … nothing helped. But this morning, it’s practically healed. No more red skin, in fact, the hard skin part simply flaked off and left healthy skin behind. Small, but noticable. This diet reduces inflammation in the whole body. I |
hadrion | I decided to give Perfect Health Diet a go first and see where that takes me. What I’ve learned from asking question to the Jaminets and reading their answers is that a little sugar here and there in products and the sugar in fruit isn’t going to kill you. I can’t do a low carb Paleo diet as I never feel right on that kind of After 2 weeks on Perfect Health Diet I’ve seen some pretty impressive This leads me to a few things, chiefly, that gluten is not good for my While I’m not dismissing Peat’s philosophy of diet, so far I feel pretty What I would encourage any of you dealing with inflammation or who feel So far, following the plan set out in the PHD has led to some nice |
Skin redness, bloating, weight loss, eczema |
Joan’s sister | Hi Paul
You will remember 12 days ago I asked you about my sister who has CFS and You wrote: My guess is that there is a high level of oxidative stress Your advice was spot on and the results have been miraculous. She started Not only that, but some of her CFS symptoms have improved. Her constant I’ve ordered a couple of copies of your book and I’m sure she will be more Any interesting note: prior to starting the anti-oxidants she craved the In searching the net I found this paper that seems to support your advice: And this letter in the Nutritional Neuroscience discussing the paper’s Thank you once again, Paul, for your generosity in sharing your knowledge Kind Regards Joan |
chronic fatigue syndrome, eczema |
Hair loss
Meli | Hi Paul,
I just wanted to let you know that I was finally successful at adding back As a bonus, my eyes are no longer blurry, and my hair appears to have You have my deepest gratitude, and respect. ~ Meli |
Weight loss, dry eyes, hair loss |
Heart palpitations
Shelley | I’ve been reading paleo, WAPF, low-carb sites for over a year now and following your PHD as well. You can add me to the list of your success stories as I lost 15 pounds , have no “cravings” eliminated GERD, heart palpiations, panic attacts and other annoying pains. |
weight loss, food cravings, GERD / acid reflux, heart palpitations, panic attacks / anxiety |
Cramps, menstrual cramps
Els and here and here | I have been on PHD for almost 2 weeks now, doing IF 16/8 at the same time, and have started with the supplements you have recommended 4 days ago. Since I started PHD I do no longer crave for sweets. I used to eat chocolates almost everyday and haven’t had it for over 2 weeks now. 🙂 I am so happy I found your blog and got your book. Keep up the good works…. 5 weeks ago I found PHD website and ordered the book. I am now on my 4th Btw, I continue to shed off some more fat even after I’ve increased my |
food cravings, cramps / menstrual cramps, sleep, acne / pimples, body composition |
Erik | I also recall during the summer getting cramps in my calves and triceps when I didn’t consume enough carbohydrates. It was very easy to under consume carbs when you cut out grains and legumes. The cramping went away when I added in sweet potatos, rice and yams. Now, I make an effort to get more carbs in my diet. I also noticed that my body odor would be stronger on days that I consumed less than 100 calories of carbs. For me, I have found that very low carbing doesn’t work well and there are side effects. |
cramps, body odor |
Multiple sclerosis
Sara H | I am a non-menstruating woman who with MS …
I do practice ketogenic dieting (thanks to you!) and I definitely feel the I have had no new lesions since first being diagnosed and looking at me |
multiple sclerosis |
Body odor
Erik | I also recall during the summer getting cramps in my calves and triceps when I didn’t consume enough carbohydrates. It was very easy to under consume carbs when you cut out grains and legumes. The cramping went away when I added in sweet potatos, rice and yams. Now, I make an effort to get more carbs in my diet. I also noticed that my body odor would be stronger on days that I consumed less than 100 calories of carbs. For me, I have found that very low carbing doesn’t work well and there are side effects. |
cramps, body odor |
My success story: I’ve been eating what was mostly a “health food” diet for twenty years. I followed the various trends and tried vegan, vegetarian, raw, and more at different time periods. I’ve done juice fasting and cleansing. At some times I followed it more religiously and other times less so, but nonetheless slowly gained weight over the years.
This year I read Wheat Belly and started to think about cutting out wheat, but that book rubbed me the wrong way and I wasn’t ready to commit. In following up on it however I learned about paleo diets which led me to the Perfect Health Diet. I was highly intrigued and implemented it before I even finished the book.
I lost 25 points in the first two months on the diet, going from 215 lbs to 190. I was not 100% compliant during this time period so was surprised to see how effective it was. Since then I have mostly leveled off on the weight loss while staying on the diet, but my pants continue to get looser and looser.
190 is not a bad weight for me; I am 5’11” and lift weights so while this would be a high BMI I look pretty good. I’d like to lose another 10 or 15 pounds eventually but since this diet is so easy and pleasurable I’m not stressing out over it and am giving myself as many years as it takes to do it slowly.
Thanks!
Thank you for your story, David! I’m very happy to have it.
Best, Paul
I have been following a “paleo” diet for the past seven months – a combination of the PHD book, Mark’s Daily Apple and Kurt Harris’ blog. I am a 47 year old male, 6’ 1” and 175lbs.
My health and fitness improvements include the following:
25lb weight loss and better body composition
Complete elimination of chronic gout (a seventeen year affliction)
Complete elimination of “creaky” joints in my feet and knees
Complete elimination of life long irritable bowel symptoms
Complete elimination of heartburn
Improved cholesterol profile
Less plaque build-up on my teeth
Reduced carb and sugar cravings over time
This fitness plan has had a profoundly positive impact on my life. My wife is also doing this with me and she has been able to get off her blood pressure medication and she’s experienced many other benefits as well.
I’m still very new to this diet, and I’ve been generally getting in shape and losing weight for a while now, but one thing I can comment on already is the effect it’s had on rhinitis.
Simply put, my rhinitis has disappeared completely. I no longer wake up with a runny nose. I don’t need to take steroidal nose sprays. I don’t even blow my nose. Rhinitus is now a non-issue. I’ve read that wheat and soy often cause rhinitis, so I suspect some sort of allergy was to blame.
One other benefit: I’m never hungry on the PHD and I’m really enjoying all the food I CAN eat, while not missing the food I can’t eat.
I posted earlier about my progress with being on Savella for a fibromyalgia diagnosis I received a bit over 2 years ago. With following the PHD about 40% or so I began to cut back on my medication. I did it too quick the first time, and began to feel terrible. So, I stepped up the PHD compliance of my diet as much as I could. I then began slowly cutting the dosage until I was off completely 3 months ago.
I delayed reporting because I wanted to be sure symptoms would not flare up again. Today I ran my fastest 2 mile time, then played ultimate frisbee for a few hours later in the day. I feel great. I used to get extremely sore from just trying to run half a mile, which was also pretty depressing. I am feeling strong and limber with no trace of soreness.
Blood pressure for the past several years had been around 135/90, while eating a decent diet with a lot of cheating. After switching to PHD a month ago, my BP has consistently been around 115/75.
I notice that there is not much said about the changes that menopause brings on. My weight was great until peri-menopause and three months of hormones. Since then it seems that a switch has been turned off and my weight has gone up. I’ve tried most every food plan imaginable. I’ve started on PHD and find it very user friendly and satisfying, but my weight is not coming down substantially. Any recommendations??? Thanks in advance for your information. cheers! Lynn Meinke
Hi Lynn,
Are you doing the weight loss version of the diet? http://perfecthealthdiet.com/2011/02/perfect-health-diet-weight-loss-version/
Hello Paul,
In February 2012 I came across your website. I read and researched it for several hours and asked a few questions on this blog. You promptly responded, so I bought the kindle version and went on the diet. I was 226# at my physical in February and now I’m consistently under 210lbs, but can’t get under 200lbs. I’d like to get to 185 (I’m 6 foot).
I’ve lost the weight with infrequent exercise too. I used to bike to work and go on long rides on the weekends which was approximately 150 miles per week. I was also a vegetarian at that time which lasted for about 3 years. The vegetarian lifestyle came to end December of 2011.
I gave up grains (except for micro-brew) in February, 2012. But, I now live where I have to drive 45 minutes to work (1 way) so now I only get exercise 2-3x per week in the form of either biking, hiking or swimming. Some weeks there’s only sleeping and working.
So, that’s my sob story. Any ideas you might have regarding my stall in weight loss would be appreciated.
I also found Gary Taubes through your website.
thanks for the research
Shannon
Hi Shannon,
It’s fairly common for weight to stall 10-20 pounds above goal weight. Common reasons include hypothyroidism and inflammatory conditions, often originating in the gut.
In truth there are many factors contributing to weight gain and there are commonly stalls after fixing one causes you to lose 15 pounds and then you have to fix something else to lose more.
I would (a) get a thyroid panel done and get any hypothyroidism, including subclinical hypothyroidism, treated so that TSH is 1; (b) keep vitamin D levels optimized; (c) focus on circadian rhythm strategies.
Circadian rhythm strategies: Dim the lights at night; minimize TV watching; go to bed at a regular time, and wake naturally; bright lights during the day, computer at work on maximum brightness; outdoor sun exposure as much as you can, on bare skin; light activity outdoors every day, at least 10-20 minutes.
Ideally: For 10 minutes in the early morning before you shower, go outdoors in the sun for light activity. Jogging is a good activity; try to elevate your heart rate, but don’t tire yourself out. It should be refreshing. Start by alternating walking and jogging; work in some track and field warmups like karaoke and high knees. Do something similar in the afternoon or evening, 10 minutes light outdoor activity. The goal is not fitness but circadian rhythm nudging. Tell your body it’s day, time for activity. Get a Fitbit and try to do 10,000 steps a day. Sign up for Dan’s Plan to track steps and weight.
The other thing is to work hard on nutrition. See our new supplemental food/nutrient recommendations.
Best, Paul
I through out my lower back after walking/jogging HIIT style on a Sunday, so I’m not a big fan of jogging these days.
Hi Folks
Think I’ve followed the path of many people here. About a month ago I stumbled across Wheat Belly on Amazon after searching for another unrelated book, this had many references to other key books by Gary Taubes and the Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain and Robb Wolf’s Paleo Solution. The next step was PHD, I’m currently reading the Kindle version and have two copies on the new edition on pre-order (one for me, one as a present). I’ve Mark Sisson’s Primal Blueprint also to read, but I doubt it will top PHD.
I’ve had an interest in health and diet for the last 25 years, 10 of which I was strict vegetarian – during this time I was also a fitness fanatic and never quite worked-out why I couldn’t shift those %ages of body-fat, despite all the “healthy whole grains” – doh!
End of last year I found my weight had crept up to 98 kilos – I’m 181cms tall, so I can just about get away with it visually, but my clothes weren’t fitting well and I decided to drop some weight. Five years back I had followed Chris Aceto’s book, Everything You Need to Know About Fat Loss, and had great results, 10 kilos in three months, but decided this time to try out Atkins. After researching pro’s and con’s I went for it and found a good weight loss in short time, but the downsides were loss of energy in the first weeks and of course a very restricted diet. During an intense period at work in June & July I found myself forced to eat a sandwich at my desk for lunch for some weeks. This triggered eating bread at home too and I found myself a couple of kilos heavier and constantly bloated – this was when I started to read all the books mentioned above.
Since the beginning of August I’ve been on Paleo – I wouldn’t define this as VLC as I eat a LOT of veggies and salads. I know PHD doesn’t classify these as carbs, but they must count for something. In fact that was the main difference with Atkins, no more food measuring or carb counting. I found this incredibly liberating and the kilos dropped off again, despite eating to satisfaction whenever I wanted. Now I’m reading PHD and I’m finding it an evolution over what has gone before. I really appreciate the logical process behind everything that’s written, it makes sense. So now I’m adding safe starches into my diet – good for me as I love potatoes and rice, and like many others I mix my daily allowance of coconut oil into this too, which makes them taste even better.
Now I’m branching out in my food choices, stuff I would never have eaten before. I have a bag of frozen beef bones to cook-up and I at some brains/tongue in gelatin over the weekend. Not something I’d have gone for in the past, but I tried and guess what, they taste great! I had some seaweed for the first time and some sweet potato, also new and tasty too. I’m slowly persuading my wife – she’s cut out bread and lowered her sugar intake a lot. The kids it’s a slow transition, but going the right way.
I stopped daily too, will re-introduce some in a few weeks to see how it makes me feel – I do like a hot cup of milk at bedtime… Oh yes, I do a 5/2 fast regime as well for the last month – this has now become a weekly event that I really look forward too. And I’m the office bore on food and nutrition now too ? And I started a blog to track my personal progress: http://www.baird.be
Supplements, as of a week ago I’m taking krill oil as (cautiously) recommended by Chris Kresser. I had my blood sampled in January and August. January, after some months on Atkins, already showed a big improvement from previous years with my triglycerides down from 310 to 165, now on Paleo they’re 92! Total cholesterol has now dropped to 185 – I’m seeking big improvements still and will get a retest in 2 months.
I believe this to be a tremendously important area of research that has a long way to go, certainly in terms of clinical trials. Nevertheless, it appears to me that there’s so much anecdotal evidence that the establishment will be forced to take note. Regardless of that, there’s a rapidly growing movement of people dedicated to following this paleo approach and regardless of the sluggishness of the governments and mainstream, the message is getting out there.
Still, I do take great delight in the look on people’s faces when I advise them that the best possible thing they could ever do is to stop eating wheat; “what you mean bread?”, “Sure, bread, biscuits, cakes, in fact pretty much any bought processed food”. HORROR!! 😀
Cheers, Dave
Great story, Dave! Thanks for letting us know!
One note – the optimal level of total cholesterol is around 200 mg/dl. Perhaps your fasting and weight loss orientation has reduced it a little below optimal.
Thanks Paul, I’ll check look into that. My vit-D’s a bit marginal too, last blood test it was up from 11 to 30. Not a lot of sun here in Belgium 🙁
BTW, did you consider opening a user forum here?
Yes, I’m planning on it. Look for it in October.
Paul,
i lost where my comments. so here it is. (not a dramatic success. since i don’t have a weight issue)
my TC went up top almost 300 after switching diet (TG = 61, HDL = 88) just like many of us who’re on high fat diet. but my carb is not VLC. it is only LC.
(when i was on “standard healthy” (i.e., fat phobia) diet, TC was 150-170, HDL ~ 64, TG = 51)
then i was also diagnosed w/ mild hypothyroidism (subclinical) + severe (iron) anemia.
your article on iodine & hypothyroidism gave me some ideas.
i added more seaweed, liver + bone broth (veg + tuber).
after 6-8 months
TC = 240
HDL = 98
TG = 54
thanks! now this makes me a little angry w/ most MDs. they’d just put people w/ such high TC on statin. they know less than you. sorry, i digress.
also a while ago, you mentioned that you grew taller taller on this diet. i think it’s real (for me).
after all the bone broth, my bone density now is 101% of a young adult. (no supplement)
(it used to be really low, despite being moderately active all my life + calcium supplement).
i conclude that bone broth is pretty close to super food. + tastes good, inexpensive, nourishing (i dont’ skim off fat)
bone broth + tuber can probably solve the world hunger problem!
oh, it is also good for skin, digestive system.
thanks.
(few remaining issues: mild allergy, vitiligo)
Thanks Pam!
For allergy I would focus on fat-soluble vitamins (get enough A – do you eat 3 egg yolks a day? – and supplement K2 and get sunshine) and the LCPUFA + oxidant/antioxidant network (ie eat salmon, eggs/beef, appropriate zinc and copper). It may be you’ve already optimized those.
Best, Paul
Paul,
my allergy has got a lot better but didn’t get eliminated.
you’re probably right that i don’t eat enough eggs. i have 3-4 eggs/week.
i had been mostly gluten free before switching diet. then i tried dairy free & no difference. the only thing i found was my teeth stained a little more & gum complained a little more + mild cramps since i switched to coconut milk/cream (100%). so i went back on dairy.
i’ll try your advices.
cheers,
I’m concerned about some recent articles saying that brown rice syrup contains high levels of arsenic. I don’t use it very often…but now will skip it entirely!
Hi Trudy,
That’s rice syrup from the American south, where arsenic was used as a pesticide against boll weevils. Rice syrup from California or Asia doesn’t have much arsenic.
i appreciate any suggestions on my current woe. i am pre-diabetic or insulin resistant, shake and can’t think straight when i feel my sugar is low. i have ldl at 274 which i think is not normal. i also have trouble sleeping while doing IF (the judd way). which i love as i have lost weight and feel better. but i am interested in your progam and i ordered your new book. i couldn’t sleep last night so anxious to read it but i have to wait till dec!! anyway, i am reading your site and i would like to know if eating rice and coconut oil on my fasting day would be better than just calorie counting (to stay under 500 cals). or do i have to have protein at each meal? thanks for everything you are doing to make the quality of our lives better. cri
Hi cris,
With glucose issues I would keep fasting to 16 hr or less, and eat a normal number of calories in the remaining 8 hours. If it’s comfortable, then do that 16/8 cycle routinely.
The diet in our book is our best advice, so that’s the place to go! Sorry you have to wait!
Best, Paul
Hi Paul, thanks for having this site up and all your energy to help so many……….love and live your book, and share it with all. I am troubled as it is flu shot time again, I never get the flu and never get flu shots til last year. Hubby is afraid that I will get the flu and die on him now that I’m older, I got a flu like reaction to the shot, and am not a big fan of vaccines anyway, do you know of the safest vaccine out, would the nasal spray vaccine for kids be safer for me, I only do this to appease him, hard to live with him when he’s upset. Any thought would be greatly appreciated, Thank you so much,Laura
Hi Laura,
I’m afraid I don’t have special expertise in regard to vaccines and don’t like to give advice about it. I personally don’t take flu vaccines, because there is a bit of evidence that vaccines help you against the thing you vaccinate against but hurt you a little bit against everything else — the immune system may have limited resources. So you have to balance the odds in your personal case.
Thank you Paul, kinda thought that was the case, but had to ask 🙂
Thanks again, Laura
I was reading the post about BO and saw your comments. I’ve read on mercola.com that vaccines do NOT help with much of anything. You might want to read this book and check out the healing benefits of silver.
Prescription for Herbal Healing: An Easy-to-Use A-Z Reference to Hundreds of Common Disorders and Their Herbal Remedies by Phyllis A. Balch, CNC I read an article by Robert Scott Bell about the amazing benefits of it. Silver is a versatile anti-microbial, immune-modulating, wound-healing element that has been used for centuries. Silver stops infectious microbes in their tracks. It has long been accepted that silver is effective in fighting a range of microbes including bacteria, viruses and fungi.
Mr. Bell recommends Sovereign Silver made by Natural-Immunogenics Corp. It seem to be one of the best brands I’ve ever seen; though I have not used it. Mr. Bell is a homeopath with a natural health show on NaturalNews Radio Network. I really love herbal medicine, but silver will probably become my new favorite medicine!
Hi Paul,
I wonder if you can please help. I have been dieting on and off since I was 11 and I am now 40. I have always had a weight problem. Eventually I ate no more than 700 calories a day and that was not to loose weight, it was just so I could stay constant. My diet was to cut out all starch all fat and starchy veg as the doctors told me to.
But the constant dieting has caused many issues.
My issues were, hair loss, weight gain, stomach ulcers, h-pylori, low vit c,d,b, dizziness, low blood pressure, malnourished, constant heartburn and indigestion, constant stabbing bone pain, constant fatigue, depression etc etc.
I started on the PHD about 6 – 8 months ago. I am still not losing weight but I am feeling a million times better (thanks). I wonder if you can help with some of the lingering issues. Vit D still very very low even though I am using a supplement, low vit b, I think low vit a, suffering from night blindness. The worst is that I am starting to have allergic reactions to different things. I can eat a strawberry today and then the next time I have it I start having a reaction. My neck starts itching and goes red and then I start coughing and producing large amounts of mucus and cant breathe. It’s starting to happen with more and more food items. Even some supplements are causing that.
Any help in this regard will be appreciated.
Thanks
Joia
Hi Joia,
It sounds like some sort of gut or chronic infection. We’ve blogged about vitamin D being low in chronic infections: http://perfecthealthdiet.com/2010/08/vitamin-d-dysregulation-in-chronic-infectious-diseases/. Also, Mario has blogged about how infections are the most common cause of hypothyroidism, which is why your hair was falling out and weight going up. Gut infections are usually behind indigestion, fatigue, and food sensitivities.
I think you need a doctor to investigate what infections you may have and how they may be treated. A stool test and SIBO testing may be helpful. Do you still have H pylori?
You may also experiment with some detox supplements, like bentonite clay or charcoal, during your daily fast and see if they reduce the itching/red skin/coughing symptoms.
Another clue would be your blood lipids – is your serum cholesterol low? That could indicate a protozoal or parasitic infection.
In complex cases like yours there’s no substitute for medical care. Please keep us posted.
Hi Paul,
Just finished reading the book, really awesome stuff! Thank you. Quick question for you.
For over 3 years now I have been following low-carb paleo diet to deal with a recurring fungal infection on just my left foot, random patches of hair loss on my scalp, painful folliculitis like rashes around my mouth area, and weird neurological issues. I do travel alot, and was diagnosed with an amoeba infection in August of 2011. Felt great after taking the meds for it, but within 8 weeks everything came roaring back. Honestly little has changed and i am going to restructure my diet to possibly help with these issues. Which and how much of the safe starches do you recommed i consume (probably the ones with the least amount of fructose) and should i stay away from coconut oil since the ketones will just continue to feed these infections?
thank you, Mike
Hi Mike,
I’d recommend white potatoes for glucose, no fructose, and resistant starch.
If these give you trouble, try white rice.
Try the normal PHD recommended amount (500 calories = 1 pound cooked food) and if that gives you trouble try reducing it.
Try 2-3 tbsp coconut milk (1 tbsp coconut oil) per day as a limit. I think it’s fine to eat it, just not so much that you’re producing a surplus of ketones.
Hi Joia, it looks like maybe you should look into digestion, if you have Stomach ulcers, constant heartburn and indigestion. The problem could start in the stomach with to low of Hydrochloric Acid then the food start creating lactic acid and burn you, if you take an anti-acid your food will be rotting all the way down. If you do not digest your food it doesn’t matter what you eat you will not get much nutrition from it.
http://healthline.cc/healthline-radio-show/
hope you can fix this.
Hi Paul,
I read the section on infections and you showed that higher cholesterol in blood is negatively associated with infections. However you mentioned an exception that caught my attention: Candida. You said that both HDL and LDL promote fungal infection… That is worry-some to me. I remember an Italian oncologist did extensive research on cancer and concluded that all cancers are fungus. So if HDL and LDL promote fungus growth, that means they will promote cancer growth too if the Italian doctors research has some merit. What do you think? Thank you.
Hi Alex,
There are some parallels in the immune response to cancer and to fungus, so cancer patients often develop fungal infections too. However, they’re far from identical.
I believe it’s not the case that cancer benefits from high cholesterol, in fact low cholesterol is associated with higher cancer risk.
I think it’s possible that Candida promotes cancer, but it’s unlikely that physiologically normal levels of HDL and LDL do even in the presence of a Candida infection.
Thank you so much for writing the Perfect Health Diet book!
I have lost 20 pounds in six months by simply reducing the amount of tortillas I was eating. I used to eat up to 15 tortillas a day. Now I eat about five for the whole week. Like you guys said; the dose is the poison!
Hi Ricardo,
Heh. Congratulations!
Paul you really need to get a forum sorted,it would greatly increase book sales and be a great place for readers of your book to hang out and discuss together,this is ok but its too disjointed right now,great book by the way,looking forward to the new edition next month
regards
Chris
Hi Chris,
Thanks! You’re absolutely right about the forum. Hope to get that going shortly.
Best, Paul
Hi Paul,
I have been trying to help my sister-in-law in the Philippines who has severe migraine headaches which last 3-4 days several times a month. She has lost a lot of weight, currently is about 85 pounds (was 100 pounds 10 years ago) and is 4′ 9″ tall. She doesn’t eat well because she doesn’t feel well. I have just pre-ordered your book and will take it to her. My question is, do I need to order all of the daily and weekly supplements to get her started, or should she first just read the book and follow the diet–wait and see how she responds and then order the supplements? I want to get everything I need now for her now as we are going there(as much as possible), so any advice you can give is helpful.
Thanks a lot!
Lori
Hi Lori,
I would recommend the supplements, especially the essential daily supplements. Magnesium in particular is very important for migraines — I would get the chelate rather than the citrate just in case there are absorption issues.
The fact that she’s losing weight suggests some kind of malnourishment and therefore supplements may be especially important in her case. Of course they are no substitute for food, she needs to eat above all, but they may help accelerate her recovery.
Hello
I have been a vegan since 2009. I made the switch in 2009 because as a body builder I consumed a lot of protein shakes and I believe I reached protein toxicity. As a result my kidneys were inflamed, urine was very dark, lethargy and anxiety began taking over my life. The switch to vegan got rid of my symptoms, but new ones arose last January, like frequent diarhea, intestinal pains and recently symptoms that match a systemic yeast infection. After reading your book I became convinced and switched to your PHD 2 weeks ago. With PHD I saw immediate results but I now am beginning to feel cloudy in my head, weakness in my legs, chest pains like I had when I had reflux acid, pains in my lower back where my kidneys are, and my urine is a dark color. I am desperate and do not know what to do any more. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am suspecting cheese and butter to be responsible and am cutting it out for now.
Thank you,
George
Hi George,
You need to see a doctor and look into causes. The dark urine may be bilirubin from jaundice, which can arise from several causes including gallstones. Urinary tract infections or bleeding are other possibilities.
Diet is important and will help but first of all you need to understand what infections and/or organ issues you have. Doctors have tools to figure those things out, so please avail yourself of those tests and get a clearer picture.
Hello everyone! My husband is going to buy this book for me. I’ve been looking over this site and I like what you have to say. I am overweight, but I will say that my husband LOVES Paleo and he’s lost about 40 pounds over the last year. I have tried the Paleo diet and it’s okay, I just have to be VERY careful about portions! So I am going to try this diet and hopefully lose some weight too!
I always emailed this website post page to all my contacts, because if like to
read it after that my links will too.
I had written about a year and a half ago about all over body pain, my recuperating from a tick borne illness (after two years on antibiotics), psoriasis and numerous other problems. After following Perfect Health Diet religiously, I must say that after initial improvement, I am now no better than I was when I started with the exception of less bloating and gas, probably due to the lack of gluten in my diet. I am so discouraged.
In brief, I received a wonderful remission of all symptoms after beginning weekly acupuncture symptoms and Chinese herbs. (I had the wonderful experience of feeling fully like myself for my elder son’s wedding in May!) That has, however, now also failed me. I’ve developed some type of sensitivity to the herbs, which makes my already existing constant vaginal inflammation worse. I’ve seen an eminent specialist for that problem, and all he could say was to try things, so I am on Metronidazole once a month for the foreseeable future, to be followed by Fluconizole if that doesn’t work (and it isn’t working), and a trial of Vagi-fem if the previous two do not work.
After many years of remission, I also now have a recurrence of Meniere’s type-symptoms. True Meniere’s disease was ruled out years ago, and the doctor could only shake his head and say I must have “some type of allergy.” Allergies could never be found after seeing an allergist. So, I’m back on Loratadine again in order to be able to sort of function without throwing up.
I tried vegetarianism which helped my arthritic symptoms but exacerbated my other issues. I tried Atkins and felt good for awhile before trying Paleo and then Perfect Health diet. I was very hopeful for Perfect Health diet, so many people have done well, but I guess I am an exception to the regular population.
At this point, I am ready to give up, go on medication like everyone else and die, which I hope will be sooner than later, as I am so discouraged and tired of suffering after many, many years. The worse have been the last seven years.
Doctors just shake their heads. I’ve seen multitudes. They think I’m a head case. They are, however, happy to have me come back again and again, and are happy to write prescriptions for everything from prednisone, to antibiotics, to Savella, to Cymbalta, you name it. Thing is, I’m not willing to take the medications these days, because NOTHING seems to do any good at all, so why put my body through all of that.
My husband, a clinical therapist, has worked with me through clinical hypnosis, and that also has not turned up any deep seated issues. The only real success I have had has been with acupuncture. He’s worked on my endocrine system (I’m hypthyroid, of course.), but that has limited success without the herbs now.
It is wonderful to read the successful stories of all of these people finding a solution at long last. Unfortunately, not all of us are so lucky.
Dear MU,
First, Shou-Ching and I will include you in our prayers. God bless & don’t lose faith.
Chronic diseases are very difficult. There are many unknown or undiagnosable infections; some are untreatable; all treatments have negative side effects so experimentation can sometimes hit upon something but it can also cause new problems.
A possible tweak which might be worth trying is stopping all supplements except vitamins D and K2 and C, and focusing on high nutrient density in the diet (lots of vegetables and shellfish, egg yolks, liver, organ meats, bone broth). The reason for avoiding supplements is that some infections, especially protozoal infections, benefit from the same nutrients that we do, so avoiding supplements can sometimes be helpful. Vegetables have antimicrobial compounds which can sometimes help.
Again, we will keep you in our prayers.
Best, Paul
Paul, do you think vitamin C in extra-large doses (say, 1 gm every hour up to 8-10 g/day) might help out? I have been reading wonderful things about C to bowel tolerance. What is your opinion?
Hi Kathy,
Sometimes it helps and it’s reasonably harmless, so it’s certainly worth a try.
i apologize in advance, this is a rant. I am a bit frustrated at this point. i have been doing phd for 3 months now and enjoying it except that every wednesday i work (as a volunteer) pretty intensely and i can’t sleep those nights. (61yr old female). i have been working on the circadian rhythm with special glasses and wearing a face mask to bed. i’ve suffered from insomnia for years now. but what is really bothering me is when i don’t sleep i crave suger. i just ate a handful of Hershey chocolate kisses and i do that everytime i don’t sleep well. i do notice that when i do get a good nights sleep i have no trouble controlling cravings….it’s like ‘what cravings?’. anyway, i am writing you to ask what can i do to lessen the damage. i want to lose weight and i don’t know what to do. I am taking the suppliments and melitonin. I know the answer is getting the sleep i need but i need a ‘plan B’. i appreciate any suggestions. you have already helped me improve my health with the phd diet and other tips you have given me. thanks again.
Hi Cris,
I guess I’d say the various circadian rhythm tips in the new book are our best advice. I’m not sure what you can do beyond those and what you are already doing. Maybe an alcoholic beverage would help you de-stress on Wednesdays? I really don’t know what would be best for you, apart from figuring out how to make Wednesdays less stressful. You may want to eat more starch on Wednesdays, that may improve sleep and reduce sugar cravings. Do you eat less food on Wednesdays?
i eat more on wednesday because i am so hungry. last wednesday i shoveled gravel with many breaks mind you but i am always exhausted on those days and at first i thought great workout i will sleep better but no..it seems to make me more alert and i do eat more but i like the alcoholic beverage idea, that also used to keep me awake at night but if i’m going to be awake anyway might as well enjoy it.
Hi Paul, my husband and I have been eating PHD since November 1st. Of course, tweaking everything, trying to understand portions, etc. may not have been optimal, still might not be. Plus, my husband has a tendency to over eat carbs and protein, but getting better. He, like me came from a mostly vegetarian diet prior to November. He ate a LOT of quinoa and sprouted what products on his version of veg diet. Anyway, he is 56 years old, thin, a BMI of 20 (5’11 145 lbs). His Glucose just came back high at 107, his lipid panels just came back, also very concerning: Total chol: 273, Trig: 45, HDL: 71 and LDL: 193! His Vit D was 49.8. TSH: 2.82, Free T4: 1.19, Triiodothyronine free serum: 2.9. His doc wants to put him on statins right away and says he is pre-diabetic. His lipids were never this high on a veg diet, so of course he has real concern about the PHD diet (despite his overeating sometimes, I reminded him of). We are wondering why his levels might look like this. Can we tweak something with supplements/food to help? I read the section in your book and see the copper, iodine, etc. We are on all supplements except lithium; our iodine intake currently is 675 mcg. One thing to note, he did have 4 drinks (more than his usual) the night before these tests. Could that have anything to do with glucose etc.? He fasted, of course and had his last drink at 10:00PM, test at 9AM the next morning. I will appreciate as always your time in looking at this, he is pretty freaked out right now. Thank you Paul.
Hi Dede,
Sorry, I answered this on the Q&A thread: http://perfecthealthdiet.com/q-a/comment-page-48/#comment-114542.
Dede,
I’m not Paul, but I can say that my husband experienced something similar when he started the PHD diet. Doctor also wanted to put him on statins, to which he said no. I did some research and asked around (Paul included) and the consensus was that moving from a vegetarian diet, this often presents due to cholesterol being released rapidly into the blood. That’s how I understood it. I was told that it would remedy itself. It has started to do that, but has taken about a year and a half.
My husband’s triglycerides went down right away. His ratio is perfect now, but his LDL is still a bit high. The ratio is perfect due to his HDL also being quite high (~98), but I understand that is a good thing.
Paul recommended the B vitamins he had listed in the therapeutic section of his recommendation list, which my husband has been taking. We’ll have to wait until next cholesterol test to see if the LDL is beginning to come down also.
My husband is also tall and thin. He has to work at keeping his weight above 150 pounds. He enjoys eating PHD more, so has started to eat more, and is beginning to slowly gain some weight, which he encourages by weight-lifting. He is 60.
I think that all the grains we were consuming as vegetarians irritated the digestive system to the point where he was not absorbing everything that he needed in order to gain weight.
My husband now likes to term a vegetarian as a grainarian instead!
Hi MU! My husband and I just read your post together and he is VERY encouraged! Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us! Did your husband have any fasting gluclose issues? My husband has a pre-diabetic reading currently (blood test taken last week) of 170. Also, my husband’s triglycerides are actually quite low. Weird! His trigs are: 45!
Thank you again and I’d love to hear about his progress on next cholesterol test! I’ll share ours as well.
I am a 33 year-old osteopathic ObGyn who believes wholeheartedly in the Perfect Health Diet way of life; however, I only recently became a convert. In the Summer and Fall of 2011, a series of stressful life events left my adrenal glands exhausted, and I began developing daily hives. Ten years prior to this I suffered a three-year bout of chronic hives as well. Though Inever really figured out the cause that time, I knew certain foods were the trigger such as wheat and sugar. This time, I immediately eliminated wheat and cut down on sugar which helped for a period, but eventually the hives worsened, covering me head to toe at times. It felt like my entire body was one big ball of inflammation. It seemed this time around to be much more severe. One by one I started eliminately foods that appeared to be the culprit. All grains including the “healthy” quinoa and millet had to go. Corn came next, and I was utterly confused until a little reading helped me see that corn is a grain and not a vegetable. Next beans and legumes were thrown out. I was shocked! Since the gluten-free awareness had surfaced, I knew grains were not good for us, but why legumes? Next to go were oils… soybean, canola, peanut, safflower. Every time I eliminated something I would get better for a while, then worse again.
Eventually I was eating only meats, fruits, vegetables, olive oil, and nuts… A paleo diet. Of course it took me another few months to stumble upon the term paleo, which I had never heard of. Sadly, four years of undergraduate education, four years of medical school, four years of residency, and one year out in practice, and I had never even heard of such a thing! Following the paleo diet seemed restrictive, and I was frequently hungry. I avoided starchy foods even though I tolerated potatoes just fine. I did not feel well. I craved sugar immensely. After numerous trials of various alternative treatments, I accepted that my immune system had just gotten too “out of hand”. I could not function at work or in my personal life, and I finally went on steroids and cyclosporine to “calm” my immune system down.
That is when I stumbled across the Perfect Health Diet. I had just finished reading “Clan of the Cave Bear” by Jean Auel, which is a well-researched book set in Paleolithic times. Although fictional, the book goes in to exquisite detail, on what hunter-gatherer societies ate and how they prepared their food. It looks an awful lot like PHD, not paleo. Immediately I knew PHD would be a life changer. The research took the unexplainable in my life and made sense of everything! It explained why eliminating pro-inflammatory foods was a start, but that I was still sick and unable to heal from the lack of proper nutrition on a macro and micronutrient level. I incorporated starches in to my diet. I added back grass-fed butter and cream. I have not ventured back to rice, but I will try it soon. I eat pure cacao nibs which I think are so delicious even without the sugar. I have started adding supplements little by little so as not to overwhelm my finicky system.
I have never had a BMI over 25, but I have ALWAYS had a wicked sweet tooth and constantly fought to keep my weight at 140-145lbs on my 5’7 frame. People often think that normal weight people don’t understand what it is like to battle with food, but I do! I cannot even describe how my relationship with food has changed. I still love the taste of food, but I don’t obsess over it. I frequently have to remind myself to eat during the day whereas I used to look at the clock to see when lunch was coming. My cravings, especially for sugar and baked goods are GONE! When I walk in to a bakery, I’m almost nauseated at the smell. At a recent buffet, I walked right past the breads/pizza/pastas without even a second glance. On a paleo diet, I would have been miserable and pouting that I could not eat those foods. My weight hovers at 135lbs without even trying and my body feels tighter and healthier even with minimal exercising.
While eating paleo, I could not wait to “get back to my normal life”. Now, I have no intentions of ever going back. This is too easy, and I feel too good! I am off the steroids and weening down the cyclosporine currently with no signs yet of my body flaring up again. For the last year, I was pretty angry at my body for “turning against me”. Now I realized it was me that turned on my body by poisoning it for over 30 years. My body very clearly “showed” me on my skin what foods are bad and which ones are good. Not everyone is so “lucky” and will have to take it on faith in the beginning to change their ways. I am already figuring out ways I can incorporate telling every patient, friend, and family member about this simple, yet powerful way to live. No one believes me now, but I keep saying… Just give it another 10 to 20 years of people getting more and more sick, and I guarantee you this will be the bible of diets! From the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you! I promise to spread the message!
Hi Shanna,
Tremendous story! Thank you for sharing!
Let me know if you’re willing to be listed on our Healers page: http://perfecthealthdiet.com/healers/.
Best, Paul
Dear Paul,
I would be thrilled to be listed. Currently, I am a physician with the US Air Force and can only see military members and their dependents, but I will update my information once I transition to the private sector.
Shanna Snow, DO, Obgyn
Women’s Health Department
Mike O’Callaghan Fed. Med. Center
4700 N. Las Vegas Blvd.
Nellis AFB, NV. 89191
702-653-2298
Take care!
Shanna
Thank you for your wonderful book and information. I have the first edition of the hard back and please read the last paragraph on page 86 that begins with “Let’s call a diet “. I think that there is a mistake in the way it is written or I am misreading it.
I applaud your research and your conclusions and wholeheartedly agree with everything that you write about. I am one of the few biological dentists in this country and would like to make known that one of the major sources of bacterial infection and disease in the body is dentistry. Especially incriminating are root canals, dental implants, and osteonecrotic areas of the jaw (“jaw bone cavitations”). I do understand your not mentioning them as it is an extremely controversial topic. But, i do hope that you are appraised to this information and have done some research on it. thank you for your fine contribution to health and wellness.
Hi Jack,
That paragraph is written as intended. The idea is that I’m defining 30% carbs as a “moderate carb diet”, something significantly higher like 50% carb as a “high carb diet”, and something significantly lower like below 20% carbs as a “low carb diet”.
The health effects of dental procedures are beyond my competence to discuss. It’s certainly clear that infections harbored in the oral cavity have a huge effect on health, and that many microbes are good at establishing biofilms on implanted metal or other artificial surfaces. Whether the implants are worse than the alternative is beyond my ability to judge, however.
Thank you for your support, Jack!
Hi Jack,
I just had my third root canal and so I am very interested to hear what you recommend as an alternative.
Thanks!
My things which resolved:
1) No more cold/canker sores.
2) more energy! and a better mood.
3) I feel satiated with the rice, potatoes, or sweet potatoes
4) finally – a more normal body temperature! this has been the best part, I used to feel cold all the time and supplementing with iodine and selenium, diet, etc., my body temperature went from 97 to 98.2. I don’t need a coat anymore when it’s cold outside and I used to be freezing all the time.
I really like the explanations for everything in this book, I wish it were required reading for medical school students.
Hi, I’ve been on the diet for couple of weeks now.
My breath is sooooooo horrible!
What can I do?
Gay
Hi Gay,
Are you too low carb?
Hi,
No, I don’t think so. I eat potatoes w/butter, sour crm. carrots, rice, and fruit (by itself) occasionally.
FYI-I have severe reflux, (currently on nexium just so i can eat a little.)
I have many food sensitivities -tried digestive enzymes and I am very sensitive to them.
Any help would be so appreciated.
Gay
Hi Gay,
I’ve heard good things of DGL (licorice) and mastic gum. B vitamins sometimes help.
Acid reflux is a common cause of bad breath; so is a disturbed microbial flora, in both the mouth and gut. So I would focus on digestive health and good nourishment.
I just read the book and was impressed. But I am also alittle confused. I have been following the Smarter Science of Slim principals with good success and one of the things they restrict is white rice, because of starch and blood sugar spikes. So, if i eat the white rice with the suggested fat ratios, is it really a problem with spiking blood sugar?
@Joe, I’m not Paul obviously, but he’s touched on your question here:
http://perfecthealthdiet.com/2011/10/how-to-minimize-hyperglycemic-toxicity/
Hi Joe,
See http://perfecthealthdiet.com/2011/10/how-to-minimize-hyperglycemic-toxicity/ for why white rice will not spike blood sugar if eaten as part of a balanced meal.
The real problems are (1) excess energy intake — but if you eat carbs below 30% of energy, which is the body’s natural carb intake, then there will be no tendency to promote excess energy intake; and (2) contributions to gut dysbiosis, which is mainly a problem with fructose although in a few people other carbs can contribute.
So basically, if your gut is healthy, then eating 30% carbs is optimal.
Hi Paul,
I am having a hard time on the Perfect Health Diet with cravings. I am a binge eater and when I started to add in the carbs I find that it sends me on a spiral of cravings. When I fast I use the coconut oil and coffee for the 16 hours then in the 8 hour feeding period i eat all the recommended foods. I am not taking chromium because it has never worked for me in the past. Is there a possibility that when I am craving carbs my body is actually craving protein. I have really cut back on the protein and I am wondering if this is just an adjustment period to white knuckle through.
Hi Julie,
Why don’t you keep the carbs and add protein, cutting back fat to compensate, and see if that eliminates the cravings?
We recommend about 3/4 lb meat, fish, and eggs per day. However, individual needs may vary, so it’s good to experiment.
Your cravings probably indicate either some form of malnourishment (discussed Chap 17 in the book), possibly protein malnourishment, or else some sort of gut dysbiosis in which inflammation from the gut or some other microbial byproduct is driving appetite.
Anyone out there have any suggestions for treating the flu besides just resting. I’m miserable today with a slight fever and painful sore throat. Any help would be so greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Put 5 to 10 drops of grapefruit seed extract in water and drink. It knocks down a lot of the viral activity and then your immune system has less of a workload. You’ll feel better very soon after drinking it. Take as often as the discomfort starts to return – it won’t hurt you or knock out beneficial bacteria like conventional antivirals/antibiotics do.
Gargle it before swallowing to further help the throat.
Thank you Jack for your suggestion. I will try it. I hope it is effective in powder form too, since my local health store did not have the extract.
Hi Jeanette,
A Chinese home remedy is a ginger tea. Cut ten thin slices from a ginger root per 8 ounces water and boil half an hour; a good tactic is to do this once a day with 32 ounces water + 40 ginger slices and store in the refrigerator until ready to drink. In each cup you drink put a little bit of honey to sweeten it.
Thank you, Paul, for PHD.
When I first started following the PHD diet and lifestyle recommendations two years ago, I wrote up a list of the various issues that were bothering me: frequent blackouts, cold extremities, digestive issues, hair loss, chronic sinus infections, extremely low blood pressure, low blood sugar, no sensation of hunger, migraines, muscle weakness, insomnia, etc. Without having to think too hard, I came up with 37 health issues.
On my one year anniversary of adopting PHD, I went over my list and saw that nearly all of those issues were gone. There were some new things that that I became aware of as I worked on tweaking to find what worked best for my body. Still, I had only 2 of my initial health symptoms, and a few new ones.
Now, on my second year anniversary of PHD, I have none(!) of the initial health issues. I have a few things that are new since starting PHD–such as a lot more build-up on my teeth–but I can say that following the PHD template has completely changed my health, energy, and mood. And I’m sure by year three, with some tweaking, these last few things will be scratched off the list.
Thank you, Mari! That is great to hear!
Hi Paul,
So these are my results from adapting PHD.
My first results
Started at
HDL 122
Triglycerides74
LDL 112
After about a month
HDL 110
triglycerides 50
LDL 103
Recent Test
HDL 127
Triglycerides 43
LDL 100
I feel a lot better by eating more meat and fat, and following your suggestiosn with supplement.
Having problems with A1C
It was in the beginning 6.1, now 5.8.
I would like to see it at 4 -should I go extreme low carb?
I am hypothyroid.
Hi MissBB,
For A1C, the lowest mortality range is 5.0 to 5.4 (http://perfecthealthdiet.com/2011/11/safe-starches-symposium-dr-ron-rosedale/), so your 5.8 is close to the optimum. Numbers in the 4s are less healthy so don’t try to push this too far.
Although optimum on average is probably more like 5.3, every person is a bit different and we don’t know that 5.8 may not very good for you.
In order to lower A1c, you may need to eat more carbs, not less. This increases insulin sensitivity.
But I would just ignore A1c and focus on general health, including your hypothyroidism. Think about things you are not doing, like circadian rhythm strategies.
Best, Paul
Hi Paul,
Circadian rhythm strategies? I actually upped melatonin to 10 mg. I know that seems extreme but it has really helped my rest. I don’t fight grogginess in the morning from it.
Do I have to worry about the LDL number being 100?
I use coconut oil, and full fat cream.
What do you think of chromium piccolonate for those with high blood sugar?
Hi,
I’ve been on your diet for 6 weeks now and digestive issues have been feeling much better. I have 2 questions.
1) any suggestions for coming off PPI ‘s such as Nexium. Upon stopping this drug your body begins to hyper-secret acid into the stomach and causes extreme reflux symptoms(I know from experience, and had to go back on twice the initial dosage to cope with this)
2) I have developed a slight yeast infection. I found this odd as I haven’t had sugar,breads , etc in 2 months.
Thanks so much.
Kip,
I’ve read that weaning off PPIs is best. Can you open the capsule and pour out some of the medicine? Or maybe switch to an OTC PPI that is easier to cut the dose of?
I am confused about eating more carbs to lower blood sugar- I thought that the strategy was to eat less carbs!
Would eating more coconut oil count as more safe carbs?
After following PHD (most of the time) for over a year, I just got my lipids panel back. HDL went from 55 to 56. LDL from 117 to 128. Total cholesterol from 204 to 202. Triglycerides from 162 to 88. VLDL from 32 to 18. All while eating tons of butter, coconut oil, coconut milk, fatty beef and lamb, chocolate and macadamia nuts.
I am a newcomer to PHD. I started to try adopting it in Feb, after a year on SCD. SCD has been very helpful to me, but I was hopeful that I could resume eating your “safe starches”, mainly because of the things you write about glucose. And also because I like potatoes. HOWEVER, a few days into experimenting with PHD all my old symptoms returned again. I gave it up after a month.
I eat beets every day, winter squashes almost every day, and carrots frequently. Isn’t that good enough to produce glucose?
What do you say about people who just have trouble digesting rice and potatoes? I’ve seen the comment about different pathogens thriving on diff carbs — so, how do people find out their own special pathogens?
Paul has suggested this lab which does high;y accurate, DNA signature testing of stool samples for pathogens
http://www.metametrix.com/
Hi S,
The fact that resistant starch seems to be a problem for you, but not sugars, indicates that your problem is in the colon. Thus a stool test should be a good indication. A fecal transplant would probably cure whatever you have, but those are not yet common.
As jack says, DNA stool tests like the Metametrix Microbial Ecology profile sometimes turn up treatable infections.
If you don’t pursue medical interventions like antibiotics and fecal transplants, then the slow course of eating fermented vegetables, trying to slowly introduce small amounts of potato, and eating diverse plant foods to increase gut floral diversity is the best approach. Over time this may enable your gut microbiome to evolve to a healthier one.
I have been following the PHD for 6 weeks. Last night, my family got home late and without thinking i made myself two sandwiches. I havent eaten any wheat/grain products in the 6 weeks. Well the effects were almost immediate. First the bloating, then the burning in my stomach, i become irritable and my sleep was very restless. This morning i had only what i can describe as a hangover not unlike from drinking alcohol excessively. I needed pain killers to get rid of the headache and nausea.Is this all just coincidence. I think not!! I am back on PHD and everything is easing up again. Thank you both for the book. It really is a life saver.
From 2011-2012 I started eating the diet outlined in the 1st edition of the Perfect Health Diet. The edition of saturated fats and starches made food enjoyable. I also noticed that it was easier to gain muscle, and I stopped getting colds. However, I nevertheless suffered from dry skin, poor concentration and poor blood flow, all of which became progressively worse.
After reading the 2nd edition in 2013, I started eating more potassium rich foods and my dry skin essentially vanished immediately. I also noticed an improvement in both mood and blood flow. I realized I was potassium deficient. I now make sure to drink a few cups of tomato puree a day mixed with water, along with eating baked potatoes and sweet potatoes.
In 2013, I also started eating cooked green leafy vegetables and noticed improvements in mood, energy, and cognitive capacity.
I still haven’t gotten a single cold, since I began the diet in 2011, whereas I used to get about three a year.
Interesting! I think potassium improved my skin too but I didn’t make the connection until now. Thanks for your observations.
Potassium and Vitamin C (from actual foods as opposed to supplements) are my favorite. A homemade tomato drink (supplying Potassium and Vitamin C) with lime/lemon (supplying more Vitamin C) has been incredibly beneficial. Adding this beverage, plus more green veg., to a macronutrient-unrestricted, dairy-free, PHD diet, while simultaneously giving up all supplementation, has noticeably improved my physical appearance, cognitive ability, mood and love of life.
Eggs also appear to cause minor scaling and flaking on my skin, so I believe I have a mild egg intolerance. In place of eggs, I’ve been enjoying more broths, collagen rich cuts of meat, and occasional organs. I may be wrong, but it doesn’t seem like eggs are necessary.
I’ve experimented with the supplement regimen since 2013, but I don’t really understand the cost/benefit rationale for taking them.
According to the nutrition calculator, I shouldn’t need to take any supplements at all, as long as I follow the Perfect Health Diet to the letter, which entails eating about 3 pounds of plants a day and a variety or meats, including organs. I’m also fair skinned and obtain plenty of sunlight. According to the calculator, the only nutrients I am slightly low in are Thiamine (90%) and Vitamin E (80%). And I’m above 700 mg of calcium so long as I eat cooked greens, especially collard.
Essentially every single supplement I’ve tried has been accompanied by undesirable side effects.
Vitamin K2 (MK-7)—Brain fog
Vitamin K2 (MK-4)—Spaciness, inarticulateness, aggression, increased energy, temporary increase in libido.
Vitamin D (1000 IU)—Brain fog, temporary loss of appetite combined with increased body fat, temporary increase in libido.
Magnesium—Poor concentration
Vitamin C—Brain fog
Lithium (1-2 mg) —Pleasant feeling combined with spaciness; less articulate; lifted depression, which was highly beneficial; friendlier disposition.
Zinc—Acne, inarticulateness, temporarily increase in libido
B Vitamins—Puffy face, increased energy, cognitive disruption
Iodine (225 mg)—Excessive energy, increased thirst, weight loss.
Taurine—Altered mood
1/4 pound of beef liver a week—high energy level and enhanced mood followed by a feeling of weakness if eaten on consecutive days.
I look and feel positively great on the 2nd edition version of the PHD, so long as I don’t take ANY supplements. So thank you very much. It’s changed my life.
A couple other observations and remarks:
My circadian rhythms are normal for the first time in my life since I started wearing the blue-blocking goggles, getting regular exercise, and since I started forgoing sunglasses and exposing my eyes to daylight. I think it is important to put the blue-blocking goggles on at the same time every night. Otherwise, it is difficult to establish a fixed pattern.
I prefer haiga-mai rice to white rice. It tastes better and seems nutritionally superior.
A pressure cooker seems like an invaluable asset for making broths and for cooking tough meats.
I love vinegar, but, when over-consumed, it can cause my teeth to become sensitive.
I feel better when I eat macro-nutrients according to instinct, as opposed to consciously attempting to follow the PHD ratio. When I’ve attempted to deliberately follow the ratio, I quickly feel like I’m depriving myself of carbs, especially if I’m not eating rice and getting exercise.
Again, thank you for your tremendous contribution to human culture and understanding. It’s been a tremendously interesting and rewarding experience.
I think you’ve just pointed out why my daughter is having problems with her teeth becoming sensitive – she definitely overdoes the vinegar. Thanks!
Paul, what should we focus on to rebuild enamel on teeth?
Thanks,
Adam.
At one point, in 2011, the sensitivity became pretty bad; so, I cut out all vinegar and citrus acids and resumed using a fluoride toothpaste. The sensitivity reversed in about two weeks.
I reckon that if I can obtain from sun, mineral water, broth and food all the fat soluble vitamins, as well as the bone building minerals and materials and vitamin C, my teeth and bones should be OK. It seems like this should be feasible with the addition of goose liver, broths, green leafy veg. tomato (juice), mineral water, sunlight, and marrow.
I’ve had many fractured bones in my life, but I haven’t had a single bone related problem after starting PHD, despite taking up regular barefoot running and other activities.
Hello Paul,
I was wondering if you ever had a look at this book from Dr. Mathias Rath and his claims about micronutrients: http://www.victory-over-cancer.org/
Thanks