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 |
I am 64 yr old female, had bypass graft and small colon cancer w rt. hemicolectomy in 2005. Been on high dose niacin for small dense ldl particle size( hdl now 100). Went gluten free primal abt 2 yrs ago. ND says severe leaky gut in spite of diet. Oh, went off PPIs for severe silent reflux ( throat clearing) 2 yrs ago as well.
Have horrible rash dxd as Interstitial Granuloma Annulare. No itching, but disfiguring, started in winter of 2012, and biopsed 3 weeks ago. Went off coffee, all dairy, nuts, seeds, eat meat,fish offal, home made coconut milk, fruit and vegies smoothies.
Please help rash spreading! Derm only offers toxic treatments. Went off niacin as well….feel like health not improving.
Thank you
Hi Marlaf,
The rash is due to some sort of immune impairment that either allows some infection to flourish (eg seborrheic dermatitis is caused by overgrowth of Malassezia fungal infections on the skin), or by autoimmune activity. Granulomatous dermatitis is usually thought to be autoimmune, see http://www.dermnetnz.org/dermal-infiltrative/granulomatous-dermatitis.html.
In general the first step is normalizing diet. Being very low carb is a risk for fungal infections and affects immune function. Try including some carbs in your diet — potatoes and white rice if possible, if gut dysbiosis/leaky gut is too bad, try dextrose powder.
For the leaky gut, eat bone and joint broth soups and liver and other nourishing foods organ meats and seafoods, plus vegetables. Be sure to get enough vitamin D. Gradually introduce fermented vegetables, eg kimchi.
I agree with staying off niacin, it can promote certain infections and modulates immune function. See this post for alternative ways to raise HDL: http://perfecthealthdiet.com/2011/04/how-to-raise-hdl/.
Also try the other steps suggested in our book, including circadian rhythm strategies.
Best, Paul
Two more comments regarding supplements, adding to my previous list:
Magnesium (200 mg) seems to adversely affect regularity.
Vitamin C (250 mg) seems to prevent me from experiencing a runner’s high. (When taking the PHD supplements, exercise didn’t really feel like exercise, either during or after.)
If followed to the letter, the Perfect Health Diet is so good that I suspect introducing supplements will only harm as opposed to promote health. According the the nutrition calculator, I am between 90% – 400% of every micronutrient, so supplements would seem unnecessary; moreover, unlike foods high in micronutrients, supplements appear to cause side-effects (including brain fog, inarticulateness, loss of appetite, increase in libido, constipation, weight gain, personality changes, lack of endogenous reaction to exercise).
Thanks languagegame. I appreciate you sharing your experiences.
I’m doing experiments myself, but I seem to be rather slower to reach conclusions. One thing I have concluded, however, is that supplementation is most likely to aid the elderly, who eat relatively little food, and least likely to be beneficial for children and the young or active, as they eat so much more food relative to body mass. May I ask if you are young?
Thanks for your response. Your project is one of the most fascinating things I’ve ever encountered. And I’ve found that the food and lifestyle aspects of your diet produce a very high level of health and wellness.
I’m in my early 30’s and weigh 129 pounds. I have very little body fat, and even less when I’m not taking supplements. I exercise daily. According to the nutrition calculator, I eat around 2300-2500 calories a day.
I also wanted to note another phenomenon I’ve experienced since starting the PHD diet over two years ago. Regardless of how much non-grain starch I consume (from potatoes or bananas), unless I eat rice, I essentially feel cognitively incapacitated. I’ve even tried eating 3 pounds of potatoes a day. But for some reason, rice seems to fuel my brain in a way that non-grain starch doesn’t. For me, there is not some choice of eating either potatoes or rice. I have to eat rice at least a couple times per week to feel OK.
thanks languagegame…I think i’m starting to experience some of what you are talking about – that the supplements, which I’ve been taking for about 8 months now, are starting to cause adverse reactions – the brain fog with iodine, and interesting about the Vitamin C and exercise. I too have noticed exercise feeling “easier.”
Suggestion: it would be interesting and useful to see daily meal plans that you think would bring every micronutrient into the plateau range. Over the last two years, vitamin C, E, potassium, thiamine and calcium have been the primary nutrients I’ve struggled to obtain from food (assuming the nutrition calculator is reliable). The PHD diet seems to be potentially very low in vitamin C, and theoretically low in potassium, so long as rice is favored. I’ve tried to address both vitamin C and potassium by drinking a couple glasses of watered-down tomato puree with the juice of two limes/lemons. This simple change has seemed to improve my health substantially.
I don’t know if you or the paleo community is aware of this study. Evidently people are more quickly adaptive than generally thought.
Diet Shapes the Ability of Human Intestinal Microbiota to Degrade Phytate – In Vitro Studies
Lidia Hanna Markiewicz1,*, Joanna Honke2, Monika Haros3, Dominika ?wi?tecka1, Barbara Wróblewska1
Journal of Applied Microbiology
Abstract
Aims
Investigation of intestinal bacterial groups involved in phytate degradation and the impact of diets with different phytate contents on phytase activity.
Methods and Results
Faecal samples of adults on conventional (n=8) or vegetarian (n=8) diets and breastfed infants (n=6) were used as an inoculum for modified media supplemented with phytate. Populations of Gram-positive anaerobes (GPA), lactic acid bacteria (LAB), Proteobacteria-Bacteroides (P-B), coliforms and anaerobes were studied. The PCR-DGGE analysis revealed a random distribution of DGGE profiles in the dendrograms of GPA, P-B and coliforms, and a partially diet-specific distribution in the DGGE dendrograms of LAB and anaerobes. The degradation of phytic acid (PA) was determined with HPLC method in supernatants of the cultures. Regardless of the diet, the Gram-positive anaerobes and LAB displayed the lowest ability to degrade phytate whereas the coliforms and P-B cultures produced higher amounts of intermediate myo-inositol phosphates. Bacterial populations grown in a non-selective medium were the most effective ones in phytate degradation. It was the vegetarians’ microbiota that particularly degraded up to 100 % phytate to myo-inositol phosphate products lower than InsP3.
Conclusions
A diet rich in phytate increases the potential of intestinal microbiota to degrade phytate. The co-operation of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria is essential for the complete phytate degradation.
Significance and Impact of the Study
This study provides insights on the effect of diet on specific metabolic activity of human intestinal microbiota.
I have severe muscle pain all the time. I’ve been trying the PHD diet since the first of this year.When going thru your book I never see the title of pain. I wondered if you could give me some suggestions. I haven’t been doing the auto immune part of the diet. I have been on savella a drug for fibromyalgia and have seen no improvement. Also how would i find a doctor that could help me with testing that uses the PHD ideas. Thanks PJ Rosen
Hi PJ,
You might want to visit Kamal Patel’s site at http://paindatabase.com. I’ll pass your comment along to him, maybe he’ll reply here. I personally am not very knowledgeable about pain.
For doctors, you can try our Healers page or PrimalDocs; but many tests are also available to you directly at places like directlabs.com.
Best, Paul
Hi PJ– Feel free to send me an email at painkamal (at) gmail dot com, and I might have some additional ideas on things to try.
Fibromyalgia drugs don’t have great efficacy rates in general, as fibro is a tough condition to treat and has a variety of causes.
If you are already doing a PHD style diet, incorporating more autoimmune aspects isn’t too onerous and could reap rewards. However, treatment of fibromyalgia can often come from things outside of diet that either center on specialized physical therapy, manual therapy such as trigger point massage or injection, and lifestyle modification such as circadian rhythm normalization, which Paul has written on. Note that in one small trial, fibro patients showed significant improvement in pain after regular use of tanning beds. This further supports the idea that UV light (and/or vitamin D) may be beneficial for fibro.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19769472
So many things can cause pain. I’ve dealt with it for seven years. Mine was a tick born illness, bartonella, for which I was on antibiotics for two years. Menopause didn’t help that either, because hormones can also be a factor; HRT therapy helped for a few months. (I was too old to safely continue it indefinitely.) Eventually, I was also diagnosed with hypothyrodism, which can also cause body pain, and can often follow a chronic illness. Quite often doctors under treat this disease, using only the TSH test and levothyroxine, instead of the more effective natural thyroid hormone, like Armour thyroid. I’ve done very well on the latter. (See stopthethyroidmadness.com)
After dealing with all of this AND using the PHD diet AND treating for fungal infections (probably due to the antibiotic treatment), I still did not find relief until I started having acupuncture treatment weekly. I’ve had 27 treatments to date. I am continuing to improve, but am not yet 100%. I still deal with a fairly low white blood count also and that causes infection problems for me, thus more antibiotics and more fungal infections, so it is a journey. It is NOT easy to regain health! Prayers for you in this difficult journey. Pain changed my life forever.
Hi Paul, what do you think about rice protein powder? It is said to be the closest protein source to mothers milk. I struggle with eating animal protein so was wondering if this would be good to add into my diet.
Hi PC,
Food has many nutrients that aren’t present in protein powder, so it’s much better to get protein from food. I’m puzzled by what sort of struggle you have with animal protein. Is it a moral struggle – you don’t like the thought of dead animals? If so dairy and eggs would be good sources.
Thanks for your reply Paul. My struggle with protein isn’t moral, I just feel unwell whenever I eat it. I suspect it’s a histamine problem. Fish such as cod doesn’t agree with me although I will have it in small amounts, beef ramps up my nervous system and makes me feel tense and anxious, I don’t tolerate eggs very well either. I have trouble eating liver too. Dairy also has bad effects on me, I suspect it’s the casein that’s the problem.
I was taking SSRI meds for a while and my food intolerances started after I stopped taking them. The meds are known to be anti-histamine, so coming off them presumably causes some sort of histamine rebound effects. I know that the high serotonin levels caused by SSRIs affects the gut, so there has to be some connection there.
Chris Kresser did a post on HI recently:
http://chriskresser.com/headaches-hives-and-heartburn-could-histamine-be-the-cause
I suspect few are aware that people losing weight on a ‘strict veggie’ diet are actually on a high animal fat diet. If someone loses 100 pounds over a year, for example, that means they are ‘consuming’ about 2 pounds of their own fat per week(some muscle too probably). Perhaps some fat soluble vitamins become available from the fat too; but when they cease losing fat, that is when they need to be especially vigilant to eat some animal fat and supplements. Diets are not always what they appear!
I always get this rash when I take probiotics. It starts around my mid-section and then spreads downward. I have read this is die-off, so I decided to endure until the die-off subsides; HOWEVER, the rash is spreading downward and it is concerning me that it will spread too far. I have tried soaking in apple c. Vinegar, baking soda,e. salts. I have applied coconut oil which did nothing, now I’m applying a clay poultice 2X/day. Would you stop the fermented cabbage juice and probiotics or not?
Hi Kip,
I would be reluctant to take probiotics or eat fermented foods as long as that is happening. Try to heal your gut first. See my advice to G.J. below.
Hi,
I had SIBO last year and my gastro. put me on a lose dose of eurithromiacin .
He said I will have to stay on this medicine indefinitely to keep the SIBO from returning. What is your opinion. I don’t want to live on this medicine forever.
Thanks for all your help!!
Hi G.J.,
You certainly don’t want to stay on antibiotics indefinitely.
Key steps:
1. Improve stomach acid production (salt, iodine, potassium, bitter herbs, water, bone and joint broth). Try betaine hydrochloride with a few meals to see if it helps.
2. Support antimicrobial peptide production with liver (vitamin A) and vitamin D (sun, supplements).
3. Yoga breathing exercises to massage the small intestine and stomach.
4. Eat lots of vegetables (rich in antimicrobials). Flavor food and water with apple cider vinegar (heavily diluted). You could try gentle antimicrobials like mastic gum.
Best, Paul
2 articles of interest: Study by Schwimmer of UCSD in which Adenovirus 36 infects fat cells…”In cell cultures,” Schwimmer said, “the virus infects pre-adipocytes or immature fat cells” apparently leading to obesity in kids (this is the only virus known to be linked to obesity) and second article – in Cell Metabolism – researchers from Methodist Hosp report that fat cells in obese people make major histocompatibility complex II antigens, a group of proteins usually expressed to help the immune system fight off viruses and bacteria. The evidence that obesity is an infectious disease seems to be mounting!
Thanks, Jim. I didn’t see the Schwimmer article. The other one is here: Class II major histocompatibility complex plays an essential role in obesity-induced adipose inflammation. Cell Metab. 2013 Mar 5;17(3):411-22. http://PMID.us/23473035.
1. Dr. Paul Jaminet (whom I greatly admire for his clear thinking) believes that the ability of the obese human body to offload excess glucose most effectively is through heat generation (see PHD webpost of 18 Jan 2011 – ‘if you’ve got too much fat and too much glucose, you really, really want to turn up the waste heat generator.’).
2. When this mechanism is blocked, then the body cannot avoid the metabolic syndrome, etc.
3. Mitochondria are the location of this ‘thermogenesis-as-relief-valve’ function.
4. The mechanism for this is principally via a protein known as thermogenin (UCP-1), as activated by thyroid hormone and the ‘fight or flight’ hormone norepinephrine.
5. When an obese person with over-supply of glucose loses this mitochondrial defense mechanism, disease ensues (See the study on mitoNEET over/under-expression – UT Southwest, Scherer).
6. What can derail this mitochondrial based defense mechanism? – a. Toxin, whether plant or ‘animal’ i.e. gut bacterial origin or whole grain toxin or combination; OR b. Genetic alteration, e.g. via viral action (?example adenovirus 36 in obese kids)
7. The relative importance of these 2 etiologies and the response to either will necessarily differ: i.e. the toxin can be reduced by various strategies which seek to decrease glucose over-supply while decreasing toxin load, e.g. diet change/gut bacterial antibiotics/prebiotics/probiotics/fecal transplant – while the genetic change will be ameliorated via reducing glucose over-supply coupled with autophagy strategies.
8. Maintaining health as much as possible during the anti-obesity treatment is key – which importantly rests in large part on the PHD principles.
Paul,
I think my earlier comments on infectious etiology of obesity need to be adjusted. I refer to the review article in GGH vol 24, #1 by Dhurandar and Atkinson. Their figure 1 illustrates the state of knowledge at the moment wherein the 6 organisms (Canine distemper, Boma, Scrapie, Roux, Chlamydia pneu, adeno-36)linked to obesity are diagrammed with their various sites of action (hypothalamus, thyroid, etc). The authors point out that where the organism damages the body and is then no longer active, the treatment must be addressed to the metabolism, not the organism itself. No mention of mitochondrial thermogenesis is made, so far as I can see, in this article. Thanks.
Paul,
What follows is the true story of a researcher into obesity…thought you might like to read it if you haven’t already.
Jim B.
BOMBAY, INDIA, 1988–Nikhil Dhurandhar’s life was turning out just as he’d always imagined. Like his father before him, Dhurandhar was a doctor specializing in obesity. His practice was thriving and he saw a thousand patients a year. Until, one day, a casual remark changed his life forever.
A family friend, veterinary pathologist Sharad Ajinkya, mentioned that he’d been studying a viral epidemic that was sweeping through poultry flocks, killing hundreds of thousands of chickens. And oddly enough, when he examined the dead birds he’d been surprised by the large amount of body fat they were carrying. Dhurandhar was amazed. How could birds ill enough to die of a virus be overweight? “There should be little or no fat,” said Dhurandhar. “They should be wasting away.”
The two men decided to investigate. They injected the virus, known as SMAM-1, into some chickens in the lab. Six weeks later the infected ones had almost 50 per cent more fat in their body cavity than chickens that had not been exposed to the virus. Oddly enough, the fatter group also had less cholesterol and triglycerides in their blood. This was surprising because fat animals usually have high levels of these two molecules, which transport fat round the body in the bloodstream. Intrigued, Dhurandhar took blood samples from 52 of his obese patients and tested them for SMAM-1 antibodies. He found them in 10 of the 52, and those 10 were heavier than the other patients. They also had lower cholesterol levels—the same unusual signature he had found in the chickens. “When I got that, I thought this was something which was very important to pursue,” says Dhurandhar.
But he knew, too, that he didn’t have the lab space or funding to study this at his clinics in India. He started writing and phoning obesity researchers in the US, and soon realized that no one was going to take a chance on an unknown Indian scientist with an offbeat idea. He hoped there’d be a better chance of convincing someone if he went there. “So I closed my clinics—I had three at that time—got permission from my wife and my son, and we all came to the States,” he recalls. “It was a big, big leap of faith.”
THE WORLD has become dramatically fatter in the past few decades. Since 1980, obesity rates have risen more than 30 per cent in the US. Today, fully 23 per cent of adult Americans and about 20 per cent of adult Britons are obese, as defined by a body mass index (weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters) over 30, which works out to 97 kilograms for a person 1.8 meters tall (see Graphs). The problem is even worse in countries like Samoa, where more than half the adults are obese.
This sudden billowing of fat in rich and poor countries alike puzzles obesity experts. The usual suspects—notably poor diet and inadequate exercise—haven’t worsened as rapidly as obesity has burgeoned, which has left experts with the feeling that they must be overlooking some important factor we cannot explain all of this obesity problem,” says Arne Astrup of the University of Copenhagen.
I loved reading your book and I have a question:
In the article I sent to you yesterday, about the obese people in India, one part reads as follows:
“Dhurandhar took blood samples from 52 of his obese patients and tested them for SMAM-1 antibodies. He found them in 10 of the 52, and those 10 were heavier than the other patients. They also had lower cholesterol levels—the same unusual signature he had found in the chickens”
20% of this population of over-weight patients in India was apparently infected with SMAM-1 and rendered obese with low cholesterol blood levels. So they were not victims of metabolic syndrome but of infection (When Dhurandhar came to the USA, he discovered adeno-36 does the same thing).
My question: If this pattern holds for people in general – i.e. about 20% are altered by infection in such a way that adaptive thermogenesis and other normal body mechanisms are inoperative – then my question is – what diet, if any, will work for weight loss in them? Or is the best approach for them similar to what we see on TV’s Biggest Loser program – extreme exercise?
As a corollary – I’m a retired pathologist, and I found the article on ‘Fat cells acting like they are infected’ which I sent you – the one on Major Histocompatibility 2 proteins on the surface of fat cells – I found that article serves as circumstantial evidence that many people’s fat cells are infected, don’t you think?
In closing, I think the Perfect Health Diet is fantastic – and it is working well for me. Thanks and please keep going with the great work you and your wife are doing!
Hi Jim,
Thanks for all the interesting information. I did a blog post in 2010 about Prof. Dhurandhar’s very interesting work, http://perfecthealthdiet.com/2010/09/obesity-often-an-infectious-disease/, but it’s nice to get an update.
The MHC paper you found is important and it does suggest some sort of infection, I agree.
PHD was designed originally as a health optimizing diet which is effective against infections; Part V of the book is devoted to minimizing infectious disease risk. So those same tactics should work against infectious causes of obesity.
One of the things we learned is that the diet which minimizes calorie intake (Chapter 17) is also the diet which minimizes infectious disease risk (Chapter 39). This is non-obvious but true.
So I think our diet will work against obesity generally — though other methods like Weight Watchers wouldn’t be so effective.
I don’t think weight loss is necessarily the thing to optimize. The Biggest Loser optimizes for weight loss but it may not optimize for health, especially when the obesity is infectious.
Paul,
My father died of prostate cancer in his 80’s. As a pathologist, now retired, I know that prostate cancer incidence increases steadily with age, but most men will die of something else before their prostate cancer gets them..unless they have a higher grade cancer.
I was interested in the reports, several years ago, that a virus was suspected as the cause. But now that retrovirus (XMRV) is proven to be only a lab contaminant in the research. Here are the details from a website on the subject: “Using careful molecular detective work, they found that the original archived prostate cancer tissue was negative for XMRV although the archival extracted RNA from the original study was positive for XMRV. They also failed to demonstrate the presence of XMRV in new prostate cancer samples. In addition, they discovered that the source of XMRV contamination in the archival extracted RNA was from an XMRV-infected cell line used in the laboratory. The inability to confirm their original findings published in PLOS Pathogens represents the final chapter that closes the book on XMRV and its role as a naturally acquired human infection associated with prostate cancer. The PLOS Pathogens paper is retracted today.”
This subject is of personal interest to me, due to my family history. I would appreciate any thoughts you might care to share.
Thanks.
Hi Jim,
Yes, I blogged about the original XMRV work when it came out (http://perfecthealthdiet.com/2010/08/retroviruses-and-chronic-fatigue-syndrome/) and then an update in an around the Web when it was refuted. The interesting thing is that we can be confident a viral infection is one of the causes of prostate cancer because people with gene mutations in RNase L that impair viral immunity have substantially higher incidence of prostate cancer. But we don’t know what the virus is. It looked for a while like XMRV might be it, but it didn’t pan out.
i want to thank paul and shou-ching for the for all their time spent researching ,compiling and publishing the perfecthealthdiet,,,you guys educated yourselves about nutrition with open minds and an unbiased view of all nutritional info available ,,,only then did you put all the pieces together and to write your book,,,your 5 year research to help yourselves with your health issues and then to unselfishly share it with us is truly and act of love and compassion to us all….i am sure that mainstream diet and health advisers are closet readers of your informative book,,,your down to earth intentions to help others is truly reflected in the ad free website you have and the amount of time and money you must be spending to answer questions and be guests on radio and conventions,,you are both the salt of the earth,,,,,,,,,,myself i picked up on your book last january and really felt i had found something different and complete to improve my eating habits and health,,,i raised four kids and did all the cooking myself rarely going out for fast foods,,i cooked in a 50’s 60’s style so meats vegies and potatoes were often used,,i wish i would of known more about nutrition but my 3 girls and boy all in their 20’s are all healthy and their weights are perfect….now that i know about seed oils,,grains,fructose ect. i have educated them all on your nutritional knowledge,,since january 1st i have lost 25 pounds,,the first 10 came off within 2 weeks and now i am consistantly losing 1 lbs/week…i havent eaten wheat,sugar,grains(except for buckwheat and quinoa(buckwheat in my smoothies in the morning make me carb happy))i understand why you reject any grains as a food but always hope that one day with more research you will let us know that quinoa,buckwheat,chia and hemp seeds are ok as this is were i cheat in my diet ,,,,i supplement ,intermiten fast,,,sleep 8 hrs a night(always have) and generally follow your guidelines 95% of the time,,,,i used to have heart burn(from wheat),,,,,,gone…………..take naps,,,,,,,,no more,,,,,,,,,snore like crazy…..now moderatly,,,,my last bloodwork showed my cholesterol numbers almost perfect(doctor took me off the statins) ,,blood sugar levels slightly below normal,,my doctors was amazed,,,,,,,after four months my new eating habits are a natural part of my life,,i have also spread this diet to my friends and family,,,,,,both of you are a rare find in this day and age and i want to thank you for what you have done to the health of all your followers,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,leo delaplante
Leo, thanks so much for writing. That’s great news! By the way, buckwheat is not bad — we use it. Not convinced about quinoa. Best, Paul
Hi,
I am in process of slowly decreasing my nexium usage.
I have reduced down to 20 mg. nexium every other day. However, after 1 wk on this low dosage, I have developed diarrhea after every meal for a week now. Other Internet uses also complained of this after discon’t their nexium.
Please , can you give me any ideas on how to stop this diarrhea.
Kip
Hi Kip,
It seems to result from Clostridium difficile infections. See http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/7/prweb9696785.htm.
The usual gut flora remodeling steps are called for:
– Eat liver and vitamin D for mucosal immunity.
– Eat kimchi and fermented mixed vegetables and yogurt.
– Eat resistant starch and vegetables and flavor food with small amounts of apple cider vinegar.
– Eat adequate salt, take 225 mcg/day iodine, drink adequate water.
Also, a likely mechanism by which it happens is suppressed re-absorption of bile salts, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bile_acid_malabsorption. You can help improve reabsorption by supplementing taurine and glycine.
Hi Paul,
Thanks so much for all your insights. I loved your book and am now learning so much by reading your blog posts.
I never learned these concepts in medical school…my loss.
The PHD is so soundly logical that not only have I adopted the diet myself, but I also find myself teaching it to friends (and mentioning it in a series of health books I am now self-publishing).
Two questions have arisen from those I teach:
1. The cost of food seems high to some. Cost savings are possible by using left-overs, by cooking stews from meat, by saving the drippings for sauces, etc. Do you have any other cost saving measures or advice for those on a budget?
2. The supplements you recommend are clearly described. For choline however, I read in your blog that you now wish you had advised choline to be supplemented by all. Your reasons are well described, and my question is…what dose, in what frequency, would you advise? Eggs have choline, of course, and I gather choline is one supplement which you feel is valuable (in preventing insulin resistance, etc.), with a wide safety range.
Any comments you might care to make on these questions will be appreciated.
Thanks
Jim Beecham
Hi Jim,
We saved a lot of money adopting PHD because we cooked at home instead of eating at restaurants. You can save more money by eating unpopular cuts of meat, eg organ meats can be obtained much more inexpensively than steaks.
I think for choline the best supplements are egg yolks and liver. So those are in our “supplemental foods.” But for people with egg allergies or pregnant women or who don’t like liver, there’s a good case to be made for supplementation. The goal should be to get over 500 mg/day from all sources, so if eggs and liver are not avoided, 250 mg/day would be a suitable supplement; 500 mg/day if they are avoided.
I think the “unpopular cuts of meat” is an angle that is under appreciated by many.
In addition to the organ meats, the cheapest cuts of “red meat” are the chucks, shanks, oxtails etc. I am able to buy frozen, (greass fed) beef shank slices (with the bone and marrow in the middle) from my butcher for $3/lb.
The thing with the cheap cuts is that they mostly need slow moist heat to cook – the crockpot is your friend!
I have found the beef shanks, oxtails etc turn our best by cooking them just on the “warm” setting on the crockpot, for 10+hours. On in the morning, ready at dinner.
And then make broth from the bones, and use that, in the crockpot, to cook rice/potoatoes + veg – very cheap and far more satisfying than veg cooked without broth.
I am convinced the collagen from the “tough cuts” is a major benefit. I know I have it right when the broth, on cooling, turns to jelly.
Cheap meat and plenty of veg. The only thing that is “cheaper” is grain based crap.
P.S. On a $/calorie basis, butter is pretty damn cheap too! 3200 cal in a pound that you can buy for less than $5
Hi Paul do you know why Melatonin is a problem for those with autoimmune problems? Should I worry about it?
Hi Jas,
There was a study in 2007 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2048559/?tool=pubmed) which found that giving 10 mg melatonin to rheumatoid arthritis patients made their symptoms worse. Melatonin tends to enhance immune function, and this was a physiologically super-large dose, so this is plausible.
I would expect that a low dose of melatonin, say 1/4 mg, taken before bed would probably be beneficial in most autoimmune diseases. I think the study just used too large a dose. Nearly everyone would have negative effects from such a large dose, autoimmune problems or not.
I have noticed eating 1 oz of protein at breakfast and lunch and then having 4-5 oz at dinner is keeping me satisfied. I eat mostly a plant based diet with fruit in the morning. I find that I can not tolerate rice and white potatoes – they make me go running back to the kitchen for more food – craving sugar. I was wondering if GMO organic soy milk was ok and I have been wakeful between 2-4 a.m. for about 2 months. Any help for sleep would be appreciated. I am not taking any sleeping aids other than phosphatidyserine 200 mg but for about 6 days – no relief.
Hi Julie,
I wouldn’t take soy milk.
I am a bit puzzled by what you are eating. You can’t eat starches, you eat minimal protein, and presumably you don’t eat much fat since you avoid animal foods. That leaves sugar which is a problem. Or undereating which is another problem.
Without knowing more about your diet and lifestyle it is hard to give specific advice. Eating starches should help you sleep. Magnesium at dinner may help. Circadian rhythm tactics, including exercise during the day, will help. See Chapter 42 of our book for more.
You should try to solve the starch issue. Cravings for sugar when eating starch suggest either you are deficient in glucose (this is more common on low-carb dieters) in which case the craving will go away in ~3 weeks if you keep eating starches, or some sort of gut dysbiosis / bowel infections which requires remodeling of the gut flora through, eg, kimchi and other fermented vegetables, liver and vitamin D, bone and joint stock soups, and nourishing food generally.
Best, Paul
Hi Paul,
I avoid coffee, sugar, gluten, dairy, legumes and nuts. I eat a plant based diet with fruit in the morning. i do eat sweet potato and squash 2 times a day. I feel well nourished but i can not sleep a full night. I eat Red Palm oil and olive oil for the oils. I take skate oil and the recommended vitamins. When I was eating eggs daily with the potatoes and rice I felt tired and run down. After 1 month i eliminated them and I feel better though I would like to sleep. I drink Matcha in the morning and water with lemon juice throughout the day. I increased my vitamin D and C and mag to see if that would help. I take a pro biotic. The rice and potatoes cause spikes in my insulin – heart racing and craving for food. How do you diagnosis a gut dysbiosi.
Hi Julie,
I’m still puzzled by where you get your calories. It sounds like a rather malnourishing diet — no eggs, apparently no meat, minimal dairy. The oils may not be healthy without accompanying micronutrients.
As far as a spike in insulin when eating rice or potatoes, that could be due to nutrient deficiencies or it could be due to lack of accompanying foods. See http://perfecthealthdiet.com/2011/10/how-to-minimize-hyperglycemic-toxicity/
Best, Paul
Hi Paul,
Your blog post of aug 2010 mentioned a very intriguing what if: ‘What if the main cause of aging is not the decay of mitochondria in general, but a specific decay in their support for 1,25D formation in the mitochondrial inner membrane? What if this loss of intracellular 1,25D is widespread among the elderly?’
What symptoms in elderly might you find sufficient to prompt advising efforts to boost 1,25 vit D? How would you go about this?
Thanks,
Jim Beecham
Hi Jim,
Improved mitochondrial health, via reduced omega-6 fat consumption, good nutrition, PHD macronutrient ratios, and exercise, would be the best step. Also maintaining good vitamin D, vitamin A, and vitamin K status.
Best, Paul
Follow up question-
Why do i get these bad Rashes when i consume probiotics and cabbage juice, etc. when these types of bacteria are naturally present in a person’s body?
(Years ago, I took probiotics to combat yeast infections with no side effects.)
Thanks so much for being so kind to answer people’s questions. I know your time is valuable ,and I really appreciate your willingness to help people.
Kip
Hi Kip, I am not Paul but I think I may know the possible answer to this. Fermented products and probiotics can increase histamine in the body, hence rashes. There are certain probiotic strains that don’t product histamine, apparently, such as plain acidophilus and some others. Hope this helps! Chris Kresser has a post on histamine intolerance which is very interesting:
http://chriskresser.com/headaches-hives-and-heartburn-could-histamine-be-the-cause
Good idea PC.
I am trying to convince my Malaysian colleague to eat something other than packaged snacks and suggested your PHD book. I mentioned kimchi and he cited that Koreans have the highest rate of stomach cancer. And then he proudly ate the rest of his 2 donut breakfast. Can you help me with a reply to help save my friend from his junk food fuel? Why do you think Koreans are getting stomach cancer more than other groups? Thank you very much!
Hi Regina,
Koreans do have high rates of stomach cancer, but their life expectancy of 81 years is excellent (US is 78.6 years). A lot of factors influence stomach cancer rates, not just kimchi. The biggest problems seem to be (a) H pylori infections, (b) cooking meat at very high temperatures, and (c) using too much salt. See http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9209012.
But a higher fractional rate of stomach cancer partly reflects a lower fractional rate of other cancers. Korea has relatively low cancer rates by international standards, see http://globocan.iarc.fr/map.asp?selection=280&title=All+cancers+excl.+non-melanoma+skin+cancer&sex=0&type=1&statistic=2&map=5&window=1&size=2&colour=1&scale=0&submit=%C2%A0Execute%C2%A0
So while kimchi probably does slightly increase stomach cancer rates, it is probably overall beneficial for the gut if it is well made (ie homemade, not made quickly with sugar as in many commercial varieties).
Hi,
Can I con’t on the perfect health diet if I have histamine intolerance?
ESP. Since fermented foods, broths , etc. are high in histamine.
Kip
Hi Kip,
Just like on any other diet, you would have to reduce histamine rich foods until you fix your problem. Copper deficiency is a common reason for histamine intolerance. I wouldn’t shift away from PHD since nutrient deficiencies are a primary cause of histamine intolerance and PHD is nutrient-rich. I’d just avoid fermented foods for a while.
Hi,
Do you think it could it be beneficial to take a copper supplement?
Most of the foods that have copper are no allowed on histamine food list.
Kip
It would be, if you are not getting enough copper on the foods you are eating. Aim for at least 2 mg per day.
Hi Paul,
In responding to kip’ copper supplement query, you said,
“Aim for at least 2 mg per day”.
Could you just clarify that a bit please.
Do you suggest an upper limit on the amount of daily copper from supplement forms?
I was wondering that you would not want to go too much over that 2 mg number you mentioned from a supplement source.
Or would you say that up to 4 mg copper per day from a supplement is still okay (as long as you were not adding to that from food).
Hi Darrin,
A good range of copper intake is 2 to 4 mg/day. But the more copper you take the more zinc you need, so for most people 2 to 3 mg/day copper is best.
An average person gets about 1 mg/day copper, but PHD eaters will get more. Just a 1/4 lb beef or lamb liver per week will get anyone into the optimal range; chocolate also helps. So if you are fully PHD compliant you shouldn’t supplement.
It’s hard for me to see a scenario where more than 2 mg/day from supplements would be beneficial. Food will always have some. I think 2 mg is a good upper limit to supplements.
Thanks for making that clear Paul, for myself, & anyone else following.
As mentioned in the book, non food sources of copper could potentially be more toxic at lower ‘doses’ (my words/interpretation).
According to the Linus Pauling Institute, excessive copper intake does not impair the absorption of zinc.
“…high copper intakes do not affect zinc absorption”.
http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter/minerals/zinc/
I am looking into supplementing copper intake with desiccated liver capsules. It has copper plus other important vitamins.
i have never noticed copper listed on the labels of desiccated liver tablets/capsules/powder before.
but i suppose it must contain some copper.
I seem to recall that desiccated liver tablets/capsules/powder is ‘categorised’ as a food rather than a supplement & hence the manufacturers do not normally list any/much detail on the vitamin/mineral content
Hi Paul,
First of all, I’m a big fan of your book and I recommend it to everyone.
I stumbled across this post and I’m wondering if you think my condition is possibly related to a brain infection or some other chronic infection.
I’m 31 years old, male, 5’7” and 140 lbs.
About 9 months ago I woke up one morning with what I believe to have been a swollen spleen. A few days later I developed a persistent lightheadedness that seemed to get worse immediately after eating (starting with the first bite) or after drinking anything. For several days I was delirious and barely slept. 9 months later I’m still experiencing this persistent lightheadedness all day, every day. It goes away completely when I’m lying down and it’s better when I’m sitting. It’s the worst when I’m walking around or standing for any length of time. I also experience a lack of coordination and will often knock things over.
I’ve had a barrage of tests done. Below are the things that stand out.
– A TSH that jumps around a lot (Anywhere from 1.5 to 3.7). Free T3 was low once but in subsequent tests it was normal.
– A low WBC that bounces between 3 and 4.5.
– Two saliva hormone tests 3 months apart that revealed consistently low DHEA & low progesterone (but normal cortisol & cortisol pattern).
– A digestive health panel that revealed an overgrowth of E-Coli (not O157), an absence of gram positive flora, and low intestinal SIgA (14 with the normal range being 400 – 880).
– Low intracellular selenium levels despite supplementing 200 – 300 mcg a day.
– High levels of antibodies to Epstein-Barr suggesting a possibly recent but not an active infection. The test was done several months after the symptoms began.
– Unstable oral temperatures. Day to day temperature averages vary between 97.3 and 98.1.
– A high A/G Ratio (typically 2.5).
– Various odd neurological symptoms that come and go – tingling & numbness in hands and feet. Also, stiffness in the neck that exacerbates the lightheadedness when looking down at the floor.
– Sensitivity to light. Wearing sunglasses, even indoors, seems to improve symptoms.
– A neurotransmitter urine test that showed high levels of GABA (everything else was in normal range).
– An allergy panel that showed a severe reaction to the mold species Rhizopus Nigricans and Botrytis. I’m in the process of getting my apartment tested for mold.
A Brain CAT scan 2 weeks after symptoms began and an MRI 3 months after the CAT scan revealed no abnormalities. Over a dozen CBC, metabolic and lipid panels have been normal (besides the low WBC and high A/G ratio).
Based on what I’ve read and through some elf experimentation, the lightheadedness and loss of concentration seems to be caused by orthostatic intolerance. So far the only relief I’ve found is in consuming a significant amount of salt (about 4 – 5 grams a day) and limiting water intake to 8 – 12 oz every 2 hours (the goal being to increase blood volume). I also noticed some benefit from taking piracetam and vinpocetine to increase cerebral blood flow.
I’ve been following the ketogenic version of the PHD for about 5 months. During this time my WBC recovered from a low of 2.6 to a stable 4 – 4.5, which stayed this way for several months. However, in the past month, after two weeks of exercising every other day and increasing carbs to about 100 g/day (vs < 50 g/day before), my WBC suddenly dropped to 3.1. The differential showed that neutrophils and lymphocytes dropped by roughly the same percentage. RBC also saw a significant drop but it's still well within the normal range (4.92) Also, my ALT, which hadn't changed at all in months, shot up suddenly from 22 to 39. I've cut my carbs back to what they were before and have stopped exercising (except for brisk walking 2 – 4 miles a day). I plan on doing a follow-up CBC and metabolic panel soon to see if my WBC has improved.
It's the chronically low WBC more than anything that leads me to believe I'm dealing with a chronic infection. Once in a while I have a decent day where I don't feel as lightheaded as usual. However, on those days, the lightheadedness is usually replaced by extreme fatigue.
I've seen three MDs and two NDs. None have been able to provide a definitive diagnosis or help. The naturopaths had me do 4 infrared sauna sessions, which seemed to help slightly and the MDs only wanted to prescribe thyroid medication, which only made things worse.
Any thoughts?
Hi Kevin,
It’s a puzzling case. A wide range of things can cause orthostatic intolerance, from infections like Lyme disease (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21305487) to autoimmune conditions and maybe nutrient deficiencies.
The other symptoms are puzzling to me, I don’t recognize the pattern. I think an infection seems a plausible possibility but I don’t know what to suggest as far as diagnosis.
I wish I could be more help. Let me know what you find.
Hi Paul,
Thanks for the response. I do have a lot of the symptoms of lyme disease. The only reason I haven’t tested for it is because I currently live and have historically lived in areas where there are very few confirmed cases of lyme. I will test for it soon.
I just got back the results of the CBC + metabolic panel I mentioned in my original post. WBC increased to 5.1 and liver enzymes dropped 25%. HDL also increased to 71. All I did was reduce carbs to about 50/g day and limited exercise to 2-4 miles a day of brisk walking. The mystery continues 🙂
Tested negative for Lyme. Collected mold samples from my apartment and sent them to a lab this week. Will be interesting to see if the samples contain the species of mold that showed up in my allergy panel.
PHD has really helped me. Still battling blood sugar issues. What do you all think of adding apple cider vinegar to help control sugar levels?
Also all my bloodtest show super high B-12. All my doctors say stop taking b-12, but I don’t take any. Is having above the norm okay or do I have a problem utilizing it?
Hi MissBB,
High B12 is very common in chronic infections, liver disease, leukemia, and quite common in diabetes and obesity, probably due to the infection angle. In your case I’d suspect a liver/pancreas/small intestinal infection, since those will affect blood sugar regulation. You might ask your doctor to test for SIBO, H pylori, or common hepatitis pathogens.
There’s no harm from high B12, and you could supplement it without harm if you wished. It is a symptom of some underlying disorder.
Apple cider vinegar is good. Don’t overdo it in any one dose. You can use it to flavor water or food. The taste should be pleasant rather than acidic.
Hello Paul,
Apropos of apple cider vinegar, fermented foods, I am drinking home brewed kombucha every morning and I don’t eat until a few hours later. Is there caution to fermented foods like kimchi? I still am not understanding that picture. I thought cabbage juice can cure the ulcers caused by H pylori and fermented foods are the best thing for SIBO???? Thanks!
Hi Regina,
Well, it’s a little more complicated. Generally fermented foods are quite beneficial but there are a few instances in which they are risky — for instance, the yeast in kombucha can flare a fungal infection. Fermented plants are generally beneficial for any colonic issue, from IBS to C. difficile, but the picture is less clear with SIBO where you have too many bacteria and not enough immune response or stomach acid, so fermented foods may not be helpful. The good bacteria might still outcompete the bad bacteria, or they might contribute to the overgrowth.
Thank you very much for your response Paul,
I think this topic is quite interesting and indeed, serious. I’ve been on PHD for about 6 months (and have also read GAPS and Sally Fallon book).I had been suffering from chronic chest infections. Every little exposure to someone sick left me w 4 months battling chest infection. I went headlong into the synthesis of these 3 books and felt better literally w/in days. Been super healthy feeling until last week when I had lunch w a colleague who was very sick w the flu. Sure enough, I got it 2 days later. BUT, I beat it in 4 days! It was a nasty infectious type flu-ish but I was able to kill it. I know the diet change clearly has improved my immune system but I want to do the right thing. I am eating a lot of raw sauerkraut and kombucha and whole milk yoghurt (as well as bone broths and tons of meat and fish). No desserts. None of my other colleagues got sick though. They all just live on junk food but only I caught my friend’s bug. So, I am still more prone than others to chest infections. It’s a gross subject, but since you mentioned colonic health — my bowels have improved dramatically since my diet change. From lousy to absolutely perfect. So, I think the added probiotics/fermented foods did wonders for lower GI, I am afraid I might be not helping upper GI. GAPS says many of her patients have low stomach acid and she suggests supplementing w HCL betaine. Hmmm, not sure if I should continue the sauerkraut/kombucha/yoghurt regimen. Thank you!
Thanks for this information. I sent an email to my doctor asking about the tests.
I have not had good response with doctors here at least with thyroid disorders – they only want to test for tsh and prescribe synthroid. And most of them do not get the connection with high blood sugar etc.
Hello Paul,
Have you any thoughts about the Spectracell analysis? It’s a blood test that analyzes what nutrients are actually making into your cells. It is not covered by insurance. I’m doing PHD but still getting chest infections. I’m missing something….
Thx!
Regina,
I’m not sure how Paul feels about the Spectracell micronutrient test but I have personally found it very useful. I’ve done it three times now (waiting for the third results).
The test seems to be consistent / repeatable. The micronutrients I began supplementing after receiving the first test results showed a considerable improvement (as expected) in the second test results and the things I didn’t change stayed almost exactly the same (also what you would expect). An important note – the tests were done 4 months apart.
Besides uncovering micronutrient deficiencies, it also provides a measure of insulin sensitivity, fructose sensitivity, immune function and overall antioxidant function. Hands down the most useful and informative test I’ve done so far. Second would be the comprehensive saliva hormone panel from Canary Club.
Thanks very much for your sharing your experiences with SpectraCell. I have made an appointment to get the test done.
All best, Regina
The United Nations World Health Organization is proceeding to approve and implement a FLAWED plan for preventing Non-communicable Diseases.
Here is a general timetable and citations from the FINAL DRAFT as it pertains to saturated fats:
TIMETABLE:
The outcomes of the first informal consultation will serve as an input for the WHO Secretariat to prepare a ‘zero draft’ of the 2013-2020 Action Plan, for discussion at a second informal consultation for Member States and UN Agencies to be held on 1 November 2012 in the Executive Board Room at WHO headquarters. The outcome of the second informal consultation will serve as an input for the WHO Secretariat to prepare a draft 2013-2020 Action Plan for submission to the Sixty-sixth World Health Assembly, through the Executive Board. The group indicates it plans to submit this plan for approval to the United Nations General Assembly.
FINAL DRAFT LANGUAGE:
The ‘World Health Assembly’ has published a “Final Draft action plan for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases 2013–2020”
Among the goals listed in the report (pg 20) are:
• Virtually eliminate trans fatty acids in the food supply and replace them with unsaturated fatty acids (emphasis added, plus also see reference #3 below, from report footnotes)
• Reduce saturated fatty acids in food and replace them with unsaturated fatty acids (emphasis added, plus also see reference #4 below, from report footnotes)
Footnote 3: For example, through regulatory approaches restricting the use of fat, oil, shortening or other ingredients used in food preparation containing industrially produced trans fatty acids(or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils); regulations limiting the sales of food products containing trans-fatty acids in restaurants and food‐vending establishments; and voluntary approaches, based on negotiations with food manufacturers
Footnote 4: For example, by providing incentives to manufacturers to use healthier vegetable oils or investing in oil crops with healthier fat profiles
IS OBESITY INFECTIOUS OR IS INFECTION WORSE IN OBESITY? Interesting research about relationship of obesity to cytokine storm. Thesis: Because pre-adipocyte fat cells are histogenetically closely related to immune cells, their response to infection might include proliferation of fat cells and production of cytokines, similar to immune cell response. In lab setting, this was tested and effect was cytokine storm/blocked by antibody to leptin given to lab mice. Reference is: Zhang AJX, et al. Leptin mediates the pathogenesis of severe 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) infection associated with cytokine dysregulation in mice with diet-induced obesity. JID 2013; 207: 1270-80.
I have started eating this style of eating introducing bone broths, organ meats, coconut oil, eliminating vegetable oils, sugar amongst other things. One big change I am finding is at 59 I was having problems with the skin on my hands, every little knock cause a a heamatoma type of bruising under the skin, an obvious sign that the collagen in my skin was lacking. Today I gave my hand a big knock & there is only a small bruise.
Also I am having less problems with my knees, so I am sold on the paleo/high fat style of eating.
I haven’t lost a lot of weight but it is stable & body fat percentage is reducing slowly. On a low fat, moderate protein diet my body fat percentage just kept going up & up.
Thank you for your book & the information it provides.
Hi June,
That’s great! Thank you for sharing the good news!
Best, Paul
I enjoy how you teach us to learn from nature. You deduce from nature that mother’s milk is wholesome food, and that our body’s consumption of itself during times of fasting is healthy food mix.
Another item in this ‘Learning from nature’ occurred to me today. See what you think:
Eating ‘whole animals’ mimics how predators eat in nature (watching a heron today at my Florida home) reminded me how they eat an entire fish at a gulp). What does this say about protein for example, I wondered.
Protein in an animal’s body is half collagen. Collagen has sulfated molecules such as chondroitin sulfate. Dr. Morrison in 1966 published research proving one could prevent atherosclerosis in aorta of primates (monkeys in lab)by supplementing with chondroitin sulfate.
Longevity studies also show us nature prefers collagen. Collagen is low in cysteine and tryptophan. Reducing these 2 aminos is linked to increased longevity.
Seems we can mimic this lesson from nature by consuming fish eggs (ingredients for whole fish), sardines, and chicken eggs (ingredients for whole chicks). I think I’ll try eating less protein as meat, more in form of collagen. Fifty-fifty, if my heron watching is right.
But cysteine is a precursor to glutathione. In fact, it’s theorized it’s the rate limiting factor in glutathione production. I can’t see any good coming out of limiting the most important antioxidant in the body.
Kevin, thanks for adding your thoughts. Glutathione is important, no doubt.
Other researchers have concentrated on the mitochondria as here for example. See what you think:
“Mitochondrially encoded cysteine predicts animal Lifespan.”
Aging Cell (2008) 7, pp32–46 Doi: 10.1111/j.1474-9726.2007.00349
From Abstract: “Here, we report on a meta-examination of genome sequences from 248 animal species with known maximum lifespan, including mammals, birds, fish, insects,and helminths. Our analysis reveals that the frequency with which cysteine is encoded by mitochondrial DNA is a specific and phylogenetically ubiquitous molecular indicator of aerobic longevity: long-lived species synthesize respiratory chain complexes which are depleted of cysteine.”
Not sure how diet content of cysteine is reflected in encoding by mitochondrial DNA.
Here is reference where cysteine was restricted and glutathione did not drop, even as longevity improved.
Exp Gerontol. 2003 Jan-Feb;38(1-2):47-52.
Nutritional control of aging.
Zimmerman JA, Malloy V, Krajcik R, Orentreich N.
Source
Orentreich Foundation for the Advancement of Science Inc., Cold Spring-on-Hudson, NY, USA. zimmermj@stjohns.edu
Abstract
For more than 60 years the only dietary manipulation known to retard aging was caloric restriction, in which a variety of species respond to a reduction in energy intake by demonstrating extended median and maximum life span. More recently, two alternative dietary manipulations have been reported to also extend survival in rodents. Reducing the tryptophan content of the diet extends maximum life span, while lowering the content of sulfhydryl-containing amino acids in the diet by removing cysteine and restricting the concentration of methionine has been shown to extend all parameters of survival, and to maintain blood levels of the important anti-oxidant glutathione. To control for the possible reduction in energy intake in methionine-restricted rats, animals were offered the control diet in the quantity consumed by rats fed the low methionine diet. Such pair-fed animals experienced life span extension, indicating that methionine restriction-related life span extension is not a consequence of reduced energy intake. By feeding the methionine restricted diet to a variety of rat strains we determined that lowered methionine in the diet prolonged life in strains that have differing pathological profiles in aging, indicating that this intervention acts by altering the rate of aging, not by correcting some single defect in a single strain.
About 6 months ago I learned that I had metastatic prostate cancer. The treatment recommended was hormone therapy and targeted radiation. The hormone (androgen deprivation) therapy tricks the brain into suppressing testosterone production. The effects are a total suppression of sexual drive, hot flashes similar to those experienced by menopausal women, and the feeling that one is an old, old man. The lack of sexual function I could deal with, and the hot flashes just seemed like a good sweat. But, at 65 and still athletic, I found the last one particularly brutal, and questioned whether I wanted treatment at all.
A friend gave me a good book on cancer, recommending an all-out approach rather than the sequential attempts favored by most oncologists. Nutrition was a major part of the approach. I then trolled my friends for books on nutrition and one commented that PHD was the best he had ever read. I am overwhelmed by what it has done for me.
After reading PHD, I immediately adopted the recommendations in full, with the exception of fasting. I then went thru 44 radiation treatments, and never felt fatigue, a common symptom. No more old man feelings, and no thoughts of quitting treatment. Hot flashes are completely gone, which really puzzles the oncologists. Everyone wants to know what stopped the hot flashes. The trouble is that because I adopted everything at once, there is no way to identify that which contributed most. But that’s not all.
Ever since grade school I have been a nailbiter. I knew the habit was caused by a chemical imbalance, rather than behavioral, but could never figure out what. But since adopting PHD, my fingernails have grown to the extent that filing them is annoying. That makes me wonder that if PHD brought my system into balance, how many other imbalanced people could also benefit. Those people could manifest their imbalance otherwise, say with abuse of alcohol or drugs.
Bill Rafter
Hi Bill,
Thank you so much for sharing your story! You may have noticed that Court Wing left a blurb for our book mentioning that a good friend of his who had cancer had a very good experience going through chemotherapy with minimal side effects on PHD. It is good to hear another case.
I agree, lots of people can benefit from PHD! I hope we have an opportunity to prove that.
Best, Paul
Hello from Scotland!
It took me weeks to get hold of your new book and I’m glad I did. You aren’t well known here; I hope you are soon!!
My brief story….I was previously very healthy before having my two (still very young) kids. I then had a lot of stress worrying about one child who wasn’t well, suffered a miscarriage, and did extended breastfeeding and had to take lots of antibiotics for various reasons. My kids, touch wood, so far are both fine now!
However, I’ve not fared so well and I’ve since been plagued by sinus infections and fatigue and just not feeling quite right. Conventional doctors shrug “it’s usual to feel like this with young kids”. But it’s not usual for me.
I have had to resort to steroid sprays and antibiotics to remain at near functioning level. I have embarked on an elimination diet which left me feeling exhausted and strained. not to mention various supplements after grasping for anything on the web that might heal sinusitis. (NB no one, including ENT consultants and conventional doctors have mentioned iodine, selenium or magnesium).
In desperation one night I trawled the web and found your website and thought it was worth a shot. Within a matter of days of kicking gluten for good (not that I ate much wheat anyway but we scots eat a lot of oats) and starting magnesium/selenium/iodine supplements I felt 50% better. Given my deteriorating health over the preceding two years, this was a HUGE improvement. My sinuses, whilst still far from perfect, are feeling considerably better. My energy levels, whilst still not what they used to be, have definitely picked up. This is after a fortnight. I am so excited that I might actually keep improving!!
So a huge THANK YOU. Your book and regime have given me hope! I will report back on my further progress in a month. I am surprised there aren’t more sufferers of sinusitis on here given its prevalence.
In terms of what is wrong with me, given my response to the supplements so far, I am questioning whether, after months of breastfeeding, I have developed very minor hypothyroidism. I have had drier skin and sinus problems but not weight gain issues so I’m not sure. Maybe mild thyroid problems manifest themselves in different ways. Or maybe deficiencies in magnesium/selenium themselves do. GPs here aren’t very great on thyroid testing so I feel like I’m on my own although I could pursue private thyroid testing if I need to.
You seem to receive a huge number of questions and I appreciate you can’t answer many. If you get the chance…
– I am nervous about the iodine supplementation as the UK seems very anti-supplementation for iodine. I can only get hold of kelp (which claims to be from unpolluted waters!). Do you think this is better than nothing? I am starting on 450mcg daily. Family are very against this..
– I suspect I’m very low in selenium as the Scottish soil isn’t renowned for its high selenium content. Do you feel taking selenium (200mcg) twice a week would be OK? I’m not quite managing the three egg yolks a day?
– What on earth do you do with your wasted egg whites?!
Thanks again – your work is spreading into Europe and I wish you the very best. Interestingly, my boring Scottish diet as a young child in the 80s was very PHD-esque – lots of liver, bone soup and meat/potatoes and I was a very healthy child. I think the vegetable fat thing hit Scotland shortly thereafter.
Hello Scotland,
I hope Paul will give you some more insights. The book is a treasure and it was so easy to adapt to the diet. I am sure I will stay on it for the rest of my life. My irish parents fed us liver, bone stocks, fish stocks, kelp, meat/potatoes, lamb, oysters, celery sticks. I thought I was being tortured because my friends got to have pizza and tacos and soda and snack cakes and eat at McDonalds. So I spent the first few yrs out of the house making up for all the yrs I was deprived of processed carbs and junk food. 😉 While I matured a bit, my husband and I still did a lot of take-out food (pizza, chinese, mexican). I made decent enough meals but didn’t know anything at all about the oils and fats.
I found the Jaminet’s book when I had really come to a health crisis. Incurable chest infections that linger and linger for months, fade, and return for a few more months. I also had profound fatigue. I’ve been on PhD since January and felt instantly better and started running again and staying awake with no napping. In May I had an extremely stressful emotional event (like a broken heart) and suffered severe chest pains from it. In this weakened state my chest infection has returned. I am thinking about biofilms and fibrin. Maybe there is an infection tucked away beneath a protective shield. Maybe Paul will have some words about this too. I am going to try Ultimate Bio-Fibrin which has serrapeptase, nattokinase and various other enzymes. These systemic enzyme are said to be able to scarf up anaerobic tissue and breakdown the fibrin that can protect a colony of bacteria. Additionally, I will be trying Lauricidin – which is the extract from coconut oil that is a powerful natural anti-viral/anti-biotic. Waiting for these two products to arrive. Hopefully I will be able to crack open this hiding illness and finally rid my body. But I will definitely say the PhD was working phenomenally and so quickly on me right up until my horrible stressful event. Anyone have experience with the serrapeptase (systemic enzyme therapy) and/or Lauricidn (aka monolauren)? Thank you. G’luck “Scotland” – our mother’s were right.
Hi Regina,
When I was sick I tried fibrinolytic enzymes — all the ones you mention — and didn’t notice any benefits, maybe harm. Some people are harmed by them. I would suggest that if you use them you do careful experimentation.
Lauricidin is good against enveloped viruses and a few bacteria, but it is expensive, so I switched to coconut milk/oil. Lauricidin is basically a partially digested coconut oil; they may have arranged the pellets to resist further digestion.
Thank you Paul,
Rats! I trust you. I was hoping for the thumbs up to fibrinolytic enzymes. I was hoping to also give a little bit of the fibrinolytic formula and lauricidin to my elderly beagle who has a urinary tract infection. Vet gave him a 20 day script for amoxycillin. The Biofilm “movement” or Scientists cite that UTI’s are always a biofilm. I’ll take the Lauricidin and experiment carefully with the enzymes. What about Lactoferrin? Both parents are all irish – more at risk for iron overload. Biofilm explains why all my many tests come back “normal.” Doctor says, “you’re the healthiest sick person I ever met.” Sends me home w a Z-pak which does nothing to allieve the slime feeling under my breastbone or profound fatigue. Thanks a lot for your reply.
Regina
Lactoferrin I think is quite good.
Hi gill,
You’re welcome!
I think 450 mcg kelp is excellent for you. Good choice.
Yes, I think 400 mcg/week would be fine, but beef/lamb, seafood, and eggs are high in selenium, so it may not be necessary. Beef/lamb kidneys are very rich in selenium so if you can have kidney once a week you wouldn’t need the supplements.
I discard egg whites (down our garbage disposal). If you have a dog or cat you could give it to them (cooked would be more digestible).
You’re fortunate to have gotten such a healthy diet in your youth!
Best, Paul
Hello Regina, and thanks for your comment. I think stress has an incredibly detrimental affect on us and I feel your pain. Stress definitely impacts our immune system and if we can find a way to reduce stress maybe everything else follows suit. My own issues started after nights of worry. If I find the answers I will let you know! In the meantime, take care.
Nicole Willner of Planet Green has this to say about not wasting any part of an animal:
“I’ve noticed a recent culinary trend in my Brooklyn community where restaurants are choosing to purchase entire animals raised naturally on nearby farms, butcher in house, and use most of their parts in the establishment’s cuisine, leaving little animal to waste.”
Brooklyn’s Get Fresh Chef and Owner Juventino Avila proudly admits, “When I purchase the whole animal, all the parts are being used even the bones for doggie treats.”
“It’s really a culinary practice that many of us learn from historical text, foreign travel, or older, sensible generations recollecting meals uncommon to today’s Westernized taste buds such as heart, feet, tripe, liver, or blood pudding. In fact, just simply imagining the whole animal and the farmer that raised it while placing its savory meat in to our mouths is a thought typically kept at distance from today’s dinner table.”
Is there a problem with eating egg whites? I know they are not good eaten raw, but what about cooked? I tend to eat soft boil eggs that I take out of the water as soon as they start boiling. The whites are still somewhat runny. I thought they would be a good source of protein. The egg yolks are never really cooked.
They’re fine to eat.
Paul,
Are you aware of any reasons why the body would not achieve “keto-adaptation” after 3 months of being on the ketogenic version of the PHD? I read in “The Art and Science of Low Carb Living” that ketones should barely register on ketostix after about 6 weeks of being in ketosis. The reason being that ketostix only measure acetoacetate, the levels of which drop during ketoadaptation as the muscles being converting it to betahydroxybutyrate. The end result being considerably less acetoacetate excreted in the urine.
I would think by now I would have seen that transition but I haven’t. For me, the levels are low in the morning but fairly high in the evening.
I have been following the PHD for about 5 months. I had a serious flare of IBD over the Christmas holidays. For several years I had been able to control my symptoms to tolerable levels but this flare was beyond my control with my old diet. I first started with a broth diet for 2 weeks, then elimination diet before I discovered PHD. I lost 30 pounds in a month, which is mot particularly healthy before starting the PHD at the end of January. Several things truly shocked me on PHD that helped. Being able to tolerate fat, cutting down on fruit was good, elimination wheat and whole grain was good, eating egg yolks didn’t raise my cholesterol, eating liver and liking it and switching to goat dairy helped. I had been on a low fat, whole grain, yogurt, low animal protein, probiotic and Chia seed fiber diet before. The Chia seeds had been my savior to slow down the diarrhea. I still eat Chia seeds but just sprinkle them on salads. Today my digestion and elimination system is better than it has been in 35 years. My triglycerides have dropped from 153 to 72. My HDL has risen to 45 after 30 years of HDL between 27 and 35. I drink bone broth every day as I eat 3 egg yolks. The only probiotic I take now is Live Zing Salad. I also take most of the supplements recommended but take them on faith that Paul knows what he is talking about here too. I have never been able to say that I know a supplement has helped. But I wouldn’t stop anything I am doing for fear that the good changes I have experienced would end.
Hi Richard,
That’s great! Congratulations!
As far as supplements, you needn’t be so cautious about experimenting. When you feel your health is stable, try dropping a supplement for a month, then restoring it for a month; see whether you feel better off or on. Some people do great with food only. Also, supplements can help for a while as they relieve nutrient deficiencies, but then cease helping once the body is replete.
Best, Paul
Hi Paul,
I wrote to you a while ago about some success with the diet– improved body temperature, feeling better, etc.
I’d also like to report that my acne is doing much, much better. I had made an error in the supplements I was taking, taking only the b50 complex, but not realizing the pantothenic acid and biotin were not included in that and were separate supplements to purchase. Having added those in seems to have done the trick for my skin, along with the fact I have been eating your diet and taking the rest of your supplements/supplemental foods rather strictly for the last 9 months (but in all fun, it’s been a delicious time, not too strict).
I did also add in chromium and vanadium and molybdenum rather late into my PHD hacking,but again, I didn’t see things really clear until all the b-vitamins were supplemented.
I also believe my gut was leaky, as many foods which caused pimples before– cheese, milk, honey, salmon, etc. – have significantly decreased impact. I had seen some improvement on a very strict GAPS diet, but that was very limiting. So seemingly, only with the supplementation of vitamins and minerals and variety of foods that you recommended was I able to “stray” from the gaps-diet and be ok.
This is a huge success! I may have to send pictures, as embarrassing as they are, if you would like? I know people respond to that sort of thing.
My only question now pertains to a final nagging problem I’ve been having which is waking after about 6-7 hours of sleep, not feeling fully rested. Furthermore, I seem to have brain fog/fatigue. Obviously the fatigue could be related to insufficient sleep, but even when I have slept for 8.5 hours I have fatigue/brain fog. I’m getting a metametrix organix urine test which I believe tests for vitamin/mineral insufficiencies, and a metametrix gi ecology effects test to test for pathogens.
Do you or anyone else here have brain fog/headache from the supplements? Vitamin D3, iodine (1-2.5 g per day), perhaps even the B-50 complex – I stopped them.
When I took a week off of supplements, I felt somewhat better…but then I took them again because I’m afraid of feeding some pathogens or reviving acne, etc.
I should also add Taurine also seemed to cause a headache, and I was wondering if anyone here had had issues with taurine? or any supplements?
Is this a sign of a pathogen? it seems rather late in the gain for a herxheimer reaction… Is inability to withstand supplements perhaps a sign of adrenal fatigue?
I started with PHD two months ago and have the most amazing results. I had weekly migraines, which could last up to three days and they have completely disappeared! I have tried so many things (also dieting, like leaving out Gluten), nothing brought sustainable results. I also find it very easy to adhere to. Being a working mum a I was a bit worried about the praticability, also of intermittend fasting. Leaving out a meal would cause a migraine, but I can now go until lunch without breakfast – no migraine. Had two periods, wheather changes, a glass of wine (my usual triggers) and again no migraine. Thank you for this wonderful book and all the research you have done, will surely recommend you to others (a German edition however would help here! :-), but that can only be a question of time!
I subscribe to this and lately have been getting many emails from this site that are nonsense–just random letters in a row. Has anyone else had this problem? Is it a security problem? Thought everyone, including Paul, should know.
Hi Mary,
Yes, it is a new form of spam. I delete those as soon as I see them but our spam filter has had trouble catching them.