There's a Primal Diet-oriented community website/forum etc. on this link:-

primaldietfriends.com

It's closed and requires an invitation and a supplied code.

This topic has been moved to Welcoming Commitee .

http://www.rawpaleoforum.com?topic=1653.0

I'm now seriously planning to do a hygiene/lifestyle thread for newbies. I'll recommend my own suggestions but I will add any other suggestions from others.

What I use:- organic tea-tree deodorant(kills bacteria).

2) Mouthwash(full of chemicals)

3) Dental floss sticks for removing bits of meat from my teeth.

4) Soap(normally use the cheaper soaps, don't bother with organic or whatever as I generally dont' mind as long as it doesn't get into my digestive system, just on my skin).

5) I use speacilised herbal toothpaste(antibacterial).

6) I also sometimes use a deodorant product  called "Trust" antibacterial deodorant, which is herbal-based and lasts for several days after use.

7) I don't bother with shampoo except perhaps once every few years on a whim. My hair can get greasy very easily after eating any cooked animal fat, but since I so rarely eat such fare these days, and my hair tends to self-clean itself quite quickly so  it's not an issue.

I'm curious to know whether others have also experienced iris colour change like me. Please state what particular foods were related to any iris colour change(could well be that no particular food was responsible) and say what your original iris colour was and what it now is, if there was any change. For example, consuming dairy rapidly darkened my normally brown irises to an almost coal-black state over the years pre-rawpalaeodiet, my irises then changed to green or greeny brown on the outside with dark brown in the centre after a c.3 years into rawpalaeo, with only very small changes in iris colour since then.

Here's a New Scientist(2-paged) article on the direct link between inflammation and Alzheimers'(and we all known about the link between cooked food consumption and inflammation):-

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327253.700-new-look-at-alzheimers-could-revolutionise-treatment.html

Human growth hormone (GH), as you might suspect, is necessary for childhood and adolescent growth. Youthful levels of GH promote a healthy metabolism and an optimal ratio of lean muscle tissue to body fat.

Among adults, GH deficiency is associated with excess body fat, and a decrease in extra cellular water volume1. Those with GH deficiency may also have a lower bone mineral content, lipid abnormalities, decreased insulin sensitivity, and decreased fibrinolysis1. The process by which a fibrous protein (fibrin) involved in the clotting of blood is broken down is known as fibrinolysis.

Lipid refers to a fatty substance in the blood. A lipid disorder increases your risk for atherosclerosis, and thus your risk for heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure (or hypertension), and other health problems.

Reasons for growth hormone deficiency

Several studies have shown that the amplitude of GH pulses (GH is released from the pituitary gland in a pulsatile manner2) is reduced for both men and women as we age3.

For men, GH secretion declines 50% every 7 years beyond 18-25 years of age2. This aging effect on the 24-hour mean serum GH is twice as great for men as it is for pre-menopausal women, so estrogens may limit the decline in GH2.

Obese individuals, however, show profound suppression of GH secretion at any age2. Poor nutrition, inadequate sleep, and lack of physical fitness can also contribute to a decline in circulating GH that is independent of age4.

Risks of growth hormone therapy

GH replacement injections can cost up to $10,000 a year. Unfortunately, such GH treatments have been linked to increased risk for developing soft tissue edema, joint pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and gynecomastia (abnormally large mammary glands in males)5.

Safer, less expensive alternatives

There are healthier and less costly ways to increase your GH levels. These include weight management, exercise, healthy sleep habits, reduction of high-glycemic-load carbohydrates, and specific nutrients.

The Paleo Diet can be very helpful for increasing GH levels. This way of eating maintains the correct balance of calories from carbohydrate, protein, and fat to improve blood-lipid profiles, and lipid abnormalities are associated with GH deficiency. This balance also reduces your risk of heart disease, stroke, and high blood pressure because a lipid disorder increases your risk for atherosclerosis.

Emulating the amount of daily energy that our hunter-gatherer ancestors obtained from carbohydrate, protein, and fat also helps you to feel fuller, and burn more calories. This is key to managing your weight, and obesity can suppress GH secretion at any age.

Other aspects of the Paleo Diet also help with weight management. The diet supplies nutrient-dense foods, while avoiding refined grain, sugar, and vegetable oil. Although these offer few vitamins, minerals, or phytochemicals, they contribute more than 36 percent of the energy in the average American diet.

The Paleo Diet also offers another key strategy to help maintain optimum weight and increase GH levels. It reduces high-glycemic-load carbohydrates that contribute to obesity and suppress GH secretion.

While GH deficiency is associated with below normal bone mineral content, the Paleo Diet helps to reduce the risk of osteoporosis. By maintaining an optimum sodium-potassium ratio, the diet not only reduces the risk of osteoporosis, but that of hypertension, stroke, kidney stones, gastrointestinal-tract cancers, and asthma as well.

Specific nutrients shown to increase GH levels

Even a relatively small amount (2,000 mg) of the amino acid glutamine has been shown to boost plasma GH levels6. Glutamine occurs naturally in many Paleo Diet foods, including meat (3 ounces of meat contain 3 to 4 grams of glutamine), fish, and eggs. Glutamine is also highly concentrated in raw cabbage and beets. Be aware that cooking can destroy glutamine, particularly in vegetables.

Another amino acid, arginine, can increase the release of GH when the body is at rest. Combining arginine intake with exercise boosts GH levels even more7.

High in protein, the Paleo Diet supplies many protein-rich foods that contain arginine. This includes eggs, meat8-10 (grass-fed beef, chicken, lean pork, turkey, and wild meat), nuts, (almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, coconuts, hazelnuts, pecans, pinenuts, pistachio nuts, and walnuts), seafood (salmon, shrimp, and tuna), and seeds (flax, pumpkin, sesame, and sunflower seeds). Raw garlic, onion and watermelon also contain arginine.

Here's an interesting article on the negative effects of (cooked/processed) high fat diets:-

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090811143548.htm

I have an interest in other non-dietary methods as they've been useful in the past. I've for example tried subliminals fromThinkRightNow, c.3 years ago, which helped(no other subliminal products helped, though).

I'm curious as to what others have found out re non-diet approaches. After all, diet can't teach us how to make a million dollars or invent something new or whatever, it can only help our nutritional health. So, other approaches are required for other matters.

Given past dodgy claims by Gary Taubes that exercise doesn't help re health, here's 1 study that proves the opposite:-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/6114544/Brisk-daily-walk-can-halve-risk-of-dying-for-elderly-men.html

Here's a study in the daily telegraph newspaper on the harmful effects of cooked low-carb diets:-

 Home ScienceAtkins-style diets can clog up arteries, claims study
Atkins-style low carbohydrate diets made popular by their celebrity disciples may clog up arteries and lead to heart disease, a study suggests.
 
By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent
Published: 7:00AM BST 25 Aug 2009

The weight loss regimes are popular because they allow followers to fill up on proteins like red meat and cheese as long as they avoid carbohydrates such as pasta, bread and potatoes.

The slimming plans, followed by the Hollywood actress Renee Zellweger and the singer Geri Halliwell, seemed to offer the holy grail of dramatic weight loss without the sacrifice.

But there have been claims in the past that they are bad for your health, make your breath smell and can even lead to memory loss.

This latest research on mice suggests they could also double the chances of developing atherosclerosis, a clogging up of the arteries that can lead to heart attack and stroke.

The findings also showed that the diet led to an impaired ability of the body to form new blood vessels and therefore recuperate after a heart attack.

The researchers concluded that the diets “could be having adverse cardiovascular effects” on those who follow them.

Cardiologists at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center at Harvard University decided to research the health affects of the diets after treating followers for heart attacks.

At the height of their popularity in 2003 an estimated three million Britons were thought to be on the Atkins Diet.

In order to determine the effects on humans, the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, tested two different diets on mice in the laboratory.

The first were on an average western diet of 43 per cent carbohydrate, 42 per cent fat and 15 per cent protein and the second on a low carbohydrate, high-protein diet of 12 per cent carbohydrate, 43 per cent fat and 45 per cent protein.

After six weeks those on the low carbohydrate diet had nearly double the clogging of the arteries (5.4 per cent) compared with the normal diet (2.2 per cent).

The difference was maintained after 12 weeks, with the mice suffering 15.3 per cent and 8.8 per cent clogging of the arteries.

A control group of mice on a high carbohydrate diet – making up 65 per cent of calories – suffered the least furring of the arteries.

The study found that the increased risk came despite normal indicators of heart disease risk, such as cholesterol, being unchanged in the animals fed the low-carb diet.

“It’s very difficult to know in clinical studies how diets affect vascular health,” said Professor Anthony Rosenzweig, Director of Cardiovascular Research at BIDMC.

“They tend to rely on easily measured serum markers [such as cholesterol], which have been surprisingly reassuring in individuals on low-carbohydrate/high-protein diets, who do typically lose weight.

“But our research suggests that, at least in animals, these diets could be having adverse cardiovascular effects that are not reflected in simple serum markers.

“This issue is particularly important given the growing epidemic of obesity and its adverse consequences. For now, it appears that a moderate and balanced diet, coupled with regular exercise, is probably best for most people.”

Last year the All-New Atkins Advantage diet was launched which claimed to offer the same weight loss without the health worries.

Even though it relaxed the rules, it still relied on ketosis - where the body breaks down its own fat because it is starved of carbohydrates.

   
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/6081712/Atkins-style-diets-can-clog-up-arteries-claims-study.html

I'd like to restart martial arts after a very long time away from Judo(I was a green belt). I like Judo for the hefty exercixse involved(it's like wrestling), but I'd also like something more combat-based, these days.

I've heard lots of good things about Brazilian Ju-Jitsu, but have also heard of how Ninjutsu-practitioners(led by Hatsumi) beat them hollow in Japan in those trial-fights that the BJJ guys like to setup to "prove" the superiority of their art. I'm certainly not in favour of any too specialist martial arts like taekwondo(too focused on the legs) or self-defence(like aikido). I want to kick someone's butt!

I've also heard of Krav Magna but it sounds too Israeli-specialised or whatever.

Anyway, any recommendations/suggestions?

OK, here is the link to my review of ray audette's book "Neadnerthin":-

http://www.rawpaleodiet.com/87/

Comments and suggestions, of course. Please keep an eye out for spelling-mistakes.


At this stage, it would be best if the next future book reviews are of Vonderplanitz's books as they are more central to a raw animal food-based diet.

This is just a note to  say that I've put my review of Stefansson's book "Not By Bread Alone" on rawpaleodiet.com. Here is the link:-

http://www.rawpaleodiet.com/75/

I can't claim to be a great literary critic so this is not comparable in quality to the times literary supplement in content but it addresses the main points of the book and encourages people to read the book before trying this diet. Given that a large part of the book is devoted to the rather obscure(and irrelevant to us) topic of  "The Pemmican Wars", I felt the need to leave that out, mostly.

I'll try to add my much shorter review of Ray Audette's book Neanderthin in a week or so.

In the meantime, let's hear comments, positive or negative. I will probably have to update it anyway, from time to time re addressing a couple of points.

The idea behind these reviews is to get people to read (most of) c.10 books which each cover a small part of raw, palaeolithic diet philosophy(there being no one book which is both raw AND palaeo). The books I have in mind are(feel free to disagree):- Ray Audette's Neanderthin, Loren Cordain's book "Paleodiet", Aajonus Vonderplanitz's 2 books, this book by Stefansson, perhaps 1 or 2 books by the (cooked, low-carb) Michael Eades,Weston-Price's Nutrition and physical degeneration book(going to take ages but I'll finish it eventually as it's a key work), and perhaps an Instincto book or two by Burger or someone else.

Obviously, any review of Burger would be best done by a Frenchman, I can do dr price's book as well(unless some masochist wishes to take on the job), GS could do aajonus Vonderplanitz perhaps(?). And so on...