There is a Paleo Summit online conference starting up next weekend. There will be 24 experts: researchers, doctors and nutrition experts discussing the paleo/primal lifestyle. It is 8 days long and you will have access to 3 lectures each day. And it is FREE! Check out this link to sign up and learn more about it and who will be speaking.
 
http://paleosummit.com/
 

I did not have blood sugar level problems until my mid-20s. My quest to do healthy diets started around the age of 23, though most of my health-problems started way before that point.

Do you have an idea as to what caused your glandular system problem and other health problems?

Tyler, May I ask if you were born with a blood sugar problem? I ask this because it seems to me from reading your posts that you strived to eat healthfully long before you found Raw Paleo and you did not knowingly abuse your body.

Thanks, Van.

about veg. vs. animal fats.  First to get enough fat from nuts, you have to eat quite a bit.  That may or may not work for some due to the condition of the nuts, rancid or not, and as to how digestible the nuts are for some.  Even fresh nuts that have been soaked still are no where near as digestible as animal fat for me.  And most have more omega 6 vs 3.  If you eat nuts or seeds and eat them alone (and not heat treated ones) you most likely will notice pretty soon a stop telling you you've had enough.  And then notice also how your body reacts to them,, whether some nasal congestion happens or how your stomach feels etc.  Nuts unless heated or soaked have quite a number of enzyme inhibitors that make their digestibility questionable and bind up key nutrients.    Fresh brazil nuts cracked from shell,  coconut (if a nut), soaked almonds out of shell that haven't been heated, and some fresh walnuts in the fall (just off the trees) are a few that work for me, especially coconut.  I like to grate it and essentially suck out the juices or fat and spit most of the fibre out.   But  once again in comparison to fresh beef back fat, and soft marrow bones, nuts pale in comparison.

Van, thanks for responding to my question. So, in your view the main problem with nuts is their digestibility and Omega 6? I mostly eat raw walnuts (purchased from a store that refrigerates all the nuts) that I soak overnight. I do not feel any indigestibility or discomfort.

Here is the fat content for 1/4 cup of walnuts:
fat - total 16.30 g
saturated fat 1.53 g 
mono fat 2.23 g 
poly fat 11.79 g
trans fatty acids 0.00 g
cholesterol 0.00 mg

1/4 cup of walnuts provides 94.5% DV of Omega 3 fatty acids.
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=99

Is  all "poly fat" Omega 6? What do you think of Walnuts'  fat profile?

I got the same black circles under my eyes, big time, on my weeks-long raw zero carb experiments, one reason, among many, why I had to give them up and go back to consuming a few raw  carbs. I've been told that black circles under the eyes is a symptom related to malfunctioning livers or kidneys. Since dehydration is also one possible cause, try drinking more water. If that doesn't work, then try adding in a few raw carbs.

Tyler, do  you have an idea as to why ZC caused your liver/kidneys to malfunction and thus resulted in dark eye circles?

What foods helped your dark eye circles go away?

I have had dark eye circles for a long time. I have been doing VLC  in the hope VLC would heal the problem. I drink at least 8 cups of water daily.

Soggy soaked seeds do not taste good to me; while after being dehydrated (in a dehydrator) they taste very good.

Freezing does not cause much nutrition loss (0% to 10% in most cases) according to the following article:

http://nutritiondata.self.com/topics/processing

I like to freeze my animal foodstuff because I read somewhere that freezing meats for a couple weeks kills almost all parasites. (Is that true?)

According to the following quote, it seems we can "warm up" raw food in the dehydrator (which produces dry heat) up to 149 degrees without  doing damage to food enzymes (and other food properties) ? Will someone verify this based on science?

 "Enzyme research has revealed the importance of raw foods in the diet. The enzymes in raw food help start the process of digestion and reduce the body's need to produce digestive enzymes. All enzymes are deactivated at a wet-heat temperature of 118 degrees Fahrenheit, and a dry-heat temperature of about 150 degrees. It is one of those happy designs of nature that foods and liquid at 117 degrees can be touched without pain, but liquids over 118 degrees will burn. Thus we have a built-in mechanism for determining whether or not the food we are eating still contains its enzyme content."

http://www.realmilk.com/enzyme.html

It seems to make sense to me that there is a difference between dry heat and liquid heat. For instance, in a sauna, the dry heat is  very high (definitely above 118 degrees) but the human users of sauna are not damaged/cooked up (up to a certain temperature).

Kiss omega 3 fat goodbye.
Harder to digest.
Need to eat more.
Won't cure incurables.

After 3 months of raw paleo, I tried cooked paleo homo optimus diet proportions. Cooked daily. After 30 days I could not take it anymore I was feeling sick.  I had to go back to raw paleo.

What is "homo optimus diet proportions"?


zbr5, thanks for the articles.

it seems like such a waste to throw away the whites... they usually comprise about 70% of the whole egg and quality eggs aren't cheap! - in my area they are around $4/5 per dozen.

Egg whites can be used as hair shampoo. They are supposed to keep one's hair in its natural color and may even turn the greying hair back to its natural color when used long-term (one year plus).

Thanks to all for ideas, which help me to think about what is really my priority at this time.