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Title: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: DogToffee on November 24, 2011, 06:50:52 pm
Okay I'm back!

I spent a lot of time on this forum at some point but went back eating "normal" food after a while. It was too hard for me to jump into raw paleo cold turkey, so now I'm trying to do it slowly. I've been eating raw meat all this time now and then (because after I had tasted raw beef, the same stuff cooked started to taste somewhat "ruined"). I have noticed I often crave raw meat and also find this diet somehow appealing because I keep coming back.

I no longer wait to be cured immediately. I have atopic skin and it's quite bad. Now I can manage if I take good care of it. And by that I don't mean the same thing as doctors, who keep telling me I need tons of cream and cortison and antibiotics. My method is to shower every day using antibacterial soap and sea salt after shower. Later I put coconut oil on my skin and if it feels itchy (which is often) I use liquid zinc. And never see a doctor again.

I live in Finland so the air is very cold and dry most of the time. There is enough sunlight only in summertime, so I take killer doses of vitamin D every day. I also use air humidifier at home.

I've tried eating low-carb and paleo, but haven't noticed any difference.

Other problem I have is hypothyroidism. I don't take any medication, because there is still some action left. If my thyroid still produces hormones, I want to do everything I can to help it. I do fine in summertime but right now, in November, I feel terribly tired. I use kelp and coconut oil, but I'm not sure if the amounts I use are enough. I have kelp powder and it says on the packet I should take 1/4 teaspoon per day (which I am taking but it doesn't seem to help me). I have probably one tablespoon of coconut oil every day but maybe I should take more? If someone has info on this please share.

Okay, what now?

I'm really addicted to sugar and caffeine. I'm not ready to anything drastic right now, but I'll try adding more raw foods into my diet and limiting coffee intake to one or two cups a day (for now).

Tips & comments welcome!
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: TylerDurden on November 24, 2011, 07:14:32 pm
Try raw honeycomb(heather tastes the best). This would be a better substitute for sugar. The coffee sounds horrible - it also notoriously fouls up one's glandular system. I would strongly suggest you switch over to herbal teas. Some herbal teas give a vibe/boost like coffee but won't have the negative side-effects of coffee.

If you can get hold of raw (grassfed or wild) thyroid from farms that would be very useful.
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: HIT_it_RAW on November 24, 2011, 07:28:21 pm
Try raw honeycomb(heather tastes the best). This would be a better substitute for sugar. The coffee sounds horrible - it also notoriously fouls up one's glandular system. I would strongly suggest you switch over to herbal teas. Some herbal teas give a vibe/boost like coffee but won't have the negative side-effects of coffee.

If you can get hold of raw (grassfed or wild) thyroid from farms that would be very useful.
Could you specify which herb teas give you that boost? I personally get some(but nowhere near the one from coffee)boost from mint.
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: HIT_it_RAW on November 24, 2011, 07:33:52 pm
Your antibacteria regime seems very harsh to me! The skin has a protecting layer of "good" bacteria. They literally work by crowding out the bad ones. This is a very strong mechanism to protect the skin. I would give up the antibacterial soap and instead try to build up that layer of good bacteria. I can imagine that your regime of antibiotics and antibacterial soap has disturbed the natural balance of skin bacteria.

I sometimes use raw milk real kefir(made with grains) on my skin. It's very soothing and the good bacteria from the kefir combat any bad bacteria. The fats/proteins in it also feed the skin. I also really like butter on my skin but it does smell a bit after a while.
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: TylerDurden on November 24, 2011, 08:00:50 pm
Could you specify which herb teas give you that boost? I personally get some(but nowhere near the one from coffee)boost from mint.
I honestly can't remember. I used to mainly go in for camomile tea for its calming effect, pre-rpd diet. I also took herbal supplements, not teas, in the form of ginger, gingko biloba, cayenne and ginseng. At the time, I had severe chronic fatigue, and so I didn't personally notice any stimulating effect(only an rpd diet helped me therein), but I'm sure those with no such problems might well benefit from such herbal teas.
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: DogToffee on November 24, 2011, 09:09:17 pm
Try raw honeycomb(heather tastes the best). This would be a better substitute for sugar.

I just bought organic honey with royal jelly and bee pollen still in it. Propably better than eating candy.

The coffee sounds horrible - it also notoriously fouls up one's glandular system. I would strongly suggest you switch over to herbal teas. Some herbal teas give a vibe/boost like coffee but won't have the negative side-effects of coffee.

I'll try to cut down slowly. In here it's totally normal to drink coffee five times a day. If someone knows good herbal teas that will help then please tell me! I've noticed chili works even better than caffeine but I'm not sure if it's good for me either.

If you can get hold of raw (grassfed or wild) thyroid from farms that would be very useful.

Sounds great. I'll try to find out if they sell that somewhere.

Thanks!
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: DogToffee on November 24, 2011, 09:17:09 pm
Your antibacteria regime seems very harsh to me! The skin has a protecting layer of "good" bacteria. They literally work by crowding out the bad ones. This is a very strong mechanism to protect the skin. I would give up the antibacterial soap and instead try to build up that layer of good bacteria. I can imagine that your regime of antibiotics and antibacterial soap has disturbed the natural balance of skin bacteria.

I use black soap or tea tree & lemongrass, that's what I meant by antibacterial. Is that also bad for the good bacteria? I'm afraid to stop because I used to have horrible bacterial infections and those are now gone.

I sometimes use raw milk real kefir(made with grains) on my skin. It's very soothing and the good bacteria from the kefir combat any bad bacteria. The fats/proteins in it also feed the skin.

How do you use kefir on skin? They don't sell it in Finland but I've eaten some when travelling abroad and can't really imagine how to use it.

I also really like butter on my skin but it does smell a bit after a while.

Just regular butter applied on skin? Sounds weird but I'm willing to try anything.

Thank you for the info! It would be great to hear more about how you take care of your skin. Do you have atopic skin also or other issues?
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: TylerDurden on November 24, 2011, 09:59:31 pm
As long as the honey is raw, it's fine, otherwise it's like pure sugar.
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: HIT_it_RAW on November 24, 2011, 10:17:50 pm
I use black soap or tea tree & lemongrass, that's what I meant by antibacterial. Is that also bad for the good bacteria? I'm afraid to stop because I used to have horrible bacterial infections and those are now gone.
I'm not sure how antibacterial those are. Guess they are not really. If it works for you...
Quote
How do you use kefir on skin? They don't sell it in Finland but I've eaten some when travelling abroad and can't really imagine how to use it.
The stuff you drank was probably commercial made with powdered starter(culture) and pasteurised grain fed milk. You can't buy real kefir. You should find someone willing to share some grains with you(they grow) than make it yourself from raw milk. That's the real kefir and beleve me it something entirely different than the stuf in stores. How to use? Well just rub it on like a lotion.

I only use butter on my skin when it is very dry. I have to wash my hands often at work and sometimes i get very dry hands. Butter is the only thing that can make them most and supple in a single "treatment". Even beats Coconut oil.

I had a small patch of skin that became infected a few months ago. Still don't know why but is was thick, red, painfull and had some pustules on it. I used a mixture of raw honey, VCO(virgin coconut oil) and butter on it. Worked very well in both soothing the pain/itching and healing the skin.
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: cherimoya_kid on November 25, 2011, 07:03:24 am
I would get your vitamin D levels tested.  If they are still low, you should probably try a different brand/type of supplement.  This sounds like an immune system problem.  I have a similar skin issue, which vitamin D helps control.
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: DogToffee on November 25, 2011, 07:26:49 pm
I would get your vitamin D levels tested.  If they are still low, you should probably try a different brand/type of supplement.  This sounds like an immune system problem.  I have a similar skin issue, which vitamin D helps control.

Can you tell me the brand you use? I have these: http://www.iherb.com/Healthy-Origins-Vitamin-D3-5-000-IU-360-Softgels/18335?at=0 (http://www.iherb.com/Healthy-Origins-Vitamin-D3-5-000-IU-360-Softgels/18335?at=0)
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: HIT_it_RAW on November 25, 2011, 07:36:00 pm
Can you tell me the brand you use? I have these: http://www.iherb.com/Healthy-Origins-Vitamin-D3-5-000-IU-360-Softgels/18335?at=0 (http://www.iherb.com/Healthy-Origins-Vitamin-D3-5-000-IU-360-Softgels/18335?at=0)
I use solgar vit d3
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: DogToffee on November 25, 2011, 07:47:24 pm
Yesterday, after opening this thread, I went to the expensive grocery store and bought some quality foods. I had a banana with coconut oil, raw meat, raw cheese, fermented cabbage and some good honey. I also noticed that bone marrow is really cheap! I love the taste, it's kind of gross but the texture is great and there's really nothing that tastes as rich, except maybe freshly picked blueberries. I also had some cooked food but not as much as usually.

I used the not-so-good honey I had to wash my skin and hair with and my skin feels really soft now. Hope it won't give me candida or something. I was also thinking of using bone marrow on my skin, but I'm not really sure about the smell. Honey leaves a nice soft scent.

I was going to buy sweets today but decided to get some raw chocolate and brazil nuts instead. I'm not as tired today so that's definitely a big bonus. I'm thinking about the coffee - maybe I could try to have just one cup a day, a smaller cup perhaps. I could drink green tea instead and then later move to herbal teas.

It's really dark now, even in daytime. It's kind of comforting. Like there's a huge grey blanket pulled over everything.

And I'm off to work.
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: Dorothy on November 26, 2011, 05:53:28 am
DogToffee - here are some teas and herbs that can help you. First, you need to add some things that will help to heal your adrenal glands and moderate the swings in your blood sugar. The best one so far I have come across is licorice tea and you can mix this with other teas for a lovely sweetness. You can't drink this if you have high blood sugar or low potassium levels though. Also, eating cinnamon helps a lot. Stevia leaf is a sweetener that will help with our blood sugars and can be temporary substitute when working on rebalancing blood sugars. I would not suggest honey at first because that will still add to big sugar swings. D-mannose is a kind of sweetener that is not absorbed by the body but prevents urinary tract infections. These all can be very useful at the beginning stages because you can add them to your tea to balance yourself a bit.

Teas like mate are great. They are used by central americans instead of coffee and do not make those big swings. Also, any caffeinated tea is better than coffee - especially if you are sweetening it with the above choices. Drink 10 cups of tea if you have to in order to avoid the coffee. Another energy giving and balancing tea is ginseng. Man, there are so many! I'm blanking out. I'll add more when they come to me.

Getting off refined sugar and caffeine is vitally important. If you have to first go to whole grain rice to keep the carb thing going until you get off of the poison and then make the next step to raw paleo afterwards - do it. As long as you are swinging your blood sugar levels in the wind - it will affect how successful you dramatically with any other things you try to do to improve things. Eat and do whatever you have to to clean up the extremely bad things you are doing to yourself and all the rest will be easier. Cold turkey can be really hard. Eating sugar and drinking coffee - it would take a will of steel to go cold turkey. The best number one step is get your blood sugars more balanced or you will be craving carbs like there's no tomorrow. I wouldn't even go off coffee and sugar cold turkey. I would use teas and those sweeteners and fruit and then later honey. I still can't do much honey. Fruit is easier to keep in reasonable bounds. Honey can hit that sugar addiction button too easily for me still. I simply can't eat too much fruit at one sitting. It's the super-concentrated sources of sugars and caffeine that have to go first. Processed sugar and coffee are the two worst. I'd work only on those two first if I were in your shoes.

Best of luck!

Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: zeno on November 26, 2011, 10:42:10 am
I've used animal fats as a moisturizer for my skin and a conditioner for various leather bound items (bicycle saddle, journal, etc.). Skin moisturizers are just the oils of fruits and vegetables. Animal fats work just as nicely.

A simple way to use animal fats as a moisturizer is to just rub the excess into one's skin rather than wiping it off or rinsing one's hands--which is the usual tendency due to socialization.
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: cherimoya_kid on November 26, 2011, 12:09:09 pm
Can you tell me the brand you use?

I use Now brand softgels.  I know they work.  They're the only softgels I've tried.  They increase my blood levels of vitamin D, and also have lots of noticeable health effects like better sleep, stronger teeth, better skin, emotional calmness, etc..

Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: DogToffee on November 26, 2011, 06:16:52 pm
I use Now brand softgels.  I know they work.  They're the only softgels I've tried.  They increase my blood levels of vitamin D, and also have lots of noticeable health effects like better sleep, stronger teeth, better skin, emotional calmness, etc..

Okay, I think I'll try those next. Thanks!
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: DogToffee on November 26, 2011, 07:55:37 pm
Dorothy, thank you so much for helping me! I really feel like I'm on the right track now.

The best one so far I have come across is licorice tea and you can mix this with other teas for a lovely sweetness.

I think I have some licorice tea at home. I usually drink it when I'm sick and it helps, especially if I feel tired and have to do something. I also have low blood pressure sometimes. I love licorice candy so this will be a good alternative for sweets!

Also, eating cinnamon helps a lot.

I love cinnamon! Any ideas on how to use it? As tea also?

Stevia leaf is a sweetener that will help with our blood sugars and can be temporary substitute when working on rebalancing blood sugars. I would not suggest honey at first because that will still add to big sugar swings. D-mannose is a kind of sweetener that is not absorbed by the body but prevents urinary tract infections. These all can be very useful at the beginning stages because you can add them to your tea to balance yourself a bit.

I don't really like the idea of bringing artificial sweeteners into my diet. I don't like the taste of stevia at all. I don't add sugar to tea so sweetening it propably isn't necessary. I try to avoid the sugar swings by eating honey just a little after a meal. I add cream and coconut oil to my coffee (and I am down to one cup a day).

Teas like mate are great.

I love green tea but mate makes me feel kind of nauseous for some reason.

Another energy giving and balancing tea is ginseng.

Ginseng sounds interesting! I have to see if they sell it somewhere.

Man, there are so many! I'm blanking out. I'll add more when they come to me.

Tons of info already. Thanks!

Getting off refined sugar and caffeine is vitally important. If you have to first go to whole grain rice to keep the carb thing going until you get off of the poison and then make the next step to raw paleo afterwards - do it.

That's how I think also. I can't eat whole grains because they make my stomach hurt and I don't really use that much grains anyway. I'll try to move to healthier carbs like vegetables and fruit.

Eat and do whatever you have to to clean up the extremely bad things you are doing to yourself and all the rest will be easier.

Hope so! Thank you for encouraging me.

Cold turkey can be really hard. Eating sugar and drinking coffee - it would take a will of steel to go cold turkey. The best number one step is get your blood sugars more balanced or you will be craving carbs like there's no tomorrow. I wouldn't even go off coffee and sugar cold turkey.

Yeah I have noticed that. I've tried to quit so many times without much success. I'm going to take it slow this time and try not to be too hard on myself if I slip. I know sugar and coffee are my worst problems and I'm working on those now. I don't have to eat 100 % raw paloe right away, if ever.


Best of luck!

Thanks!
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: DogToffee on November 26, 2011, 11:26:15 pm
A simple way to use animal fats as a moisturizer is to just rub the excess into one's skin rather than wiping it off or rinsing one's hands--which is the usual tendency due to socialization.

Great idea! I just realised I do that sometimes. I still don't feel comfortable using animal fats on my whole body - what if it smells horrible or dogs start chasing me or something?
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: Dorothy on November 28, 2011, 11:24:23 am
Glad I could be of help!
One side thing - stevia is a ground up plant - not artificial - so it makes a great substitute for people addicted to sugar which is even more artificial. I hate the stuff myself though. D-mannose is the isolated sugar from cranberries - so also is just a better choice than isolated sugar cane. If you want to go for sugar these are better that's all and no less natural than sugars taken from a different plant and actually help to balance blood sugars and can have some positive affects instead of the all bad that processed white sugar (imho) is. If you don't sweeten your tea then it's easy - and licorice is a nicer sweetener for tea anyway. It's all relative. Make the choices that you can with the least negative affects.

You might want to try to find a tea that has lots of caffeine at first and then change teas until you can scale back. If you are on a pot or two of coffee and try to come off it too fast you can even pass out. If you get a headache it's because the arteries in your brain are starting to open again as coffee close them down and restrict them. Why people would want less blood to their brains ones they realize this is beyond me. But, if you put your head lower than your heart it will help the blood to flow to your head and help with the headaches. Your brain needs sugar so you could find yourself eating or desiring something uncontrollably that has sugar. That's why it's important not to have sugar around you if you can help but to have other sugar sources. I've known people to find themselves on the kitchen floor with sugared cereal eating it ....... and then come to. Going cold turkey could be impossible for some because the brain that controls your actions will just take over and make you feed it. If all the sugar you have around is licorice, fruit and d-mannose just promise to yourself that you will eat those FIRST before heading out the door to find another denser source.

You can do this! Just remember, you are dealing with addiction. Be kind to yourself. Set yourself up for success any way you can. One day at a time as they say. 
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: DogToffee on November 29, 2011, 12:32:42 am
One side thing - stevia is a ground up plant - not artificial - so it makes a great substitute for people addicted to sugar which is even more artificial. I hate the stuff myself though. D-mannose is the isolated sugar from cranberries - so also is just a better choice than isolated sugar cane.

Ok, that cleared things up. Still I don't feel like I need any sweeteners though. But if I need them at some point I'll try D-mannose.

If you are on a pot or two of coffee and try to come off it too fast you can even pass out. If you get a headache it's because the arteries in your brain are starting to open again as coffee close them down and restrict them. Why people would want less blood to their brains ones they realize this is beyond me.

Interesting. I didn't know this and had to do more research. It's weird how coffee changes the brain. And it starts to look really weird people are drinking it.

You can do this! Just remember, you are dealing with addiction. Be kind to yourself. Set yourself up for success any way you can. One day at a time as they say.

Thanks again! I feel a lot better about this after reading your posts.
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: DogToffee on November 29, 2011, 12:56:38 am
Today: no processed sugar or white flour
Tomorrow: no coffee

I decided I get to eat anything if I avoid processed sugars and grains. I bought bananas, apples, blueberries and clementines, and these really thin slices of dried whole grain rye bread (I have no idea what it's called in english). Of course I'm still having my meat raw and eating cheese, butter and cream. And honey.

Oh, I also bought whole nuts with the shell still on, and a nutcracker.

I've had green tea instead of coffee, only one cup of coffee a day in the morning. I'm going to try to survive tomorrow morning with just green tea. I think I'll manage - lately coffee has started to taste quite bad, kind of burnt. It also makes me feel a bit sick. It's really stupid anyway that the first thing I get in the morning is a cup of poison.
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: sabertooth on November 29, 2011, 09:50:58 pm
If you don't like the Idea of using animal fat as a skin treatment, try coconut oil. I have used both and find that animal fat works but its kind of pasty, while coconut oil has a perfect consistency. Coconut oil also has anti bacterial properties.

Sometimes people will over wash themselves which strips off the natural  oils and leaves one more vulnerable to infections.  There is probiotic bacteria on the skin that help protect the skin against more invasive  infectious strains, and compulsive washing can cause an imbalance in the  bacterial ecology.

I am real weary of any artificial vitamin D. Its a steroid like compound that was never meant to be ingested in large amounts. Our digestive tracts were never designed to take much of it in. I think some synthetic forms of vitamin D actually cause more harm than good.

http://www.gomf.macrobiotic.net/vitamin-d-tragedy.html (http://www.gomf.macrobiotic.net/vitamin-d-tragedy.html)
Take with a grain of salt, but please pay attention to the documented facts of Vitamin d overdose and the detrimental effects associated with artificial vitamin D.

 It is best obtained through the skin , generated by UV rays.
Try to oil yourself up and lay out in the sun, or even use a tanning bed for some really amazing health benefits. I swear by it.
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: DogToffee on November 29, 2011, 11:13:15 pm
If you don't like the Idea of using animal fat as a skin treatment, try coconut oil. I have used both and find that animal fat works but its kind of pasty, while coconut oil has a perfect consistency. Coconut oil also has anti bacterial properties.

Yes, I use coconut oil already.

I am real weary of any artificial vitamin D. Its a steroid like compound that was never meant to be ingested in large amounts. Our digestive tracts were never designed to take much of it in. I think some synthetic forms of vitamin D actually cause more harm than good.

This sounds weird but I will read the link you sent me.

It is best obtained through the skin , generated by UV rays.
Try to oil yourself up and lay out in the sun, or even use a tanning bed for some really amazing health benefits. I swear by it.

This would be fun but possible only in summer for about two months. Yesterday we had a little sunshine and it really hurt my eyes because I'm so used to the darkness. Next time we have enough sunshine to make skin produce vitamin D is in May.

I start taking vitamin D in September and stop when it starts to get warm and sunny again. But still there's eight months every year when I really don't have a choice.
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: Dorothy on November 29, 2011, 11:47:34 pm
If you don't like the Idea of using animal fat as a skin treatment, try coconut oil. I have used both and find that animal fat works but its kind of pasty, while coconut oil has a perfect consistency. Coconut oil also has anti bacterial properties.

Sometimes people will over wash themselves which strips off the natural  oils and leaves one more vulnerable to infections.  There is probiotic bacteria on the skin that help protect the skin against more invasive  infectious strains, and compulsive washing can cause an imbalance in the  bacterial ecology.

I am real weary of any artificial vitamin D. Its a steroid like compound that was never meant to be ingested in large amounts. Our digestive tracts were never designed to take much of it in. I think some synthetic forms of vitamin D actually cause more harm than good.

http://www.gomf.macrobiotic.net/vitamin-d-tragedy.html (http://www.gomf.macrobiotic.net/vitamin-d-tragedy.html)
Take with a grain of salt, but please pay attention to the documented facts of Vitamin d overdoes and the detrimental effects associated with artificial vitamin D.

 It is best obtained through the skin , generated by UV rays.
Try to oil yourself up and lay out in the sun, or even use a tanning bed for some really amazing health benefits. I swear by it.

Hi Sabertooth. I've been reading much about vitamin d and have read mostly the opposite of what was in that article you posted. That article was mostly about vitamin d in milk. Who knows the difference between that and what you buy in a pill form and there weren't footnotes to try to verify their statements - which just don't jive. All the doctors and researchers that I've read say that it's clearly perfectly safe to take 4,000 IU and probably more. When they accidentally dumped loads of vitamin D into milk firstly, we have no idea of the quality and secondly they didn't say how much! People might have gotten doses in the hundreds of thousands for all we know. I don't think there is really anything to worry about. My husband was really worried when he started but read enough that he is now totally at ease. Besides, the benefits have been obvious.

It of course is better to go out in the sun, but what DogToffee said above goes for the vast majority of people. Most people don't live in a sunny enough place and those that do usually still work during the day indoors.
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: sabertooth on November 30, 2011, 11:07:22 am
The mainstream has embraced vitamin d supplementation, and rightly so because deficiency is so common. The harmful effects of supplementation may be up for debate, but I still don't believe that the benefits of supplemental vitamin d are anywhere near what one can receive from exposure to uv rays, or some good old cod liver oil. I give cod liver to my children especially in the winter time to protect them against deficiency.

 For years we were told about the health benefits of certain vitamins like , A,B,C,D and E, but now more and more evidence is coming out how these synthetic vitamins are not providing the results that were promised.
http://content.bandzoogle.com/users/cippianhotmail/files/Dangers_of_Synthetic_Unnatural_Vitamins.pdf (http://content.bandzoogle.com/users/cippianhotmail/files/Dangers_of_Synthetic_Unnatural_Vitamins.pdf)


Tanning beds are a viable option for those of northern latitudes, if you have extra sensitive skin you can use lower intensity beds for just a few minutes at a time.
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: HIT_it_RAW on November 30, 2011, 04:44:25 pm
http://www.naturalmedicinejournal.com/article_content.asp?edition=1&section=3&article=262 (http://www.naturalmedicinejournal.com/article_content.asp?edition=1&section=3&article=262)
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: DogToffee on November 30, 2011, 06:36:39 pm
This is all really confusing and not my biggest concern right now. I just can't see tanning bed as a good option. I'll eat my vitamins and worry about this later.

So, day two without coffee. Drinking mate while writing this. I survived yesterday with three cups of green tea and the headache is almost gone now. I couldn't get enough sleep last night because my head felt so weird. Like small electric shocks going through my brain.

I usually eat my first meal in the afternoon, but today I was hungry when I woke up. Maybe I should start eating breakfast? Any suggestions that would help me heal?
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: HIT_it_RAW on November 30, 2011, 08:02:45 pm
This is all really confusing and not my biggest concern right now. I just can't see tanning bed as a good option. I'll eat my vitamins and worry about this later.

So, day two without coffee. Drinking mate while writing this. I survived yesterday with three cups of green tea and the headache is almost gone now. I couldn't get enough sleep last night because my head felt so weird. Like small electric shocks going through my brain.

I usually eat my first meal in the afternoon, but today I was hungry when I woke up. Maybe I should start eating breakfast? Any suggestions that would help me heal?
Personally I believe vitamin D might have benefits. All other vitamins sups I believe are unnecessary at best and quite possibly hurtfull.

Great job on the quitting coffee! You are motivating me to throw out my 1 cup a day. I'm not really addicted to it and don't notice anything like headaches if I don't drink any. But I quite like to have that one little thing I can consume with my colleagues at work. Social pressure... its a bitch.

I would definitely start having breakfast! It really kicks in your metabolism, ends catabolism(resulting from an 10hr or so fast during the night) and re-initiates anabolism which you need to heal anything. Breakfast is king.

I drink a green juice immediately upon awaking. This really boost my energy and makes me very hungry ~30min later. Than I usually have a large meat/liver, fat meal. If it is impossible (due to work, social pressure etc) to eat lunch it is not really a problem because I alreade have had my best meal of the day.
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: achillezzz on December 01, 2011, 01:16:38 am
Hit it raw if you want to be really hungry at morning try waking up 30minutes before your normal wake call and go outside and do 5 ALL OUT sprints with 20sec rest between them.

Then go home take shower if want to sleep and have more time go sleep then when you wake up your body will be so hungry man its crazyy
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: Dorothy on December 01, 2011, 03:06:09 am
Sabertooth - A heads up on cod liver oil for you:  The experts say that it is a poor source of vitamin D because the high content of vitamin A interferes with the absorption of the vitamin D. It's really either get yourself out in the sun or supplement according to them. How much we make in the sun is massively more than anything one could or should supplement for. Of course, 100%, getting into the sun is far superior if you can. Working 9 - 5 (in the US we work more like 9 - 8 six days a week) it can be very difficult and in northern climates even if you are retired it would be impossible a good part of the year.

Do you really think tanning beds work? Those things have always scared me. That seems more fake than just about anything. For some reason I've never trusted them.

Oh - and DogToffee - sorry about the diverging conversation in your journal. If you would like it out maybe one of the moderators can move it into my post on vitamin d?
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: CitrusHigh on December 01, 2011, 03:09:33 am
Even if you do utilize tanning beds you need to remember that UVB creates vitamin D while UVA destroys it. So if you go to a tanning salon where they are leaned towards, or exclusively UVA, you will only be harming yourself. This is critical and it's fact, no two ways around it. I'm not saying UVA doesn't also have it's benefits, but for biosynthesizing Vitamin D with light rays, UVB is all there is.

And synthetic vitamin D is only beneficial to people who are badly deficient and refuse to eat a good diet. The only beneficial source of supplementary vitamin D is Green Pasture's Fermented Cod/Skate liver oil. And these are technically foods, not mechanically or solvent extracted oils, they are essentially raw foods only they are super nutrient dense so you take them in supplement doses instead of food doses.
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: Dorothy on December 01, 2011, 03:15:45 am
Again Citrus High - the experts disagree. They say that cod liver oil is too high in vitamin A so does little for providing vitamin D.

But that bit about UVA in tanning beds is real important. I betcha that's why I could never get myself to go in one. My body refused. I bet she wanted to hold onto the vitamin D she had!

Did you see that in the video how after all these years they are finally admitting that sunscreen only blocks the UVB and allows in the UVA! Duh. No wonder the skin cancer rates have gone up so much. I also have avoided sun tan lotions ever since I started to try to tune into my body.
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: CitrusHigh on December 01, 2011, 04:48:05 am
Dorothy, You're using chemically extracted or synthesized vitamin D and you are trying to tell me that unheated, fermented cod/skate liver oil is not good for you? Seems kind of hypocritical to me.

Everyone is of course entitled to their own views, but that is just the type of inconsistent  viewpoint that makes you and the RAF movement look suspicious. Fermented cod liver oil is allowed through my filter because it is a food, not a processed, industrial product. So far as I can tell your jarrow formula is sourced fromm sheeps wool. How do you think they extract the cholesterol from the sheeps wool? A chemical solvent to be sure. Then they take that and expose it to uv radiation and then likely use another solvent to isolate the synthesized vitamin d3. Does that sound healthy to you? If so then what in the world is wrong with processed foods? Of course jarrow's vitamin D3 not being healthy doesn't make FC(S)LO healthy, but it shows that you may have a faulty line of thinking.

Furthermore, I don't know what experts you are quoting but there are other experts that claim that vitamins D and A are synergistic NOT antagonistic. The WAPF site has numerous articles explaining why.

I agree that sun is probably the best source for vitamin D, but here in the northern latitudes it's either tanning beds (which would be great except for the accompanying EMR from the power units) or lots of seafood which may come with it's own inherent problems, or FC(S)LO which has been used for centuries and is a food, not an isolated industrial synthetic.

Plus you are practicing nutritionism, ie: 'science' (if you can call it that) tells us we should be getting x amount of this or that and y of another. When in reality there are so many compounds and subcompounds and co-compounds that to try and get a certain amount of any in a healthy way is virtually impossible. Nutritionism is faulty because you can neither know exactly how much of any nutrients you are getting because they vary from animal to animal and from habitat to habitat and plant to plant, nor can you even know all of the compounds in a food nor how each permutation of compounds is going to affect your health.

The best we can really do is stick to foods that have meet our standards ( are unheated, not chemically tainted, not animals fed unnatural diets, not gmo, etc) and try to get the foods that best complete our basic nutritional needs.

I eat FSLO because I can easily see the affects and because it meets my standards for being a food, not an industrial product.

If you haven't read the WAPF's section on CLO then I suggest you give it a check....

http://www.westonaprice.org/cod-liver-oil (http://www.westonaprice.org/cod-liver-oil)

Plus your 'experts' are assuredly studying folks on standard diet models or SAD diets, not people like ourselves who eat more intuitively/naturally.
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: DogToffee on December 01, 2011, 05:11:50 am
Personally I believe vitamin D might have benefits. All other vitamins sups I believe are unnecessary at best and quite possibly hurtfull.

D is the only one I take because other vitamins I can get from food.

Great job on the quitting coffee! You are motivating me to throw out my 1 cup a day. I'm not really addicted to it and don't notice anything like headaches if I don't drink any. But I quite like to have that one little thing I can consume with my colleagues at work. Social pressure... its a bitch.

Well quitting should be easy then! Could you drink somethin else while others have coffee? Or just enjoy their company without drinking anything? I used to smoke and really miss the socializing on tobacco breaks, so I usually just go out with everyone else. Today someone asked me if I could give her a gicarette and was really surprised when I told her I don't smoke. She hadn't noticed I just stand there, talking.

I only drank one cup a day and it definitely did something to my brain chemistry. This feels just like quitting antidepressants.

I would definitely start having breakfast! It really kicks in your metabolism, ends catabolism(resulting from an 10hr or so fast during the night) and re-initiates anabolism which you need to heal anything. Breakfast is king.

I'll try that tomorrow. With the coffee, I was never hungry before afternoon. Hunger feels great because I haven't had much appetite lately. Maybe this will eventually cheer me up and I won't feel as tired anymore.

Maybe raw eggs for breakfast.
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: Dorothy on December 01, 2011, 12:47:21 pm
You read into my words more than I said Citrus High. I never said that cod liver oil is bad for anyone. I said that the experts that I have been reading said that you can't depend on it for your vitamin D needs. Other than in that respect I believe you completely that it's a wonderful food.  I also said that being in the sun is best, just that in our society as it is most people can't practically spend time in the middle of the day in the sun - especially with minimal clothing. The issue is that even eating a great amount of raw fish my husband seemed to be horrifically deficient in vitamin d. I also never said that I have read everything or know every expert or doctors' opinions. I have read/learned much on cod liver oil in from my local WAPF group. That doesn't mean I'm going to dismiss that others say it is not a good source. Please try not to read into my posts more than what they are.

Pills in general of course are inferior. It's a compromise. Vitamin D we produce from being in the sun. Everything else we seems to have a good food source to get sufficient levels. Getting enough vitamin d from our food seems to be really tricky if not impossible. Because we no longer live natural lives we have created an unnatural deficiency. If we were living naturally in all aspects of our lives we wouldn't have to even contemplate separate nutrients. Living healthy seems to be more than food, it also means being outdoors and if we aren't going to be outdoors, we have think about how to make up for it.

If suntanning salons are safe and will provide UVB that would be an alternative worth investigating. Has anyone done research on which beds/companies have beds that provide UVB and that they have experienced as being healthy for them?
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: CitrusHigh on December 01, 2011, 08:31:11 pm
My personal experience has been to the contrary and I take great pains to make sure that I do not run out of my Fermented Skate liver oil during the winter time especially. I can notice a difference in the way I feel and look, and a stark contrast at that. I attribute that mostly to the vitamin D. Of course I prefer the Skate Liver oil to the Cod liver oil but will use them interchangeably when I can afford to stock both of them to diversify the nutrient profile.

Do you have any personal experience with FCLO or FSLO Dorothy? I'm wondering because it would be interesting to know if you found them ineffective.

The Vitamin K2, the other most important vitamin for tooth and bone health along with A and D is the other reason I take the FSLO, because that one is nearly impossible to get in diet, even more so than D, and this has paid off for me. My front two teeth were nearly transparent on the bottom half years ago due to growing up SAD and especially with laaaaarge amounts of sodas like coke, pepsi and Dr. Pepper. But they have nearly remineralized and are becoming solid. In fact I have to take photos soon because I wanted to document the change, but it is now happening so rapidly that if I don't take photos soon, it  will be too late! This effect I attribute not to simple raw paleo, but specifically the FSLO/FCLO and Raw Dairy (because it worked for me, not that it will work for everyone). I think as long as you have adequate amounts of raw, bioavailable A, D and K2, anyone can experience this kind of tooth and bone healing, barring certain conditions which would specifically inhibit uptake or mechanism.
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: sabertooth on December 01, 2011, 09:56:45 pm
I use cod liver oil for my children just as my great grandmother had done for her own. Its good for vitamin A , D plus the essential fatty acids that would otherwise be lacking from their diets. I am kind of leery of the vitamin e that is often added as a preservative.

I speak from experience with tanning beds, I have used them regularly and have noticed an increase in overall well being. I know a woman who uses them for her cancer treatment and has managed to survive and live cancer free for over ten years after the doctors told her she would be lucky to live 5 if she didn't get chemo.

There are still many unknown about artificial tanning, but if you use the lower intensity beds, for only 20 minuets a week like I do, and you dont put toxic tanning lotions and sunscreens on, then I claim it can be great for overall health and vitality, with little risk.

EMFs may freak some people out but limited 20 minuet exposure in a tanning bed isn't much to worry about when you consider that many people live under power lines or office workers who are bathed in emfs daily from fluorescent lighting and computers. Not to mention all those who keep a cell phone pressed to their brain.

Basically from my prospective there is a non chemical more paleoesqe solution to about every health issue. Its an extreme stance , but I believe it is true for most cases, and if people want to keep playing around with supplemental alchemy, then thats a personal choice, but one that should not be endorsed by the main body of the raw paleo community.
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: DogToffee on December 02, 2011, 03:32:56 am
My personal experience has been to the contrary and I take great pains to make sure that I do not run out of my Fermented Skate liver oil during the winter time especially. I can notice a difference in the way I feel and look, and a stark contrast at that. I attribute that mostly to the vitamin D. Of course I prefer the Skate Liver oil to the Cod liver oil but will use them interchangeably when I can afford to stock both of them to diversify the nutrient profile.

How much do you eat them? I've been thinking about ordering those at some point but they are really expensive. How long does one bottle last?
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: Dorothy on December 02, 2011, 08:19:28 am
I've taken cod liver oil Citrus, but not my husband (too nasty for him). I noticed no difference at all when I took it, but I don't think I am or have been vitamin d deficient like him and I guess I'm not deficient in the other things cod liver oil has either.

Again, there are lots of things in cod liver oil which I'm sure are wonderful including the vitamin A and K2 and fatty acids and more. Different forms of K2 are in lots of foods though if my memory serves me. CLO seems like a healthy thing to eat - I'm certainly not suggesting that someone should not eat it. I'm just more concerned at the moment specifically with vitamin D. Why do you think that it was the vitamin D specifically Citrus instead of all the other things in CLO that made you feel better? Sounds like you are having some wonderful healing with your teeth. Nice to hear.

I've been trying to figure out ways for hubbie to get high doses of vitamin D within the scope of what is available, what doctors say about bio-availability and practicality. My husband and I read everything the doctor in the top video has written that we could find. I just trust intuitively and with my logical mind that he has a good understanding of vitamin D and it's bio-availability from different sources. He says not to depend on CLO as your source of Vitamin D.

Maybe I should try to find a way to reach him and ask him about tanning beds?

The best thing to do would be to change our lifestyles so that I can get both of us out into the sun in the middle of the day. 15 minutes in the sun the average person creates apx. 10,000 IU of vitamin D.

In the mean time until we can work out getting natural sunshine, we're sticking with what has made such a big positive difference so quickly.

The lady that beat cancer - did she do anything else besides tanning? That's really cool.  O0



Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: DogToffee on December 02, 2011, 06:52:16 pm
Update on quitting coffee: I'm starting to feel better.

It's still hard to stay awake and hard to sleep at night but the headache is almost gone. I think I'll survive this. Just have to keep in mind not to start drinking coffee again. Propably next week I'll be fine and then after that I hope to notice some positive effects. I have to quit drinking green tea at some point and move to herbal teas. I already bought more licorice tea and also ginseng, thanks Dorothy.

Btw licorice has helped a lot. I think I feel so bad partly because my blood pressure drops when not having coffee. Besides the tea I also eat licorice root extract, it's hard, kind of like candy but better.

I'm surprised how easy it was to switch processed sugar to fruit. Today is my biggest test: I usually have sweets on Friday (and Saturday, and Sunday). Maybe I'll have raw chocolate and dried fruit instead. It might not be that much healthier but mentally it's important for me to keep eating the good stuff, not junk.

My skin is in a bad condition but it hasn't gotten worse so guess that's a plus. I try not to think about it too much - focusing on other things makes me forget about the pain and itching. I stopped using soap and have washed my hair and body with honey instead. I have no idea if that's smart but honey is a good cleaner and doesn't make my skin dry. Right now I can't stand oils at all, they make my skin itch like crazy. It feels much better with just sea salt.

I ordered some products and still waiting for them to arrive. Liquid zinc is a lifesaver but I'm all out now. Help is on the way and hopefully coming here soon. I also bought oregano oil and some other stuff I haven't tried yet, can't even remember it all.
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: Dorothy on December 03, 2011, 05:55:05 am
While coming off of coffee perhaps asking some other plant friends for help would be a good thing. From gentlest to most powerful you can try chamomile, passionflower or valerian. They are all actually pretty gentle - nothing like taking a prescription or anything. They just calm the nerves a bit and are actually good for the nervous system. You do the same thing as the other teas. Chamomile tea also soothes the digestion. Valerian makes me go to sleep just smelling it (but I'm weird).  ;)

Congratulations on your freedom from coffee and sugar. That's a really major accomplishment and you should be giving yourself some solid pats on the back! wOOt!
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: DogToffee on December 14, 2011, 03:40:15 am
I'm all caffeine-free now! I'm only drinking herbal teas, not even green tea anymore. It was about two weeks of headaches but now I feel normal again.

I'm not doing so well with the sugars now - somehow they seem to lurk back into my diet. I'm considering quitting all sugars (fruit included) but not sure about this yet.

Not at all sure what to do next.

Just interested - anyone tried the elimination diet for treating allergies or skin symptoms?
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: DogToffee on December 14, 2011, 03:44:58 am
From gentlest to most powerful you can try chamomile, passionflower or valerian. They are all actually pretty gentle - nothing like taking a prescription or anything. They just calm the nerves a bit and are actually good for the nervous system.

Valerian is great - I sometimes have trouble sleeping or feel restless in the evening and it makes me feel relaxed. Combined with lemon balm it makes me fall asleep instantly.
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: Dorothy on December 14, 2011, 03:55:26 am
Oh - lemon balm is real nice too.  :D

Do you mean to say that you are regular sugar again - or just eating too much fruit.

Coffee acts very similar to sugar intake so often people that give up caffeine find that they increase their sugar intake to make up for it.

You did the harder of the two. If you can just replace all fake sugars with fruit you'd be handled.

One thing that can help is juice. It's got such a quick jolt of sugar that it can replace processed sugar until you move your way to whole fruits instead. Juices at least have all sorts of great healing things in them and some argue are the best thing for you - so that replacement would be a step up.

It's all about moving in the right direction.... which you are doing so nicely.
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: DogToffee on December 14, 2011, 06:41:13 am
Do you mean to say that you are regular sugar again - or just eating too much fruit.

Too much fruit and also stupid things like bread and rice. And I normally never eat those.

Coffee acts very similar to sugar intake so often people that give up caffeine find that they increase their sugar intake to make up for it.

Okay, that's probably it. This is so much easier to deal with if I understand why I'm craving more carbs suddenly.

You did the harder of the two. If you can just replace all fake sugars with fruit you'd be handled.

True. I think I need some limits - maybe that only fruit and honey is allowed, no grains. This is weird because I usually like candy and chocolate but now find myself wanting to eat bread. I gave up grains years ago because they make my stomach hurt and haven't really missed them - until now. I have no idea why. Maybe I should try eating sweet potatoes or something?

One thing that can help is juice. It's got such a quick jolt of sugar that it can replace processed sugar until you move your way to whole fruits instead. Juices at least have all sorts of great healing things in them and some argue are the best thing for you - so that replacement would be a step up.

I'm too lazy for that. My favourite thing about raw foods is that I don't have to cook or do anything, just eat. Herbal teas are good and sweet enough. I'm not so much into sweet drinks - I like to chew my sugars.
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: Dorothy on December 14, 2011, 08:19:25 am
I hear ya on the juices. It is work. Chewing your sugars I guess leaves you with fruit. Do you think you could limit yourself to fruit and honey - those two ARE raw paleo!
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: DogToffee on March 21, 2012, 06:32:19 am
I'm back - and propably ready to take the next step.

I haven't been here since December. Maybe quitting coffee and sugars together was too much for me. It's weird how scary this is. Anyway, I think I can do the sugars now. I went through this thread and it had some great tips I can use.

I haven't had any coffee in months. Nobody believes me when I tell them, because I was the biggest caffeine addict they have known. I sometimes have taheebo tea but I feel like I don't need teas anymore.

I've stopped showering every day and shower once a week. I never thought this was possible. My skin is much less irritated. Also, spring is coming so my skin feels a lot better because of that. I excercise a lot and cannot tell anyone that I don't shower after workout. I just change into clean, dry clothes.

Also found this really interesting page:
http://naturescureforeczemaallergies.weebly.com/index.html (http://naturescureforeczemaallergies.weebly.com/index.html)

Okay, on with quitting processed sugar. Small steps (that feel like HUGE steps).
Title: Re: DogToffee takes it slow (healing journal)
Post by: Dorothy on May 19, 2012, 04:42:56 am
Welcome Back!

Taking one step at a time makes SOOOO much sense!

You deserve a big pat on the back for getting rid of that coffee monster. I know what a big step that is.

With sugar consumption (and now that caffeine is out of the picture) substituting fruits as the first step makes it not quite so hard.