Author Topic: Lex's Journal  (Read 883941 times)

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Offline lex_rooker

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #325 on: October 25, 2008, 03:44:18 pm »
An interesting note on the constipation issue.  I had this when I first converted to all raw meat and it took about 6 - 8 months for everything to normalize.  The final result was small very firm stools that were quick and easy to eliminate.  There was seldom any thing on the tissue.

I did notice on the high fat protocol - especially if I exceeded 80% fat - that stools became very pasty and less well formed and good bit of tissue was required to clean up. The volume was also significantly more.  I'd estimate at least 50% more.  I was going to comment on this earlier but forgot.  I wonder if this indicates that not all the fat was being digested and some was left in the stools.  This may account for some of those calories that seem to magically disappear when eating a high fat diet.

After returning to my lower fat protocol, stools are once again beginning to firm up and I expect that over time I'll return to the small firm stools I had before starting the experiment.

Lex



Offline Ronbo

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #326 on: October 27, 2008, 09:32:13 am »
Lex -

Glad all is well with you.

For those of us following along at home, can you give us your current Slankers breakdown to achieve the 65/35 blend you're doing now?



Thanks
« Last Edit: October 27, 2008, 11:18:13 am by Ronbo »

Offline Sully

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #327 on: October 28, 2008, 12:30:34 am »
My dining out is only a couple of times per month so I really don't see much of a change in anything.  What I eat out is also very close to my normal diet.  It is red meat and cooking is minimal.  It is also only one slightly cooked meal in between many raw meals, all of which are some type of red meat.  The only time I had a problem was when I was at a seminar and didn't take food with me.  I ended up eating cafeteria food for a full week (mostly breakfast like eggs, bacon, sausage etc) while trying my best to stick with my zero carb approach.  This did not go well.  My ankles swelled to triple their normal size and I felt terrible.  It took about 2 weeks to recover.



Lex
I went to chicago this weekend and didin't bring any food, so I ran into similar problems. We went to old country buffet I had rare steak, cooked pork, fish with butter, chicken with skin. I resisted everything else. The next day (sunday) we had sandwhiches, I only ate the cheese and fruit and avoided th bread. At night I was hungry and couldn't resist junk food. I feel ok today though.


One thing to note......I seem to be sweating more today when very active. Maybe the junk food causes me to sweat more. I could be wrong.

Offline lex_rooker

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #328 on: October 29, 2008, 02:28:11 pm »
For those of us following along at home, can you give us your current Slankers breakdown to achieve the 65/35 blend you're doing now?

Ronbo,
The mix is pretty simple:

One 1 1/2 lb package of Dog & Cat
One 2 lb package of Chili beef
1/4 lb ground suet

The Dog & Cat averages about 18% (68% calories) fat by weight just as it comes.  The ground beef, both regular and chili grind, are leaner and measure about 12% (56% calories from fat).  The extra 1/4 lb suet adds about 4% fat to the 2 lb chili beef which brings the total to about 16%.  This gives a final fat content of between 65% and 67% of calories.

Just mixing the D&C and the chili beef without adding the extra fat measures an average of about 60% calories from fat.  This is plenty high in fat so you really don't need to add the extra suet.  I do it because I have it available.

Lex

Offline lex_rooker

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #329 on: October 29, 2008, 02:35:10 pm »
Sully,
I did the Chicago thing last spring.  Cold and windy.  I had my pemmican which saved me a whole bunch of money, and also ate at Morton's Steak House a couple of times.  Morton's has great steaks but very very expensive.  I certainly couldn't afford to eat there very often.  As I remember my 2 ribeye steaks came in at about $80 USD.  Quite a difference from my normal daily fare which costs me about $8 USD.

Lex

Offline Ronbo

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #330 on: October 30, 2008, 02:19:40 am »
Ronbo,
The mix is pretty simple:

One 1 1/2 lb package of Dog & Cat
One 2 lb package of Chili beef
1/4 lb ground suet

The Dog & Cat averages about 18% (68% calories) fat by weight just as it comes.  The ground beef, both regular and chili grind, are leaner and measure about 12% (56% calories from fat).  The extra 1/4 lb suet adds about 4% fat to the 2 lb chili beef which brings the total to about 16%.  This gives a final fat content of between 65% and 67% of calories.

Just mixing the D&C and the chili beef without adding the extra fat measures an average of about 60% calories from fat.  This is plenty high in fat so you really don't need to add the extra suet.  I do it because I have it available.

Lex

How many portions does that yield??
Since dropping the fat level, how has that changed your daily intake?? Have your hunger/satiety levels changed??

Thanks!

Offline lex_rooker

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #331 on: November 01, 2008, 09:03:20 am »
How many portions does that yield??
Since dropping the fat level, how has that changed your daily intake?? Have your hunger/satiety levels changed??

This recipe yeilds 2 servings of about 850 to 900 grams each.  I know that the package weights don't add up to this but the 2 lb chili beef is often over weight by 60 to 90 grams.

On the higher fat protocol I was eating about 650 grams per day to maintain the same satiety level.

Lex

Offline Sully

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #332 on: November 04, 2008, 01:52:43 am »
Sully,
I did the Chicago thing last spring.  Cold and windy.  I had my pemmican which saved me a whole bunch of money, and also ate at Morton's Steak House a couple of times.  Morton's has great steaks but very very expensive.  I certainly couldn't afford to eat there very often.  As I remember my 2 ribeye steaks came in at about $80 USD.  Quite a difference from my normal daily fare which costs me about $8 USD.

Lex
When I recieved my dehydrator, I opened the package and found only trays in there. They made it seem like I was getting a dehydrator. I contacted the lady and she said I could send it back, but I would have to pay for the shiping. I said forget it, the cost of shipping wouldn't even make it worth it.

Dry meat would be great, only if I had a dehydrator. next yime I'll just bring a cooler. Water frozen in a bottle seems to last longer than ice by itself.

Offline lex_rooker

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #333 on: November 05, 2008, 11:50:24 am »
I'll be leaving Thursday night and will be gone for a week or so .  I don't take a PC with me so will be out of touch until I return.  Should be back around Monday the 17th of Nov.

Lex

Offline lex_rooker

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #334 on: January 08, 2009, 02:03:47 am »
I got a private note from one of the members of this forum and was asked to respond to some questions.  I thought others might be interested and so I asked permission to post to my Journal. 
 
I'll do my best to answer your questions, but remember that anything I say is just my opinion.  What I do and think are based on my experience and observations, but it really is nothing more than my attempt at answering the same questions that you struggle with.

1. Do you believe raw meat and fat is any better or even ideal for
the body? Does cooking make food "healthy"? Why do animals stay
healthy with raw meat and humans "need" to cook meat?


Yes, I have come to believe, that for me, fatty meat should make up the majority of my diet.  I'm not convinced that humans "need" cooked meat, but I'm not overly concerned with some cooking.  I do eat most of my meat raw, but several times per month I do enjoy a steak cooked rare - for me it is a treat.  I also believe that our paleo ancestors probably ate some carbs but they would have been very limited.  I expect that they ate fruit when it was in season and this would have caused them to gain weight in the late summer and early fall in preparation for winter.  I believe that they probably only ate green plants as "medicine" when they became ill as most wild green plants contain chemicals that can help with pain (as an example the common willow is the source for aspirin), as a poultice for drawing out infections, etc.
 
I avoid all grains, beans, potatoes and other sources of starch and most dairy with the exception of butter, as I don't believe these are foods we are designed to eat.  I really don't believe butter is a food our ancestors would have eaten, but I think it is a better source of fat than oils from plants and it is available everywhere including restaurants when eating out and I need more fat than is available on the meat being served.
 
2. Should I eat Argentine beef (grass fed they have a longer life)
or  French/Swiss (grain fed; they have a short life)?


I prefer grassfed meats as this is the natural food for the animal. Grain is not a normal food for beef, bison, elk, or deer and since I'm trying to eat what I think is my natural diet, the foods I eat should have eaten their natural diet as well.  I do eat grainfed meat when eating out several times per month but this is usually only 3 or 4 meals total and should make little difference.  It's what we do everyday that has the most impact on our health.  If I only had grain fed meats available then I would eat them and add some Omega3 back into my diet in the form of fish oil. 
 
I eat mostly red meat from grass-fed animals (bison, deer, beef, etc) as I believe that it is the saturated fat in these animals that our bodies need.  I'm not wild about lamb, chicken, duck, turkey, or pork though I will eat them on occasion. I seldom eat fish - maybe 1 or 2 times per year.  When I eat these it is usually at family gatherings and they are fully cooked (Christmas, New Years, Thanksgiving, etc).  I only eat small amounts and often eat my normal ration of raw beef before going to the family gathering and then eating a small portion of cooked meat, salad, and fruit to be polite.
 
3. Is this causing a double ditox (raw food + plus this water)? It is
not just like water that you drink so could you have a look at this
and tell me what you feel about it?


I really don't believe in long term detox.  I followed the diet gurus for many years and my health just got worse and worse as I ate a totally vegan diet.  The gurus kept telling me that my declining health was detox - what nonsense.  Our bodies do have to adapt each time we make a major change to our diet and this might make us feel ill, but this should be over in just a few weeks.  Any illness that seems to be caused by the diet change that continues for the long term or gets worse rather than better over time is not detox.  There is some other problem that is the root cause and it should be looked into very carefully as there is clearly something amiss.
 
Here's what I believe:  Our diet has a major impact on our health.  If we eat a poor diet then our health will suffer.  We will get degenerative diseases like diabetes, colitis, Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.  If we change our habits soon enough then the body will recover over time.  If we wait too long then it is possible that permanent damage was done and we will not be fully restored to health - though our health will improve to the best level it can.  As an example of this I had the beginnings of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, balding, and an enlarged prostate.  Every one of these problems has improved but not everything is "cured".  My hair has stopped falling out but what I lost was damaged to the point that it will not return.  My prostate has not gotten worse and I've actually been able to reduce the medication that I take, but again, proper diet may have prevented the problem in the first place but now that I have it, diet will not totally cure it.  I believe the same is true for cancer and other aggressive diseases.  Proper diet can reduce (but not totally eliminate) our chance of getting cancer, but once we have it diet alone will not cure it.  There are sound biological reasons for this and it would take a good bit to explain my reasoning.  If you are interested I'll be happy to go over it in another note.
 
4. Why does my brother's girlfriend and many others not do well with
fat (she needs to vomit) and "need" rice/potatoes and vegetables with
lean meat? My mother and father eat this normal diet and claim to be
in best health too.


My experience seems to point to several different things at work here.  Our bodies adapt as best as possible to the current environment regardless of whether it is good or bad.  Our bodies must make enzymes and chemicals to properly break down the food we eat and it will stop making those enzymes and chemicals that it doesn't need.  I know that when I went all-meat it took my body a while to adapt. It had to stop making the digestive chemicals for starch and make new and different ones for fat.  I had bouts of diahrea and then constipation as my body adapted to my new way of eating.  It took about 8 to 12 weeks before I started feeling really normal again. 
 
There is also the issue of intestinal bacteria.  Eating starches like rice/potatoes/bread etc feed huge colonies of yeast, bacteria, and fungus in our intestines.  When we stop eating the starchy foods these colonies start to die off and as large amounts of them rapidly decompose they can create toxins (this is true detox).  In a person eating a starch based diet, I've read that 80% of  their fecal material is really bacteria, yeast, and fungus that have grown and multiplied on the sugars from the starch they eat at each meal.  I have no idea if this is true but it makes sense to me.  I do know that fecal bulk is much larger when eating starch based diet than when eating a meat/fat based diet and this bulk has to come from somewhere.
 
Bottom line is that converting from a starch based diet to a meat and fat based diet requires many biological changes to occur.  Many of these changes cause bloating, gas, diarrhea, constipation, and a general feeling of low energy.  Of course eating starch again would stop the die-off of the intestinal bacteria and stop the body from changing the digestive chemicals and enzymes so you would immediately feel better. This would make you think you "need" the starch and sugars.   However, if you stick with the diet change, the body will adapt to the new meat and fat based diet and then you will feel ill if you try to go back to starch.  Then you will "need" meat and fat.  Hope this makes sense. 
 
When people ask me what I recommend they eat I tell them to make most of their diet (90%) meat and fat and then 10%  fresh fruit and vegetables.  For the most part try to cut out all grains and starches, simple sugars like honey, dairy (except butter), beans, and vegetable based oils. Don't overdo the fruits and veggies. As an example:
 
I'd eat 2 meals per day of meat and fat and I'd eat until I was fully satisfied.  Then in the evening I'd have a small or medium sized piece of fruit that is in season, or a small glass of wine, or a small salad, maybe 1 cup of raw greens and vegetables like lettuce, celery, spinach, cucumber, tomato, avocado, chard, onions, peppers, etc.  Water should be your main drink.  I'd eat the meat and fat raw or cooked as rare as possible.  I'd choose grassfed meats if available but eat grainfed meats and supplement with about 30 grams (1 oz) per day of fish oil to get the Omega3 fatty acids missing in the grain fed meats if that is all that was available.   
 
Anyway, that's it.  Be sensible and do the best you can and be sure to eat a bit of what you enjoy (even if it is the occasional chocolate chip cookie) - just don't over do it.
 
I know the advice seems out of line with what I'm personally doing but remember that I started the "all-meat-all-the-time" diet just to see what would happen.  It has worked out well so I've pretty much stuck with it.  I do have a piece of fresh fruit on occasion and have been known to sneak a favorite cookie at the family Christmas gathering.  98% of the time I do my best to stick with my grassfed meat and fat and as a result I feel great. 

Lex
« Last Edit: January 08, 2009, 02:09:47 am by lex_rooker »

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #335 on: January 08, 2009, 04:24:02 am »
Very informative post.. Thanks!

Although I do disagree with you on 2 issues.

First of all I think everyone needs to realize that what works perfectly well for their own body may not suit someone else at all. This is the principle of Metabolic Typing, which has some truth to it - even though I don't agree with the book The Metabolic Typing Diet and I think the "diet" which is outlined has flaws, and it doesn't focus on raw. Though the principle of biochemical individuality, the fact that individuals thrive on different ratios between the macro nutrients, does have some evolutionary sense to it. I don't mean that some people were born to be high carb/low fat fruitarians, but some people might have ancestors, from the recent hundred generations back or more, who mostly lived in tropical or subtropical climates, where some wild fruit would be available much of the year. This is just an example. Or take the long-living Japanese who have a diet of low fat, but high in carb and protein and do very well. I don't know exactly how the Japnese diet evolved over time, but most of the traditional/cultural foods (Japanese cuisine) are based on what was available, what grows in the soil in that country, where many generations have lived and presumably evolved... An example of this would be how Japan is one of the most lactose intolerant countries (I think more than 95% of Asians are lactose intolerant).

There are people who report doing horribly on an all-meat zero-carb diet, no matter how much they stick to it, it just doesn't agree with them -- have their intestines been permanently damaged by a diet low in meat from their past? Saying that is exactly as the raw vegan saying you weren't breastfed long enough and THAT'S why your raw vegan diet isn't working.

And there are also people who do (or seem to be doing) very well on a raw vegan diet. While I believe everyone needs a little meat/fish in their diet, I still know of people who do a lot better on this diet than I ever did. Their body must be excellent at converting sugars from the fruits to fat, or slowing down the metabolic rate, because they don't look thin and don't loose as much weight as I did when I tried this diet. And what about those raw vegan athletes who can run and do exercise after more than 1 year on a raw vegan diet? I was so tired I had trouble doing basic stuff after trying a semi-raw vegan diet for just a couple of months. This just shows how some people utilize carbs better than others and how there are a biochemical and metabolic difference between individuals. I don't recommend raw vegan for anyone, but some people might just do wonderful on more than 1 small piece of fruit per week. Some people might be able to handle vegetables more effectively than others. And of course, all of this might change over time, as metabolism doesn't just depend on genetics, but also depends on your environment, activity level, current health level, injuries, aging... The metabolism changes over time, requiring - for some people - a constant fine-tuning of their diet.

This is also why two people react so differently to the same food or the same drug.. And then later on the same person might get another, completely different, reaction from the same food/drug.

It seems as though as you have found out what foods work for you. Great! Don't fix something that isn't broke


Second issue I disagree with you about is that you don't believe diet can cure cancer (or even be the major protective factor). If diet is defined as what you eat, then think about this for a second. You go to the doctor and you are diagnosed with some disease. You then ask the doctor if what you EAT has any importance. Most doctors will say "no, not at all.. but EAT these pills to get better". I hope you see the paradox here. Diet is the most protective factor against diseases including cancer. Most studies of genetic inheritance are ridiculous, because the most common way used to study familial inheritance is by looking at families/generations who have lived or are living together. And if people live together (parents and children) then they have the same diet, approximately the same exposure to chemicals, air pollutants, often same attitudes towards health and so on... No surprise it's going to create the same problems. An oversimplified example: A mom has a digestive disorder such as irritable bowel. She gets medical treatment at her doctor. She feeds her children the same diet as she has eaten for years, which is what caused/is causing her the digestive problems. The children develop the same problems over the years, and when the children go to the doctor they get the same diagnosis. The doctor several families like this, and reports it on to some statistic institute, which conclude that the genetic inheritance factor for disease X is 40%.

I'm not dismissing all diseases that are believed to have a genetic (inherited) factor involved, and certainly there are cancers, especially those presenting themselves in childhood or youth, which can be due to a genetic mutation (or a combination between an inherited genetic weakness and environmental factors). Genetic diseases USUALLY express themselves at birth or during growth, just as all other inherited features.

There are the numerous examples of people who had cancer and found a cleansing protocol or a diet which fit their own body in such a way that they managed to cure themselves, without any medical treatment. Nutritional therapy is far superior than conventional medical procedure of burning cutting and toxifying. Maybe in the case of a tumor surgery is a good idea but radiation or chemotherapy should not be decided on easily.
The problem is many people are not willing to experiment or go to extremes such as trying all sorts of juices/cleanses.. They keep living the same life as before they got the disease, eating the same foods, living in the same environment...

Think about the studies done in the lab where researchers give rats or other animals a few milligrams of a certain substance, such as a pesticide, and see a significant number of them developing tumors. The banned pesticide DDT is an example. Just because the same experiments aren't done on humans doesn't mean that the same knowledge doesn't apply to us. Very small quantities of toxic substances can be very harmful. Diet is a huge factor in protecting against cancer and other illnesses. Just switching from conventional produce to organic produce would be a plus for many especially those eating lots of fruits and veggies (which are often contaminated w/ pesticides).

If a person suddenly switched to a diet high where the majority of calories come from white bread, he or she would probably develop diabetes with time. Diabetes as a condition raises the risk for several cancers by a lot. If the person kept eating that way without treatment, several other illnesses would probably arise. Another proof that diet is very correlated to cancer and other diseases.
« Last Edit: January 08, 2009, 04:33:45 am by Seeker »

Offline TylerDurden

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #336 on: January 08, 2009, 08:16:01 pm »
Re above post:- One thing that certainly influences a person's diet is one's parents' diets(even the father's), even before one is born. For example, the children of alcoholic fathers can often develop health-problems/congenital problems as a result, Conversely, a Raw Vegan might well thrive for a bit longer than other Raw Vegans simply because his/her parents led a much healthier life, diet/exercise-wise than the parents of those other Raw Vegans. 
"During the last campaign I knew what was happening. You know, they mocked me for my foreign policy and they laughed at my monetary policy. No more. No more.
" Ron Paul.

Offline lex_rooker

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #337 on: January 10, 2009, 07:32:00 am »
JaX,
Glad you found the posting useful.  I don't believe in metabolic typing at all.  I do believe that we all fundamentally need the same nutrients.  Aside from that, I also believe that each of us has a different tollerance for the newer, less optimal foods based on the geographical region our ancestors came from.  As an example, dairy may not be an optimal food, however, Northern Europeans who would have added these foods to their diets as their primary food of meat became more scarse, would tollerate dairy much better than say an Asian who added rice as their supplemental food.

The idea here is that natural selection would have selected out those who did poorly on the regional supplemental foods and encouraged the survival of those tollerated the new foods better.  Since each geographical region had to choose a different supplemental food that was appropriate to the region, we see the different tollerances for different foods (wheat, rice, dairy, eggs, etc) based on race or geography. 

That said, I do not believe that our basic DNA has changed enough to make these newer foods "better" for any of these groups than the original foods we evolved on over millions of years as these new foods are very recent additons to our diets.

My experience is that those who seem to be doing well on a vegan diet are in most cases rather young.  I did very well on an all vegan diet in my 20s and early 30s and during that time the smell of cooking meat made me neausous.  At the time I would have insisted that vegan was the way to go.  Unfortunately, as I got older, my teeth crumbled, my bones became weak, I had severe headaches, my fasting blood sugar rose, my blood pressure rose, triglycerides went off the charts, and my joints began to hurt.  It took courage for me to move away from the vegan diet as I'd had so many years where I was convinced that it was the true way.

I also have a neighbor who is from the area in India that is all vegetarian.  He is in his 70s and is in terrible shape as is his wife.  I really don't expect him to live much longer but his culture is such that there is no way he would be willing to change.

As for diet's effect on diseases:  I do believe that diet plays a major protective role in many diseases including cancer, but has little effect other than supporting a strong immune system when it comes to bacterial infections and viruses.  Most wild animals eat their natural diet and yet are often wiped out be viral plagues.

The degnerative diseases like diabetes, arthritis, Crohn's disease, lupus, heart disease, cancer, and etc., I firmly believe that diet will protect you from getting these diseases for the most part, but once you have them, a change to a better diet my suppress the symptoms but you will not be cured.  In otherwords, today's "healthy" person can eat cake, cookies, sodas, and other concentrated simple carbohydrates with wild abandon and not suffer measurable consequenses in medical terms.  If you have continued this practice until you destroy the insulin producing cells in your pancreas, then a diet of zero or very low carbs may allow you to lead a "normal" life without medication, however you are not "cured" as you can never again eat large amounts of simple carbs without paying immediate consequences and even possible death.

Cancer is special case.  In most cases agressive cancer cells can't efficiently metabolize fatty acids or ketones and must rely on blood glucose to survive and multiply.  Keeping blood glucose low by eating a paleo type diet will create an environment that discourages the formation of cancer cells but will not entirely eliminate them.  Our immune system should do the rest assuming that we don't overwhelm it. This indicates to me that diet can play a prevenative role but DNA is funny stuff and an occasional "enemy" cell will breach the castle walls.  This can happen as a random mutation when cells divide and it's just part of being a living carbon based life form.  Fortunately these are rather rare but can and do occur.

Eating a high carb diet on the other hand, will create an environment of constant high blood glucose which is conducive to the formation and growth of cancer cells.  As we age and our systems weaken, our immune systems can be overwhelmed by the number of cancer cells being created and the chances become much greater that the disease will take hold and flourish. 

Most agressive cancer cells do require blood glucose to survive, but so do other cells in our bodies.  This creates the issue such that even though a low carb diet would probably have prevented the formation of the cancer to begin with, once you have it, diet alone will probably not cure it.  This is because other cells in the body require glucose so the body must continue to make it.  The cancer cells will pull some out but the body will just make more to assure that there is enough for the systems in the body that need it.  Over all glucose will be lowered and maybe the growth of the cancer will be slowed, but the change in diet has not taken away any vital nutrient that the cancer cells need and nothing toxic to cancer cells has been added.  Therefore, diet alone will probably not cure cancer.

There are cancer remissions for a variety of reasons - most of them not well understood.  I suppose that if you had an otherwise very strong immune system and you dropped blood glucose by changing your diet, then it's possible that the immune system would then be able to handle the cancer - especially if it is small and localized.  Unfortuantely, this is the exception and not the rule but it does happen.

Lex

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #338 on: January 21, 2009, 07:17:32 am »
lex,

thanks for your response. Again, I agree with you.. on most points! lol. It's true: Just because some populations have mutated a gene that causes them to produce the lactase enzyme into adulthood, doesn't mean their body has the ability to fully digest and utilize milk. Other populations might have had grains in their diet for more generations, thus being able to digest it better, but not meaning that their pancreas can handle it if grains fill most of the diet.

Genetic changes to be able to digest completely new foods take much more than 10,000 years to evolve/mutate.

But just as some people are SLIGHTLY better at digesting grains because of many of their ancestors ate them, other people, such as those living in the tropics, might favorably handle more fruits (carbs) in their diet, than people living in other climates (they might actually NEED more carbs). I still maintain that belief.

Why does the length of the intestines differ between people and it isn't always related to weight/height?... Eskimos have evolved shorter stature to conserve heat better.. Africans are taller and slimmer, by genetics, to be able to get rid of excess heat... I think the length (and shape) of the digestive system has, in the same manner, evolved according to the factors/foods in different climates.. (Though as I said in my previous post there is a limit to this, since I don't think anyone is adapted to the extent that they can get all of their calories from sweet fruit).

Otherwise lex I'm with you on the other things you mention.. AND I'm extremely happy and grateful that you are a rare pioneer in this "field" of health who has taken the time and energy to test/experiment/research, and, most importantly, report to those who are searching for solutions, in all honesty, what your results are. Please keep researching/testing and keep us posted! Keep the world informed!

Not many people have the guts or motivation to take blood glucose tests or other measurements of health to see how their diet is going and then to post it all online for the world to see. I'm really happy with everything you have reported, and it's really great that you talk about both the positive and the negative of whatever you have tried (or are trying). Have you thought about making a website where you gather all the information, your knowledge and wisdom, and give advice to newbies? Not that writing on this forum isn't enough, but if you gathered a lot of the information on a site where you list it in a more organized way, maybe more people would find it and read through it... Either way, as long as you keep us updated here it's all good.

You say that you were a vegan for 10-20-? years? I'd actually like to hear more about your experience with vegetarianism. How was your health as a raw vegan and how did it change when you switched to raw paleo? Did you change your diet all at once? What was your diet like as a vegan? Did you actually do well on the vegan diet for 10+ years (no health issues)? anything healthwise you find positive about vegetariansim?

I don't think I could ever last so long on a vegetarian diet.. I tried for a couple of months eating mostly vegetables/fruits and very little fish and eggs and I did horribly..


Offline lex_rooker

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #339 on: January 23, 2009, 01:19:20 am »
JaX,
I've described much of what I've been through in my posts in this and other forums.  Rather than rehash everything again I refer you to my short bio that Satya posted here:

http://www.rawpaleodiet.com/lex-rooker/

In addition to what is stated there, I was on the vegan diet for so long that I've had just about every negative effect there is: Failure To Thrive syndrome, loss of enamel on teeth, large mood swings, almost total loss of sex drive, no joy in living, constant hunger, perpetual colds and flu, insomnia, constant runny/watery stools, feeling cold all the time, constant debilitating migraine headaches that would send me into a dark room with a heating pad over my face wishing I would just die and get it overwith 4 to 5 times per month, and on and on.

But I stuck with it because the gurus said that the vegetarian and/or fruitarian diet was the "Pure and Prefect Diet" for humans.  All my problems were attributed to "detox".   If you believe in detox then I was in a perpetual state of detox for almost 20 years.  I even did a 31 day water fast to try to clear out those horrible toxins once and for all.  I went from 180 lbs to 90 lbs and almost died.  It took me over 2 years to recover and who knows what permanent damage was done. To this day I still have an irregular EKG from this experience.

Lest you think that I just didn't do the vegan thing correctly I assure you that I studied every thing I could get my hands on to make sure I was doing the "right" thing.  Diet for a Small Planet by Lappe was one of my holy texts on combining various vegetable protein sources to assure I had "complete" proteins.  I sprouted grains, beans, and peas, and ate them raw.  I grew wheat grass by the bushel and drank a quart of green juices per day.  I studied all the texts on food combining to assure that I ate compatible foods at each meal.  In short, my whole life revolved around food.  I doubt that there was even one minute during the day that I wasn't thinking about food.  I was always hungry no matter how much I ate - and I was eating all the time.  I was also constantly cold and had to wear a sweater even when the temperature was in the 80s.

I finally gave up the vegan lifestyle and started following Pritikin which allowed about 1/4 lb of meat at 2 meals per day.  This probably saved my life.  Many of my symptoms were relieved and I started to feel better.  Around 1999 or 2000 I ran across Neanderthin by Ray Audette and the rest is history.  I found a webset call "Beyond Veg" (  http://www.beyondveg.com/  ) and after reading a rather long interview with Ward Nicholson, realized that I had really done a number on myself.  You can find that interview here:

http://www.beyondveg.com/nicholson-w/hb/hb-interview1a.shtml

I then found Geoff Purcell's Yahoo group,  The Magic Bus, and several others.  What I read on these sites gave me courage to completely reverse direction and here I am today.

Hope this helps.  If there is something specific you'd like to know just ask.

Lex

JaX

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #340 on: January 23, 2009, 07:24:08 pm »
It looks like you have really tried it all.

The things you mentioned that you tried (wheat grass, sprouts, vegetable juices), do you find they have any place in a raw paleo diet? in combination with a mostly-meat diet, can they be helpful at providing health/energy?

Offline Daryl

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #341 on: January 23, 2009, 09:49:34 pm »
Hmm, got a lot of reading to do to catch up here! Hope all is well, Lex  :)

JaX

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #342 on: January 23, 2009, 10:29:17 pm »
Oh I also wanted to ask you do you feel any differences in psychology/mood when zero carb? And if you ever go off-diet and have some carbs, how does it impact you?

I'm really wondering how zero carbers do if they eat some fruit or sweet juice or a potato on an occasion. I read somewhere in one of your posts that you sometimes have a little fruit when eating with your family. can it be digested easily or does it give you digestive complications after having been zc for so long? other problems if you have carbs? Do you think you'd be able to digest grain if you had some?

I'm considering going zc but I don't want to end up not being able to eat carbs at some occasions... And I don't want my pancreas to be stressed out or my BG to spike like crazy if I have some carbs ocasionally..

How long time on ZC do you think it takes until the pancreas "shuts down" and you have to build your carb tolerance back up? Would eating some carbs once or twice a week keep the insulin production of the pancreas "ready" and some carb digesting bacteria in the colon?

Offline lex_rooker

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #343 on: January 23, 2009, 11:40:49 pm »
The things you mentioned that you tried (wheat grass, sprouts, vegetable juices), do you find they have any place in a raw paleo diet? in combination with a mostly-meat diet, can they be helpful at providing health/energy?

On the contrary, I found that green juices caused bloating, light headedness (probably from the large amounts of monsacaraides), and very loose and smelly bowel movements.  I will never go back to these again.  Wana buy a juicer? ;D 

Oh I also wanted to ask you do you feel any differences in psychology/mood when zero carb?

My mood used to swing wildly from high euphoria to depressive lows - rather a roller coaster - often several times within one day.  Since going VLC and ZC I no longer have the huge peaks and valleys and my mood is consistently upbeat with a zest for life.  I really look forward to getting up in the morning and hitting the day running.

And if you ever go off-diet and have some carbs, how does it impact you?

I seldom eat carbs as once I start I don't want to stop.  As an example I might decide to eat an orange but then end up eating 4 or 5 of them, and that's after I've eaten all I can hold of my normal raw meat.  I also find that eating any significant amount of carbs causes a large and quick gain in weight.  My guess is that this would be normal in our natural environment as fruits would be available in the late summer - early fall and the weight gain from eating  them and satifying our sweet tooth would set us up for the winter ahead.  Of course the problem in modern life is that sweets are available to us year around.

I'm really wondering how zero carbers do if they eat some fruit or sweet juice or a potato on an occasion. I read somewhere in one of your posts that you sometimes have a little fruit when eating with your family. can it be digested easily or does it give you digestive complications after having been zc for so long? other problems if you have carbs? Do you think you'd be able to digest grain if you had some?

I've had no problems with eating carbs with the exception of the addictive quality of them and over eating them once started and then the associated weight gain.  Because of this I just stay away from carbs except for 2 or 3 major family gatherings per year (Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc). Even then I only eat fruits and stay completely away from the cakes, cookies, pies, potatoes, breads and the like as I believe that these are not our natural foods.

I'm considering going zc but I don't want to end up not being able to eat carbs at some occasions... And I don't want my pancreas to be stressed out or my BG to spike like crazy if I have some carbs ocasionally..

Sorry to dissapoint you but even if you are not ZC you are stressing out your pancreas and your BG is spiking like crazy.  Why do you think type 2 diabetes is such a problem these days.  We are stressing our pancreas at every meal we eat day in and day out all year long.

How long time on ZC do you think it takes until the pancreas "shuts down" and you have to build your carb tolerance back up? Would eating some carbs once or twice a week keep the insulin production of the pancreas "ready" and some carb digesting bacteria in the colon?

I don't think the pancreas ever "shuts down" and what you call "carb tolerance" is really insulin resistance which is a bad thing.  Not sure why you would want this.  As I mentioned above, I believe we were designed to crave carbs when they were available and our bodies naturally put on weight to prepare us for the lean times.  The problem today is that there are no lean times and carbs have become the foundation of our diet rather than a late season treat that is cut short when winter arrives.

Intestinal bacteria adjust rather quickly.  You may experience a bit of bloating, gas, etc if you only eat one carb loaded meal, but if you persist eating any significant carbs the bacteria in your gut will accomodate within 2 or 3 days.

I feel great living an nearly ZC lifestyle and I never again want to go back to the health problems and misery I suffered for so many years following SAD and/or the Vegan life style.

Lex


Offline Elli

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #344 on: February 01, 2009, 11:09:59 pm »

Good to hear back from you and that you're your pleasant self as usual :)

Are you back to the usual ratio or still trying out 80:20? I guess it's different
from everybody's physical needs. Just wanted to hear about your amazing
experiment. Keep in touch with the forum, Lex!


Offline lex_rooker

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #345 on: February 02, 2009, 12:23:52 am »
Hi Elli,
Back to my original plan which is around 70% calories as fat.  I have found that in the cooler weather of winter (in southern California you can't really call it cold), I naturally seem to want a bit more fat than in the warmer summer months.  Meals vary between 65% and 80% calories as fat with most in the 70% range.

Feel very good and none of the problems I experienced on SAD/Vegan diets has returned.  I expect slow physical degeneration as I get older, but the obvious stuff like high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, and the migraine headaches have completely disappeared.

Zero Carb seems to be working very well for me so I'll continue eating just meat and fat until some problem shows up, or it can be demonstrated that a different approach is better.   My current diet is pretty simple:  I eat when I'm hungry, I then eat meat and fat until I'm satisfied, I drink when I'm thirsty, and then I drink only water - that's it.  It doesn't get much simpler than that.

Lex

Offline Elli

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #346 on: February 02, 2009, 06:40:03 am »


Good to hear that. I don't really think it's the ratio that matters. 20% of 1000 kcal diet and 4000 kcal diet is tremendously different in terms of grams of protein although they're both 20%. It's the absolute value that matters more, I suppose. And it's probably that on average people found that 80:20 ratio is what happened to be working nicely for them.

As long as you feel great (and your test values validate so), whatever you are doing seems to be very best for you. I've always enjoyed discussing with you since you don't get overly emotional about things nor put your ideas before the facts. I tend to over analyze things and my desire to understand everything has done more harm than good in terms of my health, unfortunately. I'm hoping that it will eventually improve and you're a wonderful inspiration for sure. Have a good day :)

Offline lex_rooker

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #347 on: February 02, 2009, 01:06:00 pm »
I tend to over analyze things and my desire to understand everything has done more harm than good in terms of my health, unfortunately.

Glad to hear that I'm not the only one.  It was all that analysis and following the gurus that led me down the vegan path and got me into real trouble in the first place.  Now I'm more inclined to let my body tell me when things are working, and pay attention when by body tells me they are not.  My tests and research are more geared to testing the theories and trying to understand WHY things are working (or not) rather than blindly following someone else's theories and taking their word as gospel.  It is amazing how willing I was to turn over responsibility for my health to someone else (guru or doctor), and follow their advise (for 20 years no less!) even though it clearly wasn't working.  Oh well, live and learn.....

All my best to you,

Lex

Offline DameonWolf

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #348 on: February 03, 2009, 12:32:42 pm »
Hey Lex, I'm aware you've posted tons of tests you've gotten on your self. Have you gotten a nutrient test done too see how all your levels are?

Offline lex_rooker

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Re: Lex's Journal
« Reply #349 on: February 04, 2009, 12:12:04 am »
Hi Dameon,
I'm not sure what a "nutrient test" is.  I have posted my annual blood tests which show some mineral levels and they are right in the middle of the preferred range.  Could you expand on the nutrient test you're talking about and where I would get this done?  My doctor has never mentioned anything like this.

Thanks,
Lex

 

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