Back on The Keto Bandwagon For Life

[AlohaBird]

I have nibbled a few pages of the book Grain Brain by Dr. David Perlmutter from the Amazon preview and even recommended it but today I finally sat down and finished reading it cover to cover. Wow. That book should be required reading for anyone dealing with a neurological condition, IMO.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Grain-Brain-Surprising-Sugar--Your-Killers-ebook/dp/B00BAXFCPO/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1431407183&sr=1-2&keywords=permutter"]Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth about Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar--Your Brain's Silent Killers - Kindle edition by David Perlmutter, Kristin Loberg. Health, Fitness & Dieting Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51KxsObdCrL.@@AMEPARAM@@51KxsObdCrL[/ame]

Dr. Perlmutter has the rather unique distinction of being both a practicing neurologist and a certified nutritionist. His book is very well researched and he makes his case very persuasively.

I have eaten a paleo diet since 2009 so much of what he is saying is not new to me. Gluten grains have already been banished from my world and I don't even miss them. I got rid of all the processed junk long ago too and learned how to read food labels for sneaky sugars and "natural flavorings" that are really MSG.

What I am getting back on the wagon about is staying in ketosis. Really getting at least 80% of my calories from fat. I know it is do-able and not even hard. Added side bonus, it makes it really easy to lose weight because you are not hungry all the time.

A recent trip back to where I grew up in California for the wedding of a close friend made me realize just how crappy I can feel with some minor "indulgences" like some wine, desserts, too much restaurant food, etc. Two weeks in "vacation mode" where everything is a special occasion and I was tired, digestively in knots, muscle pains everywhere, and had massively puffy ankles, a sure sign that things are not flowing right in the old bod.

Dr. Perlmutter makes the case that the gut is our second brain and that we ignore what is going on down there at the peril of the health of the brain in the skull.

My Hawaiian healer completely agrees with my new choices and he said that the ancient Polynesian people referred to the pelvis as the "second skull". Ancient wisdom meets cutting edge scientific research and they agree.

On a couple of other threads things have gotten sidetracked by terminology confusion. When most people think of THE ketogenic diet they think of the massive quantities of bacon, cream, and mayo diet that has helped many children with refractive E. IMO, the greatest flaw in that plan is its heavy reliance on milk products. I don't do cow dairy at all (occasional treat of some goat cheese). I am convinced by the evidence presented by Dr. Symes on the G.A.R.D. protocol that the glutamate in cow dairy is unhealthy. So I am talking about doing A ketogenic diet but not THE ketogenic diet.

Mine will involve lots of coconut products.
As an example of my keto diet, today for breakfast I had a 17.5 oz can of coconut water with about 3oz each of lemon juice and noni juice (a fermented non-sweet fruit that grows here in Hawaii) I washed down my supplements with that, some fish oil capsules and some moringa capsules. Moringa is another wonderful local plant that has a broad spectrum of vitamins, minerals and amino acids. I had a teaspoon of coconut oil with that and I wasn't hungry at all all day until 5pm.
Then I had a tomato, red onion, and olive salad liberally doused with macadamia nut oil and turmeric and a can of sardines packed in olive oil.

It's 7:45 pm and I am not in the least bit hungry or feeling the evening "munchies" which are generally my downfall.

So, we will see how this goes.

 

[cawhitern]

This has been my goal for the past several months but it really is hard to do sometimes when I have a husband who loves his breads and desserts. I love coconut milk and coconut oil, and I use them daily. I try to fix foods for my hubby that he likes and foods for me that follow the keto diet. But I sure do miss ice cream!
I will get Dr.Perlmutter's book. Thanks for the info!

 

[Dignan]

I haven't read the book, but I was thinking about different diets in general, did some brief lookups and found this article from The Atlantic.

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/12/this-is-your-brain-on-gluten/282550/#disqus_thread

The article takes a more skeptical point of view, and while I don't know enough about any of these diets to express a point of view on which may be more valid, I did think it was an interesting read and provided some links to other articles on diet as well. One was from Dr. David Katz. Also the article was on diet claims in general and not specific to what may be helpful for those with E.

My initial impression is that, like medications, individuals may react differently to different diets, so finding what works for you may require trial and error and a blending of philosophies.

Any thoughts on this from those out there who actually research this and have partaken in any of the various diets?

 

[AlohaBird]

This has been my goal for the past several months but it really is hard to do sometimes when I have a husband who loves his breads and desserts. I love coconut milk and coconut oil, and I use them daily. I try to fix foods for my hubby that he likes and foods for me that follow the keto diet. But I sure do miss ice cream!
I will get Dr.Perlmutter's book. Thanks for the info!

Try googling recipes for almond and coconut flour based baked goods. Those might be able to win him over.

I haven't read the book, but I was thinking about different diets in general, did some brief lookups and found this article from The Atlantic.

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/12/this-is-your-brain-on-gluten/282550/#disqus_thread

The article takes a more skeptical point of view, and while I don't know enough about any of these diets to express a point of view on which may be more valid, I did think it was an interesting read and provided some links to other articles on diet as well. One was from Dr. David Katz. Also the article was on diet claims in general and not specific to what may be helpful for those with E.

My initial impression is that, like medications, individuals may react differently to different diets, so finding what works for you may require trial and error and a blending of philosophies.

Any thoughts on this from those out there who actually research this and have partaken in any of the various diets?

Hate to say it dignan but that article is utter hogwash. I really do wish people would stop pointing to various modern day "hunter gatherer" tribes and saying, "See they eat carbs and they are remarkably lean and fit so carbs must be good for you." I don't have first hand knowledge of all the groups he cites but I have actually visited the Hadza people in Tanzania. They are not remarkably lean and fit because they eat carbs. They are lean and fit because they barely scrounge out enough calories to survive and they have to walk for many miles daily just to get water. And yes they eat honey but they put up the hollow logs as bee hives deliberately so they are not getting "wild" honey, they are farming it which makes that part of their diet not paleolithic at all. Given that they are on the margins of starvation most of the time, they are probably also in ketosis most of the time too.

 

[Dignan]

Like I said, I don't know alot about the various diets, so I'm not advocating any particular article or group mentioned therein. Its just confusing with all the contradictory info out there.

 

[AlohaBird]

Dr. Perlmutter's case against gluten is that a gluten sensitivity does not have to involve painful gastro-intestinal symptoms. Different people manifest gluten intolerance in different ways. You don't have to have Celiac disease to be gluten intolerant. Systemic inflammation manifests in one person as auto-immune reaction such as rashes, in another as GI problems and in people like ourselves, as seizures.

It's also a matter of scientific fact shown in the fossil record that degenerative diseases such as osteoporosis, diabetes, heart disease only began to emerge in humans when we started introducing grain into our diet by farming. Not to mention what happened to our teeth. Google the Weston A. Price Foundation's website for some very interesting work on dental health.

 

[AlohaBird]

Like I said, I don't know alot about the various diets, so I'm not advocating any particular article or group mentioned therein. Its just confusing with all the contradictory info out there.

Yes, it is confusing and often contradictory. But, as the saying goes, follow the money. Who is funding the research that says healthywholegrains are so good for you? General Mills, purveyors of breakfast cereals.

There has never been a study showing that whole grains were actually good for you. Only that they were better for you than Wonder Bread and Twinkies which is a big "duh".

Grains have very little to offer nutritionally. They have to be "fortified" with vitamins so people don't get rickets and beri beri. Also grains, as they grow, are toxic unless we process them heavily, milling, soaking, fermenting, baking, etc. If you have to do that much work just to make something not immediately toxic, that should be a clue that it might not be good for you.

The only thing whole grains do offer nutritionally is fiber but you can get all of that from veggies or salads.

 

[AlohaBird]

In case anyone cares......

I've been at this for three days and I've lost three pounds. And I'm not hungry.

LemonNoniCocoAid with supplements for breakfast. A spoonful of coconut oil for lunch. Dinner that is a lump of protein with a side of veggies. Ahi poke, egg/veggie scramble, tonight I had salmon salad.

If I feel peckish at night I could have a handful of nuts but I haven't even felt the desire.

Did I mention I've lost three pounds?

 

[masterjen]

Just curious: do you work out at all? And if so are you working out (weight training, running/cycling) while on this diet?

 

[AlohaBird]

My two main exercises are walking and swimming. My dog and I do a 4 mile walk (with a pretty good hill involved) about 4 times a week. Other days we go to the beach and go body surfing depending on the surf conditions.
Now and then I bang out a set of incline pushups against the kitchen counter just to keep the old arms from getting flabby.

But right now the only variable that I am changing is the diet. The exercise is remaining constant so it is not the cause of the weight loss.

 

[AlohaBird]

Well another day, another pound lost. That makes four.

Tonight I had locally hunted venison for dinner cooked in gobs of ghee, garlic and turmeric.
I'm thinking about some bananas for dessert but I'm so stuffed I may not get to them. Ketosis really turns off the hunger alarm.

Dr. Perlmutter makes a good case for adding turmeric to your diet for brain health even if you are not willing to go for the keto.

 

[Bidwell]

I am reading Perlmutter who has taught me plenty so far in only 100 pages. It is a lot of information that is so sensibly presented it that I can't ignore it. I like his voice. Thanks, AlohaBird! I also tried coconut water!

 

[AlohaBird]

On my Kindle reading list next is his new book, Brain Maker which evidently focuses on the gut-brain connection.

Yes, he does write well. It's accessible but not "dumbed down" at all. And he is not just making assertions. He backs it up with published peer reviewed hard scientific evidence.

I really think it's time for all the people who dismissed "the gluten thing" and low carb eating as passing fads to take another look.

 

[Bidwell]

Yes. He strikes a good balance between enthusiasm for his subject and urgency and relatively even handed reporting of the astonishing difficulties of keeping scientific data scientific when big bucks are at issue. And with all that, he is telling ME what I need to know!That is saying some. I am sliding into putting it all into practice. Did I say that I bought some cans of coconut water?

 

[AlohaBird]

All things coconut will do you a lot of good. 'Nother great reason to move to Hawaii. Coconut products are cheap. The coconuts just fall off the trees and roll down the gutters here a lot of the time.

Something else I admire about Dr. Perlmutter's writing. He shows how financial interests such as pharma companies and grain lobbies can and do influence public policy without going overboard into tin foil hat "everything is a government conspiracy" nuttiness.

On his website he takes a very mid-road stance on the always controversial vaccination debate by saying that, while he believes the benefits outweigh the risks for getting vaccinated, he doesn't think children should be given all their vaccines all at once. It is too much for the developing immune system to process. I think that's reasonable.

 

[Bidwell]

Oh. I absolutely agree with you that he is remarkably even handed and that remark about vaccinations is so good, so doctorly, so simple in the face of all the different interests represented in the audience. He could [but does not] go down all kinds of roads where I could not follow so I figure he is having tactical discussions with someone or someones. I would very much like to be a fly on the wall to hear them. On the other hand, maybe he is not having any tactical discussions. Maybe he is just trying to be a good doctor. I am so glad you turned me onto him!

 

[AlohaBird]

I'm glad you are enjoying it and getting something from it.

It might get boring but, so far, five days and five pounds gone.

 

[AlohaBird]

Six days and six pounds gone.

I'm having a salad while my t-bone steak broils. It's really terrible the things you have to give up to go keto Such suffering and hardship.

 

[AlohaBird]

I forgot to weigh myself today as I was on my way out to see my Hawaiian healer. When I walked in the first thing he said was,
"There's something different about you."

He said he could feel that my body was letting go of a whole lot of excess fluids.

Before someone says it, yes, I understand that when you lose six pound in six days, it is mostly "water weight" and it can't go on at that pace forever.

But even if it is water weight, so what? If you knew that you were carrying around six extra pounds of water wouldn't you want to put it down? That's the equivalent of carrying around three quart jars of liquid all day. That would get tiring.

Tonight I had parrot fish for dinner, a first for me. A grateful client of my healer arrived when I was there and gave him four fish so he gave me two. Lots of little bitty bones but quite tasty baked with a bunch of ghee and garlic. Fish that just came out of the ocean and makes it to your table the same day has a special flavor.

 

[Bidwell]

And is so nice that someone else is noticing that you put down those six pounds! Is this reduction showing up in changes in the nocturnal events?