Whew! I finally made it through this whole thread! :)
(and used the dancing banana emoticon for the first time)
The SOTT articles convinced me almost a year and a half ago to go wheat free, though I was unaware until more recently (maybe going through this thread) that there were some additional gluten sources that I wasn't aware of. I'm not sure if I inadvertently consumed some and I definitely contacted some on my hand maybe 8 months ago, but I'm pretty sure that I've made it about 6 months without any gluten including hidden sources (but definitely not 100% sure). I don't have sufficient control over my environment currently to outright ban it, though I would like to. I was also unaware of similar proteins in other grains and was not grain free until around a year ago (grain free except buckwheat, though I haven't eaten that in a while either).
However I hadn't completed all the reading and was making some mistakes like not effectively isolating foods to determine my reactivity and initially eating
way too much protein. I'm not specifically measuring, but trying to keep protein below 35g/meal. I finally read Life Without Bread, Primal Body Primal Mind, and Deep Nutrition and cut my protein intake way down about three weeks ago now and increased my fat. I'm not sure if I'm in ketosis yet and I've been having some digestive issues that suggest that my liver may not be functioning optimally (HCL and milk thistle are on their way). I've tried taking HCL (with stearates--not sure how much that effects it and have ordered one without) in attempting to determine if I have low stomach acidity (blood type A+, though I'm not sure there's any truth to the blood types theory) and haven't experienced any effects from doing so, up to taking 8 capsules (648mg each) at once. So it's possible I'm very low on stomach acidity, but I don't want to conduct further tests until I get the better stuff. I don't think my liver is as yet functioning optimally--I've tried some vitamin E (it's Solgar mixed tocopherols in safflower oil, but I'm sure it's soy derived--are others taking vitamin E anymore and, if so, what brands?) and vitamin C (though the vitamin C also has stearates--I've got some ascorbic acid powder with bioflavonoids coming), though I just tried the two together today so I'll see what the effects are. I've also tried ox bile (again with the stearates) and it didn't seem to have much effect (maybe 500mg at a meal?).
I've been supplementing with magnesium citrate powder (pure)--probably around 500-900mg/day. I saw that Psyche said it's alkalizing and to consume it away from meals (and I've been concerned in case my stomach acid is low, though no reflux for a little while), though SeekinTruth seemed to think that it was best metabolized when taken with fat and takes it with meals. I'd be interested in any follow up comments if others had them on that topic. Generally I've been taking the Mag powder before breakfast in the morning and before bed at night.
I've been eating mainly pastured pork and grass fed beef with lard, ghee, and beef fat. Occasionally I eat some liver (had kidney once, too) and broths, too. I think I might have had a reaction to a fried egg a couple of weeks ago and have been eating some hard boiled egg yolks (took a long break from them before reintroducing) recently. I think hard boiled egg yolks might be ok, but I want to get my liver functioning well and have a break from them and reintroduce (since I'm now out, this will be the beginning of that break). The pork I've been eating is pastured, but supplemented with grains (and I'm not sure which ones...); are other people eating pork supplemented with grains? At least in america, it seems pretty hard to find pork that hasn't been fed grains (I'd love to try some of that Mansalitsa bacon :) ). I've also recently introduced butter as an experiment. I certainly enjoy eating it (especially the texture--I usually just eat it solo, cold, in little slabs) and it's organic and pastured (unclear in specifying whether it's fed grains and in what quantities, but it's the highest quality butter the local coop appears to have) and I haven't noticed any negative effects from it, but as my system currently isn't optimal without a clear indication of why it's still on the suspect list.
I've also been, at times, eating smoked canned herring fish (I think it's herring) that have been harvested in Maine that are quite tasty and pretty cheap. Each can has 35g of protein, though. Do others think Maine is a reasonably safe source for fish?
I don't get much exercise currently (and way too much sitting), though I'm planning to change that fairly soon, and I've been wondering if that's the source of my digestive issues. I also smoke organic tobacco--about 3-5 cigs a day (though usually in a pipe)--and have noticed that this will calm my digestion at times when it's irritated (and occasionally make me feel nauseous).
I'm also pretty sure that I still have candida. I have eye floaters (though I've read these can also potentially be from lyme disease or benign), I sneeze occasionally when I smoke tobacco, and have dandruff and facial eczema. I'm hoping that once I get my digestion sorted out, hit ketosis, and keep up with the tobacco and EE that it'll sort itself out (if it really is still there). I've also got some boswellia coming and I read that that also has anti candida properties, so perhaps that'll be a good boost along with it's anti-inflammatory properties and gut support.
Does The Vegetarian Myth provide any notably important information that isn't already supplied by LWoB, PBPM, or Deep Nutrition? I have it and plan on reading it, I'm just not sure if there are still dietary issues that I don't understand without reading it or whether it'll be more for fun at this point with the rest of the reading already done.
So that's where I'm at! Definitely not where I want to be, but at least dramatically more knowledgeable than when I started. My energy levels are decent and my thinking is doing pretty well--I think both could be better.
Thanks to everyone for all your posts, research, and contributions!! And thanks for any reflections or suggestions to this post :)