"Life Without Bread"

So I thought there has to be a recipe for this and sure enough...

Calcium Made From Eggshells

© Copyright Bee Wilder

Revised February 14, 2011 to clarify the amount of calcium in eggshells, and to include more information on taking calcium and magnesium.

Eggshell Nutrients

Eggshell calcium presents healthy, balanced calcium due to trace amounts of other minerals contained in it. Eggshell calcium is probably the best natural source of calcium, and it is easier for your body to digest and absorb.

Dutch researchers have reported recently a highly positive effect of eggshell calcium (with added magnesium and vitamin D) on bone mineral density in a scientific study (double blind, placebo-controlled). Laboratory test and measures of bone density were carefully made in these studies. The eggshell supplemented group had measurable increases in bone density in their hip bones, after one year.

The ideal bone-building combination of eggshell calcium and vitamin D3 was also well documented in Japanese studies. Researchers at the Japan Women's University, Yokyo studied a combination of vitamin D3 and eggshell powder in animals with osteoporosis. Not only was the eggshell powder with vitamin D3 able to improve bone mineral density, but it did it without significantly increasing blood calcium levels.

You can use any kind of egg (chicken, goose, duck), but it is best to use organic or certified organic eggs from free-range birds. If the bird does not get proper nutrients the eggshells won't contain the nutrients we need.

How Much to Take?

One whole medium sized eggshell makes about one teaspoon of powder, which yields about 750 – 800 mgs of elemental calcium plus other microelements, i.e. magnesium, boron, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, sulphur, silicon, zinc, etc. There are 27 elements in total. The composition of an eggshell is very similar to that of our bones and teeth.

Elemental Amount: Eggshells contain calcium carbonate, and approximately 40% of it is absorbable. The amount absorbed is called the elemental amount.

People who are intolerant of dairy products require 300 mgs twice a day of calcium, in addition to calcium from other food sources, so you would take a little less than 1/2 teaspoon of the eggshell powder two times a day. Also take 350 mgs of magnesium citrate two times a day at the same time. Calcium and magnesium need to be taken in at least equal amounts, and some people require more magnesium than calcium depending upon how much they obtain from their diet. Do not take more than 500 mgs of calcium at one time because your body is not able to absorb more than that at one time.

However, people who are tolerant of dairy products and/or obtain other high sources of calcium in daily, i.e. sardines or mineral-rich bone broths, may only need to take 300 mg once a day, but they often require more magnesium, so they should start by taking 400 mg of magnesium once a day as well.

If you get cramps in your feet or lower legs (called a Charlie Horse) first take extra magnesium (about 150 mgs). If that doesn't alleviate the cramps within an hour take 150 mgs again.

It is best to take calcium and magnesium with meals to help absorb them. Minerals also require acid in order to be absorbed, so taking them with vitamin C is important.

Don't forget that vitamin D is very important for absorbing minerals, along with vitamin A and Omega 3 fatty acid. The best source of these three nutrients is cod liver oil - see Cod Liver Oil Brand with Nutrient Levels.

In addition, all of the trace minerals, including sodium and chloride (salt) are important for mineral absorption and to keep minerals balanced ensure you take 1 to 1.5 teaspoons of ocean sea salt per day (divided into 3 meals per day), which contains over 84 minerals, i.e. Celtic brand available at Selina Naturally, OR a less expensive ocean sea salt like this one Le Paludier – Organic Unrefined Coarse Grey Sea Salt, which is available in many health stores and online.

How to Make Powdered Eggshells:

Wash empty eggshells in warm water until all of the egg white is removed, but do not remove the membrane because it contains important nutrients for the joints.
Lay clean broken pieces out on paper towels and allow them to air dry thoroughly.
Break the eggshells up into small pieces, and grind them to into a fine powder in a food processor, blender, coffee grinder, or a nut mill, or put them in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to grind them. Please note that some blenders will not grind the eggshell into a fine enough powder. A coffee grinder works the best.
Store powdered eggshells in a covered glass jar or container, and keep it in a dry place, like the kitchen cupboard.
How to Take Eggshell Calcium:

There are two ways of taking eggshell calcium:

Option #1: Take the dry powdered eggshell without mixing it with lemon juice. Since it is high in minerals they won't mixed into any liquids because they will sink to the bottom and you'll be digging it out with a spoon. Instead put the correct amount on a dessert spoon, add some warm water and mix it as best you can, and take it from the spoon, followed by swallows of water.

Option #2: Soak the eggshell in lemon juice as instructed below. You can make more than one dose at a time but after soaking it in lemon juice keep it in a tightly covered glass container in the refrigerator so it won't dry out.

Put 1/2 teaspoon of powdered eggshell into a small dish (approximately 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 inches across) – 1/2 teaspoon equals approximately 400 mgs of elemental calcium.
Add the juice of 1/2 a lemon (freshly squeezed), and mix well–it will start to bubble and foam, which is what is supposed to happen.
Leave it at room temperature for 6 hours – the longer you leave it the less gritty it will be, but do not leave it longer than 12 hours since it will dry out too much.
Take it from a spoon, followed by mouthfuls of water to wash it down, and always at mealtime. It is not sour tasting. In fact the taste is quite pleasant.
Also take 400 mgs of magnesium citrate at the same time.
Other Eggshell Calcium Recipes

# 1 Lemon Eggshell:

Place one whole, clean, uncooked egg into a clean, wide-mouth jar and cover it with freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Cover the jar loosely and place it in the refrigerator.
A few times a day, gently agitate the jar – the mixture will bubble.
After 48 hours, when the bubbling stops, carefully remove the egg.
The recipe says to take 1/2 teaspoon of this mixture daily, but with the added lemon 1/2 teaspoon would not equal 400 mgs of calcium, so it is hard to judge how much of the mixture to take in order to get enough calcium.
# 2 Lemon Eggshell:

Fill a wide mouth jar with 3 clean, whole, uncracked eggs.
Cover the eggs with freshly squeezed lemon juice – it important that the lemons are very fresh or this mixture will not work right.
Clove the jar tightly and place it in the refrigerator. You should start to see bubbles forming on the eggshells. That means the eggshells are being dissolved into the lemon juice. The mixture will gradually turn white.
Gently agitate the jar a few minutes about 3 times a day.
As soon as the bubbling stops it is ready to take. It should not take any longer than 36-48 hours. If you leave the mixture longer it will tend to get thick and the eggs will begin to absorb more of the lemon juice, or the eggs may split and leak into the mixture. Occasionally this mixture doesn't work when the lemons are not fresh enough.
Carefully remove the eggs without breaking the membrane, and use them as you would normally, i.e. in your raw egg drink. There will not be any shell left on the egg because it has been totally dissolved into the lemon juice, which is calcium citrate.
Place a tight lid on the mixture that remains after the eggs have been removed, and shake it well.
Take no more than one teaspoon per day initially because it can be very powerful. Start slowly. The amount may be gradually increased over time.
Bee's Note: The amount to take of this mixture is not easy to figure out. One eggshell (size is not stated) yields about 750 – 800 mgs of elemental calcium. Therefore 3 eggs would contain 2,250 – 2,400 mg.
source _http://www.healingnaturallybybee.com/articles/supp2.php

She also reminds us to take equal amounts of magnesium citrate which I thought was a nice detail :)
 
Well, this is just splendid! (And I don't feel so weird anymore ;D) Thanks Gertrudes and Don Genaro for expanding on this. I'll be trying out one of the recipes mentioned in above article.

On another note, I'm again amazed by the body's 'voice': how it is perfectly possible to wake up one's natural instincts again, how the body knows what it needs and we only need to listen, and combine this with proper scientific knowledge. This is fun! :)
 
Don Genaro said:
So I thought there has to be a recipe for this and sure enough...

Calcium Made From Eggshells

© Copyright Bee Wilder

Revised February 14, 2011 to clarify the amount of calcium in eggshells, and to include more information on taking calcium and magnesium.

Eggshell Nutrients

... snip ...

It is best to take calcium and magnesium with meals to help absorb them. Minerals also require acid in order to be absorbed, so taking them with vitamin C is important.

... snip ...

She also reminds us to take equal amounts of magnesium citrate which I thought was a nice detail :)

That was a very interesting article. I will start making calcium egg shell powder with my used egg shells. I use many eggs on Friday I'm having my family over for Boeuf Bearnaise which will give me somewhere between 15 and 20 egg shells :P.

FWIW, when reading the article, I noticed that the author recommended to take magnesium with the calcium at the same time as the meals. Here is a post from Psyche that recommends NOT taking magnesium together with meals:


Psyche said:
mkrnhr said:
Is magnesium carbonate okay?

It is an inorganic salt, like magnesium chloride and sulfate (epsom salts). FWIW, magnesium chelate (malate, citrate, glycinate, orotate, taurate) has a better oral absorption.

Another important thing, you all remember to take your magnesium a couple of hours after eating, or an hour before eating. It alkalinizes your stomach and that is very bad. You all need stomach acidity for proper digestion and food absorption. Type As tend to have lower stomach acidity in general and that is why they are not prone to eat meats.

Another thing that came to mind was something about many people being deficient in magnesium and until the magnesium deficiency was handled it was a waste to take calcium, as the calcium would not be absorbed by the body. I can't find that at the moment, though. However, having been taking magnesium for 10 months I believe that I'm ready to handle some extra calcium :)

If you life in a country where salmonella is a problem it is a good idea to pour boiling water over the outside of the egg as that will kill the salmonella bacteria. No fun to get salmonella along with you calcium.

edit: added comment
 
Laura said:
I think that it is possible that coffee negatively affects only those people who have the genetic variation of energy partitioning that tends to store extra energy rather than burn it. That is, people who are very carb sensitive. I'm not even sure it is the caffeine because tea does not affect me the same way at all. Also, decaffeinated coffee affects me just as negatively as regular. The effect is pretty much the same as drinking a bottle of syrup - I've gone into insulin shock from drinking a cup of coffee.

Coffee and caffeine seem to affect different people in very different ways. I have known people that coffee puts right to sleep. Other people react negatively to even small amounts of caffeine from coffee or any other source. Personally, I am able to use a moderate amount, occasionally, like the drug it is, with no withdrawal symptoms, and I am carbohydrate intolerant but maybe not strongly so. More commonly, other people I have known have become addicted to the caffeine, and experience withdrawal symptoms when they quit, if they ever quit. They tend to drink large quantities of coffee, which I would not personally recommend (it gives me an unpleasant "buzz" if I do that).

The research paper cited earlier suggests that caffeine and carbs may be an especially bad combination for some people. Whether this is an issue in the context of a highly carb-restricted diet would seem to be unknown, but the experiment did not not show a problem when caffeine was consumed while fasting. Fiber Menace, however, warns against consuming coffee on an empty stomach. We have seen that other healthy things such as saturated fat can also present a problem in combination with large amounts of carbohydrates. We have to reevaluate what works and doesn't work on a low-carb diet as opposed to a high-carb one, and maybe even when fasting vs. when consumed with a meal.

Because of the many uncertainties, I wouldn't automatically recommend coffee to anyone, especially not in combination with sweetner. It's too unpredictable. But some people may benefit from it, with care. That's true of everything we do with food, I think.
 
Megan said:
Because of the many uncertainties, I wouldn't automatically recommend coffee to anyone, especially not in combination with sweetner. It's too unpredictable. But some people may benefit from it, with care. That's true of everything we do with food, I think.

I think this is an excellent point. People should detox from coffee for awhile and then test it carefully and even if drinking it, never drink too much.

I really, REALLY, REALLY love coffee and giving it up has been one of the things about recovering my health that I continue to regret having to do.
 
Just a question: Does anyone here experience withdrawal symptoms from sugar/carbohydrate restriction in general? Or especially sweets, sweet desserts?

I didn't had anything but meat, liver, eggs, fish and greens/vegetables for the past 3 weeks. No sugar, no chocolate, no coffee, no sweeteners, no desserts (like cookies), no fruits.

Because all my life I tended to go for delicious sugary food (besides being addicted to cereals and milk) when I was stressed or felt depressed - used it too forget and flee from problems - it is not easy for me to go that way.

My hunger becomes less and less... The reward factor of this food is so low (especially because I am new to cooking, so my recipes are not that diversified) that today and yesterday one single meal each day was more than enough for me.

I remember Lutz writes that he experienced exactly this with underweight or slim people, where the only motivation to eat on a high carb diet is due to hyperinsulinism and it's following carb cravings (hypoglycemia). Of course, there is more to that (opioids, serotonin and dopamin boost, social norms and shaping) but it is one major factor contributing to carb addiction.

It is relieving to not feel hunger anymore but indeed I can confirm what he writes, that underweight people lose their hunger and begin to be disgusted by meat. This is especially hard for me because I don't eat any dairy products, processed food (sausages for example) or more than 20 gram carbs which would vary the diet. Besidese sugar/carb cravings I notice cravings for dairy, even butter never satisfyies me and let me crave more. Either it is a fat deficiency (not likely, given the high fat content of the diet) or an addiction to milk proteins. I believe it's the latter, but, oh my god, what relief would it be to add dairy products. I think I could go on eating 1000 or 2000 calories more with dairy in my diet.

Added: By the way, I also quit smoking to experiment with the reaction and it adds to all those withdrawal symptoms. Often I think "Having a cigeratte now would be the best thing on earth", but I suspect I use tobacco consumption like my food addiction to balance/forget stress and negative emotions, which better should be dealt with directly.

I tend to think it is beneficial to quit habits which are too rewarding without a big effort (because in the end they fool our brain which didn't evolve to such high rewards and dopamine kicks) to learn that little things like a walk in nature, a talk with other people, reading, etc. can be rewarding too (greater sensitivity) and to be motivated enough to things which require more effort for the same reward.
 
To give another update. I'm still not in best form yet and need every day a nap or I'm starting to get tired relative early on, but it could also be cause the day is getting shorter already.

Today I felt pretty much the whole day nauseated again, also with supplements and this nauseated feeling may also be due to back pain and that this pain is radiating.
 
Gawan said:
To give another update. I'm still not in best form yet and need every day a nap or I'm starting to get tired relative early on, but it could also be cause the day is getting shorter already.

Today I felt pretty much the whole day nauseated again, also with supplements and this nauseated feeling may also be due to back pain and that this pain is radiating.

Back pain? Sounds like a bit of inflammation. Do you eat SOME veggies? Yesterday and today I ate some grated carrots and grated beets with home made mayonnaise on them. It seems to have been just the right about of slow carbs. Maybe you are having too much protein or too much fat? Experiment a little...
 
Laura said:
Gawan said:
To give another update. I'm still not in best form yet and need every day a nap or I'm starting to get tired relative early on, but it could also be cause the day is getting shorter already.

Today I felt pretty much the whole day nauseated again, also with supplements and this nauseated feeling may also be due to back pain and that this pain is radiating.

Back pain? Sounds like a bit of inflammation. Do you eat SOME veggies? Yesterday and today I ate some grated carrots and grated beets with home made mayonnaise on them. It seems to have been just the right about of slow carbs. Maybe you are having too much protein or too much fat? Experiment a little...

Yes, that's what I'm planning to do (yesterday I ate veggies)... and in one week I'm finally finished with my internship, where I can make all further adjustments.
 
Megan said:
Because of the many uncertainties, I wouldn't automatically recommend coffee to anyone, especially not in combination with sweetner. It's too unpredictable. But some people may benefit from it, with care. That's true of everything we do with food, I think.

Here's more on coffee and glucose metabolism, of you're interested: _http://thatpaleoguy.blogspot.com/2011/05/caffeine-and-glucose-metabolism.html

In my opinion, everyone who has problems with insulin resistance/carbohydrate intolerance should avoid coffeine for a few months on a low-carb diet to get better insulin sensitivity.
 
Laura said:
Back pain? Sounds like a bit of inflammation. Do you eat SOME veggies? Yesterday and today I ate some grated carrots and grated beets with home made mayonnaise on them. It seems to have been just the right about of slow carbs. Maybe you are having too much protein or too much fat? Experiment a little...

I am having to do something similar because of ongoing problems with IBS-like symptoms. When I dropped from 72 g/d of carbs to 20 g/d my old IBS symptoms (from 15 years ago) came back with a vengeance. After a month of that I am ready to re-introduce more veggies even if it means a return of the fermentation problems. This may have to do with the warning in Fiber Menace that if you are older and have been eating a high-fiber diet for a long time, your GI tract may have stretched and it might not recover, leaving you dependent upon consuming a certain amount of extra "bulk."

I am including some sweeter veggies too, including carrots, hoping that I can stop the constipation/diarrhea cycle without going above ~72 g/d by making my diet look more like it did the month before the IBS problems started up. I am going to shoot for about 45-50 g/d, see if that stops it, and then see if I can eliminate the sweeter veggies again. This is not "by the book" (i.e. TNAFANY) but then my GI tract apparently hasn't read the book.

It is possible to eat "low carb" without bringing on "nutritional ketosis." You still have the benefit of steady blood sugar, relative freedom from carb cravings, and steady weight. You don't necessarily benefit from higher energy or faster weight loss. What I am preparing to do, then, is to follow the "Life Without Bread" approach, if necessary, but to determine my actual threshold according to the New Atkins approach, rather than setting an arbitrary target of 72 g/day.

By the way, I am just now reading the book Life Without Bread myself, and it is excellent, covering things that I have not seen elsewhere.
 
Stranger said:
Just a question: Does anyone here experience withdrawal symptoms from sugar/carbohydrate restriction in general? Or especially sweets, sweet desserts?

When I went down to ~72 g/d of carbs I experienced almost immediate relief from sugar cravings, blood sugar ups and downs, and weight gain. The only thing I still had much trouble with was stress-related (work stress) cravings, which have always been a problem for me and apparently arise from other pathways. That has eased by lowering carbs even more, but then I ran into other complications.

Clearly there can be a lot of variation from one person to the next.
 
For anyone still have diarrhea problems, I tried an experiment a few days ago and had breakfast with my digestive enzymes (I've not been taking them for a few weeks now and mostly seem ok). A few hours later I had explosive diarrhea. The brand is NOW foods mega enzymes.
I have no idea why they cause me diarrhea but they do it seems.
 
RedFox said:
For anyone still have diarrhea problems, I tried an experiment a few days ago and had breakfast with my digestive enzymes (I've not been taking them for a few weeks now and mostly seem ok). A few hours later I had explosive diarrhea. The brand is NOW foods mega enzymes.
I have no idea why they cause me diarrhea but they do it seems.

I stopped enzymes/bile salts a week ago and I have not had diarrhea this week. Things are starting to move again too, normally. It's too soon to say for sure that the diarrhea is gone, though.

I still don't seem to be digesting fat well (and the bile salts didn't help), but one thing at a time.
 
Megan said:
RedFox said:
For anyone still have diarrhea problems, I tried an experiment a few days ago and had breakfast with my digestive enzymes (I've not been taking them for a few weeks now and mostly seem ok). A few hours later I had explosive diarrhea. The brand is NOW foods mega enzymes.
I have no idea why they cause me diarrhea but they do it seems.

I stopped enzymes/bile salts a week ago and I have not had diarrhea this week. Things are starting to move again too, normally. It's too soon to say for sure that the diarrhea is gone, though.

I still don't seem to be digesting fat well (and the bile salts didn't help), but one thing at a time.

I'm also trying to figure out what I'm not doing right in order to get my digestion working properly. It takes forever for food to pass through the intestines and I take a lot of vitamin C plus magnesium daily.

I had continued to take probiotics and Saccharomyces Boulardii which is supposed to help with candida. My thought was that I'd stop taking them when I had fully transitioned to the low-carb metabolism. It then struck me that maybe I was working against the transition by "forcing" gut microbes that work fine in a high-carb gut but aren't necessarily part of a low-carb gut :huh:. After stopping these supplements I got a weird combination of constipation and diarrhea at the same time. This may sound weird but it is as if I am constipated and when things pass through it is as diarrhea. I'll give it another couple of days to see if things change.

Another thing that struck me was Laura's post yesterday about getting enough foundation vegetables. I have not been eating very many foundation vegetables and upon rereading the Induction part of TNAFANY I realized that they are important in getting the digestion to transition. So yesterday I started introducing more foundation vegetables and will see how that goes.

I also use the NOW Super Enzymes and have not experienced diarrhea until I stopped taking the probiotics, fwiw.

I will report back as things develop.
 

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