"Life Without Bread"

Thor said:
Laura said:
Carbs MIXED with higher fats is a deadly mix.

Laura, I did read all the excerpts but the thing about carbs mixed with high fats didn't stick in my mind.

It's here in this excerpt from the New Atikins:

Laura said:
It's the combination of fat and a relatively high intake of carbohydrates—particularly refined ones—that can become a deadly recipe for obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and a host of other ills. We've touched on it before, but in this chapter, we'll prove to you that dietary fat is fine in the context of a low-carb lifestyle.

I am probably not seeing the obvious here, but I wanted to ask for some clarification about the comment that Laura made. Basically how I am seeing it is that if one eats too much fat with a high amount of carbs, that is the deadly mix? I am asking because for those of us who are still on the elimination diet, should one limit the fat consumption while not restricting carb intake. Or am I way out in left field here? I have ordered both "The Vegetarian Myth" and "Life Without Bread", and soon will start reading them.
 
Thanks for the replies about the leg cramps, everyone.

Psyche said:
Kniall said:
[...] Anyone have any ideas? Can leg cramps happen from low calcium? I haven't been taking any calcium, although I did powder some egg shells recently and started putting a pinch in my water. Maybe it's time to start supplementing it more earnestly?

Supplementing with L-carnitine worked for me on this score.

Yeah, L-carnitine is actually the only thing that is emphasized in Life Without Bread for cramps, but low calcium can also cause cramps.

Unfortunately, carnitine is not available in Canada (don't ask me why, because I have no idea). I think I might try to get it from the US somehow.

Gertrudes said:
I had a period with legs cramps as well dugdeep, and it just went away, I supposed as I got adapted to the diet. That (leg cramps), was totally new for me as I had only experienced it once in my left calf in my entire life!
Besides supplementing with L-carnitine as suggested, you mentioned in your post that you are taking lots of magnesium. Well, in that crampy phase of mine, I had to stop magnesium as it was making it worse. This idea came after reading a few reports here and there from other members who were suffering from cramps if taking too much magnesium. Having stopped the magnesium for a while stopped the cramps for me, I am now taking magnesium again without a problem, but I also feel that I have adapted to the diet, whilst before I was still in the adaptation phase.

Judging from what people have said, I think it might be a calcium issue, and this might be what happened for you too, Gertrudes. If the Cal/Mag balance is off, then maybe cutting out Mag supplementing was enough to let the balance return for you.

One thing I remembered today - the night before I had the first cramp I had a lot of green tea. It's not something I usually drink, but I was at a staff party and wasn't drinking alcohol like everyone else. I wonder if the tannins or caffeine in the tea lead to some sort of mineral excretion, or something like that. It might have been something that wasn't corrected by my usual supplement routine during the day, and so I got another cramp the next night.

Just a theory, but I think I'm done with green tea until I can get this figured out :)
 
The zoom I had reported a few weeks ago lasted about four days. It felt like the energy was a little too much for my brain because even though I had energy, my brain felt exhausted and I ended up with a pounding headache. I needed a day to recover and then there was no more zoom. :(

I felt a little sense of it the other day but it was fleeting. I really don't know what to make of it. My diet doesn't really change and I'd say I'm on about 10 grams of carbs a week. I'm wondering if figuring out the right portions of meat and fat might be the key. I don't know. My tiredness has returned, which made me a bit disappointed. My emotions have been more intense lately as well. I'm thinking I'll need to keep a strict journal to figure out what works.
 
Shane said:
The zoom I had reported a few weeks ago lasted about four days. It felt like the energy was a little too much for my brain because even though I had energy, my brain felt exhausted and I ended up with a pounding headache. I needed a day to recover and then there was no more zoom. :(

I felt a little sense of it the other day but it was fleeting. I really don't know what to make of it. My diet doesn't really change and I'd say I'm on about 10 grams of carbs a week. I'm wondering if figuring out the right portions of meat and fat might be the key. I don't know. My tiredness has returned, which made me a bit disappointed. My emotions have been more intense lately as well. I'm thinking I'll need to keep a strict journal to figure out what works.

My 'zoom' also stabilized, but I think that's a pretty logical progression as we become accustomed to the different fuel. I am still in a more energetic state than pre-ketosis, but I'm nowhere near as energized as I was for a week or so. I also had a headache at one point that sent me to bed and I don't get headaches, so that was really unpleasant. I increased my carbs just a little (no more than 25 a day) after the headache, thinking that I had gone too deeply into ketosis, and I don't think it's doing my body much good. In fact, I get more sluggish on more carbs from what I can tell at this point. I'm going to keep experimenting, though, and hope to find a balance that allows me carbs now and again without the sluggishness.
 
Gee said:
I am probably not seeing the obvious here, but I wanted to ask for some clarification about the comment that Laura made. Basically how I am seeing it is that if one eats too much fat with a high amount of carbs, that is the deadly mix? I am asking because for those of us who are still on the elimination diet, should one limit the fat consumption while not restricting carb intake. Or am I way out in left field here? I have ordered both "The Vegetarian Myth" and "Life Without Bread", and soon will start reading them.

Hi Gee,

The Elimination diet is already restricted in carbs by the standards of what the authors explained in the quote Laura posted. One of the low carb books we're going through quotes the Ultra Simple diet as already carb restricted as well.

We're going through at least 4 more dietary books. We'll be posting any relevant material though. :)

Here is short guideline of what we've been discussing so far in regards of those who first start any diet and how the transition to lower carb counting has been made:

http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,13241.msg278162.html#msg278162
 
dugdeep said:
One thing I remembered today - the night before I had the first cramp I had a lot of green tea. It's not something I usually drink, but I was at a staff party and wasn't drinking alcohol like everyone else. I wonder if the tannins or caffeine in the tea lead to some sort of mineral excretion, or something like that. It might have been something that wasn't corrected by my usual supplement routine during the day, and so I got another cramp the next night.

Just a theory, but I think I'm done with green tea until I can get this figured out :)

I think what happened is that you overdosed on thiamine in the green tea. I read somewhere (here?) that a maximum of two cups of green tea a day is OK (which is what I stick to), and avoids any less that healthy effect of taking thiamine.

This may help, or not.
 
dugdeep said:
Judging from what people have said, I think it might be a calcium issue, and this might be what happened for you too, Gertrudes. If the Cal/Mag balance is off, then maybe cutting out Mag supplementing was enough to let the balance return for you.

Ah, makes sense. Thanks dugdeep!
 
The issue of having all the electrolytes in balance seems to be really important, but there's so much conflicting claims and information, who knows what's accurate. I've read a lot of claims and recommendations from different sources in the last several years about the balance of magnesium, potassium, calcium, and sodium. One general impression I've gotten is that it IS important and if they get REALLY out of balance, it can be pretty dangerous in terms of heart function and just about every other function.

So it would really be great to get some definitive info about the issue, but it's hard to verify what info is correct. I guess no one should take any one of them in isolation in big doses over a short time. And wouldn't taking Himalayan salt in water give a pretty good balance, so that the individual minerals could be supplemented with more peace of mind? We definitely need more input on the issue.
 
SeekinTruth said:
So it would really be great to get some definitive info about the issue, but it's hard to verify what info is correct. I guess no one should take any one of them in isolation in big doses over a short time. And wouldn't taking Himalayan salt in water give a pretty good balance, so that the individual minerals could be supplemented with more peace of mind? We definitely need more input on the issue.

Carolyn Dean, one of the editors of Orthomolecular Medicine and author of the Magnesium Miracle covers the ratios of calcium and magnesium in her book under several contexts. She says that the ratio of calcium to magnesium in the Paleolithic or caveman diet was 1:1 compared with a 5:1 to 15:1 ratio in present day diets. She recommends magnesium citrate 300 mg two or three times per day and calcium citrate 500 mg once per day for several protocols where there are mineral deficiencies.

Similar points from her book are brought up here:

The Dangers of Calcium Supplementation

http://www.greenmedinfo.com/page/dangers-calcium-supplementation-july-august-bi-monthly-newsletter

Magnesium is needed for a proper metabolism of calcium and magnesium has certainly been neglected in its role to counteract a lot of these dangers.

The replenishing of minerals AND water is really important if we are loosing more in this diet. But those with insulin problems and carb intolerance are especially susceptible of having magnesium deficiencies. Other than the Himalayan salts, having bone and meat broths helps to replenish the minerals in the body in a natural way. The authors of the Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living go into some detail about the ratios needed. I think we posted some excerpts in this thread, if not, we can put up some more.
 
Well, there are a whole lot of answers to many of the issues that have been brought up in this thread in this book "Primal Body, Primal Mind." Psyche and I will be trying to get some excerpts up as time permits.

HOWEVER, big caveat: The author cops out at the end and contradicts everything she says at the beginning by promoting veggies. It's bizarre. There she is, making the case for PALEO, the real deal, and then just jumps off the ship! She says we need "fiber" to detox. BS. All fiber does is back you up and cause the body to reabsorb stuff while it is slowed down through the colon.

We actually thought we had found a book that covered everything but apparently not.

Anyway, do not let that discourage you from getting and reading this book. There's some really crucial information in there having to do with people who have various symptoms and conditions and their difficulties switching back to the diet natural to human beings. Obviously, she's seen many of the odd situations that we talk about here in her practice and has done some experimenting/research to find ways of dealing with them. Transitioning is not just stopping eating one way one day and starting eating another. You have to assume that there are various type of organ damage or dysfunction that must be healed at the same time and she gives specific suggestions for that
 
Laura said:
Anyway, do not let that discourage you from getting and reading this book. There's some really crucial information in there having to do with people who have various symptoms and conditions and their difficulties switching back to the diet natural to human beings. Obviously, she's seen many of the odd situations that we talk about here in her practice and has done some experimenting/research to find ways of dealing with them. Transitioning is not just stopping eating one way one day and starting eating another. You have to assume that there are various type of organ damage or dysfunction that must be healed at the same time and she gives specific suggestions for that

I ordered it from Overstock.com, they seemed to be the cheapest... came to $13.55 including shipping.

http://www.overstock.com/Books-Movies-Music-Games/Primal-Body-Primal-Mind-Paperback/5215234/product.html?cid=123620
 
Hi All !

I'd like to check if my fat / protein ratio is reasonable. Any ideas ?

Body weight is 160lbs (or ~73kg), height 6 ft (or 180cm). Protein from meats - 130g a day, fat is about 200g a day, carbs ~ 30g a day.

Do I take enough fat & protein ? My idea is to gain some weight.
 
agni said:
Hi All !

I'd like to check if my fat / protein ratio is reasonable. Any ideas ?

Body weight is 160lbs (or ~73kg), height 6 ft (or 180cm). Protein from meats - 130g a day, fat is about 200g a day, carbs ~ 30g a day.

Do I take enough fat & protein ? My idea is to gain some weight.

There is some discussion of this issue earlier in the thread with an equation to derive upper and lower limits on fat, protein based on your weight and carb consumption.

Wf = 1.04(Wp + Wc)

Where

Wf = weight of fat
Wp = weight of protein
Wc = weight of carbs

The limits are calculated based on the assumption that the protein you consume (in grams) should be 1.5 - 2.5 times your body weight (in kilos) as suggested in TAASFLCL. Therefore your protein intake should be between 110 g and 183 g per day based on a 73 kilo body weight.

The recommended level of carbs to move into ketosis is 20 g per day but it is highly recommended to read the entire thread and also the books to determine how to transition to the low carb diet.

As to fat, the assumption is that that at least 70% of you energy should be fat based leading to a minimum fat to protein ratio of 1.04, meaning that if you add the weight of carbs and protein and add 4% you will have the minimum weight of fat that will allow 70% of your energy to come from fat. Eating more is fine, as I understand it. In you example, you're fine, as long as your fat intake is above 164 g.

There is also a discussion of losing/gaining weight on the diet. Obviously, it is a weight loss diet if you have excess fat. There are several skinnies, myself included (weighing 72 kilos and measuring 202 cm) who don't want to loose weight and would like to gain some. As I recall, Redfox, after losing a couple of pounds initially gained some in lean muscle mass after being on the diet for a while. Personally I lost about a kilo and regained it after a couple of weeks, but it is too soon for me to say what the end-result will be as I have not yet fully transitioned to fat metabolism, FWIW.
 
Here's one of the first very important things that I think everyone should know. Well, we've written about some of this a number of times, but I'm sure that not everyone can keep up with all the threads. The issue of gluten and how removing it from the diet is the first and most important thing to do is primary and this book has an excellent chapter on that. Some additional information is given here that should really drive this home for everyone. So, I've scanned it and here it is with some emphases from me.

Grains

Are They Really a Health Food?


Grains and legumes typically contain very high levels of a substance known as phytic acid. Phytic acid actively binds minerals and eliminates them from the body, which results, with increased grain consumption, in widespread deficiencies of minerals, including calcium, iron, magnesium, and zinc. Legumes typically contain 60 percent starch and only relatively small amounts of incomplete protein, and they also contain potent protease inhibitors, which can damage one's ability to properly digest and use dietary protein and can also potentially damage the pancreas over time, when one is overly dependent on them as a source of calories.

Grains and legumes also contain goitrogens, or thyroid-inhibiting substances, as well as "foreign proteins" like gluten and gliadin, and they are an extremely common source of allergies and sensitivities that can lead to both physical and mental or emotional disorders, even when the best preparation methods are used.

One additional hypothesis suggests that the lack of the essential amino acid L-tryptophan in grains, which are now an unnatural and primary food source for commercially raised beef and poultry (not to mention humans), may help account for rampant serotonin deficiencies, clinical depression, anxiety, and some forms of ADD/ADHD in our populations.

Chronic carbohydrate consumption, in general, ultimately depletes serotonin stores and greatly depletes the B vitamins required to convert amino acids into many needed neurotransmitters.

Careful preparation by presoaking, sprouting, or fermenting these foods can minimize or even eliminate phytic acid and certain other anti-nutrients. Nonetheless, they remain a very-big carbobydrate food source. Many grains are also a source of an extremely damaging protein that has increasingly become a source of serious health problems for millions of people: gluten.

Since there is no human dietary grain requirement and since the consumption of grains causes so many known health problems due to their gluten content, antinutrient content, poor L-tryptophan profile, high omega-6 fat levels, and mainly starch-based content as well as their allergy and sensitivity potential, there is little reason to include grains in the diet of anyone seeking optimal health.


In fact, the fewer grains consumed, the better. Zero is by far the best.

The Weston A. Price Foundation, with whom I am proudly affiliated by membership, maintains that grains are okay since many more traditional post-agricultural societies were seemingly able to incorporate them healthfully as long as they were "properly prepared" (that is, pre- soaked, fermented, or sprouted). But rapid changes in the genetic robustness of our species (in our culture, particularly), especially as a result of poor prenatal diets over the last generation or two, have rendered many in today's world—particularly our children—much more vulnerable to and much more intolerant of grains, legumes, starch, milk, sugar especially, and other post-agricultural and processed foods in any form. These are also very-high-carbohydrate foods.

{Notice that she here criticizes Weston Price for saying grains were "okay if properly prepared" but then points out that grains today aren't what they used to be and should not be eaten. I think the same applies to about all vegetables.}

Our genetic resilience has changed and is continuing to change for the worse at an alarming rate. Health in this country is declining rapidly; many degenerative processes and illnesses once thought to affect only our aging population are now afflicting the young—and sometimes the very young. {...}


Gluten: A "Cereal Killer"


Just What Is Gluten, Anyway?

Gluten (from the Latin word for "glue") is a substance found in numerous grains such as wheat (e.g., durum, semolina, graham, spelt, kamut, and triticale), rye, and barley. It is typically present in oats, too, due mainly to modern processing methods. Small amounts of gliadin and related compounds are also present in corn products and cornstarch. All foods with a high content of prolamin (a plant storage protein) should be considered suspect. This includes all cereal grains, such as wheat (which contains gliadin, see list of wheat types above), rye (which contains secalin), barley (which contains hordein), corn (which contains zein), and oats (which contain avenin). Gluten is actually made up of two proteins: gliadin (consisting of twelve different fractions) and glutenin, which make up at least 80 percent of the protein content in most grains. Used in baking, it gives bread dough its elasticity and baked goods their fluffiness and chewiness. It is also used as an additive and stabilizing agent in innumerable processed foods and personal-care products. Insanely, gluten is almost everywhere. Laws do not require its labeling on all products, so consumers are left to judge for themselves whether gluten may be an additive. I personally don't trust any product that isn't clearly labeled "gluten-free."

For us humans, who have spent nearly all of the past 2.6 million years as hunter-gatherers, gluten (and its closely related compounds) is a very new inclusion to the diet and is very difficult for us to digest. To say that gluten can add complications to your health is putting things mildly. Problems with gluten are becoming epidemic, and although public awareness about this issue is certainly growing, there is more that is poorly understood by most people (including those in the medical fields) than not.

The weight of the scientific evidence supporting concerns associated with gluten is suffocating (with only the most minute smattering of scientific evidence actually presented here), while it is oddly and rather inexplicably ignored or even absurdly disputed by those in mainstream medicine.

In light of the overwhelming evidence from innumerable solid studies, it is quite clear that the consequences of gluten sensitivity (diagnosed or undiagnosed) can be lethal. And, no, I am not being extreme when I say this. The consequences are far broader than most suspect and very real. Gluten can ruin your life.

Although it is commonly associated with celiac disease, many people do not appreciate gluten's potentially incredible and very broad impact on the health of countless individuals or the commonality with which people are afflicted with nonceliac "gluten sensitivity," which is every bit as lethal as celiac disease. In fact, celiac disease is in actuality only one form of gluten sensitivity. It can be said that all celiac disease is a form of gluten sensitivity but not all gluten sensitivity is celiac disease.

Celiac disease, incidentally, is diagnosable rather narrowly as a state of what is termed "total villous atrophy of the small intestine." Villi (and microvilli) may be likened to what looks like shag carpeting that lines the inside of your small intestinal wall. The "shags" add necessary surface area to facilitate proper absorption of nutrients from the diet. If the villi are only partially worn down, no diagnosis of celiac disease is given. One is "awarded" the actual diagnosis only if your villi are completely destroyed and your shag carpeting has been transformed to flat Berber carpeting. It's the equivalent of being told you can be diagnosed with heart disease only if you've actually suffered a heart attack. The diagnostic criteria, as well as the testing available to diagnose the condition, have been woefully lacking, to put it kindly.

The result of celiac disease is severe chronic malabsorption of nutrients, leading commonly to other disease states and degenerative processes. An article in the journal Lancet Neurology stated, "Coeliac disease, or gluten sensitive enteropathy, is only one aspect of a range of possible manifestations of gluten sensitivity" (Hadjivassiliou et al. 2010).

Gluten is undoubtedly the silent root of a great many of the health challenges that millions of people face today, both physical and mental. It is rarely suspected as the underlying culprit in most instances, however, even by supposed medical authorities. Furthermore, the inherent presence of the morphine-like compounds called exorphins in grains makes gluten containing grains quite addictive and leaves many in frank denial of the havoc that gluten can wreak. Ignorance of gluten sensitivity and resistance to the awareness of what it is really all about are pervasive. The need for awareness and concern is very, very real. It is for this reason that the treatment of this particular subject here is so exhaustive. You really need to get this.

Allow me to elaborate.

Celiac disease (CD) and gluten sensitivity are generally defined as states of heightened immunologic responsiveness to ingested gluten proteins in genetically predisposed individuals. All celiac disease is a form of gluten sensitivity but not all gluten sensitivity is celiac disease. They are differentiated by their genetic markers—though the presence of genetic markers is not essential for gluten-induced enteropathy (intestinal damage) or "silent celiac disease" to occur, nor is the absence of these markers somehow "proof" that gluten isn't a problem.

It was once believed the genetic markers were necessary. Current studies have refuted this assumption, however. Also, the primary form of damage in celiac disease has been recognized as villous atrophy within the small intestine, though additional forms of damage may be found elsewhere in the body and may affect many other systems, including the brain.

A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, whether diagnosed or undiagnosed, had a significantly higher risk of death, particularly from heart disease and cancer (Ludvigsson et al. 2009J. It has been estimated (conservatively) that one in every two hundred people has full-blown celiac disease ("full-blown" being the only manner by which it is actually diagnosed), a devastating consequence of gluten consumption. Some researchers have recently hypothesized that this number may be closer to one in thirty—or perhaps even a great deal more common. In an article in the Archives of Internal Medicine, the authors wrote, "Celiac Disease is a much greater problem than has previously been appreciated" (Fasano et al. 2003). In an article in The New England Journal of Medicine, the author wrote, "Celiac Disease is one of the most common lifelong disorders in both Europe and the US" (Fasano 2003). And in an article in Pediatrics, the authors stated, "In the past 7 years, 1 in 4 children was diagnosed as having celiac disease in southern Alberta as a result of case-finding of associated conditions, consistent with data from the United Kingdom" (McGowan et al. 2009).

Gluten sensitivity (as opposed to celiac disease, not included in these same statistics) is considerably more common than full-blown celiac disease and is currently almost epidemic, if not ubiquitous in its scope.

The effects of and the markedly increased mortality risks associated with both full-blown celiac disease and gluten sensitivity happen to be virtually identical. Both are autoimmune conditions that create inflammation and immune system effects throughout the body.

Gluten can affect all organ systems (including your brain, heart, and kidneys), your extended nervous system, your moods, your immunological functioning, your digestive system, and even your musculoskeletal system—truly almost all of you, from your hair follicles down to your toenails and everything in between.

When it comes to the effects of gluten in the brain, exposure to gluten in a sensitive individual essentially shuts down blood flow to the frontal and prefrontal cortex (a process called cerebralfrontal/prefrontal hypoperfusion). This is the part of our brain that allows us to focus, to manage emotional states, to plan and organize, to consider the consequences of our actions, and to exercise our short-term memory. Over time, this can result in the generation of actual brain lesions, which in turn result in chronically impaired neurological functioning.

{One wonders if there is a type of "gluten mediated psychopathy"? Also, one has to consider the effects of gluten on the normal human and their capacity for empathy.}

In an article in Pediatrics, the authors stated, "The lesions in the brain may be the result of a decreased blood supply (hypoperfusion) caused by inflammation" (Kleslich et al. 2001). Note that hypoperfusion to the frontal and prefrontal cortex is additionally powerfully associated with cognitive impairment and conditions such as depression, anxiety, and ADHD. Know anyone with cognitive, emotional, psychiatric, or attentional issues? The frontal and prefrontal cortex is our brain's "executive function" control center and is the part of our brain that basically makes us the most human.

The inflammatory response invoked by gluten exposure additionally activates the brain's inflammatory microglial cells, which have no built-in inhibitory mechanisms and do not readily wind themselves down again. It can take many months for a brain-based inflammatory response to an antigen such as gluten to subside. The damage and neural degeneration this can cause over time, together with the effect of generating over-arousal of the sympathetic nervous system (the "fight-or-flight" response), can be significant.
{...}

Opening the Floodgates

Gluten can also be looked upon as a "gateway food sensitivity." It is known to increase the levels of an enzyme in the body known as zonulin, which controls intestinal permeability. Elevated zonulin levels in the presence of gluten can also serve to allow other types of undigested proteins to slip past what would otherwise be more selectively permeable barriers and cause additional immunological reactions to other foods.

In an article in the medical journal Diabetes, the authors wrote, "We have recently reported a novel protein, zonulin, that modulates intestinal permeability by disassembling the intercellular tight junctions" (Sapone et al. 2006). They went on to say, "This protein, when upregulated, appears to play a key role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune disorders." It is gliadin that activates the zonulin signaling pathway.

The authors of an article in the Journal of Immunology said, "Gliadin and its peptides interact with the intestinal epithelium increasing intestinal permeability through the release of zonulin that, in turn, enables paracellular translocation of gliadin and its subsequent interaction with macrophages within the intestinal submucosa" (Thomas et al. 2006). This is basically, in plain language, a total setup for autoimmune disorders.

Currently, as a collective whole, autoimmune disorders are the number three killer, behind heart disease and cancer, in the United States. Note that gluten is certainly not always the underlying cause of all autoimmune disorders. The most common causes are food sensitivities (particularly gluten sensitivity), environmental triggers, viruses, excess estrogen exposure, and heavy-metal toxicity. This said, even where gluten is not the primary cause of an autoimmune illness, it can almost always be suspected as an exacerbative factor. Let's just say it never helps.

An article in the peer-reviewed journal Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences stated that "autoimmune disorders occur 10 times more commonly in celiac disease than in the general population" (Green et al. 2005). Of course, this is not even counting those people merely identified as gluten sensitive or those with less than full-blown celiac disease.

Despite the overwhelming association with autoimmune disorders, an article in the Journal of the America Medical Association stated, "Cardiovascular disease was the most common cause of death in celiac disease, followed by malignancy" (Ludvigsson et al. 2009). {Which of course makes one wonder how many people with cancer and heart problems are really just gluten sensitive and might never have become ill in its absence?} Is that piece of bread really worth the risk, especially considering the fact that only 1 percent of those people with celiac disease (or gluten sensitivity) have ever been properly diagnosed?

So, I think that makes it pretty clear that no one should ever eat gluten containing foods. It just isn't worth it.

Next we come to a pressing issue: how many of us have serious damage in our bodies - including our guts - that needs to be healed before we are restored to health and HOW, exactly, to go about it.
 
Kniall said:
So here's a conundrum: the last two nights in a row I've had major leg cramps in my calves. The first night it was my right calf and was a brutal cramp that was sore all day. Last night, or actually this morning, it was in my left calf, but not as bad (I may just have caught it before it progressed to far).

I don't get it :huh: I'm taking lots of magnesium and potassium, have recently increased the amount of salt I'm eating, including it in my water. I also rubbed magnesium oil on both calves yesterday morning and this morning. I can't figure out why this happened to me. Anyone have any ideas? Can leg cramps happen from low calcium? I haven't been taking any calcium, although I did powder some egg shells recently and started putting a pinch in my water. Maybe it's time to start supplementing it more earnestly?

Supplementing with L-carnitine worked for me on this score.

I have the same problem too and I am still very low in energy. if I can make a comparaison i would say that I am at 40% to the level of energy that I used to have on a carb diet. And I do take some electrolytes

I take also L-carnitine that i bought when I went to the USA since it is illegal in Canada and I don't see that much difference.

So still in the dark why my energy is not coming back but it is quite frustrating.
 
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