tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74866720495648848472024-02-08T12:21:23.092-08:00Adventures in Wellnessspacewomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13685318913125090866noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486672049564884847.post-44254929494682358092011-09-12T11:54:00.000-07:002011-09-12T11:55:22.061-07:009/12/11 Food LogBreakfast - none<br />
Lunch - homemade chicken soup (broth, chicken breast, carrots, onions, celery, thyme, salt, pepper); spinach and kale salad with cranberries, bacon and olive oil vinaigrette); 1/2 a peach (yums!)<br />
(Likely) Dinner - half a chicken (grilled), green beans, sweet potatospacewomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13685318913125090866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486672049564884847.post-37009557304747818292011-09-12T11:25:00.000-07:002011-09-12T11:27:26.519-07:00MDA 30 Day Challenge<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm off on an adventure of sorts. I'm doing Mark's Daily Apple blog's Primal Blueprint 30-Day Challenge.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I basically eat and live according to Mark's Blueprint, but I do get sloppy from time to time. A corn tortilla here, come ice cream there, yada, yada, yada. I fully trust that eating a primal diet and living a primal lifestyle has and will continue to improve my health, so I'm taking this challenge to get myself back to the basics.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As part of today's challenge, Mark is asking people to post their own mini-challenge. Mine is to go completely gluten/wheat free. That grain is super sneaky and seems to always find its way on my plate (probably once or twice a month EVERY MONTH). And, as <a href="http://www.primalbody-primalmind.com/">Nora Gedgaudas </a>says, having a little gluten is like being a little pregnant - it's all or nothing. I can't say for sure if I've made it 30 days without gluten/wheat, but I'm going to challenge myself to do it this time. I'll try to post my daily food logs and weekly workout logs as often as possible, as a means of some accountability.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you want to check out the contest/challenge, go to <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/">Mark's blog</a>.</span></div>spacewomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13685318913125090866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486672049564884847.post-37521440079629078022011-08-31T12:29:00.000-07:002011-08-31T12:34:52.408-07:00Quick Notes<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Quick Notes</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I’m still rather busy, but I wanted to update the blog with a few random notes:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
<ul><li><span style="font-size: small;">I’m 1 pound away from reaching 50lb. weight loss (from April, 2010-present). I’m excited to hit this milestone. I feel SO much better because of the changes I’ve made in my diet and lifestyle.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Those “healthy whole grains” just might not be as healthy as everyone things. Check out this <a href="http://robbwolf.com/2011/08/30/the-paleo-solution-episode-95/">PaleoSolution Podcast episode</a>, featuring Dr. William Davis (who also has a prominent <a href="http://www.trackyourplaque.com/blog/">blog</a>) about wheat. He just wrote an intriguing book called <u>Wheat Belly</u>. I just bought it, so I hope to read it and post a review of the book soon.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">I’m thinking about seeing a Naturopath, in addition to my regular doctor. I’ll let you know more about that soon, as well.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">I’m still doing IF, though I’m basically doing my own version. I rarely to 24 hour fasts. Mostly, I’m skipping breakfast 3 or so times per week, and eating my first meal of the day at 1pm. That adds up to about 18 hours.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Over the summer, I started doing body-weight resistance exercises (assisted pull-ups, push-ups, squats, planks) and I’ve started noticing some definition in my arms, and increased endurance for physical tasks. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"> I had a dentist appointment today. I had way less plaque/tartar than in previous years, and my teeth (aside from a couple of mercury fillings that are coming out within the year, hopefully), are in great shape. I attribute this to the drastic cuts I've made in sugar and grain consumption.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">Also, I’m hoping to do a nice, long post that tracks the progress I’ve made thus far in my journey to wellness. Stay tuned.</span></li>
</ul></div>spacewomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13685318913125090866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486672049564884847.post-66594519974553604912011-08-22T10:07:00.000-07:002011-08-22T10:07:58.944-07:00And Life Gets in the Way ...Hey all,<br />
<br />
Life has been a bit crazy for the latter part of this summer (mostly work, but life with a toddler never slows down), so I apologize for not having posted in a while, and for leaving my experimentation at a halt. <br />
<br />
As a result of the limited experimentation I have done regarding Intermittent Fasting, I have found that (1) It works for me and produces moderate fat loss, (2) it does not lead to any undesirable effects of my blood sugar levels, (3) I feel great most of the time when fasted, and (4) I find that either 16 or 24 hour fasts work the best for my schedule and my body. I will continue to fast, but just don't have the time right now to devote to any scientific (even n=1, which barely passes for science) "research." I'll leave that up to the experts.<br />
<br />
As I write this, I have blasted through one of my weight loss goals: I am now below 150 pounds. It's been a LONG time since I've been this light. It's exciting. My starting weight when I started getting into real food and low carb was close to 200. I am approaching a 50lb. weight loss.<br />
<br />
In addition to this, thanks to some great exercises I was doing once or twice a week at the playground (assisted pull-ups on monkey bars, squats, push-ups, and planks), I am now seeing some nice improvements in body composition and muscle definition. I'm hoping with the school year starting, I can stay on track to devote the small amount of time necessary to keep up the progress in this department.<br />
<br />
Okay, so there's little update on my world. I'll try to come up with an intersting post, soon, that fulfills the mission of this blog - to inform as many people as possible to alternative, viable paths to improved/optimal health.spacewomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13685318913125090866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486672049564884847.post-31190264897411203282011-07-14T06:23:00.000-07:002011-07-14T06:23:41.512-07:00Eat Stop Eat - Overall ImpressionsMy apologies for not updating the blog more frequently. Life keeps getting in the way.<br />
<br />
I've been a bit less than scientific during this fasting period. I have done 2 Eat Stop Eat 24-hour fasts so far, and I'm likely going to complete my third one today.<br />
<br />
I don't find them to be any more difficult than the fasting I was doing for Fast-5, and I haven't noticed any changes in my physical or mental performance (or mood), doing the extended fasting. I think I might be a bit more distracted by food, but it is easy to just think about how long you've been fasting and how much more to go (as the time already fasting is always longer than the time you have left, thanks to all of the fasting that occurs during sleep).<br />
<br />
I haven't noticed any differences in my blood glucose levels between Eat Stop Eat and Fast-5. My weight has been stable (and considering I've been eating a less than perfect diet this summer, that's impressive in and of itself).<br />
<br />
At this point, I'm not sure which of the two fasting regimens I prefer. Fast-5 is nice because there's no thinking involved; you just do the same thing every day. It's a nice way to avoid all of the junk that's thrown at me at work, too. If I'm fasting, I'm not really tempted by snacks and treats. I like having the extra time in the mornings to do things other than prepare and eat breakfast. As far as Eat Stop Eat goes, it is nice to not "have" to fast every day. It seems from reading the book that the 24 hour fasts might be more beneficial, as per the research, as well. Doing IF once or twice a week is very manageable.<br />
<br />
I am on vacation next week, and though I will likely fast in some way or another during my trip, I'm not going to do anything formal. When I return, I'll begin the next fasting regimen. I'll be doing the "Deconditioning Diet" as per Todd Becker. His blog is <a href="http://gettingstronger.org/">Getting Stronger</a>.spacewomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13685318913125090866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486672049564884847.post-66251539233992610502011-07-05T08:10:00.000-07:002011-07-05T08:11:12.566-07:00Eat Stop Eat – Fast #1<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Onto the next fasting regimen, which is Eat Stop Eat, based on the book and website by Brad Pilon, found <a href="http://eatstopeat.com/">here</a>. The Eat Stop Eat method of intermittent fasting uses 24-hour fasts (1-2 per week). I’ve perused the Eat Stop Eat ebook, and recommend the book to anyone who is thinking about trying this form of IF. As with most things, it is prudent to understand the prescribed method before trying it. The book also does a good job compiling and discussing the research behind IF, and its many health benefits.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The book recommends 1-2 24-hour fasts per week. Ideally, the fasts are timed in a way that you never go an entire day without eating. This way of IF makes it very sustainable to those of us who have gotten used to eating every day (and might have a hard time mentally dealing with a fast that restricts eating for an entire day, versus 24 hours over two days).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I am currently in the middle of my first 24-hour fast of this 2-week stretch. So far, I’ve barely even felt any hunger. I think my body has definitely made any needed adjustment to IF. I stopped eating at 6:30pm last night. So, as of right now, I have been fasting for 17 hours and only have 7 more hours to go before I can eat again. Having a meal to look forward to, and knowing that I’ve got way more fasted time behind me than ahead of me, makes this fast very manageable.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here are my stats, thus far:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Weight: 156</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6:30am Blood Glucose – 88mg/dL</span></div>spacewomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13685318913125090866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486672049564884847.post-80941701365047505132011-06-28T10:56:00.001-07:002011-06-28T10:58:10.858-07:00Fast-5 Summary<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">I apologize for not updating the blog in a while. I’ve been very busy. Here’s a summary of the data I collected: </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Morning Blood Glucose:</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/13/11:<span style="color: black;"> 88 mg/dL</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/14/11: 84 mg/dL</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/15/11: 87 mg/dL</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/16/11: 90 mg/dL</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/17/11: 76mg/dL</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/20/11: 85mg/dL</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/21/11: 70mg/dL</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/22/11: 85mg/dL</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/23/11: No data</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/24/11: No data</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Afternoon Blood Glucose:</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/13/11:<span style="color: black;"> 83mg/dL</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/14/11: 69mg/dL</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/15/11: 84 mg/dL</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/16/11: No data</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/17/11: No data</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/20/11: 84 mg/dL</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/21/11: 87 mg/dL</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/22/11: 70 mg/dL</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/23/11: No data</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/24/11: No data</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Weight:</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/13/11:<span style="color: black;"> 157</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/14/11: <span style="color: black;">157</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/15/11: 156</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/16/11: 154</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/17/11: 153</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/20/11: 154</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/21/11: 153</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/22/11: 151</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/23/11: No data</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6/24/11: No data</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Rating Scale Summary:</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-weight: normal;">Hunger/Satiety</span></u></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I Strongly Disagreed (Average Response >4.5) with the following:</span></div><ul style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I never felt intense hunger (taking focus away from my normal activities) for most of my waking fasted hours. </span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I felt intense hunger once or twice during my fast.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I felt mild hunger for most of my waking, fasted hours.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I ate before the fast was supposed to be over. Average Response 5 (Strongly Disagree)</span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I Strongly Agreed (Average Response <1) with the following:</span></div><ul style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I felt mild hunger once or twice during my fast.</span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><h1 style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-weight: normal;">Energy Levels</span></u></span></h1><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I Strongly Disagreed (Average Response >4.5) with the following:</span></div><ul style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I felt weak/tired (experiencing difficulty performing my normal physical activities) for most of my waking fasted hours.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I felt impaired cognition (experiencing difficulty performing my normal mental activities) for most of my waking fasted hours.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I felt impaired cognition (experiencing difficulty performing my normal mental activities) for some of my waking fasted hours.</span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I Strongly Agreed (Average Response <1) with the following:</span></div><ul style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I felt normal cognition (easily able to perform my normal mental activities) for most of my waking fasted hours.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I felt energetic (easily able to perform my normal activities) for some of my waking fasted hours.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I felt normal cognition (easily able to perform my normal mental activities) for some of my waking fasted hours.</span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I Agreed (Average Response >1 and <2.5) with the following:</span></div><ul style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I felt energetic (easily able to perform my normal physical activities) for most of my waking fasted hours.</span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><h1 style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-weight: normal;">Mood</span></u></span></h1><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I Strongly Disagreed (Average Response >4.5) with the following:</span></div><ul style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I felt happy during none of my waking fasted hours.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I felt depressed/anxious during most of my waking fasted hours.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I felt depressed/anxious during some of my waking fasted hours.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I felt lethargic during most of my waking fasted hours.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I felt lethargic during some of my waking fasted hours.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I felt calm during none of my waking fasted hours.</span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.25in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I Disagreed (Average Response >3.5 and <4.5)</span></div><ul style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I felt happy during most of my waking fasted hours.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I felt happy during some of my waking fasted hours.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I felt calm during some of my waking fasted hours.</span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I Strongly Agreed (Average Response <1) with the following:</span></div><ul style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I felt no changes in my mood during my waking fasted hours.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I felt depressed/anxious during none of my waking fasted hours.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I felt lethargic during none of my waking fasted hours.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I felt calm during most of my waking fasted hours.</span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><h1 style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-weight: normal;">Sleep</span></u></span></h1><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My average response was Neutral to the following:</span></div><ul style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I slept better during the week.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: small;">I slept worse during the week.</span></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My week was typical; there were no significant changes in my normal work, sleep or activity routine.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Overall Impressions:</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I really enjoy this method of fasting. It’s easy to follow and I felt no ill effects to the regimen. I lost some weight, which was part of my goal, and felt healthy during the week. I didn’t need to change my workout routines or the types of food I was eating. I would recommend this method to anyone who wants to try IF, without having to make too many changes to diet and lifestyle. Given all of the health benefits of IF (linked in previous posts), I would recommend Fast-5 to anyone looking to improve their health or to lose weight.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Next Week:</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> I’m taking this week off, as things are still very busy. I’ll be fasting here and there, as that is just part of my lifestyle, now, but I won’t be formally following any specific program. Next week (starting on July 4), I will begin the Eat Stop Eat program. I’ll put up a post explaining that IF regimen soon. If you are interested, check out Brad Pilon’s (creator of Eat Stop Eat) <a href="http://bradpilon.com/">website</a>.</span>spacewomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13685318913125090866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486672049564884847.post-22854497411148019502011-06-20T10:05:00.005-07:002011-06-20T10:05:42.730-07:006/20/11: Fast-5 Day 6<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:DoNotOptimizeForBrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--> <br />
<span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Weight – 154</span></span> <div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK6;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">6:30am blood glucose – 85mg/dL</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Update:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did not fast this weekend (on purpose).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I used the weekend as a “re-feed.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ate eggs and bacon/sausage for breakfast both days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rest of the day, I ate as I normally do, with the addition of a sweet or two (macaroons, dark chocolate, organic ice cream).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even with the extra sweets and the extra daily meal, I only gained back one of the pounds I lost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This morning, I woke up a bit hungry, but I pushed through it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My energy levels are fine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did a short, intense workout this morning (resistance exercises on our school’s playground for 10 minutes – assisted pull-ups, squats and the plank), and walked for about 20 minutes.</span>spacewomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13685318913125090866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486672049564884847.post-49674781456882955302011-06-20T10:05:00.001-07:002011-06-20T10:05:11.144-07:006/17/11: Fast-5 Day 5<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:DoNotOptimizeForBrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026"/> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:shapelayout v:ext="edit"> <o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1"/> </o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--> <br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Weight – 153</span> <div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">8:30am blood glucose – 76mg/dL</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Update:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I lost another pound, and I feel like I’m fitting into my clothes better, as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This morning has been the easiest so far, regarding hunger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I decided to check my blood glucose later in the day and found it to be lower than my usual early morning levels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have not noticed any dip in energy levels today either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I even went for a walk this morning, and felt great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tomorrow, I plan on not fasting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will be a “re-feeding day.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As is a concern with calorie restriction, I don’t want my body to adjust too much to this caloric intake by slowing down my metabolic rate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll probably see a bit of a rebound in my weight, which is okay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll post a summary of the weekend on Monday.</span>spacewomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13685318913125090866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486672049564884847.post-2815769508822894582011-06-16T10:42:00.001-07:002011-06-16T10:42:21.113-07:006/16/11: Fast-5 Day 4<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:DoNotOptimizeForBrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--> </div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span> <div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Weight – 154</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6:00am blood glucose – 90mg/dL</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Update:<span> </span>Yet again, I’ve been experiencing hunger in the morning.<span> </span>It’s not been too distracting, but definitely noticeable.<span> </span>I’ve been doing IF for a while, but this is the most days in a row that I’ve fasted for extended periods of time.<span> </span>I have lost a couple more pounds.<span> </span>We’ll see if that continues. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">TMI Warning – I’ve noticed that since starting this fasting regimen that my bowels have been moving faster and more regular.<span> </span>Prior to this, I’d have movements once, maybe twice per day.<span> </span>This week, it’s been more like 2-3 times per day.<span> </span>Interesting.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> I broke today’s fast a little early, as we were having a luncheon at work (Chipotle – yummy!).<span> </span>My approach to my diet (and fasting) is to not be too stringent about it.<span> </span>I am passionate about my way of eating, but not obsessive.<span> </span>I run my life.<span> </span>So, I wanted to have lunch with my work friends, and that’s what I did, at about 1pm (an hour before my fast should have been completed).<span> </span>I forgot to take my blood glucose prior to the meal.<span> </span>I’ll be sure to do so tomorrow.</span>spacewomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13685318913125090866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486672049564884847.post-73527597386223927862011-06-15T10:47:00.001-07:002011-06-15T10:47:22.776-07:006/15/11: Fast-5 Day 3<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:DoNotOptimizeForBrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--> <div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Weight – 156</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6:30am blood glucose – 87 mg/dL</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Morning Update: Again, I have been experiencing some hunger pangs this morning, but nothing that I can’t handle, or that doesn’t pass quickly.<span> </span>I’ve been trying to drink water when I feel that sensation, which helps (and keeps my hydrated).<span> </span>I dropped one pound from my starting weight, which is nice to see (no the be all and end all, though).<span> </span>My “break-fast” today will be a raw tomato (with Himalayan salt), sausage with tomato sauce, 2 hard-boiled eggs and come cherries and strawberries.<span> </span>Not sure about dinner tonight, as my mother is coming and said she wants to treat us.<span> </span>It’s nice that I don’t have to be too careful eating out, as I know my calorie intake for today has been low (that said, I should mention that I rarely eat out, mostly because I have a hard time finding healthy foods at most restaurants – food just isn’t as rewarding or tasty when I know it is unhealthy).<span> </span>One more observation, I love not having to spend time eating breakfast in the mornings, during the workweek.<span> </span>It makes my mornings run smoothly and gives me time to prep for the evening’s meal.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> 1:30pm blood glucose – 84 mg/dL</span>spacewomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13685318913125090866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486672049564884847.post-23639669809501369332011-06-14T05:41:00.001-07:002011-06-14T12:54:29.380-07:006/14/11: Fast-5 Day 2<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Weight – 157</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">6:30am blood glucose – 84 mg/dL</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Morning Update: I found it interesting that my weight stayed stable and my blood sugar went down a few points. I’ll be closely monitoring my glucose levels, to make sure they don’t drop too much, as I continue fasting. I have basically normal energy levels this morning. I felt hungry when I first woke up, but that sensation passed quickly. </span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:DoNotOptimizeForBrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">1:45pm blood glucose – 69mg/dL</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Afternoon Update:<span> </span>I had no problem fasting this morning.<span> </span>Very few hunger pangs.<span> </span>My energy was a little low in the morning, but that’s probably normal for me.<span> </span>Sometimes I need a little caffeine in the morning and I haven’t been having my morning tea.<span> </span>The lull in energy faded and I went through the morning energized and focused.<span> </span>The time went quickly, too, as I’m very busy at work at the moment.<span> </span>The most surprising thing was that my blood glucose number dropped from 84 to 69.<span> </span>I checked with the nurse (I work for a school) and she said that this was not a cause for concern.<span> </span>I’ll continue to closely monitor this, though, just in case.<span> </span>If we drop down to 60mg/dL, or lower, I may decide to alter what I’m doing.<span> </span>For lunch today, I ate a salad (with bacon, cranberries, olive oil and apple cider vinegar), 2 hard boiled eggs, a slice of meatloaf (with organic ketchup), and leftover fruit (local cherries and strawberries) from yesterday’s lunch.</span>spacewomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13685318913125090866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486672049564884847.post-22417317674830005352011-06-13T13:31:00.000-07:002011-06-14T05:42:19.553-07:00Fast-5 Briefly Explained<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Fast-5 protocol is quite simple. You fast every day for 19 hours that leaves a 5-hour window within which you can eat. Fast-5 does not specify any type of diet or eating program. It centers mainly on meal timing.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Fast-5 book does a good job describing the two major forms of hunger and how they relate to this style of eating. Limbic hunger is related to overeating. The limbic system is the primitive part of the brain, driving emotion and memory. The book states that limbic hunger is the drive that ancient humans (hunter-gatherers) felt that drove them to eat as much as possible while food was available (to store as fat for times of scarcity). Limbic hunger would have been a useful survival tool in times when food was more difficult to come by. Now, however, that food is abundant, we need to watch out for limbic hunger. When fasting, we are not engaging our limbic hunger system,</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Instead, we feel somatic hunger. The book defines this hunger as the “sensation of discomfort in the stomach that is commonly called hunger or hunger pangs” (page 21). This sensation is the result of many, complicated hormonal interactions. It can be unpleasant, but hardly debilitating (which doesn’t make evolutionary sense – if hunger knocked you out, you would surely die of it). The book emphasizes, and I agree, that as you continue to practice fasting, somatic hunger sensations become less and less intense/distracting.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">For more information on this approach (and to download the free ebook), check out the </span><a href="http://www.fast-5.com/"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Fa</span>st-5 website</a>.</span></div>spacewomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13685318913125090866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486672049564884847.post-4530355832884862982011-06-13T13:29:00.001-07:002011-06-14T05:41:00.795-07:006/13/11: Fast-5 Day 1<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">6/13/11: Fast-5 Day 1</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Weight – 157</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">5:30am blood glucose – 88 mg/dL</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Morning Update: The morning is going by just fine. I’ve had a few hunger pangs, but nothing major. When I do feel hungry, I usually have a bit of water, and the sensation goes away. The only other observation of note is that I feel colder this morning than I do on most mornings. My plan is to walk at lunchtime and break my fast at 2pm (my daily eating window will be from 2pm to 7pm). I’ll be checking my blood glucose levels again before I break the fast, and I’ll also be completing the rating scales at that time. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">2:00pm blood glucose – 83mg/dL</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> <span style="color: black;">Afternoon Update: I just took my walk (30 minutes at moderate pace) with a friend. When we got back, I tested my blood sugar (see above). I dropped 5mg/dL versus my morning fasted number. I’m not sure what that means, if anything. We’ll see if there is a similar pattern tomorrow. Okay, now I’m going to get my “break-fast” together, consisting of chicken broth, a salad, 2 hard-boiled eggs and some cherries/berries.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:DoNotOptimizeForBrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Rating Scale Update:<span> </span>I rated my hunger, energy and mood yesterday.<span> </span>Here are the statements that I strongly agreed with:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><ul style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><li><span style="font-size: small;">I felt mild hunger once or twice during my fast.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">I felt energetic (easily able to perform my normal physical activities) for most of my waking fasted hours.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;">I felt normal cognition (easily able to perform my normal mental activities) for most of my waking fasted hours.</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"> </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I felt no changes in my mood during my waking fasted hours.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> My week was typical; there were no significant changes in my normal work, sleep or activity routine.</span></li>
</ul>spacewomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13685318913125090866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486672049564884847.post-76559137066722202062011-06-10T10:52:00.001-07:002011-06-10T10:54:14.028-07:00Podcast Round-up 6/10/11 <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There have been LOTS of great podcast episodes that were released in the past couple of weeks. Allow me to share some of my favorites with you:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">First off, Jimmy Moore had a great interview with Art Ayers of the <a href="http://coolinginflammation.blogspot.com/">Cooling Inflammation blog</a>. As you know, inflammation is at the heart of a great deal of diseases. Jimmy and Art had a fascinating conversation about Art’s anti-inflammatory diet recommendations, the over-medicating of America and gut health, among other things. The interview can be found <a href="http://www.thelivinlowcarbshow.com/shownotes/4162/476-dr-art-ayers-says-low-carb-fights-inflammation/#comments">here</a>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Secondly, the Paleo Soluton Podcast recently featured Chris Kresser to discuss dietary recommendations for healthy pregnancy and breastfeeding. This is a must-listen for those who are considering conceiving, are pregnant or nursing. It can be found <a href="http://robbwolf.com/2011/06/07/the-paleo-solution-episode-83/">here</a>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lastly, the Carbohydrates Can Kill podcast had a great “Listener’s Roundtable,” featuring Dr. John Briffa (one of my favorite bloggers and podcasters). The listener comes up with some wonderful questions. You can listen to this podcast <a href="http://www.carbohydratescankill.com/2105/51-listeners-roundtable-discussion-john-briffa-md-mr-bob-faber">here</a>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">All three of these podcasts can also be listened to in iTunes, for those who prefer that format.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Happy Listening!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Update on Experiment: Bought the glucometer, lancets and test strips. Gonna practice taking blood glucose readings over the weekend and will begin the n=1 fasting experiment on Monday. Also look for a description of the Fast-5 regimine on Monday, as that will be the first one I experiment with. Are you excited? I am!!!</span>spacewomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13685318913125090866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486672049564884847.post-4837841155959177662011-06-08T06:19:00.000-07:002011-06-08T06:20:13.922-07:00Intermittent Fasting Experiment: Rating Scales<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here are the rating scales I developed to collect data on several aspects of my health/well-being during my fasting sessions. I plan to complete the scales each day and compile the information, to compare and contrast my response to each type of fasting regimen:</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Rating Scales</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">1 – Strongly Agree; 2 – Agree; 3 – Neutral; 4 – Disagree; 5 – Strongly Disagree</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hunger/Satiety</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">1)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I felt intense hunger (taking focus away from my normal activities) for most of my waking fasted hours.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">2)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I felt intense hunger once or twice during my fast.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">3)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I felt mild hunger for most of my waking, fasted hours.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">4)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I felt mild hunger once or twice during my fast.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">5)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I felt the desire to eat before my fast was over.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">6)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I ate before the fast was supposed to be over.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Energy Levels</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">1)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I felt energetic (easily able to perform my normal physical activities) for most of my waking fasted hours.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">2)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I felt normal cognition (easily able to perform my normal mental activities) for most of my waking fasted hours.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">3)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I felt energetic (easily able to perform my normal activities) for some of my waking fasted hours.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">4)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I felt normal cognition (easily able to perform my normal mental activities) for some of my waking fasted hours.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">5)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I felt weak/tired (experiencing difficulty performing my normal physical activities) for most of my waking fasted hours.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">6)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I felt impaired cognition (experiencing difficulty performing my normal mental activities) for most of my waking fasted hours.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">7)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I felt weak/tired (experiencing difficulty performing my normal activities) for some of my waking fasted hours.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">8)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I felt impaired cognition (experiencing difficulty performing my normal mental activities) for some of my waking fasted hours.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mood</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">1)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I felt no changes in my mood during my waking fasted hours.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">2)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I felt happy during most of my waking fasted hours.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">3)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I felt happy during some of my waking fasted hours.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">4)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I felt happy during none of my waking fasted hours.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">5)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I felt depressed/anxious during most of my waking fasted hours.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">6)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I felt depressed/anxious during some of my waking fasted hours.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">7)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I felt depressed/anxious during none of my waking fasted hours.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">8)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I felt lethargic during most of my waking fasted hours.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">9)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I felt lethargic during some of my waking fasted hours.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">10)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I felt lethargic during none of my waking fasted hours.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">11)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I felt calm during most of my waking fasted hours.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">12)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I felt calm during some of my waking fasted hours.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">13)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I felt calm during none of my waking fasted hours.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sleep</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">1)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I slept better during the week.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: small;">2)<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I slept worse during the week.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My week was typical – there were no significant changes in my normal work, sleep or activity routine.</span></div>spacewomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13685318913125090866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486672049564884847.post-88391051708551239602011-06-06T06:21:00.000-07:002011-06-06T06:21:33.698-07:00N=1 To Do List<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Okay, I didn't get to everything I wanted to this weekend to start this experiment, so I'm going to delay until next Monday.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here's what I want to accomplish in preparation:</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">-Buy glucometer and practice using it (this will also give me a rough baseline)</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">-Create rating scales for hunger/satiety, energy levels, and mood</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">-Read the entire eBook on Fast-5, and write a post defining the practice</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Update on My Eating:</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Though I really want to make it through a weekend gluten-free, this was not the weekend. I had a cookie at a graduation party (it wasn't that good and my stomach was cramping for a bit afterwards), and I had pizza following for dinner (I ate very little crust, but since I was away from home, I didn't have as much choice in the food). Going by Mark Sisson's 80/20 rule, I was still on track. My eating the rest of the weekend was good, with minimal cheese and rice consumption.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Today, I'm fasting this morning. Later, I'll have sausage, hard boiled eggs, salad and broth for lunch. Dinner is going be be baked chicken in reduction sauce with broccoli.</span></div>spacewomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13685318913125090866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486672049564884847.post-89832260446606132792011-06-03T08:34:00.000-07:002011-06-03T08:34:51.040-07:00N = 1; Take 2<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:DoNotOptimizeForBrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026"/> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:shapelayout v:ext="edit"> <o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1"/> </o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--><span style="color: black; font-family: Geneva; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">My New N=1 Adventure:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Since, I'm not going to do the strict Paleo challenge as my n=1 experiment, I want to do something else.<span> </span>I'd like to experiment with a few different forms of Intermittent Fasting (IF).<span> </span>Here's my plan- practice several different forms of fasting for two week intervals and see how my body responds.<span> </span>The markers will be blood sugar, hunger/satiety, weight, energy levels, and mood. Blood sugar will be measured by a glucose monitor; weight by scale; and the other perimeters will be measured using rating scales (that I'll develop).</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">I will experiment with each of the following forms of IF while keeping my diet (Paleo 2.0/Primal) and also controlling for activity levels;</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></span><ul style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Fast-5 (for 5 days per week)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">ESE (3-4 times in two weeks)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Deconditioning Diet (as per Todd Becker)</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Leangains - IF and regimented, fasted training</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Random IF - as per Art DeVany</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Control - no IF</span></span></li>
</ul><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></span> <div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"></span></span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">That's 6 categories, so were looking at 12 weeks to complete the experiments.<span> </span>I'll begin next week. <span> </span>Stay tuned!</span></span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">I should give a shout out to Jimmy Moore. His <a href="http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/jimmy-moores-n1-experiments-the-purpose-and-the-process/10864">n=1 experiments</a> are very motivating. </span></span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><u>Update on My Eating:</u> Now that I have relaxed a bit on the scrict Paleo rules, I feel better about what I'm eating, and have been more compliant.<span> </span>I've decided to try limiting dairy and white rice to one meal per day.<span> </span></span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Here's what I've been eating:</span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">6/1</span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Breakfast - Eggs, bacon, sausage</span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Lunch - Chicken broth, salad w cheese, leftover chicken in sauce</span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Dinner - meatballs, asparagus, tomatoes</span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">6/2</span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Breakfast - none</span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Lunch- same as 6/1 w/o cheese, and strawberries</span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Dinner - meatballs, tomatoes, sweet potato</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Desert - 1 cup of organic rice cereal </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">6/3</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Breakfast - none</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Snack - 2 hard-boiled eggs</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Lunch - Chicken broth, meatballs with sauce, strawberries</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;">Dinner - Chicken with reduction sauce, buttered carrots, maybe a salad</span></span></div><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></span><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div>spacewomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13685318913125090866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486672049564884847.post-968986099557567652011-05-31T07:09:00.000-07:002011-05-31T07:09:04.291-07:00My Weekend Failure<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:DoNotOptimizeForBrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ha!<span> </span>Why did I decide to begin a new eating style on a holiday weekend?<span> </span>It’s probably always best to start something like this on a Monday, as it’s easier to plan and execute a specific way of eating during the week.<span> </span>Anyway, I failed to eat strict "Paleo" this weekend.<span> </span>I ate cheese (way more than I care to admit), some of my son’s rice cereal, and some sourdough bread (I’m really going to have to rethink buying this bread for my husband – it’s way healthier for him than grocery store breat, but very, very tempting for me – I’m not sure I have the willpower to have it in the house).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Anyway, I’m putting a hold on going Paleo for a while.<span> </span>My first n=1 revealed the following results:<span> </span>I don’t respond well to certain eating limitations.<span> </span>Deciding to cut out dairy caused me the crave it, and given that I was at home with easy access to cheese, I gave into these cravings.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I think my goal at this point is going to be to cut back on the small amount of dairy and grains I do eat.<span> </span>When I went “low-carb,” this is how I did it.<span> </span>I slowly reduced the amount of carbohydrates I ate, until I was eating less than 50 grams per day.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> We’ll see how this new plan goes.<span> </span>I’ll continue to post my food diaries from time to time, as well.<span> </span>For now, we can call this experimental a “Paleo 2.0” or “Primal” eating plan.</span>spacewomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13685318913125090866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486672049564884847.post-28668940673782418042011-05-27T05:48:00.000-07:002011-05-27T05:54:20.410-07:00N=1 – The Importance of Self-Experimentation<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>N=1 – The Importance of Self-Experimentation</b></span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sorry that I haven’t posted in a while. I was having trouble logging into Blogger. It’s nice to be back. </span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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<h2 style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">What’s all this about Optimality?</span></h2><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So, lately there’s been some buzz on the blogs I read regarding the concept of optimal nutrition. What is optimal? Many diet gurus present ideas for the optimal diet. Some people will tell you low carb is optimal. Others will tell you a raw vegan diet is optimal. Yet others will stress low fat diets as the best.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">The following links are to blog posts discussing the concepts of optimality and n=1/self-experimentation:</span><br />
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<a href="http://freetheanimal.com/2011/05/optimality-a-fools-errand.html">http://freetheanimal.com/2011/05/optimality-a-fools-errand.html</a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.archevore.com/panu-weblog/2011/4/6/n1-and-wheat.html">http://www.archevore.com/panu-weblog/2011/4/6/n1-and-wheat.html</a></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.paleoplaybook.com/2011_02_01_archive.html"><span style="font-size: small;">http://www.paleoplaybook.com/2011_02_01_archive.html</span></a></div><a href="http://freetheanimal.com/2010/12/self-experiementation-doesnt-trump-science-it-is-science.html"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;">http://freetheanimal.com/2010/12/self-experiementation-doesnt-trump-science-it-is-science.html</span></a><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<h2 style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">J.E.R.F.</span></h2><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As I stressed in a previous post, the path to an optimal diet is grounded in real food. The reason we want to eat real food and avoid industrial processed food is because the latter usually contains food toxins (mainly, industrial seed oils, excessive fructose, chemical additives, most grains, and genetically modified crops). By eating toxins, we jeopardize our health. Obviously, an optimal diet would be non-toxic, so therefore real-foods based (and ideally including organic produce and grass-fed/pastured animals, if one eats animals).</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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<h2 style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Every Body Is Different</span></h2><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Aside from real food, there’s little that can be definitive regarding the perfect diet for everyone. Every body is different. We all have different genetic and epi-genetic make-ups. We all have had different personal histories regarding our health and wellness that impact how our bodies react to different foods and exercises.</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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<h2 style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">N=1</span></h2><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Because everyone is different, there really isn’t a one-size-fits-all dietary or exercise approach. Different things are going to work for different people. What we need to do is try different dietary and exercise approaches to find what works for us. For me, thus far, eating a low-carb, real food diet has led to tremendous health gains (40 lbs. of fat loss, improvements in blood pressure and blood-lipid profile, reduction in allergy symptoms, and more energy/vitality, etc.). For others, however, a low-fat, vegetarian diet might lead to similar health improvements.</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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<h2 style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Taking Adventures</span></h2><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Self-experimentation is critical to finding optimality in your life. We all most consistently seek out approaches that work for us. Clearly, it’s important to carefully make choices that will affect our health. The most prudent action is to combine anthropological data (i.e. the evolutionary approach), anecdotal data from people like you, scientific data (always discerning the validity of the results) and personal experimentation to develop a dietary approach that is optimal for you. This approach can probably be applied to all areas of health.</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So, with this in mind, I’m feeling a little adventurous. If this blog is called Adventures in Wellness, than I best get on with taking some actual adventures. The idea is that these adventures will be n=1/self-experimentation. I will used the knowledge I’ve gained over the past year to inform my choices regarding the experiments, or adventures, I choose to take. </span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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<h2 style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My First Adventure – Going Paleo</span></h2><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I’m finally going to take the plunge. I’ve had tons of excuses to not try going full-Paleo, but I’m going to give it a go for 30 days. I’ve read Robb Wolf’s The Paleo Solution, and I know I can do this. So, for the next 30 days (I actually started this on Wednesday), I will be living my life without eating grains, legumes and dairy.</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Prior to this adventure, I’ve basically given up grains (except for white rice and organic corn) and legumes (which I don’t really care for anyway). So, my biggest challenge in the coming weeks will be to give up dairy. I still plan on eating butter, though. I’ll be giving updates, included a recount of what I’ve been eating.</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Paleo Food Diary – Days 1 - 3</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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<h1 style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Day 1</span></h1><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Breakfast</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Eggs and Sausage</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Supplement – Cod liver/Butter Oil; Selenium; L-Glutamine</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lunch</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Salad – with bacon, olive oil and apple cider vinegar</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Chicken broth</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Chicken in reduction sauce</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dinner</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sausage with sauce</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Buttered, steamed asparagus</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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<h1 style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Day 2</span></h1><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Breakfast</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Eggs and Bacon</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Supplement – Probiotic</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lunch</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Salad – with bacon, olive oil and apple cider vinegar</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Chicken broth</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Leftover sausage in sauce</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dinner</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Meatballs with sauce</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Salad – with bacon, olive oil and apple cider vinegar </span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoBodyText2" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Desert – almond macaroons (I slipped and binged a little on this tastey treat. Normally, I would just would have a few squares of dark chocolate)</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Day 3</b> (this is today, so this is my plan as of now)</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Breakfast</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Nothing – fasting</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lunch</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Salad – with bacon, olive oil and apple cider vinegar</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Chicken broth</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">2 Hard-boiled eggs</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Coconut milk smoothie (if necessary – not sure I’ll be hungry enough to have it)</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dinner</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">2 Hamburgers</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Fermented Pickle or Sauerkraut</span></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Salad – with bacon, olive oil and apple cider vinegar </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span>spacewomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13685318913125090866noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486672049564884847.post-15571424428029308962011-05-23T13:27:00.001-07:002011-05-23T13:27:34.692-07:00My Husband Was Right!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:DoNotOptimizeForBrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Okay, okay, okay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My husband is making me write this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Back when I was a lipophobe (i.e. scared of saturated fat), I made some mistakes that he’d like to highlight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was wrong and he was right.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">The Red Lobster Story</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">As my husband tells it …<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>we were having a nice dinner at Red Lobster with some friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You know those kinds of dinners … no kids, great conversations, a little wine and beer, and pure gluttony.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m sure I was having the salmon, which is all I’ll pretty much eat at most restaurants (now I know to be sure it’s wild caught, though). My husband was enjoying some form of surf and turf, with crab legs I think.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had finished his crab legs, but still had all of the delicious, melted butter left, so he decided to make a very logical choice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He dipped the remaining French fries he had in the butter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I caught him doing this out of the corner of my eye, my lipophobia got the better of me and I chastised him, apparently loud enough for people at neighboring tables to turn and look.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though remaining totally cool at the table (thanks, beer!), my husband was mortified.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He brings up the anecdote quite often, now that I’ve changed my tune on fat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would not applaud such a decision (though I would prefer he eat French fries made at home fried in lard or beef tallow).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Sneaking Soy</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Ah, it shames me to admit this, but I used to think soy was healthy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not only that, but I sought ways to sneak soy into our diets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh, woe is me for ever doing such a silly thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I now know about the anti-nutrients, the phytic acid and the psuedo-estrogens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I used to drink the silk directly from the bottle, and I would add it to sauces I was making and even would add it to my dear husband’s coffee (in addition to his usual milk-based creamer).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I probably made him sick on more than one occasion by feeding him this stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m sorry, babes!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know better now.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Honey, you were right!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m glad we are (mostly) on the same page now regarding food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can both enjoy butter, full-fat dairy (including delicious local, raw cheese), bacon, ground beef, buttered vegetables, etc.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">For those more interested in the benefits of butter and the disadvantages of soy, check out these links:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Butter:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/12/07/why-is-butter-better.aspx">http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/12/07/why-is-butter-better.aspx</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><a href="http://www.eastwesthealing.com/nutrition/the-benefits-of-butter.aspx">http://www.eastwesthealing.com/nutrition/the-benefits-of-butter.aspx</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><a href="http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/519-why-butter-is-better.html">http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/519-why-butter-is-better.html</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Soy:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><a href="http://www.naturalnews.com/022630.html">http://www.naturalnews.com/022630.html</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><a href="http://starboard.flowtheory.net/blog/2010/05/23/why-soy-sucks/">http://starboard.flowtheory.net/blog/2010/05/23/why-soy-sucks/</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><a href="http://blog.wholesoystory.com/">http://blog.wholesoystory.com/</a></span></div>spacewomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13685318913125090866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486672049564884847.post-33354951225442744562011-05-20T11:30:00.000-07:002011-05-20T12:34:46.143-07:00Podcast Round-up 5/20/11<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Each week, I plan to share with you the alternative health and nutrition podcasts that I found the most interesting and helpful. Here’s this week’s list:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">NOTE: You do not need an ipod to enjoy these podcasts. The links below, send you to websites where you can listen right online. Most of these shows are also available, through iTunes, though, for those of you with an ipod or iphone who want to listen on the go.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This week’s Dr. Lo Radio Show featured a natural dermatologist, Daniel Lapp. He discussed natural and nutritional remedies for many skin problems, like acne and eczema. He also discussed useful information on sun protection. Check it out at <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/drloradio/2011/05/19/skin-health-and-natural-medicine-with-dr-daniel-delapp">http://www.blogtalkradio.com/drloradio/2011/05/19/skin-health-and-natural-medicine-with-dr-daniel-delapp</a>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Latest in Paleo had a very moving podcast this week. Angelo Coppola, who runs the podcast, shared the story of his daughter’s recent, premature birth. It was a powerful story, which highlighted the importance of having a plan for the possibility of premature births and of using donor breastmilk with preemies. Find the podcast here: <a href="http://5by5.tv/paleo/16">http://5by5.tv/paleo/16</a>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This week’s Livin’ La Vida Low Carb shows included discussions with two doctors (Dr. Daniel Jones and Dr. David Stewart) who have embraced the whole food, low-carb approach to health and wellness. Each conversation provided great insight from each doctor’s unique point of view. The low-carb movement seems to be growing not only among lay peole, like myself, but also within the medical community, which is awesome. Podcasts can be downloaded in iTunes or on the LLVLC show website here: <a href="http://www.thelivinlowcarbshow.com/shownotes/">http://www.thelivinlowcarbshow.com/shownotes/</a>.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I had to add one more. One of my newly found favorite podcasts comes all the way across the Atlantic from England's super-cool Dr. Briffa. This week he discusses, " </span><br />
Vitamin D boosts wellbeing in the elderly, the nonsense of ‘normal’ ranges, and why the ‘broadening of disease’ can be good business for drug companies but leave ordinary people worse off." His podcast can be found here: <a href="http://www.drbriffa.com/2011/05/20/podcast-20th-may-2011/">http://www.drbriffa.com/2011/05/20/podcast-20th-may-2011/</a></div><a href="http://www.drbriffa.com/2011/05/20/podcast-20th-may-2011/"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span></a><br />
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</div>spacewomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13685318913125090866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486672049564884847.post-3654457714359670492011-05-19T05:19:00.000-07:002011-05-19T05:19:15.131-07:00Being Healthy is Not a Joke, Neither is Being Sick<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:DoNotOptimizeForBrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">A family member, who I love very much, is not healthy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is overweight and has had many health problems over the years as a result.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His weight has been up and down and up and down, along with his health.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When he is eating “healthy,” it’s the misguided conventional wisdom version of healthy eating (i.e. low-fat, calorie restriction), which might lead to some initial weight loss, but not actual health.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s also not sustainable for this person, as he seems to always gain back the weight he loses.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">I saw him over this past weekend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He made several jokes regarding his weight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just didn’t find the jokes funny AT ALL.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am too concerned about his health.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has beautiful children that need and deserve to have their father around for the long haul.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s a funny, smart, and caring person, and has the right to a healthy life like everyone else.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">It’s also sad because he was a great athlete when he as younger, and was in great shape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though it’s all too common these days, it’s just not normal for people to lose their health and vitality as they age.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He should be running around, playing sports and enjoying life, without worrying about what health problems might be just around the corner.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">As I was visiting with my family, I inquired publicly as to whether or not the tomatoes on the counter were organic (they looked delicious and I wanted one, but I really try to avoid conventional produce with pesticides for many reason, one being that I am still nursing my 17 month old son and don’t want to deliberately ingest toxins that might make their way into my milk).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also asked this question to get the rest of my family thinking about the importance of organic foods, without actually lecturing them on the topic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This family member sort of laughed at my question and then made fun of my remark for the rest of the visit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I just don’t find this humor funny, and not because I was the butt of the joke.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When he makes fun of his own weight, it makes me sad, because I feel like he’s not taking his health seriously.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel like this is true of the public at large.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When we laugh at obese people who make fun of themselves, we are almost condoning the behavior that caused their obesity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not saying that it’s their fault, at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The problem is primarily with a society that pushes unhealthy, processed foods on people, and actually convinces people that these foods are healthy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>spacewomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13685318913125090866noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486672049564884847.post-61845990168379966562011-05-18T06:41:00.000-07:002011-05-18T06:41:12.549-07:00Jimmy Moore is AWESOME!!!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:DoNotOptimizeForBrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--> <br />
<span style="font-size: small;"></span> <div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Okay, in my last post, I mentioned that if you don’t know who Weston A. Price is, you need to know.<span> </span>Well, the same holds true for Jimmy Moore.<span> </span>He’s just plain awesome.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I have to thank Jimmy, because if I hadn’t found his podcast, Livin’ La Vida Low Carb Show (found here: <a href="http://www.thelivinlowcarbshow.com/shownotes/">http://www.thelivinlowcarbshow.com/shownotes/</a>), I never would have started my wellness adventure.<span> </span>I found his podcast close to a year ago, and it was my introduction into Low Carb and alternative health.<span> </span>He’s interviewed tons of experts in health and nutrition (his last podcast was numbered 471).<span> </span>That’s right, he’s done <u>471</u> podcast interviews.<span> </span>471!<span> </span>That’s nuts!!!<span> </span>I’ve spent countless hours enjoying his podcasts and have learned a great deal from them.<span> </span>Now, that’s edutainment.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And, as if that wasn’t enough, he has another podcast, Low Carb Conversations with Jimmy Moore and Friends (found here: <a href="http://www.lowcarbconversations.com/">http://www.lowcarbconversations.com/</a>), and two blogs: The Livin’ La Vida Low Carb Blog (found here: <a href="http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/">http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/</a>) and Jimmy Moore’s Livin’ La Vida Low Carb Menus (found here: <a href="http://lowcarbmenu.blogspot.com/">http://lowcarbmenu.blogspot.com/</a>).<span> </span>I really enjoy reading both blogs.<span> </span>The first not only highlights the interviews he does on the podcast, but also discusses a myriad of alternative health and nutrition news and views.<span> </span>His menus blog lists what he’s eating and how he’s exercising, along with a peak into other aspects of his life, including some of his religious practices and his volunteer work within his community).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Jimmy is not just the most prolific blogger and podcaster in the health and nutrition community, he is also a great inspiration to those who struggle or have struggled with obesity and the ill-health effects of a Standard American Diet (SAD) and lifestyle).<span> </span>From his homepage (found here: <a href="http://www.livinlavidalowcarb.com/">http://www.livinlavidalowcarb.com/</a>): “In January 2004, Jimmy Moore made a decision to get rid of the weight that was literally killing him. At 32 years of age and 410 pounds, the time had come for a radical change of lifestyle. A year later, he had shed 180 pounds, shrunk his waist by 20 inches, and dropped his shirt size from 5XL to XL. After his dramatic weight loss, Jimmy was inundated with requests from friends, neighbors and complete strangers seeking information and help. Jimmy is dedicated to helping as many people as possible find the information they need to make the kind of lifestyle change he has made…”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoBodyText2" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I feel like I know the guy, from listening to him a few times a week, and reading his blogs regularly.<span> </span>And, he seems like a great guy to know.<span> </span>He’s an inspiration to all of us who have chosen to make our health a priority, and to look a little deeper at the facts and the research, instead of just believing the government and the media.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As if blogging and podcasting wasn’t enough, he’s also written a couple of books: <i>21 Life Lessons From Livin' La Vida Low-Carb: How The Healthy Low-Carb Lifestyle Changed Everything I Thought I Knew </i>and <i>Livin' La Vida Low-Carb: My Journey From Flabby Fat To Sensationally Skinny In One Year</i>.<span> </span>They are on my reading list and I will review them on the blog when I read them.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Yesterday, he was also kind enough to take a look at my humble blog and make the first comment.<span> </span>It’s really special to me to have him as my first commenter.<span> </span>Thanks, Jimmy!</span>spacewomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13685318913125090866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7486672049564884847.post-13201267990198193662011-05-17T08:54:00.000-07:002011-05-17T08:55:29.026-07:00Recommended Supplements for Bone Health<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:DoNotOptimizeForBrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Recently, my husband, son and I visited my mother-in-law, Maggie, in Washington, DC.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had a wonderful time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During our conversations, I mentioned I was writing a blog about alternative health and nutrition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At that point, Maggie asked me what I thought about her Calcium/Vitamin D supplement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve read a bit recently about Calcium supplementation being correlated with calcification of the arteries and heart disease.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have also heard that Vitamin K2 is useful for bone re-mineralization and the avoidance of bone fractures in the elderly.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">So, I wanted to look a little deeper into the subject to figure out what would be the best course of action for Maggie in regards to supplementing to avoid bone fractures and osteoporosis.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Many of my favorite, trusted bloggers have written about the subject, so this post is going to more or less review their posts and string together their thoughts and research in a way that is hopefully meaningful and leads to a recommended supplemental regimen for Maggie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Disclaimer: I am FAR from a professional or expert in this area, and these are just my humble recommendations, based on the information I have found online from what I believe are trusted sources.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Okay, here we go:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Key Point:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was listening to Dr. John Neustadt, an expert on bone health, on the Underground Wellness podcast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He makes a great point that whatever treatment you use, you should be looking for a treatment (or supplement routine) that reduces bone fractures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bone Density is only 44% effective and predicting bone fractures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, we should look at the research through the lense of bone fracture risk reduction instead of merely building bone density.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Calcium Supplementation –Is it prudent? Is it safe?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Here’s an interesting quote from the Americam Journal of Clinical Nutrition (found here: <a href="http://www.ajcn.org/content/77/2/504.long">http://www.ajcn.org/content/77/2/504.long</a>): “Calcium has been the focus of nutritional research for the prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis as many clinical trials of calcium supplementation have found that it can indeed reduce bone loss and lower the risk of bone fractures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, the trials often include a simultaneous treatment with vitamin D, which makes it difficult to attribute the benefits to calcium alone. Also, the bone density increase found during the first year or two of calcium supplementation may not substantially increase in the long term. In contrast to most clinical data, most observational studies did not find a significant association between calcium intake and fracture risk or bone loss.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, it seems there’s not a whole lot of evidence showing that calcium alone prevents fractures or bone loss.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Additionally, there have been several recent studies linking calcium supplementation to heart disease.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One recent study, published in </span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The British Medical Journal, was titled <i>Calcium supplements with or without vitamin D and risk of cardiovascular events: reanalysis of the Women’s Health Initiative limited access dataset and meta-analysis</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(found here:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.d2040.full">http://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.d2040.full</a>).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this study, researchers reanalyzed the data from the Women’s Health Initiative study, a 7-year trial in which 36,282 postmenopausal women were randomly assigned to calcium and vitamin D or placebo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They found Women taking calcium supplements with or without vitamin D demonstrated a modest increase in the risk of cardiovascular events including myocardial infarction, stroke, and death from coronary heart disease.</span></div><div class="MsoBodyText2"><br />
</div><div class="MsoBodyText2">Unfortunately, there really hasn’t been a clinical study to date that has looked at calcium’s affect on heart health.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The studies that have been done have been primarily observational, which means the results can’t be completely trusted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, correlation does not prove causation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It does send up a red flag, though.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">My recommendation</span></u><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As long as you are not deficient in calcium (if you don’t know, get your levels tested), it would be best practice to get your calcium from food. Green, leafy vegetables are a great source.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have a salad every day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Grass-fed, raw dairy is also a good source.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My suggestion would be to eat lots of cultured, raw dairy, like raw cheese and yogurt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These aren’t available at conventional grocery stores.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can get them over the internet, at farmer’s markets or at health food stores, like Whole Foods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Now, if you were deficient in calcium, I would look for a calcium supplement that is derived from whole foods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It looks like most of the whole foods calcium supplements (like those from Garden of Life and New Chapter) also include other nutrients (such as Vitamin D and Magnesium). So, if you need to supplement calcium, you will need to limit your other supplements, so that you are not getting too much of any one nutrient). </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Another source of raw calcium is Coral Legend (found here: <a href="http://www.radiantlifecatalog.com/product/CORAL-LEGEND-MINERAL-POWDER/salts-minerals">http://www.radiantlifecatalog.com/product/CORAL-LEGEND-MINERAL-POWDER/salts-minerals</a>), which contains a highly absorbable form of calcium with magnesium.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you decide to take calcium and are planning to use other supplements (as per my recommendation) for Vitamins D and K, this is a good way to make sure you aren’t getting too much of the other nutrients.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Vitamin D</span></b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"> – It’s probably a good idea to supplement with Vitamin D3, but again you should get your levels tested.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s some information from one of the blogs I read regularly, The Healthy Skeptic (found here: <a href="http://thehealthyskeptic.org/9-steps-to-perfect-health-4-supplement-wisely">http://thehealthyskeptic.org/9-steps-to-perfect-health-4-supplement-wisely</a>):</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">“Much has been written about the need for and benefits of vitamin D supplementation over the past several years </span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">–</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> and with good reason. It</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">’</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">s absolutely critical for health, and up to 50% of Americans are deficient. </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">We can get vitamin D from two sources: food, and sunshine. Seafood is the only significant source of vitamin D, but you</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">’</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">d still have to eat a lot of it to get enough. 8-9 ounces of herring provides about 2,000 IU of vitamin D, which is a minimum daily requirement for most people to maintain adequate blood levels. </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Sunlight converts a precursor called 7-dehydro-cholesterol in our skin to vitamin D3. This D3, along with the D3 we get from food, gets converted by the liver into 25-hyrdroxy-vitamin D (25D), which is what typically gets measured when you have a vitamin D test. The optimal 25D level is somewhere between 35 and 50 ng/mL.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">What about sunlight? Well, in summer mid-day sun with pale skin, 30 minutes of direct sunlight will produce 10-20,000 IU of vitamin D. But this is a best-case scenario. With darker skin, or different times of year, or buildings that block the sunlight, or increased time spent indoors, we won</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">’</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">t be producing that much. It</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">’</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">s also true that aging, overweight and inflammation reduce our conversion of sunlight to vitamin D. This is why sunlight alone isn</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">’</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">t normally a sufficient source of vitamin D.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">With this in mind, most people should supplement with D. The amount needed to maintain blood levels of 35-50 ng/mL varies depending on some of the factors I</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">’</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">ve listed above, but in my clinical experience it</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">’</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">s usually somewhere between 2,000 </span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">–</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> 5,000 IU. With vitamin D, it</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">’</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">s important to test your levels, begin supplementation, and then re-test a few months later to determine the correct maintenance dose.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">My recommendation</span></u><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Supplement with cod liver oil (CLO) to get enough Vitamin D.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a whole food supplement, and also provides Omega-3 fatty acids, which as we know promote cardiovascular health and are anti-inflammatory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>CLO also provides Vitamin A.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was listening to a recent podcast with Primal Body Primal Mind podcast (found here: <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/primal-body-primal-mind-radio/id385416862">http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/primal-body-primal-mind-radio/id385416862</a>) about the importance of Vitamin A to avoid Vitamin D toxicity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She mentioned that for every receptor for Vitamin D, there is a receptor for Vitamin A.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The two work together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The nice thing about CLO is that it provides both nutrients.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The best version of CLO, from what I can gather online, is Green Pastures (found here: <a href="" name="OLE_LINK3"></a><a href="http://www.greenpasture.org/public/Products/ButterCodLiverBlend/index.cfm"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;">http://www.greenpasture.org/public/Products/ButterCodLiverBlend/index.cfm</span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;">).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span>Note: this is actually the CLO combo with High Vitamin Butter Oil (more on that in the following section’s recommendations).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoBodyText2"><b>Vitamin K2 (MK-4)</b></div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">’</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">s a lot of great information on the blogs I read regarding Vitamin K2.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">’</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">s what the Healthy Skeptic says (found here <a href="http://thehealthyskeptic.org/9-steps-to-perfect-health-4-supplement-wisely">http://thehealthyskeptic.org/9-steps-to-perfect-health-4-supplement-wisely</a>):<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Vitamin K2 may be the most important vitamin most people have never heard of. It</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">’</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">s needed to activate proteins and it also regulates calcium metabolism (keeping it in the bones and teeth where it belongs, and out of the soft tissue where it doesn</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">’</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">t belong). Elevated blood calcium significantly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), which explains why vitamin K2 has been shown to <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18722618" target="_blank">prevent atherosclerosis and heart attacks</a> (<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18722618">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18722618</a>). It also <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16801507" target="_blank">strengthens bones</a> (<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16801507">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16801507</a>) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Unfortunately, many (if not most) of Americans are deficient in vitamin K2. It</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">’</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">s important to point out that vitamin K2 is not the same as vitamin K1, which is found in green, leafy vegetables like kale and collards. Some K1 is converted into K2 in our bodies, but that conversion is inefficient in humans. It is efficient, however, in ruminant animals </span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">–</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"> which is why grass-fed dairy is the most convenient source of vitamin K2 in the diet. This is only true in animals raised on pasture, because it is eating the K1-rich grass that allows them to convert it into K2.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Most people should aim for at least 100 mcg/d from a combination of food and supplements. If you eat a large amount of cheese from grass-fed cows and pastured egg yolks, you may be able to get this amount from food alone. 100 g of hard cheese contains 67 mcg, and 6 pastured egg yolks contain about 32 mcg. Otherwise, supplementation is probably beneficial. I recommend a dosage of 1 mg/d in the MK-4 form, which is the form of vitamin K2 found in pastured dairy and the one shown to have the most benefit in clinical studies. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">The Whole Health Source blog had a very interesting post that reviewed an animal study (found here: <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17138823">http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17138823</a>) that showed Vitamin K2 MK-4 reversed arterial calcification in rats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His post can be found here: <a href="http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2008/11/can-vitamin-k2-reverse-arterial.html">http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2008/11/can-vitamin-k2-reverse-arterial.html</a>).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Whole Health Source did another blog post of this nutrient found here:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2008/06/vitamin-k2-menatetrenone-mk-4.html">http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2008/06/vitamin-k2-menatetrenone-mk-4.html</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">On the website for Osteo-K (a Vitamin K2 MK-4 supplement), the following studies were listed, showing links between MK-4 supplementation and reduction in fractures:</span></div><ol start="1" type="1"><li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Booth SL, Tucker KL, Chen H, et al. Dietary vitamin K intakes are associated with hip fracture but not with bone mineral density in elderly men and women. Am J Clin Nutr. 2000;71(5):1201-1208.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Cockayne S, Adamson J, Lanham-New S, Shearer MJ, Gilbody S, Torgerson DJ. Vitamin K and the Prevention of Fractures: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Arch Intern Med. 2006;166(12):1256-1261.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Kaneki M, Hosoi T, Ouchi Y, Orimo H. Pleiotropic actions of vitamin K: protector of bone health and beyond? Nutrition. 2006;22(7-8):845-852.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Sato Y, Kanoko T, Satoh K, Iwamoto J. Menatetrenone and vitamin D2 with calcium supplements prevent nonvertebral fracture in elderly women with Alzheimer's disease. Bone. 2005;36(1):61-68.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Shiraki M, Shiraki Y, Aoki C, Miura M. Vitamin K2 (Menatetrenone) Effectively Prevents Fractures and Sustains Lumbar Bone Mineral Density in Osteoporosis. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. 2000;15(3):515-522.</span></li>
</ol><div style="margin-right: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Richard Nikoley, at Free the Animal, also explains the benefits of MK-4 through a historical lens, by looking at the work of Weston A. Price.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you don</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">’</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">t know who Weston A. Price is, google him!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will be work the effort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In short, he was a dentist who traveled the world studying traditional populations to discover the common threads in their diets that kept them healthy and free of tooth decay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He found several commonalities amongst these different populations, one of which he called Activator X.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div style="margin-right: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Here</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">’</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">s Richard</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">’</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">s quote:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Weston Price was primary interested in Activator X because of its ability to control dental caries. By studying the remains of human skeletons from past eras, he estimated that there had been more dental caries in the preceding hundred years than there had been in any previous thousand-year period and suggested that Activator X was a key substance that people of the past obtained but that modern nutrition did not adequately provide. Price used the combination of high-vitamin cod liver oil and high-Activator X butter oil as the cornerstone of his protocol for reversing dental caries. This protocol not only stopped the progression of tooth decay, but completely reversed it without the need for oral surgery by causing the dentin to grow and re-mineralize, sealing what were once active caries with a glassy finish. One 14-year-old girl completely healed 42 open cavities in 24 teeth by taking capsules of the high-vitamin cod liver oil and Activator X concentrate three times a day for seven months.” (found here: <a href="http://freetheanimal.com/2008/11/vitamin-k2-menatetrenone-mk-4.html">http://freetheanimal.com/2008/11/vitamin-k2-menatetrenone-mk-4.html</a>).</span></div><div style="margin-right: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">My recommendation:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Supplement with Vitamin K2 (MK-4).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do this and feel it is even more beneficial for those who are fighting osteoporosis or are in danger or bone fractures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There seems to be more than ample evidence that this nutrient is essential to bone health.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My supplement recommendation is to supplement with the combined CLO with high vitamin butter oil (Weston A. Price’s Activator X).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, this is a whole foods supplement that will be superior to taking an isolated, synthetic supplement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Green Pastures makes this supplement and it can be found here: <a href="http://www.greenpasture.org/public/Products/ButterCodLiverBlend/index.cfm">http://www.greenpasture.org/public/Products/ButterCodLiverBlend/index.cfm</a>).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">There are other supplements, such as Magnesium and Boron that are likely also useful for bone health.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I take a daily Magnesium supplement called Natural Calm, myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t really have time to look into these benefits/risk to these supplements, so I really don’t have an opinion. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">So, Maggie, my recommendation would be to supplement with the Cod Liver Oil/High Vitamin Butter Oil combo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It comes in pill form for about $25 for month’s supply (for the recommended dosage).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s more expensive than synthetic vitamins, and it is more difficult to procure (most likely, it will have to be ordered online, which I can do for you), but it will be more bioavailable (i.e. better absorbed by your body), and doesn’t separate nutrients, which is key since the (1) work synergistically and (2) prevent toxicity, which can occur by taking too much of one supplement and not enough of another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This single supplement will supply you with Vitamin D, Vitamin K2 (MK-4), Vitamin A (not necessary for bone health, but has other benefits), Omega-3 fats, among other nutrients.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would also recommend getting daily sunshine when possible, and getting both your Vitamin D and Calcium levels tested.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">If you find you are deficient in calcium, I would consider supplementing with Coral Legend (found here: <a href="http://www.radiantlifecatalog.com/product/CORAL-LEGEND-MINERAL-POWDER/salts-minerals">http://www.radiantlifecatalog.com/product/CORAL-LEGEND-MINERAL-POWDER/salts-minerals</a>), or with raw calcium.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Sorry for such a long post.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope it was thorough and made sense.</span>spacewomanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13685318913125090866noreply@blogger.com0