User louisa - Paleo Hacks.com

Does sleeping/sitting on a hard surface have any real benefits?

2010-03-26T20:07:59Z

Paleolithic men and women did not have sprung bedframes, cushioned easy chairs, soft mattresses or pillows. Many people around the world still do not have them either. What damage are we doing to our bodies, structurally and otherwise when we sleep and sit on modern furniture and is it realistic to think that returning to hard surfaces could reverse some of the damage done?

I am thinking of possibly throwing out my bed or at the very least trying to sleep on the floor. I have scoliosis (and my husband has back problems) and I have read evidence which says the floor is the way to go, but sometimes I think I am being slightly crazy wanting to do this.

Has anyone else had any experience of sleeping/sitting on the floor, was it hard to get used to, did you literally sleep on the floorboards or use some kind of mat and did it make any difference?

Should Paleos lighten up?

2010-06-29T20:56:06Z

Some paleos are really hard on themselves, saying 'no' to cake at parties and completely forgoing alcohol and other 'nasties' in pursuit of a healthy and lengthy life........

So, where so we draw the line? It is better to be vigilant and healthy, though somewhat dour, anxious and boring or be a relaxed kinda person who can take or leave all those 'bad' things and deal with the consequences as they present themselves.....

I knew people who were drinking whisky, smoking and doing other very un-paleo things at 90 years of age, who had managed to keep intact a 'to hell with it' and 'just suck it and see' kind of attitude and they were happy as happy could be and to all intents and purposes, healthy until the day they died.....

.....so, what I am trying to say here is, what part of the equation does attitude have to our health; do we REALLY have to stick tooth and nail to this regime to get the best out of life or is our mental/emotional attitude more important regardless of what passes between our lips and how many miles of concrete we pound per week?

sometimes I feel as if a slice of chocolate cake is manna from heaven and food for the soul.....but I also feel that way about roasted pig's trotters......so perhaps I have a slight need for lightening up, myself......not too much...... ;) ?

Answer by Louisa for Hack your Circulation

2010-07-20T06:10:34Z

My circulation wholly improved after switching to paleo, but you may want to look at thyroid problems, of which poor circulation can be an indicator.

here are some other symptoms:

Coarse hair and hair falling out easily, Dry or scaly skin, Constipation, Slow but steady weight gain, Having no energy.

Try adding some selenium/iodine to your diet in the form of seafood and fish and cut out soya and cruciferous veggies such as broccoli for a while and see if things improve.

If not, you may want to go to the doctor to get a blood test for the levels of TSH and total T4 in your body ;)

more info here.

Answer by Louisa for Best way to get marrow? And best places to buy organ meat?

2010-07-20T06:03:50Z

The most delicious way of eating marrow is to ask your butcher to chop up the bones - in Europe, we can find marrow sold in the supermarket this way. I am not sure if you can find a butcher near you who could do this, but as a last resort, you could cut the bones up yourself with a good saw ;) and then it is just a case of cooking them......

Based on the book 'Nose to Tail Eating' by Fergus Henderson - a famous restauranteur in the UK, this blog has sprung up- I subscribe to it and it has the most amazing recipes in it, I thoroughly recommend it.

Here is a recipe for roasted bone marrow. I have to say that this is one of the most delicious meals I have tasted. My sister ate roasted marrow on toast at the actual restaurant (St. John's) in London as a starter and said it was divine - the original recipe is in the book and there is an adapted version of it here.......

roasted bone marrow with parsley salad:

an apple a day keeps the doctor away

2010-07-18T08:46:25Z

I heard that the pectin in apples is good for digestive disorders and can also lower cholesterol - has anyone tried eating an apple a day for digestion problems (or anything else) and do they think that apples can be more of a benefit to our system than just a plain old sugar hit?

Answer by Louisa for Vibram Five Fingers or Softstar Runamoc

2010-07-18T08:38:42Z

never tried the runamocs, but I have to say that the vff's are the most amazing things for getting your toes to work independently from your feet. Shoes that are regular shaped shoes even though they have thin soles, whatever, keep your toes working in one solid 'block' therefore you never get to feel what it is like to have every toe gripping the ground independently of the next toe. For me this is the most incredible feeling to vff's.

For the first two weeks of wearing vff's I went through terrible toe cramps as my toes loosened up and started to work separately again, after those two weeks I found that my toes had serious flexibility and strength and would bend forward and back much further than they used to. All the muscles in my feet are stronger and my arch higher now I 'feel' the ground with a heightened sensitivity......I believe separate toes are the reason for this, even gripping tree roots and the edge of curbs etc, is now a pleasure - not to mention tightrope walking ;)

From the photos of the runamocs, I get the feeling that this kind of foot and toe strengthening and flexibility is still possible, but not to the extent the vffs offer with their separate toe pockets,

I would say go with vffs every time, they are AWESOME!!!

oil pulling and paleo

2010-06-19T07:04:30Z

Does anyone practice oil pulling (swishing oil - I use coconut - around in the mouth for twenty minutes on an empty stomach every day) and if so, have they noticed any changes to their health?

I ask this question specifically to people who are following a paleo diet - as sometimes changes are hard to detect when overall health is very good anyway. I started OP a while ago to hopefully whiten my yellow teeth, which cannot be cleaned conventionally as they have been yellow since the adult teeth erupted......and have read amazing claims for it curing all kinds of other ailments such as gum disease and sinus disorders, joint pain and overall increase in sleep quality......

So, has anyone had any experience with whiter teeth through OP or any of these other benefits?

Biting flies, mosquitos, redheads and paleo?

2010-06-27T18:55:11Z

I was told the other day that redheads do not generally get bitten by mosquitos or flies of any kind - and being the positive and proud paleo that I am, immediately thought, "Hmmmm, cavemen didn't get bitten either" (having been sure I read somewhere that natives do not generally fall victim to malaria or dengue fever until modern foods are introduced into their lives - I think it was in Weston Price's 'Nutrition and Physical Degeneration').

So, happily I went and sat by our local outdoor pool and chewed on a piece of meat thinking, 'ha ha, no flies on me' and promptly came home with two huge horsefly bites on my rear end and thigh.

Has anyone any thoughts on this? Any foods we should be avoiding especially - like salt? Any supplements that we should be taking? Any natural remedies for after-bite care?

your thoughts greatly appreciated.......

Answer by Louisa for Could we have Iron Overload?

2010-06-28T08:54:12Z

There has been a post already covering this in the archives here including a very interesting conversation about the build up of iron in the body and giving blood on a regular basis, you may like to look at it. The conclusions were that, yes, build up of iron can happen with serious consequences, however the body has automatic processes in place to regulate iron levels naturally.

I think eating lots of iron rich foods is generally better than not eating them - seems like striking a happy balance between the two extremes would be the solution.......

Answer by Louisa for The Strange Absence of Hangovers

2010-06-27T19:27:56Z

I find sticking to Tequila - usually as Margaritas (or at a push - a very good quality vodka) all night, taking two milk thistle supplements and three glasses of water before bed do me loads of favours ;)

p.s. I am also a cheap date.

p.p.s. your liver is functioning better, that is why you recover quicker.....!!

Answer by Louisa for Addicted To Sugar

2010-06-27T19:18:24Z

If there is only one thing you do, then it has to be buying this book: "Potatoes Not Prozac" by Kathleen Desmaisons, it will provide you with all the science, strategies, recipes, tactics and advice for cutting out sugar for good from your life, set out in a seven-step type program.

I have tried it and also her other book "Little Sugar Addicts" for my children. It advocates the use of eating one potato per day (in the evening) - which she claims regulates seratonin in the brain, but even if you do not do this, the wealth of info on these pages makes it worth reading.

One thing I remember whilst reading it was thinking, 'My Goodness, at last there are people out there who feel the same way as me, it has a name - sugar sensitivity - and this is how you get over it' (not necessarily by going cold turkey; she has many other routes that have proved successful in overcoming the 'habit') Desmaisons documents many, many cases, some similar to yours and in fact, I too had been trying to give up for years, never being able to until I got into the program. She has an amazing forum on radiantrecovery.com if you need to talk to others going through the same process as you......

....recovery from sugar addiction is just as hard as recovering from acoholism, smoking etc. you need all the support you can get.......

good luck.

So what about honey?

2010-03-05T17:06:16Z

Forgive me if this has been asked somewhere here already, but what role does honey and hive products (bee pollen, royal jelly and propolis) play in the paleo diet? I have a few questions to ask about this elusive nectar. It is called the perfect food; lab tests have shown that animals can survive indefinitely on a diet of bee pollen and water alone, but how much of it did paleolithic man consume?

Would hives have been raided seasonally in paleolithic times, would every part of the hive have been consumed and how much honey would Grok have consumed on average, if at all? I assume honey bees are found pretty much all over the world, and in classical times honey was certainly viewed as food from the gods, (and a food which aids longevity) but is honey, just like sugar; sucrose and fructose, something to be avoided?

I would understand if honey was used for medicinal purposes only, I would imagine hives were few and far between and were highly prized, so does that mean we should be taking honey in order not to get sick or only when we are sick?

Where should I go to see modern hunter-gatherers?

2010-04-05T09:18:02Z

This may sound crazy, but if I wanted to take a 'field trip' to visit a hunter/gatherer tribe practicing their lifestyle somewhere in the world, where would be the most appropriate place to go?

In your opinion, do you think this kind of trip is ethical and do you think there would be as much benefit for them as there would be for me?

Would it be dangerous or beneficial to eat 100% meat for a certain period of time?

2010-04-25T13:00:59Z

I have been thinking how fantastic I feel when I eat meat and only meat - bacon for breakfast, sausage for lunch and steak for dinner. I do not crave other food, do not want to eat between meals and do not have any of the symptoms of the SAD diet when I eat this way. Great for a short period of time (say a day at most).

I was thinking, would it be beneficial to eat 100% meat (including fish) for a longer period of time, say a week or two or do you think this would ultimately be harmful to my body (to eat this way)?

Would I be missing out on any vital nutrients along the way?

paleo colon cleanse

2010-04-26T07:10:27Z

I have heard mixed reports about colon/parasite/liver cleansing and the like; some say it is hugely beneficial, others say a fraud, down right dangerous and waste of time.

Does the paleo diet (meat/fat) alone provide all the 'inner maintenance' the body needs or is there any evidence that hunter/gathering people internally cleansed their bodies in addition to their diets? If so, how can we replicate this cleanse safely and efficiently with substances readily at our disposal?

Answer by Louisa for Importance of Dark Yellow / Orange butter?

2010-04-25T13:12:22Z

I just want to add that I live in the French Alps (3 hours away from the valley where Price studied his Swiss natives in the 1930's) and the cows have just this week been let out to pasture again after being inside barns for the winter. Whilst they are inside, their butter is pale yellow (because they eat hay that has been cut during the autumn) and soon the butter will be turning deeper yellow as they start eating fresh green grass again.

The movement of livestock is called 'transhumance' - where they are moved up to alpine quarters in the summer and are kept inside barns for the winter months.

I do not think it is the butter's color alone that should be an indication of its nutritional value, however; pastured butter is pastured butter, obviously better than intensively raised butter but the butter WAP was studying was alpine butter; made from milk that has been taken from cows who are pastured on the high alpine plateaux of Europe where the cows are completely free to eat medicinal flowers and all manner of other plants never found in the typical farmer's field (the cows get to choose what they eat - they are self-medicators).

Our butter tastes like no other butter I have ever tasted before and it's color/texture is never static, it turns from white to deep yellow throughout the year and the locals eat it when it is deep yellow (in the summer when the cows are high up on the mountains), it is also traditional in these parts to eat cheese when the butter is white - all the french mountain artisan cheese would have been made with summer milk and stored for consumption in the winter, insuring that the population receive the best nutrients all year round, the most expensive cheese here is still made with 'alpage milk'.

When it is in the fridge it is rock hard and when left on the counter, soft as margarine. I would be suspicious of butter that is soft even when in the fridge.

I am not sure about the butter in the U.S. but I would look for a farm outfit where the butter is produced 'by hand' so-to-speak and changes color throughout the year. If there are any 'artisan' dairies where you live, buy cheese in the winter and eat yellow butter in the summer (preferably from cows grazed on mountainous terrain where they have rough pasture containing a variety of different wild plants to eat).

How far does Paleo resonate through your life?

2010-03-09T10:38:31Z

Some people just eat the diet, some work-out, some try and live life a little more like a caveman/woman. What I want to know is how far do you take Paleo?

OK, I assume most of you here are eating/want to eat paleo, but how far does/can this thing go?

Do you: Only using candles at night? Hunt game/fish? Follow an earth spirituality? Do not use soap/shampoo? Live a self-sufficient/off-grid life? Live in an 'eco' or 'village' community or in the wilds? Are your children involved? Do you completely re-enact a caveman life?

I am interested to know, as I think Paleo means so many different things to so many people, I was wondering how far the concept resonates with you and if not, is just eating Paleo enough or do you yearn for 'more'?

Some small and quirky differences you have noticed since going Paleo

2010-03-12T07:05:06Z

I noticed that I have stopped grinding my teeth at night since switching to the Paleo diet, which I can't really ascribe a medical explanation. I sometimes feel weird hunches about things that I am sure are a result of my lifestyle changes.

Have you noticed any small and quirky differences (health and otherwise) to your body since going Paleo or is there something you have a hunch about, but are not quite 100% sure it can be attributed to a more primal life?

Please feel free to be as quirky as you like.......

fasting and blood sugar

2010-04-17T08:06:21Z

I have tried fasting in the past, (whilst eating paleo) but I just cannot make it beyond 4 or 5 hours without getting symptoms of low blood sugar - grumpiness, tiredness and the like (this is an especially awful experience for my kids). Could there be an underlying reason for this and how should I proceed, if at all??

Is it true that chocolate contains lead?

2010-04-16T07:23:30Z

I read recently that chocolate contains high levels of lead - is this true? Is it found in only some types of chocolate, how does it get there and should we (and our children) be avoiding it because of its lead content?

Answer by Louisa for Is the paleo community falling into nutritionism ?

2010-04-16T17:01:17Z

I think that if something such as Cordain's book was the only Paleo source available to us then, yes we would be paleo nutritionists to a certain extent, but I also think that the paleo community today has gotten wise to that closed approach; there are so many people who come to paleo as a way to get back to real eating, partly because some people migrate from the theories and practises of Weston A. Price and Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions and partly because people see the sense in eating in season, whole food, like our Paleolithic ancestors did.

I also believe that this holistic approach has something to do with the number of women now eating paleo and also the popularity of organic, homemade and farm-orientated food out there and the accompanying plethora of education into the benefits of pastured/unprocessed produce.

Whereas, we still have the scientific voice amongst the paleo community keeping us up to date with all our food properties and micro-nutrients in miniscule detail, we now have an upsurge in the people who follow the paleo way of life through practising it and being closer to the earth by listening to how food reacts in their bodies and following other primal lifestyle choices. It is almost as if people are starting to TRUST whole food again and not having to rely so much on what micro-nutrients scientists tell us we should be ingesting. Call it a shift towards re-enactment if you will.

In addition, it is this balance of micro and macro which creates such a successful and vibrant mix of anecdotal and scientific information within the paleo community, which in turn leaves it ultimately up to the individual to follow as close to micro or macro as they desire.

Answer by Louisa for Is it true that chocolate contains lead?

2010-04-16T16:42:04Z

how to temper chocolate:

Place the raw chocolate in a heat-proof dish, stand dish in pan of simmering water and heat over low flame until chocolate has melted, raise the temperature up to 45c/113F and stir, then stand the bowl in a pan of cold water until chocolate reaches 25c/77F, then place it back in the boiling water and heat to 30c/86F.

Then the chocolate has been tempered.

(From the recipe book from the film Chocolat)

Is there any advantage in drinking chicory over coffee?

2010-04-14T10:17:50Z

Is it a stimulant? I hear it is high in magnesium. Anyone have any advice or recipes for any chicory drinks mixed with chocolate, cream, coffee or cinnamon?

Any good alternatives to Teflon pans?

2010-04-12T20:31:18Z

Since going paleo and using copious amounts of lard to cook with, I suddenly realized I do not need to fry with a teflon pan any more.

I want to try something else and indeed have tried out a couple of sad looking affairs which left me scrubbing off scrambled egg for days (and getting seriously pissed off too).

I am not sure what to buy with a limited budget, but would absolutely splash out on some pans that would last me for the rest of my life IF I am 100% sure they are not leaking something else like lead or aluminum into my food.

Does anyone have any experience frying with non-non-stick pans and if so do you have any recommendations, brand names, tips or advice for the serious seeker of non-carcinogenic cookware?

I heard copper pans are actually GOOD for you......is this true and if so are they any good to cook with?

Brushing our teeth, gum sensitivity and the paleo diet

2010-04-08T08:59:39Z

Are we making our gums more sensitive by brushing our teeth twice a day and if so, is there any evidence to suggest that eating a paleo diet can help with teeth and gum sensitivity?

If a paleo diet does indeed help, then are there any specific minerals/vitamins/nutrients playing a part in this de-sensitization?

Answer by Louisa for frightening fast food facts

2010-04-09T08:22:38Z

I lived and worked in Hong Kong, China, Bali and Thailand and I have to categorically say that the people there had an altogether different view of food preparation from the young people who prepare fast food in the restaurants of the West. In addition, many people in those countries are Muslims and have impeccable food preperation standards.

'Fast food' in Asia is tried and tested traditional food, prepared at home with ingredients found in the markets and is sold on the streets. It is sold by family run very small scale set-ups and the family will eat the same food that is for sale. Fast food in the West is prepared by people who are given minimal training and minimal wages and who probably eat the food only because it is convenient to do so.

I ate from fast food carts and wagons all over Asia with no problems. I actually got ill from eating in Macdonalds in Hong Kong once (the only time I went there) but ate quite happily from a Indonesian markets where the food was covered in flies.

I believe such places as Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan are now more like the West in un-hygienic food practises, but 'less affluent' areas of the East stay pretty impeccable when fast food is meant by traditional food sold on carts in markets.

My verdict: Asian traditional fast food is far less 'dangerous' in terms of food-borne illnesses than what the West has to offer, even for Westerners eating in those countries. Eating their traditional food would be like eating Grannie's sunday lunch served on a paper napkin bought from her nephew's front drive.....after Grannie had saved some for herself. The small scale enterprise here is the key to regulating standards, something that Macdonalds can just not achieve.

In terms of overall health of the food itself, well, I think it is unfair to compare these types of food with our fast food, they are just so different and varied; some contain meat, some don't, some are cooked in PUFA's, some not, most come with rice, buckwheat in other areas, noodles in another. Regional differences are huge and people's body types, metabolism and vigor reflect these variations.

On the other hand, if we compare Macdonald's meals instead, then they are the same the world over in terms of healthfulness. They display local variation in taste, but the methods of production are exactly the same (intensive) and people cannot get enough of them...I saw queues round the block in China for Macdonalds at lunch time.

Answer by Louisa for Does butter raise insulin and make you fat?

2010-04-09T07:40:39Z

This is a quote from Dr. Davis' post by Dr. Andreas Eenfel:

If you instead substitute bread for the butter, calorie for calorie, the insulin levels would shoot through the roof. In other words, if eating more butter makes you eat less bread, that will surely make you thinner, not fat. That seems to be the way it works for me and my patients. I eat more butter than ever, more than most people, and I am as thin at 38 as when I was 20.

Butter probably does cause an insulin response from looking at the evidence, but looking at Peter's article cited by Partrik, it is much much more complex than that. In short, the arguments could go back and forth forever, but I do not think we should be overly concerned about cutting out every item of insulinogenic food from our diets.

Here in the Alps where I live, butter was sacred and candles of butter were burned in church to bless the cows right up until the 1950's. The inhabitants of these valleys were healthy, svelt and happy and very high butter consumers, as there was not much else to eat (in winter especially).

To start with, I thought this quote above was irrelevant, but it is actually very relevant; if you are eating (pastured) butter instead of the other insulinogenic foods out there, then consuming it in moderation - as we should with all foods - gives us some important vitamins, minerals and activators that I think we shouldn't dismiss just because it raises insulin levels.

My personal experience is that I put on no weight if I eat butter in moderation (but this may not be the case for people who have challenges with insulin sensitivity, of course) and I think the benefits of including it in our diets far outweigh the argument that it may make us put on weight, it is tastier than lard, my children love it and my taste buds relish a smattering of butter on cooked vegetables or mixed into scrambled eggs most days.

Sorry for the unscientific answer, but when it comes down to it, unless you are insulin sensitive and you want to do all you can to stop insulin production in your body - in which case you can probably live happily without butter - I believe it is all a matter of taste; the paleo diet can be hugely restrictive and sometimes a real battle not to give into temptation, so if temptation comes in the form of another kind of healing fat, (which may - because of the effect of Free fatty acids - in the long run curb our cravings for carbs anyway) well, then it isn't the worst thing we could be doing to our bodies.

Great question Dexter, thanks....

Answer by Louisa for Monsanto and our food supply

2010-04-08T19:16:24Z

What can we do about it? Eat paleo and support local farmers for pastured meat, organic vegetables and fruit and cut down on buying food that comes from large agro-companies.....

The paleo diet automatically cuts out most things like grains, sugar and dairy which are all based on produce that can and has been patented, what is left is meat, fat, nuts, fruit and veg - all foodstuffs that can be found (hopefully) growing and being raised locally and hopefully no one has yet patented. Aren't we the lucky ones!

One of the reasons I drank raw milk for years was because it had to come straight from the cow, there could be no multinational corporation controlling its production, no thousand miles across continents for it to travel and minimal processing (like GMOs - which are already in our food chain; we cannot completely escape its effects). I had to go to the dairy with a glass bottle and have it filled directly from a milking cow. So, it was a kind of protest and a move back to grass-roots campaigning on a very small scale by me - but considering now there are over 1500 raw milk vending machines on the streets of Italy alone, this kind of small-scale action can have a massive cumulative effect over time.

I like to eat for my health but I also try to eat for the 'safe-keeping' of local, backyard small-scale farmers who struggle under enormous pressure from the likes of Monsanto and supermarket giants. I like to buy meat from farmers who care about their livestock and can tell me personally how they were raised, something we can never know for sure about any of the 'faceless' food we eat nowadays, no matter what is written on the packet to entice/dupe us into buying it.

Many people think this kind of local, grass-roots buying is 'idyllic', 'impossible', 'too expensive', 'not relevant for paleos' or 'not important enough to consider'. Well consider this: It is our absolute right as human beings to be able to have a choice about what we put in our mouths. If small-scale producers vanish to the likes of Monsanto, we will no longer have that choice and that really is scary.

The consumer has power, especially when they are (local) paleo consumers......

I'll get off my soap box now....phew.....

Should we have to prepare nuts and seeds in a certain way before we eat them?

2010-03-07T17:59:55Z

Sally Fallon from WAPF suggests eating nuts and seeds only after they have been de-skinned, sprouted and dried, because of enzyme inhibitors and phytic acid. If they, as she suggests, place such a great strain on the digestive system, then why do paleo eaters include them on their list of acceptable foods?

Answer by Louisa for How do you treat chapped or dry lips?

2010-04-07T08:28:48Z

I have read that it is possible to become addicted to petroleum based lip balms, this site has some good info on the toxicity of chapsticks and other balms:

An extensive article on lip balms appeared in the November 13, 1997 issue of Newsday. Titled “Paying for Lip Service,” the article discusses several points in the quest for defining the addictive qualities of lip balm.

The author asked several experts:

Which helps explain why you can diligently apply “medicated” lip balm several times a day and still suffer from chapped lips. The tingling sensation you get from those products usually comes from menthol, camphor or phenol. “All those things are drying and irritating,” says Paula Begoun, a well-known critic of the cosmetics industry whose new book, “The Beauty Bible” (Beginning Press, $16.95), is due out this month. She says she suspects that these ingredients are routinely used “to make the consumer think something is happening. If you want a cooling sensation, drink some cold water.”Known as counter-irritants, camphor and menthol dry out the lips, a necessary step for healing cold sores, but too extreme for ordinary dryness. Phenol’s main purpose is to kill bacteria and help prevent infections and should be used only in severe cases, not on a daily basis. Users, meanwhile, often find the pleasant tingling habit-forming. “You get so accustomed to that cooling, soothing sensation, that it’s like, `Yeah, I need that in my life all the time,’ ” says Gordon Espinet, a makeup artist for Toronto-based M.A.C. cosmetics and a dry-lip sufferer. Subjected to this constant irritation, it’s not surprising that your lips don’t get any better.

“Read what that product says it does and use it for that reason,” says Espinet, who recommends M.A.C.’s medicated Lip Treatment for cold sores and severely chapped lips and a Vitamin E lipstick for milder cases of dryness. “When it says to heal lips, don’t get into the habit of using it when lips are at their best.”

The article also says that many dermatologists maintain that the lips natural exfoliate every 28 days or so. This backs up the belief that lip balm just isn’t necessary. Even the products designed to “heal” also have a usage loop which keeps you hooked.

Alpha hydroxy acids, which were previously regarded as too harsh for the lips, have now been formulated to exfoliate this delicate membrane. Lip Revitalizer from Blistex ($1.89 at drugstores), introduced in October, contains two alpha hydroxy acids (lactic and glycolic acids) in a creamy base that you squeeze through a slanted applicator directly onto your lips. “The whole idea is that it gets rid of flakiness on the lips and very fine lines,” says Dr. Charles Zugerman, an associate professor of clinical dermatology at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago and a consultant to Blistex. He recommends the product for both healing chapped lips and for ongoing lip maintenance. Be warned that Lip Revitalizer does have an enticing minty flavor that may cause you to lick your lips more, which only aggravates dryness (emphasis added by LBA).

I try not to use anything, but trust that the saturated fat in my diet is helping my lips stay moist from the inside - it works. I also try to stay hydrated.

I do occasionally use coconut oil in the height of summer when I am out in the sun and in the winter when it is very cold or windy, however, but I think it is very much like no soap and no shampoo; the longer you leave your lips to sort themselves out the better they become.

I've known several people, myself included, who found our lips getting painfully dry and chapped when we apply lip balm consistently. It's as if our lips stopped producing their own moisture. Fortunately, it's possible to wean yourself off of it, and your lips will start taking care of themselves naturally.

from this page

I have also used butter topically, which is nice, but tastes a little weird after a while.

On the whole, I need do nothing to my lips and have not done since stopping getting coldsores (hooray!) that happened after a month of going paleo - but you need to ease into this gradually to start with.....bump up the amount of coconut oil, cream and butter you consume as well as cutting back on the chapstick and you should feel a difference to your lips. Make sure you are exposed to weak sun from winter right through into the hot sun of summer and your lips will get acclimatized rather than go out on a blistering summer's day and expose them to the rays without protection straight off.

Comment by Louisa

2010-07-19T18:16:28Z

great link thanks......

Comment by Louisa

2010-07-19T18:15:10Z

wow that's really interesting, so its not just packet goods that have gimmicks to sell them, is it?

Comment by Louisa

2010-07-19T18:14:02Z

I LOVE the 'happiness is healthy thing' - can we have this as a banner on top of paleohacks for a couple of days? made me smile! ;)

Comment by Louisa

2010-06-30T07:23:42Z

this statement was a little teaser - I do not think paleos are dour and boring!!!! I actually know no other paleos in the flesh and do not have a paleo circle, I just wanted to see what people thought that's all! It worries me that people feel the need to bang their heads against walls about it though.....I think it is a case that the paleo diet actually stimulates a healthy lust for life (I am thinking of Mark Sisson here as one example) but do people see this as an obsession, or that we are obsessive?

Comment by Louisa

2010-06-28T08:55:17Z

Oh, just seen at the top that Ed has already posted this link - sorry....

Comment by Louisa

2010-06-27T19:53:09Z

true, my children NEVER get bitten by anything!!!

Comment by Louisa

2010-06-27T19:24:17Z

would it be a case of trying to build up the enamel layer then so that the teeth are not so transparent?

Comment by Louisa

2010-04-27T06:19:48Z

I was wondering if you could go on a meat/fat cleanse - like a raw veggie cleanse only with 100% meat and fat. Does that sound crazy or what?

Comment by Louisa

2010-04-25T17:05:21Z

this is a great article, thanks, Jay - interesting to see that a diet of 80/20 fat/protein cleared up any problems the men were having.....

Comment by Louisa

2010-04-25T16:15:15Z

interesting article, Alan - of course I would include fish....have to edit that one in the question

Comment by Louisa

2010-04-20T17:45:18Z

as long as it is not too cheesy and is a tight fit for women ;) yes....!

Comment by Louisa

2010-04-18T07:22:25Z

The mornings are the worst times, I need to eat within an hour of waking...although it has actually slightly improved in the last few months....I am slim and eat a low carb diet. Perhaps it is the case that I just have not pushed through that 6 hour cut-off point. I hardly ever snack, but eat good, big meals - could it be that I am eating meals that are too large in size? I tried to take chromium for a while (about a month), I heard that helps with blood sugar balance, but I did not fast whilst I took that supplement.

Comment by Louisa

2010-04-18T07:17:32Z

I am eating paleo, meat and veg with lots of fat, very little carbs and butter and cream.

Comment by Louisa

2010-04-16T07:19:44Z

The only brand I have found so far is Nestle: coffee and chicory combined, but I am loathed to buy it, 'cos it's Nestle. Anyone know of any other brands out there?

Comment by Louisa

2010-04-14T10:22:42Z

and you went there so that you could answer the question - that is even more amazing and you ATE it......