Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Since childhood, I have suffered from common colds at a much higher frequency than others.

I'm not sure if my paleo diet over the last few months has brought about an improvement or can.

Any pointers?

flag	asked Oct 11 2010 at 16:53 zohar 1,028●5●14

How strict is your Paleo? What are you including and excluding? How often do you cheat? – Olga Oct 11 2010 at 17:42

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I ask because I used have constant nasal and post-nasal drip until I gave up gluten and dairy. It was a revelation to actually be able to breathe through my nose during exercise. But whenever I cheat a bit, it comes back a little. – Olga Oct 11 2010 at 17:43

I'm pretty strict. I eat bread once a week -- about a slice or 2 Dairy -- small amounts of butter or cheese not more than about once a week. I was strict vegan for years and that didn't help I drink coffee and eat small amounts of 85% chocolate – zohar Oct 11 2010 at 19:18

Since going paleo, my general sinus condition is definitely better -- when I'm not suffering from a cold! – zohar Oct 11 2010 at 19:19

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Bread about once a week = recipe for disaster for some of us who are sensitive to gluten. Cut it out and see what happens. – JJ Oct 11 2010 at 19:37

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Jay · Accepted Answer · 2010-10-11 17:35:45Z UTC

There are a lot of things that may increase your immune system and/or decrease your overall level of inflammation. Both should reduce the number of colds you experience.

Get 25(OH)D levels up to 40ng/ml (aka 100nmol/L)
Take a probiotic occasionally
Buy a mushroom beta glucan supplement and take it.
Vit C, vit E
Adequate minerals (zinc, copper, selenium, etc).
Get enough fat, especially cream and coconut oil.
Take melatonin at night.
Use a neti pot, to irrigate your nasal passage ways.
Reduce consumption of omega 6, by a lot.
Drink green tea.
Use whey powder

Paleo Dan · Answer 2 · 2010-10-11 17:13:11Z UTC

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I'm sure that there are many possibilities as to why you are so susceptible to colds, etc, but, for me, correcting my vitamin D level seems to have had the great impact on my chronic sinus and respiratory infections.

answered Oct 11 2010 at 17:13

Paleo Dan
809●5●6

Thanks, I'll try a blood test. I'm already on supplements – zohar Oct 13 2010 at 12:27

Flag Gal · Answer 3 · 2010-10-11 18:54:39Z UTC

I was like you, several colds every year. I never seemed to get the stomach flu, but anytime a cold was going around. I'd get it.

Now that I'm more paleo/primal this has changed. I succumb to one or two colds each year, and they're not bad colds. Several times since changing my eating habits my co-workers would have the colds and I WOULDN'T CATCH THEM! Yes!

Of course, I still can catch a cold. Here's what I attribute to catching them still:

Eating crappy foods. It seems like every time I go for a sugary, carb-loaded week or two of eating that I'm more susceptible to the common cold.
Lack of sleep. Staying up late for a few days in a row also makes me more susceptible.
Vit D intake gets low.

And guess what I did at the start of the school semester (I work at a university and my busiest time is semester starts)? I didn't eat cleanly, I stayed up late, and wasn't taking my supplements like I usually do (why do all these things go together when I know this is the time I should be taking care of myself the most?). Sure enough, the cold hit our office and I got sick.

Anyway, this is MY experience with the colds. Hope this helps.

Paleo Seb · Answer 4 · 2010-10-12 07:29:12Z UTC

For me, common colds were caused by gut dysbiosis and regular consumption of fermented foods like cheese and yogurt causing a recurrent herxheimer reaction (die-off).

When I cut those probiotics, I lost the frequent colds, migraines and constant sneezing and fatigue, but started to have extreme digestive issues that eventually lead me to discover about the paleo diet.

So for me colds were not an immune problem, but my body constantly detoxing while the gut dysbiosis never got repaired because of the SAD and NSAIDS used for the migraines. I sure had a hell of a life because of it.

Recurrent Common Cold

4 Answers