Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I've been eating paleo since Feb, mostly to sort out my increasingly bad IBS. I knew I was dairy intolerant, and via Robb Wolf's 30 day autoimmune programme in June, have found that gluten, nuts and nut products are triggers, and I have a low tolerance for eggs, white potatoes, high fructose fruit, most supplements, and big meals - all these too often will cause bloating, slow gut motility and constipation, and abdo pain. I also think I'm having problems with white rice as I added it a couple of weeks ago and have now developed symptoms. That's all pretty disheartening, but along with it I'm getting low moods and poor concentration.

I did low-ish carb from Feb til June, but stopped because my sleep was getting more erratic and although the IBS settled, I stopped losing weight. I tried the leptin reset protocol, but stopped because the protein requirements sparked consistent IBS flares over the first couple of weeks. Now I'm trying increasing carbs a la the Perfect Health Diet, but it's not going well as I've described above.

Meals the last couple of days are pretty typical (this was the weekend, though - most days I'd eat meat instead of eggs) - I've been skipping breakfast for the last week or so to try to give my gut a break each day:

Day 1
2 paleo sausages cooked in olive oil, and 3 free range eggs cooked in butter
lamb steaks, kumara, green veges, butter

Day 2
egg, banana, berry pancakes w coconut flour and coconut cream, cooked in butter
roast chicken, kumara, cauliflower and pea mash, butter

Day 3
3 paleo sausages, leftover chicken
planning steak, kumara and greens for dinner

I'm 48, female, post menopausal, 200lb, 5'5" (down from 220lbs since Feb). Supplement with 4000iu D3. Fairly sedentary. Sleep OK, about 8 hours a night. Stress levels are pretty low.

It's midwinter here, but SAD isn't usually a problem for me.

Labs are OK - TSH, T3 and T4 all within normal ranges. Fasting glucose is fine.

Any ideas, please?? I want to feel better - I don't know whether I'm wrong to tweak some more (maybe go back to Robb's 30 day challenge again), or if I should push through. I've read about die-off etc, but how do you tell if that's what this is?? Frankly the IBS isn't so bad if I can get to a better mood place.

flag	asked Aug 1 2011 at 0:28 Jac 1,424●6●15

	Just thought to add that raw and lightly cooked veges, especially the brassicas are triggers. – Jac Aug 1 2011 at 2:25
	Mag 400mghs, Zinc 50mg am, very high quality, high powered multi for women over 50 (post men) or very active women without iron. In the US, GNC ultra mega gold for post men women or ultra acitve meets good levels. Bump D3 to 5000. Ditch the starches and add some kind of movement. Staches do not work for some health issues as well as wt issues. Read Emily Deans stuff on Zinc and Mag. And water water water.IMHO Women + age + post men + substantial health issue =different ballgame. – Atkins-witha-loincloth Aug 1 2011 at 5:29
	Oh! Forgot O3's. I think you are a person who needs to look seriously at HIGH O3 supplementation. 1st year for me for wt loss, depression + pretty severe ulcertaive colitis + additional autoimmune, my O3 level was about 10GMS (titrated up) - dropped to 8 - then 6 -over 3 years...maint now at 2-3. Yeah, yeah...not "standard paleo." But I'm healthy as a horse now and maintaining 90+ lbs down x 9 years. – Atkins-witha-loincloth Aug 1 2011 at 5:33
	Eur J Endocrinol. 2004 Aug;151(2):167-72. 8. Scientists have found that vitamin D blood levels are lower in obese subjects than in thin subjects. A. True. B. False. True. Only two studies examined actual vitamin D levels in obese subjects. One found dramatically lower levels in obese subjects. A South Carolina study found all of the obese subjects had levels below 2.2 ng/ml while all of the nonobese subjects had levels above 8 ng/ml. (These are vitamin D levels, not 25(OH)D levels.) drcranton.com/nutrition/… – Atkins-witha-loincloth Aug 1 2011 at 11:59
	Thanks for this Mem. I tried Mark Sisson's multi and found it worsened my IBS symptoms. I loved the energy and mood on it, though. Bought some wild caught fish oil today, and have magnesium. – Jac Aug 2 2011 at 6:05

Happy Now · Answer 1 · 2011-08-01 02:11:00Z UTC

For some reason I feel like we should "high 5" for being the same height and weight. Hello BMI sister!

I say push through, but keep working to find the missing piece of the puzzle. I don't think heading for the nearest grilled cheese sandwich will make you feel better.

I wonder if your gut flora might need a little help. Have you tried a prescription quality dairy-free probiotic along with NSO's (natural soil organisms)? If you are still having IBS issues after this long of "clean" eating something might be off there.

Have you tried adding coconut oil to help heal your gut lining?

If you have any remaining damage to your small intestine from your previous diet, you may still have trouble absorbing B-12, which could leave your mood in the dumps. As an alternative to B-12 shots, there are now B-12 patches you can buy if you want to experiment with this and see if you feel better. Sublingual B-12 is also an option, but make sure you get the high quality methylcobalamin variety instead of the cheaper cyanocobalaminin, which can be more difficult for your body to utilize.

I also don't see any organ meats listed on your menu (unless the paleo sausages have organ meats mixed in). Things like beef or lamb heart have high levels of something called inositol (vit. B8) that can increase your serotonin sensitivity and make your brain and gut feel better. The gut actually deals with 80% of the serotonin in your body, so healing your gut is of utmost importance here. Heal the gut and your brain will follow. It might take a lot of experimenting and patience, but hang in there.

kalibex · Answer 2 · 2011-08-01 13:37:50Z UTC

You mention eating 'peas mash' - don't forget that peas are a legume containing 'anti-nutrients' such as lectins which are implicated in causing 'leaky gut'...which is why these are not recommended when eating paleo.

"Lectins, by virtue of their stability and specific recognition and binding by gut brush border epithelial cells, are potent exogenous metabolic growth signals for the gut and the body. As a result of their binding to surface glycans they may affect the turnover and loss of epithelial cells, damage the luminal membranes of the epithelium, interfere with their digestive/absorptive activities, stimulate shifts in the bacterial flora and modulate the immune state of the digestive tract. When eaten in relatively large quantities, these lectins have appreciable antinutritive effects for the consumers."

--The above from: Pusztai A..(1996).Characteristics and consequences of interactions of lectins with the intestinal mucosa. Archivos Latinoamericanos de Nutrición, 44 (4 suppl1), 10s-15s.

There are even food scientists out there studying how much various methods of cooking breaks down anti-nutrients in legumes. For example:

Habiba, R.A.. (2002). Changes in anti-nutrients, protein solubility, digestibility, and HCl-extractability of ash and phosphorus in vegetable peas as affected by cooking methods. Food Chemistry, 77(2), 197-192.

tweak or push through - how do you tell??

2 Answers