Catrin
12-29-2012, 04:34 AM
I was posting the following under another thread, but it seemed better to just post a new thread. I've noted some things since my "primal" experiment started in July that might be helpful to others. This is not about any specific diet, just observations I've noted.
Studies are apparently showing that more people are sensitive to grains who do not have Celiac's disease (here (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22825366), here (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704893604576200393522456636.html), and here (https://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-common-is-gluten-sensitivity/)). The last link is more of a summary, provides links to recent studies, and explains the difference between Celiac's and non-Celiac's gluten sensitivity. For whatever reason, as soon as I dropped grain in any form out of my diet my health improved immediately - including my arthritis, digestive system problems, etc. Energy levels shot through the roof, I sleep much better and my moods are much more stable. I don't really care why this worked, I just focus on the end results.
My rosacea has also greatly decreased - it is still there - but far less pronounced. I don't ascribe that to dropping grains however, I've read that foods on the nightshade family can make rosacea and related conditions worse so I experimented with dropping those as well (nightshade family = Potatoes (white), tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, eggplant, tomatillos, tamarios, pepinos, pimentos, paprika, and cayenne pepper). Thankfully sweet potatoes aren't in the nightshade family. Unsure if the change in the rosacea is grain or nightshade related, but all I know is every other attempt over the decades to treat or at least lessen the rosacea had NO affect and would sometimes even increase it. That included a wide range of medical treatments/prescriptions. Change of diet did, though it took a couple of months and was so gradual that I didn't notice it until one recent morning when I had an 'aha' moment looking in the mirror one morning :D Here is a link to a page that discusses nutrition for skin conditions (http://www.dermaharmony.com/skinnutrition/eliminationdietforskinconditions.aspx) and how to conduct an elimination diet to determine if there is a sensitivity issue.
I didn't start the nightshade elimination experiment until October, and I saw immediate results when I dropped grains in July so it was easy to see different benefits after each experiment. The rosacea improvement became noticeable about 3 weeks ago. Arthritis problems are also attributed to nightshades, interesting discussion here (http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/nightshades). I've not totally eliminated all nightshades, every few weeks I will still add a little paprika to my eggs or add some tomatoes when I braise short ribs or beef shanks. It isn't weekly however. I have totally eliminated all forms of grain and will not return to them - the positive outcome was so large, immediate, and noticeable that it would be silly to return. Why would I willingly return to feeling like cr*p? My only grain "cheat" is 1 beer a week...
The take home from all of this is our diet plays a very large role in our health and well-being that goes far beyond weight control. That statement may appear very obvious, but I think that the collective "we" have kind of forgotten in our societal search for easy weight loss.
Studies are apparently showing that more people are sensitive to grains who do not have Celiac's disease (here (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22825366), here (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704893604576200393522456636.html), and here (https://www.marksdailyapple.com/how-common-is-gluten-sensitivity/)). The last link is more of a summary, provides links to recent studies, and explains the difference between Celiac's and non-Celiac's gluten sensitivity. For whatever reason, as soon as I dropped grain in any form out of my diet my health improved immediately - including my arthritis, digestive system problems, etc. Energy levels shot through the roof, I sleep much better and my moods are much more stable. I don't really care why this worked, I just focus on the end results.
My rosacea has also greatly decreased - it is still there - but far less pronounced. I don't ascribe that to dropping grains however, I've read that foods on the nightshade family can make rosacea and related conditions worse so I experimented with dropping those as well (nightshade family = Potatoes (white), tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, eggplant, tomatillos, tamarios, pepinos, pimentos, paprika, and cayenne pepper). Thankfully sweet potatoes aren't in the nightshade family. Unsure if the change in the rosacea is grain or nightshade related, but all I know is every other attempt over the decades to treat or at least lessen the rosacea had NO affect and would sometimes even increase it. That included a wide range of medical treatments/prescriptions. Change of diet did, though it took a couple of months and was so gradual that I didn't notice it until one recent morning when I had an 'aha' moment looking in the mirror one morning :D Here is a link to a page that discusses nutrition for skin conditions (http://www.dermaharmony.com/skinnutrition/eliminationdietforskinconditions.aspx) and how to conduct an elimination diet to determine if there is a sensitivity issue.
I didn't start the nightshade elimination experiment until October, and I saw immediate results when I dropped grains in July so it was easy to see different benefits after each experiment. The rosacea improvement became noticeable about 3 weeks ago. Arthritis problems are also attributed to nightshades, interesting discussion here (http://www.westonaprice.org/food-features/nightshades). I've not totally eliminated all nightshades, every few weeks I will still add a little paprika to my eggs or add some tomatoes when I braise short ribs or beef shanks. It isn't weekly however. I have totally eliminated all forms of grain and will not return to them - the positive outcome was so large, immediate, and noticeable that it would be silly to return. Why would I willingly return to feeling like cr*p? My only grain "cheat" is 1 beer a week...
The take home from all of this is our diet plays a very large role in our health and well-being that goes far beyond weight control. That statement may appear very obvious, but I think that the collective "we" have kind of forgotten in our societal search for easy weight loss.