CAVE BABIES: RAISING HAPPY, HEALTHY PALEO KIDS

 

If we look at most of the studies that support Paleo, the vast majority of them were done in adults. That makes sense because Paleo actually started as a diet to combat chronic diseases of diet and lifestyle like type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease. Until recently, the vast majority of people who received these diseases were middle-aged adults. If only adults get type 2 diabetes, all of their studies on type 2 diabetes have to be done in adults.

But today, those lifestyle diseases are appearing in younger and younger patients, including children. Childhood obesity is the obvious case at point, but kids today are also getting diseases like type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease. The root problems are basically the same: lousy food, too much stress, poor sleep and sedentary lifestyles. The only difference is that today, children can eat so much sugar and garbage that they are getting diseases that used to take decades. Efficiency!

The point is that children can suffer from eating junk food just like adults do. But there is a diet specifically designed to cure those problems - or better yet, to prevent them before they start.

There is no "perfect diet" for children any more than there is for adults. But the evidence suggests that a Paleo diet can absolutely be safe and healthy for children. It is easy to meet all the special nutritional needs of childhood with Paleo food, and yes, it is possible to get children to eat broccoli.

Kids Don’t Miss Out on Any Essential Nutrients in Grains and Legumes

There are no known nutrients known only in grains or legumes. No one has developed a nutrient deficiency by avoiding those foods unless they are also eating a diet unbalanced in other ways. Do you want fiber and antioxidants? Get fruit and vegetables. B vitamins? Eat meat or fish. A child who eats a balanced diet of Paleo will not be in any way in danger of avoiding grains or legumes.

Fresh, Whole Foods are Good for Everyone

Here is a basic guide to building a Paleo meal:

• A huge pile of fresh vegetables

• A moderate amount of animal protein (meat, fish, eggs)

• Healthy fats like olive oil and coconut oil

• Optionally, some fruits or nuts.

• Optionally, some starchy vegetables such as potatoes

Of course, there are a thousand variations on that subject. You can make high in fat or low in fat. High-carb, medium-carb, or low-carb. Dairy products or without dairy products. "Paleo" can mean all sorts of different things, all versions of Paleo rely on eating fresh and whole foods with lots of vegetables and plenty of nutritious dense foods. It's not about eating lots of meat all the time; It involves balancing reasonable amounts of animal protein with many other whole foods.

These foods are good for children for the same reasons that are good for adults:

• High nutritional value (yes, including meat, especially fish and eggs)

• Low in intestinal irritants (which are dangerous for children, too!)

• Low in sugar and do not cause sugar spikes in the blood, so they do not cause metabolic problems

• Do not contribute to inflammation (children may have systemic inflammation induced by the diet as   adults)

It is difficult to even reach a reasonable case against a plate of Paleo food. Try to tell yourself, "No, I do not want my son to eat vegetables because then he could get all the nutrients he needs and that would be ... bad?" Or maybe "I'd rather have my son eat Lunchables with plastic 'cheese' and fake bologna than some leftover meat and green pepper strips." Really? Can you say that with a straight face?

Kids and Carbs

Much of the reluctance to put children on a Paleo-style diet comes from the misconception that Paleo has to be low in carbohydrates. That is not true. Paleo may be low in carbohydrates, high in carbohydrates or moderate in carbohydrates. You can have any amount of carbohydrate you want.

For children, the extreme end of the low carbohydrate spectrum tends to be less than ideal. The ketogenic diet (extremely low in carbohydrates, high in fat) has been widely tested in children; It is a very effective treatment for drug-resistant childhood epilepsy. But here's the problem: children on the ketogenic diet routinely report very unpleasant side effects, especially gastrointestinal problems.

Other research has shown that children can safely eat a moderate carbohydrate diet, within the Paleo standards.

In this study, 31 obese children (mean age of 11) were on a 30% carbohydrate diet. The children lost weight and improved markers of heart health and insulin resistance. There were no serious side effects.

In this study, patients were slightly older, aged 12 to 18 years. The study tested three different diets:

• Low in fat, high in carbohydrates: 50-60% carbohydrates, 30% fat, 20% protein

• Low in carbohydrates, low in fat. Up to 20% carbohydrate, 30% fat and 50% protein (which is high   in protein)

• Low in carbohydrates, high in fats. Up to 20% carbohydrate, 60% fat and 20% protein

All groups lost weight at the same rate and there were no significant differences at the end of the study. None of the groups had major problems: some of them had headaches or upset stomach, but for most children, it was only once. No diet had more complaints than any other diet. Moderate in carbs, high fat can be as "safe" as high in carbohydrates, low in fat.

And if you are interested in weight loss specifically, here is a review of the evidence. The authors concluded that "current evidence suggests that better weight status may be achieved in overweight or obese children and adolescents regardless of the macronutrient distribution of a reduced energy diet." Translation: Kids can lose weight regardless of the percentage of their diet. Proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.

Children can be perfectly healthy on a moderate carbohydrate diet, and Paleo can easily be that diet. Potatoes and sweet potatoes are your friends. Fried bananas are your friends. Low-carbohydrate diets are not good for kids, but that does not mean Paleo is off the table.

Special Nutritional Considerations for Children                                                                                             Children are not just adults on a smaller scale, and they have some special nutritional needs. But it is easily possible to fill all of those with paleo.

Calcium

Calcium is particularly important for children, especially girls (who are more likely to develop osteoporosis or other bone problems later in life). The dairy is a gray Paleo area and some children do very well with it. But if yours does not, calcium from bones (bone-in salmon and sardines) and green leafy vegetables is more absorbable than calcium from dairy products.

Iron

Iron deficiency is especially likely among children who are overweight or obese. On average, these children eat as much iron as anyone else, but low-grade inflammation in their body prevents them from absorbing and using iron. The solution is no more dietary iron; It is healing the inflammation.

Vitamin D

Low vitamin D is a problem for anyone who spends most of their time indoors. A child may be deficient in vitamin D, even if their weight is normal. The best source of vitamin D is sunlight: send your kids out to play!

How do I Get Them to Eat It?

Quite apart from nutritional concerns, another big problem with children is the old problem of getting them to eat their vegetables in the first place. And what about the food they get at school? What food do they get in the homes of their friends? Nobody wants their son to be known as the Paleo weird boy who is never funny because she can not have candy.

Each child is different, and each parent has a different set of cultural preferences and rigor and discipline options.

The research so far supports 

• Parent modeling. Eat good food in front of your children and make it clear that you enjoy it. Do not   treat vegetables as something gross they have to eat to "win" the dessert.

• Involve children in the cooking process. Get your hands dirty.

• Early and repeated exposure to new foods. Often a food has to be offered to a child several times       before the child tries it. Offering vegetables early, just when you introduce solid foods, increases a       child's willingness to try them later.

• Flexible rules. Making sugar and absolutely forbidden treatment just makes it more attractive, and      you can not control your children's diet forever. This study found that banning a food just made          children eat more of it when they finally got their hands on it. And children (especially children)        who grow up in ultra-strict food households are more likely to develop eating disorders later on.          Except for life-threatening allergies, it is totally good and normal for children to have the flexibility    to enjoy social events. Let them discover for themselves how foods affect their bodies and talk            together.

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Dr. Sarah’s Paleo Story

My name is Sarah Ballantyne. I am the blogger behind the award-winning website www.ThePaleoMom.com, co-host of the top-rated and syndicated  The Paleo View podcast, and New York Times Bestselling author of The Paleo Approach, The Paleo Approach Cookbook, and The Healing Kitchen. I consider myself a health educator and advocate.  My “credentials” lie in three areas. First, I have a Ph.D. in Medical Biophysics and performed award-winning medical research in the area of innate immunity and inflammation. (You can read more about my academic background here) Second, I am a wife and mother and face the typical challenges that Paleo families navigate. Third, I have had a longstanding personal battle with weight and disease.

This is my story.

My 120 Pound Journey To Paleo

I did not use a Paleo diet to lose 120 pounds. Instead, I lost the first 100 pounds after a standard low-carbohydrate diet. In fact, I lost those 100 pounds two times. Despite working so hard to lose weight, depriving me of the food I craved and getting crazy amounts of exercise, I was not healthy. Even though I looked better on the outside, I was getting sicker and sicker ... until I found Paleo. I lost the last 20 pounds after a Paleo diet; But most importantly, I regained my health and successfully maintained my weight loss for over five years.

They bothered me for being chubby in elementary school, though I was just a tall, sturdy kid. It was not until early middle school that I really started to gain weight. I thought it was my fault, but the math does not add up. I was very active, walking a mile and a half to and from the school bus stop every day, riding my bicycle around the neighborhood at night and for hours on weekends, going on frequent family walks and hiking and taking swimming lessons . My diet growing could not have been gluten or Paleo free, but my mom believed in butter, our dairy was fed with grass, our eggs came from a local farm, and we ate almost entirely whole raw foods, ocean fresh, wild edible , And the vegetables that grew in our garden. I thought the reason I was gaining weight when the other kids around me were not, was because of the occasional ice cream sandwich bought at the school canteen. I thought it was because if I found a room on the floor, I would use it to buy 5-cent bucket rubber bears at the corner store on my way home. Although I was not definitely diagnosed until decades later, these were the first symptoms of Hashimoto's thyroiditis. I had other symptoms too: chronic fatigue (I slept on bus two and school and in the car no matter how short the car, I voluntarily went to bed at 8:30 pm, even in high school, and Routinely slept 15-16 hours on weekends), dry skin, brittle nails, thin hair, headaches, mild depression (though, keep in mind that he was a teenager, and not popular), and a digestive system that The best case scenario could be described as slow.

It was my attempts to lose weight by following the wisdom of the late eighties diet (low-fat, high-carbohydrate, restricted-calorie) that really made me in. I felt constantly private while my yo-yo'ed weight Up and down Overall, I gained 10-30 pounds per year throughout my teenage years until I became morbidly obese in my early twenties at 265 pounds (I'm a bit shy of 5'6 "). And, I was miserable. I remember I felt so left out when my friends would go for the group races together (and they did not even bother to ask me) I remember having gotten one bruising on my back just trying to maneuver out of the back seat of a jeep when someone was nice enough to take me for a ride.

Obesity was not my only health problem. Psoriasis and eczema began in the middle of my teenage years. When I turned twenty, I suffered frequent migraines, and for two years I stopped drinking coffee because of suspected gallbladder problems. I have frequent colds, especially during the week of the exam. I had fairly severe acne (although not bad enough for my doctor to recommend Accutane). I suffered from chronic constipation and was tired all the time.

I was introduced first to the concept of low carb diets in the summer of 1999 when I was 22 years old. It worked very well for me, and over the course of about a year, I lost 100 pounds. Celebrating my newly discovered waist, I became very active, taking marathon running, which involved 14-16 hours of running every week, and karate. Although I always wanted to lose 30 pounds more, I thought I was healthy. However, I was evaluating my health using only my weight and activity level as the metric.

I continued to develop more and more health conditions, which at that time seemed to be unrelated. At age 25, I suffered from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), acid reflux, frequent migraines, anxiety and mild depression, allergies, eczema, scalp psoriasis, chronic colds, and streptococci, and I began to suffer from a skin disease Autoimmune called lichen planus. At that time, I blamed the stress of graduate school and my weak genetics. He used to joke that the only reason he was alive was for the miracles of modern medicine. Little did I understand at that time what the damaging effects of my modern diet (combined with high stress, excessive exercise, and genetic susceptibility) were, causing a cascade of increasing inflammation, hormonal dysregulation, and autoimmunity.

I had a major health crisis in the summer of 2002. The onset of severe asthma adults robbed me of my active lifestyle. My lungs became extremely reactive and the inflammation was so severe that I was coughing up blood. Practically overnight, I became an obligatory apartment, put on extremely high doses of inhaled and oral steroids, and my whole world collapsed. Uncontrolled weight gain is a side effect of oral steroids and I have gained 50 pounds in the first 6 weeks on them. I ended up suffering from severe depression and returning to bad eating habits (lots of sugar and bingeing habits). I gained the other 50 pounds (which had worked so hard to lose) more slowly over the next year. I married in that year and weighed 235 pounds at my wedding, which was absolutely overwhelming for my spirit.

I was in so much denial about my weight that I postponed purchases for a wedding dress until 2 weeks before the wedding. My wedding dress was a size 26 (to be fair, I think it only wore oversize 18-20 at the time). I think this photo is much more interesting than the photos of my royal wedding due to my facial expression. That's the dress I ended up buying, it was very flattering. But in my face, you can see the conflict, how to break the heart that was to have been much thinner just months before and be looking in the mirror at an obese woman. Our wedding was beautiful; But, I have kept my dress in the hopes of someday having it completely redone for a smaller me to renew our vows.

He was cycling among the low-carb binges and out of control, going from time to time to the whey protein of ketogenic + fats of flax oil. Nothing worked, nothing was sustainable, and I was miserable. I was defeated and I gave up trying.

Twice during my 20s, I had low thyroid hormone levels appear in blood work. But, because my TSH level (thyroid stimulating hormone) remained normal, no additional testing or follow-up was performed. I think it is likely that many of my conditions were secondary to Hashimoto's thyroiditis (diagnosed years later) and that this health crisis was rooted in an autoimmune rash.

I continued to gain weight, striking my heaviest at age 28. At this point, I was a postdoctoral fellow at a very high profile research lab in Toronto, Ontario, doing innovative medical research and working 80-100 hours weekly. I stopped weighing myself at 265 pounds and assumed that I gained 15-25 pounds more after that based on the fact that I climbed two sizes of whole clothing. I think I was pushing 300 pounds at my eldest, but I'll never know for sure. I was wearing size 26 clothes. I was very unhappy. I dyed crazy-colored hair to compensate for low self-esteem. I started to avoid the cameras and there are very few pictures of me for a period of 5 years. I had migraines, IBS, acid reflux, chronic colds, asthma, allergies, lichen planus, eczema, anxiety, depression, carpal tunnel syndrome, early arthritis, stenosis tenosynovitis, high blood pressure limit, high triglycerides and limit and high insulin levels . I had developed the binge eating disorder.

I lost some weight when we moved to the United States in 2005 when I was 29 years old. The slower pace of my second postdoctoral fellowship was very restorative. I was 255 pounds when I got pregnant with our first daughter. I had gestational diabetes during pregnancy. Among the dietary limitations imposed on me and the pregnancy-induced changes to my appetite, I lost 2 pounds in total during my pregnancy. Even still, it was not until I was about 7.5 months pregnant that I could really say without a doubt that I was actually pregnant and not just overweight. The birth of my daughter was long (labor was 97 hours) and complicated. We avoided an emergency C-section per minute (and just because we had an amazing midwife). After our daughter was born, I was too exhausted to do much more than survive (oh colic!), But I kept my weight constant around 230 pounds. And aside from some new allergies, my list of diagnosed health problems remained stable. I took six different prescription drugs on a regular basis, plus many non-prescription drugs and supplements.

Shortly after my daughter's first birthday in early 2008 (when I was 31), I noticed a familiar feeling of dizziness after eating. I still had my glucometer and supplies of evidence left over from the management of gestational diabetes. So I tried my blood sugar. It was 200, high enough to qualify me as pre-diabetic and on the cusp of type 2 diabetes. I never went to a doctor about it because I was too embarrassed. Fear now motivated me to follow a strict diet low in carb and me once again succeeded in losing weight. For a year, I dropped back to 165 pounds, which is when I became pregnant with my second daughter. I had a much healthier pregnancy, no gestational diabetes, and no blood pressure problems despite having gained 60 pounds during this pregnancy, although I developed some quite dramatic varicose veins. I also had a much easier delivery and delivery (yes, I call 20 hours with Pitocin and no easier drugs).

None of my daughters were sleepers (for different physiological reasons you can learn more here, and not a reflection of my parenting style). I fought to lose weight after my second daughter was born, but I managed to lose most of the weight of the pregnancy by getting back to my low carb. I was lighter, my blood pressure and cardiovascular risk factors were normal and pre-diabetes had disappeared; But it was still plagued with IBS, acid reflux, migraines, stress and anxiety, asthma, allergies, eczema, psoriasis, lichen planus, chronic colds, daily joint pain and low energy. In fact, by any other metric not related to the metabolic syndrome, health was deteriorating.

There was nothing special about the day that changed my approach to health. My youngest daughter was 1.5 years old and I was sitting in her bedroom watching her play. It was summer, out of 90F, and I wore pants and long sleeves because eczema and lichen planus injuries were so bad on my arms and legs. Having skin conditions felt similar to being obese to me, as I wore a visible plaque for everyone to see who shouted: "I am not healthy". I had a headache, my joints were sore, and I had been struggling with depression. And in one thought, everything changed: "Being thin is not the same as being healthy. I want to be healthy and I need to figure out how to do it." Until that time, my only indicator of my health had been my weight and my waistline. But, I had tried myself over and over again that weight loss did not make me healthy. Learning that eczema is related to gluten sensitivities, I started researching dietary changes that might help. That's when I found Paleo.

Finding Paleo

My initial reaction to the list of foods eliminated in the Paleo diet was that this diet was completely insane! But, some science articles on the internet looked at my interest enough for me to continue reading. And the more I read, the more puzzled I became. I read everything I could put in my hands throughout the summer until I was finally convinced that this was something I needed to try.

I "was Paleo" on August 31, 2011, planning a one-up Robb Wolf "try it for 30 days" and commit to a total of three months of this nutritional template. It was no more difficult than following the low carb diets had been in the past. But, Paleo did something that low-carb had never done: I saw dramatic improvements in the symptoms of the disease.

My symptoms of IBS and acid reflux disappeared. I stopped having migraines. My state of mind and my ability to cope with life were greatly improved. I was in less pain. My energy increased. I slept better. My asthma and allergies subsided. My acne and my eczema began to clear. My immune system seemed stronger and I no longer have every cold my children brought home. Within two weeks of following the Paleo diet, I was able to stop taking all my prescription medications, some of which I had been taking for 12 years. I also lost 20 more pounds in two months.

I became a fanatic.

Not only did my experience make me a firm believer in the therapeutic potential of the right foods, but it completely changed my perspective on diet. I no longer saw foods as calories and grams of carbohydrates, but now I started paying attention to micronutrients. I started thinking about nourishing my body instead of just giving it energy. And I saw food as something that could make me healthier rather than something that could make me fat or thin, depending on my options. And I began to understand the importance of lifestyle factors as well.

And, best of all, he was discovering the scientific basis for Paleo's staff. It was not madness that dissolved under scientific scrutiny. It was not even a historical recreation based on our understanding of the diets of Paleolithic man. The principles of the Paleo diet and lifestyle are each supported by physiology, cell and molecular biology, and nutritional sciences. I was needing out!

I could not stop talking about Paleo, my friends, my family, my husband, my hairdresser, my dental hygienist ... I needed an outlet for my enthusiasm, so that just two months after the adoption of The Paleo diet, I had the idea to start a blog. It would be a place to share the recipe creations I was presenting at home, a place to talk about the science that supports this way of life, a place to share my experiences and a mechanism to help others discover solutions to their problems. Health Problems Around the same time that I launched this website, I talked with my husband to consent to having the whole family move to Paleo. As I jumped with both feet, my husband and two daughters made a slow transition for six months. It made a difference in the health of each of my daughters; You can read more about his story here.

The popularity of my site skyrocketed and within ten months, I was offered the opportunity to write my first book. Paleo became something more than a way of life, it became my mission.

During my first year of monitoring the Paleo template, I continued to refine my approach. I adopted the Autoimmune Protocol to help resolve my lichen planus that did not improve with the standard Paleo. I became a nutrient seeker and discovered local farmers. Two years after adopting the Paleo diet, I took CrossFit. At the same time, I sought the expertise of a functional medicine specialist who was finally able to provide me with a diagnosis of Hashimoto's thyroiditis and has helped me continue to refine and solve problems as I face new health challenges related to a growing high Power as an author, blogger, health expert, and public figure. I found my voice in providing accessible explanations of the science concepts behind the Paleo diet in my books and websites. I fused a long-standing passion for scientific literacy with one to improve public health. I found who I was meant to be.

My metrics for evaluating my health have changed. I no longer look at the number on the scale or on my clothing labels as my only method to evaluate my health. Now, I consider my energy levels, how well I sleep, my moods, how much I enjoy the activity and how well I perform in the gym, how productive I am at work, how easy I laugh, how I feel when I leave Bed in the morning, the quality of my skin and hair, and how to handle stressful events all as criteria. I look at food to provide the raw materials that every chemical reaction inside every cell needs. I look at the roles that sleep, activity, and stress play in the hormone, neurotransmitter, and immune regulation. I consider the health of my intestinal microbiota and choose the foods that best nourish them besides me.

I used to joke that I would be dead at least 100 times were it not for the miracles of modern medicine. But in reflecting on the health conditions I suffered, I now see the links between them. I see clearly the linear progression of a pathology. I see Hashimoto's thyroiditis at the root of all my health struggles, my gut getting leakier, my body becoming more inflamed, my hormones becoming increasingly unregulated and new autoantibodies forming leads to new autoimmune diagnoses. Everything seems connected. And the Paleo template has been my solution.

I do not regret growing up with chronic diseases. Feeling tired and lousy all the time forced me to develop an incredible work ethic and the ambition that drives my current success. My experiences of being bullied, having low self-esteem, and messy eating provide compassion and context for the resources I believe. And the juxtaposition between the minimum and maximum of my health motivates me to create the best educational resources for public health. My medical research background forms the basis of how I approach the principles of the Paleo template. My passion for science and scientific literacy is all I do. My enjoyment of cuisine and food fuel a sustainable and balanced approach to this template. My love for my daughters and my deep appreciation for my family help me look forward, focusing on health and well-being in the long run. It is the sum of my experiences that have made me who I am and led me to become the Paleo Mom.

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The Benefits of the Paleo Diet

Hello! I'd like to introduce you to our latest Past success story, Karen. I listened to Karen's story. She would be interested in inspiring and encouraging others with her story. That's why she answered all the questions. Thank you, Karen!

Karen, tell us something about yourself.

I am 45 years old and live in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. I am an employee of the federal government and I am obliged to travel from time to time. Some of my hobbies include walking, reading, sitting at home and spending time with friends and family.

How long have you been paleo?

I started my paleo trip on November 13, 2012. I had been reading about paleo since late October 2012 and felt it was the right choice for me but I was leaving town and I thought it might be hard to start with that Challenge (I tried it on a couple of restaurants!).

What motivated you to make the change?

I've made the weight loss journey a couple of times in my life and I've always fallen back to old bad habits. With the previous two trips, I had always obsessed with the exercise part, but I never correctly developed the correct eating habits ( "I can have that cupcake because I'm going to work harder tomorrow in the gym"), so when I was not able to Keep my gym routine my eating habits were still the same and the weight returned.

This time I wanted to work on my eating habits before doing the gym / exercise obsession. I had recovered almost all the weight I had lost on the previous trip and was in a real "funk", so I decided that I wanted to get out of the funk and be healthy. I had already started to become more aware of what I was doing in my life (I went into the housework routine and made sure I puttered around the house every night after work instead of sitting watching TV all night) and He was beginning to feel good in his head.

Then one day I was getting my daily dose of MSN news and I saw a blog about the paleo diet. I read it and thought it sounded like something I could do. My doctor told me years ago to stay away from bread, so I thought maybe that was the answer to how I would do this.

What problems did you experience before going to Paleo that you wanted to address?

My biggest concern was losing weight. I've always struggled with my weight and this time I wanted to do something that would be more of a lifestyle change and something I could do for the rest of my life. I had also noticed lately that I had been experiencing bad acidity and only generally felt uncomfortable in the evenings.  After reading about paleo I was really excited about trying it to see if I could start feeling better.

It wasn’t until I was about four months into my paleo journey that I found out more about how this diet helps people with autoimmune disorders.  I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and there was a booklet in the Primal Kit that was recently on sale and it was an eye-opening read for me.  I should have read it 22 years ago when I was first diagnosed.

How did it - slowly or coldly the turkey?

Cold turkey, I jumped right into the paleo way of thinking. Many people asked me why I did not wait until after Christmas and I told them that there is a switch that goes off on me and I would not ignore it. I did, however, tell myself that I would enjoy some stuffing from my turkey mom because no one does it better, it also helped that my 30 days would be completed by then. I have tried to be true to my new lifestyle (no birthday cake at work, no Yorkshire puddings, no lasagne or other old favorites). The cravings are definitely gone (I do not crave the salty snacks as I used to).

What do you feel has been critical to your success?

Everything I read in the beginning talked about planning their meals. I decided that if I was to succeed I had to master this technique. I am an admirer of soups, casseroles and other "pre-prepared" type meals. I decided to cook a batch of turkey soup and chicken stew to freeze for my lunches. Not being known for my cooking skills made me ask for advice from my sister (she makes awesome stews) and brother-in-law (soup master). I am also a person who likes routines so I found a breakfast option that works for me. I know the paleo lifestyle allows you to think outside of the traditional breakfast box but for my eggs, raspberries, and a banana job.

What were your biggest challenges and how did you overcome them?

I love my family and I knew I could not convince them to change their eating habits with me. I live with my sister, brother-in-law, and niece and we try to dine with family. My sister has been supportive and tries to include the things I can have, but there have been times that I feel tested. My brother-in-law is a trained chef and likes to cook. I remember one afternoon returning home and he had made lasagna and was sitting on the stove. Damn, it looked good, but I did not have any.

We are going to camp this summer and two months ahead of time, I am already thinking about what will work for me. If I know the events early enough, I can plan it and that is so important.

What is your average day like?

As I mentioned earlier, I am a routine person, so breakfast is two hard boiled eggs, a cup of raspberries and a banana, lunch is turkey soup, chicken stew or paleo cottage cake (from Well Fed) and dinner is Usually a stir-fry (my sister laughs at me for being able to make any meat in a stir-fry). I do not eat out nearly as much as it used to but my favorite is a local Chinese restaurant which makes a great almond Guy Ding (slightly altered to exclude peas, corn, and much less sauce). If I drink, it's an apple or a few almonds.

Are you on target or do you have more progress to make to achieve your health goals?

On April 23, 2013, I was at my goal weight of 180 pounds. Everyone tells me I do not have to lose more, but I would like to peek a little more and maybe try 170 pounds. I am now working on my strength training (although buying a pedometer in January has helped me walk more and certainly take more stairs) and my weekly totals for steps and stair climbing are well above the goals I set. I recently received my 500-mile Fitbit badge. (Hurrah!)

How have your changes responded to changes in your lifestyle and results?

As I mentioned earlier, my family has been very supportive (which includes my ex-husband, who expects my updates and has not seen me since September 2012, so he has not noticed the transformation, just read about it) and my peers Have noticed the change in me. When I see someone I have not seen in a while they are surprised by the change because it has happened so quickly. When I lost 60 pounds in the past it has taken almost a year and this time around it has taken just over five months (23 weeks).

Where do you have most of your information?

The first information I got was from Loren Cordain (I asked for her books) and I also received information from Robb Wolf, Nell Stephenson (Paleoist), Sebastien Noel (Paleo Diet Lifestyle), Neely and Jason on Paleo Plan, Melissa Joulwan Fed) More recently, Bill and Haley in The Food Lovers Kitchen and yourself in Paleo / Non-Paleo. I signed up for meal plans, but I found that I was not quite ready to be so strict with my planning.

What would you say?

You'll never know if it works for you if you do not try. Remember, new habits take 3-6 weeks to form so be sure to give it the thirty days they recommend.

What three strategies can give us?

1. Plan, plan and plan a little more

2. Give her the full thirty days before she says it's not for you

3. Adopt paleo is a lifestyle change, not a diet and if you are in it for weight loss, do not go back to         your old habits once you reach the goal. I have decided that I am ready, I will not eat grains, rice,         potatoes, dairy, and vegetables.

Is there anything else we would like to tell us?

I really have not craved any of the salty snacks I used to eat daily and do not miss the potatoes, the rice, the pasta and the processed sides. Barbecue season has started and green salads are my friend. I am below my target weight and I have not been a gym slave. Walking has been my only form of regular exercise, but I do not want to work on some yoga and strength training. Since I originally wrote this piece, I have continued to lose another 7 pounds, making a total weight loss of 67 pounds.

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The Benefits of the Paleo Diet

Paleo Diet

Some people may have heard of the many benefits of choosing a Paleo diet and may be wondering what this regime implies. Is this a new fad diet that is heavy on promises and low in results, or is it something that deserves to be thoroughly examined? Today we are going to address some of the best aspects of a Paleo diet as well as cover some of the foods that should be avoided.

Best Aspects of the Paleo Diet:

Fish:

For starters, this diet is a good choice for those who enjoy seafood. This diet allows the consumption of these foods. According to Dr. Cordain's work, salmon, halibut, and more types of seafood are even encouraged. This can offer the benefits of healthy Omega 3 fatty acids.

However, there are many medical researchers, such as Dr. Helen Caldicott, who suggest that people avoid seafood and eating seaweed dishes from the Pacific Ocean due to the Fukushima disaster. This is a problem that should also be known to those who enjoy cheeses and mushrooms since both tend to absorb harmful amounts of radiation.

Meats:

Meat produced with grass is allowed. The Paleo diet suggests that meats are best in moderation. The same applies to other protein sources, such as seeds, nuts, and eggs.

Many people find this variety of choices is what makes the Paleo diet superior to many other weight loss options. This is because most common food cravings can be stopped by the correct use of these permitted foods. While other healthy diets and eating options tend to revolve around a combination of prudent choices and strong willpower to succeed, the Paleo diet is seen, by many, as one of the least restrictive of weight loss and Management options. The variety of foods allowed makes it much easier to adhere to an eating regimen, which can lead to positive results both in health and appearance.

Foods to Avoid:

There are certain foods that should be avoided in the Paleo diet. These food choices include certain grains, refined sugar, dairy products, and perhaps the most difficult of all, for some, salt. There are some salt substitutes that are healthier and they know the same as salt, therefore this obstacle can be easily overcome. A substitute of this type is called, "No salt", which many proclaim tastes as much as common salt, is indistinguishable. Perhaps the most peculiar thing, because of the composition of the peanut, is that while nuts are allowed in the diet, peanuts are not allowed.

Before choosing any diet, it is a good idea to consult a doctor first, with that in mind, the Paleo diet is certainly a health option that should be considered and worth investigating. This is particularly true with regard to those who have experimented with a variety of diets in the past. There are people who may have given up their weight loss journey, due to the experience of food cravings that could not be met. This is the main cause of diet failure in America today and the Paleo diet is becoming quite popular due to the elimination of this obstacle.

Sources:

The Paleo Diet: what to eat on the paleo diet
Independent Australia: educating Australians about Fukushima’s implications  Dr. Helen Caldicott

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Healing MS Through Paleo, Part II

We finished your story with your time at Burning Man in 2010. What happened after you came home?

On January 1, 2011, stop gluten. My body responded so well that I knew I had to change my diet. A year later, the following day, I began to follow the Wahls Protocol. It is a modified version of Paleo. I was already using aromatherapy and meditation [to heal], and the food was the last piece of the puzzle. That was when the great magic occurred.

I started working with Wahl in January and in March I was without injection, which I took for nineteen years. In October I was drug-free. The only drug I currently take is for an underactive thyroid. At one point, I had ten hours a week of medical appointments. Now, I go to a physicist a year, which is the only time I see a doctor. I do not even see a neurologist. Look all the time I arrived!

In 2013, I moved independently for the first time in my life. When I got the idea, I told my physiotherapist. All I could say was, "Wow." I was living well with someone who came 40 hours a week to see me, but alone? How would I allow it? Could my dog walk by myself? Would you live close enough to public transportation? It was something I dreamed about for so long, and suddenly it was real.

Those of us who are unfamiliar with multiple sclerosis may not understand what victory is living on their own. Can you describe the symptoms you had only a few years ago?

In 1996, I had an attack that left me bedridden for six weeks. That affected everything, from my vision to my legs, I could not go down the stairs nor support my torso. That's what MS does to you.

I had no feeling on the left side of my body for twenty-six years. I lost the bilateral use of my hands. I had trouble swallowing, involuntary limb jumping, bladder problems, and burning down my arms. I had candida, double vision, facial contractions, IBS, fatigue, and balance problems. To this day, I still lack adequate emotional control. When someone hurts, I'll laugh. About ten percent of people with MS have this.

That's crazy. Can you believe how far you've come?

Yes. I can not talk about it without being emotional. There is no reported case of turning MS around except Dr. Wahls. Terry Wahls is not only a mentor but a true friend.

Five years ago, I could only drive five miles a week. The first time I drove a significant distance was last January when I drove twelve miles to see Nom Nom Paleo. It was a challenge for me. My plan was to drive twelve miles, take a four-hour break, and return home. She was so nervous that she had an hour and a half of anticipation. I met Nom Nom and I started to cry. I mean, mucus-dripping-down-my-nose, worry-catching-my-breath, crying. I was so proud of myself for how far I drove and it was a tender moment with one of my idols. Today we are friends and I still cry when I see her. That twelve-mile journey was in January. In April, I announced that I would drive 200.

What is your daily routine?

I wake up to circadian rhythms, usually between 3-4 am. Within the first two hours of waking, I dance. The dance sets the tone for my day and lets me know which part (s) of my body needs extra attention. If I can not even pick my Pandora station, I know my brain is elsewhere.

I walk two to five miles each day and do focused yoga movements six times a week. I do the breathing work and fifteen minutes of meditation a day. I vary my meditative state between walking, sitting and looking at meditation, which works for me that day.

That is incredible! You have come so far. Do you have any advice to stay healthy?

I do my best to eliminate toxins from my life. I do not use toxic makeup and I do not drink alcohol anymore. I have had thirty-one MRIs where I was injected with a radioactive dye in my life. I think this will be the last toxin to leave my body.

I eat nine cups of vegetables every day. Consuming a lot of raw vegetables bothers me, so I bleach them under the hot water. I also make shakes with added collagen and I drink bone stock every day. I fast from the time I go to bed to my first meal of the day, a minimum of eight hours, but I shoot by ten. Turmeric and black pepper are also ideal for fighting inflammation.

At PaleoFX this year, I was invited to speak on a panel with Chris Kresser. It was an honor. I got sick three days before the trip, I have not been sick since I started to eat consciously. I knew no one would let me on a plane if they knew, but I did.

And when I said I did, I mean I did. From six in the morning to eleven at night the day before my flight, I did my best to heal. I knew what I had to do: my yoga postures, my turmeric drinks, my daily mantras, everything worked. Before, it would have been medical appointments, hundreds of dollars and ten days of feeling miserable.

Do you ever think about the relationships you gave, the people you cut after Burning Man?

I lost 50 percent of the people in my life after Burning Man. One of the hardest friends I left was with someone I traveled with. We met every day for yoga at 8 in the morning. After Burning Man, I just stopped going to that yoga class and answering phone calls. That was in 2010. In March of this year, I received an email from that friend. He said, "I read your newsletter every week, and I'm so proud of you for all the steps you've taken." She never made me feel guilty or called me an idiot. It actually made the trip to Burning Man possible just before I cut it.

Do you have any advice for someone who has just started Paleo

I'm not even saying you have to be Paleo, I'm saying you have to question the status quo. Decide to live in harmony with your body and let it tell you what you need. Many people with diseases follow cultural norms. When you get out of those rules, it can be very scary. I am someone who publicly shares my journey because many people with illness are alone.

Here is my advice:

1.  Have an honest conversation with yourself.

     I am 100 percent Italian, where gluten and sugar play an important role. I did        not think I could give both at the same time (and loved sugar), so I stopped            gluten first. That first year, I did not care what the ingredients were - if it's                called gluten free, I ate it. I gained 50 pounds that year because I ate such            terrible foods. I started the following year with a Whole30, I left the dairy and          sugar, and went to Paleo.

2.  Find the community.

     I have had the support of the community from day one. Whatever you choose        to do, find a group and go for it. It can be a Whole30 group, a book, bloggers,        Doctor Wahls, whatever you want.

3.  Be Conscious.

     When I wake up in the morning, I give myself an hour to go to bed, that is to be      conscious. This is a lifestyle without judgment. I did my public life to light a            flame in you to stop living a life of autopilot.

Where is PaleoBossLady headed after?

That depends on the community. I have gone to 14 different states and held more than fifty talks. I say, "Where do you want me next?" And who screams louder, that's where I'm going. My hope is that this year will be the USA. And next year will be New Zealand or Australia. When I told my daughter about my plans, she said, "You know, Mom, I think your whole life has prepared you for this."

When I decided to go on tour, I had a month left on my lease, but I needed four months to plan. I asked some friends in the community to stand me up. My original plan was to rent an RV, but when the ad came, the answers came. People asked, "Will you come here? What's going on here?" I still have MS-I'm not the energizing rabbit so it takes a lot of work each day.

If you could go back ten years, what would you say? What would you like to say to those who go through a similar situation today?

I would tell you that my healing was not all peach cream. I was afraid of dying, and there was hard physical and mental pain. Many times it gets worse before it gets better, but the another side is really wonderful. I'm not sitting around waiting for MS to do what it's going to do.

There are good people out there and if you're willing to swallow your pride, you can do it. You may not be able to do it on your own. Remember that it is okay to admit that you need help. Believe in yourself. It's on you. I grew up on the beach, and in the summer we dug for hours in the sand. We knew that if we dug forever, we would hit the water. I never stopped digging because I believed in myself.

Sometimes I did not believe and I needed people to be my cheerleader. Other times, I would say, "It's okay to feel defeated today.You are allowed to feel fear, but never forget that it is there.Continue digging."

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Healing MS Through Paleo: Part I

We have interviewed many different people with a number of different stories. We have interviewed people with Ulcerative Colitis, Hashimotos, and Raynaud Syndrome. We have seen people lose two hundred pounds in a year and reverse years of joint pain, IBS and inflammation. Every time we interview someone, we think it's the most inspiring story we've ever heard, and no other story could beat it.

So we have a story like this.

V of PaleoBoss Lady was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in her early twenties. She was bedridden and suffered from paralysis in parts of her body for years until she began to follow Wahl's protocol, a modified version of Paleo. Now in his fifties, he has dedicated himself to the community and is traveling around the country teaching people about the life of whole foods. Four years ago, she could only drive five miles a week, and today her conversations have led her to fourteen states and more than fifty events. Read on to hear his incredible story of healing.

Let's start from the beginning. When was he diagnosed with MS?

I was 23 when I was diagnosed. When I look back on my childhood, I always had health problems. I was always a happy, smiling person, but strange things kept happening. I could not go up the steps, I had trouble carrying books, I had IBS, But the doctors could not figure out what it was. At age 17, I was losing my voice and I went to speech pathology.

I married very young, with a neighbor of our family. Six weeks later I got married, woke up and had lost the feeling on the left side of my body. I was on aerobics at the time, and I thought he pulled a muscle. They knew me as a drug addict in the hospital where I worked, and the nurses agreed. When I finally saw a doctor, he told me to stand on one leg. I slammed into the ground immediately.

I was sent to another hospital for a cat scan, where they thought I had a brain tumor. For six months, we could not understand. Finally, a friend called in favor of a neurologist. I paid eleven thousand dollars for an MRI (in those days, it was not covered by insurance).

MRI showed that he had MS. There was no treatment, no drugs, no cures. They said, "Do not get pregnant, do not go to the sun." Here is a bottle of valium for pain.

What did you do after being diagnosed?

I had only been married six weeks when this happened. My mom is a drug addict, so I said no to valium. After living with a junky pill all my life, I opted to start my holistic health trip with essential oils.

I always wanted to be a mom, so when the doctor said, "No kids," I immediately went to my mother-in-law. I asked him, "If this happens, will you support me?" In June, I was pregnant with my daughter.

I conducted a death sentence to life imprisonment. The doctors thought I was going to die, not to become a mom. After my diagnosis, I had facial distortion, terrible fatigue, and trouble speaking. Once I became pregnant, the symptoms began to reverse. He stayed like this for ten years.

With your symptoms under control, what happened over the next decade?

For most of my life, MS was invisible to the outside world. For ten years, I allowed myself to be a drug test. I was on the National Board of the MS Society and was the number one fundraiser in the state.

MS was too much for my first marriage. I came from an addictive family, I got sick within six weeks of our wedding, and we were just kids! I built an international company and traveled 222 days a year. It was a dysfunctional marriage, and we got divorced after five years.

MS can represent Multiple Sclerosis, but I call it Matrimonial Illness. After a decade of few symptoms, I remarried. Within six months of my second marriage, she returned. He returned with a vengeance and did not stop.

How did your symptoms increase during your second marriage?

MS is presented in three stages: preclinical, recurrent and secondary recurrent. Recurrent remission is like the hype: it comes, it's a pain in the ass, then it comes out. With progressive secondary, it comes and never comes out. Just attack.

I became an American with the legal disability once I lost the ability to make a repetitive movement. With multiple sclerosis, muscles and limbs become stuck. You will see someone with your leg out, and you can not bend it. Sometimes a muscle relaxant will make the leg flaccid but not under control. He had stiffness in his hands and throat and difficulty swallowing. A significant number of people with MS die asphyxiated.

Once I was diagnosed with progressive secondary sclerosis, my husband retired from me. He took me home from the doctor, said he was going to the movies, and never came back.

At that time, our family had a home on the Jersey Shore. My husband used to go to the movies alone. When he left, he said, "I'll be on the shore, I'll see you at your appointment in Philadelphia on Thursday, then it's Memorial Day, and we're going to the beach house.

I've never been to neurologist appointments alone. I hated waiting in the lobby for an hour and a half, seeing the other patients and knowing where I was going. It made me lose my head.

I introduced myself to my appointment and he was not there. For thirty minutes there was no trace of him. This was before I sent text messages, and I was worried. Finally, when he was in the doctor's office, he showed up. He sat down beside me and said, "I'm out. I married you for the business woman in you, and when that was gone, there was nothing left for me. We had a prenuptial agreement, and the divorce was final in thirty days.

How could anyone do that ??? What did you do?

I lost it. For months I could not take care of myself. I believed in my heart that this was a thing forever. Never, never, never saw this coming. I thought we were soul mates. The night before we left, we organized a dinner for twenty-five of our friends. He handed me a toast saying, "To your girlfriend, your pride, your wife for life."

It was just working. I took 24 medications, had a sixteen-year-old daughter, and out-of-pocket health care costs were increasing. By the grace of God, the community was my ground until I could see straight, think straight, and walk without having a box of tissues.

The day my daughter moved to college, I packed everything and moved to California. This was the second time I tried to question the status quo. My body responded well to the weather, and I began to heal. I became a spin instructor and a yoga instructor. He did not have to drive because he could walk everywhere. 

What did you do when you realized that your symptoms were changing?

When I moved to California, I went to social networks to ask for help and community. As my world began to improve and I began to heal, I went through the psychological rarity of, "Well, now what?" MS had always dictated what he could and could not do.

When I met Dr. Wahls, I said, "You need to investigate type A and MS." I was a sick child but a survivor of my whole life. In 2008, I went back to college. I know I am the psychic person who decided to go back to school while they were disabled. I took things slow and steady and graduated in 2014. I was not in control of my hands, and I could not hold a book. I had to talk to a computer. I have followed my Masters in Community Psychology to help people with disabilities learn to survive in the community.

Once you moved to California, how long did your EM stay under control?

When my MS returned, there was no way to stop it. There was nothing I could do but feed myself and use the bathroom. I had chest compressions so badly, I stayed in bed praying for him to stop. I was in so much pain, and I was scared all the time.

In September 2010, I went to Burning Man. This is going to sound insane, but I felt like I needed to go to a spiritual place. The people there looked after me, even though I was on a completely opposite schedule. They left at eleven at night and returned at seven o'clock to sleep, just as he woke up. I was hooked with EMT workers, making sure they were comfortable and taken care of.

Every day, I walked to the temple and prayed. I'm not religious, but I was praying ... life? Through those prayers, something told me that I had a toxic life. To heal, I had to cut myself off from that life, and from everything and everything in it.

So when you came back from Burning Man, did you cut the whole world off your life?

I call it my Hibernation Year. I did not socialize for a year. I was desperate. There were three things in front of me: I was going to kill myself, be homeless, or be institutionalized. When you consider those three things, cutting people was not so difficult.

I used to be the person who drove along the road, giving the finger to anyone who cut me. Never once have I considered what the driver was going through, or the kind of day I might have. People who got angry and did not talk to me anymore considered the shit they were dealing with. God forbid, just needed time.

MS took all of me. He took me to my house. He took me to my company. It took millions of dollars. I have a living will in the place, I have spoken with my daughter at one point, I even had a suicide plan in place. During the time in Burning Man, and in previous times, I made all kinds of promises. These are the promises I now have a moral obligation to fulfill.

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