Phil, I think your position is fine, I was just trying to offer anecdotal experiences of my own. I was not suggesting that hookworm is negative for everyone, and congratulate Jasper for his success in treating himself; I am not doubting the benefits that it had for him. Although I could have saved him a trip to africa and shipped him some home brewed necator . or maybe he wanted the Ancylostoma? (I am joking in case that doesn't come through). I do think it is interesting that the same worm can both cure and cause the same disorder in different people. Other factors like other parasite infections, yeast, bacteria, etc. may also effect the outcome. I would be curious to know if Jasper knows what other organisms are sharing his digestive tract (a good PCR stool test would detect them). If I am not mistaken, the benefits of having parasites has only been shown in people in disease states. Are there any benefits of parasites in healthy people? I suppose that is what we are trying to find out.

The mechanism proposed as stated above is that the worms "elicit a TH1-mediated immune response which inhibits or down-regulates the TH2 response". Is this a double edged sword of potentially suppressing the immune system against legitimate threats? This is a great discussion by the way, I was not trying to be disruptive.

Stig, awesome, thanks for giving us the update. I just got my appliance about 2 weeks ago. It's not an ALF... pretty sure it's a schwartz appliance, looks like this: http://www.dentistrytoday.com/Media/EditLiveJava/Veis-Fig-2.jpg

Are you sure that the movement is around 1cm? That's huge! That must make a massive difference for you. I think the target for me is 2mm lateral width and about 2mm bringing the maxilla forward (haven't gotten the head gear yet). Not counting braces (optional since my bite is fine) it should take 4-6 months or so. I am expanding at around 1/16mm every few days. Even at just 3/16mm movement so far I've noticed subtle changes, like the ones you've mentioned. My diet is also mostly cooked paleo/wapf with extra carbs and the occasional sad/junk. Also eat some raw paleo (eggs,liver) now and then.

I've been meaning to make some plasters (dentist will have before/after, but want to get some in-betweens). So far I've been taking a photo every few days and my goal is to do some sort of time lapse video once treatment is done. Cheers.

Thanks so much for posting your video Jared. That is extremely valuable and cautionary hard evidence. I just saw the updates to this thread today, which is unfortunate because I thought I was subscribed to receiving new posts...

I've seen 2 conventional orthodontists in the past month for consultations for damon braces and invisialign. Invisialign seems like a clear loser as far as widening the palate is concerned. Damon braces on the other hand appear to have this potential, but I was unable to get either ortho to really say whether this was a realistic expectation. The first said that any growth at my age "was likely done", and the second just said the invisalign and the damon system were going to achieve the same results.. I did not directly ask if the braces would make my palate wider, I've been meaning to write an email to her. I did some research on the braces system afterward and found this: http://www.ormco.com/index/damon-casestudies-crowdedcases-2

The right column has the adult cases and if you go down to the bottom of the pdf files they show measurements of the lateral width of the palate. I cannot seem to unequivocally find out if this is actual bone growth that's going on or mere repositioning of the teeth. Part of their marketing is that these are cases that would have required extractions with regular braces, but that due to the increased space created, extractions were not required. Treatment for me would be 12 months and 6-7k. Honestly I am not looking forward to have metal in my mouth for a year which is why the invisalign alternative was appealing to me, but I get the impression invisalign is kinda worthless except for straightening teeth which I am not all that interested in. I have an appointment to see a dentist that uses the homeoblock to inquire about it. Short notice I know, but do you guys think I should ask anything in particular?

As a side note, I think I have experienced some changes facially naturally from weight lifting, jaw exercises, (really just pushing the palate with the tongue) and trying to sleep with my mouth close and on my back, etc. My palate is not wider, but facial features more favorable. I really don't know if there is any structural changes, but I think the facial muscles have a lot to do with the way your face looks. The tongue is nature's orthodontic device, so I think you can manipulate it to achieve somewhat minute facial changes. I don't know that it's enough when you're an adult to make any permanent changes though..

As a word of encouragement Jared, I have the same obsession with looks, but I know in many ways it doesn't matter nearly as much as I think it does. It's sure to vary based on your profession, but I can tell you the majority of people don't really care how you look compared to how you perform. I know and have met attractive people with symmetrical faces and broad smiles that are idiots. Most successful people I meet are unattractive and alot of attractive people unsuccessful. There seems to be some truth to the stereotypical "popular jock in high school becomes underachiever and nerd in high school becomes successful" narrative. I think good looking people tend to coast on their fortune, where as others have to compensate by overachieving in some other area. Now I'd be lying if I said I didn't hope for some aesthetic enhancement if I do go with some treatment, but if can get my mouth to the point where my tongue fits and I can breath well and chew properly, yet look exactly the same, I would be ecstatic. I'm more afraid of unfavorable aesthetic changes at this point. Anyway, keep eating nutritious food, healing your digestion (enzymes and kefir are working for me, dropped all other supplements save vit. D), getting proper sleep, reducing stress (so important!) and finding something to enjoy in life. Taking this general approach my thyroid problems finally resolved themselves and my free t3 is in the upper third of normal as opposed to being in the gutter; I feel much better and have a renewed vigor so I know the body can heal and correct itself if you give it what it needs. Cheers mate.

If I'm eating a steak-like cut I'll chew for a bit. Ground beef is usually a bite or two then swallow. Whenever I eat suet I chew it for a long time. After about 5-10 seconds my mouth starts gushing with saliva so I always figured it was a good idea to keep chewing and mixing the fat with saliva. I've also noticed that when I do not properly chew the fat it goes straight through me undigested and quite recognizable on the other end.

Ground beef is pretty much my staple. Mostly for the convenience of eating it - just grab a chunk, chew, swallow. No utensils needed or lengthy time ripping meat off with your teeth which requires two hands and can be messy. Plus it's inexpensive and has  good fat content. I Usually get the grass fed stuff from whole foods as I don't really like the vacuumed sealed stuff that local farmers and places that ship use. Maybe it's my imagination but I think the vacuumed sealed is not as good.. especially if left in the bag for a few days or a week. I usually feel a bit 'off'  when I eat meat that's been in those bags, while the meat from the counter wrapped in wax paper doesn't give me issues.

This is clearly one of the more puzzling aspects of this diet--how the dental health of you and I think one or two other people here declined dramatically on ZC, whereas Lex's and mine dramatically improved. Do you have any idea what the mechanism is behind teeth rotting on a ZC diet? Is it deficiency in an important enzyme? Do glandular problems exacerbate dental problems?

Count me among those who experienced dental trouble with VLC. I did pick up a small cavity or two my first try at it. Although for the record I did eat a handful of nuts now and then because I was having trouble getting my caloric intake high enough. The phtyic acid may have done me in there.

I've been trying to figure out as well what it is that may be at work. I guess one theory could be bacterial die-off that may temporarily affect ones nutritional needs. Many alternative health sites will state that candida binds to heavy metals in your body, and if there is wide scale die-off these metals will be realesed in your body. My first experiment with VLC made my oral thrush much worse, this time around it isn't as bad, but my tongue is still not pink. On the theory of bacterial die-off I think there may be something to it as I have been observing whitish mucus like threads hanging off of my BMs the past 2 weeks. Hopefully it's a positive sign. Theoretically it could be undigested egg whites, but I've never seen them before and since I am taking HCL the rest of my BM is well digested.

There is also the acid/alkaline theory where calcium is used up to neutralize the acidity caused by meat eating.. but that doesn't seem to hold much weight.

Another thing to consider is the water we are drinking and whether or not it contains calcium. Also equally important to consider is whether or not it contains fluoride as fluoride will bind to calcium. Perhaps those doing better on ZC are drinking mineral rich fluoride-free water? I try to avoid drinking water during or right before meals because of low stomach acid issues, but find it hard not to glup down water 30-90 minutes after a meal.

On the topic of salt I have not been using very much at all (maybe a pinch or two a week) the past month while when I started raw-paleo I used much more. I've never been a big salt eater and didn't use much pre-paleo. Whether this may cause some sort of salt deficiency (again, needs may be conditionally higher or lower)  or not has been on my mind. Sometimes I feel like salt helps and other times that I feel better without it.

There are effective and natural ways of pregnancy planning without drugs or contraceptives. Since a fertile couple really only has a week window to get pregnant per menstrual cycle you can simply avoid unprotected sex during that fertile window.

I would recommend reading "Taking charge of your fertility" by Tony Weishcler for more comprehenisve information.

I would never ever allow my wife/gf to take birth control pills. I can't see how you can be health conscious and eat raw paleo but then take hormone altering drugs like the birth control pill. It'd like be eating paelo and smoking cigarettes..

Not to revive an old thread, but I thought it would be worth responding to. I was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea which was 'fixed' with a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy as well as septoplasty (this was 5 years ago or so). Although this did help somewhat my sleep actually worsened a few years later. Since going 80-90% raw paleo over the past few weeks (still transitioning) I have been sleeping much much better. I am breathing better both when asleep and awake. I think part of the reason would be the magnesium in meat that relaxes the muscles... but also I am seeing the raw paleo is clearing up virtually all health problems and nuisances that I have.

I have candida issues (like almost everyone it seems) so I have gone through some probitoics. The most powerful one I tried was VSL3 which contains 450 billion live organisms per servings. During one streak of probiotics I was taking 1-2 trillion a day. Although this cleared up some candida issues, the candida always came roaring back. Because probiotics are terribly expensive I recommend (and am looking myself) for another approach. I think total avoidance of grains and non fruit/vegetable carbs is the clear recommendation from this forum.

Hi Yuri,

I just read the entire thread and wanted to offer some advice since I am suffering from similar symptoms as you. I think the greatest commonality between us is stress (and the resultant fatigue, brain fog, dark circles, lack of joy, etc. ). Stress is absolutely deadly whether it be physical, emotional, or spiritual.

One thing which I always find a lack of mention on health sites is the value of sexual abstinence.  I would strongly suggest you avoid sex (no more than a couple times a month),masturbation,porn, and sexual stimuli. This was hugely beneficial to me. It is still not clear to me whether the main benefit comes for nutrient preservation (semen is rich in various minerals and fats) or the abstinence from orgasm (orgasm changes the chemistry of the brain; releasing prolactin so as to lower dopamine is one example.). I don't mean to say that you can't/won't have a sex life, only that sex/masturbation/orgasm can exhaust you tremendously when you are in an already weakened state. You need all of your energy to heal. As a search term I suggest "sexual exhaustion". There are forums dedicated to people trying to heal themselves, mostly through diet, lifestyle, supplements, and correcting hormonal imbalances.

Have you tried yoga, meditation, or deep breathing? I find that it helps with calming the mind.

The other thing I would suggest is to get a hair mineral analysis done. I have gotten two done and both came back with heavy metals. Heavy metal toxicity can wreak all sorts of havoc on you body and mental faculties.

Now some of my suggestions are not strictly diet related so I hope I am not violating any forum ethics by expanding the topic beyond the scope of diet.