Lex's Journal

[lex_rooker]

Van,
I've been poked and prodded by the best over the years so what's a few more needle sticks in the name of science.  Sounds like a worthy cause.  I'm game if he is.

Lex

[van]

   Great,  I'll let you know what he says.  I am contacting him soon to see if he can help with an older woman I met who's facing amputation above her knee.  She's had three artificial knees, all of which have failed due to a fungus which supposedly eats away the cement that was to bond the prosthesis to the inside of the bone.  Her legs are ballooned/swollen.  Her doctors are giving up in trying to cure the fungus with drugs.  She approached me in a toy store with my daughter from having seen me walk with my carbon leg.   I'll write back when I get the word,  thanks Lex.    Van

[PaleoPhil]

Van,
I've been poked and prodded by the best over the years so what's a few more needle sticks in the name of science.  Sounds like a worthy cause.  I'm game if he is.

Lex

Oh cool, can I stick some needles in you too? All in the name of science, of course.

[lex_rooker]

Oh cool, can I stick some needles in you too? All in the name of science, of course.

With all the finger sticks I do on my own I sometimes feel like a pin cushion.  You may as well join in the fun - ummm I mean science.....errr research, that's it research!

Lex

[PaleoPhil]

Heh, heh. I made a voodoo doll of you and I'm sticking pins in you now, can you feel it? 

[richard]

   I am also interested to see if he would like to do some testing with Charles.  For Charles has many times thrown out the challenge of putting his health against any one else's.   I would be happy to contact him and make the suggestion;  that is Lex, if you would be interested in participating.    He does follow his own diet.  He might learn something from you? 

I would love to see this.  Charles claims that grass fed vs grain fed doesn't matter, yet has never tested grassfed and compared measurable results and is unwilling to get labtests to measure his results. 

[phatdave]

what was the conclusion of lex's high fat 80-20 experiment? I find it fascinating reading this whole journal, but I'm curious.

[lex_rooker]

what was the conclusion of lex's high fat 80-20 experiment? I find it fascinating reading this whole journal, but I'm curious.

Dave,
Here's a link to the post where I ended my initial high fat experiment and returned to about 65% fat.

http://www.rawpaleoforum.com/journals/lex's-journal/msg6654/#msg6654

Still working on my current low protein experiment (which means high fat to keep calories constant).  The original experiment was to test Taubes theory.  This experiment is an attempt to lower HbA1c levels.  So far BG has dropped about 15 points (from 100 to 85) so I have high hopes that HbA1c levels will follow this downward trend.  Next blood test will be in January and I'll have HbA1c levels checked as well as 25(OH)D3 levels.

Lex

[carnivore]

Charles claims that grass fed vs grain fed doesn't matter, yet has never tested grassfed and compared measurable results and is unwilling to get labtests to measure his results. 

Not exactly. He said that grass fed is probably better than grain fed, but grain fed is good enough to be healthy.

[lex_rooker]

Not exactly. He said that grass fed is probably better than grain fed, but grain fed is good enough to be healthy.

I suppose we'll see how Charles fares in the long term.  I'm surprised that he doesn't get regular blood tests.  It is the annual blood tests that demonstrate the effectiveness, (and the problems) with the dietary choices I've made.  Without blood tests I would never have known that my HbA1c was a bit high. 

Many people look and feel great right before they die from a heart attack or stroke.  Things like high blood pressure, electrolyte, and hormal problems often can't be detected by how you feel.  Also, we are very good at fooling ourselves when we do feel a bit 'off'.  We attribute it to anything other than what we believe in.  I for one would rather have real facts.

Lex

[richard]

Lex, would you consider getting your omega-3 index and omega-6:omega-3 ratio tested?
I would be very curious to see what the results are.

Why leave the grass fed vs grain fed debate a mystery.  We have the technology to determine the truth.

This is available as a finger prick home test kit for $149.95 @  http://www.genesmart.com/pages/omega_3_index_heart_health_test/105.php

[TylerDurden]

PP was saying that I might have got Charles statements wrong. I had merely quoted from you saying that Charles had confirmed that it took him  abit longer to recover after physical exertion. The relevant statement of your was :- "Yes, Charles confirms that the recovery time is longer on zero carb meat and water. " Out of interest, could you please provide me with the link to Charles' comment re this on the zerocarbage.com forum. Thanks.

[lex_rooker]

PP was saying that I might have got Charles statements wrong. I had merely quoted from you saying that Charles had confirmed that it took him  abit longer to recover after physical exertion. The relevant statement of your was :- "Yes, Charles confirms that the recovery time is longer on zero carb meat and water. " Out of interest, could you please provide me with the link to Charles' comment re this on the zerocarbage.com forum. Thanks.

Tyler,
I don't remember making that statement about Charles.  I think Jeff did and that was over a year ago.  I have no idea what he was referencing.

Lex

[lex_rooker]

Lex, would you consider getting your omega-3 index and omega-6:omega-3 ratio tested?
I would be very curious to see what the results are. This is available as a finger prick home test kit for $149.95 @  http://www.genesmart.com/pages/omega_3_index_heart_health_test/105.php

Richard, I saw this on the HeartScan blog and looked into it (and the vitamine D3 test as well).  Unfortunately, I live in california and I can't request the test without going to a doctor and getting a prescription, and I'm not sure, but the results might have to be sent directly to the prescribing physician as well.  Royal pain.  Anyway, now that I know a test like this exists, I'll add it to my request list when I next visit my primary care doctor in late December or early January.

Lex 

[TylerDurden]

Tyler,
I don't remember making that statement about Charles.  I think Jeff did and that was over a year ago.  I have no idea what he was referencing.

Lex

Ah, yes, you're right, it was jeff.

[PaleoPhil]

Tyler, I'm trying to avoid classifying either your or Charles' comments on his recovery, performance, etc. as "wrong" or "right" and I'm trying to stay out of any potential disputes between you two, so I'll just post what I have from my own notes on this and you can decide for yourself (and I recommend asking him questions directly to get the answers straight from the horse's mouth--preferably via private message to avoid potentially causing a ruckus in their public forum). Just in case I should ever decide to get into more serious athletic pursuits I saved this post of Geoff's to investigate later:

Subject:    Re: Pemmican rules!
From:   Geoffrey Purcell
Reply-To:   Paleolithic Eating Support List
Date:   Thu, 27 Aug 2009 11:57:57 +0100

I heard from (raw) ZC circles that Charles has admitted that it takes longer for him to recover, on a ZC diet by comparison to a higher-carb-diet, before he can resume his sporting-activity. Can't remember the explanation offered, something to do with glycogen.

Geoff

Your post reminded me about it, and I thought I remembered Charles posting something about this too, so I asked him about it:

http://forum.zeroinginonhealth.com/showthread.php?tid=37&pid=120414#pid120414
 09-29-2009, 07:37 AM
Post: #1889
   Charles Offline
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RE: Charles's Running Journal

   <<(09-28-2009 09:48 PM)PaleoPhil Wrote:  I think in the past you mentioned that your recovery rate is slower on ZC than it was on carbs, but I may be confusing you with someone else. Is that the case now? I don't notice any slower recovery myself on ZC, but I don't exercise to the degree you do.>>


No, my recovery time is not slow at all. I'm just more attuned to what my body needs. As the Bear mentioned, it takes two days after strenuous activity to repair and build the muscle so as long as you factor in the proper recovery, you're fine. My comment was more related to the fact that carb eaters seem to be able to do more back to back stuff than ZC people, which in no way affects performance. That just means they can practice a little more. This leads to overtraining and injury, which I never seem to have.

[RawZi]

Lex don't you notice a sweet taste in your mouth? When I drink water, ride my bicycle, go swimming and even when it's time to eat I have this sweet taste in my mouth. I know when I ate other meats than beef and fat this taste changed according to the kind of meat and fat I ate (horse meat was way to sweet after a time).

You also explained once that food is a liquid in the small intestines so if you eat just meat and fat this liquid moves threw to the big intestines

    I'm eating more carbs now, and much fewer eggs, but no one knew the answer at the time.  Eggs and or water always drew a sweet taste coming from my mouth.  What is that?

    Maybe related, maybe not, my first taste of cooked vegetable (eggplant) made a lot of (plain non smelly in any way) water come out of me.  No problem, but very strange.  Absolutely not necessary.  I don't need eggplant.  Would that be the water from the small intestine?

[PaleoPhil]

    I'm eating more carbs now, and much fewer eggs, but no one knew the answer at the time.  Eggs and or water always drew a sweet taste coming from my mouth.  What is that?

    Maybe related, maybe not, my first taste of cooked vegetable (eggplant) made a lot of (plain non smelly in any way) water come out of me.  No problem, but very strange.  Absolutely not necessary.  I don't need eggplant.  Would that be the water from the small intestine?

I found that when my saliva, fat-rich foods like suet, tallow, or raw eggs, and water tasted sweet to me I was excreting significant ketones. I reduced my fat intake and the sweetness and ketones went away.

Eggplant would not be my first choice of plant food, as it's a nightshade and nightshades have been linked to arthritis, multiple sclerosis and food allergies and intolerances. When I eliminated nightshades my health improved significantly. It also contains a lot of water, which could be related to your symptom, I suppose.

[PaleoPhil]

Lex, I increased my fat intake level to help lubricate the GI tract, but that increased my urinary ketones back up to around 40 mg/dl. Do you think there's any reason to be concerned about that level of ketones?

[lex_rooker]

Lex, I increased my fat intake level to help lubricate the GI tract, but that increased my urinary ketones back up to around 40 mg/dl. Do you think there's any reason to be concerned about that level of ketones?

Phil,
Your urinary ketones are much lower than mine.  When eating 75% to 80% calories as fat, I consistently run between 80 and 160 mg/dl, and much higher when I eat 85/90% calories as fat.  My results have been nothing but positive.  Since the keto strips only measure as high as 160, and ketones are measured as the amount in a specific volume, I measure the higher rate by diluting my urine with distilled water by a ratio like 2:1, 4:1, 10:1 etc, until the reading is again within the measuring limits of the test strips. I then just multiply the test strip reading by the ratio, (2, 4, 10, etc) I've measured over 500 when I was doing my super high fat diet experiment and still had no issue that I was aware of.

Lex   

[PaleoPhil]

OK, so I take it that the talk on the Net about high urinary ketones being bad is misguided. However, doesn't your saliva get sickeningly sweet when your ketone levels get high?

[lex_rooker]

OK, so I take it that the talk on the Net about high urinary ketones being bad is misguided. However, doesn't your saliva get sickeningly sweet when your ketone levels get high?

I haven't noticed any sweetness for 2 or 3 years now.  Either I'm used to it or over time some type of adpatation has taken place.

I think you are correct that most of the babble on the net is misguided.  Extreme ketogenic diets are used to control severe cases of epilepsy and in this case the diet is usually at least 90% to 95% fat which is garuanteed to generate very high levels of ketones.  Patients stay on this diet for years.

Lex

[PaleoPhil]

Interesting. I've been upping my fat intake again and haven't noticed the oversweet saliva so far. I hope I've adapted. Thanks.

[Guittarman03]

Hey Lex, just got a quick question for you.

You do a lot of tracking of different nutrient/bio/chemicals in your body for the purpose of exploring better health.  I like the idea of getting vit D from sunlight, I'm sure it's generally good for us (reference from another post you made earlier).  You seem to be fairly rigorous in doing regular tests and chaning small variables.

Have you ever considered light-moderate amounts of simple exercise 3-5 days a week to see if  your health improves any?  I wouldn't be surprised if some of the different things you track and are trying to improve, got better.  From a paleo standpoint, it would make sense that our bodies would be ideally tuned for a good bit of movement, especially if we were zero or near zero carb.

-Jason

[lex_rooker]

Hey Lex, just got a quick question for you.

You do a lot of tracking of different nutrient/bio/chemicals in your body for the purpose of exploring better health.  I like the idea of getting vit D from sunlight, I'm sure it's generally good for us (reference from another post you made earlier).  You seem to be fairly rigorous in doing regular tests and chaning small variables.

Have you ever considered light-moderate amounts of simple exercise 3-5 days a week to see if  your health improves any?  I wouldn't be surprised if some of the different things you track and are trying to improve, got better.  From a paleo standpoint, it would make sense that our bodies would be ideally tuned for a good bit of movement, especially if we were zero or near zero carb.

-Jason

Jason,
I decided a few months ago to work on upping my sunlight exposure in an effort to boost Vitamin D levels (first test will be in late Dec or early Jan).  I started by 'sun bathing' but soon thought that laying around on a beach towel was not an efficient use of time and decided that doing light exercise in gym shorts would be a better approach.

To that end, I now walk (in as few clothes as public decency allows) for about 1 hour per day.  Sometimes when the spirit moves me I may jog a bit but the point is regular gentle exercise while getting as close to full body sun exposure as possible.

I’ve also dropped protein levels and this too has had a beneficial effect on blood glucose levels.  We’ll see if HbA1c improves and where 25 (OH) D3 levels are in a couple of months.

Lex