http://www.rawpaleoforum.com/journals/6-month-zero-carb-experiment/msg36154/?topicseen#newWell, judging from the past accounts, those who do well on raw, zero-carb are the ones who already knew they had some sort of food-intolerance towards most carbs by the time they started RZC. At least , all the long-termers are like that(Lex, paleophil etc. etc.)
Actually, I knew I had a problem with gluten and I suspected that I had more problems handling carbs than some other people could, but I had no inkling how extensive the problem was--if I did I would have tried ZC much earlier. I was surprised to learn that even raw whole fruits give me problems.
The catch is the transitionary period which even successful RZCers find mildly inconvenient re symptoms,
I didn't have any of the transition symptoms that others have reported. My early period was actually probably the best. My bowels were the best in decades and I felt euphoric quite often. Improvements have happened each time I've eliminated a food(s) that it turns out I have problems with, then something seems to gradually kick in again--possibly the immune system--and I get some return of some past symptoms, but generally not as bad as before. With ZC and VLC I've had the least relapse of all, so far. My progress seems to have plateaued now, though.
and there are many unsuccessful RZC-triers who have been unable to continue, with most of the latter not managing to get past c.3 weeks or so without experiencing difficulties - a few even get issues at a much earlier date.
Yes, there are some tricks to ZC that the peoples who ate meat-heavy diets learned over thousands of years but which most of us moderners are not aware of. For example, it's apparently important to include organs in the diet and make sure your iodine and magnesium intakes are sufficient and to drink plenty of water (I didn't realize I was dehydrated until I did a Multistix urinalysis). I think that including some plant foods (like greens and herbs and maybe crucifers and roots), seaweeds and sea salt may reduce the risk of nutrient deficiencies, since some animal foods (like brains and blood) are not readily available today.
The other catch(for those who have no issues with carbs at the start) is that as you spend very long periods on a very low RVLC diet or RZC diet, your body changes so that the enzymes/bacteria used to digest carbs are no longer used so that one develops an increasing inability to handle the digestion of any carbs.
I have read about that but oddly haven't experienced it. On the contrary, I seem to be handling carbs a little bit better. I haven't seen anyone else report this, though and I wonder whether adding Dr. Ron's iodine foodlements helped because I noticed it after I started doing that. Vitamin K supplements also appear to be helping reduce (but not eliminate) the dental plaque from carbs.
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Fruit doesn't cause insulin problems, no matter how sugary they are. It's only processed carbs that give you insulin problems.
All plant carbs and honey (including raw honey and even raw comb honey) give me problems like feeling chilled, dry, flaky skin, painful cystic acne, mental fog, fatigue, increased hairloss, etc. Plus, carbohydrate intolerance (
www.merck.com/mmpe/sec02/ch017/ch017c.html), fructose malabsorption and hereditary fructose intolerance (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fructose_malabsorption) are known medical conditions. So not everyone does well on fruits.
I think that this will only cause you problems.. I did RZC for 2 months and felt pretty shitty the whole time. Energy and strength was there, but mental clarity and happiness just vanished. I felt brainfog, super irritation and had problems thinking.
Now I've introduced fruit in sizeable quantities to my diet and my skin looks great, even better then rzc, my hair has stopped being greasy and is now very light, shiny and fluffy. And best of all my bowel movements are just super regular and I just feel like my self again, energetic and happy.
My experience was the opposite of yours. I felt better on RZC than any other diet (though adding seaweeds, greens, herbs and a little bit of crucifers didn't noticeably worsen it--it just didn't make it any better other than temporarily raising my urine pH a little, which theoretically might be better). My energy, strength, mental clarity and happiness increased on ZC. My brainfog went away, my thinking and focus improved and my daydreams disappeared. When I reintroduced fruit, I had some return of irritated cystic acne, dry/flaky skin and scalp that is oily at the same time, felt worse again, more fatigued, slept more poorly and the usual mild euphoria from eating raw meats and fats usually does not occur when I include some raw fruits in a meal.
This is why it's so important that we speak only for ourselves when citing our own experience. Our individual experiences do not necessarily apply to everyone. It's dangerous to assume that they do. Some people who report doing really well on fruit (such as Harley Johnstone aka DurianRider) have implied that everyone does and some people who report doing really well on ZC (such as CW of ZIOH and William) also have appeared to imply that everyone does. I think that both extremes are incorrect. I recommend Lex's approach of just speaking for one's self.
