Taking a leap of faith, Curing Eczema is my only goal(attention: GoodSamaritan)

[badboy9311]

Current diet regime:
Raw paleo diet consisting of Marrow Bones, ground beef + beef liver
Cooked sweet potato to keep my temperature up
Have a last bit of eggs to cook off but following the above diet for the time being.

Going to have to take on an emergency trip to the other side of earth for a bit, and still busy as hell..
Going to have to do a cooked paleo diet instead, it sucks for couple days but I guess that's life.

Waking up to a hell of a skin itch and rash ain't no fun. Combined with cold hands and feet.
Health is taking a down turn, so I'm going to just stop it right here and turn it around.

Current supplement regime:
Vitamin D3
Fermented Cod Fish Oil
Vitamin Butter Oil
Kelp by Now 150mcg x 6 per day. (Need to contemplate how much to take..Trying to solve my thyroid issue/ cold issue..)
L-Optizinc by Now
Lower Bowel Balance pills from 2 years ago, ordered from same place that made humaworm, just found out I have more last night


these had to be stopped during travelling other than Vitamin D3 + Kelp, can't bring liquid on plane

Plane food's going to suck..oh wells..what can I do, i'll just take rice over wheat I guess.


Funny Observation
I've been thinking about if liver flush is a real thing or is it just a chemical reaction
Last night took Lower Bowel Balance pills and went to bed.
This morning woke up, took vitamin oil + Fermented Cod Fish Oil + went to washroom

1st bowel movement got the normal stuff out.
2nd bowel movement got some funny ball shape poop out. They all sunk to the bottom and nothing floated.
Could these be liver stones? If the fact that taking in high amount of oil can stimulate bile to squeeze out liver stones then why bother liver flushing? Just embrace the fat / oil and drink that for flushing of liver stones..
Sort of the same idea that GS posts about: the egg yolk/olive oil liver flush.

Just some thoughts.
I'm going to embrace on the GS journey again. Take on strict diet + detox first, and reverse my life again.
This is taking so long, but I must be patient. I need to build up a habit instead of letting it slip like I've done in the past.
Lifestyle building is the key of the game.

[nummi]

Cold hands and feet are primarily from iodine deficiency (and/or whatever else plays a part in making iodine available for the body to use, and in this case the deficiency of those - I think selenium was one that plays a major role). I know these symptoms too well... for years and years. Personally I take half a tsp of ground dried sea veg twice a day to ensure I have enough iodine (I soak it in water for a bit, sometimes for hours, then gulp the somewhat slimy stuff down; rockweed, not kelp as kelp gets very slimy this way... and now for some odd reason I want kelp...).
Iodine also is important for digestion, I noticed months ago...

There's no such thing as "poor genetics". If you say "poor genetics" then what I understand is that you don't know yourself well enough...
There are different "body types". Try to be yourself, not someone else - this of course first requires knowing oneself enough. It's best to not look at others and what they are like, instead get to know yourself and what you are like. If you look at someone else and how they are doing and have a slight feeling of envy or similar, then you are taking them as an example, whether consciously or not, and if you insert into your mind someone else as an example and try to apply the picture of that person to yourself then whose life are you living? Yours or someone else's?
After all, this mentality of taking others as examples is one we are raised and grown with from so many directions. It blocks and hinders the development of oneself. A quality one should best root out once aware of it, as it does no good.

You can't and don't gain muscle exactly the same way a "SAD" dieter does; "mainstream" way and view of gaining mass and strength, etc., does not apply to "us". In their case a lot of the mass is actually fat and toxins stored in fat.
I go to gym regularly now and almost always see some "lazy fat chunks" rolling under weights. They have mass, fat mass, and far too much of it now that I know how much a person should have, and then they have some fatty muscle mass. They are disgusting, and they aren't aware of it. It's a sad look seeing how they think they know what they are doing, but without knowing the world nor themselves.
I'd say forget about gaining mass or strength. Just have a good enough diet and work out, and mass and strength and stamina, etc., will come as they will come, and they will come.

To give the body extra nutrient kick egg yolks are good. Personally currently I eat 2 whole eggs and 8 yolks a day (commercial crap as can't get better ones enough). Easy to digest as well. Then about 2.5 kg(5.5lb) of fish a week, 1 kg(2.2lb) beef fat, and about 1.5 kg(3.3lb) of beef meat. These are the bulk of my diet.

Meat variety is important. Relying only on say beef meat, and no other major protein source, will develop issues.

[badboy9311]

I think upping the fat content + continue supplementing regularly with iodine has already helped me a little bit in my cold situation
The name of the game really is eating more fatty meal maybe..

This could also be self-induced placebo effect, so I'm going to embrace on this and keep experimenting...

Just thought I'd thank @nummi for bringing that up..I did have to acknowledge that previously this year I was so tired + cold I had to rush to supplement store and bought kelp for supplement, and realized I could wave away a little fatigue and being able to function again..

Maybe modern lifestyle depletes our already low level of iodine in diet..More reading into that

Fatty meat is also helping me with energy supply already..just need to find more fatty meat + raw fat..

[badboy9311]

Current compromise diet while on the road and travelling
Pick rice over wheat product ..I tolerate rice way better than gluten..
Pick cooked paleo over junk in restaurants..Fruits over those..Fruitarian + cooked paleo on the road

Keystone of Raw Paleo diet = Raw fat from good meat.
Raw fat = more energy = better metabolism
Raw fat = better sebum production for dry skin = less itch = faster recovery of skin
Raw fat = lowering of inflammation = less area triggering immune reaction
Raw fat = Bile flowing better = better functioning liver (need some research on the exact mechanism, but this is really what I suspect right now for most population having problem with their liver eventually)
Raw fat = filling = eating less crappy food = less craving that deters healthy diet.
Raw fat = Less fluctuation in blood sugar level = less mood swing and hence stable mood
Raw fat = better synthesis of vitamin D3 = less susceptible to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) which I believe i have to a very high degree.
Raw fat = Testosterone production = better hormonal balance in this estrogen filled world
Raw fat = better sebum production in hair shafts = healthier hair roots
Raw fat = ? = prevent hairloss (I suspect it helps..just don't really know how)
Raw fat = providing essential fatty-acids = healthier thyroid (still trying to dig up the research)

I need a better research methodology than just reading and bookmarking. Been doing this lazy style research for my health.
Not going to slack now, I really want to break the nutrition and health myths to the bits and bring the world something out of my illness.

First though, going to have to fix my own problems once again, before I go around telling my friends and family what to do. If you can't do it, you can't advice it.

I really appreciate many of you throughout my journey giving me good advice..to GS, jessica, nummi, Paleophil..and many more..I am going through a lot in life right now and I am forever grateful during this down time that there are strangers that are willing to read my long essays of thoughts while giving solid feedback.

To all of you who've helped me throughout the journey, I wish you health and happiness from the bottom of my heart.

[eveheart]

Current compromise diet while on the road and travelling
Pick rice over wheat product ..I tolerate rice way better than gluten..
Pick cooked paleo over junk in restaurants..Fruits over those..Fruitarian + cooked paleo on the road

I have a "formal" hierarchy for eating on the road, too. While I do try to take everything with me, I've done what you are doing for some trips, and it has paid off many times. For me, wheat is a "never" food. Also, I prefer to buy prepared foods in supermarkets rather than eat in restaurants. I carry a jar of coconut oil with me, and while I rarely eat coconut oil at home, it travels well. On a recent visit to a vegetarian friend's house in the middle of nowhere, I decided to stay for a few days, so I got a rotisserie chicken (of dubious quality) and a container of fresh salsa. I think it pays to have contingency plans, even if they fall far short of what you would eat at home.

[PaleoPhil]

Good luck badboy9311

[nummi]

As to "compromise" foods. Maybe try buckwheat over rice? Personally I'd take buckwheat.
I'd take buckwheat over rice anytime. Plus buckwheat wouldn't be much of a compromise food in the first place, definitely not anywhere near as much as rice, not to mention wheat.

[badboy9311]

Lack of focus, Procrastination and Emotional pain

This is a post for myself, but also for those in the contemporary society.
For a lot of us, we're in physical pain and emotional pain.
Just on the subject of health alone, people come to this forum are often at their last resort phase. They either want to get well, or they are willing to just give up.
Mentality wise this time I'm better at this "fixing health" thing. I'm more focused, more relaxed than last time, because I know the plan A-->B, but at the same time life is currently giving me a lot of stressors. The feeling of riding a wave on a tiny raft during the storm of the century is kind of what is going on in my mind.

Part of what got me here, I know exactly, is the lack of focus and procrastination.
I've been multi-tasking, and procrastinating my whole life. And these are all because I don't have the ability to deal with emotional pain and process them. The same psychological pattern that got me here cannot possibly bring me to the next level of health in life. It is always the same pattern as well, I multi-task, procrastinate because somehow the fear of failure overcomes my desire for a healthy body. Constant switching of lifestyle because I'm afraid of changing my identity, changing how others view me.

The fear of failure stems from my inability to handle emotional pain, which end up create more emotional pain for me.
It was the fear of being continue to stuck in atopic march that got me started, and now I'm half way there at 80-90% recovery on eczema, and fully recovered from asthma, suddenly I thought I could stop and just throw everything out of the window. This pattern has happened so many times and it's so painful to see for myself. Reading my old journal, I have recovered, but I was never at the finish line. I was never at the end of the line with perfect skin and perfect smile. It was the inability to handle the change that might encompass the new RPD lifestyle and health with my image of typical conventional lifestyle that everyone else is in, the SAD lifestyle. The cognitive dissonance of identity just never happened, then I revert to old mentality and habits.
The change of identity and the ability to handle emotional pain, is my current sticking point in terms of emotional aspect.
Let's solve this, I really hope this can also bring some pointers for people in the future.
If you, or precisely to say, your "mastermind" within you don't accept the emotional pain and identity shift along the way, you'll keep getting rebounds like me, you'll just keep going back to the same  hell you got yourself out of in the first place.
Cry, scream, yell, because the pain doesn't go away by hiding it..Cry it out..let it out..
Then, keep crawling back up, and face the pain..Let it run all over you.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Skin condition update: Keep getting new inflammation area, because of scratching
In shortly 3-5 days, I've gone from clear skin to body full of scars once again.
Oh wells, the reason is simple: I've crossed the threshold again and now I'm back at inflammatory state.
I believe I was just below the threshold when my skin recovered but never got fully lubricated skin again.
Now, let's push past the threshold again and go further. I'm committed to this, let's do it.
Currently supplementing with -
Kelp 150mcg x 6/day
Vit D3 4000 IU /day
Omega 3 (alaska fish oil pills) 4-8 per day..megadosing
However also been reading something bad on how fish oil causes oxidation. I believe there're pros and cons, It's anti-inflammatory, but oxidizes easily. Hmm..I need to learn more about this.
Keeping stuff simple recently, trying to reduce the inflammatory state as much as possible right now.
I've done it before, where the combination of Bowel cleanses + Vitamin D3 substantially reduced my inflammation, but this time I wonder how long it'll take because my body is going through a lot of stress itself.

--------------

Research breakthrough
http://gutcritters.com/pufas-leaky-gut-endotoxemia-and-the-liver/
Linked with leaky gut and liver damage if taking Omega-3 supplementation in their diet, using rat cells as research basis..
So..Omega-3 supplementation is not the answer, but lowering omega-6 intake?
Pretty Ray Peat school of thought, but none the less interesting..Hmm..

This site is great, I learnt so much to it..
The same answer just keep popping up to me lately in my research, that saturated fat of animals that eat their natural diet are the key towards health.

I feel like alice in wonderland, jumping down the rabbit hole.

-----------------

As to "compromise" foods. Maybe try buckwheat over rice? Personally I'd take buckwheat.
I'd take buckwheat over rice anytime.

Well, buckwheat won't be on the road for me, in HK there're no buckwheat in the market (at least not that I can find without a lot of time..and I'm out out here again soon)

Good luck badboy9311

Thanks phil, you've always given solid scientific advice, I love it.
Please let me know what you think of my progress as I update this journal more

I have a "formal" hierarchy for eating on the road

I never made a formal hierarchy, but my hierarchy right now is
RPD> Cooked PD > PD including rice (so just cut out gluten and SOY pretty much) > Junk diet (all you can eat SAD)
The problem I guess is that I never made it clear to myself in my lifestyle. And cravings are nuts when you're cold and hungry all the time. Thyroid problem + SAD + emotional distress = recipe for disaster

[eveheart]

Part of what got me here, I know exactly, is the lack of focus and procrastination.

What works for me also works for others but not everybody, so I'll propose a solution that may or may not work for you:

Early on, someone pointed out that not all of our goals are actually goals at all. Instead, they are actions toward a goal. The problem, then, is defining the actual goal(s) that we may have. In that case, my true goal is not about eating a certain way or focusing differently or getting exercise - those are just actions toward a goal. The real goal is to overcome a negative pattern that was learned earlier - a pattern like not treating myself with love, or betraying myself, or being untrustworthy to myself.

Our negative patterns are not hard to detect because they always manifest themselves in the ways that other people irritate us. You might look at Byron Katie's The Work (www.thework.com for a lovely method that you can use when you write in your journal. If I'm feeling like eating wrong foods, I use Katie's method every morning in my journal until the bad feelings are resolved. Other methods work, too, so you can find a good one for you.

I believe that you can improve your outlook with some form of daily meditation. I realize that I'm in my 60s and have had a lot of practice, so I don't want to imply that the process ahead of you is easy or painless... but constant improvement is possible. The world has an infinite number of solutions for every problem, and just as you found RPD, you will also find many solutions for your emotional turmoil.

This Tale of Two Wolves might help you choose a course:

An old Cherokee chief was teaching his grandson about life...

"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.

"One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego.

"The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.

"This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"

The old chief simply replied, "The one you feed."

[goodsamaritan]

try to make tamarind tea.
use fruit, leaves and bark.
refrigerate to be always cool.
apply 2x or more a day and air dry via an electric fan or hand fan.

[badboy9311]

To be honest i doubt I'll find that here in canada for these really tropical stuff. I mean probably I can find them, but it's going to be pricey..I'll try though

I just gave it a brief search..What does it do exactly again?

And GS, where should I go again, following your protocol from head to toe again? I'm going to be really busy and I've got a lot of "hustling" to do for the next month. How should I do detox? Or should I stick to RPD for now and wait for things to settle down?

I'm at the constipation stage right now again, my digestion system is weak as hell. I think it's in my family genetics to have weak stomach (my parents have weak digestive system as well, they just eat SAD)

I have some probably overdue LBB pills from ages ago, don't know if they're still effective, or I might just have to buy another pack of colon cleanse / castor oil.

I do see a lot of benefit everytime i do a colon cleanse + overdose on vitamin D3 (probably more like overdose comparing to the stupid FDA standard)

These couple days of sunlight did give me some help with the SAD issue, but it's quite temporary as I'll be back in deep winter very soon.

Oh wells, time to really go deep in meditation. The only thing that have always helped me to thrive during harsh times.

[goodsamaritan]

You should not be constipated.
You should poop effortless and complete.

I recommend you fix your colon to poop like a champion.
See http://oldfashionedspices.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=445
Take your activation dose (number of capsules that let you poop daily without diarrhea).
Take daily for 60 days.

At the same time follow the watercure2.org guidelines for at least a week.

Do daily egg yolk liver flushes 3 straight days.  Rest for a week, then do it again.

That should get you started.

Get good sleep.  Inclined bed therapy.

Eat at least a paleo diet... raw is best... but if not... cooked paleo.

[Inger]

Two quotes I find great.. hope you do too

"Failure is never the problem. The response is. We need to learn to fail forward to create success. This idea is built into DNA. Failure is key the to begin again, apply intelligent design. Full effort is full victory in failure. Stop focusing on risks; they multiply in your mind and paralyze your attention. You want to focus on the task, instead, on doing what needs to be done. Today, take responsibility and blame yourself; only you have the power to change and transform things. If you assign responsibility elsewhere, then you are giving power to decide your fate outside your control"

"Summoning gratitude is a sure way to get our life back on track. With gratitude, fears vanish, and abundance manifests. We're the creator of our life and we need to make it happen. It's not what we have or don't have that is paramount; but the value we place on them. We can't control all the circumstances in our life but we can control our attitude and thoughts. What we can't change often changes us drastically, and if our attitude is shaped by gratitude, abundance is likely to follow"

Badboy, you need to give up caring for what others think about you... or you will never proceed. Do what you know is right for you, no matter what.
What good can you do for others if you are not good to YOU? I am not one bit worried about what others think.. and I do many "weird" things.. because I know they are good for me. To follow the masses was never my thing. It is not fun either.. and in the end... it is fascinating when we are different.
You can do it.

If you are constipated.. you are dehydrated. I would not eat cooked paleo for this issue... it is more constipating as raw. Do all raw, it will help. An drink lots of spring water too...... keep it cool at home, go out in the nature, forest is best.. and stay away from too much time on the computer...
Do you live in a city?

[badboy9311]

Do you live in a city?

Thanks for the quotes, they are indeed something I know, something I've been through but need constant reminder of.
I live in a mid-sized city now, and always been a city boy pretty much. Think the typical cosmopolitan and multiply that by 10. i'm pretty much just under a New Yorker in terms of how "urban" i'm considered in society.
Which has its perks really, but stresses me out in terms of the constant need for doing stuff really.
It just makes recover from chronic disease difficult because I'm constantly trying to do new stuff.

Anyways, I've done it before, and Ill do it again.

Yes, cooked food does dehydrate me I realize. I'm focusing on RPD from today onwards, no more cooked stuff.
I want to get healed up before christmas, so I can travel a bit without pain.

Staying away from the computer is pretty much impossible for me as a student nowadays. I do realize it has a huge toll on my mental health when facing the computer all day. I've stopped lifting too which is the worst ever. I'm going to pick up exercise again tomorrow to help boost some growth hormone and this sluggish circulatory system I'm having right now.

You should not be constipated.
You should poop effortless and complete.

I recommend you fix your colon to poop like a champion.
See http://oldfashionedspices.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=445
Do daily egg yolk liver flushes 3 straight days.  Rest for a week, then do it again.

I'll schedule that for monday- wednesday

[badboy9311]

Academic stress will end in 2 weeks, but these 2 weeks I'm also going heavy workload and pushing all my brain power on academics.
Just had my last trash meal day last night. I'm switching to the lifestyle of a healthy person. This junk eating lifestyle should be the past me.
I will accept pain and suffering as part of the journey. And if I slip so be it, but I will keep crawling to my health and youth
I will accept the judgement of others for that I know they are part of the reality we live in.
I will accept the consequences of my actions, and they are my own responsibilities to take.

-----

30 Days of Food Journal begin again. 

[goodsamaritan]

Healthy food increases academic ability, consciousness, IQ, EQ, everything.
I actually feel like a totally different person today than my SAD days.

[badboy9311]

Current mode of operation:
Increase raw fat by eating a lot of marrow bones
Increase vitamin and other necessary nutrients by eating beef liver freely
Got a humidifier to decrease stress on dry skin, don't know if it works well yet though.
Drinking hot magnesium supplement that I got in the morning to warm up body
Pre-thawing meal the day before
Taking in carb from Sweet potato only

---------

Currently quite constipated, don't know why..Probably due to stress + dehydration from diet
Compromised gut flora is probably the reason according to GutCritters.com, a quite reasonably scientific site that I recently started following

------------------

Too low energy to do major detoxes, I can't afford bad reactions from harsh detoxes
So I'm going to build myself up from raw paleo diet first as focus.
The rest I'll put in bits by bits.
The colon system is the first thing to fix anyways. It's quite compromised right now.

Should I just stay put and not do detoxes?

Current detox: Colon fiber supplement (Zeolite + Psyillium Husk Mix) to get some Bowel Movement..But isn't getting much despite having heavy meal 2 nights in a roll.

[eveheart]

Should I just stay put and not do detoxes?

The body "does" detoxes all the time via the kidneys, bowels, lungs, and skin. Sometimes, the trick is to stop further intoxication by eating the right foods, getting exercise, and thinking the right thoughts.

[badboy9311]

The body "does" detoxes all the time via the kidneys, bowels, lungs, and skin. Sometimes, the trick is to stop further intoxication by eating the right foods, getting exercise, and thinking the right thoughts.

That's the thing, I want to speed up my healing progress
But I can't stop coffee because I'm dealing with a lot of academic stuff and to be honest i'm in no health shape to be able to stay awake without it... It sucks but right now I'm completely dependent on coffee to stay awake.
I'm taking everything out already...

It's an endless cycle of destruction
Stress --> Consume crap product to feel better --> Body deteriorates --> Feeling depressed because of both mental and physical deterioration 
It's almost as if this system is designed for you to be productive, but never for you to thrive and be an actual human being.

Let's just say I'm real deep in the mental hole again.

-----------

I still have my mission though..My mission of pursuit will drive me forward..I'll crawl out of this ..Even if it means being beaten to the ground again and again..I don't do this for myself, but for the world.....

-------------

Written in an extremely mentally-screwed up state..
It's so interesting how when my mood is skewed, I go in straight tunnel vision. Still cannot seem to get out of this rut.

[eveheart]

It sucks but right now I'm completely dependent on coffee to stay awake.

Uh... people who say that are probably the ones who should quit drinking coffee altogether. Just sayin'. It only takes a few days to get over the ups-and-downs from coffee, then you will have steady energy and your jittery head will calm down.

Written in an extremely mentally-screwed up state.. It's so interesting how when my mood is skewed, I go in straight tunnel vision. Still cannot seem to get out of this rut.

If all else fails, the holidays are almost here. Do you get a break? Before that, you can take mental breaks by forcing yourself to think about something that makes you happy. Really force happy thoughts and dwell on them, and your body will clear out the bio-chemicals of your bad moods. I've read about this (called hard-wiring happiness), it really does change your brain chemistry, out of the rut.

[goodsamaritan]

Easy substitutes for coffee:

Ginger tea! Get fresh ginger, boil in water for 5 minutes. Ta da!
Really lazy way, get boiled water, cut some ginger in your cup.

Cayenne tea.  Get fresh cayenne, cut up a teaspoon full and mix in hot water.

Another tool for studying: Gingko Biloba

http://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Health-Personal-Care-Ginkgo-Biloba-Nutritional-Supplements/zgbs/hpc/3765701

I developed coffee allergy... it literally saps the energy out of my liver.

But I approve of coffee enemas, that wakes up people too and it will give you health benefits.

[badboy9311]

Good suggestion. I remember you mentioned that before in my journal but somehow I forget about these things.


Just had some positive energy effect from beef liver. Potentially energy increasing effect? Either it being placebo or actually effective I'm not quite sure but my energy is sustained quite well for my working progress at night right now.

-------------

GS I've read several times about your post on dry skin. I have yet to have time for liver flush (i'll try that on the weekend) but can you give me a clue on how much fat I need to increase moisture in my skin?

And how can I increase speed of healing. (I know your common protocols. I've been doing colon cleanse already)
Also ordered prebiotic from gutcritters, let's see if that'll improve my condition .

[PaleoPhil]

“Waking up to a hell of a skin itch and rash ain't no fun. Combined with cold hands and feet. Health is taking a down turn”
“I'm lactose intolerant now”
“Low libido seems to be connected with low testosterone..It make sense that I have low T because I've been training hard to couple years in weight lifting (despite on and off) but my muscle growth seems to not even compare with newbies who started for 1 year on bad diet.”
“Scalp issue is causing more hair loss, it is possibly a combination of eczema + candida, or just scalp eczema.”
“funny ball shape poop” ( = #1 on the Bristol Stool Scale)
“I'm at the constipation stage right now again, my digestion system is weak as hell.”
“Got a humidifier to decrease stress on dry skin, don't know if it works well yet though.
Drinking hot magnesium supplement that I got in the morning to warm up body
Pre-thawing meal the day before”

If you search around this forum and the Internet, you’ll find that all of the above is commonly associated with this sort of VLC/HF approach (though at least you are avoiding ZC by eating some sweet potato):

“Current mode of operation:
Increase raw fat by eating a lot of marrow bones
…
Taking in carb from Sweet potato only”

Several ex-VLCers in this forum (such as Danny Roddy, Yuri, Yuli, Miles, Brady, Stas86, Klowcarb, and Lowenherz, IIRC) reported faring poorly on VLC in the longer run and some of them were harassed for sharing that (admittedly in part due to some venting on the part of some of them). Some of them were understandably angry that so much of the LC/HF hype turned out to be wrong in the long term. It seemed like they were exaggerating until I looked further into it myself. If you look into the backgrounds of prominent critics of VLC on the Internet, you'll find that many of them previously tried LC diets themselves, with quite a few even having touted them. Stick around at any diet forum that has a significant number of VLCers and you’ll eventually see some of them report it didn’t work out in the longer run.

Is it just coincidence that foods rich in carbs (including Microbiota-Accessible Carbohydrates aka fermentable fiber aka prebiotics) like sweet fruits and starchy tubers, legumes and nuts have been reported by more and more people to reverse many of the symptoms you have reported?

Check this out:

High iodine content found in starchy staple foods like tubers and legumes:

http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ajb/article/view/59582/47873
"Some selected staple foods: tubers, cereals, and legumes, grown, sold and consumed in Ijebu-North Local Government area, Nigeria were evaluated for their iodine content using standard methods. Among the tubers, Ipomea batata (sweet potatoe [sic], red species) was observed to have the highest iodine content (311.33±8.52 mgI) while the least iodine value of 88.97±1.31 mgI was recorded in Discovea avenmensis (cocoyam). Among the cereals, maize was observed to have the highest iodine content (100.96±3.50 mgI). When the iodine content of the legumes was compared, the highest was observed in Glycine soja (soybean; 179.56±4.66 mgI) while the least was in Cucus melo (mellon; 29.84±1.21 mgI). Result from our findings indicated that most of the staple foods contain [a] high level of iodine."

Substitution of red meat with legumes in the therapeutic lifestyle change diet based on dietary advice improves cardiometabolic risk factors in overweight type 2 diabetes patients: a cross-over randomized clinical trial http://www.nature.com/ejcn/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/ejcn2014228a.html

[jessica]

Dandelion root tea is also a great sub for coffee.

[badboy9311]

If you search around this forum and the Internet, you’ll find that all of the above is commonly associated with this sort of VLC/HF approach (though at least you are avoiding ZC by eating some sweet potato):

I've been reading up at that a lot. Personally I feel really bad if I don't eat carb at all, given that I'm already sick and tired already. I do also have problem with sweet cravings, which is either because of A) Gut Flora Imbalance or B) Nutritional deficiency
I think it's a combination of both.

I'm not low carb by any means, averaging at least 1 sweet potato (last night I had two) and some fruits (apple, pears)
Also supplement somewhere between 650-900 mcg of Iodine from [Now] Kelp and Dulse

I'm pretty sure now that I think of it, it was a combination of gluten + chronic stress + Alcohol causing all this..
Had some stressful nights where I slipped and ate a lot of cookies and baked good and stuff. Those and alcohol and all-nighters probably built up my inflammation and pushed it over the threshold.
Then the last push was the flight I had to take last week.

Anyways, now I' just gotta pick my feet back up..
I'm pretty sure my dry skin has a lot to do with the gut as well. Probably because of that I'm also not able to preserve heat that well. Thyroid + Gut Issue ..hmm..

-------------

Going strong in keeping a food journal, just putting it in a diary for now, trying to organize them with pictures for my own tracking.

-------------

Jessica: thanks for the tea recommendation, I'm trying ginger tea as of now