Healthy Diet Programs

I am interested in what people think about giving up grains; wheat especially. I have been hearing that the way wheat has been altered genetically over especially the past 30 years, we now have changed wheat so that it is undigestible, harmful to humans because it causes perforations in our intestines which allow molecules never intended for our bloodstream to get in there, and some theorize that it is the root cause of many seemingly unrelated disorders: diabetes, cancer, alzheimer's, arthritis, IBS, osteoporosis, artherosclerosis, heart disease, high blood pressure, etc. It also seems that many people are now posting on the internet their "success stories" at rapid weight loss, particularly around the waist -- stubborn fat that just wouldn't budget, no matter how hard they had dieted/exercised previously. I am beginning to think there is something to this giving up of all wheat products, that goes beyond celiac disease. Perhaps humans really are not intended to consume wheat at all.

My thoughts are that I believe we should start at the very least grinding our own grains. I have heard similar things about the gut getting tiny perferations only what I have read is that the culprit is actually yeast. Which is fed by sugar (gluten being a sugar). I have had allergy testing done to find out what is causing my autoimmune diseases and found that I was "sensitive" to alot of things. It is almost impossible to wrap my mind around the fact that I have all of these sensitivities when I was fine for so long so I have decided that these allergies are caused by something making my body think its allergic to these foods. Some of the foods my naturapoth found that I was sensitive to are dairy, barley, wheat, spelt, almonds, peanuts, some fishes, crustations, and I forget the rest.

I do believe a lot of the problem is the way these grains are grown and what is being added to them before resale. Bromide is one of the worst culprits as well as GMO produced foods. I have been researching grinding my own flour to see if I have problems with eating home ground flour.

I did a little experiment to see if getting rid of the yeast would help my gluten intolerance and am pretty sure it had a slight change but I am definatly still intolerant. My symptoms have changed but it is still not good for me. My thyroid has been normal for quite a while now and I just had a test done in Sept. Which still said it was normal. I did "The Master Cleanse" to detox, Hoping that the yeast would be killed and detoxed. After completing it I started slowly introducing gluten back in to my diet. Things were going great and it was so nice to be able to eat with my friends and family without gettting special foods for myself. Then about beginning of Dec. I started having heart palpitations again and my hands were trembling like crazy again(both hyperthyroid symptoms). I was starting feel the manic my head is going to explode from going to fast feeling and all of the other hyperthyroid stuff. I went back to the doctor and got checked and my thyroid is crazy high again:( So I immediately stopped the gluten on January 5th and lo and behold no more trembles already and my heart palpitations are very minimal now. So back to the drawing board.

If I get started on the grinding my own grain experiment I will let you know how it goes. I actually would like to get my thyroid checked one more time so that I know where it is before I start this experiment.

Jen, are you on iodine? Edgar Cayce said that iodine is good for regulating all the "glands" in the body... Thyroid, sex, hormones, lymph... All of them. It is an eye opener reading up on Edgar Cayce and what he says about illness. He also said a few things about wheat.

Jen, you might want to do an internet search on lectins. I addition to being high in gluten, wheat is also high in lectins. If you choose to continue to include gluten in your diet, you should look into sourdough. The fermentation involved in making a real sourdough breaks down gluten. You can find directions for starting your own sourdough culture online or purchase a sourdough starter.

You might also want to look at coconut oil to address your hypothyroid.

Julia, may I suggest you read Barry Groves book Trick and Treat? Lots of information that might interest you.... Some recipes too.

Hi Debbie, Yes I have been using lugols/ iodoral 50 to 100 mg per day for over 6 months now. Before that I took 12.5 to 25 mg per day for the previous 3 months. I thought for a short time that it may have been the iodine that made my thyroid hyper again but it honestly got hypo (according to lab tests that were done 1 month after starting the higher dose)than hyper which is a possible side effect if you have a hyperthyroid. Sometimes introducing iodine when you have a hyperthyroid can cause your thyroid levels to drop dramatically before they rise again. I am convinced that this is what happened when I started taking iodine. As my next tests 3 months later were back to normal. I have read Cayce's work as well as a few other books/articles on iodine over the years and I believe in the use and application of iodine for everyone on the planet.

And yes Kathleen I have researched Lectins and am farely sure they do play a role in my autoimmune diseases but honestly have tried to get away from them and have had alot of trouble. Having read a book called " Cure your Autoimmune disease. " I foget the guy who wrote it but it was an eye opener forsure. I am a really picky eater as it is. I eat pretty much vegetarian with chicken, elk, deer, and turkey on occasion. I don't naturally like meat but force myself to eat it and try hard not to hurt my husbands feelings, So I suck it up and eat his hunting "trophy's" which I grudgingly know are very good for you as well.

For anyone who doesn't know what lectins are they are toxins produced by all plants as a protective mechanism. Some plants get thier flavor from them (cayanne, rubarb etc... )I believe that with all of the genetic modifications and mixed breeding of plants we are causing them to fight back more than they normally would have. It is a very slippery slope and it isn't hard to envision something very bad happening in the near future regarding fruits, grains, veggies and as the circle of life goes eventually animals.

I eat coconut oil daily for both the thyroid benefits and because I love the taste/ texture of it. I also take black strap molassas, ACV, and many supplements to support my picky eting habit and my diseases.

Franscisca, I have never read Trick or Treat by Barry Groves. I will definitely put that on my list though. Thank you:)

Thank you all for your input. I am searching daily for answers and I think even when I am old and grey I will still be experimenting on myself to find the why's and hows of my diseases (as long as one of the experiments doesn't go really bad:). I always look forward to answers from the Earth Clinic community. It gets me through the day just knowing that we are not vulnerable to the medical community (who by the way has almost put me in the grave twice now and I am only 36). We do have options and maybe just a little control over our health.

Hi Jen, If you did not test sensitive to rye or oats then it won't be the gluten as they contain gluten. Not sure what tests your naturapoth did but if you haven't had the blood test for gluten intolerance then it may be worth doing that (you have to eat it for a couple of days before testing for it to show up).

I know a few people who were told they were gluten sensitive but found they are not. However they do get terrible symptoms from wheat and oats but have no problems at all with organic spelt and organic oats.

I agree with you about what is done to the grains and also during their bulk storage they are sprayed with Sulfuryl fluoride gas. The following is taken from: http://sacfs.asn.au/download/Vikane Facts Sheet.pdf

5) Effects on Food- Many Storke gardeners are unsure about the quality of the food they are growing after it has been exposed to Vikane. "Data addressing the fate of Sulfuryl Fluoride in soil and biota is unavailable". (CDPR) Although, it is proven that the "food exposed to Sulfuryl Fluoride have been shown to retain Fluoride residue", and "foods with high fat content, such as corn oil- have demonstrated significant sorption of Sulfuryl Fluoride. " (CDPR)

If you do get a stone grinder you will get lots more nutrition from your grains. I forget the exact hours but it is something like 72 hrs after grain is ground and the B vitamins and E start to be lost or are mostly lost (sorry can't remember which). If you can't have any gluten then freshly ground buckwheat makes nice pancakes, nothing like the white rubbish ones though.

Maria, thanks for the link. It is shocking to read that. It makes you realise why people are getting so sick. Remember iodine displaces fluoride (and chlorine and bromide) out of the body so everyone should be taking iodine for their health.

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Thanks for your posting. I was wondering if your wife ate dairy, eggs, or cheese? As these are suppose to be a source of B12. Or was she strictly vegetables and fruit?

Why make a vegetarian eat meat?? There are millions of peope like you and me in India/Asia on vegetarian diet and are very healthy. You have to look to those places for info. on combining foods. Meat has been made toxic and has the energy of death. People eat meat five days old which on vultures should do. The animals with the teeth to kill other animals eat fresh kill. I have been vegetarian for almost fifty years and am healthy and would never condone torture, slaughter and savagery that goes on before holidays. In fact, when I sit down for a meal, no creature had to suffer and die. That makes for spiritual, mental and physical health.

Do research and I am sure your wife will recover if it is done soon enough. All the best. Om

I realised that by posting my well intentioned warning about a non-meat /B 12 deficient diet certain individuals would jump in to defend it! Firstly I am not against vegetarianism, but, well intentioned people need to be made aware of what may occur, I am happy that anyone who lives on this type of diet gets by with no health issues, Ironically I to was contemplating moving over to a vegetarian diet until my wife's problems occurred and I decided to dig a little deeper about its pros and cons, however the fact remains, no animal based food eaten means zero b12 being consumed and herein lies the problem, her GP told her that he sees vegans and vegetarians frequently who suffer from varying degrees of vitamin B12 deficiency, this problem is massive! Look up the book could it B B12 by Sally Pacholok, Most are unaware why they are suffering from their seemingly unrelated ailments until the more serious damage has already occurred (irreversible nerve damage) and to clarify for the benefit of Om from Canada at no point have I made my wife eat meat or anything for that matter she decided all on her own that her diet was not right for her and tried to consume a little meat, it now appears that after so long without it she can no longer eat it without discomfort, so now she relies on the B12 tabs instead, It appears the human body can store B12 for many years, but, just as it has for my wife many vegans/strict vegetarians stores will eventually run low. If in doubt supplement, that's all I am saying!

PR from Houston: Yes my wife did eat some dairy, and eggs occasionally -but obviously not enough, she is a big fan of marmite and always assumed marmite was a good source of B12, we now know the amount from it is insignificant, her diet was typically as much whole / organic fruit, veg, nuts, seeds as she could eat in a day, she would frequently eat several huge dinner plates piled high with mixed veg (not the plate though! ) Over time she cut out more and more grains and anything processed or fortified (as they were man made) on reflection her symptoms crept up on her slowly and started many years ago before the more serious damage occurred, my wife would often complain of odd sensations and ailments that we now know were the early less serious signs of Lack of B12, My wife is a bodybuilder / athlete and likes to maintain very, very low body fat levels she thought this diet was best for this (I eat meat and grains and also maintain a lean bodybuilder physique so not strictly true though) her Gp thought maybe all her high intensity training played a part in using her B12 up at an accelerated rate and maybe her/ourB12 requirements are greater than the average sedentary person? We'll never know but now we take precautions, for a more in depth look at this problem follow the link here http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/vitamin-b12-deficiency-can-be-sneaky-harmful-201301105780 this study will help you understand the real problem with a non-meat/no B12 diet.

Before any passionate animal lovers / non meat eaters start attacking my well intentioned post here please remember I am in no way promoting a meat based diet or attacking those who do not eat meat ( for any reason) I am merely highlighting the potential serious problems that may occur from lack of B12, if my little bit of information here helps one person recognise and prevent the same life changing problems my wife has experienced then my post would be helpful and valid, it's not nice watching your lovely wife deteriorate so quickly especially when the cause could have been so easily prevented.

Hi Mark; Thank you for your heart felt posts about B12 deficiency. You've seen how it can just ravage a person's body and mind, so I truly understand the urgency in your posts.

From my own experience, B12 deficiency occurred no matter what I ate, ( though I did feel much worse when I was a strict vegan).

An individual's dietary practices can become so personalized, ( I do understand this), that objective discussions may be nearly impossible. There are alot of these discussions here, and people do handle it well.

I'm most glad that you are encouraging people to become aware of B12 deficiency, what ever the cause, so, Thanks again!

The leader of Wendy's died from heart disease at 69. The leader of the raw vegan movement died from heart disease at 66. Vegans have 50% more dementia. The leaders are recommending vegans take fish oil and b-12 sublingual wafers. Folk medicine requires experimentation. Fundamentally there happens to be 3 plans. Raw food videos say 80/10/10, strength coaches say 60/20/20, and the paleo people say 10/70/20. You just have to try the various plans to be sure.

Vegans should take nattokinase supplement to protect themselves from heart disease related things.

My diet is "organic food diet". So far, especially cutting out hormone/antibiotic filled dairy and meat products, the constant hunger stopped. Basically, I have most everything, just "organic". I eat less, and now I weigh less, and I'm more happier! I don't know how to start a new thread here, so, I added it onto "Vegan". Thank you.

To complicate the issue: How long have you been on a vegan diet? It can be very cleansng to change diets, but my experience was that ovet time, say 7 years, your body may be missing essential nutrients, such as the hard fats used to build cell walls.

I found that after 26 years of various vegetarian diets, based on whole foods seed nuts, (ovo lacto) raw foods and organic foods, I was very carbohydrate overloaded and deficient in healthy fats. I actually switched to a paleo, sugar free diet, you burn fat, not sugar. During the first week (the diet change) my liver released all that had built up from eating carbs (grains and starches) After a year I am pretty satisfied and feel over all stronger. I did also read the Vegetarian Myth ( I wish her facts were better researched) but as far as saving the planet by going vegan, as she points out you can't even grow a garden without the death of some creature. The earth is nourished by the bodies of the dead!