Day 23 Tuesday May 1

FOOD:

Breakfast:
4 omega 3 eggs
5 pieces bacon

Lunch:none

Early Dinner:
3/4 lb ground grassfed beef

Late Dinner:

EXERCISE: none

WEIGHT: 300

BLOOD SUGAR: 94

KETONES: trace

EVENTS: Got nothing done at work hardly. Same yesterday. Felt grumpy and a little pissed off. Trying to do a tiny bit of work at home- not pushing it.

MOOD: bad

SLEEP/ALERTNESS Prior Day:
stayed up too late again. Sunday night was really bad, I only slept few hours.

Day 21 Sunday April 29

FOOD:

Breakfast: none

Lunch: none

Early Dinner:

Late Dinner:
ribs
2 garlic burgers sans bun
(cookout at buddy's house)
~4 beers?

EXERCISE: none

WEIGHT: 299! Broke the 300 barrier!

BLOOD SUGAR: 80

KETONES: small

EVENTS: BBQ at friends house. Okay time. Stayed up really late when I got home.

MOOD: all right

SLEEP/ALERTNESS Prior Day:
stayed up really late- like 4am. Slept until 2:30 today. Just up late surfing the web

Day 20 Saturday April 28

FOOD:

Breakfast:
4 omega 3 eggs
5 pcs nitrate free bacon
coffee

Lunch:

Early Dinner:

Late Dinner:
6 beers
fish sandwich patty (Breaded) and
3 chicken fingers (Breaded) and tiny bit of Bbq sauce
from mcdonalds

EXERCISE:
none

WEIGHT: 300

BLOOD SUGAR:

EVENTS: Puttered around the house, got a tiny bit done. Visited some friends later in the evening.

MOOD: decent

SLEEP/ALERTNESS Prior Day:

Day 19 Friday April 27

FOOD:

Breakfast:
4 omega 3 eggs
5 pcs. nitrate free bacon

Lunch:
none

Early Dinner:
4 pieces breaded popeye's chicken
cole slaw

Late Dinner:
fish?

EXERCISE:
none

WEIGHT: 302

BLOOD SUGAR:
out of test strips

EVENTS:
Felt motivated at work- got alot done.

MOOD: all right. Feel like I get more "fuzzy" and sleepy from carbs. Will watch for this effect more closely.

SLEEP/ALERTNESS Prior Day:
took a nap after work yesterday. Found it harder getting up today. Tie in with sesame chicken?

Day 18 Thursday April 26

FOOD:

Breakfast:
4 omega 3 eggs
5 pieces nitrate free bacon

Lunch:
sesame chicken w broccoli (sweet, probably has gluten/starch)

Late Dinner:
1/3 of steak- leftovers

EXERCISE: none

WEIGHT: 301

BLOOD SUGAR:

EVENTS:
got nothing done at work
took a nap after work. Related to eating sugary lunch? I noticed that I was tired on Tuesday after work as well, after having chicken with breading. Feel a little more tired and slow today.

MOOD:
ok. a little tired.

SLEEP/ALERTNESS Prior Day:
a little tired today

Day 17 Wednesday April 25

FOOD:

Breakfast:
4 omega 3 eggs
5 pcs. nitrate free bacon

Lunch:
4 pieces of breaded popeyes chicken (wonder if oil has trans fats?)
cole slaw

Late Dinner:
salad
fish- 6 oz?

EXERCISE: none

WEIGHT: 303

BLOOD SUGAR:
out of test strips

EVENTS: Got nothing done at work.

MOOD: good

SLEEP/ALERTNESS Prior Day: took a nap when I got home day before.

Day 16 Tuesday April 24

FOOD:

Breakfast:
4 omega 3 eggs
5 pieces bacon

Lunch:
4 pieces breaded chicken
cole slaw
diet coke

Early Dinner:

Late Dinner:

EXERCISE:

WEIGHT: 301- right on the cusp of 200's! I haven't been here in many years!

BLOOD SUGAR:

EVENTS:

MOOD: ok

SLEEP/ALERTNESS Prior Day:
A little groggier than usual this morning, a little more tired, body feels heavy today. I think it is related to the breaded chicken yesterday. We'll see how my breaded lunch affects me later. (felt tired, took a nap. Woke up and watched a movie, went back to bed.) The post work sleepiness seems to tie in with eating carbs.

Day 15 Monday April 23

FOOD:

Breakfast:
5 pcs bacon nitrate free
4 omega 3 eggs

Lunch:
breaded chicken nuggets at work

Dinner:
5 oz. farm raised trout
14 oz. grass fed skirt steak
10 blueberries

EXERCISE:
walk 40 minutes

WEIGHT: 304

BLOOD SUGAR: 95

EVENTS:
got stuff done at work, walked after work, stopped for a cup of coffee at this place I wanted to check out. A little more positive. Did some chores.

MOOD:
all right. A little physically tired, not sure why.

SLEEP/ALERTNESS Prior Day:
up late again, thought not as much.

Day 14 Sunday April 22

FOOD:

Breakfast:
4 omega 3 eggs
5 pieces bacon

Lunch:
?Some meat I'll bet

Late Dinner:
carrots
broccoli
grassfed stew meat
cooked in wok. Some corn starch, sesame oil, soy sauce and cooking wine

EXERCISE:
walk 1 hour

WEIGHT: 305

BLOOD SUGAR: 102

EVENTS: Got a few things done. Relaxed.
got the l-dopa I ordered in the mail. A little afraid about using it. The phrase tardive diskenesia comes to mind. I know that people with parkinson's have low dopamine, as do ADD'ers apparently. L-dopa allows you to make more dopamine, but it has side effects which are very bad.

MOOD:
A little hung over. At least I didn't sleep all day like last weekend. I got up and still got a few things done.

SLEEP/ALERTNESS Prior Day:

Day 13 Saturday April 21

FOOD:

Breakfast:
4 omega 3 eggs
5 pieces bacon

Lunch:

Early Dinner:

Late Dinner:

EXERCISE:

WEIGHT:
305

BLOOD SUGAR:
109

EVENTS:
Drank a bunch of beers again.

MOOD:
okay. Feeling like I need to take a break from beer. It's not very paleo, and I've been acting the fool when I drink lately.

SLEEP/ALERTNESS Prior Day:

Day 12 Friday April 20

FOOD:

Breakfast:
Steak and egg part of McDonalds steak and egg bagel
coffee

Lunch:
gyros meat and onions- no pita

Early Dinner:
salad with caesar dressing (soybean, buttermilk, not paleo)
1 lb. ground lamb

Late Dinner:
went to bed early

EXERCISE:
none

WEIGHT:
303

BLOOD SUGAR:
139

EVENTS:
Got nothing done at work. Feel okay, just tired and lazy. Went to bed early- felt tired.

MOOD: A slight dip- tired.

SLEEP/ALERTNESS Prior Day:
Stayed up late last night again- or later I should say. Need to schedule my time better. As in have a morning schedule and stick to it.

Day 11 Thursday April 19

FOOD:

Late Breakfast:
4 omega 3 eggs
5 pieces bacon

Late Lunch:
sesame chicken, no rice
again, probably corn starch and something sugary in sauce- not good

Late Dinner:
1 duck liver from yesterday

EXERCISE:
none. I need to start doing this again!

WEIGHT: 304, up 1 lb

BLOOD SUGAR: 116

EVENTS:
Busy at work- delayed schedule today. Bought this thing called the time timer (timetimer.com)- it's a visual countdown alarm. Helps people with ADD. Seems pretty cool.

MOOD:
Okay

SLEEP/ALERTNESS Prior Day:
average. I guess I'm a little more alert these days. A little less glum. It's not like a knock you in the head kind of thing, but I haven't gotten in any moody downward spirals, or if I have it hasn't lasted as long.

Day 10 Wednesday April 18

FOOD:

Breakfast:
2 sausage patties from McDonalds
coffee, black

Lunch:
teriyaki beef
beef with broccoli (no rice)- bad, probably corn starch and sugar

Early Dinner:
1 lb. grassfed stew beef, fried
2 cups broccoli

Late Dinner:
1 duck- not much meat
had some of the sugary orange sauce

EXERCISE:
none

WEIGHT: 303-same

BLOOD SUGAR: 97-good

EVENTS:
not too productive. Ran around a little with errands. Time flys by.

MOOD:
okay in a way.

SLEEP/ALERTNESS Prior Day:
up late, almost late to work

Day 9 April 17 Tuesday

FOOD:

Breakfast:
4 omega3 eggs
5 pieces bacon

Lunch:
none

Early Dinner:
1 oz ham
8 oz grassfed sirloin steak

Late Dinner:

EXERCISE:
none

WEIGHT:
303, down from 305

BLOOD SUGAR:
134, up from 93 (post binge drinking- alcohol lowers your blood sugar)

EVENTS:
Did some errands, felt a little tired in afternoon. A little less up today, even though I took additional SAMe.

MOOD:
A little blah

SLEEP/ALERTNESS Prior Day:
Staying up late evenings, til 11pm or so. Scrambling in morning to get started. Feeling a little more lucid in the mornings, even though I still don't like getting up early.

Day 8 April 16, Monday

FOOD:

Breakfast:
4 omega 3 eggs
5 pieces bacon
black coffee

Lunch:
skipped

Early Dinner:
3 oz ham
7 oz angus steak- boy does non grassfed beef taste like crap now!

Late Dinner:
7 oz chicken breast
2 oz blueberries
1/2 oz macadamia nuts

EXERCISE: none

WEIGHT: 305

BLOOD SUGAR: 93

EVENTS: Back from weekend. Did a few chores after work. productive and upbeat. Not bummed out over things that would have bummed me out before. Wonder of mood uplift due to diet and/or SAMe? To be a real scientist I would do just one thing at a time, but I'm not a scientist, I'm just a paleo dude trying to give my life a boost!


MOOD: Okay/good. Feeling a rise after work and through evening. Got stuff done.

SLEEP/ALERTNESS Prior Day:
I keep forgetting about the prior day and do current day instead. Hmmmm. Slept all day yesterday. Feel okay today I guess. moderatly productive at work. Hope to get a few things done today after work. (and ended up doing them)

Day 7 April 15, Sunday

FOOD:

Late Dinner:
1 lb grassfed beef
1/4 onion
10 blueberries

WEIGHT: 303 down from 308

BLOOD SUGAR: 90

EVENTS: Slept all day, and I mean all day. Super hung over. Woke up at midnight and ate, took some aspirin, and went back to bed.

MOOD: Hung over

SLEEP/ALERTNESS Prior Day:
Fine I guess.

Moving average

So, I found a post on how to make a moving average in Excel. I'm sure there are awesome apps out there to do this for you, but I'll just use excel.

http://www.statsclass.com/excel/analyses/mavg_smooth.html

Day 6 April 14 Saturday

FOOD:

Breakfast:
4 omega 3 eggs
5 pieces bacon
black coffee

Dinner:
4 oz. ham
20 blueberries

Late Night:
10 beers
unknown number of Jack and Cokes

EXERCISE: Walk 1 1/2 hours

WEIGHT: 308 down from 309
I have this program on my palm called "eat watch". It's cool, because you enter your weights in there, and it averages them out and does a "moving average". Basically it curves your weight and smoothes out the line. Gives you a better sense of what't going on. It shows a continuous drop because even though the last few days weight have been close, every day at the lower weight shows a real change from a few days ago, since my weight is staying at the new level. I wish I could run two copies of it, or find something similar to run on my desktop to track my blood sugar too.

BLOOD SUGAR: 138 UP from 118 (breading on chicken yesterday?)

EVENTS:
Took it easy most of day. Did some walking. Talked to J. on the phone, and that didn't go so well, but at least I called and didn't procrastinate. Hung out with friends, saw a movie, and then went out drinking. Not very paleo, I know. I was hung over like crazy the next day. I also probably should have eaten more before I went out, but I didn't know there would be so much drinking. I puked late at night. :(

MOOD: Okay I guess.

SLEEP/ALERTNESS Prior Day:
Slept well last night. Feel alert today.

Day 5 April 13 Friday

FOOD:

Breakfast:
5 pieces nitrate free bacon
4 omega 3 eggs
coffee

Lunch:
chicken strips from popeyes (breaded, but I did pass on the BBQ sauce at least)
diet coke

Dinner:
pre cooked cornish hen from supermarket
diet coke
~10 blueberries

EXERCISE: none

WEIGHT: 309, up from 308

BLOOD SUGAR: 118, same as day before

EVENTS:
Ok day at worked. I chatted up this girl I'm interested in, so I was feeling less unmotivated and negative I guess. took a nap when I got home, and watched a movie. Ran a few errands after work. Slightly productive at work. Bought a few things online today, so feeling a little impulsive I guess.
Very mild stomach upset. Mixed BM, which made me feel better.

MOOD:
Decent, some rough patches, but kept my head up. Found out that this girl I wanted to go out with before has a boyfriend now. A little bugged by that, but not in the dumps. Feeling on an even keel lately. Had fun talking to girl at work. She might be too young (or too peppy) for me, but I'm def. interested. Not sure what to do next, since I work with her. Not sure if I just use that as an excuse to not go after girls I like at work. We're not in the same department.

SLEEP/ALERTNESS Prior Day:
Went to bed at 11:30, even thtough I took a nap earliier. Nap didn't go on all night, and I wasn't up 'til 4AM like I usually would. Woke up next day without alarm at 9AM. So I wasn't caught up in crazy sleep patterns. Feeling less alert than the last few days, but more than normal.

Hey- about hunger

I'll say this too. I'm not looking to "diet" or "eat less" or "cut calories". I eat until I'm not hungry, and eat when I'm hungry. I used to be not so good at telling when I was hungry or what I wanted. Food was more like a drug to make myself feel better. I think eating lots of carbs fires up Serotonin in the brain. But when your sugar crashes so does your mood. I also ate late at night, so I wonder how that fits in with my bad sleep habits? Did I want a boost, so the drop in blood sugar later would make me more sleepy, or help me sleep? Or was I just bored late at night? So I eat when I'm hungry, and I notice a huge change in my hunger level when I don't eat a ton of carbs. Cookies, chips, donuts. I used to work at this place, and I ate three donuts and coffee every day before work, cause it was across the street. Two hours later, my stomach ached I was so hungry. I noticed that when I binged on cookies late at night, the next day again, my stomach was growling with hunger.

Cat Food

I wonder about cat food. Cat food has wheat gluten, and soy. According to paleo diet, these things are unnatural for humans. How much so for a pure carnivore cat! The cats are like addicted to the dry food. Like I was with cookies or something. My cats are young and slender, but I see so many fat cats who puke all the time, and have health problems. Could it be diet? I should google
for a cat food that is pure meat with some extra vitamins in it possibly.

Wonder

I wonder about things. All these things that I mentioned in the "cluster" post. I think there are connections. A web. People say X causes Y. In human behavior and psiology, there's so many factors. I think they combine.

That girl I mentioned, J. She mentioned that her dad died of diabetes. She said it runs in her family. She has a nice figure, but is plump, with the weight on her belly. No a big butt, like lots of girls have, but the stomach. My mom, myself, my aunt, grandmother, and two grandfathers have big bellies, but slender legs and hips. I have heard that is the worst kind of fat distribution for health. It is associated with insulin resistance.

Diabetes and alcoholism: I read that lots of alcoholics have hypoglycemia, low or variable blood sugar in alcoholics, and binge on carbs. ADD'ers are at increased risk of addictions. ADD'ers binge on carbohydrates. This girls dad was diabetic and alcoholic. My parents are alcoholics. I went through a binge drinking phase when I was younger. My mom carb binges and has diabetes cookbooks in her house. She hasn't told me she has diabetes or prediabetes, but she's odd and secretive and suspicious sometime. Truth be told, I might be a little bit too. Even writing this blog feels strange to me, since it's personal. My parents would be aghast at the idea. Suspiciousness and a tendency towards isolation is asssociated with the Limbic style of ADD, according to Dr. Amen. Limbic ADD associated with marijuana use. Marijuana use makes one paranoid. ADD'ers, some say, can be hyper (I'm not) because they are sleepy cognitively, and are trying to stimulate their brain to wake up and help them focus. Pot to become anxious, to help ADD symptoms? It makes other symptoms, like unfocus, worse. Natural pot chemicals in the brain, neurotransmitters, anandamide, recently discovered. They are most active in the limbic system, which controls memory and emotions, and combines them. It affects mood, memory and focus. It talks to the frontal lobes, which control the executive funtion (organizing) That ADD'ers are deficient in.

Those gene tests I took say I test with two genes specifically conferring protection against childhood diabetes. Here's a theory I just made up: Diabetes is an autoimmune disease. starches cause spike in insulin. Insulin is bad for the body. The immune system attacks the isthmus of langerhans, or whatever that thing that makes insulin in the brain is called, and kills it. No more insulin, and childhood diabetes. Maybe the gene I have, that protects against that kind of diabetes makes you body ignore insulin, so the immune system isn't triggered to attack the insulin production. BUt, you produce way too much bad insulin, and become insulin resistant and get diabetes. This means the gene is just slowing down the process, not stopping it. I read these HLA types are increasing in the population, so they are genetically beneficial.

Day 4 April 12 Thurday

FOOD:

Breakfast:
Sausage patty and egg -McDonalds sausage mcgriddle- tossed out the bread and cheese,
black coffee

Lunch:
2 cans diet pepsi
Mongolian beef- no rice (not sure if bean sprouts are in there, and if they are legumes)

Early Dinner:
Teriyaki beef strips
diet pepsi

Late Dinner:
Chicken in olive oil and garlic
salad with vinagrette
broccoli
cole slaw
diet coke

EXERCISE:
Walk 50 minutes

WEIGHT: 308 down from 309

BLOOD SUGAR: 118 up from 111

EVENTS:
Tough getting up, but made it to work on time. I was up late last night. I'm too late tonight also. Running late meant I had fast food breakfast. I didn't have Grains, but am sure the cooking oil was not good- possibly trans fats from McDonalds.
Not sure what kind of sauce in chinese food. Possibly wheat gluten, used as a thickener. Gluten is bad. I'm not celiac or anything, but my big goal here is to limit non paleo food strictly, and see what happens, how I feel and how my body reacts. I don't want any leaks, so that later I wonder if those leaks changed the results of my experiment.

MOOD:
Average I guess. Not down or anything.

2SLEEP/ALERTNESS Prior Day2
A little more animated at work. Pretty good considering sleep deficit I guess.

Day 3 April 11 Wednesday

FOOD:
Breakfast
4 omega 3 eggs
5 pieces of bacon
Coffee, black

Lunch
Skipped

Early Dinner:
1 gyro, meat and onions and a little sauce (I've heard lamb is usually grassfed?)
Burger, onion, meat and lettuce only.

Late Dinner:
Some beef roast
2 carrots,
1 beer
3 glasses of wine
1 scoop chocolate ice cream

Late night:
A few pieces of lefover Easter ham ~2 oz

EXERCISE:
None

WEIGHT:
309 down from 315

BLOOD SUGAR:

EVENTS:
Hung out with friends, got phone number from girl I've been interested in for a while. I missed the opportunity before, but was determined to ask this time!

Late to work today. :( Sleep schedule messed up- stayed up to late. Have to watch that.

A little peer pressure (or at least me being two polite, and nervous about asking girl out), led to some alcohol consumption and ice cream. I did avoid the potatoes and didn't overdo it on booze. I don't want to see anything as a "failure" or "mistake", because like anything else it will take time for me to become adjusted to eating differently, and developing strategies for eating the way I want. For example, I still don't have a lunch routine down. Should I bring something from home, or eat out and just eat the meat? I want to avoid trans fats in fast food as much as possible, but it's hard to know what's in anything. The best is just to prepare things on my own, but I need to make sure to plan ahead and have things ready.

MOOD:
Good. Glad I'm pursuing girl "J". She's starting to grow on me. Excited but still mellow, we'll see what happens. Generally in positive mood. Feeling scattered at work, but got some stuff done and had another meeting after work.

SLEEP/ALERTNESS Prior Day:
Alert during evening meeting, feeling a little more energetic lately.

Cluster

Cluster

* pot
o reaction to stress of adhd
o cause of adhd?
o calm down adhd brain
o result of hypoglycemia?
o antisocial
o theory- paranoia ups the stimulation level of sluggish brain?
* adhd
o Money Problems
o self esteem
o Late, stress
o outdoors
o hunter vs farmer theory
+ outdoors helps adhd
# exercise
# meat eating
+ paleodiet
o bad handwriting
o meditation
o solitude
+ stressful being around people
# suspicious
# fatigued
# awkwardness
* exercise
o weight loss
o increase mood
o adhd effect?
o weightlifting
+ self esteem boost
+ good for insulin resistance?
o increase oxygen flow to brain
* ACOA
o "adjuster"
* IQ
o adhd
+ loss of potential
o the peril of praise
+ lack of work ethic
+ not take risks
+ concern to maintain appearance
+ low task persistance
* disordered eating
o insulin resistance
o ACOA
o adhd- impulse control
* facial tics
o tourette's
o autism spectrum
+ adhd also on autism spectrum
+ flat affect
+ solitude
* insulin resistance
o trans fats
o refined carbohydrates
o glucose
+ brain uses glucose for fuel
+ adhd brain scans low glucose
+ adrenaline pushs glucose to brain
# causes stress
o obesity
+ lack of exercise
o paleodiet
+ phytic acid binds with minerals
# minerals lacking in ADD, Diabetes
* zinc, magnesium
+ autoimmune diseases
# ADD?
# Autism?
# Sleep problems?
* only child
o solitude
* solitude
* omega 3
* sleep problems
o delayed onset sleep syndrome
o sleep problems can stem from ADD
o sleep problems affected by diet?
o exercise might help
* depression
o sleep disorders
o disordered eating
o acoa
o iq
o exercise
o adhd
o insulin resistance
o omega 3
o solitude

Sleep

I've read that poor sleep patterns are bad for diabetes. Many ADD'rs have sleep problems. I can get sleepy even on a bright summer day. Some ADD traits seem like underarousal, like a sleepy brain. A variant of ADD is called "sluggish cognitive tempo". I feel like that sometimes. Like things go by so fast, or I'm too busy thinking of my own stuff. I jump around alot throughout the day from task to task and thought to thought. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by how much I have to do, when really I do very little. I have to motivate myself to do dishes or pay bills. Then I'll get in a jamb or get angry with myself and then I can do things effectively for a while. Then I lose interest as something else comes up. Current events, a movie, a topic I obsess on and reasearch. Then I branch out to a new vein somewhere along the way and nothing happens with the first thing.

Day 2 April 10 Tuesday

FOOD:

Breakfast:
4 omega 3 eggs
5 pieces bacon

Lunch:
skipped

Early Dinner:
5 oz smoked Scottish salmon

Late Dinner:
~1 lb grassfed ground beef
3 oz liver from frozen


EXERCISE: none

WEIGHT: 315 -down from 318

BLOOD SUGAR: 125 down from 130

EVENTS:
Busy- meeting after work. Visited friend- home late.
BM, a little constipated.
Slight headache in morning, returning in mid P.M. Localized shooting pain in back of head on the side by neck.

MOOD:
Good.

SLEEP/ALERTNESS Prior Day:
Stayed up late, overslept a little today. Ate breakfast on the run. Got to work with one minute to spare. Opened curtains to let more light in bedroom on first snooze alarm run to bathroom. Stayed pretty alert during average interest meeting after work. Joking, in decent mood. Good performance at work, still behind eight ball- busy week.

Evolutionary Discordance of Grains/Legumes in the Human Diet

Evolutionary Discordance of Grains/Legumes in the Human Diet

e complete re-arrangement of gut morphology or evolution of new enzyme systems capable of handling novel food types is quite unlikely to have occurred in humans in the short time period since the advent of agriculture. Some populations have had 500 generations to adapt to the new staple foods of agriculture (cereals, legumes, and dairy) whereas others have had only 1-3 (i.e., Inuit, Amerindians, etc). Because anatomical and physiological studies among and between various racial groups indicate few differences in the basic structure and function of the gut, it is reasonable to assume that there has been insufficient evolutionary experience (500 generations) since the advent of agriculture to create large genetic differences among human populations in their ability to digest and assimilate various foods.

Of the population differences in gastrointestinal function which have been identified, they generally are associated with an increased ability to digest disaccharides (lactose and sucrose) via varying disaccharidase activity. Although insulin metabolism is not a direct component of the gastrointestinal tract, there is substantial evidence to indicate that recently acculturated populations are more prone to hyperinsulinemia and its various clinical manifestations, including non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), obesity, hypertension, coronary heart disease and hyperlipidemia [Brand-Miller and Colagiuri 1994].

It is thought that these abnormalities, collectively referred to as "syndrome X" [Reaven 1994], are the result of a so-called "thrifty gene" [Neel 1962] which some groups have suggested codes for glycogen synthase [Schalin-Jantti 1996]. Consequently, the ability to consume increasing levels of carbohydrate without developing symptoms of syndrome X is likely genetically based and a function of relative time exposure of populations to the higher carbohydrate contents of agriculture [Brand-Miller and Colagiuri 1994].

There are no generally recognized differences in the enzymes required to digest fats or proteins among human populations. Additionally, all human groups regardless of their genetic background have not been able to overcome the deleterious effects of phytates and other antinutrients in cereal grains and legumes. Iranian populations, Inuit populations, European populations, and Asian populations all suffer from divalent ion (calcium, iron, zinc, etc.) sequestration with excessive (>50% total calories) cereal or legume consumption. All racial groups also have not evolved gut characteristics which allow them to digest the food energy which is potentially available in the major type of fiber contained in cereal grains. Further, most of the antinutrients in cereal grains and legumes (alklyrescorcinols, amylase inhibitors, lectins, protease inhibitors, etc.) wreak their havoc upon human physiologies irrespective of differing genetic backgrounds.

Thus, most of the available evidence supports the notion that except for the evolution of certain disaccharidases and perhaps changes in some genes involving insulin sensitivity, the human gut remains relatively unchanged from paleolithic times.

Evolutionary Discordance of Grains/Legumes in Diet - PART B

Evolutionary Discordance of Grains/Legumes in Diet - PART B

Evidence of genetic discordance as seen in autoimmune diseases


Up to this point, we have only briefly touched upon the role cereal grains have in inducing autoimmune disease (except for a brief look at celiac disease). There is substantial evidence (both epidemiological and clinical) showing the role cereal grains may play in the etiology of such diverse autoimmune diseases as multiple sclerosis (MS), insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), rheumatoid arthritis, sjogrens syndrome, dermatitis herpetiformis, and IgA nephropathy.

Although this proposal may at first seem preposterous, there is strong data to suggest that cereal grains may be involved in all of these diseases through a process of molecular mimicry whereby certain amino acid sequences within specific polypeptides of the gramineae family are homologous to (have the same structural form as) a variety of amino acid sequences in mammalian tissue. These homologous amino-acid (AA) sequences can ultimately confuse our immune systems so that it becomes difficult to recognize "self" from "non-self." When this happens, T-cells, among other immune-system components, launch an autoimmune attack upon a body tissue with AA sequences similar to that of the dietary antigen.

It seems that grass seeds (gramineae) have evolved these proteins with similarity to mammalian tissue to protect themselves from predation by mammals, vertebrates, and even insects. This evolutionary strategy of molecular mimicry to deter predation or to exploit another organism has apparently been with us for hundreds of millions of years and is a quite common evolutionary strategy for viruses and bacteria. It has only been realized since about the mid-1980s [Oldstone 1987] that viruses and bacteria are quite likely to be involved in autoimmune diseases through the process of molecular mimicry. Our research group has put together a review paper compiling the evidence (and the evidence is extensive) implicating cereal grains in the autoimmune process, and with a little bit of luck it should be published during 1998. [Editorial note as of June 1999: The paper has now been published; the citation is: Cordain L (1999) "Cereal grains: humanity's double-edged sword." World Review of Nutrition and Dietetics, vol. 84, pp. 19-73.]

Without the evolutionary template and without the evidence provided us by the anthropological community showing that cereal grains were not part of the human dietary experience, the idea that cereal grains had anything to do with autoimmune disease would probably have never occurred to us. This new electronic medium has allowed instant cross-fertilization of disciplines which probably would have rarely occurred as recently as five years ago.

How peptides in cereal grains may lead to molecular mimicry and autoimmune disease

In the human immune system, there are a number of individual mechanisms which allow the body the ability to determine self from non-self so that foreign proteins (i.e., bacteria, viruses, etc.) can be recognized, destroyed, and eliminated. Perhaps the most complex system which nature and evolution have engineered to accomplish this is the human leucocyte antigen (HLA) system. This system was discovered when early physicians found out that tissue from one human could not be grafted to another without rejection. The physiological function of this system was not to foil the efforts of transplant surgeons, but to initiate an immune response to parasites (viruses, bacteria).

All cells of the body manufacture HLA proteins, whose function is to bind short peptides (protein fragments) and display them on the cell surface. Most of the peptides are derived from the body's own proteins (self-peptides). However, when the body is infected by a virus or bacteria, the HLA molecules pick up peptides derived from broken-down proteins of the virus or bacteria and present them to T-lymphocytes. The purpose of T-lymphocytes is to continually scan the surfaces of other cells to recognize foreign peptides while ignoring self-peptides.

Once a T-cell receptor "recognizes" a foreign peptide, a complex series of steps is set into play which ultimately destroys the cell presenting the foreign peptide as well as living viruses or bacteria in the body which also have peptide sequences similar to those which were presented. When the HLA system loses the ability to recognize self (self-peptides) from non-self (foreign peptides), T-lymphocytes attack self-tissue, resulting in what is known as an autoimmune disease (i.e., celiac disease, IDDM, multiple sclerosis, dermatitis herpetiformis, ankylosing spondylitis, etc.).
[...]

As mentioned previously, the incidence of a variety of autoimmune diseases follows a southeasterly gradient from northern Europe (highest incidence) to the Mideast (lowest incidence). This gradient occurs because the incidence of susceptible HLA haplotypes increases as one moves northwesterly from the Mideast. This gradient--which occurs for both the incidence of autoimmune diseases and HLA haplotypes--is not a serendipitous relationship, but occurred as a result of the spread of agriculture from the Mideast to northern Europe [Simoons 1981]. Consequently, as agriculture spread into Europe there were environmental elements associated with this demic expansion ("demic" means the spread of genes through either the migration or interbreeding of populations) which progressively selected against HLA haplotypes (combinations of HLA genes inherited from the two chromosomes in each cell) that were originally present in the pre-agrarian peoples of Europe.

Now, the question is, what were those environmental selective elements? In the case of celiac disease, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to determine that it was wheat. Increasing consumption of wheat caused increased mortality from celiac disease--thus, the incidence of celiac disease and its susceptible HLA haplotypes (HLA-B8, HLA-DQ, HLA-DR) are lowest in those populations with the most chronologic exposure to wheat (Mideasterners and southern Europeans) and greatest in those populations with the least exposure (northern Europeans). Similar arguments can be made for IDDM and a host of other autoimmune diseases. There are a substantial number of animal studies showing that consumption of wheat by rats increases the incidence of IDDM [Scott 1988a; Scott 1988b; Scott 1991; Elliott 1984; Hoofar 1993; Storlien 1996; Am J Physiol 1980;238:E267-E275; Schechter 1983].

How is it that wheat can wreak such havoc with the autoimmune system? Our research group believes that wheat contains peptide sequences which remain undigested and which can enter into systemic circulation. These peptide sequences are homologous to a wide variety of the body's tissue peptide sequences and hence induce autoimmune disease via the process of molecular mimicry. E.g., macrophages ingest the circulating wheat peptides. HLA molecules within the macrophage then present amino-acid sequences of the fragmented peptide to circulating T-lymphocytes, which through clonal expansion create other T-cells to "attack" the offending dietary antigen and any other self-antigen which has a similar peptide sequence--i.e., the body's own tissues.

The original non-agricultural HLA haplotypes conferred selective advantage in earlier evolutionary times because these genotypes provided enhanced immunity from certain types of infectious diseases. However, with the advent of cereals in the diet they represented a liability. Thus, the genetic data clearly shows that a recently introduced food type has resulted in genetic discordance between our species and those from the gramineae family.

Possible autoimmune connection between dietary peptides and some forms of autism


Autism in children is a neuro-developmental disorder characterized by few or no language and imaginative skills, repetitive rocking and self-injurious behavior, and abnormal responses to sensations, people, events, and objects. The cause of the syndrome is unknown, but there is increasing evidence that it may be autoimmune in nature.

Reed Warren's group [Singh 1993] found that 58% of autistic children maintained antibodies to myelin basic protein (a protein found in the myelin sheaths of nerves and suspected of being the target protein [self-antigen] for T-lymphocytes in the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis). Additional support for the concept that autism may be autoimmune in nature comes from work showing that 46% of autistic children maintain major histocompatibility complex (MHC) alleles associated with the disease [Warren 1996]. The function of the MHC is to present self- and foreign peptides to circulating T-lymphocytes at the surface of all cells throughout the body. Thus, if foreign peptides are presented by the MHC, circulating T-lymphocytes can mount an immune response on the cell or cells that present, via the MHC, those foreign peptides, and destroy them.

The MHC not only presents foreign peptides, but it also presents peptides derived from the proteins of genes comprising the MHC itself. The susceptiblity genes for autism are: DRB1*0404, DRB1*0401, and DRB1*0101 [Warren 1996]. In a particular portion of these genes (the third hypervariable region [HVR-3]), there is a common amino-acid sequence shared by all three genes. This amino-acid sequence is either QKRAA (glutamine-lysine-arginine-arginine-alanine-alanine) or QRRAA. Thus, either the QKRAA amino-acid motif or the QRRAA amino-acid motif can be presented to circulating T-lymphocytes. This particular shared epitope increases the susceptibility to a number of autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis [Auger 1997]. (An epitope is the part of an antigen recognized by an antigen receptor, i.e., a specific amino acid sequence of a protein.)

DAY 1: April 9 Monday :: A start of sorts

Breakfast:
4 omega 3 eggs
5 pieces bacon

Lunch:
skipped

Dinner:
~1 lb grassfed ground beef

1 bowl chili with beans and some noodles

EXERCISE: walk ~45 min.

WEIGHT: 318, had been 315, 317, 312, 315 this month.

PAST WEIGHTS:
november- started 338 down to 320 by end of month doing low carb
december - started 320 down to 307 by end of month doing low carb
january - started 305 UP to 312, falling off low carb wagon
february - 313 all month
march - 312 to 309, not very low carb, just flat
april start 315


Well, I decided to start today. Did okay. I have decided to go total meat for a week or so to kickstart the thing, and purge my system of carbs first. Then go paleo. Get to ketosis faster that way.

The chili was my only mistake of the day. Not a biggie. I'm not doing this to beat myself up. I'm actually seeing a therapist about food and I've gone far away from guilty eating, or hating myself for being hungry or overweight or anything like that. No food if forbidden. But gosh darnit if carbs don't have an addictive quality I think is more than coincidental. So for the first day, I felt pretty good.

My mood was good today. Slow waking up, only slightly produtive at work, but things went fine. No big cravings, except a little causing me to eat the chile. It was total meat chili with ~4 lbs of meat and one can of beefaroni and two cans of chile with beans mixed in with onions, peppers and tomatoes in crock pot. I hate wasting food! I've been feeling up and down the last 6 days or so. A bit of a funk that I came out of. Walking, even a little, makes a big difference. I did a little walking today as well. Now I'm going to watch a movie and try to get to bed earlier. I need to remember to use my bright light tomorrow morning, to set my circadian clock.

I also want to start lifting weights. I figure I won't push myself with exercise for a few days. I may have some carb withdrawal, or chaos at work. I also need to gird myself to hang with my buddy wed and not drink beer or eat non meat stuff. I also plan to kick the coffee habit. I want to do this whole hog. I have read SO MUCH stuff on grains, and autoimmune diseases, relating to autism and ADD and a ton of other things. (narcolepsy, MS, etc- which I'm genetically predisposed to). I am tired of reading and want to just try it, for real.

I have the HLA DQB1 0602 and 0301 genes, which protect from IDDM childhood diabetes, but predispose to narcolepsy, MS, gastric cancer and other stuff. Grains activate the autoimmune system and can play a part in many autoimmune disorders. Celiac was the clue that opened my eyes to this, and I got the gene test. I'm actually more adapted for grains than some other people. I have the gene developed by the LBK people, the first farmers and animal husbanders of Europe, 5,000 BC. This is the HLA DQB1*0301 DQ7 gene, and it protects against celiac. But Dr Fine of Enterolab in his email to me said the only true resistance is DQ4 or something like that, because they were never in contact with grains. Sounds fishy to me, like he wants to diagnose everyone as celiac, since he tests for that. If you are raising grain the longest, like the LBK people (wikipedia), you should be the most immune to it, I think. But even so it could take a very long time to acquire immunity to the toxins and antinutrients in grain, and while you avoid celiac, perhaps second and third tier autoimmune illnesses present themselves. For instance MS or NIDDM type 2 diabetes.

I also read that ADD and diabetics are short on zinc and magnesium. I read a bunch of stuff looking for a link. Well, the link, I think, is Phytic acid. Phytic acid in grains binds to minerals and neutralizes them, causing deficiencies. This seems pretty accepted reading agricultural and scientific journals, even though it's a truly amazing fact, and another strike against grain. Yet vegetarians eat phytic acid as a health food! I'm going with the "grains and phytic acid are very bad" school of thought myself.

Still no blood test. I should schedule that for Thursday, before I get too far into this eating experiment. Maybe get ketosix also?

Shopping

Bought the following at local market:

Scottish Salmon _ $31.96 a pound _1/2 lb. _ ($15.98)

Grassfed "Wellness" ground beef _ $6.99 a pound _ 3.02 lbs. _ ($28.10)

Grassfed Filet Mignon tail _ $30.99 a pound _ .38 lbs. _ ($11.78)

Grassfed Stew Meat _ $8.99 a pound _ 2 lbs. _ (17.98)

It begins

Ha! My first post!

Well, here's the basic idea.... I want to do the Paleo Diet for a few months, and I hope blogging it will help keep me on track. I guess I'm not the best at avoiding peer pressure, so at least I can come here and humiliate myself if I deviate!

Here's my background:
I have eaten ALOT of cookies in my life! I'm 38, and about 5'10", and 309 right now. I have been as high as 350 or so. I have kind of a football players build, with wide shoulders, so I carry some of the weight, but my stomach is very large, and the fat is totally concentrated there. I know that this indicates insulin resistance. I have been a spaghetti and cookie fiend since I was a kid. Carbs make me feel good, almost like a drug. When I'm off them, my hunger decreases so much, the cravings go away. It also seems to clear my head somehow.

I did a lot of weight lifting when I was younger, and some aerobics. Lately all I've done is an hour of walking a few times a week. I intent to step this up, and add in some light weights with dumbells. I want to exercise more.

Blood sugar has been a concern of mine. My fasting glucose has been as high as 230 at times. I'll try to write down some representative values. My grandmother had diabetes, so this concerns me. I bought a glucose meter, and have been keeping track of my levels.

Low carb eating has a very good effect on my levels, and they have improved over the last few months.

I basically realized I was too high, bought a meter, panicked, and then 
decided to walk like crazy and cut carbs for three months and then see the doctor. I showed him my log book with declining blood sugar and told him about the weight I lost, and he told me I was on the right track and to come back three months later. That would have been a week ago, and I haven't make plans to go back. I am planning to get a blood workup done on my own. I don't like that the doctor won't give me my results, but just describes them to me. I paid 70 bucks for the visit. I figure I can pay $125 and get the results on my own, and try to monitor myself. My cholesterol is okay, but the bad fat is a little too high and my good fat is too low.


I lost some weight a few months ago with low carb and walking, but tapered off after losing about 35 pounds. I want to continue to lose weight, but improving my health is most important to me. Also energy level, motivation and mood. I've done well with low carb but want to limit grains more effectively.

I think I have ADD. This is a recent realization for me, and I am considering getting a firm diagnosis, but I'm not thrilled about meds. I've read some articles which suggest that executive function is improved with exercise bringing more oxygen to the brain. I also see mineral deficiencies being associated with ADD and diabetes (ex. zinc), and I've been taking more supplements. I have read that phytic acid in grain binds with minerals and makes them unavailable to the body, so I hope paleo diet and exercise will help.

I'm taking the following supplements: magnesium, magnesium, calcium, zinc, vitamin E, Omega3,  Taurine, Arginine, Ornithine, Tyrosine, Calcium, chromium piccolinate, Vitamin C, B Vitamins.

I just bought SAMe and DLPS based on Amen's book about the 6 types of ADD. I think I have the Limbic System ADD. I am also minorly depressed, having apathy and anhedonia more than anything. I am also antisocial. I'm an only child, and although I have close friends, I don't socialize much, but more importantly I haven't been working much at getting a girlfriend, and I've been single for quite a while now. I have confidence, but I'm too lazy and haven't bothered doing much of anything lately.

I have delayed onset sleep syndrome as well, and don't go to bed on time. I spend a ton of time on the internet. Sleep disorders associated with ADD.

So at this point I need to:
1. Schedule blood work
2. Plan a day to start
3. Do some grocery shopping and meal planning