New Rhumatologist Recommended Paleo Diet

[SGWhiskers]

I would like to hear your experiences good or bad with this diet as compared to just gluten-free/CF/EggFree

[jerseyangel]

I eat in a way that I would describe as "Paleo-ish".....I eat meats, poultry, tree nuts, fruits, veggies (no starchy or legumes), olive oil, a little butter, tea, sea salt/spices, spring water. A glass of wine once or twice a week

I do use a splash or two a day of half and half in my tea.

I love this way of eating! My hair is shinier, I'm losing weight--slow but steady, my clothes are getting ever looser, my skin is not dry anymore, my blood pressure has gone down to normal levels, I'm less tired, and my digestion is the best it's been since going gluten-free. My hip pain and occasional swollen/red thumb joint also seem to be gone. I've been gluten-free for 4 years now.

I didn't set out to do the Paleo or any structured diet, my diet just sort of evolved into this. I started with cutting out flour and sugar and tweaked from there

[chasbari]

Before being dx'ed with celiac I was first dx'ed with severe RA. Within 48 hours of going on paleo I was able to walk with almost no morning gel time whereas it had been as long as two hours. In following the anti-inflammatory recommendations of no nightshades and no legumes my RA has been melting away and I am now able to tolerate hard workouts, I can walk and run and my grip strength is almost back to normal. I haven't felt this strong in thirty years. It has no become my diet of choice as it is very easy to be compliant for celiac as well on it. Fresh fruits, fresh steamed veggies, meat and fish. The one departure I take is I eat a lot of eggs because I need lots of protein and when I eat eggs I don't go into weight loss mode and my cholesterol is better than ever. No juices or added sugars or additives and no grains at all for me for now and no dairy at this point. Never been better. That's my experience, anyway,FWIW.

[SGWhiskers]

This doc was recommending restricting my fruits to only small amounts of local in season items. Suggesting that the body wasn't designed for fruit year round.

Right now this means the difference for me of cutting starch, legumes, and maybe fruit from my diet. Starch I won't miss. Legumes I could get used to. Fruit is one of my staple items. Right now, I eat between 3-6 servings a day between juice and berries/fruits. Actually, when you count some veggies are fruits, then add another 1-2 servings.

[jerseyangel]

This doc was recommending restricting my fruits to only small amounts of local in season items. Suggesting that the body wasn't designed for fruit year round.

Right now this means the difference for me of cutting starch, legumes, and maybe fruit from my diet. Starch I won't miss. Legumes I could get used to. Fruit is one of my staple items. Right now, I eat between 3-6 servings a day between juice and berries/fruits. Actually, when you count some veggies are fruits, then add another 1-2 servings.

I stick with the non-sweet fruits like berries and nectarines, etc. I can understand how you feel--I'd miss the fruit, too.

[SGWhiskers]

I might miss fruit, but at this point, I'd give up eating all together if I thought it would help my pain levels.

Non-sweet fruit. I can't even delineate that in my head. What about fruits we think of as vegetables? pumpkin, cucumber, tomato? Citrus, berries, rose family(pear, apple, peach). I don't eat bananas, avacados, or mangos due to latex allergy. Pineapple makes my tongue burn.

I'm gearing up to give this a serious go, but don't want to cut out healthy options in my diet that are "safe."

I wonder if I ate steak and spinace for a week and added back one meat and one veggie as an elimination diet type situation, if I would end up with nutrient defeciencies in the mean time.

Thanks for the personal stories and the guidance.

[Jestgar]

My derm basically recommended the paleo diet. His thing about fruits was because they are bred with so much more sugar than what our ancestors ate, that they can no longer be considered as appropriate. I took this to mean that the fruits we think of as veggies are still ok, because we haven't them to the same extent.

[bluejeangirl]

I would like to hear your experiences good or bad with this diet as compared to just gluten-free/CF/EggFree

I just started eating paleo again a few days ago. I've done it before to lose weight but I never had to lose alot of weight and wouldn't be on it long. I always feel good on this plan. And again its just been two days and I don't feel bloated, gassy, burpy and brain fog gone. My head is clear which is amazing because I can actually read without rereading everything three times.

I'm also getting pain in my joints that seems to be getting worse. I'm hoping this will get better. I know my blood pressure is down because I feel so much more relaxed. I'm going to go real light on tomatoes, and most of the night shades. Just every so often if I feel like my choices are getting too limited. I'm going to stay away from fruits that can't grow in my climate.

Why I feel so good eating this way, probably an overgrowth of bad bacteria. I don't know but carbs were never my friend. I know there are more paleo's on this board. I think the best thing to do is to be creative with your meals instead of resigning to plain meat and plain veggies etc., etc.

Good luck.

[ang1e0251]

Can you give some ideas about how you diversify your meals? I'm boring myself with my same ol'.

[bluejeangirl]

Can you give some ideas about how you diversify your meals? I'm boring myself with my same ol'.

Its really too soon for me to give any advice since I'll need to doing this longer for me to feel back in a corner

where I usually quickly become quite creative.

I cannot eat the same foods over and over again. I do want to feel good and I don't want to struggle with the temptation to cheat so I'll come up with something. I also have the time and the talent to cook. So we'll see.

[ranger]

Is the paleo diet basically a low carb-high fat diet? Thinking about doing that for my diabetes. Need a menue plan.

[RollingAlong]

There are several Paleo bloggers if you need menu inspiration. Elana's pantry is paleo friendly, Darwin's Table or Free the Animal have menu ideas.

I've read that brief elimination diets will not cause nutritional deficiencies. You need a plan and you need to stick to it so that you can get the job done. The potential payoff is worth the effort.

Diabetics can get good results with a Paleo type diet. The carb count will depend on which vegetables you choose and how much fruit you eat. There are several different approaches to paleo and they vary on their fats.

Cordain style paleo has less fat and much less saturated fat. The Neanderthin approach has more saturated fat, but is stricter about which fruits. I don't think he allows tomatoes and possibly other nightshades. He was diabetic when he started his diet.

There is great debate about the saturated fat, but Cordain has softened his stance against it recently. Cordain has a website and a weekly newsletter, often with recipes and menu suggestions.

Neanderthin - it can be hard to get a copy of the book, but the low carb forums have info on the plan. Here's an active one with several people who do not eat gluten - Open Original Shared Link

There are still other paleo or caveman diet books out there, these are just the ones I am most familiar with.

The big thing is that none of them allow grains, legumes or dairy, except for Primal, and then only dairy and only occasionally. Primal is sort of a modified paleo for beginners. For Primal, see Mark's Daily Apple website. He has a book out that gives lots of menu ideas.

The single best blog on this general topic is called PaNu (for paleo-nutrition). www.paleonu.com

If you follow his principles, in order, you will gradually arrive at a menu plan that will work for you. PaNu feels that giving up dairy is one of the last things you need to do (assuming you are not intolerant.) He thinks other changes give you a lot more bang for your buck. His step one - eliminate white sugar and refined carbs (all cereal grain flours). This is just what JerseyAngel did.

If you simply want to go lower carb for diabetes, you should also consider the Bernstein Diabetes Forum. You may never go quite as low carb as he suggests, but there's still a lot of helpful info there and good recipes, and many of them are Paleo friendly.

Good luck!

[AliB]

I am Diabetic and also gluten-free. I follow a low-carb diet not only for my Diabetes but also for my health. I do eat more fats - good fats, like coconut oil, butter, ghee and olive oil and that helps to keep me satisfied for longer.

It also helps me work in fat-burning mode rather than carb-burning. If I am in FB mode not only am I kept fuller for longer by my meals, but I am also much less inclined to 'pick' or snack, which I struggle with if I eat too many carbs.

I have been able to reduce my Diabetic meds by two-thirds, my BG remains pretty stable - usually around or just above normal range when I go to bed and the same on awakening. I don't get any hypos either which isn't surprising as they are driven by carbs.

I usually consume between 30 - 60gms carbs a day maximum.

I am following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, sort of, but also am in Candida Diet mode too which is sort of Paleo.

Because I am L-C I don't have any grains apart from a very occasional spoonful of brown rice with a curry or something or a couple of rice cakes here and there. I may have a tiny amount of potato occasionally but usually just have my meat, fish or poultry with a selection of vegetables or salad.

I eat quite a lot of eggs done in different ways, a good selection of different veggies, meat, fish or poultry cooked with different spices and herbs. I rarely bother with dessert but might occasionally have a little plain probio yogurt with or without some berries. I snack on nuts, or veggie sticks.

Lunch might be home-made liver pate on rice cakes or wrapped in lettuce leaves, soft curd cheese rolled up in slices of ham, a salad, some home-made soup - whatever my imagination (and fridge) suggests.

The following might help which is roughly my diet -

Breakfast

Cooked breakfast - eggs, bacon, high-meat sausages. 1 or 2 Tomatoes, mushrooms, etc.

Omelette - well, eggs any way you like. I like mine scrambled - knob of butter - throw the eggs straight in the pan add some salt and mix up.

Cottage cheese omelette. Make as normal but add some cottage cheese to the mix.

Vegetable Frittata - mix leftover cooked veggies from the previous day's dinner with some eggs and gently cook through.

Fish - fresh, not breaded or battered and preferably not farmed (too many antibiotics and other chemicals thrown at them). Tinned - Wild Alaskan salmon; mackerel or sardines in spring water, brine or olive oil. Fish is an optimum protein.

Minced meat patties - minced chicken, turkey, beef, pork or lamb. Add an egg and some finely chopped onion if liked, salt, shape into little 'patties' and gently fry each side until cooked.

Ham rollups - slices of ham spread with plain cream curd or cottage cheese and rolled up.

Rice cakes are relatively low-carb. Two or three topped with any protein you like - fish, eggs, ham, pate, cheese, chicken or any combination of.

I am quite adventurous and also like a 'green smoothie' sometimes, made with apple, carrots, and other greens whizzed up in the blender with water. Ok if it doesn't spike your BG too much.

Blueberry pancakes (or other fruit - not dried - too much concentrated sugar to feed the beasties and contribute to bloating) Mix together 2 cups of ground almonds, 3 or 4 eggs, pinch of salt, 1 tsp bicarb, a little runny honey or maple or agave syrup and a generous helping of blueberries. Add enough water if necessary to make it into a dropping consistency. Put a good dollop of butter in a pan and gently fry spoonfuls each side till done. Makes a good dessert too.

Breakfast doesn't have to be 'breakfast'. It can be anything. Again, we are just in the habit of associating cereal with breakfast. The Kalahari tribesmen eat crushed bitter berries for their 'break-fast'! It is just a meal and can be anything as long as it is Low Carb.

Lunch

Lunch can also be any of the above.

Salads are good too with any of the above protein sources.

Lettuce wraps - Several leaves of round lettuce washed and dried. Add a dollop of filling - fish, cheese, meat, whatever and roll up.

Chicken and veggie soup - leftover chicken, selection of veggies (I often use a leftover broccoli stalk chopped up (but not the really tough bit right at the bottom), salt/pepper to taste, cook for 10 - 15 minutes then whizz in the blender.

Carrot & Coriander Soup (one of my favourites) Chop half a dozen large carrots, add enough water to cover, salt & pepper, 1 level tsp ground coriander and cook till soft. Add a knob of butter and whizz. It's nice with some freshly squeezed orange juice added to it too (watch your BG levels with this one though, carrots and orange can spike BG).

Soups are a great staple, especially in the winter. Any soup recipe will do as long as it doesn't contain any starchy veggies or thickeners.

Dinner

Literally just meat, fish, poultry served with non-starchy veg.

Salads with some protein.

Omelettes.

I will sometimes gently pan-fry salmon or trout in butter, remove it when cooked and place under a low grill (broiler) to keep hot, add a small finely chopped onion to the pan and saute for a few minutes, add half a level teaspoon of ground coriander, juice of half a lemon, a little drizzle of honey, a little salt and pepper and about 3 or 4 tablespoons water and cook for a minute or so. I then add a little dribble of cream and serve it over the top of the fish. Served with a selection of stir-fried veggies, or a salad - Gorgeous.

It's amazing what you can do with 'basic' ingredients - after all, that's pretty much what you will get if you go to the very top restaurants!

[Vollaire]

Years ago, 2006-2007, I tried the caveman diet. If I could not hunt or gather it I did not eat it. Over a period of 10 months I lost 74 pounds. I te apples occasionlly because I missed them so, but the point of the diet was to eliminate sugars and carbs so my body would not have it to store. It was great but took a lot of determination and patience since my family went along with regular diets (especially through Thanbksgiving and Christmas) while I opted for a healthier body. Plus the diet was very limited in choices for me because I am a finicky eater. I kept the weight off as I slowly resumed eating with my family.

In Feb 2008 I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. My Dr. says the RA was aquired through viral infection. Both of my children had been sick with fevers between 2-3 weeks prior to the onset of symptoms and neither my mother or father's side of my family has a history of the disease.

I spent a year with "western medication" slowly getting worse. The medicaines made me sick and I was given over the counter medicines to combat the side effects of my prescriptions. By December I was walking with a cane. I have a high tolerance for pain so hiding most of my pain was easy. Though I felt pain from my jaw to my toes My hips and their inability to hold me when I stood, told my lie for me by dec.

I was so tired of the traditional medicine routine and so miserable I needed help. When I found Dr. Roy (my third Dr) in March of this year 2009. I was relieved when she immediately put on a detox diet them removed all casien and gluten. My pain has been greatly reduced. I no longer need a cane. I feel great and have my mind unclouded by medicines. I enjoy the journey to finding new foods. I am simply replacing old loves with new ones. Regular ice cream will have my joints screaming and me unable to move without great suffering, though coconut milk ice cream tastes fabulous and has no effect.

The gluten free/casien free has been easier for me to implement in my crazy home with my husband and two busy children. I make family dinners and they can add shredded cheese or other extras to their own plates. gluten-free?CF allows my finicky palette more options. And given the difficulty in adjusting my faqmily to gluten-free/CF dinners, the paleo diet I just cannot see fitting my family.

The best thing I can think of would be for you to assess your families needs and adjust your habits according what will work best in your situation. Try Paleo if it owrks for you great. If there is no significant difference between it and gluten-free/CF you have lost nothing and added more options to your menu.