Why a doc would be encouraging you drink coffee when you take meds... ??? Caffeine is a bad thing in general for RSD, and additional acid with the stomach issues many of us experience...and exacerbated by our med needs. He maybe wanted to encourage you to take them in the morning and knows little to nothing about nutrition in general, let alone nutrition and RSD. I dunno???

Hooshmand's diet by itself is difficult to understand or follow. And it has some outdated info and is generally lacking on what to eat and why. That's why I suggest Marksdailyapple.com and/or a book like the Schwarzbein Principle.

Hooshmand claims diet sodas are fine, which again, is just bad advice. So, the 4 F's is not perfect.

Your body metabolizes a piece of fruit very differently than white table sugar or corn syrup. Having high quality (preferrably organic) seasonal, local fruit in moderate amounts is a good thing. Eating it with (or after) some high quality fat and protein is even better.

The traditional American food pyramid=carbs, fruits and vegetables, dairy and protein, fat. The Paleo food pyramid="healthy" fats (olive oil, nut oils, coconut oil, chicken fat, tallow, or lard, etc.), protein, veggies, fruit, dairy, complex carbs.

Those that suggest eating several small meals a day, to so to avoid their blood sugar crashing. With Paleo, you avoid eating things that will start the cycle in the first place. Protein and satiety= http://www.marksdailyapple.com/prote...#axzz26BqGvPzk

So much of what we're told is healthy for us is garbage for our bodies. In fact, the reality is 90% (or more) of what is available in the grocery store you shouldn't eat and don't need. It means buying quality whole foods and cooking at home.

Pork is fine. Just don't eat the stuff full of nitrates and preservatives. I've found sausage at Costco that is good quality. Health food stores or Farmers markets that offer quality meats are a good option. And RED MEAT is fine too, btw. Salmon is heavily consumed for health reasons, but a large percentage available in the US is now farm raised, and has lost many of the health benefits of wild caught.

A scoop of full fat ice cream as a treat is fine. Or, slice some strawberries and drizzle with full cream. Try Fage Greek yogurt (not the 0% fat). And if you can tolerate cheese well, it's fine. I'm happy with a chunk of Brie and an apple as a meal. Or, Buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes, avocado, olive oil, Balsamic vinegar.

Regarding "what the body wants", our bodies want to store fat for survival. But, you can certainly learn how your body reacts to more subtle messages. If I ingest something with more than (roughly) 20 to 25g carbs (especially without fat and protein) I feel a quick high and then a resulting crash. If I eat a steak dinner first (for example) my body doesn't suffer as much if I then have dessert. You seriously stop craving a lot of stuff if you can stick with it a few weeks.

We normally consume a heck of a lot of chemicals and sugar, there can certainly be withdrawals from some of that stuff. If you can't cold turkey things like coffee, then start lowering like they're meds...

With RSD, there are nutrients our bodies desperately need. There are also, lots of additives, chemicals, and hormones (etc.) that cause additional stress our bodies can't tolerate.