[Dejibo]

its a fancy new name for the caveman diet. YEars ago when I was trying to figure out an allergy I got put on the caveman diet and then one at a time the offenders got added back in till we figured out which one bugged me.

Going thru the stem cell stuff it was recommended that I go sugar free, flour free, gluten free, corn free, peanut free, milk free and so forth. I was MISERABLE for about 2 weeks. I wanted Milk! I wanted chocolate! I wanted bread! I was foggy headed, stumbly, weak, nauseous, grouchy, cog fog doesnt begin to describe it. I had my daughter come up and clean out my cabinets so I wasnt tempted. She replaced the wheat flour with coconut flours, almond flours, hazlenut flours, arrowroot starch and tapiocal flour. She made brownies from almond butter and squash and other yummies. The one dairy I am allowed to eat is butter. dont know why, but its permitted. She stayed a few days and laid out several meal plans. I already had a great diet so the switch was not hard, but I was amazed to find out how much sugar was in my diet. Even my new Almond milk had sugar in it!

As the first week passed I started to get my footing under me. I would no longer stand in the kitchen and scream IM HUNGRY! and have no idea what to eat, or how to cook it. I had pre prepped roasted squash with maple syrup by the bucket in the fridge. it was tasty, quick to fix, full of fiber and stuck with me. I found eating an egg at breakfast stayed with me far longer than any cereal I had ever eaten. I found turkey and avacado for lunch stuck with me far longer than any burger I ever had.

As week two came to a close I had ordered a bunch of cook books and figured out that the diet I was on is called Paleo. The MD didnt explain that one, she just took stuff away. Now that I had a name/style for how to eat I could figure it out. I got a book about Paleo indulgences and it was chucked full of yummy treats to make with coconut or almond flour. While it doesnt taste exactly the same as the stuff that left my house, its amazing! I am learning to adjust recipes for how I like things.

Is anyone else on this? I tried the swank diet and wanted to stab myself in the eye. it was too hard, too restrictive and I felt horrible on it. I tried south beach, but it was hard, and more about weight loss than feeling good. I didnt really need to lose weight, I needed to kick start my stomach into working again.

Since being on it, my gastro paresis has fixed itself. my skin has cleared up, my energy is back, my feet have stopped burning, my brain fog is better, my migraines are far fewer, and my visual stuff is tons better. I eat this way about 95% of the time. I have snuck in a couple of cheats, but I know in 20 minutes that it was a bad idea. Worth it, but bad idea! I consider carefully before I pick out a treat.

Anyone else?

[SallyC]

Considered it, but thought the work would be too much for the merit. (She says as she's swilling egg nog and a ham on raison bread with butter).

I couldn't live without sandwiches. Have they figured out how to make gluten free, flour free bread? I'm an old Leopard.

Good luck Dej, glad it's working for you.

[KittyLady]

Originally Posted by SallyC

Considered it, but thought the work would be too much for the merit. (She says as she's swilling egg nog and a ham on raison bread with butter).

I couldn't live without sandwiches. Have they figured out how to make gluten free, flour free bread? I'm an old Leopard.

Good luck Dej, glad it's working for you.

Sally, they do make several gluten free breads, but they dont taste nearly as good as the regular bread. Ive been gf for almost 2 yrs do to my Celiac. I couldnt handle the gf breads anymore and Ive been bread free for almost a year. I really dont miss it. I was going to try the swank diet, but like you said Dej, its too restrictive. I wasnt sure about the Paleo diet. I decided instead to go vegetarian and I feel so much better. Good luck with the Paleo, Im glad its working for you.

[Erika]

I think that each person must find through experimentation what diet works best for them; as we are all different in what we digest easily, as well as what is do-able given our different life-styles and our unique challenges .

My diet is a low fat (don't digest it very well), ovo-lacto vegetarian one; but is 80-90% vegetable based. I consume very small amounts of egg and dairy (yogurt, coffee cream, cheese only); and grain is restricted to small amounts of rice and whole oats.
I do use a bit of Xyla, molasses or honey for sweetening hot beverages but other than that don't consume any other forms of sugar; including fruit juices and preserves. Some fruit is taken, but this too is rather restricted as too much tends to upset my digestive system.

While this sounds restrictive and boring, it isn't.
Although I generally don't eat for entertainment, when I'm looking for a treat, I can usually find something that satisfies the odd craving from within this diet. There are so many different vegetables and ways to prepare them in combination to satisfy both the palate and nutritional requirements.
For snacks, I make my own vegetable & seed crackers on a dehydrator...but must admit that occasionally I give in to popcorn, Cheezies or a bit of chocolate .

Protein principally comes from quinoa (which is a seed) and legumes, but is rounded out with eggs and dairy.
Fats and oils principally come in the form of coconut oil, but I also use peanut, sesame, pumpkin and sunflower seeds and their oils in smaller amounts.

I've been on this diet for decades and it works to control the symptoms of regional enteritis and also seems to keep the symptoms of general inflammation in check.

With love, Erika

[Theta Z]

Wonderfully informative postings in this thread !
Many thanks to all!
I'll be passing along this info to others whom I know who are looking at dietary & nutrition changes to improve various health conditions.

[carebear01]

Dej, The Paleo Solution, written by Robb Wolf, is an excellent book to read if you're interested in Paleo. It's an eye-opener regarding all this crap food we keep puting in our mouths. I intend on eating this way, although, it doesn't happen overnight. Iv'e been dairy free for 6 months and all I can say is that my stomach never felt better...almost gas free!! Dr Terry Wahls who was dx with progressive ms eats this way as well, I believe their was something mentioned of her in a recent post. Anyway, I feel that it certainly can't hurt us to eat more whole and raw foods.