It's the Lone Star tick. It can make some allergic to red meat.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/a-tick-b...c-to-red-meat/

the causes of increases in cancer, heart disease and lung disease is much more complex than simply eating red meat. we are bombarded now in exposures everywhere we go with toxic chemicals and chemical compounds in the air, water, and environment, including the home and car. if only it were so simple as to stop eating something

How true. Being vegan does not automatically equate to good health. There are so many challenges in our modern world. There is absolutely no way to eliminate your exposure to toxins these days. The best you can do is minimize your exposure through the choices you make every day. Whether you're a vegan or meat eater, choose whole foods that were cultivated with minimal pesticides/chemicals if you can't afford organic.

As I have mentioned in several other threads, since I started reading about health and decided to begin eating very little meat and dairy, and eliminated extremely fatty foods (especially saturated fat), concentrating on vegetables, fruits, beans, etc., some of my PN symptoms (sharp pains) have gone away, and my other pain (aching type pain in many places) seems to be more stable. Before, it was only getting worse. That was about 5 years ago that I made the change. To be fair, I have developed pain in a couple new places and tinnitis during this time, could be due to loud music in my youth (I am 45 yo now), but can't help believe it is due to the PN.

The thing is, I have a hard time eliminating sugary snacks like Boston Baked Beans and Peanut M&M's, so that has no doubt hurt my progress. And also shrimp.

I believe the way to health is first eating a whole foods plant-based diet. This is where most of the evidence is. Also, if you look around out there, there is a lot of healing going on using various methods. I believe avoiding toxins as much as possible is a great idea. We are now exposed to thousands of toxins in our environment, and some of them we intentionally consume and rub onto our bodies. You can get extreme on eliminating toxins--juicing, enemas, sauna, rebounding, etc., and this would probably help.

I search on youtube for podcasts about "healing", "health", etc. Extreme Health Radio is a good one to get exposed to a variety of topics. There is earthing, magnets, electromagnetic fields, structured water, all sorts of things people are doing.
Ron

fyi some more info. regarding meat allergy from the Lyme Disease Forum from a while ago

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/post953244-1.html

If you are diabetic the best thing to do is get sugar out of your system and you should feel a remarkable difference along with the right medications, specialist, etc.

Yes....sugar is a tough one. It's everywhere. Even if you're not diabetic, stopping all sugar for six weeks can help you reset your sweet tooth. You'll find that you no longer like really sweet things. You'll still want/like it but not at the same level you did before.

When I bake, I reduce the amount of sugars called for in recipes dramatically. It's rare for us order desserts when we go out to eat because we find them way to sweet now.

Haven't had Boston Baked Beans in years. Didn't know they still made them.

Sugar is a tough one but it is toxic and found in some form in most everything we consume. Even if we avoid it completely, we still get plenty in our diet.

You are right, echoes, that the causes of the epidemics of diseases we are seeing is more than just diet, but I believe diet is a major part of it. You make it sound like what we eat is not important, which I think is what people want to hear. Yes we are exposed to a myriad of toxins in the air we breathe and the food and water most people consume. We can drink purified water and organic food to eliminate much of this. We don't know the implications of genetically modified foods, which are difficult to avoid. We are bombarded with electromagnetic fields of all sorts and we don't understand all the implications of this. We are exposed to radioactivity due to that naturally occurring in the earth, from nuclear power plants, coal-burning plants, and nuclear accidents like Fukushima. Eating whole plant foods gives the body the raw materials it needs to protect itself from all these insults.
Ron

With all the changes I've made, from diet to exercise, I've expected better results. I am going for a consult with another neurologist. I like my current one, but he is unmoved on further testing. I had an EMG done over two years ago. I feel much worse now. Perhaps they are not useful in monitoring changes in function?

I was 70 pounds heavier and not doing much but taking metformin and passing on most obvious sugary food opportunities to help myself.

I can tell when I've consumed too much sugar at this point. It is an awful feeling.

I agree on hidden sugars out there. Abundant. One of the hardest things to move back to was embracing most of my liquid intake being tasteless. I still struggle a bit there.