Ingrid and I stopped by REI last weekend looking for some deals and saw 20% off on a type of trigger point roller from TriggerPoint Performance that I had not tried yet - so we splurged. The roller is essentially a foam version of a roller used in a kitchen with grooves and ribs that "promote blood flow". What I don't like about this roller is that it has limited leverage uses, meaning it takes quite a bit of force to roll down your muscles. In the initial trial period, I did not observe any benefit when using this on my neck, back, or quads. However, despite the effort it takes to use, I have found this particular trigger point tool superior to any tool or method used to date on my lower legs and hamstrings. If these are your trouble areas, I recommend giving this tool a try.
The Alternative Road to Health
In 2005, while hiking on the Appalachian Trail, I contracted Lyme's Disease, Giardia, and an unknown third ailment – the beginning of a long battle with ill-health. After five years of exhausting the resources available through western medicine, I began exploring the world of alternative medicine from the viewpoint of an engineer. I have been through the fire and emerged unscathed. For my fellow chronic sufferers, this blog is for you. May hope sustain you and relief find you quickly...
Friday, May 29, 2015
Friday, May 1, 2015
Allergen-Free Recipe - Savory Chickpea Crepes (Socca)
In searching for gluten-free alternatives to bread, I've been exploring an amazingly diverse realm of flatbreads from cuisines around the the world. One of those flatbreads is Socca, which is made from the amazing chickpea. We use this like a wrap - my favorite preparation is to put some stewed greens and night-shade free sloppy Joe inside. You will never miss inflammatory foods again!
INGREDIENTS:
1 - 1/2 c. Water
1 c. Garbonzo Bean Flour
1/2 Tsp. Salt
Olive Oil (or butter substitute)
Makes 10 - 6" Crepes
INSTRUCTIONS:
(1) Combine all ingredients in a bowl or blender. Mix until thoroughly incorporated.
(2) Heat crepe pan (or a non-stick pan - I often use a large cast iron pan) over medium to medium/low heat.
(3) Once the pan is hot, brush olive oil (or butter substitute) into the pan and pour a thin coat of the batter into the pan, swirling the pan around until the batter is spread evenly on the bottom.
(4) Once the crepe has cooked enough to solidify (the top will loose its sheen) flip and allow to briefly cook on the other side.
(5) Remove from the pan and adorn with your favorite condiment. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until all crepes have been made.
INGREDIENTS:
1 - 1/2 c. Water
1 c. Garbonzo Bean Flour
1/2 Tsp. Salt
Olive Oil (or butter substitute)
Makes 10 - 6" Crepes
INSTRUCTIONS:
(1) Combine all ingredients in a bowl or blender. Mix until thoroughly incorporated.
(2) Heat crepe pan (or a non-stick pan - I often use a large cast iron pan) over medium to medium/low heat.
(3) Once the pan is hot, brush olive oil (or butter substitute) into the pan and pour a thin coat of the batter into the pan, swirling the pan around until the batter is spread evenly on the bottom.
(4) Once the crepe has cooked enough to solidify (the top will loose its sheen) flip and allow to briefly cook on the other side.
(5) Remove from the pan and adorn with your favorite condiment. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until all crepes have been made.
Sunday, March 29, 2015
The Domestic Man
One day, while browsing through some internet headlines I ran across a story about Russ Crandall, a seemingly healthy guy who out of the blue had a stroke at the age of 24. After an in depth recovery period followed by additional health complications, Russ was ultimately diagnosed with Takayasu’s Arteritis, a narrowing of pulmonary arteries caused by inflammation. After years of drug therapy and then surgery, without resolution, Russ ultimately turned to diet - specifically, the Paleo diet, which has helped him significantly. Russ now runs a blog called the domestic man, a blog in homage to his new Paleo lifestyle (click here for Russ's blog).
Russ's story is one that I encounter ever more frequently in my journey through alternative health - inflammation caused by diet is one of the most common threads. I am not convinced that a Paleo diet is right for everyone (eggs and nuts, two common food allergens are prominent features of the Paleo diet) - but it is certainly the right choice for a number of people. If you are having health issues and are interested in exploring diet, check out my elimination diet (click here).
Russ's story is one that I encounter ever more frequently in my journey through alternative health - inflammation caused by diet is one of the most common threads. I am not convinced that a Paleo diet is right for everyone (eggs and nuts, two common food allergens are prominent features of the Paleo diet) - but it is certainly the right choice for a number of people. If you are having health issues and are interested in exploring diet, check out my elimination diet (click here).
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Experimenting with Diet - The Grain Brain Diet (Part II), One Week and Counting
My first experience with the Grain Brain Diet about a year ago helped me to loose twenty pounds that I have managed to keep off. However, due to my other dietary restrictions and health issues at the time that experience with the Grain Brain diet ultimately proved to have consequences that were not sustainable over the long-term. Fast forward to about two weeks ago when Ingrid announced that she wanted to go on a sugar free diet. Sugar has been gaining a bad reputation in recent years - being blamed for the nations obesity epidemic, being called toxic by prominent physicians, and now being blamed, in part, for neurodegenerative disease. With the mounting evidence against sugar, Ingrid and I have significantly cut down on the sugar in our normal diets - including foregoing traditional starches at meal times. But what does it mean to go on a truly sugar free diet? For starters, misery.
On the Grain Brain Diet, get ready to eat a lot of these... |
Savory Chick Pea Crepe |
Chicken Yakitori |
Sunflower Seed Butter |
Fried Calamari w/ Lemon |
Grain Brain Bread |
Incidentally, most of the recipes on the recipes page (but not all, so read the ingredients) are on the grain brain diet. Find the recipes page on the right-hand side of the blog under "pages" or click here to be taken directly to the recipes page: Alternative Road Recipes Page.
To read about my first experience with the Grain Brain Diet, click here.
Allergen-Free Recipe - Sugar-Free Sunflower Seed Butter
Toasted sunflower seeds are one of the brilliant additions to peanut
and tree nuts free diet Likewise, sunflower seed butter is a great
substitution for peanut butter or almond butter. I like to make my own
to control the ingredients. This sugar-free version is perfect for anyone wanting to try the Grain Brain Diet who also has an aversion to nuts.
3 C. Sunflower Seeds (or roasted sunflower seeds)
1/4 c. Avocado Oil (or other neutral-tasting oil)
Salt
(1) If using raw sunflower seeds, dry toast sunflower seeds in a pan over low heat. Make sure you continue to stir the sunflower seeds during toasting so that they do not burn.
(2) Place all ingredients in a high power blender (salted to taste) and blend while tamping for 1 minute (or follow your blender's instructions).
3 C. Sunflower Seeds (or roasted sunflower seeds)
1/4 c. Avocado Oil (or other neutral-tasting oil)
Salt
(1) If using raw sunflower seeds, dry toast sunflower seeds in a pan over low heat. Make sure you continue to stir the sunflower seeds during toasting so that they do not burn.
(2) Place all ingredients in a high power blender (salted to taste) and blend while tamping for 1 minute (or follow your blender's instructions).
Labels:
Allergen-Free,
Grain Brain,
Nut-Free,
Peanut-Free,
Recipe,
Sugar-Free,
Sunflower Seeds
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Experimenting with Diet - The Grain Brain Diet (Part I)
Late one night, as I flipped through the TV channels, I saw a program on NPR called Grain Brain. The speaker was a neurologist, Dr. David Perlmutter who advocates a diet devoid of gluten, carbohydrates, and sugars and high in cholesterol and certain kinds of fats as preventative measures and/or treatment for a variety of neurological diseases (including but not limited to Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Dementia). A portion of his advocacy - dietary restriction - is based on scientific research that shows that the brains of patients with neurological disease show increased markers of inflammation specifically attributable to two sources - gluten and sugar (including simple carbohydrates). The remaining portion of his advocacy - dietary inclusion and supplementation - is based on research showing that fats and cholesterol are key elements to maintaining excellent brain health and low inflammation. The overall effect of the diet puts the body into a ketogenic state, where the body transitions from burning glucose for energy to burning fat for energy.
I tried the Grain Brain diet about a year ago while in the midst of horrible nausea. The experience was fairly difficult and with mixed results. For starters, eggs, nuts, and dairy - three key components of the grain brain diet - were on my do not eat list. Without these items, the available fats were severely limited - ultimately leading to me to unconventional and unappealing methods of obtaining fats (e.g. eat coconut oil straight from the jar). After a few days of fatigue and starvation, I ultimately added nuts into my diet, which propped up my energy level and kept me satiated but added new digestive distress. I maintained the Grain Brain diet for two months before adding grains back.
Ultimately, I lost about twenty pounds over that span - a great success - but without improvement in the nausea (which I ultimately tracked down to a side effect of the Flexoril that I was taking at the time) or other tangible benefits. My takeaway from the diet from this experience was ultimately indiscernible (as my existing nausea may have skewed the weight loss or prevented realization of other benefits)...which is why I jumped on the chance to joint my wife in the diet last week. As this experiment is not yet completed, I reserve ultimate judgement for another post. More to come in Part II.
The theories of the Grain Brain Diet are fascinating. My father, a physician, looked into the medical community's perspective on the Grain Brain theories and ultimately noted that treatment of neurological diseases (with the exception of epilepsy) through these methods has not provided consistent results. That is not to say that they have not provided inconsistent results - meaning they may be applicable to a certain percentage of the population. If you are interested in the Grain Brain diet, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Grain Brain.
I tried the Grain Brain diet about a year ago while in the midst of horrible nausea. The experience was fairly difficult and with mixed results. For starters, eggs, nuts, and dairy - three key components of the grain brain diet - were on my do not eat list. Without these items, the available fats were severely limited - ultimately leading to me to unconventional and unappealing methods of obtaining fats (e.g. eat coconut oil straight from the jar). After a few days of fatigue and starvation, I ultimately added nuts into my diet, which propped up my energy level and kept me satiated but added new digestive distress. I maintained the Grain Brain diet for two months before adding grains back.
Ultimately, I lost about twenty pounds over that span - a great success - but without improvement in the nausea (which I ultimately tracked down to a side effect of the Flexoril that I was taking at the time) or other tangible benefits. My takeaway from the diet from this experience was ultimately indiscernible (as my existing nausea may have skewed the weight loss or prevented realization of other benefits)...which is why I jumped on the chance to joint my wife in the diet last week. As this experiment is not yet completed, I reserve ultimate judgement for another post. More to come in Part II.
The theories of the Grain Brain Diet are fascinating. My father, a physician, looked into the medical community's perspective on the Grain Brain theories and ultimately noted that treatment of neurological diseases (with the exception of epilepsy) through these methods has not provided consistent results. That is not to say that they have not provided inconsistent results - meaning they may be applicable to a certain percentage of the population. If you are interested in the Grain Brain diet, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Grain Brain.
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Allergen-Free Recipe - Spinach w/ Garlic
If ever a spinach dish could be called luxurious, this is it. Rich, smooth, and flavorful, this dish works well as a side dish or as a spread on a sandwich. And its super simple...
INGREDIENTS:
6 Cloves Garlic
1/4 c. Olive Oil
1 lb. Baby Spinach
Salt
INSTRUCTIONS:
(1) Mince Garlic.
(2) Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add garlic and allow to infuse in the oil for approx. a minute.
(3) Chop baby spinach and add to the pan. Allow to cook for approx. 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt.
Spinach w/ Garlic |
6 Cloves Garlic
1/4 c. Olive Oil
1 lb. Baby Spinach
Salt
INSTRUCTIONS:
(1) Mince Garlic.
(2) Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add garlic and allow to infuse in the oil for approx. a minute.
(3) Chop baby spinach and add to the pan. Allow to cook for approx. 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt.
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