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).

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

As of Tuesday of this week, Ingrid and I were at one week and counting on the Grain Brain diet.  Our alternative culinary acumen has become significantly improved since my original experience, so we pulled out all the stops.  For starters, chickpeas are allowed unadulterated on the Grain Brain Diet - so we've experimented heavily with chickpea crepes (Socca, from France, or Pudla from India) - often using it like a side or wrap but also using it like Injera, the Ethiopian flat bread, tearing pieces off to scoop up bites of stewed meat and veg.  Granted, I am still minimizing dairy, nuts, and eggs - but smart preparation this time has made that less of an issue.  I now have a tried and true recipe for sugar-free sunflower seed butter, which has provided an excellent source of fat and nutrients, and I've expanded my cooking techniques somewhat to provide added flavor in a number of ways, including using Yakitori style cooking to add quick smoky grill flavor to our chicken, middle eastern/Asian influence to make a diet friendly Fried Calamari, finally using some beef bones we've had stored for too long to make beef bone broth, and good old American Ingenuity to make a diet-friendly pizza on a cauliflower and sunflower seed crust (not shown).  Ingrid even found somewhere on the web (sorry, I have no idea where) that had a Grain Brain bread (has a lot of eggs). 

Chicken Yakitori

Sunflower Seed Butter

Fried Calamari w/ Lemon

Grain Brain Bread

The good news is that both Ingrid and I are both satiated with our meals - and on less food as advertised.  But oh the misery.  The side effects of the diet that I have personally experienced include headaches (first three days), dry mouth (no matter how much water I drink), nausea, constipation, and fatigue.  I cut out all but meat and veg for two days without improvement.  Several websites that I have consulted about these symptoms identify them as typical symptoms for people on a low carb diet - however, the recommended corrections have not produced improvements in some of most of my symptoms as of today (day nine).  On the weight front, no improvement.  I monitor my weight daily (at the same time of day) and have alternately lost and gained weight with zero net change.  As of right now, the downsides definitely out weight the perceived benefits.  I'm going to stick with it for a couple more days and reevaluate.

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).

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.