Podcast Episode #55: Hepatitis C, Vitamin A toxicity, pregnancy & fructose malabsorption, and Liz tastes her makeup.
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Episode #55: Hepatitis C, Vitamin A toxicity, pregnancy & fructose malabsorption, and Liz tastes her makeup.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
Balanced Bites Workshops:
This weekend we are in Easton, MA (Boston area) at Vagabond CrossFit!
CHECK THE SIDEBAR FOR MORE UPCOMING DATES – ATLANTA, ROCHESTER AND BEYOND!
FREE Practical Paleo book signing events with Q&A are listed in the sidebar as well, next up is:
Warwick, NY, Thursday, September 27
Remember that all events are open to the public, you do not need to belong to the hosting gym to attend!
Topics:
#1. Child with Autism & weight gain help [8:37]
#2. Paleo recommendations confusion [11:37]
#3. Hepatitis C & Paleo [27:23]
#4. Vitamin A toxicity and fermented cod liver oil. [38:33]
#5. Pregnancy and fructose malabsorption. [45:15]
#6. Approved sweeteners: vegetable glycerin? [ 53:37]
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1. Child with Autism & weight gain help
Sheryl says,
Aaron just turned 12 and weighs 58 pounds. The dr is concerned and has recommended protein drinks at night right before bed to help keep weight on him. He’s gained 4 pounds on 1 year. He is high functioning autistic and is on only 1 med at this time, but it is a med that has a side effect of loss of appetite. So when we do sit down at meals, he doesn’t eat much, but he’s so active that he burns everything off so quickly. Is there anything that I can do to feed him that will help put the weight on him and sticking to a paleo-ish diet that I have the kids on?
2. Paleo recommendations confusion
Alisa says,
These series of questions actually come from my sister. She is an RD who for a long time, was very skeptical of the paleo lifestyle. She’s suffered from many ailments over the years including adult acne (she’s 32), PCOS, IBS, etc. I convinced her to read some books and now she’s starting to see the light, though doesn’t agree with everything. She’s changed some of her eating habits and even bought your book and has been cooking from it. Additionally, she read Cordain’s book, The Paleo Diet, and is stumped by the discrepancies between his work and yours. I know some of his work is outdated and not based on grassed/pastured meats, but could you help me out with this. I already got back to her on some of the things and told her it’s also very individualistic, but want to make sure I’m giving her valid info, especially because she was so resistant for a long time. Anyway, see below for what she sent me:
I have read The Paleo Diet (Loren Cordain) & Practical Paleo (you convinced me to buy that one). I am not strictly following the diet and don’t know if I agree with everything these books have to say, but I did enjoy reading them and I have been having a lot of fun experimenting in the kitchen and have found a lot of recipes that I love. Reading these two books has left me with some questions though and I wanted to see if you knew the answers. These two books contradict themselves at several points, mostly related to fats. Cordain recommends limiting fats a lot more than Diane does. He doesn’t recommend using butter/bacon fat/tallow/coconut oil and he also recommends lean proteins such as white meat poultry without the skin, no bacon and lean cuts of meat. Diane doesn’t even have a recipe for white meat poultry without the skin on and uses decent amounts of butter/coconut oil in cooking. She also seems to use and recommend cuts of meat that aren’t that lean. I understand her reasoning that these grass-fed meats are higher in omega-3′s & CLA, so the extra fat is almost a bonus, but I’m having a hard time comparing her book to Cordain’s book.
Also in Cordain’s book, he doesn’t really recommend using all the coconut products (milk/butter/oil). They are not included in one single recipe of his. He also kind of discourages people from using some of the “flours”, specifically almond flour.
I have definitely become more interested in the Paleo diet and think the diet promotes a lot of good things, but the differences between these two books has been puzzling me a bit.
Is there something else that you know of that I could read that might better explain these things?
Anyway, that’s everything she asked me about. Could you help me with some further explanation when you get a chance? I know you’re a busy woman, but I’d greatly appreciate it!
Best,
Alisa
3. Hepatitis C & Paleo
Mary says,
I have Hepatitis C and have recently switched to a paleo diet. Can you provide any info for paleo people with Hep C?
I initially just wanted to switch to a fat-burning instead of carb-burning food source in the hopes of losing those last 10-15 pounds. But now I am obsessed with my health and nutrition and just want to restore my body to its optimal health, while being a good steward of our lovely earth and its beautiful creatures. I am prioritizing my health over my desire to be skinny, and I can’t thank you enough for your support in that regard.
Anyway, sadly I have hepatitis C, which may cause problems digesting protein and fats. I will be getting a liver biopsy soon to find out what my genotype is, and if necessary may undergo either 23-weeks or 49-weeks of interferon/ribavirin treatment to eradicate the virus from my poor little body. By all accounts it is 6-months to 1-year of living HELL, with many major physical side effects, as well as extreme depression.
In the past 6 months I have become deeply committed to eating good quality meats and fats, moderate protein, and no grains, sugar, or legumes, and only limited dairy and fruits. The process was slow. I finally eliminated full fat yogurt and heavy cream in an attempt to lose some weight. I have not lost any weight on the paleo plan, and I think the dairy and sweeteners were a big culprit. So I cut out sucralose, and dairy a few months ago, with the exception of dutch gouda cheese, which I hope I don’t have to give up, but will if I have to. I just cut out xylitol a week ago or so and feel really stupid for not quitting that sooner, as it is known to damaging to the livers of canines and probably humans too, but they only say it’s toxic to dogs.
I am so fortunate to live in beautiful Oakland, California. Diane, you may be familiar with the area, having gone to school in Berkeley. I shop at the GrandLake Farmer’s market where they have a Prather Ranch stand. I buy my meats and bones for bone broth there. I usually buy bacon, beef, bones, and lard there. I buy Ghee from Whole Foods and Coconut oil from Trader Joes. I eat a lot of spinach and and until recently was eating way too much fruit — mostly berries, as much as 2 cups per day! I have cut way down on fruit and increased my veggies, except the ones I hate, like broccoli. So I eat in abundance purple cabbage, celery, red onion, peppers, carrots, spinach, kale, celery root, zucchini, lemons, and that’s kind of it — those are my veggie mainstays. I make my own salad dressing with Kassandrinos olive oil, lemon and garlic.
I walk around the lake 3.1 miles almost every evening. I used to run, but I have a big throbbing pain in my mid-back-abdomen area, and I think my liver might be inflamed, so instead of jostling it around by running, now I just walk.
I was taking tons of supplements, but have cut way down since I developed liver pain. Now I just take magnesium, vitamin b, and vitamin c. I take benedryl several times a week for allergies and I sleep like a baby 8-9 hours every night. Sleep is a huge priority. I go to bed early and usually fall asleep listening to you guys, Chris Kresser, Robb Wolf, and Nora Gedgaudas.
4. Vitamin A toxicity & fermented cod liver oil.
Imani says,
Hope this message finds you well. My husband and I attended your very informative workshop at CrossFit in Winston Salem NC. There you recommended fermented cod liver oil as one of the 5 super foods. I read recently on Dr. Mercola’s site that there are new findings indicating that Vit A toxicity could be linked to intake of cod liver oil. Have you and Liz changed your perspective as well? Please explain why not, if possible. I’ve read a little WAP on this as well and to tell you the truth it wasn’t quite comprehensive for me. So here I am. I truly respect your approach and and insight. Please pardon me if this is not the point of contact for such inquiries. Ordinarily I’d scour for hours to find this on my own. However, we’ve purchased quite a bit of cod liver oil and want to get some insight as quickly as possible. Say hi to Liz. Thanks in advance for any help your able to provide. Best, Imani
5. Pregnancy and fructose malabsorption
Beth says,
My question is about pregnancy and fructose malabsorption. I have been eating paleo for about 3 years and have been feeling great. I am 12 weeks pregnant and have noticed that aside from just nausea and food aversions typical with pregnancy, I am also experiencing new food intolerances. I payed attention to what I was eating and after getting especially sick after eating grapes, realized that I have become fructose intolerant. Do you have any idea if this can be brought on by pregnancy?
I have never had any of these problems before my pregnancy. It has been hard to know what to eat. I’m afraid to eat anything! And i don’t know what to eat. I know I can eat meat, and I have been cooking it with little or no seasoning. Many sites suggest white rice and potatoes but that is not something I normally would include in my diet. I hope it goes away after my pregnancy. I couldn’t find any info on the Internet about a correlation between FM a nd pregnancy. Right now I can only safely eat meat (any kind), lettuce, and crackers. I exercise most days, a little bit less than I was because during my first trimester I have been so tired and nauseous. I walk, lift weights, and can do most of the same things I could do before. I was taking fermented cod liver oil/ butter oil and a few other supplements like b12, but my OBGYN told me to stop taking everything and just take a prenatal vitamin. I sleep every night from 8pm to 6am. So I get plenty of sleep 
I have started eating crackers to help with my morning sickness. I eat them when I wake up. I used to eat eggs and bacon for breakfast but i have an aversion to eggs right now and i feel like too much salt makes me bloated as well. So I started eating green apples and homemade almond butter for breakfast for a while, until I started noticing FM symptom and I have been scared to eat apples. I don’t drink, rarely eat out, and was very happy with my diet, mood, body composition. All of these problems are completely new to me since becoming pregnant.
PS I have your book and it is awesome!!
6. Approved Sweeteners
Michelle says,
I have been looking on your site for any commentary on vegetable glycerin but can’t seem to find any. What is your take on it as a sweetener?
Click here to submit questions.
Cheers!
Diane & Liz
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