The Paleolithic Solution – Episode 3

First, thank you guys so much for taking the time to do this. I have learned so much from these past three programs and look forward to future programs.

As to your query regarding program length I think that the one hour time frame is perfect. It allows you to cover a fair amount of ground in a fair amount of detail without feeling rushed.

I listen to the program at work so it certainly makes my day go by much easier as I work on projects!

Thanks again!

Robb and Andy – I am blown away by the quality information in your podcasts. I can learn a lot quickly, which I like. In terms of length I think an hour is a good ballpark, but since these aren’t live “catch it or miss it” types of broadcasts it doesn’t really matter to me if they go longer because I can simply pause and finish the rest later if I am pressed for time.

I was thinking about the question from episode 3 about needing less sleep on the Paleo diet. One thing I noticed almost immediately when I switched to a Paleo diet from Vegetarianism is that I could fall asleep faster and had less restless tossing and turning nights. Nothing like a good dose of carbs right before bed to make the heart pump and the brain race. That said, I doubt her sleep would be improved so much as to get away with only 5 hours (that is probably mostly due to the screwed up circadian rythyms that come from shift work) but I think in general getting 7.5-8 hours of real quality sleep is going to feel about the same as 9-10 hours of tossing and turning sleep that comes after having Ben and Jerrys for dessert or 6 beers during the evening.

Hey Robb,

When does the podcast get posted on itunes? I like to listen to it on my way to work. btw, Loving the podcasts.

I think the longer the show—>the more we learn—> the better! I am SOOO thankful for the NorCal Margarita recipe, I will definitely be making them for Thanksgiving!! Quick question Robb: I’m going to visit my family in my horrible horrible hometown of Yuba City right after school gets out on Dec.14, I’ll be there for a week and would LOVE to get a workout in at NorCal S&C. Will you happen to be around those days??

My goals are to be Harder, Better, Faster, and Stronger at everything. For specific goals, here they are: 1) Run a 4.4 40yd dash. [Currently at 4.7] 2) Bench 300 lbs. [Currently at 205] 3) Deadlift 500 lbs. [Currently at 385] 4) Do 100 kipping pullups. [Currently at 45] 5) Run a 5:30 mile. [Currently at 6:41 6) Clean and Jerk 250lbs [Currently at 175] 7) Dunk a basketball

I’m not worried one bit about body composition because I’m naturally very lean (thanks mom and dad!) If you were to ask me which goal I want to obtain the most, its dunk a basketball. I am only 5′7″ 165 so that might take some work, but I could die a happy man if I could dunk a basketball.

Also, Robb, I was wondering fi you could make a recommendation on Salmon Jerky. I’m having a hard time finding any paleo friendly.

Thanks!

Robb, Just finished the podcast. This is a terrific resource. I am happy with whatever time length you do the podcasts for, it is such a great service that you do for all of us. I am so impressed with the breadth of topics you covered — hypothyroidism to kidney stones…

I’ve been dealing with the hypothyroid issue for about 5 years now (turning 28 next month). The misinformation that is given to thyroid patients by the majority of internists and even endocronologists is amazing. I think that if I had attacked this right away with a gluten/dairy/legume free paleo diet, I may have stopped the damage. I am on this type of diet now (because of your seminar) and it has improved most every aspect of my health and fitness, but not the hypothyroidism.

After trying diet change first, I found a doc that was not stuck in the 70s and pursues alternate therapies for hypothyoidism. She found that my thyroid was not converting T4 to T3 and took me off Levoxil (T4 only). She also found that my reverse T3 levels at receptor sites were abnormally high. To fix this, she put me on compounded T3 for a few months and when rT3 normalized we moved to Armour. Switching from Levoxil has helped substantially because it was elevating my liver enzymes and raising my blood pressure (not to mention, not alleviating hypothyroid symptoms!)

Final thoughts:
1. Hypothyroidism sucks because you are dealing with nuances in treatment and balance is hard to find.
2. Find a doc who appreciates your paleo nutrition and can work alongside of that to enhance your quality of life.
3. If you are hypothyroid, work your tail off to catch it early and treat it properly because lack of energy, hair loss, weight gain, and sex drive of a rock are not the best qualities of a person (especially a 28 year old male!).

Hey Robb,
I haven’t listened to the last three podcasts because I haven’t had time yet but if you haven’t covered Vitmain D yet could you answer a few questions of mine the next podcast?
If you have to supplement Vitamin D, which I do because I live in a place where it snows and rains from November to May, what is the best way to supplement? I noticed most Vitamin D supplements are derived from dairy or cod liver but the cod liver oil also has a lot of vitamin A in it. Enough that if one wanted to take a lot of vitamin D they would OD vit. A.
What are the dose ranges for vitamin D, roughly of course? I’ve heard 2000IU to as much as 10000IU.
I’ve also heard that supplementing Vitamin D is not effective and that only way to get Vit. D is from the sun. I read this on the Nutrition Data website when they were talking about D to prevent swine flu and how some Australian researchers found supplementing was not effective but being in the sun was. Thanks Robb!

Try Cazadores Tequila – so much better than gold
It’s the one with the stag on the front. We call them Paleo margaritas here in Chicago – love them! http://www.crossfitfire.com

Hey Rob, thanks for all the good stuff you’re putting out.

I have a question concerning eggs. My choice right now is either:

1- Higher in omega-3, not free range, not local, not organic
2- Free range, local, not organic, no added omega-3
3- Organic, free range, not local, no added omega-3

I would tend to go with choice 2 since its easy and somewhat cheap for me to get them and my understanding is that being free range helps the egg to have a better omega-3 ratio naturally. Also, its not organic, but I think its pretty close to it. True organic eggs around here are very expensive and not local.

Anyways, would you still rather go with choice 1 then 2 just for the benefits of the omega-3.

I might seem a bit anal with this, but I suspect some kind of sensitivity to eggs so I want to make sure I get the best stuff I can get especially since its something I eat every day.

Thanks in advance

Hi Robb,
Thanks again for getting great info out to so many, love hearing your podcasts and learning more great stuff.

Just a few things from my experience to comment on.
Re sleep: too few calories and I wake up a lot. 1200 cals for this women does seem low. That is usually the minimum I do and I’m way smaller.
Magnesium – fantastic – has worked with lots of clients to get a good sleep.
Also great for growing pains in kids (plus muscle cramps etc)

RE the adjustment period to lower carb being really bad in some people:
When I first had clients complaining how they felt worse, not better after switching to Zone eating I emailed Sears for his input.
I typically had people who were tired, headachey, constipated and any inflammatory process they tended to get, flared up whether is was sore joints, asthma, eczema etc.
He explained it as Arachidonic acid release, typically strored in large amounts in metabolically deranged and inflamed people (as in ‘Toxic Fat’)
The large release of AA pours a lot of building blocks of pro-inflammatory hormones out and consequently they build lots of these groups of hormones which is why all the symptoms. (I note that they are all linked to the increase in pro-inflammatory homone groups, that each person typically tends to)

Interestingly before this happens nearly all clients feel great for the first 2 or 3 days after they change their diet. Then they come crashing down as AA levels increase. I explain that how they felt in the first couple of days is how they will feel after the initial 3 weeks once they’ve seen this period through.
Sears recommended the best way to conteract this AA release is a ton of Omega 3. Usually just keep adding it until they get less symptoms. In my experience it does work to lesson symptoms in clients.
The other thing that usually reverses it quickly is adding more carbs, and then cutting them down more slowly. But I recommend people try to see it through and take heaps of fish oil if they can. The first week is usually the worst and symptoms get less after that.

You were also talking about people who might have trouble going Paleo. I had one client who got sick – IBS and vomiting and feeling really ill, eating red meat and egg yolks. I did a little research and found this link:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/health-science/one-tick-red-meat-can-do-without/story-e6frg8y6-1111116286444
Knowing she was Australian – I checked out her history and sure enough she was from a tick infested area of Sydney, and had suffered bites. She can tolerate egg whites, white meat and fish though.

Robb,
I could listen to you talk about this stuff all day everyday. I don’t necessarily have any suggestions for length, but I will say, “the more the merrier”. I am quite literally visibly upset when these end. If you keep talkin’ I’ll keep listenin’. Honestly, I think you should have your own live streaming, radio talk show…All Robb All the Time! Seriously though, it would be nice to have the ability to go back and listen to certain sections without having to listen to the podcast in its entirety every time.

Thanks for everything that you’ve taught me and I’m really looking forward to your book.

For salmon jerky, pretty much follow the same as beef jerky. My uncle used to make just by drying it in the sun up in Alaska.

http://www.kasilofseafoods.com/Smoking/salmon-jerky.htm

In regards to vitamin D, these are the best two articles I’ve found on it:

http://www.eatmoveimprove.com/2009/10/a-closer-look-at-vitamin-d/

http://www.grc.com/health/vitamin-d.htm

Andy/Robb,
Thanks for keeping this cast going! Question for both of you dealing with Coconut Milk. I live in Wisconsin, and it takes forever to get new products in our local health store, anyway i came upon coconut milk by “SO DELICIOUS” the unsweetened type. Anyway, whats the skinny on this? I was reading it loaded up with 65% MCFA’s.
I’m just tired on getting my fat’s from nuts and looking for a change!
Thanks so much guy’s ! Happy Turkey day….i’m going to destroy some bird now!

Robb & Andy

An enormous thanks for tackling my long winded blog post saturated with issues and questions. I’m definitely taking everything on board and will be vey interested to
see how the coming weeks fair out with more food, less metcons and quality sleep.

Every week I eagerly anticipate another super charged podcast, it’s priceless.

Thansk again,

Amanda

30-40 minutes is perfect for me. Thanks for the show!

BTW, It would be very convenient if you could subcribe to the podcast in Itunes even though a big part of me feels that Apple (skynet) is displaying a bit a the same control-freakish-behavior like CFHQ at the moment.