Download a transcript of this episode
Topics:
1. [17:37] Vasovagal Syncope
2. [24:14] Increase in PMS Symptoms
3. [29:40] Intestinal Length & Vegetarianism
4. [40:39] Sick after Racing
5. [49:26] Clogged Ears on Paleo
6. [1:00:49] Ab Contraction in the Back Squat
Questions:
Vasovagal Syncope
Katie Says: Hi Robb! Thanks for your awesome podcast – I’ve been catching up and learning a lot. I haven’t seen this come up yet, though, so let me know if I missed it somewhere. I have a condition called “Vasovagal Syncope”, which means I pass out kind of randomly when triggered (for me, triggers are unfortunately things like standing up too fast, exercising without eating/drinking enough, heat, over-exertion, etc.) Obviously this interferes with my workouts, since I can’t push myself as hard as I could otherwise, and I feel like a wimp when I take classes anywhere and have to sit out so I don’t pass out. Otherwise I’m healthy – 23 years old, 5’7” 125 pound woman, have never been that strong but I have always done lots of martial arts and am more or less “fit”. My blood pressure is and always has been a bit low – like 90/60 – but everything else (EKG, cholesterol, and a slew of blood tests my doc has given me) has come back normal.
So, two questions – 1) Any diet suggestions that you think might help? My doctor said to way up salt intake to help keep my blood pressure up, but that sounds dangerous too. I’m still working on cleaning up my diet – do you think paleo could help with this condition? “Healthy” diets tend to lower blood pressure, which makes passing out more likely, so I’m tempted to leave some bad stuff in to prevent that. 2) What kind of workouts do you think are appropriate? I would love to try crossfit, but I feel like the intensity might just make things worse. Any experience in the gym with people prone to passing out?
Any thoughts would be really helpful.
Thanks!
Increase in PMS Symptoms
Kendal Says: I’ve been eating a pretty strict Paleo diet since late March minus some dark chocolate and red wine occasionally. While I’ve had amazing results (lost the last 15 pounds of my baby weight, am no longer anemic after struggling my whole life with it, and feel stronger than ever) I’ve seen a scary increase in my PMS symptoms. I’m almost 35 years old and the mother of 4 children. I recently started a daily kettlebell workout in addition to my regular dancing regimen (ballet, etc, but not professional.) I’m 5’9″ and 133 pounds. I’ve spent a better part of the last 10 years either pregnant and/or nursing so I didn’t have a cycle for much of that time. Weaned the youngest over a year ago and am not having more children. My thyroid is perfect and my recent physical showed outstanding blood work. My cycles are pretty normal, 26-28 days and last 5-6 days with no cramping. But the entire week before I start I’m miserable. I get depressed, have ridiculous mood swings, and ultimately am making myself and my family crazy. While this has been increasing over the last year, it does seem worse since I increased my animal protein by going Paleo. I’ve also had some hair loss for a couple of years, likely stress, but I’ve continued to have my thyroid checked and no problems there. Do you have any suggestions? I’ve tried many herbs and natural remedies and nothing does the trick. I can’t take potentially 20 more years of this but I’m also not interested in artificial hormonal treatments like the pill.
Intestinal Length & Vegetarianism
Aimee Says: Dear Robb, I have just escaped from a month of intensive yoga teacher training, wherein part of the program involved me being vegetarian and listening to hours of lectures on why vegetarianism is the best way to live. Up until that month, I had been following the paleo diet with all sorts of success. God, vegetarianism kicked my ass. During morning meditations, my stomach would rumble so loudly in its quinoa riddled discontent that NO ONE could concentrate properly. I was bloated, tired, weak, and irritable the entire month. About a week into the program, the teacher started a six hour monologue on how meat eating was immoral and unhealthy. My punctured, angry intestines nearly strangled her in angry disbelief. But because it was a monologue and not a discourse, the only imput I was permitted was the cacophonous rumbling of said intestines. So I figured I’d ask you about the few things I can remember from that LONG afternoon.
Yoga teacher (spoken in a really weird Boston/English accent, if you can imagine): Humankind did not evolve eating meat. Of course we were hunter/gatherers, but you know, we didn’t eat THAT much meat. Meat was hard to come by, so we mostly ate plants, you know. There is evidence of this in the fact that our intestines are very long. If we had evolved to, you know, eat meat, we would have short intestines like other carnivorous animals. Because our intestines are so long, the meat just sits in there, and it, you know, rots. It rots for about three days before you finally, you know, pass the fecal matter. And if you eat fruit, or whatever, after you, you know, eat meat, then that will just stay on top and rot. This results in, you know, really bloody awful indigestion.
*Insert indignant tummy rumbles here*
My question is whether or not the length of intestines has anything to do with whether or not a species should eat meat. I guess its not all that relevant to most of the people who listen to your podcast, but as a yoga teacher, I need to be able to defend my meat eating habit. The most I could do at yoga school was say that while my soul would never reach samadhi, my tastebuds and intestines would. Which I feel okay about, but I’d like to be able to say a little more regarding the evolution of the matter.
Thanks for everything. I am now a celiac volunteering on a farm in Italy. Listening to your podcast gives me the strength to resist all the delicious smelling pasta that’s constantly set before me.
Sick after Racing
Hairy Meat Eater Says: Robb, I have done a few endurance competitions (sprint triathlon, half-marathon, and the tough mudder) and it seems like after every one of these events I get sick more specifically I get bronchitis. A background on myself: I’m 26 years old, I float around 155-160 pounds and I’m 5’9. I have been working out and running since 19 years old and I just started Crossfit in May 2011. I usually go to Crossfit 4 days a week and play Ultimate Frisbee every Tuesday.
I just started incorporating the Paleo lifestyle as best I can. I am still in college so its hard for me to afford going organic on the fruits and vegetables and buying grassfed meat. It is especially hard because the town I live in, Columbia, MO only has 2 small markets that cater to organic and locally grown produce and meat and their products are EXPENSIVE. For example I just went to one of the stores yesterday and an organic pineapple was $6.00!
So I feel like I am in good shape and I make sure to let my body rest for 4-5 days before any competition. During the rest days I do a lot of stretching though. And I still manage to get sick after almost every endurance competition. For example I just completed the Tough Mudder on July 23rd in Wisconsin. The course was not very difficult for me I never felt winded or out of breath (we took it easy during the uphills) but I definitely felt my muscles cramp during certain obstacles. So even though I felt great afterwards I ended up with a 102 degree fever, stuffy nose, and a tight feeling in my chest the very next day.
Do you think this was just physical stress that caused this? Maybe being out in the sun all day? And I should note we drove 9 hours the day before the race to get to the Tough Mudder so I wasn’t properly hydrated because I didn’t want to pull over every 45 minutes to take a leak. I figured getting to the hotel at a decent hour (10pm) to get a decent amount of sleep was as important as being hydrated.
What are your thoughts?
Clogged Ears on Paleo
Matt & Stacy Say: Greg, oh wait, I mean Mark. Adam? Andy? No, Josh?
There’s still not a mandatory search function built-in pre-email so hopefully I’ll avoid being the tortured sole ripped apart for asking a question already posed. But, here goes.
A few months ago a popular blogger, who claimed to have been Paleo for over a decade, gave it up with a list of reasons why this person wasn’t feeling their best. Robb’s rebuttal was short, sweet and to the point, from what I recall it went something like, “bollocks, a bunch of crap, no way, eat what you want buddy.”
Where I agree on almost all fronts, I do have one question still ringing in my ear (let’s all take a moment to appreciate the pun). My husband’s and my ears have been clogged since shortly after going Paleo. Coincidentally, his was one of the listed items on this blogger’s complaints.
We assumed it was because we’re working out more and we use ear buds at the gym. We came up with some explanation to ourselves about sweat being trapped in there, etc. However, I haven’t used ear buds at the gym for several weeks because things were starting to sound like they were underwater sometimes and it was really bothering me.
I was hoping lack of ear clogging devices would’ve led to less ear clogging. To my dismay, I’m still singing more off-key than usual, although just as loud. Now that there’s warm weather out the kids are getting embarrassed with the car windows rolled down (don’t worry, it’s teaching them a valuable life lesson about how parents are put here to embarrass them). That’s not so much as a concern for me as is being unable to hear people properly. Not to mention, the fear I have about what might be lurking in our ears to make them not be working.
Lastly, to be clear: the rest of those items on the bloggers list were bullocks. Especially dry skin and allergies; dude, how many testimonials do we need to have about skin and allergies being resolved by a proper Paleo diet?
So, the questions are these:
1) Does Robb have any clue why our ears are clogged?
2) If it’s related to an overproduction of wax, how the hell did Grok get it out? I’d like to not have to drip chemicals into my brain cavity.
3) Does he want to expand on his “bullocks” response to this bloggers’ farewell to Paleo?
Sincerely, your faithful Paleo evangelicals recruiting one child at a time,
Ab Contraction in the Back Squat
Josh Says: Hi Rob, long time no see huh? I apologize if you have already attacked this question because I haven’t listened to all 89 podcasts yet. The question is referring to something I heard from Greg Everett when he was referring to abdominal contraction during the back squat. He seemed to publicly refute the advice I heave received from Kelly Starrett about making the abs “hollow” during the back squat when he said he prefers the abs to be “bulging” or flexed outwards. Do you have a preference or do you see clients who do better with one tactic vs. the other? You probably know my body type already but for the sake of listeners…6’4, 205 lbs, long femurs, short torso, positive ape index of 5 (wingspan is 5 inches longer than height). Cheers.
Sound quality is fine. Tell the whiners to go pound sand.
Agree. Sound quality is great to me, making it any better would be a waste of time, effort, money. I don’t understand how anyone could possibly have a problem with it. If you are complaining about the sound quality on a FREE podcast with tons of great information… go eat some gluten as your punishment!!
The sound quality has been totally fine. Even the previous one recorded with 1 mic on the laptop in the broom closet sounded OK.
But don’t get so defensive! Just because some audiophile has some suggestions doesn’t mean you have to take the time to respond to it on the podcast for 5 minutes. Relax dudes– the audience loves you, even the audio freaks.
I remember this happening with Andy and at first you guys were defensive then too abut then you did take some steps to improve the quality and that was beneficial. It’s definitely helped to have a louder recording. Now the podcast is absolutely in the listenable, positive end of the spectrum– I can hear every word even on the noisy subway.
Anyway, another great podcast so far. Keep up the great work and thanks for all your helpful, insightful, great and FREE advice.
PS Enough about CF. Let’s talk about powerlifting!
Amigo-
When you receive dozens (hundreds?) of emails along this line you have to respond to it! Or I need to start ignoring some stuff but I do my best to reply to as many comments as I can.
Start telling people that if they need some sort of amazing sound experience, they should listen to music instead.
Or Greg & I could sing!!
Hundreds? Crazy! I thought it was just a handful of whack jobs. I don’t get it…
Come on people– the podcast sounds fine. You can *hear* the words can’t you? Put your money where your mouth is and start sending them cash for audio gear and the tech to put it together.
HA! I like it! Or we can coveer airfare to shuttle greg and i back & forth to the same town.
HA! I like it! Or we can cover airfare to shuttle greg and i back & forth to the same town.
The vasovagal syncope is very serious. VERY. She needs to get herself to a cardiologist. My sister had the same thing, and was able to control it through meds and salt in her diet for years, but ended up getting a pacemaker, because when this happens, turned out her heart beat was becoming erratic possibly stopping. Yes, you read that right. Doc said every time she passed out there was a good chance her heart would not go back to a normal pattern or, if stopped, start again. Yes, that meant every time she passed out she could die. She needs to make sure the places she trains know she has this condition, the trainers know CPR and know to call an ambulance if she passes out. A healthy diet can help keep her heart healthy, which is great, but if that doesn’t work, she needs to consider other options, and make sure the people she lives/works with know CPR.
Shannon-
I searched and searched on this and cannot find anything in the literature to support this potentiality UNLESS she has an electrical firing issue in her heart. CErtainly getting that checked out seems prudent but beyond that the condition should be benign. Your sister’s situation may be unique.
I do hope she’s unique–it was a nightmare to diagnose. The main reason I posted was because we thought she had it under control for about 15 years, and then for no real reason it wasn’t anymore. Hopefully that’s not the case with her, but I still hope she sees a cardiologist just to make sure. I’d love it if going paleo would help my sis, and will pass along the podcast!
I agree, a cardiologist visit, EKG and cardiac stress test would not be a bad thing to establish a baseline. But from there I cannot find mush information that your sisters situation is typical.
Sounds like “Sick Sinus Syndrome” but agree, please go see a cardiologist!
As an audiologist, I want to offer this advice on earwax:
If you are clogged up due to wax, you can either use eardrops (such as debrox) or see an audiologist or ENT to get it removed with tools and/or water. DO NOT do ear candling – that is completely fake – any “wax” you find is from the candle, and honestly, it’s just dangerous.
On the other hand, if you don’t have wax plugging your ears but it feels like you do, you have to go to an audiologist or ENT for testing – the audiologist will be able to tell you if you have hearing loss, which can feel like a “plugged up” sensation, or something else going on (which an ENT will likely diagnose).
Wax production is usually a genetic thing, but perhaps in this case it is somehow related to diet… never heard of that though!
Off topic but didn’t know where to post. Just curious if anyone has seen this yet: http://boingboing.net/2011/08/13/stephan-guyenets-critical-examination-of-gary-taubes-anti-carb-book-good-calories-bad-calories.html
Yep, Gary has created quite a fired up researcher in Stephan!
Didn’t Joe Friel speak on the topic of getting upper respiratory infections during training for endurance events prior to going paleo in the “Paleo Diet for Atheletes”? If I recall correctly they cleared up as he got things dialed in.
I want to know how the guy in Missouri is getting locally-grown pineapple.
I’ve been getting the clogged ears as well over the past six months. It’s more similar to going up a mountain or in an airplane. My problem occurs when I am dehydrated and after hydrating the problem disappears. I am also more on the low carb side of Paleo. As long as I stay hydrated, the problem never surfaces. I found something similar on a body building forum and they said it was over-exertion and something to do with the Eustachian tube.
Regarding the earwax, I recall from one of my anthro classes that people of Asian and Native American descent have a drier, flakier cerumen, while caucasian and African descent people often have a wetter, stickier cerumen. Considering the amount of lipids found in the wetter version, I wonder if increased fat intake, in conjunction with some sort of inflammatory process as Robb suggested, is causing increased earwax production. If the earwax is indeed for protection and and lubrication of the ear canal, then the use of ear-plugging devices might have elicited some sort of increased production.
As for how Grok got it out, I wonder if Grok really made as much as we do now. It’s possible that such things have changed, just as mean skull size in newborns has increased over the ages as selection pressures changed. I also recall something about some native tribes in the Amazon using centipedes to chew out the wax. They would hold them by the back end, insert them into the canal, and let them munch away for a while.
Being evaluated by an ENT is a good idea. At one point some of the ER docs I worked with, in addition to the baromedical/dive medicine docs I have listened to lectures from, have recommended the use of a small amount of olive oil in the ear canal to soften the earwax and allow for an easier removal via warm water irrigation (best done by a pro).
Finally, I would raise the question of whether or not there was a long-standing history of cerumen build-up that has gone unnoticed, causing an artificial sort of stenosis in the ear canal that primed the environment for full occlusion. If the wax is hard and dark, it’s probably been there for quite a while. I have seen this clinically in a number of people of all ages while working in an ER and as a Hyperbaric Technologist.
/This is not medical advice, of course. I’m not a doc, just happen to have lots of exposure to this thing in my line of work.
I haven’t had a chance to listen to the podcast yet, so please forgive me if this was addressed in the answer, but I’ve heard that excessive earwax can be the result of an omega-3 deficiency (and/or omega-3/omega-6 imbalance). Not sure if there’s been a ton of research on it or not, and you would think that if buildup of earwax *is* due to an n-3 deficiency, there’d be millions of people walking around with it. So I’m not sure it’s legit, but I’ve heard more than one naturopathic physician make this suggestion.
Loved the podcast. Love it when Robb says “this is gonna piss a bunch of people off, but…” Love it that Robb is not afraid to piss off the vegetarian Yogi crowd.
Until they come and kill me. Being pacifists and all ;0)
Just caught the beginning of the podcast on my way to work. Rob/Greg, the podcasts are fine!! I can hear everything you guys say, which is the important thing. Even if there is some feedback now and then, your message is worth it. Keep up the great work, guys! Your words are invaluable, so don’t stop talking! For those who are hung up on the sound quality, get the hell over it! 🙂
2012 Crossfit Games Preview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFzNKBZehSU
People who care about sound quality are strange.
My beautiful wife spat the dummy last year after reading one too many weak arguments for vegetarianism in “Organic NZ” magazine. The disclaimer is that we grow beef commercially. We also think we follow best practice as far as the animals, soil and consumers are concerned.
Jaimie Scott reprinted it in his blog, “That Paleo Guy” here http://thatpaleoguy.blogspot.com/search?q=ralston
Ok, I’m going to be that guy. As much as I want you to like me, I have to say you really jumped the shark with the bit about Indian culture and vegetarianism.
First, what a logical fallacy! Just because there has been a practice in the culture that we find abhorrent, doesn’t mean that the culture has nothing to bring to the table in the field of ethics and morality. It’s a ridiculous postulation and frankly I’m surprised you fell for that kind thinking. With that logic, no culture has any ground to stand on ethically which means humans have no right to discuss ethics or make moral assertions.
Secondly, yes, it was offensive. You basically dismissed the ethics and morality of 1 billion people due to the fact that they have had this one (former) tradition in their culture. You can rest assured that this is no longer widely practiced and most modern Indians think it’s barbaric and backward. (and I am not arguing that some sort of ethical relativity be leveled here– the tradition is unbelievably disgusting).
Let’s stick to science– its what was asked for in the first place, not a poorly thought out diatribe on ethics.
Rob-
I’d not solidly hang my hat on that scree I did, BUT here in the USA the folks who beat the vegatarian drum base it from the “gentle hindu texts”. These people have no idea about the whole history. So, think about this as directed to your Bay area doo-gooder vegetarian if it helps at all.
Perhaps episode 100 needs to be it for this run…
I hear you dude. I guess this is the price of show business– people love it when you get all spun out, but guaranteed you are going to step on someone’s toes… I imagine it’s hard putting yourself out there and then getting criticized, etc. I would be seriously bummed if epi 100 was the last.
Back to the vegans: I can understand getting annoyed by that train of thinking, (westerners trying to emulate something they only have a superficial exposure to), but the fact of the matter is there are many cultures outside of India that have gone the “do less harm” route. Most Buddhist countries (like all of asia) have a deep history with it and most of them don’t burn their wives. But the point is, you can’t trash an entire country’s ethical base solely because an aspect of their tradition.
Indeed, but it’s nice to show these yoga-dong folks accounts of said wife burning and see the lights go on. They think it’s all pacifism and love. It certainly is not. I suffered form some of this in my youth… everything that was not my culture was somehow better. Extensive travel has tempered that quite a bit. Westernized, free-ish market democracies (republics) that are not heavily influenced by ANY religious doctrine seem pretty damn spiffy when we consider the alternatives.
Hey Greg sorry I gave you the wrong pronunciation phonetically I could use the excuse English isnt my first language.. …but that’s cheating 😛
Robb said it right the second try (at around minute 22:16)
its like Breezy-a …I know its a weird name, so no need to email me to further discuss 😉
unless you want the new update on another local CrossFit place I visited.
I’m almost tempted to make a spread sheet and just call all the SoCal Crossfit places and mark down the ones that have a beginners class…what do you guys think?
internet and phone call would do it. How far are you from Crossfit balboa?
Sadly Crossfit Balboa is 1hr and change from where I’m at
Im way south cali in the Bonita area close to the border
Ah, Invictus is likely closer.
Its about an hour and change from where I live, so not very close. I am south south Cali, near the border in the Bonita area
Rob,
Weston A Pricer’s not getting the results of Paleo?
Can you point me to that information? I’m coming from a Paleo background and recently got interested in WAPF and am curious where you see the divergence in Health/Longevity/Performance and your thoughts on the cause?
Aubrey-
I’m not seeing droves of people reversing autoimmunity with sprouted grains. I see people removing these items and improving subjective and objective measures of health. this might be worth a whole blog post.
I’m a member of the WAPF, myself, but I consider the way I eat to be a low-carb version of their principles.
For someone who’s healthy, robust, and fit, I think WAPF guidelines are great. But for people who are overweight and/or metabolically deranged, and especially for people with autoimmune conditions, I think it’s very easy to overdo it on grains, legumes, and sweeteners. Are unrefined blackstrap molasses, maple syrup, and raw honey better (nutritionally) than refined white sugar or HFCS? Of course. Are they better from a weight loss, health, and blood sugar/insulin management perspective? Not much at all. Same with soaked and properly prepared beans.
In terms of carbohydrate content, soaked and sprouted grain is *still* grain. That’s really my one beef with WAPF. It’s kind of like some people in the gluten-free crowd: organic, gluten-free crap is *still crap!* (If the first few ingredients are potato flour, rice starch, quinoa flour, and agave nectar, it may be gluten-free, but that doesn’t make it a health food.) In the same vein, it’s very easy to overdo it on the unrefined, sprouted grains and natural sweeteners when following the WAPF guidelines. The quality is better, yes, but people have a tendency to feel like they’re free to eat as much of it as they want *because* it’s “unrefined,” or “natural.” And if folks are healthy and at their ideal weight, then maybe they can. But most people aren’t, and there, i think, is the rub.
As for the grassfed meat, pastured pork, eggs, beef tallow, coconut oil, fermented foods, veggies and fruits — and especially the emphasis on supporting local, organic food producers, there’s lots of overlap between paleo and WAPF. They’re not the same by ANY means, but they have a lot in common. Similar goals, but different methods on how to get there.
Totally agreed Amy, well said.
That agrees with my understanding as well, Amy. I started following a paleo lifestyle about a year ago and have only recently gotten interested in WAPF. Reading Price’s Nutrition & Physical Degeneration was eye opening, seeing picture after picture of beautiful, healthy native people who were following their ancestral diets, and then the same peoples with rotting teeth and malformed features after adopting modern foods such as flour and sugar.
My plan now incorporates cod liver oil, butter oil, raw dairy, more fermented foods in addition to pastured meats (especially organs), eggs and local vegetables. Regarding the grains and beans, while it may be possible to minimize the downsides of these foods by proper preparation, they just aren’t worth the trouble to me and I don’t miss them.
Chris Kresser seems to be one who has integrated elements of both paleo and WAPF, I wonder if he might have something to add from his clinical experience and/or his approach to fertility and pregnancy? Chris?
Robb and Greg and/or Chris and/or Adam:
I made a living as an audio recording engineer for a period in my life. I have all sorts of certifications and have worked with many clients in a few big and small studios, so I think that my opinion regarding audio quality carries some weight… and the audio quality of your podcasts is just fine. Don’t listen to the haters… or keeners.
Keep up the great work.
Thanks man!
Sound quality is a-okay. It’s just two guys talking. Easily understandable.
Thanks Margaret!!
Robb/Greg,
Sound quality is great. I think people get spoiled very easily these days. Do you remember bandwidth 10 years ago? If you jump on a system with that kind of bandwidth now, people would freak, but back then it was crazy fast.
Anyway, on to the content. I actually enjoy both of your preamble banter about crossfit, paleo orthodox, etc. When you guys go on your rants, not only do you provide pure entertainment with your humor and sarcasm, but a lot of great info as well. Keep up the good work!!
Thanks man! Ramble….on!
Robb/Gregg-
Thanks for the podcast as usual.
God know we don’t need another abs in vs abs out arguement………..But I just thought I’d share my thoughts;
We cue athletes to draw in a huge diaphragmatic breath, then contract TVA and pelvic floor…….Not necessarily just a stiffening of the whole midsection.
The difference being that most athletes (thinking soccer, etc, where people have to stabilize while rotating)…..Which is different from the needs of an olympic style lifter, who only has to stabilize in the sagittal plane……..
Just ‘stiffening’ everything may be better for olympic lifters, but teaches poor motor patterns for athletes dependent on multiple planes of motion.
eh?
Best,
MIke
I like it.
I just listened to this podcast this morning and I wanted to say thank you for saying “a whole other” and not “a whole nother”.
Aside from that very important commentary, I wanted to show some love for your podcasts. Thanks for all of the effort you guys put into them!
I’ve seen some research regarding glutamine supplementation to enhance immune function (by way of fueling cell division in the GALT) for individuals that tend to deplete their stores during intense activity and subsequently become sick after sports events.
“Strenuous physical exercise as well as exhaustive training programs lead to glutamine depletion due to lowered synthesis and enhanced uptake by liver and immune cells. Evidence suggests that postexercise glutamine depletion is associated with immunodepression. Counterwise, moderate training leads to improved glutamine availability due to a positive balance between muscle synthesis and peripheral clearance. An increased glutamine availability may contribute to decreased inflammation and health benefits associated with optimal training. Thus, glutamine supplementation may enhance immunocompetence after strenuous exercise.” Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care: January 2010 – Volume 13 – Issue 1 – p 58-64
Does anyone have experience with glutamine supplementation? Does it also affect human growth hormone to stimulate lean mass gain? I think I’ve seen something about this recently, as well. Quantity and timing around WODs?
Thanks so much!
Marissa
As a fellow podcaster and newbie to this site (just started Paleo with my wife), I just want to say that I love that you put the timestamps for the various topics which are in your show at the top of your show notes. Good idea and I might just plagiarize that one if you don’t mind.
Also, I have vasovagal syncope too and have managed to control it by cutting back on stimulants (namely quitting coffee and all caffeine). My adrenals were burning out and the syncope seemed to be right there when that was happening. Cycle would be something like: work like crazy >>> get less sleep >>>> need more coffee >>>> rinse and repeat >>>> burnout >>>> faint.
There have been other fainting episodes earlier in my life from before I was on coffee in the first place but they all seem to have a couple things in common: tiredness and/or physical stress.
As a note, the last time I had an episode coming on I was able to keep it from happening by laying on my back and getting blood flow up to my head. I came right up to the point of unconsciousness and that the last moment came back down.
Clearly anything that will assist one’s body in being more efficient and healthier would probably help to mitigate or maybe even eliminate fainting episodes altogether. With that in mind, I’m looking forward to trying this diet.
Another couple of thoughts I had for Kendal regarding her PMS when I was listening are:
1- sugar intake (this can mean fruit as well), how much? and
2- caffeine intake, how much?
I’ve had experience with clients who have found that both of these things significantly, adversely affect their PMS. Cutting out/down on both usually helps a ton since insulin regulation is highly affected by both of them, which cascades into the entire hormonal balance/imbalance thereafter. I have used the GLA/Borage oil myself as Robb recommended with some decent success so I definitely vote for trying that as well.
I do have a colleague who specializes in female hormonal issues (her name is Mary Vance- based here in San Francisco but works with clients anywhere) if you think you want to get some help beyond this advice if things don’t improve for you- just let me know.
Diane – Thanks for pointing this out! My hormone levels are definitely affected by my sugar and caffeine intake. It’s almost cruel that our bodies crave sugar when hormonal, but abstaining from it makes life so much more pleasant.
When I’m off sugar, and not over-consuming fruits, my PMS is barely there.
When I’m eating crap, it’s definitely worse.
Hey Diane-
Rob nailed it with the estrogen dominance issue. I had actually figured it out a couple of weeks before the podcast after searching through some of the older podcasts. It made perfect sense after I looked into it. Hair falling out, miscarriages, increasing PMS symptoms, the list goes on. My body has been so out of whack. But I found a supplement called Breast-D which includes two of his recommendations: DIM and calcium d-glucarate in addition to vit d, green tea, and lycopene. Just 3 weeks on it and the change is remarkable. Should be in full-blown mood swing ville right now and I’m not. Hair texture is changing, hope that means it’s going to thicken up again, and my husband keeps remarking on how beautiful my skin looks. I would guess that the imbalance was probably caused by many babies in a short time, many years of nursing, and the high stress of a divorce, not a great diet before going Paleo. Either way, thrilled to have such immediate results and always grateful to Robb for the amazing input.
To answer your questions though-no caffeine. Can’t tolerate it. Sugar is always an issue. I’m up and down and always working on that. I do feel like I’m already craving less now that I’m feeling more hormonally stable.
Thanks for your input!
Kendall
Hi Kendall!
Glad to hear that your symptoms are resolving. The only thing I was wondering when listening to this podcast was whether your doctor was only testing your thyroid’s TSH level or was he/she also testing T1, T2, T3, T4,etc.,which would give a more conclusive picture of your thyroid health. Most primary care physicians only request the TSH test and unfortunately the “normal” range for TSH levels is so wide that most people fall into it, but actually DO have a thyroid issue.
Anyway, sounds like you don’t need my advice, but I thought I’d throw it in there just in case…
Cheers!
One thing that concerns me about the “test for yourself” and leeway that is building in the Paleo/Primal ‘foods that are ok’ ‘foods that are not’ argument…people feel like they “feel fine” including some dairy/corn/rice once in a while, but as we know – many inflammatory things go on just under our radar for a long time before they get to Defcon 4 stage where we do something about them.
While I don’t want to be strictstrictstrict about nutrition b/c well, some good frozen yogurt every once in a while is damn good, I worry that people slowly work their way back to dis-ease as they allow foods that set off mini-reactions they don’t really notice. Also, I find people allow a little, which becomes a little more, which becomes way more inflammatory stuff than they are realizing they are taking in.
Just my perspective on this subtle shift in strict Paleo toward more flexible Paleo…
Also, the clogged ears question? I’d bet Candida overgrowth. Once Candida overgrows, it’s a pain to take care of (supplements can help this, I like Orthobiotics Candicid Forte) even w/ eating a clean diet. So that’s my suggestion to those folks!
Thanks as always for your awesomeness! -Kate
Clogged ears = candida??
Robb, the “totally jacked” yoga dude might be Diamond Dallas. Yeah?
http://www.ddpyoga.com/site/index.php/en/
I know this is probably a late reply and of little use now but I only just listened to this podcast.
When I first started eating paleo I also experienced blocked ears. I went to the doctor who then referred me to an ENT specialist who put a little camera up my nose to have a look around.
Turn out that the problem was with my Eustation tube. There is a small piece of fat in your nose that keeps the Eustation tube closed except for when you are swallowing etc. I rapidly lost a lot of body fat when I started eating paleo and working out hard at the gym, and I was part of small percentage of people that actually “burned” off this piece of fat in my nose which is why my ears always feel clogged.
Solution for me was to ease off on the exercise and eat a little bit more until I put on a couple of kgs which fixed the problem. The specialist said some people are more prone to this happening than others when they lose weight quickly. I since lost that little bit of weight I put back on and because it was slower this time I haven’t had the same problem reoccur.
I hope this is helpful to someone else experiencing the same problem.
I used to use hydrogen peroxide to clean my ears but a nurse friend told me it would damage the little hairs in the ears. My doctor, years later said it would not. Livestrong advises to peroxide the ears as do the conformist medical sites. If worried, possibly diluting the 3% hp by a third would be a trick. That’s what I did after the false warning. I love the tickly tingling from the little bubbles.
BP I used only to clean my ears every few months, if that; but on my paleo high fat, low protein and ultra low carb fare, I find I have much more build up of wax. However, I did not put the two together until I thought to goole the problem, which brought me here.
I tend to eat my meat lightly cooked on the outside and raw in the middle or just eat it raw with some Bragg Vinegar, wet Celtic Salt, hot chilli sauce from the Chinese grocery and a sprinkle of Xylitol, (more for the antibacterial etc properties of Xylitol than for the sweet). Now, though, I just chew on a tsp of Xylitol after eating to clean my teeth, finishing up with a swallow. So, maybe gum chewing would help. That I haven’t tried yet because when it comes to treats and deserts (of old), I chowed the stuff down and as a child I did the same thing with gum.
Another point on ears. I also asked my doctor if one could blow out one’s ears by pinching the nose and blowing. He said I’d blow my lungs before the ears gave out. He was a good guy and actually practiced some health medicine.
Regarding Grok, maybe he and the missus did a lot more forceful chewing as I suspect mammoth meat and most other critters were probably tough stringy guys and gals. So the gum route is what I shall try and then check to see if the ear wax is less or takes a different length of time to build up. Otherwise there is always the sensual route of peroxide at my beck and call.
Dang, I forgot to mention that instead of peroxide, the Xylitol in water also works. Xylitol is a miracle food for me. It clears my sinus in a miracle second and it isn’t dangerous or addicting like Otrivine and other commercial addicting chemicals. For this single reason Xylitol has changed my life for the better, big time. Being able to breath means a lot to me. 🙂 I also have not had a cold or flue in these seven years since I began using the Xylitol in my ears, eyes and as my toothpaste mixed with Borax. It also stops itchy eyebrows and before that, nothing stopped that scourge.
Namaste and care,
mhikl