Download a transcript of this episode
Topics:
1. [4:25] Living a long life by avoiding amino acids found in meat and eggs
2. [10:53] Bacon?
3. [16:29] 100m sprinter with cramps and twitches
4. [22:45] Sugar, Booze, and Caffeine Binges…
5. [32:57] Birth Control and Probiotics
6. [37:50] Is there a Paleo Baby Formula
7. [42:25] “Paleo” Term
Questions:
1. Living a long life by avoiding amino acids found in meat and eggs
I want to live a long life, but don’t want to go down the road of calorie restriction. Eating small amounts of food and looking gaunt and skinny and being hungry all the time isn’t for me. I’ve reviewed some of the scientific literature regarding the amino acid composition of meat, eggs and dairy, and I see some evidence that eggs in particular are high in three amino acids that are associated with ill health, and shorter life spans (methionine, tryptophan and cysteine). Studies have shown that restricting these three amino acids found in meat and eggs is just as effective for extending life as restricting calories. Unfortunately, eggs (and to a lesser extent, meat) are a significant part of my diet. I would like to reduce my intake of these amino acids, or at least balance my overall amino acid intake, and have been including lots of gelatin in my diet (which is high in glycine and other amino acids, but almost completely free of methionine, cysteine and tryptophan). If I reduce meat intake, and keep eating gelatin and fish, I believe I can still maintain muscle development (I also supplement the amino acid leucine to build muscle). What are your thoughts regarding my desire to eat paleo, build muscle, and achieve my goal of longevity by avoiding tryptophan, cysteine, and methionine?
2. Bacon?
Hi Robb, love the podcasts and the Paleo Solution book. Can you clarify your opinion on the consumption of bacon? I see differing opinions from two respected experts those being Mat Lalonde for and Loren Cordain against it. Most other sites seems to be against bacon as a Paleo approved food so I wanted to get your opinion. Also is that not good if you have autoimmune like Celiac? BTW, I would love to see you and Mat Lalonde do an extended video (DVD) series as you are both extremely smart and great speakers.
3. 100m sprinter with cramps and twitches
Hi guys, sorry for the long question but I feel it best to provide the full story. I’m a 30 year old 100m track sprinter and former National and Pan Pacific Champion and have been sprinting since I was a young boy. I’m a relatively solid guy at 185lb / 83.8kg and have very developed calf muscles. I have been Paleo (95%) for about a year, although kinda started moving towards it more like 2.5 years ago. Over the past few years, I have been experiencing calf cramps. I started out getting cramps at the end of my track sessions which was annoying but not a huge problem. As the months went on, I would notice I was getting calf fasciculations at the end of my session – they would ripple and twitch with little spasms. I started getting cramps mid-session and about a year ago, the cramps would actually occur even if I was doing an upper body workout in the gym. My calves would cramp. The fasciculations now happen all the time. In bed at rest, and sitting at my desk. I have constant twitches. I feels like I have small creatures wriggling around in my calves. I have had my blood work done and all my levels are spot on. I have tried more magnesium, and hydrating. No change. Since going Paleo I’m eating far less volume of carbs where as in my earlier sprinting years I would eat oats, toast, fruit for breakfast, and more bread and carb snacks through the day. I’d be loaded with carbs. Could it be that my body is just in need of more glycogen stores? My typical breakfast is meat and three veg. Lunch is much the same. Ditto for dinner. I snack on nuts, berries, and dark chocolate and maybe a piece of fruit. I feel amazing in terms of general health thanks to Paleo but the cramping and twitching is really getting me down. I should note that the cramping isn’t completely restricted to my calves. Sometimes it can be in other muscles. But mostly my calves, and the fasciculations are almost completely only in my calves. The cramping is so bad now that it’s stopping me from competing and finishing my training sessions. What should I be eating as a sprinter to keep fuelled for my track running and weights sessions? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. If I can’t sort this out with diet, then I guess I should go see a Neurologist? Thanks so much, Scott
4. Sugar, Booze, and Caffeine Binges…
Hey guys, For basically as long as I can remember, I’ve binged on junk food, mainly sugary crap. One of my earliest memories is sitting under a coffee table in my mom’s office, eating what I thought were delightful candies, but which I later learned were simply sugar cubes for the coffee. I’ve quite literally eaten sheet cake until I’ve vomited. When I started drinking in college, I began drinking just like I tended to eat candy; that is to say, I drank a lot until I vomited (at this point, however, I get sick from candy far more often than from booze). When I have a drink, it seems to energize me; I end up staying up all night. And I usually put away ungodly amounts of junk food in the process. Now, judging by the amount I drink, I would definitely qualify as an alcoholic. But I’ve know alcoholics, and my drinking seems to be of a very different nature (I never get into trouble, there’s no discernible psychological cause, etc… I just like to drink a lot). My desire to drink alcohol feels almost exactly the same as my desire to eat candy. I recently gave up drinking for a year, to see if I could. It wasn’t that hard for me, but I think I just replaced the alcohol with candy. And, when I’ve gone cold turkey on the booze and candy for a while, I usually end up drinking stupid amounts of coffee instead, day and night. I was wondering if you could explain what mechanisms might be at play here. How might binge eating carbohydrates be related to binge drinking alcohol? And how are these related to binge drinking coffee as a substitute? And, most importantly, is it theoretically possible to eliminate the desire to binge on these substances with a very low carb paleo diet? How would that work? By the way, I’m a 30 year old male, roughly 40 pounds overweight. Finally, I want to thank Robb for all the great work he’s done. I’ve turned a number of people onto his book recently; my 68 year old father claims he feels better than he has in ages as a result of Robb’s advice. I, on the other hand, have been too busy binging on candy and alcohol to actually FOLLOW any of Robb’s advice (I just read a lot about it instead). I’m hoping a better understanding of why I binge might be the final push I need. Thanks again.
5. Birth Control and Probiotics
Hey Robb! First, love the use of the phrase “cock block” in the latest podcast. :) I was wondering if you could address the effect of probiotics on birth control pills. I know you have a ton of requests/tweets, here was our brief twitter exchange, would love a follow up. I currently am not taking probiotics out of concern over this, but would like to…loving the paleo life! Down 15 pounds and kicking ass physically and mentally… thanks so much!
6. Is there a Paleo Baby Formula
First, thanks so much for the Podcast. A priceless resource that’s free! Thank you, so much. I have been listening to the Podcast for several months now. Within that time, my wife and I had our first child – a baby boy. Based on everything that I could find on the internet (websites, forums, blogs, etc.) it’s obvious that breast milk is the best way to go. However, my wife is needing surgery which will be when our son is 3-4 months old, but it also means that she will not be able to breastfeed after the surgery because of some post surgery meds and procedures. So, we will have to provide some sort of formula, or nutrition, for our son. As I’ve looked into baby formulas, all of the formulas that I’ve looked at have sweeteners, soy products, and most are dairy based. So I feel like I just can’t trust a commercial baby formula. Is a Paleo baby formula possible? As for adults, we generally avoid grains, legumes, and dairy – with some exceptions – but is that the same dietary guideline for infants/babies? It seems like Paleo guidelines do not apply to infants/babies. Is that safe to say/assume since babies primarily eat breast milk? I’ve been searching the web for homemade baby formula. I thought I found something good on the Weston A Price website (http://www.westonaprice.org/childrens-health/recipes-for-homemade-baby-formula). I thought the liver-based baby formula would be the way to go, but, after reading some of the comments, my wife and I are not 100% confident with the liver-based formula or the other suggested formulas on the Weston A Price website. Partly because of amounts of vitamins and minerals that are way above that found in breast milk. Is the Weston A Price website a good resource for baby formula? If so, is the cow’s milk, goat’s milk, or liver-based formula the best option. If the Weston A Price website is not the best resource for a homemade baby formula, then do you have a homemade baby formula recipe or know of a good resource to get one? Thank you so much for your time and any information you can offer.
7. Paleo” Term
Robb– Love the podcast, luke warm on your book. Maybe have Greg co-author next time. Straight to my question: To what extent is the “paleo” term holding back the paleo movement from taking off and changing even more lives? Found Paelo less than 6 months ago (through crossfit). Since I turned primal I lost a ton of weight (about 50 lbs) and have experienced all of the other “stereotypical” paleo benefits (more energy, stronger, faster, better skin, and even helped what could have been a mild case of depression (who knows on that last one)). Reading this recent Whole 9 post (http://whole9life.com/2011/09/nutrition-in-60-seconds/) about how we as paleo-ers describe our nutrition/lifestyle got me thinking about my own experience and how the whole paleo/primal concept just immediately turns people off or otherwise sends the message in an entirely different direction. As if my family couldn’t just look at the changes in my body composition and overall level of happiness and want to hear more? Instead I get the predictable “cave men only lived 35 years” response. So, while I fully get that evolutionary biology is central to this whole thing, is it time to ditch the “paleo” label in order to reach more people? (not to mention getting people away from the supid debates about what is or is not “paleo”). Your loyal follower, Paul
Yes, I do take bribes 🙂
Hey Robb,
This is Whomp, from “Sugar, Booze and Caffeine Binges”. Thank you so much for answering my question. For some reason, I always thought you were just a naturally moderate person; I can’t tell you how encouraging it is to hear that you had issues with alcohol similar to mine, and overcame them. I’m ready to give a ketogenic paleo diet a long term shot. I just had one or two quick follow up questions, if you have a moment.
I have your e-book, and I really like eating as you recommend (basically, lean meat, veggies, and spices cooked up in a pan with coconut oil). It’s really easy. When I eat this way, my macro nutrient breakdown is roughly: 200 grams of protein / 50 grams of carbs / and 80 grams of fat. The total calories are around 1800. FYI, I am 5’8″, 200lbs, with around 40lbs of extra fat to lose.
First question: is 50 grams of carbs about right for a ketogenic diet? (The carbs are all from a bag of frozen mixed veggies – onions, peppers, mushrooms; there are some mung bean sprouts and green beans in the mix, but I assume this is no big deal). If I feel particularly run down, can I throw in a serving of fruit (you say 1 or 2 servings is fine in the e-book, but I wasn’t sure if I had to be significantly stricter for a ketogenic diet)?
Second, I see people who eat a ketogenic diet really emphasize eating a ton of fat. The diet of lean meats and veggies is pretty low fat – but it’s low in calories too. So I assume my body will be “eating” its own fat supplies to make up the difference. My thought is that while I’m still significantly overweight, I don’t need to supplement with fat; when I lean out, I’ll add more fat into the diet. But again, I wasn’t sure if this is how you recommend approaching a specifically ketogenic diet.
FYI, I am a graduate student, so I spend most days sitting and reading. My plan is to try to go for a nice walk everyday, and lift heavy a couple times a week. Nothing too intense.
Thanks again for all your great work. This should go without saying, but you really are making a big difference. Three or four years ago, my interest in the paleo diet was the subject of much mockery among family and friends. Today, those same people are asking me for advice. I always direct them your way. The word is spreading.
Re: fat on a ketogenic diet. This is because if you eat too much protein on a ketogenic diet, your body will start making glucose out of it and take you out of ketosis. IMO, that’s not the end of the world, but if you are wanting to keep your ketone body production up really high, you’ll want to watch it.
To Whomp:
Thank you for the question! I felt like I could have written it to describe myself to the T.
I’ve done the substituting alcohol for sugar cycle multiple times and have to believe that alcohol and sugar are basically answering the same type of cravings.
I’ve noticed that when I have managed to go low/carbish after a few times the cravings markedly decrease. Now if I could just stay with it for longer periods of time (sadly, I have yet to hit that 30 day mark).
I’m glad I’m not the only one!
By the way, after Robb’s comments about the possible role of dopamine in these binges, I did a little internet searching, and it looks Nora Gedgaudas (author of “Primal Body, Primal Mind”) has a lot of interesting information on this topic. In one of her podcasts, she interviews Julia Ross, who has a couple books on how to fix one’s brain chemistry through what looks like a high protein, low carb, paleo diet, plus some temporary supplementation; her books are called the “The Diet Cure” and “The Mood Cure”. I haven’t read the books yet, so I can’t vouch for them – but they look very promising. I just thought I’d let you know. I ordered the books today, and plan to give her recommendations a shot, since it seems aimed at curing exactly the sorts of binges I described. If it works well, I’ll shoot Robb a follow-up email to let people know.
Nora Gedgaudas also interviewed Tom Naughton, who talked about how he was able to overcome his alcoholism when he restricted his carb intake. That episode date is June 24, 2009.
I discovered Julia Ross’s stuff via Sean Croxton’s Underground Wellness podcast (See the May 6, 2009 episode). I got her book and then started taking some amino acids to deal with my cravings/addictions/bingeing. Been on them for a couple months. Had a couple minor slip ups, but nothing hear the 1-2x/week binges I used to have. (I take L-Glutamine, L-Tyrosine, and 5-HTP. From what I gather, it’s the Glutamine that’s really doing the work.) It could be placebo, but there seems to be a lot of anecdotal evidence that amino acid therapy can help with this sort of thing. Definitely worth looking into!
Thanks for the additional references. So far, the HIGH protein, low carb paleo seems to be stopping cravings pretty well. I look forward seeing how some of the recommended supplements work. Thanks again.
Whomp, in response to your original question where you say your drinking is of a different nature from alcoholics you know- sounds like you have a case of the “yets”, like your drinking doesn’t get you into trouble- yet. Many alcoholics in AA discuss their sugar-cravings and substitutions, so the relationship between alcoholism and carb/sugar addiction has long been accepted by us. I hope your “yets” don’t become your regrets.
The bit at the end of this podcast about how the movement will survive prompted me to write a fun blog post on that very subject. it veered into politics and science as well, but the basic premise is this: any movement survives by being right. facts are facts. All we need to do is tell people the truth as we know it and give them the best information to work with and it either works or it doesn’t.
http://anivair.com/druid/node/933
In response to #6, I have heard of companies where you can actually have delivered to your home human breast milk. I do not know anything about them really– I just did some basic research because we are looking at adopting a baby and I wanted to be able to provide mother’s milk to the baby. I do not have any relationship to this company, but here is one: http://www.onlythebreast.com/. I do not know how it’s regulated. I would actually love to hear anyone’s experience with it.
After the last question on the podcast, I have to give a shout-out for Robb’s book! I read Gary Taubes’ book Why We Get Fat and What To Do About It last February. My husband gave me Art DeVany’s book New Evolution Diet book for Valentine’s (Romantic, huh?). I read that in a bound, checked out the footnotes, then got on Amazon to find Dr. Cordain’s book- the new edition. While I was there, they suggested Cordain’s cookbook and Robb’s book as a package. So I got all three.
I read The Paleo Solution last of all these books, and I thought Robb’s treatment of the topic connected all the dots. Somehow in the previous books(all good reads), the autoimmune component wasn’t clear to me. It may have been in there, but for me, Robb’s book pulls the picture together. I have since bought 6 more copies and have been loaning them out.
As for family buy-in, the only person so far to jump in whole-hog with me is my teenage son. My husband thinks he’s Paleo, and recommends it all the time, but loves his diet soda, etc. My grown daughter is experimenting with it, but my two adult sons think I’m nuts–which may be true…
The best thing I think I can do is to lead out, get results, and not be judgemental about what others may or may not eat. People have to be ready to change and do it for their own reasons–especially family members.
In the meantime, hooray for the podcasts & Paleo community!
“Paleo” isn’t the problem word in the Paleo Diet brand, but rather it’s the word “Diet” which is almost exclusively associated strictly with vanity or some short term temporary weight loss intervention. It might be “Lifestyle”, “Revolution”, etc. instead but by now these are also trite buzzwords. Like Robb said on the podcast here, for better or worse, Paleo has too much momentum to rebrand. The focus then should be on removing the trendy and unscientific taint of the word “Diet” by continuing to remake Paleo with more credible and substantive offshoots or constituents or whatever you want to call them. The Paleo Physicians network and the sustainability front are awesome steps in this direction. Another might be to get a little more chummy with the Quantified Self movement. If personal medical monitoring is going to be a huge development in the coming years of medicine it seems like a good inroad into the medical establishment would be to align with this nascent community and possibly the medical monitoring device developers themselves. Numbers are what turn diets from trendy to scientific.
Along these lines, Robb (or any other Paleo bloggers/podcasters), a great idea for a post would be a guide for those who want to add some scientific rigor to their N=1 experiments. Pitfalls, where they’re most likely to compromise their data, etc.
I really enjoyed your riffing on the “paleo term” question. Great response.
Hey guys–
Thanks for discussing my question about the branding issues and use of “paleo”. Sorry my question came off “dick”-ish, was just trying (in vain) to pose it with a little bit of humor. Paleo has changed my life, and what you do to educate people like me has been a huge part of that. As I learn more and more from you (and others leading this movement), and as I experience more of the benefits of this lifestyle, it of course has become much more than a way of eating. Even though still a newbie/johnny-come-lately, I don’t see how I will ever turn away from the overall sense of wellness I have achived through your guidance. Sorry none of that came through in my question. THANK YOU!
“, it of course has become much more than a way of eating.” you sound like you’ve had a religious revelation. hmmm
Robb,
You are fighting (1) the human drive for instant gratification and (2) international food conglomerates who have spent hundreds of years & hundreds of billions of dollars in advertising; I think your job security is OK.
As far as Paleo rebranding:
-The Natural Diet (I’ve been reading Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations so the idea of ‘Deviation from Nature = Bad’ has been on my mind)
-The Get Laid Diet / The Have More Sex Diet
…with being said I happen to like The Paleo Diet.
J
I’m unaware of a food company that has spent hundreds of years doing anything…even making food.
In my opinion it’s politics that always effs things up. If someone has an interest in something then they will try to rig the system to get the answer they want.
Nobody cares what the speed of light is except scientists. We can have pure research on that subject.
But people, companies, interest groups, etc. are deeply invested in what other people eat.
I wanted to second the advice to seek out human breast milk to the guy looking for paleo baby formula. I don’t have any experience with it, but understand that women who have extra milk donate it to help people in situations like yours, or adoptions, or whatever. I’m a big supporter of breastfeeding, and just want to encourage you that there are great resources out there. Also – check out your nearest La Leche League group – they are volunteers with good information and experience and are devoted to supporting women in whatever capacity they want to be supported – be it one day or three years. They (or an IBCLC lactation consultant) can help you wife get through that time with milk supply in tact so that she can still nurse after she’s healed and off the meds. Good luck!
+1! My friend wasn’t able to produce enough breast milk due to having major surgery right after delivery (emergency partial hysterectomy) and she used donated milk from someone from her church (she was able to get raw breast milk that way). There are a lot more options for procuring donated milk these days.
Bacon’s problem is the high omega-6 content. As does chicken and egg fat. Wonder why that wasn’t mentioned.
but high relative to what? a mysterious optimal amount? again, optimal for what situation?
High relative to it’s w3 content and therefore detrimental to the overall ratio. It’s the ratio that matters, since it has to do with pro/anti inflammatory signaling. Unless someone is aiming to gulp down fish oil or has access to wild-caught seafood and such – which includes most people on the planet – keeping the ratio within a decent range becomes fairly difficult. So any source of polyunsaturated fat that someone consumes on a regular basis preferably needs to be assessed in that regard.
Idiocracy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbxq0IDqD04
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXRjmyJFzrU
its happening for real folks. the only question is whether its by accident or conspiratorial design.
Dear Chaps
Just a word from the UK, you used spaz as a term in the last pod cast a few times.
I’m not 100% on its use there but it’s way offensive in the UK and thought you may wish to know, just in case.
Ian
“Spaz” is offensive in the UK? Hmm. It’s completely playfully used in America. Heck even teachers call crazy kids in class “little spazzes” or she’s a spaz. That’s interesting.
Hi Griffin
we do often seem to be divided by a shared language.
I’m coming from a social work background so maybe a little more sensitive than some. One may use the term with mates in a bar (if your an arse)but a teacher, or lets say a broadcaster/reporter would not do so.
As you say interesting.
Ya here in the U.S. and A, spaz means “Spastic.” Like a kid who cant sit still.
Hello,
With regards to this
“100m sprinter with cramps and twitches”
I had exactly the same situation as you. Constant spasms, cramps and goofy nerves in my legs, mostly in the calves. I spent a lot of time trying to find the cure for it. I looked around and noticed others having similar issues and people did some medical examinations, but nobody seemed to have an answer. I pretty much tried everything, drinking more, magnesium supplements etc.
I was dropping and still am (70lbs so far) dropping fat and went to a body composition scan to get some result on my diet, fat loss vs muscle loss etc. Other than those, the scan also revealed that I was little dehydrated eventhough I’ve always drank plenty of water.
I came up with the idea, that ever since I started to eat clean and dropped breads, ready made meals etc. from my diet, that the amount of salt I get from my food went down significantly. If your carbs are low and also salt is low the water you drink just isn’t going to stick around and if you are like me and drink a lot of water, it just comes out even faster, dehydrating you even more. That is what caused all those problems for me.
I bought some good high mineral salt and started taking it a few grams twice a day, moderated the amount of water I drank to not too low, but not too high either and BAM!, all my annoying spasms and cramps were gone within a day or two. No more waking up in the middle of the night with leg annoying leg cramps, or twitching nerves.
Now I don’t take salt separately from food anymore, but make sure that I get enough of it as a spice in my meals.
Hope you get this sorted out as well. I know how frigging annoying it can be.
I was also going to say that adding some good, unrefined salt (like Redmond Real Salt) to all drinking water would be something to try. Muscle cramps/twitches are a commonly discussed issue over at Mark’s Daily Apple and people who try the salt usually get good results.
A bit late to the party but I wanted to comment on this question as well. It’s considered normal for everyone to experience periods of symptoms like these throughout their lives but I’m guessing this person is past the point of what they consider normal.
The symptoms sound an awful lot like Benign Cramp Fasciculation Syndrome (BCFS), which you can learn more about at aboutbfs.com. It is the most mild form of peripheral nerve hyperexcitability (PNH) diseases. It is considered benign other than discomfort. The cause is unknown but it is suspect to be autoimmune, with 40% of those having anti-VGKC antibodies (can order from Mayo clinic). In that sense, following the same Paleo guidelines given for other autoimmune diseases is your best bet over the long term. Typically it waxes and wanes over the years but doesn’t go away. Most Neurologists have long forgotten about the disorder since learning about it at medical school because it’s so rare but even if you find one who does recognize it there’s nothing that can nor needs to be done other than eliminating stress, another Paleo guideline.
“What should I do if I am experiencing twitching or other symptoms of BFS”(benign fasciculation syndrome)?
“You should immediately consult with your General Practitioner (Family Doctor) or with a Neurologist.
While the symptoms are often benign in nature, they can also be indicators of a more serious illness such as ALS or MS. You should be tested as soon as possible.”
This advice is from the BFS web site. The first symptom we discussed when I was a med student rotating through neurology was fasciculation, and as quoted above, they can indicate serious disease. See a neurologist, get an EMG, then if it is benign, go for the autoimmune protocol. Neurologists, like most other MDs, learn to treat problems with drugs, not diet. Even if not benign, do the diet as well as medical treatment.
Robb, I thought you were not going to give medical advice. I defer to you on the biochemistry, physiology, and nutritional advice (I haven’t studied them since med school in 1976), but only after ruling out a serious life-threatening disease. You have turned some of my accepted medical knowledge on its ear. I always thought the treatment of gallbladder disease was cholecystectomy (as I am a surgeon), but I love the idea that it can possibly resolve, or be prevented, by paleo diet.
I had calf cramps nightly for months earlier this year. Like Matti, I was also chronically dehydrated despite the gallons of water I would drink everyday. I started adding Nuun tabs (or another tablet that is similar, but the name escapes me at the moment) to my water, and no more calf cramps. The Nuun tabs are filled with elecrolytes, so adding them is similar to adding salt like Matti suggests. They don’t taste half bad either.
I hope that helps.
drink Brawndo(TM) – the thirst mutilator!!!
Calf pain is a classic sign of thiamine (B1) deficiency. Something for people with calf pain to consider. Pork and tuna are the main paleo sources of B1 and most other paleo foods are only small sources of it. This isn’t to say paleo is going to cause B1 deficiency, but it certainly could depending on which paleo foods you rely on. Legumes, whole grains and fortified refined grains are the main B1 sources in the SAD, which is enough to prevent deficiency in those folks.
My family and friends watched me drop 24 pounds in six months about ten years ago. Of about two dozen people who saw this up close, only one or two changed their lifestyle. I probably had a bigger influence on people who saw me later as the “fit guy” and wanted to know more. Until someone wants the help, you can’t help them. They will never hear you because they don’t have the ears to hear you. It’s sad. Just be ready for when they come asking the questions. Until then, spend your effort on the ones ready to listen.
I see a tie-in with questions #1 and #2.. I think that NOT eating Bacon may well _shorten_ my lifespan, it’s THAT good 🙂
Hey Robb, i thought MTOR was good? all the lifting sites and forums say so.
I listened to this podcast yesterday and I so badly wanted to be able to call in and give you better information regarding the “Paleo baby formula”! There are so many options for this mama-baby dyad.
1) Have you explored all the options to know that surgery is absolutely necessary (for example, pelvic organ prolapse can be helped with physical therapy, pelvic massage, or doing the Kegel Queen program)? If so, is it truly necessary to do the surgery NOW (bum knee might hurt, but you can live with it for a while, maybe)? Could it wait until after the baby is eating at least some solids, or even better until baby is over a year?
2) If delaying the surgery is not an option, I urge you to consult Hale’s “Guide to Medicine and Mother’s Milk”. DO NOT ASSUME YOUR DOCTOR HAS EVER HEARD OF THIS BOOK. There may be an alternative to the “not breastfeeding friendly” medicine which your doctor would like to prescribe. Remember that there are classes of medicines; some are absolutely NOT to be used while breastfeeding, but most fall along a spectrum from totally safe to risky but OK. No medicine is tested on pregnant or breastfeeding women, so most medicines say not to take or take only under advice and care of a doctor. There is also a website here: http://www.infantrisk.com/content/webforum
So, it may be possible to breastfeed baby, or pump and feed baby, even immediately after surgery, or at least within 24-48 hours. This greatly reduces the time baby needs to be on an alternate food.
3) Pumping and storing mother’s own milk for use during/after surgery is the BEST way to go, if possible. Milk is good for 6+ months if kept in a deep freeze (you can find pumps and storage bags at Babies R Us or other baby shops), so start pumping and freezing ASAP. If mother’s own milk is not available, then donated human breast milk is the next best thing. There are many many sources for this. Try to find your local La Leche League – they have tremendous resources. Check out the Find Your Tribe forum on “Mothering”‘s website. There may be a mama in your area who has excess breast milk she is wanting to donate. Check the EatsOnFeets website for a local chapter. Find and consult a local IBCLC – s/he may have resources for you.
http://www.llli.org/webus.html
http://www.mothering.com/community/f/7/finding-your-tribe
4) Whatever alternative Mom chooses, if she wants to continue breastfeeding after surgery/recovery, she should pump-and-dump as soon and as often as possible after surgery. This will help her keep up supply so that she can return to feeding her baby as she wishes. Nurse-ins after recovery will also help bring supply back in line with baby’s needs.
http://www.eatsonfeets.org/#chapters
also check with the guy at Latest In Paleo . they had a baby and had to buy breast milk from a breast milk bank
I really encourage people to try to find donated milk if at all possible. Purchased milk is CRAZY expensive, and is often pasteurized.
This is the exact advice I came here to give, but Karen has done it better than I possibly could have. Thanks Karen.
Just wanted to chime in, since no one has mentioned experience with WAPF formula yet. I had to use this with my daughter starting at 2 1/2 months, despite desperately wanting to breastfeed her for at least a year. I used the milk-based formula, and although it was a huge hassle to make, it got easier and easier. The lame thing is that my daughter ended up being allergic to all milk– raw, cultured, goat’s (even a combination of those three) and although she developed well on the formula, she didn’t sleep through the night until we discovered her allergy (WAY later!) after she was on solids already. So I would recommend going with the bone broth one, as it’s much more likely to be digestible for a little one. I will say, though, that she never got sick and is scary-intelligent.
I’m sorry you had trouble breastfeeding. And I’m glad the WAPF formula worked for your family. I don’t know anyone personally who’s used it.
Pre-show chatter reply:
Was the children’s show “Mr. Dressup”?