What I Learned in Week 18

Overall:  On Tuesday, 5/22, I received the majority of my tests back and in this post I will be sharing a few (there’s too much information to go through this week).  Also, I was talking with my neighbor about cooking oils and did some research for the healthiest / best cooking and non-cooking oils to use.

• What are the “healthy” cooking oils to use?

  Before you shout EVOO!, consider when you’re cooking and when you’re adding on to your favorite dish.  When oil is heated to a high temperature, it reaches smoke point. The bluish smoke that can then be seen means the oil is close to burning and is the temperature at which fats and oils begin to break down. Nutrition and flavor degradation occur at these temperatures. The chemical composition of the oil changes, sometimes with effects that are harmful to health. A low smoke point means the oil should not be cooked with at all, or only slightly. A high smoke point oil should be used for cooking at higher temperatures, for example pan frying (SOURCE).

  For those on the no-starch diet, they prefer to use coconut oil when cooking.  When not cooking, EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) works quite well.  However, you should always consider alternatives based on the heat of what your cooking.  Here’s a list of cooking oil smoke points that range from high temperatures of 200 to over 500 degrees without degrading the oil.

• Purchasing the right type of oil can get tricky too.  For one, don’t pick an oil that has come from more than one country.  If it has, there’s some additional processing and reduces / removes the healthy benefits.  If you don’t know, just pick an oil with the USDA Organic label on it.  Also, try to find olive oil stored within a glass container and not plastic as plastic leeches chemicals into the oil.

My Health in Week 18

• Overall:  In the beginning of the week I was was getting around 7 hours of sleep and now I’m able to get back to my 10 hours on average (along with mid-day naps).  Symptoms from the previous week have changed slightly and the swelling of my feet have decreased.  Combination of travel and taking a long walk (for me) have really hurt my left hip this week.  Chiropractor suggest special orthotics that contour to my feet while standing and walking.  Because the arches of my feet are out of line / not strong enough, these shoe inserts will provide the correct posture and correct the feet, ankles and pressure on the knees and hips.  I start getting my feet scanned on Tuesday.
• Tests: In this post I will focus on my Cryex Test and some results of my TH1 & TH2 (immunity) tests. In a nutshell, the Cyrex test measures gluten-associated  sensitivity & cross-reactive foods.  Included below are the foods that I react to.  Get ready, it’s a long list:

Cyrex Test – List of Reactive Foods

• Cow’s Milk
• Casein (Alpha & Beta) – Basically any dairy product.  Bye-bye butter, ice cream, etc.
• Oats
• Yeast
• Coffee
• Sesame
• Buckwheat – Grain / Cereal
• Sorghum – from what I can tell initially, it can be used as a substitute for Gluten.  If you know more about this, please comment below.
• Millet – cereal/grain used as a flour and in some beers.
• Hemp – Grain / Cereal
• Aramanth – Grain / Cereal
• Quinoa – Grain / Cereal
• Tapioca – In breads & puddings / shakes.
• Teff – Grain / Cereal
• Eggs – SHOCKER!  I’ve eaten eggs almost every day for 15 years.
• Corn

• Rye
• Barley
• Spelt
• Polish Wheat (Not readily available in U.S.)
• Casomorphin (protein fragments in digestion of milk protein casein)
• Milk Butyrophilin (another milk protein)
• Whey Protein (by-product of cheese)
• Chocolate (Milk)
• Soy
• Rice
• Potato

Overall:  Being on the Low-Starch Diet, I have avoided all these foods (or had small quantities) except eggs.  For me, I switched my morning breakfast of eggs with ground turkey.  This one switch not only removes the food intolerance, but an 8oz. chicken/turkey chub / roll gives me almost all the protein I need for the day.  I cook it with spinach / kale / swiss chard / leafy vegetable I have along with tomatoes and sweet peppers in oil.  The ND told me that removing the list above should give me more energy and less inflammation after a week / maybe two weeks.

Th1 & Th2 – Balancing the Immune System:

Without going into details, there is scientific proof that your body’s immune system can be balanced with foods.   For now, I need to focus on Th1-based foods.  They include:

Th1 Foods/Substances

• Green Tea/Black tea
• resveratrol – red wine (can’t have due to yeast), red grapes, cocoa powder, dark chocolate
• pycnogenol – Only buy as a supplement.  A natural plant extract from the bark of the maritime pine tree which grows exclusively along the coast of southwest France in Les Landes de Gascogne.
• genistein (fava beans and soy beans)
• quercetin (found in capers, apples, red onions)
• curcumin (found in Indian Spice Turmeric)

• Current Areas of Concern:  Right side of neck (still improving but not there yet), left hip has been really bad this week, lower spinal area and shoulder blade area is negligible, and swollen ankles are less.
• Areas of Improvement:  I can get up out of bed without my rope but it’s been harder this week than last and I’m able to sleep on a harder bed.  Also I’m taking less ibuprofen (especially during the day).
• Supplements:  My supplements now only consist of Pylicorin (will end next week), Probiotics, Vitamin D3, Magnesium (Gluconate), HCL (1-2 times per week), digestive enzymes, and Maine Omega-3 fish oil.
• Enbrel:  It has been 13 1/2 weeks since my last shot.
• My lowest weight was 131 1/2 lbs. and a BMI of 18.43.