Vibrant Sexy Strong

Sometimes I focus on the lame-o aspects of Paleo because I get tired of hearing so much rah-rah about how easy and simple and perfect it is. It’s hard. When I am in a bad place and see how someone effortlessly eats Paleo for all virtuous reasons, I feel like a total loser.

I know I’m not a total loser (or even a minor loser) and I know Paleo isn’t easy for everyone. Probably isn’t easy for a lot of folks, which is why I like to write about the sucky aspects of  good nutrition. I like the support and I like being supportive.

Unfortunately, I also risk sounding too complainy, which is certainly not the tone I try to convey. Paleo really did save my life and that’s not something I take lightly. Being realistic about challenges and being ungrateful is such a fine line.

So the other day, when I was cooking vegetables for the 800th time and murmuring about how other parents can give their kids crackers, I realized Paleo makes parenting harder. And easier too. Because let’s face it: Parenting is hard, whether you eat kale or not. There’s a silver lining if you are so inclined to look.

How Paleo Improves My Mama Skillz

Paleo does in fact make certain aspects of parenting easier. Here are my 5 favorite complaints and how they are also my favorite blessings.

Number 1: Food Prep Is Never, Ever Convenient

Why It’s Lame: Thawing, chopping, washing, cooking, baking, whatever. There’s no such thing as a convenient or quick meal.

Why It’s Awesome: My kids love it. I sit them on the counter and they learn how to cook, which gives us plenty of family togetherness and fills hours in the day that I don’t have to think of an activity or enforce “alone play-time.” Plus, my new favorite game is to peel carrots as fast as possible and watch their heads bob while trying to pick up scraps and throw them in a bowl. Picture whack-a-mole with a lot less coordination.

Number 2: Cooking, Cooking, Cooking = Anxiety

Image by Cyn74

Why It’s Lame: I don’t like to cook and it sometimes triggers anxiety, which is a nice treat 3 times a day.

Why It’s Awesome: Absence of anxiety over whether or not my kids’ meals are nutritious. I can’t pull an Uncrustable from the freezer (which I want to, sometimes), yet I don’t have any guilt about what they are eating. The sound of my Littles fighting over the last of the zucchini is music to my ears.

Number 3: Family Traditions Just Aren’t the Same Without Normal-People Food

After Our Christmas Track Meet

Why It’s Lame: Mom’s egg rolls and pancit,  Abuela’s tamales, rice at every meal including Thanksgiving. My husband’s fond memories of sourdough pancakes, frog-eye salad, homemade rolls every Sunday. These are sometime foods for my husband, never-ever foods for the baby, and anything with gluten is off-limits for my son and I. The childhood memories I hold so dear and looked forward to passing on…won’t be passed on. Or perhaps they will, and we will watch the extended family enjoy it.

Why It’s Awesome: Now that food can’t be the centerpiece, we are forced to create relationship-based traditions. Instead of making cinnamon rolls on Christmas Eve, we had our first-annual Family Olympics. All of a sudden, Christmas was about being together and not about eating dinner and fudge.

Number 4: Everything Outside of the Home Involves Junk Food

Candy not needed for a good time (though he wouldn’t turn it away if given the chance)

Why It’s Lame: Festival scones, parade candy, church fruit snacks, school lunches, bank lollipops, library story time crackers–junk food everywhere. Can’t my kids fit in anywhere? Why does there need to be an artificially-flavored juice box at every event and non-event?

Why It’s Awesome: Then again, we just went to the movie theater and a handful of kids were crying and tantruming that they couldn’t get the soda, ice cream, AND nachos to go with their popcorn. My son asked once, has consistently been told no, and into the movie we marched to enjoy Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. The movie was the treat, not the pseudo-meal that goes with it.

Number 5: Parents (and Doctors) Are Judging Me

Image by texasfarmersdaughter

Why It’s Lame: Yep, they are. “If you don’t give your baby rice cereal, they will be iron deficient and it will cause allergies later.” “Just give the kid a Popsicle.” “What, you think you’re better than me?” “How long are you going to breastfeed that baby? It’s been way too long.” “Your kids aren’t getting enough nutrients, that’s why they’re so small.” “It’s not right that your kids have never had candy.”

Why It’s Awesome: Going against the grain (haha) has forced me to really figure out my priorities. Because my children’s well-being is at risk, I have to stop worrying about what other people will think. I have to stop sacrificing my children’s health in favor of an acquaintance’s convenience or comfort level. This has been incredibly challenging. However, it’s taught me to trust my intuition (it was there the whole time) and find a safe haven within myself. I am stronger and more secure because of it (For the record, my son has had candy while my daughter has not).

And of course…

Parents learn these lessons without eating Paleo too. But for me, Paleo slammed it in my face and ensured that I got the message loud and clear sooner rather than later. For that, I am grateful.

Does real food make parenting easier for you? What have been some of the unintended benefits?

All gorgeous photos courtesy of the incredible Omar Foster. If you are in the Las Vegas area, check him out at Camp Fit Force. All photos of my gorgeous children courtesy of my phone.

How did this happen?

On a windy January day in Las Vegas, I found myself asking, “How did I get in this tree?”

It was one of those refocusing, defining moments. Me–the quintessential non-athlete–trying to activate muscles I never even knew existed and swing my leg onto an uneven tree branch. With total clarity and flow a la Csikzentmihalyi, I felt powerful. Nay, I was powerful. I’d transcended the limiting beliefs about my capabilities and was acting on my true nature. This was MovNat.

My love affair with MovNat began on Halloween day, 2010. I was at Robb Wolf’s Paleolithic Solution Seminar in Houston and Erwan Le Corre (MovNat founder) was visiting. His quiet and humble presence drew me in. I could feel his energy and I observed him the entire day. Simply striking.

We hardly spoke–an unfortunate mistake on my end since he was entirely approachable. He smiled for, cooed at, and doted on my 4-month-old baby who came in twice to nurse and make googly eyes at all the Fitness Hounds in the room. But since I’d never heard of him or MovNat, I didn’t recognize my opportunity. I could feel that he was doing something special, but didn’t know how to say: “Hey Mr. Erwan, I can read your energy and my intuition is telling me you are going to change the world and my life.” The more I learn about him and his mission though, the less embarrassed I would be to make that statement.

From that point forward, I pined for a MovNat seminar. I wanted it badly despite my vehement dislike for physical activity and conventional exercise. I have absolutely no confidence in my athletic capabilities and believed MovNat could be the key to helping me become more physically adept. I almost registered for the session right after the Ancestral Health Symposium, but working out with a bunch of Paleo fitness fanatics was too terrifying of a prospect. Fourteen months later, my intuition finally won me over and I registered for the Las Vegas workshop.

I almost didn’t go. Two days prior, my baby got sick. And goodness knows I was looking for an out. But she healed miraculously and I found myself working out at Legacy Park with seven men.

7 Lessons

1. My body is strong and beautiful. Brian Tabor (MovNat instructor) moves like a cat-gazelle crossbreed. It’s glorious to watch and I found myself in awe when he would jump onto a trash can or leap through the air, landing in a diving roll. As we moved throughout the day, the bodies of the participants (including my own) transformed into something similar. Strong and beautiful, even if they were untrained or still building their physical fitness. Because they are human, they have the capacity to move naturally. There is an underlying strength that may have been forgotten, but it is present nonetheless. And that is beautiful.

MovNat Las Vegas. The strong and beautiful bodies.

2. It’s all in my head. The first person I saw was Paul. He is an enormous mass of muscle and was wearing a shirt that looked like something from the periodic table (It read “Ow: The Element for Pain“). I looked over at my husband and shook my head saying I couldn’t do this. I wouldn’t fit in here. I don’t like exercise, I am not strong, and I really really really hate pain. He let me blabber until I could pull myself out of the car. But there was nothing intimidating about these guys. There was an atmosphere of camaraderie (of which I attribute to Brian’s ability to build a safe culture in such a short amount of time) and my fears dissipated by the end of the breathing exercises. Any ability I thought I couldn’t develop was all in my head. I could do this. I was made to move.

Our true nature is to move

3. I am afraid of my body. I was born massively pigeon-toed and required special shoes to shape my hips. The shoes were removed early and my hips/coordination are still paying for it. Even more, I got glasses in second grade (bifocals in fourth) and my optometrist said my poor depth perception would prevent me from ever being able to play sports that involved hand-eye coordination (i.e. anything with a ball). These early experiences shaped the last 20+ years of body image and I never got to know my capabilities very well. The unknown is frightening, so my body was frightening. Even at the end of the workshop, I was still timid about catching a ball (thankfully Robert went easy on me).

My special shoes

4. My children are inheriting my fear. The biggest motivator to finally get to a workshop was watching my children. Because I parrot the safety mantra “Be careful. Don’t break that. That’s dangerous” all day long, my kids started to exhibit more fear and timidity. I was creating a very pseudo-dangerous world for them. At the park, I would have minor panic attacks when my son climbed the big rocks because I was afraid he would fall and crack his head open. I always envied my husband’s ability to just let our kids be kids. But because I didn’t know what my body could do, I didn’t know what my children were perfectly capable of either. Luckily, that’s starting to fade.

My 3yo son climbing those big scary rocks.

5. MovNat is for moms. And everyone else, yes, but I’m particularly interested in moms. I don’t know how to play with my children very well. I’m great on academics and great at loving them, but having pure, unadulterated fun is hard for me. MovNat showed me how to awaken my body, play with my kids, and create stronger bonds with my Littles. Eight hours well-spent. More on this next Tuesday.

Hiking Zion barefoot with the baby wrapped in a sling on my chest

6. I could stand to do a few more squats, lunges, and push-ups. Sigh. No surprise there. From a purely functional standpoint, it would be in my best interest if I gained a bit more strength. I was able to hold myself on the pole, but couldn’t shimmy my way up at all.

Paul on a pole in a totally non-Las Vegas kind of way

7. Exercise ain’t so bad. Please don’t tell. I have spent so long hating it, I am almost having an identity crisis.

The Best Part of MovNat

…was walking away a new woman. I found someone who was hiding deep inside of me, and I really like her. More confidence, more joy, more love.

And in case you’re wondering…When I finally managed to pull myself up onto that tree branch with the help of the mighty Brian Tabor, everyone cheered enthusiastically. I am so proud.

Big thanks to Brian, Robert, Tim, Phil, Phil, Omar, and Paul who all helped me find myself that day. And to think I almost didn’t get out of the car.

Hi, my name is Mimi and I have gut problems.

In October, I posted how Paleo is not always enough to heal someone from all their ailments. Some people transition to the Paleo lifestyle seamlessly while others require a boost.

My baby Mimi–19 months old–needs a boost.

Dr. Tim Gerstmar from Aspire Natural Health is coordinating these efforts. He’s a fabulous naturopathic doctor in Washington state that I met briefly at the Ancestral Health Symposium. I hesitated to call him since I don’t live in Washington, but phone consultations and email work really well for us and we’re happy with Dr. Gerstmar. He explains everything in layman’s terms, presents treatment options that I can choose from and be comfortable with, and never makes me feel stupid for asking questions.

The diagnosis.

Stool test kit. Oh boy, I could write a book about this 3-day madness. Let's just say I'm glad it's over.

Little Meems has some issues:

• Her stool test came back and she has high inflammation markers. Lysozyme is 650 (upper limits are 600) and her lactoferrin is a whopping 103 when it should be under 7.3–that’s 14x the upper limit.
• She’s got some good gut flora (but totally lacking lacto), some neutral-flora-gone-bad, and some dysbiotic flora.
• Her protective cell barbed wire (secretory IgA) is low, low, low.
• She’s anemic
• Her motor/cognitive/social/emotional development has all slowed down.

Mimi’s markers are also high enough that we’re getting the little lady tested for Irritable Bowel Disease (IBD). IBD is autoimmune and is better known as Crohn’s or Ulcerative Colitis.

That’s a lot going on for a 19-month-old.

The treatment

Broth makes a gut feel good

Allow me to preface: This treatment is specific to my daughter. I am posting in case someone needs an idea of where they might be able to start, but ultimately, this was designed specifically for Mimi.

• Paleo diet. Plus the addition of bone broth and fermented foods if I can get her to drink/eat it.
• Remove all sugars and starches. Sugars are feeding her bad gut flora. No more fruit, sweet potatoes, squash, beets, yucca, or any other good PWO dense carb sources for this girl.
• Breastfeed. Dr. Gerstmar believes that the breast milk is what’s holding her all together and preventing the inflammation from going crazy. I don’t have to maintain the same diet as the babe, but whatever I eat crosses into my milk. So I am also on Mimi’s stricter-than-strict Paleo diet (plus the autoimmune protocol for myself). That leaves me eating a lot of greens. If I don’t have a totally rockin’ bod by May, I’m going to be a little disappointed.
• Antibiotic. We could experiment with the more natural route and see if it works, but I feel like we’ve done enough experimenting and it’s time to bring in the big guns.
• Probiotic. She needs a healthy dose of probiotics to increase her good gut flora, especially with the round of antibiotics that’s going to kill off any that remains. We’re giving her two pinches a day of Klair Labs Ther-biotioc Infant Fomula because they’re well-known for being allergen-free. Side note: If giving with antibiotics, space out the timing so the probiotic doesn’t get killed upon ingestion. I never realized that, so we’re doing anti at breakfast and dinner, pro at lunch and bedtime.
• Herbal Remedy. After the 10-day round of antibiotics, we’re starting her on some herbs. I can’t remember what these do, but I recall liking the idea.

Duration: Retest stool 3 months after the antibiotic, expect to be on the protocol for a year. That is a long time to keep my baby girl away from bananas.

What this means for our real life.

One of Mimi's regular positions. I always thought she was doing Pilates. Turns out her gut was inflamed.

I had inclinations that Mimi had mild Leaky Gut. Admittedly, I was under the impression that we would get stool test results, put her on some probiotics, go on a GAPS/Weston A. Price/Paleo mixed protocol, and call it good. No big deal.

I wasn’t expecting how emotional I would get over treating a sick baby. It’s really hard. And sad. And frustrating. And debilitating, at times.

I knew intuitively my baby was sick. But having confirmation that she’s been sick, and for a very long time,  is a tough pill to swallow. I can handle my own PCOS and health problems, but my sweet angel baby? It’s almost too much to bear.

My comfort lies in knowing that mother’s intuition is real. I did things unconventionally for my baby girl because I just felt like it needed to happen. There were signs–wouldn’t lay on her stomach, waking up several times at night for 16 months, food allergies/sensitivities, weird rashes, psoriasis, hair wouldn’t grow on top or sides, slowing development– and I received some criticism and a lot of unsolicited advice about how to get her to sleep at night or help her crawl/walk. But something was off about the logical suggestions that worked magically for my son. I didn’t have solid research to back me; just gut feelings. And those gut feelings have kept her healthier, hallelujah.

I am really thankful to start this journey as a Paleo family. With the exception of a couple of tortilla chips and whatever she gets from my breast milk, Mimi has been Paleo since birth. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to learn how to live this lifestyle on top of changing a toddler’s entire diet (taking away blueberries, Aidell’s chicken apple sausages, and butternut squash is already causing plenty of stress in our home).

In May, I’ll let you know what the new results say. I’m hoping her intestines look pretty and she’s got a little bit more hair.

Paleo is just the beginning for this girl

Blogging has taken a backseat lately as I’ve been immersed in research. When I attended the Ancestral Health Symposium, one of the most eye-opening presentations was by Dr. BG and Dr. Tim Gerstmar regarding gut health.

If you haven’t seen it and are interested in some heavier science, give yourself 45 minutes to view The Rainforest in your Gut with the accompanying slide show. A major point was that while Paleo makes huge improvements and even heals a large population, for some people it just isn’t enough.

I am some people. So are my kids.

For me. The PCOS is in check, but I still know there are other aspects where I could use a little boost, particularly in the food sensitivity area. Every single item on the autoimmune protocol makes my stomach churn.

For my 3-year-old. My son is another case. Professionals cannot agree whether he is on the high-functioning side of the autism spectrum or is afflicted with a condition that often accompanies autism; regardless, he has symptoms that affect his everyday life. These symptoms reduced right around 75% with Paleo, but he was still having a lot of challenges with a variety of sensory issues. We started neurofeedback therapy in August and his symptoms are so much more manageable, I’ve been lauding neurofeedback ever since. And yet, we’re not quite there yet.

For my 16-month-old. And then there’s my baby, oh my sweet baby. She is allergic or sensitive to seemingly everything. If I eat dairy, soy, gluten, or corn, there is a range of responses from big time crying and the inability to sleep to rashes and eczema. As far as her own consumption, she has broken out in hives after eating eggs and nuts, and gotten consistent rashes from sweet potatoes, strawberries, and peaches. We maintain a strict Paleo diet for her, but she is still having some health problems.

Sounds a whole lot like leaky gut to me. I’ve been exploring the GAPS diet to start doing a gut-healing protocol since she sure appears to be suffering from leaky gut. But being allergic/intolerant to several items in the introduction diet poses an issue that requires a lot of research on Mommy’s part.

So that’s where we’re at right now. I heart Paleo. It has been a lifesaver and was the absolute right place for us to start. Now we are ready to expand. This journey is a long one. Posts, responses to comments, and emails will be sparse and I thank you already for your patience as I embark on a quest to have the best-looking intestines this side of the Mississippi.

Fast snacks aren’t exactly the paragon of Paleo. Especially with two little ones, every outing feels like a camping trip. To make things a little easier throughout the day, is is generally how we snack.

My children (ages 3 and 1) also eat these as their snacks as opposed to having separate “kid” snacks lying around the house. There aren’t a lot of fruit options on here because as it turns out, any more than 2 servings in a day for my son = terrible tantrums and major difficulty sleeping. And sometimes 2 servings is too much.

1. Leftovers. This is our big go-to every day, whether it is Mel’s Cottage-Flower Pie or a batch of curry.

2. Raw.

• Cucumber
• Jicama
• Bell peppers
• Avocado
• Sugar snap peas
• Trail Mix (when I’m in a bind) of macs, almonds, walnuts, raisins, apricots, coconut flakes

3. A little more effort.

• Smoothie (frozen strawberries, coconut milk, spinach, cinnamon, etc)
• Guacamole
• Cashew hummus
• Kale salad with whatever protein I have left in the fridge

4. Cook up a batch and store in the fridge.

• Steamed broccoli and cauliflower. Dress with a little olive oil and pepper.
• Sauteed carrots. Sauteed in coconut oil with onions.
• Sauteed green beans. These are pretty frequent right now since my mom’s garden is producing a huge batch every day. Coconut or olive oil, garlic powder, and a little salt and pepper
• Meatballs
• Homemade jerky
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Sausage patties

5. Pre-Made.

• Olives
• Tuna or salmon
• SeaSnax (I prefer Toasty Onion)
• Coconut butter (Artisana is my favorite)
• PaleoKits (usually for traveling)
• Larabars (emergency only)

Any other tips? What do you do for snacks? Can you get out of the house without feeling like it’s a camping trip?

—–

Photo Courtesy

Experimenting with Greens

Dr. Cordain spoke about how there is no single Paleo diet because our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate according to their ecological niche.

Further, Chris Kresser of The Healthy Skeptic talks about how he would rather see things referred to as a Paleo template.

I love love love this. I feel like it begins to take into account the differences between each person’s biochemistry and history. Within my own family, we have some pretty distinct differences, so the wide range of food tolerances and optimal food choices would be much greater over a large population.

My son is McCranky Pants if he has fruit before his afternoon nap.

Percentage-wise, my husband needs more carbs than the rest of the family.

I need meat first thing in the morning and greens every single day.

My baby can’t tolerate eggs (hives everywhere…sigh).

While I believe our whole family has gluten problems, my sister-in-law gets severe stomach aches and seems to be the most intolerant of us all.

Robb Wolf even gave an insightful interview (with a shocking revelation about dairy) on these differences in his recent interview with Mark Sisson.

Again, it all comes down to figuring out what works for you. Getting rid of all the potential offenders for 30 days and then slowly reintroducing them to see what kind of reaction – good or bad – you may have.

Admittedly though, I sometimes tire of all this self-experimentation. It’s exhausting and it would be much easier if there was one Paleo diet for the whole world. Then I wouldn’t have to go through the trouble of eliminating macadamia nuts and reintroducing them to come closer to discovering the source of my itchy nose. But that’s all part of the fun, right?

Have you discovered anything in your own experimentation? Is it as tiring for you as it is for me?

I’ve been blabbering about this AHS business for 2 weeks, so now what? It’s nice to get smarter, but it’s pretty much only good for inducing guilt if I do nothing with my newfound knowledge. Where much is given, much is required.

So here are my next steps, in terms of my PCOS, my family, the continuing education that I need/want, and the AHS folks who inspired me.

Next Steps for PCOS and the inspiration behind it

• Realize I’m not totally crazy with my self-experimentation (Richard Nikoley) and be deliberate about those experiments (Seth Roberts). Richard Nikoley presented on self-experimentation and reminded me I’m not the only crazy experimenter (he doesn’t use soap or shampoo and smelled pretty good from where I was sitting). Seth Roberts spoke about which foods make his brain work better and systematically experimented on himself, taking daily math quizzes to assess progress. Fascinating! My experimentation has produced self-healing and I’m thrilled to learn from two others who do it better than I do. My only regret is I didn’t know of them earlier.
• Supplement with magnesium (Nora Gedgaudas and Robb Wolf). This has been on the radar for about 8 months, but I’m now just kicking myself into gear. Going with Natural Calm since my OB and pediatrician approved it (still nursing).
• Go gluten-free (everyone). Embarking on A Year Without Gluten. I don’t eat much of it in the first place; however, I am going to fully eliminate it from my splurges. Goodbye homemade flour tortillas. I miss you already.
• Get to work on my PCOS study (Lynda Frassetto). I am pretty excited about this one. Being a card-carrying nerd, I’m designing a PCOS-Paleo study. I definitely don’t have the resources to do it perfectly, but I am still designing one for personal fulfillment. I’ll be seeking out volunteers to participate in the near future, so give me a heads up if you are interested. More information to follow once I get all the kinks worked out.
• Switch to cooking with coconut oil and clarified butter and lower my chronic low-level inflammation (Guy-André Pelouze). Coconut oil has a higher oxidation point than olive oil, so that’s my new cooking oil of choice. Fats can still oxidize in my body if I’m inflamed, though, so just another reason to lower my inflammation further.
• Rewatch presentation From Cave to Cage and figure out why in the world I wrote down: Consider taking up MMA (Tucker Max). What did Tucker Max say that made me want to start mixed martial arts? There are plenty of physical fitness activities that seem better suited for me. (Aside from the fact that Tucker Max is the very last person on the planet that I would ever want my daughter to know–I say this with 99% surety that he would not be offended) I don’t like fighting, I don’t like violence, I don’t like sports, I don’t like competition, and I don’t like getting punched in the face. Seems like a pretty poor fit, if you ask me. I’m baffled by my notes.

Next Steps for the Family

1. Look into neurofeedback/biofeedback for my 3yo (Nora Gedgaudas). My son’s anxiety, tantruming, and sensory issues seem to have improved about 75% or so (percentages are arbitrary) since going on a Paleo diet, but I know there is more that could help him. Hoping this is an answer or at least something that leads me to an answer.
2. Everyone off gluten. No matter what. Period. End of story (everyone). Too many reasons not to. It’s challenging, but better than the alternative.
3. Get the babe eating more hard, raw foods for her jaw development (Michael Mew). I think I’ve mentioned several times how much I enjoyed Dr. Mew’s presentation. In speaking to him after the presentation, he advised my baby girl work on her jaw development by eating hard food that are about 1.5 times the size of her wrist. Yes, sir!
4. Look into heavy metals testing (Dr. BG and her sister Marisa). Dr. BG’s sister Marisa shared some similarities between her child and mine. She said heavy metals testing made a difference. Definitely worth looking into.
5. Keep my kids away from dairy (Pedro Bastos). One of the initial challenges I had when taking my son off dairy was the fact that he is in a period of rapid growth. I though I might keep him on dairy until he was older and then remove it when his growth slowed. Pedros Bastos suggested that because children are growing so rapidly, perhaps that is the most important time to stay away from the cow, sheep, and goat’s milk. Noted.

Sciency Business I Need to Understand Better

1. Gut flora (Dr. BG and Tim Gerstmar)
2. Causes of lipid oxidation and the oxidation process (Guy-André Pelouze)
3. Evolutionary psychology (S. Boyd Eaton)
4. Weston A. Price and Frances Pottenger
5. Draining nature of plants and congesting nature of animals (Don Matesz)
6. Why liver used to control our blood sugar, but the pancreas does now (Michael Eades)

Consider Reading

1. Baby-led Weaning by Gill Rapley and Tracey Murkett
2. Mismatch: The Lifestyle Diseases Timebomb by Peter Gluckman and Mark Hanson
3. The Evolution of the Human Head by Daniel E. Lieberman
4. Primal Body Primal Mind by Nora Gedgaudas
5. Ronald Krausss’ meta-analysis on saturated fats
6. Wild Health: Lessons in Natural Wellness from the Animal Kingdom by Cindy Engel
7. Strong Medicine by Blake F. Donaldson
8. The Stone Age Diet by Waler L. Voegtlin
9. Why We Get Sick: The New Science of Darwinian Medicine by Randolph Nesse
10. Food and Western Disease: Health and Nutrition from an Evolutionary Perspective by Staffan Lindeberg

Phew! That’s a lot of homework. Given my personal history of setting overambitious goals, I imagine I will only be able to do one item per category before AHS12. But that’s good enough for me.

* Recipes included: Chicken with Rosemary and Mushroom Glaze, Sauteed Cabbage, Roasted Green Beans

First off, a little math problem:

Disneyland > Every other place on the planet

Ancestral Health Symposium > Disneyland

Therefore…

Ancestral Health Symposium = Awesome

I have a million things synthesizing in my mind about the Ancestral Health Symposium and my mind is totally blown. A lot of my thoughts were confirmed, and even more topics were brought up that I never considered.

But since my brain is fried from a science-heavy weekend, I thought I’d treat myself to an easy post. Dinner.

Here is a typical meal at our house (avocado not pictured). My family scarfs this down like it’s the last meal they will ever have. It’s Paleo-friendly, PCOS-friendly, and scrumptious.

Protein: Chicken with Rosemary and Mushroom Glaze (courtesy Paleo Plan)

We adore this meal. I don’t even care for mushrooms, but I enjoy them immensely in this dish. Probably because Paleo has forced me to stop being so picky. The only issue we have is that the rosemary is a little hard for my 3-year-old to eat.

Carbohydrate: Sauteed Cabbage

Usually, we throw in a handful of pepitas and currants to liven up this dish, but I must have been out.

Ingredients: cabbage, olive oil, salt, pepper

Directions: Saute cabbage over medium heat with olive oil, salt, and pepper to desired tenderness.

Carbohydrate (part 2): Roasted Green Beans

Another family fave. The baby has a harder time with this one, but I just learned from Dr. Michael Mew that she needs to work on chewing hard veggies anyway for her jaw development.

Ingredients: green beans, olive oil, salt, pepper

Directions: Combine ingredients. Bake 350 for 25-30 mins.

Fat: Avocado, Olive Oil, Nuts

Not pictured. Sorry.

If you try any of these, let me know how they turned out. Happy eating!

Pictures speak to me. Allow this picture to speak to you. I’m thinking of printing out 100,000 of these, placing them in a big black roller suitcase, and visiting all of the doctors’ offices I can find. Masquerade as a pharmaceutical salesperson to get my foot in the door. It could work.

On a more serious note, much of this science and further research on my part is what ultimately led me to understand the vital importance of getting myself and my whole family (children included) on a Paleo lifestyle. I can’t guarantee my kiddos will continue once they are adults, but I certainly don’t want my Littles to be part of the 4% of preschoolers that are clinically depressed (toward the end of the infographic). I love what Paleo can fo for not just physical, but mental, emotional, and spiritual health as well.

(I originally found this on Melissa ‘Melicious’ Joulwan’s blog–a big fave around here. She got this Paleo Infographic from The Paleolithic Diet)

Learn more about the Paleo Diet.

Question: If you are the only with PCOS, why is your entire family denied the goodness of grains?

Answer: Yes, Paleo is my PCOS cure. My non-PCOS family still eats Paleo. The beautiful thing is they don’t have to eat Paleo. They choose to. (And by they, I mean my husband. Naturally, my children don’t do the grocery shopping; thus, I have complete control over their food choices).

(Read why my husband and my two-year-old eat Paleo. I’ve also added a typical day’s menu and a breakfast recipe)

My persimmon baby

7-month-old daughter

Pre-Paleo Symptoms: colic and fussiness

Our first child had an exceptionally challenging temperament as a baby. He cried for hours at a time, months (years, really) at a time. We knew there was no possible way to get another child like that so we weren’t afraid to have a second child.

Well, we did get a child like that. Except she was louder. A lot louder. It was somewhere around day 6 when we knew two kids was enough.

The baby was exclusively breastfed for nearly seven months, but I chose to go Paleo when she was two-months-old, as loud and inconsolable as ever. Almost immediately, she began to sleep better on her own, the chronic crying stopped, and an easy temperament developed. After about 50 days, I reintroduced dairy, which was accompanied by the inability to sleep, chronic crying, and a fussy temperament. I went off dairy again. Welcome back, perfect baby. Each experiment with dairy (a slice of cheese, a small serving of yogurt, powdered milk in anything store-bought) brought back that terribly uncomfortable baby and each removal brought my sweet angel back to me.

When the subject of solids came up at her four-month appointment, naturally dairy was out of the question for the near future, but the conventional wisdom was quickly offered: Rice cereal. It’s easy on the stomach and a great introduction to solid foods. Hardly anyone is allergic to it.

(My son was allergic, actually. He broke out in a rash around his mouth when he started eating it at a young age. But that’s another story.)

I didn’t plan on starting the baby on solids until at least 6 months anyway, but with my wait time diminishing, I got to thinking a lot about feeding my child. I’d seen significant changes in myself and my family. Why wouldn’t I extend it to her as well?

Something about going against the grain (pun intended) and defying conventional wisdom is scary when applied to infants and small children. If my children were teenagers, I would be less worried about their growth. They have done the majority of their growing, their brain is no longer in the development phase, and they are going to choose how they eat when they are away from me anyway. Small children don’t have those same advantages. It’s definitely easier to encourage Paleo because there are fewer arguments, but it’s more difficult when considering their overall development. Will I ruin them for life by not providing adequate nutrition during these sensitive periods?

While struggling with this, I ultimately asked myself a vital question: What did mothers do before dehydrated rice flakes?

They fed their babies from their plate.

So I did the same thing with sweet potatoes, followed by butternut squash, pear, papaya, and avocado.

Grains and dairy will eventually come into play, mostly because their prevalence in play groups would almost make it irresponsible not to check for serious allergies; but until then, we’re keeping her Paleo.

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Articles that influenced my decision:
Kids, Paleo, and Nutrient Density by Robb Wolf
The Definitive Guide to Feeding Primal Babies by Mark Sisson