Monday, December 5, 2011

Adrenal Fatigue and Jimmy Moore's LLVLC Podcast


Beautiful People
Courtesy Youtube.com




Jimmy's Moore's LLVLC Podcast!

I did Jimmy Moore's podcast! And joined the beautiful people... We initially had some technical (cough cough Chinese (?saturated broadband/censorship)) difficulties which required EIGHT ATTEMPTS, but it's complete. I think Jimmy let out a BIG gentlemanly sigh of relief. Jimmy talked also about his latest and pending labs, the idea for the next epic post on sustainable, local farming/livestock and his thoughts on heavy metal chelation, which I am really REALLY into.

I was/am Jimmy, hormonally. Like Jimmy I have been stubbornly challenged with regaining and relosing 10-20% of my body weight in the last few years after the initial epic loss of 50 lbs (Jimmy, ~180 lbs).(!!!!frustr-WTF-ating!!!!)

At the worst, my hormone signatures might resemble what Jimmy reported (if I actually measured):
-- high rT3, unstable cortisol, leptin resistance, insulin resistance
-- estrogen dominance
-- wacko FSH/LH (like a menopausal 'menopot')
-- testosterone/thyroid/adrenal deficiencies



Massive Endocrine Disruption (x3), Weight Re-Gains and Reversal

I wish that the Paleolithic Diet was enough. It's not. Paleo is emphatically not enough for decades of neolethal disease and accumulated damages on our biochemical pathways, adipose storage and mitochondrial health (modern toxins -- omega-6, seed oils, pharmaceuticals, dental amalgams, AMA sanctioned mercury laden vaccines, industrial solvents, new house and carpeting 'gas off', bromide antifungals on food, in California ubiquitous flame retardants, etc).

My problem was 5-10 lbs yo-yo wt gains and yo-yo losses over the last few years after the initial 50 lb loss, which I attribute to MASSIVE endocrine disruptions (three times). The first hormone dyscrasia involved the Mirena IUD (levonorgestrel, a potent fake/mimicker of progesterone), then followed by adrenal fatigue with the popular intermittent fasting and ketosis, and lastly gut dysbiosis with mercury and metal toxicity (tetanus shot, accumulation of annual flu shots/vaccines, and a drilled on titanium dental implant). What helped me after multiple episodes of adrenal fatigue including one after moving to Shanghai, China was a high carb (150-200 g/day) non-paleo 'adrenal reset' modeled by Diana Schwarzbein MD in her book 'The Schwarzbein Principle II'.

It worked.

My daily consumption of low and high GI foods went up (rice, meat/vegs, ice cream, chocolate) and carbs totalled 150-200 grams daily, most days. It worked; I gained 8-10 lbs of fat and my adrenals stabilized. More importantly the serum insulin ECLIPSED the serum cortisol which was high/inappropriate due to various factors (stress from transcontinental moving, circadian shifts from jet lag, gut dysbiosis, metal toxicity, etc). Similar plans are in the blogosphere (high carb Bulletproof, PHD, Masterjohn, Kresser, high carb MDA, high carb GAPS (fruit+honey), Ray Peat, high carb Archevore, 4-Hour Body Slow Carb, Matt Stone). Many individuals have kevlar adrenals and perfectly execute IF/ketosis whilst hiking twenty mountain tops sans food, fasting. NEARLY BAREFOOT. (Asclepius and J. Stanton) But the rest of us are mere mortals.

Successful ketosis requires adequately timed and sufficiently secreted (and appropriately down-regulated) cortisol and adrenaline (NE, EPI).

Someday... I'll re-grow my kevlar and bulletproof organs... *haa ahaaa!*

However after getting tired (and frustrated) with the 8-10 lbs of weight gain, I finished the Schwarzbein 'adrenal reset' and easily transitioned to a high carb Kruse 'leptin reset'. I did attempt the Kruse leptin reset with 100g/day (50 g carbs in the morning) but it didn't work the first few times until AFTER I had gained 8-10 lbs on the Schwarzbein 'reset'. I dunno why this was the case. Recently I returned to a stable LC (paleo) + rice + workouts (which worked for my initial 50 lbs fat loss; 50-100 grams carbs/day) and lost a few kilograms in the last month and half.




Adrenal Resets are Leptin Resets IMHO And Vice Versa

The beauty of the Kruse 'reset' is that imho it is also an 'adrenal reset' (and vice versa). Notwithstanding, I believe for many who are adrenally challenged and severely metabolically damaged (like in cases of metal toxicity, environmental toxicity or former vegetarians, yo-yo dieters, over-trainers, under-eaters, etc), the value of an extreme high carb reset (150-200 g/day) with (or without) fat gain may be inconceivable and controversial but UNQUESTIONABLY HIGH if all else fails... Per Schwarzbein, she reports for some extremely metabolically damaged folks two years on the program are mandatory. For me apparently 2 months was ok and sufficient. To safeguard, FYI I still avoid all ketosis, VLC (very low carb) and IF'ing (intermittent fasting). I continue to consume 1/4 to 1/2 tsp Real salt (Utah Redmonds) and maximally play/nap/laugh as much as I can. Adaptogens, liver/GI support, getting morning sunlight, slow BSS/burn, and 'oxygenizing' (employing slow-twitch muscles) without driving excessive cortisol squirts are unbelievably key to staying on track for me. Also my carbs are substantially higher on workout days (100-150 grams wholly based on glycolytic activity and stress) and the weight is still going down without triggering the adrenals.




Heavy Metal Toxicity and Chelation

Jimmy and I talked about chelation and our thoughts; my family and I are still chelating as it requires a minimum of 6-12 months time. I don't endorse many products but this is one I exceptionally fancy because I find it to be safe, gentle, and gradual; the product has been used for over 10 years in physician and practitioners' offices: ExtendedHealth's oral chelator.




More info on Adrenal 'Resets' and Hormones (T, E1 E2 E3, DHEA-S, Preg, P, Cortisol, Leptin, FT4 FT3 rT3):






The LLVLC Show (Episode 520): Jeff O’Connell’s ‘Sugar Nation’ And ‘Animal Pharm’ Blogger Dr. B G


The topics in our e-coffeetalk (from Jimmy's site)...

• The infectiousness of her e-mail writing style
• Her work in a plant biology lab that showed she hated research
• The love/hate relationship she has with the USDA
• The one-year residency she did working in geriatrics
• The certified diabetes education that she pursued
• Her hesitancy to start blogging with so many great bloggers
• Her contributions to the PaleoHacks.com web site
• The “chronic cardio” she believes is right for her
• The slow rate of weight loss she experienced (50 pounds in 5 years)
• How Keith Norris has a “Zen-like charm” about him
• What her experience was like at the Ancestral Health Symposium
• The important message of Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt in Sweden
• How Aaron Blaisdell and Brent Pottenger are changing the world
• Recollections of past interviews with Gary Taubes
• The positive contributions Taubes has made to the low-carb cause
• How the Dietary Guidelines are making Americans sicker
• The autoimmune issues she and her siblings dealt with growing up
• How even some grass-fed beef can taste a little “off”
• The “scary” nature of finding real food in China
• Whether America would have been successful without carbs
• Her take on the “safe starches” debate that’s happening right now
• The great admiration she has for Dr. Robert Su
• How there are plenty of Asians who get “sick” eating white rice
• How she “completely burned out my adrenals” on intermittent fasting
• Why some people have issues that make it more difficult to get healthy
• The high-carb adrenal resets that need to have for many people
• Why you have to have balance with all of your hormones
• Her weight gain from heavy metal toxicity
• What the future of her “Animal Pharm” concept is
• The book she is writing with her sister on gut health with recipes
• Why she wants to open up a gluten-free cafe to teach cooking
• Her desire for us to outsource the Low-Carb Cruise to China
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