Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Pimping Robb: 'Keep Your POOP Where It Belongs'

ANIMAL (Far East Movement)



Pimping The Wicked Animal

I love Robb (and his beautiful wife Nicki V.) and I love pimping Robb and everything he endorses.

My favorite chapter of the new book 'The Paleo Solution: The Original Human DIET' is naturally 'Grains and Leaky Gut or Keep Your Poop Where it Belongs'. In typically Robb-fashion he breaks down gut dysbiosis and how it is the central dogma for our S.A.D. health in Western civilizations at this time. If there were other s*xy chapters, I'd love them too but this is unfortunately not too heavy in the s*x departments (unlike the other recent book reports I discussed). The health professional version hopefully will cover more hormones...


Personal Story

What drew me in first to the whole paleo story is his blog and the generous sharing of stories which were re-enforced when I attended the nutri cert (for Crossfit) in Chico in 2008 where he recounted again more stories of health recovery, autoimmune disease reversal and tremendous body fat recompositioning. I've met Sarah twice the screaming hawwwt chick with 3 children and painful swollen legs which reversed on paleo and functional xfit exercises. Two stories at the nutri cert were the tale of 2 pharmacists (!!!hey man) which Robb appeared too delighted in telling knowing I was the lone pharmacist in the audience. Both had liver disease and one was already on the liver transplant list. They had NAFLD, fatty liver, a Metabolic Syndrome condition related to gluten and the fatty infiltration and calcifications related to high carbohydrates and a grain-heavy Western diet.

Paleo cured them. In 1-2 months both had reversed the liver enzyme tests to normal. Robb affected their health where modern medicine failed and actually wanted to take out and replace the worthless liver, the ultimate solution, no?

Robb's book is filled with these type of stories and the most compelling is his and his mother's. He reports thathis mother's quiet diagnosis of celiac (and 3 other autoimmune diseases -- Sjogren's, Rheumatoid and Lupus) at the time she was nearly dying on a heart/lung machine, saved his own life when he was suffering from severe debilitating inflammatory intestinal issues.


'Academia: Abandon All Hope Ye Who Study Here'

Totally I would second this notion...


All About Digestion and Why Paleo Works

Robb's a wicked animal when it comes to coaching and cajoling performance and outcomes out people... it comes through in the writing. He's there explaining in simple, easy-to-understand terms and encouraging in the same way.

He has seen it work not just for himself but COUNTLESS Crossfiters and non-Crossfiters.

Explaining the digestion, nutrition and hormones (insulin, growth hormone, leptin, cortisol) take up 1/3 of the book. The parts I enjoyed the most were:
  • 'Digestion: From our Pie Hole to Your HOO-HA in 453 Easy Steps' ch4 [why do we always ending up talking about butts and poop???]
  • 'Digestion: Where The Rubber Hits the Road' ch5
  • 'Cholesterol... The small, dense, reactive LDLs are born from the VLDL that is the product of high-carbohydrate intake. Although the types of dietary fats we consume do influence these LDLs to a small degree, the main influence is the amount and types of dietary carbohydrate. In case you missed that, a high-carbohydrate diet, like the one your doctor, the government, and the pharmaceutical companies endorse, is the type of diet that makes smal, dense reactive LDL particles. Good to know these people are fightin for your health! Image if they were really trying to kill you.'
  • 'Osteoporosis Link to Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)... The solution we are given for CVD is a high-carb, low-fat diet that keeps insulin levels high. The solution for osteoporosis is to take a calcium supplement. Little dose our doctor know that that calcium supplement is known to be a precipitating factor in blood clots that lead to stroke and heart attack. Oops! hey, it's just your life folks!'
  • 'Grains and Leaky Gut or Keep Your Poop Where It Belongs (ch6)' Here several cases from a 5 year old to diverse ages reviewed excellently.
  • 'Fat Confusion' We know Robb endorses BACON BACON BACON SATFAT SATFAT SAT! This reviews W-H-Y. 'The government high-carb, low-fat fantasy is turning out to be amazingly profitable for sectors of our medical and pharmaceutical establishment. unfortunately, it's not been kind to our friends, family, and coworkers.'
  • 'Cortisol ...'Without being the least bit cynical, I could boil life down to food, sleep, and sex. On the food side of the equation, we have all that goes into getting it (brains to plan, brawn to procure and defend). Once we have that food, we eat it and either burn it or store it. This is all related to our short and long term energy management, body-fatness, fertility, etc. In sulin and glucagon are there to help regulate our storage and utilization of energy. However, Cortisol is also a player in this game, as it also has effects on energy storage and a host of other functions...' Like both Robb and Andy Deas (podcast co-conspirator), I've had adrenal fatigue yet we have neolithic ways to overcome this (this is where paleo alone aint enough).
  • 'Beat That Dead Horse White Boy!' Sleep sleep sleep yet again...
  • 'Sex Type Thing... Charlie has two new, but very annoying things happening. Low sex drive and a need to pee at night. As Charlie's body fat increases, the has a tendency to convert his meager testosterone into estrogen because of an enzyme called aromatase that hangs out in fat tissue. If your body fat increases, whether male or female, you tend to convert testosterone to estrogen. For Charlie, this set inmotion prostate growth (benign prostate hyperplasia -- BPH) at the ripe old age of thirty-five. if thes was not bad enough, his testosterone levels are low for two reasons. Cortisol and testosterone must go down. Then add the conversion of testosterone to estrogen due to increased body fat and we have a bad situation brewing for Charlie. The effects for women are similarly powerful with a tendency to produce PMS, PCOS, fibroids and infertility. Fun, no?'
  • 'Growth hormone...IGF...BDNF... Now that we have looked at being strong and hormonally sound, let's take a look at your pump and pipes before looking at our exercise prescriptions.'
  • 'What About Fiber? Won't I Forget How To Poop Without Grains?' THIS STUFF KILLLLLLS ME!!!!!!
  • 'Robb, You Are Big Meanie? I Have No Idea Where to Start!'
  • 'But Raaawwwwbb, How Will I Get My Vitamins? And How Will I Poop Without My Fiber?' [chuckle chuckle]
  • 'Quick Paleo Pancakes' My kids made this on their VERY own last wkend! The HOUSE DID NOT BURN DOWN and was filled with the lovely aroma of sweet sweet laughter and cinnamon. My paleo-as-it's-gonna-get-kids ROCK indeed.
  • 'Supplements' The standard stuff -- Robb's fish oil calculator, vitamin D, probiotics, digestive enzymes, lipoic acid (reduces insulin resistance and host of other benefits), carnitine (recovery, energy, etc), magnesium, and iodine. Again, totally standard fare.



Tim Ferriss also provides a wonderful endorsement and an excerpt from the book: How to Keep Feces Out Of Your Bloodstream (or How To Lose 10Pounds in 14 Days)

Previous animal pharm: Robb and paleo cure vampirism (porphyria cutaneous tarda)

Go Team Robb!!!! *winky!*


P.S.
Robb knows I'm gonna quibble on the LDL (goal stated in book 40-70 mg/dl which is clearly questionable)... but he recties by discussing thoroughly the QUALITY of LDL is FIRST and FOREMOST (pattern 'A') over quantity. If that were the only concession to the publishers in order for this SEMINAL piece of RIDICULOUSLY S*XXXXY GENIUSNESS to *finally* published then I...will... forgive... But. Dude you'll owe me a St. Peters beer dude. Or two. FR*CK. That will be hard to dig out of...

8 comments:

Kevin said...

Since you mentioned BPH I can add my own experience. My dad and grandad each started with BPH and ultimately led to prostate cancer. Dad's prostate was removed several years ago and at age 75 he's fine, although he occasionally uses pads now. Good reasons for making the changes that MIGHT prevent me going down that road.

Some specialists recommend the Mediterrean diet. One specialist mentioned the longest living people are in Sardinia, a very long way from the Mediterranean sea. Their diet rather than high in seafood is high in dairy.

You may see ads for Saw Palmetto or Beta-sitosterol. I used beta-sit for over a year. Then I found that the active ingredients are 5-alpha reductase inhibitors, same as finasteride and in a small number of men can cause the same side effects: Lowered libido, muscle pain and weakness.

Since stopping the beta-sit I'm back to nighttime trips to the bathroom but my libido seems to be coming back. So far it's a fair trade.

I eat a lot of greens, avocado, nuts, fish, turkey but absolutely no dairy, beef or pork.

kevin

Dr. B G said...

Hi Kevin,

I appreciate your comments. Your story and your father's is compelling.

What I've read is there exists several triggers for prostate which are not addressed or recognized by modern medicine:
--high estrogen (esp E1 E2)
--xenoestrogens
--inadequate testerone
--high insulin
--vitamin D deficiency
--omega-3 deficiency
--excessive industrial veg oils (omega-6)
--inadequate melatonin/sleep
--inadequate minerals (these are anti-angiogenic)
--heavy metal toxicity
--inadequate thyroid hormone eg hypothyroidism

Read incl comments:
http://nephropal.blogspot.com/2010/07/metformin-insulin-resistance-and-cancer.html



The Mediterrean diet is NOT curative, esp if high carb and gluten/casein containing.


-G

Kevin said...

Thanks for the comment. You left one off: Genetic predisposition. Although I lean towards the Mediterranean diet I avoid bread and absolutely hate pasta. I'm seeing a new urologist next week but I had testosterone and estradiol checked using a blood spot test from Dr Davis' site and they were within range. I will ask her to test D3, thyroid, omega 3 and 6 and anything else she suggests.

kevin

Dr. B G said...

Kevin,

Did you receive a breakdown of the estrogens E1 E2 and E3?

Genetics does play a role however I'd argue that we all have the proverbial 'loaded gun' and it takes diet, lifestyles and mental factors to be the trigger. The stats appear to show that 50% of males will have cancer (some kind) and 1/3 of women (we're protected by E3, estriol, because we have marginally more).

Sounds like you've made legit choices to minimize inflammation and control hormones that may have been unbalanced before. As Robb discusses, paleo is one of the best approaches esp when organic, local grown, no hormones. I'd only add to specify that a lifestyle/plan suited to the microecological niche in which your ancestors and forbears survived and thrived will trump any prescribed 'diet'. *SMILE* Sometimes it's hard to figure out the forbears part!

One can obtain a fatty acid profile of the ratio of n-6 to n-3 as a marker of inflammation. A ratio of 2:1 are what some experts believe emulate our evolutionary and paleolithic past.

-G

Kevin said...

Thanks, I'll add the ratios to my list. Although urologist 'Snuffy' Myers follows a low-carb diet he says studies show a low carb diet enhances the growth of prostate tumors.

In my rural area getting grass fed beef or organic veggies is nearly impossible. Ironic because hunting is the state pastime. All state workers are given paid hunting holidays and non-state workers expect the same. This week I had to work without employees because they're all hunting in the Wind River Range.

kevin

Dr. B G said...

Kevin,

Does Snuffy have references? I can see if low carb included bunches and high dose omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, the inflammation and insulin rate would go up, which definitely would increase all cancer rates including prostate...

For instance the Lynda Frasetto Hunter-gatherer study from earlier this year used mayonnaise -- high omega-6 PUFA without balancing with supplemental omega-3 or grassfed meat/seafood.

Interesting! Thanks for your thoughts!
G

Cupcakes said...

I've gotta check out this book! It sounds awesome. Your last coupla posts have been great btw.

Neonomide said...

Hi again G !

I just finished Robb's book and it was hilarious ! Those parts on sleep and cortisol were really illuminating. A thoroughly enjoyable book.

Btw regarding zzzzz-topic, have you tried f.lux yet ? I have a few nights and ditched the alarm too !

http://www.stereopsis.com/flux/


PS: Robb's former mentor Cordain releases a cook book and revision for The Paleo Diet - apparently he has claimed to ditch the flax(???) and embrace coconut oil ! So cool ? ^^

PPS: Mother feels great now, some low hemoglobin was a minor problem yet now she is a energy demon !!!