Great article from an Australian doctor:

https://www.northernbeachesreview.c...s-yes/?cs=19934

For years, I've been looking for studies that show that eating whole grains is healthier than avoiding them. I've never found one. All the studies compare whole grains to refined grains and of course, they look less harmful. It's like comparing the eating of refined arsenic to arsenic ore and concluding that eating arenic ore was healthy because you died slower.

Most cereals & grain products only get their "hearthealthy" stamps of approval because they are fortified. It would be healthier to take a vitamin & mineral pill and eat the box it came in.

In the U.S., grains are inexpensive food products that store well. The USDA rewards grain production for this reason. Consumption can prevent starvation, but not poor health. Fiber is perceived as the magic ingredient that enables products to qualify for the "Heart Healthy" logo, and there is no proof that these processed foods, by the time they get to the consumer, have any health benefits at all. Skeptics have the advantage in this case.

I had a neighbor who walked her dog but needed a cane. She was in her 40s.

I introduced her to the arthritis/bursitis diet, which is low carb and also avoids foods with high arachidonic acids.

Within a few weeks she was walking without a cane.

A few months passed and she was using the cane again. I asked her if the diet quit working and her answer was, "I just couldn't give up my fruit and pasta."

Some people would rather ruin their bodies than eliminate foods that are hurting them. I don't get it, but it's their choice.

If you are curious, here is the diet.

Bob

For both arthritis and bursitis, treatment is similar:

Try the dietary approach first, and if that doesn't work, take stronger action.

Foods that may contribute to chronic inflammation are foods with a high glycemic index (foods that convert to sugar quickly), such as fruit juices, sugars, simple starches, or rice cakes, foods heavy in polyunsaturated or saturated fats, and foods high in arachidonic acid. Some specific foods to avoid are:

* Fatty cuts of red meat (high in saturated fats) lean is good
* Organ meats: liver, kidney, and so forth (very high in arachidonic acid)
* Egg yolks (very high in arachidonic acid)
* Poultry - chicken, duck, turkey (very high in arachidonic acid)
* Pasta (high glycemic index)
* Juices (high glycemic index)
* Rice, especially rice cakes (high glycemic index)
* White bread (substitute whole grain breads such as rye)
* Nightshade Plants bother many people (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, peppers, paprika)

Glycemic index charts can be found on the Internet.

Better choices are foods with a low glycemic index and foods that are heavy in monounsaturated fats. Some specific good foods are:

* Salmon and other fish
* Oatmeal
* Low glycemic fresh fruits and vegetables
* Olives and olive oil
* Peanuts and other nuts
* Whey proteins
* Lean beef is good, 100% grass fed is better

Bob - I know I've asked questions about your arthritis/bursitis diet before, but I can't recall if I asked about these specific things:

What is considered to be fatty red meat? Is 85% lean ground beef considered fatty or lean? (I'm sure a lot of people would consider anything less than 90-95% lean to be fatty)

Google tells me that more than 2-3 servings of fish/week will will result in an unsafe level of mercury consumption. That would leave 18-19 meals that would need some other protein source.
If eggs, chicken, and organ meats are not recommended on this diet, but whey protein is ok, are we talking about the rest of the protein for the week being only from the lean beef and whey protein?

When it comes to whey proteins, what kinds of sources are we talking about? I normally only see whey protein as a component of protein powders and drinks.
Does cheese or yogurt qualify as whey protein? Greek yogurt is higher in protein than regular yogurt, but it's had most of the whey drained off. Cheese (with the exception of ricotta) has most of the whey removed.

Personally I have a serious problem with nuts of any kind - they're a real trigger food and I can't seem to exercise any portion control at all. My standard joke (which is not really a joke) is seeing a 40 oz container of nuts at Costco and saying "oh look, a single serving container of nuts!"

Do you find that oatmeal and whole grain breads actually fit into a truly LC diet?


I've seen plenty of fruits, vegetables and other things that are considered to be low on glycemic index charts, but are quite high in carbs, sure to set off the blood sugar roller coaster and cravings for me.

Sure, leafy greens and other LC veggies, as well as meat are Low glycemic as well as LC, so those would be ok as a combination LC/arthritis diet. (Althoguh I need to be really careful with the leafy greens - they tend to really upset my gut)

What I wonder about though - Eliminating the foods that are not allowed on that diet (various poultry, organ, and egg products), as well as eliminating the foods that are not LC (oatmeal, whole grain breads), plus eliminating the foods that I have no self control when eating (nuts) and limiting myself to the few things on that list that are not problematic for me - that makes for an extremely limited diet.

I'm just wondering how it works out for someone doing LC, what you actually eat that keeps it truly LC without feeling like there's very little to eat. (I'm sure it would help a lot if I didn't have so many foods that set off cravings on the allowed and low glycemic index)

I'm not an expert, and can't answer directly, but I tried things out and noticed how they affected me. Of course YMMV.

I don't know what fatty cuts of meat are exactly. As I said, I'm no expert. I usually buy 100% grass-fed beef. Grass-fed is leaner. I eat pork and fish, mostly cod or haddock. My DW likes Salmon, I don't care for it.

Fish, beef and pork, typically, once a week each.

I eat European dairy almost every day. Europe uses A2 cows. My DW has a problem with A1 milk, which most of the US is. A1 cows give more milk and the US prizes profits above health.

I find cheese a good source of protein, although it is higher in fat, that doesn't seem to bother me.

I do not eat chicken, and almost no egg yolk, although I do eat egg whites, which I put cheese in to give it some flavor.

Nuts, I eat every day. My breakfast is usually 18 raw almonds and a couple of cups of tea (stevia and heavy whipping cream in dark tea, only stevia in green).

Mid morning I'll have a whey shake, I get this brand https://www.amazon.com/Raw-Grass-Fe...ps%2C146&sr=8-5

They have an organic version, but I can't afford that. They use Jersey cows (a2 milk) and the cows are grass-fed. I put some stevia and extract in it for flavor.

I usually drink coffee in the afternoon. Caffeine doesn't do anything to me, I drink the tea and coffee because they taste good and are good for me. I can drink 2 cups of coffee and go to sleep. I read about this and think I am a slow caffeine metabolizer.

I eat keto bread, either from Aldi or Netrition.com and never eat the regular stuff. I think even whole wheat is too carby for me. I limit my carbs to fewer than 20 per day to stay in ketosis. A local 'health food' store sells millet and flax flatbreads that are low carb and wheat free.

I eat a lot of nuts, and organic nut butter. Good protein with fiber, keto friendly, and I like them.

I can eat nightshades but sadly they bother my DW.

Keeping my carbs under 20 per day is what I need to stay in ketosis, so sadly, most fruit is out.

I was keto before the arthritis/bursitis diet was recommended to me by a doctor. But I had inherited bursitis from my father that was so bad, I couldn't walk two blocks without sitting, and I couldn't drive without one of those 'blue ice' packs behind my hip. Now I can walk 2 to 4 miles for exercise, and drive all day if i want to.

My main problem was a lot of chicken and eggs. These have the highest Arachidonic Acid amounts, by far. I really love chicken and eggs, but I like being pain free and not wrecking my body.

Everybody is different, but I'd rather give up foods than to live in pain. My diet is limited, but I'm healthy. I get some keto friendly foods via netrition.com that satisfy the urge once in a while. Even then, I have to be careful, as 20 carbs per day is not very much.

I'm going to be 76 this month, on zero prescriptions, a heart doc tested me and says I have a circulation system of a healthy 50 year old person, and I feel healthy. I finally have a BMI of normal. I figure good health is the most important thing. Without that, nothing else matters.

If I had to eat the same thing every day to be this healthy, I would. Fortunately I can have limited variety.

Bob

First I want to make sure you understand that I'm not criticizing your diet - just trying to figure out how it works.



Grass fed beef is leaner on the hoof - but when when cutting for sale the total amount of fat in and on the meat you buy depends a great deal on just how much fat is trimmed away in the butchering process. I have just recently acquired some grass fed ground beef from a steer my brother had processed. He specifically asked the butcher not to trim the fat before grinding, because last time it was far too lean for his tastes. Overall, it looks at least as fatty as the fattiest ground beef I see in stores.

That's why I was hoping you could give me some idea what's actually meant by "lean beef" on that diet - all ground beef is sold by the lean percentage (as opposed to the fat percentage, as was the case back in the 70's) If I look for ground beef that has the word "lean" on it, 70% lean would be considered "lean". And yet I know that any conventional nutritionist would probably consider 70% lean to be excessively fatty, and only consider 90+% lean to be lean enough to meet the dietician's definition of "lean".

It sounds like you only have 3 servings of animal flesh weekly, and eat European dairy almost every day. Does that mean you get some kind of animal protein at every meal so that you fill in the bulk of your protein needs with dairy? This is where I'd start having real problems - I'm glad you don't have any kind of control issue with nuts.



If I ate 18 almonds, I might be able to control my intake for a few days, but it wouldn't be long before I'd just fall face first into the container and finish off a month's worth of nuts in one morning.

Definitely better than the typical flavored whey proteins I've seen - so many carbs in those. But oh-my-the-price! Yikes! Glad it works for you though.
I've had Aldi's keto breads. I don't know what it is about them, but I don't feel particularly good on them. I still use them sometimes though.



You're definitely right that whole wheat bread is too carby. Sure it has a couple g of fiber you can knock off the total carb count, but because whole grains tend to taste bitter, you need to add some kind of sweetener to it to cover up the bitterness, which increases the carbs. (I used to bake all kinds of breads from scratch - there's a chemistry involved when working with each type of flour to create a good loaf of bread)

I like nuts entirely too much! Same with nut butters - I'll tell myself I'm only going to have a small amount, but I really can't fool myself into believing when I lose control and eat nearly an entire jar of almond butter at one sitting that I've just had a keto-friendly snack.
The only fruit I've ever particularly liked all that much is berries, one reason I believe I was always meant to be LC. For the most part I can exercise a reasonable amount of portion control when eating berries, and other fruits are not really an issue. If DH gets some cherries, I might eat a couple of them, or if he gets a watermelon, I might eat a couple of 1" cubes of it, but I don't like either of those enough to eat more than that.
Eggs and chicken are such an economical source of protein that it's a shame you can't eat them regularly.


Generally speaking the only time my joints bother me is when the weather is changing (barometric pressure change), but even then it's not to the point that I'm in need of a cane or in serious pain, just a generally annoying achiness in the joints.



If I ever get to the point that I'm in serious pain on eggs and chicken, I'd give them up though.



Since you said you can use egg whites, have you tried the Egg Life egg white wraps? They're just egg whites and some xanthan gum (to keep them soft and pliable), although the flavored ones have some seasonings added. They sell a couple of flavors at Aldi, although you might find other stores in your area that have them too.

The doctor that gave me that diet decades ago has long since retired so I can't tell you what he meant by lean beef. I'm no expert, but the grass-fed organic beef I buy seems leaner than the average burger. Since I don't have joint pain, I figure what I'm buying is OK, and the proof is in the pudding.

I also suppose how much fat one individual can tolerate compared to another is different.

If I eat a steak or pork chops I'll trim the fat off.

I consider dairy to be animal protein, but I'm no expert. I've read they contain the same mix of amino acids.

Yes, that brand of whey is expensive, but it is a large quantity and goes a long way, too. If I buy the 5lb bag, it's $1.00/oz, which is about in the middle between the high I see of $1.50/oz and the low I see of $0.62/oz. And all I am paying for is the whey. I'm not paying whey prices for the flavorings.

Since my DW is A1 dairy intolerant, having Jersey Cow (A2) whey means we both can share it. And IMO good health is priceless. I'd rather pay for good food than for cable TV. But that's just me.

A1 milk has a mutation in one of the amino acids that change it from a proline to a histidine, which turns into a histamine in your system and of course we know about antihistamines.

I'm pain free when I used to be in constant pain.

I'm not wild about Aldi bread, but it works. This one is expensive so we use it for special meals https://netrition.com/products/thinslim-foods-bread -- our local 'health food store' carries these https://www.samisbakery.com/product...nd-flax-lavash/ and a lower-carb wrap that has soy in it. I tend to limit how much soy I eat.

If I need pasta (my parents were both Italian), this is the best substitute I have found, again a little expensive but I'll cut back somewhere else if I need to https://netrition.com/products/great-lc-bread-pasta

Fortunately I can portion control myself with nuts and nut butters. I'm down to 173 now, but my new norm is now 175 plus or minus a couple. Since everyone else in my family is +300, that's quite a feat for me.

Eggs and chicken are indeed inexpensive sources of protein, and I love eggs and chicken, but as I said, I'd rather live pain free.

Being pain free is better for me than buying the latest fashions, subscription services for TV, paying someone else to mow my yard, having a fancy car, and a lot of other things. But like I said, that's just me.

I'll be 76 next week, I am on zero prescriptions and my doctor calls me an easy patient. He has no advice except to keep doing what I'm doing.

That is priceless.

Bob

I feel like I've taken over the thread with this discussion - I don't mean to do that.

My only point about you only eating 3 servings of animal flesh (meat, fish) was that those are the only meat/fish you get in an entire week.

Yes of course the cheese and other dairy would certainly count as animal sources of protein, while not being animal flesh - I'm just used to eating a lot more animal flesh than that, so it kind of surprised me that's all the animal flesh you eat, and concentrate on dairy sources for the rest of your protein needs.

As I said earlier about giving up chicken and eggs, I'd certainly do it if I hurt enough to make it worthwhile - I'm not quite that stubborn!

The fact that your neighbor doesn't mind being in so much pain that she needs a cane just so she can eat pasta seems almost masochistic. (She wouldn't need to completely give up fruit, since LC fruits would be fine in limited amounts)

She knows how much better she felt without pasta and lots of carby fruits, but we know how addictive those things can be. Feeding that addiction must be worth the pain she endures, or else she'd be doing what she knows works to feel better.

and it is unnecessary. All the "taste" in pasta dishes comes from the sauce. I've been slicing up cabbage into "lasagna" or "fetuccini" "noodles" and spiralizing zucchini for 20 years and don't miss pasta at all.

Black bean pasta is pretty good. Quite neutral in flavor if you can get past eating gray pasta. Extremely filling with high protein and fiber. I bought some red lentil pasta too, but haven't tried it yet.

Exactly!



I've been using zuchinni as pasta (Squashta or Zoodles) for many years too.


These days I use a hand held vegetti spiralizer, which can make a huge pile of long thin strands of zucchini very quickly, but you really don't need any more than a basic vegetable peeler to create medium to wide width noodles.



I don't miss pasta at all either.

I often wonder what it is about pasta that makes people crave it so much, and the only conclusion I have is that it provides a craving just like bread where one can eat to excess without getting full. Other than that, it has no taste unless one adds seasonings. Very dangerous for me at one time in my life and now in the very distant past. Vegetable substitutes are healthier and more flavorful.

I crave it because my grandparents were all from Italy.

Actually, macaroni, bread and other starches are just a vehicle for the fats (butter/cheese) or sauces.

This is the best substitute that I've found.

I don't know why I don't eat flesh every day. I certainly do like it, and have no vegetarian type objections.

Three days a week, and perhaps another of fish just seems to work for me. Sometimes a fourth day of meat, I'm not on a particular schedule.

I guess I just happen to like cheese, cheddar (especially sharp), gouda, swiss, parmesan, brie, havarti, or whatever. Usually without added spices or other flavorings.

I love bacon but it makes me hold water, so I eat it sparingly. Usually a few strips along with some other kind of protein.

I do know whatever I'm eating agrees with me. I've lost a lot of weight, and I'm healthy. I catch a mild cold about once every 15 years and that's it. I'm on zero prescriptions and my cicrulatory system is healthy. And I've gone from being in constant pain to being pain free.

I really don't know if what I eat would be best for anyone else though. I do know the arthritis/bursitis diet works for everyone I know who has seriously tried it.

Today's my birthday, so I might go off-diet with a piece of cheesecake. My wife wants me to have birthday cake, it's an act of love, so I can't turn that down. I'll survive

Bob