Souring foods increase yeast content and subsequently Vitamin B. But the best thing about it is the extra flavor that comes from souring food.

I was on a high protein diet for five years, but I never ate for flavor, it was for health. The protein may have filled me up and left me full for a long time, but I never thoroughly enjoyed the flavor of various meats and protein all the time. Introducing soured grains, milk, and veggies have dramatically helped with my health.

The high protein diet weakened my digestive system because I took it to the extreme. I ask if sour foods can wreck my digestion in a different way? I dunno, but right now it feels right. However the high protein diet felt right at the time too. I wish I knew. Anyone been on a high sour foods diet for a long period of time.?

My motivation to change to a LC diet was strictly to avoid blood sugar spikes. Now I have eliminated grains and significantly reduced my 4x a week gym sessions (replaced with Slow Burn) and watched my allergies mostly disappear. I had swelling/puffiness in my legs, feet and face which is very rare now (still cannot pin down what brings it back – milk?). My skin is better and my muscles ache far less.

Although heart disease is rightly the focus of the discussion, I would love to learn more about other effects inflammtion has on us as well, and how to better recognize what might cause it in each of us individually.

Not necessarily. If you have a process that damages an artery, the likeliest place for damage is that place that is under the most constant stress.

Next, the liver send lp(a) to heal the weak spot; cholesterol to the rescue!.

Now the free radicals start to oxidise this cholesterol, and that leads ultimately to inflammation.

Now, all this doesn’t have to happen if we make sure we produce enough collagen. How do we do this : make sure our ascorbate intakes are sufficient.

I think there is a lot of evidence that supports this theory. All the mamals that are able to produce their own ascorbate don’t seem to develop CVD, no matter how much they eat.

I have read quit a lot about the virtues of ascorbate, so you need to have some pretty good arguments to make me doubt Pauling

P.s. I know you take vitamin C as a supplement, so why not elaborate on this?

I too get irritated at the “adrenal fatigue” hokum so prevalent. There is a reality that is obvious in asthma, shown by albuterol-type “rescue” inhalers, very dangerous because their constant use downregulates the number of epi-receptors, creating the need for MORE, not to mention fostering dependence.
In modern life, even people not born with asthma can develop it through a lifestyle in which adrenals are stimulated constantly by A] horror movies, sprots events, etc in which stimulation and attendant hormones are NOT resolved by physical activity; B] epi and GLUCO-corticoids also regulate (low) blood sugar, so these adrenal hormones are also tapped regularly when carb-addicts cannot get their fix; C] and of course the chronic stress of daily life. Notice that all of these situations were virtually unknown 100 years ago when Joslin stated that diabetes precluded asthma, and vice-versa.
So yes, adrenal fatigue is real, a result of too much adrenal cranking, with minmal physical “resolution”.
The remedy: rare Chinese herbs? Goat gland extracts? Hah! The remedy is CALM DOWN your life; get physical, in best condition possible; stay maximally hydrated (more later); eat right, eat minimal calories.
Of course, the lifelong asthmatic, having struggled for breath so often, learns to CRAVE those high adrenal moments, when breathing is clear, no worries and you feel so good, and so strong.

In short Dr Eades, my conclusions dovetail with your own, right down to the Slow-Burn exercise. Its an honor and delight to read your material, really for the first time since your book (still on my shelf here!) so many years ago.
For me physical conditioning and exercise are sine qua non.

My approach is that asthma is a CONDITION, not a “disease”. My “remedy” is that remedy is a last resort. Apart from your own program (and mine) for optimal health,
Hydration is critical to everyone, especially asthmatics. The body experiences poor hydration as a stressor and– surprise!– responds with adrenal “stress” hormones. My guess is that the mechanism is to remove INTRA-cellular water gradually to meet the needs intercellular water needs. It has been shown (apparently– cf Stephen Peters, don’t have the cite anywhere closeby) that poor cellular hydration is inflammatory. Who would have guessed?!
Some experts say, “Poor hydration is rare. We have the thirst mechanism to tell us when to drink. The body self-regualtes water very well.” Maybe in a healthy body in an ideal world. But I think our thirst mechanism can be perverted; and obviously the fluids
Personally, when my breathing gets a bit tight, first thing I do is drink some water but basically I want to stay a ahead of poor hydration– “catching up” on hydration is harder.
So just drink 8 glasses of water each day? Nope. I go thru a gallon of water when I work outside in the summer. A small person working in an air-conditioned office may need a quart. And how much “wet” food do you eat? And so on. Highly variable, obviously.

Leading to my question– I tend to urinate more than is desirable at night. Calcium citrate helps but I’m not eager to get on calcium supplement. I’d like to get a deeper understanding of hydration, major electrolytes and any important minor one. Can you steer me into any book, especially one referencing peer-reviewed studies?

I’ll read the rest of your site sometime soon, thanks again, J Sandy Hepler

Your thoughts?

Osteoarthritis is sort of an inflammatory condition, but not at all like rheumatoid arthritis and other serious autoimmune inflammatory arthritides. People with osteoarthritis typically do do better on lower-carb diets because lower-carb diets are less inflammatory than high carb diets. I suspect that a switch to a vegetarian diet would not be for the better.

I got a big problem. Stent placed three years ago in LAD. I passed out unexpectedly 18 months ago, and after many tests, they did another cath and it showed NO blockage. All was well with the heart, it seemed. Two weeks ago, chest pain. Another cath. Blockage above the first stent in the LAD. Oh, no, I thought I had this heart disease figured out.

For a year now, I have been very strict eating my LC WOE. I take the supplements you recommend. The only thing I do wrong is over the past year, my job’s stress level is beyond belief. Super long hours, super stressful. And… I drink too much alcohol. Not a sot, not an alcoholic, but when I drink, which has been three to four days a week, I drink 4-8 drinks. Not good.

So, I can reduce stress and I can reduce or eliminate alcohol. I can do that. But is that enough? I want to beat this and obviously, I’m not. Are you still thinking eating one meal a day could help? I don’t know if I could eat every other day. I suppose I could if it means survival. One meal a day, though, seems doable. I recall Hershel Walker, the running back, when interviewed years ago said he ate one meal a day and I thought how odd is that!

Are you still thinking this about heart disease? I’m not asking you to prescribe. Just, what is your current thinking on reducing chronic inflammation?

P.S. My family history is dismal. My dad, both his brothers, CVD got them all.

I do think stress reduction will help as will cutting down on the drinking. Although alcohol is a stress reducer to an extent it is also causes liver inflammation. Many of the inflammatory cytokines that end up damaging blood vessels can come from an inflamed liver, so I would cut the booze and try to restore liver health. I would also take a lot of vitamin D3. If you are working long hours (I assume yours in an indoors job), you are sun deprived, and, therefore, vitamin D deprived. You should get your levels of 25 (OH) D checked, and take enough vitamin D3 to get them to normal. I might start with 50,000 IU then 5,000 IU per day – assuming your levels are low. Finally, take a look at Dr. Davis’s Track Your Plaque program. You can read about it on his blog (note the most recent one on vitamin D). And, yes, I do still stand by my views on the inflammatory basis of heart disease.

As Bacteria needs also glucose for survival, Low Carb diets are beneficial as well.

Thanks for the kind words. I’m glad you’re enjoying the blog.