Next Steps

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.