180DD

180 Degree Digestion
A discussion on the many paths to

digestive ruin and recovery
By Matt Stone
A www.180degreehealth.com presentation
Copyright 2009 180DegreeHealth, LLC. All rights reserved worldwide. This publication and content is protected by law, and all
rights are reserved, including resale rights: you are not allowed to sell this E-Book to anyone else. Reproduction or translation of any
part of this work beyond that permitted by Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act without permission of the
copyright owner is unlawful. If you did not buy this publication on www.180DegreeHealth.com, you've received a pirated copy.
Please contact us via e-mail found in our website, and notify us of the situation."
Within the Bowels of 180 Degree Digestion

Digestion Overview
Fiber - Making Shatters Worse
IBS and the Generation X Woman
15
Constipation
25
Candida
40
Santa Schulzes Post-Christmas Cleanse
54
Poopie Moods
65
Digestive Exercise
73
Gag it Down
79
Glandular Support
94
Colonoscopy
104
The FUMP Diet
108
Food-Combining
113
Gluten and Casein
118
The Specific Carbohydrate Diet
121
Grand Conclusions
123
Helpful Resources
129
Dedicated to all those who suffer from digestive illness, a horrendous and puzzling
affliction that often requires decades of experimentation and treatment to find longlasting solutions. May this give you hope, ideas, direction, and inspiration, and may this
help keep future generations from falling into the abyss of this ever-worsening
constellation of maladies.
DIGESTION OVERVIEW
Without a doubt, nowhere is there more confusion or controversy in

the field of nutrition and health than there is in the field of digestion.
No other subject can claim a broader field of disagreements and
combative stances. Period.
For starters, there are movements (ha, ha) that swear by raw food
diets as the answer to good digestion. On the other end of the
spectrum are regimens that tout that all food needs to be cooked to
assist digestion.
Then youve got an intense squaring off between fiber worshipers and
fiber loathers. One side of the fence, the one were all familiar with,
claims that eating lots of fiber can do everything short of time travel.
Yet, very low fiber diets are among the best courses of treatment for a
host of colorectal disorders that mainstream medicine blames on, you
guessed it, lack of fiber. There are some that even pin these
colorectal disorders on dietary fiber itself (although theyre wrong).
But theres more!
The other day a big headline came out stating that there was a link
between saturated fat consumption and colon Cancer. That very day I
was reading about the apparent protective effects that saturated fat
appeared to have over colon cancer according to a book put out by
fiber gurus Denis Burkitt, Hugh Trowell, and Kenneth Heaton. Should
I just flip a coin or what?
Scientists cant even decide how many bowel movements were

supposed to have per day and what the consistency of those
movements should be. All we hear is that our poop is supposed to be
bulky, yet the massive diameter of modern mans poop causes all
kinds of issues itself from anal fissures to hemorrhoids. Does tearing
your anus with a huge one really call for more bulk, as our doctors
recommend?
Even better is the warning label on fiber supplements. They are

supposed to magically cure us of constipation and digestive distress,
yet their labels warn us to discontinue use if we notice pain,
constipation, excessive bloating, etc a myriad of gastrointestinal
complaints.
And then there are food allergies, candida, leaky gut syndrome and
more. Independent nutritional researchers have created entire
movements around these issues and mainstream medicine is still
questioning whether or not any of the above even exists. To them, its
all still filed under alternative medicine hocus pocus.
Further still, there are physical conditions that are known to have a
dramatic effect on digestive function, and virtually no one knows
anything about it. Fructose malabsorption and bacterial overgrowth of
the small intestine are two of the most common ailments in the
modern world, yet your doctor has probably never even heard of these
issues or understands the significance of them. Yet, Irritable Bowel
Syndrome is typically caused and cured by treating this situation.
Then there is the human metabolism. Even digestive experts are

totally unaware that there is a mass epidemic of subnormal
metabolism, sometimes referred to as type II hypothyroidism, that
has endless negative impacts on digestion from several angles. Since
the metabolism is a system-wide overseer, directly impacting the basic
energy operation of every human cell, its impacts on digestion are not
to be overlooked. Correcting the metabolism, because of the
likelihood that it will improve any number of digestive disorders and
also because it is largely unaccounted for in mainstream digestive
guidance, is a primary focus of 180 Degree Digestion.
With all this to account for, and the massive flood of T.M.I. on the
topic, is there any way to make sense of all this, ahem, crap?
Of course there is. Although there is far from a one-size fits all
approach to fixing digestion as digestion ranks among the most
variable functions from person to person, it is important to get a
handle on the basics. Basics like, Where did gastrointestinal illness
come from? Why is it rapidly getting worse? What is the root cause of
digestive disorders? How does a breakdown in digestion affect the rest
of the body? What are some strategies to repair a broken gut?
Hang on as I attempt to answer those questions and many others

while proposing some theories that few have heard before. From
appendicitis to eradicating the stomach-turning car fart, hold on as

we travel through a dark tunnel, twisting to and fro, dodging fierce
obstacles and foul odors on our search for the light at the end of that
tunnel.
FIBER - MAKING SHATTERS WORSE

Side Effects: Bloating, gas, and a feeling of fullness may occur. If these effects
continue or become bothersome, inform your doctor. Notify your doctor if you
experience: stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, rectal bleeding, unrelieved
constipation
-Metamucil Powder; a fiber supplement recommended by doctors worldwide to improve

digestion??
Fiber has an incredible history of overstatement.
From the current
heart health claims that can be found on just about any box of
breakfast cereal to the dawn of the health food fad and the worship of
bran and all else cardboard, what has fiber done to deserve these
elevated claims?
Not a whole lot.
Fibers worship began primarily with the work of Denis Burkitt and
Hugh Trowell (although Graham and later Kellogg had been
threatening to sic Tony the Tiger on people if they didnt get enough
roughage for years prior). These guys have a legendary status in
modern day nutritional and gastroenterological lore. Trowell, Burkitt,
and a handful of others noted that in rural Africa, the local citizens
were not suffering from a whole host of illnesses many of them

digestive in origin. Constipation? None. Diverticulosis? Never heard
of it. Appendicitis? Not in these here parts and many more that in
modern times are considered part of life for billions of people, not
some anomaly.
The difference of course between their diets and the diets of the
wealthier and more industrialized nations was the lack of refinement in
their carbohydrate staples. Instead of eating lots of white sugar, white
rice, and white flour, which contain anywhere from a small portion to
none of their original fiber content they subsisted off of very fibrous
whole grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables in their whole form. It
was obvious that the lack of refinement of these grains was the key
differentiating factor. The question then, was why.
Their answer, of course, was fiber, glorious fiber, to which the

mainstream quickly embraced with an onslaught of high-fiber
marketing. The idea that fiber was an essential component in the diet
and a primary focus of creating a healthy foundation for the everyday
diet was far-reaching. Doctors, dieticians, and more began
recommending fiber supplementation and high-fiber foods for digestive
health, overcoming digestive illness, heart health, lowering the risk of
colon cancer, and on and on. Fiber is good became so pervasive that
the other Matt Stone created a cartoon character named Mr. Hanky, a
talking turd that wears a Santa hat, spreading Christmas cheer to
young boys and girls that have a lot of fiber in their diet. (Come on,
like I could resist bringing that up).
10
Unfortunately, distributing a widespread alert to all of humanity that

fiber was healthy and that you might keel over and die at any minute
if you didnt eat enough of it did a lot of injustice.
For starters, there is no requirement for dietary fiber. With it, or

without it, your chances of developing disease are unchanged. In fact,
using a similar line of thinking, one could just as easily prove that fiber
was the enemy of mankind, as the traditional Eskimo and Masai tribe
of Africa ate a zero-fiber diet and also had complete immunity from
every modern disease, including digestive complaints thought to be
caused by a diet containing insufficient fiber. Fiber was consumed in
industrialized nations where ailments of all kinds burdened the
majority of citizens. Did fiber cause this?
No, of course not. The theme between these humans on primitive

diets that did not suffer disease obviously wasnt fiber. In rural Africa
they were eating up to 100 grams per day without disease. A hop,
skip, and jump over in Kenya the Masai were eating zero grams per
day without disease. Fiber intake was in no way the commonality
between the two. The commonality was that neither were consuming
refined grain and refined sugar. Sure, sugar and flour are refined by
the removal of fiber, but vitamins, minerals, and protein are removed
as well. They were ground into fine powders that are too easy to
digest, and that sat around for months becoming rancid further
eliminating any nutritional value that remained. One could also argue,
in the case of sugar, that it has a druglike effect, disturbing endocrine
function and subsequently impacting digestion.
11
Thus, when relying on logic that is not pitiful like that of Burkitt, it
becomes easy to see that whether the diet contains boatloads of fiber
or none at all, one can achieve marvelous health. Instead, the
message that got passed along to the public after it had been sifted
through the food, restaurant, and supplement businesses was, here,
add some fiber to your crappy, disease-causing diet or else. The
results were not so glamorous, as we all know.
Even more unfortunate were those with colorectal disorders,

inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulitis,
and more that were told emphatically by nearly every doctor they
encountered, that the diet they should be on was a very high-fiber diet
full of all kinds of inappropriate foods for someone with intestinal
inflammation beans and legumes, grain fiber, and raw fruits and
vegetables. Wash it down with a good psyllium husk fiber
supplement and plenty of water, was thrown in on top of that an
indigestible substance akin to swallowing wood shavings that
predictably causes a great deal of bloating, pain, and gastrointestinal
distress as the Metamucil Powder warning label indicates. Why
wouldnt it?
In all of my research, it appears like refined foods, packaged foods, a

high-refined sugar diet, and other modern junk foods lower the
metabolic rate for reasons that arent entirely clear. When the
metabolic rate is lowered, this effects digestion in at least two very
fundamental ways. The first, is that the immune system does not
function as well. This is due to several factors, the most important
being that the body temperature runs lower than normal (the opposite
of a fever, which helps fight germs obviously), and this is very
12
favorable to pathogenic yeasts, bacteria, parasites, and other critters

known to ruin digestion in a dozen different ways from damaging the
mucosal lining and intestinal villi to releasing irritating acidic
byproducts to harming the natural bacterial flora of an otherwise
healthy digestive tract.
The second, is that a lowered metabolism slows the transit of food

from your mouth to your derriere. This can lead to constipation, dry
stools, and fecal compaction. The result is that large, dry, painful
stools which cause a great deal of straining to expel go on to blow out
intestines like a hernia (diverticulosis something more than 50% of
the elderly now suffer from), cause veins to hemorrhage
(hemorrhoids), tear anal tissues (known as fissures), and other of the
most common of all colorectal disorders. Constipation is also wellknown for its association with the development of polyps and
subsequently, colon cancer. And that is the short list of problems that
constipation can cause or exacerbate.
As for the constipation, the belief is of course that fiber is the cure,
and that stools can be made bulkier by the addition of fiber to the
diet. Although fiber can have a laxative effect for some, due
oftentimes to intestinal irritation, a bulkier stool is the last thing many
with constipation need. The bulk of the fiber can make the stools even
larger, the straining to expel them even greater, the pressure on veins
and anal tissues magnified, and other effects that are galaxies away
from being helpful.
In summary, fiber is not the holy substance that it is touted as being.

Not only is it not the active ingredient in the prevention of much of
13
anything, it can be problematic for someone who has managed to

develop a digestive illness. There is nothing inherently wrong with it,
but it does not have the inherent value that the research of Burkitt,
Trowell, and others has led the masses to believe (after its filtration
through media and money because these guys generally did feel that
avoiding junky refined carbs was the most sensible solution, not taking
Metamucil and eating sugary breakfast cereal with added fiber).
A healthy diet can be high in fiber or low in fiber. It doesnt really

matter that much. Humans, a fantastically adaptable omnivorous
species, have obtained fabulous health either way throughout history.
Plus, we are mammals who come into the world consuming only milk
without suffering constipation from its complete lack of fiber. An
infants moist, soft, easily-passed poop is not a result of fiber in the
diet, but of a lack of foods that cause a destruction of the metabolism
and ruin to the digestion and immune system (the root causes of
nearly all disease).
If fiber is very irritating to you personally, then it does matter a great

deal whether your diet is high or low in fiber. Although Im always a
proponent of attacking problems head-on and finding a way to
improve a fiber intolerance as opposed to running from it in fear, there
are many scenarios in which a low-fiber diet can perform miracles in a
matter of days flattening the stomach, eliminating pain, increasing
nutrient absorption, reducing intestinal inflammation, and annihilating
gas and bloating.
Break free from fiber dogma. It will not save you, and may potentially
be doing harm if your pipes are all screwed up with invasive flora,
14
yeasts, and inflammation. There is a more appropriate focus to

restoring harmony within the human body and preventing colorectal
disorders from ever surfacing in the first place compose your
everyday diet exclusively of real food (with the exception of a little
intact, refined grains such as white rice and pearled barley), and save
modern junk and sugary treats for rare occasion.
To eat a diet that is low in fiber, make the focus of your diets fatty
meats, low-fiber starches such as peeled potatoes, white rice, and corn
tortillas, and rich sources of fiber-free energy such as coconut milk/oil,
cream, and butter. When you do consume fibrous foods, make sure
that they are very well-cooked you know how grandma always
cooked the bajeezus out of the green beans over the holidays, and
keep the portions fairly small. Avoid raw fruits, raw salads, and raw
vegetables like the plague, and steer clear of whole grains until your
digestion has cleared up considerably. Then, it may be possible to
reintroduce these more nutritious versions and have great health like
the many African tribes that led Denis Burkitt, among many others, to
the conclusion that fiber was a divine substance.
15
IBS AND THE GENERATION X WOMAN
When I meet a woman about my age that is starting to suffer some

of the ills of IBS, now the most commonly diagnosed digestive illness,
I dont even have to ask how she eats. If youve met one, youve met
them all. This is one scenario in which the stereotype plays itself out
to near perfection.
Women in my demographic love to follow health. They read health

magazines, eat low-fat foods, order foods off of the menu that sound
light, like vibrant raw foods that have bright colors and a crisp
crunch, tend to shun the common heart attack foods like butter,
bacon, eggs, burgers, and big slabs of ribs, equate the word organic
with orgasmic, view eating to fullness as a mortal sin, eat Special K
with soy milk and fruit for breakfast if they have the appetite for
breakfast at all, view meals that arent predominantly salad greens as
heavy, gasp if they discover theyve eaten anything with more than
100 calories, spend half their income on supplements and workout
paraphernalia, are on birth control, are quick to go to the doctor at
any sign of illness, and hail the Smoothie as the liquid furor that rules
their kingdom of fitness and fabulousness. Guilty pleasures include
coffee, chocolate, and alcohol which they view as no big deal in light
of their otherwise flawless health regime.
16
The result of this supposedly flawless, Dr. Oz-esque, by-the-book

approach to health is acne, poor musculature with a flaccid, puffy layer
above it, a delicate, inflamed potbelly, violent mood swings, menstrual
pain and irregularity (or straight up amenorrhea), food cravings with a
tendency to binge on white flour products and sweets, fatigue (except
when someone mentions the word chocolate or smoothie) borderline
depression, and, more often than not, Irritable Bowel Syndrome that
roars with ever-increasing volume.
Pardon me for making these crude generalizations, but crude people

occasionally do crude things, what can I say?
Of course these are exaggerations, and no one fits this exact

stereotype, but hopefully you see what Im getting at. The reason I
bring this up, specific to women, is that the diagnosis of Irritable
Bowel Syndrome is granted to three times more women than men. It
is truly a gender-specific disorder, and my personal, real-life
experience tells me that this has a lot to do with diet and lifestyle than
any other factors. And the 20-something woman is often the victim of
this ever-increasing digestive illness (oral contraceptives are another
major suspect, based on the differences between 20-something
women and other groups).
Irritable Bowel Syndrome is now the most common diagnosis given by

gastroenterologists in the United States. IBS is a vague diagnosis that
sums up frequent problems with diarrhea or constipation or the very
common affliction of alternating between distinct bouts of both.
17
Although there is no hard proof that living a typical healthy life with
truckloads of legumes, fibrous vegetables, raw veggies, fruits,
breakfast cereals, as part of a low-fat, low-calorie, high-exercise, highsugar and stimulant, predominantly vegetarian lifestyle can directly
cause IBS or any other digestive disorder, experience tells me
otherwise.
For starters, like I said, when someone comes to me complaining of

excessive gas, bowel frequency, stomach pain, poorly formed stools,
constipation, and food sensitivities I first assume that the diet of that
person consists of irritating raw, fibrous, roughage. The next
assumption is that the complementary foods animal proteins and
fats in particular, are kept to a minimum. Throw in birth control pills,
which have long been noted as problematic for intestinal flora by those
who study the pathological yeast Candida Albicans, such as William
Crook, M.D., the author of the groundbreaking book The Yeast
Connection, and digestive problems of all kinds come knocking on your
toilet.
When I lay out the basic premise that a diet rich in such foods is
nightmarish to an ailing digestive tract, and that rest from the
fermentation of all that intact fiber will provide seemingly miraculous
relief by the weekend, those willing to try it are rarely disappointed.
The call for a minimization of the sugar molecule, fructose, in all forms
long thought to be the ultimate food for candida and well-understood
to be the most commonly malabsorbed type of sugar molecule, yields
even further results.
18
Although I would never chastise natural foods such as salad greens,

vegetables, fresh fruits, whole grains, and nuts as demonic foodstuffs,
the bottom line is that IBS, an illness characterized by bacterial
overgrowth of the small intestine and potentially yeast infestation to
boot, is greatly aggravated by each and every one of these foods. In
addition, these fibrous and not-so-dense foods require that a large
quantity of food be consumed and passed through the digestive tract,
which requires more work and creates more irritation. Think of it this
way a stick of butter (dense) contains the same amount of calories
as a large basket of cabbages. With irritation in the intestines,
bloating, gas, and stomach pain eating a stick of butter for cellular
fuel sure beats the crap out of a dozen whole heads of cabbage.
It is unfortunate that modern humans have gotten to the point that

they could somehow be confused about this. Since the beginning of
time, butterfat vs. green leafy foods has been a no-brainer. Sure, a
few cabbage leaves can provide some great minerals and vitamin C to
the diet, and as an accompaniment to a meal it has always been held
in high regard, but no sane person prior to the 20th century would
have ever dreamed of spilling a cup of cream or dropping a stick of
silky butter to save a head of cabbage. Butterfat is the food of kings
and synonymous with the anointed. Cabbage is just cabbage. You
only live on it if forced to by the pressure of extreme poverty.
And so, the recommendations for someone struggling with IBS are laid
out very accurately by who is perhaps the leading mainstream
specialist on overcoming this disorder, Mark Pimentel of Cedars-Sanai
in Los Angeles. Pimentel recommends a low-residue diet (meaning
low bulk/low fiber with high caloric density), that excludes most raw
19
fruits and vegetables, sugary foods especially those high in fructose,

and complex oligosaccharide-rich beans and legumes. According to
Pimentel, and I would agree wholeheartedly, the diet should contain
adequate protein no more, no less. Carbohydrates, because they
are high-residue and contain a host of sugars that can feed bacteria if
poorly digested, are best kept low to moderate in the diet. The rest of
the necessary energy required for bodily maintenance is best supplied
by fat.
Based on Pimentels calculations on protein and carbohydrates, while

leaving the door open for speculation on how much fat one should
consume to get their caloric quota, one would need to obtain anywhere
from 60-80% of their calories as fat to successfully follow his
recommendations. As many of you know from the discussion in 180
Degree Metabolism, a diet that is high in fat by percentage of calories
is very low in overall quantity of food ingested. This is very relieving
to the digestive organs, and fat helps to perform the function of
speeding the transit of food from mouth to anus something only fiber
has been given credit for in the past, and that is of the utmost
importance for someone with constipation-driven IBS.
Now this is not an endorsement of fiber phobia. There is no need,

except perhaps in really severe cases, for someone to go to such an
extreme with either fiber or carbohydrate restriction. But we must
all overcome the idea that we should eat our body weight in salad
every day, avoid fat, eat lots of lean proteins preferably from plant
sources such as beans, legumes, soy products, and nuts, limit calories,
and exercise our brains out. This is one of the grandest
20
misconceptions of the 20th century (hopefully not the 21st as well, but
things arent looking good so far).
And many gastroenterologists are not helping, as they typically preach

the gospel of fibers praise. They have been told since day 1 that the
key to great digestive health is to eat more fiber and take fiber
supplements. Fiber might be a totally healthy substance in many a
healthy-persons diet, but recommending more fiber to a person with
an inflamed, infested digestive tract is like recommending deep squats
to a person with two broken legs to promote better leg strength.
Squats strengthen a healthy persons legs, but aggravate the almighty
out of someone with an injury. I know of no analogy more perfect
than this.
But fiber isnt the only thing providing collateral damage. Pimentels
primary focus isnt really on fiber at all, but on fructose. Pimentel
began giving fructose absorption tests via hydrogen breath test and
found that a great majority of his IBS patients were not fully absorbing
this sugar molecule. Considering that the consumption of fructose in
the form of fruit, high-fructose corn syrup, crystalline fructose, and as
a component to plain, white table sugar has seen the most
unprecedented rise in history over the past several decades it comes
as little surprise that having IBS is about as common as having two
eyes and two ears.
Once again, I hate to lump fruit in with high-fructose corn syrup, as

the two couldnt be more different, but to a yeast and bacteria
overgrowth in the digestive tract, fructose is fructose. Raw fruit, with
a very high ratio of fructose to other sugars and lots of intact
21
(uncooked cooking destroys the fiber matrix) fiber, can actually be

more aggravating than refined sugars. This is not necessarily an
endorsement of Twizzlers, but those with an accumulated health
problem must get past the idea of natural always means good if they
are to obtain maximal results. Sometimes it is prudent to minimize or
remove wholesome fruit from the diet. (Of course, as complex as
digestion and the human organism is, sometimes fasting on fruit alone
can actually help IBS by improving fructose digestion and thus fixing
the root problemfriend or foe depending on the variables, go figure).
For constipation-driven IBS, things are a bit different, although the

same root problems (slow metabolism/transit time and bacteria/yeast
overgrowth of the digestive tract) are still at play.
My personal belief is that the vast majority of chronic constipation

cases stem from a reduced metabolism, which could very well be the
core epidemic of our time. The metabolism controls the activity of
every single cell, issuing the currency (energy) throughout the body.
It very much controls the rate at which food travels through the body,
and it has long been understood that the slower food passes, the
larger, harder, smellier, and more abrasive are the stools by the time
they exit.
Many would argue that the intestinal flora is what keeps food digesting
appropriately, and that metabolic rate is a background player. That
may be true, and it may not be true. It gets back to a chicken or egg
question because a reduced metabolism equals a lowered body
temperature and a greatly reduced efficiency of the immune system.
22
In other words, the low metabolism could be the exact factor that
allows the digestive tract to be overrun in the first place.
This is what doctors like Mark Pimentel or writer/researcher Jill Sklar

get tripped up on. They both acknowledge that in dirtier, less sanitary
parts of the world, IBS-causing bacterial overgrowth is very
uncommon. In sanitary developed countries, people have more
digestive problems. It seems counterintuitive that those with the least
exposure would have the highest incidence, but that appears to be the
theme. But the poorer segment of the global population, assuming
they have adequate food supplies and are not starving, do not suffer
from an epidemic of a reduced metabolism (type II hypothyroidism)
to the same extent. Their immune systems are known to be infinitely
stronger than that of Westerners.
Is this the key difference, or is it something else entirely? The verdict

is far from being in, but it certainly appears that modern junk foods,
particularly nutrient-free refined sugars, have an uncanny ability to
reduce the metabolism lowering disease resistance, and leading to a
digestive tract that is nothing but aggravated by the salads, fruits,
legumes, soy products, and whole grains that have been blindly
endorsed by the health-infatuated Generation X woman and so many
others.
Well delve deeper into constipation, a common digestive problem with

extremely underestimated dangers, in the chapter on constipation.
As an aside, consider a couple of very fascinating connections. One is

in regards to oral contraceptives. Oral contraceptives work to flood a
23
womans hormonal landscape with a steady supply of progesterone

and estrogen, when normally the amounts fluctuate, helping to trigger
a cascade of hormonal events that make reproduction possible.
During a normal menstrual cycle, a womans body temperature rises
and falls depending on which phase of the cycle she is in. There are
also massive shifts in transit time prior to the onset of menstruation.
Could oral contraceptives play some kind of role, via inhibiting normal
sex hormone activity, that works to wreak havoc on the immune
system via metabolic changes? Its certainly food for thought, and any
endocrine-disruptor such as that must be a prime suspect in the hunt
for why women are three times as likely to develop both autoimmune
disease and IBS especially during reproductive years.
On top of that, autism is thought by many to be a disease of altered

intestinal flora that is passed from mother to child and then, of course,
worsened by a typical childhood diet for the little tyke. Autism has
seen a massive explosion during the second half of the 20th century
that continues today. The leading risk factor for it being, you guessed
it, having an autoimmune disease (news flash: incidence of
autoimmune disease is rapidly rising, striking women nine times more
frequently than breast cancer). Autism pioneers like Natasha
Campbell-McBride and Donna Gates have always alluded to the role of
oral contraceptives in the birthing of an autistic child, but with little
explanation as to the mechanism. Might the metabolic disturbances of
hormone manipulation be the star of that horror film?
Another very interesting link with far-reaching implications is that Mark

Pimentel noted that, amongst his patients, those with the greatest
bacterial overgrowth suffered from the highest levels of hypoglycemia
24
(those who scored most poorly on the fructose malabsorption breath

tests). This is fascinating, because hypoglycemia was treated very
successfully by Broda Barnes by stimulating the metabolism with
thyroid extract, as catalogued in Barness Hope for Hypoglycemia.
Potentially, a low metabolism allows bacterial overgrowth, which is
why treatment to raise body temperature (and thus the metabolism)
back to normal levels was able to eradicate hypoglycemia or
episodes of low blood sugar after consuming a high-sugar meal or
snack. Again, this solidifies a connection between metabolism and
digestion not just in terms of transit time, which is well-known, but
in terms of the microbial landscape in the digestive tract. This may or
may not pan out to be a significant link, but on the other hand it could
be a monstrous leap forward in our understanding of the
digestion/endocrine/immunity network.
Okay, enough of that. Constipation here we come!
25
CONSTIPATION
Besides being a really catchy title for a chapter, constipation, or as

they say in China, Hung Chow (thats a joke moron), is an
immensely prevalent digestive complaint. Its so common that many
just assume that its a natural and normal way of life whether it
comes in intermittent bouts or is chronic.
First of all, what is constipation? Yes, it seems pretty silly to ask a

question that is the punchline of dozens of jokes already, but how is it
defined?
Im no stranger to constipation. As a kid, despite eating constipations

presumed Kryptonite tons of high fiber, whole grain cereal, whole
grain breads, fruits, and vegetables I was famous for my highintensity red face and holding of my breath with veins popping out of
my neck as I strained to push out monstrous rock hard turds. My
parents thought this was hilarious during my toilet-training years, but
it became less comical when I was moaning in agony at age 6, holding
my right-lower abdominal area sparking them to drag me to the
hospital for an emergency appendectomy.
Yes, that creepy, deep voice-talking, sun character that boasted of the
two scoops that were added to my favorite breakfast cereal at that
26
age couldnt save me (although I cant blame him). No, the Kelloggs
Raisin Bran couldnt save me because I had a low metabolism and a
slow transit time that was only worsened by my typical high-fiber,
bulky childhood healthy diet. This was evidenced by having just
about every sign of hypothyroidism in the book from allergies and
asthma to frequent ear and sinus infections to a fat protuberant gut to,
yes, having frequent bouts of constipation.
The real definition of constipation is large, dry, abrasive stools. It

doesnt matter whether you have five of these per day or one every
five days constipation is constipation. Many doctors have confused
the public about what constitutes constipation by using the term
regular. This implies that if you are going to the bathroom regularly
like once per day, you do not suffer from constipation. But you may
be suffering alright, with smelly stools that you hold your breath and
squeeze with all your internally-destructive might to expel. Crapping
lumps of high-quality coal is constipation. Having soft, moist, easily
passed stools is not and no one should ever, ever settle for less.
You shouldnt settle for less than perfect stools because imperfect
stools are not only a sign of trouble on the horizon, but imperfect
stools are capable of doing great deals of damage all on their own.
In terms of constipation, or hard, dry, bulky stools the sheer size

and abrasiveness of the poop is enough to cause anal fissures, rectal
bleeding, hemorrhoids, and other rectal problems that are hard to read
without giggling a little but are common and troublesome afflictions
nonetheless.
27
More severe problems include diverticulosis, something that as many

as 50% of the general public of industrialized nations manage to
acquire by the time they reach old age. Diverticulosis is a structural
disorder in which small pouches are blown out in the intestines. In
other words, its like a hernia in the intestines, caused by the buildup
of pressure from straining and constipation in large part. These little
flaccid pockets are hosts for yeasts and bacteria that serve no purpose
in digestion, but result in a chronic state of infection and inflammation.
When one of the diverticulae becomes inflamed, its given an itis title
diverticulitis. Diverticulitis is the severe manifestation of this
disorder, and the inflammation is more than painful it can actually be
life-threatening. Plus, it usually calls for antibiotics which further alter
the internal environment of the digestive tract, leaving us more open
to invasion, infection, and the development of all kinds of newfashioned colorectal disorders.
I say new-fashioned because most colorectal disorders were found to

be all but entirely unknown prior to the introduction of refined foods.
This includes even constipation, which was something that emerged
time and time again according to researchers such as T.L. Cleave and
Denis Burkitt. Once again, these guys blamed lack of fiber in refined
foods to be the primary culprit, and lack of fiber may play some role,
but we must continue to remember that a zero-fiber diet was no more
constipation-inducing than a high-fiber diet in areas where refined
foods had yet to arrive on the scene. The story does not simply begin
and end at fiber.
Another prime factor, perhaps the leading factor in the commonness of

constipation in the modern world, has little to do with fiber at all.
28
Since the dawn of endocrinology and the study of the thyroid gland
and the human metabolism, constipation has been noted as one of the
telltale symptoms, among dozens of others.
Cue personal anecdote
As a bit of background, the metabolism of the human body, which is

governed in large part by the thyroid gland and the hormones it
secretes, is the issuer of currency to the cells of the body. The thyroid
monitors the supply and demand of energy, among other things, and
distributes it accordingly. Thus, if food is in scarce supply, and your
body is going through energy faster than it is being supplied, the
thyroid makes an adjustment. When the metabolism slows down to
prevent starvation of tissues, everything runs in slow motion. It runs
in slow motion to preserve energy, and the body does not hum along
as normal, because a reduced metabolic state is a suboptimal state of
being.
With the reduced metabolism comes a whole host of changes. The

body temperature, instead of running at 98.6 degrees F, actually
lowers. Just like if you are trying to save money in the winter, you
would turn down the thermostat to a less comfortable temperature.
The lower body temperature, the virtual opposite of a germ-fighting
fever, makes one less resistant to infectious disease. This of course
includes the digestive tract which is so dependent on proper bacterial
colonies to do its job properly.
With a system-wide energy reduction, there are also other changes,

such as increased fatigue, increased appetite (sometimes, certainly in
29
the short-term), decreased libido, decreased muscle mass, decreased

lipolysis/fat burning (to preserve fat supplies), and many more.
Finally, as it pertains to the digestion discussion, transit time of food
from the hole where your toothbrush goes to the hole where the sun
dont shine is longer. Along with that, stools are sucked dry on their
journey, causing them to harden. They often clot together and
become larger and bulkier instead of soft, thin, and smooth, wreaking
havoc because of it.
My personal anecdote relates purely to a first-hand experience I had

with metabolic turndown. This came as a result of a lengthy
backpacking trip that I did (44 consecutive days), with insufficient
food. I was literally starving to death on about 2,000 calories per day
while hiking a total of nearly 500 miles carrying loads on my back up
to 95 pounds.
Before I began the trip, knowing that my food supply was going to be
scarce, I intentionally gained weight by stuffing myself and reducing
my activity level for a couple of weeks. With ease I gained nearly ten
pounds. As it pertains to digestion, eating such massive quantities of
food caused me to go from having one to two bowel movements to
three per day. These three were quite soft and runny, much more
than my usual, as overeating for weeks forced my transit time to
decrease and ingested food to catapult through me like greased
lightnin.
Whats interesting is what happened over the coming 44 days on a

reduced calorie diet. When I began the trip, and I was very observant
of this detail as I had to dig a hole and poop outdoors without the use
30
of toilet paper I needed to poop three times per day. After three or
four days of reduced food intake, that decreased to two times. After a
little over a week it had decreased to once per day, and was getting
more solid and requiring more straining effort to expel. After a couple
weeks I was no longer defecating every day, and my stool was starting
to get that whole charcoal thing going. After three or four weeks, I
was going only once every two days. By day 35, I was only crapping
once every three days exactly. What I did get out was black, hard,
and smelly. I felt gassy and bloated. To doctor the numbers and
make a stronger point, I went from nine times every three days to
once every three days a 9:1 difference.
Keep in mind this was on a diet that was the exactly the same every
single day and consisted mostly of fibrous whole grains with a little fat
and lots of fresh-caught fish. The diet was consistent. Yet, the deeper
and deeper I got into starvation, the more my metabolism slowed
down, the more cold I felt, the more tired I felt, the more depressed,
irrational, and psychotic I got, and, without question, the more my
digestion slowed yielding constipation. In other words, the food
wasnt changing, but my digestion was, which means that it must not
have been the food directly, but a change that was occurring within
me that was responsible.
Upon returning to civilization, I ate about 10,000 calories per day, and
within three short days my digestion had resumed to one large (but
not bulky), soft, easily-passed stool per day. And I gained weight
from under 160 pounds to over 170 pounds back within close reach
of my normal body weight, which returned by the end of one measly
little week.
31
Constipation was also duly noted in some of the most extensive

studies on human starvation ever conducted such as the famous
starvation experiment conducted by Ancel Keys as well as every
other physiological and mental change that I experienced with my
own, personal starvation experiment.
The modern world is hardly starving though. Food is as abundant as it

has ever been. Portion sizes have increased. Caloric intake has
supposedly increased slightly over the past few decades per capita.
How could we be suffering from having a slow metabolism if the
supposed cure for it is avoiding starvation?
Unbeknownst to most people is that, despite the abundance of food

that we now have at our fingertips, there is an epidemic of
hypothyroidism. This is not the same kind of hypothyroidism that
endocrinologists think of in the traditional sense where the thyroid
has some kind of malfunction that prohibits it from keeping the
metabolism at its optimal level. No, this is something quite different.
Other than the observation that thyroid hormones arent doing their
job something which can be deduced via a diagnosis of several
suspicious symptoms (constipation being one of them) and a
subnormal body temperature, the thyroid appears to be fine.
The thyroid appears to be so fine that the hormones are present at

near-normal and even normal levels, which prompts most doctors to
rule out the diagnosis of hypothyroidism despite it being so painfully
obvious that the patient is suffering from a host of ills that relate
directly to a lowered metabolism. This form of hypothyroidism can be
32
classified more as a form of thyroid hormone resistance, in which

cells are unresponsive to the actions of the thyroid hormones. This far
more common form of hypothyroidism has been labeled type II
hypothyroidism by Dr. Mark Starr who specializes in its treatment.
This form of hypothyroidism was first diagnosed and treated routinely

by an endocrinologist in the middle to late 20th century named Broda
Barnes. Still to this day; however, Barnes remains as one of a very
small handful of health practitioners that recognize the condition at all,
despite it being perhaps the most significant discovery in the field of
health and human science in recent times. Mark Starr and Stephen
Langer, authors that have written about the subject of hidden
hypothyroidism in great detail, have attempted to resurrect the farreaching and profoundly significant work of Barnes. Their message
has obviously fallen on deaf ears though, as the mainstream still gives
no props to Barnes, type II hypothyroidism, or much of anything
related to it. Constipation, perhaps the least of a person with a low
metabolisms worries, is still thought to be caused by a lack of dietary
fiber, cured of course, by more flippin fiber.
But constipation, just like virtually every health disorder, is more

mysterious and involves factors that few have had the foresight and
willingness to investigate and observe.
Consider constipations complexity in my own personal history. Like I

said in the opening of this chapter, Im no stranger to constipation. As
a young child it was quite common for me to have large, dry stools
that required some serious pushin. Yet, once I began hitting puberty
around 11 or 12 years of age, my constipation-driven digestive system
33
took a turn, along with virtually every other characteristic I knew at

the time. At age 11, I was overweight, had serious allergies to just
about everything it seemed, was frequently plagued with ear
infections, sinus infections, and upper respiratory infections, and I had
very firm and slow-moving bowels. When testosterone flooded my
system in quantities I had yet to experience, everything changed. My
body transformed and I took on a tall, lanky figure, dropping 10
pounds while growing over 4 inches. My health problems almost
completely vanished, and I stopped getting sick so frequently. My
allergies just didnt really seem to bother me anymore, despite a long
childhood of constant struggle. And, my bowels switched to being
notoriously soft and loose. Constipation is now something that, for the
last 20 years since hitting puberty, Ive only dealt with on prolonged,
extreme experimental diets.
This is a fantastic example of the endocrine systems dominion over all

body processes. Exercise and lifestyle changes were minimal but
physiological changes were drastic. How my body metabolized energy,
how it digested food, my immune system, my appearance all
changed.
But aside from the many factors involved in the development of

constipation, the pressing question for anyone who suffers from
constipation is obviously, What can I do to fix it?
The answer is not entirely simple, but both constipation and a low
metabolism are pressing concerns that need to be addressed with
urgency, as both can lead to other, more serious complications. The
first step is to find out whether or not a low metabolism might be
34
playing a role in your constipation (or in your chronic loose bowels if

the low metabolism has led to inflammatory conditions resulting from
impaired immunity).
The test for metabolism is so painfully simple that mainstream

medicine refuses to accept its significance. That simple test is what
Broda Barnes and now Mark Starr, Stephen Langer, and a handful of
practicing physicians rely upon. That is the Basal Temperature Test.
The Basal Temperature Test is simply an underarm thermometer

reading that is taken first thing in the morning before any of the days
worries, events, or stimulation can influence body temperature. Thats
right, all you have to do is stick a thermometer in your sweaty armpit
upon waking, hold it there for a couple seconds, and then read the
temperature off of it through crusty, blurred, morning eyes. Normal is
between 97.8 degrees F and 98.2 degrees F.
Anything below 97.8 degrees F consistently for several mornings is

assurance that your body is operating on under drive. The body
runs at a reduced temperature to conserve energy. It conserves
energy because, for whatever reason, your body is noting that you are
running through a supply of something faster than it is being
replenished. This could be other hormones such as adrenal hormones
or it could be vitamins and minerals, as Robert McCarrison, a
legendary historic nutrition researcher, was able to show very
convincingly in his decades of study on deficiency disease.
35
Although all the factors causing a reduced metabolic state have not
been identified, it is clear that the introduction of the refined, modern
foods that accompanied the dawn of
constipation as well as most forms of illness that we consider common
today (such as tooth decay), plays a leading role.
This, however, is not a sermon on hypothyroidism, which will be the

subject of a future 180DegreeHealth eBook. For now, simply note that
hypothyroidism may play an important and even causal role in the
development of constipation. Heres what you can do to help yourself
overcome constipation by both stimulating the metabolism and
dealing with other aggravators of slow bowels:
1) Get rid of the constipation. The most reliable way to do this

is to gorge yourself on only fruits and vegetables until the
bowels begin freely flowing. The fruits and vegetables can be
cooked or raw or a combination of both, but keep all added fats,
grains, meats, nuts, etc. out of the picture temporarily. This is
not a permanent solution for anything, but it is the surefire tool
that needs to be used to overcome what is, in my opinion, an
emergency situation.
2) Eat a whole foods diet. Once your constipation wanes as a
result of your fruit and vegetable-only cleanse, it is important
to return to a diet that excludes as much packaged, processed,
and refined food as possible. This is not solely to increase the
fiber content of your diet, which may actually be
counterproductive in some cases, but to exclude foods that are
prime suspects in thwarting metabolic efficiency namely
refined sugar, trashy vegetable oils and trans fats, white flour,
36
and your typical garbage that comes in a box whether in the

health food section or not. At the very least, exclude these
foods from your daily diet, reserving them for once per week
(whats habitual is what counts).
3) Eat a lot! One way the metabolism can be brought up with a
stimulation of bowel motility is to intentionally eat a larger
quantity of food than you are accustomed to. Fat and
carbohydrates are the most stimulating foods, as they are both
used as pure energy. Protein is less metabolically stimulating as
it is used structurally, and there is some indication, as Broda
Barnes strongly felt, that protein, even in slight excess, burdens
poorly-functioning thyroid hormones. Dont worry about any
sudden weight gain, as it is only temporary. Your body adjusts
by increasing metabolism (which is exactly what you want),
lowering appetite over time, improving the conversion of fat to
energy, lowering fat stores, and eventually leaving you with a
better overall body composition that consists of more muscle and
less fat. Be patient. This can take a while for some (months)
more in Gag it Down.
4) Have intermittent high calorie days or meals. Eating
massive meals or having legitimate high-calorie days in
comparison to what is normal for you can have the same
metabolically-stimulating quality as eating a lot habitually.
Habitually overeating is more than many peoples systems can
take, but doing it once per week, even though it may feel
horrendous, can make a difference. Do not worry so much
about rules, but just eat, trying not to go too overboard with the
refined sugars. Bodybuilders have used the idea of cheat days
or cheat meals to their advantage for years, keeping their
37
metabolic rates from downshifting as they get progressively

leaner in preparation for competition.
5) Use Glandular Support. If eating well and avoiding refined
sugar does not bring the metabolism back to normal, taking
natural thyroid and/or adrenal glandulars may help to bring the
metabolism back to its ideal range. More in Glandular Support.
6) Drink upon waking. If you can summon a juicy bowel
movement before leaving your house in the morning, odds are
you will have little trouble with constipation. This is really one of
the telltale practices of those with a healthy, efficient,
metabolism and digestive tract, and lots of liquid on an empty
stomach has tremendous potential to stimulate the peristaltic
waves responsible for getting the gears going. A tall glass of
water, warm herbal tea, warm lemon water, etc. are the best
choices. Do not even think about using caffeine or nicotine as
laxatives unless you want to be constipated out of your mind
without them. Many people have extreme dependencies on
these substances for bowel stimulation. Dont let this happen to
you. If it already has, work hard to overcome it without inducing
severe constipation, which is, like I said, and urgent and
dangerous health condition that can do collateral damage.
7) Spend more time on your feet. This is almost common sense.
Its obviously more constipating to be stuck in an airplane seat
or office chair all day than it is to be up on your feet and moving.
Dont get too glued to a chair, not even for one day. This
doesnt necessarily mean exercise yourself to exhaustion quite
the contrary.
8) Eat a high fat, low residue diet. Fat is a tremendous trigger
of bowel movements, directly enhances bowel transit time, and
38
does not come with the bulking effect that fibrous carbohydrates
have. Although fiber may be helpful to some, in others it just
makes the stool more massive, slower-moving, and more
difficult to pass. You will have to experiment with this on your
own, but eating a little protein, a small amount of
carbohydrates, and a ton of fat as your primary energy source
can actually help some cases of constipation. It helps because
there is little undigested residue, digestive contents are smaller,
and can thus move along and be expelled very easily compared
to their gigantic fiber-laden bathroom brethren.
*A note to followers of Fiber Menace author Konstantin Monastyrsky:
For those who are familiar with the Fiber Menace book and website, do
not be deceived. Although Monastyrsky has done important research
to show that fiber is not the white knight that mainstream nutritionists
and gastroenterologists espouse it to be, fiber is not the root of many
colorectal disorders as he suggests. Fiber is merely an aggravating
factor for many with conditions such as a low metabolism and
resultant slow bowel transit time (or unnatural stasis as T.L. Cleave
puts it in the quote below).
Under such circumstances, what Monastyrsky suggests can be truthful.
Bulk is the last thing one needs more of to be able to pass small,
easy stools that are narrow in diameter.
But make no mistake, fiber did not cause colorectal disorders in those
on high-fiber diets due to their good health. Instead of having large,
dry, painful stools that required straining, T.L. Cleave described the
bowel movements of natives on unrefined carbohydrate diets as being
39
the exact opposite of what Monastyrsky claims to be the result of a

high-fiber diet.
Cleave, describing the stools of high-fiber natives subsisting off of

unrefined carbohydrate staples such as grains and fruits (taken from
The Saccharine Disease, 1974):
These are passed twice a day and are extended like a ribbon of
toothpaste some 15in. long, and of the diameter of the middle finger.
if there is no unnatural stasis present, the consistency will always be

soft and the diameter not appreciably greater than that of the middle
finger.
40
CANDIDA MAN OR MYTH?
Back in the day, one of my first attempts at health restoration was to

follow an anti-candida diet. The standard wisdom was that a type of
yeast known as candida albicans was taking over the bacteria of many
peoples digestive tracts and causing problems. Yeast love simple
sugars, and to starve the candida, one needed to eat a diet that
contained virtually zero simple sugars aka sweets.
That was the standard advice, but I was given an interesting book
written by health pioneer Donna Gates called The Body Ecology Diet
that went into much greater detail. In this book, the mysteries of
digestion and the tricks to overcoming systemic candida overgrowth
were laid out with very particular rules and food preparation methods.
The candida epidemic was purported to be caused by a combination of
antibiotic overuse, toxic chemicals in the environment, and a highsugar diet. Some of the telltale symptoms of systemic candida
overgrowth were mentioned that seemed to tell the story of my life
such as allergies, asthma, frequent ear infections as a child, and so on.
This all made tremendous sense to me. My entire childhood was a

smorgasbord of sugary treats and medications especially antibiotics
which were alleged by Gates to kill off all the friendly bacteria that we
need for good digestion and a viable immune system. So an anti-
41
candida diet became the focus of my first legitimate exploratory diet

specific to health enhancement.
I made it precisely 14 days on the Body Ecology Diet. Still to this day,
it was the most excruciatingly difficult diet Ive ever followed. After
only 14 days I was taking on an emaciated look. The diet called for
zero simple sugars, quite a challenge for a lifetime sugar addict, and
the clencher was that it stressed eating 80% of your meals as nonstarchy vegetables and never eating protein and starch in tandem a
fad diet principle known as food-combining that well discuss later.
Despite the diets tremendous shortcomings, I still noticed many

health improvements one being an improvement in digestion. The
improvements didnt come in the form of being able to eat large,
mixed meals with ease. No, I would feel heavy and full doing that
after the food-combining thing. The improvements came in the form
of having perfect, soft, regular bowel movements and a nearlycomplete cessation of gas.
Im talking no gas. None. I had been known for decades amongst

friends and ex-girlfriends for my uncanny butt-trumpeting abilities.
Butt, in only a couple of weeks, it was gone. So was fecal odor, and
this was not a result of a newfound belief that my proverbial shit
dont stank. It was real. No more putrid odors and no more attempts
at mimicking Mike Myerss Scottish accent in the movie So I Married
an Axe Murderer when he says, Charley, light a match! post bowelmovement.
42
Had the bacterial landscape of my digestive tract really changed from

eating fermented foods and avoiding simple sugars for only 14 days? I
dont know, but it had an undeniably powerful effect, with other
noticeable health benefits mostly improvements in my appearance
(glowing eyes, hair, fingernails, skin, more youthful appearance, and
other changes that are noticeable on any number of healthimprovement regimens).
I had seen these great results repeated in others with the will to follow
no-sugar diets as well not Donna Gatess restrictive version, but just
diets that only excluded the supposedly candida-feeding simple sweets
without other provisions. This was no fluke or me just trying to
believe it to be true despite contradiction. Im talking massive drops
in weight, radical changes in appearance, and the cessation of
frequent illnesses that lasted for years in the case of my father, who
went sugar-free for 60 days.
Although I dabbled with all kinds of diets, cleanses, and other

experiments many of which were able to provide even more health
enhancements it wasnt until I came back to a diet that contained no
simple sugars that I once again attained a level of digestion bordering
on absolute perfection. Is there a legitimate candida connection?
The reason I ask this question is because if you were to go down to

your average, run-of-the-mill family physician and express your
concerns about candida, you would likely hear moans and grumbles,
see some eye-rolling, and be told that candida either isnt something
to be concerned about or even that such a thing doesnt actually exist.
43
Yes, its true, to most modern healthcare professionals in the field of

Western medicine, candida albicans still remains as some kind of
microbial sasquatch. However, as William Crook, an M.D. and author
of a breakthrough book on candida published in the early 1980s called
The Yeast Connection, the pathology of candida is real, does exist, and
there are thousands of medical papers on the subject.
Candida influences all body systems. Its attack can create chronic
inflammation. This chronic inflammation induces the release of
immune-suppressing cortisol, which can lead to any number of
hormonal and metabolic abnormalities namely insulin resistance and
a reduced metabolism. The chronic inflammation can lead to
overactivation of the immune system as well, and there is certainly a
suspicious connection between high levels of the hormone cortisol
from chronic infections such as systemic candida overgrowth and a
subsequent development of autoimmune conditions in which the
bodys immune system begins attacking itself in friendly-fire. Not
surprisingly, autoimmune conditions such as Multiple Sclerosis and
conditions thought to have a very strong autoimmune component such
as Autism, are the very illnesses that anti-candida protocols are touted
to treat so successfully.
But back to digestion and candida. Regardless of the functionality of

candida, ways in which it manifests, hormonal problems that it may
trigger, and other speculative particulars what is fully-understood is
that sugar is uniquely capable of being malabsorbed. Hydrogen breath
tests which are used to monitor the absorption of sugar molecules in
the digestive tract are excellent gauges of this largely unrecognized
condition.
44
What exactly is the substance so notorious for being absorbed not by

our digestive tracts, but by bacteria and yeast overgrowths in the
small intestine? Fructose.
Fructose is a type of sugar molecule with a unique metabolic pathway.

It must cruise through the liver in order to be digested unlike the
common sugar glucose, which can be readily taken into the blood. Its
uniqueness aside, it appears to be a type of sugar that is becoming
increasingly problematic, and it may just have something to do with
candida. Either that, or the fructose tie is with bacterial overgrowth of
the small bowel, which may be just as important to digestive function
and health as candida.
Whether the fructose is being scavenged by a bacteria or yeast or both

is of little importance to you however. Either way, it is known that
simple sugars that contain fructose such as white table sugar (50%
fructose), fruit, and modern day white sugar replacements high
fructose corn syrup and crystalline fructose, are major aggravators of
candida and bacterial overgrowth. In other words, fructose can be the
biggest problem and hindrance to healing an unhealthy digestive
ecosystem.
The fructose malabsorption issue has gotten the attention of Mark

Pimentel, head of the gastroenterology department at Cedars-Sinai in
Los Angeles. Pimentel has noted that fructose malabsorption is very
common in the patients he has treated for many digestive disorders,
especially Irritable Bowel Syndrome. According to Pimentel, fructose
malabsorption is entirely attributable to bacterial overgrowth of the
45
small intestine, which should be somewhat sterile in comparison to the

lower regions of the digestive tract where natural bacterial
fermentation is supposed to occur.
So naturally, to assist with healing and to keep from exacerbating the

problem, Pimentels patient diet eliminates the beloved food source for
these problematic microbes fructose. Another important note, is
that the higher the ratio of fructose to other sugars, the more poorly
the fructose is absorbed. That means that certain fruits can actually
trigger this problem to an even greater degree than ultrasweet foods
such as honey or even white table sugar which is composed of the
sucrose molecule a perfect 50-50 split between fructose and glucose.
This also may explain why many digestive illnesses and health
problems in general have increased exponentially since the dawn of
high-fructose corn syrup in the late 70s (55% fructose or higher) and
the ever-popular food industry use of pure, crystalline fructose
(100%).
How common is fructose malabsorption? Is this some rare inadequacy

that a tiny handful of the general population suffers from? Is it a total
anomaly?
According to one of the leading pioneers in the investigation of

fructose malabsorption, laboratory researcher Maximilian Ledochowski,
up to two-thirds of children and at least one-third of European adults
test positive for the condition with only half of sufferers showing any
signs of digestive distress whatsoever. In random samples of the
public in which no outwardly signs of fructose malabsorption were
even shown (such as digestive complaints), 46 of 73 breath tests
46
came back positive for fructose malabsorption. Thats 63% amongst

European adults that didnt even have a diagnosed digestive illness.
So the answer is yes. This is a very underestimated, largely unknown
disorder that is, based on even the most modest of guesses, extremely
prevalent. It is probably even more prevalent amongst those with
digestive problems playing perhaps even a causal role in altering the
microbial flora of the digestive tract and leading to a downward spiral
of digestive, hormonal, mental, and immune-system complications.
But fructose is just fructose. Its a natural sugar, present in greatest

abundance in fruits that have nourished human beings on the most
fundamental level for ages. Many humans worldwide, such as the
African tribes studied by Weston A. Price and T.L. Cleave in particular,
were found to have the very best of health despite great quantities of
fructose-laden tropical fruits in their everyday diets. Im sure they
werent ingesting 10-15% of their calories solely as fructose like your
average American citizen, but they ate great quantities of it
nonetheless and were marveled for their impeccably excellent
digestion.
But, knowing today the commonness of poor digestion and altered gut
flora (perhaps caused by antibiotics and oral contraceptives, perhaps
not), fructose malabsorption appears to be nothing shy of a practically
undiscovered epidemic that may require the implementation of specific
strategies to be conquered.
If you have any health problem, and certainly if you have a digestive
illness or complaint, targeting bacterial overgrowth and/or candida by
following a fructose-free diet for an extended period of time may be
47
immensely worthwhile. The fructose appears to make a great

breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack to problematic microbes in the gut.
It follows then that reducing the food supply for these unwanted
creatures is destined to be helpful. Richard Johnson, fructose expert
extraordinaire claims the following:
If you struggle with gastrointestinal problems, adopting a lowfructose diet may help. A 2006 study published in the Journal of the
American Dietetic Association found that 74 percent of IBS patients
who cut back on their fructose consumption experienced a significant
drop in gastrointestinal symptoms.
My personal one-on-one experiences support that claim.
The problem of course is, how do you actually get fructose out of the
diet? For most people, giving the advice to cut out fruit, all sweettasting foods, cakes, pies, candies, desserts, soft drinks, sugared
coffee, honey, maple syrup, and more is like an alcoholic receiving a
prescription to stop drinking. Sugars, especially those rich in fructose,
are highly addictive to people who are sensitive to them. I certainly
can relate to the sugar junkie in you, as I nearly had a nervous
breakdown while following Donna Gatess sugarless diet.
Its easier said than done if you proceed with the appropriate strategy
and mindset. The typical health kick rarely succeeds though, if you
define a health kick as exercising really hard and eating a lowfat diet
consisting of mostly calorie-free vegetables. Top that with avoiding
starch and protein at the same meal (food-combining), and thats how
you get emaciated in only two weeks eating six to seven meals a day
48
like I did. It doesnt work because it dramatically increases the

craving, desire, and need for sugar over time. The temptation and the
sense of deprivation grows with each passing day.
Instead try something more novel. Try eating well, getting plenty of
protein, an ungodly amount of fat, and a decent portion of starch to
top it all off at least three times per day. Eat to fullness whenever
you feel the urge. Dont do any strenuous exercise at all just some
walking and stretching if you do anything at all (bed rest/sunbathing
would be ideal to start if thats at all possible).
Some of the biggest mistakes that people make when they try to get
healthier via sugar abstinence is making unreasonable expectations
that yield impossible cravings. How many attempts are made each
year to exercise really hard every day, eat lots of salads, cut back on
portions, avoid saturated fats, and cut out all sweets that end in
complete and total failure?
Unsurprisingly, eating really, really well and getting plenty of rest and
relaxation makes cutting out the sweets much easier because your
desire for sweets progressively decreases. It is truly the only suitable
way. I wont have you tapping on your forehead like a lunatic per the
recommendations of Joseph Mercola. Nope. You wont have the need
for that if you remove the physiological circumstances that precipitate
sugar cravings. Clearly its vastly superior to provide the formula that
causes you to lose interest in sugar rather than tell you stop eating it
when you would potentially kill for it.
49
Although the magical curative properties of eating a sugarfree diet

have been known since at least the time E.M. Abrahamson wrote
Body, Mind, and Sugar in 1951, sometimes cutting sugar out of your
diet isnt enough to take you all the way to the promised land. The
bottom line is that many people dig themselves into holes that they
literally cant get out of from a digestive standpoint candida-related
and otherwise. They just cant eat in the manner that they need to in
order to optimize the function of the endocrine and digestive systems.
Even if they can eat great quantities of nourishing foods, digestion can
be so impaired that nutritional deficiency persists due to malabsorption
of nutrients.
Thus, it may be necessary for some to supplement with glandulars to

help dig themselves out of the hole. Glandulars, such as desiccated
thyroid help to raise the metabolism back to healthy levels, can be life
changing. A sturdy metabolism, in and of itself, is enough to manage
candida and improve digestion due to a quickening of bowel transit
and an increase in body temperature, which helps control the
proliferation of pathogenic yeast and bacteria in the digestive tract and
elsewhere. This lowers inflammation. This lowers immunesuppressing high cortisol levels. And so, from the very simple change
of bringing the metabolism to acceptable levels, everything else can
start to fall into place and function in harmony once again.
I guess what Im really trying to say is that candida shouldnt

necessarily be something that your entire focus rests upon. For
starters, you cant just starve it away. In fact, some of the people I
know that are the most susceptible to overt candida symptoms such as
yeast infections and thrush have followed extremely low carbohydrate
50
diets for years. A piece of fruit is enough to send them to the

pharmacist for anti-fungal ointments. Sure, their low-carb diets
provide relief from the symptoms of candida, but the war continues so
long as a mixed diet is attempted. They are imprisoned and cornered
by the candida, not free from it.
Regardless of the many treatments for candida, the endless theories,

and the countless candida-cleansing diets that are out there the
overall focus remains the same.
The focus, as usual, should be optimizing glandular function and

overall metabolic health. As some of the researchers that I hold in
highest regard have discovered and openly stated all health
problems are caused by glandular dysfunction, and cured by restoring
glandular function to a balanced and harmonious state including that
which seems totally unrelated such as digestion. The causes and cures
of the core problems were spoken about with many recurring themes
throughout the 20th century amongst my favorite authors. The
primary themes are to eat a nutritious diet, avoid sugar, caffeine, and
alcohol, and restore hormonal balance either through dietary and
lifestyle changes alone or in corporation with glandular
supplementation. It typically yields fantastic results, perhaps in large
part to the bodys ability to eradicate candida under such provisions.
Notice the themes:
Sir Robert McCarrison (1921)
51
bacterial agencies are often but weeds which flourish in soils made
ready for them by dietetic defects. The same holds true for yeasts,
viruses, and other pathogens.
A diet deficient in vitamins and disproportionally rich in starch (and

even worse with sugar I believe) leads to depression of digestive and
gastro-intestinal function.
The endocrine organs influence those of digestion both by their

hormones and through the sympathetic nervous system. Food
deficiency deranges both the normal production of hormones and the
functional perfection of the sympathetic nervous control;
consequently, the digestive organs are deprived of the full advantage
of that efficient regulation and correlation which normally they would
derive from healthy endocrine action.
I have been brought to the conclusion that much of the gastrointestinal disorder so common at the present day, and much of the
endocrine disorder probably almost equally common, though less
readily recognizable, are attributable to deficient and ill-balanced
food.
E.M. Abrahamson (1951)
This means no sugar, candy, or other sweets, no cake with icing, no

pies or other pastry, no ice cream, no honey, no syrup, no grape juice
or prune juice. And regrettably, our string of nos includes cocktails,
wines, cordials, and beer.
52
This was Abrahamsons recommendations for overcoming

hyperinsulinism, a metabolic disorder with a long list of digestive and
psychological complaints that often accompany it.
Melvin Page (1960)
Even fruits, which are wholesome foods, should be eaten in

moderation. The body can be overloaded with natural sugar. Refined
sugar is such as harmful food, being a major factor in causing
degenerative ills, that it may well be the one food that could lead us to
be a nation of physically sick people.
T.L. Cleave (1974)
The saccharine disease includes dental decay and pyorrhea; gastric

and duodenal ulcer and other forms of indigestion; obesity, diabetes,
and coronary disease; constipation, with its complications of varicose
veins and hemorrhoids; and primary Escherichia coli infections, like
appendicitis, cholecystitis (with or without gall-stones), and primary
infections of the urinary tract. The same applies to certain skin
condition. Not one of these diseases is for practical purposes ever
seen in races who do not consume refined carbohydrates.
table sugaris always the most serious in the production of disease.
The chief problem in the present diet, however, concerns how to

avoid eating ordinary sugar, and all the sweet things containing it.
Diana Schwarzbein (1999)
53
My program is all about being in the middle, if you will healthy

nutrition, stress management including getting enough sleep at night,
tapering off of toxic chemicals (alcohol, caffeine, refined sugar,
artificial sweeteners), smart exercise (no-cardio), and hormone
replacement therapy if needed.
54
SANTA SCHULZES POST-CHRISTMAS CLEANSE
Whats with fat, bald-headed, bearded-chinned health gurus?
It
seems like theyre all over the place. Up there with Dr. Andrew Weil
for the most Santa-like professor of all things health, Dr. Richard
Schulze is a legend.
Dr. Schulze, like many who go on to help others overcome dire health
problems, had a set of severe health problems himself. As he studied
nutrition, health, and herbology Schulze began eating a diet
consisting of only fresh, vibrant, organic foods. Congruent with the
wisdom of the times, he was more or less a vegan and not too far off
from being a fruitarian.
Dr. Schulze claims that fasting on fresh, organic juices and taking
large doses of his herbal remedies and super green blend can cure any
disease in 30 days. There is no doubt that people get amazing results
when following his protocol. And I admit, for those who have eaten
decades of a junky diet, his program can be a godsend. Ive witnessed
first hand its healing capacity, and have seen an older woman come to
life with glowing skin, shining hair, and a complete absence of severe
physical pain that had troubled her so severely that she had
contemplated suicide all over the course of a single month.
55
From personal experience and observation, and also through

researching the work of those who are proponents of these types of
healing regimens such as Stanley Burroughs, Max Gerson, J.E. Crewe,
and Henry Bieler the short-term healing capability of liquid and/or
whole food vegan diets cannot be questioned.
The mechanism which I believe they heal by stems, in large part, from
the digestive tract.
First of all, any kind of cleanse or fast within these general

parameters, whether its a milk-fast or consists of unlimited whole
fruits and vegetables, removes the predominant cause of digestive
illness refined foods.
Secondly, because a mixed diet is not consumed, or in the case of a

liquid diet no solid food is consumed whatsoever, inflammation
stemming from the digestive tract completely subsides. This allows
tremendous healing to take place.
With this digestive rest, the resources that are normally diverted to
digestion can be deployed towards fighting infection. This is a doublewhammy against inflammation, and I believe that permanent, longlasting improvement can and often does occur during this time.
So even though carbohydrate foods often get a bad rap when it comes
to digestion they contain irritating fiber, they can cause gas, they
contain fructose which often goes unabsorbed they can be helpful. I
have my suspicions that eating a large quantity of them all alone,
when the body can focus all of its attention to their proper
56
management, can actually help to bring about positive changes in

digestive function and intestinal flora, hence some of the fanaticism
that surrounds such diets (Doug Graham, Joel Furhman, and so on).
It may seem quite ironic that one of the first recommendations I

typically make to sufferers of Irritable Bowel Syndrome for instance, is
to reduce the intake of raw fruits, raw vegetables, and fibrous foods
such as grains. I recommend low-residue, lower-fiber diets based
more around fat and animal foods than the standard recommendations
to eat less fat and meat and more whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and
legumes (high-fiber). Yet, I turn around and say that eating
exclusively these foods for a few days to a week or two can actually
help heal IBS and lower inflammation. Am I just confused or
something?
To better put this into perspective, plant roughage seems to be more

problematic with a mixed diet in those with digestive problems.
Obviously, these foods are not problematic to everyone, as I can sit
down and eat an entire head of lettuce and a bag of carrots with a
mixed meal without negative recourse. But a person with digestive
problems seems to often be irritated by these foods when mixed into
his or her regular diet. Once again, I feel this stems back to the bowel
transit time, which is influenced most heavily by the metabolism and
NOT the fiber quantity of the diet. Fiber, sugars, and starches seem to
cause more of a ruckus when they are passing through the digestive
tract slowly causing excessive fermentation, releasing corrosive
byproducts, changing the chemistry of the digestive tract, and
overfeeding yeasts and bacteria or at least allowing them to thrive in
areas where they do not belong such as the small intestine.
57
Removing all elements of the diet other than the carbohydrate foods
allows them to pass freely through the digestive tract, speeding along
like they should. Stools, after a few days, usually become very soft
and small in diameter coming at least twice if not three or four times
per day. This emulates the perfect digestion of the native Zulus that
researcher T.L. Cleave witnessed. Cleave, describing the stools of
flawlessly healthy natives raised on and fed unrefined carbohydrates,
states:
These are passed twice a day and are extended like a ribbon of
toothpaste some 15in. long, and of the diameter of the middle finger.
if there is no unnatural stasis present, the consistency will always be

soft and the diameter not appreciably greater than that of the middle
finger.
Notice Cleaves caveat in the second quote though if there is no

unnatural stasis present. Stasis is basically a traffic jam, and like he
states, that is an unnatural phenomenon. I believe that one of the
root causes of constipation as well as IBS and the reason why fiber has
even been implicated as a cause of colorectal disorders (Monastyrskys
Fiber Menace), is due to intestinal stasis, aka: a slow transit time as I
suggested earlier. Most would blame this on a diet that is too low in
fiber. Since fiber has been shown to NOT influence transit time, and
since healthy humans such as the Masai tribe of Africa or the Eskimos
ate no fiber at all without signs of intestinal stasis, then a lack of fiber
simply cannot be the root cause.
58
Instead, it points back to, once again, refined carbohydrates

primarily sugar and to a lesser degree, white flour. Constipation, a
disease that Cleave describes as having never been seen in races who
do not consume refined carbohydrates, regardless of what the fiber
intakes were, points to the fact that there is some tendency for these
foods to induce intestinal stasis. This tendency, I suspect, has nothing
to do with fiber, as low-fiber carbohydrates such as honey, strained
juices, and peeled potatoes simply do not have this impact on transit
time.
So basically a cleanse on only carbohydrate foods in which most of

the protein and fat has been removed, can be therapeutic and healing
to the digestive tract. Personally, my digestion has been permanently
improved by performing several of these over the course of a year. I
have not had issues with foul-smelling gas and feces or intestinal
inflammation since. Ive heard this reported by many others as well,
including a frequent 180 blog participant that claims to have cured his
IBS completely by eating fresh fruits and vegetables alone for several
weeks. He was commenting because he was bent out of shape by the
idea that fiber might be inherently bad for digestion and rightfully
so. It is more likely that fiber isnt inherently good or bad, but just is.
Fiber was in the right place at the right time during the studies of
Cleave and Denis Burkitt, who noticed that high-fiber diets were eaten
by those with excellent digestive and overall health. This led to the
conclusion that fiber was somehow the magic super elixir of health.
Fiber was in the wrong place at the wrong time (in the gut of those
with intestinal stasis), when scrutinized by anti-fiber crusader
59
Konstantin Monastyrsky, whose research has also proved to be quite

valuable in relieving people of fiber-related digestive grief.
Redundant side tangent aside, the concept of digestive cleansing is

real and valuable. I cannot make promises that everyone will have
fantastic results. For a handful of people, doing some kind of digestive
cleanse may be quite irritating and intolerable. Digestion, as this book
constantly reminds you, is infinitely complex and highly individual.
Instead, the focus is on highlighting many common techniques and
strategies for making legitimate improvements. Cleansing is certainly
one to keep on your radar screen.
For the ultimate in digestive rest, a liquid-only fast such as that

recommended by Dr. Schulze can be preferable. Fresh-squeezed
juices, if you have the means, are probably the ideal. Vegetable juices
in particular can be quite nourishing, such as fresh carrot juice or a
mixture of juices such as apple, beet, celery, carrot, and ginger.
There is absolutely no limit as to how much you consume.
Another version of a liquid-only fast is the legendary milk diet, in

which small cups of warmed, fresh, unpasteurized milk are given
hourly combined with bed rest. This was a healing regimen relied
upon by J.E. Crewe, co-founder of the Mayo Clinic and others. It was
claimed to be a miracle cure for most illnesses just like Schulzes plant
version. Crewe states enthusiastically:
the treatment of various diseases over a period of eighteen years

with a practically exclusive milk diet has convinced me personally that
the most important single factor in the cause of disease and in the
60
resistance to disease is food. I have seen so many instances of the

rapid and marked response to this form of treatment that nothing
could make me believe this is not so
I suspect that the primary healing mechanism is simply that the diet
was nutritious and entirely liquid, healing the body from the digestive
tract out while allowing the typical resources that are dedicated to
digestion to do some serious maintenance. However, there could be
something inherently healing about milk itself, particularly the form of
milk that was used fresh raw milk from cows grazed on pasture. To
get the best results, it would be wise to obtain high-quality raw milk if
you can find it in your area (www.realmilk.com will point you in the
right direction) and heat it up to body temperature and no higher
before consuming. Of all forms of fasting, I must say, raw milk-fasting
is probably the most sound and is alleged to enhance the physique
even under conditions of bed rest, which certainly cant be said of the
other forms of fasting recommending in this chapter. I mean come
on! Schulze has the body of Santa!
Milk may also have more positive impacts on the bacterial flora of the
digestive tract.
Henry Bieler was also a huge proponent of liquid-only fasting. Bieler

was known for treating his patients quite successfully from a host of
health problems many of them digestive or stemming from digestive
inadequacies, with a pureed soup broth made from boiled, potassiumrich vegetables such as zucchini and plenty of bed rest.
61
Finally, theres the old-fashioned water fast. Although it sounds

brutal, The Braggs Patricia and Paul C., swore by water fasting as a
ritual that needed to be performed once in a while to maintain
excellent health and extend the life span. It certainly is easier from a
logistics standpoint. All you have to do is drink some water, which can
be found anywhere, doesnt require any preparation, and doesnt cost
a dime. I wouldnt over-rely on it though. If you go overboard with
water fasting you can certainly weaken your digestion and slow down
your metabolism. A little bit, say five days once or twice a year, is
perfectly tolerable and may even be beneficial particularly for
digestion.
I dont seem to fare well with liquid fasts of any kind, find them
unnecessary for someone with decent digestion to begin with, and get
quite constipated without food passing through my digestive tract. My
experience with them is pretty limited though.
If you feel that a liquid-only fast is not necessary, and that you do not
have a level of chronic digestive inflammation and distress that
requires such measures, you will probably fare much better eating
whole fruits and vegetables. Eating exclusively whole fruits and
vegetables with perhaps a drizzle of olive or coconut oil here and there
at the very most is certainly a better strategy to target constipation.
Simply eat until you are fed up and cannot eat anymore. When you
get hungry again, eat more.
This type of cleanse can be done simply or you can make it more
complex. Some will prefer to eat large quantities of whole fruits and
vegetables with no preparation totally raw such as munching on
62
carrots, cabbage leaves, Romaine lettuce hearts, snow peas, bell

peppers, and all fruits to fullness. Others may prefer to concoct little
salads or cook all of their fruits and vegetables. Cooking the fruits and
vegetables may be better for some, although I must say eating
completely uncooked foods for several days does seem to have a more
invigorating feel to it. Fine, just call me a new-agey freaky diet guy.
Is this where I start talking about the life force of raw and live foods?
Uh, no. Ive already been through that phase and didnt even get a tshirt out of it.
Youll have to play that one by ear. If you find raw fruits and
vegetables to be too irritating and too abrasive to what may be a very
sensitive and battered digestive tract, then try cooking everything very
well to see if that is more tolerable.
The only real rule when doing a whole fruit and vegetable cleanse is to
eat ONLY fruits and vegetables any kind, in any form. It doesnt
have to be much more complicated than that, and that should answer
most questions. The duration is up to you. It will take at least three
to four days for it to be worthwhile. Depending on how severe your
condition is and how soothing you may find this to be you can go for
up to a month on such a diet. However, be warned. Dont overdo
this! Its not a case of the more the better or the longer the better.
More tips and recipes for those looking to make this more creative can
be found in my cookbook, 180 Kitchen.
One final variable worth exploring is avoiding fruits and simple sugars
and sweets and opting for starches instead while performing a cleanse.
63
This may be a mandatory requirement for those with severe sugar

addiction issues and hypoglycemic reactions. Potatoes, other root
vegetables, whole grain porridges, and rice combined with plenty of
well-cooked nonstarchy vegetables should be the ticket, and of all the
cleanses and fasts that weve discussed in this section, there is no
doubt that this form of fasting is the easiest primarily because of the
satiation that starches provide as well as the higher protein content of
foods such as potatoes. Oh yeah, and fats such as butter are often
eaten with these animal-protein-free fasts. That surely helps. This
kind of cleanse, call it a vegetarian cleanse, comes highly
recommended by digestive specialists such as Liz Lipski, author of
several books on the topic of digestive health, including Digestive
Wellness.
The last thing that needs to be discussed in Santas wonderland of

cleansing is phasing out of the cleanse. What do you do when youre
done? Run to Outback Steakhouse for a 2-pounder and one-a-them
Bloomin onions?
Not so much.
If you are performing a full liquid fast, its best to transition to whole
fruits and vegetables for at least a couple of days, then work your way
into cooked starchy foods and vegetables with lots of fat, and then
finally transition to a fully mixed diet with small amounts of protein.
In other words, you sort of progress down the pages of this chapter
one-by-one. Pay attention to transit time. You do not want to cause
any clogging, bulky stools, straining, or stretching. If you do start to
have some issues there, make some adjustments, either replacing
64
much of the fibrous matter with fats to speed the digestion along, or
keep protein down pretty dern low. Thats not ideal, to keep protein
overly low that is, but often protein is the nemesis of constipation
sufferers. If you are one, the golden rule is basically eat as much
protein as you like without causing yourself to be constipated (and
yes, once again, I believe that protein can be constipating not
because it lacks fiber, but because it is the least stimulating to the
metabolism and therefore can keep transit time slow).
And for clarification, you can do a cleanse like this any time. It doesnt
have to be a post-Christmas cleanse. I just liked the sound of that in
the title of this chapter paired up with Santa Schulze.
65
POOPIE MOODS
A very interesting link to good digestion that many arent aware of is

the amazing connection between the brain and the neurotransmitters
in the digestive tract. This is often referred to as the gut-brain
connection.
Its true, one of your most primary and dominant neurotransmitters,

serotonin, is manufactured right in your digestive tract from the amino
acid Tyrptophan. Pretty cool huh?
Is it any wonder then that psychological health and proper brain

function is often closely tied to digestive health?
Take, for example, sufferers of fructose malabsorption. Leading

fructose researcher Max Ledochowski closely monitored those who
tested positive for fructose malabsorption to see what differences they
displayed. One outwardly sign, was that signs of depression were
often noticed. He then monitored depression sufferers only to find
that nearly all of them were fructose malabsorbers.
Next he took blood tests to check nutrient levels. What did he find?
No matter what the rest of a persons diet consisted of, if a person was
not absorbing fructose properly, they predictably were found to have
66
lower serum concentrations of zinc, folic acid, and Tryptophan. The

potential significance of this is endless, as a lack of Tryptophan for
serotonin formation can cause all kinds of hormonal abnormalities, as
serotonin exists on an axis with other key neurotransmitters
disrupting the whole system if there is an imbalance.
Sure, just another imbalance right? Well, its bigger than that.
Just the other day I was turned onto a news report by one of most
beloved infotainment icons, Max Keiser, that mentioned a massive
increase in psychological disorders. Between 1996 and 2006 this
article reported, there has been a 50% increase in psychological
disorders in both children and amongst the general population. Psyche
medicines have also seen a 50% corresponding increase. Almost all
psychological disorders are on the rise.
Of course, the majority of digestive diseases, autoimmune diseases,

and many other ailments have seen massive, across-the-board
increases as well during that same time period.
Few would even consider that there is a commonality between all of

these alarming trends, but when so much of our mental health is
rooted in the innerworkings of the digestive tract, it almost becomes
foolish not to assume that there could be a link. I cant help but
believe that the link is quite strong, especially when considering that
animal studies such as the famed Pottengers Cats was able to
establish that several of the bodys systems broke down at once,
causing weak bones, crooked and decayed teeth, allergenicity, lowered
resistance, digestive destruction, infertility, and severe behavioral
67
abnormalities. The extensive animal studies of Sir Robert McCarrison

also strongly confirm this, as disturbances to the endocrine system, a
weakening of the immune system, major disruptions in digestion, and
pronounced neuropathy were always seen together as if they were
one.
Now back to serotonin formation from Tryptophan. Serotonin is a very

active biochemical. Much of our serotonin is produced in the gut, and
the greater the malabsorption and bowel frequency in the gut, the
greater the production of serotonin according to Mark Pimentel. This
could probably result in two distinct responses from the brain.
The first is that the excess serotonin causes the body to develop an
overly strong association with fructose. No wonder sugar consumption
is dramatically increasing if many are indeed getting a tremendous lift
from it. When this is set into motion, the addiction scenario kicks in, a
situation in which serotonin receptors begin shutting in response to the
frequent floods. This causes a state that, even under circumstances of
having plenty of serotonin in circulation, the mind feels like serotonin
levels are low. The shutting down of receptor sites is exactly the
reason why addicts, when initially they consume a substance they get
quite a high, end up consuming addictive substances just to feel
normal. In other words, they must raise serotonin levels above
normal just to keep from feeling miserable and depressed.
The situation gets much worse; however, if Tryptophan levels become

depleted from the tremendous excess demand for it. Once again,
Tryptophan is an amino acid that serotonin is derived from. Over and
over again the malabsorption of fructose causes massive waves of
68
tryptophan to be released. The end result can be a closure of

serotonin receptors with a deficiency of the amino acid that forms
serotonin. This is a double hit, and is probably one of the catalysts to
the sudden appearance of mental problems.
It is believed that mental problems and depression can likewise cause

digestive problems. This is probably so, but I find that in my greatest
states of health that Ive experienced throughout my life, it actually is
plausible that one can attain a high enough level of physical health
that mental and emotional trauma is reduced in harsh situations. No
matter how great the catastrophe, the emotions cannot reach such a
pinnacle that they breach the levy to an extent where the rest of the
body crumbles. Put another way, when Im at my healthiest, the
whole world could collapse around me and Id remain relatively even
keel about it. When Im at my worst, the sound of a faucet dripping
can set me into an uncontrollable fury.
To put a wrap on this chapter, let us once again consider my greatest

arch enemy, refined sugar. The drastic increase of refined sugar
ingestion across the globe, and especially in the United States over the
last century, has paralleled all these massive epidemics in various
types of digestive, metabolic, and psychological diseases. Considering
that digestion and mental wellness are undeniably linked, its more
than worthwhile to mention some of the ancient revelations of E.M.
Abrahamson, whose book, Body, Mind, and Sugar still remains
impressively accurate despite its 1951 publish date.
69
Its impossible, especially with the historical etiology of sugars tandem

relationship with disease, not to place sugar at the top of the list of
suspects in the causation of such problems with reports like this:
Persons who at last were found to be suffering from hyperinsulinism

have been treated for coronary thrombosis and other heart ailments,
brain tumor, epilepsy, gall bladder disease, appendicitis, hysteria, and
every sort of neurosis.
They have been told repeatedly that their
trouble is all in the mind and sent to the psychoanalyst.
patients whocomplained of all sorts of depressions, phobias,

compulsions in brief, the psychic complaints were then subjected
to the same investigation by means of the six-hour Glucose Tolerance
Test. The results were amazing. Most of these patients actually had a
mild hyperinsulinism. It was so mild that it could be discovered only
by chemical test. The correction through proper diet of this purely
metabolic condition alleviated the psychic symptoms of the persons in
this group just as effectively as it had improved the condition of those
who also had physical symptoms of hyperinsulinism. In other words,
the psychic and somatic disturbances were the treble and bass of the
same discord.
In EVERY case in which the Glucose Tolerance Test has shown that
hyperinsulinism was present and these were more than 90 per cent
of the total number the patient lost his purely psychic symptoms
within ten days of initiating the treatment. But another month or
more is required to make the treatment stick. Several patients have
learned by bitter experience that they must never take caffeine in any
form. In fact, caffeine is so much of a causative factor in this kind of
70
depression that the condition might be regarded as a form of caffeine

poisoning. The reputed and widely accepted harmlessness of caffeine
must be thoroughly reinvestigated in the light of this new knowledge.
While the usual therapy for the so-called psychosomatic diseases is

sometimes effective, we believe that the steadily increasing incidence
of these ailments is patent proof of the insufficiency of such treatment.
We refuse to believe that Americans are becoming a people who cant
take it. We prefer to believe that they are a people who have been
beguiled by a good deal of high pressure advertising into bad dietary
habits and by an incredible lot of nonsense posing as science into bad
living and thinking habits.
That makes caffeine look pretty bad too, but hey, Americans, the
world leaders of psychological and digestive illness, also manage to top
the caffeine consumption charts as well gobbling up 25% of the
global caffeine supply. You know, we like to mix it with High-Fructose
corn syrup in sodas, gain weight from it, and then take highly
caffeinated diet pills to remedy the weight gain. Then we wonder why
we are so ill, constipated, and depressed that is, if were lucky
enough not to have gotten an inflammatory bowel disease instead.
This all becomes very interesting when Abrahamson, quoted above,

noted that the health problems he investigated were all related to
hyperinsulinism and subsequent hypoglycemia. This, he called sugar
starvation, the underlying malady behind all of the mental problems
he witnessed and was able to alleviate by simply restoring proper
glucose function (via a sugar-free diet).
71
Mark Pimentel has noted specifically that the greater the level of
fructose malabsorption, the greater the level of hypoglycemia in his
patients. Recall also that Ledochowski showed that fructose
malabsorption, which equals hypoglycemia, equals higher incidence of
depression and other psychological maladies.
If that doesnt make you go hmmm, I dont know what would.

William Duftys famous and brilliantly written Sugar Blues also goes
into great detail on the sugar-digestion-psychological disorder
connection. The simple fact that refined sugar and poor glucose
tolerance is the root cause of the vast majority of psychological
ailments, as simple and unbelievable as that may seem, is summarized
in classic Dufty irreverence:
The mind truly boggles when one glances over what passes for
medical history. Through the centuries, troubled souls have been
barbecued for bewitchment, exorcised for possession, locked up for
insanity, tortured for masturbatory madness, psychiatrized for
psychoses, lobotomized for schizophrenia. How many patients would
have listened if the local healer had told them that the only thing ailing
them was sugar blues?
Needless to say, it is more than worth looking into sugar (and caffeine)
abstinence in pursuit of better digestive health and better mental
health. Otherwise, you may stay stuck with your poopie moods
forever. Even if you dont feel like you have a problem with either, as
I certainly didnt before removing sugar from my diet on a long-term
basis you might be surprised. I never thought my bad temper or

mood swings were a problem, but just normal. Boy was I wrong.
Turned out they were both highly preventable.
72
73
DIGESTIVE EXERCISE
Mainstream health information is typical in that it always seeks the

easy way out. When it comes to digestion, there are certainly few
exceptions.
Mainstream digestive health info. centers entirely around making

digestion easier. Eat only fruits and vegetables. Do a juice
cleanse. Fast for a week. Remove cooked foods from your diet.
Dont eat carbohydrates and protein together. Eat five or six small
meals per day. Only eat until you are 80% full. Eat only one food
at a time. Liquefy all your food.
Can you imagine if information on physical activity came from the

same bias?
Never take the stairs, as climbing up stairs is implicated in a raised

heart rate and an increase in lactic acid in the muscle tissue of the
legs.
Walking is known to cause tiredness. Sitting around and doing

absolutely nothing is therefore the suggested treatment for fatigue.
And so on.
74
The truth is, just as with physical activity, both rest and exercise are
necessary opposites. They are complementary. If you exercise too
much, countering that with rest is therapeutic. If you rest too much,
countering that with physical activity is therapeutic. The human body
depends on adequate cycles of both to maintain a proper equilibrium.
I believe that the same may be said of digestion. Performing fasts,

eating very simple meals, eating lightly, going on fruit and vegetable
digestive cleanses all of these are very therapeutic and restful to
the digestive tract. Entire healing protocols have been built around
digestive rest from that of Henry Bieler and Stanley Burroughs to
modern day health nuts like Dr. Schulze (Santa). Anyone who has
ever tried a liquid-only diet, a fast, a mono diet (eating one food type
only, like the FUMP diet) or food-combining surely has noticed the
digestive ease of such a program.
But just like any body system, with prolonged vacation comes atrophy.
You simply cannot expect to eat a very simple diet with light meals
day after day after day and then suddenly go out to a restaurant, mix
30 different ingredients together from four different courses,
commingle all of that with a couple glasses of wine, eat a larger-thannormal portion, and expect to not feel miserable afterwards. This of
course, is viewed as a sign that restaurant food is the devil, which it
may not be (of course, as you know, it may indeed contain a host of
inherently harmful substances, and it may not just be digestive
weakness on your part). Your digestion may just be out of shape
from your regular habits.
75
On the other hand, if you ate a Thanksgiving feast every meal, day
after day, eating that same normal, restaurant dinner would be more
like a break, not a workout.
A long time friend of mine has had digestive problems for years. Shes
tried all kinds of diets in search of relief. Recently, she went to a
natural health practitioner who began recommending all of the things
that she had felt banished to for years and wanted desperately to
escape from. Dont eat meat and starch together, she said, among
other things. In some regards, yes, eating starch and protein
separately is incredibly easy to digest. Instead of feeling heavy and
full and having food sit in your stomach digesting, it sort of goes right
through you. Even if you sit down and eat a huge steak, you feel like
you could go on a jog shortly thereafter. Its almost impossible to get
the same full feeling that comes with eating a big wad of mashed
potatoes with it.
So yes, it is certainly easier for the body to digest meat and starch
separately than mixed together. However, easier isnt always
synonymous with better. In fact, easier is synonymous with
weakness. No one ever got strong by sleeping all day. No one ever
developed an amazing resolve in the face of hardship by milking a
trust fund to support a Nintendo habit. No marathon runner has ever
trained successfully by watching copious amounts of television in lieu
of running.
Its really a very simple concept. If you have problems digesting

normal meals that combine several ingredients, meat and starch, a
76
large quantity of fat, or calories, etc. then that can be interpreted as

a weakness that needs training.
Sure, if I went out and ran ten miles, my legs would hurt and I would
feel tired. If I didnt want to feel that way, I could either avoid running
for the rest of my life or run until I was strong enough to be able to do
it without soreness and fatigue. Clearly one is more courageous than
the other building resilience and strength. The other route is
identifying a weakness and then grabbing a crutch to support that
weakness.
Sure, there are circumstances where the crutch is needed to support a

truly injured body part. That much I cant deny, and in those kinds of
circumstances all the tricks to make digestion easier can be
implemented.
You have to decide for yourself, but I at least wanted to open you up
to the concept. Maybe its not ease that you need, but greater
challenge. Maybe going out to a restaurant isnt the enemy perhaps
you can condition yourself to tolerate it by practicing the occasional
feast, or challenging your stomach to handle big loads and impossible
food combinations.
Just remember that the body is an equilibrium machine. There are

times when the digestive tract needs more stress. There are other
times when the digestive tract needs less stress. Be wary of overdoing
it in either direction, and do not get caught up solely on how good you
feel at first if you do decide to practice various forms of digestive rest.
77
To practice digestive exercise simply eat a lot. Mix everything

together. Have multiple proteins, multiple courses, solids, liquids
throw them all down the hatch and dare your stomach to figure out
what to do with it all. I know it sounds odd, but it can really help.
Of course, eating like this every single day for months and years can
do some damage too. You must not get too carried away, nor be
afraid to incorporate digestive rest for balance. Give both the merit
and credit they deserve without chastising one while blindly supporting
the other (or else youll probably bounce violently from one extreme
diet to another without ever having lasting results).
Try at first eating like this one day per week. Allow one day to be the
free for all. Stuff yourself. Eat snacks. Have some of the foods that
you feel you dont tolerate all that well. Even if you feel miserable, or
your digestion seems worse for days afterwards, do not settle for
being a digestive pansy. Work at it. Be resilient. Do it again the
following week, ready to face the aftermath, determined to keep
improving as time progresses.
Eating a very high-calorie day with an overabundance of every food

component can also be very stimulating to the metabolism its a
technique thats been popular amongst bodybuilders, both male and
female, for decades. Its called a cheat day. I prefer the term,
feast day, which implies that you can just eat a lot you dont have
to think of it as an unhealthy binge that occurs aside from your normal
diet, consisting of superhuman quantities of Butterfinger and Snickers
bars, but a part of your normal diet and your overall health pursuits.
78
Im sure all of you can determine for yourselves what a feast might
entail, but here is an example of a made-from-scratch dinner I had
while intentionally seeking to trigger metabolic activity and improve
digestive strength (no, I certainly dont eat like this every meal)
1 Large bowl, French onion soup
3 ounces mozzarella cheese
2T grated parmesan cheese
1 slice sourdough toast
stick butter
6T peanut butter
avocado (as guacamole)
2 cups homemade custard sweetened with just a splash of maple

syrup (2T)
1 pint strawberries
1 pint blackberries
1 quart filtered water
Over 2,000 calories in one sitting with multiple proteins, multiple fats,
multiple fruits, vegetables, and a ton of water Now thats a pop quiz!
Digestion needs exercise. Give it some time off here and there, be
kind and loving when the time is right, but dont baby it. Make it drop
and give you 20 when it shows signs of weakness. Dont get too lost
in the digestive ease mindset, or else you may become imprisoned by
your feeble stomach.
79
GAG IT DOWN
I was so impressed with Diana Schwarzbeins suggestion that Food

is your friend, so gag it down, in her book, The Program, that I had to
name a chapter after it. Priceless information, although I dont think
that even she fully understands why gagging it down can have such
profound health benefits.
Through all my research, Ive come to believe that the primary

fundamental problem that most health issues stem from is a low
metabolism. Some may call this hypothyroidism, but I hesitate to
call it that, for it is far more complex than just a thyroid issue. In
addition, it makes people feel like there is something wrong with them
physically that cannot be overcome. Not true. Theres probably not a
thing wrong with your thyroid gland.
Having a slow metabolism is best looked at like a body in semihibernation. It is conserving energy for one reason or another.
Personally, I believe that a slowed metabolism can be due to several
factors. I also believe that it is not necessarily a malfunction, but an
appropriate response to outside influences.
For example, when Robert McCarrison did extensive studies on various

deficiencies, the metabolic effect of each and every deficiency he
80
studied was more or less the same the thyroid showed signs of
atrophy. From the digestive point of view, he also noted that digestive
organs underwent gross deformity during times of deficiency. There is
certainly a link between the two digestion and metabolic downturn
that is.
McCarrison made this observation, most likely because the logical

bodily response of all creatures, humans included, is to slow down the
metabolic rate intentionally when it becomes aware that a supply of
something is being exhausted faster than its being replaced. Whether
the shortage is in the form of calories, protein, a certain amino acid,
Vitamin C, B Vitamins, fatty acids, etc. is of no consequence.
Shortage is shortage, and when expenditure exceeds income of
anything, the greatest protection an organism can employ is to slow
down the rate at which it metabolizes. It only makes sense to do that.
Of course, the most likely culprit in the process of slowing down the
metabolism on a societal scale is, as you may have already discovered
through my other works refined sugar. Not only is refined sugar
completely devoid of nutrients, but supposedly the fructose element of
refined sugar (high-fructose corn syrup is typically 55% fructose for
example) also exhausts cellular ATP. In a sense it causes the body to
run on high with no nutrients. There is simply no faster way to
exhaust nutrient reserves more quickly than they are replaced. Thus,
the damage of a diet high in refined sugar, although it usually takes
years and sometimes even generations to rear its ugly head, always
seems to catch up with us.
81
Eating a lot of sugar isnt the only way to screw up the metabolism.
Starvation can help achieve this, eating an unbalanced or non-nutritive
diet (like eating only white rice or white flour), and dieting can
certainly cause or exacerbate the problem. Excessive exercise can
have very negative long-term consequences, as can chronic
dehydration, as can habitual sleep deprivation. Mental and emotional
stress is probably a big exacerbating factor as well. Even eating
excessive protein or eating so few carbohydrates that ketosis is
induced appear to have counter-metabolic effects.
So there is no shortage of ways to catapult yourself into hibernation

mode, in which countless health problems stem from, digestive and
otherwise.
To avoid redundancy, because this metabolism theme keeps being

tirelessly repeated throughout this book, throughout this book,
throughout this book the questions are simply:
1) In what ways can a low metabolism negatively affect digestion?

2) How do you know if your metabolism is less than ideal?
3) From a dietary perspective, what can you do to attempt a
reversal of a low metabolism?
The quick and dirty on the first question is that the metabolism affects
both the transit time and immune system as mentioned. This can
cause changes in bacterial flora, bacterial overgrowth, ensuing
malabsorption, diarrhea or IBS, ensuing inflammation, and more on
one end of the spectrum. On the transit time front, this can cause
chronic problems with constipation, which, as a reminder is not just
82
infrequent stools but large, hard, smelly, and difficult-to-pass stools.

Although each case is unique, both problems can be branches of the
same low-metabolism tree. Regardless, if the metabolism is low,
whether fixing it can help your digestive problems or not, it is a
mandatory correction that everyone should identify and make first and
foremost.
So how do you know if your metabolism is less than ideal? Well get
into this in more detail in the next chapter on glandular support, but
for starters the best way is to simply check whats called your Basal
Temperature. This most reliable reading is taken under the armpit
(stick it in there tiger) in the morning within minutes of waking. A
normal reading is between 97.8 degrees F and 98.2 degrees F.
Do
not settle for anything less. It is impossible to feel and perform at

your best level if you basal temperature resides below these levels.
Moreover, its a sign that something is wrong, and this metabolism
thing really needs to be addressed pronto amigo.
The big question is what can you do to reverse it from a dietary

perspective?
Other than a few basic premises of human biochemistry, this really

hasnt been thoroughly studied. The reason being is that to raise the
true basal metabolic rate, it requires eating excess calories or
something approximating force-feeding. Since the entire health
industry from weight loss to longevity has a misguided infatuation with
eating as little as possible and exercising maximally to create a calorie
deficit instead of a surplus, the thought of doing so is unfathomable to
them.
83
But not to me.
In the book Good Calories, Bad Calories by fellow independent health

researcher Gary Taubes, he brings up a force-feeding study performed
on a group of prisoners by a scientist named Ethan Sims. Remarkably,
most of the prisoners gained very little weight - even when eating up
to 10,000 calories per day for months while being encouraged to be as
sedentary as possible. Some of the subjects gained as little as three
pounds, which they promptly lost at the conclusion of the experiment
when they returned to eating the amount of food they naturally
desired. This should come as no surprise, as dieting by intentionally
eating less than you desire has the exact opposite effect. It results in
initial weight loss and a downward adjustment in metabolism. It also
causes a rise in hunger in relation to the metabolism, so when hunger
is obeyed weight is quickly gained back.
Thus, it is quite clear that basal metabolism can be increased, and is

increased tremendously when a surplus of calories is consumed. In
addition, a couple of small studies pointed out by Per Marin and
Russell Farris in The Potbelly Syndrome showed decreases in insulin
resistance during force-feeding insulin resistance being one common
manifestation of a low basal metabolism. This too would suggest that
eating more than one desires while minimizing physical activity with
the intent to create an energy surplus, can in fact provide substantial
health improvements and a verifiable increase to the metabolic rate.
The problem is that eating more than you desire causes a short-term
rise in body fat in the vast majority of people who try it. In the age of
84
obesity, this is often too daunting of a strategy for people to actively

pursue despite the fantastic promise that is shows as a long-term
health improvement strategy for reducing body fat and otherwise.
Body fat aside, eating more food than you desire while resting up,
which sounds even more odd to those with chronic digestive problems,
can have a powerful positive effect over time. It is certainly the best
lasting remedy for constipation that I know of, as transit time
increases along with the metabolism as the body adjusts to the calorie
surplus. There is simply no better way to counteract hard, large,
odorous stools that come infrequently and require straining to expel
than to eat, eat, and eat some more.
People of course fear that weight will be gained, and that such a
protocol is a Catch-22, especially seeing that a low metabolism,
constipation, and having too much body fat often go together in a nice
little trio of stagnation. That is; however, one of the primary fallacies
(the more calories you eat, the fatter and more unhealthy you will be)
that 180DegreeHealth seeks to someday overturn.
In reality, creating a calorie surplus within your body increases body

temperature, improves circulation, increases protein turnover (better
wound healing, healthier skin and hair, etc.), lessens the transit time,
increases stool moisture and frequency, decreases stool size, and
hormonally alters the body to enhance fatty acid utilization (you burn
fat instead of storing it). It also improves the immune system, lowers
cholesterol levels and blood fats, and improves glucose tolerance. In
other words, its a one-hit wonder, just as good financial times equate
to booms in nearly all sectors of an economy. In this situation, the
85
economy is the aggregate of your hormonal system. The currency is

energy. The Federal Reserve that issues that energy is primarily the
thyroid. Calories are like the stimulus package, only they actually do
something besides help big banks further monopolize the financial
industry.
Constipation is a serious and severe malady. More importantly, it is a

prominent sign that your body is not functioning properly and that you
are careening towards future health problems. Eating three very large
meals per day while getting plenty of rest is an amazing stimulator of
the bowels. Unlike laxatives or fiber supplements (which often make
shatters worse), boosting the metabolism also comes with a long list
of health improvements.
Those of you with chronic diarrhea, IBS, and inflammatory bowel

diseases are wondering at this point why you would want to do
something touted to increase stool moisture and frequency.
Remember, many of the problems that lie at the root of these illnesses
reside in the immune system. Bacterial overgrowth, the most
common reason for IBS, is the perfect case in point. By raising the
metabolism, which simultaneously brings the basal temperature
higher, infection can be fought off much more effectively. It works,
ever-so-simply, just like a fever does in accelerating the proliferation
of immune system warriors, enzyme activity, and more designed at
doing repair work. Its wondrous for clearing up inflammation-inducing
low-grade infections of all kinds.
Ive also been led to believe that many food allergies and intolerances
are caused by a slow metabolism as well. If many of your digestive
86
problems are linked to food intolerances, raising the metabolism can

be a much less restrictive and more effective means of clearing up
problems associated with that as well. Food allergies and intolerance
of course are prime suspects in the causation of digestion-related
illnesses from autoimmune diseases, autism, and asthma to
mysterious IBDs like Crohns.
The prescription of course is quite simple: eat a lot of food and get
plenty of rest and sleep. This prescription is often too simple though.
Most people are looking for specifics. Where do I start? What do I
eat? How long will it take? How will I know if its working or not? So
lets get into that.
First of all, you do not want any major restrictions of any

macronutrient. Restriction of macronutrients is something that is
incredibly common. Most diets actually depend on a restriction
somewhere to help induce weight loss. Shortage, however, ends up
with a downward metabolic adjustment. Vegetarian/vegan diets often
restrict protein. Low-carbohydrate diets obviously restrict
carbohydrates. The infamous low-fat diet restricts fat. Instead, it is
important to eat unrestricted amounts. The natural human appetite
and taste receptors do a pretty good job at balancing these out.
Protein naturally tastes like cardboard without complementary fat.
Starchy carbohydrates, like potatoes, can be levitated to the heavens
with the addition of butter and cream. Sautee any vegetable in some
bacon grease and youll find a tremendous improvement in taste
versus plain, steamed veggies. And of course butter, by itself, is a
stomach-churner for most. Spread it on toast and the ballgame
changes dramatically.
87
In each macronutrient category the emphasis should be as follows for

maximal results:
Fats
Fats should be saturated. Those with the highest concentration of

medium chain triglycerides are the best choice. This makes coconut
and dairy fats the ideal. Coconut oil, coconut milk, and butter are
outstanding staple household fats. Beef and lamb fat are outstanding
sources as well. Snarf it all up like John Candy was forced to do in The
Great Outdoors to be declared a finisher of a 96-ounce steak. Bacon,
olive oil, nuts and seeds, avocado, and other rich sources of
monounsaturated fats are also acceptable.
Proteins
I have little preference for metabolic stimulation when it comes to

protein. Dairy proteins are a personal favorite, but there are obviously
many people with digestive problems that are worsened by casein, the
predominant type of protein found in diary products. Make sure to eat
some protein from animal/fish/dairy sources each day, but it need not
be a lot. A few ounces of animal-based protein at each meal is really
all a person needs. Too much can be counterproductive, which is
probably one reason why high-protein diets are strongly associated
with constipation the most common complaint of followers of the
Fatkins Diet.
88
Carbohydrates
Eating lots of simple sugars allows most people to consume the

greatest amount of calories. There is a catch though. Fructose in
particular seems to exhaust cellular ATP according to Richard J.
Johnson, and can reduce the metabolic rate. Simple sugars of any
kind, particularly those with a high ratio of fructose to other sugars
(like that found in apples or high-fructose corn syrup), are the most
likely to induce a hypoglycemic reaction. Although this hypoglycemic
hunger will stimulate appetite and encourage greater calorie
consumption, hypoglycemic episodes are tremendously
counterproductive to someone trying to stimulate his or her
metabolism. They should be generally avoided, except in small
amounts. Refined sugars such as the white stuff, high-fructose corn
syrup, crystalline fructose and everything containing even trace
amounts of it should be avoided as if your life depended on it, which it
might (once metabolism is in the normal range, refined sugar treats
can be consumed on special occasions no problem).
For carbohydrates my top choices are rice, potatoes, corn, yams, and
some grains such as oats and buckwheat porridges although grains,
just like dairy products, are often problematic for those with digestive
problems. Most shouldnt be too afraid of a good whole-meal bread
though. Even white breads like French baguettes can be an acceptable
source of carbohydrates ever now and then, particularly if you dont
have significant constipation problems.
89
Non-starchy vegetables also contain carbohydrates. Eat small portions

of vegetables though. Other than a few micronutrients that you can
generally find in starches and meats, they dont have much to offer.
The Whole Meal
As a general rule, start off with moderate starch quantities for the first
few weeks and gradually increase your amounts until you are literally
eating as much as you can. Smother them with fat, add a little animal
protein, and youve got yourself a meal.
Remember that fat and carbohydrates are your primary sources of

metabolic fuel, and they are the food groups that need the most
emphasis. Proteins are necessary to keep the metabolism humming
along as well, but are used structurally and not as an efficient fuel
source. For number geeks (and no, Im not condoning thinking about
your food mathematically), a gram of protein for each kg of lean body
mass is the perfect ballpark amount. Thus, a typical meal will contain
a small portion of meat, cheese, fish or eggs and have a large side of
starch swimming in saturated fat. A few vegetables as a small
complement to the meal is preferable, but not always something to
lose sleep over.
Its probably best to have three meals a day from a digestive

standpoint. Although the meals may be large and heavy, something
many digestion gurus feel is something to be avoided, having digestive
rest in between meals is very important. If you are trying to decide
between eating small meals every few hours and snacking constantly
versus eating three meals spaced by at least five hours, I would
90
strongly encourage anyone and everyone to eat regimented meals

instead.
Most importantly, for optimal results, eat as much as you can. Do not
worry about calories. There is no upward limit. Strive to have the
metabolism and digestion that someone like competitive eater Gal
Sone has. She eats 5,000 calories per day, is capable of eating
40,000 calories in a single sitting without noticeable bloating or
discomfort, and weighs 95 pounds. Okay, maybe you wont get that
far, but think of eating like you would jogging (same analogy used
earlier). If you go on a short run and it makes you very tired and sore
you have two options to mitigate that problem. You can never jog
again and avoid the fatigue and soreness, or you can jog every day
until you are no longer sore and tired. For many people, digestion
works in the same way. Facing weaknesses with a desire to
strengthen and improve rather than to avoid and tiptoe around
problems can often get you in shape.
Of course, a person with a broken leg shouldnt be jogging to get a leg

back in shape, the same applies to the digestive organs, and there is a
fine line between deciphering what an individual needs more of rest
or exercise. Youll have to make the call, but dont try things for a day
or even a week and then make a sweeping conclusion. A month is
always the minimum trial period on any dietary experiment if you ask
me.
91
Sample Gag Meals
Steak n Taters
1 pound boiled red potatoes, mashed with a fork
stick butter melted over the potatoes with plenty of salt and pepper
6-ounce ribeye steak with all its fat
Small side of green beans cooked with bacon
Fish and Rice Stew

Fish stew with mixed vegetables, stick of butter, and 4 ounces of
fresh fish
Huge bowl of white or brown rice (white digests easier, but less
nutritious)
Side of homemade cornbread with butter
Breakfast Feast
2 eggs scrambled with bacon and a little shredded cheese
1 pint half n half to drink
2 pieces of sugarfree toast with butter, porridge with butter, or home
fries
Other hearty things you could make for yourself at home are classic
heart attack meals such as burgers with fries or mashed potatoes,
pizza, quesadillas, etc. Most importantly, you need to eat what you
like, with the exception of sugary sweets, because after prolonged
force-feeding food of all kinds gets incredibly unappealing.
As perverse as this concept sounds, remember how grandma always

tried to feed you. Its a natural motherly instinct to insure that
92
everyone is well-fed. Having a big appetite has always been

synonymous with strength and vitality. Its only assumed, and
assumed falsely, that the modern obesity epidemic is due to
widespread abundance of food, larger portion sizes, and a sedentary
lifestyle. Nothing could be further from the truth. The obesity
epidemic is 100% attributable to addictive and metabolicallydestructive foods constantly surrounding us (refined-sugar laden),
poor heredity from our parents being exposed to the same junk
(Weston A. Prices concept of intercepted heredity), and is grossly
exacerbated by the eat less, exercise more deprivation mentality.
This mentality yields a society of people trying to douse flames with
gasoline.
How long will it take to kick in? If its going to do something for you,
youll know it by the end of one month. You may not look and feel
exactly like you want to by that time, but initial negative responses to
the change should be subsiding. Weight gain should have stalled.
Digestion should be improved. Bowel movements should be getting
progressively more perfect is size, shape, frequency, odor, and
moisture content. Any original skin problems that came during the
first week or two should be improving. In other words, you should feel
like you are moving in the right direction with what you are doing, not
the wrong one. Take all physical expressions and symptoms into
account.
Most importantly, be patient. The most common mistake is

abandoning eating well before the benefits start to reveal themselves.
Some may need to continue eating as much as they can for several
months. Long-term, we are all wise to obey our appetites. Dont
93
argue with appetite unless you are trying to change your metabolism.
In the meantime, commit to feeding yourself really well. Be your own
grandma.
An encyclopedia of hearty meals and cooking techniques to achieve

this effect for weight loss, better digestion, and increased vitality in all
regards can be found in my cookbook, 180 Kitchen: 180 Tips, Recipes,
and More.
New 180 Term: DAWA
Dont Argue With Appetite
94
GLANDULAR SUPPORT
When you think of glandular support, you might think of a jock

strap, but hold on champ, thats not the type of gland Im talking
about.
Several of the health practitioners, both past and present that I hold in
the highest regard, agreed upon one thing. Firstly, they agreed that
diet was the greatest factor in the prevention or development of
disease depending on whether the diet was healthy or not. For
example, J.E. Crewe, one of the original founders of the Mayo clinic
stated:
the most important single factor in the cause of disease and in the
resistance to disease is food. I have seen so many instances of the
rapid and marked response to this form of treatment that nothing
could make me believe this is not so
Natural health legend Bernard Jensen stated that:
Nutrition is the master healing science. All else is mere remedy at

best. Nutrition necessitates lifestyle change, while other methods,
95
effective as they may seem, are temporary if nutritional changes are

neglected all other therapeutic disciplines are secondary to nutrition
Nutrition is the Master Science and stands above all other sciences in
the healing arts.
Secondly, the health practitioners that I hold in high regard also felt
that nutrition alone was only enough for some, and that glandular
support of some kind was needed in addition to proper nutrition to
bring about significant healing in many others. In other words, proper
diet is always required for achieving and certainly for correcting health
problems. When proper diet is insufficient, using a two-pronged
approach with diet and glandular support, if used correctly, can solve
or at least drastically improve the vast majority of health problems.
Legendary dentist turned general practitioner Melvin Pages philosophy

was as follows:
All degenerative diseases are a result of malfunctioning of the

endocrine glands, either due to heredity or damage by environment,
(primarily due to a bad diet), or a combination of the two factors which
is more common.
Fortunately, dental decay, as well as the other degenerative disease,

can be prevented primarily by two procedures that must go together
which are as follows:
1. Follow a natural diet which eliminates sugar and sugar products,
coffee, refined grains (white flour), and milk.
2. If there is malfunction of the glands, correction of glandular
dysfunction.
96
Breakthrough endocrinologist Broda Barnes had an almost identical

take on health. His emphasis revolved primarily around bringing the
basal metabolism up to normal with thyroid hormone supplementation.
Modern day endocrinologist Diana Schwarzbein also agrees that a

multi-pronged approach is needed, that the metabolism is everything,
and the way to optimize that involves eating real food, avoiding
caffeine, sugar, and other refined foods and additives, getting plenty
of sleep, smart exercise (limited cardio), and bioidentical hormone
replacement therapy if needed. Not exactly rocket science, but pretty
darn foolproof when the steps are followed with near exactitude.
Weve already discussed the importance of the metabolism on the

whole picture of health, including that which may seem unrelated at
first glance such as digestion. I cannot stress the importance of
focusing on the overall metabolism enough. In fact, for a person with
digestive problems, before he or she goes sorting through a list of
tolerable and intolerable foods the first step should really be to bring
the metabolism up to the appropriate level.
As we discussed in Gag it Down, a high-calorie load that is devoid of

refined sugar, caffeine, and other substances that can be too
exhausting to the glands for healing to occur often provides all the
metabolic stimulation that one needs if followed for one to several
months. If this technique does not work all by itself, or your digestive
problems are too severe to even make an attempt at such a thing, it
may be time to consider glandular supplementation primarily thyroid
hormone supplementation.
97
The thyroid gland is one of the key players in what can be called the
Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR. Mainstream nutritionists focus
primarily on the BMR for weight loss. It is defined, generally speaking,
as the number of calories a person burns in a typical day, or put
another way its the number of calories you need to sustain yourself.
Overdo the calories above the BMR and weight gain ensues. This, I
cannot argue with. If you eat more calories than your body burns,
then you obviously will be left with residual excess. What nutritionists
dont tend to acknowledge is that the BMR is highly volatile. A
professional model, for example, can eat 1,000 calories per day
without losing an ounce as can many long-time dieters. I, on the
other hand, can eat 4,000 calories per day with no physical activity
and not gain an ounce. Like I mentioned before, professional eater
Gal Sone, likewise, can eat 5,000 calories per day with limited
physical activity while maintaining a weight of less than 100 pounds!
Dont believe me? Take a look around. You will find that the thinnest
people you know are typically the biggest eaters you know. Sure,
there are exceptions, but its hard to find a strong correlation between
calories ingested and body weight. Thats because it is all, and I mean
100%, about the digestion and metabolism of the person ingesting all
that food.
Well yes, we of course know that the amount of food an individual can
consume without gaining weight or how little some people can eat
without losing, is highly variable. Some people eat barrels of food and
are as lean as a professional athlete. Others eat a cracker with a
98
celery stick and have a sip of water and pack on pounds. The question
is, can a person change his or her metabolism? Can a person go from
a hypometabolizer to a hypermetabolizer? Since I have accomplished
this feat, my answer is a confident yes, and those with the slowest
metabolisms often people with digestive problems and/or weight
problems or any health problems for that matter, are the most in need
of a boost.
The starting point is to actually see whether your body is conserving

energy or not. If your body is conserving energy essentially residing
in starvation mode, then your BMR is below where it should be.
Instead of identifying the BMR and saying, well, thats me, the idea
is to see if it is low and if it is - fix it.
This is a very simple concept I know, but revolutionary nonetheless.
The simplest way to test whether the BMR is low, normal, or high is to
do what Broda Barnes called the Basal Temperature Test. For
reliabilitys sake, Barnes recommended to check the temperature of
the armpit first thing upon rising in the morning. First thing when you
wake up, when your body has just come out of rest, is typically when
the metabolism is at its lowest point. Stimulation from the day has a
hard time interfering in these first few minutes. Simply stick the
thermometer in the armpit and take your temperature.
Normal, according to Barnes, was anywhere between 97.8 and 98.2.

A perfect 98.0 is probably the best goal. It is plausible that trying to
get on the high side may be even better, scoring a 98.2. There is
some evidence that renowned nutrition scholar Ray Peat and I agree
99
upon. We agree that, all things taken into consideration, that being a
hypermetabolizer equates to a much better chance at achieving most
peoples ultimate long-term health goal: High-Quality Longevity.
Although consistently eating a significant surplus of calories can help,

many people cannot get there through diet alone. Unfortunately, a
low metabolism is often passed down through heredity that equates to
weakened glandular function and overall hormonal expression. This
means that for many, once diet alone has been thoroughly ruled out
after months of personal trial to test caloric surplus as an effective
therapy glandular support is worth toying with.
If you take basal temperature readings for several weeks and your
temperature is consistently and decisively low, it may be time to try
some thyroid glandular. Although I cant advise that you jump on this
bandwagon without any kind of medical supervision, the bottom line is
that you can if you want to. Thyroid glandular is available for sale
without prescription. Some prescription formulas such as the famous
Armour Thyroid is concentrated and packs more punch than over the
counter thyroid. I have had discussions with the owner of Nutri-Meds,
and I do feel very confident in her products, despite not having had to
try them myself. Nutri-Meds is not the only supplier of thyroid
glandular, but it may be a great and inexpensive place to start if you
cannot bring a stubbornly low body temperature up to the optimal
level. It is available online at www.nutri-meds.com (No Im not raking
in money by endorsing her products, I just happen to know a few
people who have had some success and have done some personal
research on it, so STFU).
100
Bringing the metabolism up to normal is without question an excellent

way to speed transit time and overcome digestive problems that stem
from constipation. The higher the metabolism, the easier that
everything flows along through the digestive tract.
Those with diarrhea and inflammation-related digestive problems may

be hesitant about speeding up the metabolism when hearing that it
can speed up transit time. There is no need to fear though, if you
have confirmed that your temperatures are low, raising the basal
metabolism can only do you good. The chances that it will improve
your digestive problems are very high, perhaps by improving the
weakened immune system that allowed bacterial and fungal invasion
of the digestive tract in the first place. Raising the metabolism is also
synonymous with improving and overcoming food allergies and
intolerances, which are often causal of digestive issues in the
inflammatory domain.
Think about it in these terms if your metabolism is low, and the

metabolism governs the function of every cell in the human body, then
improving the metabolism has the potential to improve and even reverse
virtually every health problem in existence. Whether it helps a digestive
condition or not, raising the metabolism back to normal is absolutely
mandatory in the pursuit of feeling, looking, and living well.
As for giving it a go, when it comes to using thyroid glandular, it is
imperative that you start with the minimum dose. You do not want to
use more than you need, and thyroid supplementation can be
dangerous if you suddenly ingest a large amount of it without slowly
conditioning your body to it first. Also, give at least a few weeks at
101
each dosage level before raising it. Monitor body temperature first
and foremost, but also monitor some of the telltale symptoms such as
coldness in the hands and feet, dry skin, energy levels, acne, and so
on if those accompany your low body temperature (I threw in and so
on because the symptoms of hypothyroidism/low metabolism are
nearly endless and quite varied, enough to fill over 80 pages in the
highly recommended Hypothyroidism: Type II by Mark Starr, M.D.).
Hopefully a nutritious, high-calorie diet that emphasizes saturated fats

and starches at the exclusion of refined sugar and stimulants can be
followed along with glandular supplementation until a working solution
to get the metabolism up to ideal levels is found. Avoidance of overly
strenuous exercise during the recovery phase combined with more
sleep than you care to get will also help tremendously, as will spending
time outdoors in natural sunlight.
Only when you have achieved this level is it really pertinent to even
begin attempting diets that exclude food groups or are highly
restrictive in some way. Of course, if bringing the metabolism up to
its ideal level is insufficient, additional strategies and therapies are
needed. Even so, optimizing the metabolic rate will only render you
more capable of healing, more resilient, and in better overall condition
to attempt such a thing.
For many, thyroid supplementation is simply not enough. The thyroid

is only one hormone in the vast constellation of biochemicals that
influence function. Another common supplement that many require in
addition to thyroid is adrenal glandular. The adrenals are incredibly
important and very dominant hormones. Any glandular weakness
102
there can cause all kinds of health consequences similar to those

associated with a low metabolism/hypothyroidism. If and when
thyroid glandular and diet come up short, adrenal glandular might be
something to begin test driving.
Other glandulars and hormones can also be taken, but unfortunately,

due to my lack of experience with prescribing these to individuals (Im
not a naturopathic physician, so I cannot meddle with this kind of
thing beyond discussion), I cannot make any more specific
recommendations. Lets just say that if thyroid and adrenal support
do not do the trick for you and your digestive problems, one last thing
you can try before banishing yourself to an overly restricted diet that
alleviates symptoms is to work one-on-one with a naturopath or
physician who is hip to this and has some experience with treating
conditions similar to your own.
Of course, this can only work to the level of expertise of the person
you are working with, so scrutinize him/her very carefully. Bear in
mind that your typical physician will prescribe the worst possible diet
for most (high-fiber, low-fat, low-calorie, lean protein, tons of fruits
and vegetables) and prescribe synthetic thyroid if he or she does
determine you have hypothyroidism. Since the diagnosis of a low
metabolism is made with blood tests and not via examination of
symptoms and body temperature the clearest indicators, odds are a
low metabolism will be ruled out. Unfortunately, the folks who
understand this are in the extreme minority. The average Dr. Schmo
will give you the wrong diagnosis most likely, the wrong medication,
and the wrong dietary prescription. You can practically count on it.
103
So do your homework, question everything, and be quick to say

adios if things arent working out like you feel they should.
Remember that a nice doctor who cares about you doesnt make him
or her a smart doctor that knows what to do and wont screw you.
Sorry I cannot give you more specific advice. I would if I could, but a
persons hormonal landscape is highly individual. Freakin copout I
know. Well, at least glandulars are on your radar for tools that you
have in your battle for good health. Chances are, there is a
combination out there for all those who have come up short with
dietary and lifestyle escapades.
As a final note, let me remind you that glandulars are not something
that you should jump to after a week of trying to stimulate your
metabolism through diet. You must really give diet and lifestyle a
decent shot to work their magic. Glandulars are a last resort, when it
is absolutely ruled out that diet and lifestyle alone cannot possibly take
you to the holy land. It is probably not wise to take them if you truly
do not need to. Thats my stance on any and every kind of pill, no
matter how harmless or even beneficial its touted to be.
104
COLONOSCOPY, ONLY FOR THE LONELY
The main purpose of this eBook is to get down to some no-nonsense

advice on improving digestion and to investigate some of the most
common dietary strategies that are often recommended. However, I
could not, in good conscience, not mention what is truly outrageous,
and something that everyone should know about what could be the
most serious of all digestive illnesses colon cancer.
According to the insightful research and video program presented by

Konstantin Monastrysky, author of Fiber Menace, Gut Sense, and host
of www.fibermenace.com screening for colon cancer via colonoscopy
is not only futile for the vast majority of the poopulation (sorry, I cant
help but intentionally misspell that one) but can have collateral
damage that greatly outweighs the benefits.
Like most forms of cancer, there is a parade about early detection

surrounding colon cancer. The problem is, early detection of colon
cancer through colonoscopy has had very limited results in lowering
overall mortality of the disease somewhere in the neighborhood of a
5% reduction.
According to Monastyrsky; however, and the perusing that he has

done of countless medical journals and papers, a colonoscopy exposes
105
a patient to such large doses of radiation that it can actually raise your
chances of getting cancers of all types. In his video production, which
is reliably informative and hilarious my favorite dual combination if
you havent figured that out by now he compares the amount of
radiation from colonoscopy to the radiation one would be subjected to
after a nuclear blast at Hiroshima. In fact, if one were to religiously
get screened, year after year, it would be the equivalent of not one
nuclear blast, but five!
Is this bombardment of risk really worth taking when your chances of

ever getting colon cancer in your lifetime are 5% - and thats if youve
been eating junk your whole life? On top of that, if 95% of the 5%
that do get colon cancer are not saved by the colonoscopy, is it even
worth it for them?
Basically, the colonoscopy is not only an empty promise but a loaded

weapon. The best way to prevent colon cancer, which is seeing an
alarming 3% rise every year in the United States, is certainly not to
get yourself screened via colonoscopy religiously without otherwise
monitoring your own digestive health. I would agree that an ounce of
prevention is worth a metric ton of treatment, but going to the doctor,
as shocking as this may sound, may not be the most effective means
of prevention.
I would tell you to immediately phone the national news networks to

let them know of this update, but unfortunately General Electric, one
of the worlds primary manufacturers of colonoscopy screening tests,
probably will need much more convincing. In fact, it was your friendly
news channel that used Katie Couric as the friendly voice telling the
106
whole country to run down to your nearest doctor and have a nuclear
warhead of radiation detonated in your ass. Please take the time to
watch Monastyrkys video at www.fibermenace.com, as he catches
Couric saying in 2000 that 90% of deaths can be prevented with early
detection via colonoscopy screening. Years later, she says 4.5-5%.
God Bless America. We exaggerate everything here, even after our
nation was nearly wiped out by swine flu (this hasnt happened yet,
but that seems to be the latest thing newscasters are forecasting).
In other news, to protect your health and intellectual integrity, do not

ever watch television news broadcasts.
Besides avoiding television news broadcasts and avoiding all the health
recommendations made therein, what can you do to protect yourself
from the ultimate digestive killa? The big colon cancer? For starters,
take action to assure that your digestion fits the description of healthy.
That means daily bowel movements that are small, soft and moist, and
easy to pass without straining. That means eliminating foul-smelling
gas and stools through cleansing or other digestive health protocols
that you find more suitable. That means keeping the use of antibiotics
to an absolute minimum to insure that gut flora is vibrant and
functional. That means working to eliminate and prevent digestive
illnesses with a known association with colon cancer such as IBS and
inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) such as Crohns and Ulcertative
Colitis. That means eating a diet of wholesome foods with an absolute
minimum of refined sugars and packaged/processed space-age junk.
That means taking action to optimize the metabolism and keep it firing
on all cylinders into old age. That means NOT exposing yourself to
107
massive doses of cancer-causing radiation such as that which

accompanies a COLONOSCOPY.
No, there are not many reasons to get a colonoscopy performed,

especially when stool tests that screen for cancer-associated
compounds can be done easily, affordably, and safely. In fact, there
are really only two reasons that anyone should ever get a colonoscopy
screening:
1) You suspect that you actually have colon cancer and you want to
have it checked out. Potential signs could be unexplained pain
or rectal bleeding and lets say a family member had colon
cancer too which increases the likelihood that you will blow the
same gasket as you age.
2) You are, as the title of this chapter suggests, lonely and in need
of having some sensual contact albeit with frightening-looking
objects and at the expense of being nuked literally.
108
THE FUMP DIET
In December of 2008 I ruffled some feathers and drew some

attention to myself by following a diet that excluded nearly all
carbohydrates for a period of 30 days. During that 30 days, I only ate
meat, eggs, fish, shellfish, butter, and cheese with rare exception.
What surprised me the most was the strong proponents of zero carb
eating that came out of the woodwork to cheer me on. The all-meat
diet has a massive and very vocal following. They swear, based on
some somewhat lame low-carb dogma and personal success, that
carbohydrates are the root of all evil. They basically think that the
suffering of man began, in the Garden of Eden when Adam ate the
apple not because God told him not to, but because it contained
carbs.
They are wrong of course. There is no such parallel with modern

disease and digestive problems and a security breach of the lips by an
onslaught of carbohydrates. This is merely another misguided and
blinded assumption that some natural food substance thats been in
the diet of countless strong, sturdy, and vibrant humans for millennia
has suddenly turned on us. Its just like the foolish and outdated
saturated fat hypothesis of heart disease.
109
But eat meat for 30 days I did, just like an Eskimo or Plains Indian
might have. Other than sprouting long-pointed ears, howling
incessantly, and suffering from glowing red eyes every time I
demanded a keg of beer (Teen Wolf reference), it went fairly well.
Psychologically it was quite tough. Physically, it was no cake walk
either, as my heart raced at a much higher rate for the entire 30-day
period. From a digestive standpoint; however, the all-meat diet
provided me instant relief and seemingly lasting results.
For someone with chronic gas, frequent diarrhea, a general irritated

feeling in the intestines, and difficulty with digesting large, complex
meals the FUMP diet (an acronym saying F.U. to M.ichael P.ollan
whos latest book suggests to eat mostly plants, is a saving grace.
Because of the ease of digesting only meat, and the removal of fiber,
sugars, and undigested starches that fuel the antagonizing acids of
fermentation the all-meat diet has tremendous therapeutic potential.
Only problem is eating only meat is counterproductive to keeping the
metabolism running efficiently in most cases. In other words, if a low
metabolism is partly or wholly responsible for the weakened state your
digestive and immune systems were in the first place, going on an allmeat binge can have long-term consequences that make the root
problem worse (its awfully hard on the adrenals).
So an all-meat diet, or excessively-low carbohydrate diet like the

Atkins diet has the same Catch-22 for digestion as it does for weight
loss. It works wonders in the short-term, but carbohydrate intolerance
or fiber intolerance does not magically disappear. Its yet another
110
case of running from the problem instead of facing it and working

persistently to find a solution to fix it.
If you have more constipation-driven digestive problems, well, I doubt

that a very low-carbohydrate diet will have much to offer in that
regard. As everyone knows, low-carbohydrate diets are associated
with constipation, something that the mainstream falsely believes is
attributable to the lack of fiber in the diet. If fiber were needed to
move the bowels, all infants would be plugged up on a diet of fiberfree milk. Guess what? They arent. Nor were the meat-only
Eskimos. The author of Fiber Menace, Konstantin Monastyrsky,
believes that once the bowels adjust to the passing of smaller
movements, the case is solved. That too, is just plain wrong. The
longer a low-carbohydrate diet persists, the more pronounced
becomes the constipation in the vast majority of people whom Ive
dealt with. This is something that is doo to a lull in the metabolic
rate. It has nothing to do with fiber, stool size, or urge to move the
bowels.
My own experience is a perfect testament. For the first 20 days of

eating a fiber-free diet, my bowels were fine, moist, soft, and passing
once daily. From this point forward; however, bowel movements
became more and more infrequent, required more straining to pass,
and took on an increasingly coal-like appearance. By the end I was
legitimately plugged.
So the conclusion on an all-meat diet is really this:
111
If you have chronic irritation in the intestines, gas, bloating, and very
loose bowels that require drastic attention (like very acute diarrheadriven IBS), then an all-meat diet may provide a temporary siesta
from your symptoms. There is also some indication that this rest
period may allow for unique and lasting healing, not resulting in a
worsening of symptoms once a more normal and socially acceptable
diet is reintroduced.
I believe this to be one of the only, if not THE only proper usage of an
all-meat diet for aiding digestion. For any constipation-driven
maladies, it is completely inapplicable. For weight loss, it is too
extreme. If continued for too long of a time period such as more
than a couple of months, you risk significant metabolic degradation.
Even Atkins understood that his diet, a much less extreme version
than an all-meat diet, was harmful to the metabolism. In Dr. Atkins
New Diet Revolution he states:
remember that prolonged dieting [including this one] tends to shut

down thyroid function. This is usually not a problem with the thyroid
gland but with the liver, which fails to convert T4 into the more active
thyroid principle, T3. The diagnosis is made on clinical grounds with
the presence of fatigue, sluggishness, dry skin, coarse or falling hair,
an elevation in cholesterol, or a low body temperature.
So, for the purposes of overall health and vitality, and improving
one of the common root causes of digestive problems in the first
place (a low metabolism that has been discussed thoroughly), an
all-meat diet is a short-term aide at best. Long-term, it can

simply be a disaster, which is why so few people who embark on
such fare have a happy ending to share at the end of that road.
Still, no digestive book would be complete without delving into

this interesting diet, one that can provide quick relief to
thousands in need of a little timeout from digesting plant matter
in all its many forms. If you are in dire need of such rest, try it.
Im certainly not one to discourage dietary experimentation.
What I will say is, loud and clear, proceed with caution. The
jolt that this diet gives to the adrenals, the reduction of intestinal
inflammation and gas, and more can make a zero carb diet feel
pretty invigorating. Dont be fooled. Much damage can be done
while we are feeling high. Its called adrenal burnout, and it
certainly has no benefit to your long-term metabolic health.
112
113
FOOD-COMBINING
Ahhh, the wondrous world of food-combining.
Food-combining is a
classic fad diet technique based on the borderline-hilarious assumption

that starch and protein cannot be digested together. Starch
supposedly requires an alkaline medium, protein requires an acid
medium; therefore, eating the two together causes digestive
problems.
Nevermind that starch and protein occur together in every grain,

legume, and tuber known to man. Nevermind that protein and starch
have been combined together by humans as a part of tradition since
the dawn of mankind. Thats all just a culmination of mans ignorance
and stupidity according to the food-combiners.
Yes, of course the human body, when operating at its full digestive
capacity, has no problem whatsoever with digesting protein and starch
together. Throw in some fats and you have all the things a human
body desires, which must be why it all tastes so good together. Fat
loves starch, starch loves protein, and protein loves fat. Its a perfect
orgy comprising a juicy steak, rich hollandaise sauce, and a tasty side
of potatoes. Of course, throwing it all into the tank together makes us
feel full. It makes us feel satiated. It often makes us want to take a
114
good nap just like a lion would after devouring half a zebra. With
everything all stewing in the belly together our food digests slowly.
But is that a bad thing?
No. Feeling full is a satisfying feeling. It is triggered automatically

from within to prevent us from either under or overeating neither of
which is preferable. Slow digestion is also thought to be ideal as well,
keeping a steady flow of glucose trickling into the bloodstream unlike
what one might achieve by downing a Big Gulp on an empty stomach.
The body also prefers having protein and starch combined together for
more efficient tissue building. Insulin is required not only to store
glucose into the cells, but to store amino acids into muscle tissue.
Having carbohydrates raise the insulin levels while the amino acids in
the protein are being broken down at the same time is an ideal
situation. No wonder our bodies and taste buds steer us towards
combining the two. When we do, we feel satisfied. Nothing is missing
in the world. We humans can be pretty smart when our brains dont
screw it up.
Now that Ive thoroughly bashed food-combining, something that no

human should ever intentionally do without just reason, I will state
that as a digestive therapy it can have merit.
One of the themes that keeps coming up throughout 180 Degree

Digestion is the idea that both exercise and rest are needed for the
digestion just like it is for the rest of the physical body. Overwork the
stomach, and rest can be therapeutic. Baby the stomach by eating
115
small portions and not mixing multiple components together, and it

needs nothing more than a good workout to get it back into shape.
Food-combining is a legitimate strategy for providing digest rest when
such a thing is desperately needed.
One must use great caution when food-combining though, and not
continue the practice for more than a few weeks time. Without
combining the elements of starch and protein together in one sitting,
the metabolism does react as the body starts to waste away. Foodcombining puts the body into a catabolic state, something that
endocrinologist Diana Schwarzbein might call, breaking down.
Although this can cause fantastic weight loss, it is no different than
inducing weight loss through calorie restriction, and we all should
know the dead end that results from doing that. The dead end of
course is the low metabolism that so many of us desperately need to
send up, not down.
To follow a food-combining strategy for one to several weeks, you

follow just one simple rule: Do not combine starch and protein
together within a three hour time period of one another. The result is
that your meals alternate between meat and non-starchy vegetables
at one sitting, then starches with non-starchy vegetables at the next.
This is the true see-saw pattern of a food-combiner. Because eating
meals like this is beyond unsatisfying, triggering massive waves of
hunger almost instantly after a meal has been finished, its best, when
food-combining, to eat a meal every three hours. This wont take
much coercion to get you to do. Youll want to eat every three
minutes. I know I sure did, taking on an emaciated look in just 14
days despite eating six to seven meals per day.
116
Sample protein meals might include a grilled chunk of ahi tuna with a
Caesar salad, chicken with cabbage salad, steak stir-fried with snow
peas, and so forth.
Sample starch meals might include vegetarian curry with rice, mashed
potatoes with green beans, creamed corn with sliced tomatoes you
get the idea.
Once again, do not, under any circumstances, use food-combining as a

strategy for weight loss. It gives the perception of fantastic success
I know someone who lost 23 pounds in 21 days food-combining, but
the long-term results were not lasting. 21 days was all this person
was able to continue with out pulling her hair out from desperate
hunger and cravings. She of course gained back every ounce and then
some, and had more compulsive eating behavior after trying the foodcombining than she did to begin with. This is virtually a guaranteed
response to any diet that works by starving a person somehow. In the
case of food-combining, a persons uptake of fatty and amino acids is
diminished due to failing to combine protein with starch.
Food-combining is a strategy that should only be used by a person

with prolonged digestive inflammation, bloating, and irritation that is
seeking short-term relief. During the relief phase, some healing can
occur. This should not be relied upon as a long-term crutch though. It
is not the answer. It is not the Holy Grail of eating for good digestion,
plain and simple. Dont let any initial positive responses to it fool you.
Just as drinking lemonade for a month (The Master Cleanser) may
eradicate a long list of health problems, that doesnt make it the way
117
to eat for a life of good health. It is something to merely incorporate

into a life of otherwise abundant nourishment and hearty practices
that deliver everything the body desires as it desires it. That is, you
guessed it, all lumped together in a big, beautiful feast.
118
GLUTEN AND CASEIN-FREE DIETS
I dont think we need to discuss this topic to exhaustion, as it is

pretty clear what the increasingly famous gluten/casein free diet is.
Its a diet without grains (which contain a type of protein called
gluten), and dairy products (which have a high concentration of a
similar protein called casein).
Due to their chemical structure, casein and gluten are extremely

similar proteins. They both require the exact same enzymatic action
(Deaminase, its like, part of the adenosine cycle or something) to be
digested properly, and if they are not, they pass through the body as
opiate-like proteins. This gives them an addictive quality, can cause
strange mental and emotional aberrations, and can do damage.
Primarily, they are suspected in playing a causal link in many allergies,
autoimmune conditions, and other autoimmune manifestations such as
autism.
There is no question that many humans have tremendous issues with

casein and gluten. They of course go on to conclude that there is
nothing inherently wrong with themselves (of course), but that there is
something innately sinister about these proteins. This is pretty much
nonsense, as even lab animals such as monkeys can achieve excellent
health on grains and dairy products, and some of the healthiest human
119
races in history lived primarily off of glutinous grains and caseinous

milk and cheese. The Hunzas and Sikhs, some of the most formidable
and long-lived humans come to mind, as well as the isolated Swiss
peoples that Weston A. Price was so enamored by.
Plus, I eat gluten and casein almost every day and Im getting along
fine. Only my psychologist tells me that Ive got behavioral and
emotional abnormalities, but thats just one opinion. What the hell
does he know? My mom thinks its totally normal that I stare at the
carpet and rock back and forth when Im not fingerpainting the walls
with my own feces and barking like a dog. She busily types everything
I write in doo-doo onto her computer, and the result is this fine eBook.
Behavioral issues my ass.
Avoidance of gluten and casein for an extended period of time can be

healing, but if the diet is not healing in other ways high in nutrition
and metabolically-healing calories and saturated fat, then forget about
it. One tiny morsel of gluten can send a young Autistic kid into a
tailspin of symptom reoccurrence. Thats too stressful for both parents
and child; to be that devastated by what are two of the most common
proteins in the typical human diet.
I guess all I mean to say is that a gluten and casein-free diet is

something that merely helps symptoms subside in the short-term.
Overall, in and of itself, it is an avoidance scheme that offers little in
the way of actual transformative healing. If embarking on such a diet,
go at it with an attitude for healing. The goal should not be to live a
good life as long as gluten and casein are completely lacking in the
diet. Rather, the ultimate goal is to be able to eat gluten and casein
120
without negative consequence, as these substances are benign and

shouldnt and dont cause problems in a healthy, robust individual. In
other words, cut it out, but dont demonize it. Strive to slowly
reintroduce it at some point in time.
While you are on a casein and gluten-free diet, follow the ideas behind
the gag it down chapter. Increasing the metabolism back to its
healthy level, replacing vegetable-based fats with highly-saturated
coconut and beef fats, and avoiding refined sugar and all the packaged
food that contain it at all costs should be productive measures. These
are a couple of the primary tenets of successful doctor and proponent
of gluten/casein-free diets for Autistic children Natasha CampbellMcBride. In fact, it was McBride in a lecture at a nutritional conference
that inspired me to believe that such goals could be achieved that
people dont have to be banished to restricted diets for a lifetime.
121
THE SPECIFIC CARBOHYDRATE DIET (SCD)
Another diet typically given to those with digestive problems that is

worth mentioning is the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), originally
developed by Merrill and Sydney Haas. The SCD is a diet for those
who lack the proper enzymatic function to break down complex
starches. Although this problem is quite rare, it is still a minute
possibility that your digestive problems do stem from this inability.
The SCD is something that I personally file under the category of last
resorts. Once you have tried fructose elimination, once you have
brought your metabolism up to the normal range, once you have
switched to a diet stressing fats and reducing fiber, and once you have
tried various fasts and cleanses all with no noticeable results, then
its time to give the SCD a shot.
The SCD is probably best with limited overall levels of carbohydrates

(although not so low that it induces ketosis below 75-100 grams). I
mention this because simple sugars from glucose and fructose
combinations such as that found in fruits, juice, honey, and other
simple sweeteners are best kept within realistic parameters. Eating a
half cup of honey and a half gallon of orange juice per day to try and
mimic the typical carbohydrate levels of someone with a grain or
potato-based diet is pretty outrageous. Besides, blood sugar
122
instability that so often results from a diet built around simple sugars
makes doing such a thing totally counterproductive for many.
Having said that, the SCD is basically a diet where starch is excluded
as much as possible. This includes grains, first and foremost, as many
who require the SCD have additional gluten sensitivities and also nonglutinous starches such as white rice, corn, and potatoes. It also cuts
out most dairy, as the disaccharide galactose in milk can also be
problematic. In the plant kingdom, that leaves fruits, non-starchy
vegetables, and thats about it.
A typical day of the SCD might include a breakfast of eggs and fruit or
juice. Lunch might be fruit salad with a grilled pork chop and fried
greens. Dinner could include more nonstarchy vegetables, a nice
steak with butter, and homemade candied pecans.
The same general principles of eating well certainly apply. Since

carbohydrates are fairly low, its best to make sure they are present at
every sitting for regularity and hormonal stability. Fats need to be
maximized over protein to insure adequate caloric intake. This is
especially true of any low-carbohydrate diet. Protein should be eaten
in ample amounts, but not eaten to excess, as there is simply no
advantage to doing so and there are many indicators that eating too
much protein is counterproductive to any health pursuit.
For more on the SCD read Elaine Gottschalls Breaking the Vicious
Cycle, or visit www.scdiet.org or www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info
123
GRAND CONCLUSIONS
To be perfectly honest, writing an ebook on digestion has been

tremendously difficult. Digestion is incredibly complex and variable
from person to person. On top of that, how to fix certain digestive
illnesses like Crohns isnt exactly clear cut. Solid answers remain
unknown. Plus, I know that those who were desperately suffering
from digestive problems were looking for precise guidance and
recommendations something that Ive been reluctant to give
throughout this book, opting instead to dish out ideas and let you
figure it out on your own. With that expectation, I would imagine that
reading this has been confusing at times and disappointing at others.
But lets get real. Some people have a horrendous time digesting
complex starches. For them, switching to simpler sugars is preferable
and healing. My typical advice for a low-sugar diet that emphasizes
starch just isnt going to work, and alternatives have to be proposed.
Some people have such poor digestion that eating large, mixed meals
is next to impossible. Yet, there I was saying that doing exactly that
might just be the exercise that you need. How is one to know
exactly what to do? What to try?
124
Those are questions I cannot answer, and Ive dealt with every
intolerance known to mankind in some of the people I have given
counsel to.
Its easy to figure out where these heinous digestive problems came
from. The trail leads right to the introduction of modern foods, or in
the words of T.L. Cleave:
Not one of these diseases is for practical purposes ever seen in races
who do not consume refined carbohydrates.
A modern lifestyle with excessive hygiene, widespread antibiotic use,

the use of medications and oral contraceptives, extreme diets, and
more are profound aggravating factors upon the already weakened
digestive systems that most of us have inherited. How to fix that is a
much bigger question.
Thats why there are so many different strategies to try, each with
their own therapeutic potential. Each caters to a different set of
digestive inabilities. From fasting to force-feeding, each practice has
the ability to assist depending on the circumstances.
By delving into several options and strategies for achieving digestive

health, my intent certainly wasnt to confuse or bombard you with too
many ideas. Think of this as a toolbox that you can tap into each
tool designed to achieve a certain purpose. During the course of a
lifetime, its unlikely that one method and one method only will work.
Odds are you will continually have to stay alert and on top of your
digestive needs by using a combination of strategies at the right place
125
and time. Only you will be able to decipher the most appropriate
times and strategies that are in order at each phase of your life.
The key is to remember that each and every dietary strategy that is
laid out in this book can have an application.
More importantly, remember that if you have decent digestive health,

specific dietary strategies should really be something you employ for a
very, very short period of time. In fact, following a food combining
regimen, doing too much fasting, eating an extremely low carb diet,
and more if you overdo it, can cause digestive problems to get worse
or even emerge for the first time. The best way to insure a lifetime of
sound digestion is to eat well and not go to extremes except for very
short bursts (such as a few days of cleansing once every several
months at the most).
With that said, sound nutrition and a sound diet is one that excludes
the vast majority of refined foods from the daily diet. Refined sugar,
as anyone with the reading comprehension that exceeds that of a
Jellyfish has probably gathered by now, is enemy number one in my
book. However, my attitude about refined grains, especially intact
refined grains such as pearled barley or white rice, is quite different. I
dont think, as long as the diet compensates for the poor nutritional
content of white rice for example, that there is much danger in making
these foods a staple of your diet. Trouble only arises when it
comprises well over 50% of your caloric intake. White rice clearly
does not have the same addictive and overstimulating quality that say,
High-Fructose corn syrup has. The only strike against it is poor
126
nutrient content, but one can make up for that by consuming it with
fresh vegetables, meats, and dairy fats.
Refined foods that one must always seek to avoid are those that come
pre-packaged, contain additives, and so on. A good rule of thumb is
that if there is a television commercial for it, you probably shouldnt
buy it. If it comes in a box with gaudy packaging to try to lure you in,
you should avoid it. If it comes in a package and contains more than
two ingredients, watch out.
With this guidance, you can pretty much eat whatever you desire.
Although this isnt foolproof, and many will be undoing sound digestive
health by consuming healthy foods that they have underlying allergic
responses to, this greatly increases the odds of having good digestive
health over the course of a lifetime.
Other than that, the macronutrient composition of your foods is really

not that important. Whether the diet is high in carbohydrates and low
in fat, high in fat but low in carbohydrates, or contains an adequate
mix of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates in substantial proportions
seems to be inconsequential. There is no link between macronutrient
composition and digestive health when we glance back at history. In
modern times; however, fat seems to be the most benign of all food
sources from a digestive standpoint, and one of the many reasons I
tend to place an emphasis on it. The other reason, is that most people
have spent the majority of their lives in a state of deprivation from
real, nourishing fat sources such as fresh, unrefined oils, butter and
cream, animal fat, and so on. Embracing fats can have profound
counterbalancing and therefore healing effects. Plus, fat is one heck of
127
a metabolic and transit time stimulator, helping to overcome an entire

branch of the digestive disorder tree.
So be reasonable in your dietary pursuits. A sound, well-rounded,

persistent dietary regime that emphases real food and the exclusion of
pseudo junk is usually enough to improve digestion over time even if
it is poorly tolerated in the beginning. Singling out and demonizing
things such as vegetables, fiber, fruit, or meat usually ends up in
extreme dietary habits, food phobias, and a large brick wall at the end
of that path. Habitually avoiding the combination of fats, proteins, and
carbohydrates together in the same sitting typically has negative
hormonal consequences and ends in eating fetishes that render one
incapable of leading a normal social life being able to relax and dine
with friends and family without an anxiety attack.
What Im really trying to get across is that if you are a healthy person,
you have pretty decent digestion, and you are interested in and
dedicated to eating real food as a long-term lifestyle, then dont do
anything extreme. Theres no need to. No matter how good you may
feel initially as you switch to any one-sided diet, that feeling can be
very misleading. For example, if you eat an all-meat diet as I once did
for 30 days as an experiment, you might notice that your digestion is
perfect, pain and bloating disappears, and so on. What you might not
be aware of is that someday you will tire of eating only meat. How
many people can realistically eat that way for an entire year, five
years, a lifetime? 1 in 100? 1 in a million? When you do come off of
that way of eating carbohydrate tolerance will be poor. The ability to
digest mixed meals will most likely be lessened. You will have
128
effectively taken yourself farther away from the ultimate goal which all
should strive for and stay focused on:
Be able to feel great eating a normal and reasonable diet and living a
normal and reasonable lifestyle.
Having said that, never settle for poor digestion. It is up to you to

monitor your digestive health, make changes when necessary,
experiment to find something suitable, and arrive at a working
solution. No matter how poor your digestion may be, with a long-term
vision towards improvement a willingness to invest years in a state
of gradual recuperation, and a knowingness that an overnight cure
does not exist, you will likely succeed. It may take much research and
much discipline, but it is possible. Even those in dire circumstances on
the brink of death such as Jordan Rubin, author of Patient Heal Thyself
and The Makers Diet, have found life-saving and workable solutions to
rehabilitate themselves and live a better, healthier life than ever. You
can too.
You can be a super pooper. A pooperstar.
Think of me when youre in the bathroom,
Matt Stone
www.180degreehealth.com
HELPFUL RESOURCES
Websites:
www.180degreehealth.blogspot.com
www.fibermenace.com
www.stopthethyroidmadness.com
www.nutri-meds.com
www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info
www.bodyecology.com
www.anewibssolution.com
Books:
The Schwarzbein Principle, by Diana Schwarzbein
Sugar Blues, by William Dufty
Y our Body is Y our Best Doctor, by Melvin Page
A New IBS Solution, by Mark Pimentel
The Sugar Fix, by Richard Johnson
Fiber Menace , by Konstantin Monastyrsky
The Makers Diet, by Jordan Rubin
Hypothyroidism: Type II, by Mark Starr
Hypothyroidism: The Unsuspecting Illness, by Broda Barnes
Food is Y our Best Medicine, by Henry Bieler
180 Degree Metabolism: The Smart Strategy for Fat L oss, by Matt Stone
180 Kitchen: 180 Tips, Recipes, and More, by Matt Stone
129

180DD

Загружено:

Сведения о документе

Авторское право

Доступные форматы

Поделиться этим документом

Поделиться или встроить документ

Параметры публикации

Этот документ был вам полезен?

Это неприемлемый материал?

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

180DD

Загружено:

Авторское право:

Доступные форматы

180 Degree Digestion

A discussion on the many paths to

180 Degree Digestion

Within the Bowels of 180 Degree Digestion

Fiber - Making Shatters Worse

IBS and the Generation X Woman

Santa Schulzes Post-Christmas Cleanse

The FUMP Diet

Gluten and Casein

The Specific Carbohydrate Diet

180 Degree Digestion

180 Degree Digestion

Without a doubt, nowhere is there more confusion or controversy in

But theres more!

180 Degree Digestion

Scientists cant even decide how many bowel movements were

Even better is the warning label on fiber supplements. They are

180 Degree Digestion

Then there is the human metabolism. Even digestive experts are

Hang on as I attempt to answer those questions and many others

180 Degree Digestion

180 Degree Digestion

FIBER - MAKING SHATTERS WORSE

-Metamucil Powder; a fiber supplement recommended by doctors worldwide to improve

Fiber has an incredible history of overstatement.

From the current

Not a whole lot.

180 Degree Digestion

were not suffering from a whole host of illnesses many of them

Their answer, of course, was fiber, glorious fiber, to which the

180 Degree Digestion

Unfortunately, distributing a widespread alert to all of humanity that

For starters, there is no requirement for dietary fiber. With it, or

No, of course not. The theme between these humans on primitive

180 Degree Digestion

Even more unfortunate were those with colorectal disorders,

In all of my research, it appears like refined foods, packaged foods, a

180 Degree Digestion

favorable to pathogenic yeasts, bacteria, parasites, and other critters

The second, is that a lowered metabolism slows the transit of food

In summary, fiber is not the holy substance that it is touted as being.

180 Degree Digestion

anything, it can be problematic for someone who has managed to

A healthy diet can be high in fiber or low in fiber. It doesnt really

If fiber is very irritating to you personally, then it does matter a great

180 Degree Digestion

yeasts, and inflammation. There is a more appropriate focus to

180 Degree Digestion

IBS AND THE GENERATION X WOMAN

When I meet a woman about my age that is starting to suffer some

Women in my demographic love to follow health. They read health

180 Degree Digestion

The result of this supposedly flawless, Dr. Oz-esque, by-the-book

Pardon me for making these crude generalizations, but crude people

Of course these are exaggerations, and no one fits this exact

Irritable Bowel Syndrome is now the most common diagnosis given by

180 Degree Digestion

For starters, like I said, when someone comes to me complaining of

180 Degree Digestion

Although I would never chastise natural foods such as salad greens,

It is unfortunate that modern humans have gotten to the point that

180 Degree Digestion

fruits and vegetables, sugary foods especially those high in fructose,

Based on Pimentels calculations on protein and carbohydrates, while