bookish theorist

I’ll be up front and tell you I am a bookish theorist. Those who know me know this already.

All the paleo diet stuff for example: I find the science fascinating, but also have a personal interest because of mediocre health.

Yes, I know I should be consistently on the paleo diet, not least because I am overweight (BMW >30 (technically, obese), have severe complex sleep apnoea and suffer from depression.

BUT, J and I have been pretty well on track so far this month. We’ll see how we go.

SL

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Coeliac disease cure – high or low tech?

Here is part of a report on a high-tech approach to treating coeliac disease:

“Alvine Pharmaceuticals is developer of therapeutics for autoimmune and gastrointestinal diseases. The money will fund the Company’s recently initiated Phase 2a clinical trial of its lead compound ALV003 for the treatment of celiac disease.

Celiac disease is the most common hereditary autoimmune disease with prevalence estimated to be as high as 1-2% in the U.S. and E.U. Intestinal inflammation in celiac disease is triggered by the ingestion of gluten in genetically susceptible individuals.” – http://stephenlaughlin.posterous.com/start-up-alvine-pharmaceuticals-raises-215m

We just love the high tech way, don’t we. Sometimes this way is best, but what about in the case of coeliac disease?

Assuming that it is right that we are not well-adapted to ‘novel’ foods such as grains/cereals, it would appear that coeliac disease is just the tip of the ice-berg, affecting the genetically unfortunate few. But arguably there is a plethora of other deleterious effects from grain/cereal-based diets (unless you are a bird of course), including, quite possibly, roles in other autoimmune gut diseases, such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.

The low-tech way to deal with coeliac disease?  Eat the paleo way!  At the very least, avoid foods containing gluten. (I am a coeliac and do the latter, and try to also do the former)

The high-tech way to treat coeliac disease?  Use a high tech vaccine or whatever so you can eat grains with relative impunity, at least with respect to symptoms of coeliac disease.

The advantages of the high tech approach is that avoids adjustments to lifestyle for coeliacs, and it could be a good little earner for the pharmaceutical industry.

Who said prevention is better than cure?  🙂

SL    2009-09-20-1400

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Cure all Running Injuries (and Pain) with One Simple Fix….Barefoot Running – Fitness Spotlight : Fitness Spotlight

http://www.fitnessspotlight.com/2009/09/10/barefoot-running-injuries/

Like many runners – or former runners – I have chronic plantar fasciitis.

I went the usual high tech medical route to fix this: orthotics, the best running shoes etc.

Nothing worked. I stopped running ~ 2004.

I am convinced one factor is being quite overweight. Some experts mention this, but as most people in the west are overweight, it doesn’t get much air time.

After reading Chris McDougall’s book, “Born to Run”, recently, I was also pretty sure that modern high-tech running shoes are part of the problem also.

I now have a pair of Vibram Five Fingers KSOs.  So far so good. (Just walking at this stage: ‘still need to lose a lot of weight before I can resume running).

SL    2009-09-20-1310

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