Citizen Scientists

Yup, that's the title for Tom's latest blog post, Citizen Scientists.  I want to quote a section of it, then add a couple comments of my own.

Richard Nikoley of Free the Animal gave an excellent speech at the Ancestral Health Symposium about n = 1 experiments, the point being that if you try different diets, supplements, exercise programs, etc., and carefully track the results, those results are relevant –- for you, if not for everyone else.  If you adopt a low-carb diet and your roller-coaster glucose level stabilizes, it’s relevant.  If you give up wheat and your psoriasis or arthritis vanishes, it’s relevant.

 What do you call it when you're quoting someone who's paraphrasing someone?

Anyhow, I think that those last couple of sentences are possibly the most important part of the whole article.  If you try it, and it works for you, then it's relevant!

I know that it is working for me.  Granted, I'm not yet the 32" waistline, 165lbs guy I was when I was 19 yet, but I suspect that I'll get there, eventually.  It took me 25 years or so to get to my 45" 265lb mass of a few years ago, I don't expect it to disappear overnight.  But right away, eliminating grains from my diet eliminated my painful arthritis, my lifelong struggle with acne, and a whole host of other seemingly minor and you might have thought unrelated issues.  I don't think so anymore.  They're related, in my humble opinion.

What's that saying, a picture is worth a thousand words?

Look, here's a picture of me from back in August 2002, you won't find many of those, I didn't like having my picture taken, it would mean seeing for myself just how fat I had gotten.

And here's a picture of me taken at Sleeping Bear Dunes on September 24th, National Parks free day.

As you can clearly see, the fat has melted away from my face and neck, and some has even gone from my belly.  That "Wheat Belly" is the most stubborn and resistant part, but it's going.  I've dropped from a size 42" to a 38" waist.  6 more inches and I'll be satisfied.  That doesn't mean I'll start eating grains again.  I don't feel like suffering the return of my arthritis.