My First Two Weeks with the Drs. Eades Diet
The Drs. Eades (Mary Dan and Michael) see eye to eye with me on the health benefits of a low carb diet for avoiding chronic inflammation, the foundation of most degenerative and autoimmune diseases and cancers. Recently they applied their clinical experience with the diets they developed to combat obesity to produce a book that focused on the protruding gut:
The 6-Week Cure for the Middle-Aged Middle: The Simple Plan to Flatten Your Belly Fast! That book seemed to be a great way to introduce most people to a healthy diet based on obtaining calories from fat rather than carbs, so I featured it as the recommended book on my blog for the last several months. Two weeks ago my wife and I decided to practice what I preach and started The Cure.
The Cure Reduces Visceral Abdominal Fat"The Cure” consists of three, 2-week blocks, that adapt the body metabolism to a new low carb, higher fat diet. The focus is to reduce visceral fat stored primarily in the abdomen. Equally important, from my perspective, are the changes that take place in the gut flora -- The Cure changes the composition of the gut flora to facilitate change in body fat and to restore complete function to the immune system.
Basic Outline of The CureThe first two weeks of The Cure consist of three protein shakes (low carb flavored whey plus cream) and a very low carb meal each day. Weeks 3 and 4 are no-carb, dairy-free meals of meat/fish/eggs with calories from fat and protein only. The final two weeks are the new low carb, higher fat diet. Research on diet and gut flora would predict that the bacterial species in the gut stay basically the same and provide a recognizable individuality, but the relative quantity of each species in the gut changes to maintain body fat. The efficiency of the total gut flora would increase, if the diet resulted in weight loss and become less efficient, if there was increased fat deposition.
After the First Two Weeks of Protein ShakesA diet of protein shakes changed my view of food. I was simply not hungry and cravings disappeared. My wife was shocked that she felt satisfied after drinking a shake and did not panic without snacks or seconds. It was relatively easy to eliminate most of the bad eating habits associated with weight gain. There was no problem about portion sizes or eating outside of meals. All of the bad habits became noticeable and I could see when I normally reached for some food out of boredom. There was simply no physiological support for snacking. Hydration is important and bowel movements were irregular as gut flora adapted to the severe change in diet. [Also note that the milk whey protein used in the shakes is high in lactoferrin, a protein found useful in controlling bacterial pathogens, e.g. Clostridium dificil, and intestinal candidiasis.]
Weight Loss Was EffortlessIt was easy to drop some weight on the protein shakes. My wife (15 lbs) and I (5 lbs) both lost weight easily. This is significant, since neither of us was able to reduce our weights in the last several years. My weight at the start was 20 lbs over what I weighed as a high school gymnast. I didn’t feel like I had a lot of energy in the first two weeks of The Cure, so I slacked off on walking and weight training. Now that I am into the luxurious second phase with lots of meat, gaining strength by exercising is a pleasure.
Reduced Need for Fish Oil with Altered Gut FloraSomething that I need to highlight and that I attribute to the change in my gut flora, is a lowered need for fish oil. I was taking four fish oil capsules per day, to eliminate minor aches in my fingers. After the first two weeks of The Cure, without vitamin D supplements or fish oil, I still don’t have any finger aches. My wife, also no longer needs fish oil to make our 3-mile hikes along Indian Creek painless for her knees. The Cure seems to have uncovered a remaining source of inflammation in my previous diet. The most likely inflammatory candidate was the small amounts of grain and starch still in my old diet. It will be very easy for me to transition to a new anti-inflammatory diet more consistent with the one I have been advocating on this blog. I think that the anti-inflammatory diet would be a simple, healthy and enjoyable way to avoid most diseases or as an essential part in the treatment of most degenerative and autoimmune diseases and cancers.
My thanks go to the Drs. Eades for creating a smart diet sequence that alters gut flora for loss of visceral abdominal fat and provides a transition to a healthy low carb, increased fat diet. The diet sequence may also be useful in restoring gut flora destroyed by antibiotic use or dysbiosis indicated by constipation.