Page 9 - Summer2010

Letters

After a long puzzled pause, stumbling ever-growing movement that could nutrient-dense foods were apparently
for words, they question how I could change the world. I’m so grateful for not enough to make up for our increased
possibly survive. Just call me on my your work. mineral loss during the transition pe-
heart cell—that’s what I like to say. Lierre Keith riod. In addition, we were eating a fair
And if you listen inside the stillness, Arcata, California amount of fermented (salty) vegetables,
I promise you’ll feel me call you right like kimchi and sauerkraut. Because so-
back. LOW-CARB PITFALL dium and potassium work in opposition
JoAnne Dodgson Our family of four improved our in the body, these higher sodium foods
Abiquiu, New Mexico health and well-being considerably on a may actually have made our symptoms
nutrient-dense traditional diet. We then worse.
DESPERATE VEGETARIANS decided to try the Gut and Psychology Within days of supplementing with
I am moved this morning to write Syndrome (GAPS) to tackle some lin- potassium and magnesium, the symp-
and thank everyone at WAPF for your gering issues. toms we’d been having for weeks went
work. I get emails continuously from A week or so into our transition, away. If you are starting the GAPS diet,
desperate vegetarians who know that some old complaints—heartburn, slug- I strongly suggest you consider supple-
their health is failing and are terrified gish digestion—became more intense, menting these minerals. Attributing
because they know what they’re going and several new symptoms developed— your symptoms to “die-off” and waiting
to have to do. I think my role right now stomachaches, irritated bladder, irregu- for them to pass may only make matters
is to hold their hands while they eat that lar and rapid heartbeat, muscle twitching worse.
first bite of meat. and leg cramps. Dr. Cowan (Spring, 2010) men-
I got an email yesterday from a The explanation we got from mem- tioned adding grains back into the diet
woman who not only was a vegetarian, bers of the GAPS support group was that as a possible fix. If you prefer to avoid
but she was “breastfeeding an infant” on we were experiencing “die-off.” Not sat- grains, another option would be to
an “elimination diet” because the baby isfied with this answer, we turned to the supplement your minerals until you can
has eczema. So she can’t eat eggs or low-carb camp for another perspective. resume eating those foods that are natu-
dairy or (thankfully) soy. There’s basi- (GAPS is essentially a low-carb diet.) rally higher in minerals, like potatoes,
cally no fat or protein in her diet. I liter- From those authors (Drs. Eades, Atkins, nuts and legumes.
ally cried reading her note. That poor Sisson, Taubes, Gedgaudas), we were Angie Carr
woman and that poor, starving baby! I clued in to the possibility of mineral Portland, Oregon
begged her to eat some meat, some eggs, deficiencies, specifically potassium and
and some raw, grassfed dairy. magnesium. EVERYTHING IMPROVED
But the reason I’m writing to you is We learned that when you switch For the last fifteen years, my
because it was so wonderful to include to a low-carb diet, one initial effect husband suffered from a long list of
the link to WAPF and all the articles is that you burn through your body’s complaints. Most of his symptoms were
about babies and children. If she even glycogen stores, and the water that’s not so severe as to cause him to go to a
spends ten minutes reading, she will bound up with the glycogen is released. doctor—headaches, stomachaches, oc-
have her whole world blown open, and This flush of water takes potassium out casional diarrhea—and some were seri-
there is every chance that she and her with it. Both potassium and magnesium ous enough to send him to the doctor—
baby can find their way back to health. are crucial to proper muscle and nerve depression, fatigue, over-active bladder.
Where could I possibly have sent her if function. The list goes on! And, of course, nothing
WAPF didn’t exist? WAPF has made it The GAPS diet is not low in these helped. Then we stumbled across the
so easy. And you’ve created this vibrant, minerals, but the bone broths and other work of Dr. Natasha McBride and her

SUMMER 2010 Wise Traditions 9