Craziest Health Site- Raising temps, reversing insulin resistance w/FOOD!!

[calgirl]

"Actually, being healthy � which starts with restoring the metabolism to its ideal level and
improving the energy metabolism of every single cell in your body, is much easier and more
enjoyable than you have ever imagined. You don‟t have to square off in battle with your energy
levels and appetite every day. Instead, you do the opposite. You get on the same team with your
body and find out how to deliver its needs like never before. Your body is no longer your
nemesis, trying everything in its power to make you fat. Nope, your body is your garden � your
baby. It‟s time to nourish it. Bombard it with what it hungers and craves for.
180 Degree Metabolism is a long-term weight loss strategy. Instead of promising you some
shallow results, and preying upon your impatience and body image issues by leading you to �fast
weight loss,� I‟m forcing you to understand where body fat comes from, why it starts to
accumulate, and encourage you to follow a set of steps that take you first through �metabolic
healing,� and then put you on a path, with a restored physiology, on the road to weight loss
without struggle. This is a book about solving not just your weight problem forever, but your
restricted dieting problem as well. It‟s about getting to a point where you are eating what you
want, in the quantity you desire, with or without strenuous physical activity � and you are both
lean and healthy as a result. Most of all, 180 Degree Metabolism is about quitting dieting
forever, whether you are thin, fat, or somewhere in between."

[calgirl]

"Some consider a low metabolism to be the epidemic of modern man. I agree MORE than 100%.
One of the earliest doctors to thoroughly investigate the link between health problems and
thyroid activity was Broda Barnes. Barnes was an endocrinologist that developed a keen focus
on the thyroid gland. His career, as far as I‟m concerned, was a glimpse into the vast importance
of the metabolism in maintaining good health and good spirits.
Barnes felt that the typical blood panels used to test thyroid hormone levels was totally
uninformative. He didn‟t rely on it at all. Instead, he diagnosed hypothyroidism based on two
factors:
1) Having one or more symptoms of hypothyroidism – which included virtually any health
condition (author Mark Starr‟s chapter on hypothyroid symptoms spans over 80 pages
and includes everything from high cholesterol to difficulty swallowing).
2) Having a below-normal body temperature – the most reliable reading being taken first
thing upon waking in the morning.
To Barnes, this was the ultimate way of knowing what action to take in helping his patients
overcome their health problems – both minor and major. When those two factors were observed
together, that was all the evidence he needed to take action, prescribing desiccated thyroid
hormone (whole thyroid extract from the thyroid glands of pigs) until symptoms improved and
waking body temperature returned to his narrow ideal range.
His tremendous success with minor health problems was enough to make Barnes one of the
greatest practicing doctors in history. His legacy lives on with a handful of modern-day doctors
and authors that have latched onto his methodology and insight. Several have written books –
including Janie Bowthorpe, Stephan Langer, and Mark Starr. Just the titles of some of these
books speaks volumes about the power of bringing the metabolism into ideal ranges, and how
prevalent having a low metabolism is…
Solved: The Riddle of Illness – How Managing Your Thyroid Can Help You Fight and Control:
Arthritis, Cancer, Diabetes, Obesity, Heart Disease, Fibromyalgia, Sexual Problems
Hypothyroidism Type 2: The Epidemic
Barnes‟s ability to treat simple health problems such as hypoglycemia, depression, constipation,
dry skin, acne, and infertility by raising the body temperature back to the ideal range was one
thing. However, he stumbled upon even greater insights on the power of a healthy metabolism
by accident.
Barnes practiced in the 50‟s, 60‟s, 70‟s, and early 80‟s. During this time, a giant wave of heart
disease swept the nation for the first time. In the early 1900‟s heart disease had never been
documented. Those who attempted to get funding to study the disease had trouble securing
funding for such a rare and obscure disease – which is fascinating considering that a large
percentage of the population at that time was in their 60‟s, 70‟s, and 80‟s – prime time for having
a heart attack.
That of course, is a topic all to its own, and one that is tirelessly fascinating. What‟s fascinating
about Barnes during this huge wave of heart disease is that he noticed that none of his patients
were having heart attacks. Everywhere he turned and everything he read at the time was all
about heart disease, heart disease, heart disease. It was the biggest concern of other medical
professionals, something they had all reported seeing a dramatic increase of, and it had quickly
become the leading killer of Americans during that general time frame. Barnes was puzzled at
first, hearing all the fuss about this supposedly-common illness while it was unknown to him and
his patients.
So Barnes began exploring the issue at length. Interestingly, one of the first major clues was that
high cholesterol levels in the blood were considered a prime risk factor for heart disease. We
now know that this is just one, albeit weak monitor of heart disease – and total cholesterol levels
in general aren‟t particularly revealing. Still, there is no doubt that the higher the total serum
www.180degreehealth.com 17
cholesterol level, the higher the risk of developing heart disease – but only slightly higher.
Interestingly, cholesterol blood tests were originally used to, drumroll please…
DIAGNOSE HYPOTHYROIDISM
Many of Barnes‟s patients that suffered from a low body temperature and symptoms indicative
of a low metabolism also had elevated cholesterol levels that were quickly brought under control.
Hypertension – another risk factor for heart disease (and a much better predictor of overall heart
disease risk) was brought under control rather dramatically with thyroid treatment as well. He
also found that many with high blood sugars had a quick normalization of glucose levels, and
that “true” diabetics ceased to have complications such as retinopathy under his care as well.
These are all facets of metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance, something that is intricately
tied to the modern obesity epidemic. It is certainly of interest that Barnes made this statement:
“…98 percent of diabetics are lacking in thyroid and bringing their metabolism up to the normal
range not only improves the symptoms but also inhibits hardening of the arteries which is the
diabetics‟ worst problem.”
Before I get going on too big of rampage on this topic, which fascinates me beyond compare, I‟ll
simply wrap this up by saying that Barnes, in his several decades of medical practice, kept very
detailed data on his patients. Only four of his patients, in his lengthy career, ever had a heart
attack. Of these four, each case had its own idiosyncrasies – such as the patient only seeing him
for a couple months before the attack, or a patient that moved away and was no longer under his
care. I‟m not aware of any medical doctor that achieved results that even come close to
compare. Barnes estimated, by the data of the day, that he was able to reduce heart attack
incidence by well over 90%, a feat never equaled before or since.
THAT is how important the basal metabolism is. And yes, we all know that the rate at which our
bodies burn calories has a lot to do with our weight. The questions are, “how much?” and “how
prevalent is hypothyroidism?”
The first answer is VERY. Thyroid gland activity controls the rate of fat burning in the body.
Think that might be important? Not only do blood fats get burned for energy more readily
(lowering triglycerides), the utilization of these triglycerides for fuel – and clearing them from
the bloodstream, decreases insulin resistance. Blood fats are known to majorly interfere with the
function of insulin.
But of course, in order to lose body fat, you have to be able to burn fatty acids for energy.
Without proper thyroid function, such a task becomes much more difficult. Sure, if you don‟t eat
your body will mobilize a lot of its fat to be used as energy. It has to. It‟s forced to. But at the
same time thyroid gland activity is reduced, which strengthens the preference for fat storage over
fat burning. This is one reason why doing anything that puts strain on the metabolism – from
doing too much exercise to dieting to eating excess protein to nutrient deficiency, even if it
www.180degreehealth.com 18
causes you to lose weight in the short-term, makes it increasingly easy to store fat on fewer
calories afterward. It‟s this cycle that 180 Degree Metabolism hopes to help people break free
from.
I can‟t say that Barnes and I agree on everything though. We have two major fundamental
differences that will ultimately lead to more solutions for more people with much greater ease.
The first difference is that Barnes felt like a low body temperature was a sign of actual
hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism is defined as having too little thyroid, or, in simple terms, a
bum thyroid. In the vast majority of cases; however, that‟s simply not true. Not true at all.
While the body temperature IS the most fantastic reading imaginable to determine whether the
body is conserving energy or running on all cylinders, it does not provide adequate information
on whether that results from having a faulty thyroid gland or other factors.
In fact, actually having a crappy thyroid (please excuse the medical terminology, I know the
word “crappy” is a highly-advanced medical term), is quite rare. I mean sure, see your doctor
and get your thyroid panels back to see if you are in the normal to low-normal range, but I think
you‟ll find that your thyroid gland is not damaged or diseased. If it is, that‟s a separate scenario
that this book does not address.
That‟s right, you can have a chronic low-metabolism and a fantastically-healthy thyroid gland.
The first line of action probably should NOT be to administer desiccated thyroid hormones to
override the low metabolism. There are other reasons for the low metabolism that, when
addressed, often result in the metabolism increasing. Like dozens of followers of
180DegreeHealth have discovered over the last year, bringing the body temperature up, in most
cases, is quite a simple matter of changing eating and exercise habits and following a targeted
metabolism-stoking nutritional strategy to get there. Many of my own followers brought their
basal body temperatures up by over 2 degrees F. My own body temperature, which dropped as a
result of overexercising by 1.5 degrees F, quickly rose back up to near-normal in two months
time. In fact, this is much quicker than what Broda Barnes, or any modern-day Barnes followers
are able to achieve with thyroid medication."

[calgirl]

I know thats a lot guys here is the basics of rest and refeeding to raise temps from the book:

"My current health regimen is more aligned with the well-understood secrets of good health
practiced for millennia prior to the current age of self-mutilation in the name of health. A draft
would look more like this:
1) Get out of bed when no longer tired.
2) Eat a meal until you do not desire another bite. Make sure the meal contains the fat,
starch, protein, and micronutrients that you need to feel good, satiated, satisfied, and
strong.
www.180degreehealth.com 54
3) In spare time, do enjoyable and interesting things. Sunbathing usually tops the list.
4) Never skip meals.
5) Eat when hungry until you don‟t desire another bite.
6) Rest when tired. Exercise for fun only if you feel like it.
7) Get lots of sleep.
8) Never take more from the body than you give in return.
9) At social gatherings, try to forget everything you know about health and have a good
time.
10) Eat real food most of the time, but don‟t stress out over it.
Believe it or not, this works like magic. There is no better way to stop wanting sugar than to
nourish yourself really well, take it easy, get plenty of sleep, avoid overexertion, and not be a
health Nazi overseeing every bite that enters your mouth. I rarely crave sugar. When I do, I eat
it. I am no longer a sugar addict. I am no longer on an emotional roller coaster. My weight no
longer fluctuates (unless I overexercise against my will for several months – in which case my
weight drops and then comes back double). I went from eating a chocolate bar per day to a
chocolate bar per year. I don‟t even think about food that much because I‟m not very hungry
anymore. I‟m at total peace with myself, and my body and mind thrive because of it.
The secret to eating less sugar is wanting less sugar. The secret to wanting less sugar is
nourishing yourself really well on many levels. Sleeping well. Relaxing. Spending time doing
enjoyable activities. Pursuing some of the passions in your life. Listening to what your body
wants instead of arguing with it and treating it like a child that doesn‟t know better and doesn‟t
„deserve‟ the things that it cries for.
When you are really well-nourished, any compulsive eating habits or food addictions that you
have tend to disappear over time (for some it takes a few days, for others it takes a few months).
When they do disappear, I happen to believe that one temporary strategy that can help the
majority of people improve their health on all levels – weight management included, is to go on a
very low-fructose diet for an extended period of time. I‟ve seen amazing health improvements
take place, in myself and in others. And the improvements last. My father for example, went
two months without sugar about six years ago and has not had a sinus infection since despite
spending decades taking allergy shots, getting sinus surgery, and taking over the counter
medications for his repeated bouts with sinus infection prior. He also lost 12 pounds during
those two months.
The first step in pursuing a low-fructose diet is to eat really well. Avoid hunger at all costs, eat
to appetite, and don‟t restrict any food group such as carbohydrates, fats, or animal protein
(vegetarian). Just eat, and eat well, even going so far as to eat more than you care to in order to
make up for all the years you spent trying to eat less, exercise more, and do all kinds of crazy
diets while living a stressful life on no sleep and ungodly amounts of stimulants just to keep you
www.180degreehealth.com 55
going. Since early 2009, this has been referred to at 180degreehealth as the “high everything
diet,” or “HED.” More specific guidelines on the HED can be found in Appendix II.
Once you‟re feeling better, which most do after nourishing themselves on a deep level for
perhaps the first time in decades, make sure that refined sugars have been completely substituted
with natural sugars. In other words, the sweet foods in your diet should be milk, fruit, and dried
fruit and that‟s about it. Once you‟ve maintained this for a while, and you feel ready and have
no anxiety over it, try going really low sugar for an extended period of time – like 2-3 months.
This obviously isn‟t impossible, as any humans living at high latitudes had to do this for ten
months per year, as fruit is highly seasonal. Some human cultures never ate simple sugars, but
relied strictly on grains, root vegetables, meat, seafood, and dairy for all their dietary needs – and
they had great results."

[Callicrowe]

Callie,
I remember seeing this thread before and was going to come back when I had more time to read. Glad it surfaced again. My temp runs low (was reminded of this just yesterday at the doctor's office) and so far haven't found an answer to getting it up where it belongs. I'll be doing more reading here in the next few days as time permits. Thanks for sharing.

[BlessedMama]

Callie, thank you SO much for taking the time to share!

[teachmom]

Thanks, Callie. I'm especially interested in what the books says about the thyroid and low body temp. Schwarzbein says to clean up your eating before starting to take thyroid meds, which seems to make sense. It sounds like what 180degreehealth says, too. Right?

I can't remember if the doctor told me my blood showed I was hypothyroid, or if it was the thermography results. I may need to get a second opinion . . .

[ayj67]

Callie,

It is interesting. I have been eating this way since 2005, Phase II of South Beach. Then, I switched to Perricone. Other than the 2 weeks of Phase One I went back to as South Beach buddy a few weeks ago, my way of eating is still the same. I eat a lot of protein, fat, wholesome food everday (not counting volume and calories, just focus on what I want from the wholesome food in the fridge and pantry. I hardly get sick, tired, depressed. When I have more junk carb, especially during my pregnancy and nursing, I still did not get back to obese stage.

I guess the first 4 months of South Beach, I eat and eat and did not ever exercise, that was my RRARF. I also did RRARF during pregnancy and nursing (I do not exercise during that time, that is a good 4 years). No wonder I can eat so much now with T-Tapp, I used to gain with eating an apple when I was in my teen's and thirties's.

[calgirl]

ayj67 thats so awesome!

Blessed mama you are so welcome!

I have no idea why all my posts were doubled.

Linda from what I have read the majority of low body temps (which most americans have) are more to do with undernourished bodies than an actual bum thyroid. WHich is great news because then food is the best weapon. Matt, the writer, even talks about his temps dropping a degree and a half when he was consuming a lot of processed junk and sugar (I have noticed the same)> He also mentions excessive exercise can also drop the temps- so not all exercise will boost the metabolism, excess cardio can mess with thyroid balance.

[calgirl]

Callicrowe you are welcome I am glad to help! I have been working on getting my mom on the bandwagon. her temps were 96.7 at noon which is just awful b ecause during the day our temps are meant to rise with the typical 98.6 peak around 3pm. However she has gone up to around 97.7 with more good food so YAY

[ayj67]

I think I do have low temperature on extremities easily, it is not bad enough to mess up with fertility and I don't think it is thyroid (I obviously do not have thyroid problem other than cold hands and feet in the winter) and dr. is not going to test thyroid when TSH is 0.34 - 0.36 consistently over the years. If I do not manage my carb intake in an interval with good fats, fiber and protein, I will get cold hands and feet. So, I do manage my food and carb intake like a diabetes in every few hours. If I do intense cardio exercise, I eat some balanced snacks before and after. I don't feel hunger easily (6-8 hours between meals, but that will be famish hunger). I guess my leptin (hunger alert) was not always healthy since I was a little kid.

I, now, learn the subtle signs of hunger or low in energy. A little colder, a little tired, or a flashing thought of food when I am working and nothing food related. I am not quite as bad a a real Raynaud, but I eat and do some stepping do get myself warm.