h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

OK. At least that gave me 100%. But I'm sceptic...

Fair enough, it does sound awful general to me though. I'm not a medical doctor but I know bodies are extremely complex systems that can go wrong in myriad ways.
It therefore seems highly unlikely to me that there would be only one catch-all cause for something.

A quick google raised this, which list several other possible causes. I wonder about the bottom one as I noticed you have been diagnosed with depression not long ago...

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/body-temperature/AN01513

Cool, I was just reading that page myself - my first thyroid test was done on my doctor's initiative about three years before I started taking anti-depressants. And I've had a slightly-lower-than-normal body temperature for several years.

Interesting - there's obviously something called Wilson's Temperature Syndrome that is 'often corrected with a special thyroid treatment even though thyroid blood tests are often in the normal range'.

Well obviously I don't have your case history to hand and am no expert anyway. I am just naturally sceptical of GP's diagnoses sometimes as they can often just plump for the most common cause of things - at least that seems to be often the case in the UK.

My partner Phil went to the doctor for a sore knee recently and they just dismissed it as early arthritis, told her to take glucosamine supplements and offered no treatment nor even bothered to investigate it further upon subsequent visits.
They might be right, but they may also not be and it's the lack of even bothering to check which annoys me.

I hope you track down the cause anwyay

Ti, apart from noticing changes in your stool, is the low-carb, high-fat diet making you feel any better?

Well, it does take an amazingly small amount of fat to fill me up, that's for sure. My blood sugar levels seem to be more even, and the afternoon 'dip' that I used to experience every day are become more and more rare. No weight change yet, but it's now *that* time of the month, so my body is likely to up its fluid levels... *rolls eyes*

The improvement in your blood sugars is positive. I suspect that the standard diabetic diet given to patients in the US contains way too many carbs and is actually dangerous.

Other changes that might, or might not, be related to my current way of eating:

Hair growth speed seems to have increased dramatically - my hair dresser had to cut off more than usual when I saw her last week!

Less problems with dry skin, especially in my face.

Less PMS/PMT symptoms this time around, but that might be a mere coincidence since it does seem to vary anyway from month to month.

Note to myself: the American Thyroid Assocation seems to have some rather serious doubts regarding 'Wilson's Syndrome':

http://www.thyroid.org/professionals/publications/statements/99_11_16_wilsons.html

Your diet sounds to be working - just cutting carbs and increasing protein and fats? Makes me want to try!

Not increasing protein, just replacing carbs with fat, preferrably saturated fat. Or replacing previous intake of proteins with more fatty ones.

Why saturated fat?

Well, here's one of the reasons, quoted from the book:

'Polyunsatured fats cause cancer'

It then goes on to tell you that there has been an alarming increase of malignant melanoma (skin cancer) in Australia, and a Dr Bruce Mackie found that those of his patients that developed skin cancer hade considerably reduced their intake of saturated fat and replaced it with polyunsaturated fat.

It seems polyunsaturated fats are easily oxidised by ultra-violet radiation, while saturated ones don't oxidise at all.

'That the sun is not to blame is confirmed by other findings:

- Melanoma occurs ten times as often in Orkney and Shetland as it does on Mediterranean islands.
- It also occurs more frequently on areas of the body that are *not* exposed to the sun - the ovaries, for example.
- In Scotland there are five times as many melanomas on the feet as on the hands.
- In Japan, 40% of melanomas on feet are on the soles of the feet.'

'High GI Carbs Give Rise To Fatty Livers':

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/83385.php

Yeah (not read the whole article yet). I read Läkartidningen (Medical profession mag.) a while ago, and high GI can give cirrhosis.

I meant to ask, what foods are high in saturated fat? I've eaten lots more cheese lately... is that right?

And I've started taking vitamin+minerals supplement. My hands are already much less dry and cracking skin. My face blemishes are fading. For now, at least!

Animal fat - lard, butter, bacon, full-fat milk, full-fat cheese (mmm, I've been eating Cambozola garlic lately, and Feta, and Mozzarella...)

About the full fat milk - I once read a book titled 'Nu räcker det' by Ursula Jonsson, which I warmly recommend, by the way (only available in Swedish, sorry). I remember that the author, from an allergy point of view, only recommended full fat milk (Gammeldags mjölk in Sweden).

She did have a description of a very gentle homeopathic remedy for allergies, which I tried out, and it did make me less allergic to some stuff, mostly some fruits that used to make my mouth and throat itch (nectarines, red apples among others).

From a Swedish point of view, it's interesting that Barry Groves under the title 'If you are still worried about cholesterol and heart disease' referers to a Swedish professor:
http://www.ravnskov.nu/cholesterol.htm

Refers! Refers!

Sounds like a diet for me! Roll on revbensspjäll season! (Thick ribs, oven fried, with red cabbage)

I generally feel better when I restrict carbohydrates, especilly starches and sugars. There are still lots of good vegetables you can eat on Groves' diet. Most vegetables, actually. And the lower carb fruits in moderation, although he says he doesn't eat fruit himself. I love being able to have full fat dairy and any sort of meat I want. I like being able to have the skin on chicken and other poultry and being able to season my vbegetables the old fashioned way with meat drippings or real butter.

What makes me angry is that we've been told the wrong thing about saturated fat all these years. It doesn't cause heart disease at all. Carbohydrates cause heart disease and dozens of other illnesses. That list toward the back of the book is a real eye-opener.

Yep - we have a health check once a year at w*rk and boy, am I going to argue with her... Her? Well, so far all health persons have been female...