Thursday, July 30, 2009

Juice recipes

This is just to quickly share what has worked for me in the juicing department:

Watermelon Juice
Lots of sources talk about watermelon to solve kidney problems. I think this is because they have a diuretic effect and therefore clense the kidneys. I've been consuming about a watermelon a week for about 5 months now and can't say I've seen any particular benefit but you never know...

The fastest way I've discovered to consume watermelon is:
  • Fill a blender with slices of watermelon (seeds and all)
  • Blend
  • Strain and serve
Carrot Juice Combinations
The best tasting carrot juice combinations I've discovered are:
  • Carrot Juice and Lime (about 1 lime per big glass)
  • 70% Carrot, 30% Beetroot, Lime
  • 50% Carrot, 50% Pineapple

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Gluten

For some reason I discovered that some people recommend gluten-free diets for autistic people. This sparked my interest both because of my apparent sensitivity to wheat and its possible relation to my kidney problems, and the fact that (coincidentally or not) my personality has autistic tendencies.

http://www.autismweb.com/diet.htm

What I found extremely interesting is that they claim that gluten, a protein, can have an opiate effect on the brain, giving rise to the desire to eat more gluten. Ever since first trying to stop eating wheat a few months ago I have consistently lapsed as the desire to eat wheat was so strong. Currently I have been basically wheat-free for around two months, with the great result that my intestinal gas problem has disappeard, yet I still find myself attracted to odd bites of wheat products (even though I think it's bad for me and may even raise my blood pressure).

Searching, I discovered a lot of cases where gluten-free diet has apparently solved kidney problems (including those with proteinuria). I can't believe I didn't specifically look for this before, or that I didn't read anything about it in my regular kidney research:

http://books.google.com.mx/books?id=w9rGR_rZ__AC&lpg=PA76&ots=uJi7jbE3WR&hl=en&pg=PA76

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/428155
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=3046136
http://ndtplus.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/extract/2/2/161

So it's settled, I'm going to have to overcome my addiction and try a strict wheat-free diet for six months and see if it has any impact.