Balance

I think it is important to find balance in everything.  "Balance" is entirely subjective though.  Balance between work and life; or food and exercise; or CrossFit and Bikram; or pleasure and pain. I'm sure the list could go on and on.  Sobriety and drunkeness; sugar and protein; beer and liquor; boring and fun....

In any case, I was listening to a broadcast today from the Paleo Summit from Dr. Cate Shanahan (http://drcate.com/).  She is rare in that she is a traditionally trained medical doctor who supports the Paleo diet!!  (Never has a doctor supported any of the "alternative" stuff I've done.)  She talked in detail about good food as medicine instead of pharmaceuticals and how commonly prescribed drugs add to our problems.  Common osteoporosis drugs actually prevent new bone from being created, yet also prevent calcium from leaking from bone.  So what is left is old bone that appears more dense because of the increased levels of calcium.  The old bone, of course, is brittle and weak and can lead to increases in fractures.

She went on to talk about how the Paleo diet is supportive of bone health.  Increases in calcium (in veggies) and weight bearing exercise are key to improving bone health.  The part that makes me really happy about this broadcast was when the she was asked about dairy.  Dr. Cate supports a diet including dairy as it is a good source of calcium.  She also said that there is increasing evidence that there were goats (and thus dairy) in paleolithic times.  One final point (worth noting here) that she made was that the Paleo diet movement is very open to change and thus she imagines that dairy may be incorporated into the movement in time.

Ok so how does all of this fit into the theme of balance?  I tried (or did I?) to manage my RA through diet and alternative methods for years and failed.  I never tried the Paleo diet though, I did try the yeast free and inflammation diets.  These two are fairly similar except that they still include grains.  For me right now, I think drugs and diet together are improving my quality of life in ways I never could have imagined.  I am a huge supporter of food over drugs any day, but it has to be within reason.  You wouldn't try to cure cancer with carrots, or a heart attack with fish oil alone.  The goal for me is minimal drugs, high levels of activity and good food.  For me this is the formula of balance and the key to a healthy life.