Diarrhea, Cha-Cha-Cha

Remember when I wrote about Richard Nikoley's "no soap, no shampoo" approach to washing? Based on this recent post on BoingBoing, which discusses how soap use can prevent diarrhea, I think I'm going to keep lathering up.

(Note that Nikoley does use soap for "handwashing in advance of food prep," so it's not like he's sticking poo in his mouth or anything. But still.)

Do It Do It Do It

This past weekend, Dan Benjamin of Hivelogic posted about his transition to a Paleo diet:

[F]ollowing this diet (which involves avoiding gluten, among other things) has resulted in dramatic health benefits for me and my family. The Paleo diet, which resembles but differs in some important ways from low-carb/slow-carb or 4HB diets, has been around for several decades, and has a great deal of science behind it.

Weight loss is an almost guaranteed side-effect (but not necessarily the goal) of this diet, which isn’t so much a “diet” as a lifestyle change, and ideally a permanent one, that you’ll make to the way you eat and live. As a family, over the last year (but very soon after starting the diet), we saw the alleviation of allergies and eczema, cholesterol issues, improved energy, better sleep, and most importantly, the elimination of something I’d struggled most of my life with: hypoglycemia. Most people who share their experiences with eating this way have similar results, but it’s kind of hard to believe until you experience some of the benefits for yourself.

(In his Paleo post, Benjamin provides helpful links to a few select Paleo resources: Robb Wolf, Mark Sisson, Loren Cordain, Kurt Harris, Richard Nikoley, Sarah Fragoso, Angelo Coppola, the Primal Palate folks, and -- last but not least -- my wife!)

Okay, gang: Have you tried going Paleo yet? If not, why not? Give it a shot -- stick with it for 30 days and see if you don't look, feel and perform better. What have you got to lose?

There are lots of great Paleo primers out there -- but since this is my blog and all, I'll put in a plug for mine. Check it out here or click the "Eat Paleo" button on the nav bar above.

(Source: Hivelogic)

No Poo

Paleo blogger Richard Nikoley of Free the Animal is perhaps most (in)famous for going shampoo- and soap-free since the middle of 2009. He showers and washes himself daily, but without the benefit of any lotions or chemicals.

After his first six months without soap and shampoo, Nikoley reported that his skin and hair "[t]ook about two weeks to normalize. That is, I felt my hair was greasy and skin oily up to then." But now, his "skin & hair have never been softer. Never. If anything, my hair is less 'greasy' than ever, yet shampoo hasn't touched it in over six months."

Nikoley's post doesn't get into why he decided to do this, but the rationale, it seems, is fairly consistent with Paleo principles. As blogger Sean Bonner put it, "[t]he thing that stuck out to me the most, and resonated with my own philosophy was that it seemed silly that we would have evolved into creatures that needed a bunch of corporately produced and marketed chemicals smeared all over our bodies everyday just to get by."

In other words, if we're totally against cramming chemically-treated, super-processed Neolithic crap into our bodies, why are we okay with rubbing it into our skin -- our bodies' largest organ? After all, most commercial shampoos and soaps are filled with "noxious but unregulated chemicals that have been linked to everything from endocrine system disruption to neurological and immune system damage."

For his part, Bonner decided to check out Nikoley's "no-poo" approach for himself. So he stopped using soap and shampoo. Now, a year later, he explained on BoingBoing that he doesn't miss the stuff at all:

[M]y skin feels better than ever before. Not that it ever felt bad, really, but it feels awesome now. Still no stink at all, I swear even when I'm really active and sweating I don't notice any B.O., and I used to be über self-conscious about this and would think I was stinking if I walked up a flight of stairs too quickly. So this is a huge improvement for sure. And with the exception of changing climates drastically, even the dandruff is history. My previously wavy and mostly unmanageable hair now seems much more willing to bend to my will, a dream of mine since I first looked in a mirror, brush in hand, then tried and failed to make any sense of that monster. So I approve for sure.

The no-poo movement appears to be gaining some traction. Even before Nikoley embarked on his experiment, the New York Times wrote about going without shampoo, and so did MSNBC. Interestingly, the Times pointed out that in Sydney, Australia, over 85 percent of people surveyed said they didn't use shampoo. Either Australia is choking on its own B.O., or perhaps -- just perhaps -- there's something to this. (Australian readers: What's the deal? Are you smelly? Or just awesome?)

Some experts are on the no-poo bandwagon, too. As NPR has reported, it may be best to limit hair-washing to two or three times a week. The theory is that your scalp, which "likes to stay acidic,"

uses an oil called sebum to regulate its acidity. Sodium laureth sulfate, the main surfactant in most shampoos, strips the sebum away, and your scalp overproduces more to compensate, leading to greasy hair. If you stop stripping away the sebum, your scalp should produce less of it, and your hair should stay cleaner and more manageable.

I don't know. The more I look into this, the more the arguments resonate with me. Certainly, lots of people have now tried this and reported great success (and lack of stink).

But in the end, I still get the feeling that I'd be putrid within days if I tried going soapless and poo-free. And for the sake of marital harmony, I think I'd better keep lathering up for the time being.

I Like to Read Stuff

There are a few newly-added sites on my blogroll, and if you haven’t yet checked ‘em out, you really should. Here’s why:

Free the Animal

• I long ago bookmarked Richard Nikoley’s site and have been a regular reader for a while now, but just realized today that I’d neglected to add him to my blogroll. Nikoley is – along with Robb Wolf, John Durant, Melissa McEwen, and a few others – one of the most prominent voices on the Paleo scene. Yes, he can come across as a little cranky at times, but he’s never, ever boring. Plus, he manages to keep his man-parts clean without soap or shampoo, which is kind of badass.

Fathead

• Tom Naughton is a comedian-slash-documentary filmmaker who released a movie called “Fathead” last year. The film is a parody/response to Super Size Me, pulling back the curtains on Morgan Spurlock’s slippery claims and debunking what common wisdom has pounded into our heads about good nutrition, dietary fat, and the causes of obesity. Naughton’s mission to debunk bad food science didn’t end with his documentary; on his blog, he continues to level a critical eye on all sorts of nutrition and food-related subjects. It’s a fun read.

Cholesterol and Health

• When M got her labs back last month, she discovered that her HDL – “good cholesterol” – was way up, but so was her LDL. Was this a problem? Nope. Nutrition PhD candidate Chris Masterjohn lays it all out on his website – an easy-to-read clearinghouse of information about the true nature of cholesterol. Masterjohn is another big name on in Paleo circles, and it’s easy to understand why. (Also check out Jimmy Moore's podcast interview with Masterjohn here.)

Harder. Better. Faster. Stronger.

• Raj over at HBFS is one of my new favorites. His writing is witty and insightful, and his experience mirrors mine: Couch potato to runner to P90X grad to CrossFitter and Paleo eater. I’m intensely jealous of Raj's ability to dig into the science behind nutrition and fitness. (For example, check out his Twinkie Diet takedown, which is infinitely better written and analyzed than my weak attempt.)

This Week in Paleo

• I’ve found Angelo Coppola’s podcasts to be a great way to quickly expand my knowledge about all things Paleo. He does a thorough job of mining the blogosphere for information about ancestral eating, and frankly, it’s nice to be able to tear myself away from the computer screen and just download Angelo's podcast and listen to him chat about his week’s Paleo-related discoveries. And I’m not just saying this because my site has been featured as a "Blog of the Week" on TWIP, either. Honest.

Nom Nom Paleo

• Nepotism be damned. Nom Nom Paleo is my better half's food blog, and she regularly posts all sorts of good, meaty stuff -- from full-blown (but simple) recipes to tips on staying Paleo when dining out. Plus, she cusses like a sailor. What's not to like?

Going forward, I’ll try to continue highlighting new sites that catch my eye – and please let me know if there are others I should check out. Happy Friday, folks.

(Image: inju)

MovNat Reconsidered

I first wrote about Erwan Le Corre's MovNat a few months ago -- back before I began delving more seriously into paleo/primal concepts. I was kind of dismissive then, but am growing curiouser and curiouser about Le Corre's nature-centric philosophy of fitness and health.

I'd like to attend a MovNat workshop someday. Richard Nikoley just did it a week ago, and wrote all about it on Free the Animal. Melissa McEwen was there the week before. And Robb Wolf is just finishing up his 5 days of MovNat today, and also has great things to say about the experience.

MovNat looks fun -- and this is coming from a guy who hasn't been camping in years and thinks it's not worth trying to win $1 million on "Survivor" because it would mean going without a toilet for a month.