016.

Ugh, fatigue. It's the fourth day of my new diet, and that's all I feel. Now, I'm at the end of a Remicade cycle, which is always fatigue inducing, so that's one explanation. But even after my breakfast this morning of banana pancakes (yum! banana + egg + a little cinnamon & vanilla), applesauce and provolone cheese, I still feel tired and rundown.

The first two days I could understand it, because I didn't eat as much (oops). I know that I've been working full time, and just came back from camp (and so am still a bit dehydrated and exhausted).

I have noticed a difference in my gums, though. They're 50% healthier, shiny and not puffy at all, and light pink. That's probably because I've stopped eating white sugar and corn syrup.

So, I've made a resolution. I'll stay on this diet for thirty days. If I don't get better, or feel better, or something at the end of those thirty days, I will re-introduce whole grains (I think refined grains and sugars are probably a bad idea regardless). I just finished Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food, and one of the things he claims is that the genes of people who come from different areas are adapted to the traditional foods of those areas. Europeans are some of the lucky few who have been eating grains for a long time, so I may be able to tolerate whole grains without totally upsetting the balance of bacteria/yeast in my gut (I'm mostly French/British Isles).

Also, Michal Pollan talked about the balance between Omega-3 (from plants) and Omega-6 (from grains) fatty acids. And, in short super-reductionated science, Omega-3s fight inflammation while Omega-6s cause it. The SCD might help bring back my ratio of the two into optimal levels.

So. If this fatigue clears up, I'll consider staying on the diet. If not, good riddance.