Around six years ago, I noticed an improvement in my severe memory problems when I decided to eliminate gluten from my diet. My gluten-free diet helped restore my memory, so I began to wonder if further adjustments to my eating habits could ease the painful arthritis in my hands. Surprisingly, after altering my diet again, not only did the arthritis pain in my hands subside, but I also lost 15 pounds without even attempting to lose weight.
Memory Loss
In 2007, I started following a gluten-free diet due to rapidly deteriorating memory. I had read that a study from the Mayo Clinic discovered that celiac disease (the autoimmune response to gluten) could cause damage to the brain and nervous system. Therefore, I decided to remove gluten from my diet to see if it would help me with my cognitive issues.
Amazingly, after only one week of cutting out gluten-containing foods such as bread, pizza, breakfast cereals, and beer, my memory improved significantly. As I continued to follow a gluten-free diet over the past few years, my brain has progressively recovered even further. In hindsight, I realized that my gluten intolerance was negatively impacting my thinking and decision-making throughout my entire life.
Interestingly, I lost five pounds within the first three days of starting a gluten-free diet. Although I wasn’t trying to lose weight at that time, and I was still eating the same amount of food, I noticed a considerable change. Looking back, I still cannot fully explain the sudden loss of the extra five pounds.
Arthritis Pain
Switching to a gluten-free diet improved my memory, but it did not seem to alleviate the arthritis in my hands. Resultingly, I decided to modify my diet once again to resemble a paleo diet, to see if this could help my condition.
On my new diet, I not only eliminated gluten, but also avoided foods containing corn, soy, dairy, and generally any grains, although I still consumed rice occasionally. Within a few months, my arthritis appeared to improve and the pain in my hands became much more manageable. In fact, many times while playing the guitar, I completely forget that I even have arthritis in my hands.
Weight Loss
The decrease in pain in my hands coincided with a drop in my weight. In total, I lost about 15 pounds since giving up gluten and removing soy, dairy, and corn from my diet.
However, my weight loss isn’t due to eating less food. Most days, I consume a substantial amount of food. For example, my menu for one day (not including dinner or after-dinner snacks) included:
- Breakfast: Tuna, soft boiled egg
- Morning snack: Steak, squash, broccoli, almonds
- Lunch: Salad, sauerkraut, radishes, sardines
- Afternoon snacks: Blueberries, orange, herring, chocolate with organic honey, plums
Weight Loss Explanation
I’m still not entirely sure how my weight dropped so significantly, accounting for about 10% of my total weight loss. Most of the loss was in body fat, with only a small decrease in muscle. To ensure that my weight loss was not related to an undisclosed medical issue, I had an extensive blood work during a recent trip to the doctor. The blood tests did not reveal any signs of a condition that might be causing my weight loss.
In my research to understand weight loss on a paleo diet, I have learned that a few other people have had similar experiences to mine.
It’s true that my diet is quite restrictive and eliminates numerous foods, such as fast food and several restaurant meals. This type of diet also requires preparing most of your food and being cautious when eating out at establishments.
Nevertheless, for me, the results have been well worth the effort. Since adjusting my diet, I now have an improved memory, reduced arthritis pain, and lower weight. And the best part is that I can eat as much as I want.
