The jury is still out on how I shall proceed, but it is pretty certain that I developed two kidney stones (one confirmed on cat scan and the other unconfirmed, i.e. I didn’t even bother going to the ER) as a result of following Mark Hyman’s Detox Diet. Can you believe it? Everything was going so well. The weight was coming off, I was in the groove, and then Bham! Kidney stone one arrived, and I felt like someone suddenly kicked me in the back. Flank pain, they call it. If that wasn’t enough, kidney stone two arrived at 4:35 AM, one week later, and was impossible to ignore, or even simply treat at home.
While at the hospital, I learned that there are more kidney stones, laying in wait in my kidneys, that will come out, at an undetermined time, in the future, if no corrective action is taken. Never fear, I am following up with my stone doctor, Dr Arthur Porter, a urologist, for further evaluation and treatment.
Luckily, prior to leaving the hospital, a minute or two after being given a screen to catch the stone with, by a nurse, I caught the darn thing for further analysis! Sometimes they take a week to pass. It would have been a real pain in the neck to carry that screen around with me everywhere I went to try and catch that stone! Once it took me 6 weeks to pass one. The pain was so bad, all I did was crawl around the bed in a circle, like a monkey chasing its tail.
This all caused me to remember the protein sparing fast I’d been on some twenty years ago to lose weight, which caused a whole rash of kidney stones (13 confirmed, and likely another 13 unconfirmed). At one point, I had 25 stones counted on scan in my kidneys.
According to my endocrinologist, Dr Robert Zimmerman, a protein sparing fast and Dr Hyman’s Detox Diet have quite a few commonalities. He further confirmed that both can cause kidney stones, and therefore require supplementing several electrolytes, while on these regimens.
Now, I am concerned about just what about this diet, and my consumption, while on the diet, caused the kidney stones to form. What do I need to do differently to be sure that I don’t form anymore kidney stones? Did I overdo the protein? Am I eating too many nuts? Is it due to one or more of the supplements I am taking? Is there a supplement or two, or three that I am missing, and need to take?
I have an appointment scheduled with the nutritionist, and a doctor, at the Center for Functional Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, in the next week. So what I need to do is figure out if there is a way that I can safely stay on the diet, or if some modifications must be made.
I actually asked not long ago, if I could resume eating rice and beans a few times a week, to reduce the amount of animal protein I was consuming. I safely added back in black beans and kidney beans. Unfortunately, I was told to hold off on adding the rice back into my diet. I wonder if rice and beans might be the ticket for me! However, I am willing to hear them out.
What I know for sure is that nothing in this Detox Diet is there by chance! Everything has been carefully thought out. There are reasons why certain foods are a no go and there are reasons why other foods are encouraged.
What I do know about myself, and my lab work is that I have no sensitivity to gluten, whatsoever. Consequently, I wonder if a little beans and rice might be okay, in my particular case.
However, it is all about the gut microbiome and what is healthy for the gut. This Detox Diet, at its essence, is about healing the gut microbiome. Thus, if rice is unhealthy, it’s just unhealthy for the gut microbiome. What do I know? I will have to rely on the experts!
When it’s all said and done, what I hope to do is go back on the diet to lose the next thirty pounds, and then revisit the question about whether or not I can safely stay on the diet.
I like the Detox Diet, because I can use it to drop weight, without being hungry. That right there is a big deal. In the past, in my case, dieting has always been about being fairly miserable, and sick with horrible migraines, while losing weight. Not so, with the Detox Diet. Until the kidney stones, I felt really well on the Detox Diet. The Detox Diet seemed to really agree with me. So I’ll fight a bit and try to work the kinks out for this diet.
Have any curve balls been thrown your way? What form have those curve balls taken? Have you come into any stumbling blocks on your diet? Has your body been knocking on your brain, and trying to get you to pay attention? Are there any modifications you need to make in your regimen? Is there any research, or investigative work, you need to do, to get some of your questions answered? What questions do you have? Be specific. Write those questions out, so you don’t forget what they are. Who could help answer your questions? Are you willing to take time out of your busy week to schedule an appointment with one or more of these people? How much are you willing to invest to get those questions answered?
Remember, Joshua Rosenthal, of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, preaches bio-individuality. He suggests, “One person’s food is another person’s poison.” No matter what regimen you are currently following, you will need to check in with your body regularly. You will need to be aware of how your body is responding to the regimen you are currently on, and then make adjustments accordingly, if you are having some difficulties.
Best of luck in tuning into the ongoing, and ever changing needs of your body! Never forget to be a scientist, about your own body’s response to the foods you are feeding it. Finally, if you have questions, either research the answers yourself, or find a specialist, who can help guide and direct you.
This is all about your quest for greater health, through the choices you make in nourishing yourself, with the food you choose to eat. You are worth the struggle, and you know it! Only beautiful things can arise, as a result of this journey! Are you ready to re-double your efforts?
Lisa J Lafave, PhD, MBA, ACC, BCC
CEO & Founder of Coaching Rocks, LLC
The Wellness Coach at Building Better Bodies Rocks
A Single Mom By Choice Raising Surrogacy Twin Boys
Written in My a Little Brick in University Heights, Ohio
Leap Into Action!