Kempner Rice Diet

[ecstatichamster]

Thanks @ecstatichamster for posting this. I didn't know Walter Kempner at all before. Very interesting.

it is my pleasure -- I'm reading a biography of Kempner now and he is a fascinating doctor. Don't forget he studied and formulated many of his ideas working for Otto Warburg.

 

[gabys225]

it is my pleasure -- I'm reading a biography of Kempner now and he is a fascinating doctor. Don't forget he studied and formulated many of his ideas working for Otto Warburg.

You might like enjoy this interview with Dr. D.E. Grim, a leading expert on hypertension:


View: https://www.youtube.com/live/ip5VndIFqdY?si=Qx00u69QYxzrC-M-


He has another video on Chef AJ's channel with Dr. McDougall and they discuss Kempner and his research in depth too.

On interesting anecdote that stood out to me is that when patients arrived with cardiomegaly (enlarged hearts) if they were very severe Dr. Kempner had them water fast and the heart would shrink within a few days. Fascinating stuff.

The big takeaway is use less salt gradually, and beware of going too low sodium. Everyone must respect their biochemical individuality.

 

[LizRey86]

I wonder if anyone has attempted a “Peaty” version of this diet, basically just add nonfat milk, liver and you’re there. When I drop fats really low, recently I have experimented with this, I start to lose my spare tire that Ive carried my whole life. But I couldn’t stick with it long term, maybe Ill try it again but will milk and liver.

 

[Blossom]

@gabys225, thanks for the video. I haven’t watched it yet but I’m really loving chef AJ lately.

 

[gabys225]

@gabys225, thanks for the video. I haven’t watched it yet but I’m really loving chef AJ lately.

You're welcome Blossom. She has lots of great guests on, and when you start to watch a few of his videos, Dr. McDougall is tremendously insightful, one of the good docs that likes research that's more than 50 years old :)

 

[Blossom]

About

The Blog I’m a girl on a mission. Faced with kidney failure and a handful of other medical complications, I decided that nothing would stop me from having a full life and a full belly. I discovered…

www.sodiumgirl.com

This lady had kidney failure due to Lupus. She got off dialysis, her kidneys regenerated and she was removed from the kidney transplant list after going on a low sodium diet (500-1,000mg). The story is more detailed in the introduction section of her cook book but she gives a brief version of her recovery on her website which also has a lot good recipes.

 

[Blossom]

Here’s more on the dark side of salt.

Vanderbilt-led study shows high-salt diet decreases thirst, increases hunger

The findings, published as a set of two papers in this week's Journal of Clinical Investigation, shed new light on the body's response to high salt intake and could provide an entirely new approach to these three major killer diseases.

www.eurekalert.org

View: https://youtu.be/jQQPBmnIuCY?si=nfIQ9TZ6HF_j7YoD

 

[Blossom]

One person’s experience I read and copied from a longevity site:

“For me and most people) Salt is addictive:
Salt addiction: a different kind of drug addiction 2
If I want to lower my salt intake, I get intense cravings (at night) and will go through a mini-kickoff period. And so it makes sense why some people that have tried reducing salt feel miserable and then when giving in and taking (a bit of) salt: they immediately feel better.
This could explain the conflicting evidence of short term studies vs longer term studies about salt intake and health. Going through a detox is not good for the body and it shows. However, if you can hang in for a few weeks, the detox symptons will subside and you will start to feel better.

Advantages that I seem to have recognized after a few months when my electrolytes have found a new equilibrium (not measured) :

• lowers cortisol (less anxiety, calmer, better sleep, better focus)
• easier to put on muscle mass
• more emotional stability
• improvements in (skin) auto-immunity issues and better wound healing
• less estrogen dominant (manboobs are slowly disappearing)
• less sensitive to hard noises (like breaking glass)
• spontanously eating less calories (and so losing weight)
• lower BP (but higher BP in the first few weeks !)
• improvements in gout (but flare ups in the first few weeks !)
• less muscle cramps (but more in the first few weeks !)
• less inflammation (but more in the first few weeks !)

Don’t underestimate the length that food companies will go to to defend salt. It is pratically free, it is (not standalone but in other foods/drinks) addictive and everyone is literally wired to seek it (tastebuds).
And indeed, you need some to sustain (early ?) life, but … not much.
I think a typical Western person, by age 40-50 (?), probably has accumulated enough salt (under the skin) to last for the rest of their life: Time to rethink salt 1

I also think that the increases in salt (and sugar and oil) consumption are what drives the obesity crisis.
Sure, some people can handle it and don’t overeat, but most will be addicted and overeat.”

 

[Nebula]

One person’s experience I read and copied from a longevity site:

“For me and most people) Salt is addictive:
Salt addiction: a different kind of drug addiction 2
If I want to lower my salt intake, I get intense cravings (at night) and will go through a mini-kickoff period. And so it makes sense why some people that have tried reducing salt feel miserable and then when giving in and taking (a bit of) salt: they immediately feel better.
This could explain the conflicting evidence of short term studies vs longer term studies about salt intake and health. Going through a detox is not good for the body and it shows. However, if you can hang in for a few weeks, the detox symptons will subside and you will start to feel better.

Advantages that I seem to have recognized after a few months when my electrolytes have found a new equilibrium (not measured) :

• lowers cortisol (less anxiety, calmer, better sleep, better focus)
• easier to put on muscle mass
• more emotional stability
• improvements in (skin) auto-immunity issues and better wound healing
• less estrogen dominant (manboobs are slowly disappearing)
• less sensitive to hard noises (like breaking glass)
• spontanously eating less calories (and so losing weight)
• lower BP (but higher BP in the first few weeks !)
• improvements in gout (but flare ups in the first few weeks !)
• less muscle cramps (but more in the first few weeks !)
• less inflammation (but more in the first few weeks !)

Don’t underestimate the length that food companies will go to to defend salt. It is pratically free, it is (not standalone but in other foods/drinks) addictive and everyone is literally wired to seek it (tastebuds).
And indeed, you need some to sustain (early ?) life, but … not much.
I think a typical Western person, by age 40-50 (?), probably has accumulated enough salt (under the skin) to last for the rest of their life: Time to rethink salt 1

I also think that the increases in salt (and sugar and oil) consumption are what drives the obesity crisis.
Sure, some people can handle it and don’t overeat, but most will be addicted and overeat.”

I’ve tried a low salt high potassium whole food diet several times and always felt fantastic after a week like glucose uptake is working much better, but I always find it hard to create a satisfying varied balanced meal plan and so go back to eating salty food again. What are some of your staple meals on a low salt diet? Do you just eat how you normally would and not add salt or do you substitute some spice that satisfies salt cravings?

 

[Blossom]

@Nebula, I eat really plain food. I’m sure most people accustomed to salt and spices would find how I eat quite bland but I enjoy the natural flavors in the foods I eat. I had already stopped using most spices in my cooking years ago when I was first diagnosed celiac and started reading Peat. It’s a bit challenging to find quality gluten free spices so I just sort of drifted away from using them.

My meals these days are basically a meat, a starch and either a vegetable or fruit. Tonight for example I’m having stew meat with rice and iceberg lettuce. I honestly can’t say I’ve had anything I’d consider a salt craving tbh but I know a lot of folks do. I had the experience early on of eating something and thinking it could use some salt of course but I think that was just me being habituated to eating it. One gentleman mentioned a bit of fresh lemon juice helping his salt cravings fwiw.

Most people can’t manage it though because salt is ubiquitous in our food supply and it takes diligence and determination to stick with it. I think a person has to be very motivated to pull it off and weigh out the pros and cons for their lifestyle and decide if it’s worth it to them or not. It’s definitely not easy but the health benefits for me personally are worth it. My sweat still tastes salty so it seems I have plenty in body my despite only eating about 500mg of sodium per day which makes sense in light of the MRI data in the TED talk I shared above. I’m mid 50’s and have consumed salt regularly for over 50 years. It’s also pretty fascinating that my sodium:potassium nutrient balance is effortlessly perfect in cronometer just eating minimally processed plain foods.