June 05, 2004

Calorie Restriction and Peripheral Neuropathy

I was invited to post here my daily (or occasional) comments about my experience with matters of personal health, including signing on to the calorie restriction (with optimal nutrition) program, my bout with progressive peripheral neuropathy, and other related (even un-related) items that have concerned me over the years and in the present. Don't mind if I sometimes digress into politics (I'm an unreconstructed 1950's liberal in the finest American tradition), or racial and gender issues (I am a gay father in a long-term relationship (now going on 29 years) with an African American partner), or any other issue, controversial or not, that happens to occupy my fragile mind from day to day.

First off, let me tell you that I am now 72 (almost 73) years old, a retired lawyer, a writer, a former state legislator (am I still Honorable?), a fund raiser, a community organizer, a marathon runner (October 2002), a father of three, a grandfather of five, and a veteran of the Korean Conflict during which I served as a tail gunner on a B-29R for four years with the First Bomb Squadron, 9th Bomb Wing (under General Curtis LeMay). I will tell you a little about all of these adventures of my life, and more, as we move along with this blogg.

But first, I want to introduce you to my primary topic > calorie restriction < and how and why I became interested and involved in this "front line" science of eating less for optimal health and longevity.

The story begins in the Spring of 2001, when I first noticed that the soles of my feet were tingling. That is to say, the bottoms of my feet were becoming insensate, or numb. At my regular annual physical examination, I mentioned this, in passing, to my physician who said "um-hum," poked around my feet a little to see if I had some feeling there, and finding that I did have some feeling, proceeded with the remainder of the exam without further comment.

I thought nothing further of this phenomenon until one year later, when, again, I was on the table in my doctor's office for my annual physical checkup again (2002). I mentioned that I was numb on the bottoms of my feet. The doctor said "um-hum" and again checked to see what reactions I had to his poking and sticking needles in my feet. I don't think he was satisfied that there was anything terribly wrong with me at the time, but this condition made me feel as though I were wearing socks, when in fact I had nothing on my feet. It was as though my feet were beginning to fall asleep on me. But I did not pursue the subject with my doctor at that time because it seemed so trifling to me, and there were more important health factors to be concerned about. The most important of these was an elevated cholesterol level > about 287 < and a weight problem. I was weighing in at about 220, about 50 pounds overweight for my size (5 feet, 10 3/4 inches). I had been trying (more or less) for several years (since I quit smoking in 1991 and gained weight) without success.

The doctor prescribed a cholesteral medicine to bring that number down, and instructed me to lose some weight by following a low fat diet.

At the time, I was addicted to ice cream, especially the very rich, heavy cream varieties, like Hagen-Daz. If I bought a pint, I would eat it all. Couldn't put it back in the freezer for later. I convinced myself that ice cream left in the freezer too long would get stale; that it had to be eaten while it was very "fresh." Well, who's kidding whom? I did not lose weight no matter how many salads I ate. During this time I became more and more vegetarian in my eating habits. Except for the ice cream, I ate no dairy, no eggs, no red meat, very little other meat except for salmon and sardines. But I didn't lose any weight.

I must confess to an aversion to pharmaceuticals. Anytime I can resolve a medical issue without pharmaceuticals I would rather try. But I did not know how to avoid taking the statin he prescribed for my cholesterol problem. So I started taking them. I had read that statins are "good for you" even beyond the cholesterol issue.

Then I saw a poster on the Metro advertising a marathon training program beginning at that time. I thought "Ah hah! Here's the answer to my weight loss problem!" If I started running (I had never before in my life been a runner! Maybe as a kid playing kick the can, but never even interested in running or jogging in my life! And here I was already aged 71!). I registered for the training. And immediately started a regimen of jogging every morning at dawn. I walked and jogged through the Washington National Zoo where the air was not so contaminated with exhaust fumes and the scenery was more interesting than the city streets. From home, through the Zoo, and home again was about 3 miles a day. Then on Sunday mornings each week, I joined the 60 or so others who had signed up for the marathon training course for a longer run. Each Sunday morning we ran a little farther than the previous week until near the conclusion of the training program we ran a 26 mile training run. Having done that, we knew we could tackle the marathon successfully. We took two weeks off to rest our bodies in preparation for the marathon. We were running the Baltimore marathon in October 2002.

All through the training program, and my daily running regimen, I noticed that the numbness and tingling, which began in the soles of my feet, was now more pronounced. By the time training was complete and I was resting before the big race, the numbness had progressed to encompass my entire lower limbs and the fingers on both hands as well!

I'll get back to you in a day or two to continue my story. I'll tell you something of what it's like to run a marathon for the first time at age 72, Then I'll tell you more about my peripheral neuropathy and what I've done to cope with it. And then we'll get to the main topic: How and why I got into Caloric Restriction and what it's like to practice that regimen every day, interspersed with a day of fasting once a week.

Come back and visit for the next episode of "Life in the Fasting Lane!"

Posted by Wallace Dickson on June 5, 2004 11:45 AM