Hi Mike and all,

>A couple of months ago I developed a sort of tightness in my chest and
>shortness of breath.  It makes deep breathing difficult and gets downright
>painful with exertion.  My doctor has found nothing wrong, EKG and chest
>X-ray are normal.  I went to a cardiologist for a stress echo and it was
>also normal.  My doctor has put me on Prilosec for acid reflux (always been
>a problem) and even Prozac (apparently chest pain is a common symptom of
>depressed males).  Nothing helped.

I hypothesize that the meat supply is affecting some of us with
gluten/corn/soy (whatever the cows are fed) sensitivities. I have not
experienced chest pain (I got those with aspartame), but I am extremely
itchy and this itch previously went away on a gluten free, vegetarian diet.
The itch has returned with a vengeance on the paleodiet.
I try to eat grassfed beef and wild meat when I can, but this is expensive
so I eat regular butcher meat. Judging from the taste of the fat involved
here, the meat is inferior at best. I feel guilty feeding the birds the
cracklings left over from my soap making...!
Mike, acid reflux is very common with celiac disease or gluten intolerance
(and is a common misdiagnosis of gluten sensitivity) so perhaps the beef is
affecting you too because of what the cows are fed plus the hormones and
antibiotics, etc. that are added to this toxic mix.
Ron Schmid's book, Traditional Foods, examines modern meat production in a
chapter by the same name. It is enough to give a healthy person heart
palpitations or at least a case of hives!
Apparently pigs are fed leftover moldy dairy products, plastic container
and all.-(my neighbour who works in the industry).

Regarding the Prilosec and Prozac, consider these unpaleo and jampacked
with dangerous, sometimes fatal side effects that probably affect your
heart. Pharmaceuticals are made with petrochemical biproducts just like
aspartame. I saw the Prilosec ad on TV and it points out a number of the
(scary!) side effects. Prozac's common side effects (Canadian Medical
Assoc. Guide to Prescription and over the Counter Drugs, Reader's Digest)
are restlessness, insomnia and gastrointestinal irregularities-the heart is
involved in these, no?

I hope I haven't offended anyone in the meat industry or the pill industry;
I am merely looking for clues. Please correct me if I am wrong. I hope so.

Paleopreguntas,
Susan

I forgot to mention ACE inhibitors-extremely dangerous! After all my
rambling, this could be the cause of your chest pain. Please be checked for
celiac disease too.