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Swandattur

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To introduce myself... I am 59 years old. I found this forum by googling Ray Peat. I found Ray Peat's site maybe a year and a half ago while searching for information to help my health problems. I found his articles very interesting, but at the time had started doing low carb for weight loss and mild diabetes. I was hoping improving these things would also improve my mood problems, insomnia and allergies. Actually, since I have had severe depression, mood was my overriding concern. The low carb diet did help me lose weight. I had never been successful at losing much weight or in keeping it off. For a while my insomnia and allergies improved. The depressed moods did not improve. The allergies came back with a vengeance. I think now that I have had histamine intolerance which eventually got worse on low carb. Now, I can't seem to handle much dairy.
I've been trying a Peat style diet for about three weeks. Starch has been my nemisis for a long time. I knew it a long time ago. I just didn't know what to do about it or why it should be a problem. Ray Peat's ideas really seem to make sense for my problems. I can believe omega 3 oils are bad for health since any time I have tried supplementing them my mood has taken a nosedive. It also seems as if nuts cause a particular problem that way. I thought maybe it was histamines or that they feed bad gut bacteria. I have noticed some positive effects since upping my fruit and sugar intake. The carrot salad thing seems to help. I have been staying off starch since it seems to disrupt the good effects of the non starch carbs. Anyway, it's a work in progress. It's good to feel as if I can do something to help myself, since there is little help out there for the problems I have. One added note is that I have been under an extreme amount of stress for years, because my husband was having severe PTSD issues. Recently he has improved a lot, so my stress level has dropped considerably.
 

Dan W

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Welcome, Swandattur.

You might find you can tolerate more dairy as your metabolism improves. And eggshell calcium might be helpful in the meantime.

Good luck!
 

Jenn

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Welcome! I hear you on the depression. Mental issues are usually b vitamin related, which are protein related, which is related to dairy digestion issues, which is allergy related. Improving the body's ability to digest and assimilate protein will address EVERYTHING. Diabetics are protein deficient.
 

charlie

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Swandattur , welcome to the forum. :welcome

Since your stress load is down your health will improve even quicker now that you are making the right dietary moves. I hope the best for you.

See you around. :hattip
 
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Swandattur

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Thanks all of you for the welcome and the encouragement. It is very much appreciated, especially since I was had such a low yesterday. It might have been from eating too much liver. (Before you wonder why I might have overeaten on liver, I made a homemade braunschweiger with chicken livers.) I also ate some cole slaw that sat in the refrigerator overnight and went kind of sauerkrautish. Maybe I'm grasping at straws, but it's natural to hope for a way to control these things. I think I have trouble with gelatin, which I ate a lot of, too. Anyway, thanks for the dietary explanations and tips, too.
 

narouz

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Swandattur said:
Thanks all of you for the welcome and the encouragement. It is very much appreciated, especially since I was had such a low yesterday. It might have been from eating too much liver. (Before you wonder why I might have overeaten on liver, I made a homemade braunschweiger with chicken livers.) I also ate some cole slaw that sat in the refrigerator overnight and went kind of sauerkrautish. Maybe I'm grasping at straws, but it's natural to hope for a way to control these things. I think I have trouble with gelatin, which I ate a lot of, too. Anyway, thanks for the dietary explanations and tips, too.

Swandattur-

Have you ever had thyroid tests?
One of the most likely things to explain your various symptoms would be that you are hypothyroid.
You say you felt bad after eating the coleslaw:
raw cabbage is, I think, a pretty potent thyroid suppressor.
And, if you are hypothyroid, eating a big dose of vitamin A--which I think would be in the liver--
can also be anti-metabolic, especially in tandem with the coleslaw.
 
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Swandattur

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I haven't had blood tests in a while. Maybe I would test out as hypothyroid. Due to a dearth of descent doctors (automatic alliteration) and lack of transportation for a while out of town, I haven't been going to a doctor. I guess I need to decide on one and go get a check up. Lately I often get cold at night and just can't warm up even with two or three cats cuddling up. That could be a sign, too. At least I feel lots better now.
I wonder if cabbage that is starting to ferment might be even worse for thyroid.
 

narouz

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Swandattur said:
I haven't had blood tests in a while. Maybe I would test out as hypothyroid. Due to a dearth of descent doctors (automatic alliteration) and lack of transportation for a while out of town, I haven't been going to a doctor. I guess I need to decide on one and go get a check up. Lately I often get cold at night and just can't warm up even with two or three cats cuddling up. That could be a sign, too. At least I feel lots better now.
I wonder if cabbage that is starting to ferment might be even worse for thyroid.

Yeah...double bad. The cabbage itself is anti-thyroid,
and then if it had fermented it probably had a high lactic acid content--also anti-metabolic.

I think your thyroid is the first thing to check out with your symptoms.
Lab work is helpful but not absolutely necessary.
The best starting point is to keep a record of your temperatures and pulse rates.
You've mentioned mood disturbance and cold: those are a couple of common hypothyroid symptoms.
Read up on hypothyroidism--there's a lot of information here on this site--and see if your symptoms fit.
 

kiran

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narouz said:
Swandattur said:
I haven't had blood tests in a while. Maybe I would test out as hypothyroid. Due to a dearth of descent doctors (automatic alliteration) and lack of transportation for a while out of town, I haven't been going to a doctor. I guess I need to decide on one and go get a check up. Lately I often get cold at night and just can't warm up even with two or three cats cuddling up. That could be a sign, too. At least I feel lots better now.
I wonder if cabbage that is starting to ferment might be even worse for thyroid.

Yeah...double bad. The cabbage itself is anti-thyroid,
and then if it had fermented it probably had a high lactic acid content--also anti-metabolic.

Triple bad: The fermentation apparently increases the anti-thyroid action of crucifers.
http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/G ... eport.html
 
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Swandattur

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I noticed a while back that sauerkraut was not good for me. That's interesting that fermentation does really increase the anti-thyroid action. Finding out what is causing something like this is a big thing. Thanks for the advice and information.
 
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Swandattur

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Jenn, I would be interested in more about the protein-dairy-allergy-digestion connection. I seem to react with allergy symptoms to dairy and gelatin. I saw something about a study showing that many people who have a problem with dairy also have a problem with gelatin, and that these are related, like a cross reaction I guess. I may ( or may not) have had somewhat of a problem with this before going low carb, but it got much worse during low carb. Maybe it's the poor digestion and bacterial overgrowth related to being hypothyroid that causes it all. You have probably talked about it in other posts.
 

charlie

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Jenn, you have a lot of great info and I am truly grateful for all you have shared. But not once have I heard Ray Peat say check your PH. Maybe we need to make a thread about it and hash it out. But for some reason this PH thing makes me wonder. I say this with all due respect just so you know. Not looking to push any buttons or anything like that.
 

Jenn

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Its basic body chemistry. Saliva pH is supposed to be a certain range, stomach pH is supposed to be a certain range, intestinal pH is supposed to be a certain range. If those pHs are not in that range, the body's tools (stomach acid, digestive enzymes, enzymes of the mouth and intestines) don't function properly and digestion and assimilation of nutrients doesn't happen. Our food becomes a toxin.
 

Birdie

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Charlie said:
Jenn, you have a lot of great info and I am truly grateful for all you have shared. But not once have I heard Ray Peat say check your PH. Maybe we need to make a thread about it and hash it out. But for some reason this PH thing makes me wonder. I say this with all due respect just so you know. Not looking to push any buttons or anything like that.

Good point.

It's not that I agree or disagree but that we are studying Peat's way here. So, it would be good to quote him or refer us to an article of his or something.

Ray does disagree with a lot of standard physiology and nutrition. But there are places on the forum for ideas other than his to be presented.
 

Birdie

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I was meaning to welcome Swandattur and got sidetracked. Again! Welcome!!

Some thoughts:
Are you getting warm before bedtime? The baking soda, epsom salts bath is good for that. And, then, socks for sleeping. Both have helped me. And, warming up the bed with a heating pad or blanket and turning it off before you go to sleep helps. I used the heating pad all winter.

Some people find it helpful to get natural thyroid online and use a small amount to see how it makes them feel. Ray has advice in various places. Have you read Danny Roddy's blog? A lot of good, basic Ray Peat info. Especially a section called, "Ray Peat's Brain."

:D Glad you're here!!
 
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Swandattur

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Birdie I have read several of Ray Peat's articles in the last year or so. I have reread and read others recently. I'll have to check out "RayPeat's brain". That sounds interesting and hopefully enlightening. I do take Epsom salt/ baking soda baths at night and find it very relaxing. I keep a heating pad right at my bed for when I feel cold. I also keep some dried dates or cherries on my bedside table for a snack, because when I'm feeling that cold, it's hard to get myself to move. I sometimes have hot flashes, more so when I eat any starch. Don't know what that's about. It's interesting the different bodily reactions I seem to get from eating starch compared to no starch.
Jenn, thanks for your thoughts, and ideas. Peat's thinking does seem to connect at times in different ways with other health and nutrition ideas.
 

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