Metallic taste, sensitive teeth, etc

[Nina]

Hi everyone,
I have not been feeling very well for a few days, and I'd like to have some opinions, I just don't know where to start. I've read, and re-read this forum and some of Peat's articles, and somehow it just seems to add to the confusion.

I'll try to be brief...
I've been Peating since january. At first I had two wonderful weeks of energy and happiness, and then I struggled for a while, didn't know what to eat, went a little overboard with ice cream (<3), lost a few pounds, gained some more pounds. In the process i stopped drinking alcohol. I was not a heavy drinker, but my tolerance was very low.

I'll write about it in another thread, but it's worth noting that on the recommendation of my son's psychiatrist (long story), I was taking supplements of tryptophan to help with sleep. Taking this at night, combined with alcohol, I was not sleeping: I was passed out for the night. I was taking melatonin as well on a regular basis.

So here's what's bothering me.

- Strange taste in mouth, metallic. Sensitive teeth. (for a few weeks)
I went to the dentist because I thought a filling was causing the taste, but that was not the cause. My teeth feel weird and sensitive. (could coffee be causing this? I didn't drink coffee before)
- my eyes are tired, puffy, I look old and bloated
- annoying case of PMS, tired, depressed, impatient
- low libido since january (I think that's linked to low vitamin E)

What I changed recently:
-started taking a supplement of vitamin E, since I only get 20% from diet. (Yesterday)
-eating less oranges (can't find nice ones), more of other fruits. Drinking OJ.
-less bone broth. Hey, it's hot. Having homemade Jell'o.
-trying to spend more time in the sun.
-no exercise, but I walk every day.
-had a stressful month
-trying to take eggshell calcium every day
-eating more white sugar, is that ok?
-I think I eat too much, but I just feel like it, craving cheese, milk, sweets.

Any ideas?

 

[tara]

Don't know about the taste, sorry.
More white sugar is probably OK if you are getting all your mineral needs met elsewhere. You can use cronometer to get an idea about this.
Are you salting food to taste?

 

[Tom]

Sometimes when certain foods taste weird its because of the acid/base balance. It seems there´s a very strong taste mechanism to get this right over time because it is so important. For example if skinless potatoes or avocados (very high potassium) tastes really bad while brown rice and oatmeal (high phosphorus) tastes good, then it could be you´re too alkaline (and vice versa). Eggshell is strongly alkaline as is sodium bicarbonate. I´ve been analysing the diets/studies where people just ate whatever they wanted, and it seems over time there´s an almost perfect balance as measured by the potential renal acid load. This was especially the case for the self selection diet Clara Davis did with three children. Given that the requirement for acidic and alkaline minerals vary from time to time and from one individual to another, it is important to listen to one´s body and not try to force an extreme diet if it tastes bad.

 

[Nina]

The metallic taste seems to be linked to a number of very different things. I noticed it's diminishing, though. I suspect, in my case, it's related to my "super-powers of smell". For example, I can smell some types of flowers from far away, of a distant skunk in the neighborhood, taking a walk outside is quite the olfactory adventure. When I was pregnant, I could smell metallic objects around me, like in the subway. (I decided to walk to work, but then it smelled like dog poop). Could this be related to my menstrual cycle? It feels definitely hormonal.

Tom, this is very interesting. I try to be intuitive in choosing what I eat. (it's not always possible with 2 teenagers). I'll pay attention to taste (right now I noticed the taste while not eating anything). I can already see that I really feel like eating oranges, but not drinking OJ.

Also, that metallic taste is somehow close to a coffee taste. Would my coffee maker have an aluminium part? I might be drinking too much coffee, I'm not really used to it yet.

Tara, I'm using cronometer from time to time, and from what I can see, apart from low vitamin e, my ratio of calcium to phosphorus is around 1:1,5 (now taking eggshell). I take about 80 g of protein, and have 1200 to 2000 calories. Isn't 2000 calories high? I eat a lot of cheese, it calms me down (from too much coffee?).

Sensitive teeth and gum disease could be related to low vitamin E from what I read in this article:
http://www.dynamicdentalinc.com/blog/bi ... al-Disease
I'm not a scientific, but the article cites a study available here: http://www.advms.pl/?q=system/files/48_52SSobaniec.pdf

The vitamin E I'm taking seems to be helping with low libido and energy overall.

Here's my cronometer page from yesterday. It says 1 cup of coffee but that's actually 3 expresso.

 

[tara]

Hi Pina,
I get extra sensitive to smell in migraine prodrome - eg quicker to notice the compost needs emptying, and was fussy while I was pregnant too - couldn't stand most of the soaps and shampoos and such like in the house. Wouldn't surprise me if it is hormone-affected.

Peat recommends at least as much calcium as phosphorus, ideally about 1.5:1 Ca:P.

My viewpoint, based on Gwyneth's writing at youreatopia, is that 2000 cals is low for any adult. Most public calorie recommendations may be based on studies of what people say they eat, not what they actually eat, and tend to underestimate. Gwyneth's research says 2500 is what an average, weight-stable, non-dieting woman eats. More while still growing - up to 25 yrs, more if extra tall, nursing, athlete etc. a little less if extra short or post-menopausal.
There is controversy around here about whether people who have been eating much less than this, and have reduced metabolisms, are better off gradually increasing food intake as they improve metabolism (and therefore usually calorie expenditure) so as not to gain unnecessary extra fat, or whether it is better to get up to reasonable amounts of food quickly, and hope that helps pull the metabolism up.
I speculate that it may depend on what the causes of low metabolism are in the first place - if it is caused primarily by energy deficit from undereating, then eating more for a while may be necessary to let the body know it is safe to increase metabolism again. If there are other key causes, they it may be helpful to address them first or at the same time. I also think it probably depends on how severe the energy deficit has been.
For me, eating enough is one of the keys to getting good sleep.

For people who have been on low carb diets (not me), it can apparently take a while for the body to readapt to eating more of them again - this might be another reason for increasing gradually rather all at once.

Home made cream of shrimp soup looks delicious! Feel free to post in the Recipes section if you feel like it. :)

 

[Nina]

Tara, thank you for the info about calories. It made my day!
We are told over and over to watch calories. But I'm craving hard cheese, and I just realized it contains vitamin K, which I probably need right now. And ice cream makes me feel so good.
Before peating, I had been on a low sugar diet for the last 25 years (including fruits).

The metallic taste is almost gone, and seems to appear after coffee. I'm checking this out.

My teeth are less sensitive. I went through the forum, and was inspired to eat more fruits, spend more time in the sun, have bone broth instead of jell'O, and hard cheese for vitamin K. Maybe a second carrot salad in the day.
I noticed also that I'm breathing through the mouth most of the time. Bad for saliva. Making an effort. It's kind of related to smell sensitivity and pollen and dust allergy.
Switched to a toothpaste containing calcium and xylitol.

Also, I posted my shrimp soup over here: viewtopic.php?f=17&t=2738&p=84190#p84190. Good stuff!