The 50 year old vegan who looks half his age

[Jennifer]

Jennifer, it's awesome to hear that you feel warmer and more energized, despite being on a lower dose! That's also interesting about the peeing more often and reduction in swelling–it sounds like improved water balance. Have you noticed any other changes?

When I first started using synthetic thyroid with a higher T3 ratio–which was the same day I replaced all my meat with milk–I began dropping all kinds of weight very fast, especially in my stomach. I'm not sure how much was fat vs water, but I definitely notice that my belly stays flatter than other men my age (30 y.o) and I have a lean face. When I was inflamed and eating a lot of meat, I had a puffy face.

It’s pretty crazy to me, Tyler. I didn’t expect it to work so fast and quite honestly, I almost expected it to bother me like it did my mum. The only other things I’ve noticed so far are faster elimination, better blood sugar control—I’ve been having 4 eggs in a sitting without crashing my sugars—and more stable energy. I increased my training last month and found that I needed a nap after my sessions, and it occurred to me today that I haven’t needed to nap the last two days.

That’s so interesting! Have you noticed since reducing your dose of T4 that you’re able to tolerate more fruit now without bloating?

 

[Cameron]

Saw this posted on longecity.org.

Pics in the article:

Meet Paul Roe - A 52 Year Old Vegan Who Looks Half His Age!

Paul Roe has been on a vegan diet since 1995 and is one of the youngest looking 50 year olds around. He claims his diet and strict sun avoidance is what keep him young. Or is he just a vampire?

www.crvitality.com

Comments?

Looks like ***t. He looks hypogonadal and autistic. Not my goal

 

[Vileplume]

It’s pretty crazy to me, Tyler. I didn’t expect it to work so fast and quite honestly, I almost expected it to bother me like it did my mum. The only other things I’ve noticed so far are faster elimination, better blood sugar control—I’ve been having 4 eggs in a sitting without crashing my sugars—and more stable energy. I increased my training last month and found that I needed a nap after my sessions, and it occurred to me today that I haven’t needed to nap the last two days.

That’s so interesting! Have you noticed since reducing your dose of T4 that you’re able to tolerate more fruit now without bloating?

Those sound like great improvements, especially since I can imagine switching thyroid brands (after you've done well with Tyromax) would cause uncertainty. I'm excited to hear about more of your observations as time goes on. Has your dad noticed any similar changes from the switch?

Since I reduced the T4, I do seem to be tolerating fruit better, or at least berries. I can eat up to like 30g of fiber a day from berries, with very minimal bloat. But I'm not sure if that's because of increased metabolism, or the fact that I removed carrots which had been causing constipation. The most noticeable change from higher T3 was the higher temps, as before I could never reach 98.6 at any point. My digestion is still very sensitive though: I had some leftover meat the other day that wiped out my temps and gave me some bad bloating. Even with the thyroid switch, my intestines still control my metabolism more than anything.

 

[Jennifer]

Those sound like great improvements, especially since I can imagine switching thyroid brands (after you've done well with Tyromax) would cause uncertainty. I'm excited to hear about more of your observations as time goes on. Has your dad noticed any similar changes from the switch?

Since I reduced the T4, I do seem to be tolerating fruit better, or at least berries. I can eat up to like 30g of fiber a day from berries, with very minimal bloat. But I'm not sure if that's because of increased metabolism, or the fact that I removed carrots which had been causing constipation. The most noticeable change from higher T3 was the higher temps, as before I could never reach 98.6 at any point. My digestion is still very sensitive though: I had some leftover meat the other day that wiped out my temps and gave me some bad bloating. Even with the thyroid switch, my intestines still control my metabolism more than anything.

I’m definitely running hotter. I’ve been sleeping with my legs out from under the covers at night. So far, my dad has also noticed more energy. I checked his temp after lunch today and it was 98.4° and his pulse is still in the low 60s so he’ll need to increase his dose. Because we’re now taking a 2:1 ratio instead a 4:1, I had us start off with the same amount of T3 we were getting with TyroMax and figured we would just increase the dose up if needed.

Ah, okay. Yes, it is difficult to know if you’re tolerating more fruit because of an increased metabolism or removing carrot from your diet. It’s interesting that meat lowers your temps and causes bloating. Muscle meat reliably lowered my temps and caused bloating but for reasons I’m still not sure of, scallops never did. Maybe because of all the glycine they contain? A few ounces of muscle meat and I was freezing, but a pound of scallops and I was hot.

 

[Vileplume]

I’m definitely running hotter. I’ve been sleeping with my legs out from under the covers at night. So far, my dad has also noticed more energy. I checked his temp after lunch today and it was 98.4° and his pulse is still in the low 60s so he’ll need to increase his dose. Because we’re now taking a 2:1 ratio instead a 4:1, I had us start off with the same amount of T3 we were getting with TyroMax and figured we would just increase the dose up if needed.

Ah, okay. Yes, it is difficult to know if you’re tolerating more fruit because of an increased metabolism or removing carrot from your diet. It’s interesting that meat lowers your temps and causes bloating. Muscle meat reliably lowered my temps and caused bloating but for reasons I’m still not sure of, scallops never did. Maybe because of all the glycine they contain? A few ounces of muscle meat and I was freezing, but a pound of scallops and I was hot.

Your dad is blessed to have you as a stand-in thyroid practitioner, one who knows how to appropriately and carefully adjust dosing. I'm in the midst of figuring out the dosing myself, and I think I'll need to increase like him.

Fascinating about scallops vs meat! I knew meat negatively affects your blood sugar, but I did not know that it made you bloated as well. This has happened to me multiple times now, so the connections seems very clear. I will have to try scallops. It could be the amino acids, and I've considered that the meat has higher levels of histamine? Leftover meat seems to affect me worse than fresh, although both seem negative. I'm not sure if the histamine concentrations are lower in scallops.

 

[Jennifer]

Your dad is blessed to have you as a stand-in thyroid practitioner, one who knows how to appropriately and carefully adjust dosing. I'm in the midst of figuring out the dosing myself, and I think I'll need to increase like him.

Fascinating about scallops vs meat! I knew meat negatively affects your blood sugar, but I did not know that it made you bloated as well. This has happened to me multiple times now, so the connections seems very clear. I will have to try scallops. It could be the amino acids, and I've considered that the meat has higher levels of histamine? Leftover meat seems to affect me worse than fresh, although both seem negative. I'm not sure if the histamine concentrations are lower in scallops.

Thank you. :) I understand. I’m still figuring out the dosing for myself, as well. I didn’t want to push things too quickly and end up triggering adrenaline, but it hasn’t been an issue and I’m currently at the T3 dose I was getting with TyroMax. I’m trying to keep it to physiologically appropriate amounts of T3—no more than 4 mcg an hour—so I started out taking a drop (3 mcg) every two hours and I’m now up to a drop every hour. It’s a bit annoying having to remember to take it so often, but it’s super easy to dose and it’s working so well that I’m motivated to keep dosing it this way, for now.

Yeah, I think because of the hypothyroidism causing chronic SIBO and gastritis, my gut was such a mess and my digestion really weak, at least, I assume it had to be weak for me to end up stuck on a fruitarian diet. Histamines could very well be a factor, sure. I was buying scallops and crab meat that were frozen soon after catch from Downeast Dayboat and Vital Choice and I just did a search for their histamine content and saw this posted on a mast cell blog:

“This is why I love that Vital Choice has a commitment to ethical practices and sustainable catch.

This means they don’t participate in poor working conditions. And they’re making sure they don’t overfish so there can still be seafood for generations to come.

Most of their fish is caught without nets. This significantly reduces the issues with whales, sharks, dolphins, sea turtles, and other endangered species getting caught in fishing nets.

They have a number of low histamine seafood options.

Their lowest histamine option is their King Salmon.

If you are very histamine intolerant, this is where I’d recommend starting.

King salmon is rich in many mast cell-supporting nutrients, like Omega 3s, Vitamin D, zinc, and heme-iron.

Here are all their lower histamine options:

• Salmon, (King Salmon)
• Cod , (Alaskan, Ling)
• Petrale Sole
• Mahi Mahi
• Haddock
• Chilean Sea Bass
• Scallops (Wild Atlantic, Wild Petit Patagonia, Wild Alaskan)
• Lobster
• Albacore Tuna

That’s a lot of great choices!

And you’ll notice that there is even a shellfish listed.

Typically shellfish are higher histamine. But these histamine levels have more to do with the processing of the fish rather than the fish itself.

These scallops are lower histamine because they are shucked and frozen very soon after catch. That makes a big difference in histamine levels.”

The Best Low Histamine Meat and Seafood Options – info for those with Mast Cell Activation Syndrome and Histamine Intolerance

In case you’re interested, here are links to Downeast Dayboat and Vital Choice:

Dayboat Scallops

Dayboat scallops are harvested on boats at sea for 24 hours or fewer. They represent roughly 7% of US sea scallops.

downeastdayboat.com

Wild-Caught Seafood, Fish, & Salmon Delivery | Vital Choice

Vital Choice is a trusted source for salmon delivery and organic seafood, with some of the world's finest wild-caught seafood delivery and organic salmon, harvested from well-managed wild fisheries.

www.vitalchoice.com

 

[Vileplume]

Thank you. :) I understand. I’m still figuring out the dosing for myself, as well. I didn’t want to push things too quickly and end up triggering adrenaline, but it hasn’t been an issue and I’m currently at the T3 dose I was getting with TyroMax. I’m trying to keep it to physiologically appropriate amounts of T3—no more than 4 mcg an hour—so I started out taking a drop (3 mcg) every two hours and I’m now up to a drop every hour. It’s a bit annoying having to remember to take it so often, but it’s super easy to dose and it’s working so well that I’m motivated to keep dosing it this way, for now.

Yeah, I think because of the hypothyroidism causing chronic SIBO and gastritis, my gut was such a mess and my digestion really weak, at least, I assume it had to be weak for me to end up stuck on a fruitarian diet. Histamines could very well be a factor, sure. I was buying scallops and crab meat that were frozen soon after catch from Downeast Dayboat and Vital Choice and I just did a search for their histamine content and saw this posted on a mast cell blog:

I hear you. If something is working, I will gladly take it every hour. It's really not that bad to just take a little piece of a tablet from your pocket, or drop it on your tongue. How many drops do you currently take per day? I'm at 60 mcg T4 and 40 mcg T3, and sometimes my T3 doses get up to 5-6 mcg at once. But like you, I prefer to have smaller and more physiological doses.

Sounds like you picked a great product and producer, just like you do with your fruit. For some reason, especially when I was carnivore, lamb always treated me better than beef, and ground buffalo was fine too. This might be related to histamine as well, as ground beef was guaranteed to make me bloated.

 

[Jennifer]

I hear you. If something is working, I will gladly take it every hour. It's really not that bad to just take a little piece of a tablet from your pocket, or drop it on your tongue. How many drops do you currently take per day? I'm at 60 mcg T4 and 40 mcg T3, and sometimes my T3 doses get up to 5-6 mcg at once. But like you, I prefer to have smaller and more physiological doses.

Sounds like you picked a great product and producer, just like you do with your fruit. For some reason, especially when I was carnivore, lamb always treated me better than beef, and ground buffalo was fine too. This might be related to histamine as well, as ground beef was guaranteed to make me bloated.

Exactly! I’m at 54 mcg of T4 and 27 mcg of T3. With TyroMax I was getting 114 mcg of T4 and 27 mcg of T3. I’ve been averaging 98.6°+ temps and a pulse of 85 and no adrenaline symptoms so I figure I’m at a good dose, but I won’t really know until the beginning of next month. If my period is late, I’ll know I need to up my dose. But how strange that ground buffalo treated you fine, while ground beef caused bloating. I’ve read that lamb is a low histamine food, but I thought buffalo and beef were high histamine because they’re aged, however, maybe buffalo isn’t aged? Unless you had a source of unaged meat?

 

[Vileplume]

Exactly! I’m at 54 mcg of T4 and 27 mcg of T3. With TyroMax I was getting 114 mcg of T4 and 27 mcg of T3. I’ve been averaging 98.6°+ temps and a pulse of 85 and no adrenaline symptoms so I figure I’m at a good dose, but I won’t really know until the beginning of next month. If my period is late, I’ll know I need to up my dose. But how strange that ground buffalo treated you fine, while ground beef caused bloating. I’ve read that lamb is a low histamine food, but I thought buffalo and beef were high histamine because they’re aged, however, maybe buffalo isn’t aged? Unless you had a source of unaged meat?

I actually said the wrong animal—it’s ground bison that seems to cause less inflammation. Still, I’m not certain enough that it’s better than beef to include it in my diet.

How’s it going with the Tyromix, Jennifer? I hope your temps and pulse have still been good. I’ve been slowly increasing my dose of cynoplus and cynomel, and I’m now at roughly 60 mcg T3 and 60 mcg T4, but my digestion is still a little troublesome. Fiber in general seems to be bothering me.

 

[Jennifer]

I actually said the wrong animal—it’s ground bison that seems to cause less inflammation. Still, I’m not certain enough that it’s better than beef to include it in my diet.

How’s it going with the Tyromix, Jennifer? I hope your temps and pulse have still been good. I’ve been slowly increasing my dose of cynoplus and cynomel, and I’m now at roughly 60 mcg T3 and 60 mcg T4, but my digestion is still a little troublesome. Fiber in general seems to be bothering me.

No worries, Tyler. I had a feeling you meant bison. :)

Thanks! :) Yep, my temps and pulse are still good, and my elimination has really sped up. I’m bummed to hear that despite increasing your dose, your digestion is still a little troublesome. As good as my digestion is, fiber is still iffy for me, too. I can only have so much of it before triggering a migraine and vomiting, except when it comes to the fiber in “overripe” bananas. Bananas have been treating me well. Raw milk, raw cottage cheese and juice/tisanes are still my most tolerated foods, though.

 

[Vileplume]

As good as my digestion is, fiber is still iffy for me, too. I can only have so much of it before triggering a migraine and vomiting, except when it comes to the fiber in “overripe” bananas. Bananas have been treating me well. Raw milk, raw cottage cheese and juice/tisanes are still my most tolerated foods, though.

Wow, I will have to pick up some ‘nanners next time I’m at the grocery store. I’ve noticed on my no-fiber days, my temperature is much higher.

 

[Jennifer]

Wow, I will have to pick up some ‘nanners next time I’m at the grocery store. I’ve noticed on my no-fiber days, my temperature is much higher.

How wild! All but the fiber in overripe bananas does the same to my temp. Meanwhile, I eat ice cream twice a day (after each training session) and I’m so warm I’m finally able to sweat, even in the dead of winter.

 

[aniciete]

How wild! All but the fiber in overripe bananas does the same to my temp. Meanwhile, I eat ice cream twice a day (after each training session) and I’m so warm I’m finally able to sweat, even in the dead of winter.

Did you find that most foods caused temperature drops when you were hypothyroid? The only time food doesn’t drop my temperature is in summer when it’s 80+ degrees outside. But in winter, even hot soup will just slightly make my hands warm for 5 minutes then it’s back to being ice cold.

Coincidentally, my TSH has gone from 2.5 to 1.8 while I keep getting colder. My hands and feet are ice cold all day except when I’m in bed with a lot of wool blankets. I’ve tried every food combination you could think of and it doesn’t have a lasting effect on my coldness.

 

[Jennifer]

Did you find that most foods caused temperature drops when you were hypothyroid? The only time food doesn’t drop my temperature is in summer when it’s 80+ degrees outside. But in winter, even hot soup will just slightly make my hands warm for 5 minutes then it’s back to being ice cold.

Coincidentally, my TSH has gone from 2.5 to 1.8 while I keep getting colder. My hands and feet are ice cold all day except when I’m in bed with a lot of wool blankets. I’ve tried every food combination you could think of and it doesn’t have a lasting effect on my coldness.

Yes! The only time my temp didn’t drop with food was when I was on a fruitarian diet. It was also the first time in my life that I didn’t wake during the night needing to pee. My mum said that even as a baby, I would soak through my diaper during the night. I think my experience lines up with Ray’s experience with a low-protein, fruit-based diet. He said he needed less thyroid. The problem is the diet is so deficient that done long-term, it destroyed my body. My experience with soup was the same as yours. Also, meat and starch. Starch would have me sweating while eating it and freezing within 15 minutes or so after finishing it. Not long after abandoning fruitarianism, I tested gelatin (salted fruit gummies) and it didn’t drop my temp or disturb my sleep.

One thing I found helpful was using a heating pad at my core. From my understanding, adrenaline cuts off circulation to the extremities to keep vital organs warm so using a heating pad at my core was effective for redirecting heat to my extremities. If I’m not mistaken, adrenaline can lower TSH so going by your cold extremities, I wonder if it’s adrenaline that lowered your TSH? That’s why I take TSH with a grain of salt. Also temps. So many times my temps would be 99°+, while my extremities, including my nose and ears, would be ice cold, which I assume is because adrenaline was keeping my core warm. You were thinking of getting TyroMax, right? Did you end up getting an alternative, since it has been out of stock?

 

[aniciete]

Also, meat and starch. Starch would have me sweating while eating it and freezing within 15 minutes or so after finishing it.

Same thing started happening to me too. Over summer I just didn’t notice it dropping my temperature because it was so hot outside.

If I’m not mistaken, adrenaline can lower TSH so going by your cold extremities, I wonder if it’s adrenaline that lowered your TSH? That’s why I take TSH with a grain of salt. Also temps. So many times my temps would be 99°+, while my extremities, including my nose and ears, would be ice cold, which I assume is because adrenaline was keeping my core warm. You were thinking of getting TyroMax, right? Did you end up getting an alternative, since it has been out of stock?

That makes sense to me, it perfectly lines up with my experience. Once the outside temps start dropping I will start shaking uncontrollably, especially if I feel nervous. I recently visited my father and it hovers in the mid 80s where he lives and I could finally relax once I was there. As soon as I come back I’m freezing and food doesn’t do much to fix it.

I actually ordered cynoplus and i just got it in the mail a couple days ago. I’ve been somewhat hesitant but I think trying it will be necessary to fix my long list of symptoms.

 

[Apple]

Did you find that most foods caused temperature drops when you were hypothyroid? The only time food doesn’t drop my temperature is in summer when it’s 80+ degrees outside. But in winter, even hot soup will just slightly make my hands warm for 5 minutes then it’s back to being ice cold.

Coincidentally, my TSH has gone from 2.5 to 1.8 while I keep getting colder. My hands and feet are ice cold all day except when I’m in bed with a lot of wool blankets. I’ve tried every food combination you could think of and it doesn’t have a lasting effect on my coldness.

Have you ever tried keto diet , lots of fat , minimum starch/sugar, no milk ... it takes me 2- 3 days when the temp starts increasing .

 

[aniciete]

Have you ever tried keto diet , lots of fat , minimum starch/sugar, no milk ... it takes me 2- 3 days when the temp starts increasing .

No but I have tried high fat and “low” carb. Fat from tallow, eggs, coconut oil, etc. It made me sleepy and too skinny.

 

[Jennifer]

Same thing started happening to me too. Over summer I just didn’t notice it dropping my temperature because it was so hot outside.

That makes sense to me, it perfectly lines up with my experience. Once the outside temps start dropping I will start shaking uncontrollably, especially if I feel nervous. I recently visited my father and it hovers in the mid 80s where he lives and I could finally relax once I was there. As soon as I come back I’m freezing and food doesn’t do much to fix it.

I understand. I used to stay on my back deck in the sun for hours each day just so I could warm up, which was awesome for my Casper complexion lol. And then there was the grocery store. It used to take me a good 10 minutes before I could bring myself to leave the warm cocoon of my car to do groceries. What’s insane is I actually climbed mountains in negative degree temps and 40+ mph winds in that hypo state.

I actually ordered cynoplus and i just got it in the mail a couple days ago. I’ve been somewhat hesitant but I think trying it will be necessary to fix my long list of symptoms.

I understand. It took me almost suffocating to death before I would finally supplement thyroid and even then, I would only do a natural glandular. I had read some disturbing accounts here and didn’t want to be dependent on a supplement, but I had exhausted every diet and lifestyle hack I could think of over a 10 year period and supplementing thyroid turned out to be one of the best decisions I made for my health. I actually feel like part of the living now, especially with the synthetic form.

 

[Apple]

No but I have tried high fat and “low” carb. Fat from tallow, eggs, coconut oil, etc. It made me sleepy and too skinny.

too skinny - not enough calories
sleepy - you might've been eating some fruit/sugars that got fermented into alcohol or lactic acid leading to endotoxin overload.
Or adrenal insufficiency...
Barnes also began to believe that virtually all his hypothyroid patients had concomitant undiagnosed adrenal insufficiency. Based on this speculation, he routinely prescribed an accompanying dose of the synthetic corticosteroid prednisone.

 

[Vileplume]

How wild! All but the fiber in overripe bananas does the same to my temp. Meanwhile, I eat ice cream twice a day (after each training session) and I’m so warm I’m finally able to sweat, even in the dead of winter.

Thanks for the tip about bananas, Jennifer. I bought some regular bananas from Trader Joe’s, let them ripen, and ate a few today. To my surprise, they didn’t cause any bloating. Although I think coffee has started to give me trouble again…

I notice you only list nam wah and mysore bananas in your food list. Do you not do as well with regular grocery store bananas, like cavendish? I picked up those and baby bananas (or lady finger).