People love to get some cold, hard facts. In fact, after the prequel to this post was put up, someone immediately voiced a desire to have some ?hard data? coming up in this post. Well, I hate to disappoint you, but the complex interactions that take place in an individual’s body often defy conventional wisdom and data that is, like L.L. Cool J, ?as hard as steel.
Let’s look at a real life example. A woman in her 20’s contacted me because of some serious emotional ups and downs and some general feelings of fatigue. Stuff like, you know, getting to work, staring at her desk for a minute or two, and then bursting into uncontrollable crying fits. My first question was, ?are you urinating more frequently??
The answer was yes, so she ordered a refractometer, and began closely monitoring her urine. After a week, she sent me some refractometer data?
Dec 8th:
- 6am= 5
- 730am= 4
- 9:40am= 4.5
- 11:00am= 2
- 12:00 pm = 2
- 1:05pm= 1
- 2:30pm= 2
- 4:30pm= 3.5
- 6:00= 0
- 7:00 = 0
Dec 9th:
- 4:00am = 4
- 6:30am= 4
- 8:30am= 4
- 9:30= 1
- 10:15am= 0
- 11:45= 2.5
- 3:00= 6
- 5:30= 0
Dec 12th:
- 7:30a= 3
- 9:00am= 1
- 10:30= 0
- 1:00p= 2
- 3:20= 3
- 6:00= 1.5
- 8:00= 1
As you can see, there are some dramatic fluctuations, and she is hitting 0 at least once per day, if not twice. This probably explains why she is having unexplained emotional meltdowns at frequent intervals that don’t seem to have much to do with anything situational.
I helped her change?a few things that prevented these crashes. Emotionally she saw significant improvements. But there was a problem?
She had an extremely heavy period, and broke out with bruises all over her body. She has a long history of battling anemia and was diagnosed by a doctor as having dangerously low iron levels. This was most likely caused by a combination of some pretty harsh restricted dieting in her past (very low-carb), and a combination of marathon running and lots of hiking/cycling/skiing and other forms of long-duration, strenuous exercise. While all this activity keeps her body looking very fit and attractive by modern standards, this caused several health problems to surface (night sweats, autoimmune disease, deadly food allergies, loss of period for a year or so ? and of course this chronic battle with anemia). She made big improvements by ditching the low-carb diet ? autoimmune disease and loss of period have resolved themselves just fine. But exercise is still a big part of her life.
Hard-training athletes, and female athletes in particular, are particularly susceptible to developing anemia. This is not a news flash. It’s well known. From an article entitled ?Athletes and Iron Deficiency Anemia??
Iron deficiency is a common problem for women athletes. Studies have routinely found that athletes, especially female athletes, are often iron-deficient or anemic. Iron is essential for athletic performance. One of its major functions is to carry oxygen to and carbon dioxide away from all the cells in your body. The brain also relies on oxygen transport and without enough iron you will find it hard to concentrate and feel tired and irritable. Iron is also needed to maintain a healthy immune system. If you don’t have enough iron you may be prone to more frequent infections.
Athletes and Iron Deficiency A combination of the following factors place athletes at risk of iron deficiency:
- Inadequate supply of dietary iron. Athletes who avoid red meat have difficulty meeting the body’s iron needs.
- Increased demands for iron. Hard training stimulates an increase in red blood cell and blood vessel production, and increases the demand for iron. (Iron turnover is highest for endurance athletes training at high intensity).
- High iron loss. Blood loss through injury, or menstruation. In endurance athletes, ?foot strike? damage to red blood cells in the feet due to running on hard surfaces with poor quality shoes leads to iron loss. Finally, because iron is lost in sweat, heavy sweating leads to increased risk of deficiency.
Symptoms The symptoms of iron deficiency include loss of endurance, chronic fatigue, high exercise heart rate, low power, frequent injury, recurring illness, and loss of interest in exercise and irritability. Other symptoms include poor appetite, and increased incidence and duration of colds and infections.
The question is, what the hell caused her to break out with bruises and have a heavy period (both signs of low platelet formation)?? To be on the safe side, we decided to cut out gluten temporarily. That was one thing she had changed recently ? as I encouraged her to eat calorie-dense carbohydrate-rich foods with a low water content to prevent the crashes on the refractometer. Stuff like cookies, waffles, and banana bread for example. Gluten is thought to have the potential to interfere with iron absorption. It couldn’t hurt to err on the safe side.
However, I suspect this change had a lot more to do with something else ? a large increase in her sugar intake. I, as well as many others, have noted that while eating more sugar, fruit, and fruit juice especially (she was sipping grape juice throughout the day), that it is very common to start having increased bruising and bleeding gums. Why this is, I don’t fully understand. In theory, eating more vitamin C from fruit and juice should decrease bruising and bleeding gums, but in real life it seems to have the opposite effect. Fortunately, after suffering from bleeding gums for most of 2011, since I started toying around with a high sugar intake (never very severe though), I am eating craploads of sugar, juice, and fruit with absolutely no gum bleeding at all anymore. So obviously there is more to the picture, but it is an interesting observation nonetheless.
Of course, sugar doesn’t CAUSE bleeding gums, or heavy periods, or easy bruising per se (a young kid just cleared up bleeding and bruising issues eating an ice-cream based diet), a physical state in the body leads to these outwardly symptoms. And something about sugar, or fruit, or juice, or all of the above seems to be capable of triggering some changes leading to that. In some people. In some contexts.
There’s ?irony? there in terms of anemia, because fruit and juice is very rich in vitamin C. And vitamin C is supposed to increase iron absorption. Iron, irony? wow that’s awesome to use both in such close proximity. I just high-fived myself in a public place. I would be embarrassed but the guy sitting next to me is wearing stone-washed denim with holes in the knees and a multi-colored velvet jacket ? in Florida. And off to my left a scary looking woman with black lipstick is yelling at someone about Jesus? ?THERE ARE NO BUTS!!!!? So I’m good. Totally under the radar.
Whether relevant or not, I did find a very interesting article (from Florida) about research showing how harmful vitamin C can be in terms of increasing oxidative damage precisely because of its interaction with iron ? so it’s not too far out of the realm of possibility that her increased intake of vitamin C via more fruit and grape juice (fortified with vitamin C) played a role in all this too ? aside from the sugar?
If you have a bruise, a muscle sprain, an inflammatory disease or if you take iron supplements, exceeding 100 mg per day of vitamin C may be damaging to your body, according to a study by University of Florida researchers.
That’s because all of those conditions produce free iron, which reacts negatively with vitamin C in much the same way that the iron on bicycles and fences reacts with water and oxygen.
?You will rust inside, so to speak,? said Christiaan Leeuwenburgh, the senior author and an assistant professor in UF’s department of exercise and sport sciences.
In a study published this month in the journal Free Radical Biology and Medicine, several UF researchers worked with renowned vitamin C expert Barry Halliwell to test the effects of vitamin C and N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC, another water-soluble antioxidant) at the cellular level.
In this study, the researchers began with the hypothesis that vitamin C and NAC would speed the recovery of a muscle injury because of their anti-oxidant properties and ability to reach damaged cells quickly. Fourteen healthy men volunteered to have one of their arms injured by a machine that ruptured their bicep muscles and created swelling. Researchers then gave half of them a placebo and the other half a drink supplemented with about 700 mg of vitamin C and 800 mg of NAC.
?Initially, the vitamin C and NAC were given to prevent the injury, because we thought they?d have protective effects,? Leeuwenburgh said. ?Instead, they were damaging.
Anyway, no grand conclusions here as usual. Just food for thought. And this is a huge can of worms we’re opening here. It’s a very complex subject. But fixing it isn’t complex. Her bruises went away within a couple of weeks, and she held onto the improvements in her refractometer readings.
On the topic of anemia specifically (which may or may not have something to do directly with this bleeding and bruising issue), anemia rarely 
has anything to do directly with iron intake, vitamin C intake, or otherwise. Take for example that all 34 men in Ancel Keys’s starvation study developed anemia even though they were getting plenty of iron and vitamin C.
In my experience, the formation of hemoglobin and red blood cells and platelets and the building of overall blood volume and all that healthy blood stuff is facilitated much more by the calorie than any micronutrient, but only due to its exertion on the metabolism. This woman, as expected, has low T3 levels. So anemia will probably persist until that changes. The author of the anemia/athlete article posted above is probably not realizing that this is the connection to endurance athletes – as endurance exercise is really rough on T3. Endurance athletes in particular are often in a chronic energy deficit as this article describes.
Shockingly, her doctor told her to stop all exercise. I’m so proud. It’s one of the few things of any intelligence that I’ve ever heard uttered by a medical doctor (although I wasn’t there to confirm it? the only things I’ve directly heard from a medical doctor are? ?Pull your pants down,? ?Turn your head and cough,? ?We?re going to have to operate,? ?Take these antibiotics,? ?No that mysterious fever and liver pains you got after all 3 hepatitus B vaccinations couldn’t have been from the vaccine,? and ?Your weight is a little too high, stop eating so much.)? This is a big improvement over the last doctor she went to, who’told her she had cancer and removed one of her ovaries, then told her it had come back with a vengeance and it was time for a full hysterectomy. Turns out later, she didn’t have cancer at all, and never did. PUNK?D!!!
Awesome post. Very rare for an MD to say something negative about exercise!
I know! This gives me hope!
Hey Mateo,
Overseas- not participating much, but I do still read. Seems like you’re learning a lot working with folks one on one. Right on, hombre.
We miss ya buddy. Enjoy that rice!
Wow, I can’t believe I was so lucky to stumble upon this article today. I suffer from this exact problem so badly. Thank you for the info!
Where in the world is Rob a?
SE Asia, sucka!
Dude! What ya doing in SE Asia? I wanna be there!
great success! ill pay you a million dollars if you can cure my anxiety and gut issues!!
Hey man. I don’t do nothin’. I just dish out a few idears. And then see what happens. Using nutrition for real health problems is just a matter of making a best guess, rolling the dice, and seeing what happens. Totally trial and error. Then read biofeedback and repeat, marking things off the list as you bump along trying new things. Each person is a unique mystery. But the solutions are usually really simple. Finding those solutions often isn’t simple at all though!
who you callin man??
You. Calling a woman “man” is fun. Richard Prior did it in Superman III, and I watched that movie many times at a very impressionable age.
well that makes it ok then. I am very much a woman though :)
RRARF+(-FODMAPS)+GLUTAMINE=Good #2 ? =D
Is that like the E=MC2 of bowel movements or something?
I have actually been coming to the same conclusion myself over the past year or so. And not just FODMAPS. Any kind of resistant starches. And actually, you can have refined sugars and flours in the diet and still have healthy #2s as long as the proportion doesn’t get too high. I’m not sure about the glutamine though. Which foods is that found in?
Oh wait… are you saying not to have FODMAPS? I can’t tell by your notation. Now I’m confused.
Glutamine is just a regular ol’ protein I think found in a lot of stuff but it can be bought as a supplement. I was just bein silly. Reason I included it is beeecause, lots of “health” dudes/peeps suggest taking it while recovering from “leaky gut syndrome”. Same peeps tellin u to take a spoonful of Udo’s oil err day. Perhaps it could have benefits idk. Never tried. Just to throw it out there, I have only have had about 3 1/2 IBS episodes since piggin out so far. Never called it IBS before though, always contributed it to gluten and lactose.
I had anemia before. It’s an incredibly debilitating state to be in. And I was 20 as well. Youth misspent!
It was really DEB ill-itating.
Irony iron! haha.
Oh the irony :)
Matt,
don’t want to throw four-letter words around, but when you read that guy P**t and his thoughts on iron, he practically dismisses anemia as being iron-deficiency induced. Also he thinks that blood losses during menstruation are negligible and indicates low thyroid as the usual suspect.
http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/iron-dangers.shtml
Peat totally gets it. As he does most things. The only thing he lacks is the ability to achieve his objectives in a practical sense and roundhouse evildoers.
Take for example a man I spoke with 3 days ago. He has been following Peat with extreme fervor for 13 months. During that time his TSH has risen, his body temperature falls to 97.1 during the day despite gaining quite a bit of body fat, and he is now suffering from severe cold hands and feet. Ray doesn’t want to see any of those things, yet this guy is struggling with all of them 13 months in, and it’s getting worse. But I helped him fix that in 24 hours. His temp is up to 98.4 and hands and feet are warm. He was just making one simple, but very significant mistake that was causing this – which was ruining all of Peat’s other good ideas. Any guesses?
don’t know, eating less than he should be, or avoiding starches?
I am struggling to push over 97.5 as well, any help appreciated. I eat starch, hope that’s something else :)
He was drinking 2-3 quarts of milk per day and a quart of orange juice. Too much liquid. Just eating solid food and not so much liquid that he was urinating frequently made a world of difference.
I drink 2 quarts a day, milk and OJ combined, some sugared coffee (2 cups most days) and almost no water and don’t urinate frequently… but can try cutting back on liquids and add solids anyway. Thanks
I had chronically low hemoglobin for years, but my serum ferritin levels were normal. My previous doctor had me taking iron supplements, until I complained that my mouth tasted like rusty nails (not that I’ve ever eaten rusty nails) after just a few days. So she had the lab run an extra test and it turns out I’m carrying a genetic trait (Alpha Thalassaemia minor) that limits my ability to make hemoglobin.
This trait is found in populations with from parts of the world (Middle East, Southeast Asia, up through the Med.) where malaria was once common and is one of those left over survival traits that can kill you if you carry two copies of the gene, but offered protection from certain diseases with one.
Anyway, the point is, if you’re already eating a good diet and people are pushing iron on you because your hemoglobin is low (hello, Red Cross donor clinic people!), have this angle checked out. Too much iron is definitely not a good thing.
Very interesting Rhoda. Thanks!
hmm so I guess those multivitamin supplements that combine iron and vitamin C might be harmful.
Herbalist has an n-1:
Nettle infusions. 1-2 quarts a week. Brought my ferritin up to “perfect” according to M.D.’s standard. Decreased menstrual bleeding from 6-7 days down to 3-4. NO CRAMPS. I have to sustain a pretty good knock these days to develop a bruise.
I also recovered from a starved state in my early twenties and the anemia was the last bump in the road.
Thanks Anna. That’s quite the hefty amount of Nettle!
Not really – works out to about 4 mugs a week, if that. For maintenance, I just do a couple of quarts surrounding that “special” week.
Hey, Anna,
Yeah, I thought of nettles, too, when I heard about heavy menstrual bleeding and bruising. Then again, I tend to run all of these diet and supplement ideas through the Susun-Weed-o-meter in my head (“what would Susun do?”). Glad to see it the nettles worked for you!
Nettles work! :D All other conventional “raise your ferritin” suggestions failed: iron supplements, eat red meat & vitamin C sources together, etc. Nettles contain a balanced ration of calcium & magnesium, too, which helps with bone strength.
I should warn the ladies that they may drop HUGE clots in the first two or three cycles. That’s why we cramp – because the uterus is clogged up! I think it happens so often with undernourishment b/c the body is “holding on to what its got”, just like weight/fat stores. When the assimilable sources are provided in abundance, then the body lets go of the excess.
Anna, this sounds like a great idea for me. Where do you get the nettles, and what is your procedure for making the infusion. I’ve seen a few recipes online, but wonder specifically what it is you do.
Thanks in advance :)
Mitzi –
I roughly follow Susun Weed’s directions (there is a YouTube video). About half a cup of dried nettle leaf to 1 quart mason jar. Add a bit of peppermint for taste. Pour boiling water over and let steep for a couple of hours. Strain well. If you don’t drink it all in one day, the infusion will keep in the fridge for two-three days. Best herbal supply place I’ve found for price & quality is Mountain Rose Herbs. A pound of nettles will last you a couple months. :-)
Thanks so much, Anna!! I definitely need to look into this. Sounds like it could be just the ticket for me.
Should add, drink a quart just before and during your period. Cramps-be-gone!
Anna, you are an angel. Thank you!
I have the mega-size bag of nettles from Mountain Rose Herbs in my pantry. Been too lazy lately (ahem OK busy) to whip up the infusion.
Getting back to it tomorrow; my monthly visitor is almost here!
Just ordered my nettle. Can’t wait for a cramp free period! Haven’t had one of those since my raw vegan days.
Thanks again, Anna :)
What brand and/or recipe for gluten-free cookies and waffles did you recommend for her? Most of the brands I see are have some sort of seed oil in them (high amounts of n-3 / n-6).
I don’t know of any. I just suggested that she start making pancakes and muffins and stuff out of buckwheat flour, or spelt, or a combination of the two.
spelt is a variety of wheat and does contain gluten, though probably less than wheat
and spelt is probably better tolerated by most people
Yeah I know. This person was not gluten free before she had this problem, but just started eating a lot more wheat that could have at least played a role in the sudden appearance of the bruises. I didn’t really intend for her to go totally gluten free, or for this to be permanent.
Hi Matt-
I recently purchased your diet recovery book, and started out with zeal. I’m now confused, though- should I be doing this RBTI now too? I think my thyroid and adrenals are low, and I’m very frustrated and scared…
No. There are certain fundamentals of RBTI that may be useful to you. Keeping sugar levels from crashing is very good for thyroid and adrenals, increasing metabolism, keeping hands and feet nice and toasty, balancing emotions, etc. But you don’t need to “do RBTI” to take advantage of those principles. Not at all.
Why are you frustrated and scared? And what health problems are you dealing with specifically, if any?
I have been experiencing thyroid issues: dry skin, cold hands and feet, low blood sugar issues, bloating in face and eyes, etc. I gained about 10 lbs. for no real reason, have food cravings, and I’m tired a lot. I know I need to cut back on the exercise, but I’ve been working out about 5 times per week for as long as I can remember- it’s hard to stop! I’m scared because I’ve been experiencing these symptoms for the past few years, and I feel like I’m slowly getting worse. I honestly thought these were all symptoms of getting older, I’m 32, but your site and research has given me hope!
Melissa,
I was like you until very recently. I was working out 7x a week for ~9 months straight…then went down to 6x until a few weeks ago. Then I was advised to take a week off (which turned to two weeks) and it’s been incredible. My coldness/dizzness went away (I actually got really warm), my cravings subsided a bit as I ate to appetite of good food (I admit I still wouldn’t turn down a pizza if it was in front of me…HAHA). I know it’s harrd…I never thought I would take one week off, let alone two. My advice to you…take a week off and stuff yourself with good food. :) Good luck! Remember…rest is perhaps the biggest part of any exercise program. It took me a year to realize it.
You should be able to clear up those problems. Let us know if you are having any problems.
A buckwheat and rice flour combo (half and half) make an awesome pancake. A cup of milk or your choice of liquid, an egg, a small hunk of coconut oil, a few Tbs of sweetening (doesn’t matter what kind), not quite a tsp of baking powder and a pinch of salt. Stir in dry ingredients until you achieve a batter for either thin or thick pancakes, your choice. You can mix the wet ingredients in a blender and then just add the dry ingredients. If mixing by hand, you should melt the coconut oil for easier mixing. A hand blender works great too. Top it off with some really dark pure maple syrup! Buckwheat strengthens arterial walls to help prevent bruising.
I second the buckwheat/rice flour pancakes. Just made some of those for my husband who is gluten-free and MAN were they good. I add kefir to make ’em taste like buttermilk pancakes.
I was anemic after I had my kid and iron has always been an issue for me no matter how much red meat I eat. I still bruise easily (I’m celebrating the three year anniversary of my permabruise) and bleeding gums have been an issue off and on (seem to be good now, regardless of fructose intake). What really peaked my interest was this: “and increased incidence and duration of colds and infections.” That has been me for the last year. I have had so many viruses and infections its not even funny. My doc actually refused to give me more antibiotics last summer because I’d taken so many earlier in the year. (Hey, what do you know, the second sensible thing said by a physician of someone on this board! Yep, she’s a keeper.) Over Christmas my started pestering me to get my thyroid tested because she developed thyroid issues around this time. I just assumed it was another veiled attempt to comment on my weight gain (we’re passive aggressive like that), but maybe there’s somethin’ to it?
BTW, I have struggled to go gluten-free but never managed. I hated it so much I just figured I’d rather have the damn bruise. I also eat buckwheat pancakes once a week and have done for years.
This whole iron thing is pretty interesting. Just a few days ago I found Antony Colpo’s site and he reckons iron is nasty stuff and causes heart disease and all the rest of it, via its ability to promote oxidation. He recommends getting your iron down way low, and described how he went on a brutal 6 month cycle of regular blood donations to get it down to the minimum recommended level to avoid anemia.
So I guess my question is Matt, what’s your take on this whole iron story? You think men should be aiming for a low iron level like Colpo says?
Also, reading through some of his old posts I enjoyed his massive beef-off with Martin Berkhan, who you often sing the praises of. Assuming you followed the spat, what was your verdict?
And more generally, what do you make of this guy Colpo? Is he the real deal? Should I be spending valuable internet time on his site, or would it be better spent elsewhere? (other than 180degreehealth and the porn sites of course, whose allocations are ring-fenced and not up for negotiation)
I didn’t follow the Berkhan/Colpo deal. I like both because they are both pretty level-headed, seem like relatively normal guys that aren’t freaks or extremeists but are trying to live a normal life in normal society. They are both good writers. Some of Colpo’s writing seems to be pretty devoid of substance though for some reason. Like he’s not really saying anything, but whatever he is saying he is saying it in a colorful and entertaining way.
As for iron, it’s probably good to be on the low side. Excess iron is a problem. But insufficient iron is an even bigger problem.
Appreciate the quick reply Matt. Yeah Colpo has a colorful writing style as you say, but a lot of his posts do seem to be beef-offs with someone or other, rather than presenting new ideas etc. But to be honest, there’s plenty of people doing that already (and perhaps none better than your good self) and I think he does fill a useful niche in the blogosphere on calling people out on their bullshit and getting stuck into them with hard facts, in a way that both informs and entertains the average punter like myself.
There’s a lot of conflicting information out there and its good to have someone like Colpo not afraid to take people to task, including some big hitters who other self-styled guv’nors don’t dare tackle (I’m thinking of one such Paleo “guv’nor” in particular who reckons he’s a bit tasty cos he picks on a few vegans, but shys away from ever criticising his fellow Paleos). From just quickly glancing through a few of Colpo’s posts its clear he’s been in the wars and taken quite a few notable scalps down the years. I like the cut of his jib but I just wanted to run it by you first before I spend too much time reading his stuff in case he’s full of BS.
Matt, you’ve been stuck on a mountain for 3 weeks and you finally get back to civilization and find a computer with internet access. But you’ve only got 30 minutes and for some reason the blasted computer can only access two websites, Berkhans or Colpo’s. Which one do you check first?
Berkhan’s. No question. He is doing things his own way and blazing his own path. And he makes me think about things and challenges some of my own beliefs. Colpo seems more like an entertainer to me. They are both borderline anorexics with extreme leanness fetishes though. That I can’t take all that seriously. Or develop too large of a man-crush on.
Liking your use of “guv’nor.” I may have to steal that sometime.
Anna- How does one make nettle tea? Where do you get the nettles?
My grandparents often gave us nettle soup (it was nice!) and I spent my childhood trying to avoid their vicious sting in the fields. :)
Matt – You are right on with the T3/iron connection. In fact, many doctors recommend getting iron stores up to a certain level before commencing thyroid, as otherwise people can’t tolerate thyroid. However, it’s a bit of a catch 22 as when iron is low the body does not want to absorb thyroid and when thyroid is low, the body basically dumps iron. Gah!
So if Vitamin C is bad news for anaemia, should one just take iron alone? I find this very confusing!
Yeah, the vitamin C part probably shouldn’t have been thrown in, but it was interesting. I was too eager to point out that all this vitamin supplementation isn’t just “safe and natural,” but can have consequences. I don’t think taking vitamin C in any kind of unnatural quantity is a good idea. It’s not necessary or helpful for anemia because it has nothing to do with the root cause of most people’s anemia. That’s all I really wanted to bring to the forefront in this post.
So have you read into that Linus Pauling theory stuff?
random:
abram hoffer supposedly curing schizophrenia with niacin
Still have John Gabriel emails from a subscription made a long time ago. He has recently came out with a reversing diabetes visualization audio do-dad. I’m gonna put some headphones on my mom while she’s sleepin LAWLZ
I know the basics of Linus Pauling and a little Hoffer too.
Haha, feel free!
Lynn – see my reply above to Mitzi. Use dried nettles sold in bulk.
Anna – Where do you get the dried nettle leaves?
Matt – I get what you are saying, but without enough iron, the body actually downregulates its thyroid production! Of course, optimal thyroid is needed to prevent anaemia too, so it’s a vicious circle where one has to get their iron up somehow. Supplementing iron does that and it can be necessary in such situations.
I think the nettle soup idea is a healthy idea, but if that doesn’t work, one has to get out of this vicious cycle somehow. Sometimes, eating the food is not enough.
I’ve been eating the food for over a year now and I FEEL good, have cured my insulin resistance and don’t deal with hunger or cravings. However, my basals are still craptastic and my thyroid antibodies are still way high. So sometimes, one has to find another way, besides resting and eating good food.
I’m off to look for nettles now!
Gotcha Lynn. But I don’t know anybody that doesn’t eat enough iron. Iron is very abundant and easy to come by, it seems.
Hi Matt- Sorry, this has nothing to do with the topic, but there was no other place on your site that I could find to get the questions that I have answered except here…Anyhow, I want to order your books, but they all say ebooks, even when ordered separately. I do not want ebooks, I need the hardcovers (or paperbacks). Are they available and if so, how much? And are any of the books in your store hardcover or paperback? Thx.
None are hardcover or paperback. Of course you can print them out if you need to. Many do this. I can mail you a bound, printed copy of Diet Recovery if you like. My email address is sacredself@gmail.com if you want to send me your shipping address.
Thanks so much for the prompt response, I appreciate it. Funny, “Diet Recovery” is the first copy of book that I wanted…interested in everything- even the hour phone call possibly, but just not sure where to start. Found out about you last night at a WAPF meeting and been perusing your site since. Hungry for all of your info. on losing weight, getting healthy, etc., took my temperature this morning (96.7- Yikes), but don’t have a clue where to start with your program. Would def. love to get the printed copy of DR, so I will email you my address…thanks again…
You can go to a place like kinkos (or whoever owns them now) and they can print and bind an ebook for you so that it is book-like. It’s also great for getting regular bound books spiral bound so they lie flat- we have done that with some cookbooks.
My nettles are free. I pick young nettles in the spring before they flower. Bring them home and dry them on clean towels overnight. Put them in a brown paper bag to store. You can make green powder in a blender if you like. Pigweed is another good source of iron.
Hi,
Longtime lurker here, first post…
Back in the early 80’s, us girls learned in health class not to take aspirin with orange juice for period pain, because it would make the bleeding heavier… They just didn’t tell us why, but now I know!
Re. nettle powder, I put it into pancake batter, soups etc. It doesn’t have much taste and is even quilte pleasant. I don’t use it for the iron, but for its counter-allergenic properties, cf. Susun Weed. Don’t know if it works yet…
This thread is pretty interesting and I just wanted to throw some more stuff into the mix…not all vitamin c is created equal. Ascorbic acid has been found to interfere with iron absorption, but not so with the natural state sources (acerola, etc). I switched from megadoses of ascorbic acid to much smaller doses of whole food c supplements, occasional juicing, and the food sources, and I have seen amazing results – I seem to always avoid or have incredibly light versions of the infections going around the last 6 months or so.
I also complained about severe period symptoms to my massage therapist recently and she suggested iron supplementation BEFORE onset of menses rather than after like I was doing – worked like a charm – shorter, lighter, no pain, no chills, less moody. Who knew?
Also, following a traditionally defined gluten free diet the last 8 yrs helped significantly with PMS, mood, fatigue, skin, sinus, and digestive issues for awhile – i am confirmed gluten intolerant – but things have ever so gradually deteriorated the past few years. Food allergies, congestion, gall bladder problems, mood swings, and now persistent numbness and tingling, blown off by my doc after a quick neuro exam.
So, I started to dig up research on gluten again…seems that most gluten containing grains have now been confirmed to cause the damaging reactions and secondary diseases that barley wheat and rye are known for, and against my fervent hopes, removing the corn rice and oats seem to be the key. I still hope I might heal my gut completely someday, but for now, it looks like gluten – all gluten – is a health-wrecker for me. This is not all bad. I learned to cook. I like and eat more whole foods than I ever thought possible – like rapini, eggs, and fresh juice for breakfast! I stopped taking a one a day so I wouldn’t have an excuse to eat candy all day. I use some of the RBTI stuff I learned here on this site – for instance: variety, baby! If it’s about getting all those minerals, then grain just ain’t a good use of my time or teeth for getting them, especially if it’s shutting down my digestive process.
Hi Cynthia,
Corn, rice and oats all contain gluten? I thought they were all gluten free grains. I know we need to watch out for the oats that are contaminated with wheat, but even the grains labeled gluten free? I’d love to get your thoughts on this since you mentioned doing research on it. I eat a lot of maize, squash and beans and have had gluten intolerance in the past, so I would hate to think corn can cause a problem. Plus, I read that Doc Reams found corn to be very high in minerals. Not sure if this is true. I have just recently discovered jasmine rice(love it!) and would hate to give it up. Gluten intolerance has made it quite a challenge for me in the past to stay eating a vegetarian diet and though I never digested rice really well, I just assumed it was due to having a weak digestion. There’s just only so many eggs and dairy a person can tolerate before enough is enough! Good thing I do really well with beans.:-)Thank you so much for any info you can pass along!
Blessings,
Jennifer
Reams found that corn COULD be high in minerals, not necessarily that it was. Low-brix corn is something like 6 and high Brix corn can go into the 20’s. But who knows if this is truly a foolproof sign of higher mineral content?
Hi Jennifer,
Yes, to my utter dismay, it turns out that most true grains contain gluten, and that the research base for the current medical definition of “gluten” is very old. Many people following a gluten free diet according to medical terms have still been unable to heal or still develop secondary diseases, and recent research indicates gluten sensitive individuals are reacting to the glutens in corn, rice, oats and other grains as well. I first read about it here:
http://www.adventuresofaglutenfreemom.com/2011/08/cyrex-labs-array-4-gluten-associated-cross-reactive-foods/
and then found more info about it here
http://www.viddler.com/DocOsborne/videos/11/
and from research publicized by Gluten Free Society News.
Mercola just published an article on grains recently…there are a couple of others that explain why we crave foods we are sensitive to…I can’t list all of the sources here – maybe I can try to put an article on my blog that puts everything I’ve found together in one place. I don’t espouse any particular plan for everyone, but I could share what I’ve deduced for myself so far.
I so want to just ETF! as Matt says, but it seems that means everything except gluten for me. This is because my body is now talking so loudly I can’t ignore it. It’s very simple and yet so difficult – at first. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Use your intuition. Be your own authority. I could never be vegetarian, like you said – eggs get old. But I eat more veg than most vegetarians I know, and I get support for making great food from all of the cooks and folks out there sharing recipes for the great food they make without grain. The grain free living site can be a good place to start – they have a list of what is a grain and what is not.
Good luck!
@Matt thanks for clarifying. So your saying it could even be questionable if a higher brix reading really indicates a higher mineral content? I’ve been trying to go by how sweet a food tastes and thought that the sweeter it was the higher the mineral content would be (In it’s whole food form of course). Oh well, I’ll just stick to ETF and not worry about it. Got to love that min-col! :-)
@Cynthia thanks for that information. I will have to take a look at it. I can say that I haven’t had any problems with corn or oats and the rice is still questionable. I guess if I’m not having a problem with it I won’t worry about it. Like you suggest I’ll just listen to my body. I know what you mean about the vegetables. Most of my diet is fruits and veggies. I just love them and can’t get enough!:-) I’m just trying hard to stick to meatless because of personal beliefs, so I’m trying to be true to myself if I can make it work. I come from a family of hunters so this is in no way a judgment on others! What each person chooses to eat is a personal thing and I respect that. The two RBTI lab test I have taken keeps showing I’m low on protein so now I have been working hard to eat eggs every day and to do the whole protein combining rule. I thought having to combine in each meal wasn’t true and read that as long as you eat them within the same day than that was fine. Apparently, she said they have to be combined within that meal so I will see on my next test if it’s working. I have my fingers crossed! I’ll take a look at your blog when I get done here. I love getting new information. I really am a research junky. I think it’s an illness! lol!
Thanks again guys!
Blessings,
Jennifer
I have aches/pains in my legs and restless leg syndrome when I don’t take iron supps. I seem to have to keep taking them as my iron levels drop quickly when I stop.
Yellow Dock is another herb which helps to raise ferritin quickly.
Matt here is a puzzle for you. I’m on levothroid and my TSH and T4 look good but T3 has always been low. I started taking T3 and my hair starts falling out. So I stop T3 and it keeps falling out but at a slower pace. I keep trying to re-start T3 as I felt so good on it and I lost a lot of weight on it, but it increases the rate of hair loss (within a couple of days, at a VERY low dose, like 1 ug.) So I can choose between being a size 12 and having some hair, or being a size 6 and going bald. Hmmm. What do you think could be going on? (I have tried testosterone supplementation, which just made me break out, and lots of different hair vitamins which have done nothing. Been evaluated by 5 different doctors including ones who do bioidentical hormones and more holistic stuff. Current doctor says it’s stress and put me on Lexapro and Xanax which I needed anyway so I’m not complaining… but hair is still falling out.) If you have any thoughts I’d really appreciate it.
Well I think you’ll always have negative consequences when supplementing with hormones in drug format. Losing weight with T3 is probably similar to losing weight by starving yourself – both of which can often result in hair loss. Most people’s bodies are maintaining a low metabolism/low T3 for a reason. And when that reason is not addressed and hormones are instead provided to force the system to work differently, bad things happen to accompany the benefits. This can happen with dietary and lifestyle change too, not just medication. But still…
Makes much sense. Thanks for your answer. If I could bring my T3 up naturally I would love to do so. I am not sure what else to work on. I eat lots of carbs- have never been low-carb. In the past I have over-exercised and under-ate but that was FAR in the past! I was actually in the middle of a gluten-free experiment when my hair started to fall out and basically it makes no difference if I eat gluten or not.
There is some little piece missing and I’m not sure what it is. Should I perhaps try Min-Col?
I seriously think that you are my intellectual / medical / comedical / nutritional soul mate. I cannot believe ive only discovered your work and website a couple of weeks ago. Where have you been all of my life!! Ha ha! I just purchased a one hour phone appointment with you and can’t wait! And dont worry, I’m married so I won’t ask you to be my soul mate. but seriously I’m convinced we might have been twins separated at birth. Keep the awesome posts coming!!
The SPECIEST line of products will continue to champion original thinking and will carry that thought process to its logical conclusion in the form of an entire line of unique supplements that will strictly adhere to my core nutritional beliefs and teachings.
Hypothyroid people are frequently anemic. Mainstream medicine assumes that the hypothyroidism causes the anemia. John Johnson of thyroid.com wonders if various deficiencies including iron precede hypothroidism and cause it. Most hypothyroid sufferers are women who often begin to be symptomatic after they have started their periods or during their childbearing years which are both a big drain on iron and other nutrients. Women also are the worst about trying to avoid eating to try to lose or maintain weight. Thus they get little iron. Interestingly upon doing thorough research on the symptoms of low iron or anemia, they are almost a perfect overlap of hypothyroid symptoms. What if part of the downturn in metabolism from not eating is because of becoming deficient in iron and other nutrients that are already low in our food supply anyway? Maybe you have to eat way more food because of this compared with fifty years ago. Women have to make a serious mental shift to eat to be healthy instead of the way our society is conditioning them. Skinny is in our faces everywhere we turn. There is a study online in which it took considerably above the rda to keep women in positive iron balance. If you Google is the rda for women too low? you should find it.
I think iron is very abundant. The girl I’m working with stopped supplementing iron and vitamin C and increased her ferritin levels by about 8-fold. There were only 3 1/2 weeks in between blood tests. She did not take in much iron other than that found in red meat in the interim. But total caloric consumption usually parallels total nutrient consumption. It’s definitely a factor. But I think metabolism is a bigger part of it overall, as the majority of female athletes have low iron levels, regardless of what they are eating.
Hello, I was just introduced to your site right now. I’ve been trying to figure out what to do about problems my husband has had for years. He will get a horrible migraine which causes him to vomit excessively for at least 24hours but usually closer to 48hours. He can’t keep anything down! We have removed past/homo milk from the house, used more gluten free foods, whole foods, coc oil, butter, sprouted grains, and lots of greens, but he will still have the occasional bout, and it’s awful for him. I’m at a loss as to what to do to help him, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks
Some people get improvement in migraines with gluten free (mostly free might not do it), no MSG, avoiding nightshades, or reducing certain amino acids.
Chris Kresser has god info in his Personal Paleo Code product (and maybe in his blog, I know he has talked about it in one of the more recent podcasts he’s done) about the amino acids/foods to reduce to see if that helps. He claims 80% of his patients get partial or complete relief with the amino acid plan. My roommate, a guy, found that nightshades (potato, peppers, tomato, eggplant, and a few uncommon others like goji berries) give him migraines. Some people are sensitive to MSG- google it to find all the natural and added sources (e.g. soy sauce has natural MSG)- and that will cause migraines for them. One of my friend’s moms gets relief with no gluten in the diet. Good luck!
“Of course, sugar doesn’t CAUSE bleeding gums, or heavy periods, or easy bruising per se (a young kid just cleared up bleeding and bruising issues eating an ice-cream based diet), a physical state in the body leads to these outwardly symptoms. And something about sugar, or fruit, or juice, or all of the above seems to be capable of triggering some changes leading to that. In some people. In some contexts.”
This is very interesting, as it’s exactly the situation I’m in. Eating sugar is destroying my gums at an outrageous speed…yet other areas of my health sugar have improved dramatically. I’ve pretty much determined that sugar is destroying my mouth (not directly, but via triggering something within my body), but the rest of my body can’t be healthy without it.
I really hope a soulution can be found.
Hi Matt – I’m a recovering vegetarian who’s always been slightly anemic. I recently discovered your books (and Peat’s work) through a nutritionist I started following. I actually just read his article on iron deficiency the other day. Like this young woman above, I just had a massive ovarian tumor and ovary removed (not cancerous, but they told me it had to come out), which made me reconsider what I have been doing wrong health wise (probably the stress/vegetarian thing, I know). Anyhow, I don’t have a doctor “approved” thyroid problem, but my temp. is lower most of the time (which they told me was the new “normal” pre-surgery) and I’ve slowly been taking steps to work towards to Eat for Heat method, but I need to drink a lot of milk to balance my hormones now. Maybe it’s because I live in the northeast, and winter never ends here! How do I test for a legitimate thyroid problem? And do you recommend any of the Peat thyroid supplements for people who need a jump start? I really don’t want to spend all day feeling sick for months while I just eat every/anything to push my body temperature up. Anyhow, would greatly appreciate any feedback :)
Thanks!
There’s probably nothing wrong with your thyroid. If there is, detecting it through thyroid hormone panels isn’t a sure thing by any stretch. What matters is whether your metabolism is low or high, and there is involvement of a lot more systems of the body than just the thyroid in regulating metabolic rate. Body temperature and feeling of body heat production and skin temperature are better indicators than any thyroid hormone panels. As I say, if it talks like a low metabolism, if it walks like a low metabolism – it’s a low metabolism. I would try to go without a kickstart before resorting to a kickstart.
Hey! I know this is a late comment but I was hoping you could help me. Both my mom and my sister have low platelets. It is getting increasingly worse for my mom. With my mother, I definitely can see her having hypothyroid as well as she is always on the go go go. My sister not only has low platelets but also has bruising. I’ve read both your posts, but I am still unsure as to what they should really do. Should they start just eating a whole lot??