10/23/10
Yesterday I went to visit a nutritionist to discuss my thyroid and health issues.
Having only ever been to the traditional medical doctors, this was a new experience for me.
I chose a doctor in my area who follows the recommendations of Dr. Datis Kharrasian. She works out of her home and seemed like a knowledgeable individual. We went through the questionnaire I filled out, the health history I gave here and the blood tests that she ordered. I also gave her my blood test results that I have monitored since changing from the S.A.D. (Standard American Diet) to eating primarily raw vegan foods.
I have several blood test results that were out of the acceptable functional range. I will include these at the end of the post so I can document this and record my progress.
Last year I was tested for vitamin D 25 OH and it was found to be low while I was on the raw vegan diet. So, I started taking a D3 supplement and it has only moved a few points in the correct direction. She recommended that I change to an Apex brand and see whether or not that helps to increase the values faster. Vitamin D is very important in the development of bones and teeth. She also recommended Vitamin K2, which, I had already started taking a couple months ago.
We discussed my test results and apparently my thyroid, TSH value, has gone back down some since I changed to eating more paleo. I feel a little better but, I have gained a few pounds on it. I have to admit that I haven’t been very strict with it. I have also gone through a couple of illnesses recently and lots of traveling. But, I am ready to focus my efforts on my health now. I need to feel better and take care of myself again.
I’ve been focusing on others as of late and my health has deteriorated a bit.
I have had many exposures to toxins and have had digestive problems for years. It is time to get some assistance in my health journey. I’ve been trying to do this on my own for too long. At least I have been monitoring my blood test results. I know many raw vegans who don’t ever have their blood monitored. It’s rather scary to me. It can take years to see problems physically that a simple blood test can point out.
My nutritionist’s recommendations are that I do the Clearvite detoxification process recommended by Dr. K. This will start with from 3-5 days of a lemon water with maple syrup fast. No cayenne in it like the Master Cleanse. I did this for 3 days during the summer and hopefully can do this for the 5 days. Then it is 21 days of modified eating with a limitation on beef, processed meats (which I don’t eat), and eating primarily fish, some chicken, some turkey and lamb. I can eat as many green vegetables as I want and some fruits. I can have green vegetable juices but, no fruit juices.
It is also a gradual ramp of taking the Clearvite liver cleansing protein powder. I start with once a day and gradually increase the Clearvite to 3 times per day. On the days when I take the Clearvite, 3 times per day, I will have no animal products at all. This shouldn’t be difficult at all since I’ve been raw vegan for many years.
The goal is to let my digestive tract have a rest from all gluten (which I try not to consume any longer), and from dairy products. I will need to eliminate the eggs and butter that I have come to enjoy and also ensure that I have absolutely no gluten from now on. Gluten appears to be an irritant for my digestive tract. I’m beginning to believe that it is an irritant for everyone. They just don’t know it yet. I’m also curious where chia seeds fall into the mix. I love them in my smoothies and cereals and would hate to have to eliminate them from my diet in the long run.
My goal is to start the lemon water cleanse on Wednesday and then the 21 day liver detox on November 1st. I will try to document how I feel and what symptoms I may have here.
I also need to do a saliva test to check my hormone levels and cortisol levels. I’ll be doing that in the next week. This will give us a baseline on where to start with any hormone recommendations. It will more than likely be a situation where I need to take some form of hormones. This would all be due to my age and the fact that I have had a complete hysterectomy. I was on an estrogen product for 10 years but stopped taking it when I decided to start eating primarily raw vegan. Having stopped taking hormones probably accelerated my osteoporosis. Or it could have been something that I was lacking in the raw vegan diet. During my high fruit diet stage I also started experiencing arthritic symptoms. I am hoping that these improve once I clean my digestion, get my hormones balanced, and figure out my thyroid and diabetic health issues.
We also discussed my waking up at night. I sleep from 8-9 hours each night, so I am not lacking sleep. I just wake up each night between 2 and 3 am. The nutritionist mentioned that it had to do with epinephrine levels increasing at those times for those with hormonal issues. I will hopefully go into more details concerning all of these issues as time passes.
It will be a long road but it is one that I wish to take. It will also require a bit of studying to understand what is going on in my body. I don’t want to just be a follower. I want to understand what and why these things happened in my body and what I can do to maintain health.
I would like to get my pre-diabetes, hormones, adrenals, cortisol, thyroid issues straightened out. I believe I can do this with a low carb raw food diet. It may not be 100% raw but I will get it to be as close to that as I can. I may have some meats that are cooked. I would also like to have the flexibility to eat some cooked greens that may be goitrogenic. These are foods that fall into the cruciferous family. Studies have shown that they can adversely affect the thyroid.
Blood test levels that were out of range:
Globulin 2.3 low
Alk Phos 92 high
RDW 13.60 high
Calcium 9.1 a little low
Phosphorus 4.4 a little high
CO2 24 a little low
Total protein 6.8 a little low
LDH 188 high
RBS 4.67 high (dehydration)
Triglycerides 54.0 low
Cholesterol 242 high
LDL 155 high
Chol/HDL ratio 3.18 high
TSH 3.2
Neutrophils 43 lower normal (bacterial)
Lymphocytes 39 higher normal (viral)
Eosinophils 6.0 High (parasites/allergy)
Monocytes 11.0 High (inflammation)
Estradiol 7.9
DHEA sulfate 109.2
C-Reactive Prtn .59 (low?)
Homocyste(e)ine 8.8
Magnesium 2.40
For the most part these are test results that were out of range. The ones on the lower portion of the list are ones that I need to investigate also.
So, what did I eat today.
I had some fish stock with some soaked kelp and some fresh ahi.
Later in the day I snacked on almonds and had a few of my homemade chocolates.
About an hour later I snacked on some deli provolone cheese. It made my stomach hurt. I just don’t seem to react well with cow’s milk foods. I have done well with the Redwood Hills raw goat’s milk feta but I didn’t have any of that in the house.
For dinner I had a green soup that consisted of coconut milk, Clearvite protein powder, ½ apple, ½ cucumber, 2 cups spinach, tbsp. chia seeds. It was tasty and very filling.
I don’t think I’ll be snacking on anything this evening. If I do it will be a few almonds. I’m rather stuffed at the moment.
As I may have mentioned before, I am logging this information so that I can keep track of what is going on in my body and mind as I take this turn on my journey. I had originally thought that eating a low fat raw vegan diet was going to be the cure for all that ailed me. It wasn’t. I had several illnesses expose themselves while eating that way. So, I am switching things up to see if I can get these things under control eating lower carbohydrate raw foods. This will include animal foods.
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