Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I've always had a slight tendency to having cold hands and feet and if I sit still too long my feet can go numb and my hands sometimes juat randomly go numb throughout the day. But since starting VLC paleo a month ago it seems to have gotten worse and more frequent! Im active every day with at least walking and I crossfit 4-5 times a week.

What could be causing the poor circulation?!

flag	asked Apr 7 2012 at 16:15 mzrdnan 1,740●8●19

Even in a warm room? If the air temp is cold and your hands/feet get cold could that possibly Reynaud's? Do the tips of your fingers go whitish? – gydle Apr 7 2012 at 16:56

my hands go a bit purply more than anything when it happens. and even if it is cold outside, my hands and feet will be cold but I might not be, but the going numb kind of happens anywhere. Especially when my hands are raised up at all – mzrdnan Apr 7 2012 at 16:58

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likely hypothyroidism. Check out Ray Peat. Salt, protein, sugar, zinc, retinol, ... can all make you warm. I have troubles with this too, and I had a bit of success with putting iodine on my skin (at a random place) for extrnal mineralization. – Bruno Apr 7 2012 at 18:08

thank you! will check it out now. not even sure what hypothyroidism is :S – mzrdnan Apr 7 2012 at 19:15

Kate · Accepted Answer · 2012-04-07 16:58:06Z UTC

I've had cold hands and feet for as long as I can remember. Through all my dietary evolutions. Sometimes my fingers would get so numb the only way to warm them up would be warm water. This condition has gotten dramatically better over that past year since I started taking the Perfect Health Diet supplements and adding safe starches. My guess would be improved thyroid function. Although my doc would never agree that I was hypothyroid, my numbers, particularly t3 have improved considerably. VLC is known to suppress T3 and increase rt3. There are a number of posts on the Jaminet's web site that discuss this http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?cat=49

Lisa · Answer 2 · 2012-04-07 16:56:35Z UTC

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go to chiropractor, so you're not continually exercising on a misaligned joint that changes nerve function.keep up with low carb diet, stay high with protein.

answered Apr 7 2012 at 16:56

Lisa
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	Why do you say keep up with low carb diet? – Bruno Apr 7 2012 at 18:09
	improves healing to remain on the paleo/low carb eating plan – Lisa Apr 11 2012 at 2:46

Joshua · Answer 3 · 2012-04-07 17:01:04Z UTC

I get cold hands and feet when restricting calories AND restricting carbs. This is my two-fold experiment in CRON VLC Paleo, so far health and alertness have been great - sex drive and body temperature regulation have been kinda meh (compared to higher calories VLC paleo). Weightloss, as expected, is rapid (even though due to my previous year LC, where most of my water is gone).

It's a rough trade, but my work performance has been outstanding when eating 1400 cal/day instead of my normal 2400-2600. I just have to remind myself to re-feed with higher calories once a week (and the cold hands/feet subsides for a day or two after eating higher calories). I live in Florida, so the cold hands/feet is only an issue when I'm going to bed and when I'm waking up.

You didn't mention your sex. Females may have a tendency towards anemia more often than men, my wife has dealt with it for years. Her hands and feet feel like icicles at night.

Yarah · Answer 4 · 2012-04-07 17:09:48Z UTC

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I have the same experience. But I never had cold hand and feet before. But since I don't eat bread etc anymore, my feet are freezing cold when I go to bed, even though I do yoga before.

answered Apr 7 2012 at 17:09

Yarah
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foreveryoung · Answer 5 · 2012-04-07 17:16:35Z UTC

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I would exercise more often- morning and afternoon/evening, increase carbs, decrease fat a little, and decrease protein a little as well. carbs = energy = heat.

answered Apr 7 2012 at 17:16

foreveryoung
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but I'm trying to do the whole using fat and protein as energy over carbs so that my body can use up my already well stored fat deposits ... and in terms of exercise I'm walking every day whether it be to work and then crossfit 4-5 times a week...i've also read that over stressing the body with exercise is terrible for cortisol levels – mzrdnan Apr 7 2012 at 19:14

Betsy Richter · Answer 6 · 2012-04-07 17:24:44Z UTC

Iodine. If you've eliminated processed foods and cut way back on your salt, you may be iodine-deficient.

(I use kosher salt to cook with & it's not supplemented with iodine. When the cold hands/feet started for me, I started supplementing with kelp pills & it went away.)

Am now taking a Thyroid supplement from Now that has the iodine in it, so gave the kelp pills away. But I'd take a closer look.

Lisa · Answer 7 · 2012-04-11 02:46:11Z UTC

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could be raynouds syndrome, a nervous system short circuiting, again, seek a chiropractor.

answered Apr 11 2012 at 2:46

Lisa
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	Raynouds would also cause discoloration of the fingers and nails. I presume the poster would have mentioned it. – balor123 Apr 16 2012 at 19:48
	not always. . . . – Lisa Apr 25 2012 at 0:55

balor123 · Answer 8 · 2012-04-16 19:50:11Z UTC

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My hands and feet are also typically cold. By itself I think it's harmless but only you know how serious it is. The numbness is a bit more concerning. How's your heart rate and body tempurature control otherwise? Sweating? I think it's worth a visit to a Neurologist just to rule out disease first. Lifestyle and other PH comments afterwards if nothing pans out.

answered Apr 16 2012 at 19:50

balor123
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I think my heart rate is ok ... depends on how much I've eaten in a day... If it's less than normal by the night time I can get dizzy spells...but I've always had low-blood pressure..it used to be 95/60 ... and I don't sweat profusely or anything ... only when working out! – mzrdnan Apr 16 2012 at 20:50

Cold/numb hands and feet…anyone else?

8 Answers