Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

4

One can learn a lot in the course of a year in n=1 and n=2 experiments ...

Background: The hubby and I tried low carb Paleo in fall 2010 and felt great initially (till about April 2011) and then not so good. We increased carbs from about June 2010 while changing supplements but found inflammation symptoms (as well as weight gain in the abdominal area) creeping up on higher carb so we shifted back to lower carb in mid-March 2012. The decrease in inflammation was immediate (2-3 days) and obvious post-work out when there was almost no muscle soreness.

Our blood numbers were "fine," on both lower and higher carb Primal but we felt quite different - proof we are more then blood numbers! I wish we could say it was only the carbs or only the supplements but I think the 2 helped together. I was slowly switching us to more appropriate supplements (about 1 new one per month) in the past year and noticed a big difference with magnesium, iodine/selenium, and Vitamin C but the weight loss in the abdominal area did not change until the carbs were dropped!

We feel a lot better then we tried the first time in fall 2010! Since initially trying low carb then in 2010 and now in 2012 we have both learned a lot!

Then in Fall 2010: NO trace minerals including selenium!

1) Crappy multivitamin (Dr. D'adamo) with folic acid NOT FOLATE

2) Citracal calcium 2 tabs/day

3) Carlson Cod Liver Oil (lemon) 2 tsp/day

4) Vitamin C 500-1000 mg/day

NOW in 2012: *raw dairy, bone broths*

1) Douglas Labs B Complex with Metfolin/1 tablet/day

Thiamine (Vitamin B-1, as Thiamine HCI)..... 50 mg 3,333%

Riboflavin.......................................................20 mg 1,176%

(Vitamin B-2, Riboflavin-5-Phosphate)

Niacin ( Vitamin B-3, as Niacinamide)........... 50 mg 250%

Vitamin B-6 (as Pyridoxal-5-Phosphate)....... 20 mg 1,000%

Folate (as L-methylfolate, Metafolin®) ....... 400 mcg 100%

Vitamin B-12 (as methylcobalamin) .......... 500 mcg 8,333%

Biotin .........................................................300 mcg 100%

Pantothenic Acid........................................... 50 mg 500%

(Vitamin B-5, as d-calcium pantothenate) Intrinsic Factor (from porcine) ....................... 20 mg *

2) Thorne Trace minerals (1-2 caps/day)

Zinc (as Zinc Citrate) 15 mg.

Selenium (as Selenium Citrate) 100 mcg.

Manganese (as Manganese Citrate) 2.5 mg.

Chromium (as Chromium Citrate) 100 mcg.

Molybdenum (as Molybdenum Citrate) 50 mcg.

Boron (as Boron Citrate) 700 mcg.

3) NOW Zinc Picolinate 50 mg/tablet

4) Green Pastures FCLO (Fermented Cod Liver Oil) 2 tsp (when not eating sardines/salmon) and 2 tsp FBO (Fermented Butter Oil)

5) KAL Magnesium Orotate 200 mg/2 tablets daily (hubby takes 4 tabs for 800 mg, I take 3 for 600 mg)

6) Carlson Bison Capsules or Radiant Life Liver Capsules 6 caps/day pp when not eating liver

7) Nature's Way Vitamin C 1000 mg (hubby take 6-8 caps over the day for 6000-8000 mg, I take 4-6 caps for 4000-6000 mg)

8) NOW Kelp 325 mcg/tab (2 caps or 650 mcg/day pp)

edited May 5 2012 at 2:02

asked Apr 13 2012 at 15:11

Lady_Arwen
7,561●13●41

	Where's the K2? That's the only one I've gotten paranoid about that I don't see on your list. – Rob Apr 13 2012 at 15:32
	@Rob, probably from the Fermented Butter Oil (FBO) + diet ( scroll down to chart: westonaprice.org/fat-soluble-activators/… ) – Valai Apr 13 2012 at 15:40
	K2 should be your ultimate vitamin to protect from heart disease and artery plaque buildup. – D.K. Apr 13 2012 at 16:06
	raw dairy + fermented butter oil for K2 – Lady_Arwen Apr 13 2012 at 20:23

Meatymichael · Answer 1 · 2012-04-13 16:18:55Z UTC

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I don't need supplements. My diet is 100 % Meat and eggs. Never felt better. As long as you stick to grassfed/free-range and get adequate calories and fat you should be meeting all your nutrient needs. Some people just like doing higher carb though.

answered Apr 13 2012 at 16:18

Meatymichael
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With depleted soil, and water, I don't think this is a realistic attitude on any diet. Even if you were eating liver, eggs, and seafood, you could be missing out on things over time. I've been essentially pure carnivore for two and a half years, and never felt better, but I feel noticeably even better with magnesium, iodine, and a handful of other supplements that my grocery meat is not providing. There's no shame in that. – Ambimorph Apr 13 2012 at 17:01

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Touche, you have been A carnivore for a bit longer than me so I may supplement in the future though. I don't feel the need at this time though. I make sure to eat plenty of offal and eat a lot of my food raw so I am pretty sure I'm spot on at this point in time. – Meatymichael Apr 13 2012 at 17:50

That sounds good. I think offal is really important, and raw/rare can spare nutrients, too, as far as I understand. – Ambimorph Apr 13 2012 at 19:50

How long have you been eating 100% meat and eggs? Are you eating any seafood? Have you tested for any deficiencies or suboptimal levels? Long-term VLC & Ketogenic diets caan produce deficiencies in potassium, magnesium, iodine, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, selenium (IMO many of these are deficient or suboptimal even in higher carb versions of Paleo) etc. – Lady_Arwen May 5 2012 at 1:58

Joshua · Answer 2 · 2012-04-13 17:35:38Z UTC

Before Paleo: Multivitamin, Fish Oil, 15gm of psyllium husks, ZMA, protein powder, immodium twice weekly, sudafed twice weekly, 6-8 cups of coffee/day

After Paleo: Vitamin K complex (200mcg of each K1/K2), infrequent (maybe 1x/week) Cod Liver Oil, ZMA.

Dan · Answer 3 · 2012-05-04 14:54:25Z UTC

Before: multivitamin, fish oil, vitamin D

Now: fermented cod liver oil, butter oil, seaweed, Brazil nuts, raw grass fed beef liver, bone broth, and various fermented foods.

Unlike the before items, which I took entirely for health, I do the new stuff willingly because they taste good. Although the liver doesn't taste very good by itself, taking it with the bone broth works greatly.

What supplementation/foods have you dramatically changed when shifting from higher carb to low carb Paleo?

3 Answers