Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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WARNING: Long read ahead. Make sure you've had your coffee or ALA/N-Acetyl Carnitine Stack

Hi Hackers!

First time poster, long time lurker. I usually don't post questions because they are usually answered on here but I'm wondering about my blood results and I am not sure about the conversion of Canadian/UK results to US numbers. Also a few other questions for the l33t hackers out there.

My main problem: I feel like crap pretty much all the time. I have no energy. I could probably sleep 20 hours out of the day if it was socially possible/acceptable. Post nasal drip at night leads to nasty green stuff inside of my head and I can end up blowing my nose halfway through the day and still find green crap.

Quick Background: Been Paleo for around 9-10 months strict. No alcohol for around a year.

I only cheat with 85% or 90% dark chocolate( a bar a week or so) and around once a month I ram down a So Delicious Chocolate Ice Cream container (It's tiny, like 500ml http://www.turtlemountain.com/products/coconut-milk-ice-creams/chocolate)

I've possibly had gluten exposure over the last 10 months but then again I have no idea as I don't think I'm overly sensitive to gluten (I will decline my own birthday cake so I can't say I've even had gluten since going Paleo.)

I'm Male, 24, fairly healthy, 180lbs(I know, It's a terrible weight for my height), 6'2, 14% BF 20% BIA (Should be lower and I've plateaued for some reason?), exercise 3-4 times a week, low intensity more Strength based like squatting, deadlifts and Bulgarian ring pushups. Standard Paleo diet. Sleep 8-9hrs a night.

If you need any more background/info please ask, I'll provide what I can. I've got a few more test results but I haven't seen that info posted in other places so I'll keep it out of here.

Blood Tests:

Test name - Measurement:

ESR: - 1

hs-C-Reactive Protein: <0.2 - MG/L

Thyroid Stimulating Hormone: 3.27 - MU/L

Vitamin B12: 494 - PMOL/L

Ferritin: 70 - UG/L

Cortisol random SER: 391 - NMOL/L

Growth Hormone: 0.2 - ug/L

Testosterone: 20.1 - NMOL/L

Total Protein: 82 - G/L

Glucose Fasting SER: 4.8 - MMOL/L

Creatinine: 98 - UMOL/L

eGFR: 81 - ML/MIN

Hemoglobin A1C: 0.051 - ??? Mystery Unit ???

Cholesterol: 5.31 - MMOL/L

Triglycerides: 0.53 - MMOL/L

HDL Cholesterol: 1.24 - MMOL/L

LDL: 3.83 - MMOL/L

CHOL/HDL Ratio: 4.28

Doctor said my results are amazing, fantastic. When I asked him what I could improve he said I should become Prime Minister and give him a raise. I know what the general consensus of doctors is in the Paleo/Primal world but his comment was uplifting nonetheless.

So those are my blood results. I have no idea what half of them mean or how to translate them ( I tried using google but I got some really bad/scary numbers with it )

On to my recent Biosignature results...

I did the Zinc taste test. Tasted like water. Was told deficient.

Described symptoms was told B deficient. Prescribed Biotics B12 lozenge.

Was given poliquin digestive enzymes to use with my NOW Super Foods caps. Still no 'warm feeling' even with maximum dose for weeks..

After BF (14%) and BIA (20%) tests I was told I was definitely aromatising ( Turning testosterone into estrogen)

I was told to take the B vitamins, use digestive enzymes, and come back. I'll be seeing the practitioner on Friday. TBH I don't feel any different or better.

So long question into short question: What the hell is wrong with me? Why hasn't paleo fixed it? Am I dying? Why am I stuck around 14% BF and why do I keep losing weight?

I really apologise for the long read and I appreciate if anyone has an answer to any one of these questions or even some insight. I've been trying for years to feel normal and with Paleo I definitely have seen better body comp than I've ever seen in my life (I can see 2 abs! Sometimes!) but I'm more worried about how I feel.

Thank you!

flag	asked May 15 2012 at 18:25 Klaud 353●1●5

	also what is your BP like? Do you salt your food? – Bread-Eating Beelzebub May 15 2012 at 19:02
	Great ice-cream! I wish I could have some... I have some questions. 1. could you post your daily menu with portion sizes? 2. Have you tried liver detox regimen? (Lots of cabbage family, onion family, no red meat for one week - only fish and chicken, and real lemon juice? 3. Would you be interested in trying herbs? 4. low energy and post nasal drip - are those two many symptoms, nothing else? 5. When did you first noticed low energy? – VB May 15 2012 at 19:02
	@Melissa - I do salt my food, and have recently taken to eating seaweed wraps for iodine intake. @VB - It's good but nothing beats Hagen Daz! :D - 1. I pretty much eat Paleo Solution/Everyday Paleo menu, portions are pretty big, I don't measure but I eat a bit past satiety for muscle hypertrophy someday lol. 2- I'm doing something similar for a few weeks, no eggs or beef, checking to see possible allergies. 3 - I would be, what kind of herbs? Chinese medicine style? 4 - Those are the main symptoms. Mucous, PND, Terrible Energy almost always. 5 - 6 years ago or so? – Klaud May 15 2012 at 22:54

Bread-Eating Beelzebub · Answer 1 · 2012-05-15 18:45:44Z UTC

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How come the assumption is always that people with problems aren't strict enough. What if the issue is that you are too strict? It sounds crazy, but what if you ate MORE ice cream? Like every night? And I mean REAL ice cream, not some faux coconut milk concoction? And you cut out a day of exercise? I can almost guarantee you will feel better if you do this. I've been where you've been and I know a lot of people who have. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who was overweight, but for the people who tend towards low-energy, low-calories, strict diets, and high activity, I think your symptoms are really common.

Do you know what your daily calorie consumption is like?

Also, I haven't heard of the Biosignature thing, but it sounds like a lot of unnecessary and questionable tests.

answered May 15 2012 at 18:45

Bread-Eating Beelzebub
55.7k●9●63●237

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I'm with Melissa. Also - due to all your strength training, are you eating enough carbs? Your mentioning not being able to keep the weight on "dinged" with me as that was my deal. When I upped the carbs my weight increased appropriately and muscle building was back on track. Tubers, sweet potatoes, other root veg.. – jesuisjuba - paleorepublic.com May 15 2012 at 18:52

yeah, ice cream is good boost temporarily, then you can switch back to paleo-approved carb sources later and the ice cream can help you determine what level of carbs you thrive on. – Bread-Eating Beelzebub May 15 2012 at 18:53

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@melissa, I think "biosignature" refers to Charles Poliquin and his nine billion theories (that's right, THEORIES) about health, strength and conditioning. He's a very influential S&C coach and i believe still has a huge facility in St. Louis for pro athletes. Totally agree about more real ice cream. Dude needs to lighten up. and regarding losing weight, you might look into increasing rather than decreasing calories the leaner you become. Otherwise you face the trap that nearly all BBers fall into after getting as lean as they can. – Nandalal_Rasiah May 15 2012 at 19:02

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+1 on this, I went through the same thing. I just could not get it through my head that I wasn't eating enough and it caused major problems. I was addicted to the feeling I got for the first 6 months of low carb strict paleo and got used to less calories. Then I hit a wall until I mentally let go and just ate more, including things I considered cheats including carby stuff and even grains occasionally. – Ambews May 15 2012 at 21:27

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@nandalal_rasiah You got it spot on. I am avoiding dairy for 3 weeks though. After that we will see what we can do about real ice cream. @ambews - I eat a LOT, sometimes to the point of regretting it. I usually try to eat until I am no longer hungry though. @Klaud - oh, thats me. – Klaud May 15 2012 at 23:21

show 3 more comments

Korion · Answer 2 · 2012-05-15 19:38:47Z UTC

I think Melissa makes a great point (like always :) ). While a strict diet, at first, seemed to cure a whole lot of my issues, becoming more and more strict just brought back problems, until after a certain time I became almost as sick as on a raw vegan diet again. I'll definitely get down-voted for bringing up Ray Peat again, but someone needs to mention it :

How's your nutrient intake? Do you use cron-o-meter or something similar to check whether you're low on specific things? Using supplements is cool, but it's pretty easy to use real food instead, and much more safe. I think calcium is probably the most important one to look at, since you clearly avoid dairy (you eat coconut milk ice cream so I assume you don't). Also, a strict paleo diet is likely high in phosphorus compared to calcium, because of the high intake of veggies and probably the high intake of muscle meat (again, an assumption). Like Ray Peat says, muscle meat is essentially a processed food.
How's your salt intake (eg. what Melissa says)?
How much (sun)light do you get? Not just for the vitamin-D but for the red light too.
How's your carbohydrate intake? If you eat high-protein without enough carbs, you'll probably end up with low blood sugar.
Did you try bone broth or gelatin?
How's your PUFA intake (eg. nuts & fish)?

Veriria · Answer 3 · 2012-05-16 04:25:23Z UTC

Though a lot of people use paleo/primal to eat low carb, it isn't actually a low carb diet. You can't just blindly follow health gurus. Even that dude who is the leader of the Fruititarians must be doing something right -- FOR HIS OWN BODY.

Clearly if something isn't working for you for so long, you need to experiment or stop and re-evaluate what you are doing!

HeatherN1321 · Answer 4 · 2012-05-16 01:16:12Z UTC

I'm going to take this in a totally different direction, although I totally agree with Melissa. The two symptoms you describe (low energy and green mucus) could be a bacterial infection. I had the same thing. For years. Do you have any allergies?

I was treated for this sinus infection conventionally (read: antibiotics). I seriously think my doctor was trying to kill me (or create some kind of super bug). I finally looked into alternatives about two years ago and here's what helped:

Sinus surgery. I had a lot of scar tissue build-up due to the fact that I was allergic to EVERYTHING as a child. Having surgery to open up my sinus passages helped immensely.
Saline rinses. And not with a neti pot. I bought a SinuPulse. Awesome machine -- gets that green gunk cleaned out effectively.
Probiotics. Because I had been on antibiotics for over five years. My body was a slum of nasty bacteria.
Prebiotics. To help feed the probiotics and make them strong.

But I would recommend your doctor examine your sinuses to determine if you have some kind of infection,and if you do, whether it's viral or bacterial or fungal, and go from there.

Am I dying? Help fix me! (Please?) - Hack/Translate my Canadian bloodtest?! Biosig results!? :O

4 Answers