Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

1

The next day after even just an hour of moderate yoga, my whole body seems to go into some sort of inflammatory hyper-drive. It's not just the muscles worked that are sore, but even my joints feel inflamed and painful. I feel little to no pain during the actual yoga, so I know I can't have overextended myself so much. Pre-paleo, I'd only have this sort of response after a really hard workout, but I'm not necessarily sure that there's enough data to connect this heightened response to paleo.

I'd heard that drinking lots of water can cut down on soreness, so I do that. Per Robb Wolf, I've given up fruit and starchy veggies, and drastically cut down on nightshades and nuts until my body works out this inflammatory response. I could probably stand to give up the dark chocolate and occasional glass of red wine on yoga days. Outside of that, is there anything else should I be doing? Sometimes I take an Aleve right after yoga to prevent the inflammatory response, and that does work, but I'm not how healthy that is.

flag	asked Oct 23 2010 at 20:36 Olga 1,926●2●14●35

	Did you do yoga before? – Bread-Eating Beelzebub Oct 23 2010 at 21:30
	Yep, I did yoga before. – Olga Oct 23 2010 at 22:12

Drew aka CrossFit Junkie · Accepted Answer · 2010-10-23 22:43:21Z UTC

I'd say ask one of the experts. This isn't your standard issue with Paleo, so asking someone with a lot of expertise will probably be your best bet. Ask Robb Wolf, and see if he's heard or seen this before, he'll probably answer it on his podcast, since this seems like quite an interesting topic.

http://robbwolf.com/submit-a-question-for-the-podcast/

Eva · Answer 2 · 2010-10-23 21:56:22Z UTC

I often say the same thing, but I'll say it again anyway. Go to fitday.com and type in your food consumption and see if there is any nutrient you lack and take steps to solve any nutrient deficiencies. Paleo easily provides most nutrients, but there are a few that can easily be lacking, depending on your food choices. Magnesium, vitamin E, etc. Your diet shift may have caused you to cut out one of your main sources of an impt nutrient. If you did not happen to replace that choice with another choice that made up for it, then that particular nutrient deficiency could be exacerbated. See if that helps any.

Since you already had some of this problem before paleo, I am guessing it's a preexisting problem that has only been exacerbating by paleo. If you ate a lot of carbs before, carbs are less likely to be the main problem, because the prob was still there even when eating carbs.

Fish oil might help, but it is simply not natural to become inflamed after a workout. There is something serious weird about that. Exercise increases needs for many nutrients so there coudl be a connection there and it's worth checking out. At minimum, it never hurts to make sure you are getting decent levels of all known nutrients on a daily basis.
-Eva

qualia · Answer 3 · 2010-10-23 23:29:22Z UTC

5

i'd also vote for nutrient deficiency, or a food allergy that got worse from changing your diet. for example, eggs and dairy have a similar effect on me. try leaving out both for a week or two, and watch your energy and pain levels. there are a lot of nutrients and supplements that could help, but i think that would just mask the real problem and delay the diagnosis.

answered Oct 23 2010 at 23:29

qualia
1,424●4●11

Food allergy idea sounds like a good one. – Ambimorph Oct 23 2010 at 23:44

Good point. If there is an egg or somesuch allergy, and you cut out other foods, then you could naturally end up eating more of a certain food you might be allergic too. The game plan there would be to cut out certain classes of foods one at a time for several weeks and look for improvement in symptoms. – Eva Oct 24 2010 at 2:01

I'm actually wondering if it has to do something with cutting out salt and a salt imbalance. I've also been feeling dehydrated since paleo, despite drinking much more water. I'm going to try adding salt back in and see how it goes. – Olga Oct 24 2010 at 6:06

1

Anyway, I think the whole salt phobia thing is way overblown. THere evidence is just not there that salt consumption is a big problem for most of the population. About 3 percent of the population do seem to have a prob with too much salt. But there are some that have probs with not enough salt as well. Might be a good idea to try salt. I have read that a certain subset of the population tends to excrete a lot of salt via sweat, much more than normal. These types of people might need more salt and electrolytes in their diet. – Eva Oct 24 2010 at 6:23

1

reducing salt intake is generally not a good idea and not supported by the most recent science. in fact, they just found out that when one goes below about 2.7g of salt a day, the body (=kidney) goes into a salt-recycling mode (=recycling the salt out of the urine), because otherwise the electrolyte balance would be lost. meaning, one should actually eat 2.7g of salt or more a day to make life easier for the poor kidneys. and what's the newest US gov recommendation? 1.5g a day? that's why you never should listen to a gov agency with regard to nutrition and health. but y'all knew that already. – qualia Oct 24 2010 at 20:22

paleonyc · Answer 4 · 2010-10-23 21:16:04Z UTC

1

Are you taking fish oil?

answered Oct 23 2010 at 21:16

paleonyc
1,180●2●6

I hadn't been until yesterday, when I restarted by coincidence. Definitely should be. – Olga Oct 24 2010 at 2:05

Dave S. · Answer 5 · 2010-10-26 13:03:10Z UTC

1

All exercise causes some inflammation. Perhaps its best not to do too much until you reduce systemic inflammation. And when you are ready, keep it brief and intense. Yoga is neither.

answered Oct 26 2010 at 13:03

Dave S.
20.9k●1●11●65

Jamie · Answer 6 · 2010-10-23 21:28:53Z UTC

0

I would start consuming starchy veggies, including potatoes. You could be too low carb for you

answered Oct 23 2010 at 21:28

Jamie
171●1

What would be the relationship between carbs and inflammation? – Olga Oct 24 2010 at 6:02

Hannu K. · Answer 7 · 2010-10-23 21:53:09Z UTC

0

What ever you try make sure to give it enough time. Try a month or two. Then you now if it works or not. Get rid off dairy if you haven't done that yet... Do you have any autoimmune diseases?

answered Oct 23 2010 at 21:53

Hannu K.
41●1

Wendy · Answer 8 · 2010-10-23 22:07:45Z UTC

0

Make sure you go with KRILL OIL. Not all fish oil is created equal.

answered Oct 23 2010 at 22:07

Wendy
11●1

shayre rivotto · Answer 9 · 2012-08-30 12:40:02Z UTC

Uh, I have the same response. I have multiple autoimmune diseases. I have Celiac Disease, so I live grain free and no processed foods. I have Hashimotos Thyroid disease. Lupus has been in question...and that is what I am trying to figure out with the inflammatory response. I am only 41, and I used to be a personal fitness trainer. I have not been able to exercise since having my children. I have tried a few times, but I always feel sick after. I just tried again 2 days ago. I only did 15 min of eliptical machine on the lowest level, and then one light exercise per body part. I felt great doing it, but started to get a little shaky at the end. Then by evening, I couldn't function at all and I had a fever of 100. Now that I've had time over the years to figure out my health issues...I recognize the sick feeling...severe inflammatory response. It's almost the same response that I get with gluten contamination (I am extremely sensitive), or with nightshade foods like potatoes and tomatoes. I can't even have a bite of those things, or I am in so much pain. I get brain fog, and a low grade fever on some of those occassions. I really think that you are barking up the wrong tree with a nutrient deficiency, but I hope that you are taking vitamins! I really think that you need to look at autoimmune issues...and make sure that you cut out all nightshades since they create an inflammatory response too (cytokines). I am no expert, but I've had to spend years trying to help myself since doctors don't really know how to help. I have had lots of help from other autoimmune patients as well.

What can I do about an inflammatory response to exercise?

9 Answers