Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

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When I stand up after sitting for a while I get real dizzy. I eat enough, and I'm gonna take vitamins soon to heal me from my vegan diet which caused tons of health problems. I read it's related to blood pressure. Is it a good or a bad thing?

I also noticed my heart rate is quite fast.

Any thoughts?

flag	asked Jun 28 2011 at 19:33 Korion 9,588●2●18●61

	I have the same thing. I've always had low blood pressure and a faster heart rate. – thatonecrazylady Jun 28 2011 at 20:37
	Well it's totally new to me. For the past week I had a regular heartbeat. I think my body is adapting to my high-fat diet. – Korion Jun 29 2011 at 6:18

Kelly · Accepted Answer · 2011-06-28 20:44:05Z UTC

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I have both low blood pressure and never enough sodium so I think both those things are the culprit. I am using more regular salt now (as sea salt doesnt help this issue), and well not much i can do for low blood pressure!! mines always low but I think its pretty stable.

what about low potassium or iron? sometimes a banana will fix that.....

answered Jun 28 2011 at 20:44

Kelly
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	Low potassium is a very very good point. I noticed it was the only mineral my diet is lacking of. I don't wanna supplement yet, I may eat some avocados once in a while. Iron is great, though I had low hemoglobin on my blood test some weeks ago. – Korion Jun 29 2011 at 6:15
	good, hope just eating the right things help. I never supplement because I'm so sensitive to everything, I just try and get what I need from good foods. – Kelly Jun 29 2011 at 18:48

sherpamelissa · Answer 2 · 2011-06-28 19:36:45Z UTC

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It's a bad thing. I can't think of when being dizzy is ever a good thing.

This happened to me a lot while I still had high blood pressure, but the docs said that it was weird and usually attributed to low blood pressure. I actually think I was over-medicated and my blood pressure was dropping too low. I would schedule a physical.

answered Jun 28 2011 at 19:36

sherpamelissa
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	Couldn't it be because I haven't been paleo that long? Macronutrients : fat-protein-carbs : 150/200g-100g-80g It's only been a week like that. Before that I ate plenty of quinoa and brown rice. – Korion Jun 29 2011 at 6:12
	I don't really think you can get dizzy from just reducing your carbs. The level you are at should be enough to get through a day. You can't be sure though, unless you get checked out. – sherpamelissa Jun 29 2011 at 13:17

miked · Answer 3 · 2011-06-28 19:39:20Z UTC

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Yes, it's called postural hypotension, and generally you need more sodium in your diet: http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/saturated-fat/tips-tricks-for-starting-or-restarting-low-carb-pt-ii/

answered Jun 28 2011 at 19:39

miked
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I just typed out the same answer, with the same link.. – CaveDad Jun 28 2011 at 19:43

Had this problem briefly salting my food did the trick. – Edward J. Edmonds Jun 28 2011 at 22:46

Are you sure? I eat himalayan sea salt often :D. – Korion Jun 29 2011 at 6:10

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And make sure you are drinking plently of fluids. – CaveDad Jun 29 2011 at 12:18

JimmyK · Answer 4 · 2011-06-28 20:14:18Z UTC

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Have the same problem at times, I have low blood pressure, and it has gotten much lower since going Paleo. I added sea salt and some fruit to my diet. It helps, good luck.

answered Jun 28 2011 at 20:14

JimmyK
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Jessica G · Answer 5 · 2011-06-28 20:41:01Z UTC

I noticed this alot during my first few weeks eating paleo, and I searched for answers on this very site. Here's one telling response I found:

"When you eat low carb, especially at the beginning, it tends to have a diuretic effect. This, in effect, lowers the blood volume, which then lowers the blood pressure. When the blood pressure is low, it takes a few minutes for your body to "catch up" when rising from a sitting or lying position. Note to original poster: this is not a "nutritional deficiency" :-)

from this thread: http://paleohacks.com/questions/6486/postural-hypotension-since-paleo

At times it was so intense that I felt close to passing out doing yoga. However, it has since subsided. Hope the same is true for you!

JCB · Answer 6 · 2011-06-28 21:47:55Z UTC

Like several people have said - postural hypotension. I was this way as far back as I can remember until I hit my 40s and gained some weight which brought my blood pressure up to about 110/70. My BP used to average about 86/60 - had a nurse one time say, "I can't hear anything - you must be dead.(LOL) I just got into the habit of lightly holding on to the wall or chair or whatever every time I changed position. And I did love me some salt on my foods and was NOT low carb as a kid so I doubt that had as much to do with it for me as just family genetics.

I did notice that it went away the few years when I was working out regularly, stronger muscularly and in much better shape than before or since.

Rogue Nutritionist · Answer 7 · 2011-06-28 22:10:11Z UTC

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This could be low blood pressure related, but dizziness upon standing is also a sign of adrenal exhaustion.

answered Jun 28 2011 at 22:10

Rogue Nutritionist
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g. · Answer 8 · 2011-06-29 03:44:58Z UTC

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How's your potassium intake?

answered Jun 29 2011 at 3:44

g.
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	Bad :D. The only mineral I'm not getting enough of. I don't wanna eat more carbs, so how would I increase potassium intake? Avocados seem good, but I wanna wait a while with avocados as they give have a lot of copper and I need zinc right now to heal my skin from 5 months of allergies. Thanks for your answer again grenadine!! – Korion Jun 29 2011 at 6:16
	Just remember to eat a good variety of natural foods. A little bit of real fruit will not kill you. – CaveDad Jun 29 2011 at 12:21
	I'm having a tough time getting enough potassium too. I know you're trying to avoid carbs, but it's really important that you find a way to get the electrolytes (minerals) for your body to function properly. Without them, you're kind of wasting all the effort you're putting in to your new eating plan. Lack of potassium can cause the symptoms you describe: dizziness and erratic heart-beat, and the feelings of weakness you mentioned elsewhere. It actually can get dangerous if it gets too low. – g. Jun 30 2011 at 2:55
	Okay kiddo, I did some quick research. It looks like Swiss Chard (pretty sure this is called something else in Europe) is a the way to go. It has almost 1,000mg potassium per 1 cup (36g) and less than 2g carbs. I'm going to start eating it as often as possible. – g. Jun 30 2011 at 3:12
	And parsley was a quick fix for me :D. Thanks a lot grenadine! Oh, and I took a sea salt bath (only the face though, soaked it for 5 minutes) to get some more minerals. I had an exam yesterday, so I didn't eat that much. That's why I didn't have enough potassium. On normal days I get enough if I eat a lot of vegetables. – Korion Jun 30 2011 at 16:40

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Neane · Answer 9 · 2011-06-29 17:17:32Z UTC

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I bet it's because you're dehydrated. Drink some coconut water, it helped me with my super low blood pressure just yesterday. (87/53..surprised I didn't faint!)

answered Jun 29 2011 at 17:17

Neane
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Upping your protein will dehydrate you, and it IS summer. I know you don't want an answer as simple as "drink more", but if you want to feel better, try it and see if you do. – Neane Jun 29 2011 at 17:21

Lee · Answer 10 · 2011-06-30 16:33:58Z UTC

I'm having the same issue since Paleo. I am medicated for high BP, and I just started taking it and it's dropped substantially. My doc said to monitor it for a couple weeks and we may need to re-adjust.

If you've ever had high BP, this could be a sign of a good thing - but GO to a doctor!

Erin · Answer 11 · 2011-06-30 18:10:51Z UTC

Yes to postural hypotension. It could be any of the things mentioned above, but also make sure you're eating enough fat.

I went through some extreme dizzy spells about a year and a half ago, even fainting a couple of times. I did the full cardiologist workup and had no real problems. The Dr chalked it up low blood pressure and dehydration.

I went Paleo in Sept and started getting dizzy spells again. The nutrition consultant at my gym(also Paleo) told me I wasn't eating enough fat. That did the trick.

Now, if I ever start to get the lightheadedness, I think about what I've been eating, and sure enough, I've been skimping on the fat.

Dizziness when standing up

11 Answers