Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Some background: I'm coming up on almost 5 months of hardcore paleo. I follow paleo to the Robb Wolf letter, the only "cheats" I've done is eaten rice 3 times (in 5 months) and I probably eat more fruit than I should.

My problem: I'm freezing cold all the time. Like blue finger tips and blue lips. I'm not sure if this is paleo related or not. I don't remember ever being this cold before. One day this week I wore 3 shirts to work. I have no idea why this is happening but it's really annoying.

What do you think?

flag	asked Nov 4 2011 at 22:11 kjoto 91●1●2

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Have you had your thyroid tested? Do you eat any seaweed, shellfish, or supplement with iodine? Giving up commercial salt we also give up the iodine in it and that can lead to depressed thyroid function, and feeling cold. My cold tolerance goes to hell in a hand basket when my thyroid is working sub-optimally. – Happy Now Nov 4 2011 at 22:20

How old are you, male or female....any history or problems with circulation? – JayJay Nov 4 2011 at 22:29

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Are you sure that your Paleo is HARDCORE enough!?! This could be your problem. – peter Nov 5 2011 at 1:14

Are you fasting? Fasting can really screw up the drenals and thyroid on some people as it did for me. One of the symptons is being cold. – Jonas Nov 5 2011 at 9:53

I don't fast. I am female and 31. I used to eat a lot of grains, I deffo got my 8-10 reccomended food guide servings. – kjoto Nov 14 2011 at 4:30

Paul Jaminet · Answer 1 · 2011-11-04 22:32:42Z UTC

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Look at this post: http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?p=4383 and scroll down to "What Happens When There Is a Glucose Deficiency?" and everything following that.

answered Nov 4 2011 at 22:32

Paul Jaminet
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Thanks much! I read it with great interest. – Nance Nov 4 2011 at 22:46

Huey · Answer 2 · 2011-11-04 22:34:07Z UTC

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Never wear long johns indoors. Go chicken-legged under you normal slacks or robe or whatever. Your body need to feel the chill in your extremities, in order to regulate your core temperature properly.

answered Nov 4 2011 at 22:34

Huey
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	I love this answer...+1 – JayJay Nov 4 2011 at 22:35
	Do you mean that the better regulation will happen instantaneously or over time (weeks? etc?). – Lauren Nov 5 2011 at 2:08
	Instantaneously. – Huey Nov 5 2011 at 14:08

daz · Answer 3 · 2011-11-04 23:50:00Z UTC

A similar thing happened to me when i went low carb (sub 50g). I think i may have had a broken metabolism before i went low carb. Anyway, i suspect my low carb diet may have pushed me towards hypothyroidism.

A similar topic is being discussed over here; http://paleohacks.com/questions/74722/is-body-temperature-an-accurate-indicator-of-metabolic-function-dysfunction

My body temp started to slowly warm up after i increased my carb intake, my diet & supps are now more PHD style ( http://perfecthealthdiet.com ).

EDIT: Technically it pushed me towards 'Euthyroid Sick Syndrome' not hypothyroidism, as my TSH, fT3, fT4 were all within range, but my rT3 was (is) High.

Just seen the Paul Jaminet answer which discusses rT3, Euthyroid Sick Syndrome & more; { Look at this post: http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?p=4383 and scroll down to "What Happens When There Is a Glucose Deficiency?" and everything following that }

Bread-Eating Beelzebub · Answer 4 · 2011-11-05 05:34:06Z UTC

I get this when I:

am raw vegan (thankfully not a prob anymore :) )
not eating enough calories
not eating breakfast
not exercising

This morning I was having this issue and once I ate a big meal and did some kettlebell it went away. I just have to make myself eat breakfast.

Senneth · Answer 5 · 2011-11-04 22:25:04Z UTC

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Could be Raynaud's Disease. Although I am mostly thinking thyroid.

answered Nov 4 2011 at 22:25

Senneth
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Raynaud's doesn't fit the description. – JayJay Nov 4 2011 at 22:32

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Why doesn't it? Feeling cold, especially cold extremities that discolour are exactly the symptoms of Raynaud's. – Ambimorph Nov 5 2011 at 2:56

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Could also be that she lives in Canada... I'm just saying. – peter Nov 5 2011 at 3:18

Yes, but Raynaud's also presents with patchy pale and flushed areas of skin; so for example, some fingers will go white, others won't, or a patch of the top of the hand will turn white. Cold extremities aren't a sufficiently specific symptom to diagnose Raynaud's. – Stephen Mar 18 2012 at 17:39

Nance · Answer 6 · 2011-11-04 22:15:28Z UTC

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I usually have this problem with the changing seasons and traditionally it's been even more of a problem if I've lost weight in recent months. Right now, I'm huddling under my comforter every night because I'm being very slow to adjust.

answered Nov 4 2011 at 22:15

Nance
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	See Paul Jaminet's answer below. Great stuff! – Nance Nov 4 2011 at 22:47
	Yah I'd agree that in my experience the leaner I run the colder I feel in winter for sure. – ben61820 Nov 5 2011 at 1:44

Tex · Answer 7 · 2011-11-04 22:58:42Z UTC

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I've only dealt with chills when IF'ing, if you're eating enough (and not fasting) then I don't think you should be feeling cold.

answered Nov 4 2011 at 22:58

Tex
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IFing, even with sufficient total daily calories does, towards the end of the fasting window, make me pretty damn susceptible to the cold here in NY – ben61820 Nov 5 2011 at 1:43

Vivalapaleo · Answer 8 · 2011-11-05 03:03:58Z UTC

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One way to check your own thyroid is to take your temp every morning before you get out of bed -take it under arm only and do it for a wk .Normal axillary body temperature is between 97.4 and 98.2 degrees Fahrenheit or below 36.5 c. Temperatures below that are suggestive of low thyroid.

answered Nov 5 2011 at 3:03

Vivalapaleo
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I did that test for a month before approaching my doc about blood testing. – Happy Now Nov 5 2011 at 4:23

NickTheRealEater · Answer 9 · 2011-11-05 05:59:55Z UTC

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Track your daily macronutrient intake.I think you are not eating enough protein and fat.Protein aids in proper thermoregulation and keeps your body comfortably warm.

answered Nov 5 2011 at 5:59

NickTheRealEater
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Long chain fats only keep you warm if they make you fatter. – Travis Culp♦ Nov 5 2011 at 7:19

White Dolemite · Answer 10 · 2011-11-05 08:31:30Z UTC

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Keep in mind that Adrenal Fatigue can also cause low thyroid symptoms, so you may want to get a cortisol saliva test done as well while you're at it.

answered Nov 5 2011 at 8:31

White Dolemite
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Seconded. For me, always being cold was hypothyroidism and adrenal fatigue. A visit with an endocrinologist, hormone panels, and a little levothyroxine got me out of my wool socks addiction. Seriously I wore them even in the summer. – Allie Dec 21 at 2:54

UncleLongHair · Answer 11 · 2011-11-05 20:25:34Z UTC

If "hardcore paleo" means very low carb (< 50g per day), then I would just add back some carbs. Going very low carb (25-50g per day) worked great for me for about 2-3 months, but then I started to have issues. I'd get cold easily, did not have much energy, poor digestion, poor sleep, etc.

My theory is that I somehow had built up a lot of reserves of some kind (I don't know the science well enough to guess what), which had messed up my metabolism. Going very low carb allowed me to burn that off, but once it was gone, I did not have that source of energy any more and had to add some carbs.

Now, I eat "good" carbs (tubers, etc) one or two meals a day. Not a lot, say 0.25-0.50 of a sweet potato in a meal, but I miss it if I don't have it.

Interestingly, my weight had plateaued when I stopped low carbing, and after adding back some carbs, my weight didn't change, but I went down another notch on my belt and began to look noticeably leaner. Before I went Paleo, eating more carbs made me fatter, but having been Paleo for months, it made me leaner. Haven't totally figured this out, but might have something to do with "leptin reset" or a similar phenomenon.

AdrianaG · Answer 12 · 2011-11-05 01:16:29Z UTC

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Thyroid. Check out Symptoms at http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/long-and-pathetic/

answered Nov 5 2011 at 1:16

AdrianaG
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Ann Wendel · Answer 13 · 2011-11-05 01:46:46Z UTC

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I agree, thyroid and/or Raynaud's......find a good endocrinologist...

answered Nov 5 2011 at 1:46

Ann Wendel
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	I've had my thyroid testing previous to going paleo. My mum had her thyroid removed 15 years ago. Maybe I should check again. – kjoto Nov 14 2011 at 4:31
	Check it again. I recommend Dr. David Boreinstein if you are in the Tri State area. – Allie Dec 21 at 2:55

peanutbuttteroutthewindow · Answer 14 · 2012-12-20 17:02:10Z UTC

you never mentioned what you eat . morning, lunch, din. if your cold in the a.m eat carbs or some warm animal protein, keep the basic salad for lunch. i have same issue though my thyroid is normal. i think the body needs more time to adjust.

And if your exercising more than what your carb load is , then that needs to change...

If you have been on a high carb like me your whole life, 5 months is a small fraction of that..

im no expert, just putting in my two cents

peanutbuttteroutthewindow · Answer 15 · 2012-12-20 17:04:09Z UTC

i experienced something odd the other day. I didnt eat all day and did alot of cardio, by noon i was getting noodled arms/legs. I could tell it was totally carb related. After fighting through it (maybe not recommended), i started feeling real good as if my body wanted to go through the recalibrating of muscles not getting their carbs...Not sure if this is true, but it was weird

I feel cold all the time, why?

15 Answers