The question:
I've started noticing a curious correlation between eating--particularly breakfast and lunch--with feeling quite warm--enough that I sometimes want to to get in front of a fan to cool off. Don't feel "bad," just warm! It lasts anywhere from 10-30 minutes. I'm curious to understand--not necessarily to make it stop (unless it's bad), but maybe to appreciative it, if it reflects positive change. Can anyone suggest possible causes?
Possibly important background:
I'll spare the laundry list of all the improvements since going paleo with two exceptions: I've dropped 23 lbs without trying, and it seems I've kicked my PPI addiction at last. Those two alone are worth the price of admission.
Food: I eat beef, lamb, goat, eggs, some fish, fat (coconut, gf butter, lard, ever-diminishing amounts of olive oil), some bone broths, limited pork and poultry, don't currently eat many starchy foods, carbs come mostly from veg and fruit. I do consume fermented grass-fed dairy (full-fat yogurt and kefir seem to VERY much agree with me), and a little hard grass-fed cheese--all apparently without negative response. Yes to coffee and green tea. I don't generally consume nuts--I just don't tend to desire them. I drink alcohol as needed , though find myself desiring it less and less, and consume "open" meals occasionally, mostly only when it eases social circumstances--and these almost never cause a response that I can detect, not even gas.
Supplements: probiotics, betaine HCL and digestive enzymes w/meals; (Hypothyroid folks commonly have reduced acid/enzymes, and these seem to have helped me kick PPIs.); sometimes fish oil, depending on diet.
About the thyroid, I had hyperthyroidism as a kid (likely Hashimotos--I have antibodies), and was treated overly aggressively with anti-thyroid drugs, resulting in apparent permanent thyroid damaged. I feel best on a high dose of Armour Thyroid to keep TSH very low, quelling autoimmune response. (Synthetic thyroid hormones were a disaster for me; Armour a blessing.)
Which would you choose:
The diet has revealed auto-immune response to food toxins/bad oils; eliminating them has reduced inflammation, thus improving thyroid function; I'm now possibly over-medicated. (I realize I need a new thyroid test.)
The diet has revved up my metabolism; this alien feeling is what healthy feels like; enjoy it, it's normal, it happens to everyone/most people/a lot of people; I've become a more efficient burner, so when I feed, I burn;
Some other reason; I'm ignorant; (How dare you!)
None of the above, turn off the computer dummy, go outside and get some sunshine, you hypochondriac. (Note: it's January in Chicago, of course I'm going to sit around obsessing! It's a winter tradition!)
Thanks for any thoughtful reflections. Hell, thanks for any heckling and lobbed, red pulpy nightshades, too. This community has been a great help to me!
