Hi All,

 

I've been gone from the list for a while but just signed back up. Still
dealing with various health issues and trying to find balance and health
through diet.

 

Last year there were messages going back and forth on protein intake,
Rosedale, and others and a lot of people on this list seemed to agree that
it's best to keep protein intake at a moderate level but keep fat intake
high. However, where would paleoman have gotten a lot of fat? Animals that
graze and eat their natural diet are also naturally lean - are they not? I
buy pasture raised drug free beef and it's very lean. So what do you get
your fat intake from?

 

I am still dealing with chronic pain (headache, backache, calf pain) and was
told to keep my protein intake to 25% of my diet. This doctor also thinks
that soy is healthy so I am not putting too much stock into his opinion on
diet, but I wonder, is there a correlation between high protein intake and
inflammation in the body?

 

Another question have pertains to food sensitivities. I used to get ELISA
food "allergy" tests and finally realized they are a waste of money. Last
year I got one from a lab in Germany. When I received the results I realized
some new foods to be tested they supposedly added were not listed. I phoned
the lab and they reran the test with the same blood sample. Within one week
the test changed greatly in that it may have shown no reaction to a food on
the first test and then a high reaction to that same food on the second test
and vice versa. So I finally gave up on those and instead started listening
to my body. I have a definite reaction to buffalo for example. That test
indicated I react to pork but I can't identify a reaction to pork unless the
inflammation and resulting pain I am experiencing is due to eating foods I
have a reaction to, and supposedly there are many. I have been told by
naturopaths that food sensitivities are real and to avoid the offending food
for 3 to 4 months and then re-introduce them slowly. I have been told that
any reaction to an unadulterated, healthy food, i.e. organic eggs, is a
healing reaction and not an allergic reaction and to keep eating those
foods. And I have also been told that the only true food sensitivities are
to soy, dairy, wheat, gluten, and eggs, any other reactions or sensitivities
just "build" on those, and as long as I avoid those five the other
sensitivities will go away. Incidentally a saliva test checking for
anti-bodies identified a sensitivity to all five of those foods. I am not
interested in eating dairy, soy, wheat, or gluten, but I would like to eat
eggs. I can tolerate one or two yolks, but anything more than that and my
stomach goes from flat to pregnant looking and I retain a lot of fluid in my
lower body. It usually lasts the rest of the day and is gone the next
morning. There is a question here and that is, what is correct? I just don't
know what to believe anymore and at this point eating has become a chore and
something I dread.

 

And speaking of having a pregnant looking belly and fluid retention in my
lower body, my hormones are so out of whack that for the last 17 days I have
been carrying around about an extra 10 lbs. I know the majority is fluid
retention but I am so swollen I cannot tell if I am gaining weight or not. I
am trying to go without using bio-identical hormones but I don't know how
much more of this I can take. I am so swollen it's uncomfortable to walk, my
stomach is so distended it hurts, and in general I feel so "puffy" I have to
force myself to work out. I went through the same thing in May and that time
it lasted 30 days. I had two "good" days and then it started over.

 

So here I am with a daily headache across my forehead, upper backache, lower
backache, and calf pain, distended abdomen, fluid retention, fatigue,
possibly candida overgrowth, possibly adrenal fatigue, reactions to many,
many foods, hormonal imbalance, and more and I am not getting better. In
January it was discovered that I have elevated ferritin levels so I have
been getting regular phlebotomies. Also, my cholesterol when last checked
was 292 and while my doctor is not concerned about heart disease because my
HDL, LDL, and triglycerides are all excellent, he said it interferes with
estrogen metabolites. He wants me to reduce my fat intake and increase my
fiber intake. Too many carbs make me feel even worse and as I mentioned, I
don't really trust him when it comes to diet.

 

Where do I go from here? I am 42 years old and aside from some hormonal
imbalance have been a healthy person up until about 6 years ago. I have seen
more doctors and have had more tests in the last 6 years than I have in my
entire life before then.

 

Any suggestions or information as always are greatly appreciated. I love the
wealth of knowledge in this group.

 

Kristina

 

 

 

 

"If you think you can, you're right; if you think you can't, you're right".
Henry Ford