somuch4food
Member
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2018
- Messages
- 1,281
Please bear with me it will be quite a long post, but you can skip to the end if you just want to get to the core of the subject.. I hope someone will help me with appropriate solutions or a better understanding as I don't have much time to research the subject at the moment.
I have reasons to believe that my health issues come from a chronic low grade acidosis state.
Long story
The first sign that I can associate with this phenomenon goes back to my teenage years. I always had poor cardiovascular capacity and would quickly be out of breath. Lactic acid also quickly built up in my muscle. This didn't stop me from enjoying sports though. I have really good coordination and am naturally skilled in sports. I also often got pain on either side of my abdomen whenever I ran or put too much effort.
Since then, I have suffered from fatigue, mild constipation, mild depression while still having the same problems while exercising.
I also had knee pain on and off since late teens.
My periods have always been painful and required some painkillers to get through the first few days.
I started my health journey in May of last year. My first changes involved reducing sugars and increasing colorful fruits and vegetables.
And I was rewarded with insomnia. [My 1 year old finally started sleeping the night and I found myself being the one that was now waking at night.] Depending on the night, I would have trouble falling asleep or I would wake in the middle of the night either for peeing, eating or just being plain awake and unable to fall back to sleep within a few minutes.
My focus was also bad during that time. I was unable to do much productive work. Interestingly, I had some of my best cardiovascular performances. I could still go full speed at the end of my hockey games. So, there was something at that time that I was doing right. I know I was eating more fresh food and less packaged food, I also was into Epsom salts baths.
I lost a lot of weight and strength. When I think back, I was not eating enough since I was still breastfeeding, but I was in the mindset that I needed to control food intake and that being hungry all the time is not normal and that I should restrict myself.
I then encountered Ray Peat and his unorthodox ideas during the summer and that threw me into a new loop. I started eating more again and tried to implement more of the staples (more sugar, fruits, dairy and salt) that are often mentioned. I got some improvements, especially mentally, but my insomnia did not resolve and blood sugar issues got way worse. I needed to eat all the time to feel ok and often crashed in the middle of the afternoon and had edema in my legs. This got me to my normal weight and strength again, thankfully. It also helped me get my period back. And amazingly, it was less painful, but subsequent ones were more painful.
Then in November, I got around to reading the low A thread and found an autism diet that was low in carotenoids. I always felt I related to autism while still being able to function within society. So, I thought why not give this a shot.
I started lowering my intake and saw improvements in sleep, focus and could sustain myself for longer hours without eating. I was feeling great and felt like I was finally out of this. But, the holidays got the better of me and I lost my balance by cheating one time too many because of social events.
Since then I have resumed low A, but haven’t found my groove back yet. So, I’m thinking there is one piece of the puzzle I’m missing.
What’s mostly different between the 2 low A diets is my breakfast. I have run out of maple syrup and so have stopped doing my homemade pancakes with baking soda/vinegar. I also eat oatmeal less often. Most of the time I have toasts with Nutella spread. I also ate more processed foods in the last few weeks.
I suspect acidosis since I have a couple of worsening episodes that involve acidifying:
I started using Magnesium Oil (chloride) each night during the summer and while it helped some symptoms after a few days, I got this anxious feeling after applying it.
Then, this winter, to help my dry skin, I soaked in a sea salt water bath and after about 20 minutes, I started to feel wired and I slept terribly.
As I eat more processed food, while still being low A, I stop getting better. A lot of preservatives are acidic, so that may be it.
Yesterday, I bought some electrolyte drink (mainly chloride bound minerals with citric acid and sodium bicarbonate) since I was feeling off. That was a terrible idea. I felt tired in the afternoon. My throat also started feeling sore and still is today. My motivation to make dinner was also non existent. And then, I couldn’t fall asleep when I went to bed for 3 hours (I ate a ton of fruits and at some point, I felt calmer and could sleep decently.
Whenever I get into that state, I’m more constipated, feel the need to urinate and eat more often and have way less energy. Edema appears when it gets real bad.
TLDR;
Symptoms: fatigue, abdominal pain, mild depression, mild constipation, lack of focus, insomnia, lactic acid buildup in muscles, frequent urination
Solutions that helped some: low A diet, Peating
Stuff that worsened it: repeated magnesium oil use, sea salt bath, electrolytes (citrate, chloride bound), processed foods
What I plan to do now to see if it helps: Fresh lemonade (citrus is said to be very alkalizing), baking some cake or cookies with baking soda and vinegar, more fruits including applesauce, reducing processed foods.
I'm looking for tips on the theory, possible solutions and what to watch out for. Links to easy to read articles are welcomed. I just don't have the time and energy right now to scavenge the Internet.
I have reasons to believe that my health issues come from a chronic low grade acidosis state.
Long story
The first sign that I can associate with this phenomenon goes back to my teenage years. I always had poor cardiovascular capacity and would quickly be out of breath. Lactic acid also quickly built up in my muscle. This didn't stop me from enjoying sports though. I have really good coordination and am naturally skilled in sports. I also often got pain on either side of my abdomen whenever I ran or put too much effort.
Since then, I have suffered from fatigue, mild constipation, mild depression while still having the same problems while exercising.
I also had knee pain on and off since late teens.
My periods have always been painful and required some painkillers to get through the first few days.
I started my health journey in May of last year. My first changes involved reducing sugars and increasing colorful fruits and vegetables.
And I was rewarded with insomnia. [My 1 year old finally started sleeping the night and I found myself being the one that was now waking at night.] Depending on the night, I would have trouble falling asleep or I would wake in the middle of the night either for peeing, eating or just being plain awake and unable to fall back to sleep within a few minutes.
My focus was also bad during that time. I was unable to do much productive work. Interestingly, I had some of my best cardiovascular performances. I could still go full speed at the end of my hockey games. So, there was something at that time that I was doing right. I know I was eating more fresh food and less packaged food, I also was into Epsom salts baths.
I lost a lot of weight and strength. When I think back, I was not eating enough since I was still breastfeeding, but I was in the mindset that I needed to control food intake and that being hungry all the time is not normal and that I should restrict myself.
I then encountered Ray Peat and his unorthodox ideas during the summer and that threw me into a new loop. I started eating more again and tried to implement more of the staples (more sugar, fruits, dairy and salt) that are often mentioned. I got some improvements, especially mentally, but my insomnia did not resolve and blood sugar issues got way worse. I needed to eat all the time to feel ok and often crashed in the middle of the afternoon and had edema in my legs. This got me to my normal weight and strength again, thankfully. It also helped me get my period back. And amazingly, it was less painful, but subsequent ones were more painful.
Then in November, I got around to reading the low A thread and found an autism diet that was low in carotenoids. I always felt I related to autism while still being able to function within society. So, I thought why not give this a shot.
I started lowering my intake and saw improvements in sleep, focus and could sustain myself for longer hours without eating. I was feeling great and felt like I was finally out of this. But, the holidays got the better of me and I lost my balance by cheating one time too many because of social events.
Since then I have resumed low A, but haven’t found my groove back yet. So, I’m thinking there is one piece of the puzzle I’m missing.
What’s mostly different between the 2 low A diets is my breakfast. I have run out of maple syrup and so have stopped doing my homemade pancakes with baking soda/vinegar. I also eat oatmeal less often. Most of the time I have toasts with Nutella spread. I also ate more processed foods in the last few weeks.
I suspect acidosis since I have a couple of worsening episodes that involve acidifying:
I started using Magnesium Oil (chloride) each night during the summer and while it helped some symptoms after a few days, I got this anxious feeling after applying it.
Then, this winter, to help my dry skin, I soaked in a sea salt water bath and after about 20 minutes, I started to feel wired and I slept terribly.
As I eat more processed food, while still being low A, I stop getting better. A lot of preservatives are acidic, so that may be it.
Yesterday, I bought some electrolyte drink (mainly chloride bound minerals with citric acid and sodium bicarbonate) since I was feeling off. That was a terrible idea. I felt tired in the afternoon. My throat also started feeling sore and still is today. My motivation to make dinner was also non existent. And then, I couldn’t fall asleep when I went to bed for 3 hours (I ate a ton of fruits and at some point, I felt calmer and could sleep decently.
Whenever I get into that state, I’m more constipated, feel the need to urinate and eat more often and have way less energy. Edema appears when it gets real bad.
TLDR;
Symptoms: fatigue, abdominal pain, mild depression, mild constipation, lack of focus, insomnia, lactic acid buildup in muscles, frequent urination
Solutions that helped some: low A diet, Peating
Stuff that worsened it: repeated magnesium oil use, sea salt bath, electrolytes (citrate, chloride bound), processed foods
What I plan to do now to see if it helps: Fresh lemonade (citrus is said to be very alkalizing), baking some cake or cookies with baking soda and vinegar, more fruits including applesauce, reducing processed foods.
I'm looking for tips on the theory, possible solutions and what to watch out for. Links to easy to read articles are welcomed. I just don't have the time and energy right now to scavenge the Internet.
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