Ant22 said:
I've been attending something called 'military fitness training' run by ex-soldiers and I thought that with time I'd adjust to the intensity of it. And boy this is intense. I used to do it on Sunday mornings but that meant the rest of the day was totally unproductive because I'd literally collapse for the rest of the day - physically and mentally. So I decided weekday evening classes were a better option as I'd just go to sleep shortly afterwards. I kept going with it as apparently exercise helps keep iron levels low - and that's something I need to watch out for.
Apart from high TSH all my other test results are very good so I'll switch to less intense workout and re-test in 3 months like you said.
Yeah, intense workouts in the morning raise cortisol and adrenaline inducing stress-state metabolism. If you are going to do any workout, try to make sure it is mid-way through the day or in the early evening, and not in a fasted state. Glycogen stores in the liver and in muscles should be optimally formed via meals throughout the day, that way you should be able to undertake short bursts of exercise to increase metabolism
without relying on stress hormone release to break down pre-existing muscle tissue for energy. This is why cardio is generally a catabolic, inherently stressful type of activity and is also associated with a variety of health conditions, namely heart attack. On a similar note, caffeine works in a similar way to exercise, and one of the reasons why people get the "jitters" and stressed out is because they do not have enough glycogen stores or dietary substrate to meet the increased metabolic requirements.
Ant22 said:
Hi Keyhole, thank you very much for all the information you provided in response to my earlier posts. I’ve been meaning to reply earlier but I started to read about PUFAs, fish/krill oil etc. and there was always something more I wanted to research before I replied. In the meantime two weeks have passed. :)
I guess PUFA toxicity is not the whole banana in my case, but rather a powerful incremental improvement and a very important piece of the puzzle. Cutting them out has really helped me a lot and I am super grateful for all your info on this topic.
Glad it helped.
Keyhole said:
I don’t get cold hands or feet although I am in fact quite sensitive to cold. I thought about it quite a lot recently and although this may be a symptom of underactive thyroid, I've also noticed that people from the same region of Europe as me do like to turn up the heating a lot. I live with two other girls from my part of Europe and you should see my heating bills! ;) Well, either that or thyroid issues are more common back home than where I live now! :O
Hmmm, well your TSH is raised, so I would guess that there are some issues with thyroid availability nonetheless. This doesn't necessarily mean that the thyroid gland isn't working, but for whatever reason, the system is picking up on the fact that thyroid hormone is not working in cell as it should. That is my take on it anyway. From what you have said about some of your symptoms already, I wouldn't be suprised if there were elevated stress hormones on a regular basis (which can account for the "normal" body temperature". It would be worth checking internal body temperature via Dr Broda Barne's methods just to check, before and after meals etc. Fwiw, all illness other than infection generally features some defect in the mitochondrial respiration, so if it is not due to inadequate thyroid production/conversion/or utilization, it can also be a problem with one of the Krebs cycle/ electron transport chain intermediates. Could also be estrogenicity which is halting the thyroid and/or depriving tissues of O2. Additionally, I would be interested to see what your levels of Pyruvate dehydrogenase and Pyruvate decarboxylase were in comparison with lactate dehydrogenase and/or lactate, because it can simply be a B1 or Biotin deficiency which halts energy production. There are a lot of factors involved, but usually a lot of problems can be dealt with by aiming to optimize the mitochondria. The tests above are specialist tests, are likely not available publicly in Poland, and would cost you are fair amount of money to acquire in the UK (roughly £300-£500).
On the topic of cortisol/adrenaline, a major factor driving this in most people is artificial light. Blue light in and of itself can (and does) destroy mitochondria, but when exposure occurs at night time, cortisol and adrenaline and glutamate are stimulated (amongst other things), and inhibitory factors like GABA are suppressed. So this may be worth considering.
I’ve been taking glycine for a while now, I drink marrow bone broth and eat chicken soup cooked with whole pieces of chicken, including bones. I guess I’ll continue to do that!
Good stuff, keep it up!
Keyhole said:
Perhaps there is a physiological role for PUFAs in humans living in traditional winter conditions, but that has changed now IMO.
FWIW, looking back at the above seems that I might have given the wrong impression. There are physiological roles for PUFA, but what I meant to say is that PUFA in any significant quantity in the diet likely plays no beneficial role for modern humans, because we need little amounts and can synthesise some also.
Grains (especially gluten but not only that) just don’t agree with me. I feel best when I stick to meat and vegetables with occasional grainy or sweet snacks. I agree that a new approach is probably needed to combat issues that come with modern world lifestyle.
Yeah, I agree with this. Didn't mean to give the wrong impression before, because I do think that a Paleo-template is generally suitable for most people. Although by paleo, I don't necessarily mean low-carbohydrate. And I think for some people fruit is probably good aswell, as long as they don't have major issues digesting it. Basically, anything that looks tasty, can be eaten with minimal preparation (raw, boiling, frying etc) that would grow on a tree or out in the wild is probably safe if the system is working properly :). Some people seem to need a lot more carbs, some people clearly need less.
But as mentioned earlier in this thread, apparently candida overgrowth is a body's response to environmental toxicity too as it entraps hard metals and toxins keeping them away from internal organs. I had issues with candida in the past due to overprescription of antibiotics (a year and a half between 2011-12) and this coping mechanism significantly aggravated my problems.
I don't know, maybe our bodies are still going through some evolutionary process of working out the best approach to environmental changes which are very recent?
Yeah, that makes sense to me. I am interested in the details though, so my question here becomes: Why can't the body rid itself of toxins in the first place? Yeah, the environment has changed a lot and we are exposed to some nasty things. But from what I understand, the body is very adaptable, provided it has enough energy to be able to adapt. So my focus would be centred on fixing the problem of systemic energy deprivation. This is based on the idea that the body has its own innate intelligence, so as long as there is sufficient energy, the outward manifestations or symptoms should be corrected. Again, this is just a theory, but seems to match up with a lot of the research and evidence that I have looked at, and also makes logical sense IMO.
I don’t know enough to develop a well-informed opinion on this yet but what I do know is that I have felt MUCH better since I stopped taking krill oil. I have re-introduced all other supplements back into my diet and I avoid PUFAs like the plague.
Awesome! Onwards and upwards.
