Nutrient Deficiencies

I've been eating raw for about 6 weeks now. The first few weeks I was full of energy, excited, the novelty of this new lifestyle was exhilerating. Now it seems like all that has gone away. Maybe this can be attributed to transistioning from the transistion stage to the lifestyle stage of raw....

Anyway, I'm trying to understand how an individual can tell if they have any kind of vitamin, mineral, and/or nutrient deficieny. I read all about different deficiencies but what I don't understand is how do you know whether you are lacking any individual nutrient? How do I know for instance that the way I feel (low energy, more erratic emotions, etc) isn't due to something crucial missing in my diet?

any incite would be appreciated,

Ken

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Saz on April 7, 2009 at 11:55am: Track your diet on a nutrition data site like www.fitday.com ad it will tell you what you're deficient in so you can make the necessary corrections. :); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Nell on April 8, 2009 at 2:08am: Saz, I read this and took the advice myself... what an eye opener!!! I've suspected that I was low on iron since I've been feeling sluggish (and in fact have some supplements gathering dust in the cupboard) and this really put things in black and white for me.

Ken, just plug in your info for a day and maybe things will be apparent immediately since you eat very similar everyday.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mellifera on May 16, 2009 at 4:45pm: Chronometer is a freeware program that I use. Plus a cooking scale = pretty accurate. I use it only when I'm doing something new with my diet so I can figure out what a good load of nutrients looks and feels like.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by s on April 7, 2009 at 12:24pm: Get blood work done.
s; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Zoe on April 7, 2009 at 1:14pm: what exactly are you eating in a typical day?
it is good to eat a variety of foods and not the same things all the time. You can always take a high quality multi vitamin to prevent the worry/stress that you're not getting the right nutrients from your food...
Also when you go raw emotions become more raw and apparent. Cooked food really dampens emotions and when it goes, boing up come emotional rollercoaster. A lot of people including me have had emotional detox.It's up to you how you deal with it, there are endless options from eating a bit of cooked food when you feel especially erratic, to having alternative therapies like oesteopath/counselling/acupuncture/massage etc, self enquiry, meditation...to taking superfoods and supplements, to just taking your transition really, really slow in order to cope with it. 6 weeks in is not a long time at all. I'd say you are right slap bang into your detox, but you will know as time goes on and you get to know your body and mind on a deeper level. One thing I do know is that it won't last, you will find a way to clear it and get those good feelings back again. Drink loads of juice and water, enjoy the sunshine and make life as much of a pleasure as you can, it isn't a time to get bogged down in worrying...
Exercise really helps to zoom up the transition/detox process, especially yoga/ Everyone loves Bikrams, I used to do it but at the moment I like combat aerobics , boxercise and martial arts, such a terrific emotional release - knocking the crap out of a punch bag -Love it!!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Chicory on April 7, 2009 at 2:05pm: I felt really exhausted, brittle nails, gums that bleed easily, flaky dry skin and hair, low sex drive. I became deficient within only a few months, even though I was eating a vast variety of foods.... it's all about absorption... you can eat all of the vitamin rich foods you want, but your body might not be able to absorb them for some reason. SOmetimes too much fiber can block this as well. I recommend getting a blood test to see what you are low in so that you can tailor your diet where necessary :); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Alicia (BarefootHoodoo) on April 7, 2009 at 9:06pm: The only true way of finding out deficiencies is a blood test by the doctor. I was having some issues with being deficient in iron, B12, and folic acid. My issue was how much my body actually absorbs. To make sure I don't have a problem, I do take supplements. Since I have a chronic health condition (heart disease), I *have* to make sure I get enough of everything. Taking supplements is like health insurance for me. Some people don't take them, and probably don't need them as a result of being able to get more nutrients out of their food. I take the Vitamin Code vitamins, and they seem to really work very well. I take the Women's Multi, (you'd take the Men's! :) ), the Raw Iron, Raw B12, and Raw Antioxidants. I also take E3 live Enzymes, and Peter Gilliam's Natural Calm and Liquid Vitamins. It seems to work for me. If you don't have a chronic condition, taking a multi vitamin until you get well established as raw would probably be a good idea. You really can't tell just how much your body absorbs until a problem pops up.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by yoda on April 7, 2009 at 9:31pm: I agree with Zoe, since you've only been doing raw for 6 weeks, it may not be deficiences, it could just be a bit of a detox, all the stored up chemicals in your body are releasing and you're feeling the effects. Are you loosing weight? Lots of stuff is stored in fat cells, so when they shrink, there is a lot of additional stuff suddenly circulating that can make you feel pretty blah.

Blood work is the most accurate way to identify dificiences, hair analysis is one of the most accurate way of identifying toxins (heavy metals in particular).; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ken on April 7, 2009 at 11:11pm: Ok, lots to respond to. So as far as tracking goes Saz, I don't trust myself to log every single thing that I eat into a website everyday. I may be OCD about something like that for a few days but then slowly withdraw myself from using it. I'll attempt it but I don't think that's a long term solution for me. I don't know how you could have the patience :) haha

I'm type 1 diabetic since I was about a year old so I'm always getting blood work done. I'll schedule an appointment with my doctor and ask him to run a full analysis on my blood prefacing the request with an explanation on my new eating habits.

It's hard to say what I eat on a typical day in that every day is different. The only thing that is constant is a liter of green smoothie for breakfast. Today for instance I had a broccoli, mango, banana, flax seed, agave nectar smoothie. For lunch I had avocado, tomato, cucumber and lettuce on some Ezekiel sprouted bread and some olives on the side. Snacks were a pear and banana this afternoon. For dinner I just made red cabbage, soaked sesame seeds, cucumber, avocado, agave nectar....I just noticed that I repeated several ingredients today, I guess those are my staples. And tonight I'll probably have another fruit or make some oat groats, raisin, almond, mix in the vitamix. I'm also taking the Alive Multivitamin and glucosamine which help with joint pains in my hips. Activity wise I row, run, bike, and/or do yoga at least 5 days a week.

I have been losing weight. I'm actually fitting into a pair of pants that I haven't fit into in nearly 2.5 years. I've also noticed that I'm much more toned and it seems like everyday I perceive myself to be toner in the mirror. I prefer not to weigh myself and get caught up in all of that. Instead I'm trying to live this lifestyle and if weight loss is a by product then so be it. What you're saying Yoda makes sense because I was feeling emotionally stable for a few weeks, like never before, and then suddenly about a week and a half ago (when i really noticed the fact that I'm toning up) I started feeling down, lethargic, semi-depressed, etc.

How long does detox last and are there any apparent signs when you are coming out of it? Is that when it really feels magical...??? Is it literally a flushing of negativity from the body - emotions and chemicals? Zoe, I've found that for me Yoga definitely helps to stabilize me. I've found through this process of trying to become raw that not only do I want to alter what goes into my body but I want to alter the relationship I have with my body and I've found that I'm able to do that via Yoga. I think as long as you are sweating, you're doing a good job haha. On a lighter note, I feel like in some ways my whole life has been an endless stream of detoxing a variety of emotions caused by life situations. I'm pretty good at handling all sorts of different emotions so I'm not worried about a coping method, I just deal. Like I said though, lately they just sprang out of no where, amidst weeks of feeling fairly stable and that's what prompted me to post my first post on GI2MR.

I really appreciate all your advice, keep it coming,

Ken; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by ArugulaBugula on May 16, 2009 at 4:54pm: I feel like saluting one's self is actually a pretty badass way to start the day. I need to try this.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by FractaLove on May 16, 2009 at 9:44pm: hell yeah; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Saz on April 8, 2009 at 1:10pm: You just need to log it in once or twice. The deficiencies should be immediately apparent. But good luck!; ▶ Reply to This