Vitamins

[smg1950]

I inject sc roughly every other week but am going to try every week. I’ve read that necessary to take folic acid ( various ideas on this re amounts) but do you take other vitamins especially B vitamins on a regular basis? Also recommendations re potassium intake? Any other nutritional advice welcome. Not a vegetarian but find beef lamb pork difficult to digest so only eat small amounts . Thanks for any input

[jade_s]

General wisdom says a modest B complex can be useful, to keep all the Bs in balance. Try to avoid those with high doses of B6, my preference is less than 10mg. B6 can be toxic if levels build up.

Folic acid - my personal view is start with blood tests. If low, supplement (at some dose, see following suggestion). If it's good, but b12 frequency is ok but you still have low b12 symptoms, it can't harm to try various f.a. doses while keeping a daily symptoms log.

Potassium is important when first starting or changing frequency to for example EOD. It can go low because it's used up making a bunch of new red blood cells. I don't imagine your potassium levels will be too stressed going from 2 weekly to weekly, but it can't hurt to eat some extra potassium rich foods in moderation.

For digestion i drink lime juice with meals. Some use apple cider vinegar.

Good luck with the increase!

[smg1950 in reply to jade_s]

Thank you. Interesting to know any recommendations as so many conflicting ideas on various Facebook sites.

[jade_s in reply to smg1950]

You're welcome! I agree it's a bit of a mess. In my opinion there is no 'one size fits all'. I've been both burned & helped by advice here (long time ago), others have been hurt by FB recommendations while I was helped. Thus now my only mantra is "keep a symptoms log" then you know what works for you.

[Technoid]

10 good potassium sources

m.youtube.com/watch?v=6j4Qf...(Not working as expected?)

[Sneedle in reply to Technoid]

I usually prefer to read things rather than watch but this was great! Cheers!

[Technoid in reply to Technoid]

In terms of broad nutritional guidelines, I agree with a slightly modified Michael Pollan quote:

"Eat whole food, not too much, mostly plants". I inserted the word "whole" in this quote.

I would add to supplement Vitamin D as needed for those in darker climates or mostly staying indoors. An RDA multivitamin is a reasonable addition that may help especially on days where your diet is a bit challenged - travelling etc.

For more detail I like the Harvard guides

hsph.harvard.edu/nutritions...

hsph.harvard.edu/nutritions...

If your diet is more restrictive, you have allergies or intolerances, or you are treating deficiencies or an absorption problem you will of course need to adapt the guidelines to best suit your personal situation. In this case using Cronometer (diet/nutrition calculator) and consulting specialists like a registered dietician, gastro,nutritionist etc may make sense for you to make sure you getting everything you need.

[smg1950 in reply to Technoid]

Thank you. Interesting and informative video. Owing to gut problems unable to eat high fibre beans lentils etc but do eat fish spinach kale but not broccoli plus the daily banana despite not figuring high up but easy on my tum. I’m not sure my dr has ever tested salt or potassium levels and wouldn’t ask them as I just keep a low profile after all the problems with them. All advice gratefully taken on board .

Thank you

[Technoid in reply to smg1950]

Yes, introducing high fibre foods too quickly can cause gut problems since the gut beasties that can digest them are not yet present. It might be possible to increase fiber slowly using more refined foods first, e.g. white rice, white bread, potatoes, then over time introducing and replacing them with small amounts of healthier higher fibre food like whole grains, then the more difficult ones such as lentils, beans and finally broccoli etc.

Based on Gil's experience with his mum:

m.youtube.com/watch?v=8ulyG...(Not working as expected?)

[EiCa in reply to Technoid]

I can personally attest to the usefulness of Cronometer. While it took me some time to learn the ins and outs of the app, it is immensely useful and, for me, eye/opening as it so clearly showed some pretty big deficiencies and excesses in my macro and micro nutrients. It is an amazing free tool. Anyone who is trying to “guess-timate” their nutritional needs or intake, should consider investing a little time in using the app. Once you figure it out, entering dietary data (as often as you want) gives an incredible amount of information.

[Technoid in reply to EiCa]

Cronometer ended up saving me a lot of money (and peace of mind) because it showed me that I get almost 1mg folate (2.5x the RDA), 3.6x the Iron RDA, 2.2x the B1 RDA, 2.1x the B6 RDA, 2.x the Magnesium RDA and 1.4x the Potassium RDA.

These were all nutrients I had some concerns about but was then able to see I was getting more than enough just checking a typical days eating without supplementing any of them. Thus I was able to cut them completely out of my supplementation routine and save some pennies (although we dont have pennies anymore right...)

[smg1950 in reply to Technoid]

Thanks Technoid I will definitely look at this . Good to know what a difference can be made re diet

[Bellabab in reply to Technoid]

Well most of those foods I would not be eating on a regular basis anyway. The use of slightly green bananas was first mentioned in the Newcastle Diet because beans etc. simply have too many calories. I eat one every day and my K levels remain stable and within range - they are also delicious with my high nut, cereal, dried fruit Muesli with real yogurt, kefir and mandarine topped breakfast.

[Technoid in reply to Bellabab]

Blood potassium is not a great reflection of adequate dietary intake:

"60-75% of total body potassium is found within muscle cells, with the remainder in bone. Only 5% of potassium is located in extracellular fluid (ECF), therefore potassium concentration in blood is not always a reflection of total body potassium levels. Plasma (ECF) K+ concentration is tightly regulated; fairly small changes can have marked effects on organ function, with severe abnormalities of plasma K+ being life-threatening situations."

from eclinpath.com/chemistry/ele...

Checking your dietary potassium intake with Cronometer would be more useful. The Potassium RDA is 2,600 to 3,400mg. An average banana contains about 360mg Potassium. So a banana would be about 10-14% of the RDA which isn't a massive contribution. 86%+ of the RDA would still need to come from foods in your diet other than the banana. My point is that the banana is not making the contribution to the potassium RDA that you seem to think that it is making.

The Newcastle diet is an extreme calorie-restricted diet containing only 600 calories, so of what consequence is it that they excluded beans and included green bananas? It isnt intended as a safe or healthy diet long-term so whether they included one food or excluded another has no obvious value to anyone trying to eat a normal healthy diet long-term.