Anyone A vitamin Guru?
 

I was wondering with all the ketones we are releasing etc. Is it a good idea to do a vitamin regime that might include activated carbon or something similar that might pull the toxin's out etc.

Anyone have ideas or opinions on this? Anyone really care? :)

Ramona

Ramona,
I don't recommend doing any detox protocols so early into the Atkins WOL. Clay and carbon may be more appropiate further down the road for you. Your body is busy adapting to the new WOE and has been detoxing from the sugar and other stored chemicals in your fat. Most toxins have an affinity for fat, so they will be absorbed by the fat from the foods that you're eating as it passes along in your intestines (as opposed to being 'drawn' out by clay, carbon, etc.)
Toxic chemicals (neurotoxins) are stored in your fat cells, so you need to be aware that quite a lot of detox occurs as you loose weight. If you want to enhance your detox pathways you can:

---Take a TBS of flax seed oil and enough Niacin to cause a *flush*, then exercise for 20 minutes-- then immediately sauna in dry heat for UP TO 15 minutes. Shower off the expelled toxins, then repeat the exercise and sauna several times a day. If you're ill, be sure to check in with y our doc or a detox specialist first (MD of Environmental MEdicine). Drink lots of water through out the procedure.
---Take milk thistle seeds and other liver supporting herbs and supps.
---Dry body brush everyday. skin is the largest detox organ.
---Take care of your lungs, a lot of toxins are released from your lungs. If you're having any respiratory problems, be sure to address them. Lots of herbs are available for them as well.
---Water, water,water, water...can't be stressed enough.

Be sure to take a multvitamin with a lot of anti-oxidents, B-complex and minerals with this WOL.

You're doing so well! Good luck on your trip, too.

Katherine,

You reply is loaded with info :thup: How does one go about dry brushing? And what herbs are good for the lungs?

Wa'il

Not sure If Katherine's answer will be the same, Wa'il but this is what I do:

http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...&threadid=18982

Nat

P.S. I didnt think we looked that much alike, did you ;)

off the subject
 

hey nat - i went to that thread and your picture that comes up is different. question - who'd ya cut out? (and why) ;)
brenda
p.s. now S (when she's reading over my shoulder) dosen't know who you are. she said, "how'd they get a new natruska?"

BODY BRUSHING:
The link seems to be very good. I'm too tired to read it all tonight. BUt, looks good from what I skimmed.
LUNGS:
The best support for the lungs is to do breathing exercises. Do this with your eyes closed at least in the beginning to block out distractions and to monitor your body’s responses.

Place your hand gently on your stomach. Slowly take a deep breath, filling the lower abdomen first. Then fill the mid section where your hand is. Continue to take the breath into the lower parts of your lungs and up into the upper parts of the lungs (your shoulders will rise as you do that last step.) taking in as much air as you can. Hold it for a moment.
Now slowly expel all of the air in your lungs starting with the abdomen and ending up expelling air by rounding your shoulders. Squeeze out every bit of air that you can. Hold it for a moment.

Repeat as many times as feels comfortable, but stop if you feel dizzy or lightheaded. Do this several times a day. Do not cause your body any pain while you do this; be relaxed. As you expel the stale air give your body the oxygen boost, you’ll feel rejuvenated instantly. It also teaches you to utilize your abdomen muscles to breath more deeply. Most of us shallow breathe from the upper part of the body. Think of the abdomen and lungs as being a bellows and pull the air deeply into the body, filling the upper part last.

If it triggers coughing or wheezing, try to relax more and focus only on the exhalation. Totally exhale your normal breath and then build up to the exercise of filling the entire lung cavity. If you have a flow meter, check it before and after doing these for a month. Typically, you’ll find that you’re doing much better.

HERBS:
Herbs for the respiratory system depends on what symptoms are present. If none and you want to keep the system functioning well during a detox protocol you might want to check with your health food store for a formula or try one or more of the following.
Use as directed on the bottle or take less than recommended.
Lung Wort, Mullein, Lobelia, Pleurisy Root (do not use if pregnant), Horehound (do not use if pregnant, it’s also an appetite stimulant), Angelica Root (do not use if pregnant), Coltsfoot (do not use if you’re pregnant or nursing).

NAT?!?!
 

I love your new hair do! You look totally different! WOW!

K - that is REALLY interesting stuff. The breathing exercises are familiar to a yoga tape I have - do you do yoga?

Yeah Nat - your pic looks GREAT!

Re: off the subject
 

*lol* That's John. I had to cut him out to make the avatar fit (100 x 100 pixels) I'll post the larger pic later today.

:)
Nat

How am I doing?
 

Hi there. Just had a couple of vitamin questions. I currently take a vitamin called women's mega daily supplement from GNC. I don't know if you are familiar with GNC. General Nutrition Store. I also take a potassium supplement as well. The lady at the store recomended L-Carnitine said its speeds up your metabolic resistance, sppeds up the fat burning process. She said its one of the amino's and is harmless to you. Is this true? Do you reccommend taking the extra potassium? Sabrina

Katherine --- Thanks....

I really wasn't planning on doing a detox. I was concerned about the fact that fat does hold the toxins and if we are dropping the fat... burning it.. Toxins are being released. You helped alot with your information. ie; the fat we eat.... absorbing the toxins.

I got really sick last year (hives, rashes whenever I ate, feet and hand tingling, tight scalp, gained weight, fatigue , emotional roller coaster, cellulite etc) Not pretty. From what we could determine it might have been a house termite treatment (not of my doing) which surpressed my immune system. It all came on in one day!

I immediately went to a Naturopath and did chelation, oxygen therapy and a huge vitamin therapy. A year later I am feeling much better. Being on Atkins has helped remarkabley even tho it has only been a week (TA DAH!!!).

I feel like I am ready for the next phase to release the weight and I justed wanted to make sure I was handling it right. Some people who are toxic cannot lose weight fast because of the amount of toxins in their system.
So thank you .. thank you .. thank you .... :)

New photo opp!!
 

Nat... great picture... you are a Goddess!!!!

Ramona

I do now. I learned the breathing techniques long before that though. Yoga is wonderful in that you focus on what YOUR body is telling you, not what an exercise trainer is telling you. You can also tailor it to your own needs. I like that, too. How long have you been doing yoga?

L-Carnitine
 

Hi Sabrina!
L-Carnitine is an amino acid that the body uses to convert fat into energy. The body manufactures it, however taking a supplement may increase the body's ability to produce energy. Some people say that it's a performance enhancer. IF you're on any anticonvulsants, you may need to take a L-Carnitine supplement.
Don't buy D-Carnitine or DL-Carnitine. They can cause muscle pain and loss of muscle function as well as angina.
Um, well Sabrina, how to say this without sounding mean or offending? :( I don't purchase GNC brand vitamins because they charge premium prices for average to low quality nutrients. In my opinion, your money will be better spent at a healthfood store with a knowledgable person, preferably the owner , who will help you locate the best quality, the same goes for herbs. With this WOE you will most likely need extra Potassium, Calcium and Magnesium. Be sure that your vitamin has a good B-Complex, and has lots of antioxidants, too.

HTH

Termiticide
 

RamonaK,
Was it Chlorodane or another chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticide? There are so many studies on the effects of these toxins. Are you sensitive to chemicals now? I'm so glad to hear that you're recovering. Are you taking plenty of antioxidants? Can you take a TBS of organic flaxseed oil before you exercise? It will help to absorb those toxins. Ask you ND if she recommends the charcoal or clay, she will know if it's called for. You need to be careful not to overload any of your detox pathways. She can help you with that, too.

In one of my writing classes, I'm currently working on an article on alternatives to chemical pesticides because of the harmful effects that so many people have had-- like you did. I hope that I'm not violating any rules here on the website, and please tell me if I am, but I'm copying the 'resources' section of the article to the bottom of this post. I don't have anything to do with the companies listed or the books, just wanted to share the data. BTW, IPM stands for Intergrated Pest Management.

The Resources:
If you don’t want to do the IPM methods yourself, you can hire a specialist trained in IPM.
-Check your yellow pages under Pest Control for an IPM specialist.
-Call or write The Bio-Integral Resource Center (BIRC) for a list of the IPM specialists in your area. BIRC, (510) 524-2567, PO Box 7414, Berkeley, CA 94707.
-Call the US Pesticide Telecommunication Network (800) 858-7378

If you’d like to learn more about IPM, read the following books. They list the most effective ways to get rid of specific pest problems.
-Bug Busters: Poison Free Pest Controls for Your House and Garden, by Bernice Lifton
-Natural Pest Control: Alternatives to Chemicals for the Home and Garden, by Andy Lopez.
-Common-Sense Pest Control: Least Toxic Solutions for your Home, Garden, Pets and Community by W. Olkowski, S. Daar and H. Olkowski.

Thanks for the advice. I dont think your mean. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and I appreciate you expressing yours. The only thing is I dont think I can return these vitamins. So when I finish them I will take your advice and go to a health food store. If the l-canitine is a performance booster and increases the body's ability for energy would'nt this be a good thing? Or am I getting it wrong? I do feel like I don't have energy at times but I think that may be due to my underactive thyroid. Please let me know if you recommend this stuff then. My vitamin has B-1,2,6,and 12. Is that good? What antioxidants are you talking about? I am a total dummy when it comes to stuff like this, not knowing whats good for you and why etc. Can't ya tell? So I really do appreciate the help. Sabrina

Sabrina
 

L-Carnitine is one of those things that you need to try and see if it works for you. If you respond to it, wonderful! If not, well at least you tried. Isn't your doc recommending something for your thyroid? It may be a likely culprit in your fatigue.
First, I don't think of you as a dummy at all, you have what it takes to learn something new! That's called being smart! Second, I love this stuff :D .
Basics rule to remember:
Fat soluble vitamins will be stored in your body. You need to be aware that this accumulative affect can turn them from friend to foe due to toxicity at high levels. Don't over-do these.
Vit. A (Beta-carotene is not fat soluble. Your body will convert it into vit. A)
Vit. D
Vit. E
Vit. K
The rest of the vitamins are water soluble , meaning that they aren’t stored. What your body doesn’t need, it releases.
B-Complex
B1—Thiamin
B2—Riboflavin
B3—Niacin
B6—Pyridoxine
Biotin
Pantothenic Acid and Pantethine
Folic Acid
B12--Cobalamin
The ‘unofficial’ B Vitamins
Choline
Inositol
Antioxidants
Again, to keep it simple, you should (and may already)understand what role antioxidants play in your body by knowing about free radicals. No, they’re not political extremists living in a free society. ;) Yes, they’re the same ones that you learned about in high school chemistry. :rolleyes: To refresh your memory, a free radical is a molecule with two or more unpaired electrons that do not react to each other, but do react with other molecules in their attempt to find balance. When this process breaks up another molecule it comes in contact with, the remaining pieces will not behave like the original molecule, thus it causes damage to the body. Research has shown us that free radical damage is the under lying cause of many diseases as they react to our lipids, proteins and nucleic acids.

This is where antioxidants come in, they protect the body from free radical damage. Think of them as mopping up the damaging free radicals in your body. The body’s two primary antioxidants are vitamins C and E. Vitamin E mops up free radicals in fats (lipids) and is known as a lipid phase antioxidant, and vitamin C mops up free radicals in water and is known as an aqueous phase antioxidant. They need supportive nutrients such as Selunium, zinc and vitamin A (Beta-carotene) which you're most likely getting in your daily multiple.

Thanx Ka3ryn, One more question, if my body didnt react well to the l-carnitine how would I know? Would there possibly be some reactions that you know of? I believe my vit. has all of those in it,si I should be good to go? The lady at the healthfood store said that women need extra pottas,calci,and magnes, I currently take the pottas supplement, are the others needed like she said? Just want to make sure need more than one opinion, I dont want to give my body something it doesnt need that could be harmful. Sabrina

p.s.
 

I forgot to tell ya that I do currently take synthyroid and have been for several years. My doctor checks my blood quite often to see if my dose is ok. Thats why I wondered about the carnitine.

You would feel no increase of energy I just checked several sources and none list any known side effects. This is not to say that you won't have something come up so keep an eye on what your body is telling you.
This is another reason why it's so important not to do too many things at once. It's hard to keep up with what is helping and what is hindering. The body also needs time to adjust. If you're not having any negative reactions, you should give any herbal or nutrient at least a month to see if it works or not. With this WOE, you most likely need potassium as we are drinking a lot of water depleting it. However, for women, our need for calcium goes up as our estrogen levels go down. Cal-Mag-Pot w/ Vit D is often used because they aid in the absoption of Calcium. I assume this is why she recommended the supplement. If your multiple has the Cal-Mag why don't you try to keep it as simple as possible for now and see how you feel? I agree with you.
Does he have you keep track of your basal temp. (taken in the am first thing?) There are some other things that might help with fatigue if the amino acid doesn't help. Remind me later if it doesn't help you.