Thanks J&K, I will be getting the results back on Friday so hopefully after that I will have a clearer picture of what I need to do :)
Printable View
Thanks J&K, I will be getting the results back on Friday so hopefully after that I will have a clearer picture of what I need to do :)
:) Hiya Sandra. Goodluck with the test results. I had a full blood test about four weeks ago because of a frozen shoulder :confused: and when the results came back my doctor said they couldn't be any better and believe me Sandra I am eating dreadfully at the moment. For instance today I've had 3 slices of fruit loaf, a packet of plain crisps and some sandwich pickle to dip them in. Sounds like some weird craving but nothing seems to tempt me at the moment. Maybe if I carried on like this any future blood tests may not be as good :eek: I am doing by best though....:(Quote:
sandra
So just to say don't worry I know you'll be fine ;) :) x
Hi Sandra,
I'd really quit worrying. You're probably doing fine and getting your bloods done was a good idea. It will most likely reassure you.
Although most of the information in this thread is good, you really don't need a degree in biochemistry, a bag full of supplements, complex analyses and heaven knows what else to live healthily as a vegan.
As for DHA, though some studies have found vegans to have lower levels of DHA, no adverse effects of this were noted. For all we know the medical profession will in a few years time be telling us the vegan levels were fine and the omni levels elevated.
If you're really worrird, the cheap Vegan Society supplement is just fine - the synthetic ingredients in it have been proven to do the job - and if you're worried about DHA, add a supplement for that too, especially if your results come back showing low levels. But quit worrying, it's bad for your health ;)
Cheers
Mike
Thanks Poppy, that was good news about your blood tests. I'm like you, sometimes I just don't feel like eating. I never did eat a great deal so now with trying to get all the different nutrients etc I'm sort of thinking I'm going to be spending all day eating! :) x
Thanks to you too Mike, I don't usually worry about my health [although you wouldn't think it by all my posts lately] but I just want to do everything right. I'm a bit of a perfectionist I'm afraid. You've helped me see that I am probably worrying over nothing, and I would be better waiting until I get the results anyway before I do anything else.
Sandra :)
Usually a full blood test that includes things like cholestoral can give you a good fat reading. I was told I had excellent levels of good fats.
I have also heard that the elderly, infants and those with certain illnesses can be at risk of low DHA conversion even from fish. It's just how it goes.
Eat a varied diet, stop worrying and enjoy life.
Your more likely to get anxiety disorders from all the stress of it all otherwise!
Does anyone know if it is possible to order vegan DHA from Norway or Sweden?
Yes. One of the original companies is in Switerland and will mail worldwide.
Their site is at: http://www.water4.net
Cheers
Mike
Ok, thanks :)
Hi Josh,
Here is my update. Since my last post and until last Saturday I avoided grains and nuts and focused on legumes and vegetables. Reasons being, nuts (which contain arginine) were giving me cold sores and I wanted to experiment with severely reduced grains. Namely because I felt I was getting too much carbohydrates and empty calories in my diet. Also, as grains contain arginine as well I thought perhaps they caused my body to be in a perpetual fight with the cold sore virus and thus perhaps making me tired. Also, I felt that reducing grains and increasing beans to make up for the methionine and cystine would make for a higher protein diet and perhaps help to put muscle on me.
These are my finding from this short experiment:
Initially the first few days I felt better, as I have posted. My vegetable intake increased and I was not eating processed foods. Eating wheat (which I may have an allergy to) caused adverse reactions. However, since making that post I began to feel unbalanced. That is not a satisfactory description, even to myself, so I continued. I am not sure that the following is related but I began to feel pain in my joints. This pain did not go away so I stopped lifting weights and exercising as usual. My knees felt hot and inflamed so I thought I would give them a rest. Similarly my elbows felt painfully. I had been reading up on Marfan syndrome(a connective tissue disorder which caused loose joints and various other symptoms) and was becoming concerned(I have several soft signs) and my mother had been urging me to have my heart tested (she has CHF) so I went to the doctor. Like I said he diagnosed me with several soft signs and I am waiting to take tests for the hard signs. When I got home I looked into Marfan a little more, on sites such as www.ctds.com This site and some others about arthritis (which is a somewhat similar disorder) suggested that deficiencies of copper and cystine were to blame for these symptoms. I looked these nutrients up and found that copper is found to rich in lentils, grains, seeds and mushrooms, and that cystine, in the vegan diet, in mainly found in nuts, seeds and grains(also lentils). After I reintroduced grains into my diet my pain has decreased significantly and I now feel "balanced". I'm not knocking your diet for sure. It sounds like it would work for many people. Perhaps a diet that included lots of lentils would be sufficient cystine for me but that is for another day. I am trying to include an ounce of nuts in my diet but I find this to be very constipating :( TMI I'm sure. As far as putting more muscle on, my research on Marfan's showed that people with Marfan's don't have much muscle mass and also are not encouraged to lift weights as their ligaments are stretchy and do not snap back, also increased heart rate is not recommended. I will keep you posted on the final diagnosis and any further experiments if you are interested.
Best
Haniska
p.s. My eczema has returned :( I am cutting out wheat but it is hard.
Hiya SandraQuote:
sandra
Hope all was ok with your results :) x
Haniska:
Goodness, gracious! I am so sorry to hear of all you have been through in the past few weeks. I certainly don't wish to diagnose anything, as I am not a doctor, and I will look very forward to hearing your test results (I hope they are positive).
That being said, I would find it hard to believe that any nutritional deficiencies developed so quickly, so I would venture to guess that it would not be that the replacement of these foods caused instant nutrient deficiencies.
Many who go on a more nutrient dense diet feel detox symptoms, which can be anywhere from modest to severe, usually for a span of one week up to a month or perhaps more (although this is rare). IT is possible what you felt was that, but it is also very possible it wasn't.
I just hope all your tests come back well!
Best,
Josh
I would like to agree with you there. Instant nutrient deficiencies seem ridiculous. It would be as if I got a cold after a week of being vegan and my grandmother blamed my diet! However, if my copper was already borderline low, or if I had an icreased need for copper would it be different? I'm not sure on that one, but in the case of the cystine it would make sense. I mean, we need to replace proteins every 4-5 hrs, so why wouldn't my connective tissues deteriorate if they were lacking the specific amino acid which repairs them? Especially since I was walking every day and breaking them down. Obviously I am not a doctor either. I did feel some detox symptoms (or rather smelled them!) when I first started which I took as a great sign. I have never felt detox symptoms like this [joint pain] before, but I will leave open the possibility.
Thanks for all of your good wishes!
Haniska
Thanks Poppy, Well I rang for the results yesterday expecting to hear they were normal but was told the doctor wanted to see me. The nearest appointment I could get was Tuesday 8th, so I'm going to have a long wait. The nurse said to me 'don't be worrying', well as soon as she said that I was worried!Quote:
Poppy
Haniska try soaking nuts overnight or for several hours. This makes them more digestable.
I get eczema mainly when I eat nightshade veg such as tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, zucchini, capsicum. Also anything scented like soap, washing powder etc will flare it up.
:) :) Hiya Sandra...Quote:
sandra
I'd be the same as you. There's a saying "Worry is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere"
Try and have a good week-end :) x
Thanks Poppy, I will. Sorry I can't help with the vegan wine kit, hope you can find one soon. x
Haniska:
Anything is possible, in terms of the cystine. But, your body should generally be producing cystine on its own (it's a conditionally essential amino acid) from methionine. Brocolli and brussel sprouts are both listed as good sources, as are red peppers and oats (porridge or oatmeal is the best grain food in my opinion, and can be eaten somewhat regularly).
In terms of detox symptoms (again, I'm not saying this is what you had, but just to inform you), people who nutritionally rid themselves of arthritis will tend to have horrible flare ups first, before it finally leaves the system. Now it is possible that is what was going on with you, but it is possible it was other things as well.
If you are concerned about cystine levels, one sure way to find out is to go to your doctor and have him/her run an amino acid profile on you. Takes the guess work out of it.
For copper, you can either be taking a multivitamin, or eat prunes, lima beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, mushrooms etc. I still think this unlikely as an immediate deficiency, but anything is possible.
I continue to wish you the best, and I'd love to be kept in the loop with how you are doing.
Sandra -- Please don't worry. I'm sure it is nothing major that can't be fixed quickly with appropriate changes. I'm thinking of you and wishing you the best also :)
BEst,
Josh
:) Thanks Sandra...all sorted now. You just take it easy this weekend.:) xQuote:
sandra
I'm aware about the methionine but thanks. I know that some foods have "some" methionine and cystine but not in amounts that would be 100% at the end of the day, unless I was a raw foodist. I'm going Friday to have an echo done. Thanks for the tips treehugga, I have been thinking about the nightshades myself.
No worries. I also struggle with wheat, but find spelt and kamut are fine. Hope you sought things out. :)Quote:
Haniska
I was just talking with my dad, who seems to be rather interested in nutrition, is a doctor, and has read a lot of medical literature, and he says that he only takes fish oil supplements once or twice a week. He does this because from what he had read, apparently you only need to get one to two servings of fish a week to get enough DHA. Since the DHA in fish oil pills equals the DHA in one serving of fish, he doesn't think he needs to take fish oil pills daily. I take a liquid DHA supplement derived from algae, and wasn't sure how this information would translate into the algae supplements. I would like to take the DHA supplement as little as possible, yet enough to be healthy, because it is expensive. Does this mean that I should only take my DHA supplement 2-3 times a week rather than every day?
One daily dessertspoon of flaxseed oil provides the nutriment, and without mercury!
Hi Pascale,
I have never heard that you don't need to take it every day, but it may have the same effect with just a few times a week. people often try to over do vitamins, and there are some i only take every other day, just because i know i get the nutrients from food mostly.
I am also in the US - can you share which brand you take? I have been looking for one of the algae DHA supplements.
I use Dr. Fuhrman DHA purity: http://www.drfuhrman.com/shop/DHA.aspx
I use this because I have a lot of difficulty swallowing pills. It's expensive, which is why I want it to last as long as possible. If I could swallow pills, I would probably take this supplement: http://www.veganessentials.com/catal...t-by-nutru.htm
SILK is now selling a DHA fortified soy milk. Don't worry, it's algea based DHA. Finally!!! :D If you drink Soy Milk and do not take a DHA supplement, this would be a good way to go to make sure you're getting your DHA. I don't want to turn this thread into a health debate as to wether or not we actually need supplemented DHA. But those in the camp that think we do will be happy to see it in Silk. The only problem is, they don't list the actual amount in each serving. If anyone knows, let me know.
Hi Soyqueen01...............to be honest I can't really remember why the doctor wanted to see me about the results. I think he just wanted to re-do one of the tests as the results weren't clear. I do know though, that after they were re-done, everything came back normal........thank goodness!
Thank you for asking. :)xx
Hi everyone,
Does anyone know about the (relatively) new DHA supplement v-pure, a pill supplement from algae. Supposedly its advantage over all competitors is that it contains both DHA and EPA (from what I understand a "parent" building block for DHA. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.
EPA converts quite readily to DHA, but the reverse is less efficient, so there is some science behind the claims. It's no more expensive than - for example - Deva's DHA supplement (also vegan and made from algae) and they occasionally do a 3 for the price of 2 offer. I've been taking it quite regularly for a over a year. Can't say I've noticed any difference in my health, but they're a perfectly decent company to deal with.
Cheers
Mike
I take it, irregularly though :o
I think the argument for this over the DHA-only ones was that some bodies are better at converting the various substances than others, and that it's difficult to know whether you are good or bad at it so this is like an insurance policy. I also think I read the criticism that the amounts included in V-pure are quite low, but it might be better than nothing even so.
You can find more detail earlier in the thread, I think.
The question I have is for a detailed response as to the value of EPA.
I use a vegan DHA supplement now which costs much less then Vpure. I am considering switching to Vpure but need to know if it's truly going to have any benefit compared to DHA alone
Thanks!
I know this is old but I wanted to post the info in case somebody happens to search here for it.
To answer the question,
"Silk Plus Omega-3 DHA contains 370 mg of ALA and 32 mg of DHA per serving."
Wow, there's a lot of info to wade through here.
Since this thread has been inactive for awhile I'm wondering if anyone has new thoughts on DHA?
I just started to consider taking it (today actually) and am overwhelmed by the choices.
I sporadically take flax oil, but I can't seem to stomach the taste anymore.
So right now am considering Deva omega 3 DHA softgels, OmegaZen3 by NuTru, and Vpure vegan EPA DHA omega 3. I saw all of those on Pangea's website.
I have been taking v pure EPA-DHA for about two years I think. Expense wise, I know that I would spend more time buying and\or squeezing seaweed [ or grinding sones if that was the only way] than I spend on this stuff.
I take more than the 'capsules per day' recommended on the tub because an 'expert' gave me some numbers [which I haven't checked myself]. The placebo effect is pleasant even if I gain no other benefit. :)
I'm thinking about buying/taking the v pure epa-dha supplement. I'm a bit confused though. If you take this supplement, do you still have to worry about how much omega-6 you're taking, or does it not matter? Is omega-6 what prevents you from converting ALA to EPA and DHA, or does it prevent your body from using any omega-3 (ALA, EPA, DHA). I apologize if this question makes no sense. I'm just trying to figure out what I should or shouldn't eat.
Does anyone track their intake of omega-3 and omega-6? So many foods I love contain a high ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 (avocados and soy!). Even things that I've seen recommended as good sources of omega-3 (like avocados and walnuts) have way more omega-6 than omega-3. In fact, the only thing I've found that has significantly more omega-3 than omega-6 is flaxseed... and I feel like I can only eat so much flaxseed!
I remember something about omega 6 inhibiting absorption of omega 3, and I did once write an essay about alpha linoleic and alpha linolenic acids for a happy snacking sister, but I cannot remember properly to be honest.
I don't remember anything about omega 6 preventing production of DHA nor EPA.
As with other antagonistic nutrient absorbtion combinations, I guess that a handfull of one food type is only in the crucial part of your digestive system for x amount of time. When you are finished absorbing your first essential substance, then you can put in your second.
Obviously things could get a bit more complicated than that, but it is better than a jigsaw puzzle... actually that could make an interesting four dimensional kid's game:).
I reckon the gut can be pretty quick if you don't stuff it full all at once.
Flax is a tough and slippery protecting beauty, with just a bug's worth of poison for the tail.