I have been having major chickpea cravings lately :confused: This has never happened to me before. I guess because I have had such uncontrolled hypoglycemia that I am in need of a good protein source.
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I have been having major chickpea cravings lately :confused: This has never happened to me before. I guess because I have had such uncontrolled hypoglycemia that I am in need of a good protein source.
I was craving chick peas as well...Quote:
Banana
I have wondered if I have hypoglycemia. I get very sick if I eat something sugary, especially for breakfast. I have never been able to do donuts or waffles/pancakes for breakfast without a lot of protein with it and even so I feel awful so I basically NEVER eat that stuff. I have been making pancakes lately (my boyfriend loves a vegan recipe I found) and i just can't eat the maple syrup without feeling like I am going to die later. :eek: I eat maybe half of a pancake and a few tbs maple syrup and that is it. They just taste so good! :o My blood sugar must be all off. :confused:
I have type 3 hypoglycemia, otherwise known as "reactive" hypoglycemia. I get crazy sugar cravings and can eat tonnes of sugar in one sitting - and I love the taste of it. I feel really great for half an hour or so, and then I feel horrible.
My symptoms are:
- constant hunger
- weakness
- shakiness/becoming uncoordinated (I even fall over)
- sugar cravings/binges
- headaches
- insomnia
- severe and sudden moodswings
All these happen if I don't eat properly (low GI/delayed meals etc...) It is really annoying. Protein lowers the GI content of meals, which is why I need them
I ate 1 cup of couscous yesterday before I went to work. It was the Casbah brand. I seem to remember it had 9g of protein per quarter of a cup. Anyway, it seemed to be a great source of fuel. I went to work for a very busy 6 hour shift and had lots of energy without getting hungry!
Does anyone know if this would be considered a good source of vegan protein?
I get filled up from couscous too - but I thought that it was primarily carbs. Was there anything added to it?
Just some dried mushrooms, herbs and spices. I was wondering though is 9g per quarter of a cup a good amount of protein? I don't really have any idea.
this is how you calculate your protein needs:
http://exercise.about.com/cs/nutrition/a/protein_2.htm
id go with the lower number because thats what ive seen recommended around alot.
after figuring out how much protein you need, then you can decide if thats alot or not. i would say it is! thats more than in one cup of soymilk (7 grams)
Thanks Foxy :)
Banana I tried to send you a PM, but your inbox is full, so thought I'd post this here
Blood sugar:
You seem to know quite a bit about this, so thought you would be the best person to ask.
I have been feeling really rough lately and think it might be related to blood sugar. I am going to the doctors this morning, but wondered if you could help anyway.
Symptoms:
Really shaky in the morning, unless I have something like a banana in the evening before bed
Cravings for dark chocolate and I eat the whole lot. After I feel good for about 10 minutes then I start feeling terrible - panicky, shaky, just strange
Nervous/anxious
Fuzzy head, like I am drunk, dizzy, eye feels weird
I can feel my heart pounding through my body particaurly in my head.
My nose area feels tingly and tight
Tingly hands
Really emotional and weepy
The only things I eat that don't make me feel like this are things like beans, nuts, vegetables.
I don't have problems sleeping, no headaches.
Hope you can help because I feel like I am going crazy. :o
Thanks
Liz
Sorry to hear you are feeling this way :( I hope you feel better soon.
WHat you are describing does sound like hypoglycemia, but other things can be responsible for those symptoms too, so it is good that you are going to your doctor to check it out.
When my blood sugar is really whacked, and I am suffering insomnia badly, I too get panic attacks. My advice, if your doctor doesn't otherwise advise you is to eat low GI and do what I am doing - avoid all sugar - including sweet fruit for two weeks. This should stabilise your blood sugar if that is the problem but beware of SEVERE sugar cravings!!!! I am absolutely dying right now!
If you need any advice on low GI, I am happy to help. But make sure you go to the doctor coz I am not qualified to diagnose you :D - Your doctor may run some tests to determine the problem and if it is blood sugar related.
Thanks Banana
I just got back. The Doctor is going to do a test for diabetes on Monday. Can't do it today because I need to fast before hand and tomorrow they are full!
Hopefully it will rule it out. I want to make sure it's not that :)
Hi Kumem
Just wanted to let you know I'm thinking of you and hope you feel a little bit better over the next few days, leading up to your diabetes test.
Love
Roxy.
Thank you Roxy :)
I hope your tests goes well and it comes back clear :)
Bananna! wow... this totaly describes how i feel and have been feeling for multiple years now...i really never thought about hypoglycemia.Quote:
Banana
i was reading about the low g.i. diet and it sounds like an overall good thing...but they use it for weight loss! i dont need to loose weight.
can a low gi diet be used to maintain and or gain weight???
Just because you eat low gi, doesn't mean you are dieting! It just means that you have to be careful to maintain a steady blood sugar. It means eating regularly, eating the right combinations of foods - for example if you want to eat something high GI, it is important to combine it with something low GI, so that it evens out.
I had a SHOCKING day today. I was craving sugar so bad that I ate 15 medjool dates at work. And I am still craving more. I want to cry. I can't handle this. I am going to the doctor this evening. :(
From what I know about low G-I diets, I think they encourage the eating of wholegrains rather than refined carbs (eg, wholegrain breads and pasta rather than white breads and pasta). Is this true banana?
Has anyone heard of low-fat lupin? Of course I know what lupin flowers look like, but was reading today that lupin seed has been used since Roman times. The article says that the small creamy-coloured Australian sweet lupin is the 5th largest crop in Australia and is fed to cattle.
However, Dr Ramon Hall of Deakin University reveals that their scientific research shows that lupin can replace fat, lower cholesterol, decrease blood glucose levels, improve bowel health, taste good, - and, I suspect is totally vegan. Apparently they are hoping to interest fast food people, to include lupin in bread too. It is grown mainly in Western Australia.
Sophie Sipsa, project manager of grain & legume products developed at the WA Dept of Agriculture, states that a number of European companies sharing concern over GM foods, have made the switch to lupins. Apparently lupins have been used to substitute up to 30 percent of soybeans in tofu.
I've never heard of it. If lupin decreases blood glucose does that mean you get urges to eat more?
dunno, but neither have I heard that decreased blood glucose increase one's appetite. If that's the case, what hope is there for me on a low GI regimen? :)
It depends on which GI plan you look at - on those fad GI diets, they will tell you to eat white spaghetti instead of potatoes, just coz the GI is a lot lower. They disregard the nutritional properties of potatoes, and the fact that white spaghetti has no nutritional value as such. In a good GI plan, they do encourage the consumption of whole grains, instead of refined grains. Another example is rice. A good GI plan will tell you to have brown rice, but a fad one will tell you to have white basmati rice. It can get a little confusing!Quote:
Roxy
All right, I looked it up, and now I know even less!
Blood sugar is a feedback mechanism, meaning that there are steroid regulators which keep the concentration more or less regular (Insulin when too high, glucagon when too low). Glucagon induces the liver to release more glucose into the blood, so I would assume this would also induce hunger if there is not sufficient glucose in the liver.
I don't know much about GI foods, but my understanding is a low GI food release the glucose slowly and stays in the liver longer so you don't get hungry as fast because the glucose is able to be released when glucagon signals are received by the liver. Lupin may work in this way.
I can't see anything in my first year bio book that explains sensations of hunger! Perhaps the new one I need to buy before the end of the month will have something on it.
:)
Just got done reading this thread, it's pretty interesting. I often find that there is no agreement on the amount of protein 'required' by your body. I do believe it also matters what you're doing each day, what you hope to achieve, and how much muscle you have that needs to be sustained with protein. Body builders that I've talked to seem to suggest that you should eat at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight - but they are talking about someone who is lifting heavy weights frequently who is trying to get larger. Someone who doesn't lift anything heavy, who sits around a lot, who doesn't want to get bigger muscles, surely they don't need 1 gram per pound?
When I first started weight-lifting, I decided to find out about protein, and I read somewhere (I forget where, it was a long time ago) that an adult male needs roughly 60g per day and an adult female needs 50g per day. I just accepted this, and then calculated how many peanuts I would need to eat to reach this. So I ate 200g of peanuts everyday, along with some bread and sometimes pasta. During this period, I gained much muscle, and I as able to lift heavier and heavier weights very rapidly. These days I don't pay as much attention, and I worry about eating 200g of peanuts a day because that is quite a lot of fat (around 85g?). I take soya protein shakes, soy milk, some nuts here and there, brown rice, and soy substitute meats. But I don't feel like I do as well as I did when I was mainly eating peanuts :s
Thanks Banana!
I have never heard of that lupin. I wonder how long it will take for them to Genetically Modify it (if they haven't already)! :rolleyes:
My blood tests came back as negative for diabetes. Today I seemed to develop severe hayfever all of a sudden and have been put on steroids and antihistamines. The doctor seems to think that the hazy head and the shaky feelings I was getting could be a lead up to this.
Have never had symptoms before and had no idea hayfever could make you feel so bad.
Liz
My mom was reading an excerpt from a book shes reading that said that you shouldn't eat soy protein everyday because if you eat too much it can do more harm than good. Grant it the book has a copy right date of 1999 so I'm sure much more research has gone into it and the theories have changed, but has anyone heard anything about this and what up to date studies have said about consuming too much soy, if there is such a thing? I eat tofu and soy ant least once a day. :confused:
Yes I've heard that as well, don't know if there's much to it. In reality it's probably not good to eat too much of anything. I figure if it's true, there'll be whole threads here on the dangers of soy like there are about the other vegan danger foods with hydrogenated oils etc. There are enough intelligent, well researched members here for basically any info relating to things affecting vegans that is more than six months old to be posted somewhere.Quote:
Wishin986
That doesn't mean everything will be, but if soy is harmful in large amounts I guarantee there'll be a discussion here somewhere (haven't looked myself).
Found it! Seems to have a bunch of mixed opinions.Quote:
adam antichrist
http://veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=626
at the moment, i eat a little too little protein. my main source is soy protein powder, but i don't want to eat that in excess, or rely on only soya for protein. i eat nuts and seeds, but at the end of the day, a normal portion of those won't give me many grams of protein... i eat quinoa/amaranth/millet regularly, and they all have lysine so that's sth at least. and lentils. but i'd need some more concentrated sources, i think. any tips of proteiny foods/dishes? i'm not all that fond of beans...
whole-wheat pasta, brown rice, oatmeal, whole-grain couscous, nutritional yeast
I would suggest using hemp protein powder over soy any day.
oh, i didn't even know that existed! i don't think i can find it around here, though... but i'll keep my eyes open. hope it tastes better than the seeds, though! i don't like them, and i really love the taste of the soy protein in my soy yoghurt - aaah, it makes the yog so smooth, thick, creamy, flavourful....!
pasta and other grain products aren't the best sources... they don't have all aminos. complete protein is better absorbed. for most people that's not a problem, as you tend to eat a variety of things throughout the day and so get all the aminos. but if eating very small quantities of protein, it might be important to get complete protein so it is more efficiently utilised by the body. that's why buckwheat, quinoa, millet and amaranth are good options for grain foods. and gluten-free!
There are so many different beans - don't you like any of them? :( What about lentils? I suspect these naturally-occurring foods may be better for us than powdered this and that.
you don't have to combine proteins; that's a myth.
actually, whole grains are an excellent source of protein. 1 serving contains 8 grams. the average woman only needs 40-50 grams per day.
check out goji berries if you want amino acids.
as I said, I know you don't have to combine protein. But complete protein is more easily absorbed by the body, so while it isn't an issue for most people, for someone who eats little protein, it is.
harpy: it's true, there are lots of different beans. I do like to chick peas,I just happen to burn them each time I boil some...:/ I guess I have also gotten used not to eat beans much, as I've tried to follow food combination suggestions and beans are both starch and protein rich, which is supposed to be bad. I don't even believe all that much in that, and mainly tried it in the hope that it would work (and in some ways it does make digestions better), so really I should just get used to eat beans again. Anyway many times you acquire a taste for something precisely because you eat it. sprouting beans should also make them more digestible, and sprouting is so fun! said and done. tomorrow I will buy some beans and start sprouting :)
I couldn't believe in any eating plan that outlaws beans and lentils, they are a great food that people have been eating for millennia (although they have always made the odd rude remark about them - the Romans used to anyway I think).
You could always buy the tinned chickpeas as a last resort...I agree dried ones make more sense from a lot of points of view though.
Sprouting is an excellent plan - things taste less bean-y when they're sprouted, don't they? I find raw sprouted chick peas a little indigestible, so I usually cook them for a minute or two. But raw sprouted mung beans, e.g., seem to be OK for me.
My favourite is flageolet beans. Don't think you could sprout them though as they're an immature version of something else that escapes me. :)
Hi Ukahela, have you seen this list...?
avocados apparently contain easily digestible protein and lots of other good things!
harpy: food combining advocates don't usually suggest not to eat beans or lentils (lentils I really like, by the way!), just that you shouldn't combine them with other starch or protein rich foods, and as that is quite a bit of a hassle, I have simply ended up not eating much of them. Come to think of it, I really like green peas, too! I make sprouted pea soup regularly, it is so delicious! and yes, sprouted beans do tend to taste less "beany"! :) boiling them just a little makes them nicer still. and i love seeing the little thingies grow!
and redwellies - avocados are just splendid! I eat them everyday, mmm!
I forgive them then ;)Quote:
ukahela
It doesn't sound as if you're doing too badly for protein sources really - was there a particular reason you thought you weren't having enough?