Fatigue, mental illness and diet

Based on years of personal experience, I'm increasingly convinced that some forms of fatigue and mental illness, particularly things like depression, anxiety and insomnia, are caused in large part by not getting enough animal products in your diet -- especially Vit B-12 and saturated fat.  B-12 is directly involved with many aspects of brain and nervous system function, and saturated fats are precursors for a number of hormones that affect mood and energy.

[[MORE]]One thing to watch for on the fatigue side is that after a while, Paleo can cause what used to be "subclinical" hypothyroidism to come to the surface. If you're eating right, yet still tired all the time, even when you get plenty of sleep, I would highly recommend having your thyroid levels checked. You might also look at supplementing with a little iodine, particularly if you've stopped using iodized salt.

The best thyroid tests are Free-T3, Free-T4 and ultra-sensitive TSH. See:
http://johndommissemd.com/page/368509
for some info along those lines. You might also try measuring your basal body temperature before you get out of bed in the morning. If it's regularly a degree or more below 98.6, that's suggestive of hypothyroidism.

There are, of course, a number of other issues that can also be at play: everything from sleep apnea (snoring or a morning sore throat are common symptoms) to nutrient deficiencies. Magnesium is by far the most common nutritional deficiency, and correcting it often helps hugely, partly because it allows you to more fully relax, both mentally and physically. Eliminating gluten can help, too, by allowing leaky gut to heal, which then helps you absorb nutrients better while also reducing food allergies.

Managing allergies

I went through a number of years of having severe allergies. However, I was eventually able to largely cure myself; today I’m 90% better than I used to be.  A few things I learned along the way that might be helpful:

• Allergies are, of course, an immune system issue; immune system support is therefore essential. In addition to avoiding allergens, it's also critical to reduce your exposure to toxins.  Even micro amounts that wouldn't bother a healthy person can be very damaging to the immune system.  This includes things like pesticides, formaldehyde, perfumes, cleaning compounds, etc.

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• Long-term allergies are almost always associated with poor nutrient status.  Magnesium, in particular, is extremely important, but so are all micronutrients. "Natural Calm" is a good source of magnesium. A good broad-spectrum multivitamin can be extremely helpful, even though they can take a very long time to have a full effect (on the order of several years). "Beyond Any Multiple" (BAM) is a good one.


• The combination of the above two items means that supplement and food selection is very important: organic, pesticide-free food is crucial.  The issue with supplements is one of purity and freedom from microcontaminants.  Brands such as Thorne, Jarrow, Carlson, Now and Country Life are good.  I’ve had terrible luck with Twin Labs and Allergy Research Group.


• Myself and many of my highly-allergic friends (but not everyone) have found certain "neutralizers" to be extremely valuable.  These are temporary quick-fix things you can do to turn off an acute allergic reaction.  The one that works best for me is Alka Seltzer Gold.  It works is by rapidly alkalinizing the body, which has a normalizing effect on the immune system. I can be feeling absolutely terrible, exhausted, brain fogged, ready to collapse, and 5 minutes after consuming the Alka Gold, I feel completely normal.


• You might consider having yourself checked for heavy metals.  High levels can have a very damaging effect on the immune system.


• Yeast overgrowth can be another issue.  The yeast can cause the gut wall to become leaky, so that small particles of food enter the blood, which then provokes allergies.  A very low carb or even zero carb diet (Paleo or Paleo-like) can be a big help there, although you may also need to take an anti-yeast medicine such as Nystatin for a while to completely clear yourself out.


• Hormone levels are another thing that often seems to get tweaked when allergies flare up.  In my experience, they often seem to be a precursor to more severe health issues.  Thyroid issues, in particular, are very common—probably in part as a result of not getting enough iodine, which is already low in most people’s diet.  There’s a negative feedback loop here, because you also need adequate levels of thyroid hormone in order to be able to absorb nutrients from your food.  Testing and diagnosis of thyroid levels is (surprisingly) a bit controversial.  One easy at-home test is to measure your basal body temperature, before you get out of bed in the morning.  If it’s more than a degree low, that is almost certainly indicative of a thyroid problem.


• Active detox programs can help to significantly speed up recovery time.  They aren’t fun, though.

Ideas about treating hypothyroidism

I was hypothyroid for years, but managed to slowly reverse it, and at this stage I no longer need the meds (although I may well need them again at some stage).

If you're facing this too, here are few tidbits that might help:

• Your thyroid gland adjusts its output of thyroid hormone in response to how much hormone it senses in your blood. That can make you feel terrible after starting on a big dose of Synthroid all at once. It's better to add a little at a time, and work your way up over one or even two months.


• Increased fatigue when you first start with hormone supplements isn't unusual. It normally goes away in a month or two.

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• Synthroid is synthetic T4. It has the advantage of providing a very exact dose compared to other brands such as Levoxyl, which some people claim is helpful. I found it wasn't that helpful for me, and I much preferred Armour Thyroid, which comes from an animal source. Armour also includes some T3, which is the active form of the hormone. Some people have a hard time making T3 from T4. There are specific lab tests that can help narrow this down (Free T3, Free T4, etc), but many docs don't seem to understand them.


• Try monitoring your body temperature before you get out of bed. It can be a good indicator of your body's response to the hormone supplements. A temperature of less than 97.6 to 98.0 generally means you should increase your dose slightly.


• Iodine supplements can be very helpful, since thyroid hormone is composed primarily of iodine.


• You might also want to look into the Wilson program, which involves adjusting T3 dose only, in a cyclical way. It has cured hypothyroidism in some people (I went through it myself; it helped, but didn't cure me).


• Check your environment at home and at work for toxic chemicals. Some chemicals can compete with thyroid hormone for hormone receptors, which decreases its effectiveness in your body. They can also impair the thryoid gland's ability to produce. Even small amounts of things like formaldehyde, paint fumes, bug sprays, etc, can be damaging.


• The thyroid gland is known to be very sensitive to toxins.  I suspect that as people lose weight on a Paleo-type diet, and as the toxins the body naturally sequesters in fat are released into the blood (a well-documented phenomenon), that it might eventually be thyro-toxic or suppressive in some people.  If so, it suggests possible treatment or nutritional support (increasing glutathione, etc) while you’re losing weight could be a good idea.