- Word from the Dietician by drpr
18 y
2,260 3 Messages Shown
Blog: Raw Odyssey
The
dietician I met with was pleased with my blood tests because they show
basically good results- especially my cholesterol of 177. My iron level
is measured by the HGB test, and at 13.1 it is at a normal level. The
albumin test confirms that I am not suffering from muscle wasting. The
tests show no clear link between the diet and my hair loss. However,
she did say that everyone is different, so certain nutritional levels
may be fine for one person and not so fine for the next. Here is a
breakdown of the advice she gave me.
CALCIUM
This
level came up as "borderline low." She suggested that I eat more
greens, continue with the cheese, and even suggested I look for "milk
curds", which are less processed than cheese, and which makes a good
base for salad dressing.
PROTEIN
This
is also borderline low. Although one's protein level cannot be raised
by simply eating more protein, it can be improved through an overall
balanced diet. However, in my case she says that I should be eating a
lot more protein due to my weight (I weighed in at 275 today). She
wants me to go for 100 grams a day. To do this, she suggests that along
with the plant proteins (including nuts) I should continue to eat raw
cheeses, and she recommends fish daily instead of only 3 times a week.
100 grams of protein sounds like so much to me, but experts disagree on
how much protein one should eat. I've read where 20% of a woman's diet
should be protein. On a 1700 calorie diet that would be closer to 80
grams. On a good day I get between 40 and 60. I will try to do 80 to
100 grams a day.
FATS
Not
only does increased protein help with hair, but eating enough healthy
fats is also good for it. The good fats have vitamins A, D, E and K.
The dietician suggested I get these in the form of olive oil, certain
nuts (like walnuts), avocado, canola oil and salmon (since I already
eat salmon).
B VITAMINS
I
hardly eat any grains-the only grains I eat come from a slice here or
there of Ezekiel bread and Ezekiel tortilas. She suggested I look for
ways to incorporate more raw grains into my diet. The cooked kind is
also fine, but she warned that B vitamins are lost when grains are
heated, so they are actually put back in during processing. Naturally I
choose raw- if I can figure out a raw grain I will enjoy eating! For
now, it's Ezekiel, because I don't like the raw grains I've tried so
far.
MAGNESIUM
Magnesium
is generally good for you, and apparently it is related to successful
weight loss. A good source of both magnesium and calcium are figs- even
the dried kind. I've therefore decided to add those to my diet. I got
some dried and fresh ones today from Trader Joe's. You know, the dried
ones really reminded me of Fig Newtons (hmm, I guess they really are fruit and cake).
THE PLAN
I
really liked how the dietician took into account my raw diet and my
hair loss concerns when making her recommendations. I will follow her
advice to the best of my ability and continue with the cheeses and fish
despite the fact that I would prefer to get my protein from only plant
foods.
My updated meal plan will go something like this: dried
fruit and some nuts for breakfast as I've been doing, but a smaller
amount. For lunch, a large vegetable salad with a few nuts, and things
like goji berries, raw milk cheese, avocado and olive oil. Yum! I'd
gotten away from these tasty salads. I'll probably have a slice of
Ezekiel bread as well, or create a salad wrap in an Ezekiel tortilla.
For dinner I'll have maybe 2 ounces of fish and another slice of
Ezekiel bread, and possibly a small green salad.
In one month I
will visit her again to see if there is any reversal in my hair loss
(I'm not feeling positive that one month is long enough, as I'm still
seeing breakage and thinning). I'm going to track my intake on
Sparkpeople because I know I won't reach my protein goals otherwise.
So: onward and up - I mean DOWNward!
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drpr
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- Hair by #33832
18 y
1,475
| Just one suggestion, but rather than eat anything cooked like salmon or anything dairy, why not go ahead and take large doses of biotin? I did, and my hair has never looked healthier or fuller or more true to color. If you are eating plenty of raw food, you should be able to assimilate the biotin rather easily and it does work, my hair is waist length again and all of it is healthy looking from root to end, and it grew very very fast.
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- Re: Hair by drpr
18 y
1,241
Thanks for the suggestion! Right now I'm trying to see what I can do with food rather than supplements. I found a website that lists food sources of biotin and which recommends taking it in food form, so maybe I'll make a concerted effort to increase my biotin. Of course the very foods I dropped have biotin: almonds and cashews! (25 mcg daily is recommended for my gender and age). The list is below and the page is
http://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/nutrition/factsheets/biotin.html
Peanuts, 1/2 cup: 73
Filberts, 1/2 cup: 51
Almonds, 1/2 cup: 34
Peanut butter, 2 Tbl: 32
Soy protein isolate, 1 oz: 8.5
Egg, 1 large cooked: 8.1
Cashews, 1/2 cup: 8.9
Low fat yogurt, 1 cup: 7.4
Haddock, 3.5 oz cooked: 6.0
Sweet potatoes, canned, 1/2 cup: 5.5
Swiss chard, cooked, 1/2 cup: 5.3
Salmon, 3.5 oz cooked: 5.0
Nonfat milk, 1 cup: 4.9
Tomato sauce, 1/2 cup: 4.7
Carrots, 1/2 cup, cooked: 3.9
Avocado, half: 3.6
Carrot, 7.5" raw: 3.6
Papaya cubes, 1 cup: 3.1
Banana, one: 3.1
Pork, 3.5 oz cooked: 3.0
Tuna, 3.5 oz canned: 3.0
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drpr
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