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Hi All! I’m on day 12 already of the Atkins Induction period! It’s been an interesting few days since I last wrote. All the things my body is experiencing...My journals would be endless! i have to pick and choose what I'm going to discuss so that I don't go over my limit on words!! It seems like there’s so much to report, that I don’t know where to start!!
Latest news on testing for ketosis, the keto-stik has turned purple! That means I'm burning fat like a maniac! Yipeeee!!
Today, I decided to share my biggest AWE so far with this diet. I have to tell you this story. Over a year ago, last March, I started experiencing something very weird. The crown of my scalp became tender to the touch, even numb with pain on some days! Soon afterward my hair started to fall out and by July, it was hyper-shedding every single day! I have always been perfectly healthy, so I couldn’t see ANY reason for my symptoms! Some nights I couldn’t even put pressure on my scalp when lying down in bed and had to prop myself up a bit! Over this year, I've seen 3 different doctors for it; the last was a dermatologist this February. (FYI: it wasn’t normal hair loss or male-pattern baldness) He ran all kinds of blood tests, checking for basic stuff like anemia, or vitamin deficiencies. He found no reason for the scalp tenderness OR for what he called ‘symptomatic hair loss”. For me, there would be days where the tenderness wasn’t so bad, and other days where I could cry from the discomfort! So, I could see for myself that this was symptomatic! Just to be safe, I changed shampoos, bought hypo-allergenic pillows and bedding sheets, got rid of my beloved goose-down comforter, bought expensive treatments for any kind of scalp ailment there was, I wore sun hats outside, took vitamins, even accepted the latest treatment they have of prescribing water pills (I hate to take pills). Did you know that the scientific field knows next to nothing about hair or scalp issues! BUT the doctor told me that I have not been the first to report such an ailment! He has treated dozens of women over the years who complained of this painful scalp tenderness just like mine, to which he had no answers for! Thankfully I was born with tons of curly hair, so it’s not noticeable to many people outside my family!
On Day 6, I noticed that the tenderness had subsided a little. I didn’t think much about it since I’ve had ups and downs before. The next day, my scalp almost felt painless, but I was afraid to get my hopes up. I’ve put it out of my mind these last several days, but TODAY I have to face the facts! The tenderness is gone! Completely! I haven’t had a single day like that in over a year!
The lesson for today is on Protein, class! LOL
Obviously, the imbalance I experienced was due to my diet!
What was I doing that could have caused this immunodeficiency?? Well, I customarily avoided fat, particularly the kind that comes from meat and dairy, the only source for complete amino acids! My source of proteins was coming from vegetables, which is typically incomplete of amino acids. We humans need ALL AMINO ACIDS!
OK, let’s break this jargon talk down a little; simply put, I did not have a balanced or ‘complete’ intake of amino acids, which is essential (‘essential’ means that our body cannot make fatty acids and MUST obtain them from a food source).
So girls, according to Wikipedia, if you completely avoid meat or dairy, and eggs, you run the risk of developing a deficiency of amino acids, which could lead to some serious health issues over time with your immune system, heart and respiratory functions! You can never get too much protein. The only danger protein does to a body, is if you have liver or kidney disease. That’s because the kidney and liver are your body’s “workhorses” that metabolize protein! That’s why these certain people who have sickly kidneys and livers cannot be on the Atkins diet.
THE BELL RANG! CLASS IS OVER! LOL
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