Weight Maven

I don’t think I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ve decided to extend my Mat Lalonde-inspired approach for Lent until April 21st, which is when I’m scheduled to get my every other month blood work done (I’ve been having my weight loss monitored by a weight loss doc). So having wussed out on doing a Whole 30 in January is going to turn out to me doing essentially a double … which means I’m almost half-way through this experiment.

Besides being able to compare any changes from two months of this approach (I had the last test done right after my two months of post-holiday SAD eating), I’m also going to see whether I’ve been able to budge my fasting insulin from it’s higher-than-I’d-like level.

One of my goals for MMLAFL had been to avoid using non-food supplements. I started out with fermented cod liver oil, butter oil, and magnesium. The first two I considered as food supplements, the latter was a traditional supplement (I was taking it because I didn’t think my diet provided enough magnesium).

After plugging in a day’s worth of food into NutritionData’s tracking tool, I’m reconsidering my supplement approach!

Hmmm. Looks like a couple of issues. Interesting.

Foods over supplements

I think getting nutrients from food is preferable for two reasons. One is that non-food supplements are by definition processed. This makes them prone to potential problems like not getting the dose you need or getting some other unnecessary or even problematic ingredient needed to make a pill or capsule.

Another specific problem with supplements is that they may advertise a certain amount of a given micronutrient, but the form may be one that isn’t easily absorbed (like calcium or magnesium), incomplete (like vitamin E which is actually a group of 8 fat-soluble compounds) or a synthetic version that can cause problems (like folic acid over folate).

The other reason I prefer food over supplements is that supplements may provide you with a specific micronutrient, but they don’t typically include other nutrients — known or unknown — that occur with that nutrient in nature. Thus going with a supplement over food may mean either missing critical (and yet undiscovered) micronutrients or useful co-factors needed. For example, there are often synergies with micronutrients (like vitamin D and vitamin A) and getting too much of one without the other can be problematic.

But …

So I was a bit dismayed to see a couple of apparent deficiencies in my MMLAFL diet. I’m not so concerned about the D. It’s everyone’s favorite supplement these days, but I remember when that was true of vitamin E and antioxidants too, and it turned out that getting those nutrients via supplements might be problematic. For now, I don’t plan on taking boatloads of it, especially with the weather becoming cooperative, and I’ll be getting my D levels tested in April.

Nor am I concerned about the E, since my pastured eggs are likely much higher in E than what Nutrition Data credits.

No, the surprise for me was the deficiencies in the B vitamins. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, since enriched grains are the biggest source of B vitamins for most folks. And getting just 70% of the DV of thiamin and 85% of pantothenic acid may not put me at risk of real problems. But it’s got me reconsidering a B vitamin supplement, since the best paleo source of B vitamins is pork, something I don’t typically eat a lot of.

I’m going to research this some more, as it’s possible this isn’t a real concern (perhaps the B in meat and veggies is more bioavailable than that of grains). But for now, I’m going to explore either a decent multi (Chris Kresser recommends Pure’s Nutrient 950) or a food-source B supplement, maybe on an every other day or every two day schedule.

Hopefully this doesn’t simply mean expensive pee ;).