Extreme Fatigue With a Few Clues in Blood Work. What am I Missing?

[obesechess]

Hi Folks,

For the past two months or so I have been suffering from a number of odd symptoms, including extreme fatigue, brain fog, lack of motivation, shortness of breath, difficulty regulating my body temperature (sometimes very hot when cooking in an air-conditioned kitchen, or very cold despite wearing long sleeves on a 60 degree day), brain fog, light-headedness, and more.

I have a hormone panel booked tomorrow as part of my every-six-month checkup with my urologist for hypogonadism treatment, so I may get some answers there. In the meantime, my primary care provider ordered a battery of blood work the other day, all of which I have since been told is "normal." I already have a follow-up booked with a different doctor for a second opinion, but more information can't hurt. There are a few things that look abnormal to me.

36M, 5'9", 175lbs, USA.

Current medications:

Trintellix 10mg/day, Vyvanse 30mg/day, HCG 350iu/wk, Arimidex 0.5mg/wk, Tirzepatide 5mg/wk.

I do not smoke or use recreational drugs, I drink comparatively little (I don't remember the last time I had more than three drinks, total, in one week). I do fairly heavy strength training three times per week and am trying to do more cardiovascular exercise, though the aforementioned symptoms have made this more difficult recently.

There was a very large battery of tests ordered and I don't think it's a productive use of anyone's time if I post everything, so if I say "normal" assume that the value is roughly in the middle of the reference range, though I am happy to post specifics if people have questions about specific numbers. I have bolded the things that I believe warrant more attention given my symptoms and have called out anything that's not quite "normal."

Vitamin D3, B12: Normal
WBC Count, RBC count: Normal.
Hemoglobin: Normal, slightly high (16.9 g/dL, reference range 13.2 - 17.1g/dL)
Hematocrit: High (53.5, reference range 38.5% - 50%)
MCV: almost High (99.8 fL, reference range 80 - 100fL)
MCHC: Low, (31.6 g/dL, reference range 32-26g/dL)
MCH: Normal
RDW: Normal
Platelet Count: Normal
MPV: Normal
Absolute Neutrophils, Lymphocytes, Monocytes, Eosinophils, Basophils: Normal
Glucose: Normal, slightly high (I was not fasted, 97mg/dL, reference range 65-99mg/dL)
Urea Nitrogen: Normal
BUN: Normal
Creatinine: Normal
EGFR: Normal
Sodium, Potassium, Chloride, CO2, Calcium, Protein: Normal
Albumin: High (5.3, reference range 3.6 - 5.1 g/dL)
Globulin: Normal
Albumin/Globulin Ratio: Normal
Bilirubin: High
Alkaline Phosphatase: Normal
AST: High (41 U/L, reference range 10-40 U/L)
ALT: Very High (125 U/L, reference range 9-46 U/L)
Total Cholesterol: Normal, almost high (192 mg/dL, reference range <200mg/dL)
HDL: Normal
Triglycerides: Normal
LDL: High (121mg/dL, reference range <100mg/dL)
Chol/HDLC Ratio: Normal
Non-HDL Cholesterol: High (141, reference range <130mg/dL)
TSH w/Reflex T4: Normal (0.75mlU/L - reference range 0.40 - 4.5mlU/L)

Re: Liver enzymes, these have fluctuated wildly over the past few years, from as low as 51 g/dL up to 125 this week. I had an ultrasound and MRI done on my liver earlier this year and it looked perfectly healthy. I believe this is from the fact that the majority of the medications I take are metabolized in the liver. I am not worried about them at the moment.

Re: Lipids, I am in the process of losing weight - I have kept 100lbs off for over a decade and with the help of Tirzepatide I am finally losing the last bit of body fat. I thought I had more lean mass than I do (170 with more weight to lose feels bad) but I am trying to get below 20% body fat. But since I'm still a bit chubby, I think this explains the high lipid numbers. The lipid numbers have all steadily decreased as I've lost more weight.

What I am concerned about given my symptoms are the hemoglobin/hematocrit and the thyroid. Those hematocrit/MCHC numbers suggest an iron deficiency to me, though perhaps a mild one, and the Thyroid seems to be one of those tests like testosterone where the reference range gets much lower than most people actually feel healthy on. I also have a history of hypothyroid in the family. Iron deficiency or hypothyroid would explain my symptoms (assuming my blood work tomorrow doesn't tell me that my testosterone has just suddenly crashed through the floor after a decade of remaining stable).

So - with the caveats that I already have a follow-up appointment with a more thorough doctor booked - what does everyone else think? What else should I be looking at?

 

[obesechess]

Well, looks like my urologist's office forgot to order the lab work for my hormones today (which is fine, this was like fifteen minutes out of my day) so I'm going to call them on Monday and ask them if they're willing to order a full thyroid panel and an iron/ferritin screen.

Anyone else have any thoughts? Paging @Nelson Vergel as the resident labs expert. If the doc won't order the above I'll just get 'em from you.

 

[obesechess]

Bumping again. I've asked my urologist to order the above, but just for a laugh yesterday I took an iron supplement (25mg of chelated iron with breakfast). I had horrible gas pains about six hours later and don't think I've ever farted that much in my life, but felt significantly less run down and brain-foggy for the remainder of the day. Definitely suggests to me that iron is worth testing.

 

[SS1LE]

Nothing in your blood work really stands out, but all your meds can have a side effect of fatigue. GLP-1's are actually pretty notorious for fatigue and so are AI's

 

[obesechess]

Nothing in your blood work really stands out, but all your meds can have a side effect of fatigue. GLP-1's are actually pretty notorious for fatigue and so are AI's

Thanks, I should have mentioned the following details -

1. I've been on the same dose of all meds other than the GLPs for at least five years now, so I don't think it's those.
2. I took a month off the GLPs and ate at maintenance during that time to rule out both "GLP Side Effects" and "Fatigue from calories being too low," so I don't think that's the issue either.

 

[SS1LE]

Thanks, I should have mentioned the following details -

1. I've been on the same dose of all meds other than the GLPs for at least five years now, so I don't think it's those.
2. I took a month off the GLPs and ate at maintenance during that time to rule out both "GLP Side Effects" and "Fatigue from calories being too low," so I don't think that's the issue either.

Have you tried just taking regular testosterone, not doing HCG mono with a AI (have you verified E2, I feel like crap with E2 below 30pg)? Also for reference just because you have taken a med for years does not mean side effects will not pop up years down the road, my wife took Wellbutrin for 5 years all of a sudden she started getting rashes until the became more and more....long story short stopped the Wellbutrin they disappeared, she tried Wellbutrin again instant rash. Also GLP-1 causing fatigue are not exactly link to low calorie intake sometimes, GLP -1s are also known to affect neurotransmitters and reward pathways.

 

[obesechess]

Have you tried just taking regular testosterone, not doing HCG mono with a AI (have you verified E2, I feel like crap with E2 below 30pg)? Also for reference just because you have taken a med for years does not mean side effects will not pop up years down the road, my wife took Wellbutrin for 5 years all of a sudden she started getting rashes until the became more and more....long story short stopped the Wellbutrin they disappeared, she tried Wellbutrin again instant rash. Also GLP-1 causing fatigue are not exactly link to low calorie intake sometimes, GLP -1s are also known to affect neurotransmitters and reward pathways.

E2 will be part of the upcoming hormone panel. I have not done regular testosterone as I have generally had good success with HCG mono, though I am aware that eventually I will likely have to make the switch.

Good point on the long-term meds issue, though as I need to take these medications I don't have a good way to rule that out.

Also right, I know it's not JUST due to low calorie intake, I'm just saying that neither stopping GLPs nor eating more solved the problem. If it were a side effect of the GLPs, not taking them for 4-5 weeks likely would have cause a reduction in symptoms, unless I am misunderstanding you.

 

[SS1LE]

E2 will be part of the upcoming hormone panel. I have not done regular testosterone as I have generally had good success with HCG mono, though I am aware that eventually I will likely have to make the switch.

Good point on the long-term meds issue, though as I need to take these medications I don't have a good way to rule that out.

Also right, I know it's not JUST due to low calorie intake, I'm just saying that neither stopping GLPs nor eating more solved the problem. If it were a side effect of the GLPs, not taking them for 4-5 weeks likely would have cause a reduction in symptoms, unless I am misunderstanding you.

Without your hormones it is hard to tell, Just for reference The half life of GLP-1s is very long, it takes 5 half lives for a med to be cleared out of the body, So after 4 weeks the triz is just making it out of your body do to the long half life of 5 days.

 

[Vince]

Hi Folks,

For the past two months or so I have been suffering from a number of odd symptoms, including extreme fatigue, brain fog, lack of motivation, shortness of breath, difficulty regulating my body temperature (sometimes very hot when cooking in an air-conditioned kitchen, or very cold despite wearing long sleeves on a 60 degree day), brain fog, light-headedness, and more.

I have a hormone panel booked tomorrow as part of my every-six-month checkup with my urologist for hypogonadism treatment, so I may get some answers there. In the meantime, my primary care provider ordered a battery of blood work the other day, all of which I have since been told is "normal." I already have a follow-up booked with a different doctor for a second opinion, but more information can't hurt. There are a few things that look abnormal to me.

36M, 5'9", 175lbs, USA.

Current medications:

Trintellix 10mg/day, Vyvanse 30mg/day, HCG 350iu/wk, Arimidex 0.5mg/wk, Tirzepatide 5mg/wk.

I do not smoke or use recreational drugs, I drink comparatively little (I don't remember the last time I had more than three drinks, total, in one week). I do fairly heavy strength training three times per week and am trying to do more cardiovascular exercise, though the aforementioned symptoms have made this more difficult recently.

There was a very large battery of tests ordered and I don't think it's a productive use of anyone's time if I post everything, so if I say "normal" assume that the value is roughly in the middle of the reference range, though I am happy to post specifics if people have questions about specific numbers. I have bolded the things that I believe warrant more attention given my symptoms and have called out anything that's not quite "normal."

Vitamin D3, B12: Normal
WBC Count, RBC count: Normal.
Hemoglobin: Normal, slightly high (16.9 g/dL, reference range 13.2 - 17.1g/dL)
Hematocrit: High (53.5, reference range 38.5% - 50%)
MCV: almost High (99.8 fL, reference range 80 - 100fL)
MCHC: Low, (31.6 g/dL, reference range 32-26g/dL)
MCH: Normal
RDW: Normal
Platelet Count: Normal
MPV: Normal
Absolute Neutrophils, Lymphocytes, Monocytes, Eosinophils, Basophils: Normal
Glucose: Normal, slightly high (I was not fasted, 97mg/dL, reference range 65-99mg/dL)
Urea Nitrogen: Normal
BUN: Normal
Creatinine: Normal
EGFR: Normal
Sodium, Potassium, Chloride, CO2, Calcium, Protein: Normal
Albumin: High (5.3, reference range 3.6 - 5.1 g/dL)
Globulin: Normal
Albumin/Globulin Ratio: Normal
Bilirubin: High
Alkaline Phosphatase: Normal
AST: High (41 U/L, reference range 10-40 U/L)
ALT: Very High (125 U/L, reference range 9-46 U/L)
Total Cholesterol: Normal, almost high (192 mg/dL, reference range <200mg/dL)
HDL: Normal
Triglycerides: Normal
LDL: High (121mg/dL, reference range <100mg/dL)
Chol/HDLC Ratio: Normal
Non-HDL Cholesterol: High (141, reference range <130mg/dL)
TSH w/Reflex T4: Normal (0.75mlU/L - reference range 0.40 - 4.5mlU/L)

Re: Liver enzymes, these have fluctuated wildly over the past few years, from as low as 51 g/dL up to 125 this week. I had an ultrasound and MRI done on my liver earlier this year and it looked perfectly healthy. I believe this is from the fact that the majority of the medications I take are metabolized in the liver. I am not worried about them at the moment.

Re: Lipids, I am in the process of losing weight - I have kept 100lbs off for over a decade and with the help of Tirzepatide I am finally losing the last bit of body fat. I thought I had more lean mass than I do (170 with more weight to lose feels bad) but I am trying to get below 20% body fat. But since I'm still a bit chubby, I think this explains the high lipid numbers. The lipid numbers have all steadily decreased as I've lost more weight.

What I am concerned about given my symptoms are the hemoglobin/hematocrit and the thyroid. Those hematocrit/MCHC numbers suggest an iron deficiency to me, though perhaps a mild one, and the Thyroid seems to be one of those tests like testosterone where the reference range gets much lower than most people actually feel healthy on. I also have a history of hypothyroid in the family. Iron deficiency or hypothyroid would explain my symptoms (assuming my blood work tomorrow doesn't tell me that my testosterone has just suddenly crashed through the floor after a decade of remaining stable).

So - with the caveats that I already have a follow-up appointment with a more thorough doctor booked - what does everyone else think? What else should I be looking at?

I would considered eating a diet high in non-starchy vegetables. I believe if you did this for 3 months all your issues would disappear.

 

[Gman86]

I would considered eating a diet high in non-starchy vegetables. I believe if you did this for 3 months all your issues would disappear.

Why consume foods that contain endogenous pesticides, exogenous pesticides, antinutrients, plant toxins/ defense chemicals and heavy metals, to improve health, when u can get all the same micronutrients, and many more, in other foods that contain no compounds that cause harm within the body when consumed? Makes no sense to me why someone would purposely consume something that’s actively harming them, to improve their health

 

[Vince]

Why consume foods that contain endogenous pesticides, exogenous pesticides, antinutrients, plant toxins/ defense chemicals and heavy metals, to improve health, when u can get all the same micronutrients, and many more, in other foods that contain no compounds that cause harm within the body when consumed? Makes no sense to me why someone would purposely consume something that’s actively harming them, to improve their health

They're very easy to clean. Just use baking soda. I really shocked that you didn't know that!

To wash vegetables with baking soda, add about one teaspoon of baking soda to a bowl of cold water, enough to cover the produce. Submerge your vegetables and let them soak for 12 to 15 minutes, gently swishing them around or scrubbing them with a brush if they have firm skin. After soaking, rinse the vegetables thoroughly under cold running water to remove any baking soda residue.

 

[Gman86]

They're very easy to clean. Just use baking soda. I really shocked that you didn't know that!

To wash vegetables with baking soda, add about one teaspoon of baking soda to a bowl of cold water, enough to cover the produce. Submerge your vegetables and let them soak for 12 to 15 minutes, gently swishing them around or scrubbing them with a brush if they have firm skin. After soaking, rinse the vegetables thoroughly under cold running water to remove any baking soda residue.

Oh dude, exogenous pesticides are the least of my worries when consuming vegetables. Exogenous pesticides are obv horrible for u, but there’s infinitely more endogenous pesticides that vegetables produce on their own, that u have to worry about equally as much, if not more. There was a study done that showed endogenous plant pesticides increased ur risk of cancer more than exogenous pesticides did. Here’s an excerpt from google, and checkout how many endogenous pesticides are in cabbage alone.

But again, it’s not just endogenous or exogenous pesticides that make vegetables bad for people. It’s a combination of all the different things that I mentioned above. Endogenous pesticides, exogenous pesticides, vegetable/ plant toxins/ defense chemicals, anti nutrients and the heavy metals they contain. Once u learn all the things in vegetables that harm the human body when consumed, u’d literally have to be a crazy person to still think they’re healthy for u. Only time someone should consume vegetables is if the enjoyment they get from eating them, outweighs all the negatives on their health that come from consuming them


“What are endogenous pesticides?
Endogenous pesticides are chemicals that plants naturally produce as part of their defense mechanisms against fungi, insects, and other animal predators. Many plants contain dozens of these natural toxins, and some, like cabbage, produce at least 49 known pesticides”

 

[Vince]

Oh dude, exogenous pesticides are the least of my worries when consuming vegetables. Exogenous pesticides are obv horrible for u, but there’s infinitely more endogenous pesticides that vegetables produce on their own, that u have to worry about equally as much, if not more. There was a study done that showed endogenous plant pesticides increased ur risk of cancer more than exogenous pesticides did. Here’s an excerpt from google, and checkout how many endogenous pesticides are in cabbage alone.

But again, it’s not just endogenous or exogenous pesticides that make vegetables bad for people. It’s a combination of all the different things that I mentioned above. Endogenous pesticides, exogenous pesticides, vegetable/ plant toxins/ defense chemicals, anti nutrients and the heavy metals they contain. Once u learn all the things in vegetables that harm the human body when consumed, u’d literally have to be a crazy person to still think they’re healthy for u. Only time someone should consume vegetables is if the enjoyment they get from eating them, outweighs all the negatives on their health that come from consuming them


“What are endogenous pesticides?
Endogenous pesticides are chemicals that plants naturally produce as part of their defense mechanisms against fungi, insects, and other animal predators. Many plants contain dozens of these natural toxins, and some, like cabbage, produce at least 49 known pesticides”

You should start a thread on this subject (if you haven't already). It would be interesting to see the studies on this.

 

[Gman86]

You should start a thread on this subject (if you haven't already). It would be interesting to see the studies on this.

Not a horrible idea. But I feel like most people here are probably sick of hearing how most of the foods we were told growing up that were healthy, are actually foods that are unhealthy, and we should avoid consuming them on a regular basis, if optimal health is the goal. Sometimes I cant help myself tho, and have to interject anytime I see people saying things about nutrition that simply aren’t true. It’s not easy being ahead of the curve with certain things. People do not like information that goes against what they’ve been taught/ told their entire lives. Especially when that new information seems absolutely insane lol. Like vegetables somehow being bad for them. But I’m just the messenger. I didn’t create the human body or plants, and how they both work lol

 

[Vince]

Not a horrible idea. But I feel like most people here are probably sick of hearing how most of the foods we were told growing up that were healthy, are actually foods that are unhealthy, and we should avoid consuming them on a regular basis, if optimal health is the goal. Sometimes I cant help myself tho, and have to interject anytime I see people saying things about nutrition that simply aren’t true. It’s not easy being ahead of the curve with certain things. People do not like information that goes against what they’ve been taught/ told their entire lives. Especially when that new information seems absolutely insane lol. Like vegetables somehow being bad for them. But I’m just the messenger. I didn’t create the human body or plants, and how they both work lol

Here's something I found.

Yes, plants produce endogenous pesticides to protect themselves from pests, and while these substances aren't inherently "bad" for humans, consuming them in small doses can have beneficial effects on our health through a process called hormesis, according to Scientific American and National Institutes of Health (NIH). However, it's important to remember that the term "natural" doesn't mean "safe," and some plant-derived toxins can be harmful if consumed in high concentrations or in their raw form.

 

[Gman86]

Here's something I found.

Yes, plants produce endogenous pesticides to protect themselves from pests, and while these substances aren't inherently "bad" for humans, consuming them in small doses can have beneficial effects on our health through a process called hormesis, according to Scientific American and National Institutes of Health (NIH). However, it's important to remember that the term "natural" doesn't mean "safe," and some plant-derived toxins can be harmful if consumed in high concentrations or in their raw form.

The definition of hormesis is a little ambiguous. It’s basically the process of being exposed to low grade stressors, and/ or low dose toxins, to get an overall beneficial effect within the body. But there’s two different types of hormesis. One is where u get a hormetic effect that’s beneficial for the body overall, and improves ur overall health, like the hormetic effect u get from things like the sauna, cold plunges, and exercising, and then there’s a hormetic effect u get from ingesting toxins, where the only benefit is u can build up a tolerance to that specific toxin. However, ur not improving ur health in any other ways. So yes, ingesting toxins at a low dose can fall under the definition of hormesis, but when it says ur getting a benefit from that low dose toxin/ stressor, its only referring to the benefit of possibly building up a tolerance to that specific toxin. Ur not experiencing any improvements in overall health tho, like u would with hormetic stressors like sauna, cold plunges, and/ or exercising. Here’s a video that hopefully helps break down the difference

 

[obesechess]

Hi folks,

I've skimmed the above but I would just like to say that I already eat a pretty good quantity of non-starchy fruits and vegetables. I am fortunate enough to live a block from a weekly farmers market and as a result I get 4-5 servings a day (not perfect but better than most) of whatever's in season, though it's getting into the starchier season I've largely been consuming apples, fresh berries, celery, carrots, broccoli, peppers, and onions in large quantities, and I do wash my produce. I am curious as to @Vince's thinking on this, though, and will peruse whatever other thread is made regarding the above.

Annoyingly (but understandably) my urologist canceled the tests for thyroid and ferritin since he does not feel qualified to accurately interpret or treat any abnormal results. However, I did get my usual hormone panel done and do not believe this is the issue.

Total T: 644ng/dL at 11am after a night of restless sleep (my cat is having some health problems that are keeping me up, she and I will both be fine, just saying this will pass and my sleep is usually good)
Estradiol: 21pg/mL
SHBG, LH, FSH not tested due to HCG interfering with reliability of results
Hematocrit: 47.4%

These numbers are roughly in line with what they've been for the past few years, so I do not think what I am experiencing is hormonal, or a least testosterone related. I am starting to feel better off and on over the past few weeks, but I'm still curious about thyroid and ferritin.

I wish Theranos had actually worked and I could just pay someone to test everything. I guess there's services that do that, like Marek or something, but man, what a pain to have to keep playing whack-a-mole. "Test this, test that, test this other thing."

 

[Gman86]

Hi folks,

I've skimmed the above but I would just like to say that I already eat a pretty good quantity of non-starchy fruits and vegetables. I am fortunate enough to live a block from a weekly farmers market and as a result I get 4-5 servings a day (not perfect but better than most) of whatever's in season, though it's getting into the starchier season I've largely been consuming apples, fresh berries, celery, carrots, broccoli, peppers, and onions in large quantities, and I do wash my produce. I am curious as to @Vince's thinking on this, though, and will peruse whatever other thread is made regarding the above.

Annoyingly (but understandably) my urologist canceled the tests for thyroid and ferritin since he does not feel qualified to accurately interpret or treat any abnormal results. However, I did get my usual hormone panel done and do not believe this is the issue.

Total T: 644ng/dL at 11am after a night of restless sleep (my cat is having some health problems that are keeping me up, she and I will both be fine, just saying this will pass and my sleep is usually good)
Estradiol: 21pg/mL
SHBG, LH, FSH not tested due to HCG interfering with reliability of results
Hematocrit: 47.4%

These numbers are roughly in line with what they've been for the past few years, so I do not think what I am experiencing is hormonal, or a least testosterone related. I am starting to feel better off and on over the past few weeks, but I'm still curious about thyroid and ferritin.

I wish Theranos had actually worked and I could just pay someone to test everything. I guess there's services that do that, like Marek or something, but man, what a pain to have to keep playing whack-a-mole. "Test this, test that, test this other thing."

It’s so ironic seeing people still thinking they’re improving their health by consuming as many vegetables as possible, when in reality, all ur doing is causing harm. I know it’s a very hard concept for most people to wrap their heads around, but plants are literally trying to kill u! lol. No joke tho. They are literally trying to kill whatever tries to consume/ kill it. And they do so in a bunch of different ways. Yes, the standard set of vegetables most people consume won’t kill u on the spot, but they’re causing damage every time u consume them. So like I’ve said so many times here, unless the pros of consuming them outweigh the damage they’re doing, cut them out. Like unless the taste or variety on ur plate gives u so much pleasure that the damage they’re doing comes second to that, simply cut them out. All they’re doing is causing slow and steady damage to the body over time. Again, I completely understand that this concept is extremely hard to believe, but it’s simply botony 101. It’s just how plants survive/ defend themselves from predation.

Fruits are a little different. When picking fruits, ur not killing the plant as a whole, like u are when picking vegetables. The plant as a whole still continues to live, so the plant doesn’t put as many defense chemicals/ mechanisms to defend the fruit. Ripe fruit has a relatively low amount of defense chemicals in them. Unripe fruit, on the other hand, has a pretty significant amount. U never want to consume unripe fruit on a regular basis. But here’s the catch, the fruit has to ripen while still attached to the tree or bush. This way the tree or bush reabsorbs the defense chemicals as the fruit is ripening. But if a fruit is picked unripe, it still has all those defense chemicals in them, and the defense chemicals have nowhere to go. They can’t get reabsorbed into the tree or bush, since the fruit is no longer connected to the tree or bush. So when a fruit is picked unripe, it then will eventually ripen, but all those defense chemicals will stay in the fruit, again, because they have nowhere to go. So u having a local farm near u is huge! Hopefully ur able to get fruit there that’s picked when ripe. Even then, u don’t want to go too crazy with fruit, just due to the naturally high glucose/ fructose levels

If u want optimal health, u want to consume as many animal products as possible. Ideally as much fatty ruminant animal meat as u can. But animal products, as a whole, are the healthiest foods human can consume. Animals defend themselves via being able to attack or run from other animals, so their meat/ fat doesn’t need to have anything in it that is trying to harm whatever is trying to consume it. Plus, animal products contain all the micronutrients that humans need to have optimal health, and in all the forms that the human body prefers. Meanwhile, vegetables are lacking in most of the micronutrients that humans need to have optimal health, and vegetables have forms of a lot of micronutrients that aren’t ideal for humans. Some examples are vegetables containing D2 instead of D3, they contain beta carotene instead of retinol, plants contain K1 instead of K2, plants contain non-heme iron instead of heme iron in animal foods. Like all it takes is a little common sense and critical thinking skills to realize that humans are not supposed to be consuming plants for nutrition. Throughout 99% of our evolution they would have only been consumed as a survival food/ to prevent starvation, or used for medicinal purposes. U have to remember modern agriculture was only implemented around 10-12K years ago. That accounts for less than 0.01% of human’s time here on earth. Prior to that, u couldn’t just go around picking random plants to eat. Hell u still can't do that to this day. And have u ever seen broccoli or asparagus or brussels sprouts in the wild? Nope. U only see them regularly due to modern agriculture. So our ancestors were not consuming all the veggies that humans do today. They either didn’t exist, or were not common to find. Look at broccoli, for example. Broccoli is a man made vegetable. It’s only been around for about 2,500 years. And only became popular in the US around 100 years ago.

Bottom line, if u want to actually improve ur health, and how a protocol reacts within ur body, just do what’s optimal, when it comes to nutrition. A little education/ knowledge goes a long way. Don’t continue thinking certain foods are healthy, just because u’ve heard it repeated ur whole life that they are, like 99% of people do. Use ur brain, don’t be a sheep lol

 

[Gman86]

@obesechess also, in regards to ur thyroid, u should be getting a decent amount of iodine in ur diet, in order for ur thyroid to function properly. Ur not going to get much iodine from fruits and vegetables. The one exception is cranberries. Cranberries tend to have very good levels of iodine. But overall, ur going to get significant levels of iodine from animal foods. Specifically pastured eggs, grassfed dairy, and seafood. If u don’t consume enough of these things, u could also just supplement with iodine. Here’s the product I recommend. One drop every day is more than enough to give ur thyroid the building blocks it needs to produce healthy thyroid levels

J.CROW'S® Lugol's Solution of Iodine 2% 2 oz Bottle

Equivalent to USP or Higher2 oz Dropper Bottle FREE DOMESTIC SHIPPING! Calculating Number of MG's of Iodine and Iodide per Drop of LUGOL'S 2%: Each VERTICAL "metric" drop (= 1/20 ml) is approximately 1.0 mg of iodine and 2.0 mg of potassium iodide. The Iodide portion of Potassium Iodide is...

www.jcrowsllc.com

 

[Guided_by_Voices]

Something you might look into is Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS) which sounds like it has some overlapping symptoms with what you're dealing with. I just listened to the the recent Dave Asprey podcast on the topic with Dr. Tania Dempsey, so perhaps there are some clues there for you. There is also a related concept called the Cell Danger response which they also touch on and which also may be related.