NT June Thread - Page 7

[knittinclothmama]

Another question.... what's a good source for vitamin B? Sally Fallon's books say nutritional yeast is good. I'm going to try and find some locally, is there anything else I should look into?
Here's why I'm asking. My 85 year old grandmother came over today and tells me I have a crack in my tongue (it isn't smooth all the way across it has a divide in it in the middle, hard to explain) so she says that means I'm deficient in Vitamin B. Anyone know anything about this???

[Gale Force]

Yooper -- The Garden of Eating gets recommended a lot as a more vegetarian-oriented NT. I keep intending to buy it.

Thanks for the Carlson's info, carnelian. Interesting.

Interesting, too, Kerry Ann, freezing that CLO.

knittinclothmama -- nutritional yeast is good. Liver is good. I don't know about the tongue, but pretty much all of us here need more Bs.

[mountain mom]

Nutritional Yeast is pasterized. I question its content of B12. I would supplement in your situation with a really decent multi b such as New Chapter.

[Gale Force]

Originally Posted by mountain mom

Nutritional Yeast is pasterized. I question its content of B12. I would supplement in your situation with a really decent multi b such as New Chapter.

Definitely don't count on B12 unless it's enriched with it. Some has posted the brand that has B12 -- Red *something.* There are no plant-based bioavailable forms of B12.

[cobluegirl]

I am back from vacation.....anyone want/need a scoby? I know someone did..but i can't remember whom......

[celestialdreamer]

Originally Posted by Gale Force

If you have muscle spasms, twitches (like on your eye), or leg jerks at night while sleeping, you are likely low in magnesium. Low zinc = slow hair growth, white spots on nails. B vitamins. Just get a good supplement now.

what if you have ALL of the above symptoms??? UGH! What is wrong with me!?

[Kittymom]

I do believe I should be able to fix myself, but it is just so hard to do it while largely disfunctional. That's the rub, right? Once I'm fixed, doing all of this will be easy. Until then... I can hardly keep my kitchen useable half the time. Okay, okay, I admit it. It is completely unusable a lot of the time.

I did pick up a co-enzyme B supplement, a magnesium supplement, and some melatonin. I am VERY uncomfortable taking the melatonin, particularly while breastfeeding, but my son is 28 months old, and while he breastfeeds a lot, I don't know how much volume he is getting. Regardless, my lack of sleep is bad for him. I MUST sleep, somehow. If a few days of melatonin means no days when I crash in the day while he watches tv, it is better, right?

Since the B vitamins are water soluable, he'll get plenty through my milk when I'm supplementing, right?

Thanks for the info. I'm working my way through the giant stickied thread.

Originally Posted by celrae

My anxiety and depression have been helped a lot by diet and exercise. I am a different person now than in years past. I am convinced that most people can fix themselves by living healthier lives, but it is easier said than done so sometimes meds are needed. Sleep deprivation is awful so try to get all the help you can. I wish you well.

[Gale Force]

Originally Posted by celestialdrmrmama

what if you have ALL of the above symptoms??? UGH! What is wrong with me!?

You need to improve your diet and you might want to supplement your minerals. Read through the Nutrition and Immunology Thread in the vax forum, though I don't think there's much discussion of zinc. The good side of this is that you have reasons now that you might not feel optimal and you can fix them.

[Gale Force]

Originally Posted by Kittymom

I do believe I should be able to fix myself, but it is just so hard to do it while largely disfunctional. That's the rub, right?

Yep. I can't tell you how much easier *everything* is now that I am feeling better.

Originally Posted by Kittymom

I did pick up a co-enzyme B supplement, a magnesium supplement, and some melatonin. I am VERY uncomfortable taking the melatonin, particularly while breastfeeding, but my son is 28 months old, and while he breastfeeds a lot, I don't know how much volume he is getting. Regardless, my lack of sleep is bad for him. I MUST sleep, somehow. If a few days of melatonin means no days when I crash in the day while he watches tv, it is better, right?

I took an amino acid blend that was customized for my blood levels when my son was about 22 months. I avoided medication. Serotonin converts to melatonin and tryptophan to serotonin which is why some people sleep better with tryptophan. So another option to keep in mind is to use tryptophan (well, you would use 5HTP, a coenzyme form of tryptophan) and it could help with your sleep and your mood. But I'd try the melotonin first and see what happens.

Since the B vitamins are water soluable, he'll get plenty through my milk when I'm supplementing, right?

You can theoretically get too much, but it's not likely, and your milk levels should be higher too, which is good. My chiro says that rosy lips are a sign of good B vitamin status. Mine were gray and then flesh-toned and now I look like I have light lipstick on. It's pretty amazing.

[carnelian]

Originally Posted by mountain mom

Nutritional Yeast is pasterized. I question its content of B12. I would supplement in your situation with a really decent multi b such as New Chapter.

Mountainmom what do you think about the soy that NC uses to culture all their products in?

[bigknitwit]

I have a quick question about soybean oil. Just how NT unfriendly is it? I ask because I'm still using regular store bought mayo and most salad dressings. I have a newborn and can't keep up all the NT stuff to the extent that I would otherwise like, so I really need to pick my battles carefully, kwim?

Also, on the subject of B vitamins, I have a bottle that I picked up while pregnant, but the labels says it contains several thousand times the RDA, which makes me nervous considering my nursing. Should I be nervous or is there nothing to worry about?

On the subject of sleep, I've noticed after all 3 of my babies my sleeping is disrupted. I get into bed and my mind is *edgy*. With the first two I ended up on zoloft to help my sleeping, because it continued to get worse as time went on. This time I'm really hoping to avoid the zoloft. I've been taking magnesium citrate, and it seems to help a bit. I'm wondering if I should also try adding in some zinc or something else...

[Ruthla]

Welcome Kristin, and congrats on the new baby!

Don't worry about being several thousand times over the FDA limit of certain vitamins- those are designed to prevent obvious nutritional deficiencies, not for optimal nutrition. I currently take b-50 complex, and some days I take 2 pills rather than only one.

As for the soybean oil- I still use the mayo I purchased before starting NT. When I use it up, I'll consider replacing it with an NT-friendly brand or making my own, or I might just buy more of the conventional stuff. I only use it once or twice a week, I eat animal fats daily, and I don't buy vegetable oils (except olive and coconut) for other kitchen use, so I don't worry about the small amount of soybean, canola, or corn oil I still consume.

[auntieM]

Originally Posted by Ruthla

I only use it once or twice a week, I eat animal fats daily, and I don't buy vegetable oils (except olive and coconut) for other kitchen use, so I don't worry about the small amount of soybean, canola, or corn oil I still consume.

Thanks for this reminder! It's good toget a little perspective on things.

[memory maker]

Originally Posted by cobluegirl

I am back from vacation.....anyone want/need a scoby? I know someone did..but i can't remember whom......

Me, me!! I want one. PM me your paypal addy and how much you need for shipping

[bhawkins]

Speaking of fats....I recently got my first coconut oil. It smells wonderful and coconutty and I used it right away, by frying some ground beef for tacos in it. Well, the taco meat tasted like coconut. Now I'm afraid to use it except to make things like pancakes or muffins. Is it always that obvious tasting?

[cobluegirl]

hey just wanted to drop a note...overstock.com has EFLF for under $10....

[Hibou]

Originally Posted by Yooper

I have some new questions. We are back on the NT wagon after a string of illnesses that left the whole family out of commission.

I want to make crispy nuts. My oven only goes down to 170. Someone else has got to have this problem. What do I do?

How much energy am I wasting having the oven on at 200 degrees for 12-24 hours to make crispy cashews?

I would suggest investing in a dehydrator. Even a small, cheap one will do fine. I think I paid less than $30 for mine (Nesco) and I've used it regularly for 5 years. I find it dries things quicker than the oven, plus I hate having my oven tied up and shuffling cookie sheets.

[mama-a-llama]

Speaking of dehydrators, are there some that you can also use to make yogurt? I think I read that somewhere on MDC once. I'd love to only have to get one appliance.
What brands are good? I have a birthday coming up, so if I can drops hints to family. . .

[carnelian]

Originally Posted by Hibou

I would suggest investing in a dehydrator. Even a small, cheap one will do fine. I think I paid less than $30 for mine (Nesco) and I've used it regularly for 5 years. I find it dries things quicker than the oven, plus I hate having my oven tied up and shuffling cookie sheets.

See now I'm still getting used to mine. It takes a very long time to dry things like almonds or breads. I keep having to remind myself that it doesn't bake things but simply removes the moisture. Hibou, what kinds of things are you drying and what temp are you using?

I've dried sunseeds and pumpkin seeds no problem. I've made raw grainless crackers pretty easily but almonds and breads take about 18-24 hrs and it's noisy. OTOH it means no hot oven on all day long during the summer and like you said, no shuffling of cookie sheets. I'm gearing up to make some jerky and some fruit roll ups.

[saratc]

Originally Posted by knittinclothmama

Another question.... what's a good source for vitamin B? Sally Fallon's books say nutritional yeast is good. I'm going to try and find some locally, is there anything else I should look into?
Here's why I'm asking. My 85 year old grandmother came over today and tells me I have a crack in my tongue (it isn't smooth all the way across it has a divide in it in the middle, hard to explain) so she says that means I'm deficient in Vitamin B. Anyone know anything about this???

Mouth cracks are usually connected to B2 deficiency. Although all the B vitamins are synergistic and one deficiency usually indicates deficiency in another B vitamin. Supplements are good, but best sources for body absorption are whole foods.

A good food source of vitamin Bs is seaweed. If you like sushi rolls and such, it's really easy to eat a bunch of it. If you are too lazy like me to make the rolls but tend to like seaweed, it's really good as a wrap -- take a sheet of seaweed nori, place some brown rice and then anything you like such as crabmeat, veggies, avocado, sprouts, etc, wrap it up and then eat like a sandwich or taco.