day 138: amazing maca

I gained 3 lb of fat since the last time I went to the naturopath… but I guess that makes sense since I had lost 3 lb of fat on the 3 week cleansing diet that she put me on to determine my food sensitivities.

Net loss = 0

Actually I had a net gain, because I’m retaining water. But let’s disregard that.

My naturopath recommended that I get a blood test to learn more about my thyroid function, my B12 levels, and other things. She also put me on some Maca to promote energy and Evening Primrose Oil to increase my progesterone.

Evening Primrose Oil is supposed to increase my progesterone levels but seems to be a bit useless based on what I’ve read. It seems like the only thing it really does is relieve eczema (which I don’t have). I will take it though and see if I notice any changes.

I’ve heard people talk about Maca and how it’s super, but I don’t know what it does. So I googled…

The first article I found at the Discovery Health Channel was titled: Maca – Peru’s natural Viagra

Evidently it’s “a legendary sex-enhancing root passed down from the Inca”. LEGENDARY. I was intrigued.

During the height of the Incan empire, legend has it that Incan warriors would consume maca before entering into battle. This would make them fiercely strong. But after conquering a city the Incan soldiers were prohibited from using maca, to protect the conquered women from their powerful sexual impulses. Thus as far back as 500 years ago, maca’s reputation for enhancing strength, libido and fertility was already well established in Peru.

According to Meghan Telpner’s Healing with Superfood tutorial :

Maca is a potent herb that can regulate the endocrine system which consists of glands that produce hormones necessary for essential body functions. The herb maca has been found effective in increasing a person’s energy levels, encouraging growth and stimulating metabolic functions. The nutrients found in maca fuel the system and encourage hormone production.

I’d like to take it and report on any results to you, but I probably won’t. I’m not really interested in discussing my concupiscence with the blog world. E-mail me if you’re interested and we’ll discuss.

day 64: the naturopath – follow-up

Yesterday I had my one month check in with my Naturopath. I LOVE her, by the way.

I had some good and bad news.

The bad news is something that I’ve already discovered through the first part of my reintroduction of foods after my cleansing diet. I’m sensitive to dairy.

The first food that I reintroduced was milk for 2 days. No reaction.

Then yoghurt for 2 days. 1 pimple on day 1 and 1 pimple on day 2.

Then cheese for 1 day. 1 more pimple.

Evidently I have a small tolerance level for dairy before my body reacts. I’ve decided I’m going to try as best as I can to stay away from dairy foods and Dr. Natasha agreed that this is a good idea.

Damn. I heart cheese.

My next reintroduction was gluten containing grains which I added back into my diet on Monday and Tuesday. I didn’t have any reaction, but as I write this I found another pimple is starting to surface on my face. Hmmm…

But on to the good news: I’m more fit than I think!

I had a bioimpedence analysis (BIA) done. The doctor attached electrodes to my right hand and right foot which ran an electric current through my tissues and fluid to determine my body composition. Apparently this method is more accurate than my home foot-to-foot BIA scale because when the current sent up one leg, across the belly, and down the other it’s basically measuring body composition in the belly and thighs — my fattiest areas. Not pretty.

When she printed out the results she said, “Wow! This looks good.” That’s always a relief.

I learned that my body fat percentage is actually 25% which is normal, and my muscle mass is 40% which is high. I also learned about the phase angle which measures cellular health, a factor that helps determine longevity. Apparently my phase angle is quite high (7.3, if I remember correctly), meaning I have a LOT of healthy cells! She told me that taking Omega 3’s can help to improve this number cell membrane health.

The whole outcome of my appointment with her was that she placed me on a diet for 6 weeks that is specific to my caloric needs (based on my BMR of 1541 and my activity level) which she simplified by giving me specific numbers of servings of each food group to eat per day. In 6 weeks I go back to see if my BIA results improved.

I’m stoked!

Don’t for get to stay tuned tomorrow for my giveaway post

day 31: the naturopath

Before I started my Bikini Birthday quest I already had the gears in motion in my head thinking about how I could live to my optimum health. I decided I should see a Naturopath to get a thorough analysis of my lifestyle. Today, over a month later I finally had my appointment.

This was my first time seeing a Naturopath and it was single-handedly the most informative  medical assessment I’ve ever had. Not to knock my family doctor who is, himself, a fantastic practitioner but is limited by red tape to very brief and superficial evaluations. My Naturopath, Dr. Natasha, on the other hand was so thorough!

After going through my medical history and family history she was able to completely tie everything together and explain all the possible causes of my current symptoms. She even drew pictures with arrows connecting the important stuff to each other! It was like a session of “Samantha’s Symptoms for Dummies” — in a good way of course, because I’m a biology dummy but I could totally understand what she was talking about.

So here is what I learned: The accutane I took as a teenager f’d up my intestinal lining which may be preventing me from absorbing B vitamins. The birth control pills that I have recently stopped taking– because Matt relentlessly told me that they were screwing with my hormones– really were screwing up my hormones. As a result, my metabolism is more of a Chevette than a Corvette and I get cyclically recurring acne. She was able to go into more detail, but I’m paraphrasing, of course.

And here is is my course of action: Dr. Natasha gave me a very detailed cleansing diet to do for 3 weeks which eliminates allergens and food sensitivities like dairy, gluten, red meat, etc. After 3 weeks I will be reintroducing items slowly to see what sorts of  reactions my body has and to determine food sensitivities. Also, she prescribed me a few supplements to increase my B vitamin levels and to balance my hormones again. I’ll see her again in 1 month.

I was so impressed by my appointment today and how everything came together and seemed to just make sense. Now hopefully all her support really does work and I will achieve my optimum health level! Cleansing diet day one begins tomorrow.

Has anyone else been to a Naturopath? What were your experiences?