You would think that eating healthy would be better than eating unhealthy; however, in this case, yes, eating too healthy can be unhealthy. I found that out first hand.
As a health coach, you are expected to eat healthy, have perfect meal plans, etc. Basically, you are expected to look and act the part!
I drank smoothies almost every morning and ate somewhat vegan. Later, I became a flexitarian. I ate a lot of vegetables and some of it was raw, brown rice, sweet potatoes, ground turkey, fish, etc. – a pretty clean diet.
Note: Some raw vegetables can affect your thyroid.
With my smoothies, I added kale or spinach or both, a banana, superfoods such as chia power, flax seed powder, lucama powder, maca powder), a variety of fruits (ie mangos, strawberries, blueberries-whatever fruit was on hand), and protein powder.
Sometimes, I did cheat when I went out to eat with family and friends.
My physical
I scheduled my annual physical in May and had my blood drawn. When my blood results arrived, I got a call from my doctor’s assistant that my liver enzymes and thyroid levels were slightly elevated and they wanted me to get retested in a couple of weeks. (I waited a few months.)
First, I talked to a friend who was a physician in China and one of her colleagues. Her colleague mentioned that it could be parasites, alcohol consumption/prescriptions, or an illness from another country. Well, I don’t drink much, wasn’t on any medication, and I hadn’t traveled to another country. So, with parasites, I was thinking how could I get them? So, I thought maybe I picked up something our cats may have brought into our house. That thought was eliminated.
Next, I asked my doctor’s office for my lab results. When I got home with my results, I compared them with my results from last year. Both my liver and thyroid levels were much higher than last year. So, I thought maybe it was caused from the financial stress I was under last year and the beginning of this year. Note: When you are under an enormous amount of stress, it doesn’t matter how healthy you eat!
I also visited my acupuncturist who suggested that I get tested for hepatitis.
Research
So, the next thing I did was reach the internet. What would cause my liver enzymes and thyroid levels to be elevated? After some thought, it dawned on me that maybe the two were connected somehow. So I researched to see if this was the case. I also looked at my red blood cell count. They were all connected. I also have a family history of hemochromatosis. Note: Dr. Mercola briefly spoke on hemochromatosis at David Wolfe’s Longevity Now Conference last month. According to Dr. Mercola, there is no way except having your blood drawn to lower your iron.
What I did to lower my levels and get them back in range?
I reduced or eliminated smoothies – I read the labels on all the protein powder containers/packages that I have in my pantry and found that all the protein powders are very high in iron…between 14% – 35%.
As a Chinese-American, my parents cooked a variety of homemade soups. It seems like there was a soup for each ailment. I made carrot soup with a dried tangerine peel. I drank this for a couple days for two weeks to cleanse my liver. I also made chicken bone broth to cleanse.
I ate more oatmeal for breakfast instead of eating organic cereal with almond milk. Overall, I worked on eating a clean diet. And I stopped eating out.
I eliminated eating spinach, count down on kale and anything else that was high in iron.
Read labels! You will find that almost everything has iron in it.
Finally, I am working to reduce my stress by mediating more often and practicing yoga.
Result of my blood tests
The lab took five vials of blood to redo a comprehensive blood panel. My liver enzymes and thyroid levels are back within range. And my tests ruled out hepatitis. I am relieved.
My Recommendation
Compare your yearly blood test results by checking your levels.
RBC = Red Blood Cell, TSH = Thyroid, AST = Liver Enzyme, ALT = Liver Enzyme.
For more info, visit these websites:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/298291-elevated-liver-enzymes-causes-signs-symptoms/
http://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/elevated-liver-enzymes/basics/causes/sym-20050830
http://www.liverfoundation.org/abouttheliver/info/hemochromatosis/
https://www.verywell.com/hemochromatosis-and-hypothyroidism-3233147
MY CLEAN FOOD LIFE 