The Physical Health Thread

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Re: The Physical Health Thread

Post by -DL- »

Burnley Hammer wrote: Wed Mar 16, 2022 6:02 pm Out of interest... why juice instead of blitzing in a blender? Seems like a waste of good fibre.
Jennings and a blender? 😬
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Re: The Physical Health Thread

Post by Jennings »

Burnley Hammer wrote: Wed Mar 16, 2022 6:02 pm Out of interest... why juice instead of blitzing in a blender? Seems like a waste of good fibre.
That’s a fair point Burnley, but....

...... without all that fibre included it’s possible to take in far greater quantities of nutrients because of the shear quantity of produce that can be drunk in the form of a juice. Also a good juicer will extract some nutrients from the fibre that would otherwise be unavailable, but that’s not the point & it’s probably(?) minimal anyway.

I haven’t actually counted but I’m guessing I’m consuming around 3kg to 4kg of veg a day at the moment.

The lack of fibre is a definite downside. I do take some psyllium husks when all I’m doing is drinking juice as I am at present, plus a couple of forkfuls of kimchi just to help keep the gut biome in good shape. 👍

edit: here’s a link that explains it better than I did.

https://www.rebootwithjoe.com/the-facts-on-fiber-juice/
Last edited by Jennings on Wed Mar 16, 2022 10:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Physical Health Thread

Post by Jennings »

-DL- wrote: Wed Mar 16, 2022 6:04 pm Jennings and a blender? 😬
That’s a fair point DL, but .....

........ but nothing. It’s just a fair point. 👍
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Re: The Physical Health Thread

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Jennings wrote: Wed Mar 16, 2022 10:43 pm That’s a fair point DL, but .....

........ but nothing. It’s just a fair point. 👍
:rofl:
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Re: The Physical Health Thread

Post by Burnley Hammer »

Jennings wrote: Wed Mar 16, 2022 10:42 pm
I haven’t actually counted but I’m guessing I’m consuming around 3kg to 4kg of veg a day at the moment.
OK... this is what I eat on a normal day...

100g raw broccoli, 40g raw kale, 40g raw watercress, a beetroot, a large raw carrot, half a raw courgette, 2 handfuls blueberries, a handful of mixed black and redcurrants, a portion of cooked spinach, a portion of cooked leek, a heaped dessert spoon dried parsley, 70ml extra virgin olive oil, a scoop of chia seeds, 15 almonds, a couple of brazil nuts, 10ml cod liver oil, 20ml raw apple cider vinegar, 10ml extra virgin coconut oil, a scoop of oats, 6 eggs, salt, 2 servings of pea protein powder, 3g creatine, a teaspoon of turmeric, couple of squares of 85% dark chocolate, and a handful of grated extra mature cheddar - and then the supplements: quercetin, curcumin, green tea extract, CoQ10, melatonin, vitamin D, vitamin K2, magnesium, vitamin C, B vitamins, zinc, probiotic.

All the food is in the form of 2 smoothies, and a large leek, spinach, parsley, and cheese omelette for dinner. Only 2 of the 6 egg yolks go into the omelette. The other 4 go raw into smoothies. Believe it or not, there's over 2,400 calories in what I've just listed there! (mainly due to the oil). That gives me the macro nutrient profile I want (low-ish carb, high-ish fat, protein and fibre requirements met) and gets me to at least 100% RDA on all but one micronutrient (niacin only hits 50% although I take B vits too which takes care of that).

I honestly considered recently whether I was overdoing it with the veg.... but now I'm seeing that it pales into insignificance compared with what you have! I bet mine doesn't amount to more than 500g.

3 to 4kg is.... a lot!

And yeah I know... I'm an obsessive freak! It's the IT nerd in me... food has gone from something to enjoy to something purely functional. It's become just data to analyse. It doesn't matter what I do in life, it's only a matter of time before it gets reduced to data and graphs. Me and the missus can't even enjoy a good night now unless I've talked her through a sexual gratification process flowchart and discussed last weeks sex related KPI figures.
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Re: The Physical Health Thread

Post by Jennings »

Wholly mother of god, that’s unbelievably ****ing impressive, Burnley!

You must be the healthiest man in the whole of Lancashire!

I’m actually very envious but I really don’t think I could do what you’re doing. I don’t have that kind of discipline plus I really love my food. It’s a massive part of my life & I get such enjoyment from creating meals & eating good scran that I don’t think I’d want to.

After this fast I’ll go back to just half a litre of juice a day & that will mainly be made up leafy greens but not limited to.

We’re definitely a very different personality profile. I’m an IT, hating, technology Luddite with an allergy to monitoring or graphing anything.

And poor Mrs Burnley! 🤣

I’m going to weigh what I juice tomorrow to see if I’m anywhere near what I reckoned. At least I’ll find that interesting.
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Re: The Physical Health Thread

Post by OFT »

Leaps into thread from recent Mental Health thread post:
The urgent gastroscopy was carried out today(I didn't realise it was that urgent!), now I've had this before and found it relatively easy to cope with, but today, I gagged all the way through it, real heavy duty heaving, proper embarrassing :oops: .

The earlier scan had shown up an area 'of interest' which, turns out to be bad inflammation caused by a duodenal ulcer, which could have been there a while, horrible looking thing it is. They assure me it's nothing more sinister than that and I've got see my GP tomorrow for prescriptions to deal with it. The fact that the specialist who's 'care' I'm under is the same bloke who removed my late Dads stomach due to cancer left me a little anxious.

Any experience/fellow sufferers on here?
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Re: The Physical Health Thread

Post by Jennings »

Good luck OFT, I hope you get a positive outcome.

I’m waiting for a gastroscopy appointment myself. You don’t make it sound that much fun I have to say.


Jennings wrote: Thu Mar 17, 2022 2:48 pm
I’m going to weigh what I juice tomorrow to see if I’m anywhere near what I reckoned. At least I’ll find that interesting.
I’ve weighed what I’ve juiced in the last 28 hours and it’s more than I thought. Although I do still have a litre in the fridge which I haven’t drunk yet so a kilo needs to be subtracted from the total.

White Potatoes - 1385g
Red Potatoes - 1312g
Spinach - 1290g
Russian Kale - 1043g
Red Cabbage - 873g
Celery - 821g
Fennel Bulbs - 422g
Red Bell Peppers - 354g
Celeriac - 352g
Apples - 300g
Lemons - 210g
Watercress - 200g
Beetroot - 159g
Carrots - 75g
Root Ginger - 71g
Turmeric Rhizome - 22g
Total weighed raw product = 8880g

So that roughly the equivalent of consuming 6.754 kgs of raw veg per day.
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Re: The Physical Health Thread

Post by Burnley Hammer »

I'd watch your intake of oxalates with that Jennings... an intake of large amounts of soluble oxalate can increase the risk of kidney stones. The vegetable highest in oxalates is spinach... of which, according to the above post, you're having the equivalent of 5 bags a day! Beetroot also contains high amounts as do various other vegetables. In very high amounts, oxalates could cause damage to your esophagus. They could even be fatal by lowering the calcium in your body to critical level. The levels of oxalates that people would normally consume in a normal meal would be far from these levels and nothing to worry about - but I'd say what you're taking in there is way way above what anyone would call normal. The reason it can cause calcium deficiency by the way is because oxalates bind to certain minerals like calcium, zinc, and magnesium in the gut, preventing them from being absorbed. The further bad news is that oxalates are more readily absorbed by your body if drank in liquid form.

Thought I'd mention it... especially due to your unlucky accident prone history. If anyone on here is capable of being incapacitated by spinach, it's you! :)

Also... that amount of raw potato is going to give you a shed load of resistant starch. Way more than anyone realistically needs. May cause gas, bloating, or other digestive issues... just thought I'd warn you.

I'd also argue that 2.6kg of potato starch probably isn't that much of a fast ;) You could probably trim all that down considerably. Even though it's mainly vegetable juice, I'd say you're probably taking in a lot more calories and sugars than you think.
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Re: The Physical Health Thread

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Saw my hernia docs at UCLH Euston Road today - and despite all that was said previously about losing 30kg before they'll operate on my hernia - he said so long as my BMI is less than 40, he'll do it.

Usually, it's a two year waiting list, but as it's a result of Urological surgery, he's prepared to accept the offer of the Urology dept at UCLH Westmoreland Street to use their theatres.

He has suggested I go on the 5/2 diet to try and shift some weight. Anyone had any experience of this?
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Re: The Physical Health Thread

Post by OFT »

Jennings wrote: Fri Mar 18, 2022 7:49 pm Good luck OFT, I hope you get a positive outcome.

I’m waiting for a gastroscopy appointment myself. You don’t make it sound that much fun I have to say.
Ta .
As I said, I had one about 10 years ago that was virtually trouble free. I knew the girl that did the first one and she spent a bit more time spraying the stuff in my throat that ''deadens' it. This one just sprayed generally in my mouth and I could feel the thing lying on the back of my mouth and down the throat, and I have a particularly sensitive gag reflex which even a toothbrush can trigger but this felt like a 4inch sewer pipe, less fibre optics and more Kodak Instamatic :grin:
For all that it's done in about 5 minutes and a cuppa and some toast was served up to make sure I could eat, so not all bad
If I have to have another, and I'm sure I will, I'll probably take the 'put me to sleep' option.

Hope i've not 'put you off' :winker:
Be interesting to hear how you get on with it(I have quite a sheltered life :lol: )

All the best with it bud.
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Re: The Physical Health Thread

Post by Jennings »

Many thanks for the heads up, Burnley. I had no idea about oxalates, I’ve made a mental note of your points. All that said, I don’t think I’m going to stress too much as this regime is only temporary whilst I reset my guts, possibly 21 days or so. Also, I had a glut of spinach after a trip to a farmers market, it was cheap & organic so I bought 2Kgs. Most days I juice less spinach & more carrots.

The potatoes are however a cornerstone of what I’m trying to achieve which is to heal the gut. I do however leave the juice to settle in the fridge for an hour, this way I can remove most if not all of the starch content as the majority of it falls to the bottom of the jug before decanting into bottles. If any starch is left it falls to the bottom of the bottle & I don’t drink that either.

Thanks again for the advice though. Much appreciated.
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Re: The Physical Health Thread

Post by Crouchend_Hammer »

I had a gastroscopy and colonoscopy at the same time a month or so ago
The sedative was effective for the gastrocopy but had worn off by the time they turned me round and went anal. That was painful!
I also had q bronscopy last December and that was straightforward

I have had a real problem with nausea for about a year. First if all I assumed it was mental and was akin to butterflies due to anxiety, and I think there was an element of truth in that. Now I think it is also physical. It is q bit of a vicious circle. I wake up and feel nauseous and then get anxious about it which leads to anxiety nausea and then I cant stop focusing on it and it snowballs.
The physical tests I had revealed nothing but I have had IBS for many years so it could just be that flaring up
I have always been someone who gets physical symptoms of anxiety I.e butterflies before a big presentation, but precoously it would go away once that specific task was finished. Now I can go all day feeling sick, for no apparent reason and it can be quite dehabilitating both mentally and physically
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Re: The Physical Health Thread

Post by OFT »

Crouchend_Hammer wrote: Sat Mar 19, 2022 8:30 am
I had a gastroscopy and colonoscopy at the same time a month or so ago


. Now I can go all day feeling sick, for no apparent reason and it can be quite dehabilitating both mentally and physically
Don't think I could handle both ends :shocker:

I should imagine that nausea is awful to live with and understand perfectly the link between mental and physical issues having suffered similar for years with 'depression' manifesting itself in all sorts of abdominal pains etc.

Good luck getting it sorted
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Re: The Physical Health Thread

Post by simon hammer »

-DL- wrote: Fri Mar 18, 2022 9:12 pm Saw my hernia docs at UCLH Euston Road today - and despite all that was said previously about losing 30kg before they'll operate on my hernia - he said so long as my BMI is less than 40, he'll do it.

Usually, it's a two year waiting list, but as it's a result of Urological surgery, he's prepared to accept the offer of the Urology dept at UCLH Westmoreland Street to use their theatres.

He has suggested I go on the 5/2 diet to try and shift some weight. Anyone had any experience of this?
I did the 5/2 diet a couple of years back. It's pretty good, and worked for me. I bought a book called 'the fast diet' by Mimi Spencer. As I'm now vegetarian/vegan, it's no use to me but I'm happy to post it off to you if you wish?
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Re: The Physical Health Thread

Post by Burnley Hammer »

Most fasting variations will work if you stick to them. Intermittent fasting on a daily basis works too - eg have a 7 hour eating window and have nothing but water the other 17 hours. It's difficult at first but does really teach you self control. Choosing not to eat despite feeling hungry is something that many (maybe even most) struggle with.
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Re: The Physical Health Thread

Post by brownout »

It seems that once sixties are reached medical issues start to occur.

I’ve had various problems / tests as well as a heart attack, being told I’m pre-diabetic and now slightly anaemic.

Slightly anaemic came from a blood test last week after I found a lump under my arm (which fortunately has now gone – doctor says it was gland and as a result of fighting respiratory tract infection). I’ve got to have another blood test in a month and if still anaemic he’ll want to see me again. What for he didn’t say.
My diet hasn’t changed a great deal (I have cut down on chocolate and crisps a bit and eaten a bit more fruit and yoghurt) and I’ve never been anaemic before, which does suggest it may be related to a cause other than nutrition.
I walk 3 – 4 miles a day and my weight is stable and OK.

What I’m finding is conflict in medications and recommended food.

Aspirin for heart can cause bleeding in stomach and intestines, hence anaemia, but in reducing clotting is important to try to prevent future heart attack.
Lansoprazole which reduces stomach acid to cut risk of bleeding from aspirin, can cause anaemia as less acid means potentially less iron extracted from food. (But it has been brilliant in stopping the indigestion that I used to get a lot before I was on it).

Red meat not good for heart but good for iron.
Grapes, which I eat most days can interfere with take up of iron. As can yogurt which I have as a reasonably healthy snack each evening instead of biscuits of chocolate.
Butter is bad for heart but has reasonable amount of iron, however dairy products can inhibit iron absorption.
Bread and potatoes contain a reasonable amount of iron but nurse said reduce carbohydrates to bring down blood sugar.

Having had a good stress echo scan a couple of weeks ago and low cholesterol on last test, I’m now concentrating on trying to increase iron for a few weeks rather than heart or pre-diabetes.
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Re: The Physical Health Thread

Post by Burnley Hammer »

brownout wrote: Wed Mar 23, 2022 10:35 am It seems that once sixties are reached medical issues start to occur.

I’ve had various problems / tests as well as a heart attack, being told I’m pre-diabetic and now slightly anaemic.

Slightly anaemic came from a blood test last week after I found a lump under my arm (which fortunately has now gone – doctor says it was gland and as a result of fighting respiratory tract infection). I’ve got to have another blood test in a month and if still anaemic he’ll want to see me again. What for he didn’t say.
My diet hasn’t changed a great deal (I have cut down on chocolate and crisps a bit and eaten a bit more fruit and yoghurt) and I’ve never been anaemic before, which does suggest it may be related to a cause other than nutrition.
I walk 3 – 4 miles a day and my weight is stable and OK.

What I’m finding is conflict in medications and recommended food.

Aspirin for heart can cause bleeding in stomach and intestines, hence anaemia, but in reducing clotting is important to try to prevent future heart attack.
Lansoprazole which reduces stomach acid to cut risk of bleeding from aspirin, can cause anaemia as less acid means potentially less iron extracted from food. (But it has been brilliant in stopping the indigestion that I used to get a lot before I was on it).

Red meat not good for heart but good for iron.
Grapes, which I eat most days can interfere with take up of iron. As can yogurt which I have as a reasonably healthy snack each evening instead of biscuits of chocolate.
Butter is bad for heart but has reasonable amount of iron, however dairy products can inhibit iron absorption.
Bread and potatoes contain a reasonable amount of iron but nurse said reduce carbohydrates to bring down blood sugar.

Having had a good stress echo scan a couple of weeks ago and low cholesterol on last test, I’m now concentrating on trying to increase iron for a few weeks rather than heart or pre-diabetes.
Don't drink tea/coffee with meals as it inhibits absorption of non-heme iron.

Have a vitamin C pill with your meals as it aids absorption of non-heme iron. Other nutients such as zinc, folate, and B12 also aid absorption.

Dark chocolate (85% cocoa) has been shown to be beneficial for the heart. It's also rich in iron, magnesium, copper, and fibre. Don't overdo it though as it's also very calorific.

Do you like liver? If so then just a single portion of liver a week will probably give you as much iron as several portions of red meat. It'll also give you a weeks worth of vitamin A and vitamin b12

You're probably better off taking a supplement like Vitabiotics Feroglobin Liquid than potentially eating unhealthily in an attempt to get your iron up.

Also aim for a largely anti-inflammatory diet... lots of veg, fruit, fish, extra virgin olive oil, etc. Cut down your intake of omega-6 oils (eg sunflower oil) and boost your intake of omega 3's. I don't believe cholesterol in itself is bad. Chronic systematic inflammation though causes oxidisation of cholesterol which is thought to be more significant when it comes to heart disease risk. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5986484/

The advice to lower carbohydrates is good - too many carbs and sugars is inflammatory and that's what you want to avoid. Most people eat way more carbs than their body actually needs. You don't need bread and potatoes for iron. There are plenty of other sources of iron. Spinach is a good source. Chia seeds are a very good source. Dark chocolate as I've already mentioned. Eggs. Turmeric. Leeks. It's just the absorption that's an issue when it comes to plant based iron.

Try and replace grapes with berries. Grapes are probably one of the sugariest fruits (so sugary that they replace sugar with grape juice in some jams so that they can say 'no added sugar'). Berries are amongst the lowest in sugar and known to be very heart healthy.
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Re: The Physical Health Thread

Post by brownout »

Thanks.

I drink a lot of orange juice which it appears helps iron absorption.

I do like liver and will try to have that once a week.

Unfortunately I'm not keen on quite a few vegetables. I like peas and beans but no derivative of cabbage - in which I include spinach although it isn't. I eat tomatoes and think they are quite healthy.

I bought an iron supplement but it says don't take without doctors advice. My niece was anaemic a while ago and she was told not to take supplements until they'd found the cause.
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Re: The Physical Health Thread

Post by Dieter Eckstein »

Burnley Hammer wrote: Thu Mar 17, 2022 10:28 am OK... this is what I eat on a normal day...

100g raw broccoli, 40g raw kale, 40g raw watercress, a beetroot, a large raw carrot, half a raw courgette, 2 handfuls blueberries, a handful of mixed black and redcurrants, a portion of cooked spinach, a portion of cooked leek, a heaped dessert spoon dried parsley, 70ml extra virgin olive oil, a scoop of chia seeds, 15 almonds, a couple of brazil nuts, 10ml cod liver oil, 20ml raw apple cider vinegar, 10ml extra virgin coconut oil, a scoop of oats, 6 eggs, salt, 2 servings of pea protein powder, 3g creatine, a teaspoon of turmeric, couple of squares of 85% dark chocolate, and a handful of grated extra mature cheddar - and then the supplements: quercetin, curcumin, green tea extract, CoQ10, melatonin, vitamin D, vitamin K2, magnesium, vitamin C, B vitamins, zinc, probiotic.

All the food is in the form of 2 smoothies, and a large leek, spinach, parsley, and cheese omelette for dinner. Only 2 of the 6 egg yolks go into the omelette. The other 4 go raw into smoothies. Believe it or not, there's over 2,400 calories in what I've just listed there! (mainly due to the oil). That gives me the macro nutrient profile I want (low-ish carb, high-ish fat, protein and fibre requirements met) and gets me to at least 100% RDA on all but one micronutrient (niacin only hits 50% although I take B vits too which takes care of that).

I honestly considered recently whether I was overdoing it with the veg.... but now I'm seeing that it pales into insignificance compared with what you have! I bet mine doesn't amount to more than 500g.

3 to 4kg is.... a lot!

And yeah I know... I'm an obsessive freak! It's the IT nerd in me... food has gone from something to enjoy to something purely functional. It's become just data to analyse. It doesn't matter what I do in life, it's only a matter of time before it gets reduced to data and graphs. Me and the missus can't even enjoy a good night now unless I've talked her through a sexual gratification process flowchart and discussed last weeks sex related KPI figures.
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