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angie207
Raw Master
I had blood work done yesterday, a month after being hospitalized with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). The doctor told me that my protein & albumin levels were low (My albumin was 2.8 – normal is 3.3 to 4.8). He said it had something to do with the liver, and that levels can be low if blood sugar levels have been out of control (mine had been for 8 months!) or if a person isn’t getting enough protein through diet “like if you’re a vegetarian” he told me – looking down his nose ;) Anyway, he told me if I’m comfortable with it, to eat more protein. I have been eating a lot of complete proteins since then, but now my albumin levels are “less than 0.5” – I guess it doesn’t calculate the number when it’s that low. My thyroid levels were low a few years ago & slowly normalized through eating high raw the last 3 years, but now my thyroid level is high, too. Anyway, the only thing I know about albumin is that low levels can mean liver problems, and since I’ve felt for a long time that my liver needs special attention/care/protection, I’m kinda freaking out about it. ?
Comments
Hey angie,
I just wanted you to know that I feel for you, you’ve worked so hard on your health and you’re still running into obstacles. I don’t know anything about albumin, I thought it was something to do with chicken eggs, or blood sugar or liver, sorry about that, so I can’t give you any medical advice but I’m happy to listen and I’m sending you support and positive energy. I hope someone else can kick in with something more constructive, but I just wanted you to know I hear you!
amysue – That’s weird; just as I was logging back on here, I thought of chicken eggs & wondered if there is something in eggs that my body needs, and if so, where else could I get it, etc.? Thank you for your support :) I made an appointment to talk to my holistic health person Monday morning before I go see the doc in the afternoon…
I was curious about the chicken egg thing, so I looked up a few things, and choline is found in chicken eggs and affects the liver – two of the deficiency symptoms of choline are impaired liver function and intolerance to fats (one of the things I found about albumin is that low levels may be a sign that the liver can’t process fats correctly). Interesting – gives me a place to start. Choline is also found in green leafies, but I also have a B-complex supplement, so I started taking that again to help out.
Edit: I just did some more checking & found plenty of raw food sources of choline: flax, pine nuts, quinoa (which already sounded good for dinner tonight), etc. Now if I just knew that was the only thing I needed…Oh, well, at least I’m learning :)
i’m glad you are finding what you need. one of the most frustrating things for me about having a deficiency was that all the resources they gave me were for cooked food. grrrw.
i like nutritiondata.com but maybe you already know it.
bitt – thanks! Yeah, it can be frustrating when people don’t get it, or don’t want to get it about eating raw. Fortunately I fianlly have a doctor who is fine with my eating tons of mangoes or whatever, as long as my blood sugar levels can stay good (which they do a lot easier when I’m eating tons of mangoes…) and my holistic person, although she isn’t a real fan of 100% raw, at least she understands and knows raw is good and that 100% may be best for some people, and she is willing to work with me on that as much as possible. Yes, www.nutritiondata.com is where I found the additional raw foods – the little book I have only lists a few things & doesn’t say how much is in each, but it’s been a good place for me to start on a lot of things, especially since I just found out about nutritiondata a month ago or so.
angie-I have a very good herb and health book that recomends for diabetic problems lettuce, string beans, and squash. It is recomended to cut down on simple sugars. It may be a good idea to be sure to always mix your fruit intake with lettuce, or spinich. Also, some herbs that would be helpful would be olive leaf, licorice root, dandelion, ect. There are more, but the other ones listed here are multi formulas, some for pancreas, so I suppose pancreas health would be a good thing to address.
gorawmom – Thanks! I have heard string beans, & I do eat a lot of lettuces; does it say what kinds of squash? Zucchini or butternut, etc.? I have had concerns about my liver for a long time, but I don’t know whether it’s because of diabetes…I also take different pancreas formulas from time to time, as well as olive leaf extract, dandelion & licorice root – although I didn’t know dandelion was good for diabetes.
It just says squash. Dandelion is a blood purifier which helps with just about everytning. I know that I have heard not to combine sweet friuts with nuts, but in the book, Potatoes, not prozac, ( think that’s the name) it recomends not to eat simple sugars without a protein source to help keep your blood sugar level. Also, recently cinnamon is becoming popular for blood sugar regulation. Noni juice is also becoming popular. I am not sure what sources for these that you could get that are raw, though. I just know that although herbal remedies are sometimes over done, there is sometimes a genuine need for the remedies from nature’s garden!
noni is great!! and you can get it raw. i highly recommend it for just about anything that ails you.
since you had DKA, this is pretty serious, your levels must have been in the 400-500 range for quite some time. i think it could take a while before everything levels out. i struggle with type 1 diabetes, a thyroid condition and arthritis, so i can sympathize.
Thanks, guys!
I have never heard of raw noni – I thought it was all pasteurized. Yeah, my blood sugars were between 250 – 600 for eight months – if it weren’t for eating raw & drinking Kangen water, I would have been a lot worse a lot sooner. I have an appointment with my holistic person (iridologist, herbalist, a bunch of other stuff she knows) this morning, and an appointment with the doc this afternoon.
hi, just in case it helps, a friend have improve her thyroid issues with algaes, i think she takes fucus, after 3 years or so taking meds (she isn’t a raw foddie, seaweed has been the only difference).
anngoingraw – That’s interesting – my iridologist recommended algae, but this time it was because I tested for needing chromium, instead of iodine that people usually take for thyroid issues – because of the blood sugar link, I guess.
I really don’t know how algaes work, but she had problems with her period (not coming, or coming just when it wanted) due to the thyroid problems, and after a week (more or less) taking algaes it came back, so she was really happy. If she has any new info about how is she doing i’ll tell you.