Thanks to my internet friend Larcana, who alerted me to the connection between iron deficiency and palpitations, I doubled down on my iron supplements and, for good measure, washed them down with Emergen-C. It's a cold medicine with a mega-dose of vitamin C, plus B vitamins and minerals. I don't think vitamin C does anything for a cold (a friend bought the stuff and left it at my house the last time she visited), but vitamin C does help iron absorption. After doubling up on iron in the last three days, I feel back to normal. (I'd already been taking quite a bit of magnesium and potassium, so I probably had sufficient levels of those.)
How did I get so low on iron? Maybe it was too many Quest bars instead of red meat when I had odd cravings during my dental infection recently. Maybe because it's too hard to find liver at the grocery store and I haven't eaten much of it lately. Maybe the antibiotics damaged my intestines. And apparently, I'm a heavy bleeder. I just know that it was frightening and unpleasant. Between that and catching a stomach bug yesterday, if I'd felt much worse, I'd have checked myself into the hospital...where they might have put me on a beta blocker instead of tracking down and addressing the cause.
A fat, juicy burger probably would have done me more good--I felt wonderful after having one made of grass-fed angus that I just bought from a ranch in Yuma, near the Nebraska border. I don't know if it makes other people with heart problems feel that good--like they would want to start a religion where the cattle are worshipped, raised with care, and eaten with joy and thanks. But if they're suffering from a lack of iron, any ongoing advice for them to avoid red meat--and the healing it would give them, acknowledged by groups who now recognize that cholesterol and saturated fat were never bad for us--is unforgivable.
How did I get so low on iron? Maybe it was too many Quest bars instead of red meat when I had odd cravings during my dental infection recently. Maybe because it's too hard to find liver at the grocery store and I haven't eaten much of it lately. Maybe the antibiotics damaged my intestines. And apparently, I'm a heavy bleeder. I just know that it was frightening and unpleasant. Between that and catching a stomach bug yesterday, if I'd felt much worse, I'd have checked myself into the hospital...where they might have put me on a beta blocker instead of tracking down and addressing the cause.
A fat, juicy burger probably would have done me more good--I felt wonderful after having one made of grass-fed angus that I just bought from a ranch in Yuma, near the Nebraska border. I don't know if it makes other people with heart problems feel that good--like they would want to start a religion where the cattle are worshipped, raised with care, and eaten with joy and thanks. But if they're suffering from a lack of iron, any ongoing advice for them to avoid red meat--and the healing it would give them, acknowledged by groups who now recognize that cholesterol and saturated fat were never bad for us--is unforgivable.
Comments
If you remember The Mood Cure, The Vegetarian Myth and The Meat Fix, all those people felt almost instantly better, too, when they got the right nutrient.
Why isn't iron supplementation, or at least a test, standard operating procedure after a bad infection? Maybe eating liver or lots of red meat was a healing tradition lost in the low-fat age.
Many years ago a blood transfusion was the standard practice after a serious infection like a pneumonia, but it was discontinued after many cases of spreading deceases with infected donor's blood. The last case of such massive wide-spread infection (Hepatitis C) happened in Pakistan in 2014.
I see iron withholding can also occur with autoimmune diseases.
I made chicken soup with gelatin from a roasted chicken to help undo any damage the antibiotics might have done to my gut.
I actually wandered into comments, though, to ask how much potassium you take? I've been taking a 1K supplement daily, but have some concerns as my nutritionist told me not to as I don't need it (says she), and I see lots of (vague) warnings about being careful with potassium, too much can be dangerous, etc.
My thought is the RDA is 4,500 and I don't get anywhere near that with my LC diet, even with the supplement. Would you mind sharing how much you take (or would that be seen as asking for advice - which I'm not)? I have a history of hypertension and take the K to help manage that. I believe it helps. TIA.
All best,
Wendy
Funny thing--last year when I was having palpitations after dental surgery and didn't know about pork, epinephrine or potassium, I was so exhausted after yoga I was worried I couldn't get home. I stopped at a wine bar and had...wait for it...the cured meat plate (potassium) and a big bottle of mineral water (magnesium). It was so good I made noises that attracted a bit of attention.
Interesting to read all the comments too.
All the best Jan