Nutrition Note

I meant to add this to one of my other run posts, but instead I'll just add it here.  After the fiasco with my health a couple weeks ago, I decided that more needed to be done.  So I made an appointment with a new acupuncturist.  I was perfectly happy with my old one, but Craig (new guy) also specializes in Ayurveda/Yoga, the use of herbs, and just has an entire holistic medicine practice.  I just new I still needed some help, and with all the reading and study I've done on Ayurveda in the past year or so, I thought he might be a good person to treat me and teach me a few things.

We had a very long appointment when I got back to town on the 18th.  He did do an acupuncture treatment on me, focusing mostly on my lower legs ... and it was a little bit painful at the time. Not the needles, but the muscular and nerve sensations as the needles found the right channels in my body.  I was even achy for a few hours after the treatment.  But WOW did I feel better later.  This was hands-down the best treatment I've ever had.

We also spent a lot of time talking about my health and various issues. When Craig asked me about what went on with my anemia, I told him about all my symptoms, principally the overwhelming exhaustion I felt.  When he asked about my monthly cycle, I told him about my recent headache, but how my primary problem is needing extra sleep and general fatigue ... in other words, exhaustion.  Then he asked me about my allergies, and I talked about how my primary symptom is ... exhaustion.  We talked about what happens when I get ill, and how usually my only really consistent symptom is ... exhaustion.  Anybody else starting to notice a pattern here?

Somehow, even though I know I struggle a lot with being tired, it really never sunk in with me before that exhaustion is really the only thing I consistently struggle with. Because it occurs under all kinds of guises ... my cycle, my allergies, a random virus, anemia, etc, I just never put together that exhaustion is really the thing that needs treating with me.  Thankfully this slightly comical Q&A put it into perspective.

So now I have a whole new vitamin regimen, and I have to say, it is definitely making a difference.  I am still taking my multivitamin with Iron, and my B-Vitamin liquid supplement.  But I am also taking a therapeutic dose of a special iron supplement that's more readily absorbable and doesn't cause me any problems; liquid Vitamin D (about 2.5 times the regular daily dosage); Omega-3 (about 4 times the daily dosage); and Iodine.  All told it's two liquid supplements and 14 pills a day.  Oh yeah, and a serving a Beetroot powder. Craig even recommended a new electrolyte to take when I'm running, which seems to be working just fine.

It's a lot of vitamins, but he thinks given what happened to me a couple weeks ago, that therapeutic doses are called for to get my levels back to where they need to be.  And then in a few months I may be able to back off some.  But the truth is I feel great.  Even the iron isn't having any of the negative side-effects it can apparently have with some people ... a sign I think of how much I need it.  I still would like to make some tweaks to my diet, and I'm not planning to go veggie or vegan again, but Craig does think that this regimen will mean I need to eat less meat, which would be good from a cholesterol/heart standpoint.  And given my family history, that's important.

So we'll see how it goes, but so far I am feeling really good, and my running seems to be reflecting it.