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Here’s my n=1 ‘over the winter’ vitamin D ex Here’s my n=1 ‘over the winter’ vitamin D experiment… ☀️
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I’ve often wondered what happens to our vitamin D levels over the winter. There’s those in the @mattblackburn camp, who say that vitamin D3 supplementation causes calcification even when taken with K2. This is concerning and it’s definitely an unpopular supplement in the metabolic community. In the regular health community, over 4000 IU/day is considered to produce toxic affects. ☠️
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After a summer of British sunshine and no supplements, I measured my levels after the last of the vit D rays and again this week, just before vitamin D returns (2nd March). 🌥
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Test Results: ✨
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6th October - 117 nmol/l (37 ng/ml)
26th February - 75 nmol/l (23 ng/ml)
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I’m pretty pleased with the results. According to Thriva, I’m just about in the optimal range and from next week, I’ll be able to naturally increase my levels again. 📈
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Magnesium is involved in regulating vitamin D levels, so it’s worth mentioning that I’ve been taking 200 mg Magnesium Glycinate daily (half the RDA). Who knows if taking 400 mg would have changed the results. 
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This is the first year that I’ve been able to maintain good energy levels throughout the winter and I’m sure that going into autumn with adequate levels, played a huge part in this. 💪
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Have you tested your levels of vitamin D? 
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If you’re in the UK and want to find out, I have a code for @thrivahealth, which gives £10 off a test: thriva.co/i/LAESHJY4NLM or DM me and I’ll send it to you.
Encouraged by how well my skin healed overnight (m Encouraged by how well my skin healed overnight (mainly dryness) after hitting the zinc RDA yesterday, I'm making an effort to track micronutrients in @cronometer_official whilst focusing on zinc.
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Today's lunch consists of a flat iron steak (150g), mussels (100g), basmati rice and some stemmed veggies. 🥩🐚🍚
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For anyone else experiencing really dry skin or scalp, white spots in their nails and a fatigue that hits in the early evening, it might be useful to check if you're getting enough zinc. ✨
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Within a few days of eating a copper and zinc rich diet, the evening fatigue disappeared and the skin on my scalp started to heal normally, but after a week of not eating zinc rich foods, the dryness came back. So I'm making an effort to get on top of it and see if my symptoms go away. 
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I took some collagen powder and mixed in with the rice, just to balance out the inflammatory amino acids found in muscle meat. ⚖️
Here's what 55% of a woman's Zinc RDA looks like.. Here's what 55% of a woman's Zinc RDA looks like... 🍤 I thought I'd share in case anyone else is trying to correct a deficiency.
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100g chicken thigh = 3.2 mg
70g prawns = 1.1 mg
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The RDA for women is 8 mg a day or 11 mg for men. 🚻
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This increases to 11 mg during pregnancy. 🤰
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This was lunch, along with beetroot, carrots and parsnips. I was really surprised by how much zinc was in a chicken thigh. It's good to know, as seafood can get expensive! 💰
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The meal contained 40g of protein and felt very satiating. 🥰
This weeks food haul is all about ZINC. Do you eve This weeks food haul is all about ZINC. Do you ever get those little white flecks on your nails? Often it’s a sign of a zinc deficiency. I started getting them a few months back and thought ok, it’s time to add more liver into my diet. 👩‍🍳
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But the white spots haven’t gone away and I think it’s the cause of my dry skin and scalp. After a few days of eating lots of prawns and oysters, I noticed that my skin texture had changed and the dryness was disappearing. So this week’s mission is to get lots of food based zinc and give my body a boost. ⚡️
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Low levels of zinc are associated with low stomach acid (so difficulties absorbing nutrients), diarrhoea, hair loss, impaired wound healing, skin rashes and dryness, infertility and leaky gut.
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Celiac disease and Crohn’s can impair absorption, as the villi in our small intestines become damaged. In my case, some experimentation with sourdough last year, may not have helped, as despite consuming frequent liver and some oysters every few weeks, it wasn’t enough. It can take months for villi damage to reverse. In the meantime, bone broths and collagen powder are your friend. 🦴
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The superstar sources of zinc: 💫
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Oysters
Liver (veal liver has the most)
Chicken hearts
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Moderate sources of zinc: ⭐️
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Most shellfish
Red meat, especially lamb, followed by beef and venison
Chicken still has some
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Lower sources of zinc, that’ll still contribute to your needs: ✨
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Cocoa powder
Dairy products
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Note that plant based sources of zinc are less bioavailable due to an array of anti nutrients, so vegetarians will need to eat 50% more zinc, to meet their needs. These include pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, chia seeds and wild rice. 🍚
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Does anyone else get those white spots on their nails or noticed any signs of zinc deficiency? What’s your favourite source of zinc? 🦐
Last week I added raw milk back into my diet. 🥛 Last week I added raw milk back into my diet. 🥛
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Beautiful, delicious A2 milk from Guernsey cows. I’m relieved to say, after consuming a glass each morning for 7 days, it hasn’t brought my eczema back. 🙌
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For myself, the milk does need to be both A2 and raw, as I react to raw milk with A1 casein (such as from Holstein cows) and can only digest it when the raw enzymes are present. I did try pasteurised A2 Jersey milk, but had the nausea and digestive upset associated with lactose intolerance. 
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I’m so relieved to be able to consume raw milk again. There are many health benefits of drinking unpasteurised, especially for the immune system, helping to modulate allergies, through immunoglobulins, cytokines and ogliosaccharides. 🦠
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The proteins and fats become denatured during pasteurisation and homogenation. 💦
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Compared to drinking soy milk, the amount of oestrogen is negligible! Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) usually get broken down by stomach acid (a common concern around drinking milk) and raw milk has been shown to be alkaline forming and not acid forming as frequently claimed. 🧐
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Do you drink raw milk? 🥛
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If you do, invest in some glass bottles or jars to store your milk. It’ll help the raw milk to keep for 2-3 weeks, as well as stopping the fats from absorbing the endocrine disrupting chemicals from the plastics containers. 🍶
Plums are amazing. ✨ They're packed with antioxi Plums are amazing. ✨ They're packed with antioxidants and polyphenols, so no need to buy expensive berry powders, if you have these on your doorstep. 🎉
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I love their sharp taste and they go beautifully with mango. 🥭
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This dessert or snack balances out carbs, healthy fats and proteins. ⚖️
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Blend eggs, plums and mango. 
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I used 4 eggs, 4 plums and 2 cups of frozen mango chunks. You can alter the ratios, depending on if you want your dessert more eggy or more fruity. You can also melt in butter, if you're wanting to go higher fat. Such a flexible little pudding. 🍧
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If you like your eggs cooked, heat on the hob with a LOW heat (not to create scrambled egg) just till it thickens and there's some steam coming off.
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Then place in the fridge to set.
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Serve with raw honey or maple syrup. 🍁
A quick lunch today... a flat iron steak, with reh A quick lunch today... a flat iron steak, with reheated rice and root veggies, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. 🥩🍚🥕
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Have been having plenty of glycine in the form is collagen powder and bone broth at other times during the day, to balance methionine from the steak. ⚖️
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I tried eating one of the flat iron steaks raw yesterday, but just wasn't feeling it. It tasted almost plastic-y. I wonder if that is just from sitting in supermarket packaging? 😮
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Or maybe I'll prefer more raw foods again as the weather warms up. 
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Feeling the need for plenty of carbs at the moment. Probably because of the cold weather and waking up to 10 degrees C inside, for most of last week. ❄️
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I'm grateful for the seasons though, but am looking forward to the sunshine coming back. ☀️
Lunch today of jumbo king prawns, organic eggs, be Lunch today of jumbo king prawns, organic eggs, beetroot and pasta made from rice flour. Topped with coriander and extra virgin olive oil. 
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I find this balance of seafood, eggs and a carb source so satisfying and energising. Extra virgin olive oil is great for keeping histamine issues at bay, from the seafood. 🦐
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Have a great Friday everyone 💛
Sometimes tracking macros can be really helpful. I Sometimes tracking macros can be really helpful. I’d noticed last week that I was having nowhere near enough protein. That in itself is pretty subjective, as there’s so many different figures as to what ‘enough’ looks like. 🤓
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I decided to try upping my protein to 2g per kg of body weight. ⚖️
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At first, this much protein seemed unobtainable and I’ve had to really switch up my routine, making sure that breakfast and lunch contained an adequate source of eggs, meat or fish. 🍳
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A few days in, the adjustment feels amazing. Instead of being continually hungry and either eating extra carbs or fat to try and make up for the deficit, I feel satiated. 💛
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I’m eating 200 calories less most days, just because the amino acids in the proteins are fueling my body’s needs. And whilst calories aren’t everything, they can be a useful metric to spot changes over time.
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So this was lunch. A flat iron steak, served blue, with a raw egg yolk and beetroot, on a bed of white rice. 🥩
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If anyone else continually feels hungry towards the evening, it may be an idea to check if you’re getting enough protein. 🍖
Famed by tales of Casanova’s breakfast consumpti Famed by tales of Casanova’s breakfast consumption, oysters have developed a reputation as an aphrodisiac. Could it be to do with their mineral content? 💎
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Oysters contain two unusual amino acids, D-aspartic acid and N-methyl-D-aspartate. In studies done on rats, it was found that these amino acids were able to boost testosterone production in men and raise progesterone in women. 💑
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Higher circulating levels of these hormones in the blood stream are known for their positive effects on libido. 💘
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They contain serotonin too, which activates the pleasure sensors in the brain. ⚡️
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Oysters are also loaded with zinc, which is required for sperm production. Anyone who has looked into fertility will know that this mineral play a vital role, as men loose between 1-3 mg per ejaculaton. 🐋
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For anyone in the UK, I’ve found them in Morrison’s, Tescos (even online) and Waitrose. ✨
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Are you a fan of these salty molluscs? 🐚
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