Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5) and weight loss

Spectracell Labs posted a very informative blog post regarding vitamins and weight management here that flipped on the light bulb for me today.

I was so thrilled I almost cried.

So let me start from the beginning with a bit of background.

I have expressed in prior posts how I had been overweight, went thru the hcg diet a few times, got down to my ideal weight, and then I gained weight like no other in the next year, unable to control my weight gain with my strict immense willpower when it comes to food. I gained some 90lbs and would have kept going if I hadn't found my Celiac at the end of 2011. Went gluten free and weight gain stopped... but no weight loss ever happened on its own.

Found out last September that I had a severe vitamin B5 deficiency after being tested by Spectracell Labs. Come to find out, this is normal for celiacs, as I think I mentioned in my post back then.

So... I started supplementing B5 after finishing yet another round of hcg dieting that was absolutely fruitless. (No weight loss at all)

Got pregnant in November... and I actually lost a size while pregnant. No crazy food issues either. No major morning sickness that prevented me from eating or anything.

Lost the baby in January... and ran out of my huge bottles of pantothenic acid then. Thinking I didn't need it anymore, I didn't bother to replace them.

I gained 10lbs in the following two months... realized I felt like crap again so I started up the b5 again at half the dose, and realized I'll probably have to supplement for the rest of my life... I just don't absorb it properly.

Ok so now that you have the short and sweet story... the reason for this whole post.

Spectracell mentioned in their blog that B5 is the precursor to the enzyme lipase, which is the FAT BURNING ENZYME.

Holy mother of god... I found the reason why I gained so much weight uncontrollably and now I know how to reverse it.

I've been all about the enzymes lately... I knew I was lacking in lipase but I couldn't figure out why nor how to fix it, other than to supplement with digestive enzymes.

If I look back at my history it all makes sense.

Fasted with the hcg diet a number of times in 2009, likely depleting cellularly stored pantothenic acid. Since I don't absorb it properly, I wasn't able to replenish it. With each hcg round, my ability to lose weight decreased and the weight loss would slow. I notoriously lost less weight than others doing the same diet and even with them cheating on it and me being very strict.

So I gained after I was done with those. A lot. No lipase available to burn fat as energy.

Fast forward to October last year... didn't lose at all... my stores were empty, as referenced by my nutrition report.

November thru January supplementing 1g a day and lost a pant size (didn't lose scale weight, but didn't gain either).

Bottle ends and I gain weight back.

I get a new bottle and flip from taking 500mg to 1g a day... mostly 500mg a day. I fluctuate in size... I don't know my smaller days are related to the 1g or not.

SO... I took 2g today of pantothenic acid. My normal 500 this morning and 1500mg this evening.

I so can't wait to see if this is going to work for me.

I will check in with this later.

As of this morning, I am 225.2 lbs.

In the meantime, check out this wonderfully written article about pantothenic acid:

http://www.coryholly.com/articles/article.cfm?id=172

Gluten Free Hodgson Mill Pizza Crust

Amazing crust. This stuff actually uses yeast and rises and tastes JUST like the real thing. The texture is JUST LIKE gluten filled crust.

The possibilities are endless with this brand. Well done.

End result? A very yummy homemade pizza... and I'm totally buying this brand again.

Other brands make a "cake" type of "non" dough that's not easy to work with. This was.

End note: My dough was cooked on a stone. I didn't push the dough down in the middle of the pie like I should have, so it ended up a bit messy... but who cares?! It's all going to the same place right??

Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) and Celiac Disease

I recently went to the doctor, explaining to them that I'm still not pregnant, after almost 2 years now of actively trying, and that I wanted a vitamin panel done.  I was also concerned about my adrenals, stating that it must be the cortisol (the stress hormone) issue that's preventing me from losing weight and fully calming down.

So they ran a million tests... and ran a micro-nutrient test with SpectraCell Laboratory.

I fully expected to have some deficiencies, but I knew I would generally be okay, considering I do supplement.

Since I am Celiac, I'm not surprised to find deficiencies, although your average person could always have vitamin deficiencies, like vitamin D3.

I was really blown away to find out I am very deficient in vitamin B5, also known as pantothenic acid.

Pantothenic acid is found in EVERYTHING that mammals (including humans) eat. It is a very very important  vitamin that helps the co-enzyme A function properly, the adrenals keep up to their best, and help your brain function a bit better.  If your adrenals don't function properly, you don't function properly and your body goes into distress mode.  My TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) was sky high, after decreasing after going gluten free, shocking the hell out of me.  My DHEA-S and testosterone levels were well above where they should be, indicating there's a heavy duty adrenal issue happening.  Not to mention my infertility... which is directly related to B5 deficiency as well.

But here's the problem and why I never even CONSIDERED that I could have a deficiency:

Pantothenic acid is literally found in EVERYTHING, like I mentioned earlier.  To find someone with a B5 deficiency means they have either been literally starving, or they are an alcoholic. (which I am neither)

But.

Back in the day, they used to treat Celiac Disease with pantothenic acid, to help the patient feel better.  Because of the drastic gastrointestinal issues and malabsorption that is so common among Celiacs, those B vitamins are up for rejection in the Celiac system, which does include B5.  It is also noted, in that article I linked to, that a vitamin B5 deficiency does cause atrophy of the villi in the intestines. If a subject does not feel completely better, nor return to complete normalcy, or only half way responds to a gluten free diet, try B5.

After 5 days of having taken at least 1000mg a day of pantothenic acid, I can truly say that I have experienced an upswing in my mood and most importantly, my ability to focus.  My intelligence is huge to me, and to lose that in the last couple years because I was unable to focus properly was very hard on my self esteem.

Yet... I continue on... hopefully in a few months I can get pregnant as my body regulates.

Celiac and Infertility - How It All Came About

Celiac affects so many people (they estimate 1 in 133 people and even more are just gluten intolerant, not Celiac) yet it's almost never diagnosed, so I'm happy to spread the word.

I'm going to give you a couple links, otherwise I'll end up typing out a whole book for you to read. lol

www.celiaccentral.org/Celiac-Diseas...

www.livestrong.com/article/420766-m...

These are good starters.

Basically what causes the infertility is not the Celiac disease itself, it's the malnutrition. Celiac damages your intestinal lining, making it so that you don't absorb the proper vitamins to be able to carry a child. 

I did not always know I had Celiac... all I knew is that when I was young, I was put in the hospital due to a huge lymph node infection in my neck (it was huge enough where you couldn't see my jaw line, and I have a square face with a strong jaw) and after that hospital visit, I started getting these random rashes. Doctors could never figure out what the rash was, and it would come and go throughout my life. I didn't have the major digestive issues until I was about 28... when I started drinking beer. Before that, I had been a rum drinker, if I drank, which is gluten free, and I also tended to avoid wheat products because of how I just generally felt yucky after eating them and they made me gain weight very quickly. My rash reappeared as I drank beer and ate wheat things I shouldn't be eating... I ended up gaining some 70lbs within a year. It was RIDICULOUS. 

So, about 6 months after my first miscarriage in 2010, I started feeling terrible. I had been suffering from depression since 2009, and my health started failing, even though I had normally been very healthy and rarely got sick. I went to the doc, and they found my TSH levels were elevated, so they checked my thyroid, checked me for PCOS.... and everything came out normal and healthy except my very high TSH. I kept thinking "NO WAY am I healthy! I feel like crap!" My cycles were all over the place, I was skipping, and they were getting lighter suddenly.

I have a friend who has Celiacs... so she educated me on it a bit, because I was curious. 

One day I put it together that I had my digestive issues after having beer ALWAYS. My skin issue flared up massively after having beer and I had never put it together.

So... I did my research and got tested... I have something called Dermatitis Herpetiformis (not herpes, even though the name looks like it. lol Trust me, I freaked when I saw that) which is directly related to Celiacs. Because I have that, I have Celiacs. 

I went gluten free in December 2011, and my skin issue has since disappeared and never come back. My digestive functions are all normal now... and truly, with a little bit of humor here... I can't tell you how nice it is to not have to race to the bathroom. haha

ANYWAYS. Since going gluten free... I have found I have some major issues. Systemic Candida (yeast) tore me up considerably, and I'm still fighting it with enzymes and heavy duty probiotics. That same Candida is likely why I still haven't been able to hold a pregnancy because 9 months gluten free, I should be able to get pregnant. I have read other women are likely to get pregnant within 6 months of going gluten free, assuming there are no other issues. My cycles have finally "somewhat" regulated... but I have a theory that my lining is no good and won't hold the embryo so I believe I miscarry within a couple days.

So... for you, this is what I would suggest from all my research I have done with malnutrition and hormonal issues created from it:

Have your vitamin D checked. Mine was insanely low and I have discovered in my research that the majority of the American population is very low in vitamin D. Take a daily supplement of 10,000iu for 3 months, and it'll bring you back up. You may feel even better... just then maintain it at 5000iu. See this link for you... www.vitamindcouncil.org/health-cond...

Take your vitamin E and Vitamin A. 

Have your B vitamin levels checked. Once I went gluten free, my B vitamins leveled out on their own. I don't even have to supplement. 

Also, if you can, have Zinc levels checked, or you can check if you have these symptoms of a deficiency: (this link is great... has a ton of symptoms in there that a lot of women I know have...) www.womenshairlossproject.com/hair-...
If you decide to start supplementing with zinc, take no more than 100mg a day, otherwise it may make you nauseous. I take a 50mg supplement with my multivitamin.

I also am an advocate for magnesium supplementing as well. Even as little as 100mg supplement can help your adrenals handle your stress and cortisol levels. Cortisol signals your body is in a stressful situation, and won't get pregnant if you are that stressed, in order for nature to survive. :)

I have also very recently found out that vitamin C helps with estrogen levels so you can help make good lining. :)

And... last, but likely the most important: probiotics ESPECIALLY if you have ever been on antibiotics before. Your internal bacterial flora is important to your health, and antibiotics kill the good and the bad. Get a probiotic that as many cultures and as many strains of bacteria as possible. A normal healthy person has 100 trillion bacteria colonies within their system. I take a probiotic right now that has 35billion cultures in each pill with 33 different strains of bacteria, twice a day. If you take a probiotic and it causes a general "flu-like" feeling or diarrhea, it's working. That feeling will go away in 1-3 weeks as your body resets itself. If it's too uncomfortable, skip a day of probiotic dose to give your body a break and ease into them slowly.

Well, I still wrote you a book... hahaha

My infertility hasn't resolved itself yet... but I'm working on it. If I can figure it out, I hope I can share the knowledge with others. Allopathic (what we practice here in America with our regular doctors) medicine doesn't recognize the power of nutrition a lot, so my doctor hasn't been much help. lol But I have been told that since my Celiac was likely activated when I had that major lymph node infection when I was 7, there is probably a lot of damage to reverse and it may take my body years to get to normal. But that is just my own situation.

If you have any questions... any, no matter how TMI (I am a self proclaimed "poop" expert... because truly, your poop says a lot about a person's health)... please feel free to ask. I love it when people ask so I can share what I have learned.

Best of luck... Jess

GF Review: Bob's Red Mill GF Homemade Wonderful Bread mix

So, I have been aching for some bread... specifically, sandwich bread.  I want an amazing sandwich.  Being gluten free, this is not so easy.

How do you get GF bread? Well, you can either make it, or you can buy it.  When you buy it from the store, it's frozen.  So your immediate need for an amazing sandwich MUST wait until it has thawed, which is usually overnight in the fridge.

Something bothers me about purchasing frozen sandwich bread... I can buy the frozen GF hot dog buns from Udi's and keep it in the fridge and wait.

Go here to get some... and check out the rest of their site!

 
... but I just haven't tried their bread yet for some reason.  I would rather bake it.

Go here to get some!

So... Bob's Red Mill is your classic natural ingredient company that offers many products that are both gluten free and gluten filled.

I picked up their bread mix and told Hubs that I was going to make him some bread.

So I did... we don't have a bread maker, so I used the conventional oven directions.  For the oil, I used olive oil, not butter.  I didn't happen to have any good butter to use in it at the time, so I knew it was going to be a slightly different taste and won't be sweet... better for oils and pepper; your typical taste for italian breads.

If you have never made your own bread at home, DO IT.  The smell itself is so worth it.

This bread was pretty good... excellent to eat on it's own, or with butter on it. Hubs had some with peanut butter on it and also used a couple pieces for french toast, which he says tasted amazing.  He also attempted to have the amazing sandwich, that I have been aching for, using this bread and the bread falls apart.

This appears to be a complaint that most GF'ers suffer from... the bread falls apart.  With no wheat gluten in there, the bread is just not as pliable as we want it to be, and how other $.99 cent bread at the store is.

Other than that, it kept wonderfully in my fridge.  I didn't have a bread case or anything like that, so I wrapped it in plastic wrap and shoved it in the fridge.  We ate the last of it 5 days later... and it was still very good.  It was starting to get a little dry at that point.

This was an excellent beginner homemade bread.  The mix was easy.

HCG Diet and Cycle Time

I now have proof that the HCG diet can regulate your menstrual cycle.

A little (okay, a lot) of my cycle recent history...

After 2 years of menstrual issues, likely due to my pending Celiac diagnosis and the related malabsorption, my cycles were anywhere between 45 and 70 days.  Even after going gluten free in December 2011, my cycle continued to be wonky.

Since my husband and I are trying to conceive and have been since December 2010, I have been really paying attention to my cycles and what is creating my infertility.

I have a Fertile Focus Microscope which only uses your saliva to check the hormone levels that are in your saliva to see if you could consider yourself fertile.  If your saliva shows a fern pattern (which is the crystalization of whatever hormone it looks for) then you are likely fertile.

Image from getting-pregnant-tips.com

 
Ferning = Fertile = should get preggers easily... easy enough, right?

Wrong, in my case.

So in my ridiculously long cycles, I started checking the 'scope daily to see when it actually said I was fertile.

Funny enough... I was ALWAYS fertile on right around cycle day 14... which is when I'm SUPPOSED to be.  Of course, my flow doesn't show up 14 days later like it should, so I continued checking the 'scope daily to see what it did.

I have the blessing to be able to tell when I actually ovulate; it causes me pain.  It's a brief pain, but definitely different than any other pain I have ever had, so I can tell.  I've learned over the years that it means I'm ovulating.  Exactly 14 days after that pain occurs, my flow shows up.

On those days that I know I'm ovulating, I checked the 'scope... and nothing.  Doesn't say I'm fertile at all. Yet I'm ovulating??? That doesn't make any sense.

So of course, my theory came forth that my hormones and body goes through the motions of my cycle on the proper days, but my ovaries are late to the party... by like a month.  By the time I actually do ovulate, my hormones are not in the right spot, likely my uterine lining is no longer hospitable for a bouncing baby to start, therefore anything that actually does connect with the ovum, falls right through.

So... the key was to get my ovaries to show up at the right time to the party.

My HCG diet did that for me.  My last cycle date was May 13.  I got my cycle yesterday.  A 30 day cycle!!! I almost flipped.  I had started the HCG Rx Injections on May 27, which is the day I was supposed to ovulate, but I just ovulated 2 days later! I am just so thrilled with it... when I did my past rounds of the HCG injections for weight loss, my cycle always stayed at 35 days.  This is, of course, before I was diagnosed with Celiac. Ever since I have been old enough to bleed, my cycles were at 35 days if I wasn't on the pill.

So this is the first time that my body did it by itself! (kinda)

I'm just so thrilled with it, I can't wait to see what happens for next month.

You Are What You Eat

I'll have to remind myself to see a nutritionist, after this diet, regarding what I should avoid eating to keep my body from blowing up like a whale whenever I have a meal from inflammation.

Speaking of nutritionists... the past few months I have been trying to determine what vitamins I am missing. There is a reason why I gained all this weight in a short amount of time... and yes, that's Celiac, but Celiac creates a vitamin insufficiency, but sometimes the blood tests don't tell you which vitamin it is.

For me, it's not Folate or B12... the blood tests indicated a really low level of vitamin D, which may be due to my age and also because of my weight, so I don't solely blame Celiac on that.  The doc didn't run any other tests, so I'm just testing items that just can't hurt if I take a little extra.

So in my research... Zinc is a huge player in metabolism and the immune system.  See this article by Dr. Barbara that I ran across a couple months ago... Celiac Brain: When you are gluten sensitive, you may be zinc deficient!  She explains in her article that zinc is the most popular mineral that is used by our enzymes, which if you are not absorbing it properly, you're basically going to have some serious issues.

Also, in my obsessive search for an answer, I found magnesium tends to be an issue with EVERYBODY... not just Celiacs or gluten sensitive people.  Magnesium has a major effect on weight loss and also inhibits inflammation.  See this for the full article: Magnesium Can Help Fight Obesity

When I read those items, I started taking 50mg a day zinc supplements as well as 400mg of magnesium along with my normal supplements of 5000iu of D3 (for my low D levels), 400iu of Vitamin E, and my food based multivitamin, and I don't know if this was just the placebo effect, but seriously, I started feeling better.  I had more energy... I just felt brighter.

I know that since I went gluten free 6 months ago, my hair started growing properly and my skin cleared up, but I still had some thinning hair issues (and I'm only 30... so I'm going to avoid that as much as possible!!) but since adding the zinc component to my supplements, I can't help but notice that my hair "behaves". Note that zinc is a major ingredient in shampoos like Head and Shoulders and Selsun Blue.

For the rest of my life I'm just going to keep in mind that I am what I eat... so if I eat crap... I'm going to feel like crap.