Nutrition, Eat Enough, High Proten - Healthy?

[celiacSuzie]

So I've been gluten-free for almost a whole year & can't begin to describe the relief (tho I'm sure you all know!).

So, things are good...

I do have a concern, though, as I've noticed (I keep a food journal) that my diet consists mostly of protein then fats & veggies/fruits.

I don't follow any particular "diet" but my diet is looking more & more paleo (but I still eat beans & other things they dont, I've discovered thru research).

Nothing against the diet, as I know very little about it, but I do wonder about having such a high protein diet & if there really are health concerns related to that.

I eat protein w/every meal, next to no processed foods (unless you count string cheese or yogurt as processed). The "gluten-free" processed foods i stay away from, except for the few times a year gluten-free bread mix. But, I do eat plenty of veg/fruits... though I ought to increase my grains (I'll eat oats, rice & corn - not much else as i don't have a preference for them).

Another smaller issue I have is inability to eat _enough_ calories in a day. I eat so much protein or fiber-filled foods (veg/fruit) I'm not really hungry - but my food log is showing I'm getting like 1200 cal's a day. Advice?

Anything you all can share/enlighten would be much appreciated... Thanks for reading. =)

[domesticactivist]

How are you feeling? Are you dropping weight rapidly or where you don't have it to spare? You say you are eating too few calories but feel full... are you bloated?

Your diet sounds very much like ours, and we consider it very healthy. (We use the GAPS diet). A risk of a high protein diet is that you will go into ketosis, which is hard on your kidneys. If you are eating vegetables you may be getting enough carbs to prevent ketosis.

[Skylark]

The main issue with eating too much protein is that it's hard on your kidneys. It's not only ketosis that's an issue, but the long-term effects of getting rid of excess nitrogen. Doctors routinely run BUN and creatinine so they'll pick up any issues.

[Reba32]

please note the difference between ketosis and ketoacidosis, they are two entirely different things, and ketosis is *not* a bad thing in the slightest! It just means your body is using fat as fuel instead of carbohydrates. If your body is using fat as a fuel, it is NOT STORING it!

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the question of how a healthy person prevents ketoacidosis while low-carbing is a non-sequitur. The two metabolic pathways have nothing to do with each other except the by-product of possible ketones in the urine. It's much like asking how much gasoline would a person have to drink to create a carbon dioxide profile similar to that of a motorcycle. Humans don't contain internal combustion engines even though we produce carbon dioxide -- like a motorcycle does -- as a by-product of oxygen consumption

If you're worried that you're getting too much protein (which is unlikely by what you've posted), enter a food journal into a dieting website like fatsecret.com Your body can tolerate probably up to 30% of calories from protein. Around 20 - 25% is better though I think. Protein with every meal is not a bad thing, and is likely keeping your blood glucose levels on a more even keel than someone who has a higher carbohydrate diet, with spikes and crashes all day long.

If you're worried about not getting enough calories, add some more healthy fats, fattier cuts of meats, olive oil, coconut oil, use butter, olive oil mayonnaise, full fat cheeses and yogurts (not 0 fat or low fat!). Fats are actually good for us, and help us to metabolize fat soluble vitamins A,D,E and K. All the western governments food guide recommendations are upside down and backwards. Fat is not the enemy.

Following a whole foods, natural, high fat, moderate protein, controlled carbohydrate diet (ie: the Paleo diet, or Atkins etc) is biologically what makes the most sense. It's what the human body was designed to eat. We're not designed to eat the modern manufactured frakenfoods. There is more heart disease, diabetes and other diet related illness now than there was 1000 years ago. Even more than there was 100 years ago. There's a reason for that!

[celiacSuzie]

thanks for all your replies. i'm not on here daily, but i do read replies when i get a mail.

you all have calmed my mind!