A tale of chicken cravings and functional testing
In early October 2022 I had what felt like a mild cold, no major symptoms, just a lot of snot for two days. However, the week after I experienced extreme fatigue, when I said to my partner “I’ve not felt this exhausted since I had Covid in May”...I suddenly thought shit, maybe that’s what I’ve had. There’s no way of ever knowing if it was, but the experience after was a struggle and functional testing helped me understand why and what to do about it.
Photo Credit: Mufid Majnun on Unsplash
I experienced overwhelming tiredness, sensations of ilness, pale complexion, headaches (which I rarely get) and acne (not a common occurrence), disturbed sleep and every time I tried to exercise I felt crap for two days afterwards. I’ve had issues with my thyroid before and also I’m now firmly into possible perimenopause territory so it all felt like a muddle, even to me. Were either of those playing a role in how I was feeling or not?
I stopped exercise, boosted antioxidants and introduced certain core supplements for immunity and energy such as B complex and Vitamin C, as well as upping protein. In the background I was having cravings for chicken, I was even dreaming about it. I’ve not eaten chicken for about 10 years and I’ve never missed it or craved it. This was weird!
I felt like I’d reached a dead end, nothing seemed to pull me out of the hole I was in so I turned to functional testing to understand my nutritional status and metabolic processes. I was clearly lacking something(s) and wanted to find out what so I could respond directly to the issues.
The results were fascinating! For example, my amino acids (the building blocks of protein) were all spot on except for the essential amino acids tryptophan and lysine, essential as the body can’t produce them. Where’s tryptophan most predominantly found? Chicken and turkey….It has a role to play in the production of niacin (B3), sleep, moods and importantly immune system function and it seemed my resources were in debt.
Lysine is essential for the production of carnitine, which helps your body convert food to energy. It has anti-inflammatory and anti-viral properties and supports collagen formation. Main sources include poultry, cheese, cod and sardines.
Alongside this, my detox and energy pathways were struggling because I had deficits in:
magnesium (used for 300 + different processes) - effecting sleep, muscle strength, detoxing, energy, brain function, digestive function
B1, which helps cells convert food to energy - insufficient levels affects sleep, memory, muscle strength, fatigue, digestive discomfort and mood
B2, is needed for cell regeneration - it’s wide array of functions include homocysteine metabolism (a byproduct of a key energy process which has been linked to cardiovascular disease and inflammation), regeneration of glutathione (our endogenous and powerful antioxidant system), phase 1 liver detoxification and carbohydrate metabolism in the krebs cycle (which releases stored energy).
B3, technically not a vitamin as it’s formed from tryptophan - is used in our energy producing processes, as well as fatty acid oxidation, fatty acid and steroid synthesis, insulin response and DNA repair. A lack here can result in fatigue, insomnia, poor toxin elimination, headaches and swollen tongue. It’s also impacted when B6, Iron and B2 are low as these are all used to convert from tryptophan.
Now we start to see the root cause of my symptoms. Insufficient nutrients meant a sluggish detox system, overburden processes and low function energy systems creating fatigue, inflammation, hormone disruption and compromised immunity. I also had dysbiosis in the microbiome and balance here is vital for so many reasons it needs a blog of it’s own.
Whatever I had in October could have been the catalyst for this or the final straw after other illnesses. Either way, the results allowed me to fill in the gaps and focus on rebuilding. Come Christmas I enjoyed a few drinks without feeling horrific the next day, and more importantly in early Jan I did my first strong yoga class after 10-weeks off and didn’t feel wiped out for two days afterwards.
Reflecting back now I wonder if I’d listened to my body and eaten chicken how long it would have taken for me to get to where I am now? We’ll never know but I certainly don’t think I would have got there in the same space of time without the information the test provided. Knowing where to focus and to what level made things a whole lot clearer and quicker.
How are you feeling right now?
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