I maintain a paleo-health community online (but do NOT subscribe to the low-fat PC’d book version of the diet) and regularly share entries from this blog with its members- THIS one was especially significant to us. One of the arguments I get quite a bit from newbies is about all of the “protein” in legumes, and whole grains, blah blah. I don’t eat a raw diet, but I don’t eat anything that can’t safely be eaten raw. I always counter with arguments about the toxicity of raw legumes, the anti-nutrients in whole grains and the calorie cost vs benefit to primitive people in making grains edible. The one thing I don’t have a good grasp on is just how much the protease inhibitors in these foods limit the assimilation of amino acids. If an individual eats soy for protein, just how much of the soy’s protein content is nullified by trypsin inhibitors, etc? I realize it’s difficult to know precisely, given the cooking method and the form the food takes (TSP, soy milk, tofu) but is there any type of formula or table? Can you point me to any studies with actual numbers to help bolster my argument?

Thanks so much!
Paleo Huntress

I wish I could, but I don’t have any such studies at hand. I suspect, though, that the effect is significant.

Well, you know I take a chromium supplement, and it has magnesium in it and B1 in it and a whole lot of other things and it is a vit supplement system worked out for diabetics. When I don’t take it for a week or two, my BS goes up, insulen requirement goes up. when I do take it, the BS goes down, and insulen requirments go down. So this pretty much flies in the face of what that link is telling us.

The best research I have is what my body tells me is the results. As Dr. Mike has taught us studies are not always what they seem and can be slanted to what the researcher wanted to have turn out.

I know what works for my body. PP diet, low to no carbs does, and the vits work for me, although I have had plenty who tell me wrong diet, include grains etc, and give me noise because of the vits, they work for me, that is all that I need.

I take benfotiamine and vitamin B1 but have yet to try sulbutiamine.

Sulbutiamine study:

“Effects of Sulbutiamine on diabetic polyneuropathy: An open randomised
controlled study in type 2 diabetics”

http://www.bioline.org.br/request?mj02005

http://www.phlaunt.com/diabetes/20144672.php

Even with the lower carb intake, consider avoiding wheat & gluten-derived ingredients. Some of those symptoms you describe (peripheral tingling esp) are also common with gluten sensitivity/celiac. Some low carb foods (LC breads variations) are very high in added gluten (used to boost protein and reduce starch), so one can be eating LC, but actually ingesting a LOT of gluten. Soy is also often increased in these LC foods, too. Better to stick to foods naturally low in carbs instead of LC franken foods that might be increasing your exposure to problematic ingredients like gluten and processed soy.

I got very swollen during the last few weeks of pregnancy (this was also the time I had intense chocolate cravings) . Every doctors visit ended with them checking for protein in my urine. No one told me to eat more meat (of course) but I always felt better after a big protein-fest, so that’s what I did, much to the dismay of my ob/gyn. My swelling would go down the days after eating a lot of good meat, and I never had protein in my urine when I wasn’t too swollen. The days after giving in to crazy chocolate and pop tart cravings, you could bet on it that there would be protein in my urine, I’d be swollen, and I’d get the pre-eclampsia speech from the doc.

It all makes sense now! I was getting all those good B vitamins when eating right and my cells were keeping their protein molecules….at least on the days I was eating right.

http://loraldiabetes.blogspot.com/2009/04/test-test-test.html

the meters are cheap and even given away but the strips are expensive.

Keep the BG down and many symptoms may reverse over time. There’s a protocol for peripheral neuropathy involving Alpha Lipoic Acid and Evening Primrose Oil which seems to work for many (the website is temporarily down), AFAICR 300 – 600mg ALA and 500 – 1000mg EPO.

Benfotiamine was also mentioned, I was considering trialling it with my next supplements order and this paper has made my mind up.

I try to get most of my nutrients from a varied and low carb diet, but with the ALA, EPO, D3 and panthethine (NOT pantothenic acid) which I’m trialling as a statin replacement, I’ve started rattling, dammit!

I totally get it! I’m gonna be a nutritionist. And maybe a media darling.

for more info on benfo and general support on BG control for diabetics, stop by the Bernstein diabetes forum. Great recipes and an excellent complement to this blog with several posters detailing their results from this supplement/diet combo.

The forum is down today, but expected back shortly. http://www.diabetes-book.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl