The last few weeks have been a whirlwind, and I feel as if there is so much to catch up on.
In late December, I decided to get Insidetracker done again. While it is cheaper than getting several tests done through insurance, it’s not inexpensive by any means.
Since I’m a healthy adult and nothing is “life or death”, blood tests are not covered by Insurance. I chose to get InsideTracker again because I knew it would help. I did receive a discount from Insidetracker which was helpful. I got results done in July and ultimately found my iron was too high as well as a few other things. (Detailed post here).
So What Happened in the Last Few Months?
After receiving my results in July, I did start taking a probiotic as recommended. I gave the probiotic 3 months, but I didn’t notice a change in anything. At an extra $90 ($30 per bottle at the recommended 3X per day), I couldn’t justify the cost and not noticing a difference.
Iron:
Since July, I’ve also worked to lower my iron, but it seems I worked too hard and it plummeted almost to the “too low” category. This is the first time in my life I’ve ever had too such low iron. The fact that it dropped that quickly is alarming.
But it would explain why I’ve been more tired.
How did I lower it?
Since July, I went off my multivitamin which had 100% iron in it. While I prefer dark chocolate, I ate a lot more milk chocolate with less iron.
I already consumed (and still do) red meat 2-3X per week as well as leafy greens. That’s probably why it didn’t lower anymore.
Now that my iron is too low, I think I’ll go back on my multivitamin with iron in it and dark chocolate.
Liver Enzymes:
Since getting my previous results, my liver enzymes have stayed “at risk.” They need work and to be honest, I’m not surprised. They took a backburner while I worked towards everything else, so I didn’t do much with them.
This time, I am going to add both wheat germ and an extra serving of almond, sunflower or peanut butter to my diet each day. I’m actually not a huge peanut butter fan. I don’t hate it, I just don’t have it often.
So what’s the Plan?
I’m spending the next 6 weeks focusing on making these small changes because it’s perfect timing. While I do have responsibilities and things to do, I’m not working full-time. I have access to cooking, preparing and eating foods that would work for me. If I cannot make these changes now, there probably won’t be an easier time.
For the next six weeks, I plan to watch and monitor my diet. I’m not going to make a lot of extreme changes, and I don’t plan to change the caloric intake, however, I do plan to eat more nutritionally dense food for me.
What I like about InsideTracker is they make recommendations for foods that can help optimize your personal results. While I could spend hours researching, how to increase iron levels or decrease liver enzymes, it’s right on my dashboard. For me, it means including a lot more wheat germ or nut products. I can’t make any promises, but I’m sure I’ll be sharing my experiences along the way in the food and diet world too. Although I like to read other people’s posts, nutritional posts haven’t been on the forefront of my blog for a while.
I would definitely recommend InsiderTracker as it’s a great tool to help you figure out what nutrition your body needs. You cannot get more of an awakening than learning your blood results.
Questions for you:
What are some ways you consume wheat germ?
Have you ever taken a probiotic?
