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⬅️ Previous capture (2021-11-30)
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Alright, we're going to try something new & different.
When I was browsing different water bottles I ran across copper water bottles. Supposedly they naturally turn water alkaline and add trace copper. The bottles are somewhat fussy in that you can only put pure water in there or risk leeching too much copper. But the copper is very pretty and I liked the idea of engraving one for my personal use. Blah blah blah, you have to buy into this woo woo alkaline theory for purchasing the bottle to make sense, because it is expensive at ~$30 and not practical because it's not as durable as steel. So I looked into the alkaline diet thing a bit, and of course all the foods that turn acidic in the body are the usual suspects that end up on the naughty list for plenty of diets. Processed food, sugar, grains like wheat and white rice, some nuts and beans, dairy, meat, condiments, alcohol, etc. Sounds like vegetarian whole30. I'm already avoiding carbohydrates, and supposedly I should be avoiding dairy for headaches (frowny face), so there's a decent overlap with my current food habits anyway.
I really like sour, acidic drinks. I love lemon/lime, I like the taste of kombucha, I put a little apple cider vinegar in my drinks, and I really like cold fizzy water from the sodastream. I know the carbonation process for fizzy water makes it acidic. I've been wondering if all that acid might be bad for my teeth. I was reading that an acid environment in the mouth can benefit the formation of plaque and cause tooth decay, and I want none of that. Perhaps a water bottle that makes water alkaline might give my teeth a break? Also the tap water here is not the best, perhaps a copper water bottle would improve the taste.
Science people say the alkaline diet is woo woo bunk and you can't change the pH of your body with your eating habits. Alkaline diet people claim that eating alkaline food takes stress off the body from filtering excessive acid, which leads to benefits, especially for people with chronic illnesses like chronic fatigue syndrome. Supposedly it lowers blood pressure, lowers inflammation, better bone health, etc.
The Alkaline Diet: Is There Evidence That an Alkaline pH Diet Benefits Health?
I'm not keen on going vegetarian, mostly because it takes more mental energy to try new food things and I don't have it right now. Spouse doesn't complain about low carb but he'd probably not like eliminating meat, and I don't want to make both a meat and meatless version of dinner. I do think veggie is the way of the future. Benefits are clear and sensible. Everybody knows the meat industry is a horror show. Cultured meat should become more of a thing, but pretty sure the anti-vax types will freak over vat grown meat and delay acceptance. Just due to availability and expense, veggie alternatives will rise to market dominance and force meat to become more of a "sunday dinner" feature, like it was a hundred years ago. Spouse and I have tried the burger king impossible whopper and it was really good. I could see it becoming the default, especially if the meat whopper has a premium pricetag. Everybody's going to be mostly veggie by 2030, probably. As Agent Smith says, it is inevitable. So maybe spouse and I will go veggie in the future, but not right now.
Anyway, could my headaches be aggravated by an excess of acid from diet? If I intentionally skew alkaline, will it help any? The last headache was so awful I am willing to buy a copper water bottle and make myself a guinea pig. I can't lose 6, 7 days out of 28 being barely functional. I can't do it psychologically, waiting for the wrecking ball, unable to make plans.
A while back I read that it is important to have the right balance of zinc and copper. If I'm adding trace copper, I should look at zinc. Food sources for zinc include: red meat, shellfish (don't like), beans (out), seeds (rarely), nuts (sometimes), dairy (avoiding), eggs (cut back due to IF), whole grains (out). Also zinc doesn't get stored in the body like copper, so having too much copper is already common. Yada yada, there is a relationship between zinc, copper, calcium and potassium in the body (also magnesium, but I have that covered). I know it is recommended to supplement with lite salt on a low carb diet because the diet can leach potassium from the body (I have forgotten to do that). So I will be adding a little zinc and calcium to my vitamins and making an effort to use the lite salt, just so I don't bork myself with too much copper.
The water bottle arrived and it is very nice. I wish it were more durable so I could take it places like a normal water bottle. I'm looking forward to seeing the patina develop. I picked a tall, plain cylinder that holds 1 liter. Supposedly it takes 8 hours or so to alkalize the water, and don't leave it longer than 24 hours or you'll have too much copper. The water tastes a little bit sweeter, but doesn't eliminate the tap water taste.
Anyway, cheers, or whatever. I'll give it 6-8 weeks and see if it helps.
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Headache time is inbound. It starts with a weird anxious revved up feeling, like too much caffeine or a sugar crash, and my blood pressure starts spiking. I'll get a night of bad sleep for no reason - I'll be tired but my brain refuses to switch off and will obsess over jingles or song lyrics over and over. Hours of stupid internal monologue with no rest. The next day I am already drained. There's a buzzing/pressure in my ears and I can feel my sinuses start having trouble. This will lead to my neck and shoulder muscles tensing up and a feeling like I need to pop my neck, but no matter how much I stretch and massage, it will get worse and worse as the day goes on.
I've been drinking the copper water and also making an effort to get more potassium for a couple days now. We had a bottle of potassium supplements in the cupboard (it was a BOGO deal and potassium was the only thing they had that seemed useful, because I thought perhaps spouse could use it due to all the exercise he's been getting). They cap potassium supplements at 99mg to prevent overdosing. As a supplement it's not a smart one to purchase, because a banana has like 400mg (but bananas are off limits for me), and the daily recommended intake is around 4000mg. But we have it, so I may as well take it and get rid of it.
The weird thing is I noticed after I took the potassium I've been calmer and less anxious. Yesterday I had the most amazing, blissful nap and I realized it was after taking potassium. I've always had a hard time getting deep sleep. It's a real treat when I wake up feeling refreshed - it was noteworthy enough that I took another supplement at bedtime last night. The surprising thing was that again, I had the relaxed feeling but also in the middle of the night my sinuses opened up. You know when you have a cold and suddenly you have that soft internal popping sensation in the sinus and then a lovely pressure release? I got that a few times as I shifted position. There's a sensation I associate with the tail end of a headache that feels like my brainstem is untwisting or unravelling. Like a whole bunch of knots are untying themselves one by one and the tension is dissolving and draining away. The connections in my neck vertebra feel loose and pliable again. Well I'm getting that sensation right now. It's very very unusual for this time in my cycle.
Huh - potassium as a treatment for PMS.
"If optimal levels of potassium are required for the proper functioning of some cyclic hormone, like progesterone, or some other cyclic substance, such as an endogenous opiate peptide or serotonin receptors (which have been shown to fluctuate with changes in estrogen and progesterone concentrations), a mild to moderate deficiency would manifest itself by causing a disturbance in the metabolism of this substance. As this potassium-dependent substance fluctuated with the menstrual cycle, than so might symptoms."
"Many of the things that cause low magnesium levels are also direct causes of potassium deficiencies. A magnesium deficiency increases the potassium loss even more."
"The Canadian Mental Health Association reports that low levels of potassium, caused by hormonal imbalances that contribute to premenstrual syndrome, can lead to depression. (...) Women who have recently given birth also may experience a drop in potassium associated with a decrease in progesterone. This can result in postpartum depression."
Other people who get this same weird headache noted their symptoms correlated with the progesterone cycle.
Well, shit. Maybe I just need more potassium. How dumb would it be if I've suffered half my life over something as simple as potassium deficiency.
I'm not going to celebrate because I've thought things were fixes before. I've experimented on myself quite a bit over the past 20 years. Magnesium and low carb were the only things that really made a difference, and even then, the effectiveness varies from month to month. So I guess I'm going to keep taking this potassium supplement and see what happens. And eat some spinach.