zand, thank you for sharing your cautionary experience. Hypertension can be deadly. I do not have hypertension, though my husband does, so I agree, it needs to be monitored and managed. Here in the US, many pharmacies have a machine where you can take your blood pressure. Do you all have that in the UK too? I need to get back in the habit of checking it, though I've never been higher than 145/80, and it dropped into the normal range, 110/70, after I switched to the low carbohydrate diet and lost 26 pounds. What you describe is scary. I'm so glad you didn't have a stroke. I wish I had a better understanding of why that happened to you. I just did a quick search and you're right, water intake needs to be increased when protein is increased. I think I've heard that 5% of the population have hypertension due to a sensitivity to sodium. Dehydration could only make that worse.
Thanks for the reminder. I've gained back 13 pounds over the last two and a half years, and my responsibilities at work have increased so I need to see where my blood pressure is right now, and continue to monitor it. Lab tests alone aren't enough to monitor health.
I had to listen to all available presentations and interviews to understand what Dr. Naiman's doing personally for himself and with his patients so I think I can clarify how much protein he's recommending: 30% to 35% protein of daily calories or 30 g more or less than 120 g based on body size - (90 g if a small woman, 120 g if a large man).
In addition, he's eating a nutrient dense, fiber rich diet that includes above ground vegetables, no grains or sugar, exercising, keeping his carbohydrate intake under 50 g carbs to maintain ketosis, and is eating healthy fats in amounts needed to support his daily energy needs and to maintain his weight. For those wishing to lose weight, fat intake is temporarily lessened so the body is burning its fat reserves.
I'm not sure what to think about this, but his review of the research on protein intake is compelling enough for me to try it.
My lean body mass is 100 pounds. (I know this only because I was a skinny kid and young adult. In my early 30's, I began gaining weight and peaked at 180 pounds). My goal is to eat 90 g protein a day. Here's what I eat on a typical day...
Breakfast: 2 slices bacon, 2 eggs, onion, cauliflower, broccoli, mushrooms, gouda cheese with black tea, water, and a small side of fruit/berries.
Lunch: chicken thigh, an ounce of almonds or pecans, medium carrot or a side of kale salad with green tea, water, and a small side of fruit/berries.
Dinner: beef, chicken, or pork, sometimes salmon, a variety of vegetables sauted in butter, with water, sometimes red wine, and a small side of fruit/berries, followed by a cup of chamomile tea.
I include fat with all meals and also eat small amounts of chocolate. I also eat small amounts of root vegetables a few times a week.
I walk 3 to 5 days a week.
To maintain adequate hydration, I carry water everywhere with me in stainless steel containers. I try to drink a cup of water for every cup of tea. When I'm switching over from low carb to ketosis, I drink a cup of hot water with a 1/2 teaspoon of salt every three days or so.
That amounts to 92 protein a day.
I thought increasing my protein intake would be harder. All I changed was eating 2 eggs instead of 1, eating 2 strips of bacon instead of 1 1/2, added meat back into my daily lunch, and increased my meat intake at dinner by an ounce.
Now that I have an android phone, I need to get My Fitness Pal and learn how to use it so I can figure out my macro percentages.