With all respect and thanks (and that is very considerable!) to Dr Levy for his work, I think he is off base with this one. It is a common failing of people in general, and "experts" in particular, to get so involved with their viewpoint that they lose sight of the big picture. I think this is exactly like the "cholesterol hypothesis" in that a (possible) indicator of something(s) wrong is taken as the cause. Then a cure is attempted by manipulating the indicator. That might help if there is a secondary problem caused by the indicator, but it will not repair the original problem, and it may cause other secondary trouble - maybe worse than the primary. Just as lowering cholesterol "may" help CVD, but seems to possibly cause cancer and suicide. but NEVER cures the underlying trouble.
Iron is ubiquitous but not constant in food and water, therefore a properly functioning organism can and does control for all evolutionarily reasonable variation. If ferritin levels are high, then the control mechanism of the organism is askew, or the evaluation algorithm of the observer is. It might be necessary or desirable to "fix" it, but I'm pretty certain the design specs do not call for "bleeding". In some quarters, this is called Voodoo. And that is not to say that Voodoo itself is invalid either!
I am not now going to go off and learn about ferritin, I am trying to answer some leftover items I have implicitly promised on here, and I have about 50 pages open on my computer and a head full of details.
In jknosplr's case, there are a number of things that jump out at me.
Briefly, I first found JTA Ely through Owen's excellent article that was here:
<http://www.internetwks.com/owen>
when I first found it, probably on this site now.
/The Diabetic Double Whammy/
Reversing Diabetes Type II, Glucose-Ascorbate Antagonism, and their
Impact on Reversing Heart Disease
This will lead you to Thomas Smith's site, which I suggest you study well.
And following Ely, his "Unrecognized Pandemic "Subclinical"Diabetes of the Affluent Nations:
Causes, Cost and Prevention", here:Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine, 1996; 11(2): 95-99.
And:
The Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine Vol. 11, 2nd Quarter 1996
How the Sick Get Sicker by Following Current Medical Protocol: The Example of Undiagnosed Magnesium Deficiency S. A. Rogers, M.D.
Yes, I am proposing that you fit Ely's "subclinical diabetes",and that it is a result of mucking with fats, shortage of magnesium, B vitamins, almost certainly iodine.
Go here and have fun!:
http://www.yourhealthbase.com/category/diseases.htmThis is the database of International Health News, possibly the most sane and comprehensive reporting on medical issues I've ever seen.
The Pauling therapy didn't work because it is not the rate limiting part of your health, certainly not now that you have been doing it. You have to find what is limiting and attack that, then the next thing, and etc.
I see no mention of Vitamin A, D, E and you say no K2, little of B vitamins, nothing about iodine, no magnesium, potassium. I'm willing to bet you are on salt restriction, which can lead to chloride deficiency, something I've never seen mentioned, but which I've been looking into lately.
Vit E see Wilfred E Shute
B vitamins/CoQ10 see Langsjoen from Ely
I'll hazard a guess that you are chronically dehydrated, since most people are, especially in winter, in places where houses, cars, beds are heated. I have to seriously disagree with Jonwen's explanation re sweating in winter. You might not get wet but you can easily lose more water in winter than summer, but you'll not know it. Blood thinners? Water is the blood thinner - it was an article every month or so in the magazines for truckers when I was doing that. Driving is especially dehydrating, since wind (or AC for modern folk!) carries off all the vapor, and the motion of the vehicle effectively causes panting - which kills your H20.
The muscle/ligament pain says magnesium deficiency to me, or calcium in the wrong places, which is a result of magnesium deficiency. I've had it in various forms, commonly from a lot of driving - used to drive a big truck, and am given to things like driving 1000 miles in a day. I've posted a piece on such pain in the Misc health and Rants section "Regarding muscle & joint pain and repair"
I will also say that I have twice had an "issue" with weight, probably 5 lbs in my case, but I didn't care for feeling flabbish. Once was when I was away from home for most of a couple of months, eating what appeared to be a "typical American diet" I felt horrid, showed clear multiple B vitamin deficiencies, and gained the 5 lbs of sloppy fat. Took about a month of my usual home feed & vitamins to fix. The second time was when my wife fell for a diet much like you describe - no skin chicken, vegetables, ground turkey etc. Felt awful and gained the same. I increased the Mg and iodine a bit and felt better, but still had the fat. Then I went back to my preferred home fries, sausage, butter, cheese and the fat went away immediately (a week) and I felt great. I eat a lot of eggs, onions, and a lot of potatoes, which I never peel, since the peel is where all the minerals are. I cook with butter, olive oil, coconut oil. I use no sugar nor substitutes, live on coffee with whole milk. Now living alone, I still use 2 gallons of milk or more per week and it all goes in my coffee. Lots of home grown blueberries and raspberries, frequently on cheesecake or in yoghurt. Just like the Weston Price people say. Don't have a Doctor, my house is at 62 degrees and my bedroom is usually around 40 in winter. If I don't eat my usual, I'll freeze to death. I can and this winter have shoveled snow all day. At 64 I look exactly like I did at 34, same weight, same pants, same belt - 5"7" 155lbs.
FRM