Hi.

Thank you for being so helpful. I find it challenging enough as it is and the support I get helps me to keep going. Now that my health is mostly back, I'm having a hard time NOT giving in to temptation, eating the "normal" way, as opposed to mainly veggies and protein, etc.

Anyway.

The easiest way for me to get oatmeal (cooked steel cut oats) into my diet is to just thaw out one block of oatmeal per day and eat it as a snack.

Is that a problem?

My you-know-what starts floating when I started having oatmeal, but sank again a couple of days later, so I'm thinking one block a day, or five days a week if 7 days a week is too much?

Sarah

The floating could also be from more vegetables (and thereby more fiber)...

hi John,

In this case, I don't think so, since I was eating a lot of veggies well before I started introducing oats into my diet ...

And it wasn't until I introduced oats that they started floating ... for two days straight!

But thanks, I appreciate your input anyway.

There is fiber in Oatmeal, so I guess that accounts for it, too ...

Sarah,

Floating stool is a sign of very good eicosanoid balance. It means you are at the correct dose of fish oil form you needs. For more info, refer to the the Eicosanoid Status Report link on this page: http://drsears.com/Resources/tabid/...fault.aspx

A possible scenario is that when you added the oats, the GLA they contain put you at and excellent eicosanoid balance for a coupe days. But GLA is tricky. A little goes a verylong way. Some people can only handle oen serving of oats per week or teh GLA will take tem in the wrong ditection. The fact that your stool began sinking could be from too much GLA. Another sign of too much GLA can be a tendency toward constipation.

As Sue stated, one reason: "Another sign of too much GLA can be a tendency toward constipation."
Add more fiber.

Hi All,

From a Zone standpoint, careful balancing of GLA (and fish oil dose) is cruscial if/when spillover is happening. Spillover is the name Dr. Sears uses to describe the process which takes place in the body when your are tipped toward too much GLA in the balance. This process pushes you toward increased inflammation. Fiber alone will not reverse the spillover effect. Again, refer to the Eicosanoid Status report I mentioned earlier.

Ok ... I'll go to the Eicosanoid Status report.

Wow, I feel confused because, do I add more or less oats, etc?

So now I know that one block of oats could be enough, and five blocks could be not enough; it depends on my own needs.

So ... if I DID add oats and it DID help me come into balance, then, like, how long would the effects of GLA last? One day? Two? One week?

I'm just asking for a ballpark figure ...

I noticed my period was better this time around by the way ...

Sarah

I took a look at the report and will begin filling it in.

I have a question--fingernail strength--how long does it take for fingernail strength to return?

My fingernails DID become very thin the past year, they used to be quite thick and strong (relatively speaking), but became fragile. However it didn't happen immediately, it was a slow process.

Sarah

Thank you for your explanation Sue.

Thanks John and Cranberrycat too :-)

Sarah

I keep trying to save the report to my desktop but it refuses to even after I enable the marcos ...

Help!

Sarah

Hi Sarah,

Steel cut oatmeal contain and oat groats (the whole oat kernel) contain GLA. The processing to make rolled oats, instant oats, etc, deteriorates GLA, so they woudl not be considered good sources. Sinking stool means too much GLA, so you'd want to eat oatmeal less
frequently.

Sarah,

The Eicosanoid Status Report (aka SIP, Silent Inflammation Profile) is also in some of the Zone books, if you happen to have any of the books.

Thanks Sue.

Sarah

So ... GLA would have a longer-lasting effect than one day, based on what you said?

It's closer to a week maybe?

Sarah

Hi Sarah,

It all depends on your body's unique needs. Experiment while tracking things with the ESR (SIP) to find what is best for you.

oh, ok ... thanks, Sue.

Sarah

Sarah, for most people, a bowl of oatmeal per week is plenty of GLA.

So, like, a bowl of oatmeal is 3 blocks for a woman?

Yeah, that is right.

I enjoy oatmeal a couple of ways, if you are interested (although I have found recently that I just can't tolerate oats anymore).

I used to eat it with peanut butter and chocolate protein powder.., like eating a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup! Another way I enjoyed it was topping it with cottage cheese and almonds. A variation would be to only have 2 blocks of oatmeal and then top with 1 block of blueberries (along with the cottage cheese and almonds). If not a fan of cottage cheese, then just eat your oats with eggs on the side.

hi Cranberrycat,

Thanks for this suggestion, it sounds way yummy. I thought peanuts were pro-inflammatory though Q

Im curious as to why you cant tolerate oats anymore by the way ... Q

Sarah

I just eat a scant Tbl with either lunch or breakfast a couple times per week, raw, like nuts.
1-1/2 Tbl (raw) of (Bob's Red Mill) Steel Cut Oats is 1 Carb block.
About 5 years ago, I asked, and was told that raw is the same as heated as regards the nutrition, GLA, etc

Sarah,

re the peanut butter, it is fine to eat in moderation. Almond butter would probably be preferred, but I find that too expensive and I don't enjoy it as much.

re the oats, the density is too high for me and gives me a sugar spike (then an insulin surge). So, I don't bother with it anymore.

Hi Sarah,

Re is it too much, again, you need to judge by monitoring your ESR. It would bee too much for some people and not for others.

Sounds cool, Cranberrycat, I must try it this way! But I thought peanuts etc are pro-inflammatory?

Sarah

Sorry ... I'm still getting used to the forums. Thanks for letting me know peanuts are ok probably for most people. I'll limit my peanut butter but I do like it and peanuts too, and yes, almonds ARE expensive, and so are pretty much every other nut that is supposed to be good for me. Yikes. Olive oil is CHEAP by comparison though so to survive, I can pour olive oil on meals if I don't have any other source of fat, so ... (obviously it's not tasty like nuts are but ...)

Sarah

I see, cranberry, oats spike your insulin levels ... ok ... I hadn't realized it could do that. Ok that's good to keep in mind.

Thanks Cranberycat

Sarah

Yes. Oats are one of the most dense of favorable carbohydrates. I have heard it said that oats are favorable because of the GLA, but their glycemic load is moderately high, and that would be another reason to eat them less often.

Ok ... I eat only one block at a time, though ... not three blocks!

So hopefully that makes a difference.

My floating started when I first ate oatmeal, and it lasted two days. Since then it's been a dunce LOL

I ate more oatmeal in hope of it happening again, but no ...

So I assume I took in too much GLA ...

Sarah

Sarah, if it is the GLA, and keep un mind you don't know for sure, here's the typical scenario, simply stated. At first the additional GLA does great stuff in the body and then, for some people, it becomes too much, taking them in the opposite direction. Dr. Sears refers to this as the spillover effect. It can happen quickly. You can read more about it in Zone books. I would not overly focus on the floating stool symptom. My tip would be to practice strict adherence to the Zone diet, take Omega Rx and one of the Zone polyphenols, and take it easy with oat consumption. Have a block of oats a couple times a week instead of every day. If you're experiencing the spillover effect eating more oats is basically like adding fuel to the fire.

Hi Sue,

Well, I want to explain---I NEVER have floating you-know-what. I take a block of oatmeals one day, after a long time of not eating oatmeals.

Suddenly I have two days of floating you-know-what.

So ...

I will stick to just one block a week from now on though, then, based on what you said.

But I did feel great at first and then crappy.

I think I'm coming out of the spillover now ...

Sarah

Hi Sarah, we're saying exactly the same thing. When a person increases GLA consumption, at first they "feel great", and as their GLA levels continue to increase it can become too much and then they feel "crappy".

:-) :-)

Sarah


[quote]
Posted By Sue on 16 Mar 2012 06:53 PM
Hi Sarah, we're saying exactly the same thing. When a person increases GLA consumption, at first they "feel great", and as their GLA levels continue to increase it can become too much and then they feel "crappy".
[/quote]

Hi,

I was just reading somw info on the status report. It says to eat 1-2mg of oatmeal a day to get GLA. How many blocks of oatmeal is this?

thanks,
Donna

Here are the numbers for one block of Steel Cut Oats:
(Bob's Red Mill Steel Cut Oats {Organic or the non-Organic}):
.
4 TBL (1/4 cup) oats (uncooked) = 29g minus 4g = 24 grams Carbs
Therefore 1.50 TBL = 9 grams net carbs = 1 block of Oatmeal = 9000 mg.
.
Though, I do not know if the status report id referring to cooked or uncooked when it mentions 1-2 mg of oatmeal.
.
If one assumes cooked, then, with a 3 to 1 ratio of water to oats.
1.50 TBL becomes 1.50 Tbl x 4 = 6 TBL of cooked oatmeal = 1 block.

(Using water as the liquid!)
.
Am I making this to complicated?
.

P.S. I just eat a small mouthful of raw steel cut oats, like eating nuts,
a couple times per week. A small mouthful is about a scant TBL, maybe 3/4 TBL.

Hi John,

You did a good job explaining. I prefer to eat it cooked so I'm wondering too about the amounts concerning raw versus cooked.

thanks,
Donna

Donna,

1/3 cup of cooked steel cut oats is one block of carbohydrate (that is 1/3 cup measured after they've been cooked).

Donna, I always rely on uncooked measurements. I have found that the cooked measurement is quite inaccurate, depending on the amount of water that I used (and how much evaporated). So, generally, I measure the oats uncooked and then I know how many blocks I should end up with after they are cooked.

1/4 cup uncooked makes about 3 blocks' worth. If you want to divide that into individual portions, it is easy enough to do at that point.

I did state 6 TBl cooked, or as Sue stated about 1/3 cup is one block.

Thanks CranberryCat & John,

This is very helpful.

Donna

You are very welcome, I am always happy to help!

ditto