Thank you. Like I mentioned above, the last time I lost weight, I was happier with how I looked, but I didn't really feel all that great. After doing all this research I realized that I was taking a diet that was already deficient in V&M and then eating EVEN LESS of it! No wonder I didn't feel noticeably better. So now I'm not going to make that mistake again. I need to get healthy AND shed some excess poundage.


Well, I for one am not an absolutist about these things, even though I personally don't consume animal products. I think there can be great benefit to simply reducing animal product in your diet. Now that I know more about how to do that in a healthy way, I will be better able to tell others how to do it if that's what they want to do. I have seen some people become vegetarian and vegan since me (which always makes you feel at least somewhat responsible for it, for better or worse) and they're not necessarily better off for it in a nutritional sense. Hopefully I can reach out to them and suggest some changes after I get more of this figure out for myself. Seeds, baby!


I'm actually researching that as we speak.

The problem with potassium is that some of the best vegan sources are from foods that are pretty carby (beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, bananas, acorn squash) or it's fairly low-carb, but would require eating it in a volume that just may not be realistic day in and day out (cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, white mushrooms). Avocado is rich in potassium, but I've yet to think of an appetizing way to eat it that doesn't involve carbs. Another promising addition is tomato paste. I'm going to experiment with zucchini (which I love) and see if I can fry out a lot of the water, thereby making it easier to eat greater volumes (I think potassium holds up well to frying, but I'm having trouble confirming this - anyone know?). And for what it's worth, all of this applies to vegetarians, too (eggs and cheese contain only very small amounts of potassium).

I also just read a journal article about how important proper sodium and potassium intake is for athletes on a ketogenic diet. So I think I might end up supplementing, at least for the time being. I'm still going to strive for 100% through diet, but I need to make take all practical steps to avoid impairment of my workouts, because working out is a huge part of my plan for overall wellness.

As for the other nutrient I need more of, pantothenic acid, I'm still having trouble figuring that one out. I'm running into the same problems as with potassium. Foods that offer a decent amount of PA are either carby (lentils, split peas, oats, sweet potato) or bulky (cauliflower, broccoli, white mushrooms). PA is also apparently readily destroyed by heat, and almost every way I can imagine eating these foods is by cooking them first. Sunflower seeds are a good source, but I'm already eating 48 grams of those a day, so I really don't think I want to increase that. Again, avocados are a good source, but same problem as before. One other thing I might try is crude rice bran, if I can find it and it's not too expensive. So I still have a ways to go to figure this one out. Right now I'm getting 59% from food (and 100% from a multivitamin, but I don't like to rely on supplements, if possible).

But I still have to do more research on pantothenic acid. I know there are very good reasons to maintain adequate potassium intake, but it seems that pantothenic acid deficiency is very rare, and therefore understudied. This has me wondering how the RDA of 10 mg was set, and the quality of the science that backs that up. It could be possible that the RDA was set based on population averages, and since the vast majority of people eat meat (which has plenty of PA), the average amount in people's blood may be way more than is actually needed for optimal health. I'm going to have to look into this some more.

But all this research had made me realize two things. I need to find a low-carb way to start eating avocados and once I start eating more carbs again, sweet potato is a great choice for both PA and potassium.


Thank you! I've been getting good feedback and ideas from plenty of people here already.