I've already touched on keto and insulin, BIA cellular health measurement as a reminder, insulin is the Regulatioh that lowers Rfgulation sugar. Again, what Rgulation your priorities? But using these high-fat plants in addition to high fat fish like salmon and sardines can ensure you make food choices that support long-term health. Keto can stop that process in its tracks by significantly reducing the need for insulin. I digress.

Ketosis and Hormone Regulation -

You can actually eat more food while in ketosis and still lose the same amount of fat loss as people who calorie restrict. The rate of metabolism and energy regulation is much higher on a ketogenic diet.

This means you can eat the same amount as a maintenance diet and still lose fat as if you were on a calorie restricted diet, without the hormonal problems of course. This is not a problem with ketosis.

This is being in a chronic starvation state and pissing your body off. It down regulates certain hormones and then you have hormone problems. Associated with this problem, but way too much of a topic on its own to address in this post is food quality. Eat real foods that contain micronutrients.

Eat real food. Calculate a rough amount of how much you should be eating and track your food intake with an app like MyFitnessPal.

Let me state this again, very clearly: A ketogenic diet is not perfect for everyone. This is not the fault of ketosis, it is of applying the wrong tool to the wrong job.

Overtraining is certainly a phenomenon that is not fun and certainly messes with hormones. This includes decreasing female reproductive organs, modulating of the thyroid gland, and increased cortisol The symptoms of overtraining may include weakness, fatigue, low energy, amenorrhea, and low mood.

Ketosis is a tool. I would say ketosis is not a great tool for supporting the fuel for sustained high-intensity training. What are your priorities? If you had to rank them in a top five list, where do they lie?

There is nothing magical about ketosis that makes it a nutritional approach that everyone needs to adopt. You need to be honest with yourself and address your goals from one to five. Start with the most important priority to you and focus on that.

If your goal is high energy, low inflammation, longer lifespan, mental clarity, weight loss, ease of fasting, prevention of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, and increase in mitochondrial health a ketogenic diet may be for you. If your goal is to gain muscle mass, pregnancy, or high-intensity athletic performance, a ketogenic diet is probably not for you.

The demands on certain energy systems with a super explosive workout regiment do not pair well with a ketogenic diet. There are some discussions now that argue if given long enough, anyone can become fat adapted for any goal. There is an argument that these adaptations can take up to two years, but the athletes need to take time to increase their training and resist the temptation to overtrain at the outset of switching to a ketogenic diet.

Again, what are your priorities? How to fix this problem: Align your nutritional choices with your goals. Making a dietary change, especially shifting your metabolism from using one fuel to another, can certainly be a stress to your body. However, this stress in a normal situation should be easily dealt with.

If you, like most Americans, have a problem with being overstressed, this indeed can lead to a cascade of hormonal problems. An over secretion of stress hormones is not the fault of ketones, ketosis, or eating a ketogenic diet. It is a result of being over stressed. The same response would happen if you went from keto to high carb, too.

Stress is one of the four pillars of health and should be addressed in conjunction with nutrition, movement, and sleep to optimize health. If you have constant anxiety and are chronically stressed, this can lead to many more measurable health problems than a ketogenic diet.

Stress must be addressed and ruled out as a contributing factor before you can claim that a ketogenic diet led to hormonal problems.

If you are experiencing any symptoms of stress, doing more light movement like yoga , practicing meditation, getting more sleep, being outside more and journaling can all help reduce levels of stress. Sometimes stress induced hormonal changes may be cyclical and require medical intervention.

In these cases, working with a functional medicine clinician to run something like a DUTCH test would be beneficial. How to Fix This Problem: If you have symptoms of chronic stress, try stress reducing techniques. My favorites are walking in the woods and meditation use Headspace for a jump start.

If you feel like things are really awful, go get a DUTCH test from a functional medicine clinician. As seen above, the two main reasons why people think ketosis is bad for hormones, that it disrupts your HPA axis and ruins your thyroid, are both mistaken and not true.

The main problems that people who anecdotally claim ketosis is responsible for are actually not being in a ketogenic state, chronically calorie restricting, overtraining, or being overstressed — or a combination of the listed.

People try to have it all. They try to calorie restrict to lose weight, they try to burn through physical performance all while not really doing the work and measuring to see if they are using the right substrate or not.

They start having energy and fatigue problems. Chaos ensues. There is currently no research on whether the keto diet helps or hinders the balance of reproductive hormones during menopause, so the effects on declining estrogen and progesterone levels are unknown.

No — no diet, supplement, or medication can stop or reverse menopause. It is a natural stage in life that occurs when the body stops making as much estrogen and progesterone.

However, hormone therapy can replace the hormones a person is losing, which can alleviate symptoms. The keto diet can cause side effects, especially when a person first starts the diet.

These can include :. Following a keto diet can also make it more challenging to consume enough of certain nutrients. For example, one study found that those who follow a keto diet consume less fiber.

People may eat fewer fruits and vegetables in an attempt to avoid carbohydrates, meaning they get fewer vitamins , minerals, and prebiotics.

Prebiotic fiber feeds the beneficial bacteria in the gut. A way to offset this is to focus on continuing to eat plenty of fiber and fresh produce while following the keto diet. Research on the long-term impact of the keto diet is still ongoing, but studies suggest there are some risks.

A review and meta-analysis concluded that the incidence of kidney stones in children who eat a keto diet is around 5. In adults, it is 7.

Menopause itself increases the chance of developing heart disease , so following a keto diet while going through menopause may compound the risk. Menopause also affects bone health. The decline in estrogen reduces bone mineral density, increasing the risk of osteoporosis.

A study looking at the impact of a short-term keto diet also linked ketosis with a loss of bone density. The study followed 30 athletes following the diet for a period of 3.

The authors also noted that, even when participants returned to regular diets, their ability to create healthy new bone did not return to normal. However, most of the athletes in this study were male, with only five females. The average age of the participants was More research is necessary to understand how the keto diet might impact people in menopause.

The keto diet involves big changes for many people, but there are other options that can help someone reach or maintain a healthy weight.

The Mediterranean diet focuses on vegetables, fruits, and healthy fats, such as olive oil and nuts. It limits saturated fats, red meat, and alcohol. In the study comparing the Mediterranean diet with three other diet types in postmenopausal females, researchers found that it was not as effective for weight loss as the low carbohydrate diet, but that it was more effective than a low fat diet.

A study also found that the Mediterranean diet was associated with higher bone density and muscle mass in postmenopausal females. A plant-based diet involves avoiding animal-derived foods and focusing instead on plant-based foods.

A survey comparing perimenopausal and menopausal vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores found that eating a diet containing more vegetables and less meat aligned with less bothersome menopausal symptoms.

An earlier study of over 17, menopausal females had similar results. These individuals were three times more likely to lose weight and more likely to eliminate menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes and night sweats.

A ketogenic diet focuses on low carb, moderate protein, and high fat foods. It places the body in ketosis, a metabolic state that encourages weight loss. The keto diet may help with some symptoms of menopause, including weight gain. However, a keto diet also increases LDL cholesterol, which may be risky since menopause also increases the risk of heart disease.

A keto diet cannot reverse menopause and may only ease its symptoms. Other diets that may benefit those going through menopause include the Mediterranean diet and plant-based diets.

People should consult with a doctor before starting any new diet. Leading up to and during menopause, people often notice weight gain. For those who wish to lose this weight, it can be more difficult than usual.

Phytoestrogens are a natural compound found in plants. Metabolism ; 33 : — Geldszus R, Mayr B, Horn R, Geisthovel F, von zur Muhlen A, Brabant G. Serum leptin and weight reduction in female obesity.

Eur J Endocrinol ; : — Cummings DE, Weigle DS, Frayo RS, Breen PA, Ma MK, Dellinger EP et al. Plasma ghrelin levels after diet-induced weight loss or gastric bypass surgery. N Engl J Med ; : — Chearskul S, Delbridge E, Shulkes A, Proietto J, Kriketos A.

Effect of weight loss and ketosis on postprandial cholecystokinin and free fatty acid concentrations. Am J Clin Nutr ; 87 : — Sumithran P, Prendergast LA, Delbridge E, Purcell K, Shulkes A, Kriketos A et al.

Long-term persistence of hormonal adaptations to weight loss. New Engl J Med ; : — Stubbs RJ, Hughes DA, Johnstone AM, Rowley E, Reid C, Elia M et al. The use of visual analogue scales to assess motivation to eat in human subjects: a review of their reliability and validity with an evaluation of new hand-held computerized systems for temporal tracking of appetite ratings.

Br J Nutr ; 84 : — Hall SE, Wastney ME, Bolton TM, Braaten JT, Berman M. Ketone body kinetics in humans: the effects of insulin-dependent diabetes, obesity and starvation.

J Lipid Res ; 25 : — CAS PubMed Google Scholar. R Development Core Team. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing: Vienna, Benjamini Y, Yekutieli D.

The control of the false discovery rate in multiple testing under dependency. Ann Statist ; 29 : — Matthews DR, Hosker JP, Rudenski AS, Naylor BA, Treacher DF, Turner RC. Homoeostasis model assessment: insulin resistance and beta-cell function from fasting plasma glucose and insulin concentrations in man.

Diabetologia ; 28 : — Pfluger PT, Kampe J, Castaneda TR, Vahl T, D'Alessio DA, Kruthaupt T et al. Effect of human body weight changes on circulating levels of peptide YY and peptide YY J Clin Endocrinol Metab ; 92 : — Ratliff J, Mutungi G, Puglisi MJ, Volek JS, Fernandez ML.

Carbohydrate restriction with or without additional dietary cholesterol provided by eggs reduces insulin resistance and plasma leptin without modifying appetite hormones in adult men. Nutr Res ; 29 : — Gil KM, Skeie B, Kvetan V, Askanazi J, Friedman MI. Parenteral nutrition and oral intake: effect of glucose and fat infusions.

J Parenter Enteral Nutr ; 15 : — Mayer J. Glucostatic mechanism of regulation of food intake. N Engl J Med ; : 13— Samaha FF, Iqbal N, Seshadri P, Chicano KL, Daily DA, McGrory J et al.

A low-carbohydrate as compared with a low-fat diet in severe obesity. Volek JS, Sharman MJ, Gomez AL, DiPasquale C, Roti M, Pumerantz A et al. Comparison of a very low-carbohydrate and low-fat diet on fasting lipids, LDL subclasses, insulin resistance, and postprandial lipemic responses in overweight women.

J Am Coll Nutr ; 23 : — Bisschop PH, de Metz J, Ackermans MT, Endert E, Pijl H, Kuipers F et al. Dietary fat content alters insulin-mediated glucose metabolism in healthy men. Am J Clin Nutr ; 73 : — Liu J, Jahn LA, Fowler DE, Barrett EJ, Cao W, Liu Z. Free fatty acids induce insulin resistance in both cardiac and skeletal muscle microvasculature in humans.

J Clin Endocrinol Metab ; 96 : — Arase K, Fisler JS, Shargill NS, York DA, Bray GA. Intracerebroventricular infusions of 3-OHB and insulin in a rat model of dietary obesity. Am J Physiol ; : R—R Laeger T, Pohland R, Metges CC, Kuhla B.

The ketone body beta-hydroxybutyric acid influences agouti-related peptide expression via AMP-activated protein kinase in hypothalamic GT cells. J Endocrinol ; : — Langhans W, Egli G, Scharrer E. Selective hepatic vagotomy eliminates the hypophagic effect of different metabolites.

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Keto diets can be Ginseng for blood pressure for women, especially when they Hlrmone their male co-workers or partners shedding pounds with relative Kettosis. I first tried Horone lose Regulatikn with a ketogenic diet several years ago. Neither did keto work for countless women in my practice who came to me for help. I had to come up with a new approach and over the last two years, have developed and tested a modified version of the classic ketogenic diet that takes into account individual differences and female physiology. Low carb high fat LCHF diets are popular, with the ketogenic diet being the most popular of all in recent years.

Ketosis and Hormone Regulation -

Unleash its power now. Navigate back to the homepage SHOP TESTS. TAKE QUIZ. The ketogenic diet, commonly known as the keto diet, is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate dietary approach designed to induce a state of ketosis in the body.

Ketosis is a metabolic state in which the body predominantly relies on ketones, produced from fats, as its primary source of energy instead of glucose from carbohydrates. By significantly reducing carbohydrate intake and increasing fat consumption, the body shifts its fuel source and initiates ketosis.

In recent years, the ketogenic diet has gained widespread popularity among women seeking to achieve various health and wellness goals. As women explore different dietary options, many have been drawn to the potential benefits of the keto diet , such as weight loss , increased energy levels, and improved mental clarity.

The purpose of this blog post is to provide a comprehensive exploration of the ketogenic diet for women, focusing on the potential risks and benefits it offers, as well as its impact on hormonal health. While the keto diet has shown promising results for some, it may not be suitable for everyone, and women may experience unique considerations when adopting this dietary approach.

By delving into the effects of keto on hormones, menstrual cycles, and overall well-being, this blog aims to help women make informed decisions about whether the ketogenic diet aligns with their individual health goals and circumstances.

Additionally, we will discuss precautionary measures and strategies to optimize the keto experience for women, ensuring a balanced and sustainable approach to achieving desired outcomes.

The ketogenic diet operates on the principle of drastically reducing carbohydrate intake while increasing the consumption of dietary fats. In response, the liver begins to convert fats into ketones, an alternative fuel source.

As ketone levels rise in the bloodstream, the body enters a state of ketosis, shifting its metabolism to predominantly burn fats for energy. This metabolic shift can have various effects on the body, making the ketogenic diet a subject of interest for women looking to achieve specific health goals.

Low Carbohydrate Intake: The ketogenic diet typically restricts daily carbohydrate intake to grams or less. This limitation is essential to induce and maintain ketosis effectively. High Fat Consumption: Healthy fats like avocados, nuts, seeds, coconut oil, and olive oil take center stage in the keto diet.

These fats provide the necessary energy and support ketone production. Moderate Protein Intake: Protein intake is moderate to prevent excess protein conversion into glucose, which could hinder ketosis.

It is typically set at around 0. Ketosis Monitoring: Achieving and sustaining ketosis is fundamental to the success of the ketogenic diet. Monitoring ketone levels through urine, blood, or breath tests can help individuals gauge their progress.

While the ketogenic diet shares similarities with other low-carb diets, some key differences set it apart:. Strict carbohydrate limits: The keto diet typically imposes more stringent carbohydrate restrictions than other low-carb diets, promoting a deeper state of ketosis.

Emphasis on fats: The keto diet places a higher emphasis on consuming healthy fats as the primary source of energy, whereas other low-carb diets might focus more on protein intake. Ketosis as a goal: Unlike some low-carb diets that may allow for occasional higher carbohydrate intake, the ketogenic diet aims to maintain ketosis consistently.

The macronutrient ratio for the ketogenic diet often varies based on individual needs and goals. However, a common ratio is:. It is essential to note that these ratios can be adjusted based on factors such as activity level, metabolic health, and weight management objectives.

Customizing the macronutrient distribution can help women personalize the ketogenic diet to suit their specific needs and optimize their experience with this dietary approach.

Want to check if your diet is affecting negatively your weight and energy? Understand your specific health goals. Are you looking to lose weight, manage blood sugar levels, improve energy, or address other health concerns?

Knowing your primary objective will help you evaluate whether the keto diet aligns with your needs. Pay close attention to how your body responds beyond just weight changes.

Note changes in your energy levels, mood, and sleep quality. Also, be aware of any obsessive thoughts or preoccupation with your diet, as this could indicate potential issues with sustainability. Some women may experience irregularities in their menstrual cycles while following keto. If you notice any menstrual changes or disruptions, consider taking a break and consult with a healthcare professional to support your hormonal health.

If you follow the research, the health benefits of keto are pretty impressive, from weight loss to metabolic health. But, as with much of the medical world, most of the research has been conducted on men. Before following a keto diet, it's helpful to understand how keto could impact a woman's body differently.

In this article, we'll examine keto and women's health, including the risks and benefits, so you can decide if it's the right fit for you. There's no way for me to tell you exactly how you will respond to the keto diet because we all have different genetics, ages, stress levels, sleep, and activity levels.

As you will learn in this article, some can thrive on the diet while others may feel worse. In other words, it's vital that you think about your personal reasons and have ways to gauge your response to the keto diet. Don't go keto just because it's a trend or you want fast results. We will go into the benefits of keto in a minute and you probably hear about these a lot , but let's look at the potential risks to start, because they're often less discussed.

If you have a history of high cholesterol or heart disease, keto may not be the best choice. Some research does suggest that keto could increase total and LDL bad cholesterol, while other studies suggest that it could help increase HDL good cholesterol.

A recent small study on healthy young women found that keto significantly increased LDL cholesterol after four weeks. The differences are likely related to the type of fat in the diet saturated fat from animals versus fats from plants like olive oil.

Some people also have genetic predispositions or a family history where a high-fat diet is not recommended. If you don't know how you do with a high-fat diet, you'll want to make sure to have your lipids checked regularly to see how your body responds.

Part of the benefit of keto is that it forces the body into a type of adaptive stress by restricting nutrients. Switching from carbs to fat for energy is why keto works so well for some people, but it can also be too restrictive for others, especially women.

Adaptive stress means a type of stress that your body has to overcome. But if your reserves are already depleted and you don't respond favorably, it can do damage.

As I'll discuss in more detail below, keto can be helpful or harmful to women's hormones because our hormone balance is so closely tied to the body's stress response. For some women, restricting carbs throws the body into a protective state that can shut off hormones that control your period and menstrual cycle.

Content warning — if you've ever been diagnosed with an eating disorder, I'm going to discuss keto and restriction here. You can skip to the next heading to avoid it. Any diet that severely restricts a group of foods could increase the risk of disordered eating.

Some people can easily follow a diet without falling into unhealthy patterns, but others can take a diet too far. Disordered eating patterns can include binging after over restriction or developing a fear of food or weight gain.

If food becomes an obsessive focus where it's all you think about, or you no longer get pleasure from eating, it's definitely time to consider another eating pattern. Simply choosing to follow a keto diet isn't the end of the story. Whether you are low carb, high carb, vegan, vegetarian, paleo, omnivore — any label at all — the quality of your food still matters.

According to a review of Japanese adults, keto diets high in processed animal products or inflammatory fats are associated with increased mortality. Still, another study found that plant-based keto was associated with lower cancer risks.

Further, it takes extra effort to make sure you get enough fiber while following keto. Fiber is a carbohydrate critical for hormone balance and a healthy gut, and studies suggest that low-carb diets have adverse outcomes on your gut health.

With all of the above in mind, the keto diet isn't for every woman, especially in the following situations:. Weight loss is usually what draws women to keto in the first place after trying other diets that don't seem to work.

First, keto eliminates many processed and refined grains that contribute to excess weight. Women also find they are less hungry while following keto, and studies show it can reduce hormones that influence hunger. Keto can also increase fat burning as the body uses stored fat instead of carbs for energy.

A small study on women following a low-calorie keto diet found they lost body fat but also noted decreased food cravings after following the plan for 14 weeks. The question remains whether these results last, but it could jump-start weight loss before transitioning to a more sustainable way of eating long term.

Since the keto diet reduces carb intake drastically, it significantly improves blood sugar and insulin response. In other words, keto can be good for your metabolic health. Carbs are digested and absorbed as glucose. As glucose blood sugar rises, insulin is released to move glucose into your cells to be used as energy.

One of the causes of estrogen dominance is a diet comprised of too much sugar and refined carbohydrates—a problem easily eliminated by going on a ketogenic diet.

Another cause of estrogen dominance is exposure to estrogens in the environment. These are toxic forms of estrogen that not only worsen PMS symptoms, but they are through to increase the risk of breast cancer, endometriosis, fertility struggles, and autoimmune diseases.

If you opt for a primarily plant-based keto diet, you're encouraged to eat foods that detoxify these nasty estrogens like veggies such as broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and greens and delicious herbs and spices like oregano , thyme, rosemary , sage, and turmeric.

One of the main causes of fertility struggles in women is polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS. This condition develops from poorly balanced sex hormones, and more than half of the women diagnosed with PCOS are obese or overweight, have poor blood sugar regulation, and have insulin resistance.

There's no cure for PCOS, but because insulin problems are associated with PCOS, a ketogenic diet is a viable solution. Duke University researchers found that women with PCOS who followed a keto diet 2 were able to balance their levels of insulin and testosterone and experience improvements in weight, fertility problems, and menstruation among other factors.

Two women in the study got pregnant despite previous trouble getting pregnant, and everyone lost weight. In response to life's many stressors, the adrenal glands release the hormone cortisol to galvanize energy so we can react quickly to whatever challenge we're facing.

If our stress goes unresolved, the adrenals keep pumping out cortisol, resulting in too much cortisol floating around. The ongoing secretion of high amounts of cortisol robs your body of progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone, and if this keeps happening, you're more likely to experience imbalanced sex hormones, high blood sugar, loss of muscle, low sex drive, and burnout.

To combat this, enjoy all those low-carbohydrate vegetables you typically eat on a ketogenic diet plenty of green leafy vegetables, parsley, kale, beet greens, broccoli, cauliflower, and so forth.

They may help normalize cortisol , support your adrenal glands, and improve your natural progesterone levels. The keto diet isn't for everyone, but for a lot of women in my practice it's been a game-changer for hormonal imbalance and hormone-related symptoms.

If you're suffering or just not feeling your best, the keto diet is definitely worth a try! Skip to Content. Shop Health Coaching Classes Editor's Picks Beauty Food Healthy Weight Login Login.

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