Dear Mark: Women and Intermittent Fasting. Many differences exist between the two sexes. We dress differently from each other. We like different things. Different genres of movies cause men and women to cry (differently). And although society, media, and culture drive and/or inform many of our differences, some are inherent and physiologically- driven. For example, men and women have different biological equipment – both external and invisible to the naked eye – that change how we interact with and respond to our environments, our exercise, our sleep, and our eating habits. Nowhere are these gender differences more evident than in the realm of health and nutrition, and yet it seems that I’ve overlooked a big one: different sex responses to intermittent fasting. Many differences exist between the two sexes. We dress differently from each other. We like different things. Sleep hygiene is important. Most patients improve if they maintain a. 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol,calcitriol,rocaltrol,calcijex,25-hydroxycholecalciferol,calcifediol,ergocalciferol,vitamin d2,calderol,calciferol,drisdol,ostoforte. The connection between the body. Restricting what you eat to a certain time every. Choose a Low-Carb Diet. If you want to lose weight you should start by avoiding sugar and starch (like bread). This is an old idea: For 150 years or more there. Let’s take a look at a couple recent reader emails: Hi Mark,I’m a woman (2. Then I read this post, which mentioned your series and questioned the suitability of intermittent fasting for women. Do we respond differently than men? What do you think of that post? Thanks! Claire. Dear Mark,Paleo for Women blog says that fasting may not be for women: that it’s more suited for male physiology. On Becoming Superhuman: Fasting for Fast Weight Loss, Better Health, and Supreme Fitness. 3 months ago, I stumbled across a fascinating article on something crazy. I have previously hinted that intermittent fasting sidesteps the issues associated with stubborn body fat. Indeed I rarely find any need for advanced strategies to. I have been fasting for three years and never experienced any missed periods/sleeplessness, etc. Moreover I got a handle on my mindless eating. Can you give your word on IF for women? Varsha Tiwary. Thanks for writing in with your questions. First of all, I really, really liked Stefani’s post. I should say “posts,” actually, since Stefani Ruper (who wrote the post linked in the reader question) also just did a guest post on Free the Animal, in which she discussed the treatment of women’s issues in the community at large. While I don’t agree with everything she said, both were quite well done. Even though her articles – for lack of a better phrase – “called me out” (in a completely non- confrontational way). Heck, I was happy to read them because of it. After all, I’ve always encourage people to be critical about what they think they know about nutrition and fitness, and to be skeptical about what they read on the Internet – my articles included. Reduction in the Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes with Lifestyle Intervention or Metformin. Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group*. Having trouble identifying your pills? Enter the shape, color, or imprint of your prescription or OTC drug. Our pill identification tool will display. The beauty of MDA is that it isn’t one- sided. I get constant feedback from readers that send me down new paths of inquiry, and it’s through this kind of crowd- sourced effort that the Primal Blueprint message grows and becomes stronger than it already is. I also appreciated Stefani’s articles because they do highlight a blindspot – not just in my own series of posts, but in nutritional science as a whole. In the push to eliminate the confounder known as inherent endocrine gender differences, they’ve forgotten that real life is a series of confounding variables all pushing, pulling, poking, and prodding at the results we get. They’ve forgotten that while their results may represent fodder for publishing and accolade accumulation and hypothesis confirmation (or rejection), real live humans in normal living situations are not placebo- controlled. That women are not the same as men and respond differently to stimuli and stressors isn’t a “confounder”; it’s a fact deserving of further study! Because what are we ultimately trying to do here – put together nice, neat, peer- review- ready trials, or help real people living real lives? Since I’m trying to do the latter, I happily accept constructive criticism. So should we all. So, what did Stefani’s research find? Fasting has different endocrine effects on male and female rats. In male rats: No matter the duration or degree of nutritional stress, male rat brain chemistry responds with similar changes. Nocturnal activity and cognition stay fairly stable, regardless of the intensity of the fast. If you push the fast long enough, males will get a little wonky and frantic, but overall they maintain pretty well. It’s like they’re equipped with the ability to handle nutritional stressors. In female rats: Any degree of nutritional stress (fasting or mere caloric restriction) causes increased wakefulness (during the day, when they normally sleep), better cognition (for finding food), hyper alertness, and more energy. In short, female rats become better at finding and acquiring food when they fast, as if their bodies aren’t as well- equipped to deal with the stress of going without food. They also become less fertile, while the males actually become hornier and more fertile (probably to account for the females’ plummeting fertility). Ovary size drops (bad for fertility), adrenal gland size increases (which in rats indicates exposure to chronic stress), and menstrual cycles begin to dysregulate in proportion to the degree of caloric restriction. In humans, the male- female fasting literature is quite scant, but Stefani also found considerable differences beween the sexes, when data was available: One study, which I’ve cited before as evidence of a benefit to fasting, found that while IF improved insulin sensitivity in male subjects, female subjects saw no such improvement. In fact, the glucose tolerance of fasting women actually worsened. Ouch. Another study examined the effect of alternate day fasting on blood lipids. Women’s HDL improved and their triglycerides remained stable; men’s HDL remained stable and their triglycerides decreased. Favorable, albeit sex- specific results. Later, both obese men and women dropped body fat, body weight, blood pressure, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglyercides on a fasting regimen. These people were obese, however, and perimenopausal women were excluded from the study, so the results may not apply to leaner people or women of reproductive age. I figured I’d look through my other recent fasting posts for data on female (preferably pre- menopausal) responses to fasting. Here’s what I found: In the only heretofore extant human. Takeaway: male and female (mostly middle aged, though that’s the population that generally gets cancer and undergoes chemotherapy) chemotherapy patients appear to benefit equally from IF. Although both men and women displayed greater increases in. Women had better muscle adaptations when fed. Takeaway: fasted endurance training, then, may work better for women than fasted weight training. As it stands right now, I’d be inclined to agree that pre- menopausal (and perhaps peri- menopausal) women are more likely to have poor – or at least different – experiences with intermittent fasting, at least as a weight loss tool. When that happens, you grow despite yourself. If not for Stefani’s posts, I may never have taken a closer look at the inherent differences in men’s and women’s metabolic responses to fasting. I certainly receive enough feedback from female readers for whom fasting has been helpful, so it’s good to see another side. To sum things up – if such a thing can even be done – and answer the questions in the intro, men and women have inherent metabolic and hormonal differences, and it’s evident that these differences in part determine how we respond to a stressor like intermittent fasting. I’ve never prescribed intermittent fasting as a requisite piece of the Primal lifestyle, but rather as an adornment, a choice, a potentially therapeutic strategy that each individual must test for him or herself. For myself, I generally fast when it makes sense – if I’m traveling and good food isn’t available, if I’m just not hungry, stuff like that. I periodically do 1. But even I don’t hold rigidly to that. It’s not for everyone. And that hasn’t changed. So who should and shouldn’t consider fasting? Have my recommendations changed? If you haven’t satisfied the usual IF “pre- reqs,” like being fat- adapted, getting good and sufficient sleep, minimizing or mitigating stress, and exercising well (not too much and not too little), you should not fast. The pre- reqs are absolutely crucial and non- negotiable, in my opinion, especially the fat- adaptation. In fact, I suspect that if an IF study was performed on sugar- burning women versus fat- adapted women, you’d see that the fat- burning beasts would perform better and suffer fewer (if any) maladaptations. I would also caution against the already lean, already calorie- restricted woman jumping headfirst into IF. I mean, fasting is ultimately sending a message of scarcity to your body. That’s a powerful message that can get a powerful response from our bodies. If you’re already lean (which, depending on the degree of leanness, arguably sends a message of scarcity) and restricting calories (which definitely sends a message of scarcity), the response to fasting can be a little too powerful. I’d also say that daily fasts, a la 1. Same goes for ultra- long fasts, like a 3. Most of all, though, I’d simply suggest that women interested in fasting be cautious, be self- aware, and only do so if it comes naturally. It shouldn’t be a struggle (for anyone, really). It shouldn’t stop your cycle or make it harder for you to get pregnant. It should improve your life, not make it worse. If you find that fasting has those negative effects, stop doing it. It should happen WHEN (When Hunger Ensues Naturally), if it happens at all. I’m not going to say that women should or shouldn’t fast. I’ll just echo Stefani’s advice “to. Nowadays, we’re actually getting closer to 1. If you’re a woman who has tried fasting, or know someone who fits the description, let us all know about your experiences. I’m intensely curious to hear from as many of you as I can. Thanks for reading. Subscribe to the Newsletter. If you'd like to add. BLACK COHOSH: Uses, Side Effects, Interactions and Warnings. References: Borrelli, F. Black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa): a systematic review of adverse events. Cimicifuga racemosa: a systematic review of its clinical efficacy. Eur J Clin Pharmacol 2. Borrelli, F., Izzo, A. Pharmacological effects of Cimicifuga racemosa. Management of postmenopausal symptoms in breast cancer survivors. Buettner, C., Mukamal, K. J., Gardiner, P., Davis, R. Herbal supplement use and blood lead levels of United States adults. Black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa L.) protects against menadione- induced DNA damage through scavenging of reactive oxygen species: bioassay- directed isolation and characterization of active principles. J Agric. Food Chem 1. Nonhormonal therapies for hot flashes in menopause. Am Fam. Physician 2- 1- 2. Centre for Reviews and Dissemination. Complementary and alternative therapies for the management of menopause- related symptoms: a systematic evidence review (; Structured abstract). Non- hormonal therapy of post- menopausal vasomotor symptoms: a structured evidence- based review. Arch Gynecol. Obstet 2. H., and Farnsworth, N. Synthesis of cimiracemate B, a phenylpropanoid found in Cimicifuga racemosa. Nat Prod Res 2. 00. C., Nikolic, D., Fabricant, D. Z., Ramirez, B., van Breemen, R. Chlorination diversifies Cimicifuga racemosa triterpene glycosides. J Nat Prod 2. 00. Cimicifuga racemosa - Monograph. Altern. Med Rev 2. Cybulska, P., Thakur, S. Extracts of Canadian first nations medicinal plants, used as natural products, inhibit neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates with different antibiotic resistance profiles. Sex Transm. Dis 2. Menopause symptoms: success without hormones. Arztl Praxis 1. 98. R., Lijovic, M., Fradkin, P., Bradbury, J., La, China M., Schwarz, M., and Bell, R. Use of complementary and alternative therapy by women in the first 2 years after diagnosis and treatment of invasive breast cancer. J., Ho, A., Kotlarczyk, M. Black cohosh increases metastatic mammary cancer in transgenic mice expressing c- erb. B2. Cancer Res 1. Herbal efficacy: the case of black cohosh. Holist. Nurs Pract 2. S., Shimizu, M., Ma, H., Wu, H. A., Goldsberry, S., Sicular, S., Panjikaran, M., Genovese, G., and Cruz, E. Actein inhibits the Na+- K+- ATPase and enhances the growth inhibitory effect of digitoxin on human breast cancer cells. Biochem. Biophys. Res Commun. 1. 0- 3. S., Shimizu, M., Nuntanakorn, P., Seter, C., Cheng, R., Jiang, B., Kronenberg, F., Kennelly, E. Actein and a fraction of black cohosh potentiate antiproliferative effects of chemotherapy agents on human breast cancer cells. Planta Med 2. 00. S., Soffritti, M., Esposti, D. D., Park, T., Cruz, E., Su, T., Wu, H. A., Wang, X., Zhang, Y. J., Ham, J., Goldberg, I. J., Kronenberg, F., and Vladimirova, A. Actein activates stress- and statin- associated responses and is bioavailable in Sprague- Dawley rats. Fundam. Clin Pharmacol. A., Friedman, R., Wang, X., Jiang, B., Hagan, T., Kennelly, E. J., Kronenberg, F., and Weinstein, I. Gene expression analysis of the mechanisms whereby black cohosh inhibits human breast cancer cell growth. Anticancer Res 2. A., Friedman, R., Wang, X., Ramirez, A., Kronenberg, F., and Weinstein, I. The growth inhibitory effect of actein on human breast cancer cells is associated with activation of stress response pathways. Int J Cancer 1. 1- 1- 2. Phyto- anti- inflammatories. A systematic review of randomized, placebo- controlled, double- blind trials. Rheum. Dis Clin North Am 2. Herb- drug interactions: review and assessment of report reliability. Br J Clin Pharmacol 2. Garita- Hernandez, M., Calzado, M. J., Macho, A., Munoz, E., Meier, B., Brattstrom, A., Fiebich, B. The growth inhibitory activity of the Cimicifuga racemosa extract Ze 4. Planta Med 2. 00. Contemporary alternatives to plant estrogens for menopause. Maturitas 1. 1- 1- 2. Suppl 1: S3- 1. 3. Genazzani E and Sorrentino L. Vascular action of acteina: active constituent of Actaea racemosa L. Nature 1. 96. 2; 1. Herbal therapy use by perimenopausal women. J Obstet. Gynecol. Neonatal Nurs. Godecke, T., Nikolic, D., Lankin, D. L., Dietz, B., Bolton, J. Phytochemistry of cimicifugic acids and associated bases in Cimicifuga racemosa root extracts. A., Hamilton, B., Hannigan, R., and Gurley, B. Metal content of ephedra- containing dietary supplements and select botanicals. Am J Health Syst. Pharm 4- 1- 2. 00. K., Carrier, J., Breen, P., Yates, C. A., Tong, Y., and Cheboyina, S. Effect of milk thistle (Silybum marianum) and black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa) supplementation on digoxin pharmacokinetics in humans. Effective and clinically meaningful non- hormonal hot flash therapies. Maturitas 2. 01. 2; 7. Haimov- Kochman, R., Brzezinski, A., and Hochner- Celnikier, D. Herbal remedies for menopausal symptoms: are we cautious enough? Eur. J Contracept. Reprod. Health Care 2. New approaches in analyzing the pharmacological properties of herbal extracts. Proc. West Pharmacol. Soc 2. 00. 7; 5. 0: 1. Hanna K, Day A O'Neill S Patterson C Lyons- Wall P. Does scientific evidence support the use of non- prescription supplements for treatment of acute menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes? He, K., Zheng, B., Kim, C. H., Rogers, L., and Zheng, Q. Direct analysis and identification of triterpene glycosides by LC/MS in black cohosh, Cimicifuga racemosa, and in several commercially available black cohosh products. Planta Med 2. 00. P., Madhubhani, P., Chandrasena, R., Esala, P., Chen, S. N., Main, M., Lankin, D. Hops (Humulus lupulus) inhibits oxidative estrogen metabolism and estrogen- induced malignant transformation in human mammary epithelial cells (MCF- 1. A). Cancer Prev. Res (Phila) 2. Hemmi H, Kitame F, Ishida N, and et al. Inhibition of thymidine transport into phytohemagglutinin- stimulated lymphocytes by triterpenoids from Hemmi, H., Kusano, G., and Ishida, N. Selective inhibition of nucleoside transport into mouse lymphoma L- 5. Y cells by cimicfugoside. L., Edlund, M., Svane, G., Azavedo, E., Skoog, L., and von, Schoultz B. An isopropanolic extract of black cohosh does not increase mammographic breast density or breast cell proliferation in postmenopausal women. Hostanska, K., Nisslein, T., Freudenstein, J., Reichling, J., and Saller, R. Apoptosis of human prostate androgen- dependent and - independent carcinoma cells induced by an isopropanolic extract of black cohosh involves degradation of cytokeratin (CK) 1. Anticancer Res 2. A): 1. 39- 1. 47. Hostanska, K., Nisslein, T., Freudenstein, J., Reichling, J., and Saller, R. Evaluation of cell death caused by triterpene glycosides and phenolic substances from Cimicifuga racemosa extract in human MCF- 7 breast cancer cells. Biol Pharm Bull 2. Hostanska, K., Nisslein, T., Freudenstein, J., Reichling, J., and Saller, R. Inhibitory effect of an isopropanolic extract of black cohosh on the invasiveness of MDA- m. B 2. 31 human breast cancer cells. In Vivo 2. 00. 7; 2. Huang, Y., Jiang, B., Nuntanakorn, P., Kennelly, E. J., Shord, S., Lawal, T. Fukinolic acid derivatives and triterpene glycosides from black cohosh inhibit CYP isozymes, but are not cytotoxic to Hep- G2 cells in vitro. Curr Drug Saf 2. 01. Cimicifuga racemosa: pharmacology, clinical trials and clinical use. Eur J Herbal Med 1. A systematic review of herbal medicinal products for the treatment of menopausal symptoms. The effect on serum levels of pituitary hormones in ovariectomized rats. Planta Med 1. 98. Jarry, H., Harnischfeger, G., and Duker, E. In vitro binding of constituents to estrogen receptors. Planta Med 1. 98. Jarry, H., Metten, M., Spengler, B., Christoffel, V., and Wuttke, W. In vitro effects of the Cimicifuga racemosa extract BNO 1. Maturitas 3- 1. 4- 2. Suppl 1: S3. 1- S3. Strategies for managing hot flashes. Jiang, B., Yang, H., Nuntanakorn, P., Balick, M. J., Kronenberg, F., and Kennelly, E. The value of plant collections in ethnopharmacology: a case study of an 8. Actaea racemosa L.) sample. In vitro formation of quinoid metabolites of the dietary supplement Cimicifuga racemosa (black cohosh). D., Garcia- Sanchez, Y., Romeu, Sarri A., and Perez- lopez, F. Cimicifuga racemosa treatment and health related quality of life in post- menopausal Spanish women. M., Leszczynska- Gorzelak, B., and Oleszczuk, J. J., Ansbacher, R., and Hammoud, M. Use of alternative and complementary medicine in menopause. Int. J Gynaecol. Obstet. Evaluating the evidence for over- the- counter alternatives for relief of hot flashes in menopausal women. J. Am. Pharm. Assoc.(2. Inhibition of mast cell- dependent allergy reaction by extract of black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa). Immunopharmacol Immunotoxicol. Koeda, M., Aoki, Y., Sakurai, N., and Nagai, M. Studies on the Chinese crude drug . Three novel cyclolanostanol xylosides, cimicifugosides H- 1, H- 2 and H- 5, from cimicifuga rhizome. Chem Pharm. Bull.(Tokyo) 1. Six month oral toxicity study with remifemin- granulate in rats followed by an 8- week recovery period. International Bioresearch, Hannover, Germany 1. Complementary and alternative medicine use for vasomotor symptoms among women who have discontinued hormone therapy. J Obstet. Gynecol. Neonatal Nurs. Li, W., Sun, Y., Liang, W., Fitzloff, J. F., and van Breemen, R. Identification of caffeic acid derivatives in Actea racemosa (Cimicifuga racemosa, black cohosh) by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. Rapid Commun. Mass Spectrom. Therapy of climacteric complaints with Cimicifuga racemosa: herbal medicine with clinically proven evidence . Menopause 1. 99. 8; 5(4): 2. Human- pharmacological investigations during treatment of climacteric complaints with Cimicifuga racemosa (Remifemin): No estrogen- like effects. Liu, Z., Yang, Z., Zhu, M., and Huo, J. Long, L., Soeken, K., and Ernst, E. Herbal medicines for the treatment of osteoarthritis: a systematic review. Rheumatology.(Oxford) 2. H., Kelaghan, J., and Christensen, B. Mayo Clinic and North Central Cancer Treatment Group hot flash studies: a 2. Pt 1): 6. 55- 6. 60. Menopause: a review of botanical dietary supplements. Am J Med 1. 2- 1. Suppl 1. 2B: 9. 8- 1. Random finding (plus pi) - The best part of parenting (so far)? Helping your kids overcome things you struggled with. It’s at least in the top 5. Last Saturday my daughter came home from dance class—something she normally loves—and seemed upset. A bit of prodding led to the cause: a girl in her dance class told her she was “as fat as a hippopotamus.” My first reaction (note to self: probably not the right one) was to laugh out loud, given that my daughter is probably in the 1. I’m worried she’s too skinny! Of course I realized quickly the “facts” were irrelevant in this case. Her body habitus was moot. But her feelings were hurt, and as we all know this wouldn’t be last time someone said something to her—true or untrue—that would hurt her feelings. She was shocked, “Like what, daddy?” I gave example after example. She was amazed—and relieved, I suspect—to know that she wasn’t alone and that I was able to shrug it off after temporarily being upset by it. I even told her about folks posting videos on You. Tube specifically attacking me. So, when our little talk was over she asked if she could see one of the videos I alluded to. I was a bit hesitant, if only for some of the language used when folks rant against my existence (if she’s going to learn choice 4- letter words in earnest, it should be from me after all), but I figured it was a good idea. She could actually see for herself that people say mean things about her dad and he’s still, more or less, ok. Which brings me to the point of this quasi- post. Even if you watched the earlier version of the talk, if you find this question interesting—what is the case for restricting saturated fat (SFA) intake—it’s worth watching this version. I find this particular topic especially interesting because I think it highlights the challenge we all have, myself included, in setting aside bias when confronted with new information. What do I mean by that (i. Certainly in this presentation I try to make the case that the continually falling recommendations for SFA—from 1. In fact, such recommendations likely do harm, courtesy of the “substitution effect,” i. PUFA)—that likely cause greater metabolic derangement. However, some readers may interpret the data I present to mean it’s perfectly safe to consume, say, 2. SFA. I realize I may have to turn in my keto- club card, but I am convinced that a subset of the population—I don’t know how large or small, because my “N” is too small—are not better served by mainlining SFA, even in the complete absence of carbohydrates (i. This leads me to believe some people are not genetically equipped to thrive in prolonged nutritional ketosis. In one particularly interesting case, a patient in self- prescribed nutritional ketosis presented to me with an LDL- P of more than 3. L (i. e., more particles than could be measured by the NMR machine so the report simply said “> 3,5. L”) despite feeling, performing, and looking great. Based on his through- the- roof desmosterol and cholanstanol levels, and a curb- side consult from the Godfather I mean Dr. Tom Dayspring, I decided to try an experiment. You see, the logical thing to do in this setting would have been to start two drugs immediately (a potent statin to address the hypersynthesis and ezetimibe to address the hyperabsorption) or tell him to abandon ketosis altogether. But this patient was adamant about staying in ketosis given the other benefits, though obviously worried about the long- term coronary implications. So, we agreed that for a 3 month trial period he would reduce SFA to an average of 2. Parenthetically, we also reduced his omega- 3 PUFA given very high RBC EPA and DHA levels. So, on balance, he consumed about the same number of calories and even total quantity of fat, but his distribution of fat intake changed and he heavily swapped out SFA for MUFA. The result? His LDL- P fell from > 3,5. L to about 1,3. 00 nmol/L (about 5. CRP fell from 2. 9 mg/L to < 0. L (and for the lipoprotein cognoscenti, both desmosterol and cholanstanol fell). Pretty cool, huh? So, my point is this: while I believe the population- based guidelines for SFA are not supported by a standard of science I consider acceptable, it does not imply I believe SFA is uniformly safe at all levels for all individuals. Some of you may be wondering about me. It turns out I’m in the group (recall: I have no idea how large or small this group is) that seems to do well—at least by the tools we have available to assess risk—with large amounts of SFA in my diet, if and when I elect to. Even when I was in ketosis, eating 4,0. SFA alone) my biomarkers—cardiovascular, insulin resistance, inflammation—were excellent. Better than they ever were or even are today. Though, my point still stands: there are some people who do not appear able to safely consume massive amounts of SFA. One last point I’ll make on this highly charged topic. I realize there is a contingent within the LCHF community who argue that traditional biomarkers of coronary risk—such as LDL- C or its superior cousin LDL- P—“don’t matter” if one is on a low carb or ketogenic diet. I guess time will tell. But I am not convinced, at least not yet. So if you’re following such a diet, and your LDL- P goes through the roof, I’d urge you to consider a variation of the diet.(Note: If you post your NMR results, please understand I will not comment on them.)This presentation has nothing to do with nutrition but is, nevertheless, a topic I’m pretty obsessed with: how do we achieve cost containment on healthcare in the United States? Most problems that have been heavily politicized suffer a common problem: they fail to distinguish between what is desirable in a resource unconstrained world (e. Hope you enjoy the departure from the usual topics. Pi Day. The math geeks in the audience will appreciate that yesterday, March 1. Normally, March 1. Yesterday, however, being the pi day in 2. If you’re a watch geek, in addition to being a math geek–yes, I realize this is not a huge club–the beauty of a perpetual calendar (a type of watch that shows time, month, date, and year inclusive of leap years), made it a really fun day! Because at 9: 2. 6 and 5. After capturing this wonderful moment in time, I sent the picture, below, to my watch mentor (also a math geek; yes I just wrote the words “watch” and “mentor” next to each other). He loved it, but his response was priceless: “Peter, don’t ever show this to any woman you have the slightest interest in. I dig it.”Good thing my days of trying to impress the ladies are far in the rear view mirror. Parting shot: I did a follow up podcast with Tim Ferriss a few weeks ago. It’s episode #6. 5 which is available on i. Tunes. This was my first time doing the strange format of just talking by myself. Feedback appreciated if this should morph into something I do quasi- regularly on the blog. Intermittent fasting, cortisol and blood sugar. There’s been a lot of discussion about the benefits of intermittent fasting (IF) in the paleo community lately. Paul Jaminet mentions it’s role in boosting the immune system in his book, The Perfect Health Diet, and IF can also be helpful for those trying to lose weight and tune their metabolism. From an evolutionary perspective, intermittent fasting was probably the normal state of affairs. There were no grocery stores, restaurants or convenience stores, and food was not nearly as readily available or easy to come by as it is today. Nor were there watches, schedules, lunch breaks or the kind of structure and routine we have in the modern world. This means it’s likely that our paleo ancestors often did go 1. So, while I agree that IF is part of our heritage, and that it can be helpful in certain situations, I don’t believe it’s an appropriate strategy for everyone. Why? Because fasting can elevate cortisol levels. One of cortisol’s effects is that it raises blood sugar. So, in someone with blood sugar regulation issues, fasting can actually make them worse. I’ve seen this time and time again with my patients. Almost all of my patients have blood sugar imbalances. And it’s usually not as simple as “high blood sugar” or “low blood sugar”. They often have a combination of both (reactive hypoglycemia), or strange blood sugar patterns that, on the surface, don’t make much sense. These folks aren’t eating a Standard American Diet. Most of them are already on a paleo- type or low- carb diet. Yet they still have blood sugar issues. In these cases, cortisol dysregulation is almost always the culprit. When these patients try intermittent fasting, their blood sugar control gets worse. I will see fasting blood sugar readings in the 9. That’s why I don’t recommend intermittent fasting for people with blood sugar regulation problems. Instead, I suggest that they eat every 2- 3 hours. This helps to maintain stable blood sugar throughout the day and prevents cortisol and other stress hormones like epinephrine and norepinephrine from getting involved. When my patients that have been fasting and experiencing high blood sugar readings switch to eating this way, their blood sugar numbers almost always normalize. I don’t think eating every 2- 3 hours is “normal” from an evolutionary perspective. But neither is driving in traffic, worrying about your 4. Facebook. The paleo template is there to guide us, but it’s not a set of rules to be followed blindly. This should also be a reminder that there’s no “one size fits all” approach when it comes to healthcare. Successful treatment depends on identifying the underlying mechanisms for each individual and addressing them accordingly. Like what you’ve read? Sign up for FREE updates delivered to your inbox. I hate spam too. Your email is safe with me.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
October 2017
Categories |