I’ll be using Facebook Live every week or so to talk about Keto, Menopause, Hormones, Hashimoto’s, Adrenals, Nutrition, Lifestyle and Mindset – anything you want actually! This week I talked about the 3 Reasons Keto works so well in Menopause – here’s the rundown:
- Balanced Blood Sugar – In the menopause transition, hormone production is rewired from the ovaries to the adrenal glands. This means that the adrenals’ main hormone: CORTISOL now has to share the stage with our sex hormones. (Cortisol will always take priority if we’re stressed.) Since cortisol raises blood glucose (sugar), adopting a lower carbohydrate approach can help minimize the impact higher blood glucose can have on our insulin production. When insulin is constantly being pumped out to keep blood sugar balanced, it tends to lead to weight gain – especially around the belly. Keto helps to keep appetite and cravings at bay as well which can go haywire in the menopause transition.
- Balanced Brain – Along the same lines with balanced blood sugar, but more in relation to adopting a high fat Ketogenic diet, the body and brain just do better with a good supply of healthy fats. Using fat for fuel produces ketones which the brain loves because they are more stable than sugar. Menopausal women following a well formulated Ketogenic diet experience better moods, better cognition and focus, steady energy and less highs and lows on all fronts. No more HANGRY feelings either!
- Better Cells and Hormones -Cells have an outer membrane made of fat. Think of it like a buffer. Cholesterol is the precursor for our adrenal hormones (see chart below). Although your body is capable and does produce the majority of it’s needed cholesterol endogenously (meaning itself – inside the body), restricting cholesterol, like we were taught in the 80s and 90s with the fat-free craze, is not supportive of hormone health. A well formulated Ketogenic approach takes care of that – providing our hormones with plenty of substrate to keep our cell membranes and our biochemical pathways happy and healthy.
