Zero Carb and Menstruation

[Neone]

I have heard women mention that eating a zero carb diet stops their menstruation. My wife has noticed the same thing since starting zero carb a few years ago. Have any other zero carb women noticed anything similar?
And do you think it is still possible to get a yeast infection while being zero carb?
She noticed that she only ever got her period if she 'ate something weird' like we had to eat oats for a few weeks and she got her period about a week later after having not had it for about 6 months. Then again after eating more fruit than usual about 6 months later again.
Mabye its just a coincidence and she just has a weird bi-annual cycle or something.

[TylerDurden]

Well, one of the big points raised by anti-rawists is that this amenorrhea is common among long-term raw vegans. Raw vegans like to portray it as being a good thing, but I have doubts re this. I suppose if fertility was maintained, it would be a good thing.

[Hannibal]

There is an increased need for carbohydrates just before and during menstruation. It's a physiological and biochemical fact.

[wodgina]

There is an increased need for carbohydrates just before and during menstruation. It's a physiological and biochemical fact.

Where do you get this from? references?

I was thinking why do women need to menstruate every month? seems a bit of a waste. Maybe when she is ready to have children or super turned on by a High testosterone alpha, then that would be the best time to ovulate. There are almost zero carbs where I live in Western Australia yet still babies were born.

[TylerDurden]

Where do you get this from? references?

I was thinking why do women need to menstruate every month? Seems a bit of a waste. Maybe when she is ready to have children or super turned on by a High testosterone alpha, then that would be the best time to ovulate. There are almost zero carbs where I live in Western Australia yet still babies were born.

  Wodgina does have a point. Maybe menstrual bleeding only happens on an unhealthy diet. The key is fertility. If fertility is threatened, then it's obviously a bad phenomenon. Otherwise not....

All that said, some RPDer raw omnivorous females here have stated that premenstrual bleeding on a raw omnivore diet means far fewer days of bleeding(1 rather than 2 to 5) and negligible other symptoms.

The other point is that Australian Aborigines seem to have had some access to raw plant foods. Not much, but if it was even as much as 10-25 percent plus .....

[Neone]

haha, thanks for the 'facts' guys. I was more interested in the anecdotal evidence from other women who are eating this way.
Klowcarb eats... low carb (never off plan!) but i think she takes birth control? so im not sure how her menstruation  is affected.
Susan i think is another one who eats instincto? but i think i heard her mention somewhere that she believes menstruation(and menopause) to be diseases rather than something natural.

My wifes periods were a bit weird before(though still 'regular'), but a lot of stuff happened around the time she went carnivorous, so we're just assuming that diet has something to do with it, just wanted to hear some other womens experiences.

One thing she noticed was she used to be REALLY heavy, and one of the first things she did years ago was cut grains and noticed a HUGE improvement during her periods.  Way less heavy flow and her pain was no where near as bad, since before she was pretty much in bed for 5 days.

[raw-al]

Amenorrhea can also result from excessive exercise.

[klowcarb]

Yes, I am on birth control so I do have a period from the BC every month. But I am 15% bodyfat, so I am not a good example of what a "typical" woman on ZC would go through. I might not get a period without the Pill, but I am not sure.

There is a woman on ZIOH (Yanpeng) who just got her period back on ZC. I think it comes down to body fat and nutrient density.

[alycia]

There is a woman on ZIOH (Yanpeng) who just got her period back on ZC. I think it comes down to body fat and nutrient density.

I think that is right - about body fat and nutrients.

At 15 yrs old ( I am in my 30's now) i went vegetarian and lost weight, was eating pretty low fat = too low in calories and nutrients.  As a result my cycles would come every 3 months. 

I highly suggest she look into it.  Maybe stress, maybe she is not eating enough on LC, maybe she shocked her system with the diet, of coarse over training can do it too? 

My body has really been thru a lot due to my veg. days and loss of cycles should have been a pretty clear sign for me to reexamine how i was doing things with my diet. 

Please let us know how things work out and what caused it.
I am hoping RPD is my answer to regular cycle again. 

[Ioanna]

mine seems to depend on my weight (body fat percent probably, but i don't measure it.. i'm 5'7 if that helps any).  when i weigh under 118ish, i lose it.  over 118 and it will come back.  doesn't seem to matter what i'm eating, could be crazy amounts of fat, but if i weigh 112-115, i just won't get it. 

this was kind of worrisome to my mom when i was growing up.  she'd take me to the doctor who would tell me i will need a hormone injection if i didn't gain weight/get my cycle back.  then my mom would really watch my eating because she has always been against birth control.  she'd send me to school with a ridiculous amount of food that i'd pretend to eat all.  anyway, it's still the same today only i don't tell anyone so that i don't get threatened with hormones.  i don't know if it's healthier to menstruate or not, but i seem to be able to control it if i need to.

[Ioanna]

Yes, I am on birth control so I do have a period from the BC every month. But I am 15% bodyfat, so I am not a good example of what a "typical" woman on ZC would go through. I might not get a period without the Pill, but I am not sure.

what is not typical?.. that you are on birth control or that you have 15% bodyfat?.. both seem pretty norm to me.

[klowcarb]

what is not typical?.. that you are on birth control or that you have 15% bodyfat?.. both seem pretty norm to me.

BC is typical, but find many women at age 30 that have 15% bodyfat...unlikely in our society, and even in paleo circles.

[Hannibal]

20% BF in women are imo the best

[wodgina]

20% BF in women are imo the best

Is that a physiological and biochemical fact?!

[Hannibal]

Is that a physiological and biochemical fact?!

It's paleo fact. 

[Neone]

Im thinking that it might be a body fat thing. I would say she has low body fat around 15-16%. She does yoga every day, but an hour or two of yoga i dont think is the kind of excercise thats going to cause amenorrhea.

Although she feels a pretty strong correlation with zero carb (only carbs come from liver, if that matters) and not menstruating.

Now i guess the question is, 'just because you're not menstruating, does it mean that you're not ovulating too?'... well we're not about to find out if she is.. haha.

[Ioanna]

Now i guess the question is, 'just because you're not menstruating, does it mean that you're not ovulating too?'... well we're not about to find out if she is.. haha.

my friend didn't know she was pregnant because she conceived during a time we were training together (neither of us had gotten for about 6 months).  she found out when she got into a car accident, and doctor said "and baby is fine too"   

[klowcarb]

It's paleo fact. 

What is so much of a paleo "fact" about this?

[Hannibal]

What is so much of a paleo "fact" about this?

Healthy well-nourished paleo women hadn't been so lean.
15% bf = very lean. If a woman is aiming for some finess competition then it's ok, for some period.
20% = healthy, sexual attractive woman

[sabertooth]

Body fat is baby food, during conception and pregnancy body fat is important for optimal gestation and usually after birth the excess weight gained during pregnancy will be converted into breast milk.

The fat % at conception may not be as important as long as there is no deficiency and enough is gained during pregnancy. My mother was 95 pounds before she became pregnant, and gained over 40 pounds in 9 months and gave birth to a 9 pound baby me, and then leaned back down after breast feeding.

My wife goes through the same cycles, she was fairly lean when we got together and gained some healthy baby food weight during pregnancy and the leaned down after a few months of breastfeeding. Now she is at a perfect weight around 20% body fat. She may want to be leaner to fit into a smaller size, but its an issue of ascetics and not health.

[raw-al]

I read an interesting study years ago that said that perception of women's appearance changes according to different social situations.

In primitive societies more closely tied to a more natural lifestyle, women were prized for being larger. But as people in theses societies became acclimatized to the larger world in general then there was a gradual shift, till in seriously large cities, smaller/thinner women became considered to be more desirable.

Smaller in body size and less body fat.

Body fat is actually a good thing for survival and particularly for a woman to have in abundance pre-pregnancy. If impregnated prior to having some in abundance, a mother can be starting a very important race (which will run the rest of her life, ie. having healthy non challenged children) with her legs tied. In Ayurveda one of the most important outputs of the digestive process is the second last item in the distillation process Ojas

It is extremely close to being like fat.

I am not talking about Big Mac fat. I mean healthy fat. Strong well proportioned fat from a robust life and healthy diet which I have started to believe is a raw diet of some variety, heavy in meat.

I have seen lots of damage come as a result of "faux exercise" when people get carried away with it. Women used to live longer than men and I believe it was due to doing housework which was/is essentially well-rounded exercise.

[Josh]

Some people say the human mating season was when fruits arrived on the trees. No idea if that could be accurate.

[Neone]

Yeah, but we're talking about zero carb here. A plain carnivorous diet where you are only eating meat fat and organs. Its not like my wife is choosing her weight. She is just eating lots of fat, organs and meat.

Whats the deal then if low body fat is not as advantageous as the universally agreed upon paleo fact of 20% body fat, then does that mean a zero carb diet is not as desirable as one that includes foods that will 'fatten you up a bit'?

[Josh]

My point was some people think we would be zero carb for most of the year and then eat fruit in season.

Some people think that we would not reproduce much except in the fruit season.

So it sounds plausible from this standpoint that zero carb could reduce menstruation or the chances of pregnancy.

I don't endorse either view, just something I have heard.

[alycia]

Yeah, but we're talking about zero carb here. A plain carnivorous diet where you are only eating meat fat and organs. Its not like my wife is choosing her weight. She is just eating lots of fat, organs and meat. Whats the deal then if low body fat is not as advantageous as the universally agreed upon paleo fact of 20% body fat, then does that mean a zero carb diet is not as desirable as one that includes foods that will 'fatten you up a bit'?

Neone-
Has she gotten her hormone levels tested?  

I went thru the same thing with lack of cycles (still do) and my estrogen was too low, along with progesterone.  Overtime it has led to some bone loss  

They repeatedly tested my pituitary gland for tumors b/c that can cause this kind of thing if one is Not underweight, over exercising, not getting enough nutrients, menopausal age, pregnant etc..
Sometimes it can be issues in the ovaries too.  
So it is really worth looking into.

You have to ovulate to get pregnant, if you get the lab work done they will let you know if she is ovulating still.  

The one thing that helped me, and i have tried many things ($$$$ - it's so sad), was acupuncture.  After 3 years of not having a cycle, even being put on bio-ID hormones, after one acupuncture treatment and some herbs - i got my cycle back.  
Now i was told i should get more acupuncture done to get my body back in balance but I was out of $$$ from all the other stuff i tried before.  Not following the complete time i needed (7 sessions) my cycles got off again  
It's been 5 years of mostly no cycles.

Bottom line from me- find out if there is anything going on with some simple lab work