http://www.thelivinlowcarbshow.com/...ts-for-women-2/

I was listening to a Jimmy Moore Podcast this morning, and Dr Sarah Ballantyne is against a ketogenic diet for women. I always thought ketogenic diets were good for women but she talks about it screwing with womens sex hormones. I am starting my 3rd round of IVF in a month and I don't like the idea of screwing with my hormones but I don't want to go back to the high sugar way of eating. I was on a ketogenic diet with my last IVF cycle and it did not work, the eggs didn't attach. Could it have been my ketogenic diet? Do I not listen to this woman (I don't want to )

She talks about all the good stuff that ketogenic diets are good for but sex hormones she says it screws it all up. I'm confused and its not a good tiime to be confused for me

You don't have to have a "high sugar" WOE to not be ketogenic. Maybe you just need a few more LC veggies. I eat VLC and very rarely get ketogenic. Everyone's different.

I'm a man so maybe this ain't my area of expertise. However, it seems to me that a diet that returns us to good health shouldn't also mess with our hormones, man or woman. If anything, it should also restore proper hormonal functions, man or woman. Just sayin.

The only effect it had on my hormones was to raise my thyroid hormones from slightly lower than normal to mid-range normal - a positive effect.

I'd go up on the carbs if it were me.

Okay, I can't stand Jimmy Moore... what evidence does she give to support that theory? I just have a hard time believing it because in all of my time in ketosis, my cycles were so regular, you could set your clock to them. As well, it's LC diets (though admittedly not necessarily ketogenic) that help women with PCOS. We even had a member here ages ago who got pregnant completely by accident after being told she was infertile.

IVF, unfortunately, has a high failure rate overall. I'd have a hard time believing that a nutrient-dense ketogenic diet would make it any less so.

Wishing you luck this time around, Jacki.

on the flipside, dr. michael fox recommends a lowcarb diet to women he is treating for infertility. <20 carbs a day

http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/...lity-pcos/10192

and sarah ballantyne lost all of her weight lowcarbing. ahem.

Yeah, I remember Regina's husband was a fertility specialist, I think, and he put women on LC who had fertility issues and he had spectacular luck. I think a lot of them had PCOS as the cause of their infertility.

I also agree that raising carbs doesn't equate with a "high sugar" diet. How about adding in slightly higher carb veggies like squash and yam?

I don't know too much about Sarah Ballantyne, have heard her Paleo Moms broadcast once (tedious) and listened to her on Jimmy Moore (less tedious and quite provocative for those who have had good results with keto). That said, she is a microbiologist (or is it molecular biologist?) and seems to know her stuff -at least on a theoretical molecular level. Now, whether her theories play out in real life remain to be seen, but if I had auto-immune diseases, I'd probably give her a good listen.

Jacki, you've had such good results with keto. Has your doctor monitored your hormone levels and indicated that things are out of whack? I would think if your levels are not conducive to maintaining a pregnancy, he would have said that and would be attempting to change them. There are so many competing theories on the Right Way to eat. All I can figure is that we should not all be eating the same way - it's up to us to figure out what is best for us on all levels.

Agree with Nancy about the distinction between high sugar and adding a few higher carb veggies. That's my understanding of what SB is saying too. She's Paleo, she's not LFHC.

Ballantyne definitely has the scientific chops to give her some level of credibility. But as Liz points out, her practical experience is much less, and likely much less varied, than other health consultants, even in the LC/paleo world, seeing as she's so new to the scene.

I remember reading some study that looked at the demographics of those people who claimed to be on a paleo diet (Ballantyne's focus) in order to test the idea that it's mainly young, well-educated white guys who follow the diet. The study found that most of the paleo followers were white, female, upper-middle class, and between 35 and 50. A study like that can't claim to be the last word on the subject, of course, but it's worth keeping in mind.

Add in the cost of a LC/paleo consultant like Ballantyne, who's not covered by insurance, and the fact that she can pick and choose her clients, and it's likely that her clients are well-off financially and have been for some time). That set of people has a much different health background than most of the U.S., not to mention most of the world.

Low carb works great for treating infertility due to high estrogen from being over weight and fat deposits and PCOS as it lowers estrogen again. I am not technically infertal, I have 1 working overy and 1 tube and the tube is ruined. No egg is passing through into the working uterus. I am not that heavy to have too high of levels of estrogen and I do not have PCOS. I am not infertel.

So, does it lower the womens sex hormones when they are already normal? BTW, I have been tested, I'm normal

I think I am going to let this woman opinion pass but I have to think this through
. I do believe ketogenic diet is healthy for us, especially for those that have issues with blood sugar already. Being in ketosis, they say it puts the body in starvation mode without the damaging effects of actually starving. Is it possible that could stop or lower sex hormones in some women to keep them from getting pregnant when they are "starving?" Just a thought, I have never stopped my period when I'm eating LCing though.

When I hung out at the official Atkins site (some years ago), the nutritionist there would advise pregnant and nursing women to eat low carb, but to avoid ketosis since no studies had been done on pregnant women in ketosis. This seems to be a safe recommendation.

Since then a couple of low carb gurus' wives and partners have stayed in ketosis (I think) while pregnant and nursing. One is Dr Jay Wortman's wife (http://www.drjaywortman.com/blog/wo.../06/update/)and the other is Andreas Eenfeldt's partner (www.dietdoctor.com). You might enjoy reading their websites to learn more.

Good luck with your decision (it's a big one!) and your IVF.

Thanks everyone and Liz It is a big descision and Its been on my mind, you know as I sit here eating left over LC meat loaf for breakfast

I have a hard time just staying on plan so all of this might be for nothing (all the thought going into this) but I like the idea of eating healthy.

I have nothing to add, but to say good luck. I hope your next round gives you the results you desire.

I am still trying hard just to get into and stay into ketosis, it is such an up hill battle for me.

I start on estrogen patch tomorow and some kind of shot on Wednesday, my TOM is to start in a week and then the real fun begins. Daily hormone shots with extra shots here and there. Its finally here and I am no closer at my goal to be in ketosis and adapted than I was a month ago.