Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I have been paleo for two weeks now, though gluten and dairy free for over a year. I am eating low enough carbs for the past week (below 50g) to be in ketosis, and the body fat is dropping. All good. I have noticed, though, that when I lie in bed at night, my heart feels like it is beating faster and harder. A search of these boards had someone mentioning adrenal burnout, but are there studies to support that idea? Any thoughts on what is causing this? So far, it's my only negative result of going paleo, but since it's my heart, I don't want to take it lightly. Thanks.

edited Feb 2 2011 at 1:55

Elizabeth
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asked Feb 1 2011 at 15:43

Brad
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Cheryl - Diabetes Bootcamp · Answer 1 · 2011-02-01 18:06:16Z UTC

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It's not just ketosis, but also sugar & salt withdrawal combined with fluid re-regulation. Make sure you are drinking enough water and getting adequate minerals in your diet.

answered Feb 1 2011 at 18:06

Cheryl - Diabetes Bootcamp
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Glad to hear this, Just finished my first week of Primal eating and experience the same thing. I wasn't just at night either, sometimes just sitting at my desk. Now if could do something about the breath..... – TorMag Feb 7 2011 at 15:12

Jay · Answer 2 · 2011-02-01 19:31:22Z UTC

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This happened to me too, but I am not so sure it is benign. Ketosis ups the risk of cardiac arrhythmias. Taking a multi-mineral, which includes magnesium and selenium, should help.

More to the point, eating carbs should help too.

answered Feb 1 2011 at 19:31

Jay
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	Jay, I have not seen any studies showing a relationship between ketosis and arrhythmias. Can you post? For me cutting out carbs and substituting meat and fat solved my irregular heartbeat and A-fig problem. – Dexter Feb 1 2011 at 20:59
	ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19027591 nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM198101293040512 neurology.org/content/54/12/2328.abstract journals.lww.com/smajournalonline/Abstract/2002/… archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/162/6/… – Jay Feb 1 2011 at 22:34
	Btw, love how people on this site downvote when they learn new facts -- My reaction is the opposite -- I always upvote when somebody teaches me something.... But people just love to have their biases confirmed I guess... – Jay Feb 1 2011 at 23:09
	Hyperlipid also had a post on ketosis: high-fat-nutrition.blogspot.com/2009/11/… where he briefly discusses the connection between heart attacks and ketosis. – kylemurphy Feb 2 2011 at 8:56

JakeA · Answer 3 · 2011-02-01 16:59:11Z UTC

I'm sure you already saw this: http://paleohacks.com/questions/531/the-sound-of-my-own-heartbeat#axzz1CcMPKQdL

My own experience is that when I am nervous/excited going to bed this happens. In fact this was an issue for me on sunday night. I had also eaten an abnormal amount of carbs and ice cream though so that could be an issue. I would log your food and stress levels to see if you can note any correlation. If it does turn out to be stress related try to take some time before bed to calm down, think about the good things in life, and breathe and relax. For me, stress begets stress.

Ambimorph · Answer 4 · 2011-02-01 17:02:37Z UTC

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This is a common, though not ubiquitous side-effect of ketosis at the beginning. From what I understand, it should subside within a week or two.

answered Feb 1 2011 at 17:02

Ambimorph
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That's good to know. Thanks. – Brad Feb 1 2011 at 17:24

Riveted · Answer 5 · 2011-02-01 19:16:15Z UTC

Agree with all of the above. After months of paleo, alcohol is now the only thing that does it to me. Even a couple glasses of wine at dinner makes my heart pound when I lay down in bed.

The way I think of it is this: alcohol (or sugar, starch, bees, right-wing zealots) is an allergen and, in its attempt to rid itself of the toxin, my body pumps adrenaline which drives my heart rate to scary heights.

That's how it feels, anyhow.

heartbeat and paleo newbieness

5 Answers