Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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If I understand this correctly:

Low Carb ketogenic diets, ones in which people are adapted to oxidizing fat for energy, can cause a temporary insulin resistance state - the Randle Effect.

If insulin resistance is one of the primary ways in which women develop PCOS (polycyctic ovarian syndrome), would a low carb, ketogenic, paleo diet in effect also cause a PCOS-like state? Is insulin resistance which is developed through metabolic derrangement/over consumption of fructose, etc. somehow different from the insulin resistance which is self-imposed through very low carb high fat diets?

flag	asked May 30 2011 at 22:36 none 16.3k●1●11●77

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Menstruation and fecundity are directly controlled by leptin status not calories. This is why anorexics don't have periods and why fat women have trouble getting pregnant due to pcos......all caused by high leptin due to high reverse T3 levels. One woman is calorie deprived while another eats boat loads. Calories don't matter. Leptin status does. Insulin is not the target. OOcyte maturation has zero to do with insulin. To understand it you need to focus on the correct problem you can not solve it. PCOS can be seen in the thin or heavy women because leptin resistance is an energy problem. – The Quilt May 31 2011 at 2:03

Thank you. I eagerly await your website! – none May 31 2011 at 2:50

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Actually, PCOS and insulin are intimately tied. There is tons of research on that. – Ambimorph May 31 2011 at 14:37

miked · Answer 1 · 2011-05-31 17:41:47Z UTC

It's not really the "insulin resistance" that's the problem, it's the hyperinsulinemia that's the problem, i.e., having tons of insulin floating around your body all the time. You can't take one "number" (insulin resistance) and assign it as "good" or "bad" without knowing the context. In a fat-burning healthy person, insulin resistance is not bad, and is probably beneficial. In a metabolically deranged sugar-burner, insulin resistance is bad. But it's not the insulin resistance, per se, that's bad, it's the resulting hyperinsulinemia that causes the problems. So when people say you need to work on becoming more insulin sensitive, that's for the metabolically deranged. Once you're a fat-burner, measuring your insulin sensitivity is probably not a meaningful quantity anymore.

Ambimorph · Answer 2 · 2011-05-31 14:49:50Z UTC

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Yes, the insulin resistance seen on a low carb diet is dramatically different from that in a disease state. In fact, a ketogenic diet is helpful to diseases characterized by insulin resistance, including diabetes and PCOS.

Here are a couple relevant threads.

answered May 31 2011 at 14:49

Ambimorph
19.6k●18●66

Very helpful, thanks. – none May 31 2011 at 15:35

Low Carb Paleo - Randle Effect Insulin Resistance - PCOS?

2 Answers