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I've been doing all kinds of diets for a year. What really struck me, though, is that when I did a vegan diet, a bodybuilding diet or a high sugar diet, my brother regularly called me "gay" (especially when vegan). Until I went paleo. Then he never said it again.

I've always looked a bit like a woman (bigger lips, bigger eyes, and I have that same afraid look on my face Frodo has all the time). But I noticed that my diet can really change things. it can make me look way more manly.

Lately I've been having the classic low-carb problems lots of you have : bad sleep, tired, no libido, ... Zinc helps, but I'm tired of using supplements to fake a healthy diet.

Could this all be thyroid issues, caused by a lack of estrogen?

And if so, what should I do about it. Just increase carbs? What kind of carbs?

Some more information :
I'm prone to hypoglycemia, had low vitamin D levels, don't do well with very low carb, probably have leaky gut (since I had bad skin issues and they really improved on paleo). Selenium does me a lot of good, seaweed causes issues. It really looks like hypothyroidism, but I don't wanna diagnose myself based on symptoms.

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1 
 whfoods.org/… whfoods.com/… – a tricksty trickster Jan 14 2012 at 21:07
See above for nutrient interactions of zinc and selenium. Just posting since you mentioned supplements. Try getting it from natural foods... – a tricksty trickster Jan 14 2012 at 21:07
I ran into the same problem following Bee's candida diet (which if I recall you were following) symptoms were greatly improved with the reduction of fat and the introduction or carbohydrates. – ROB Jan 15 2012 at 0:05
@Luisa : I'm afraid I don't get your point :S... @ROB : interesting. I still do it, kinda, but I'm not eating very well lately due to exams. I will eat more carbs, but not starch. Did carbohydrates in general help, or did you eat more safe starch specifically? – Korion Jan 15 2012 at 17:09
I ate more starch from sweet potatoes tubers. I have slowly been incorporating more fruit these last couple weeks so I'll see how that goes. – ROB Jan 15 2012 at 22:37

5 Answers

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if you have access to a physician that will order bloodwork, get tested and then you will know. here in Canada there are naturopathic doctors who will test on demand for a fee and i believe in the US you can pay for home tests. what is available in Belgium?

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I have no idea... I could ask my doctor for a blood test... Hopefully he will agree. – Korion Jan 14 2012 at 10:20
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 Blood test for estrogen won't really tell you anything as the blood levels are usually low because all the estrogen is locked up in your tissues. – cliff Jan 14 2012 at 13:39
bloodwork for thyroid function. but hormones would be an easy saliva test; no? – sage_ Jan 14 2012 at 23:28
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http://raypeat.com/articles/articles/thyroid.shtml

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I doubt your problem is not enough estrogen. You can easily test if your hypothyroid with a body temp test, 98.6 after eating is good.

Low carb diets are a disaster for most people especially us younger folk. Increasing carbs might help but if your actually interested in getting control of your health its gonna probably take more drastic measures than that.

I've noticed lately that a lot of young folks think they have leaky gut, the gut becomes "leaky" because your hypothyroid. Most people your age have bad skin issues(or they have no issues at all due to super low metabolism which is another issue), I had major skin issues till about a year ago and would probably still have them if it wasn't for my major paradigm shift.

Do yourself a favor and follow danny's rough guidline of peats diet http://www.dannyroddy.com/diet/, while your following that read up and listen to peats podcast multiple times till you understand his stuff, so you can fine tune it for yourself.

http://www.functionalps.com/blog/2012/01/13/indicators-of-elevated-estrogen/

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My skin issues have disappeared after adding several supplements (fat-soluble vitamins + magnesium) and cutting out eggs+nuts. I'm willing to try this out though. Gonna buy some carrots as soon as possible. What's his take on bone broth? A no-no, since there are vegetables in it? – Korion Jan 14 2012 at 14:05
It's still far from perfect though. My main issues now are lack of libido, stress, difficulty sleeping, fatigue, mood issues especially from night to morning (cortisol?). Salt helps, gelatin helps. – Korion Jan 14 2012 at 14:09
Korion, you can make bone broth without vegetables. And check your current Vitamin D levels too- that is important. – henny Jan 14 2012 at 14:45
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 Just be careful with lots of supplements, the binders can start to wreak havoc on your digestion system(happened to me). If possible try to get supplements without additives or at the very least without cellulose type ingredients. Veggies are ok if cooked for a very long time but shouldn't be over consumed due to the fiber content. Your issues sound like typical adrenalin, cortisol, thyroid issues, getting enough sugar, salt and protien will probably help. – cliff Jan 14 2012 at 15:04
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You are right: you shouldn't diagnose yourself based only on symptoms, nor on questions to Paleohacks--especially since you can easily obtain an actual diagnosis by getting some lab tests done and working with a competent healthcare practitioner. I strongly suggest at least getting your thyroid tested--and soon. Hypothyroidism can well be responsible for the symptoms you describe.

Determining the cause of hypothyroidism is a little trickier, but that doesn't mean you can't begin to get some treatment if you have it. But for proper treatment, it's important to figure out if you have autoimmune thyroid disease, which seems plausible given your responses to selenium, and particularly to seaweed, which is high in iodine--problematic for some people with autoimmune thyroid disease.

Also, you specifically mentioned your eyes and lips. Facial edema (swelling/puffiness) can be a symptom of hypothyroidism, and can be seen in the lips, and around the eyes. Protruding/frightened looking eyes can be signs of hyperthyroidism too, but many people with autoimmune thyroid disease switch back and forth between hyper- and hypo- for a long time before they finally get things under control. I'd want to know what my thyroid antibodies looked like, as well as TSH, free T-3, and free T-4, at a minimum.

My advice is to get some labs done, and if you have leaky gut (which can be associated with autoimmune disease), work on healing that, in addition to your thyroid treatment (if you need thyroid treatment, that is).

In addition to the Ray Peats link above, for more information, I also like Chris Kresser's information on thyroid:

Chris Kresser's Thyroid Page

Good luck!

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I will do the tests, Christopher!! Thanks! I guess I can find on paleohacks what tests I have to ask to my doctor. On a normal paleo diet I'm 100x healthier than I've ever been, but still .... low libido is not cool, I obviously have testosterone problems. If I have leaky gut (I probably have), I have NO idea what to do, apart from bone broth. I might listen to dragonfly and try water kefir. Damn mold allergy... – Korion Jan 15 2012 at 17:17
Research the GAPS diet for leaky gut healing. It's fairly compatible with paleo. As for thyroid tests, as I suggested in my answer, you will want THS, free T3, and free T4, at a minimum. Many doctors skip the free T tests--do not accept this--insist on the free T's. If your doctor won't check them, you need a new doctor. You also want to test for antibidies, TPO and TgAb. You might be interested in Reverse T3 as well. All the information you need is contained in the various links you have already been provided in these answers. I hope you'll check back in after the labs! – Christopher Gagnon Jan 15 2012 at 17:57
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I've quite the same issues as you do. I try to focus on my gut health. Hypoglycemia, hypothyroidism, leaky gut,... all go hand in hand with yeast overgrowth. At least in my case.

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