Most fad diets that promise weight loss advocate a low-carb intake of food. But this can apparently mess up some women’s hormones. But, at the same time, there are many studies that prove this kind of diet to be highly effective when it comes to losing weight and improving metabolic health. This can be confusing indeed. Actually, one rule doesn’t fit all. This means a low-carb diet is good for some, it may not suit all women.
Most women need around 75–150 grams of carbs daily. This falls in the moderate range. But some women who are obese or have a very sedentary lifestyle, a low-carb diet makes sense. They need to limit intake to under 100 grams per day. Women who suffer from epilepsy, polycystic ovarian syndrome, fibroids or endometriosis also need to limit carb intake. Women’s hormones are sensitive to energy availability and very less calories or carbs can cause imbalances. This can have adverse health implications including impaired fertility and low mood.
Here, let us take a look at how this kind of diet can affect a woman’s health.
It can cause hormonal imbalance
Your hormones are regulated by the hypothalamus, pituitary and the adrenals glands. All three glands together is called the HPA axis. This is responsible for regulating your stress levels, mood, emotions, digestion, immunity, sex drive, metabolism and more. Calorie intake, stress and exercise levels have an effect on these glands. If you eat too few carbs or calories, the resulting stress may disrupt the HPA axis and cause hormonal problems.
It may cause irregular menstrual cycles
Lack of carbs in your diet may cause amenorrhea or irregular menstrual cycles. This is because if you consume too few carbs, it may lead to hypothalamic amenorrhea and this causes irregular menstrual cycles.
It can affect thyroid function
Your thyroid gland produces two hormones, thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3). If your carb intake is too low, it can cause T3 levels to drop and reverse T3 (rT3) levels to increase. Reverse T3 blocks the action of T3. This can slow your metabolism and cause weight gain and other problems.