Are There Really Any Benefits to Keto for Women?

Have you ever gone low carb?

Sometimes, I feel like everyone and their mother is doing it these days.

The other night, I went out to dinner with my husband’s newly-keto coworkers. And I helplessly watched as our 17-year-old waiter was subjected to 20 Questions on just about every item on the menu. Thing is, I can’t even blame them! Because…

…promise you won’t judge?

I did the same thing. (cringe!!)

Man, oh man do I regret going through this phase during my eating disorder. It wreaked absolute havoc on my body, that took so much effort to undo.

That’s why, every time I hear somebody else considering fasting and keto, it makes me want to scream: “NOOO!”

Why the strong emotions? Listen up:

Keto, fasting, and low carb are TERRIBLE for the female body! And it’s so hard to sit back and watch while women are lied to and convinced that these things are actually good for them! I wish more women knew how harmful things like going keto and intermittent fasting are to women’s physical and mental health, so I’ve decided to spread the word.

Here’s three things you should know about cutting out carbs:

1. Low Metabolism

When you fast - either from avoiding carbs on a keto diet or just plain old not eating - your blood sugar lowers, too. And what does lowered blood sugar do? It seriously lowers your cellular metabolism. Meaning: your rate of cellular activity (i.e. your ability to perform all of the necessary processes for a healthy life, like having nice skin, a stable heart rate, and proper digestion) is decimated when you fast or avoid carbs. So how the heck does this happen?

In short, your liver activates about 65% of T4 into T3, the little hormone that plays a big role in cellular metabolism. But your liver needs sugar to activate thyroid hormone. It’s essentially inhibited by not getting enough sugars like sucrose and galactose.

Translation: low sugar, low metabolism

2. Muscle Wasting

Because glucose is so necessary to proper bodily functioning, our bodies have developed ways to protect us when we can’t get enough from our diet. When women are intermittent fasting, or after eating a no-carbohydrate meal, our bodies are forced into doing something called gluconeogensis.

Gluconeogenesis is how your body cannibalizes itself to create glucose from its own tissues in very inefficient chemical reactions. And every tissue is indiscriminately catabolized: muscle, bone, and fat are all up for grabs. Translation: kiss goodbye to all the healthy tissue and muscle your body worked so hard to make, because fasting doesn’t selectively “burn” fat, but worse: it literally destroys your body.

3. Risking fatality

When your body breaks down fat as fuel, acids called ketones build up in your blood stream. If this continues long enough, you get ketoacidosis, which makes you super thirsty, tired, and gives you stomach pain. While these symptoms are livable, ketoacidosis is not, as it can warrant death if left untreated.

Horrifyingly, this is the main marker of getting the “keto” diet right. It’s what keto dieters are measuring when they buy test strips to gauge the ketones in their pee.

I know how tempting it can be to try out promising diet trends. But I promise you: they don’t work, and they’re seriously not worth it. If you’re struggling with eating carbs or fasting, read more about why sugar is unfairly demonized, and what your body really craves in my ebook, Recover From Your Eating Disorder: 3 Steps to Full Remission.

You deserve to know your body.

♥️

Maria