drob31
Senior Member
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- 1,487
I've done the low carb diet for maybe a decade (way before my crash), and I've never given myself a chance to eat very many carbs because I labeled them evil, a long time ago. I know the current trend is towards low carb, higher protein / fat diets, such as paleo, and I honestly think they are great, or can be. However, I also think these diets could potentially contribute to adrenal fatigue assuming carbs are too low. If your goal is to raise cortisol, this may actually benefit you, as higher carbohydrate diets will lower cortisol. However, low carb may place too much stress on your adrenal glands regardless or high or low cortisol.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0024320587900865
One thing I think I've noticed about my perceived food sensitivities is that they may also be cortisol fluctuations and not only food sensitivities. I think leaky gut is a huge factor from antibiotics, candida, and bacteria, but the immediate fatigue from eating food must be from the cortisol spike that occurs. Your cortisol spikes about 3 times higher when you eat, but if a meal contains sufficient carbohydrates, it is subsequently lowered when your insulin rises.
If your SHGB is high, your insulin will usually tend to be low. Eating more carbs and increasing calories will elevate insulin levels, and help drop SHBG. This will lead to higher levels of *free sex hormones, including free testosterone. Adrenal fatigue usually occurs because of a surplus and/or deficiency of adrenal hormones. And while the root cause for this is much more complex than the glands being fatigued, they are most definitely affected by diet and carbohydrates. Eating carbs also increases free t3 and raises serotonin.
I'm not suggesting that you should eat allot of carbs or junk food. But it may be safe to increase the amount of carbohydrates from acceptable sources that one isn't sensitive to, such as jasmine rice or purple sweet potatoes.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0024320587900865
One thing I think I've noticed about my perceived food sensitivities is that they may also be cortisol fluctuations and not only food sensitivities. I think leaky gut is a huge factor from antibiotics, candida, and bacteria, but the immediate fatigue from eating food must be from the cortisol spike that occurs. Your cortisol spikes about 3 times higher when you eat, but if a meal contains sufficient carbohydrates, it is subsequently lowered when your insulin rises.
If your SHGB is high, your insulin will usually tend to be low. Eating more carbs and increasing calories will elevate insulin levels, and help drop SHBG. This will lead to higher levels of *free sex hormones, including free testosterone. Adrenal fatigue usually occurs because of a surplus and/or deficiency of adrenal hormones. And while the root cause for this is much more complex than the glands being fatigued, they are most definitely affected by diet and carbohydrates. Eating carbs also increases free t3 and raises serotonin.
I'm not suggesting that you should eat allot of carbs or junk food. But it may be safe to increase the amount of carbohydrates from acceptable sources that one isn't sensitive to, such as jasmine rice or purple sweet potatoes.