RE: GLA, carbs and menstrual cycles

[Guest guest]

> After a month or two of being on the diet, my menstrual cramps ceased

> to exist. Actually, I'm not claiming

> this to be a good thing, because what actually happened is my menstrual

> cycle itself ceased to exist until I couldn't stand it any longer and gave

> up on the diet. Even eating big portions of meat, I still lost weight even

> though I did not have extra to lose.

Hi Bonnie,

Great anecdote. I just wanted to comment that there might be more than one

factor at play. If you really were losing more weight than you should have,

your weight (or lack thereof) may have been what actually stopped your

cycle. Fatty tissue is responsible for secreting a large portion of your

body's estrogen. If you lose too much of it, you won't have enough to drive

the menstrual cycle. Aside from that effect, insulin and blood sugar

supposedly have a direct impact on hormonal balances as well. I would think

you may have been experiencing an overlapping or a synergistic amplification

of the two effects...

[Guest guest]

>>>>Hi Bonnie,

Great anecdote. I just wanted to comment that there might be more than one

factor at play. If you really were losing more weight than you should have,

your weight (or lack thereof) may have been what actually stopped your

cycle. Fatty tissue is responsible for secreting a large portion of your

body's estrogen. If you lose too much of it, you won't have enough to drive

the menstrual cycle.

***<sigh...> I can vouch for that. I went on a starvation diet when I was

17/18 - tried very hard to look like the models in 17 magazine (they still

look the same, BTW, when I looked at a copy at the checkout today), and my

cycle stopped for over a year! I have no idea what kind of damage I might've

done to my body, but only wish I was not so stupid and foolish at that age.

I remember that during this time I worked on a commercial fishing boat

(lobstering) for the summer after graduating HS. We worked 10 hour days in

all kinds of weather, and as you can imagine it was *very* physical work. I

only ate one small meal per day during that time. I would come home after my

long day and eat a cucumber or something like that. I only ate a meal in the

morning. For lunch, I might have a tablespoon of peanut butter. The guy I

worked for and the other sternman could not believe it, because they ate and

ate. But, oddly, I did manage the work fine. Now I wonder if my generally

low appetite is a result of my body somehow adapting to starvation mode all

those years ago...

Happily though, I have not dieted since, and am a normal weight without

giving any thought to how much I eat

I think that's also why some athletes loose their cycle - not enough fat.

Suze Fisher

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