How Does Keto Affect Menstrual Cycle?

How Does Keto Affect Menstrual Cycle?

When you start keto, you might skip your period, despite not getting any action in a while. However, there are many underlying factors that affect menstrual cycle. The kind of food we eat and the way we lead our lives do not just impact our bodies but can also usher hormonal imbalances. Thus, any diet can affect menses. Similarly, your menstrual health might be suffering at hands of your normal diet or lack thereof.

On an average, you eat 150-200 carbohydrates daily which causes inflammation in body. Keto is an anti-inflammatory diet. Shifting from an inflammatory diet to an anti-inflammatory one, does not only lead to keto flu but also leads to change in some hormonal functions.

Keto is a low carbohydrate diet which regulates insulin activity in body; and may reduce your chances and complications related to PCOD or PCOS. Countless people have successfully curbed these problems by being on a keto diet.

However, a woman with underlying conditions like PCOD or PCOS may experience early or delayed periods in her early-keto days. As your body adapts to keto, its insulin resistance improves, and you may see changes in your PCOD/PCOS symptoms.

There may also come a time when you get rid of these problems because of a low carbohydrate or keto diet. It also makes sense to supplement any dietary change with exercise to augment a holistic lifestyle change.

Additionally, not following the diet properly or taking frequent cheat days may also potentially lead to health problems. The reduced consumption of carbohydrates in keto leads to better insulin regulation in the body. This can affect estrogen (female hormones) levels in your body and might solve problems in your cycle.

But how keto works for you is not set in stone. What works for someone else might not work for you and vice versa.

Being overweight or having a high BMI can lead to many complications in the body. You might face irregularities in menstrual cycle even before you start keto or any other fat loss regiment.

Time and again I label keto as a lifestyle change and I do not do that lightly. Keto is not just about fitting into a certain dress or shedding a few pounds (although that never hurt), it is about creating a long-lasting impact on your health, day by day.

I would also advise to make a routine visit to your gynaecologist so that you can make an informed decision about your health. Coupled with self-research, guidance of a medical practitioner can help you tackle problems, you thought were unsolvable.

You can also discuss any such issues with me or KetoDoc (a service on Ketorets.com provided by a doctor who has done keto herself).