June 18, 2019

The PCOS Post: Hormonal Havoc From Hyperinsulinemia




As I mentioned in the previous post, I’ve been plugging away this blog since 2012. It’s hard to believe it’s been seven years, but even harder to believe that in all that time, I’ve completely neglected the topic of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). I’ve written a ton about insulin, glucagon, thyroid hormones, digestion, cancer, and more, but not one word about PCOS, except for a brief mention in this post. This is a glaring omission, because PCOS is a huge issue for reproductive aged women these days, and, no surprise if I’m writing about it here, it’s intimately tied to chronic hyperinsulinemia and metabolic dysregulation.

A while back I wrote about the effect of elevated insulin on men’s hormones, explaining the concept of a “male equivalent to PCOS,” and I didn’t realize that I hadn’t even yet written about actual PCOS. I don’t know how such a huge gap has existed on my blog for so long, but this is being corrected right now. Whew!

I’ve seen online in various places women saying that they’re at increased risk for type 2 diabetes or metabolic syndrome because they have PCOS. It’s actually the other way around: chronically high insulin (basically metabolic syndrome, whether you know you have it or not) is the main driver of PCOS. The reason so few women who have PCOS are aware of this is … surprise, surprise … most doctors are clueless about insulin’s many functions unrelated to blood sugar and they never bother measuring insulin levels.

Women with PCOS are often given unhelpful and condescending advice.  There is a lot of "blame the victim" that goes on with this condition. I sincerely hope this post does not come off that way. That is the very last thing I intend. I have only one goal here: to provide information. Information that can be empowering to women who have PCOS. If you are living with this condition and you feel disappointed by the help you've gotten from healthcare professionals so far, please know that you can take control. You have more power than you might realize. I hope what follows here is helpful.   

This is a long post (some of you are rejoicing now and others are groaning), so grab yourself a beverage of choice, a bag of pork rinds or some string cheese, and happy reading!

June 12, 2019

Blog Update & the Famous Dr. Westman "Page 4 Diet"


Hey Everyone,
 
Man, I have really been neglecting this blog. I’m very active on Twitter and I’ve been posting videos on my YouTube channel, but the blog, sadly, has been collecting dust. This is a shame for two reasons:

First, even though I seem to be reaching more people with my tweets and videos, writing is, always has been, and likely always will be my first love. I consider myself a writer first and a nutritionist second. I truly like writing, and the beauty of writing my own blog, as opposed to some of the paid “day gig” writing I do to keep my bills paid, is that I get to write about whatever I want to write about, and say things the way I want to say them. I don’t have to answer to anyone, censor myself, or present things in a certain light in order to fit in with someone else’s “message” or brand. Tuit Nutrition is me. My voice, my perspective, and yes, my sarcasm and snark. I start to feel not-so-good when it’s been awhile since I’ve written anything substantial on the blog—something I think is truly educational and helpful for people navigating the crazy world of low carb & keto. Sharing little snippets of this & that on Twitter is great, and I’ve made some important professional connections there, but my blog is where I can really get deeper into things. Write something meaty, something detailed, something to make people think. When I hit publish on that kind of post, I feel a sense of satisfaction and purpose that I rarely ever experience otherwise.

The second reason it’s a shame I’m not blogging regularly is that I know many of you prefer to read, and even though you can hop over to YouTube anytime and watch me talk about any number of keto-related issues, you’d prefer to wait for the next written post. Frankly, my dear readers, I don’t blame you! I, too, prefer reading, and long posts don’t scare me away. My attention span hasn’t yet been decimated to the point that anything longer than a 15-second read gets passed over in favor of a meme with a whopping 4 words on it. (Not that there’s anything wrong with funny memes.) My point is, I know some of you enjoy reading my posts as much as I enjoy writing them, and I feel bad leaving you without something to dig into for such long periods of time. (And I love hearing from those of you who’ve told me you don’t mind my very long posts. Some of you actually like immersing yourself in something a bit more substantial. In that case, we’re a perfect fit.)

With this in mind, I’m committing to blogging a little more regularly than I have been in the last year or so. I won’t commit to once a week because I know myself too well, and I just won’t be able to keep up that pace. But twice a month? I think that can work. And I can’t promise every post will be something of great substance (in fact, I can promise some posts won’t), but I think just getting back in the habit of writing regularly at all will be a good move for me.

Here’s what I have in mind for the coming weeks and months: