Just a quick message for folks who might be on a Keto or Carnivore diet. Today I woke up with a screaming headache over my left temple and a nauseated stomach. I sat in my easy chair and began to remain calm while watching some sports on television. As the day progressed my symptoms never abated and the nausea remained constant. My wife got onto a Carnivore site and read an article about the Carnivore flu. Come to find out, a lowering of carbs in your diet can lead to headaches and upset stomach. Their solution was to increase carb intake. I said, hmmmm, "honey, can you go and get that Key Lime pie from the freezer and cut me off a slice?" She did and within 15 minutes my headache vanished and the nausea disappeared. About a year ago I was on the Keto diet and while shopping at a local hardware store I began experiencing the Keto flu, a overall crappy feeling that comes over you quickly. We headed to Sonic and I had a hamburger and a coke and the symptoms passed.
So, if your are on a Carivore or Keto diet and begin feeling like the precursor of vomiting is fixing to hit, your headache won't go away, and you cannot control your body temp. (hot-cold-hot-cold). Try adding a bit of sugar to get your body some needed carbs it might be yearning for. All it took for me was one thin slice of Key Lime Pie and it worked quickly. Remember that if your are in Ketosis on a Keto diet this might kick you out of Ketosis, but I say it's better to feel better rather than worrying about staying in Ketosis. Heck, you can always pick up the diet tomorrow and the damage from one slice of pie is not going to hurt your weight loss program.
For me, it was either do this or the possiblity of seeing a neurologist and having him try to fix the problem with medication. I'd rather chug down some sugar and have my symptoms go away than chugging mind altering prescription drugs which has the horrible side effects of suicidal thoughts. (been there, done that and it sucked!)
I'm not a doctor, just a regular Joe who has come across a possible solution and thought it might be helpful. If it does, GREAT, if you think it's way out in left field, no hard feeling on my part. Just trying to help folks who might be in the same boat.
God bless and have a great day!
Starch is broken in sugar (glucose) in the gut. Simple starch, like a well cooked potato that you eat right away, will be small starch particles that are broken quickly and absorbed early in the small intestine. Complex starches, like the same potato eaten cold after it sits in the fridge for 2 days, or whole grains, are large molecules that gradually get broken down and a lot of them make it to the color, where bacteria can feed on it. I am experimenting with a strategy of only doing honey or fruit for carbs in the morning, so that my guy bacteria only get food for a portion of the day, but my body gets fuel all day.
But any time we eat carbs (sugar) it forces the body to make insulin which causes a lowering of blood sugar. I take care of someone who has type I diabetes every day and night so I see the insulin need for different forms of carbohydrates. A type I diabetic cannot make their own insulin so every time they eat carbs they have to inject a certain amount or their blood sugar will dangerously rise.
Complex carbs take longer to break down to glucose but they do break down eventually and cause that need for insulin. The more simple the sugar the faster it raises blood sugar to cause an insulin spike in the non-type I diabetic. The low carb diet theory seeks to break the over-dependence on carbs for energy in favor of fat and protein. Fat has twice the calories and causes no insulin spike therefore no blood sugar roller coaster. So fat is going to get you through the day with a lot more staying power.
Look for signs of not only bacteria but yeast, especially candida albicans. It wants sugar in any form I am pretty sure and it will change how you feel to try to make you eat it.