SHOULD YOU LIMIT YOUR CARBS WHEN TTC?
Carbohydrates are THE body's preferred source of energy!!
Glucose is what the mitochondria in our cells use to make ATP (our energy) Without enough carbs we see a plethora of health issues arise.
So how come sometimes people feel worse when eating carbs?
1) You are eating imbalanced macro nutrient meals. AKA all carbs and no protein or fat.
2) You have poor gut health and bacterial overgrowth
3) You are nutrient depleted- particularly in minerals
4) You have iron overload and tons of inflammation
5) You have insulin resistance
6) Your thyroid and metabolism are thrashed
7) You take in too many polyunsaturated fats (PUFAS)
Depending on the state of your body including thyroid function, insulin sensitivity, digestion and more will greatly impact how well you use carbs and how you feel when you ingest carbs!
For example, gluten is a special protein that is difficult to break down and requires certain enzymes to do so. People walking around with gut dysfunction often have a hard time breaking it down. If you find that you have brain fog, bloating, irritability, inflammation when you eat gluten its probably a sign you need to work on your gut. Avoiding or limiting gluten is one of the recommendations I often do make for clients who have a lot of digestive work to do.
As far as starches go, our insulin sensitivity (aka our cells ability to respond to and take up the glucose) will be a determining factor. If our cells do not respond well to insulin and we are not able to use that glucose it will make us feel pretty crappy. The pancreas will continue pumping out insulin because it senses high blood sugar in the blood the glucose never gets into our cells for use. This is why people with insulin resistance often feel and do better with fructose like in fruits and juices (since it doesn't require glucose) as opposed to starches.
For fructose, it is mostly absorbed in the small intestine. BUT, when we have overgrowth of bad bacteria in the gut this can make it feel worse!
So identifying what carbs work best for you and which ones don't is important! I think testing out different carbs in isolation is your best bet!
What might this look like?
Try eggs with fruit for breakfast- note how you feel? Bloated? tired? energized? satisfied? mark it down!
The next day…. try eggs with potatoes. Note how you feel.
The next day… try eggs with a bagel.. Note how you feel.
The next day… try eggs with sourdough toast.. Note how you feel.
Once you see how you react to different carbs, pinpoint the ones that make you feel best and focus on those while you also work on healing your gut and managing blood sugar/ insulin sensitivity so that you CAN better digest and use a variety of carbs!
If you do anything for your fertility, do NOT fear carbs!
XO,
Meghan
P.S. - Want to learn your body's biological design and how to best support your metabolism in order to conceive naturally? Watch my free masterclass, here!
