HEY DOREEN, READ THIS ONE!!!!!

WELL IF THE LOW CARB THING DOESN'T DROP THE WEIGHT OFF OF ME, (WHICH I KNOW IT WILL) ONE THING IS FABULOUS SINCE I'VE STARTED LOW CARBING 2 1/2 WEEKS AGO....

IT SEEMS THAT SINCE I'VE HIT MY 30'S (TURNING 32 THIS YEAR) STUFF HAS STARTED HAPPENING TO MY BODY...THE EVER-SO-LOVELY WAY MY BODY HAS DECIDED TO KEEP WEIGHT AND LOSING IT HAS SLOWED DOWN (NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH MY WAIST, ALWAYS WAS A "HIPPY" CHICK...A NEW STOMACH ROLL--OH YAY!!!!! GRRRRRR).....AND ANOTHER THING WHICH HAD RECENTLY HIT ME IS THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF ESOPHAGEAL REFLUX--OR IN LAMENS TERMS, HEARTBURNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!

EVER SINCE I HAVE BEEN LOW CARBING, IT GONE!!!!!!......NO MORE!!!!!!!...FINISHED!!!!!!

HAS ANYONE ELSE FOUND THAT THIS BEAUTIFUL THING HAS RESULTED SINCE THEY'VE LOW CARBED???.....AND DOREEN--YOU'RE OUR RESIDENT R.N.---PHYSIOLOGICALLY WHY IS THIS?????

lol Sherry, yes getting rid of the icky old heartburn is one of the wonderful side benifits of low carbing! Its amazing how much that sugar really does harm our bodies!

Glad your feeling so wonderful

Low carbing sure helps my reflux! I have medication and only need it if i have too much coffee or if I drink pop at night and then go to bed.That was the best part of low carb for me!!

Carol

Several nurses, and and lots of other very knowledgeable and experienced members here too! I'm still coping with a really bad flu, so my brain isn't at 50% even, but I'll take a stab at it...

There's tons of anecdotal evidence that a lowcarb diet, and eating smaller, more frequent meals is curative for GERD (GastroEsophageal Reflux Disease), but very little scientific study to explain why. In" Protein Power Lifeplan", the Eades suggest a link with insulin, but no other information. Most "official" GERD websites and organizations only advise to lose weight if obese, and stop caffeine, nicotine, alcohol and chocolate -- and peppermint.

How insulin can affect GERD -- I read through quite a few medical and scientific papers, and it seems that insulin-induced hypoglycemia can trigger spasm of the vagus nerve, and this has an effect on A) stomach acid secretion(increases); B) stomach emptying time(slows it down); and C) relaxation of the esophageal sphincter.

Insulin Resistance / Hyperinsulinemia / Syndrome X all contribute to surges and dips in insulin levels in response to a high-carb meal or snack. Blood sugar dips low in response to the excessive insulin .... the low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) stimulates the vagus nerve, and the symptoms of GERD begin. Again, this is just my inference gleaned from several studies.

So, it seems a properly planned lowcarb program relieves reflux several ways

• controls insulin and blood sugar levels
• smaller more frequent meals less stressful to a weakened sphincter
• weight loss relieves abdominal pressure

We had an earlier thread going on this very topic, also from a former bulimic. You can check it out here

Hope this has been helpful, and continued good health to you! ..

Doreen

If I stay away from sugar...I have no problem with heartburn either....low carb sure beats "off the counter" medication for this...

Doreen...you explained it better here than the doctor explained it to me a few years ago.I too, think that sugar is one of the things that made mine worse.

I have had another observation about low fat versus low carb.The couple of times I have strayed back to low fat I get such horrible body aches....muscles, joints etc.A couple od days back on low carb and the pains are gone.If it only happened one time I wouldn't think anything of it but twice! Wonder if it's the wheat that causes the pains?

Just another anecdote from memory on GERD, y'all. Some 6 months back or so on one of the American email Lists, we had a 'temporary' LowCarber... her GERD of many years had caused so much damage she was booked for surgery and her specialist surgeon put her on LowCarb (no sugar, no starch) for 2 weeks minimum prior to the surgery as a "cleansing and stabilizing" regime!

In other words, the surgeon(s)? who deal with such stuff KNOW that acid reflux (excess acid production?) stops with LC. So, why do GPs prescribe those heavyduty expensive medications, I ask? ... Sheesh.

Just a bit extra to add to the thought 'pile' on GERD.

As for the joint pain and aches, that's an inflammatory response and could well be a wheat/grain food intolerance OR could just be a distinct shortage of essential fatty acids when "low-fatting". One of the 'alternative' treatments for arthritis and other inflammatory auto-immune conditions is to supplement with flaxseed oil and/or marine oils to get those essential fatty acids. Or both. Can only really test one at a time (like go back to low-fat but make sure there's no wheat and see what happens), if you wanted to.

Ya know you're right. Before low carbing, a favourite of mine was the huge tea biscuits they made at work. Sometimes they had cheese, sometimes ham, sometimes both. Yummm, especially when they were warm and the butter just melted.....I digress.

I was starting to get heart burn from them. Guaranteed. Once I started low carbing, heart burn was gone! And here I thought I was just getting old. It's amazing as you go along with this diet the difference changing your food can make to your body.

Also makes you aware of what you were putting into that body!

Robin

I never had much of a problem with heartburn, but I used to sometimes get abdominal gas and bloating, to the point where my tummy would stick out and it was quite painful. The only thing tht would help would be lying down for a while. This went on, on and off, for years, and it seemed to get worse if I was tired or stressed.

Then low carb, and - hey presto! Doesn't happen anymore! Except for the time last year I cheated on pasta, and....guess what? Now I think maybe I have a mild wheat allergy. Whatever. My tummy's happy, I'm happy!

Rachel