[Suri]

This thread is about the effects that your diet may have on NBE and your body in general.

The discussion was actually started on periwinkle's program page so I thought it would be better to start a new thread.

So back to the topic. It's true that polysaccharides (complex carbs) have a different structure than monosaccharides (simple carbs such as pure sugar) but the body transforms those complex sugars into simple sugars eventually. The difference is that the glucose (sugar) from complex carbs doesn't enter the bloodstream immediately but gradually and over a longer period of time (because it has to be converted first). This prevents the blood sugar from skyrocketing and triggering an enormous insulin response. Still, it does raise blood sugar which is followed by a rise in insulin.
Of course foods such as whole grain and fruits have lots of other beneficial stuff in them. But watch the carbs. No matter how complex they may be they are still sugar. I'm not saying don't eat them at all but in moderation. If you eat a huge bowl of fruit every day it's not better than a candy bar blood sugar wise (of course it's better if you consider the vitamins and minerals and such which most candy bars don't contain lol). The blood sugar rise and the insulin response that follow however are just as bad.
Insulin btw causes the ovaries to produce more androgens. So high insulin levels are something which is to be avoided.

Insulin and its metabolic effects on the body (very interesting and definitely worth a read): http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articl...t-one.aspx

This discussion started out as one on carbs but it's not limited to it. So feel free to join the discussion if you think you have something to contribute.

[Black Hippie]

Whoa lol, I feel like I'm in my Biology 101 class. ^^! Anyway, very informative. I don't know a lot about this stuff, so I'll just ask you a question Question: How does the vegetarian diet play in this discussion?? I eat a lot of fruit. Is that bad? Sorry I really don't know and you seem very smart.

[Suri]

I would say just make sure that you don't eat too much at once. In addition you can try to avoid fruit which is high in sugar and eat more which is low in sugar.

here is a page on the sugar content of fruits: http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/whattoe...tfruit.htm

Another way to indicate the sugar content is to calculate the glycemic index. If it's high the food contains lots of sugar and if it's low it contains less. http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/whattoe...list_3.htm

It's better though to go by the glycemic load instead. The glycemic index pretty much tells you how much sugar/carbs a food contains. The glycemic load is supposed to tell you how quickly the sugar enters the bloodstream. Foods that have a high gycemic load cause your blood sugar to rise faster and higher than foods that have a low glycemic load.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycemic_load

You can google glycemic index and glycemic load. There is a lot of information out there and lists of different foods.
Most berries for example have a very low glycemic load (GL).

And btw, I'm not much of a biology nerd, lol. I came across this info while researching on hormonal imbalances. I found out that your sugar metabolism can seriously mess with your hormones. Making diet changes can improve this.

Incidentally I came across a page about women that are suffering from PCOS. They try to treat their condition with mainly diet changes and most of them have great success with it. I don't have PCOS but for those who do and are interested in reading the success stories, here is the link:
http://www.ovarian-cysts-pcos.com/PCOS-success.html

Hope that helps

[noella]

This is very interesting. I learned about the glycemic index when I was working out last year, and while it makes relative sense, I haven't memorized which foods have a lower GL, a lot of my favorite fruits are "highest" in sugar- for example cherries, but then on the other page it mentions cherries only having a GI of 22- which still seems relatively low.

Important information to consider though.. I wonder, for the females who have had notable success with their routines, how diligent were your diets? Because I imagine that all the girls who developed large boobs were not eating much better than the ones who developed small boobs, or maybe in nature it doesn't matter as much because the hormones are stronger, but I find this curious.

[Suri]

It depends a lot on genetics and such as well. There are people that tolerate carbs really well whereas others have difficulties with even small amounts.

It never crossed my mind that there might be a problem with my sugar metabolism since I've always been skinny and could eat whatever I wanted and not put on a single pound. What got me on that track were the results of a glucose tolerance test which showed high insulin levels and normal blood sugar levels. I started to research more on insulin and sugar metabolism because I wanted to know what that could mean.
From what I've learned so far I probably don't tolerate carbs so well which leads to increased levels of insulin and cortisol which in turn mess with my hormones.
But it's definitely not the same for everyone. But even people who tolerate carbs (sugar) better can benefit from cutting down on sugar.
Indications for an intolerance (whether it's slight or bigger) might be: obesity, being underweight or even hyperthyroid, frequent and severe migraine headaches, epilepsy, problems with blood sugar (too low or too high), anxiety, agression, gaining weight around your tummy and many more.

Some people on the forum are actually following a diet which is low in sugar, for example Cousin Rose and girlfriday and it seems to help them. I'm feeling a lot better since starting on a low carb/high fat and protein diet. Even though the first couple of weeks were rather horrible. But it can take the body up to two years to completely adjust to it and get the maximum of benefits from it.

[andrewhar083]

Hi,

There are quite a few other herbs and foods that can help contribute to breast health. They are :-

1. Garlic
2. Turmeric - A popular Indian Spice
3. Green Tea
4. Whole grain foods - Replacing any refined “white” flour foods
5. Dark leafy green veggies like broccoli and spinach
6. Olive oil - in moderation
7. Lower fat dairy foods rather than whole dairy foods
8. Red wine - rich in antioxidants and excellent for overall cancer prevention and breast health when consumed in moderation.
_________________________
Breast enhancement pills

[Fjells]

Funny, I have just been reading about how wonderful broccoli (and cauliflower, brussels sprouts, collard greens, kale, mustard greens, turnips) is for hormone balance. If you surf around for "broccoli estrogen" on google you can find some interesting information.

[imtrying]

I'm sure diet plays a prominent role in NBE, thank you for posting this! I also believe that diet is the correlation between races and how well NBE works for them, such as asians having a harder time growing. I suspect that it's because of our high carb diet, so I'm working on changing that.

[gasolinerainbow]

Quick question... how can you supress adrogens? Or insulin production? (Even as I type that it sounds like a bad idea).

[beachbumbythesea]

It depends a lot on genetics and such as well. There are people that tolerate carbs really well whereas others have difficulties with even small amounts.

It never crossed my mind that there might be a problem with my sugar metabolism since I've always been skinny and could eat whatever I wanted and not put on a single pound. What got me on that track were the results of a glucose tolerance test which showed high insulin levels and normal blood sugar levels. I started to research more on insulin and sugar metabolism because I wanted to know what that could mean.
From what I've learned so far I probably don't tolerate carbs so well which leads to increased levels of insulin and cortisol which in turn mess with my hormones.
But it's definitely not the same for everyone. But even people who tolerate carbs (sugar) better can benefit from cutting down on sugar.
Indications for an intolerance (whether it's slight or bigger) might be: obesity, being underweight or even hyperthyroid, frequent and severe migraine headaches, epilepsy, problems with blood sugar (too low or too high), anxiety, agression, gaining weight around your tummy and many more.

Some people on the forum are actually following a diet which is low in sugar, for example Cousin Rose and girlfriday and it seems to help them. I'm feeling a lot better since starting on a low carb/high fat and protein diet. Even though the first couple of weeks were rather horrible. But it can take the body up to two years to completely adjust to it and get the maximum of benefits from it.

Hi,

For 3 yrs about 3 yrs ago I eat the way you explained.. mostly protein and veggies.. because I couldnt even tolerate whole grains or even white carbs..no matter what form.. so I just ate very few each day and as for fruit same as you.. just about none..if I do it is strawberries or blueberries the lowest type in the sugar department.. I had alot of problems then and cleared alot of them up..I use to be hypothyroid and now I am not for one example.. I took supps and herbs but dif ones then and now since I went off all that some symptoms came back but not as much..mostly my acne came back (having a brain fart), but now I am back to eating like mentioned above and taking dif kinds of supps and some the same and dif herbs and seeing a change again.. I believe msm played a big part and I just add borage oil and my healing process is really quick..I also add collagen 1&3 not sure if that is helping too... Oh and SP that might be help..I think so..

Thank you