I bit worried foclks for 2 reasons..
1) Looking back I realize that I've displayed symptoms of carb sensitivity for many years. But my wieght gain has been pretty gradually, I've fluctuate between 140 & 160 for the last ten years. I'll try something, drop ten lbs then regain it gradually and start gain.

Since I've been low carbing my carb sensitivity has increased tenfold and once I start eating carb I not only get into a mean binge cycle, but I can actually feel my blood sugar spike and crash and I gain at an astonishing rate (1 lb a day).

Did I throw my body off kilter with this LC thing? How do I get it back to normal?

2) I'm fighting the flu now for the THIRD time since December. In december I was sick for 3 weeks. This time it's been about 5 days and hasnt cleared yet. I must admit I dont take my supplements as regularly as I should.

I just stocked on a good multivitamin (Centrum I think) which I'm taking along with Vitamin B complex with 500mg Cit C and 40IU? vit E. Also taking a Calcium/magnesium/zinc combo.

Should this be enough to keep me from being sick again? I'm really concerned about the frequency with which I'm getting ill, this is not normal for me.

..Max..

Hi Max

You say that when you start eating carbs you can feel your blood sugar spike and that you gain about a lb a day.

What kind of carbs do you eat when this happens - maybe if you start with the ones that are low on the gylcemic index it would go easier on you. Then you could slowly work your way up to carbs that are a bit higher on the index. I will get a link to the GI for you and post it here. The low carbs on the GI are green veggies and some fruits, then mid way are legumes and grains, Definite no nos are sugar, corn, potatoes, white rice and others. Theres a lot more to it than that - like combining a low GI with a High GI to reduce the damage done by the higher index food. This combining is not advisable until you have stabalized yourself.

The 1lb a day weight gain might be the water retention that happens when carbs are added back to the diet, remember those water pounds you lost the first few days? That's them coming back.

Hi again

The links below are to a site with a lot of info about the GI

This is to a good explanation of the GI
http://www.mendosa.com/gi.htm


This is to an online GI Listing
http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm

This is not a huge listing, but I have been noticing more and more books available on the subject of the GI - even a couple of pocket sized GI lists.

Hope this is of some help to you.

Thank for the posts. This is very interesting information.

My weakness is pastry (flour & sugar), but I find that any carbs eg potatos or fruits will trigger a binge.

BTW : I eat salads regularly so I guess green, leafy veggies are OK for me.

It's been a bad year all the way around for viral illnesses. The best defense is to avoid being in crowded places as much as possible and washing your hands frequently. Taking supplements can help boost your immune system, but there isn't anything out there currently that can confer 100% immunity to flu and colds. Whoever invents such a drug will certainly be a very wealthy person as well as their descendents after them.
Low carbing often has the effect of boosting your immune system instead of making you more prone to catching things (at least that's been my experience), so it's most likely just plain bad fortune that you've been getting hit so often.
Since you're so prone to catching the flu, have you ever considered asking your doctor for an annual flu shot?

I never considered myself 'prone' to catching the flu until now. This is why I'm concerned. I just hope my low carbing isn't messing with my immune system.

Unfortunately its hard to avoid infection since I have a 2 yr old son in day care and he pretty much has a constant cold, because he keeps getting reinfected.

That flu shot sounds like a good idea.

Hi Max:

How often are you bingeing on sugar? Sugar is an immune suppressant and is an anti-nutrient. When I binge on sugar, I can time it like clockwork when I will get sick.

Wanda

This is most likely the cause of your ills. Kids don't know that they shouldn't drink from other kids' cups or wash their hands after they cough or sneeze and viruses have a nasty way of mutating constantly so there is always a new one out there that you haven't come into contact with yet and your kids are likely to bring them all home as houseguests.

Wanda also makes a very good point about binging on sugar...one good binge can deliver a karate chop to your immune system that can weaken it enough for you to be unable to fight off the latest virus that junior has brought home to share with you. It doesn't always have to be sugar, either. Eating foods that you have a sensitivity to can also lower your immune system because it's busy fighting the food that you ate instead of that cold virus invading your upper respiratory system.

My girls are second graders and have brought home their share of stomach bugs and colds this year as well as a couple of rounds of strep throat, but I seem to have managed to avoid them all so far. Yup...not even a single cold so far this year. I can honestly say that I've never been healthier than since I started low carbing 2 years ago...maybe one or two colds in that two year period and that's it.