Specific question here. Why would I feel shaky after eating meat?
I ate a 150 gram chicken breast last night and felt shaky all night. Couldn't sleep.

Again, this morning I had some tuna and kale for breakfast. Same thing. That was 150 grams as well.

I also had some minced beef yesterday as well and that was 250 grams. Again feeling shaky and can't even write with a pen?

I'm wondering what might be behind this. I'm quiet fit but don't seem to be doing very well on meat and I'm not sure why? This started after about 1 week on the initial phase of Atkins. In that time I lost 3kg's but the weight loss has also stopped. If anything I'm under-eating on calories.

With every meal I either eat some low carb foods like kale, tomato, green beans, lettuce and other things.

If I eat high fiber foods with a little bit of protein then the shakes don't happen. .....Yes... I know I should listen to my body but I'm trying to understand the technical reasons why this would happen?

Do you have a blood glucose monitor?

This is something fairly rare--but some people do have a hypoglycemic reaction to protein, caused by an excessive insulin response.



In the extreme, this can cause seizures, which is how they usually catch it in small children. A more moderate case would cause less extreme symptoms of hypoglycemia, maybe the shaking hands you describe.

How're you doing on salt consumption? Check out the salt thread.

That's very interesting about hyperinsulinism. I've been complaining for 20 years that my insulin comes out too fast (vague deduction i know). High protein and fat meals still give me a belly too.

I do not have a blood glucose monitor but I will get one after reading this. As a matter of fact I've had symptoms of low blood sugar my whole life (concentration / brain fog for one).

If anyone knows anything else about this I would love to hear from you. It was definitely hypoglycemia after my feed of meat. I'm just not sure I've been that sensitive my whole life. It seems to have really come on since just after I started low carb dieting.

Have read the salt thread, thanks for that. I'm eating plenty of salt but it's a great point. I won't skimp.

Is this normal on a low carb diet?

I don't know if "normal" is the right word. Maybe a double negative is better, i.e. "not abnormal".

I have had such symptoms. I am not sure of the scientific details so am only going to give my impressions. I'm sorry if this seems hocus pocus but it's all I've got.

A few times while walking/hiking I've gotten brain foggy, slight disorientation and shakiness. I've surmised/guessed that it was low blood sugar. When testing my BS a few dozen times it has been low but not too low. Low BS instances have been so circumstantial that I've have not had a BS meter with me at those specific moments. This was after about six to eight months on Atkins.

Some time later I found out that the citric acid used in my cafeteria made scrambles eggs was preventing weight loss. When I substituted whole eggs for carton stored scrambled eggs, I started losing weight again and have since not had another incident.

Here is what I'm guessing we have in common. I think you during this induction-ish phase and me while eating citric acid preserved scrambled eggs are not producing enough ketones. These ketones serve as a substitute to the brain and CNS when BS is low. With them, everything is fine. Without them symptoms of low BS are shown.

Looking back on life, I suspect I've been self medicating using carbs to compensate for frequent low blood sugar. A LC diet for me is just fine. I am much healthier all around. I have had to learn to adjust it a bit and hence tend to dismiss "my way is the only way" type interpretations of LC. In your case I would recommend the same thing. There might be certain foods or combination of foods that are not ideal.

I think you're on the right track. Data is good. Data separates the true from the untrue even if we don't understand it.

Hi Teaser.. I know this thread hasn't been active for a while. I wanted to ask you more about Leucine Sensitivity?. Initially I had my doubts, but since giving up animal proteins I've noticed marked changes in my weight and energy and overall ability to concentrate. If you are still monitoring this thread, I'm wondering if you could tell me how you came across the topic of Leucine Sensitivity so fast? I am in the process of trying to get a test done for this as I'm thinking that this could have been a problem with me since childhood.

I have scoured the internet but the information is limited to very scientivic journals. I have my blood sugar monitor on order. Soon I'll be testing.

Thanks.

I've just been interested in metabolism and nutrition for a long time. There's an awful lot of it, this just happens to be a particular area I've taken an interest in over the years. Amino acids are very central to metabolism, leucine particularly so. A lot of bodybuilders take leucine to stimulate protein synthesis, in an effort to maximize lean mass, they are very aware of leucine's insulinogenic effects.

Strangely enough I wasn't until you mentioned it. Would everyone get affected this way if they ate too much animal protein? Or, is this something unique to someone with an intolerance? I'm not even sure how that would work.

Too much is subjective. Many people eat one heck of a lot of animal protein with not only zero ill effects, but GOOD effects.

It appears that your response to animal protein is an outlier. After all, if you had lived 200 thousand years ago, you would not have the variety of veggies to choose from that you do today: it was animals.

Who knows? It could be the chemicals in the meats that you eat. Do you know the sources of your meat? Have you tried buying and eating from local organic producers, and avoiding all meats that are processed in any way? Do cheeses, butter, eggs produce the same symptoms?

That might give you a better clue as to whether it's leucine or something else.

No, most people probably wouldn't become hypoglycemic, no matter how much protein they ate.

Leucine isn't the only amino acid that affects insulin secretion, there are other variations in glutamate metabolism etc., that cause hypoglycemia in some people. Other possibilities are differences in glucagon metabolism--a person with a normal insulin response to protein but a deficient glucagon response would end up with an entirely normal rise in insulin, but not enough glucagon to balance things out.

Since most people's diets contain substantial amounts of carbohydrate, it might be hard to say just how many people would have some tendency towards hypoglycemia from eating protein. Certainly in most people, a high carb diet is more likely to cause issues than a high protein, low carb diet is.

Thanks for the responses.. Teaser and MickiSue. It's all very interesting.

I've known for some time now that bodybuilders, in order to maintain a post workout insulin spike, should have protein and carb together rather than just carb. The insulogenic affect of the protein is no doubt a contributor here.

As for your question MickiSue


Eggs almost certainly cause this problem . I have been having two or three eggs in the morning for years and my running has always been hard. Massive improvement since I stopped eating them.

Cheese definitely affects me. It's strange, but if I have cheese in my evening meal then I wake up so groggy and flat that I can barely open my eyes.. Butter, not such a problem for some reason.

I don't know where the meat comes from but I should make note of it. I would think that allot of people around me are suffering from the same thing if it was where I'm getting my meat from but really,, I've had these symptoms my whole life and that's the main point here. The difference to my ability to concentrate and the energy I have in my legs when I run is quiet remarkable now. Hard to believe it's taken me this long to discover it.

I'll update you if I learn anything else and thanks for the help.