Nutrition and CFS/ME

Frequently Asked questions

Anyone who has anything to do with CFS/ME agrees that a good diet contributes to recovery. However, many of us are understandably confused about what we should and shouldn’t be eating given the many different opinions we are bombarded with. My view is simply that if you are in doubt common sense should prevail. Food that is natural and unprocessed is food that we have evolved on and our bodies need and know how to deal with. Food that has been processed in any way may be suspect.

I have been asked so many similar questions by my clients that I have put some of most common questions together on these pages in the hope that they will be of use to you. Balancing your blood sugar levels and eating a natural diet will go a long way towards repairing your metabolism and helping you to recover from CFS. I hope you find it helpful.

Why is it important to balance my blood sugar levels?

Keeping your blood sugar levels stable is vital if you want to recover from any illness. This is because rocky blood sugar levels are a stress on the body and result in stress hormones flooding your system. Stress hormones are known to have an adverse affect on your health and they affect every system in your body. They certainly delay healing. They can disrupt digestion and contribute to irritable bowel syndrome. They can over-stimulate the central nervous and cardiac systems and cause anxiety and panic attacks. They can depress the immune system so you suffer repeated or continual infection. They can cause hormonal havoc, increasing levels of hormones like adrenaline, insulin and oestrogen, and depleting levels of other hormones like cortisol (for control of allergies), thyroxine (energy), growth hormone (healing) and progesterone and so on. These are just a few of the effects of long-term rocky blood sugar levels and that is why we need to keep our blood sugar levels balanced if we want to regain our health.

What are rocky blood sugar levels?

At any one time the maximum amount of sugar in our blood stream should not exceed about the equivalent of one teaspoon. Our ancestors used to eat a diet full of unrefined whole foods, lean meat, fish, vegetables, nuts, seeds and fruits. These were digested slowly and the sugar this food produced would slowly enter the bloodstream replacing the sugar that had been used up by the body. This diet helped the body remain in balance and the insulin levels low. A modern diet is very different. We eat a great deal of sweet and processed foods which all turn into sugar in the blood. Pasta, cereal, cakes, biscuits, processed food and even wholemeal bread are digested so quickly that our bloodstream is suddenly flooded with excess sugar which is highly toxic to the body. Insulin, a hormone produced by the pancreas, comes charging to the rescue and sweeps the sugar out of the bloodstream and stores it out of harms way as fat.

Unfortunately, however, this insulin response can become less efficient over time and we start to over-produce insulin. This results in too much sugar being swept out of the bloodstream, leaving us with too little sugar in the blood. This is an emergency situation for the brain which needs a steady supply of sugar to function, so our stress response is triggered and stress hormones flood the body in order to raise the blood sugar levels back up to normal. This whole process of glucose going up and down in the bloodstream is called ‘rocky blood sugar levels’ and it results in excess production of insulin and adrenaline. Eventually supplies of insulin run down and you can become diabetic. And supplies of adrenaline can run down making you less able to deal with stress. Blood sugar levels are out of control and this is an exhausting situation for the entire body.

How do I know if I have rocky blood sugar levels?

Symptoms of low blood sugar levels include fatigue, exhaustion, weakness, brain fog, forgetfulness, depression, anxiety, emotional lability, inability to concentrate, mood swings, lightheadedness, frequent hunger and a craving for sugar and carbohydrates and stimulants like caffeine.

How can I balance my blood sugar levels?

As a general rule you need to reduce or cut out refined man-made carbohydrates (flour and sugar) and increase protein, healthy natural fats and natural carbohydrates like fruit and vegetables. Eat three square meals a day and make sure you eat every four to five hours - but stop continually snacking between meals. Three square meals and one snack works well. Eat within an hour of getting up in the morning and don’t eat carbohydrates late in the evening. They may trigger a blood sugar drop in the night making it hard for you to wake up in the morning and causing fatigue for several days afterwards. Try and eat at the same time every day. You will feel lousy at first because your body will continue to over-produce insulin and cause the stress response in expectation of the food you usually eat, and it will take about a week before your hormone levels begin to reduce.

Can I drink alcohol? Smoke? Drink caffeine?

Caffeine, smoking and alcohol can all contribute to rocky blood sugar levels so need to be avoided.

My doctor told me to eat a biscuit when I have low blood sugar. Is that right?

No. Being told to eat a biscuit or refined carbohydrate snack when you are experiencing low blood sugar symptoms will definitely alleviate the symptoms quickly. However, it is only a quick fix, it continues the vicious circle and it worsens the problem in the long run. Sweet carbohydrate snacks are what caused the problem in the first place.

How will I know when my blood sugar levels are balanced?

You will know when you have balanced your blood sugar levels because you will feel stronger physically and emotionally, you will sleep well throughout the night and you will no longer be needing carbohydrates and stimulants to make you 'feel better' in between meals. Your symptoms of low blood sugar levels will disappear and you will no longer be so hungry. If you are overweight you will find yourself losing weight and gaining energy, because balanced blood sugar levels mean less fat will be stored and more stored fat will be released from fat cells for energy.

How long before my blood sugar levels are balanced?

Balancing your blood sugar levels is not a quick fix. It can take insulin about six weeks to reduce its production, so expect six weeks to three months before you feel better. You will be amazed at how much stronger you will feel emotionally as well as physically. You will also see other effects ie your growth hormone level rises encouraging faster healing, your thyroxine level rises giving you more energy, you will find it easier to overcome infections and so on.

Why should I eat more protein?

Protein is made up of ‘essential amino acids’ – note the word ‘essential’. Amino acids are needed to build, repair and maintain our immune system, brain neurotransmitters like serotonin, our ‘happy hormone’ and dopamine our 'motivation' hormone, organs and the enzymes which orchestrate our body’s metabolic functions… and so on. In fact, most of our body is made directly out of protein.

Many of us don’t eat enough protein because we fill ourselves up with too many carbohydrates. By the time we have filled up on cereal for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch and pasta for tea, we may have no room left for the protein that we need to remain healthy. Others of us don’t eat enough protein because we are eating a ‘low fat’ diet – this inevitably means cutting protein because protein contains fat.

Eating less than optimal amounts of protein is damaging to our health. On every day that we don’t eat enough protein, we don’t have enough amino acids to repair and replace the daily damage done to our cells. If we don’t eat enough protein over a long period of time then our bodies gradually degenerate, our body systems work less efficiently and we are more likely to fall prey to stress, infection and disease. We are also more likely to go grey early, lose collagen causing more wrinkles and generally age more quickly. The body's most active protein users are the hormones secreted from the various glands - thyroxine from the thyroid, insulin from the pancreas which is needed to help us balance our blood sugar levels, and a variety of hormones from the pituitary gland. If you are eating processed foods you will be creating a larger than usual demand for protein because you will be over-producing insulin and thyroxine – initially – until they become depleted and you may suffer from diabetes or hypothyroidism. If you have CFS/ME you may be depleted in some of these very important hormones, so it may be wise to check your protein intake.

How much protein should I eat?

As a rough rule of thumb you need about one gram of protein to each kilo of body weight. So, if you weigh 70 kilograms, your protein intake should be about 70 grams a day. If that sounds too much hassle to work out, close your hand into a fist. You need to eat about the size of your fist at each meal and that will be about your own personal requirement. That is when you are healthy. When you are sick or stressed you may need more. You have a lot of repairing and rebuilding to do. And if you are susceptible to infection remember that antibodies, white blood cells, lymph cells and every cell our body uses to fight infection is made out of protein – so make sure you are generous with your intake when you are ill. If you have not been eating enough protein up until now, simply adding more protein to your diet will ensure that your body has the nutrients it needs to start repairing itself and healing.

The good news is that more than 98% of your body is completely replaced every year. In fact, you re-grow a whole new skin every month; in seven weeks you have a new liver, in three months you have a completely new blood supply and within six months you have rebuilt all your muscles. Therefore, just by increasing your intake of good quality proteins you can build a completely new and healthier body within the year.

What is the best kind of protein to eat?

Animal proteins top the list for quality proteins. Animal proteins and soy contain all eight essential amino acids. Nuts and beans contain some of the essential amino acids but not all of them, so making sure you eat a variety of different proteins will ensure you get all your essential amino acids. Examples of protein foods to include in your diet are meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, nuts, seeds and beans and soy.

Can I have protein drinks?

Protein powder is a quick, gentle and easy way to get more protein into your diet. People with CFS sometimes have weakened immune systems with low levels of glutathione. Whey protein powders have been shown to act as powerful immune strengtheners, boosting the immune system by raising levels of glutathione.

I’ve got irritable bowel syndrome. What can I do?

Stress hormones can trigger irritable bowel syndrome. Stress hormones are produced regularly throughout the day by rocky blood sugar levels which many of us suffer from in the US and UK due to our highly processed western diet. The first thing is to make sure your blood sugar levels are balanced (see above). Don’t even think about anything else until you have done that.

I thought a low fat diet was good for me?

For the last forty years many of us have been eating the fashionable 'low fat diet' which is currently recommended as a 'healthy diet'. Everything advertised on television is low fat and the supermarkets are full of low-fat products. Worst of all, we are often told, and many of us believe, that a low fat diet is good for us. A low fat diet is not good for us. A low fat diet encourages low energy, depression, poor immune function, hormonal imbalance, inability to concentrate, allergies and chronic degenerative diseases like cancer. Good natural fats are imperative if you want to recover from CFS. Fat is used to make up your nerves for a healthy central nervous system, 60% of your brain is made out of fat. It makes up many of your hormones including your stress hormones and steroid hormones which enable you to deal with allergies.

Fat helps to maintain blood sugar levels as well as provides you with the building blocks you need to repair and rebuild a healthy body and brain. Fat maintains the health of our intestinal wall protecting us from leaky gut syndrome and gut infections and most of all, fat makes up the membrane of every cell in our body – and the membranes are responsible for allowing nutrients in and out. This means that the entire functioning of our body and mind is dependent on us eating the correct fats ; fats that we have evolved on and which our body is designed to deal with. So make sure that the fats you eat are quality fats, because quality fats will create a quality body.

What fats should I be eating?

The good healthy fats that we need to eat are the very same fats that our ancestors ate for thousands of years with no ill effects - meat, dairy and fish fats, butter, lard, beef dripping, coconut, avocado and olive oils. Avoid ‘low-fat’ products in the supermarket (which have added sugar to substitute for taste) and avoid hydrogenated fats and man-made polyunsaturated oils. These are chemically adulterated fats which our bodies do not know what to do with, cannot use, and which are now considered responsible for a great deal of poor health. Eating a low fat diet is also a sure-fire way to turn your adrenals onto red alert and is a major stress on your body.

Won’t I get fat if I eat more fat?

For those of you who are afraid of weight gain bear in mind that it isn’t fat that makes you fat, but sugar. Carbohydrates break down into sugar in the blood and triggers the release of insulin – the fat storing hormone. The insulin takes the sugar and stores it as fat (unless it is used up for energy). Eating fat doesn’t trigger insulin and therefore eating fat does not make you fat. You will only store fat and put on weight if you are eating too many refined carbohydrates in your diet, resulting in too much insulin in your blood, which goes to work storing fat – and preventing the release of already stored fat. So, cut down on your carbohydrates and eat more natural fats without fear and you will soon feel the benefit.

What carbohydrates can I eat?

There are two types of carbohydrates. Natural carbohydrates in the form of fruit and vegetables which our ancestors evolved on and which we need for their nutrients; and man-made carbohydrates which are usually made out of flour and sugar and which provide little, if any, nutrients. Ideally you shouldn’t eat any man-made carbohydrates at all but in the real world you will find them hard to avoid. In which case, reduce man-made carbohydrates as much as you can, balance their adverse affect with protein at meal-times and replace them with the natural carbohydrates our ancestors filled up on – fruit and vegetables.

How much carbohydrate can I eat?

Carbohydrates break down in our bodies to provide glucose for energy. Any left-over glucose is stored as fat. If you are an athlete you can use up a lot of carbohydrates. If you have an office job you use up less. But if you are crashed out in bed with CFS you really don’t use many at all. If you eat too many man-made carbohydrates which are not being burned off by exercise, you can guarantee that they will rock your blood sugar levels, trigger your stress hormones and cause hormonal havoc in your body.

Another problem with man-made carbohydrates like sugar and anything made with flour like cereal, bread and pasta, is that they are depleted in nutrients. We are therefore exhausting our body’s own supply of nutrients and enzymes in order to digest them. This means that we are twice depleted – once by eating nutrient-poor food, and second by using up our own supplies to digest them. Over time, our bodies suffer from a lack of nutrients and we begin to suffer the effects of subtle malnutrition. Our immune systems suffer and we become more susceptible to stress and disease.

These carbohydrates also displace other healthy foods that we should be eating in our diets. Many of us are protein, fat and nutrient deficient simply because we are filling up on bread and pasta and leaving no room for proteins, fats, fruits, vegetables and salads.

Another problem for those of us who are depressed is that eating sugar and refined carbohydrates causes a release of serotonin in our brains. Serotonin is our happy hormone; it makes us ‘feel good’. This is partly why many of us are ‘addicted’ to sweet foods. Unfortunately though we don’t have an unlimited supply of our happy hormone serotonin, especially if we aren’t eating enough protein to make more, so after a while our levels get low and we may suffer from depression or anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, low self-esteem or eating disorders.

Not all carbohydrates are bad. Carbohydrates in their natural form are fruit and vegetables. Our ancestors ate these and you should eat these plentifully because we all know that they are very good for us. Carbohydrates as whole grains can be tolerated by many people but processed and refined carbohydrates in the form of sugars and flour should be avoided or greatly reduced to regain your good health. If you are like most people you are probably eating far too many man-made carbohydrates. Swopping them for natural fruit and vegetables will take you a long way towards making you feel better and also balancing your blood sugar levels.

Why can’t I get to sleep at night and why do I wake up in the night?

Insomnia can be caused by too much adrenaline in your body. Whether this is because you are feeling stressed, or whether it is because you have rocky blood sugar levels, or both. Waking up in the middle of the night is for the same reason, you will have had a drop in blood sugar and your stress hormones would have been at work pouring out adrenaline in an attempt to balance your blood sugar level. There are two stages to this … if you wake up and can’t go back to sleep without eating something (usually carbohydrate like a bowl of cereal), then you are experiencing a blood sugar drop. If you have slept through that but wake up feeling irritable or worried, the stress hormones have already responded and are rushing around your body trying to get the blood sugar level balanced again. Either way, a blood sugar drop in the night can mean that you don’t sleep well (you may sleep through it), but you will find it hard to wake up in the morning and you won’t feel hungry or want to eat anything straight away. It can also leave you feeling tired for the next few days.

How do I make sure I sleep through the night and don’t wake up?

From the dietary point of view, make sure you balance your blood sugar levels. To begin with, it can help to have some protein before you go to bed or a protein milk shake. Protein encourages the release of the ‘glucagon’ hormone which has an opposing action to insulin. Glucagon in the blood will help to keep your blood sugar levels balanced throughout the night. If you are waking up due to blood sugar drops, a week or two of changing your diet and taking protein before you sleep, will work like magic and make you sleep like a baby. You will also find it a lot easier to wake up in the morning.

Why have I got so many allergies and chemical sensitivities?

Allergies and chemical sensitivities can be a result of depleted adrenals. The adrenal glands are your ‘stress glands’ and they can become depleted when constantly triggered to produce stress hormones due to a highly refined, carbohydrate and stimulant rich diet (ie rocky blood sugar levels). The adrenals produce a hormone called ‘cortisol’ which is responsible for keeping allergies in check. You may have been given cortisol in a cream by your doctor for various allergies – it is simply because your own body is not producing enough. One way to rectify the situation is to balance your blood sugar levels so that after a period of time of not being triggered your adrenal glands can recover and replenish their own supplies of the cortisol needed to keep allergies in check. This is not a quick fix and can take months and sometimes a year or more before the adrenals are recovered enough to again produce the amount of cortisol needed to keep the allergies and chemical sensitivities in check.

Why are you telling me to eat salt?

Salt is very important to the person with CFS because he/she will often have weakened adrenals. Weakened adrenals lose sodium and struggle to maintain blood pressure. Low blood pressure causes dizziness on standing, faintness and a fuzzy feeling in your head. If you have CFS you should most definitely not listen to anyone who says you should cut down on salt. Salt has been valuable and essential to animal and human health for thousands of years. In fact, the word ‘salary’ comes from the Romans who paid their soldiers in salt because it was so precious to them. So why has it suddenly become dangerous? Like the denunciation of fat, the denunciation of salt has only taken place over the last 30 years. This is undoubtedly because salt, like fats, have become adulterated by humans during this time into refined products that are no longer good for us. Instead of separating the fats and salt of pre-and post refining, they all merge into one and get tarred with the same brush. Salt is essential to life. However, the salt you are used to eating is probably table and cooking salt which has been refined by man.

This means it has been chemically cleaned and reduced to just sodium chloride – an unnatural chemical that can act as a poison in your body in excess. You definitely should eat less of this salt. This is also the salt that is added to processed foods and which you will be eating far too much of if you eat many processed foods in your diet. If you want your body to function optimally you need to eat salt which hasn’t been refined and chemically altered by man. This means buying sea salt in its natural form containing all the essential trace minerals that your body craves. (Think animals who lick rocks – that’s how essential these minerals are). Sea salt is available, although more expensive, in all the supermarkets as well as in health food shops. This is the natural salt that human and animal bodies require for their health and have been using since the dawn of man. Eat as much as you feel you need and you may find you feel a little better.

Can I eat aspartame and other sweeteners?

Contrary to popular opinion sweeteners are not a good substitute for sugar. In fact, they are worse than sugar. As soon as your mouth tastes 'sweet' on your tongue messages are sent to the pancreas in your body to start pumping out the hormone insulin in response to the sugar that is expected to arrive in the blood stream. Unfortunately the sugar doesn't arrive, and the insulin, which is sitting there waiting in the bloodstream, instead sweeps out all the glucose that is already there and causes low blood sugar levels. This causes an instant stress response from the adrenals to raise the blood sugar levels quickly, followed by an insulin reaction and all the hormonal problems previously described. The initial low blood sugar level also causes a craving for sweet foods or stimulants, so whereas you might think a sweetener is 'slimming', it is not, it is the reverse. You will invariably be driven to eating more of the wrong foods a little while later. That is why so many people who drink can after can of ‘sugar-free’ diet drinks are very often overweight. If given a choice of sugar or sweetener and you have to have one (!), always go for the sugar, because at least it gives the insulin something to work on.

Are there any safe sweeteners I can have?

There is one sweetener which studies have shown have no adverse effect on blood sugar levels and is actually beneficial for them – and that is Stevia. It has proved helpful for diabetics. Stevia is a plant which has been picked in the forests and used by tribes for thousands of years. Japan has been using it instead of aspartame in their soft drinks and many processed foods for at least 10 – 20 years. You can buy it ground into a white or green powder, or in leaf form, over the internet. It tastes just like sugar and you can use it in drinks and cooking.

Should I take supplements?

Many of us believe that a ‘good balanced diet’ provides us with all the nutrients we need. However, food that we buy in the supermarket may have been grown in soils depleted of nutrients due to mass production. It may have been flown half way across the world or been picked under-ripe so that it would store well or it may be packaged in plastic. By the time we eat our fruits and vegetables they have probably lost a lot of the vitamins and minerals that they contained when they were picked. We are also short of nutrients because we are eating less ‘real food’ like meat and fish and fruit and vegetables and more bread and cakes and crisps. Not only are we probably getting fewer nutrients for the reasons above but our need for nutrients has probably increased. We are living in polluted cities, we are eating junk food and food adulterated by pesticides and hormones and we are often under a lot of stress. So, on balance, taking a few simple supplements should give us a little help. The very minimum basics include the following ….. a good multi-vitamin and mineral supplement; Vitamin C ; Cod Liver Oil/fish oils/EFAs and acidophilus.

Are there any supplements I can take to stop me craving sugar?

Glutamine cures low blood sugar level cravings like magic and is a vital tool to use in the first few weeks of balancing your blood sugar levels, when you will have a particularly tough time with low blood sugar until your insulin production slows down. Chromium is also useful as many of us eating western diets are low in this nutrient which is important for balancing blood sugar levels. You won’t notice an instant effect with this but it will help you to manage your blood sugar levels.

Should I take fish oils or flax?

I always suggest good old fashioned cod liver oil because it also contains vitamin D which is important for balancing blood sugar levels and for our immune system. If you take flax oil, make sure you get a daily dose of sunshine or take a vitamin D supplement.

Does stress affect blood sugar levels?

If you are stressed adrenaline will raise your blood sugar levels and as a result insulin will be produced to get the levels back to normal. If you are over-producing insulin, it will reduce the levels too much, and you will then suffer low blood sugar levels. So it helps to reduce stress as well when you are learning to balance your blood sugar levels.

Why do I feel better after an argument?

This is because you trigger the stress response, which raises blood sugar levels and makes you feel temporarily better. After a while, the insulin drops the levels, and you feel worse.

Why am I able to take furious exercise when I need to, but I collapse afterwards?

This can be as above – over-exercising (and it doesn’t take much if you have CFS to over-exercise!), can cause the release of stress hormones which temporarily raise blood sugar levels so you feel better. Later, the blood sugar level drops and you feel worse.

Why are you telling me to go out in the sun when we keep being told to put on sunscreens?

Sunshine is our major source of vitamin D and is vital for our health. Nowadays we live an indoor lifestyle and recent studies have shown that 80-90% of us in the US and UK are deficient in vitamin D. Vitamin D is necessary for a good strong immune system. It helps regulate insulin, balance our blood sugar levels and prevent diabetes. It helps prevent heart disease. It helps in the absorption of calcium and prevents osteoporosis. It helps clear up infections (including candida) and guards against a whole array of cancers. Be wary of suntan lotions which prevent the absorption of vitamin D. So while we definitely don’t want to burn - if you live in a place where there is very little sunshine or you are usually indoors, it is sometimes a good idea to get outdoors in the good old fashioned sunshine without a sunscreen.

How can I make sure I have plenty of Vitamin D?

You can get out in the sunshine as much as possible because sunshine is your best source. If you are too unwell to go anywhere, take a bed or comfortable chair out into the garden in the summer, and enjoy the warmth of the sun. You can take cod liver oil (always good in the English climate) and eat plenty of oily fish, milk, cheese and liver.

I think I am intolerant to dairy products

A dairy intolerance is usually secondary to a gluten intolerance. If gluten is a problem for you you should probably stay off it for life, but dairy problems can often resolve once you have been off gluten for a while. This is because gluten is the major instigator of leaky gut syndrome and milk proteins are then able to escape into the bloodstream causing problems. Once gluten is gone, the gut can heal, and you may be able to deal with dairy again. Another suggestion is to try unpasteurised milk or as the Americans call it, ‘raw’ dairy products. It is difficult to get unpasteurised milk unless you know a friendly farmer, but unpasteurised milk is a very healthy food containing vitamins, minerals, enzymes, immune factors and so on. It used to be valued as a ‘healing’ food, however, since pasteurisation, more and more people have had problems with it. People who can’t tolerate pasteurised milk, can often drink unpasteurised milk with no problem.

How can I find out if I am allergic or intolerant to dairy products?

You can pay for blood tests. Alternatively, you can take dairy products out of your diet for six months and see if you feel any better. When you re-introduce it, see if you notice any symptoms.

Can I ever eat sweet things again?

If you can’t do without your sweet treats make sure that you balance them with protein. Go back to the ‘old-fashioned’ way of only eating a sweet after a meal so you will be able to keep your blood sugar levels balanced.

How are my panic attacks and anxiety anything to do with my diet?

Panic attacks and anxiety can be caused by low blood sugar levels triggering excess adrenaline in the blood. Address your diet to balance your blood sugar levels and that will help to reduce panic and anxiety. If you have rock solid blood sugar levels and still have anxiety and panic, it may be that you are triggering excess adrenaline due to too much emotional stress.

Why do I crave sugar all the time?

Craving sugar all the time is a symptom of rocky blood sugar levels. When the blood sugar level drops, you experience a craving for sugar. This isn’t a lack of willpower, it is a survival message from the brain telling you to eat sugar fast in order to raise the sugar level in the blood. The brain can’t survive without sugar in the bloodstream. Balanced blood sugar levels will solve this problem.

I seem to have low blood sugar symptoms all the time. How can that be?

You can get to the stage when you are over-producing insulin and your adrenals are exhausted so less able to bring blood sugar levels back up to normal. This means that you may be continuously suffering from low blood sugar levels which you are unconsciously ‘self-medicating’ on an almost permanent basis with sugar, carbohydrates and other stimulants like caffeine. Your adrenal glands really need a break. It is imperative to eat correctly to prevent over-stimulation of insulin and adrenaline so that your adrenal glands have a chance to recover and replenish it’s supply of hormones.

Why did I put on so much weight when I got ill?

You probably put on weight because you began to suffer from low blood sugar levels and needed to eat more carbohydrate and sugary foods to feel OK. You may also have reached the stage when the glucose in your blood is no longer able to be used as energy as it is blocked by too much insulin and you are desperately eating more and more in an effort to get that energy.

Why do I find it so hard to lose weight?

It is hard to lose weight when you have too much insulin swimming around in your bloodstream, because insulin blocks fat cells from releasing fat. Therefore, you are unable to burn fat for energy and you are unable to lose weight. You have to change the balance of your diet in order to lose weight – upping the protein to release the hormone ‘glucagon’ which helps fat cells to be burned for energy, and cutting carbohydrates to reduce the insulin which prevents the burning of fat for energy.

Why do I feel better on a low carbohydrate diet?

Excess refined carbohydrates make anyone tired. Excess refined carbohydrates for someone with CFS can completely knock you out. Eat only the carbohydrates that you will use up for energy. Any more than that will make you feel drowsy and drugged. Excess refined carbohydrates also cause an excess of insulin in the blood. Excess insulin causes changes in the sodium/potassium balance and causes fluid retention. This can make you feel bloated and can also make you feel irritable and foggy brained.

I have to be really strict on a low carbohydrate diet to keep my blood sugar levels stable. Will I always have to be this strict?

It depends on how old you are and how much damage you have done to your metabolism. Everyone has to be reasonably strict to start with but as blood sugar levels balance out and your metabolism goes back to normal, you may only have to be careful to eat a sensible diet in future. Others may always be very susceptible and have to remain a strict watch on blood sugar levels forever.

Fruit affects my blood sugar levels. Should I stop eating it?

Some people have no problem with fruit. Others do. It depends how severe your blood sugar problems are. However strict you are to start with though everyone should be able to go back to eating fruit once they have balanced their blood sugar levels.

Why do I have to eat at the same time every day?

Your metabolism doesn't know how much food you'll eat tomorrow or the next day because those days haven’t happened yet. Therefore, your metabolism produces hormones based on your eating habits during the past few days - because it assumes that you'll continue to eat in the same general way. Your body likes routine. If you eat at different times every day your body will over-produce insulin not only when you ate your food yesterday but also when you are eating your food today – that means excessive amounts of insulin being triggered again. Routine means that your body will learn to produce hormones at the same time every day, vastly reducing the constant triggering of insulin throughout the day.

Everyone says you should eat lots of little snacks. You say not to. Why?

Frequent carbohydrate snacks contribute to excessive insulin output and rocky blood sugar levels. If you are eating three sensible meals a day and perhaps one snack, that should be plenty. Eating every 4 – 5 hours a day is sensible but more than that is unnecessary. As you get into a routine you will soon find that your desire to be constantly snacking will reduce as your blood sugar levels do.