My naturopath doctor suggested that I try an "elimination diet" after I had mentioned suffering stuffed-up sinuses (chronically for years). I also occasionally get itchy-swollen eyes, seemingly random rashes, and sometimes just feel all-around sluggish and low energy.
I have never been on a diet before. I’ve never needed to go on a weight-loss program. In fact, my doctor also said that if it turns out that dairy isn’t the culprit… she is going to prescribe me milkshakes! I have a pretty low Body Mass Index and to tackle the irregularity of my periods (and increase my fertility) I will actually be working on increasing my cholesterol.
This is quite a different scenario than most Americans. Many of us are having to lower our cholesterol… but what I learned from my doctor is that every sex hormone (estrogen, testosterone, and a whole bunch of others) and every stress hormone (cortisol, etc.) are all derived from cholesterol.
Now, that doesn’t seem all too surprising, but what really got me thinking was the fact that the cholesterol prioritizes manufacturing stress hormones, and if there’s either a lot of stress or not very much cholesterol, then the sex hormones end up getting very little juice to work with.
This diagram helps to explain the dominant pathway to cortisol:
Not only should we be mindful of this relationship, but also the fact that there may be a difference between say avocado oil vs. bacon grease. Our hormone factories may actually be more effective if they're working with more quality cholesterol.
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