Hi Jeff,
I am working to recover from hypothalamic amenorrhea. I have already restored my weight to a BMI of about 20.5 (a weight i used to cycle at), but am still not fully recovered.
I have done my own research about amenorrhea and its causes, and have asked you, Dr. Esselstyn, and Dr. McDougall for their advice. (My doctor believes HA is incurable and that I should be taking hormones...a route I am resisting).
Both Dr. E and Dr. M determined that I should gain weight and eat more calories, and that the dietary fat level of my diet (9-11% usually, eating a whole foods, low fat, starch-based, plant diet) did not contribute to amenorrhea. I have followed their advice, am eating according to hunger/fullness, and my weight gain has plateaued at this spot now. I eat plenty of whole, unrefined starches, and supplement with legumes, fruit, and veggies as hunger dictates. I am only slowly walking (3m/hr), no running at all.
I uncovered this article at pubmed about dietary fat intake and its link to HA.
Functional hypothalamic amenorrhoea: a partial and reversible gonadotrophin deficiency of nutritional origin.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10396367It clearly states that low dietary fat intakes can be responsible for HA. Is this a faulty conclusion? It certainly disagrees with Dr. McDougall's and Dr. Esselstyn's conclusions.
Could you help me to interpret this article? Is their conclusion valid?
Thank you so much
lfwfv
Last edited by lfwfv on Sun Oct 30, 2011 6:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.