I mentioned to my naturopath today that I was thinking of starting the 8 week BSD and continuing after with the 5:2. She advised that it wouldn’t be a good idea as intermittent fasting can imbalance hormones which could add to my already stressed body from dealing with food intolerance’s. Does anybody have any thoughts on this? and should I still do it?

No idea what a naturopath is, but it’s not obvious how intermittent fasting with a healthy diet would have a significant or sustainable impact on general hormone levels.

Without any details, it’s probably hard to comment. Did they say which hormones would be impacted, over what period and what the effects on you would be?

I’ve discussed this diet with qualified medical people and they have never raised this as a side effect.

Naturopathy is either holistic medicine based on lifestyle modifications and self-healing, or complete bunkum based on mumbo jumbo like homeopathy with no basis in evidenced-based science, depending on who you ask.

Thanks Natalie,

I thought it might be something like that….

Before I started this diet I had an intolerance to all dairy products, yog, cheese, milk and also eggs. Even a sniff of an egg sent me racing to the loo. I lived on non cow products like goats cheese, soya milk, soya yoghurts (which by the way promotes weight gain in women because it contains certain hormones) etc. Now I eat everything and do not have any affects. I introduced them back in slowly and found the difference was the full fat products did not have an effect on me. It has been suggested it was the chemicals in the fake food that was causing the problem, maybe aspartame in low cal yogs.

Just for the record, I would say that naturopaths and homeopaths are just rubbish. When a friend suggested I take a particular potion for my diabetes, I said not without knowing what is in it. She said it contains 1 millionths of xxxx substance so could do me no harm. If it contains next to nothing then it can also not do any good. Absolute rubbish.

Hi Neenan, I’ve just looked up MTHFR mutation, which you mention in your profile. Apparently variations are quite common. I’ve also looked up a couple of websites and as far as I can see, all the foods recommended for people suffering from this mutation are eaten on the BSD. I can see absolutely no reason why this mutation should make a difference to you pursuing this diet. You don’t mention what kind of food intolerances you have, but sunshine-girl’s experience is enlightening. I am sure that the BSD is wide-ranging enough in the foodstuffs that you can eat for it to be possible for you to eliminate those to which you have a severe reaction. My personal experience is that following the BSD has left me feeling more energetic, sleeping well and mentally more alert.

People talk a lot about ‘big pharma’ benefiting from our illnesses and diseases, but so does anyone practising any form of medicine that we pay, regardless of their job title. Following the BSD is very cheap and life-enhancing.

If you are in the least bit worried, however, talking to a general practitioner would be good.

From the little I’ve read about hormone trouble with some women and fasting, the hormones in question are ghrelin and leptin, ie, the hunger and satiety triggers. The women who have difficulty with intermittent fasting find they are hungry and have low energy. This is anecdotal, however. The studies on the subject are virtually non-existent. Only a few rat studies, nothing with actual humans.

I do a 16:8 fast (eating window between noon and 8:00 PM) and my hormones are just fine. Menstruation like clockwork. Hunger and satiety entirely normal. If you’re worried, you could always do the BSD without intermittent fasting. From what I can tell, most people on this forum do the diet without fasting, or only on special occasions, like they have a big dinner planned so choose not to eat during the day.