Why High-Fat, Low-Carb Diets Disrupt Women’s Metabolism
A Nervous-System–Centered and Ayurvedic Perspective on Nutrition and Balance
In today’s wellness landscape, nutrition advice often swings between extremes. High-fat, low-carbohydrate diets are promoted as metabolic solutions. There are endless tools to balance hormones, regulate blood sugar, and finally feel “in control” of the body.
For some people, these approaches feel helpful at first and they may notice that their energy improves, they lose weight or their appetite decreases (less appetite is a big red flag in Ayurveda. More on that later). But for many women, especially over time, the benefits plateau or reverse often in confusing and discouraging ways.
This article is not an argument against any one diet. Instead, it offers context. By looking at metabolism through both modern physiology and Ayurveda, we can better understand why highly restrictive approaches, specifically long-term carbohydrate restriction, can destabilize the nervous system, hormones, and metabolic function in women.
Metabolism Is Regulated by the Nervous System
Metabolism is often discussed as a function of calories or macronutrients, but at its core, metabolism is regulated by the central nervous system (CNS).
The brain and spinal cord coordinate:
Hormone signaling
Thyroid output
Blood sugar regulation
Appetite and satiety
Stress response
Reproductive function
The nervous system is constantly assessing safety. When the body feels supported and adequately fueled, energy can be spent freely on digestion, repair, reproduction, and cognitive clarity.
One of the CNS’s most efficient and preferred fuels is glucose, which comes from carbohydrates. While the body can adapt to alternative fuels like ketones, this adaptation is a response to perceived scarcity, not the nervous system’s default or preferred state. Ketosis represents physiological flexibility, but flexibility should not be confused with long-term regulation.
Why Women Often Respond Differently to Low-Carb Diets
Women’s bodies are designed around cyclical and adaptive intelligence. Hormonal health, metabolism, and mood are closely linked, and all are sensitive to energy availability. When carbohydrates are chronically restricted, especially alongside stress, under-eating, or high-intensity exercise, the nervous system may interpret this as a signal to conserve resources. Over time, this can lead to:
Slower metabolic rate
Suppressed thyroid conversion
Altered cortisol patterns
Disrupted menstrual cycles
Increased anxiety or sleep disturbance
Weight gain despite low calories or restriction
These responses are often misunderstood as “resistance” or lack of discipline. In reality, they reflect a body prioritizing survival over optimization.
A Limitation in Nutrition Research
It’s also important to acknowledge that much of the research supporting ketogenic and very low-carbohydrate diets has historically focused on male subjects, or has not adequately accounted for sex-based hormonal differences.
Male endocrine systems operate on a relatively stable daily rhythm. Female systems operate on a monthly infradian rhythm, requiring consistent fuel and communication between the brain, thyroid, adrenals, and reproductive organs.
When dietary strategies developed around male physiology are applied broadly, women often experience very different outcomes, particularly when protocols are followed long-term or without clinical supervision.
An Ayurvedic View of Food: More Than Macros
Ayurveda approaches nutrition through a broader lens. Instead of evaluating food solely by macronutrients, Ayurveda considers how food interacts with digestion, tissues, and the nervous system over time.
One of its foundational tools is the concept of rasa, or taste.
Ayurveda identifies six tastes—sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent—and teaches that each taste nourishes different tissues and physiological functions.
For example:
Sweet taste supports the nervous system, hormones, and tissue building
Pungent taste stimulates digestion and circulation
Bitter taste supports detoxification and lightness
When diets eliminate carbohydrates, they often disproportionately eliminate sweet taste, which plays a stabilizing and nourishing role in the body. Over time, this can contribute to many complications including constipation, weakened metabolism, fatigue, brain fog, or the inability to metabolize carbs well.
Virya, Vipaka, and the Long-Term Impact of Food
Ayurveda also evaluates food based on:
Virya (heating or cooling potency)
Vipaka (post-digestive effect)
Karma (specific action on tissues)
Dosha influence (how food affects individual constitutions)
Very high-fat, low-carbohydrate diets tend to be heating (ushna), heavy (guru), and stimulating (rajastic). While this can initially generate feelings of energy or mental sharpness, over time it may aggravate the nervous system and weaken your metabolic fire, especially in those with underlying stress or digestive weakness.
Ketosis in Context
Ketosis itself is not inherently harmful. It is a specific metabolic state the body can enter when carbohydrates are very low and it helps keep us alive.
However, ketosis increases reliance on stress hormones and buffering systems to maintain internal balance. It is highly energy inefficient and stress inducing for the body. When used long-term as a lifestyle rather than short-term intervention, it can place additional demand on digestion, mineral reserves, and the nervous system.
From an Ayurvedic perspective, sustained ketosis often reflects excess heat, acidity and sluggishness, which can destabilize both Kapha and Pitta over time.
When Weight Gain Is a Protective Response
One of the most frustrating experiences for many women is gaining weight while following restrictive diets. Physiologically, when the nervous system perceives threat (whether from inadequate fuel, psychological stress, or overexertion), it increases cortisol. Cortisol promotes fat storage as a protective mechanism.
This is not dysfunction, it is a brilliant adaptive physiology. Understanding this reframes weight changes as our body’s way of communication.
Why Extremes Are So Compelling
Extreme diets offer clarity. Rules can feel reassuring when the body feels unpredictable. Ayurveda recognizes that the mind seeks certainty under stress, but rigidity often creates further imbalance.
While balance is not as loud as extremes, it is far more sustainable.
What the Body Is Often Asking For
Across both modern physiology and Ayurveda, the fundamentals align:
The body and mind thrive on:
Consistent meals
Adequate carbohydrates from digestible, whole foods
Moderate, appropriate fats
Warm, well-prepared foods
Rhythmic eating aligned with circadian biology
Nervous system regulation
Carbohydrates are not simply fuel; they help maintain communication between the brain, endocrine system, and metabolism. Removing them long-term can disrupt that dialogue.
Healing Is a Process of Re-Establishing Trust
Many people turn to restrictive diets after feeling disconnected from their bodies. Symptoms are real, and the desire for clarity is understandable. But healing rarely comes from pushing harder. It comes from understanding what the body is responding to and meeting those needs with care. Ayurveda does not offer rigid rules, it offers individualized frameworks.
A Grounded Truth
There is no universal diet. There is no perfect ratio. There is only the ongoing process of nourishment, balance, and adjustment for every season of your life and the seasons of your environment.
Balance may seem unexciting in a culture drawn to extremes, but balance is where metabolism stabilizes, hormones regulate, and the nervous system can all function with ease.
Ready for Personalized Support?
Nutrition is never one-size-fits-all.
If you’ve tried restrictive diets, feel disconnected from your body, or are experiencing symptoms that don’t make sense despite “doing everything right,” it may be time to step away from extremes and toward a more individualized approach.
