What's the keto diet good for?

FL_Hiker

Not trying to be a smart butt here or anything , I'm actually curious. So I googled "keto diet" to try to find out what it was, I'd never heard of it before. And it said on Wikipedia (granted I realize wiki is not the best source of information) it was a diet designed for "epileptic children". So why are all these people doing keto? Do they have seizures or a health problem? What are the benefits? Why in the world did it catch on?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketogenic_diet
Thanks!

WholeFoods4Lyfe

Since you are already googling, you could probably read a few other links, but Keto is not new. The human body is designed to produce Ketones for fuel, it's just that medically it has been found to be an effective diet for certain brain disorders, like epilepsy. It's also been found to be a very satiating diet for many making it easier to create a calorie deficit.

If you want a personal experience, I'll give you mine.

I started out Morbidly Obese and diagnosed with Metabolic Syndrome. I also have/had severe GERD and Erosive Esophogitis, and a Dairy and Gluten Intolerance. I started out following a Low Carb Diet which was easy when I eliminated dairy and gluten. I noticed that I physically felt better. Keto was just a natural progression for me, because in addition to feeling better on a low carb diet, I realized that fat was satiating for me and helped me to create a calorie deficit, plus, my GERD symptoms were better. Once going full Keto, my GERD symptoms completely resolved. My blood glucose numbers normalized, my blood pressure normalized, and my Cholesterol numbers got better (they were never that bad though). Keto for me is a lifestyle. I never realized how sick I felt all the time, until I didn't. This isn't just about weight loss for me, though the 60+ pounds I've lost is awesome, it's about improving my overall health, so I tend to eat a lot more whole foods than I ever did when I was eating a SAD. People can woo me all you want, but this is a lifestyle for me and something that I plan to follow for the rest of my life. Maybe not always Keto, but definitely a low carb whole foods diet.

FL_Hiker

WholeFoods4Lyfe wrote: »

Since you are already googling, you could probably read a few other links, but Keto is not new. The human body is designed to produce Ketones for fuel, it's just that medically it has been found to be an effective diet for certain brain disorders, like epilepsy. It's also been found to be a very satiating diet for many making it easier to create a calorie deficit.

If you want a personal experience, I'll give you mine.

I started out Morbidly Obese and diagnosed with Metabolic Syndrome. I also have/had severe GERD and Erosive Esophogitis, and a Dairy and Gluten Intolerance. I started out following a Low Carb Diet which was easy when I eliminated dairy and gluten. I noticed that I physically felt better. Keto was just a natural progression for me, because in addition to feeling better on a low carb diet, I realized that fat was satiating for me and helped me to create a calorie deficit, plus, my GERD symptoms were better. Once going full Keto, my GERD symptoms completely resolved. My blood glucose numbers normalized, my blood pressure normalized, and my Cholesterol numbers got better (they were never that bad though). Keto for me is a lifestyle. I never realized how sick I felt all the time, until I didn't. This isn't just about weight loss for me, though the 60+ pounds I've lost is awesome, it's about improving my overall health, so I tend to eat a lot more whole foods than I ever did when I was eating a SAD. People can woo me all you want, but this is a lifestyle for me and something that I plan to follow for the rest of my life. Maybe not always Keto, but definitely a low carb whole foods diet.

Thanks for the explanation! So I've also heard of the Atkins diet, is it pretty much the same thing then? And I'm curious too how your cholesterol went down, wouldn't it go up if you're eating mostly meats for your protein? Or do you eat mostly vegetarian? I'm also curious do those carbs you eliminate include veggies?

Running_and_Coffee

It's pretty similar to Atkins.

WholeFoods4Lyfe

FL_Hiker wrote: »

WholeFoods4Lyfe wrote: »

Since you are already googling, you could probably read a few other links, but Keto is not new. The human body is designed to produce Ketones for fuel, it's just that medically it has been found to be an effective diet for certain brain disorders, like epilepsy. It's also been found to be a very satiating diet for many making it easier to create a calorie deficit.

If you want a personal experience, I'll give you mine.

I started out Morbidly Obese and diagnosed with Metabolic Syndrome. I also have/had severe GERD and Erosive Esophogitis, and a Dairy and Gluten Intolerance. I started out following a Low Carb Diet which was easy when I eliminated dairy and gluten. I noticed that I physically felt better. Keto was just a natural progression for me, because in addition to feeling better on a low carb diet, I realized that fat was satiating for me and helped me to create a calorie deficit, plus, my GERD symptoms were better. Once going full Keto, my GERD symptoms completely resolved. My blood glucose numbers normalized, my blood pressure normalized, and my Cholesterol numbers got better (they were never that bad though). Keto for me is a lifestyle. I never realized how sick I felt all the time, until I didn't. This isn't just about weight loss for me, though the 60+ pounds I've lost is awesome, it's about improving my overall health, so I tend to eat a lot more whole foods than I ever did when I was eating a SAD. People can woo me all you want, but this is a lifestyle for me and something that I plan to follow for the rest of my life. Maybe not always Keto, but definitely a low carb whole foods diet.

Thanks for the explanation! So I've also heard of the Atkins diet, is it pretty much the same thing then? And I'm curious too how your cholesterol went down, wouldn't it go up if you're eating mostly meats for your protein? Or do you eat mostly vegetarian? I'm also curious do those carbs you eliminate include veggies?

My diary is open, feel free to peruse. I eat plenty of veggies and sometimes even fruit. I tend to eat on average about 50g of carbs per day, I even sometimes eat potatoes :::gasp:::

I am not familiar with the Atkins Diet, so I cannot answer questions about that.

As for the Cholesterol, the theory that dietary fats cause high cholesterol and heart disease has been debunked many times over. I eat a lot of animal products. Like I said, my cholesterol numbers were never terrible, but since starting a Keto diet, my HDL has gone up and my Trigs and LDL have gone down. I realize that is more of an n=1 type of thing, but I hear many stories of cholesterol levels improving by losing weight and/or limiting carbs. What works for one may not work for another.

Deviette

It is a type of low carb diet.

It is no better or worse at weight loss than any other method. This is because CICO out is the only thing that matters with regards to fat loss. However, it might be the best method for a specific individual, depending on what and how they like to eat and what makes them feel satisfied.

It works for people who feel satisfied by high fat, medium protein and low carb. Some find that because of the generally high vegetable content, they don't need to actually track calories, as they'll find they're eating at a deficit anyway. It also promotes cooking homemade food, as prepackaged meals are often higher in carbs than the "diet" would allow.

It is popular because it is currently a "fad" diet. A "fad" diet is one where people will make wild claims, with no scientific basis, about how and why it works, and will cure all of your ills. Because lots of people are currently doing it, lot of people hear about it and try it out themselves.
Edit: Don't get me wrong, there is a reason why it works. My point is that some people will make up complete BS as to why it works, when it is very simple. It works because it can create a calorie deficit.

Initially it has a high water weigh loss, so initial scale reading can be very favourable. I can completely see why it's popular right now as it gives an instant gratification. Unfortunately, unless you sick quite rigidly to the plan, you will find yourself stalling and struggling with it.

Remember that the weightloss industry only makes money by moving people onto the next new thing. Once people have tried one diet and decided it's not for them, they want to move onto the next thing. The diet industry watches this, and will give their customers something new to try. Give it another 5 years and (nearly) no one will be talking about keto anymore (In the same way that paleo/clean eating/atkins/F-plan is barely a thing anymore).

amusedmonkey

FL_Hiker wrote: »

WholeFoods4Lyfe wrote: »

Since you are already googling, you could probably read a few other links, but Keto is not new. The human body is designed to produce Ketones for fuel, it's just that medically it has been found to be an effective diet for certain brain disorders, like epilepsy. It's also been found to be a very satiating diet for many making it easier to create a calorie deficit.

If you want a personal experience, I'll give you mine.

I started out Morbidly Obese and diagnosed with Metabolic Syndrome. I also have/had severe GERD and Erosive Esophogitis, and a Dairy and Gluten Intolerance. I started out following a Low Carb Diet which was easy when I eliminated dairy and gluten. I noticed that I physically felt better. Keto was just a natural progression for me, because in addition to feeling better on a low carb diet, I realized that fat was satiating for me and helped me to create a calorie deficit, plus, my GERD symptoms were better. Once going full Keto, my GERD symptoms completely resolved. My blood glucose numbers normalized, my blood pressure normalized, and my Cholesterol numbers got better (they were never that bad though). Keto for me is a lifestyle. I never realized how sick I felt all the time, until I didn't. This isn't just about weight loss for me, though the 60+ pounds I've lost is awesome, it's about improving my overall health, so I tend to eat a lot more whole foods than I ever did when I was eating a SAD. People can woo me all you want, but this is a lifestyle for me and something that I plan to follow for the rest of my life. Maybe not always Keto, but definitely a low carb whole foods diet.

Thanks for the explanation! So I've also heard of the Atkins diet, is it pretty much the same thing then? And I'm curious too how your cholesterol went down, wouldn't it go up if you're eating mostly meats for your protein? Or do you eat mostly vegetarian? I'm also curious do those carbs you eliminate include veggies?

Cholesterol usually goes down with significant weight loss regardless of the foods eaten. Also, if triglycerides are the main reason someone has cholesterol, reducing carbs lowers them even without weight loss. Keto also helps regulate blood sugar if someone is insulin resistant (although most wouldn't need to go all the way down to keto levels for that).

As for the diet itself, it's just trendy now like Atkins was at some point. The difference between keto and Atkins is that Atkins increases carbs gradually, keto stays in what Atkins calls "the induction phase". Some people experience less hunger when they eat that way, but it hasn't been my experience (I felt more hungry). I also didn't need to go keto to eat nutritious foods.

How that may be useful for you: do you have insulin resistance? Do you feel hungry often and would like to see if keto can help you with that? Do you like the foods you can eat on keto? Can you imagine your life without the foods that keto severely restricts? If the answer is yes to some or all of these questions, trying it may be worth it. If you don't feel it could be sustainable and you're doing just fine on your current diet, then you're not missing out on much, in fact, you're gaining many good things by going for a diet you find enjoyable and sustainable.

mmapags

You've gotten some great explanations above. Particularly the 2 above my post. In a meta analysis of 35 studies that controlled for calories and protein, keto showed no metabolic advantage or disadvantage. Despite some of the ridiculous claims of its proponents.

The advantages of curbing hunger for some, increasing satiety for some and eating in a prefered way for some are all legitimate. It can also be a useful tool for lower blood glucose but lower carbs and/or increasing exercise and losing weight will to the same thing. It can be a useful strategy for insulin resistance.

In an otherwise healthy person, it all comes down too calorie restriction and prefered way of eating for performance and satiety. Keto works for some, not for others. It's restrictive nature can be a real obstacle for many people based on the feedback I see posted here as well as my own personal experience.

NovusDies

For maybe 10 percent of the people who are on it, it is beneficial to mitigate certain medical conditions. For the rest it is a good way to seem popular at the office water cooler with tales of a dramatic first month weight loss. In either case if people on it eat less than they burn they will lose weight.

fb47

NovusDies wrote: »

For maybe 10 percent of the people who are on it, it is beneficial to mitigate certain medical conditions. For the rest it is a good way to seem popular at the office water cooler with tales of dramatic first month weight loss. In either case if people on it eat less than they burn they will lose weight.

Pretty much this lol....In all seriousness, it's not a diet for everyone. I always recommend a high protein/high fiber balanced diet, you basically eat the foods you prefer provided that you're in a caloric deficit before starting with any diet, if you still get nasty cravings and that doesn't help, then I recommend trying any diet that can help you feel satiated and help you stick with a caloric deficit. If keto does that for you, then do that, if IF does that for you, then do Intermittent Fasting. Diets are just tools, the one constant is that you need to be in a caloric deficit...and I am talking about people who are healthy. If you have any health issues, of course, your doctor should be dictating what you can and can't eat.

FL_Hiker

amusedmonkey wrote: »

FL_Hiker wrote: »

WholeFoods4Lyfe wrote: »

Since you are already googling, you could probably read a few other links, but Keto is not new. The human body is designed to produce Ketones for fuel, it's just that medically it has been found to be an effective diet for certain brain disorders, like epilepsy. It's also been found to be a very satiating diet for many making it easier to create a calorie deficit.

If you want a personal experience, I'll give you mine.

I started out Morbidly Obese and diagnosed with Metabolic Syndrome. I also have/had severe GERD and Erosive Esophogitis, and a Dairy and Gluten Intolerance. I started out following a Low Carb Diet which was easy when I eliminated dairy and gluten. I noticed that I physically felt better. Keto was just a natural progression for me, because in addition to feeling better on a low carb diet, I realized that fat was satiating for me and helped me to create a calorie deficit, plus, my GERD symptoms were better. Once going full Keto, my GERD symptoms completely resolved. My blood glucose numbers normalized, my blood pressure normalized, and my Cholesterol numbers got better (they were never that bad though). Keto for me is a lifestyle. I never realized how sick I felt all the time, until I didn't. This isn't just about weight loss for me, though the 60+ pounds I've lost is awesome, it's about improving my overall health, so I tend to eat a lot more whole foods than I ever did when I was eating a SAD. People can woo me all you want, but this is a lifestyle for me and something that I plan to follow for the rest of my life. Maybe not always Keto, but definitely a low carb whole foods diet.

Thanks for the explanation! So I've also heard of the Atkins diet, is it pretty much the same thing then? And I'm curious too how your cholesterol went down, wouldn't it go up if you're eating mostly meats for your protein? Or do you eat mostly vegetarian? I'm also curious do those carbs you eliminate include veggies?

Cholesterol usually goes down with significant weight loss regardless of the foods eaten. Also, if triglycerides are the main reason someone has cholesterol, reducing carbs lowers them even without weight loss. Keto also helps regulate blood sugar if someone is insulin resistant (although most wouldn't need to go all the way down to keto levels for that).

As for the diet itself, it's just trendy now like Atkins was at some point. The difference between keto and Atkins is that Atkins increases carbs gradually, keto stays in what Atkins calls "the induction phase". Some people experience less hunger when they eat that way, but it hasn't been my experience (I felt more hungry). I also didn't need to go keto to eat nutritious foods.

How that may be useful for you: do you have insulin resistance? Do you feel hungry often and would like to see if keto can help you with that? Do you like the foods you can eat on keto? Can you imagine your life without the foods that keto severely restricts? If the answer is yes to some or all of these questions, trying it may be worth it. If you don't feel it could be sustainable and you're doing just fine on your current diet, then you're not missing out on much, in fact, you're gaining many good things by going for a diet you find enjoyable and sustainable.

Thanks for explaining that, makes more sense now! No i'm not interested in keto, I love my carbs lol. My balanced diet with just watching CICO has been sufficient for my weight loss, I only have 5lbs or so to go so i'm not really looking for a diet anyways. I was just wondering what it was!

nvmomketo

Keto has a few benefits that people may experience:

• Reduced hunger and cravings so weight loss feels easier. Those with IR may lose marginally faster - maybe 6 lbs more in a year than they would on a higher carb diet; for healthy people, there is no metabolic advantage and the Lise just as fast on higher carb.
• More stable blood glucose and possibly a stop, partial or full reversal of conditions associated with insulin resistance like T2D, prediabetes, PCOS, NAFLD.
• Used to treat Alzheimer's, stroke and brain injury. Some use it to prevent migraines.
• People often notice an improvement in cognition
• Can be used to help some with developmental problems like autism.
• some use it to treat IBS
• For most, it improves cholesterol and reduces inflammation reducing risk of CVD.
• treats epilepsy
• Better skin and hair
• It eliminated my reactive hypoglycemia and postural hypotension
• Lower inflammation can be used to help treat some autoimmune problems

Like any diet or drug, these benefit so will not be true for everyone. Many of the benefits can be achieved using other diets, drugs or weight loss.

I started keto to deal with autoimmune issues and to lower my BG as it crept up to prediabetic levels. I knew I needed a diet to reduce inflammation. I'd been trying to lose a bit of weight to get into the middle of a normal BMI range by eating more fruits, veggies and lean meats while cutting calories, as prescribed by my doctor to address my IR. Instead I ended up gaining almost 20 pounds and becoming overweight. I decided LCHF would be smart as it lowers inflammation. Once I cut out refined carbs I felt so much better that I kept going to keto. Better energy, thinking, easier weight loss, better BP and skin were all happy side effects. I've stayed mostly keto for over three years now.

FL_Hiker wrote: »

WholeFoods4Lyfe wrote: »

Since you are already googling, you could probably read a few other links, but Keto is not new. The human body is designed to produce Ketones for fuel, it's just that medically it has been found to be an effective diet for certain brain disorders, like epilepsy. It's also been found to be a very satiating diet for many making it easier to create a calorie deficit.

If you want a personal experience, I'll give you mine.

I started out Morbidly Obese and diagnosed with Metabolic Syndrome. I also have/had severe GERD and Erosive Esophogitis, and a Dairy and Gluten Intolerance. I started out following a Low Carb Diet which was easy when I eliminated dairy and gluten. I noticed that I physically felt better. Keto was just a natural progression for me, because in addition to feeling better on a low carb diet, I realized that fat was satiating for me and helped me to create a calorie deficit, plus, my GERD symptoms were better. Once going full Keto, my GERD symptoms completely resolved. My blood glucose numbers normalized, my blood pressure normalized, and my Cholesterol numbers got better (they were never that bad though). Keto for me is a lifestyle. I never realized how sick I felt all the time, until I didn't. This isn't just about weight loss for me, though the 60+ pounds I've lost is awesome, it's about improving my overall health, so I tend to eat a lot more whole foods than I ever did when I was eating a SAD. People can woo me all you want, but this is a lifestyle for me and something that I plan to follow for the rest of my life. Maybe not always Keto, but definitely a low carb whole foods diet.

Thanks for the explanation! So I've also heard of the Atkins diet, is it pretty much the same thing then? And I'm curious too how your cholesterol went down, wouldn't it go up if you're eating mostly meats for your protein? Or do you eat mostly vegetarian? I'm also curious do those carbs you eliminate include veggies?

There are some vegetarian keto'ers but not a lot. Refined carbs are usually cut back on first. Most also limit starchy root veggies and fruit. Some keto'ers eat a fair bit of veggies with every meal and some eat almost none.

As a general rule, and excluding those few with familial hypercholesterolemia, increasing fats and lowering carbs (especially refined and highly processed) will usually increase HDL, lower triglycerides (which creates a good HDL triglycerides ratio), and improve the particle size of LDL to the larger and less dense variety which is not associated with CVD. Total cholesterol often goes up because HDL is higher, but it is an outdated test that is of little use. LDL seems to rise in close to half of all keto'ers and fall or stay for the rest. As I mentioned, the particle size is improved so it's not something to worry about.

Dave Feldman has been doing interesting experiments with cholesterol. He's discovered that increasing fat (and calories) results in a predictable drop in LDL about 3 days later. If you increase carbs or eat at a deficit, cholesterol rises instead. It's quite interesting.
http://cholesterolcode.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZu52duIqno&vl=en

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LuKwsz9Woc

Kim_S_G

mmapags wrote: »

You've gotten some great explanations above. Particularly the 2 above my post. In a meta analysis of 35 studies that controlled for calories and protein, keto showed no metabolic advantage or disadvantage. Despite some of the ridiculous claims of its proponents.

The advantages of curbing hunger for some, increasing satiety for some and eating in a prefered way for some are all legitimate. It can also be a useful tool for lower blood glucose but lower carbs and/or increasing exercise and losing weight will to the same thing. It can be a useful strategy for insulin resistance.

In an otherwise healthy person, it all comes down too calorie restriction and prefered way of eating for performance and satiety. Keto works for some, not for others. It's restrictive nature can be a real obstacle for many people based on the feedback I see posted here as well as my own personal experience.

Could you please post a link to that study? Just today, I found discussion about keto among my family on Facebook. I think that info would be helpful for them.

LiftHeavyThings27105

FL_Hiker wrote: »

Not trying to be a smart butt here or anything , I'm actually curious. So I googled "keto diet" to try to find out what it was, I'd never heard of it before. And it said on Wikipedia (granted I realize wiki is not the best source of information) it was a diet designed for "epileptic children". So why are all these people doing keto? Do they have seizures or a health problem? What are the benefits? Why in the world did it catch on?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketogenic_diet
Thanks!

So, the Ketogenic Diet does several things. Primarily, it changes what you body uses for energy (that is a very simplistic 'suggestion' so please give me some latitude there). Basically, your body - before Keto - was using Carbs | Glucose | glycogen for energy. When you do Keto, your body changes. It moves to Fats | Ketones for energy. Your body enters a state known as Ketosis. You need to go through several phases and you *could* experience the "Keto Flu" but if you do your homework and take ownership (getting a little snarky with this, I will indeed admit to that) then you can bypass that mess. The Keto Flu is how your body responds to the loss of Electrolytes (Sodium, Potassium and Magnesium, mostly). It can be a nightmare and causes a lot of people who failed to do their homework to quit the Keto Diet.

There is also evidence that Keto can help people with different autoimmune diseases and can help with some forms of cancer. It is also potentially good for T2D (I have higher A1C, which is why I am doing Keto) and, of course, it is supposed to help people with Epilepsy.


There are, most would agree I would suggest, four different "versions" of Keto. Look that up (since you are exploring this....I would not want you to miss something because I mentioned all four of them and you did not google this and missed something there....).

Essentially, the "Standard Keto" is something like 75% of your calories come from Fats, 20% of your calories come from Protein and 5% of your calories come from Carbs. It can vary a bit for each person, but that is the general starting point.


There is a lot of BS out there about Keto (like there is for just about everything). People, for some reason, tend to get VERY EMOTIONAL when discussing this topic. I would suggest - and I am not worried about offending anyone with the next statement - that there are a lot of very ignorant people out there who follow Keto "because three colleagues at work are doing this" or "because my Aunt Mary had great success with Keto". That is all they know about Keto when they start (that someone else did it and lost a ton of weight). Not good enough (I would suggest).

I looked into this for about two months before I decided to try it. I am glad that I spent the time initially.


Anyway, when it comes to weight loss (or, weight gain or maintenance) it is a very simple formula: Calories In vs. Calories Out. Essentially, it is that balance that determines what happens. Keto - or any other way of eating - just helps you to find that balance (whatever it might be for you at any given time) and to keep it. Nothing magical - in this context - about Keto.

Now, for those of us doing Keto who are doing Keto because of an autoimmune issue or T2D or Epilepsy....I would suggest that there is indeed something magical about Keto. But, only in that context.

Does this help?

Djproulx

I don't follow a Ketogenic diet, but I"ve been an observer over the last several years as three of my training partners started using this dietary approach. All three are endurance athletes training for full Ironman distance triathlon events. One of them is also an ultra runner (he does 100 mile trail runs).

As they explained it, their reasons for trying this approach was to 1) lose weight, since endurance racing favors the leanest participants and 2) to become "fat adapted", meaning they are burning much more fat for fuel, eliminating their need to consume traditional carb based fuels(EFS, Hammer Perpetuem, etc.) during training and racing.

The results so far have been very good, both from a weight management, as well as a performance point of view. There was a learning curve, but these guys now go long distances and typically only require water, salt and a fatty snack (nut butter, bacon, etc) during our multi-hour sessions.

While this way of eating doesn't particularly appeal to me, it certainly seems to have delivered the desired results for several of my training partners.

mmapags

Kim_S_G wrote: »

mmapags wrote: »

You've gotten some great explanations above. Particularly the 2 above my post. In a meta analysis of 35 studies that controlled for calories and protein, keto showed no metabolic advantage or disadvantage. Despite some of the ridiculous claims of its proponents.

The advantages of curbing hunger for some, increasing satiety for some and eating in a prefered way for some are all legitimate. It can also be a useful tool for lower blood glucose but lower carbs and/or increasing exercise and losing weight will to the same thing. It can be a useful strategy for insulin resistance.

In an otherwise healthy person, it all comes down too calorie restriction and prefered way of eating for performance and satiety. Keto works for some, not for others. It's restrictive nature can be a real obstacle for many people based on the feedback I see posted here as well as my own personal experience.

Could you please post a link to that study? Just today, I found discussion about keto among my family on Facebook. I think that info would be helpful for them.

I will a little later when I'm back at my computer.

inertiastrength

epilepsy

mmapags

mmapags wrote: »

Kim_S_G wrote: »

mmapags wrote: »

You've gotten some great explanations above. Particularly the 2 above my post. In a meta analysis of 35 studies that controlled for calories and protein, keto showed no metabolic advantage or disadvantage. Despite some of the ridiculous claims of its proponents.

The advantages of curbing hunger for some, increasing satiety for some and eating in a prefered way for some are all legitimate. It can also be a useful tool for lower blood glucose but lower carbs and/or increasing exercise and losing weight will to the same thing. It can be a useful strategy for insulin resistance.

In an otherwise healthy person, it all comes down too calorie restriction and prefered way of eating for performance and satiety. Keto works for some, not for others. It's restrictive nature can be a real obstacle for many people based on the feedback I see posted here as well as my own personal experience.

Could you please post a link to that study? Just today, I found discussion about keto among my family on Facebook. I think that info would be helpful for them.

I will a little later when I'm back at my computer.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5568065/

Here it is. Meta analyses like these that have good controls and are broad based are generally considered definitive in the scientific community.

mmapags

nvmomketo wrote: »

Keto has a few benefits that people may experience:

• Reduced hunger and cravings so weight loss feels easier. Those with IR may lose marginally faster - maybe 6 lbs more in a year than they would on a higher carb diet; for healthy people, there is no metabolic advantage and the Lise just as fast on higher carb.
• More stable blood glucose and possibly a stop, partial or full reversal of conditions associated with insulin resistance like T2D, prediabetes, PCOS, NAFLD.
• Used to treat Alzheimer's, stroke and brain injury. Some use it to prevent migraines.
• People often notice an improvement in cognition
• Can be used to help some with developmental problems like autism.
• some use it to treat IBS
• For most, it improves cholesterol and reduces inflammation reducing risk of CVD.
• treats epilepsy
• Better skin and hair
• It eliminated my reactive hypoglycemia and postural hypotension
• Lower inflammation can be used to help treat some autoimmune problems

Like any diet or drug, these benefit so will not be true for everyone. Many of the benefits can be achieved using other diets, drugs or weight loss.

Most of these claims are true and verifiable. A few are conjecture and opinion without proof to substantiate them. Specifically:

Those with IR may lose marginally faster - maybe 6 lbs more in a year than they would on a higher carb diet;

If you believe this to be true, I would be open to seeing any broad based study data with good controls that indicate this. But I believe this has come up before and was not verifiable and was, therefore, only an opinion.

People often notice an improvement in cognition

Some people claim to notice an improvement in cognition. It doesn't happen often and it is not verifiable. Given that keto helps to improve migraines, stroke, epilepsy etc. there may well be possibilities in this area. But I have not seen study data that indicates this. If you have it, please provide.

Can be used to help some with developmental problems like autism.

Can possibly be used to help with developmental problems like autism. The study you posted and I read is interesting but limited. 30 participants. The results were promising but the even the study authors were cautious to come to any conclusion other than more and broader based study is warranted.

Better skin and hair

Total opinion and conjecture. Again, if you have proof, post it.

For me, these kind of questionable claims mixed in with many valid ones are why I would always advise anyone considering keto to closely vet claims using PubMed and other scholarly sources based on actual studies. This is also why keto claims get scrutinized so closely. Some people make crazy claims. Some mix in belief and opinion with facts in an editorial way. Either way, misinformation is not helpful to one looking for facts.

psuLemon

nvmomketo wrote: »

Keto has a few benefits that people may experience:

• Reduced hunger and cravings so weight loss feels easier. Those with IR may lose marginally faster - maybe 6 lbs more in a year than they would on a higher carb diet; for healthy people, there is no metabolic advantage and the Lise just as fast on higher carb.
• More stable blood glucose and possibly a stop, partial or full reversal of conditions associated with insulin resistance like T2D, prediabetes, PCOS, NAFLD.
• Used to treat Alzheimer's, stroke and brain injury. Some use it to prevent migraines.
• People often notice an improvement in cognition
• Can be used to help some with developmental problems like autism.
• some use it to treat IBS
• For most, it improves cholesterol and reduces inflammation reducing risk of CVD.
• treats epilepsy
• Better skin and hair
• It eliminated my reactive hypoglycemia and postural hypotension
• Lower inflammation can be used to help treat some autoimmune problems

Like any diet or drug, these benefit so will not be true for everyone. Many of the benefits can be achieved using other diets, drugs or weight loss.

I started keto to deal with autoimmune issues and to lower my BG as it crept up to prediabetic levels. I knew I needed a diet to reduce inflammation. I'd been trying to lose a bit of weight to get into the middle of a normal BMI range by eating more fruits, veggies and lean meats while cutting calories, as prescribed by my doctor to address my IR. Instead I ended up gaining almost 20 pounds and becoming overweight. I decided LCHF would be smart as it lowers inflammation. Once I cut out refined carbs I felt so much better that I kept going to keto. Better energy, thinking, easier weight loss, better BP and skin were all happy side effects. I've stayed mostly keto for over three years now.

FL_Hiker wrote: »

WholeFoods4Lyfe wrote: »

Since you are already googling, you could probably read a few other links, but Keto is not new. The human body is designed to produce Ketones for fuel, it's just that medically it has been found to be an effective diet for certain brain disorders, like epilepsy. It's also been found to be a very satiating diet for many making it easier to create a calorie deficit.

If you want a personal experience, I'll give you mine.

I started out Morbidly Obese and diagnosed with Metabolic Syndrome. I also have/had severe GERD and Erosive Esophogitis, and a Dairy and Gluten Intolerance. I started out following a Low Carb Diet which was easy when I eliminated dairy and gluten. I noticed that I physically felt better. Keto was just a natural progression for me, because in addition to feeling better on a low carb diet, I realized that fat was satiating for me and helped me to create a calorie deficit, plus, my GERD symptoms were better. Once going full Keto, my GERD symptoms completely resolved. My blood glucose numbers normalized, my blood pressure normalized, and my Cholesterol numbers got better (they were never that bad though). Keto for me is a lifestyle. I never realized how sick I felt all the time, until I didn't. This isn't just about weight loss for me, though the 60+ pounds I've lost is awesome, it's about improving my overall health, so I tend to eat a lot more whole foods than I ever did when I was eating a SAD. People can woo me all you want, but this is a lifestyle for me and something that I plan to follow for the rest of my life. Maybe not always Keto, but definitely a low carb whole foods diet.

Thanks for the explanation! So I've also heard of the Atkins diet, is it pretty much the same thing then? And I'm curious too how your cholesterol went down, wouldn't it go up if you're eating mostly meats for your protein? Or do you eat mostly vegetarian? I'm also curious do those carbs you eliminate include veggies?

There are some vegetarian keto'ers but not a lot. Refined carbs are usually cut back on first. Most also limit starchy root veggies and fruit. Some keto'ers eat a fair bit of veggies with every meal and some eat almost none.

As a general rule, and excluding those few with familial hypercholesterolemia, increasing fats and lowering carbs (especially refined and highly processed) will usually increase HDL, lower triglycerides (which creates a good HDL triglycerides ratio), and improve the particle size of LDL to the larger and less dense variety which is not associated with CVD. Total cholesterol often goes up because HDL is higher, but it is an outdated test that is of little use. LDL seems to rise in close to half of all keto'ers and fall or stay for the rest. As I mentioned, the particle size is improved so it's not something to worry about.

Dave Feldman has been doing interesting experiments with cholesterol. He's discovered that increasing fat (and calories) results in a predictable drop in LDL about 3 days later. If you increase carbs or eat at a deficit, cholesterol rises instead. It's quite interesting.
http://cholesterolcode.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZu52duIqno&vl=en

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LuKwsz9Woc

Let's be honest, most of those benefits are driven by weight loss and the same results of any diet that induces weight loss. Also, it should be noted that keto is one therapy to reduce progession of Alzheimer's but its not a stand alone treatment... Meaning its a possible component of several treats (i.e., meds, cogntivie therapy, etc..)


Its good if you are fine with practically eliminating carbs and find fat filling. I cycle keto and high carb to improve fat mobilization and do high carb to reduce the impacts of glycogen depletion, and reduce/eliminate the impacts on leptin/ghrelin as it relates to dieting.

Diatonic12

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/ketogenic-diet-is-the-ultimate-low-carb-diet-good-for-you-2017072712089

nvmomketo

psuLemon wrote: »

nvmomketo wrote: »

Keto has a few benefits that people may experience:

• Reduced hunger and cravings so weight loss feels easier. Those with IR may lose marginally faster - maybe 6 lbs more in a year than they would on a higher carb diet; for healthy people, there is no metabolic advantage and the Lise just as fast on higher carb.
• More stable blood glucose and possibly a stop, partial or full reversal of conditions associated with insulin resistance like T2D, prediabetes, PCOS, NAFLD.
• Used to treat Alzheimer's, stroke and brain injury. Some use it to prevent migraines.
• People often notice an improvement in cognition
• Can be used to help some with developmental problems like autism.
• some use it to treat IBS
• For most, it improves cholesterol and reduces inflammation reducing risk of CVD.
• treats epilepsy
• Better skin and hair
• It eliminated my reactive hypoglycemia and postural hypotension
• Lower inflammation can be used to help treat some autoimmune problems

Like any diet or drug, these benefit so will not be true for everyone. Many of the benefits can be achieved using other diets, drugs or weight loss.

I started keto to deal with autoimmune issues and to lower my BG as it crept up to prediabetic levels. I knew I needed a diet to reduce inflammation. I'd been trying to lose a bit of weight to get into the middle of a normal BMI range by eating more fruits, veggies and lean meats while cutting calories, as prescribed by my doctor to address my IR. Instead I ended up gaining almost 20 pounds and becoming overweight. I decided LCHF would be smart as it lowers inflammation. Once I cut out refined carbs I felt so much better that I kept going to keto. Better energy, thinking, easier weight loss, better BP and skin were all happy side effects. I've stayed mostly keto for over three years now.

FL_Hiker wrote: »

WholeFoods4Lyfe wrote: »

Since you are already googling, you could probably read a few other links, but Keto is not new. The human body is designed to produce Ketones for fuel, it's just that medically it has been found to be an effective diet for certain brain disorders, like epilepsy. It's also been found to be a very satiating diet for many making it easier to create a calorie deficit.

If you want a personal experience, I'll give you mine.

I started out Morbidly Obese and diagnosed with Metabolic Syndrome. I also have/had severe GERD and Erosive Esophogitis, and a Dairy and Gluten Intolerance. I started out following a Low Carb Diet which was easy when I eliminated dairy and gluten. I noticed that I physically felt better. Keto was just a natural progression for me, because in addition to feeling better on a low carb diet, I realized that fat was satiating for me and helped me to create a calorie deficit, plus, my GERD symptoms were better. Once going full Keto, my GERD symptoms completely resolved. My blood glucose numbers normalized, my blood pressure normalized, and my Cholesterol numbers got better (they were never that bad though). Keto for me is a lifestyle. I never realized how sick I felt all the time, until I didn't. This isn't just about weight loss for me, though the 60+ pounds I've lost is awesome, it's about improving my overall health, so I tend to eat a lot more whole foods than I ever did when I was eating a SAD. People can woo me all you want, but this is a lifestyle for me and something that I plan to follow for the rest of my life. Maybe not always Keto, but definitely a low carb whole foods diet.

Thanks for the explanation! So I've also heard of the Atkins diet, is it pretty much the same thing then? And I'm curious too how your cholesterol went down, wouldn't it go up if you're eating mostly meats for your protein? Or do you eat mostly vegetarian? I'm also curious do those carbs you eliminate include veggies?

There are some vegetarian keto'ers but not a lot. Refined carbs are usually cut back on first. Most also limit starchy root veggies and fruit. Some keto'ers eat a fair bit of veggies with every meal and some eat almost none.

As a general rule, and excluding those few with familial hypercholesterolemia, increasing fats and lowering carbs (especially refined and highly processed) will usually increase HDL, lower triglycerides (which creates a good HDL triglycerides ratio), and improve the particle size of LDL to the larger and less dense variety which is not associated with CVD. Total cholesterol often goes up because HDL is higher, but it is an outdated test that is of little use. LDL seems to rise in close to half of all keto'ers and fall or stay for the rest. As I mentioned, the particle size is improved so it's not something to worry about.

Dave Feldman has been doing interesting experiments with cholesterol. He's discovered that increasing fat (and calories) results in a predictable drop in LDL about 3 days later. If you increase carbs or eat at a deficit, cholesterol rises instead. It's quite interesting.
http://cholesterolcode.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZu52duIqno&vl=en

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LuKwsz9Woc

Let's be honest, most of those benefits are driven by weight loss and the same results of any diet that induces weight loss. Also, it should be noted that keto is one therapy to reduce progession of Alzheimer's but its not a stand alone treatment... Meaning its a possible component of several treats (i.e., meds, cogntivie therapy, etc..)


Its good if you are fine with practically eliminating carbs and find fat filling. I cycle keto and high carb to improve fat mobilization and do high carb to reduce the impacts of glycogen depletion, and reduce/eliminate the impacts on leptin/ghrelin as it relates to dieting.

I did say many of those benefits can be achieved by other diets, drugs and weight loss. Not denying that. But, most of the benefits I listed can be achieved with ketosis without weight loss such as reduced hunger, stable and lower BG, treatment for Alzheimer's and brain injury and migraines, improved cognition, autism and epilepsy treatment, IBS treatment, better skin and hair, improved reactive hypoglycemia and postural hypotension, improved cholesterol and lower inflammation... Huh, that was everything I listed except CVD improvements - I'm not sure just improving cholesterol and lowering inflammation is enough to reduce CVD risk.

Kim_S_G

mmapags wrote: »

mmapags wrote: »

Kim_S_G wrote: »

mmapags wrote: »

You've gotten some great explanations above. Particularly the 2 above my post. In a meta analysis of 35 studies that controlled for calories and protein, keto showed no metabolic advantage or disadvantage. Despite some of the ridiculous claims of its proponents.

The advantages of curbing hunger for some, increasing satiety for some and eating in a prefered way for some are all legitimate. It can also be a useful tool for lower blood glucose but lower carbs and/or increasing exercise and losing weight will to the same thing. It can be a useful strategy for insulin resistance.

In an otherwise healthy person, it all comes down too calorie restriction and prefered way of eating for performance and satiety. Keto works for some, not for others. It's restrictive nature can be a real obstacle for many people based on the feedback I see posted here as well as my own personal experience.

Could you please post a link to that study? Just today, I found discussion about keto among my family on Facebook. I think that info would be helpful for them.

I will a little later when I'm back at my computer.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5568065/

Here it is. Meta analyses like these that have good controls and are broad based are generally considered definitive in the scientific community.

Thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to do that.

Earlier today I was very tempted to jump in on the conversation amongst my relatives on Facebook. But then a distance relative (by marriage), who is a doctor, joined the conversation and said that he recently read "The Obesity Code" and is going to start IF with focus on low glycemic carbs. SMH - Now I think I will just keep my mouth shut.

mmapags

Kim_S_G wrote: »

mmapags wrote: »

mmapags wrote: »

Kim_S_G wrote: »

mmapags wrote: »

You've gotten some great explanations above. Particularly the 2 above my post. In a meta analysis of 35 studies that controlled for calories and protein, keto showed no metabolic advantage or disadvantage. Despite some of the ridiculous claims of its proponents.

The advantages of curbing hunger for some, increasing satiety for some and eating in a prefered way for some are all legitimate. It can also be a useful tool for lower blood glucose but lower carbs and/or increasing exercise and losing weight will to the same thing. It can be a useful strategy for insulin resistance.

In an otherwise healthy person, it all comes down too calorie restriction and prefered way of eating for performance and satiety. Keto works for some, not for others. It's restrictive nature can be a real obstacle for many people based on the feedback I see posted here as well as my own personal experience.

Could you please post a link to that study? Just today, I found discussion about keto among my family on Facebook. I think that info would be helpful for them.

I will a little later when I'm back at my computer.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5568065/

Here it is. Meta analyses like these that have good controls and are broad based are generally considered definitive in the scientific community.

Thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to do that.

Earlier today I was very tempted to jump in on the conversation amongst my relatives on Facebook. But then a distance relative (by marriage), who is a doctor, joined the conversation and said that he recently read "The Obesity Code" and is going to start IF with focus on low glycemic carbs. SMH - Now I think I will just keep my mouth shut.

Lol! Remember, doctors learn very little about nutrition in Med School. I understand the desire to avoid a family squabble. But it sure would be fun to drop it in with a comment something like, "here is an interesting meta analysis. What are you thoughts on it's conclusions?"

zdyb23456

How do those ketone powder packets work?

I have several Facebook friends who either sell them or use them. I’m extremely wary of asking for fear of being cornered with a sales pitch.

nvmomketo

mmapags wrote: »

nvmomketo wrote: »

Keto has a few benefits that people may experience:

• Reduced hunger and cravings so weight loss feels easier. Those with IR may lose marginally faster - maybe 6 lbs more in a year than they would on a higher carb diet; for healthy people, there is no metabolic advantage and the Lise just as fast on higher carb.
• More stable blood glucose and possibly a stop, partial or full reversal of conditions associated with insulin resistance like T2D, prediabetes, PCOS, NAFLD.
• Used to treat Alzheimer's, stroke and brain injury. Some use it to prevent migraines.
• People often notice an improvement in cognition
• Can be used to help some with developmental problems like autism.
• some use it to treat IBS
• For most, it improves cholesterol and reduces inflammation reducing risk of CVD.
• treats epilepsy
• Better skin and hair
• It eliminated my reactive hypoglycemia and postural hypotension
• Lower inflammation can be used to help treat some autoimmune problems

Like any diet or drug, these benefit so will not be true for everyone. Many of the benefits can be achieved using other diets, drugs or weight loss.

Most of these claims are true and verifiable. A few are conjecture and opinion without proof to substantiate them. Specifically:

Those with IR may lose marginally faster - maybe 6 lbs more in a year than they would on a higher carb diet;

If you believe this to be true, I would be open to seeing any broad based study data with good controls that indicate this. But I believe this has come up before and was not verifiable and was, therefore, only an opinion.

People often notice an improvement in cognition

Some people claim to notice an improvement in cognition. It doesn't happen often and it is not verifiable. Given that keto helps to improve migraines, stroke, epilepsy etc. there may well be possibilities in this area. But I have not seen study data that indicates this. If you have it, please provide.

Can be used to help some with developmental problems like autism.

Can possibly be used to help with developmental problems like autism. The study you posted and I read is interesting but limited. 30 participants. The results were promising but the even the study authors were cautious to come to any conclusion other than more and broader based study is warranted.

Better skin and hair

Total opinion and conjecture. Again, if you have proof, post it.

For me, these kind of questionable claims mixed in with many valid ones are why I would always advise anyone considering keto to closely vet claims using PubMed and other scholarly sources based on actual studies. This is also why keto claims get scrutinized so closely. Some people make crazy claims. Some mix in belief and opinion with facts in an editorial way. Either way, misinformation is not helpful to one looking for facts.

There is no diet that gives 100% of participants 100% of the benefits. You know that. I know that. And if you look at my post again you will see I wrote

Keto has a few benefits that people may experience:

Nit picking at semantics of some versus often, based on no evidence. Again. There really are no claims of magic or limb re growth in this thread. Just a list of benefits that one might get from a ketogenic diet. Some are anectodal like better hair and skin, which I experienced... I really doubt that anyone has done a study on lessened acne while eating keto. maybe in another 10-20 years someone will spend the money on that. LOL

But really, there are no claims of keto is best and the only way. I honestly don't know why you respond to my posts with arguments against what you think I've said, when I said no such thing. I realize that there is misinformation out there, but my response did not include it.

nvmomketo

zdyb23456 wrote: »

How do those ketone powder packets work?

I have several Facebook friends who either sell them or use them. I’m extremely wary of asking for fear of being cornered with a sales pitch.

Is it exogenous ketones? If so, it just raises your ketone level which could be helpful for those who need high ketone levels for medical reasons.

If you don't need high ketones, you'll just be reducing the amount of body fat you use to create ketones on your own. I don't see any weight loss benefit.

mmapags

nvmomketo wrote: »

mmapags wrote: »

nvmomketo wrote: »

Keto has a few benefits that people may experience:

• Reduced hunger and cravings so weight loss feels easier. Those with IR may lose marginally faster - maybe 6 lbs more in a year than they would on a higher carb diet; for healthy people, there is no metabolic advantage and the Lise just as fast on higher carb.
• More stable blood glucose and possibly a stop, partial or full reversal of conditions associated with insulin resistance like T2D, prediabetes, PCOS, NAFLD.
• Used to treat Alzheimer's, stroke and brain injury. Some use it to prevent migraines.
• People often notice an improvement in cognition
• Can be used to help some with developmental problems like autism.
• some use it to treat IBS
• For most, it improves cholesterol and reduces inflammation reducing risk of CVD.
• treats epilepsy
• Better skin and hair
• It eliminated my reactive hypoglycemia and postural hypotension
• Lower inflammation can be used to help treat some autoimmune problems

Like any diet or drug, these benefit so will not be true for everyone. Many of the benefits can be achieved using other diets, drugs or weight loss.

Most of these claims are true and verifiable. A few are conjecture and opinion without proof to substantiate them. Specifically:

Those with IR may lose marginally faster - maybe 6 lbs more in a year than they would on a higher carb diet;

If you believe this to be true, I would be open to seeing any broad based study data with good controls that indicate this. But I believe this has come up before and was not verifiable and was, therefore, only an opinion.

People often notice an improvement in cognition

Some people claim to notice an improvement in cognition. It doesn't happen often and it is not verifiable. Given that keto helps to improve migraines, stroke, epilepsy etc. there may well be possibilities in this area. But I have not seen study data that indicates this. If you have it, please provide.

Can be used to help some with developmental problems like autism.

Can possibly be used to help with developmental problems like autism. The study you posted and I read is interesting but limited. 30 participants. The results were promising but the even the study authors were cautious to come to any conclusion other than more and broader based study is warranted.

Better skin and hair

Total opinion and conjecture. Again, if you have proof, post it.

For me, these kind of questionable claims mixed in with many valid ones are why I would always advise anyone considering keto to closely vet claims using PubMed and other scholarly sources based on actual studies. This is also why keto claims get scrutinized so closely. Some people make crazy claims. Some mix in belief and opinion with facts in an editorial way. Either way, misinformation is not helpful to one looking for facts.

There is no diet that gives 100% of participants 100% of the benefits. You know that. I know that. And if you look at my post again you will see I wrote

Keto has a few benefits that people may experience:

Nit picking at semantics of some versus often, based on no evidence. Again. There really are no claims of magic or limb re growth in this thread. Just a list of benefits that one might get from a ketogenic diet. Some are anectodal like better hair and skin, which I experienced... I really doubt that anyone has done a study on lessened acne while eating keto. maybe in another 10-20 years someone will spend the money on that. LOL

But really, there are no claims of keto is best and the only way. I honestly don't know why you respond to may posts with arguments against what you think I've said, when I said no such thing.

So, if there is no proof and it's just anecdotal, why post them. I'm not arguing against anything but misleading and questionable statements with no objective proof source. And yes. I get that you said some and not all. That isn't the point. Also, while you were getting defensive, did you happen to notice where I said most of the statements were true?

You seemed to have a real issue with the distinction between anecdotal and provable and cross back and forth over that line. Then you get defensive when it's called out. If that bothers you, identify anecdotal info as exactly that and don't claim it as a benefit but as a possible benefit that is not evidence based at this point. For many people, it is an important distinction.

NovusDies

I don't really get why Keto needs "bonus features" at all. If a person is happy eating a Keto style diet and wants to lose weight why isn't that enough?

When you tack on an additional benefits package it seems like a recruitment tactic and I am sad to say it probably works.

fb47

NovusDies wrote: »

I don't really get why Keto needs "bonus features" at all. If a person is happy eating a Keto style diet and wants to lose weight why isn't that enough?

When you tack on an additional benefits package it seems like a recruitment tactic and I am sad to say it probably works.

Exactly, what's the point of those benefits if you end up feeling miserable doing the diet???

nvmomketo

NovusDies wrote: »

I don't really get why Keto needs "bonus features" at all. If a person is happy eating a Keto style diet and wants to lose weight why isn't that enough?

When you tack on an additional benefits package it seems like a recruitment tactic and I am sad to say it probably works.

It isn't a bonus package. LOL it's the main reason to do the diet, IMO.

As a weight loss tool it is on par with other diets. Use it if you wish. If you like the foods, great. But the good parts of keto tend to be that people feel better eating that way - they become healthier. It does not happen for everyone of course, but it can have some great health benefits for some people.

The title of the thread is what is keto good for. This would be the place to list the possible benefits - whether proven and published or anecdotal. Possible health benefits is what keto is good for, IMO.