The Ketogenic Diet REVIEW ( information you needed )

SnowFlinga · June 2014

Low fat, low cal diets work for a very small subset of the population. If you're not unbelievably diligent in managing your calorie intake for the rest of your life you will regain the weight. The reason for this is that the low cal, low fat dieting approach completely disregards the hormones that control our hunger and weight management. Learn to eat using an approach that is "smarter" about hormonal control (ketogenic) and you'll find that as long as you live by those guidelines that weight management becomes second nature.

Forget about the weight management benefits of the ketogenic WOE for a moment, it is becoming increasingly clear that the diseases of modern society are inextricably linked to the SAD. So it makes sense that although you may lose weight by restricting calorie intake, if you're still eating the SAD WOE then you're not doing enough to actually improve your health. I believe that there's a lot of sense in an ancestral approach to diet and concentrating on eating real whole foods that would have been regularly available before the advent of modern agriculture.

A lot of what we see these days is continued "fear mongering" from the naysayers and this is pervasive even through the medical community. Follow the money and you'll understand that there's a lot of people who stand to lose a lot of money if more and more people start to see the light of truth when it comes to a better dietary approach.

The data is in on the low fat, low cal, high carb approach and the obesity and diabetes epidemic over the past 30 years of very poor nutritional guidance; that is all the "peer reviewed" study I need.

ninerbuff · June 2014

There are such thing as "trolls" on any internet site. As a moderator, I have to sift through spam and troll posts daily. And it's not about people being "stupid", it's more likely they are misinformed about the information that they have been given. The info on here though is pretty legit.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

SnowFlinga · June 2014

I should add that any dietary approach that is oblivious to the hormones that drive our hunger requires its followers to survive by will power alone. If you "enjoy" the blood sugar roller coaster then continue ignoring the glycemic impact of refined carbs and their resulting insulin spikes.

nancytyc · June 2014

First, I noticed your web site reference and the ".gov" at the end....so I did not even bother to go and look at it. ".gov" has done a wonderful job of suggesting that I should continue to follow the low-fat diet I had been on for years. On that low-fat diet, I blossomed up to 328 pounds, had gestational diabetes, and now have full blown type II diabetes.

I started on the LCHF diet on May 1 of this year. I am now off of my injectable diabetes medication, while still taking my Metformin (which has been reduced by 50% by the doctor already). Even with no injectable medication and half my oral meds, I am still having sugar lows. Looks like tomorrow, I will be removed from all diabetes meds.

In one month, I have dropped 21 pounds. I am happy, feel great, never hungry and love the idea of the eggs and bacon I get every morning. I eat when my stomach growls and don't eat when I am not hungry. I eat about 1600 calories a day, have enough energy to work 12 hour days and still take a 20 mile bike ride at 16- 18 mph at the end of the day.

I eat a lot of veggies. Every day has about 5 cups spinach in it, along with celery, cucumber, avocado, some onion and green pepper, and romaine lettuce (literally plate-fulls). For desert, I have a cup of strawberries with 12 TBSP whipped cream on top (sugar free, of course). I limit my sugar substitutes to 3 packages, or the equivalent, each day.

So, to recap. In one month I have lost 21 pounds, have nearly gone off all diabetes meds and have sugars that hardly ever get above 100 (as opposed to the 180 - 320 I used to get in April). I feel great, exercise more (now that I have the energy). More importantly, my endo doctor approves of this diet, WHEN DONE CORRECTLY, and is absolutely amazed by the results.

I am wondering how this can be bad??

Amberonamission · June 2014

I am having the exact same experience as you. This turned out to be one of the best things I ever did for my good health.

My opinion is that the real trolls on this site are the one who click on a thread title knowing they will disagree. Why not just leave the people who are doing well alone.

bk0626 · June 2014

bump

VeganCappy · June 2014

Hi Nancy,

Low fat is the healthiest diet, however, the marketing and propaganda from the food industry twisted the concept. If something is labeled as "low fat", you shouldn't eat it. You should avoid eating anything with a label if possible.

Many companies were able to relabel their products as low-fat by simply adding sugar. If a product was 50% fat by calories, the company would simply double the total calories by adding sugar to lower the percentage of fat calories. So, if one serving had 100 calories and 50% of that was from fat, they added 100 calories of sugar so now one serving had 200 calories and 25% of it was fat and could now be labeled "low fat".

Concerning diabetes, a high card, whole-foods, plant-based diet has cured many people of type II diabetes, and has significantly lowered the insulin requirements of type I diabetics. You aren't actually curing your diabetes, you are just masking the high blood sugar by eating foods with little effect on blood sugar. It isn't the sugar that causes diabetes, it is fat in your pancreas that makes you less insulin sensitive. If you can't eat something because of its effect on your blood sugar, then you aren't cured. You are simply managing the disease.

If sugar caused diabetes, I would be diabetic. I eat well over 80% of my calories from carbs, mostly simple sugars such as fructose from fruit. I lost nearly 100 pounds of fat eating a high-raw diet, then turned around and added 30 pounds of muscle. I am not a fluke. There is a mountain of evidence showing a whole-foods, plant-based diet is by far the healthiest, and animal products only cause harm. Even a plant-based low carb diet is superior to an animal-based low carb diet. http://nutritionfacts.org/video/plant-based-atkins-diet/

Plants have over 10,000 nutrients, animal products have a couple dozen or so. Plants have fiber and are low in fat, animal products have no fiber and are high in fat. Animal protein is damaging to the body. Plant protein is beneficial to the body.

You were fooled by the marketing propaganda of one fad diet, and now you are being fooled again with another fad diet. I am not trying to be mean, I just want to make you realize that you are diet jumping. I did the same thing for years. You need to change your lifestyle to succeed.

Of meat-eaters, semi-vegetarians, vegetarians, and vegans in the US, only vegans had a normal BMI. All other groups were overweight. http://nutritionfacts.org/video/thousands-of-vegans-studied/

SnowFlinga · June 2014

Yep, man certainly got to where he is today by only eating plants.

For anyone on this planet to think that's the way nature intends us to eat, I just don't know what to say to you.

VeganCappy · June 2014

Actually, it is true that man developed from eating plants. The theory that meat increased intelligence is faulty. How did we develop tools to hunt so we could eat meat before we had the intelligence to make the tools? Intelligence came from a plant-based diet. Then, as humans start eating more and more meat, they become more and more destructive. Animal agriculture is the single largest threat to the environment. It produces the most greenhouse gases, most water and air pollution, most soil erosion, the cause of most of the deforestation, and it starves millions of people everyday.

Despite popular belief, humans are not omnivores. If we were omnivores, we wouldn't get sick from eating rotting flesh. We would have some biological adaptations for catching and killing prey. We wouldn't develop cancer, heart disease, and diabetes from eating animal flesh. But we do.

Animal agriculture is destroying the planet, starving millions, killing billions of sentient beings every year, and destroying people's health. This is where we are today from eating meat.

SnowFlinga · June 2014

Guess we're going to have to let Denise Minger loose on you.

FunkyTobias · June 2014

Recent research shows that chimpanzees exhibit many previously undocumented behaviors found in humans:

Using stone hammers to crack nuts (Morgan & Abwe 2006, Mercader et al. 2007)
Using tools to harvest underground storage organs (tubers, roots) of plants (Hernandez-Aguilar et al. 2007)
Sheltering in caves to avoid heat (Pruetz 2007)
Using pointed spears made from sticks to hunt for a small primate (bush babies: Galago senegalensis), a hunting behavior practiced primarily by females (Pruetz and Bertolani, 2007).

Humans have multiple metabolic and genetic adaptations for omnivory. A few of the adaptations are described below.

Vitamin B-12 requirement. This is well-known so we mention it only briefly. B-12 is required for human nutrition, yet plant foods are not a reliable source. Certain insects, e.g., termites, a favored food for chimps, are a rich source of B-12 and were probably consumed by our evolutionary ancestors.

Enzyme: carnosinase. The human digestive system produces carnosinase, an enzyme to digest carnosine – a protein found only in animal tissue. The enzyme has a digestive function, and is found in other human tissues as well, as some carnosine is absorbed in intact form by intestinal cells (Sadikali et al. 1975, Lenney et al. 1985).

Enzyme: chitinase. The human digestive system can produce chitinase, an enzyme to digest chitin – found primarily in insects and shellfish. Ability to secrete the enzyme may depend on genetics or being recently descended from populations that consume insects and/or shellfish (Paoletti et al. 2006).

Enzyme: sucrase deficiency. Sucrase is the enzyme required to digest sucrose, aka white sugar, and also found in fruits, both wild and domesticated. Incidence rates of sucrase deficiency in Arctic Inuit range from 2-3% to as high as 10%; the latter is from a non-random sample and may be an overestimate (Draper 1977). The Inuit are a very young culture compared to others; they have been in the Arctic less than 4K years (Wrangham & Conklin-Britten 2003).

Consider that fruit is allegedly the core of the human diet per raw vegan evolution beliefs, and retaining the ability to digest sucrose should not reduce reproduction. It follows that a rate of 2-10% for sucrase deficiency after only 4K years is hard to explain, as it contradicts the claims (by raw vegan evolution advocates) that evolutionary change in digestive processes was somehow “impossible” over more than 2 Million years of human evolution. From another perspective, this can be seen as an example of how quickly fundamental metabolic processes can start evolving in response to diet changes, even when the selective pressure is minimal.

Enzyme: AGT. Alanine:glyoxylate aminotransferase (AGT) is a metabolic enzyme that is targeted in animals to different subcellular units - peroxisomes or mitochondria - with variation in targets differing by diet classification categories that are crude/approximate, i.e., the diet vs. target - association is not strict (Danpure et al. 1994, Holbrook et al 2000, Birdsey et al 2004). Raw vegan advocates have claimed that AGT is proof that humans are “metabolic herbivores”. That claim is an inaccurate oversimplification of a complex issue, and reflects the extremely poor scholarship and black-and-white thinking found in raw vegan advocacy.

AGT contains a polymorphism (genetic variation) - Pro11Leu - that would be advantageous to someone eating animal foods. This suggests the hypothesis: human populations that have higher traditional consumption of animal foods should have a higher incidence of this polymorphism. A comparative study of multiple populations confirmed the hypothesis, and suggested that it is probably due to dietary selective pressures (Caldwell et al. 2004).

“The human, in fact, is remarkable because, after having lost the ability to target AGT to mitochondria…some individuals have reacquired the ability to target a small amount of their AGT back to mitochondria” (Birdsey et al. 2005). AGT targeting to mitochondria has an association with omnivorous and carnivorous diets. The retargeting in humans is via a polymorphism that creates a complex new AGT target sequence, comprised of multiple amino acids. The interpretation here is that AGT targeting in humans is in fact evolving towards the targets associated with omnivory.

Gene: apolipoprotein E ɛ3 allele (written as apoE3). The ɛ3 allele (version) of the apolipoprotein E gene evolved around 226K years BP; this is before the appearance of anatomically modern humans around 195K years BP (McDougall et al. 2005). A detailed analysis by Finch et al. (2004) provides extensive evidence that apoE3 was an evolutionary adaptation to increased consumption of animal foods, i.e., a “meat-adaptive” gene. The apoE3 allele also reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s and vascular diseases. The same paper identifies additional genes that may have changed as a result of increased animal food consumption in evolution, including genes that support the brain, gut, hair and skin, bone maturation, and growth.

http://www.beyondveg.com/billings-t/fresh/natural-human-diet.shtml

seashel812 · June 2014

Seeing how people do fine on many different diets, I don't think there's necessarily a one size fits all approach for everyone. I for one do quite well on lower carb diets. Several years ago when I was 21 I developed pre-diabetes. This was quite the shock for me because I didn't fit the classic type 2 diabetic picture. I was young, thin (body mass index of 20) and active running 6 days a week. I thought I ate healthy. But there I was thirsty all the time no matter how much I drank and my blood work wasn't good. At the recommendation of my Dr I was told to reduce my carbs. At first I was at a loss of what to eat because my diet was predominately carb based and it seemed like there was nothing I could eat but I tried it and my blood work all went back to the normal range. And several years later it's still normal.

AsaThorsWoman · June 2014

I do Keto add me if you want

nancytyc · June 2014

For every website you proposed, I could throw several at you that would be in disagreement. There are clear studies showing that vegans are NOT the only groups that had normal BMI. Follow that fact that there are at least five people I know that are LCHF, meat based, and have normal to just below normal BMI's. We will agree to disagree. You should read some of the older studies (pre 1980's) and some of the recent studies (2005 and older). I am not trying to be mean, either, but I think it is your personal preference that is making you knock the LCHF meat-based diet....especially since it is clear that you have not done any in-depth research on it. If you had, you would not have made some of the above comments.

Second, diabetes really can't be "cured". Once the islets have been destroyed, how could vegetable eating magically bring them back? This I would really like to know. They are now considering transplants, of islet cells, to return functioning insulin responses, but I did not read anything about them doing that by eating a vegan diet.

Please, it is very important that you do your research and be generally knowledgeable before making a post like yours. Of course, I think it completely appropriate to post your personal experiences based on your diet of choice. but to knock something you know little about, is dangerous to the new people reading here. Once you do some further research, you will find where you made your errors. I also suggest that you be more formidable in considering the source(s) of your facts. Good Day

albertabeefy · June 2014

First, those were opinion articles, not peer-reviewed research.

Second, the opinion is based on very old science, and both opinion pieces you linked to are over 11 years old. Since then we've had multiple studies spanning 2 years, and follow-up now at 4 years.

The research is now quite clear that there are NO long-term complications as a result of a proper low-carbohydrate / ketogenic diet.

albertabeefy · June 2014

FYI - Vegans who get their "facts" from 'nutritionfacts' (a vegan-propaganda site full of half-truths and outright misinformation) aren't interested in real science.

While it's true that a raw-vegan diet is *marginally* better than a SAD diet for diabetes (in that it does eliminate refined carbohydrate), ketogenic/LCHF diets are vastly-superior to low-fat diets (whether vegan or not) in every clinical trial ever done testing glycemic control.

And FYI - the islet transplants aren't just being considered, they're being done here in Alberta, Canada. See http://www.islet.ca/ for more information.

shelynne62 · June 2014

Horray...Just found out about this Keto diet after starting ideal protein. I am hacking my ideal protein routine to include coconut oil. My macros are about 60/25/15.

I was having a real problem with hunger following the ideal protein diet and I knew that fat was good for feeling full and satisfied. I tried the coconut oil in one of my shakes and it tasted like a candy bar, YUMYUM. I have more energy too!

judychicken · June 2014

Bump

VeganCappy · June 2014

"For every website you proposed, I could throw several at you that would be in disagreement. There are clear studies showing that vegans are NOT the only groups that had normal BMI. Follow that fact that there are at least five people I know that are LCHF, meat based, and have normal to just below normal BMI's. We will agree to disagree. You should read some of the older studies (pre 1980's) and some of the recent studies (2005 and older). I am not trying to be mean, either, but I think it is your personal preference that is making you knock the LCHF meat-based diet....especially since it is clear that you have not done any in-depth research on it. If you had, you would not have made some of the above comments. "

The study was based on a mean average of vegans, vegetarians, flexitarians, and meat eaters. Please provide any studies you like.

"Second, diabetes really can't be "cured". Once the islets have been destroyed, how could vegetable eating magically bring them back? This I would really like to know. They are now considering transplants, of islet cells, to return functioning insulin responses, but I did not read anything about them doing that by eating a vegan diet. "

Oy! Ok, you really need to educate yourself on your disease. You stated you have type II diabetes. Type II diabetes is 100% curable. It is purely caused from a build-up of fat in the pancreas. Type I diabetes is when the insulin producing cells in the islets of Langerhans have been destroyed.

http://www.drmcdougall.com/health/education/health-science/stars/stars-written/jason-wyrick/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3Bu6MJZbW0
http://www.webmd.com/diabetes/news/20081001/vegan-diet-good-type-2-diabetes
http://www.pcrm.org/health/diabetes-resources/beating-diabetes-vegan-diet-improves-blood-sugar
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Diabetes/wireStory?id=2244647

"Please, it is very important that you do your research and be generally knowledgeable before making a post like yours. Of course, I think it completely appropriate to post your personal experiences based on your diet of choice. but to knock something you know little about, is dangerous to the new people reading here. Once you do some further research, you will find where you made your errors. I also suggest that you be more formidable in considering the source(s) of your facts. Good Day"

I am a nutritionist who has been studying nutrition for decades. I work with overweight and obese people to get them healthy. Including type I and II diabetics. You have a VERY serious disease. You need to take responsibility for your own health and educate yourself on the cause of your disease. If you want to get healthy, you will need to stop listening to the status quo and actually make a lifestyle change.

VeganCappy · June 2014

"FYI - Vegans who get their "facts" from 'nutritionfacts' (a vegan-propaganda site full of half-truths and outright misinformation) aren't interested in real science. "

Everything on Nutritionfacts.org is backed up by peer-review science.

"While it's true that a raw-vegan diet is *marginally* better than a SAD diet for diabetes (in that it does eliminate refined carbohydrate), ketogenic/LCHF diets are vastly-superior to low-fat diets (whether vegan or not) in every clinical trial ever done testing glycemic control. "

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24232975
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/78/3/610S.full
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19386029

The Ketogenic Diet REVIEW ( information you needed )

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