Keto diet: is this true?
cessi0909
Posts: 654 Member
I am in a FB group and someone was asking about starting keto and wanting more information. Someone posted the below and I am curious if they are right?
Fructose, the sugar found in fruit, even though it is healthier can still be damaging to some people. Am I saying lose the fruit all together? No, BUT you want to watch what fruit you are eating because fructose can actually be damaging to the liver and lead to inflammation which is where a lot of heart problems develop. I still eat blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and rasberries in moderation because they are high fiber. The really mind blowing thing is if you are eating any sort of bread, pasta, potatoes or rice you are eating sugar. too often people think sugar is just "sweet stuff" What we do is Low carb 20g. NET or under moderate protein (you don't want too much or it will switch to glucose) and high fat. The typical human uses glucose as energy. People who do keto switch that and use KEtones as our source of energy. Now, everyone loses their mind when I say high fat but by eating real natural healthy fats you are going to do a few things including making sure your body has the proper amount of energy. Calorie restriction only makes you tired and if you are still filling your system with sugar of any form you are going to have blood sugar highs and lows leading to even more tiredness.
I bolded the parts I am most curious about.
Fructose, the sugar found in fruit, even though it is healthier can still be damaging to some people. Am I saying lose the fruit all together? No, BUT you want to watch what fruit you are eating because fructose can actually be damaging to the liver and lead to inflammation which is where a lot of heart problems develop. I still eat blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and rasberries in moderation because they are high fiber. The really mind blowing thing is if you are eating any sort of bread, pasta, potatoes or rice you are eating sugar. too often people think sugar is just "sweet stuff" What we do is Low carb 20g. NET or under moderate protein (you don't want too much or it will switch to glucose) and high fat. The typical human uses glucose as energy. People who do keto switch that and use KEtones as our source of energy. Now, everyone loses their mind when I say high fat but by eating real natural healthy fats you are going to do a few things including making sure your body has the proper amount of energy. Calorie restriction only makes you tired and if you are still filling your system with sugar of any form you are going to have blood sugar highs and lows leading to even more tiredness.
I bolded the parts I am most curious about.
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Replies
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The correct answer is "sort of".
Except the fructose bit... That's just false.6 -
Yes it's true. And yes, the sugar in fruit is the same as the sugar in a can of soda or a bowl of pasta. I've been keto 4 years, and yes my body burns fat, not sugar (carbs) and I produce ketones. And yes, too much protein can be turned into glucose and affect your ability to burn fat. Yes it can reverse diabetes, and inflammation, and migraines. Yes it reduces your hunger and allows many people who have struggled with calorie restriction and yoyo dieting to finally gain control of their lives and health.2
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EbonyDahlia wrote: »Yes it's true. And yes, the sugar in fruit is the same as the sugar in a can of soda or a bowl of pasta. I've been keto 4 years, and yes my body burns fat, not sugar (carbs) and I produce ketones. And yes, too much protein can be turned into glucose and affect your ability to burn fat. Yes it can reverse diabetes, and inflammation, and migraines. Yes it reduces your hunger and allows many people who have struggled with calorie restriction and yoyo dieting to finally gain control of their lives and health.
So can just losing weight.
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Basically it's the Atkins way of eating. You are right to some degree; however, be sure it's healthy fats: MUFAs - those are the healthy fats not the animal or saturated fats and keep away from all the processed junk out there. Clean eating is the way to go.......and portion is important. I keep away from starchy foods but do eat them sparingly. As my mother always said "a little of everything."0
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EbonyDahlia wrote: »Yes it's true. And yes, the sugar in fruit is the same as the sugar in a can of soda or a bowl of pasta. I've been keto 4 years, and yes my body burns fat, not sugar (carbs) and I produce ketones. And yes, too much protein can be turned into glucose and affect your ability to burn fat. Yes it can reverse diabetes, and inflammation, and migraines. Yes it reduces your hunger and allows many people who have struggled with calorie restriction and yoyo dieting to finally gain control of their lives and health.
So can just losing weight.
Yes, and no. Thin people who are pre-diabetic or diabetic can reverse type 2 diabetes by eating Keto. And "just lose weight" is not the answer for people who have tried for years to restrict calorie intake but are unable to do so on a high carb low fat diet due to the hunger involved and the inability to control it. Keto reduces hunger significantly and allows people to succeed when they couldn't before. And "just losing weight" does not help with many other health issues in the way that Keto (LCHF) does.
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I am in a FB group and someone was asking about starting keto and wanting more information. Someone posted the below and I am curious if they are right?
Fructose, the sugar found in fruit, even though it is healthier can still be damaging to some people. Am I saying lose the fruit all together? No, BUT you want to watch what fruit you are eating because fructose can actually be damaging to the liver and lead to inflammation which is where a lot of heart problems develop. I still eat blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and rasberries in moderation because they are high fiber. The really mind blowing thing is if you are eating any sort of bread, pasta, potatoes or rice you are eating sugar. too often people think sugar is just "sweet stuff" What we do is Low carb 20g. NET or under moderate protein (you don't want too much or it will switch to glucose) and high fat. The typical human uses glucose as energy. People who do keto switch that and use KEtones as our source of energy. Now, everyone loses their mind when I say high fat but by eating real natural healthy fats you are going to do a few things including making sure your body has the proper amount of energy. Calorie restriction only makes you tired and if you are still filling your system with sugar of any form you are going to have blood sugar highs and lows leading to even more tiredness.
I bolded the parts I am most curious about.
I know nothing about keto (and am not interested in learning because it does not fit my tastes or lifestyle) but I can address the comments about sugar. Your body does not know and does not care if the sugar is fructose, glucose, sucrose, maltose, dextrose, etc. It metabolizes all sugars (and starches which are nothing more than long chain sugars) as glucose so your body can use the energy.4 -
EbonyDahlia wrote: »EbonyDahlia wrote: »Yes it's true. And yes, the sugar in fruit is the same as the sugar in a can of soda or a bowl of pasta. I've been keto 4 years, and yes my body burns fat, not sugar (carbs) and I produce ketones. And yes, too much protein can be turned into glucose and affect your ability to burn fat. Yes it can reverse diabetes, and inflammation, and migraines. Yes it reduces your hunger and allows many people who have struggled with calorie restriction and yoyo dieting to finally gain control of their lives and health.
So can just losing weight.
Yes, and no. Thin people who are pre-diabetic or diabetic can reverse type 2 diabetes by eating Keto. And "just lose weight" is not the answer for people who have tried for years to restrict calorie intake but are unable to do so on a high carb low fat diet due to the hunger involved and the inability to control it. Keto reduces hunger significantly and allows people to succeed when they couldn't before. And "just losing weight" does not help with many other health issues in the way that Keto (LCHF) does.
Yeah, my Uncle died of a diabetes related illness. He was type 2, was active and had never been overweight a day in his life.
His doctor begged him multiple times over the years to clean up his diet, which consisted of a metric ton of sweets/sugar/carbs, but he didnt listen and unfortunately ended up paying the ultimate price.0 -
Christine_72 wrote: »EbonyDahlia wrote: »EbonyDahlia wrote: »Yes it's true. And yes, the sugar in fruit is the same as the sugar in a can of soda or a bowl of pasta. I've been keto 4 years, and yes my body burns fat, not sugar (carbs) and I produce ketones. And yes, too much protein can be turned into glucose and affect your ability to burn fat. Yes it can reverse diabetes, and inflammation, and migraines. Yes it reduces your hunger and allows many people who have struggled with calorie restriction and yoyo dieting to finally gain control of their lives and health.
So can just losing weight.
Yes, and no. Thin people who are pre-diabetic or diabetic can reverse type 2 diabetes by eating Keto. And "just lose weight" is not the answer for people who have tried for years to restrict calorie intake but are unable to do so on a high carb low fat diet due to the hunger involved and the inability to control it. Keto reduces hunger significantly and allows people to succeed when they couldn't before. And "just losing weight" does not help with many other health issues in the way that Keto (LCHF) does.
Yeah, my Uncle died of a diabetes related illness. He was type 2, was active and had never been overweight a day in his life.
His doctor begged him multiple times over the years to clean up his diet, which consisted of a metric ton of sweets/sugar/carbs, but he didnt listen and unfortunately ended up paying the ultimate price.
Mine too, passed away last year at 68 after years of bad health and following the carb heavy diet recommendations from his "diabetes specialist". I, on the other hand was pre-diabetic 5 years ago and now have a clean bill of health. I have no doubt if I go back to eating a fair amount of carbs I will end up exactly the same as he did - even at my current weight.
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Christine_72 wrote: »EbonyDahlia wrote: »EbonyDahlia wrote: »Yes it's true. And yes, the sugar in fruit is the same as the sugar in a can of soda or a bowl of pasta. I've been keto 4 years, and yes my body burns fat, not sugar (carbs) and I produce ketones. And yes, too much protein can be turned into glucose and affect your ability to burn fat. Yes it can reverse diabetes, and inflammation, and migraines. Yes it reduces your hunger and allows many people who have struggled with calorie restriction and yoyo dieting to finally gain control of their lives and health.
So can just losing weight.
Yes, and no. Thin people who are pre-diabetic or diabetic can reverse type 2 diabetes by eating Keto. And "just lose weight" is not the answer for people who have tried for years to restrict calorie intake but are unable to do so on a high carb low fat diet due to the hunger involved and the inability to control it. Keto reduces hunger significantly and allows people to succeed when they couldn't before. And "just losing weight" does not help with many other health issues in the way that Keto (LCHF) does.
Yeah, my Uncle died of a diabetes related illness. He was type 2, was active and had never been overweight a day in his life.
His doctor begged him multiple times over the years to clean up his diet, which consisted of a metric ton of sweets/sugar/carbs, but he didnt listen and unfortunately ended up paying the ultimate price.
I'm so sorry. A version of type 2 runs in my family too. My grandma and her brother both developed it, even with healthy weights and active lifestyles. Both watched their diet, my grandma lived to 83! Her brother still had complications and died much younger.
It is something I'm watching. So far I have no signs, but it scares me because I have some diet restrictions for another health issue I inherited from my grandpa that make low carb harder.0 -
Christine_72 wrote: »EbonyDahlia wrote: »EbonyDahlia wrote: »Yes it's true. And yes, the sugar in fruit is the same as the sugar in a can of soda or a bowl of pasta. I've been keto 4 years, and yes my body burns fat, not sugar (carbs) and I produce ketones. And yes, too much protein can be turned into glucose and affect your ability to burn fat. Yes it can reverse diabetes, and inflammation, and migraines. Yes it reduces your hunger and allows many people who have struggled with calorie restriction and yoyo dieting to finally gain control of their lives and health.
So can just losing weight.
Yes, and no. Thin people who are pre-diabetic or diabetic can reverse type 2 diabetes by eating Keto. And "just lose weight" is not the answer for people who have tried for years to restrict calorie intake but are unable to do so on a high carb low fat diet due to the hunger involved and the inability to control it. Keto reduces hunger significantly and allows people to succeed when they couldn't before. And "just losing weight" does not help with many other health issues in the way that Keto (LCHF) does.
Yeah, my Uncle died of a diabetes related illness. He was type 2, was active and had never been overweight a day in his life.
His doctor begged him multiple times over the years to clean up his diet, which consisted of a metric ton of sweets/sugar/carbs, but he didnt listen and unfortunately ended up paying the ultimate price.
I'm so sorry. A version of type 2 runs in my family too. My grandma and her brother both developed it, even with healthy weights and active lifestyles. Both watched their diet, my grandma lived to 83! Her brother still had complications and died much younger.
It is something I'm watching. So far I have no signs, but it scares me because I have some diet restrictions for another health issue I inherited from my grandpa that make low carb harder.
He is the only family member that we know of that has had diabetes. Hopefully his was simply down to his diet and won't trickle down the family tree.
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Christine_72 wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »EbonyDahlia wrote: »EbonyDahlia wrote: »Yes it's true. And yes, the sugar in fruit is the same as the sugar in a can of soda or a bowl of pasta. I've been keto 4 years, and yes my body burns fat, not sugar (carbs) and I produce ketones. And yes, too much protein can be turned into glucose and affect your ability to burn fat. Yes it can reverse diabetes, and inflammation, and migraines. Yes it reduces your hunger and allows many people who have struggled with calorie restriction and yoyo dieting to finally gain control of their lives and health.
So can just losing weight.
Yes, and no. Thin people who are pre-diabetic or diabetic can reverse type 2 diabetes by eating Keto. And "just lose weight" is not the answer for people who have tried for years to restrict calorie intake but are unable to do so on a high carb low fat diet due to the hunger involved and the inability to control it. Keto reduces hunger significantly and allows people to succeed when they couldn't before. And "just losing weight" does not help with many other health issues in the way that Keto (LCHF) does.
Yeah, my Uncle died of a diabetes related illness. He was type 2, was active and had never been overweight a day in his life.
His doctor begged him multiple times over the years to clean up his diet, which consisted of a metric ton of sweets/sugar/carbs, but he didnt listen and unfortunately ended up paying the ultimate price.
I'm so sorry. A version of type 2 runs in my family too. My grandma and her brother both developed it, even with healthy weights and active lifestyles. Both watched their diet, my grandma lived to 83! Her brother still had complications and died much younger.
It is something I'm watching. So far I have no signs, but it scares me because I have some diet restrictions for another health issue I inherited from my grandpa that make low carb harder.
He is the only family member that we know of that has had diabetes. Hopefully his was simply down to his diet and won't trickle down the family tree.
It wasn't his diet. What you eat does not cause diabetes. Diabetes is a disease of the pancreas where it either does not produce enough insulin or your body is resistant to the insulin you produce. It all has to do with the beta cells.6 -
Christine_72 wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »EbonyDahlia wrote: »EbonyDahlia wrote: »Yes it's true. And yes, the sugar in fruit is the same as the sugar in a can of soda or a bowl of pasta. I've been keto 4 years, and yes my body burns fat, not sugar (carbs) and I produce ketones. And yes, too much protein can be turned into glucose and affect your ability to burn fat. Yes it can reverse diabetes, and inflammation, and migraines. Yes it reduces your hunger and allows many people who have struggled with calorie restriction and yoyo dieting to finally gain control of their lives and health.
So can just losing weight.
Yes, and no. Thin people who are pre-diabetic or diabetic can reverse type 2 diabetes by eating Keto. And "just lose weight" is not the answer for people who have tried for years to restrict calorie intake but are unable to do so on a high carb low fat diet due to the hunger involved and the inability to control it. Keto reduces hunger significantly and allows people to succeed when they couldn't before. And "just losing weight" does not help with many other health issues in the way that Keto (LCHF) does.
Yeah, my Uncle died of a diabetes related illness. He was type 2, was active and had never been overweight a day in his life.
His doctor begged him multiple times over the years to clean up his diet, which consisted of a metric ton of sweets/sugar/carbs, but he didnt listen and unfortunately ended up paying the ultimate price.
I'm so sorry. A version of type 2 runs in my family too. My grandma and her brother both developed it, even with healthy weights and active lifestyles. Both watched their diet, my grandma lived to 83! Her brother still had complications and died much younger.
It is something I'm watching. So far I have no signs, but it scares me because I have some diet restrictions for another health issue I inherited from my grandpa that make low carb harder.
He is the only family member that we know of that has had diabetes. Hopefully his was simply down to his diet and won't trickle down the family tree.
It wasn't his diet. What you eat does not cause diabetes. Diabetes is a disease of the pancreas where it either does not produce enough insulin or your body is resistant to the insulin you produce. It all has to do with the beta cells.
This. Diet can make it worse or trigger it,but it doesn't cause it.
But it could be something besides inherited genes.2 -
Fructose from whole fruit is inconsequential (ever hear of pectin?). Fructose from sources where it is an additive is of concern. Fructose (by itself) is metabolized differently than the other monosaccharides. There's two effects to consider 1) fructose can meet, quickly, an energy deficit (good), 2) that deficit having been met, the excess is essentially stored in fat for later use (not good).1
-
I am in a FB group and someone was asking about starting keto and wanting more information. Someone posted the below and I am curious if they are right?
Fructose, the sugar found in fruit, even though it is healthier can still be damaging to some people. Am I saying lose the fruit all together? No, BUT you want to watch what fruit you are eating because fructose can actually be damaging to the liver and lead to inflammation which is where a lot of heart problems develop. I still eat blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and rasberries in moderation because they are high fiber. The really mind blowing thing is if you are eating any sort of bread, pasta, potatoes or rice you are eating sugar. too often people think sugar is just "sweet stuff" What we do is Low carb 20g. NET or under moderate protein (you don't want too much or it will switch to glucose) and high fat. The typical human uses glucose as energy. People who do keto switch that and use KEtones as our source of energy. Now, everyone loses their mind when I say high fat but by eating real natural healthy fats you are going to do a few things including making sure your body has the proper amount of energy. Calorie restriction only makes you tired and if you are still filling your system with sugar of any form you are going to have blood sugar highs and lows leading to even more tiredness.
I bolded the parts I am most curious about.
Ironically, the healthiest and longest living nations in the world have diets very heavy in carbs.. like 70% or more... most of which are coming from rice.
Fructose is broken down a bit differently as compared to other sugars, but it doesn't really make a huge different. The amount of fructose in fruits are generally low. I don't think there is any evidence that fruit would cause liver damage or inflammation (and not even getting into the fact that not all inflammation is bad(i.e., exercise induce inflammation)).
What's kind of ironic, a lot of that "high sugar" foods that are listed are some of the ones I incorporate the most because they satiate me, which helps with dietary compliance and adherence. I have perfect metabolic markers (except for elevated LDL - thanks parents) and have only improved with losing 50lbs+.
And the calorie restriction thing is just funny because to lose weight, you have to restrict calories by some standard and even with 120g+ of sugar, I don't have low energy.4 -
EbonyDahlia wrote: »Yes it's true. And yes, the sugar in fruit is the same as the sugar in a can of soda or a bowl of pasta. I've been keto 4 years, and yes my body burns fat, not sugar (carbs) and I produce ketones. And yes, too much protein can be turned into glucose and affect your ability to burn fat. Yes it can reverse diabetes, and inflammation, and migraines. Yes it reduces your hunger and allows many people who have struggled with calorie restriction and yoyo dieting to finally gain control of their lives and health.
To the first bolded. If you mean as an energy source, this is a pointless point, the body will just use glycogen stores as its primary source instead. Neither is preferential to the general population.
To the second bolded. This is not how it happens for everyone. I'd be a hangry mess without a large helping of starchy carbs with my meals. My focus is protein but after that, I need my carbs. And yes I have been keto adapted.1 -
Fructose from whole fruit is inconsequential (ever hear of pectin?). Fructose from sources where it is an additive is of concern. Fructose (by itself) is metabolized differently than the other monosaccharides. There's two effects to consider 1) fructose can meet, quickly, an energy deficit (good), 2) that deficit having been met, the excess is essentially stored in fat for later use (not good).
Sugar is sugar is sugar. Your body doesn't go "wait! That's that dirty added sugar in this Greek yoghurt with honey! Quick, magically store it as fat even if there isn't an excess of calories with which to do so!".4 -
I am in a FB group and someone was asking about starting keto and wanting more information. Someone posted the below and I am curious if they are right?
Fructose, the sugar found in fruit, even though it is healthier can still be damaging to some people. Am I saying lose the fruit all together? No, BUT you want to watch what fruit you are eating because fructose can actually be damaging to the liver and lead to inflammation which is where a lot of heart problems develop. I still eat blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and rasberries in moderation because they are high fiber. The really mind blowing thing is if you are eating any sort of bread, pasta, potatoes or rice you are eating sugar. too often people think sugar is just "sweet stuff" What we do is Low carb 20g. NET or under moderate protein (you don't want too much or it will switch to glucose) and high fat. The typical human uses glucose as energy. People who do keto switch that and use KEtones as our source of energy. Now, everyone loses their mind when I say high fat but by eating real natural healthy fats you are going to do a few things including making sure your body has the proper amount of energy. Calorie restriction only makes you tired and if you are still filling your system with sugar of any form you are going to have blood sugar highs and lows leading to even more tiredness.
I bolded the parts I am most curious about.
Seems all correct, if presented in a slightly alarmist fashion.
Excessive fructose can possibly lead to T2D and insulin resistance, as well as NAFLD (non-alcoholic fatty liver disease). Fructose is handled very differently, metabolically speaking, than glucose is. It won't raise blood glucose levels, which is partially why doctors used to think it was safe for T2Ds, but it may do some damage to the liver which leads to T2D.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23390127
The negative effects of fructose seems to be linked to excessive amounts though. If you are having a couple of fruits a day, I would be surprised if you are at risk. If you are eating a lot of added sugars or excessive fruits, who knows.
Excessive protein will be converted to glucose and may make it difficult for someone to stay in ketosis, BUT that amount of BG is still small. Excessive protein may raise BG enough to prevent ketosis but it isn't enough to cause a BG spike like a potato or a soda would.
Excessive protein is usually quite high - well above 200+ g of protein per day. I go with 70-90g of protein per day. I'd have to double or triple that amount for the protein to affect my BG levels.
Ketogenic dieters do use ketones for energy, and our minimum glucose needs decrease after staying on the diet for a number of weeks. Most people need a good 130-150g of glucose per day. Those who are fat adapted have needs closer to 40g or so.
As for the tiredness, I would get that from BG swings. The highs after carbs felt great but within 2 hours I was lower than where I started and wanted a nap. Or more food. When I am ketogenic, my energy is much MUCH steadier. YMMV0
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