Keto?

There are many websites that explain keto in detail. I just started a few days ago and already feel better.

A great and timely thread. I have been concerned about diabetes for a few months, was noticing the warning signs. In my head, I knew the doctor would say lose weight, exercise, eat right... so I bought a glucose tester and found my levels to be high. So I started low carb which evolved to keto, if I remember correctly eliminating bread was my original plan (gluten elimination). It has been almost 2 months and I think some changes that I like are occurring, noticed my sense of taste is improved, my hunger / appetite has diminished, and I have lost some weight and inches, although this may be due just to calorie deficient diet. I eat eggs, bacon, cheese every mid morning right now as I am not working. Evening meal is some meat, steak, pork, or chicken. And vegetables, minimizing "root" vegetables. I am usually over the "20g per day" carb limit but always under 50. It is a bit murky as the carb limit is net carbs not total carbs and MFP doesn't have a net carbs component. Anyway, hope this helps, I don't think I am on a keto diet, I am on a keto lifestyle. Diabetes requires change, I don't want to have to deal with insulin and am hoping to get in front of that. Have a great day.

flagrantavidity wrote: »

Keto is a a very low carb diet. The point is to get into ketosis, where you body uses fat as it’s energy source instead of carbs. Carbohydrates are broken down into sugar, your body uses sugar for energy, when your in ketosis your body switches to using fat for energy. Keto was used as a therapy for children who experienced seizures before anti-seizure medications were available - I believe around 1910 through the 70’s.

There are studies trying to figure out of ketosis offers any benefits to weight loss. There are studies that show due to the food restrictions to stay in ketosis, the amount of calories in are reduced and it doesn’t offer more weight loss benefits than calories in vs calories out.

Ketosis is helpful for people who experience seizures where medication does not work or there is an allergy to medication.

Some people do report feeling better going Keto, others don’t report any change, there are studies showing cholesterol going sky high in the short term then leveling out in the long term.

In the end, do what makes you healthy. If it’s sustainable for you and helps you get to a goal - that’s great, go Keto.


This is not a study but thought the info was decent and relevant to your situation. https://www.thediabetescouncil.com/can-you-manage-your-diabetes-on-a-ketogenic-diet/

That link is pretty good. It says pregnant women with diabetes should avoid it though because you won't get the recommended carbs. There is no essential carb level so I think eating keto or low carb would be a smart way to address dangerous high glucose levels rather that worrying that nutrition is received through meats more than carbs.

As to the higher BP, it generally does not shoot up on a keto diet. Some find triglycerides go up with weight loss but that is true of any diet. Most find their triglycerides go down, HDL goes up, and LDL particle size profile improves. Often fairly quickly depending on if they are not too heavy - extra weight limits the immediate positive changes somewhat.

@Sjudit84

Sjudit84 wrote: »

Hey guys!

I was just about to open a topic on this when I saw there is a topic on keto. Could you please help me out?

I have celiac's and milk protein intolerance, plus I have been recently diagnosed with PBC (primary biliary cholangitis).
Although my doc says diet cannot change my condition with PBC, I still wanna try. I have already been eating gluten and dairy free for about 5-6 years.

I was debating between the Autoimmune Protocol Diet and Keto. I hear conflicting information on both. Have tried the AIP diet half a year ago, it went well after finding other sources for carbs than I used to eat. I stopped bcs I had to go to hospital for some examinations and there I could not cook for myself.

But I have recently read a lot about Keto and wanted to try it, bcs I have read many people's autoimmune diseases went into remission, I have even read two patients on PBC have remission. Which is strange bcs Keto is all about fats and on PBC we should be eating a low fat diet.

Anyway, this has been my second day on Keto. I have the brain fog due to not eating sugar of course and cutting out carbs, I already know this, I have experienced this when going gluten free and doing AIP, nothing new, I can handle it.

BUT: I just cannot seem to cut down carbs enough! No matter how little I eat (I know greens should be primary) of them, I still go over my daily intake. I can do the fat and protein but I just cannot seem to cut down on carbs enough. Currently I am doing 10% carbs and still go over it...And I feel like I BARELY eat any carbs! I feel a bit disgusted about eating so much fat and meat, normally I am all about vegetables and fruit...used to be almost vegan before my diagnoses.

I feel like it is impossible to go down to 5% carbs, which is what is written everywhere I should do. From 10% my body won't go into ketosis, right?

Second of all, due to not eating enough fiber, my stool has been really hard.

On the other hand, I feel less hungry, no ups and downs due to sugar, no feeling sleepy after eating and I do a 16 hour fast before I start eating.

Do you guys have any advice for me? I know it has not been so long since I have started Keto, but still...

Btw, my daily intake currently is 1400 kcal, 35 g carbs, 93 g fat, 105 g protein.

I've been keto for a for years and have some ideas that could help with it.

Low sodium, which is caused by falling glycogen (lost water and sodium) and low insulin making the kidneys excrete more sodium. Low electrolytes (sodium) causes fatigue, headaches, brain fog, nausea, BM issues (usually constipation), muscle weakness, aches and spasms.

If you make sure you are getting at least 3000 to 5000 mg of sodium a day, it will eliminate those symptoms within hours. To get more sodium, eat salty broth or boullion, drink pickle juice, eat salt tablets, eat salt with a chaser of water, make a salty keto-ade, and salt your food liberally. There's 2300 mg sodium in a teaspoon of salt.

If you don't get enough sodium you'll eventually BP need to supplement potassium and magnesium as those electrolytes are leeched out.

I think if you up sodium, you constipation and brain fog will be gone.

Low fat can cause constipation too. If it continues, try some coconut oil or MCT oil, and add a magnesium supplement.

For ketosis, all most people need is to be below around 50 g of net carbs. Some with insulin resistance will need to go lower to be in ketosis almost all of the time, and athletes who time their carbs around exercise can go quite a bit higher. If your carbs are mostly vegetables (mainly green leafy, broccoli, cauliflower, celery), some veggie like fruits (avocado, olives, squash, cucumber, pumpkin, peppers, tomatoes), and a bit of fruits (berries or temperate fruits like apples and oranges) and starchy root vegetables (carrots, turnips and minimal potatoes) then your carbs will probably be low.

Grains, flours, sugars and some starchy roots and tropical or dried fruits are generally the highest carb plant foods. Most keto'ers skip those or really limit them.

50 g of carbs is about 200kcal. How much you are eating will determine your macro percentage. If you eat 2000 kcal, then 50g of carbs is about 10%. If yo eat 1500kcal, it would be around 15%. To stay in ketosis you probably need to keep carbs between 0 and 50g.

If you want to combine the AIP with ketosis, it can be done. It would just require a bit more planning.

Good luck. I hope it helps you feel better. I know keto is very easy to mesh with my celiac disease - the foods are almost all naturally GF. I have not noticed any difference in my hashimots or my ITP. It does help somewhat with my joint problems, headaches, skin and hair, as well as better energy and sleep, but I have early IR.

Sjudit84 wrote: »

Thank you! Very insightful indeed!

I will try more sodium. I have read about it before but I thought I am consuming enough. Tomorrow my fermented cucumbers will be ready, so I will try drinking their juice for sure!
I am already taking magnesium supplements and taking coconut oil as well, that and olive oil where most of my fats come from apart from fatty meat.

Avocados cost a lot so they won't be sadly a staple in my diets. I will eat some more nuts, but not too much.

Yeah, I cut out sugars and flour and grains altogether, this is why I thought my carbs won't be high. I will try with the 50 g carbs, see if that is easier to handle. Thank you!

@Sjudit84 I went very simple with sodium and ate 1/2 tsp of salt with water a couple of times a day. This was after I let it go for about 2-3 weeks and was starting to get muscle spasms. I just couldn't believe that I needed that MUCH sodium. fixed me up in hours.

Carb ceilings in keto are easiest if you approach it flexibly at first, IMO. The diet takes a couple of weeks to get used to, and then people seem to find their carb sweet spot within a month or two. And even that changes with time. I started at around 100g, felt good so dropped to 20 g. I stayed near that for quite a while then moved up closer to 50g and now I'm near zero. Lol

Look in the MFP groups for the Low Carber Daily and Keto groups. You'll find good info and support in there. There are a number of people using low carb to treat AI issues in both groups.

Good luck.