What's the keto diet good for?
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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.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.15 -
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5568065/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.
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.6 -
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5568065/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.
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?"7 -
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.3 -
Most of these claims are true and verifiable. A few are conjecture and opinion without proof to substantiate them. Specifically: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.
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.Those with IR may lose marginally faster - maybe 6 lbs more in a year than they would on a higher carb diet;
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.People often notice an improvement in cognition
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.Can be used to help some with developmental problems like autism.
Total opinion and conjecture. Again, if you have proof, post it.Better skin and hair
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 wroteKeto 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.13 -
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.1 -
Most of these claims are true and verifiable. A few are conjecture and opinion without proof to substantiate them. Specifically: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.
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.Those with IR may lose marginally faster - maybe 6 lbs more in a year than they would on a higher carb diet;
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.People often notice an improvement in cognition
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.Can be used to help some with developmental problems like autism.
Total opinion and conjecture. Again, if you have proof, post it.Better skin and hair
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 wroteKeto 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.19 -
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.14 -
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???10 -
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.
15 -
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.
Possible riches are what await me if I play the Publisher's Clearing House.
I am not going to argue with you about your list. I did happen to notice this thread was asking what is Keto good for not what is Keto possibly good for, for some people though.
13 -
The benefits of the Mediterranean diet:
* May slow down cognitive decline and can be protective against Alzheimer's
* Can improve the mental health of people with depression
* Reduces inflammation
* Can prevent heart disease and promote metabolic syndrome remission
* Associated with improved osteoarthritis symptoms
* Has a dose-dependent protective association with the presence, number, and thickness of plaques independent of other risk factors.
I can go on and write pages of this for the Mediterranean diet, and then start an even longer list for a vegetarian or vegan diet. I may even dabble in the effect of flexible dieting on mental health and eating disorder prevalence.15 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »The benefits of the Mediterranean diet:
* May slow down cognitive decline and can be protective against Alzheimer's
* Can improve the mental health of people with depression
* Reduces inflammation
* Can prevent heart disease and promote metabolic syndrome remission
* Associated with improved osteoarthritis symptoms
* Has a dose-dependent protective association with the presence, number, and thickness of plaques independent of other risk factors.
I can go on and write pages of this for the Mediterranean diet, and then start an even longer list for a vegetarian or vegan diet. I may even dabble in the effect of flexible dieting on mental health and eating disorder prevalence.
I
U! 6 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »The benefits of the Mediterranean diet:
* May slow down cognitive decline and can be protective against Alzheimer's
* Can improve the mental health of people with depression
* Reduces inflammation
* Can prevent heart disease and promote metabolic syndrome remission
* Associated with improved osteoarthritis symptoms
* Has a dose-dependent protective association with the presence, number, and thickness of plaques independent of other risk factors.
I can go on and write pages of this for the Mediterranean diet, and then start an even longer list for a vegetarian or vegan diet. I may even dabble in the effect of flexible dieting on mental health and eating disorder prevalence.
I U!
Me fricken’ too!6 -
I took some ideas from the Mediterranean diet so it definitely benefited me. The benefit of flexible eating is that you can study other diets and pick and choose the parts you think are good ideas.7
-
I am all for following a diet that doesn't have a name. That significantly lessens any rules and restrictions and means that you can tailor an eating plan which is most suitable for you as an individual. This approach has worked well for me.5 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »The benefits of the Mediterranean diet:
* May slow down cognitive decline and can be protective against Alzheimer's
* Can improve the mental health of people with depression
* Reduces inflammation
* Can prevent heart disease and promote metabolic syndrome remission
* Associated with improved osteoarthritis symptoms
* Has a dose-dependent protective association with the presence, number, and thickness of plaques independent of other risk factors.
I can go on and write pages of this for the Mediterranean diet, and then start an even longer list for a vegetarian or vegan diet. I may even dabble in the effect of flexible dieting on mental health and eating disorder prevalence.
Yep, you could. I did say that many of the benefits that I listed could be found in other diets, with weight loss or drugs. There are only a few of the items that seem to be due to ketones only, but there would be health benefits seen in some other diets that are not seen in keto, I'm sure.10 -
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.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.comhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZu52duIqno&vl=enhttps://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.
The issue is, you believe if it helped even one person its a benefit (i.e., autism), then you believe its a benefit of the diet. That simple isnt true. A diet related benefit would apply to a greater majority of those who follow it (i.e., stable BG in those with IR).
With Alzheimer's there may be a slowing in the progression in some but keto alone cant be used; meaning drug intervention and other therapies have to be used first. Hunger suppression happens with some, just like every diet that gets you to focus on high quality foods. Better skin and hair is the same non sense promoted on every diet. Again, that is largely driven by going off crap diets and moving on a diet of quality foods.
The point is, if the benefit is for every diet, than its not really a benefit because its not the diet causing the benefit.11 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »The benefits of the Mediterranean diet:
* May slow down cognitive decline and can be protective against Alzheimer's
* Can improve the mental health of people with depression
* Reduces inflammation
* Can prevent heart disease and promote metabolic syndrome remission
* Associated with improved osteoarthritis symptoms
* Has a dose-dependent protective association with the presence, number, and thickness of plaques independent of other risk factors.
I can go on and write pages of this for the Mediterranean diet, and then start an even longer list for a vegetarian or vegan diet. I may even dabble in the effect of flexible dieting on mental health and eating disorder prevalence.
Yep, you could. I did say that many of the benefits that I listed could be found in other diets, with weight loss or drugs. There are only a few of the items that seem to be due to ketones only, but there would be health benefits seen in some other diets that are not seen in keto, I'm sure.
Sure, but what's the point? Since most diets provide benefits (most of which are achieved through weight loss, anyway) why make these lists? It oversells the diet. Keto is currently a craze, so contributing to it with such assertions isn't doing people any favors. People are feeling "forced" to join the craze because "it's the best diet ever that will give you the best results and health benefits and if you're not doing it, you don't care about your health" and "carbs are scary and will make you gain weight or kill you". They don't need more encouragement than the current media barrage, they need more toned down info to encourage realistic expectations and focus on preference and sustainability above all.10
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