Is the Keto Diet Effective?

The New York Times ^ | Jan 2, 2020 | Dawn MacKeen

[BobL]

A recent survey of registered dietitians named the low-carbohydrate keto diet yet again as the most popular diet in the United States. Powering this diet is fat, and loads of it — all the way up to a hefty 90 percent of one’s daily calories.

Its fans (and marketers) feed social media with before and after photos, crediting the diet for life-altering weight loss or other effects. They swirl butter into their coffee, load up on cheese, and eat lonely burgers without its bestie, the bun. Staples like whole grains, legumes, fruit and starchy vegetables are being largely pushed off the plate as devotees strive for ketosis — when the body begins to burn fat instead of glucose as its primary energy source.

“America is in a state of carbophobia,” said Whitney Linsenmeyer, a spokeswoman for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

The diet is hailed for dropping pounds, burning more calories, reducing hunger, managing diabetes, treating drug resistant epilepsy, improving blood pressure, and cholesterol, as well as triglycerides, the major storage form of fat in the body. People have reported improved concentration, too. “We see pretty dramatic benefits,” said Dr. William Yancy, director of the Duke Diet and Fitness Center.

[z3n]

So you’re saying gluconeogenesis isn’t really a thing?

~~~

Read my post please. I actually said that you can metabolize glocose from protiens and alcohol. These are not efficient pathways though, and your body will not use them to produce even survivable levels of glucose. This is why you switch to ketogenesis when you are either in starvation mode, or when you your blood sugar has been low for days and your liver glycogen stores are depleted.

[mlo]

What exactly does “hard on the heart” mean?

[Drango]

Indeed, some evidence suggests that people feel less hungry while in ketosis, and have fewer cravings.

“That’s why it’s become so popular for the general population,”

THIS^

Every other diet left me feeling like a rat was gnawing at my stomach. With Keto I don't feel hungry most of the time.

[BobL]

“Likewise re: ping list Bob.”

Gotcha!

[dblshot]

I’d like to be on your ping list Bob.

[TangledUpInBlue]

I agree with you. I like bread too and it makes lunch easier though I mostly avoid carbs at all breakfast and most lunches.

I love pasta though, so that’s where I allow night time carbs once per week. You can’t stop everything because deprivation isn’t good. It leads to guilt and binging. Everything in moderation truly is the right answer and sometimes that even includes moderation.

[dblshot]

MY EX!

[bluetick]

I did read your post. Your second sentence stated: “ Carbs are not essential, but also, your body doesn’t produce them.”

[dfwgator]

I took the holidays off from strict Keto, but I’m back on it now.

[dblshot]

Thanks.

[SpaceBar]

The only ethnic group(s) that are known to be able to digest and thrive on a heavily fat based diet without longterm adverse health effects are the various inuit tribes (eskimos). Their diet is essentially blubber and meat, and their digestive systems and metabolisms have adjusted to that over tens of thousands of years, and those that couldn’t died. Fast forward to the 21’st century where the most exercise people get is lifting groceries in from the car. For non-inuits, a high fat diet causes a dumping of bile and digestive enzymes that make a person feel satisfied, but the average persons’ bile reserves are limited, resulting in poor digestive efficiency, excessive wear on the bile producing organs, and oily stools. The ‘ketogenic’ part comes when your body realizes it’s starving and resorts to a secondary form of energy metabolism. If you want to lose weight, eat less and get more exercise.

[moovova]

I love it. I can “let go” over the holidays eating whatever I want, gain a few pounds without feeling guilty...and then go right back to a “diet” of full meals with meat and a couple of veggies. The few pounds I gained disappear in a week or less.

[nagant]

I have systemic lupus. I’m on a meat and fat only diet As a result I am symptom free. Lupus isn’t something which gets cured or even goes into remission, so this is as good as it gets. Most people don’t understand the massive roll which carb-associated proteins play in autoimmune disease. Once the immune system sensitizes to a carb-associated protein and the tissue which it attaches to it never relaxes its attacks until the protein is removed.

Given that now we know diseases like type 2 diabetes, arthritis, autism and schizophrenia are autoimmune diseases, it seems incumbent that people not merely increase meat and fat intake, but cut out carb-related proteins as well, including dairy and eggs.

My fat staple is ghee, or clarified butter.

[SIDENET]

Did you ask what exactly is heart harmful?

It's heartbreaking to avoid pizza and beer.

Actually, I've done keto many times and have had great results while on it. I plan to go back on it soon.

[Drango]

Balderdash.

The eat less, move more thesis is what produced 70% overweight and obesity epidemic. That and the stupid food pyramid.

[PA Engineer]

Look up “autophagy” - the process where your body’s ability to dispose of old cells and produce new, healthy ones is unhampered by digestion, which uses more energy and resources than anything else in a body.

Autophagy is one of the missing factors in aging, health and disease. Yoshinori Ohsumi won the 2016 Nobel Prize for his work.

The field is "hot" and is filling in the missing pieces to many metabolic processes. One of the papers discussing mito, macro, and chaperone autophagy: Macroautophagy and Chaperone-Mediated Autophagy in Heart Failure: The Known and the Unknown

Autophagy is also critically important for the brain and particularly neurons. Autophagy does not begin for at least 12 hours after the last meal and accelerates thereafter depending on the length of the fast. Neuronal autophagy is critical for mitochondrial health as well as recycling on non-ferrous iron in the brain. The loss of autophagy is theorized to be the primary cause of neurodegeneration with iron buildup (MRI findings) in Alzheimers, Parkinsons, Huntingtons and other disorders of brain iron metabolism.

One of the more exciting findings is in the area of chaperone assisted autophagy. The ketone beta-hydroxybutarate was discovered to assist in all autophagy processes and represents 30% of the total all all three recycling metabolic processes. We found (in our research) a work around with medium chain triglycerides (MCTs-C8 and C10) to stimulate this process as well as other benefits.

Here is an interesting paper on that subject: Ketone Bodies Stimulate Chaperone-mediated Autophagy

It is impossible to argue with "testimonial" claims to authority. People who are expressing their opinion based on this are not interested in exploring the complexity of metabolic processes to form their own opinions. Sorry if I appear impatient with some posters.

[Boomer]

Given that now we know diseases like type 2 diabetes, arthritis, autism and schizophrenia are autoimmune diseases, it seems incumbent that people not merely increase meat and fat intake, but cut out carb-related proteins as well, including dairy and eggs.

That's a line I won't cross. I've drastically reduced cheese and switched to non-dairy milk which I use to make a homemade ice cream with heavy cream but eggs will stay. I didn't realize eggs were considered dairy. They don't come from cow's milk.

I slow smoke pork shoulders and use it in vegetable dishes. I even save the fat drippings from the cooking process for more flavor and good fat. I use lard to supplement when I need to.

I've started fasting every other day having one meal in the afternoon on fasting days and 3 meals in between fast days. It has only been a week and I've dropped a couple of pounds but I know the effect can take a week or two to really show on the scale. I've been doing the keto lifestyle for about 6 months (this time) but not seeing the loss of weight so I guess I consume too many calories even if they are high fat and medium protein with very low carb intake. If this doesn't work; I don't know what else I can do.

I'm glad you found a diet that works to keep the lupus under control. Auto-immune is a serious disease causing condition. Many feel cancer gains a foothold with it and feeds on grains.

[MissEdie]

I tried the strict Keto last year for 4 months. I lost 17 pounds but had symptoms similar to high blood sugar. My sugar levels were good- but I would have spells of dizziness and wooziness my doctor said were caused by my body not getting enough carbs. I started doing “Lazy Keto” where I did not limit my carb intake as much. Felt better but did put a few pounds back on. Now I’m exercising more and adding more veggies and protein into my diet.

[BobL]

Nice. One recommendation - try skipping breakfast on your non-fasting days. I think that step is really easy!

[Mr Rogers]

“My Cardiologist of the last 20+ years at Cedars Sinai says it is incredibly hard on your heart.”

Well, after 8 months...down 30 lbs. Cholestrol slightly down, but within the margin of error. Triglycerides down, HDL up, blood pressure without meds down to 120/80 (versus 155/105) - and my BP WITH medicine was 135/90.

If that is “incredibly hard on [my] heart”, so be it!