Ketogenic Diet - Powerful Dietary Strategy for Certain Conditions

[Keyhole]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

Do you still eat eggs? I experience diarrhea for about a month straight until I completely cut out eggs. Then re introduced 6 months later and they were ok.

Also how much water are you drinking? I think that kidney stones certainly can be a problem on the ketogenic diet if you are not drinking enough water

 

[lilyalic]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

Do you still eat eggs?

When I make custard/pudding there's 6 egg yolks in that, I definitely do not eat egg whites!
Not been having the custard/pudding that frequent anymore due to detox.

I believe the diarrhea is literally the detoxing, there's nothing I changed in my diet other than cutting down on FOD maps (xylitol etc)
don't keep count on water intake, but it can be said I should be drinking more.

 

[Keyhole]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

Do you still eat eggs?

When I make custard/pudding there's 6 egg yolks in that, I definitely do not eat egg whites!
Not been having the custard/pudding that frequent anymore due to detox.

I believe the diarrhea is literally the detoxing, there's nothing I changed in my diet other than cutting down on FOD maps (xylitol etc)
don't keep count on water intake, but it can be said I should be drinking more.

I edited the above comment after posting it. It may be worth completely cutting them out just incase because there may be an underlying reaction.

With regards to water, if you are having diarrhoea then you will be losing lots of fluid. Being in ketosis we naturally do not retain as much water, therefore are required to drink A LOT more. Often I don't feel dehydrated, but when I wake up in the morning my mouth is awfully dry and urine is coloured in the morning - which means that I probably was dehydrated. Its best to keep track of exactly how much your drinking everyday, If i remember correctly its 1/2 a fluid ounce for every kg of body weight - I'm not completely sure about that measurement though.

 

[Gaby]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

Also exhibiting some sort of white particles in my urine, which I looked up and it refers to some sort of kidney stones? I'm not sure what I trust anymore!

Yes, make sure to drink plenty of water :) Here are some additional tips:

If you suspect kidney stones, make sure you take potassium citrate and it will naturally protect you against this issue. Avoid sodas because the phosphates can facilitate stone formation. Finally, make sure you don't overeat protein, that way your uric acid levels will stay in range.

My two cents!

 

[Beau]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

Also exhibiting some sort of white particles in my urine, which I looked up and it refers to some sort of kidney stones? I'm not sure what I trust anymore!

Yes, make sure to drink plenty of water :) Here are some additional tips:

If you suspect kidney stones, make sure you take potassium citrate and it will naturally protect you against this issue. Avoid sodas because the phosphates can facilitate stone formation. Finally, make sure you don't overeat protein, that way your uric acid levels will stay in range.

Symptoms of kidney stone also include blood in the urine, and pain that starts in the lower right back and then, as the stone moves towards the bladder, pain shifts to the right side/waist. I had all these symptoms about a year and a half ago, and I managed it by drinking tons of water, green tea, and supplements. Make no mistake, if you are going to pass a stone, you will know it by the serious amount of pain that you will be in. Although, you seem a bit young to have that condition, but you might be going through a particularly intense detox. Perhaps a visit to the doc will give you some answers and help with what sounds like a difficult transition.

 

[Tui]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

I want to thank everybody for their contributions to the discussions of the Keto diet. I am finding invaluable information here, although it seems clear that the diet is very individual, that within the frame work of the diet everyone has to sort out exactly what is right for them, and that it is a long process. However, eventually, the benefits to one's holistic health seem to be really worth all the experiments and trouble.

Having been a longtime vegetarian, I am still hovering at the edge of this diet, looking out from the shadows of the trees to those on this diet happily dancing in the sunny open meadows. But I have been preparing to go on this diet for some months now, one by one cutting out things like bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and cereals, and most recently, much-loved fruit.

I have read with interest Paulo's story about his grandparents' eating lifestyle and that of their children later.

Paulo, you started on the Keto diet on New Year's Day 2015 after much preparation - I'd very much like to have an update on how you are doing on this diet.

Ynna

 

[SeekinTruth]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

Magnesium could help prevent/with kidney stones too, as well as, Uva Ursi, ginger root, and vitamin B6.


@Ynna, if you haven't done so already, you might want to search here and on SOTT about all the evils of consuming large quantities of fructose (the sugar in fruits). So, even though eating lots of fresh, especially organic, fruits doesn't sound like it could be very detrimental to health, if done over long periods of time, it really can do quite a lot of damage. Modern variety of fruits have way more fructose in them than older ones, not to mention the wild versions which had very little (they were not sweet, but very sour or sometimes bitter, so people wouldn't be inclined to eat very much of them). So, among the other very problematic foods you've cut out, you'll be glad that you cut fruit out too, once you see how much evidence there is about the dangers of fructose - in some ways, it's worse than table sugar.

 

[Gawan]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

I want to thank everybody for their contributions to the discussions of the Keto diet. I am finding invaluable information here, although it seems clear that the diet is very individual, that within the frame work of the diet everyone has to sort out exactly what is right for them, and that it is a long process. However, eventually, the benefits to one's holistic health seem to be really worth all the experiments and trouble.

There is a lot of testing involved and as you write the diet can look a bit different from person to person. For example I can only tolerate about max. 70grs of butter per meal when another person can easily and without side effects eat about 100 or even more gram of butter.

Having been a longtime vegetarian, I am still hovering at the edge of this diet, looking out from the shadows of the trees to those on this diet happily dancing in the sunny open meadows. But I have been preparing to go on this diet for some months now, one by one cutting out things like bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and cereals, and most recently, much-loved fruit.

Sugar is addictive and your body (and eventually candida) is using it as a fuel and that's the reason why it is so hard to overcome. What do you eat at the moment and what stops you from jumping in so to speak?

Anyway, hang in there and I think you can make it :).

 

[Tui]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

Gawan,

At present I am eating mostly stews/soups made of baby spinach/kale, onion, garlic, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans and sweet potato, usually adding turmeric, sea/himalayan salt and black pepper and some dried/fresh herbs, and once in a while adding some button mushrooms or butternut, served with a good drizzle of full cream. Then salads of avocado and tomato, with some cheese (cheddar or mozzarella) added. Once in a while I buy some baby carrots and nibble on it raw. Once a day (sometimes twice) I have filter coffee with full cream milk. About twice a month I buy 500 g of full cream yogurt and have about 150 g per day (sometimes a scoop on the salad) until the container is empty.

I am nearly ready to add bacon and eggs to my diet, having been slowed down by a firm mind set for a long time that eating animals will be a karmic disaster. But I have been reading a lot on why this is not so, so I am nearly ready for the transition - just waiting for an auspicious day...

Ynna

 

[Tui]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

Gawan, I must add that I use butter generously in the stews/soups. Soon I am going to try the butter in my coffee. Also, I have bought coconut oil, and will start using that for frying the onions, garlic and mushrooms, for instance, in the place of the olive oil.

 

[Yas]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

Hi Ynna!

cutting out all that you cut out already is great first step! it will certainly bring you some benefit already! That's super great!

I was a vegetarian for 20 years myself and I've been doing the KD for 2 years now. Before that I started with a paleo diet and it took me quite a while to be ready to do the KD per se.

It doesn't mean that it will be your case, but for me it was really hard to digest fat and meat. I had very bad stomach aches when I ate high fat food, so I had to do it gradually. After a while of cutting on gluten, dairy and sugar, I started feeling very well but I noticed some energy disbalance. The mistake was that I was avoiding meat and fat, so when I started eating that, I had all this stomach pain. It lasted for a few months and now I'm capable of eating lots of fat and meat without a problem (but remember that it is also important to keep the protein amount controlled, otherwise the excess will turn into glucose and that might kick you out of ketosis).

It is normally the case that vegetarians have a lower production of HCL, and supplementing with that and other enzymes can help in the transition. But is really important to gradually add fat and meat to your diet while you are cutting on other things, because your body will crave for carbs and the only way to fuel it now will be with fat.

As you might know, it's good to cut out dairy too, but it's OK for while when you've just cut on cereals, for how long are you gluten-free?

 

[SeekinTruth]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

In addition to what Yas posted, keep in mind that most people transitioning to a Ketogenic diet, particularly most vegetarians, come from low fat, high carb eating for many years. As the keto diet require very high levels of healthy fats, you also will likely have a sluggish liver/lack of bile production and viscous bile and may have gall stones as a result. So, you'll have to go slow and don't rush things when increasing your fat so that it will eventually be about 80% of daily calories.

Also frying with olive oil, and basically anything that's not saturated fat, is not a good idea. These types of fats (basically anything that's liquid at room temperature) break down and can become toxic at high heat. Best to eat olive oil as salad dressing, not to cook with it (unless it's VERY low heat and very short time of cooking).

 

[Laura]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?


Yes, the issue of the liver having gone to sleep from years of lack of use is a big one. Not only are you re-tooling the whole food processing system, you have to give time for upregulating DNA that controls digestive processes/enzymes. So best to go slow. The good thing is that once you get that liver working as it was intended to, the side benefit is that it is MUCH better able to detox your whole system which is one of the functions of the liver to begin with. And, with a healthy, active liver, you are less prone to any liver related diseases not to mention those conditions that are "ruled" by the liver/gall bladder meridian.

http://www.natural-health-zone.com/liver-meridian.html

http://www.natural-health-zone.com/gallbladder-meridian.html

Ignore the dietary advice on these pages; they don't have a clue.

 

[RedFox]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

I've been reading a lot about choline recently. It appears to be especially important in helping digest/convert fat into something usable, and is therefore useful in getting your liver user to digesting fat (taurine helps with that too).

If you aren't yet eating or can't tolerate egg yokes/liver, or are craving things with egg yokes in (such as home-made mayo) you probably need more choline. Brain fog, lack of energy, poor nerve/skin healing and headaches with smoking - more choline.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/2-more-common-nutrient-deficiencies-and-what-to-do-about-them

Choline
Choline is the precursor for acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter involved with memory; it’s an integral component of two important phospholipids; and the liver uses it to process fats and package lipids. The real authority on choline is Chris Masterjohn of the Daily Lipid blog. In fact, I’ll refer to his series of choline posts from time to time, because they do a far better job of explaining than abstracts from PubMed.

Deficiency Symptoms

Fatty liver – The research is pretty clear that a choline deficiency is majorly responsible for fatty liver.
Lowered VLDL – Without choline, very low-density lipoprotein synthesis in the liver is disrupted. While reducing VLDL might make your lipid panel happy, it also sets you up for developing fatty liver, since the fat isn’t being packaged into lipoproteins for dispersal.
Elevated ALT levels – Elevated alamine transaminase levels could indicate liver problems, which are often caused by a choline deficiency.
Elevated homocysteine – A choline deficiency results in a reduced capacity to methylate homocysteine (PDF).
Impaired memory – Since choline is the precursor for acetylcholine, a choline deficiency often manifests as a memory impairment. One study even found that choline supplementation improved memory in humans who were deficient.

Why Might Deficiency Occur?

You’re still scared of dietary fat and cholesterol. The best sources of choline come packaged with fat and cholesterol. I imagine this fear explains the “silent epidemic” of fatty liver across America that Chris Masterjohn discusses, but don’t let it get to you.
You’re still scared of offal. Yeah, yeah, it’s icky, it has a very distinct taste, your grandma used to overcook liver and force you to eat it, whatever. Liver and other offal bits are awesome and essential.
You’re not scared of dietary fat and cholesterol. Huh? Doesn’t this contradict number one? Not exactly. Most of you are all about the fat, and that’s awesome, but eating more fat increases the need for choline. This doesn’t mean you have to reduce the fat; you simply have to increase your choline intake (luckily, Primal fat sources are also often choline sources, as you’ll see below).

 

[Gawan]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

It is normally the case that vegetarians have a lower production of HCL, and supplementing with that and other enzymes can help in the transition. But is really important to gradually add fat and meat to your diet while you are cutting on other things, because your body will crave for carbs and the only way to fuel it now will be with fat.

I agree and for me HCL is my personal wonder supplement, cause without it I would have many times unnerving stomach pain and with this supplement the pain vanishes easily after half an hour. Also oxbile is an option by the way and helps with digestion. And for cravings there could be L-Glutamine of help among others and L-Glutamine is at least mentioned in Maria Emmerichs book (Keto-Adapted) and by Nora Gedgaudas (Primal Body, Primal Mind; The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living; and Life Without Bread).