Ketogenic Diet - Powerful Dietary Strategy for Certain Conditions

[munaychasumaq]

I would like to report that before to start with the Ketogenic diet my weight was 50 kilos,now after more than one year and a half my weight is 45 kilos.I feel much better of course but i do not want to lose more weight.i really know if i come back a little bit to re-introduce bread i will recover some weight but this is not the point...maybe i have to learn to make gluten free bread...Some advice and suggestions

 

[Turgon]

I would like to report that before to start with the Ketogenic diet my weight was 50 kilos,now after more than one year and a half my weight is 45 kilos.I feel much better of course but i do not want to lose more weight.i really know if i come back a little bit to re-introduce bread i will recover some weight but this is not the point...maybe i have to learn to make gluten free bread...Some advice and suggestions

It depends on how you sensitive you are to carbs and how your metabolism works. I find eating too many carbs has the opposite effect and I lose weight (weird!), along with blood sugar imbalances as well as aches and pains. But I usually make sweet potatoes or green veggies and saute them in a LOT of fat as a means of getting more calories and I also don't measure my protein as much anymore. Along with resistance training, I've noticed my weight steady out and I've put on some more muscle as well. Hopefully that helps.

 

[anartist]

I would like to report that before to start with the Ketogenic diet my weight was 50 kilos,now after more than one year and a half my weight is 45 kilos.I feel much better of course but i do not want to lose more weight.i really know if i come back a little bit to re-introduce bread i will recover some weight but this is not the point...maybe i have to learn to make gluten free bread...Some advice and suggestions

I understand you don't want to lose more weight, and it looks from what you've reported that the weight loss has been gradual? (averages to 280 grams(0.5 pound) per month). My understanding is that with a good diet your body should normalize its weight and hormones, so I would just stick with what you've doing (has it consistently been the same food types?) and see if you continue to lose weight AND what your physical sensations are. It is difficult to advise really as I don't know how much of what you are eating, and when, and if you are doing fasting or intermittent fasting, and your stress levels. I am no expert, but the more knowledge the easier to understand!

 

[dugdeep]

I would like to report that before to start with the Ketogenic diet my weight was 50 kilos,now after more than one year and a half my weight is 45 kilos.I feel much better of course but i do not want to lose more weight.i really know if i come back a little bit to re-introduce bread i will recover some weight but this is not the point...maybe i have to learn to make gluten free bread...Some advice and suggestions

anartist posted a link to the Diet Doctor website on the previous page of this thread which has a lot of good articles, including this one on gaining weight on low carb/keto.

How to gain weight on low carb or keto - Diet Doctor

 

[munaychasumaq]

Thanks Turgon,anartist and dugdeep for your feedback.As anartist said with a good diet the body will normalize its weight and hormones,so i hope is going to be my case.I lose weight gradually.I have muscle and good energy in normal terms.Basically for breakfast i usually have broths with kimchi some egg,avocado and a glass of kombucha.More less at 13.00 hours i eat an egg as a sneak and drink more kombucha,then at 17.00 hours i take a lunch that could be:pork,meat,leaver,chicken,fish/ fermented potatoes,veggies,rice,quinoa,buckwheat, (fermented mode) and then at 21:00 i can eat some rest from lunch.The body do not ask for "sweet staff"and i avoid gluten and dairy due some intolerance,but sometimes i eat ecological bread.(just to say i am server and in summer time we have a lot of movement,but i have certain discipline with my diet)
Dugdeep i read the link and basically is the type of food i ate and it is good to know that if we want to gain weight we need to avoid fasting and there is interesting tips i will keep in mind and recipes.THANKS AMIGOS

 

[mugatea]

After 3 weeks of carnivore I have lost around 8lbs but it really began to fly off when I began to exercise with it (around 1lb a day). The belly fat has really gone which is always nice. I'm quite slim so dont want to lose more especially around the face. I wanted to eat more so last two days I've had a little greens at dinner with plenty of butter, first day was a pea and asparagus mix and yesterday it was fried broccoli and cauliflower blended with tons of butter as a side and it's utterly delicious. But last two days I've found it so hard to get out of bed so today and tomorrow I'm going back to pure carnivore to test if it was the greens.

I haven;t seen too much about carnivore on here and I have looked but what I would say is that anyone wanting to get keto adapted the carnivore diet is a great way to do it, then you can start bringing carbs in later. Last time I did Keto, the cravings of sugar and the rest just made it so hard, but going zero carb seems to make the cravings less than teasing your body with just a very low amount just like it's easier to stop smoking cold turkey than to cut down to just one or two (for most people). Also not having to measure your carbs, fat, protein and make all these measured recipes take the pressure right off for a beginner plus it requires very little prep time. I'm liking the carnivore diet, I think I prefer it to Keto just cause how simple it is. But I do think its a great way of starting a keto diet and also a great way to eliminate everything before slowly bringing it back. I think it's viewed as extreme even by some people that do Keto, but I don't think it is really, meat has everything the body needs, very low vit c though, but you only really need that with carbs from what I understand and I'm sure as a species we are well adapted to periods of time when meat has been plenty and we ate just delicious fatty meat.

 

[SMM]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?



Well, I don't use it as often as before. I use it for cakes mostly, but when I make homemade chocolates (for example), I use coconut sugar instead (date sugar sometimes). Coconut sugar is very yummy, for those who can tolerate it.

BTW, for chocolate addicts, here's a very simple and delicious recipe for homemade chocolate:
-1 cup of raw organic cocoa butter
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup of raw cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup of sweetener (whatever works best for you)
- spices (cinnamon, ginger, etc) & vanilla extract, or whatever flavour floats your boat.

Put the cocoa butter on low heat. When it's melted, take it off the stove. Add the cocoa powder, the sweetener and the spices + vanilla. Blend everything, put the mixture into small silicon moulds, and let them rest in the fridge for a couple of hours. And then, enjoy :)

Thanks for this recipe, Adaryn!

I have tried it out a few time, in various different ways and alterations in the ingredients.

Yesterday's batch of this contained ginger, tumeric, sea salt and cinnamon. I used Xylitol as a sweetner though I find it sediments or collects and settles in high concentrations so I add it in the middle, between the cacao power and cacao butter for a more even consistentcy. Still delicious as all get out! Next I want to try using liquid Stevia.

Try them with coconut cream, if tolerated. I eat them with it and it works really well. I have considered adding coconut cream to make a white chocolate batch. Something to bear in mind for next time

Here are some photos of them in a silicon mould:

 

[whitecoast]

This video is an ad for a ketone supplement to get the body into ketosis, but the first 3 minutes are a great laymen's crash course for ketosis. It could be worth sharing with people who aren't familiar with the diet and need a quick intro.

 

[mcb]

Recently, I returned to a ketogenic diet after five years off. In late 2013 I experienced severe colon problems that returned to normal levels when I went off the diet. I say "normal levels" because I've had colon problems my entire life.

I learned quite a bit in the past five years, and especially in the past six months, and I have decided that the benefits, for me, outweigh the risks, now that I know more about what is going on. No amount of online research or consulting with alternative practitioners, or experimenting with with different diets would have helped. All of the key pieces of the puzzle have come from medical test results. The medical advice that has followed from those results has generally not been good, but that's where personal research comes in.

My mother's family, for generations back, had insulin-related problems. I don't know exactly what my mother's symptoms were -- what do I know is that they were "diabetes-like" -- but her father died of Alzheimers, as did her brother and sister, and earlier generations of people along her surname line had diabetes. I was warned about it as a child.

I also have problems with insulin, that present as overweight, elevated plasma glucose, and, I strongly suspect, heart disease. Unfortunately, early death from heart attacks ran in my father's family (he died of one at 58, and one of his brothers died of one in his late 40's), so the heart problems are already no surprise. My calcium score is very high, as my father's would have been if there had been such a thing back then, and I suspect high insulin as the cause. I also have high LDL-C, but I am not convinced that that is the principle problem. I doubt that it helps, but it seems to be caused by a congenital hormone problem that originates in the mitochondria.

There was one other vital piece of information that I did not have previously while following a ketogenic diet. The severe symptoms I experienced, it turns out, are characteristic of a hereditary birth defect that I didn't know I had, although my father once mentioned it as a possibility, nearly 50 years ago. It's called "redundant colon." My ascending colon grew longer than it should have, creating a bend or curl at the transition to the transverse colon. I haven't done further testing yet to obtain more details, but it is bad enough that a colonoscope cannot pass through it, and that's how I learned about it. Apparently food doesn't pass through very well either.

I believe now that the severe GI symptoms five years ago were caused by a deficiency in plant foods in my diet. I didn't just cut out carbs; I largely cut out plants. I am not crazy about plant foods, but it seems that either too little or too much can be very bad for me. I have been eating more of them, while avoiding excess fiber or carbs, for two years now with positive results. I could be wrong about this, but I have little to lose at this point by experimenting with a ketogenic diet again.

 

[Yas]

Thanks for sharing mb. I can only imagine what you've went through. It can be very debilitating to have different health issues not knowing precisely why and how to solve them, and also having doctors who, most probably with good intentions, don't know exactly what's the cause and give a guidance which doesn't really help.

You seem to have gathered plenty of knowledge throughout the years, so I think that if you feel ready to come back to a keto diet, that's great, just go slowly and checking if any of your symptoms gets worse.

Wishing you the best!

 

[Chu]

I'm so glad to hear that you are finding out what is best for you mb! It does take a while for everybody, I think, until you find the right mix. As long as you are feeling better, then you must be on the right track! If you are interested, I recommend that you check this thread out:
All About Fasting
There are some things in there that may help with your condition.

ADDED: I forgot to also point you to this other thread, in case it's something you want to try. They have been getting excellent results with bones! Quinton Plasma/Water, or "percutaneous hydrotomy"

 

[mcb]

Thank you Chu. I have been fasting intermittently for a long time, and for longer periods since dropping into keto again. All of this is familiar and usual from my earlier experiences. I will look through the fasting thread and the other one to see what stands out.

I retired two years ago, and I put on a lot of weight in my last months before that, a combination of stress and availability of free snacks. From that, I see that I am extremely susceptible to weight gain from refined carbs. Ridiculously so. When I returned to my normal, limited carb diet (not ketogenic), my weight came back down slowly, to a point, over two years. As far as I know, for me, the only way to burn off the visceral fat and return to a healthy weight is with a ketogenic diet.

It seems strange to me that a ketogenic diet would be a necessity. Humans have historically had success with a wide range of diets, and I haven't see convincing evidence that any of them were ketogenic. But there is something unprecedented going on. Many people I know are showing signs of metabolic disease, and for quite a few it is severe. I belong to a single seniors group where most people are 10 years or more older than me, and metabolic disease is rampant there.

I think I understand many of the details now about what is happening. Seeing the bigger picture is harder. In my own life I can see a hereditary predisposition to insulin resistance, combined with eating bad food for the first 45 years, that put me over some sort of brink. In the earlier years, when I started to gain too much weight I would simply eat less and bring it down. Later on, that didn't work any more. I don't know when the transition occurred.

With other people I would guess that it is much the same thing happening, although usually without the hereditary insulin issue, but the food they ate & eat might be even worse. Eventually, something happens and ordinary means will not restore homeostasis. Something like a ketogenic diet is then needed, and it may have to be permanent.

My guess is that the "something" that happens is progression of diabetes, but at this point I can't wait around for clarification if I am to continue on. I know a lot of sick people that are just going on with their lives as if the disease were normal and there was nothing they could do. I am not one of them.

 

[anka]

FWIW, I came across this newly published study which focuses on possible benefits or risk of LCHF & KetoDiet in treating diabetes type 1 and 2. It seems to me that the issue is still quiet complicated and foggy, with the type 1 those diets are mostly beneficial in terms of improving metabolism while with the type 2 one has to proceed with caution and watch other factors because of cardiovascular risks. Fine tuning is required and sometimes these diets might not be suitable at all. The abstract and conclusion only is quoted below, for the full study click the title.

Low-Carb and Ketogenic Diets in Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes
Diabetes Research Institute, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan 20132, Italy
Published: April 26th, 2019

Abstract
Low-carb and ketogenic diets are popular among clinicians and patients, but the
appropriateness of reducing carbohydrates intake in obese patients and in patients with diabetes is
still debated. Studies in the literature are indeed controversial, possibly because these diets are
generally poorly defined; this, together with the intrinsic complexity of dietary interventions,
makes it difficult to compare results from different studies. Despite the evidence that reducing
carbohydrates intake lowers body weight and, in patients with type 2 diabetes, improves glucose
control, few data are available about sustainability, safety and efficacy in the long-term. In this
review we explored the possible role of low-carb and ketogenic diets in the pathogenesis and
management of type 2 diabetes and obesity. Furthermore, we also reviewed evidence of
carbohydrates restriction in both pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes, through gut microbiota
modification, and treatment of type 1 diabetes, addressing the legitimate concerns about the use of
such diets in patients who are ketosis-prone and often have not completed their growth.
Keywords: carbohydrates; ketogenic; diabetes; dietary patterns; nutritional intervention

Conclusions
Reducing CHO intake with an LCD is effective in reducing body weight and, in patients with
type 2 diabetes, improving glycemic control, with a stronger effect with a very low carb diet (KD).
However, LCD and KD may not be appropriate for all individuals. Especially in patients with type 2
diabetes, it is necessary to balance the potential increase in cardiovascular risk because of the
unfavorable lipid profile observed with KD with the benefits deriving from weight loss and
improvement of glycemic control. Moreover, long-term compliance with low-CHO diets is still an
issue.
In type 1 diabetes, there is no present evidence that an LCD or a KD can delay or prevent the
onset of the disease. These diets have the potential to improve metabolic control, but caution is
needed because of the risk of DKA, of worsening the lipid profile and, in children, the unknown
impact on growth.
Even in studies in the general population where a higher CHO intake was associated with
worse outcomes, healthier macronutrients consumption was associated with decreased
cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular mortality. When healthy LFD was compared to healthy LCD,
good results in terms of weight loss were observed with both diets. Therefore, macronutrients
source, i.e., CHO quality, are not negligible factors, and preferring fibers and nutrient-rich foods is a
good option for everyone. For this reason, when designing future studies on nutrition, it will be
important to evaluate not only the amount of CHO, but also their type.
Even though this review is not about exercise, we want to underline in the conclusion that diet
and exercise are both vitally important to good health in diabetes. All the exercise in the world will
not help you lose weight if your nutrition levels are out of control, but the adoption and maintenance of
physical activity are critical foci for blood glucose management and overall health in individuals
with diabetes and prediabetes. In this direction, we reported the conclusion of the recent position
statement of the American Diabetes Association [103]: “Physical activity and exercise should be
recommended and prescribed to all individuals with diabetes as part of management of glycemic
control and overall health. Specific recommendations and precautions will vary by the type of
diabetes, age, activity done, and presence of diabetes-related health complications.
Recommendations should be tailored to meet the specific needs of each individual...”.
In conclusion, LCD and KD can be effective options in patients with obesity and/or type 2
diabetes, although they are not the only available dietary approach for such patients. In any diet,
LCD and KD should be tailored to individual needs and patients should be followed for an extended
period of time. The use of those diets in patients with type 1 diabetes is still controversial and their
long-term safety is still unproven.
Further large-scale, long-term, well-designed randomized trials are needed on this topic to
assess the long-term safety, efficacy and compliance of reducing dietary CHO in patients with
diabetes, and particularly with type 1 diabetes of all ages, and to find the best dietary composition as
for glycemic control, weight loss, and CV risk in all patients with diabetes.

 

[jhonny]

I came across a website of a physician called Ernesto Prieto Garacós, he is a cuban but living and working in Argentina.
Ernesto Prieto Gratacós - Investigador Científico

Home | Terapia Metabólica del Cáncer

Ultimos avances contra el cancer. Oncología Integrativa. No Tóxico y No invasivo. Sistema Integral. Programas: Prevención, Detección, Terapia Metabólica.

www.terapiametabolica.com

Although all information is in Spanish, I decided to share here because of his approach and his treatment, which is called Cancer Metabolic Therapy:

Metabolic Therapy for solid tumors is a comprehensive system of cancer treatment based on the competitive inhibition of central enzymes of tumour metabolism, an enzymatic inhibition that is carried out with the intravenous application of structural analogues of glucose and glutamine in the context of a systemic deprivation of glucose. This state is known as PHYSIOLOGICAL CETOSIS, and such interventions are aimed at producing an energy crisis in cancer cells.
The treatment incorporates a specific nutritional program with a strict ketogenic diet, all this with constant attention and monitoring by the doctors in charge. Cancer Metabolic Therapy® has a profound and documented therapeutic impact and is essentially harmless, without the side effects of conventional therapy - being able to complement it, improving its therapeutic efficacy.

And this are his recommendations to prevent colon cancer:

1-ASCORBIC ACID SUPPLEMENTATION: It has been determined that pure vitamin C, either in the form of ascorbic acid or its sodium salt, ascorbate, neutralizes the toxicity of numerous dietary components, protecting the colorectal mucosa. With adequate supplementation - which can range from 3 grams to 15, 30, 50 or more grams daily orally - constipation is totally controlled, drastically decreasing the time of exposure to fecal carcinogens.
2-VIGOROUS AND SYSTEMATIC TRAINING: There is considerable epidemiological and experimental evidence that physical exercise prevents practically all forms of cancer. The intense training (strong but brief) carried out regularly three or more times a week positively modifies crucial physiological aspects predisposing to cancer such as chronic inflammation, obesity, tissue hypoxia secondary to poor blood circulation, hyperglycemia and several others.
3-METFORMINE INCORPORATION: Our research group has been alerting the general public, as well as physicians, of the virtues of the antidiabetic drug metformin in the prevention and metabolic treatment of cancer. Thanks to its influence on the mTOR molecular complex - and not only because of its hypoglycemic power - metformin prevents the development of tumours in a very significant way.
4-EXCLUSION OF DIETARY CARCINOGENS: Several substances commonly present in the modern Western diet are known environmental carcinogens. The World Health Organization has warned of a higher incidence of colorectal cancer in people who frequently eat roasted meats, smoked meats and charred foods in general. Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PHA), nitrites, as well as certain pesticides and industrial additives have carcinogenic potential, particularly when their contact with the intestinal mucosa is prolonged due to constipation. 5-PERIODIC FASTING The interruption of the caloric intake - which generates autophagy - is the only proven method of prolonging maximum longevity in all species tested experimentally to date. Through the mechanism of autophagy, fundamental cellular organelles are renewed, such as the mitochondria, our "energy centres" responsible for oxidative phosphorylation. The structural deterioration of the mitochondria is primarily responsible for the Warburg effect, a fundamental characteristic of all cancer cells.

He also wrote a book on vitamin C (in Spanish)

Amazon.com: Yo C!: Usos y beneficios del maravilloso ácido ascórbico. (Spanish Edition) eBook : Prieto Gratacós, Ernesto: Kindle Store

Buy Yo C!: Usos y beneficios del maravilloso ácido ascórbico. (Spanish Edition): Read Kindle Store Reviews - Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

Also a documentary: In search of the lost health

Between 2011 and 2014 our research group organized three expeditions to the Canadian Arctic, the original land of the Inuit (Eskimos), to study why this - and other peoples still living in Palaeolithic conditions - did not suffer cancer before assimilating the culture of the white man. From these experiences, we draw interesting and valuable conclusions.

DOCUMENTAL: CÁNCER & CIVILIZACIÓN

Cáncer & Civilización: En Busca de la Salud Perdida

blog.terapiametabolica.com

As I said, all information is in Spanish. For the written part is not a problem since we have DeepL or other translators, but It’s a pity that the documentary hasn’t been translated in English, because it’s very interesting.

 

[jhonny]

I came across this Dr. Nadir Ali's talk, called "Why LDL cholesterol goes up with low carb diet and is It bad for health?".
I wanted to share this because, the most asked question when people start a ketogenic or a carnivore diet is, what about the LDL (known as "bad cholesterol")? He explains the subject in a easy and fun way. It's interesting for people (like me) who don't have a medical background.

Nadir Ali is an interventional cardiologist with over 25 years of experience. He is also the chairman of the Department of Cardiology at Clear Lake Regional Medical Center. Before working as a cardiologist, he served as an assistant professor of medicine for eight years at Baylor College