Ketogenic Diet - Powerful Dietary Strategy for Certain Conditions

[Laura]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

...I almost not eat vegetables anymore. My problem is sugar that I put in my coffee or tea, I try sometimes Stevia but arrrgh, it tastes not very good. I can eat avocados with no problem at all but I don't eat them very often.

I have heard in podcasts that not all Stevia is made the same way, and I have found that the brand I use makes a difference. I now only use SweetLeaf stevia, in the clear liquid form, and I don't use it much. I think it came up in one of the Ask The Low Carb Experts sessions that there are potential issues with the way the sweetener is extracted. If I run into it again, I will save the reference.

Ya'll keep in mind that Stevia really, REALLY, tastes bad to some people and not only that, they react to it with auto-immune type symptoms. Several of us here are like that. I think we have that weird gene that gives us extra-sensitive taste, smell and vision.

 

[loreta]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

Ya'll keep in mind that Stevia really, REALLY, tastes bad to some people and not only that, they react to it with auto-immune type symptoms. Several of us here are like that. I think we have that weird gene that gives us extra-sensitive taste, smell and vision.

Do you mean is dangerous for the auto-immune system? What are the symptoms?

I remember that some Arab cultures utilize some flowers to sweet their coffee or tea. Do you know something about it? Maybe the only good solution is taking every tea or coffee just without sugar. This is a challenge for me because if I take out the sugar I put in my hot beverages I would be almost around 20 gr. of carbohydrates by day,.

Thank you for the information about Stevia.

 

[Laura]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

Ya'll keep in mind that Stevia really, REALLY, tastes bad to some people and not only that, they react to it with auto-immune type symptoms. Several of us here are like that. I think we have that weird gene that gives us extra-sensitive taste, smell and vision.

Do you mean is dangerous for the auto-immune system? What are the symptoms?

Well, if it evokes symptoms, something is happening. It is a plant, after all, with anti-nutrients that such plants have.

I remember that some Arab cultures utilize some flowers to sweet their coffee or tea. Do you know something about it? Maybe the only good solution is taking every tea or coffee just without sugar. This is a challenge for me because if I take out the sugar I put in my hot beverages I would be almost around 20 gr. of carbohydrates by day,.

Thank you for the information about Stevia.

Sugar is definitely, totally evil and should be avoided as if it were deadly poison because it is. If you must have a little sweetness, so far, xylitol and D-ribose appear to be the safest. Though too much xylitol can really upset the gut especially if you still have a carb-digesting/processing gut. The sugar eating critters and the xylitol go to war and that's exactly what it can feel like.

I have cut my own xylitol consumption down to about 2 teaspoons per day. In sugar, there are 8 to 10 carbs in a teaspoon and xylitol has about half that, so I'm getting about 10 carbs a day from my xylitol spread out through the day, half a teaspoon in a cup/glass of tea, four of those per day, none after 5 pm.

 

[loreta]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

Ya'll keep in mind that Stevia really, REALLY, tastes bad to some people and not only that, they react to it with auto-immune type symptoms. Several of us here are like that. I think we have that weird gene that gives us extra-sensitive taste, smell and vision.

Do you mean is dangerous for the auto-immune system? What are the symptoms?

Well, if it evokes symptoms, something is happening. It is a plant, after all, with anti-nutrients that such plants have.

I remember that some Arab cultures utilize some flowers to sweet their coffee or tea. Do you know something about it? Maybe the only good solution is taking every tea or coffee just without sugar. This is a challenge for me because if I take out the sugar I put in my hot beverages I would be almost around 20 gr. of carbohydrates by day,.

Thank you for the information about Stevia.

Sugar is definitely, totally evil and should be avoided as if it were deadly poison because it is. If you must have a little sweetness, so far, xylitol and D-ribose appear to be the safest. Though too much xylitol can really upset the gut especially if you still have a carb-digesting/processing gut. The sugar eating critters and the xylitol go to war and that's exactly what it can feel like.

I have cut my own xylitol consumption down to about 2 teaspoons per day. In sugar, there are 8 to 10 carbs in a teaspoon and xylitol has about half that, so I'm getting about 10 carbs a day from my xylitol spread out through the day, half a teaspoon in a cup/glass of tea, four of those per day, none after 5 pm.

Thanks Laura, I will keep this in mind. My gut is not healed totally so I have to be careful.

 

[anart]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

Thanks Laura, I will keep this in mind. My gut is not healed totally so I have to be careful.

Just a reminder that xylitol is deadly for dogs, so if you're using it, be careful to not let the puppies have it, even accidentally. I use stevia every day as a light sweetener. The taste isn't great, it can be bitter if you use too much, but if I use xylitol I gain weight because I'm so carb sensitive, so that's not good. Also, xylitol can make me "phlegmy" which is annoying and something stevia does not do. Xylitol is also plant based, so there isn't really a difference between the two on that front.

 

[loreta]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

Thanks Anart for this information. Maybe I should continue with Stevia. There is some stevia that they sell in regular stores, it is in power and it is better for the taste. But I am not sure it is as good as the stevia in liquid. Next time I go to Madrid I will try to go to an Arab store and ask them if there is some flowers to sweet liquids. I am sure there is something like flowers that we can put in the coffee or tea. I try to remember where I saw this but I can't. Is it from Tunisia? India? I am not sure at all. Maybe it was when I went to take some Turk coffee in an Egyptian coffee shop in Montreal. But surely other cultures utilize flowers or something else than sugar? I will made an inquiry.

 

[anart]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

Thanks Anart for this information. Maybe I should continue with Stevia. There is some stevia that they sell in regular stores, it is in power and it is better for the taste. But I am not sure it is as good as the stevia in liquid. Next time I go to Madrid I will try to go to an Arab store and ask them if there is some flowers to sweet liquids. I am sure there is something like flowers that we can put in the coffee or tea. I try to remember where I saw this but I can't. Is it from Tunisia? India? I am not sure at all. Maybe it was when I went to take some Turk coffee in an Egyptian coffee shop in Montreal. But surely other cultures utilize flowers or something else than sugar? I will made an inquiry.

Well, I think it's worth trying xylitol if you can get it to see if you react well to it, some people do (as Laura mentioned). I just wanted to remind about the dog issue and the carb content, but for some people xylitol is preferable.

 

[loreta]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

I like try new things! :) So tomorrow I will check if I can find it. I will also ask for D-ribosa. Then I will see how my body reacts to this. And be careful with my dogs.

 

[mcb]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

On top of everything else, xylitol is a FODMAP food. It's a polyol, the "P" in FODMAP. If you are sensitive to those, use sparingly if at all.

 

[Psalehesost]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

Alternatively, one can simply skip sweeteners of all kinds. It's both simpler and cheaper, and unless one is addicted to the sweet taste (and the chemical response to it), the lack of sweetening really doesn't matter.

EDIT: Back when I stopped eating sugar, I stopped caring much about sugar and sweet taste. Later on when transitioning to eating all meat and fat, I lost all need and desire for sweeteners. If you try going without any sweetening and sweet taste, perhaps your brain will adjust to the same result. Then you can just ignore the question of sweeteners along with the sweeteners themselves.

 

[mcb]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

Alternatively, one can simply skip sweeteners of all kinds. It's both simpler and cheaper, and unless one is addicted to the sweet taste (and the chemical response to it), the lack of sweetening really doesn't matter.

EDIT: Back when I stopped eating sugar, I stopped caring much about sugar and sweet taste. Later on when transitioning to eating all meat and fat, I lost all need and desire for sweeteners. If you try going without any sweetening and sweet taste, perhaps your brain will adjust to the same result. Then you can just ignore the question of sweeteners along with the sweeteners themselves.

A small amount of sweetener can be used to neutralize a bitter taste. I like to do that with coffee. I do not like it "sweet." For most of my life I drank coffee black if I drank it at all. I guess I grew tired of that particular taste.

 

[beetlemaniac]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

Alternatively, one can simply skip sweeteners of all kinds. It's both simpler and cheaper, and unless one is addicted to the sweet taste (and the chemical response to it), the lack of sweetening really doesn't matter.

When you say our chemical response are you talking about dopamine? Anyway, I agree with your point of view on it, I know for me the temptations for sweets are indeed very strong. And I feel that I give in to sweet temptations more easily because I am truly missing some other vital nutrients in my diet. In a ketogenic diet a missing nutrient here or there could really alter the balance of things in the body, as we eat so little, OSIT.

Your earlier post about under-consuming protein made me realise that I was also doing the same thing by just drinking broth devoid of anything else. I was not conscious of this lack as I was so focused on eating as little as possible. When the temptation for chocolate came up suddenly (during a weekend with family), I fell for it. Just another example of how important it is to not go to extremes. Thanks for sharing your experience on that Psalehesost :).

 

[SeekinTruth]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

Just a FYI: I get Xylitol and Stevia from Swanon's online (Swanson's own brand). The Xylitol is from birchwood (as apposed to corn) and the stevia is powder without any of the bad "fillers" etc. They both taste fine. The only thing to be careful of for me is not to put too much stevia as a slight difference can make a huge difference in how sweet it tastes with also something like a minty/liquor-y aftertaste. In case anyone wants to try these, as it can be ordered online.

I only use them for black tea (and the very occasional green tea) and occasional cocoa with cocoa butter and butter and pinch of sea salt. Just about 1/16 of a tsp of stevia and about an 1/8 teaspoon of xylitol makes Earl Grey tea taste really good. Black tea is generally too bitter for me, but maybe I can even get used to it totally unsweetened if I had to.

The interesting thing is that in the recent coffee experiment (which I stopped), I really loved the taste of unsweetened black coffee. It's not too bitter or it's a different bitter or something.

 

[Laura]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

Thanks Laura, I will keep this in mind. My gut is not healed totally so I have to be careful.

Xylitol is also plant based, so there isn't really a difference between the two on that front.

Yes, some xylitol is plant based, but not all. The kind we used is derived from birch trees and I think it is quite different from the kind gotten from corn or whatever.

 

[lwu02eb]

Re: Ketogenic Diet - Path To Transformation?

I am on day four of the full keto/IF diet and I am absolutely amazed. I have made the transition gradually from Paleo to keto with IF. I now have a good moderate protein, high fat and zero carb breakfast everyday. Bone broth for lunch if I'm hungry and a small keto meal in the evening (usually between 6pm-7pm).

I thought it would take ages to get rid of cravings but I'm actually quite repulsed by the idea of carby/ sweet foods because the fat leaves me so full. I am not at all distracted by cravings which is great and I'm actually really enjoying the keto meals.

I did have one sleepless night with achy legs and a racing mind with nausea, but other than that the effects have been positive. More energy, mind as sharp as a whistle, clear signals from my body, less/ no food related distractions and no bloating and gas.

There is some deep aching in my lower back which I've never felt before and I am interpreting it as healing as I have suffered with chronic lower back pain for most of my life.

I do resistance training but I have lost a lot of weight during the transition (I'm already a skinny). I will be watching this to ensure I don't lose any more - I go for the higher rate of 1.5g protein per kg body weight due to this.

Thank you all for your efforts, I continue to be in awe everyday at the changes taking place in me because of the implementation of these lifestyle changes!

The only challenge I have had has been my partner, but I have told him politely to mind his own business. I am the cook, I respect his wishes by making meals according to his requirements (undisciplined paleo) and so, in my opinion, he can do the same and respect mine! He has a bit of a sulk for a while but gets over it. I am not intervening in his choices and so I expect the same from him. It isn't a huge problem because I don't let anyone bully me but it can be a bit of an irritant at times.