Prediction: Ketogenic Diets Will Become Increasingly Popular In Years To Come

I predict that in the coming years, low carb / high fat ketogenic diets will become increasingly popular as more and more is learned about them and their immense benefits, not only for weight loss and body recomposition, but also for their therapeutic benefits as well. I am referring to this diet's ability to reverse type II diabetes and literally cure certain types of cancers (since we are learning more and more about how cancer is fueled by sugar). Not only this, but people on ketogenic diets show vast improvements in inflammatory markers, as well as reduced triglycerides and increased HDL. Low carb diets will always be beneficial to lowering blood pressure, since sugar -- not salt -- is the most contributing factor to causing high blood pressure. When insulin levels drop, the kidneys readily excrete water (and salt) from the body. The ketogenic diet is the only diet that changes your metabolism, away from one which is run on sugar (glucose) to one which is run on fat (ketones).



The thing that most fascinates me about the ketogenic diet is their ability to enhance brain health and cognitive performance. The brain is made up almost entirely of fat, so it makes sense that fat is literally fuel for your brain. This fuel is made when fats are metabolized and ketones are produced -- hence the name ketogenic diet. People who are on ketogenic diets utilize ketones (as opposed to glucose) as their body's primary fuel. This occurs when carbohydrates are restricted and a person consumes the majority of their calories (65-90%) from healthy fats like butter, coconut oil, avocado, grass-fed beef and full-fat dairy (cream, cheese). A growing body of evidence suggests that the medium-chain fatty acids found in things like coconut oil and butter have the ability to improve, and in some cases reverse, many of the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, because it is being increasingly realized that many forms of dementia, as Dr. Mary Newport states, are basically like diabetes of the brain. The brain becomes unable to use sugar as its main energy source, so it therefore begins to starve and malfunction. Since fats can also be used to fuel the brain as an alternative fuel to glucose, and much more effectively than glucose, it's apparent why such cognitive improvements are seen. Interestingly enough, ketogenic diets were first devised back in the 1930s as the primary treatment for epilepsy, and it has shown that for many people who suffer from seizures, ketogenic diets work as well or better than the drugs used to treat them, and without some of the nasty side effects.

http://youtu.be/iScs0uzQZFk

One of the more common criticisms I hear with regard to low carb / high fat diets is that they contribute to heart disease. But the fact is that your body handles fat in an entirely different way in the absence of carbohydrates. This is because carbohydrates convert to sugar and trigger an insulin response, and the primary mechanism in the storage of fat is insulin. When your insulin levels are low, you are always in fat burning mode. Any dietary fat is rapidly oxidized versus stored in the fat cells. The biggest contributor to high LDL and low HDL cholesterol is carbohydrates -- especially refined, high-glycemic carbs, but especially fructose. All carbohydrates are converted to glucose, and if you have metabolic issues the muscle tissue of the body that world normally receive the bulk of this fuel is diverted to the liver. Once liver glycogen stores are full, the body converts any glucose to fat. Furthermore, all fructose must be processed by the liver, and what the liver cannot process it also converts to fat which also winds up in the blood as triglycerides.

Below are just a few of the benefits of being on a low carb / high fat ketogenic diet, a few of which were mentioned above. I can attest to many of these things as I have experienced them firsthand being on this diet.

(This list is taken from Jimmy Moore's excellent new book, Keto Clarity)

* Natural hunger and appetite control

* Effortless weight loss and maintenance

* Mental clarity

* Sounder, more restful sleep

* Normalized metabolic function

* Stabilized blood sugar and restored insulin sensitivity

* Lower inflammation levels

* Feelings of happiness and general well being

* Lowered blood pressure

* Increased HDL (good) cholesterol

* Reduced triglycerides

* Lowered or eliminated LDL particles (bad cholesterol)

* Ability to go twelve to twenty-four hours between meals

* Use of stored body fat as a fuel source

* Endless energy

* Eliminated heartburn

* Better fertility

* Prevention of traumatic brain injury

* Increased sex drive

* Improved immune system

* Slowed aging due to production in free radical production

* Improvements in blood chemistry

* Optimized cognitive function and improved memory

* Reduced acne breakouts

* Heightened understanding of how foods affect your body

* Improvements in metabolic health markers

* Faster and better recovery from exercise

* Decreased anxiety and mood swings

http://youtu.be/fB-4Oi8JpUE

 

The ketogenic diet has been an unexplored modality for issues such as obesity, cancer, and brain disorders (with the exception of epilepsy).

A ketogenic diet has promise as a nutritional pharmacology approach to treating cancer in addition to or in place of traditional treatment modalities (chemo, surgery, radation) that have been a mainstay since the 1950s. It would have an advantage of being non-toxic and inexpensive. It has the potential to slow its advance and act as a palliative measure. Little science research appears to have been done in this area. Most of the data concerns its use for treatment of epilepsy in the 1930s.

Cancer cells have ways of morphing and finding their own chemical pathways to feed themselves that aren't inhibited by the body like they normally would be in healthy tissues. When one pathway is limited by a treatment, the cancer cells often find another pathway. It's one of the reasons that usually more than one chemo agent is used concurrently, each agent acting to interfere with a particular pathway that the cancer cells use to survive and reproduce Like other treatments for cancer, there will probably be limits to the success of a ketogenic diet for treatment of cancer.

Even if the results turn out to be not as promising, the study of ketogenic diets could lead to new understandings of nutrition and cancer, which could be used to advance various types of treatments.

 

The Fat-Fueled Brain: Unnatural or Advantageous?
By Shelly Fan | October 1, 2013 |

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/mind-guest-blog/2013/10/01/the-fat-fueled-brain-unnatural-or-advantageous/

 

Quote* Natural hunger and appetite control

I dont even get the munchies when I smoke weed.. I eat chicken, potatoes, veggies, my cereal almond milk at night, breakfast is egg, sugar toast..

Quote* Effortless weight loss and maintenance

current 144lb , highest 180lbs when I was in the army... civy life less fat, less idle time.

Quote* Mental clarity

ask me later when my buzz wears off..

Quote* Sounder, more restful sleep

quit caffeine 2010 .. I nap and sleep just fine.

Quote* Normalized metabolic function

I burn fat better than fat man burned Nagasaki..

Quote* Stabilized blood sugar and restored insulin sensitivity

hypoglycemia comes from the foods I eat and the energy I spend. once the gas tank is empty its needs filled or the engine rattles and shakes.

Quote* Lower inflammation levels

since my last MS treatment, Ive not felt the weather as much as I used to, even @10below zero.

Quote* Feelings of happiness and general well being

gets laid everyday..

Quote* Lowered blood pressure

see above..

Quote* Increased HDL (good) cholesterol

coconut its good for you..

Quote* Reduced triglycerides

I dont eat pork chops, Im a muslim..

Quote* Lowered or eliminated LDL particles (bad cholesterol)

chicken runs thru my blood.

Quote* Ability to go twelve to twenty-four hours between meals

its called sleep...

Quote* Use of stored body fat as a fuel source

Im a squirrel not a camel..

Quote* Endless energy

stop using caffeine and natural energy comes to play ..

Quote* Eliminated heartburn

never eat garlic linguine again..

Quote* Better fertility

2+1=3

Quote* Prevention of traumatic brain injury

remember that time I fell from the tree stand, or the time the lumber slid from the roof and tore a gash in my skull knocking me off the ladder 12ft?

Quote* Increased sex drive

if it was increased anymore ,, Id be annoyed with it.

Quote* Improved immune system

dont really get sick, heal nicely too..

Quote* Slowed aging due to production in free radical production

more free rads in the air ya breath than in the foods ya eat..

Quote

* Improvements in blood chemistry

if you blood could make LSD/Lysergic acid diethylamide, we would be a vampire, and so would a few million other people., holy shit vampire apocalypse!!

Quote* Optimized cognitive function and improved memory

there are many things I wish to forget and not easily remember ..

Quote* Reduced acne breakouts

mcds, coke,pepsi, snickers not part of my diet..

Quote* Heightened understanding of how foods affect your body

lol google it..

Quote* Improvements in metabolic health markers

wtf

Quote* Faster and better recovery from exercise

I gets enough exercise having sex and having sex again and again..

Quote* Decreased anxiety and mood swings

WTF!!! how much money does it take to get this site proper , Ive a blank check..

 

Lol that is me 100% 122 is my normal weight (currently 114) and 5foot 11.5 inches tall. I would be considured underweight and even when I eat like a pig I can only seem to get up to 135 lb over some time....basically I'm a fucking skeleton already and if someone like me tied the ketogenic diet the only possible outcome would probably be death. As much as I like the idea of it for the treatment of autistic spectrum disorders I don't think I could even survive on such a diet lol

 

Nutrition and Metabolism
Effects of a Ketogenic Diet on the Quality of Life in 16 Patients With Advanced Cancer
A Pilot Trial
Melanie Schmidt, Nadja Pfetzer, Micheal Schwab, Ingrid Strauss, Ulrike Kämmerer
Nutr Metab. 2011;8(54)

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/749855_1

This was a preliminary type of study performed on late-stage cancer patients. Reservations should be made regarding trying to draw conclusions from it. More detailed work is needed in this area. Few studies have been performed to date.

 

Yea Keto is really starting to gain traction. I have been in Keto for a while now.

One thing I noticed is smoking weed to help me fall asleep while in Keto has been awesome.

 

I would be surprised if the OP was correct. At best, I think ketogenic diets might become more popular with those are concerned about their health. There is no secret about how to eat a healthy diet. This information is available to anyone who is alive and has reasonable access to a public library, television, books, education. Most people just find it easier to eat whatever they want, when they want it, and as much as they desire. The mindset of America would have to change in order to get a significant number of people to switch to any healthy diet--especially a relatively extreme one like a keto. I also think that the food marketing infrastructure would need to change significantly. Processed junk food sells. Vegetables, free range meats, and other healthy fat staples don't.

 

That's the key to it. Once the attitude toward eating is right, good results will follow.

 

Cacao powder, OMG that stuff is brilliant

 

damn 75% FAT? that seems like alot to me. i work out alot, and i eat alot of protein and fat, but 75% seems like way too much. i just cant picture a meal where 75% of my plate is fat. what does that kind of meal even look like??

if your on this diet, would you still load up on carbs before a work out?

 

i did some research and your not supposed to eat 75% fat, but 75% of your calories should come from fat in this diet plan.

 

What does it look like?

Well, a good example of a ketogenic meal would be bacon and eggs (preferably from pastured sources) cooked in butter or coconut oil, or a ribeye steak cooked in butter with some spinach or broccoli on the side. To me there is nothing extreme about this way of eating, other than for the fact you are pretty much eliminating sugar and highly digestible, refined carbs such as bread and pasta. Once you do this it is easy to get most of your calories from fat while simultaneously keeping your protein intake moderate.

Avocado, cheese, butter, seeds, nuts, and certain oils (coconut and olive) are all sources which are high in healthy fats.

There are different types of ketogenic diets. Cyclical Ketogenic Diets (CKD) and Targeted Ketogenic Diets (TKD) involve carb refeeds, but to be in a highly-adapted ketogenic state at all times while reaping the cognitive benefits of being keto-adapted, it is important for one to remain in ketosis and NOT do carb refeeds. Once you become adapted to utilize ketones as your primary energy source, carbs are not needed to fuel workouts. I never use carbs before my workouts, which are usually done in a fasted state, having only consumed coffee (sometimes with coconut oil added) and branched-chain amino acids.

 

Says who?

The US government says you should get most of your calories from bread and pasta, which has only made people sick and fat.

A diet high in healthy, naturally-occurring fats where carbs are restricted is NOT the same as a diet high in fat (mostly inflammatory trans fats and inflammatory omega-6 polyunsaturated fats) and carbs (mostly from refined sugar and flour), such as the Standard American Diet.

Fat is healthy. Then again, it is important to note that not all fat is the same. The fat found in potato chips and cookies is not healthy.

 

no i was agreeing with you, in this perticualr diet plan you should have 75% of calories from fat, which is diffrent then 75% fat.

 

i liked orison's response so here's mine:
in green

OH FUCK YEAH, the new(?) auto save thing just saved this post!



and honestly, this diet is obviously wayyy more healthy than what the vast majority of americans eat. but personally, my diet is healthy enough. i have a pretty balanced diet that happens to include bread, pasta, cereal, etc. but i try to eat a lot of vegetables, fruits, and healthy fats. i know my omega 6:3 ratio is probably fucked though.

do you do anything to maintain that, rat? the ratio of omega 3 to omega 6 i mean.

 

Avoiding processed foods that are high in omega-6 vegetable oils pretty much eliminates that problem. When you eat things like wild-caught salmon, grass-fed beef, pastured eggs and butter, seeds and coconut oil (in other words, whole foods), there should not be an issue, and you will have a healthy omega-3:6 ratio.

Also, I never said you or anyone else should follow this diet -- I am simply highlighting the benefits of this particular way of eating.

 

do you think that a ketogenic diet is appropriate for all types of people (like myself and orison)? or "just" for what seems to be the majority of americans who could stand to lose some weight / reduce cholesterol, etc.?

i eat a lot of peanuts which only have a small amount of omega-3, and are higher in omega-6 i think.

 

My prediction is those most adaptable survive. Our omnivorous taste and tasting equipment allow us to overcome scarcity brought on by the bourgeois habit of dieting. Have you tried black soldier fly larvae?

 

I think that will be the main flaw in the trend. That most arent going to research it properly like Pressed Rat and just pic and choose what they want

There have been a few paleo type cafes pop up in Sydney with ketogenic mentioned on the menu, but most of the meals seem more about protein than low carb vegetables or fat, so you see mostly fat bastards and soccer moms chewing on a rib eyed steak and sipping a bulletproof coffee that you know never exercise, eating that meal thinking this is natural and healthy and maybe help me lose weight.

There was an article in the news the other day, that the cost of obesity has hit $2 trillion US, 2.8% of world GDP, which is bigger than the cost of all War and Terrorism combined