Ketogenic Diet: Update

The following is prompted by an interaction with a chiropractor on YouTube who was promoting the ketogenic diet. He is presently banned from doing such because of poor scientific support (YES!!). I do wish Facebook would do the same thing, and also ban all anti-science quackery that I constantly flag as "misleading or a scam"!:

"'The keto diet is primarily used to help reduce the frequency of epileptic seizures in children. While it also has been tried for weight loss, only short-term results have been studied, and the results have been mixed. We don't know if it works in the long term, nor whether it's safe,' warns registered dietitian Kathy McManus, director of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital." (1)

"A ketogenic diet has numerous risks. Top of the list: it's high in saturated fat. McManus recommends that you keep saturated fats to no more than 7% of your daily calories because of the link to heart disease. And indeed, the keto diet is associated with an increase in 'bad' LDL cholesterol, which is also linked to heart disease." (1)

"Other potential keto risks include these:

Nutrient deficiency. 'If you're not eating a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, and grains, you may be at risk for deficiencies in micronutrients, including selenium, magnesium, phosphorus, and vitamins B and C,' McManus says.

Liver problems. With so much fat to metabolize, the diet could make any existing liver conditions worse.

Kidney problems. The kidneys help metabolize protein, and McManus says the keto diet may overload them. (The current recommended intake for protein averages 46 grams per day for women, and 56 grams for men).

Constipation. The keto diet is low in fibrous foods like grains and legumes.

Fuzzy thinking and mood swings. 'The brain needs sugar from healthy carbohydrates to function. Low-carb diets may cause confusion and irritability,' McManus says." (1)

"Being low in fibre, high in saturated fat and red meat, and extremely restrictive, the keto diet does not really align with nutritional guidelines issued by government experts. The diet’s critics say it is, at best, a passing trend and, at worst, a socially acceptable form of disordered eating." (2)

"Published research to date has not shown any meaningful benefit to following a keto diet for athletic performance, he says; in fact, it may impede the ability to exercise at higher intensity." (2)

" - - - following a keto diet is hard. You have to be disciplined, vigilant, and hyperfocused on every food choice – you can’t casually knock back an apple because that may push you out of ketosis. This is not simply a matter of 'willpower'; it is also a question of means, energy, resources and time." (2)

" - - - in reality, we have little evidence to show that keto is more effective in the long run than any other diet – or, indeed, that any diet succeeds in keeping off weight." (2)

" - - - the keto diet may result in weight loss and lower blood sugars, but it’s a quick fix. 'More often than not, it’s not sustainable. Often, weight gain may come back, and you’ll gain more than you lost.'" (3)

" - - - it is ultimately not realistic or sustainable. The diet restricts fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy that can help with long term weight loss and overall health." (3)

" - - - it's important to compare a keto plan to its weight-loss counterparts, like the well-substantiated Mediterranean diets and its spin-offs, like DASH, MIND, and TLC. Those plans incorporate wholesome, nutrient-dense foods that encourage improved eating patterns and manageable weight loss." (4)

" - - - If we were talking about a medication instead of food, would you consider it sound advice to say that taking a certain drug 'might be safe, but definitely not safe for everyone, and it may only work temporarily and cause damage to other biological systems?' Not so much." (4)

"The high-fat, low-carb keto diet tied for second-to-last place among 39 diets in US News & World Report's annual rankings. Despite increasingly popularity and ongoing, often encouraging research, experts say it can be risky to physical and mental health." (5)

Eric Berg DC: Your Arch-Typical All-Around Quack

 "Eric Berg (c. 1972–)^[1] is an American quack, antivaxxer, chiropractor, cholesterol denialist, conspiracy theorist, scientologist and ketogenic diet advocate. Berg promotes pseudoscientific health advice and quackery.^[2][3] Berg is not a medical doctor.^[4] Berg practiced chiropractic for 29 years and is now a full-time YouTube blogger who has made thousands of videos offering health advice. Berg has over 4 million subscribers and claims to have made over 5000 videos.^[5]" (Rational Wiki)

Click on the link above for more.

Trans Fats: The Worst Food?

"Suboptimal. It's a word that's almost synonymous with the fitness industry at this point. It doesn't matter what you try to do or what you try to eat, it's always suboptimal. And you know what? Maybe that ok. Maybe there's more than one way to skin this cat. And some consolations can be made to strengthen your relationships with food. But some lines are not worth crossing. Some lines will always contribute to an early grave and it's time to bring the next one into the light: Trans Fats. The primary sponsor of heart issues."

Click on the link below for an expose of a true killer that is still around in spite of government efforts to ban it:

The REAL Killers: Trans Fats

Insects As A Human Food Source Clarified

"How do you feel about eating bugs? This question has been gaining more attention as edible insects become a more popular alternative protein source. However, with this growing interest comes conspiracy theories with a “bug-eating agenda” claim that billionaires like Bill Gates are promoting edible insects to reduce meat consumption. However, there is no evidence to support these theories. While the Gates Foundation supports research on edible insects as a sustainable food source, claims that Gates recommended eating crickets “to stay healthy” remain unverified."

Click on the link below for more:

The Truth About Edible Insects And The Billionaire Conspiracy Theory

Food Labels: Can You Trust Them?

Most of us who are health conscious read food labels and expect the results of rigid scientific research. Click on the link below for an enlightening 20-min video from Sabine Hossenfelder shattering that confidence:

How Much Can You Trust Calorie Labels?

Intermittent Fasting: The Facts

"There is some preliminary evidence that intermittent fasting is effective for weight loss, decreases insulin resistance, improves indicators of cardiovascular and metabolic health, and may improve chronic pain and mood disorders. A Cochrane systematic review found only low-quality evidence that was insufficient to determine whether intermittent fasting could prevent cardiovascular disease. They found inconsistent results on the benefits of intermittent fasting and found that comparisons between intermittent fasting and calorie restriction diets were not conclusive."

Click on the link below for more:

Will Intermittent Fasting Help You To Lose Weight?

Processed Food

The term "Processed Food" is used in the media mainly as a negative. While most of the time this is justified, the links below give a clearer picture of the term:

Eating Processed Foods

10 Processed Foods To Avoid

How Do Processed Foods Affect Your Health?

Dieting Vs Fasting: The Science

"This is about the drastic physiological differences between fasting and eating less"

If you are one of the many people who are frustrated over losing weight, this video is informative. The main message I get is that sometimes new ideas that seem wacky at first are shown to be valid. Is Robert Atkins vindicated? Keep in mind that diet and nutrition are not "hard" sciences like physics and chemistry and that there is a lot to learn in these areas.

Fasting vs. Eating Less: What's the Difference? (The Science of Fasting)

Fat Or Sugar?

"For decades, we’ve heard how terrible fat is for us, but more recently, sugar has become the new villain. What does the science actually say about these two macronutrients and how they affect our health?"

A science-based look at the issue.

Which Is Worse For You: Sugar or Fat?

A Science-Based Look At Red Wine

"There is a lot of data flying around between doctors, scientists, and the media about Red Wine. Is it some magical drink that's good for the heart? Or is the place of Red wine overrated? In today's episode, we look at how red wine got its place as one of the few beverages that have cardiologist approval and we will look at the data behind it."

The TRUTH about Red Wine

A Look Into Pesticides

"Rest assured, synthetic pesticide residues on food are safe in the minuscule amounts present – we're talking parts per billion. What's more, many are even less "toxic" than substances you encounter each and every day. For example, glyphosate, the most commonly used herbicide in the U.S., is about three times less deadly than Tylenol and thirty times less deadly than caffeine."

There is much pseudoscience involving food and pesticides. This article will help in clarifying the situation:

Plants Make Their Own "Carcinogenic" Pesticides, and You Eat A Whole Lot More of Them

The Food Babe

Understand Low-Carbohydrate Diets

"The National Lipid Association has issued a statement based on a comprehensive review of recent systematic reviews and meta-analyses on the effects of low- and very-low-carbohydrate diets on body weight, lipoprotein levels, blood sugar levels, and other risk factors for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. [Kirkpatrick CF. and others. Review of current evidence and clinical recommendations on the effects of low-carbohydrate and very-low-carbohydrate (including ketogenic) diets for the management of body weight and other cardiometabolic risk factors. Journal of Clinical Lipidology 13:689-711, 2019] The statement's key conclusions include: 

• Low-carbohydrate diets are not superior to other weight-loss diets. They may have advantages for appetite control, triglyceride reduction, and reduction in use of diabetes medication, but they do not persist after about 2 years.
• The evidence is mixed concerning effects on low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, with some studies showing increasing levels of these diets.
• It is unclear that they have advantages related to other risk markers for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
• Initial weight loss on these diets is primarily due to loss of body water.
• Weight loss with carbohydrate restriction appears to result in greater loss of lean body mass than with more balanced low-calorie diets.
• Less lean body mass may be lost during weight loss on low-carbohydrate diets when protein consumption is higher.
• Three observational studies, including a large one with long-term follow-up, have found that a very low carbohydrate intake is associated with increased risk of dying. 
• Maintaining very-low-carbohydrate diets is challenging and has the potential to cause adverse side effects. 
• Very-low-carbohydrate diets severely restrict or eliminate foods associated with heart health benefits and encourage a high intake of foods known to increase atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk such as processed meats and foods rich in saturated fatty acids."

Link

A Scholarly Look At Veganism

Periodically I come in contact with fellow science-based thinkers proselytizing for Veganism.  I have posted on the subject in the past.  This post will present recent literature from scholarly sources. As you may have deduced from my other posts, I haven't committed myself to veganism for a variety of reasons and, since there is much disagreement by thinking people on the subject, I just support a diet primarily based on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and moderate quantities of minimally processed meats (preferably grass-fed if applicable) produced humanely.

More Than Just A Diet: An Inquiry Into Veganism

Vegetarian, vegan diets and multiple health outcomes: A systematic review with meta-analysis of observational studies

Environmental impact of omnivorous, ovo-lacto-vegetarian, and vegan diet

The long-term health of vegetarians and vegans

Why Vegan Diets Suck

The Impacts of Dietary Change on Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Land Use, Water Use, and Health: A Systematic Review

16 Studies on Vegan Diets — Do They Really Work?

Going Vegan isn't the Most Sustainable Option for Humanity

Sorry, But Giving Up on Meat Is Not Going to Save The Planet

Added Sugar Is Pure Empty Carlories

"There are some important nuances here. As the Sugar Association points out, sugar does not technically cause obesity; rather, eating more calories than you burn does. This is at best a half truth. The truer statement, as Action on Sugar makes plain, is that there is absolutely no need for added sugar in the human diet—added sugar is purely empty calories."

Big Sugar Is the New Big Tobacco

This link addresses sugar and refined carbohydrates, but also looks at a type of fat.

What's wrong with the Western diet.

Why Dieting For Weight Loss Is A "Soft" Science

"Tobias urged dieters not to lose sight of the bigger picture. "Low-carb versus low-fat should not be the focus for people selecting a weight loss diet." The focus, she said, should be on improving the quality of food that people eat instead."

We’ve long blamed carbs for making us fat. What if that's wrong?

Is Diet Another Word For Fad?

"Anytime the Zeitgeist is that any one nutrient is either a miracle cure or a root of all evil, it's probably wrong. People have lost weight using all sorts of variations in foods and nutrients. Rather than follow the fads, it would be more useful to learn to incorporate reasonable amounts of fat and sugars in one's diet — and to first determine the appropriate number of calories one should consume to either lose weight or maintain a healthy weight."

Fat Is Back And Diet Food Is Out!

Diet And Exercise Are Not "Alternative" Treatments

"The reason proponents of integrative medicine claim so many non-surgical, non-pharmacological interventions is because, although inflated claims are often made for them, they can actually work, in contrast to the pseudoscientific treatments also 'integrated' into medicine, such as acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and the like."

Diet and exercise versus cancer: A science-based view

Is Cancer Due To Our Lifestyle Mainly?

"Real science knows that the biggest risk for cancer, as it is with just about every disease, is age."

Cancer As Modern Lifestyle Disease? Only If There Was Processed Food 2 Million Years Ago

Diet And Dental Health

"Though Pompeii citizens never used toothbrushes or toothpaste, they had healthy teeth thanks to their low-sugar diet. Massimo Osanna, superintendent of the World Heritage-listed site, said their diet was 'balanced and healthy, similar to what we now call the Mediterranean diet,' according to The Telegraph."

Romans had no need for dentists, because of one food they didn’t eat

Government Dietary Guidelines Not Science-Based

"Yet, government agencies continue to spend millions to nudge consumers into following guidelines that may do little to improve health for most and may even result in harm."

I Can't Believe It's Not Science