The human brain consumes up to 20% of the energy used by the entire human body which is more than any other single organ. The brain represents only 2% of body weight yet it receives 15% of the cardiac output and 20% of the total body oxygen consumption. (source)
Our brains create major nutrition demands on our bodies in order to function optimally. So is it best to fuel the brain with fat, protein, or carbohydrates?
The answer is none of these. Even though the brain is composed of 60% fat, it is designed to be fueled by glucose. The brain accounts for 25% of the total body glucose utilization.
How do we get glucose to the brain? There are two ways.
1. Glucose is the human body’s key source of energy. The breakdown of carbohydrates (eg: starch) yields mono- and di-saccharides, most of which is glucose. (source) If glucose is available, the body will use it first since it is easiest and quickest to metabolize.
Whole simple carbohydrates like raw fruit and whole complex carbohydrates like grains, legumes, and tubers are excellent sources of glucose for the brain. Refined carbohydrates can deprive the brain of glucose.
Click: Know Your Complex, Simple, and Refined Carbs
Glucose is virtually the sole fuel for the human brain, except during prolonged starvation. In starvation, ketone bodies generated by the liver partly replace glucose as fuel for the brain. (source)
2. If insufficient carbohydrates are consumed to meet our fuel needs, then fats and proteins can be converted into sugars. The human body has little capacity to store excess carbohydrates or protein, but can convert both to fat stores for later use as fuel when converted to glucose via gluconeogenesis.
When fats are converted to sugar in the absence of carbohydrates, ketones are produced. These molecules are very similar to acetone in their structure. They affect brain function in a fashion that is similar to alcohol, impairing our decision-making abilities, as well as our awareness and judgment.
Protein, fat, and even complex carbohydrates must be broken down to simple carbohydrates in order to be used as fuel. While this breakdown is often an energy-intensive operation, sometimes requiring almost as much fuel as the consumed food supplies, simple carbohydrates such as glucose and fructose are absorbed without needing any digestion whatsoever.
This energy-conserving quality is the primary reason that where physical performance is concerned, the simple carbohydrates found in whole, raw fruit are a better source of fuel than protein and fat. (source)
Is ketosis (the formation of ketones) safe?
With insufficient intake of the body’s primary fuel, carbohydrate, the body turns to fats from foods and from body fat for fuel. Byproducts of this metabolism are acidic substances called ketones (acetacetic acid, B-hydroxybuteric acid, and acetone). The metabolic condition is known as ketosis. Ketosis is associated with loss of appetite, nausea, fatigue, and hypotension (lower blood pressure). The result is a decrease in food (calorie) intake. Ketosis allows the body to starve while reducing the suffering of severe hunger pangs.
With little carbohydrate in the diet the body resorts to using its glycogen stores of glucose. Glycogen, stored in the liver and muscles, can meet the average person’s glucose needs for about 12 to 18 hours. With each gram of glycogen is stored 2.7 grams of water. The average body stores 300 grams of glycogen. Depletion of the body’s glycogen would result in an almost overnight weight loss of 1110 grams (37 ounces or over 3 pounds). The ketones also cause a strong diuretic effect on the kidneys, resulting in losses of large amounts of fluid. (source)
Ketosis is metabolically very similar to starvation. If you’re trying to increase your fertility or if you’re currently pregnant, ketosis can actually be counterproductive. Fertility is greatest when the body feels well-nourished (which makes perfect sense: evolutionarily, conceiving a child during a time of food scarcity could be very dangerous), so a very low carbohydrate diet that imitates starvation is not ideal for conception. Similarly, the healthiest nutritional state during pregnancy is being consistently well-nourished; ketosis can be dangerous for both mother and baby.
People who do a lot of high-intensity metabolic conditioning should also avoid ketosis. This kind of activity demands glucose for fuel. Your body can make its own glucose from fat and protein, but not at the rate that you need it for regular sprint workouts or Crossfit metcons. If you regularly try to push yourself through this kind of workout on a low-carb diet, you’ll burn through all your stored muscle glycogen right away, and then see your performance start to decrease.
Kidney stones are a well-known side effect of prolonged ketosis. Some studies also indicate a risk of bone density loss, a problem that could lead to osteoporosis or further complications down the road. Children on a ketogenic diet grow more slowly than their peers – not surprisingly, given that ketosis is so similar to starvation. A less serious but irritating side effect is constipation [from lack of dietary fiber]. Other risks of very low carbohydrate diets in general include thyroid problems, Vitamin C deficiency, low energy, mood disorders, and bad breath. (source)
Ketosis is an emergency, survival state of the body. Is it safe? It is safe when it is needed to survive. It can’t be considered safe to voluntary force a body into a state of unnecessary and prolonged ketosis. Overnight ketosis (fasting while sleeping) is natural, normal, and within safe limits. When dealing with diabetes, epilepsy, or other brain disorders, a plant-based ketonic diet can prove beneficial for some people.
Dietary Options
With three macro nutrients, these are the possible combinations of dietary approach:
Low Carb – High Protein – High Fat
Low Carb – High Protein – Low Fat
Low Carb – Low Protein – High Fat
Low Carb – Low Protein – Low Fat
High Carb – High Protein – High Fat
High Carb – High Protein – Low Fat
High Carb – Low Protein – High Fat
High Carb – Low Protein – Low Fat
The human body’s ability to metabolize protein ends at around 35%. Thus “high protein” is a relative term: even advocates of higher protein consumption are not claiming that it should account for the majority of calories. (source)
Taking out the high protein options, this is what remains:
Low Carb – Low Protein – High Fat
Low Carb – Low Protein – Low Fat
High Carb – Low Protein – High Fat
High Carb – Low Protein – Low Fat
Simple carbs and fat don’t mix. Because of the easy and quick metabolism of simple carbs, dietary fat slows the process causing a back-log of sugar in the bloodstream.
Removing the high carb – high fat option, this is what remains:
Low Carb – Low Protein – High Fat
Low Carb – Low Protein – Low Fat
High Carb – Low Protein – Low Fat
The only way to get the low carb – low protein – low fat option is to fast, which is a viable option at times for specific healing situations, but for adequately fueling the brain, let’s remove it. This is what remains:
Low Carb – Low Protein – High Fat
High Carb – Low Protein – Low Fat
Basically, there are two main options for fueling the brain. A person will either get the bulk of their needed calories from carbohydrates (simple or complex, not refined) or from fat.
A high fat diet will put the body in a state of chronic ketosis due to lack of carbohydrates. A high fat diet built on animal-based consumables will negatively impact the environment and exploit animals.
It is possible to eat a high-fat plant-based diet which shows benefit to human health compared to high-fat animal-based diet without creating a negative environmental impact or exploiting animals, yet ketosis will still be experienced.
When you realize the negative impacts of high-fat on the human body you realize that whole plant fats need to be kept to a minimum. The brain is oxygen dependent and high-fat diets reduce the oxygen carrying capacity of red blood cells.
Click: 6 Health-Preserving Reasons to Stop Consuming Oil (and reduce all fat)
So if we remove high fat as a dietary option, all that is left is:
High Carb – Low Protein – Low Fat
Whether you take your carbohydrates in fast simple carbs (raw fruit) or slow complex carbs (cooked starches) or a combination of both is up to you. You will avoid ketosis, fuel your brain adequately, and intake ample amounts of the macro- and micro-nutrients if sourced from a variety of whole foods all while maintaining a low impact on the environment and avoid needlessly killing any animals.
An ideal ratio of daily macro-nutrient calories is 80% carb, 10% protein, and 10% fat. A tad more dietary fat can be safely consumed with complex carbs than can be consumed with simple carbs. Sourcing these calories and nutrients from whole fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, tubers, seeds, nuts, and fungi is responsible, possible, and healthful to not only the brain but the entire human body, not to mention the planet and her animals.
Additional Resources
• High Fat vs. High Carb (But Not Both)
• Nutrition Only in Animal-Based Foods
{ 66 comments… read them below or add one }
Their is some true info in this article and a lot of misinformation. Ketogenic diets are extremely safe and health promoting. I have been on one for 7 years and I bodybuild and engage in high intensity exercise. High Fat keto diets should be about 15 to 20% protein, they improve several markers of health and are used in cancer therapy. I cant believe their is till this much mis info out their.
Thank you for taking the time to read & comment Travis. The warnings quoted in the article are from a Paleo website. If you are partaking of a plant-based high-fat keto diet and have trained your body to burn fat instead of glucose, then more power to you. It is a choice that only impacts you. However if you are partaking of animal-based consumables, then I believe you are cultivating danger for your health and definitely contributing to environmental damage as well as the needless breeding and slaughter of conscious animals. There is only one way to eat that promotes human health, environmental health, AND respect for the lives of other living beings and that is a whole food plant-based diet. Until something else comes along that can do these three tasks better, I will eat and promote a vegan diet and lifestyle. Our personal lives mean more than the condition of our bodies and our performance level. We are part of an ecosystem to which we are responsible. Eating animals is irresponsible and selfish.
Couldn’t agree more with the points you have raised regarding animals and our planet.
Travis is correct about Keto diets however in that the evidence seems to show they are both safe and effective for health, contrary to a couple of statements in the article. Coming from a Paleo background I’m sure you realise that humans have probably been in ketosis for the majority of our life on this planet.
Regardless of our human history, we live now with different options and opportunities. Humans in the Paleolithic era lived short lives (men 35, women 30 years) so I don’t think that mimicking the diet of our ancestors is necessarily our smartest contemporary option. Those who wish to induce a ketogenic state can do so with plant foods whereby sparing animal lives and environmental destruction inherent in animal agriculture.
Your logic is by far the most fallible I’ve ever seen. You realize that our ancestors were around about 6 million years ago, and the modern form of humans have been around for about a quarter million years.
Agriculture has been around for a few thousand at best. These “new options and opportunities” you speak of maybe cover the last 200?
A digestive system that took thousands of years to evolve could in no way give half a shit about your new age options. It hasn’t been subjected to a fraction of the timeline it would need to be beneficial to eat the crap on our shelves.
Ketosis is basically another way of fueling the body. As I understand many arctic-region humans could live their entire lives within ketosis. Some people are confused between nutritional ketosis vs ketoacitosis (seen in diabetics as something of a defense mechanism)
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment Casey. I think you’ll agree with me that the human body is a highly adaptive organism which changes and evolves daily even in the gut micro-biome alone. When you refer to the “crap on our shelves” I assume you mean highly refined and processed food-like substances that I too do not recommend anyone consume.
Ketosis is a “back up” mechanism for fueling the body. If someone in ketosis eats whole simple or complex carbohydrates, the body immediately reverts back to burning carbs for fuel which is it’s default preferred state because it is less demanding of body system mechanisms. It’s wonderful for survival that our bodies can rely on ketosis for times of stress and starvation. It’s wonderful too that our bodies can consume its stored fat to survive and wonderful that our bodies know to store fat when calories are in excess. But to forcibly live in ketosis, while possible, isn’t something that I could recommend. It is a fallacy that the Inuits who eat a diet high in fat and protein live healthy lives. They survive, yes, but do not thrive. Inuit communities have high rates of heart disease and shorter average lifespans like our ancestors.
More: Masai and Inuit High-Protein Diets: A Closer Look
“Ketosis is a “back up” mechanism for fueling the body. If someone in ketosis eats whole simple or complex carbohydrates, the body immediately reverts back to burning carbs for fuel which is it’s default preferred state because it is less demanding of body system mechanisms.”
By this reasoning burning alcohol would be the body’s preferred state. Not a logical conclusion to draw at all. The body goes to burn the carbs first because it has to keep our blood sugars within a normal range or we would die.
I find it hard to take your explanations too seriously when you so obviously start from a position of, “I am against eating animals, regardless of anything.” It’s like talking to someone who has their eyes shut and their fingers in their ears.
Thank you for taking the time to read & comment Carol. I mentioned simple or complex carbs in the passage you quoted, neither of which are alcohol which is refined carbohydrate. Yes, refined carbohydrates are immediately metabolized by the body creating a spike in insulin and then a drop in blood sugar due to the nature of being so refined and devoid of fiber and water.
When it comes to personal health alone, an argument can be made for eating wild meat, raw dairy, and genuinely free-range, non-pasteurized (perhaps wild) eggs along with plant foods for survival. Nutritional science informs us that we can survive and thrive on a fully plant-based diet. If it matters to a person to not capture, enslave, or slaughter another sentient being then they can be assured that nourishing oneself on a plant-based diet is a safe and smart choice. I am against eating animals when sufficient and clean plant-based options are readily available. Why wouldn’t I be?
Don’t delude yourself into thinking that agriculture and plant based food production don’t cause the loss of life of many, many sentient beings. It undermines the integrity of anything valid you might have to say.
Thank you for your reminder. The intention of veganism is not perfection or purity, but progress. Animal habitats are destroyed to grow fields of produce for people and animals are killed unintentionally during harvest. Yet the vast majority of crop fields are used to grow feed for livestock (corn, soy) and the majority of agricultural land is used to house and graze livestock. This is intentional destruction of sentient beings at the rate of 9 billion in the USA per year.
“The most animal suffering and death can be prevented by following a vegan diet.” https://freefromharm.org/common-justifications-for-eating-animals/comparing-animal-deaths-production-plant-animal-foods/
Hi folks, untrained but very interested in the topic here and I have a question for those who support this ketosis diet (which I assume is animal based?).
You speak of being on the diet for 7(?) years and you feel fine. But do you take into account, what a high fat, animal based diet is doing to your arteries and which may not show up YET. In Northern Canada, the Inuit population show statistically, that their lifespan is 68 years, compared to 82 of people who live in Southern Canada. When autopsies have been done, most of those individuals, including those who died by accident, showed signs of heart disease.
The significant difference between the two groups was that the Northerners lived on a higher intake of meat because the cost of plant foods is extreme in the north.
As I have gotten to the age of 63, I’ve been fascinated to observe the vitality that goes along with youth and which naturally diminishes as we age. I wonder if you aren’t possibly experiencing that vitality which at the same time is masking growing damage to your heart and arteries that will rear it’s ugly head at some unnaturally early point in your lives. Just an observation.
Debrah,
Excellent feedback and consideration. I used to completely buy into KETO! High fat! Etc. Now I’m starting to believe it’s just as bad as extremists on the other side, with low to no fat. I think balance and listening to your own body over many years are the keys to success. Just because something works for 7 years for one person still does not in any way define absolute statistical significance. It’s so much more complex. Everyone has unique nutritional needs. Unique, not extreme.
MBear recently posted..Vegan Sauces & Dressings Class with Avai August 4, 2018
Quoting Dr. Garth Davis’ Facebook page:
“This is from the New England Journal of Medicine and is an excellent review of the latest research in cholesterol.
Basically, cholesterol is definitely associated with heart disease. Lowering cholesterol definitely improves long term survival. And we know eating saturated fat definitely increases cholesterol. In fact, there is an equation, called Hegstead equation, that can accurately predict how much cholesterol will rise if you increase saturated fat.
So FOR THE LOVE OF GOD can we stop with the absolute nonsense that fat is good for you. Stop listening to bloggers and pseudo experts. Listen to the non biased science coming from the top researchers. Stop with butter in the coffee and the switching to whole milk etc. it is just dumb!
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe1507041
I have searched and searched through references and there is very little evidence of any need for fat in the brain. In fact, some of the lowest Alzheimer’s rates come from places with very low fat intake. Plants, nuts and seeds all have adequate fat.”
I really hate to tell you this but EVERYONE I know, including myself, who lives a keto lifestyle has seen their cholesterol go DOWN. In fact, mine has went from “heartattack-waiting-to-happen” to NORMAL over the course of six months. My diet is with macros of fat-70%/Carbs-5%/protien-25%. I’ve had all the tests. I’m healthy as I could be, have as much energy at 51 as I did as a teenager, run circles around my kids and have left my brain fog behind.
What is a typical day’s food for you Sensi?
I think you’re a little biased.
1. Dashti, H. M., Al-Zaid, N. S., Mathew, T. C., Al-Mousawi, M., Talib, H., Asfar, S. K., & Behbahani, A. I. (2006). Long term effects of ketogenic diet in obese subjects with high cholesterol level. Molecular and cellular biochemistry, 286(1-2), 1.
2. Yancy, W. S., Olsen, M. K., Guyton, J. R., Bakst, R. P., & Westman, E. C. (2004). A low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet versus a low-fat diet to treat obesity and hyperlipidemia: a randomized, controlled trial. Annals of internal medicine, 140(10), 769-777.
3. Sharman, M. J., Kraemer, W. J., Love, D. M., Avery, N. G., Gómez, A. L., Scheett, T. P., & Volek, J. S. (2002). A ketogenic diet favorably affects serum biomarkers for cardiovascular disease in normal-weight men. The Journal of nutrition, 132(7), 1879-1885.
4. Dashti, H. M., Bo-Abbas, Y. Y., Asfar, S. K., Mathew, T. C., Hussein, T., Behbahani, A., … & Al-Zaid, N. S. (2003). Ketogenic diet modifies the risk factors of heart disease in obese patients. Nutrition, 19(10), 901.
5. Dashti, H. M., Mathew, T. C., Khadada, M., Al-Mousawi, M., Talib, H., Asfar, S. K., … & Al-Zaid, N. S. (2007). Beneficial effects of ketogenic diet in obese diabetic subjects. Molecular and cellular biochemistry, 302(1-2), 249-256.
6. Willi, S. M., Oexmann, M. J., Wright, N. M., Collop, N. A., & Key, L. L. (1998). The effects of a high-protein, low-fat, ketogenic diet on adolescents with morbid obesity: body composition, blood chemistries, and sleep abnormalities. Pediatrics, 101(1), 61-67.
7. Volek, J. S., Sharman, M. J., Gomez, A. L., Scheett, T. P., & Kraemer, W. J. (2003). An isoenergetic very low carbohydrate diet improves serum HDL cholesterol and triacylglycerol concentrations, the total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol ratio and postprandial lipemic responses compared with a low fat diet in normal weight, normolipidemic women. The Journal of nutrition, 133(9), 2756-2761.
Do you need any other studies to tell you the ketogenic diet is safe? Or that the diet type is less important than calorie balance? Vegan, Keto, Paleo, Mediterranean, it doesn’t matter. All research shows the same results. If you’re in a calorie surplus and overweight, you’re more likely to have health problems. If you’re a healthy weight, you’re less likely.
All calories are not created equally. A person eating 1,200 calories of cookies, cakes, pies, and soft drinks is going to have different health outcomes than someone eating 1,200 calories of apples, kale, cashews, and coconut water. Non-caloric minerals, vitamins, phytonutrients, and fiber are critical elements for health and wellbeing.
Here are some recent articles to consider:
1. Why I Quit The Keto Diet by Drew Harrisberg, January 23, 2019
2. Is the Ketogenic Diet Natural for Humans by Robyn Chuter, ND January 17, 2019
Andy, I truly applaud your efforts in citing all these sources. As a grad student, I can assure you that these would not be acceptable for academic writing due to the time that has passed since they were published. As with anything, as time passes, different outcomes and long-term effects are discovered. In graduate level writing sources should be within the last 10 years, at least.
Amazing! Very good explenation! Thanks!
ernährungsplan
Thank you! Glad you found it helpful!
Thank you for your great website! You have such comprehensive information. I have been a vegan for 3 years but just recently moved to a healthy, whole-foods, plant-based version of a vegan diet and have noticed tremendous differences in my health. I have been looking for a breakdown of macronutrient percents that was more accurate than what is currently presented in the mainstream and was happy to find that in this article!
This is wonderful Jessica! I am very concerned for so many loving vegans out there who are doing the right thing by the animals but are not feeding themselves well. Glad this article helped you!
I just went through your comments and was impressed by your knowledge Carla and your patience. Thanks for being such a great teacher.
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Thank you for your kind words Debrah. I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment.
First off, I’m a type 1 diabetic, and I’m no expert in nutrition. but I wouldn’t name call others who choose the life they want to live. I tried the vegan lifestyle for 3 years. I’m no longer Vegan due to several deficits in my diet. By your admissions it’s better if you just go ahead and be miserable that to eat meat, if your dying so what, a human life is no more important than an old shoe, the only exception is if you are vegan in your world. This is the typical thing I saw with many, not all Vegan’s, they know what’s best for you. Keep your preaching strong, because in the end my dear you will be as dead as I’am in the end, no escaping it. Oh one more point, if you ever decide to live again the DT’s you experience as you come off the sugar, it’s akin to a heroine withdrawal. That’s not science that FACT! IMHO.
Hi Jason, Not sure where you felt that I was name calling anyone. There are choices in life and yes one is food, however when an animal is involved, there are two individuals and only one is making a choice. What about the animal’s choice to live? There are many ways to eat a vegan diet and the only one I can recommend based on nutritional medicine is a low fat, whole food, plant-based vegan diet. There are too many processed vegan junk foods on the market that interfere with optimal health. A well-planned, smart, and safe vegan diet meets all dietary requirements and leaves little to no room for deficiency. Yes, in the end we will all die, however as vegan cardiologist and president of the American College of Cardiology Dr. Kim Williams says “I don’t mind dying. I just don’t want it to be my fault.” The leading causes of death are avoidable, preventable, and often reversible with a low fat, whole food, plant-based vegan diet. It’s the only one that has been scientifically proven to reverse heart disease, America’s #1 killer. Thank you for your warning about coming off sugar, but I don’t eat refined or processed sugar. Whole sugars in fruit are not addictive and cause no withdraw when abstaining. Thank you for taking the time to read & comment.
That’s the best positive, informative and polite answer I’ve ever heard in reply to such as Jason’s comments. You can’t argue with the truth – everything covered authenically. Consuming animals hurts them, ourselves and the planet – simple yet very powerful truth 🌱💚
Thank you so much for your kind words Sue. I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment. Long live compassion! xo
Robin Arzon (http://www.robinarzon.com) is a Type 1 diabetic who runs regular and ultra marathons, teaches Peloton spinning classes and manages a hectic career. She’s also vegan. If you’re still interested in a whole food plant based diet, you might benefit from finding out how she does it.
Thank you for adding this information Ewen. Robin Arzon is an amazing athlete!
What are your recommendations for calories and weight gain for a child with cerebral palsy? I add oils and butter to all her foods.
I’m not familiar with diets specifically for CP. With the butter and oil you may wish to add healthy whole plant fats like avocado, nuts, and seeds.
I enjoyed your review and article however, Do you think that Dr Hyman
who is reversing Dementia (incl his father) and alzheimers through Mediterranean or Keto
higher fat low carb diets is uneducated? Or a pseudo expert?
If we take in even slightly too much glucose, we clog the brain-
many articles on that. This is why diabetics have higher risk of early Dementia- too much sugar.. If Diabetics and people with brain disease benefit from a Keto-like diet- would you then draw the conclusion that it is good for you if it is great for the brain( ?). I’m just curious. They have proven many times that butter is not causing heart disease. I eat tons of fat and my cholesterol is great. Generous Butter, olive oil a little, coconut oil and avacado. If people with Neuro issues benefit from Ketogenic than now can the theory of loading up on fructose be a better choice.
Hi Kimberly, I’m not a fan of Dr. Hyman’s work because he advocates for the eating of animals and animal products. I don’t think he’s uneducated, but I also think his advice is irresponsible considering the damaging effects of animal agriculture on the environment and the cruelty inherent in animal food production. I prefer the work of Dr. Neal Barnard and other whole food, plant-based eating advocates who are preventing and reversing diabetes and other diseases with diet.
Diabetes is a fat problem that creates a sugar problem. Refined sugars are a poor choice for everyone. Whole fruit (and it’s sugar) is a healthy choice. I believe that ketosis is a survival state of the body and isn’t intended to be practiced for long periods of time. I’ve explored this topic in several articles:
Is Alzheimer’s Disease Cardiovascular Disease?
Choosing the Safest Fats, Carbs, and Proteins
How to Disease-Proof Your Health
I think combining high fat diets with high (simple & complex, but not refined) carbohydrate foods is a poor combination. So it’s best to eat high fats and vegetables or low fats with fruits, grains, and vegetables. I choose the later based on the works of Dr. Barnard, Dr. Esselstyn, Dr. Campbell, Dr. Greger, Dr. Popper, Dr. McDougall, and many others.
I’d like to see your sources about glucose clogging the brain.
So, the answer is carbs, indirectly.
Yes, ideally complex and simple carbs, not refined carbs.
Awesome article. When common sense is supported by tons of experience and data it is refreshing. 80 10 10 all the way and the animal’s win too.thanks so much.
Hi, I’m only commenting to invite everyone to see way this article leans. This author finds medical information that supports her ideals and perpetuates confusion, and fear about the ideas that oppose hers. Yes we can live on a vegan diet. Yes it is important to be humane. If you want to live a vegan lifestyle that is up to you. If you want to counsel people on the benefits of a vegan lifestyle, I’m sure the stewardship is appreciated. However, misrepresenting other information to scare and swing people to hold your values is unethical. For example, only painting ketones as a type of acetone, affecting our brains like alcohol and impairing our judgments is misleading. Yes ketones are bad in prolonged or concentrated amounts. But in the absence of glucose, there is no other nutrient the brain can utilize. In fact, degradation of muscle tissue is at it’s peak when the body isn’t using ketones to fuel the brain, whilst no glucose is being consumed (3 days of starvation), yet at 40 days of insufficient glucose, the brain utilizes more ketones, and subsequent degradation of muscle tissue decreases significantly. Again, ketones CAN be bad, in excess. They are not inherently bad, or immediately cause impairment. Our heart and renal cortex actually prefer acetoacetate as a primary fuel instead of glucose. So we need to produce some kind of ketone bodies for optimal body performance. All things need to be in balance in our diets, in our nutrients, and in our persuasion of others.
I agree, ketogenesis is dangerous for long stretches of time. It’s a survival emergency state of the body designed to use stored energy when food is unavailable. The short-duration benefits of ketones supports the use of intermittent fasting such as during sleep. Fortunately for those who wish to spare the animals, reduce one’s carbon footprint, and practice short spurts of intentional ketogenesis, a high fat, low carb vegan option is readily available. Thanks for taking the time to read & comment Lincoln!
For people like me who have tried there whole life to lose weight for health reasons I find that the Keto method works well….I had no idea how fast I would lose the weight on Keto/Intermitantfasting. I need to lose (for health reasons) 30 kilos, your way of thinking would never work for me. I tried all that you talk about and I lost a few kilos and then put it right back on again. Insulin resistance, frequent meals (some people up to 5 meals a day as suggested by their doctor) keep your insulin spiking all day long. The only rest the body gets from this is when you sleep. Change is good and when I lose all the weight I need to lose, I will look to change but at the moment this is working beautifully for me. Try looking up Dr Jason Fung, who is helping diabetic patience through Intermittent fasting and reversing that disease which we are told you can not do. I don’t know about you but those people he helps have not lost a limb etc….but many of the patience on the SAD diets lost many a limb. If this helps those people from losing limbs etc then do you think that it is a reasonable suggestion to try the Keto/Intermitant fasting. He promotes Intermittent fasting for those patience who want to give it a go an see results.
Hi Emanuela, thank you for taking the time to read and write. I have no doubt that ketosis works well for fast weight loss but the standard ketogenic way of eating is not sustainable nor advisable for long term health. It is possible to do vegan keto which is less damaging to the cardiovascular system due to avoiding cholesterol which is not present in plant foods. Dr. Neal Barnard helps people reverse diabetes on a whole food plant-based diet and has a book about it titled Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes, The Scientifically Proven System for Reversing Diabetes Without Drugs. I am a fan of intermittent fasting on a whole food plant-based diet. The SAD diet isn’t good for anyone.
The soil your plants and vegetables grow in require blood meal from animals to thrive. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, life in nature then and now requires death.
Please familiarize yourself with veganic gardening to learn how animal inputs can be avoided or minimized: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegan_organic_gardening
The only diet I have ever lost weight on, felt mentally clear on and was evidenced by exfraordinary work output, had high energy levels and felt completely satiated has been the paleo/keto diet. When I took traditional nutritional advice around my pregnancy and tried to eat a diet filled with grains I gained weight, felt sick and tired, mentally foggy, etc. I am in the environmental field and am surrounded by holier-than-thou vegans who rarely look nourished and are always sick, tired or aching in some way. They eat an incredible amount of processed food filled with toxic ingredients, and over rely on corn and soy based products that are the most disruptive industry in terms of environmental sustainability. It has been thoroughly researched that our current understanding of nutrition has been heavily influenced by industry which is why we are told to eat more and more grain-based products despite skyrocketing cases of cancer, hypertension, diabetes, etc. I’m convinced the reason why vegan diets “work” in terms of weight loss is entirely due to a lower caloric intake… but you’re still malnourished. Our ancestors ate meat and were in a constant state of metosis which needs to stop being conflated with starvation. Plants eat meat. You can began farm all day but it isn’t in alignment with a natural system. So, I firmly believe that it’s better to help create the market for sustainable meat production that it is to take your money out of the meat market altogether. Because now you don’t matter at all to the producers. But hey, be vegan if you think it works for you. But don’t belittle people or spread misinformation about other diets. Overall conscious eating should help no matter what diet people choose. Everyone will not be vegan.
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment Bri. When you tried eating a grain-filled diet, were those strictly whole grains or were they floured?
I advocate for and teach a whole food plant-based vegan approach to eating for the very reasons that you describe: unhealthy, highly processed vegan fast and junk foods lead to poor health and are not recommended.
The vast majority of corn, soy, and wheat grown is for livestock feed. (source)
There are more animals who eat plants (herbivores) than carnivorous plants that eat animals.
There are many farmers achieving success with veganic farming.
How would you describe sustainable meat production? To date I think that the emerging clean meat technology is the only process that can be described as sustainable meat.
I’m sorry that you felt my blog post was belittling. Please point out the language to me that you feel is unnecessary so that I can consider editing it for future readers. Thanks so much!
I do not eat a strictly plant-based diet, but I have to wade in here:
“Our ancestors ate meat and were in a constant state of metosis which needs to stop being conflated with starvation”.
Which ancestors? Where did they live? What was their diet? What was their average life expectancy? What were their rates of cancer? What would their food choices have been if they’d had a choice?
The longest living societies (see the Blue Zones) all have one thing in common: low intake of animal protein/fat, and a primarily plant-based diet. Take the Okinawans or the Tarahumara, both societies ate/eat less than 5% of their calories from meat/fish. They existed/exist on complex carbohydrates. The Okinanwan eat up to 80% of their calories from sweet potato.
The paleo diet is a fallacy and has been thoroughly debunked by anthropologists. Many of my patients have done well initially on a paleo diet (weight loss) but too many have ended up with dangerously high LDL and triglyceride levels. Blood sugar tends to rise in alignment with fat intake too, and despite eating “lean meat” there is still too much fat in the meat they are eating and many are still pre-diabetic.
The diet is good in some ways – no dairy, no oils, but as far as high meat intake goes it is just another Atkins diet – high animal protein/fat. If you want to increase risk of heart disease and risk of colon cancer, this is the diet for you.
The ketogenic diet is useful in in patients with refractory epilepsy, but not as a long-term diet. When we recommend a keto diet to a patient with seizures we also have to advise on the potential risk factors, which are plenty: gastrointestinal disturbances, such as nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation, gastritis and fat intolerance, hypertriglyceridemia, symptomatic hypoglycemia, hypoproteinemia, low concentrations of high-density lipoprotein, lipoid pneumonia due to aspiration, renal stones, acute pancreatitis, metabolic acidosis….etc.
The body is not designed to work in this way on a medium or long-term basis. It is a dangerous fad diet.
Plant-based foods are designed to heal and nourish the body. When you study nutrition you quickly realise just how powerful they are. Unfortunately, too many doctors do not recieve adequate nutrition training and are not up to speed on how diet can prevent and reverse disease and medical conditions. I do not tell my patients to stop eating meat, but I strongly recommend not more than 5% of total calories. And certainly avoid dairy.
The scientific literature is clear: a whole foods, plant-based diet is extremely healthy (not a “vegan diet”, which can mean any food that doesn’t contain meat or dairy). It is the only diet capable of preventing and reversing heart disease, and type 2 diabetes, and is increasingly being show to play a role in preventing certain cancers like colon, breast and liver cancer.
Ethical choices are down to the individual, but vegan or not, which I am not, we must all recogise that whole, plant-based foods are the healthiest foods and should make up the majority of our diet.
Thank you for chiming in Dr. Jones!
The human brain is NOT meant to run on glucose… Please cite your sources and the internet is full of 95% false data about the food pyramid and how humans should consume nutrients. Any person who conducts thorough research will eventually find protein and fat are the only items that should be consumed everything else is basically poison. Many sources including the fact that 10,000 years ago doesn’t touch the 1 million years of human history of consumption and survival.
Watch the magic pill on Netflix
Do you trust The National Center for Biotechnology Information?
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK22436/
“Glucose is virtually the sole fuel for the human brain, except during prolonged starvation. The brain lacks fuel stores and hence requires a continuous supply of glucose. It consumes about 120 g daily, which corresponds to an energy input of about 420 kcal (1760 kJ), accounting for some 60% of the utilization of glucose by the whole body in the resting state. Much of the energy, estimates suggest from 60% to 70%, is used to power transport mechanisms that maintain the Na+-K+ membrane potential required for the transmission of the nerve impulses. The brain must also synthesize neurotransmitters and their receptors to propagate nerve impulses. Overall, glucose metabolism remains unchanged during mental activity, although local increases are detected when a subject performs certain tasks.
Glucose is transported into brain cells by the glucose transporter GLUT3. This transporter has a low value of KM for glucose (1.6 mM), which means that it is saturated under most conditions. Thus, the brain is usually provided with a constant supply of glucose. Noninvasive 13C nuclear magnetic resonance measurements have shown that the concentration of glucose in the brain is about 1 mM when the plasma level is 4.7 mM (84.7 mg/dl), a normal value. Glycolysis slows down when the glucose level approaches the KM value of hexokinase (~50 μM), the enzyme that traps glucose in the cell (Section 16.1.1). This danger point is reached when the plasma-glucose level drops below about 2.2 mM (39.6 mg/dl) and thus approaches the KM value of GLUT3.
Fatty acids do not serve as fuel for the brain, because they are bound to albumin in plasma and so do not traverse the blood-brain barrier. In starvation, ketone bodies generated by the liver partly replace glucose as fuel for the brain.”
Ive been reading all this dietary stuff for six months now
AND IVE LEARNT ONE THING ONLY!!
NOBODY BUT NOBODY KNOWS HOW THE HUMAN DIGESTIVE SYSTEM REALLY WORKS.
everyone has they’re own angle.
To make some promotion or financial gain.
Being healthy is bad for business. I listen to doctors and dietitians who teach how to eat and be well by eating plant-food rather than supplements, food replacements, pills, or procedures.
Hi Carla,
There are some scientific errors in your piece. Perhaps you could amend it with the following fixes in mind:
CLAIM: “Glucose is the human body’s key source of energy”.
REALITY: No it is not. ATP is [1]. ATP can be constructed via glycolysis, aerobic respiration and, via lactate, anaerobic respiration, as you imply; but also via oxidative phosphorylation and beta oxidation, which do not involve glucose production. With beta oxidation, fat is not “converted into glucose”, as you imply, but is cleaved into acetyl-CoA groups, which then enter the citric acid cycle. [2] As such, your claim could, at best, be rendered “glucose is the human body’s key source of energy for those who primarily eat foods that primarily metabolise into glucose”. As such, no notion of “key” or “fundamental” or “preferential” is justified. Glucose is metabolised before other substrates, but this is not a necessary condition for its being “key”. Indeed, alcohol is metabolised before glucose, but you would not thus call alcohol a “key” source of energy.
CLAIM: “[the brain] is designed to be fueled by glucose”
REALITY: Free-fatty-acids or triglycerides cannot traverse the blood-brain-barrier, and thus cannot be utilised directly by the brain for energy; however, ketones can and do pass the blood-brain-barrier, and they are used very efficiently by the brain. More efficiently and “cleanly” than glucose, as it happens. [3] Ketones actually supress brain-glucose consumption, meaning that the brain preferentially uses ketones when they are available. [4] The common belief is that the brain still needs to utilise some amount of glucose, although even here there is some controversy, as the true amount has not been determined. Certainly, at least 75% of the brain’s energy requirements can come cleanly and efficiently from ketone bodies. Thus, in a keto-adapted body, it is demonstrated that, at most, 30g of glucose be required for brain operation per day, which is easily produced via gluconeogenesis. None of that glucose need be exogenously obtained.
CLAIM: “Refined carbohydrates can deprive the brain of glucose”
REALITY: Since refined carbohydrates cleave the most readily and immediately to glucose, it is unclear why you believe that refined carbohydrates should deprive the brain of glucose; quite the contrary. Indeed, this contradicts your earlier statement: “If glucose is available, the body will use it first since it is easiest and quickest to metabolize”.
CLAIM: “Glucose is virtually the sole fuel for the human brain, except during prolonged starvation”
REALITY: Incorrect. Although starvation can promote ketogenesis, humans uniquely can produce prolific amounts of ketone bodies when calorifically replete. [5] Thus, humans who do not eat substantial amounts of exogenous carbohydrates will produce ketone bodies indefinitely, which the brain readily uses. This is true for mature brains and developing brains in particular: children are readily and normally in a state of ketosis [6]
CLAIM: “If insufficient carbohydrates are consumed to meet our fuel needs, then fats and proteins can be converted into sugars”
REALITY: As demonstrated above, the body is fueled by ATP, not glucose, and ATP can be constructed directly from fats. Thus, if one primarily consumes fat, or has access to body fat, then it is inaccurate to suggest that fats must primarily be converted to sugars in order to “fuel” us. Thus, the claim begs the question that carbohydrates have a minimal “sufficient” requirement in our diet (they do not), and that the only alternative is to convert other sustrates into sugars. This, too, is inaccurate. The scientifically agreed number of exogenous grams of carbohydrate required for “sufficiency” is agreed, scientifically, to be “zero” [7] The body does need a small amount of glucose for cells that require it – like red blood cells and, potentially, parts of the brain. It does indeed convert some ingested fat and protein into this minimal amount of glucose via gluconeogenesis, as you mention later. [8] But gluconeogenesis is not the primary way a ketotic human is fueled. Thus, your claim could just as easily be re-rendered “If an excess of glucose is consumed, then our bodies must process this glucose, converting that not immediately required for energy into fat”.
CLAIM: “When fats are converted to sugar in absence of carbohydrates, ketones are produced”
REALITY: As discussed above, you seem to have confused beta-oxidation with gluconeogenesis. Ketones are primarily produced in the oxidation of fatty acids, not in their conversion to “sugar” [9]
CLAIM: “These molecules are very similar to acetone in their structure”
REALITY: One of the molecules produced is not merely “very similar” to acetone: it IS acetone [10]. The primary ketone body involved in nutritional ketosis (actually, not strictly a ketone body at all), though, is beta hydroxybutyrate. One wonders whether the invocation of “acetone” is in order to make the next statement, comparing effects to alcohol, more rhetorically effective (as acetone is volatile, like ethanol, as so is more intuitively compared therewith).
CLAIM: “They affect brain function in a fashion that is similar to alcohol, impairing our decision-making abilities, as well as our awareness and judgment”
REALITY: You provide no reference to this claim. It is not accurate in any respect. The utilisation of ketone bodies in a brain bears no relation to the metabolism and neural effects of alcohol. Quite the contrary, even long-standing mainstream medical literature recognises ketosis as a usefully productive, neuro-calming state. It is, of course, a well-accepted treatment for epilepsy for this reason, and children on the diet “report an increase in energy and feeling more alert once they are used to the diet” [12] This bears no relationship to the equivalent effect you would expect in putting a child on an alcoholic diet. Perhaps you confuse transient adaptations to ketosis (where the brain does not yet have sufficient ketone bodies, and yet exogenous glucose has been reduced), or that the dumping of salt that occurs when you reduce your hyperinsulinaemia can temporarily make people feel faint or foggy. In reality, ketosis is neuro-protective and productive, even with those with debilitating impairments [13,14]. Indeed, it is not the presence of ketone bodies in the brain that predicts cognitive impairment, but, instead, hyperglycaemia [15] Thus, your claim here is not merely inaccurate, but is actually closer to being opposite of what science shows us in reality. [16]
CLAIM: “Protein, fat, and even complex carbohydrates must be broken down to simple carbohydrates in order to be used as fuel.”
REALITY: As above, fat does not need to be broken down to simple carbohydrates in order to be used as fuel. Instead, it is converted to ATP via acetyl-CoA in beta-oxidation. [9] Complex carbohydrates must, indeed, be “broken down” into simple carbohydrates, via amylase. But protein is not cleaved into carbohydrates. Instead, it is primarily used for structure, and any protein destined to produce endogenous glucose is converted via gluconeogenesis in the liver, not via enzymatic cleaving.
CLAIM: “While this breakdown is often an energy-intensive operation, sometimes requiring almost as much fuel as the consumed food supplies, simple carbohydrates such as glucose and fructose are absorbed without needing any digestion whatsoever”
REALITY: Do you mean metabolism or digestion? Also, earlier on, you suggested that simple (refined) carbohydrates were not easily available to the brain, and now you claim that they are in fact easily absorbed. It is true that gluconeogenesis is energy intensive, but the storage and metabolism of fats renders a substantial energy yield. Indeed, one of the primary mainstream complaints about fat is just how energetically efficient is its utilisation.
CLAIM: “the simple carbohydrates found in whole, raw fruit are a better source of fuel than protein and fat”
REALITY: What is the reason you specify simple carbohydrates in whole, raw fruit here, with respect to their energetic availability. Mainstream apologia for fruit suggest that the mediation of quick absorption of glucose and fructose thanks to the fibre and pectin in fruit is a benefit. Thus, if you are primarily concerned with immediate, non-metabolically-expensive energy delivery, then a glucose solution would be more efficient than raw fruit. Protein is, indeed, not the primary source of fuel for human beings. But fat is a very efficient fuel indeed. Beta oxidation renders ATP more abundantly than glycolysis, and, overall, “the efficiently of fatty acid metabolism is comparable to that of carbohydrate metabolism” [17]
You make many other claims about the potential “problems” with ketosis throughout your piece; however, I think that with these basic, fundamental misconceptions well delineated, it is not necessary for me to go through every single one of the remaining secondary fallacies that you use to misrepresent ketosis as a fraught, dangerous, unusual or debilitating condition. It is clear that your ambition here is primarily ideologically driven.
[1] https://www.news-medical.net/life-sciences/Adenosine-Triphosphate-(ATP)-Function-in-Cells.aspx
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK21163/
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3219306/
[4] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2874681/
[5] https://www.cell.com/cell-metabolism/pdf/S1550-4131(16)30655-6.pdf
[6] http://www.ketotic.org/2014/01/babies-thrive-under-ketogenic-metabolism.html
[7] http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/DRI/DRI_Energy/energy_full_report.pdf
[8] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK22591/
[9] http://www.bioinfo.org.cn/book/biochemistry/chapt16/bio4.htm
[10] https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/76/1/65/4689461
[11] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5670148/
[12] https://www.epilepsysociety.org.uk/ketogenic-diet#.W8BN8mRKj5U
[13] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19090989
[14] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21130529
[15] http://care.diabetesjournals.org/content/28/1/71
[16] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2367001/
[17] https://chem.libretexts.org/Textbook_Maps/Organic_Chemistry/Map%3A_Essential_Organic_Chemistry_(Bruice)/18%3A_The_Organic_Chemistry_of_Metabolic_Pathways/18.3%3A_The_Catabolism_of_Fats
Thank you for your lengthy comment. It illustrates why I am vegan for ethical reasons. Dr. Chris Kresser and Dr. Joel Kahn argued for nearly 4 hours recently on the Joe Rogan podcast about the best diet for homo sapiens. They agreed that 3/4 of the plate should be plants, ideally vegetables. Dr. Kresser believes the plants would be enhanced with 1/4 plate of animal protein. Dr. Kahn believes that the plants would be enhanced by 1/4 plate more plants. Even doctors immersed in the science and practice of diet can’t agree on nutritional science. Joe Rogan at the onset of the podcast stated that there would be no discussion on the ethical issues of eating animals. He knows that as soon as ethics are discussed, there is no argument. If we believe raising, killing, and eating 56 billion land animals a year is wrong, we know that we can live healthy lives on a whole-food, plant-based vegan diet. Rather than volley scientific articles with you a la Kresser and Kahn, I’ll sign off with stating that I believe raising and eating animals is morally wrong and my preferred diet reflects that ethical position.
Here is the referenced podcast if you’re interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULtqCBimr6U
I love animals, most people do. I want them to live a wonderful life. You state we consume 56 billion land animals a year. If we did it your way, then those animals we not be born at all. The business of raising them for food would go away. So the animals would not have been born at all. If one could see into their future that they would die at the age 40 from a disease, do you think they would chose not to have lived at all? I would prefer we give these animals that are bred for consumption be given a great life. Lets treat them to a great life while alive. Let’s put them down in a way they do not know it’s coming, and ensure no pain physically or mentally. I’d rather 56 Billion be born and live a life than not to have lived at all. If they could speak, I bet they would chose the same thing, to live, even if they will die someday to be consumed. We all die of something Carla. What you are really hurt by is the killing of the animals, just to put food in our bellies. It is horrible when you look at that one instance in the animals life when they do die. But die they will. I’m going to assume that most Vegans have a problem with being a Christian, because in biblical history, God gave all animals to man for our needs. We don’t know everything, but maybe God created animals for many purposes to make the planet live. God created the animal and the plants for us to eat and live. Do you also hate the Lion, the Tiger, Fish and all the animals that eat other animals? We too are an animals. I have a hard time listening to a Vegan try to discuss food science because of their desire to stop the eating of animals. It is a conflict of interest.
Hi Dennis, thank you for taking the time to read and respond. Most industrialized animals that are bred to produce milk/eggs or become meat live horrible, torturous lives. They are mutilated (beaks cut off, horns cut off, caged, kept in the dark, tails cut off, artificially inseminated, fed unnatural diets, mothers separated from days old babies). This is no way to live. These animals are not enjoying green pastures with red barns nearby. Small farms that produce animals who are allowed to live more decent lives can not make enough milk, eggs, and meat to meet society’s demand. I’m not opposed to just the killing of animals but also the torture of animals. Oftentimes the killing comes as a twisted mercy to free these sentient beings from their brutal lives of suffering. It’s my understanding the God gave humans dominion over the animals which means stewardship not the right to cause pain or suffering. All animals are magnificent. What about allowing the vast amount of land used to raise animals and their food be returned to nature? How about wild animals be allowed to flourish? No, I do not hate conivorous or omnivorous animals including humans. Lions, tigers, and fish live according to their natures and depend on other animals to survive. They don’t have the option of going to a grocery store or restaurant and making different choices like we do. Humans are omnivorous, not obligate carnivores. There is no conflict of interest in wanting people, animals, and planet to be healthy. We all depend on each other. Why are you okay with eating animals living tortured lives? Would you choose to live if your entire short life (most food animals are killed as juveniles) was torture?
Thank you Nick for taking the time to respond to this in a thoughtful manor, which can be difficult when attempting to discuss facts w/ someone primarily focused on emotion based ‘evidence’ & attempting to present it as factual. Unfortunate that there are so many lacking basic biochemistry knowledge presenting themselves as experts. I never know whether to laugh or cry reading misinformation, especially when the article is old, which is understandable, but then to see the author still holding onto old “data”…
Medick, there is ample evidence to support a whole-food, plant-based diet. It would be a waste of my time, your time, and Nick’s time for me to post it all. You can start by referencing Dr. Michael Greger’s website NutritionFacts.org if interested. That said, there is no science that says homo sapiens must eat the meat, dairy, or eggs of other animals to thrive. There is ample evidence that people thrive better without meat, diary, or eggs. As much as you are perplexed by my lack of scientific evidence and data, I am equally perplexed why there are still people who are adamant about eating other animals (which causes disease, pain, and pollution) when it is not necessary for good health and longevity. Please explain.
Looks like you may may be suffering from cognitive decline from a tragically unhealthy poisonous high carb diet. This is nothing more than vegan propaganda. The healthiest diets are high fat moderate protein very low carb keto diets. Carbs are the only non essential nutrient. https://www.news18.com/news/lifestyle/ketogenic-diet-prevents-cognitive-decline-1908675.html
Here are details about the study: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181012092949.htm
1. What foods were used for the keto (high fat, low carb) diet? Animal based foods or plant based foods?
2. “Two groups of nine mice, aged 12-14 weeks, were given either the Ketogenic Diet (KD) or a regular diet.” What is a “regular diet” comprised of?
Without this information, the study is pretty useless for application to human behavior.
I’ve been in the health and fitness industry for nearly 30 years and have trained thousands of men and women over the years. The KETO diet is okay short term, but anything long term is NOT healthy. How do I know? From testing of my own clients. If you don’t believe me then get checked. It’s that simple! Check your Lp-PLAC2 levels, Interleukin 6, 10, 17, and TNF-alpha. I guarantee if you have been on Keto for at least 6 months that your Lp-PLAC2 will be elevated because your body is trying to protect your arteries from all the fat! Eat a high fat meal and then at your blood under a microscope! Eat a high fat meal and if you have atherosclerosis it could prove deadly! Your cardiovascular system is severely compromised after eating a high fat meal EVEN if the meal contains good fats. Last but not least, your poor liver takes a beating from having to process all that fat! Long term your liver will not be able to handle the stress! I’m not speaking because I am against Keto because it does work short term for people whose primary diet consisted of processed foods, refined carbs, sugars, etc.. as coming off all that junk and choosing Keto in that case is a better option. Short term, yes. Long term, it will kill you! Period! Don’t believe me? Go get checked and prove it to yourself! I already have the proof over the last 30 years so I am not trying to convince anyone, I am just trying to help you that’s all!
Thank you for contributing your experience with your clients on keto, Johnnie. Yes, it’s an effective short term weight loss solution but not a long-term solution to health.
Enjoyed reading the article and basically agree with all of the points. As been pointed out in other articles different types of diets have forced the food industry to respond by removing the offending ingredient and adding sugar to replace it. When I am at the grocery store I look for very low to no sugar. I buy natural sugar in the form of fruits. I do buy wheat bread with low sugar. This naturally lowers my carb intake but will be considered laughable by the low carb and keto crowd. In two months I have lost 20lbs and going for another 10lb loss.
I think it needs emphasizing as the article and others have done. Just because the body has a secondary way of processing in this case fat does not mean it is good when it becomes the primary form of glucose production.
Glad this approach is working well for you Larry. Thanks for sharing your experience to inspire others!
I love animals and I still disagree that diets based on animal protein “will negatively impact the environment and exploit animals.” We need to consider the impact on all the animal species, not only the ones directly consumed by humans. Modern agriculture not only depletes the soil and kills various worms and insects, but also, through the use of pesticides we are poisoning not only the soil but also our own food and food for wild animals. We are taking away animal habitats to make more room for agriculture. We can’t feel sorry for cows at the cost of hundreds of other species.
Also, we need to separate our emotions from science and physiology. Just because we can survive on plants, doesn’t mean it’s an optimal diet.
Hi Paula, thank you for reading and taking the time to comment. I am challenged to understand your logic. Animal protein is the flesh of animals. The flesh is their body. To kill an animal in order to eat his/her body is exploitation. I don’t understand how one can love an animal and eat him/her. The bulk of land mass used to feed humans is used to raise animals (fields and factory farms) and to grow food (monocropped & sprayed) to feed these animals. Plants grown for direct human consumption use a small portion of the total land devoted to agriculture. Monocropping is unwise as is the use of of deadly chemicals, I agree, for all living beings. It is possible to grow and eat plants in more responsible ways than is currently used by industrial farming. An excellent website to learn more about land use, water use, pollution, and impacts on wildlife is Truth or Drought. Taking human health, planetary health, and nonhuman animal health into consideration together, I do believe that a wholesome vegan diet is optimal.
Thanks for so much thoughtful information. I agree our brain is fueled by glucose but you have had several commentors who obviously disagree. I am always amazed at how so many humans are convinced that they need to eat dead animals or would die.
The Keto and carnivore craze is fascinating and both are fringe diets at extremes (although many consider the Vegan “diet” to be an extreme). Here are a few video’s by Dr. Greger about Keto. I am well aware of the many health problems caused by low carb and high fat, but millions of fans swear it is healthy and supportive for them. Years ago, Dr. Atkins made millions convincing people that high fat was the healthy way to go. Do I believe in a high-fat diet as health promoting? nope. How many high-paid professional athletes eat keto or carnivore?. peace.
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/are-keto-diets-safe/
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/does-a-ketogenic-diet-help-diabetes-or-make-it-worse/
https://nutritionfacts.org/video/Keto-Diets-Muscle-Growth-and-Bone-Density/