Why Has Ketogenic/low Carb Diet Been So Popular Lately?

[Zigzag]

It's literally everywhere. Low carb/keto is proposed as a "cure"for diabetes and other diseases. What's with all that carbs bashing? People seem to jump on the bandwagon without any research. You want to lose weight quickly? KETO! You want to cure diabetes? KETO! On the contrary, nobody's defending higher carbs diets, besides those vegan cultists.

Main keto subreddit - 1.7m followers, ketoscience sub - almost 100k.

 

[GreekDemiGod]

Fact: It is an exceptionally effective weight loss tool
Debatable: Debatable: brain runs better on ketones

 

[Zigzag]

Fact: It is an exceptionally effective weight loss tool
Debatable: Debatable: brain runs better on ketones

Keyword *WEIGHT*, mostly water at first. Then it's just easier to maintain proper CICO, because of how satiating fat is.

 

[Rafael Lao Wai]

It's literally everywhere. Low carb/keto is proposed as a "cure"for diabetes and other diseases. What's with all that carbs bashing? People seem to jump on the bandwagon without any research. You want to lose weight quickly? KETO! You want to cure diabetes? KETO! On the contrary, nobody's defending higher carbs diets, besides those vegan cultists.

Main keto subreddit - 1.7m followers, ketoscience sub - almost 100k.

I think, in some cases, it may be a reaction to veganism. Veganism is commonly a high carb diet, so when people get sick from a vegan diet, they think that carbs are also bad, so they go keto/ low carb as a way to get as far as possible from plant based diets. Also, the increased cortisol from a keto diet, especially one without much protein, will help lower the inflammation in the gut that so many people who come from veganism have( cortisol is anti- inflammatory, but over- time, it causes degeneration and atrophy of organs).

 

[Rafael Lao Wai]

And there is also the fact that, for a while, people feel amazing doing low carb/ keto, due to the ketones as well as the cortisol/ adrenaline. I heard that ketones increase cholesterol synthesis in the brain, and knowing how essential cholesterol is for health, that may contribute to the well- being and increased cognition that people experience on the diet.

 

[milkbasedvegan]

I don’t understand the keto cult as well, I don’t care who they are and where they live their brain will need ~100g of sugar daily. Funny when carnivores are like “oh Eff milk it’s got 13 grams of SUGAR per cup” or whatever they’d say. Like is your brain switched off??

people 100 years ago were consuming barely less sugar than nowadays and obesity was null. R/ketoscience regulars crack me up with their unabashed hatred on sugar. On par with Lustig and his clueless minions. Whatever, it’s too easy to prove them wrong and then they will say “you’re a sugar industry shill”.

that being said, there are tons of merits to having rock stable blood sugar levels in terms of neurotransmitters (GABA v glutamate to begin with), inflammation, insulin requirements, satiation etc. Can’t deny THAT. If people have low GABA or low acetylcholine then high fat/keto are a godsend.

Hardcore peating is only good for low dopamine folks, with a high dopamine turnover. Which is like 15% of the population. Most people go insane on too much dopamine, get insomnia overheating etc. It’s sad but two thirds of the population need high GABA/serotonin to feel more balanced which explains stuff like the food pyramid, keto v vegan crazes, etc.

 

[Rafael Lao Wai]

I don’t understand the keto cult as well, I don’t care who they are and where they live their brain will need ~100g of sugar daily.

I thought that the brain of a person who is keto- adapted only needed 40 grams or so of glucose, due to the higher levels of ketone sparing glucose.

 

[milkbasedvegan]

Well the brain consumes about 20% of our total energy, and ketones can supply 75% of that energy. Liver glycogen is a better fuel than ketones all things considered (ROS,thyroid,cortisol,adrenals). Ketones win sometimes, in rat studies mostly, and all of r/ketoscience circlejerks around it. While hating on rat studies showing carbs can, in fact, work.

Someone whose TDEE is 3000kcals like me will feel much better on 150g of sugar daily, sipping on chocolate milk for the most part. I’ve tried keto a few times dropping sugars down to 30ish grams a day, I didn’t see a difference. For someone whose TDEE is 2000kcal that’s 100g of sugar, 75 of which can be switched for ketones.

I just don’t see the metabolic advantage to ketosis. My guess is people have zero discipline or low GABA (both?) and can’t stick to small doses of sugar through the day, which is the most physiological, stress free way to nourish the brain. So they might as well go keto.

 

[Beastmode]

Joe Rogan and Dave Asprey are to blame :)

 

[Atman]

They also ignore the fact that all fruitarians, although not healthy, are very lean and live of 90%+ sugar.
If their "sugar (especially fructose) causes obesity and diabetes"-theory would be correct, all of them should be massively obese and insulin resistant.
It is absolutely incoherent, but so was the whole saturated fat/cholesterol causes heart disease mantra decades ago and yet the general population still believed it.
The masses will adopt any belief if it is prominently enough promoted by their popular idols.

 

[lampofred]

I think PUFA combined with radiation has greatly harmed many people's thyroid function and ability to oxidize glucose. Eating carbs increases lactic acid whereas fat oxidation can't increase lactate.

 

[berk]

its populair because:
an LC diet promoted greater fat utilization during submaximal exercise. Both an LC diet and an HC diet had similar effects on aerobic capacity and muscle strength, suggesting that long-term consumption of an LC weight loss diet does not adversely affect physical function or the ability to perform exercise.

Long-term effects of a very low-carbohydrate weight loss diet on exercise capacity and tolerance in overweight and obese adults. - PubMed - NCBI

 

[milkbasedvegan]

There’s also a paper by Balon et al. (Discussed here Potassium and Insulin resistance? : nutrition) that I can’t seem to find right now where they clearly demonstrate that SUGAR isn’t necessarily causing disease in rats but the lack of magnesium in such nutrient poor diets.

Most modern disease boil down to micronutrient deficiencies, starting with magnesium and its crucial role in balancing out intracellular calcium, generating less ROS, causing less aging, inflammation, more vaso relaxation, less sympathetic system activation etc.

it could be as simple as keeping magnesium, calcium, potassium, sodium all nice and high but where is the profit from that??

 

[milkbasedvegan]

Hmmmm got it.

Dietary magnesium prevents fructose-induced insulin insensitivity in rats. - PubMed - NCBI

the high-fructose group supplemented with normal magnesium had similar insulin sensitivity as the control group. Total serum magnesium was reduced in the high-fructose group compared with control or high-fructose plus magnesium-supplemented groups. Blood pressure and fasting insulin levels were also lower in the magnesium-supplemented group. These results suggest that magnesium deficiency and not fructose ingestion per se leads to insulin insensitivity in skeletal muscle and changes in blood pressure.

proponents of low carb diets always say that micronutrient requirements are far lower in the absence of sugar, due to a slower metabolism.

magnesium supplementation is also a staple of everyone going keto or carnivore. It’s everywhere in their FAQ

 

[baccheion]

I don’t understand the keto cult as well, I don’t care who they are and where they live their brain will need ~100g of sugar daily. Funny when carnivores are like “oh Eff milk it’s got 13 grams of SUGAR per cup” or whatever they’d say. Like is your brain switched off??

people 100 years ago were consuming barely less sugar than nowadays and obesity was null. R/ketoscience regulars crack me up with their unabashed hatred on sugar. On par with Lustig and his clueless minions. Whatever, it’s too easy to prove them wrong and then they will say “you’re a sugar industry shill”.

that being said, there are tons of merits to having rock stable blood sugar levels in terms of neurotransmitters (GABA v glutamate to begin with), inflammation, insulin requirements, satiation etc. Can’t deny THAT. If people have low GABA or low acetylcholine then high fat/keto are a godsend.

Hardcore peating is only good for low dopamine folks, with a high dopamine turnover. Which is like 15% of the population. Most people go insane on too much dopamine, get insomnia overheating etc. It’s sad but two thirds of the population need high GABA/serotonin to feel more balanced which explains stuff like the food pyramid, keto v vegan crazes, etc.

The induction phase uses less carbs (5% of calories or 25g/2000). After, there's a switch to anywhere from 10% to 30% (50g/2000 up to 150g/2000). There's continuing to observe the 130g RDA, which some find more maintainable.

The keto induction seems similar to what should be done for those going switching to low fat. That is, initially drop fat to ~5% of calories. After, increase to 10-30%. I could say 12-24% and it would work just as well.

By the way, raw whole milk is technically low carb. With a higher percent as fat, it can be 130-140g/2000.

 

[Rafael Lao Wai]

Well the brain consumes about 20% of our total energy, and ketones can supply 75% of that energy. Liver glycogen is a better fuel than ketones all things considered (ROS,thyroid,cortisol,adrenals). Ketones win sometimes, in rat studies mostly, and all of r/ketoscience circlejerks around it. While hating on rat studies showing carbs can, in fact, work.

Someone whose TDEE is 3000kcals like me will feel much better on 150g of sugar daily, sipping on chocolate milk for the most part. I’ve tried keto a few times dropping sugars down to 30ish grams a day, I didn’t see a difference. For someone whose TDEE is 2000kcal that’s 100g of sugar, 75 of which can be switched for ketones.

I just don’t see the metabolic advantage to ketosis. My guess is people have zero discipline or low GABA (both?) and can’t stick to small doses of sugar through the day, which is the most physiological, stress free way to nourish the brain. So they might as well go keto.

Thanks for the info. So a person eating 3000 calories per day will need 150 grams of sugar, but when in ketosis, 75% of that( 112 grams) can be replaced with ketones, while the rest( 38 grams) has to come from sugar. So the assertion that the brain only needs around 40 grams of carbs per day on a ketogenic diet is accurate, right?

I think some people have intense sugar cravings and can't have just a little sugar here and there. For others, the sugar feeds bacteria/ fungi in the gut, causing bloating.

 

[milkbasedvegan]

I believe that their intense sugar cravings are triggered by a state of low dopamine and / or high adrenaline which would be solved by snacking on salty protein and a fruit. As often as needed! I’m one of those.

i think that large amounts at once is what feeds those microbes, because of an already overloaded liver. For those people, I agree that a ketogenic diet is a valid tool for however long it takes until liver function normalizes

 

[Gone Peating]

Anyone who thinks that fruit or honey is bad for you and should be restricted is mentally unstable

 

[berk]

Anyone who thinks that fruit or honey is bad for you and should be restricted is mentally unstable

not every fruit and honey is equal for health.
Also for people with IBS can fruit/fructose very evil.

 

[berk]

I believe that their intense sugar cravings are triggered by a state of low dopamine and / or high adrenaline

no.
Is Fruit Making You Hungry?