Ketogenic diets have been proven to have health benefits for many people, beyond just weight loss! But still, it seems that the diet is either unknown to some people, or is seen as a “fad” diet. If these health benefits really exist, why doesn’t everybody know about keto yet?
Please read the following through the lens that I am not a doctor and I have not performed research on keto diet. All of the information is from online research and from my own personal experience. Ketogenic diets are not for everyone and you should consult with your doctor before changing your diet.
A ketogenic diet, or “keto” is basically changing your diet from high carbohydrate and low fat (HCLF), to low carbohydrate and high fat (LCHF).
In “normal” diets, we are told to consume less calories without questioning what the calorie sources are. They come from three main groups: Carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Normal American foods contain a lot of carbohydrates, which our body breaks down into glucose and then it is used as the primary energy source. If we consume more carbohydrates than our body required, our blood glucose levels increase, and our body responds by sending out insulin to regulate and process the glucose into energy. [1]
This insulin response varies from person to person, especially from those suffering from diabetes. [2]
If we change our main intake to fat sources, we effectively are changing our main energy source to fats. This induces a natural body state called ketosis. Ketosis occurs when the body changes its digestive process to process fats stored in the body into ketones. Once your body is in ketosis, your body will continue to process stored and consumed fats into ketones which replace glucose as the major energy source. This state also has many health benefits.
-Weight loss
-Lower body fat
-Better cholesterol levels
-Lower blood pressure
-Better insulin sensitivity
-No insulin spikes and crashes
-Lowered feelings of hunger
-Consistent level of energy
-Brain power, memory, and focus improvement
-Fall asleep and wake up easier
-Lowered acne and skin lesions
[3]
Some research is being done to prove that cancer cells require glucose and “starving” them by using a ketogenic diet could be used to help cancer patients.
[4]
Why isn’t Ketogenic Diet more Mainstream?
If there is a diet that can improve so much in a person’s lifestyle, why isn’t this type of diet more mainstream? If I tell people, “I can’t eat watermelon, I’m on a diet”. They ask what kind of diet and I say keto. Almost nobody knows what it is! I have to say, “It’s similar to Atkins”, and they think back to the late-90s fad diet that somehow didn’t last.
I’ve outlined a few ideas why I don’t think Keto is mainstream:
1 - Its not healthy for everybody
Ketogenic diets are not designed for everybody. People with diabetes can use keto, but not diabetic is recommended to use a full keto diet.
People with gallbladder issues are definitely not supposed to do keto. Some people don’t realize they have gallbladder issues until trying keto and then going to the doctor.
Other people can experience very serious adverse effects including digestive problems, hair loss, poor growth in children, kidney stones and other complications when their body is in ketosis for extended times. [5]
2 - Food Production Costs
Individuals who try the keto diet might find that they save money by eating out a lot less and making meals at home. But as a whole, keto ingredients (meats, veggies, nuts, fats) are much more expensive to process than grains and starchy vegetables. I recently read an excellent article on why twinkies cost less than carrots. [6]
Basically, lettuce and other whole foods require much more water intensive resources, must be farmed (mostly) by hand, and must be transported, stored, and processed cold to prevent spoiling. On the other hand, most grains are cheaper because they are easier and cheaper to grow, harvest, transport, and process. They also have longer shelf lives.
I know this is a very high-level overview of the food market (I am no expert food economist by any means), but maybe you start to understand why there are grains and added carbs in nearly every processed food. These added calories are cheaper to produce (on a calorie to calorie basis) and therefore add more value from a feedstock to product view.
3 - Big Sugar / Vegan Lobby Keeping a Secret on LCHF Diets
My skeptical mind tends to draw me away from mainstream thinking and sometimes puts me in weird places. But why doesn’t more of the public know about LCHF diets like keto?
Are there big, dark secrets which are suppressing the truth?
I don’t want to go too far into this subject as there is plenty of information you can find available. Joe Rogan is a proponent of keto diets and he frequently talks about coverups. The New York Times published an article saying that “Big Sugar” had paid off scientists to downplay the effects of high carbohydrate diets. [7].
The first mainstream proponent of LCHF diet was the Atkins diet, whose death and research ended in questionable circumstances. [8] It appears that the Vegan lobby tends to be anti-keto as the diet obviously promotes more animals
I don’t know for certain that information is being suppressed, and the more likely possibility is that people don’t know about LCHF diets and their benefits because they aren’t very popular. It requires a lot of work to wean off of carbs in the society we live in today.
In Conclusion, I still don’t know why more people don’t know about ketogenic diets or their benefits. I hope that by writing about the benefits and providing some people with information about keto. The diet has worked for me and I believe that others can benefit from breaking off of carb loaded food sources.
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[1]https://www.livestrong.com/article/457948-the-production-of-glucose-from-protein-or-fat/
[2]https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/02/02/ketogenic-diet-health-benefits.aspx
[3] https://www.ruled.me/benefits-ketogenic-diet/
[4] https://thetruthaboutcancer.com/ketogenic-diet-weakens-cancer-cells/
[5] https://www.thepaleomom.com/adverse-reactions-to-ketogenic-diets-caution-advised/
[6] https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/im-a-fan-of-michael-pollan-but-on-one-food-policy-argument-hes-wrong/2017/12/04/c71881ca-d6cd-11e7-b62d-d9345ced896d_story.html?utm_term=.820ecab23f5c
[7] https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/well/eat/how-the-sugar-industry-shifted-blame-to-fat.html
[8] https://www.verywellfit.com/how-did-atkins-die-2241657