Keto Diet Part Four

Welcome back to the continuation BLOG on the Keto Diet. This BLOG will continue to address the pitfalls proclaimed by the promoters of the Keto Diet.

Promoter Pitfall: “Blood-lipid profile is also a concern on the ketogenic diet due to the staggering amounts of saturated fats in the diet, although the diet can be centered around healthier unsaturated fats. Some people following the ketogenic diet will experience a drop in cholesterol levels, but for some people, cholesterol levels will increase.”

Here’s the Reality:

The lipid profile issue has been a hot topic for many years.

• This is because of the LDL or bad cholesterol association with atherosclerosis which is hardening of the arteries.

• A reasonable discussion of cholesterol is contained in my book and in the coaching program, so I won't repeat that information here. 

• For a very long time, medicine has gone to great lengths to help people keep their cholesterol components in what they thought were appropriate levels.

• Several medications have also been developed to attempt to force your body to maintain these levels, with some of these medications having very serious side effects.

• Now medicine is discovering that the combination of fats consumed can have a significant effect on the cholesterol levels.

• There is no recommendation as to controlling the combinations and amounts of fat eaten on this diet. 

• Researchers are discovering that the combination of carbohydrate consumption can also have a great effect on cholesterol levels.

• The levels that they previously thought were ideal are not as appropriate as once thought.

So is it any surprise that people on the Keto and other high fat diets are having trouble with their cholesterol?

• The amount and type of fat consumed varies widely between individuals because of the variety of meats that they consume.

• There is no formula that they have developed for fat intake that is going to attempt to help people on this diet keep their cholesterol in appropriate ranges.

• On the other hand, if you eat a PROPER healthy diet, cholesterol is not going to be a significant issue.

Promoter Pitfall: “Because carbohydrates are restricted to less than 50 grams a day, the issue of micronutrient deficiencies can occur. Thiamine, folate, calcium, iron, potassium, and magnesium are typically inadequate in low-carb diets. To avoid this, make sure you take a high-quality multivitamin to ensure you get 100 percent of the daily value. Also supplementing with a fiber supplement is a good idea to make sure your plumbing doesn't get clogged.”

This is the Reality:

Wow! Are these people for real?

• First off, most of the micronutrients that anyone consumes is contained in low carb vegetables.

• Meat and fats contain few nutritional elements.

• Fruits also contain large amounts of these micronutrients, but they do contain a significant amount of sugar.

• You can still get all of the micronutrients that you need by consuming the appropriate amount of low carb vegetables along with the butter component of dairy (which has a lot of fat in it, but that is okay for their diet).

• It's more difficult to get the needed micronutrients if you eliminate the fruits, cereal grains and other nutritional components that also contain carbs as mother nature intended. 

If you are going to supplement a multivitamin, which one do you take?

Exactly which nutrients are you missing?

• There isn't a single multivitamin that is going to give you a complete compliment of vitamins and minerals although some specially produced formulations for athletes claim to do so.

• You guessed it. There is also a Keto Multivitamin formulated especially for those on a Keto diet. How convenient.

• Even if someone could create the perfect balanced multivitamin, what other components of nutrition are you missing that are contained in the cereal grains, fruits and vegetable that contain higher levels of carbs that aren't available in any supplement?

• There is good reason to believe that there is much more to nutrition than published.

  • This is also discussed in my book and coaching programs, so I will refer you to those discussions.

• Even if you take a good multivitamin, if there is such a thing, you are still most likely missing important nutritional components, and this includes the Keto Multivitamin.

I don't know what vegetables these people are eating, but nearly all vegetables contain a significant amount of fiber, especially the low carb ones. Fiber is just an indigestible carbohydrate. These fibers attract water into the bowel keeping the stool soft. If these people are getting constipated, it is no wonder that they are nutritionally deficient.

I'll stop here for now. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. You can also email them to drmeline@ss-health.com. Now on to the last BLOG on the Keto Diet.