Keto Diet Part Two

This is part 2 of the continuation BLOG discussing the Keto Diet or high protein, low carb diets in general.

Note that the claims as given in this BLOG are those from web sites that describe the Keto Diet and are trying to convince you that it is the diet of choice (except for all of you that they claim may not be able to use this diet because of your health risks, more on this later).

Promoter Claim: “Low levels of insulin causes greater lipolysis compared to a normal diet. Insulin has a lipolysis-blocking effect, which can inhibit the use of fatty acids as energy. Also, when insulin is brought to low levels, beneficial hormones are released in the body, such as growth hormone and other powerful growth factors.”

This is the Reality:

• Insulin is used by your body to cause muscles, fat and the liver to absorb excess glucose.

• This glucose is stored in the muscles and liver in chains of glucose molecules called glycogen, and is converted into fat in the adipose cells.

• This occurs after eating foods that contain carbohydrates.

• As your blood sugar increases, insulin is released to cause the muscles, fat and liver to absorb the excess sugar.

  • Without these tissues absorbing the excess sugar, your blood sugar would get very high and could

    • cause nerve damage

    • cause your body to go into a state called ketoacidosis through processes that I will not address in these BLOGs.

• When blood glucose levels are in the "normal" range,

  • no insulin is produced to prevent muscles, fat and the liver from absorbing the glucose leaving it available for the brain and other neural tissue.

  • When insulin is needed, it "blocks" lipolysis because there is an excess of energy (glucose),

  • the excess needs to be stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles, and fat in the adipose tissue.  

• This is your lipolysis blocking effect of insulin.

Muscles cannot release the sugar that they absorb.

• They must burn their stored sugars for energy.

• When the blood sugar starts to drop below its "normal" range, the liver releases its stores.

• When the liver runs out of stored glucose, it manufacturers it from protein to keep blood sugar in the "normal" range as I previously discussed.

Other tissues that need energy, when the blood glucose levels are at a normal level, are provided that energy by breaking down either dietary fat or fat stores providing the aldehydes and ketones that these tissues can use for energy.

• If there is excess dietary proteins, they can be utilized for energy instead of the fat stores.

• Note that fat breakdown does not go directly into aldehydes and ketones.

  • The fat molecules are first broken down into fatty acids which are subsequently turned into aldehydes and ketones.

  • I just wanted to clarify their comment of the use of fatty acids for energy.

If you don't eat any carbohydrates, your body stays in this ketotic state with fat being broken down to provide energy for tissues that cannot absorb glucose without insulin.

• This of course causes greater lipolysis than a diet with higher carb intake as your body has to continue to breakdown fat for energy until sufficient carbs are taken in.

• During this time, the liver continues to produce glucose from protein to keep your brain functioning.

• If you eat sufficient fat and protein for your body's needs, it will not use any of the stored fat and protein.

• To get rid of your body fat, you need to consume fewer calories than your body requires for its metabolic needs.

• You also have to make sure that you have sufficient protein for your liver to provide glucose for your brain or your body will breakdown some of your muscles to provide the needed protein.

Insulin by itself is not a controlling factor for release of growth factors.

• Growth factors have been debated for many, many years.

• No conclusive scientific evidence for their production under physical stimulation such as exercise or dietary intake has been produced.

Promoter Claim: “A small but very important benefit of the ketogenic diet is that when in the state of ketosis, ketones, along with a high protein intake, seem to suppress appetite. A high-carbohydrate diet, on the other hand, increases hunger levels. Because you have to consume a lot of fat on a ketogenic diet, which hold 9 calories per gram, you are not getting much food volume. It's not mandatory to be hungry on a reduced-calorie diet."

Here's the Reality:

I don’t know how much more convoluted and confusing any statement could be, so let’s try to make sense of it.

• When you see any statement that uses verbs such as seem, appear, may, etc. you should be very suspicious of the information.

• Right from the start they are admitting that they are not sure or do not have any irrefutable evidence that their statements are true.

• There really is no evidence that this diet suppresses appetite.

• Likewise, there is no evidence that a high-carb diet increases hunger levels.

I don't know why they would make the statement that “because you have to consume a lot of fat,” which has more than twice the number of calories as carbs or protein per gram, that “you are not getting much food volume.”

• All that they are saying to me is that you have to eat a much smaller volume of food to keep your caloric intake low enough so that you don’t gain weight.

• It's not mandatory to be hungry on any diet that provides the energy and nutritional needs of your body.

• If you are eating insufficiently for your body’s needs, you are going to be hungry as your body is telling you that it doesn't have everything that it needs regardless of your diet.

I have now covered the “beneficial claims” for the Keto Diet. Next, I will start addressing the negative aspects the promoters advertise. It gets even more interesting. If you have any questions or comments, enter them below. You can also contact me at drmeline@ss-health.com. See you in the next BLOG.