Is a Ketogenic Lifestyle What Everyone Needs?

“Do I really need to be doing that ‘Keto Thing’?”

I get asked this question all the time.  And, my answer is that 85% of the people that walk through the doors of my clinic will not be fully successful in weight loss, reversal of diabetes, normalization of blood pressure and reversal of heart disease and/or vascular disease without it.

I am frequently asked, “Is Keto for everyone?”  Does everyone need to follow a ketogenic lifestyle?  The answer is “No.”  15% of the population will be able to maintain great health with calorie restriction and exercise.  However, the principles that provide a successful ketogenic lifestyle are easily understood and incorporated by anyone looking for improved health, energy and weight control.

Principle #1 – Insulin is the Master Hormone

Insulin is the master hormone when it comes to weight loss and the diseases of civilization. Whether you are insulin resistant or not, insulin is essential for life and proper function of the cells of the body, but too much insulin production in response to sugars, starches or complex carbohydrates causes disease.

How do you know if you are insulin resistant (producing too much insulin)?

Skin tags are pathognomonic (a characteristic indicative of the presence of disease) for insulin resistance. If you have skin tags, you may want to focus your diet on increased carbohydrate restriction.

You may not need to completely remove carbohydrate from your diet, however, recognizing that not all carbohydrates are created equal and avoiding those with higher carbohydrate content will help many improve weight and halt the progression of disease. I have many patients that with just partial carbohydrate restriction they are able to lose 20-30 lbs, improve their cholesterol profiles and improve their blood pressure.

There are sixteen different diseases that respond very effectively to carbohydrate restriction.  You can read about them and how the ketogenic lifestyle effectively reverses them in The Keto Cure.

Principle #2 – Saturated Fat & Cholesterol Aren’t the Demons We’ve Made Them Out to Be

Saturated Fat and cholesterol aren’t the demons we’ve made them out to be. Another way to put it is: “Don’t blame the butter for what the bread did.”

Since 1984, nutrition experts treat fat and cholesterol containing foods like the witches of Salem.  Experts castigate their use as if they were the “Avada Kedavra“ curse of the fantasy world.

As an example, eggs, specifically the egg yolk (the part of the egg containing all the cholesterol and saturated fat), have been demonized by just about every health magazine I’ve ever read. (To this day, the chef at every breakfast bar I’ve ever visited asks if I want an ‘egg white only’ omelet.) Interestingly, there is actually no scientific data association between whole egg consumption and heart disease. The science simply does not exist. Seriously, check for yourself.

I personally eat 6-8 eggs a day and my cholesterol is perfect. Back 1000 years ago, only the aristocrats at the chickens.  All laborers and serfs ate the eggs . . . who would be dumb enough to eat your food source? (Don’t answer that.)

For example, the MR-FIT study, the largest cholesterol study ever completed, is incessantly quoted as the study that demonstrates reduction in cholesterol leads to reduction in cardiovascular disease, but this trial was actually a failure and did not demonstrate improved risk by lowering cholesterol. In fact, the Director of the study, Dr. William Castelli stated, “. . . the more saturated fat one ate, the more cholesterol one ate, the more calories one ate, the lower people’s serum cholesterol…”

Researchers found that people who ate the most cholesterol, including the most saturated fat, weighed the least. They were also the most physically active. In fact, the British Medical Journal published a 2015 study demonstrating that saturated fat is NOT linked to vascular disease, diabetes or increased mortality (de Souza RJ et al., BMJ 2015,351:h3978).

In my clinic, the basis of appetite suppression is eating adequate protein that includes saturated fat and cholesterol. This is the most powerful tool in my clinical approach to the treatment of weight loss.  I can use foods like red meat, bacon, butter and coconut oil without concern or worry of heart disease as long as you are keeping your carbohydrate intake less than 20 grams per day.

Baseline insulin levels allow for peace of mind about heart disease risk. Heart disease risk goes down when insulin levels are maintained at normal baseline levels. Increasing saturated fat, while at the same time lowering carbohydrate intake has been demonstrated to shift the cholesterol to a more heart protective form (Griffin BA et al., Clin Sci [Lond], 1999 Sep).

Principle #3 – Nutritional Ketosis Has Anti-Inflammatory & Age Slowing Effects On the Body

Ketones in the blood at a nutritional level (0.5-4 mmol/L) have tremendous anti-inflammatory and age slowing effects on the body.  Even having them present intermittently has dramatic improvement on overall inflammatory changes and disease in the body.

Ketones are the usable fuel of the body when the liver breaks down fat for energy. They suppress the NLRP3 inflammasome in every cell in the body. This is important because it allows for more rapid recovery from exercise. It also dramatically decreases pain and fatigue that comes from diseases like arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and auto-immune disease (Y.H. Youm, et al., Nature Medicine, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 263–269, 2015.)

If full blown ketosis isn’t for you, partially restrict starch and carbohydrates for a mild to moderate benefit.  Even small amounts of ketones in the blood are helpful.  This provides increased recovery time, and improved inflammation control.

So, even if you don’t follow a strict ketogenic lifestyle, the principles above are powerful.  These three principles make this dietary approach universally effective for weight loss.  They are also very powerful for disease management.  Even partial application of carbohydrate restriction can benefit just about everyone.

You can learn much much more about the Ketogenic Lifestyle as a member of DocMuscles.com.  Click the link and sign up now.

And, don’t forget to get your signed copy of my book, The Keto Cure.