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A ketogenic diet is unhealthy

forgetsusername 11y ago
You think you can just state that, uncontroversially, with no sources to back up your claim? I don't have an opinion either way, but there's a lot of science that contradicts your statement: https://www.reddit.com/r/ketoscience https://www.reddit.com/r/ketoscience
akerro 11y ago
There is literally no 100% healthy diet. Water takes minerals from your body with sweat and pee, water is unhealthy. Unhealthy is 90% of food and "diets" that were created in last a few decades, every other known for longer (hundreds of years) diet, keto or paleo has its disadvantages and advantages, but it's much better then fast food, frozen pizza or ready to microwave stuff.
- haywirez 11y ago
  True, fortunately there are initiatives such as http://nusi.org/ http://nusi.org/
ethanbond 11y ago
Ketogenic diets MIGHT be (but almost certainly aren't) unhealthy. Eating the amount of sugars that most Americans do is absolutely unhealthy. I know that I feel a billion times better when I reduce my carb intake, even not to ketogenic levels. Further, doing a ketogenic diet for about a year got me down to a weight low enough that I could exercise more regularly and effectively, with fewer injuries. Never mind the emotional health changes associated with not being an obese 20 year old. I started when I was 17 and spent a week in one of the top children's hospitals in the country for unrelated things — all the doctors there were very approving of what I was doing.
- acconrad 11y ago
  It's not a might, it absolutely is for some. I'm one of them. I tried keto for close to a year and my blood sugar shot up to being pre-diabetic. Why was that? Medium-Chain Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase (MCAD) Deficiency[1]. It produces an enzyme that is involved in breaking down fat from food and stored body fat into energy. Because people lack this energy source, affected individuals must keep their blood sugar levels up by eating regularly to avoid acute episodes of lethargy, seizures and coma. The condition can lead to sudden death unless it is diagnosed and proper dietary interventions are followed. So when you're keto, eating lots of fat and little carbohydrates, which doesn't keep your blood sugar up, you can get into trouble. Is keto unhealthy for everyone? No. Is it healthy for everyone? Definitely not. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium-chain_acyl-coenzyme_A_dehydrogenase_deficiency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium-chain_acyl-coenzyme_A_d...
  - ethanbond 11y ago
    Yikes that must not have been fun. Sure, and it's good to be aware of, but I would still classify something that poses a risk to 0.025% of the population as "almost certainly safe." Anything could be harmful to 1 in every 4000-17,000 people. Sorry that happened to you!
- atemerev 11y ago
  I normally eat a lot of sugar, but tried ketogenic diets a few times for several weeks. Couldn't think clearly at all, felt much better when returned to my sugar-taking habits. I really don't understand why suddenly all this sugar-bashing.
  - ethanbond 11y ago
    If you normally eat "a lot" of sugar, then you'd expect your withdrawal symptoms to be pretty severe and prolonged relative to people who eat normal (still excessive) amounts. I had about 3 weeks of brain fog and crappy feeling, and then felt 120% better. It's quite literally a withdrawal that you're experiencing. And because it's been linked to diabetes, obesity, dementia, tooth decay, etc? And we're only putting more and more of it into our food?
    - atemerev 11y ago
      The only way you can get diabetes from excessive sugar is if you are genetically predisposed. And if not, then not. Tooth decay is a problem, of course, but you just have to clean teeth more often. I know no valid links to dementia, except on sugar scare sites. And sugar is tasty, and quite natural for me. (I experimented what foods give me the most weight gain; pure sugar and sweets are not exactly bad, compared to, say, white rice). I am a vegetarian, I gave up meat quite easily, without any withdrawals, and I felt benefits immediately, but living without sugar looks unimaginable for me. Perhaps it's withdrawal, but I didn't feel _any_ positive effect, none at all.
adrianN 11y ago
There is insufficient data for a meaningful answer.

You think you can just state that, uncontroversially, with no sources to back up your claim? I don't have an opinion either way, but there's a lot of science that contradicts your statement: https://www.reddit.com/r/ketoscience https://www.reddit.com/r/ketoscience

akerro 11y ago

There is literally no 100% healthy diet. Water takes minerals from your body with sweat and pee, water is unhealthy. Unhealthy is 90% of food and "diets" that were created in last a few decades, every other known for longer (hundreds of years) diet, keto or paleo has its disadvantages and advantages, but it's much better then fast food, frozen pizza or ready to microwave stuff.

haywirez 11y ago
True, fortunately there are initiatives such as http://nusi.org/ http://nusi.org/

ethanbond 11y ago

Ketogenic diets MIGHT be (but almost certainly aren't) unhealthy. Eating the amount of sugars that most Americans do is absolutely unhealthy. I know that I feel a billion times better when I reduce my carb intake, even not to ketogenic levels. Further, doing a ketogenic diet for about a year got me down to a weight low enough that I could exercise more regularly and effectively, with fewer injuries. Never mind the emotional health changes associated with not being an obese 20 year old. I started when I was 17 and spent a week in one of the top children's hospitals in the country for unrelated things — all the doctors there were very approving of what I was doing.

acconrad 11y ago
It's not a might, it absolutely is for some. I'm one of them. I tried keto for close to a year and my blood sugar shot up to being pre-diabetic. Why was that? Medium-Chain Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase (MCAD) Deficiency[1]. It produces an enzyme that is involved in breaking down fat from food and stored body fat into energy. Because people lack this energy source, affected individuals must keep their blood sugar levels up by eating regularly to avoid acute episodes of lethargy, seizures and coma. The condition can lead to sudden death unless it is diagnosed and proper dietary interventions are followed. So when you're keto, eating lots of fat and little carbohydrates, which doesn't keep your blood sugar up, you can get into trouble. Is keto unhealthy for everyone? No. Is it healthy for everyone? Definitely not. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium-chain_acyl-coenzyme_A_dehydrogenase_deficiency https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medium-chain_acyl-coenzyme_A_d...
- ethanbond 11y ago
  Yikes that must not have been fun. Sure, and it's good to be aware of, but I would still classify something that poses a risk to 0.025% of the population as "almost certainly safe." Anything could be harmful to 1 in every 4000-17,000 people. Sorry that happened to you!
atemerev 11y ago
I normally eat a lot of sugar, but tried ketogenic diets a few times for several weeks. Couldn't think clearly at all, felt much better when returned to my sugar-taking habits. I really don't understand why suddenly all this sugar-bashing.
- ethanbond 11y ago
  If you normally eat "a lot" of sugar, then you'd expect your withdrawal symptoms to be pretty severe and prolonged relative to people who eat normal (still excessive) amounts. I had about 3 weeks of brain fog and crappy feeling, and then felt 120% better. It's quite literally a withdrawal that you're experiencing. And because it's been linked to diabetes, obesity, dementia, tooth decay, etc? And we're only putting more and more of it into our food?
  - atemerev 11y ago
    The only way you can get diabetes from excessive sugar is if you are genetically predisposed. And if not, then not. Tooth decay is a problem, of course, but you just have to clean teeth more often. I know no valid links to dementia, except on sugar scare sites. And sugar is tasty, and quite natural for me. (I experimented what foods give me the most weight gain; pure sugar and sweets are not exactly bad, compared to, say, white rice). I am a vegetarian, I gave up meat quite easily, without any withdrawals, and I felt benefits immediately, but living without sugar looks unimaginable for me. Perhaps it's withdrawal, but I didn't feel _any_ positive effect, none at all.

adrianN 11y ago

There is insufficient data for a meaningful answer.