5 ms·

I posted the following as a reply a few weeks ago, but it might interest some people so I'll re-post it here. Caveat - this is my interpretation of the various

by sjcsjc 9y ago

I posted the following as a reply a few weeks ago, but it might interest some people so I'll re-post it here. Caveat - this is my interpretation of the various research pieces I've come across. I might be wrong. It seems that having some period of starvation that is beneficial. Overall calorie intake is less relevant. Decreased overall caloric intake may actually be bad (can't find a link for this at the moment). Benefits appear to include decreased risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome, possible decreased cancer risk, and decreased risk of neurological disease. Also longer life expectancy in some animals, as yet unproven in humans. Even fasting for short periods regularly appears to be beneficial [5] Three main reasons - autophagy, ketosis and decreased inflammation. Autophagy, a kind of intracellular recycling operation, is increased by, inter alia, starvation [1]. It seems likely that most of the benefits of fasting derive from this. Valter Longo is a key researcher into this. Of particular interest to me is his work on fasting coupled with chemotherapy. [2] Ketosis occurs when all your glucose and glycogen (a polymer of glucose) are used up, and you burn fat instead. Mark Mattson is a key researcher into this. Ketosis appears to have a neuroprotective action [3] Decreased inflammation - chronic inflammation appears to be a cause of all sorts of problems, and fasting appears to decrease it. [4] is a good general review [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2831538/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2831538/ [2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3608686/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3608686/ [3] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165017308001045 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165017308... [4] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550413113005032 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550413113... [5] http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/861319 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/861319 Use sci-hub for paywalled papers.

MicroBerto 9y ago
Experimenting with the keto diet for my YouTube endeavors and one thing I didn't expect is how much better my joints would feel. Prediction: the keto diet will soon come under HEAVY fire from mainstream media, journals, and lobbyist health organizations under the pressure of certain agriculture and pharma groups. Just wait for it.
- z5h 9y ago
  I'm waiting for that as well. The science gets in the way of profits.
- dpark 9y ago
  Why would "keto" come under fire now? I'm pretty sure that diet already peaked and is on the decline.
  - ghostbrainalpha 9y ago
    You are right about the trends, but consider this. The diet became extremely popular in the early 2000's, but among the "fad diet" mainstream population. That peak was unnatural, and most of these dieters will fail at whatever the new diet is because they have unrealistic expectations and don't really follow a disciplined program. The diet is becoming more popular from a group that has a more scientific approach now. Also when they diet began to decline there ALREADY WAS a huge push from certain groups to discredit the diet. When Dr. Atkins died he was fat, but this is anecdotal, what is crazy is that his autopsy was released illegally without the families permission.
  - doh 9y ago
    The whole food industry is based around carbs [especially here in US, where you have corn syrup even in meat]. The dietary recommendations in US are still based around eating low fat [0] instead of massively limiting carbs. However study after study shows that "keto" and IF (intermittent fasting) is probably the way to go. So now it's a pretty uphill battle. Seems like millennials are pushing for change more quickly and many massive corporations are changing directions, but slowly. So I think we will see a massive dietary change in next 20-30 years, but it's going to be a battle. [0] https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/executive-summary/ https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/executi...
    - dpark 9y ago
      > especially here in US, where you have corn syrup even in meat What? > However study after study shows that "keto" and IF (intermittent fasting) is probably the way to go. Eh, I don't know about that. Some studies indicate that keto helps some people. But like every other diet, adherence is low. And for the most part, the evidence is that what most people need is to just eat a reasonable amount of something approximating real food. IF is entirely unrelated to keto. > So I think we will see a massive dietary change in next 20-30 years I'm extremely doubtful. I'm doubtful we'll even significantly cut the junk intake. I have no expectation that keto will actually become common.

by sjcsjc 9y ago

MicroBerto 9y ago

Experimenting with the keto diet for my YouTube endeavors and one thing I didn't expect is how much better my joints would feel. Prediction: the keto diet will soon come under HEAVY fire from mainstream media, journals, and lobbyist health organizations under the pressure of certain agriculture and pharma groups. Just wait for it.

z5h 9y ago
I'm waiting for that as well. The science gets in the way of profits.
dpark 9y ago
Why would "keto" come under fire now? I'm pretty sure that diet already peaked and is on the decline.
- ghostbrainalpha 9y ago
  You are right about the trends, but consider this. The diet became extremely popular in the early 2000's, but among the "fad diet" mainstream population. That peak was unnatural, and most of these dieters will fail at whatever the new diet is because they have unrealistic expectations and don't really follow a disciplined program. The diet is becoming more popular from a group that has a more scientific approach now. Also when they diet began to decline there ALREADY WAS a huge push from certain groups to discredit the diet. When Dr. Atkins died he was fat, but this is anecdotal, what is crazy is that his autopsy was released illegally without the families permission.
- doh 9y ago
  The whole food industry is based around carbs [especially here in US, where you have corn syrup even in meat]. The dietary recommendations in US are still based around eating low fat [0] instead of massively limiting carbs. However study after study shows that "keto" and IF (intermittent fasting) is probably the way to go. So now it's a pretty uphill battle. Seems like millennials are pushing for change more quickly and many massive corporations are changing directions, but slowly. So I think we will see a massive dietary change in next 20-30 years, but it's going to be a battle. [0] https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/executive-summary/ https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/executi...
  - dpark 9y ago
    > especially here in US, where you have corn syrup even in meat What? > However study after study shows that "keto" and IF (intermittent fasting) is probably the way to go. Eh, I don't know about that. Some studies indicate that keto helps some people. But like every other diet, adherence is low. And for the most part, the evidence is that what most people need is to just eat a reasonable amount of something approximating real food. IF is entirely unrelated to keto. > So I think we will see a massive dietary change in next 20-30 years I'm extremely doubtful. I'm doubtful we'll even significantly cut the junk intake. I have no expectation that keto will actually become common.