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> your body needs a fair amount of carbs every day, I think you're mistaken. Carb is the only macronutrient that is not required. The body can make glucose via

> your body needs a fair amount of carbs every day, I think you're mistaken. Carb is the only macronutrient that is not required. The body can make glucose via gluconeogenesis. Take someone who has not eaten a single carb for a month and measure their blood glucose level and you will find a stable 90mg/dL. This is why Type-1 diabetics still need insulin (although much much lesser than otherwise) in spite of being on zero-carb diets.

nathan-wailes 9y ago
Thanks for that information; I'm not expert enough to respond to the scientific claim that you made, but what I can say is that I suspect I'm using the term "need" in a less-strict sense than you are, to mean "if a person is not consuming any carbs, that person is likely going to eventually feel some level of 'healthy' craving for carbs".
- abtinf 9y ago
  From what I've read, the craving for carbs is an adaptive evolutionary response, from an environment where food was scarce. Carbs were only available in the summer/spring, and food became even more scarce in autum/winter. Thus, humans developed a powerful chemical response to carb intake - we crave carbs because they were the only means to fatten up and avoid starvation and death.
mcone 9y ago
My wife is a Type-1 diabetic and I'm fairly confident that there's no such thing as a "zero carb" diet. She's had several endocrinologists tell her that she needs to eat carbohydrates. This is definitely something we need to survive! More importantly, there are naturally occurring carbohydrates in most unprocessed foods (greens, vegetables, beans, etc). Obviously "refined carbohydrates" are different — that's the sugary stuff you find in pop but also stuff like pasta and white rice. Basically the goal should be to avoid overly processed foods, not all carbohydrates.
- 147 9y ago
  I was diagnosed type 2 diabetic and went on keto with almost no carbs for 5 months and am now borderline not diabetic / pre diabetic.
  - inerte 9y ago
    "Almost" no carbs is very different than OP's triple assertion of "you're mistaken", "not required" and "zero".
    - nf05papsjfVbc 9y ago
      It's really really tough to achieve or maintain 0 carbs in a day's food intake. This is one of the reasons why you'll not come across many who have done it. On a keto diet, one can attain < 20g carbs per day with some struggle but to cut it out entirely is really hard without missing some other essential nutrients - because at least some carbs tag along with other things.
      - xiaoma 9y ago
        It's not really. Most traditional religions have fasting practices and pretty much all our ancestors did it from time to time. A 7 day fast here and there is completely natural and not that hard after the first 30-50 hours.
        travmatt 9y ago
        Your point is irrelevant - the post you replied to asserted that it's tough to create a diet with no carbs, to which your suggestion is to not eat at all. Not eating is not a sustainable diet.
        xiaoma 9y ago
        It is a sure-fire way to get into keto if that's your goal. Also there are some significant advantages to intermittent fasting vs continuous calorie restriction: https://www.dietdoctor.com/intermittent-fasting-vs-caloric-reduction https://www.dietdoctor.com/intermittent-fasting-vs-caloric-r...
gitlabuser 9y ago
You don't eat vegetables?
- jshevek 9y ago
  Most ketoers eat high fiber, low carb, nutrient dense vegetables. Non-digestible fiber is listed on the food label as a carbohydrate, though it doesn't enter the blood stream - so ketoers are concerned with 'net carbs', not total carbs. If you keep your incidental carbs low enough, they will be burned off without taking you out of the ketogenic, fat-burning state. It is not the incidental carbs in these vegetables for which we might have a nutritional need, but the vitamins and minerals.

nathan-wailes 9y ago

Thanks for that information; I'm not expert enough to respond to the scientific claim that you made, but what I can say is that I suspect I'm using the term "need" in a less-strict sense than you are, to mean "if a person is not consuming any carbs, that person is likely going to eventually feel some level of 'healthy' craving for carbs".

abtinf 9y ago
From what I've read, the craving for carbs is an adaptive evolutionary response, from an environment where food was scarce. Carbs were only available in the summer/spring, and food became even more scarce in autum/winter. Thus, humans developed a powerful chemical response to carb intake - we crave carbs because they were the only means to fatten up and avoid starvation and death.

mcone 9y ago

My wife is a Type-1 diabetic and I'm fairly confident that there's no such thing as a "zero carb" diet. She's had several endocrinologists tell her that she needs to eat carbohydrates. This is definitely something we need to survive! More importantly, there are naturally occurring carbohydrates in most unprocessed foods (greens, vegetables, beans, etc). Obviously "refined carbohydrates" are different — that's the sugary stuff you find in pop but also stuff like pasta and white rice. Basically the goal should be to avoid overly processed foods, not all carbohydrates.

147 9y ago
I was diagnosed type 2 diabetic and went on keto with almost no carbs for 5 months and am now borderline not diabetic / pre diabetic.
- inerte 9y ago
  "Almost" no carbs is very different than OP's triple assertion of "you're mistaken", "not required" and "zero".
  - nf05papsjfVbc 9y ago
    It's really really tough to achieve or maintain 0 carbs in a day's food intake. This is one of the reasons why you'll not come across many who have done it. On a keto diet, one can attain < 20g carbs per day with some struggle but to cut it out entirely is really hard without missing some other essential nutrients - because at least some carbs tag along with other things.
    - xiaoma 9y ago
      It's not really. Most traditional religions have fasting practices and pretty much all our ancestors did it from time to time. A 7 day fast here and there is completely natural and not that hard after the first 30-50 hours.
      - travmatt 9y ago
        Your point is irrelevant - the post you replied to asserted that it's tough to create a diet with no carbs, to which your suggestion is to not eat at all. Not eating is not a sustainable diet.
        xiaoma 9y ago
        It is a sure-fire way to get into keto if that's your goal. Also there are some significant advantages to intermittent fasting vs continuous calorie restriction: https://www.dietdoctor.com/intermittent-fasting-vs-caloric-reduction https://www.dietdoctor.com/intermittent-fasting-vs-caloric-r...

gitlabuser 9y ago

You don't eat vegetables?

jshevek 9y ago
Most ketoers eat high fiber, low carb, nutrient dense vegetables. Non-digestible fiber is listed on the food label as a carbohydrate, though it doesn't enter the blood stream - so ketoers are concerned with 'net carbs', not total carbs. If you keep your incidental carbs low enough, they will be burned off without taking you out of the ketogenic, fat-burning state. It is not the incidental carbs in these vegetables for which we might have a nutritional need, but the vitamins and minerals.