Why Keto Works
Keto- short for Ketogenic- is not a new, fad diet. Developed in 1924 as a treatment for epilepsy by Dr. Russell Wilder at the Mayo Clinic, it was quickly noted that weight loss was a common side effect.
In 1862 the Victorian-era William Banting wrote a diet book, not knowing that he was describing the ketogenic diet.
You are in nutritional ketosis (not to be confused with ketoacidosis) when your body generates ketones to be used for fuel. Your body uses 2 sources for fuel, glucose and ketones. When you consume more carbohydrates than your body needs for fuel the excess is stored as fat. When you consume less carbohydrates than your body needs for fuel, the liver will convert stored fat into energy in the form of ketones.
In short, eat less than 20g of carbohydrates and your body will enter a state of ketosis. While in ketosis your liver will convert fat into ketones. Your brain loves to burn ketones for fuel.
To lose weight and get healthier, we need to lower our insulin levels and insulin resistance. The easiest way to lower insulin resistance is to restrict carbs, giving the pancreas a break. This can be combined with intermittent fasting discussed here.
The best argument for keto though is that it is ancestral appropriate. Humans evolved on a diet without grains, or abundant sugar, or fruit. Science shows we were not only carnivores, but super or hyper carnivores. We didn’t just eat prey, we ate predators as well.
Dr. Michael Eades' lecture on the proper human diet:
Dr. Michael Eades - 'Paleopathology and the Origins of the Low-carb Diet'
Meat has always been a part of our diet. The low fat and plant-based diet movement completely dismisses that.
We will do best on the diet that we evolved to eat. Early humans, Neanderthals and other humanoid species were not only carnivores, but they were also super carnivores, meaning they ate herbivores and carnivores. This is what we evolved to eat.
Interestingly, when distinguishing between early hunter/gatherer and farmer populations, the farmers were the ones with the sick and brittle bones and teeth showing sever nutritional deficiencies. Links to studies and more info at https://www.proteinpower.com/LCDEN2020/
Gary Taubes' talk on the Case Against Sugar:
Gary Taubes - 'The Case Against Sugar'
Gary Taubes explains why sugar is so detrimental to metabolic health and why sugar cannot be part of a healthy diet, not even in moderation.
