- Jun 2018
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www.popsci.com www.popsci.com
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And when you’re starving, your body will start to break down protein just to get those sweet, sweet carbs. Of course, you have a source of protein in your body already: your own muscles. “When in starvation mode, your body breaks down muscle in your body,” says Giancoli. “Ketosis is a way of trying to preserve that protein. It’s not ideal, but it’s your body’s way of saving you.”
Another misrepresentation, but this argument is contradicted in the next paragraph anyway.
With a ketogenic diet there is ample protein, the body never gets into real starvation. In fact, with a ketogenic diet one needs to limit protein intake in order to limit gluconeogenesis (the production of glucose from proteins). The body only uses muscle tissue in real starvation (ie. when you don't eat at all).
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But the real problem isn’t going over your carb limit—it’s the protein. “If you’re eating a lot of protein, you’re breaking that down into carbs,” Giancoli explains. Your body is in desperation mode on keto, she says, and without a reasonable supply of carbohydrates coming from grains and fruits, you’ll start breaking down the amino acids in proteins to make glucose. Glucose, though it sounds like a scary sugar, is your body’s primary source of fuel. Too much isn’t good for you, but you need some just to allow your cells to function normally.
One misconception after another.
Gluconeogenesis, the production of glucose from amino acids (the broken-down proteins), is exactly the reason why we don't need carbohydrates. The body is able to create the glucose it needs (actually only a small part of the brain needs glucose, the rest works on ketones as well).
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You’re only allowed 10 to 15 grams of carbohydrates per day, and though many dieters stretch that to more like 20 or 30 grams that’s still only about one banana.
Another lie. It's 20 grams for very-low-carb and up to 50 grams for moderate low-carb.
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Getting 80-90 percent of your calories from fat—which is what’s required for keto—is actually difficult.
80-90 percent is not what ketogenic dieticians say. It's actually 70 percent. Misrepresentation.
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Without getting into true ketosis, dieters risk ingesting an enormous amount of fat—and potentially a lot of saturated fat, if you’re eating animal meat—without any of the fat-burning effects of ketosis.
That saturated fat is dangerous has been debunked a long time ago.
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If you give your body any more than the absolute minimum amount of protein that it needs, it will immediately break it down into carbs. This is why keto sites often give a guideline for not eating too much protein. The problem is that there’s no one guideline that works for everyone, and without specifically tailoring keto to your body it’d be easy to accidentally ingest too much protein.
This is in fact the only "problem" in ketogenic diet, because lots of food rich in fat is also rich in proteins.
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“Keto is not easy to maintain, it’s not a palatable diet,” says Andrea Giancoli, a dietician and nutrition consultant in California.
This is a typical FUD argument, used in agenda-driven argumentation.
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The high fat content in the diet, especially if you’re eating saturated fats, can raise your lipid levels and contribute to developing cardiovascular disease.
And again the debunked "saturated fat" theory.
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Of course, ketosis itself comes with its own risks. Circulating ketone bodies make your blood too acidic, and your body will draw calcium from your bones as a buffer.
True. In fact all electrolytes are drained, but guess what there are supplements out there to correct that.
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which only happens when you’re essentially in starvation mode.
No, ketons are built all the times, not just in starvation. And a ketogenic diet has nothing to do with starvation, therefore the formation of ketones has nothing to do with starvation either.
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likely deeper than the average dieter, but without a nutritionist guiding you it’s still hard to get down into ketosis.
Then why are there so many people who have no problems to get into ketosis?
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It was supposed to treat severe epilepsy. And as a medical treatment, it was only intended to be administered under the supervision of trained nutritionists and physicians.
Yes, in the 1920s. But who restricted it to that use?
Doesn't the success of ketogenic diet in this clinical field show that too much carbohydrates cause health problems?
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So maybe not being in ketosis isn’t so bad after all—now just cut back on the saturated fats.
Again the bad, bad saturated fats.
By the way, those who rail at saturated fats recommend oil rich in Omega-6 fatty acids, the ones that are easily turned into trans fatty acids and cause cardiovascular disease, cancer, inflammatory, and autoimmune diseases.
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Without the fiber from whole grains and fruits, you’re also likely to get constipated and have other digestive issues. Plus you need fiber to maintain a health gut microbiome, which tends to come from the kind of whole grains that you can’t eat on the diet.
Who said you can't eat fibers on a keto diet?
There are sources of fibers from food other than grains.
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