Six common beliefs addressed, Part 192

1. There are many lists of "keto" approved foods. 

The list should be very short:

• Meat - All meats, including organs.
• Vegetables - All above ground, non starchy vegetables.

That's it. It's not more complicated than that. All low carb diets, from "keto" to Atkins, are meat and vegetables if they are being followed correctly.

2. I have been "keto" for two years. My HbA1C is now elevating and my typical morning blood glucose has gone up to 100 mg/dL.

This is typical for people who already have an exaggerated adrenal stress response due to metabolic abnormalities. You shouldn't have been on "keto" for two years straight. You should have been on low carb forever. Going low carb causes fluctuating periods of ketosis. Our natural state is to be in and out of ketosis periodically.

A healthy person can sustain ketosis for long term, without an issue, if the diet is well formulated. People who already have metabolic stress from metabolic syndrome and/or diabetes might not fare well in sustained ketosis especially if it's being achieved through improper and unnatural ways such as is the case with "keto". Every time I hear the word "keto", I already know the person is not doing a ketogenic protocol correctly.

You have basically starved yourself for two years, increasing your stress response and adapting your metabolism even further for sparing fat mass and sustaining high blood glucose. That is why everything is going up. It will be extremely difficult now to reverse this without gaining even more body fat in the interim. Metabolic adaptations are extraordinarily difficult to reverse.

Stop the dumb "keto" and go on moderate low carb. If you can sustain that for long enough, you just might see a shift in your metabolism.

3. My husband thinks I am going to "die of cancer" due to the "red meat" in carnivore. 

Your husband should instead be worried that you are "going to die" of diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver or kidney failure instead. He should also be very concerned with having to be your care taker when you go blind and need amputations as that will rob him of a normal life, while you suffer waiting to die. These are all preventable outcomes.

4. My personal trainer told me to not do "keto" but do her diet instead. I don't know how to oppose her opinion.

The best way to oppose her opinion is to fire her. 

Other than that, you should have told her, from the start, that you only need her help with exercise, not diet, and you won't blame her if it doesn't work. She might have agreed to work with you regardless since she's getting paid either way.

5. Should I be worried if me blood glucose is consistently over 100 mg/dL every morning while on "keto"?

Ketogenic protocols are very low in carbohydrate which means you are running high morning blood glucose due to internal factors, not due to diet. This is serious, complicated and not easy to reverse. If it wasn't, diabetes would have already been cured.

I can say that "keto" is not helping you achieve proper blood glucose regulation because high morning blood glucose is Dawn Phenomenon. That's just a fancy way of describing an adverse reaction to the overnight fast. Your blood glucose was dropping too low in the night and you are having an adrenal over expression upon waking.

You shouldn't just ignore this stress response and hope it goes way. It won't. It will only get worse. Drop "keto" and go on moderate low carb. See if that improves your blood glucose.

6. I don't trust store bought "keto" breads. I much rather use "keto" bread recipes.

You are correct in not trusting them. "Keto" bread recipes shouldn't be trusted either. You shouldn't be eating high fat concoctions, of any kind, unless you want to remain uber fat. So if the goal is being fat and diabetic, then go ahead and eat all the "keto" bread you want. If the goal is metabolic health, then eat natural food.