Six common beliefs addressed, Part 237

1. Is there a certain daily fat goal I have to reach on "keto"?

No. You have to follow your own individualized macros calculated from a reputable source. This can range anywhere between 50 to 150 grams of fat a day. No more, no less.

2. If you eat too many carbohydrates on low carb, will that cause a weight stall?

If you are following a low carb diet, which has eliminated all sugar and grains, then you will not see any long-term benefit between eating 100 grams of carbs a day or 20 grams of carbs a day. Stop chasing carbs. It's like chasing dragons. You won't reach a magical level of carb intake.

"How do you know this, Gina?" Because countless others have been down this trail before. They continue dropping carbs to try and increase benefits until they end up on carnivore and still fat. You have to understand that most serum glucose is not from dietary carbs, it's from the breakdown of your own lean muscle mass. So, you can drop your carbs to zero and still have enough blood glucose circulating to continue interfering with your insulin function as you keep storing/sparing fat.

Follow a normal low carb diet and address other factors in order to improve benefits.

3. I am diabetic, and peaches are in season. I asked my endocrinologist if I can eat them, and he said yes. He actually said that peaches "prevent obesity and diabetes" and are full of much needed "vitamins and minerals". The only caveat he gave was to just eat one or two whole peaches and not peaches in a can or a dessert. I wanted to double check with you, if that's okay.

This is what occurs when doctors are scared to tell their patients, or anyone for that matter, - NO. There is a big problem in society when people in authority cannot say NO. Well, I'm not in authority and I can easily tell you NO.

The advice your doctor is giving you is for someone who is not diabetic and would prefer they eat peaches rather than candy bars. This is what most dietary advice is based on - less bad, rather than actually good. 

If you weren't diabetic, then I would tell you that a whole peach is fine in season. Only eat whole peaches while keeping the rest of your diet very low in carbs. Only eat one or two peaches as a garnish on a salad or make fresh salsa out of them and never make them into a smoothie or dessert. But you are a diabetic and that changes everything.

"Why Gina? Peaches don't cause diabetes!" That's true but the person with diabetes already has a very high glucose load in the body and they don't need more coming in from diet. For this reason, do not waste your daily carb allotment on peaches. They aren't an ideal carb source.

Peaches do not prevent obesity or diabetes, any more than they cause either condition. The only time peaches can delay, not prevent, obesity and diabetes are when they replace chocolate cake. So, it's the elimination of the chocolate cake that prevents obesity and diabetes, not the addition of peaches. Addition never makes anything better unless you're adding meat to a meatless diet.

Also, peaches do not provide any "vitamins and minerals" that can't be obtained in meat. Every time someone tells you about vitamins and minerals in any plant source, remember that they are also contained in meat and in a much more bioavailable form without the added glucose. If you have doubts, take a supplement but don't use peaches.

4. Do I have to have protein at every meal? I was told that I don't.

You were told wrong. A meal without protein is a carb snack. Not only should your goal at every meal be to get adequate protein for the day but protein is what will create overall satiety and help mitigate the constant break down of your lean muscle mass caused by sarcopenic obesity (metabolic syndrome).

5. I was told that I can have snack foods as a meal, like berries. Is this true?

You were told wrong, just like the person above. A meal is not "berries" unless you're a monkey. Humans require protein and fat, not glucose and fiber. "Snack foods" have no place in legitimate protocols except to be used as garnishes to your main meal. Berries can go over your salad.

The goal of your eating should be to get and remain slim not to get and remain obese. So, every time you sit at the table, you have to ask yourself "Is this food contributing to me being slim or being obese?" Well, bowls of berries contribute to obesity because they are replacing nutrient dense foods that will keep blood glucose stable and satiety hormones balanced. It is also contributing to bad eating habits as sitting around eating snacks is not a proper way to eat. Stop eating just to eat. Eat like you mean it. Don't waste your mealtime with nonsense.

6. Are grain less tortillas okay to eat? My son is slim so I don't see how they could affect him. They are "gluten free".

Okay, here we go. There are three issues with this question, and it goes back to misunderstanding what obesity is and its causes. Let's break down this question and digest each part individually.

First, "grain less" tortillas are irrelevant for the treatment of overweight/obesity and metabolic syndrome. This product would only be useful for people who have celiac disease or some other condition that makes them allergic to grain proteins. Other than that, the effect they have on the overweight/obese is the same as if they were made of grains.

"Grain less" is still carbs. The effect on blood glucose is the same. You are wasting your money on an overpriced product that is the same to metabolism as if they were made of corn or wheat. If you're going to ruin your metabolism regardless, you might as well do it with the cheaper alternative of corn or wheat because you will need to save money for medical bills. They will also taste better as there's nothing like the real thing, baby.

Next, slimness does not equate to proper blood glucose control. You can be thin as a rail and still have blood glucose disparities while consuming "grain less" tortillas. There are plenty of skinny people who have metabolic syndrome and/or diabetes without ever becoming significantly fat. This shouldn't be surprising as you shouldn't be consuming any tortillas. I don't know why people equate "thin" with metabolic health because they don't go hand in hand. I know that people with metabolic syndrome/diabetes are usually overweight/obese, as the gaining and sparing of body fat is a common symptom of these conditions, but it is not necessary to be overweight/obese to be metabolically unhealthy.

We were all thin once. If you want to break your son's thinness, then feeding him grain less tortillas would be a good way to get the ball rolling and have him developing man boobs by the age of thirty. Being thin is not a pass for eating junk that causes metabolic pathology. The rules apply to everyone, fat or thin, when it comes to tortillas. This isn't a journey to metabolic health for the obese blog. The advice and information I provide is not specific to the obese only.

Finally, "gluten free" is meaningless for the prevention of overweight/obesity/diabetes. Like I mentioned above, gluten is only of concern for people with celiac disease or some other condition that causes an allergy to grain gluten, which is basically a fancy term for grain proteins.

You have to ditch the tortillas, grain less or not. They aren't necessary. Don't teach your kid to eat novelties. It's not a good habit to have. Once bad habits are carried into adulthood, they become very hard to break.