Six common beliefs addressed, Part 196

1. My doctor told me that “keto” is great for short term weight loss but not for the long term.

Your doctor is correct. "Keto" is great for short term "weight loss" and so are all other diets. So "keto" is no worse than any other diet in that sense. Once your body fat is challenged, leptin always under expresses to prevent further fat loss. This is why all diets fail. These fad “keto” protocols are particularly detrimental because they increase the adrenal stress response through starvation and adapt the body further to sparing fat mass.

For this reason, the target of a ketogenic protocol is to control blood glucose regulation so that the adaptation to starvation is broken.

2. Low carb protocols are a "lifestyle" and not just for fat loss.

That statement is always made by scammers. They want to take your focus away from what they can’t deliver - fat loss.

All diet's primary goal should be the loss of body fat because body fat is the main indicator of a pathological metabolic adaptation that leads to diabetes. It is the canary in the coalmine that blood glucose regulation is abnormal. "Weight" is not implicated in diabetes, body fat is. The loss or gain of body fat is an indicator of what your metabolism is doing. If you can lose body fat, then you are headed in the right direction. If you can’t, you are only rearranging chairs in the Titanic. Nothing matters, until body fat is lost. Nothing. 

I know a lot of people do not like to hear that but I'm not here to tell fairy tales so you feel good. That's what cake used to do and look where it got you. Metabolic health can only be obtained through the loss of body fat because this means you have regulated blood glucose enough that leptin is responding to treatment. If leptin does not respond, you will forever be stuck at diabetes' front door.

So yes, low carb protocols should be a lifestyle because it takes much more than just diet to address metabolic issues but the primary goal is always to get your body to start burning its own body fat. That's the first engine that must come on for the machine to begin working properly. The loss of body fat is the primary metabolic advantage.                                            

3. Cancer “feeds on sugar”.

I've addressed this statement before but I don't mind doing it again so it's clear and the nonsense can stop.

Cancer feeds on the same things your healthy cells feed on. This is why cancer hasn't been able to be successfully "starved" as you would have to starve yourself. Anything that is poisonous to you, is poisonous to cancer. That's why chemotherapy and radiation damage healthy cells along side cancerous ones.

So, cancer feeds on sugars, proteins and fats - just like you. This occurs to varying degrees depending on the type of cancer as all cancers are different. But let’s say, for the sake of argument, that cancer only feeds on sugar. Well, your body makes its own sugar so it will be feeding the cancer all by itself. In fact, the body especially likes to make sugar when it is sick (like having cancer) so it will be an open 24 hour buffet for it.

4. No one knows what obesity is or what causes it.

Obesity is the chronic under expression of leptin, caused by blood glucose dysregulation which abnormalizes insulin expression over time. This process doesn’t occur over night. You don’t wake up one morning with under expressed leptin and begin piling on the pounds of fat. It is a gradual occurrence. Obesity is not a line you cross, it’s steps you take, like a ladder. A series of things together cause a “compounding effect” and once they begin, they become a viscous circle, feeding off each other and progressing the condition further. 

To be obese you must have:

• Blood glucose dysregulation – Erratic fluctuations in blood glucose, with large disparities between highs and lows, which deteriorates insulin function over time causing “insulin resistance”. Insulin resistance affects all glucoregulatory systems, lipid metabolism and fat cell function. Leptin is a slave to insulin and is produced by fat cells so it becomes compromised and chronically under expressed.
• Obesity - That's right. Being obese makes you more obese, hence the viscous circle description above. The fatter you are, the fatter you will become because being fat itself interferes in proper insulin function as the obese have a very high insulin demand which dysregulates their blood glucose further. 
  

Many things can cause blood glucose dysregulation but some of the most common lifestyle factors are diet and exercise. Of course, there is a lot of nuance to both and this is why the generic advice of "eat less/move more" will not help you. It is much more complicated than that. The nuances are:

• Not moving enough – insufficient hours active
• Not moving the right way – strolling through stores or jogging
• Not moving at the right times – working out on the weekends only
• Eating too frequently or not enough – chronic snacking/extended fasting
• Eating the wrong things – too many energy based foods that are nutrient poor
• Eating the wrong way – eating as a reward, as consolation for a bad day or because of boredom
• Eating at the wrong times – eating too late at night or out of consistent meal times

The obvious habits of drinking sodas, eating fast food, sweet based snacks and processed foods all contribute to obesity but they aren't the only things. You could have eliminated all of these things, from your diet, and still be doing one or all of the things listed above. Age, gender, current metabolic profile and genetics will all compound the effects these habits cause.

5. An exaggerated stress response cannot damage the liver.

The uncontrolled catabolism experienced by diabetics can absolutely damage the liver causing inflammation and cirrhosis which further deteriorate their condition. Many diabetics experience an increase of this risk after illness or injury.

Eventually, there is also kidney damage as both the liver and kidneys are the organs that have to filter the byproducts of this excessive skeletal muscle catabolism. This is why only 30% of diabetes progression is due to diet but 70% is due to the effects of this exacerbated stress response.

6. You cannot make low carb work if the only vegetables your digestive system can tolerate are potatoes. 

You can have potatoes as long as you aren’t consuming sugar and grains and you stick to your carb macros. Make sure you use red potatoes or sweet potatoes, not “baking” or “Idaho” potatoes as those are hybrids with too much starch.

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.

Six common beliefs addressed, Part 181

1. On “keto” you have to stay under a certain amount of protein macros and you should do the same on carnivore. 

On a classic ketogenic protocol, for the treatment of intractable epilepsy or neurodegenerative conditions, protein macros are monitored and kept under a certain amount to minimize the body converting protein into glucose, a completely natural and normal process that is highly regulated. Since chronic ketone presence is a strong signal to the body that it is "starving", it tends to ramp up its stress response and convert itself and everything that's eaten into glucose at a higher rate than normal. This stress response will reduce ketone production.

The people on classic ketogenic diets need ketones because that's what they are forcing their brain to use for fuel in order to prevent symptoms. This is precisely why classic ketogenic protocols need to be monitored by a healthcare provider to ensure that the person does not lose lean body mass, develop a deficiency and/or gain weight. Classic ketogenic protocols are not only protein restricted but calorically restricted as well. They are very difficult diets to follow without professional guidance.

Ketogenic protocols for the treatment of overweight/obesity and/or metabolic dysfunction do not restrict protein. These diets induce ketosis through the severe restriction of carbohydrate. Protein macros are followed to ensure you are getting enough protein, since most people do not.

The reason protein does not have to be restricted is because protein is not a macronutrient of concern as it is not the cause of overweight/obesity and/or metabolic dysfunction. Having chronic ketone presence is also not the goal of these protocols because lack of ketones is not the cause of overweight/obesity and or metabolic dysfunction so their presence is not the cure.

Now a lot of people tend to take this information to mean they can eat all the meat they want, since it’s "protein" but meat is not just protein. It is also fat. For this reason, though protein on its own is not restricted, protein as meat is, since you can easily go over your fat macros depending on the type and cut of meat you are consuming. You have to calculate the protein to fat content in your chosen cut of meat when following carnivore, to ensure you are getting enough protein and not too much fat.

2. Too much protein will stall weight loss.

There is no such thing as "too much protein" but there is such a thing as too much fat, which usually comes with the protein. For this reason, you have to make sure you track your macros carefully and stick to your fat macro allotment.

People with metabolic syndrome who have hyperglucagonemia make a lot of sugar after eating anything, including protein, which could stall their weight loss for a period of time until this condition normalizes. This condition only normalizes once you can regain insulin/leptin sensitivity and function. Restricting protein achieves neither.

3. Red meat "stays in your system" for 2 weeks.

False. The body uses protein to build itself, so technically meat "stays in your system" until you are dead.

4. Some low carb doctors discuss cancer because some of their patients have gone into remission. 

No one knows exactly what causes cancer to go into remission or why remission occurs to some people and not others. So far, studies suggest that a person’s initial immune response, to the cancer, has a lot to do with their remission outcome.

Many conventional doctors have had their patients go into remission. In fact, the bulk of cancer patients in remission have done so using conventional treatments. Anyone can go into cancer remission and anyone can also die from cancer. Like I mentioned above, your immune response appears to be the main determiner of this and you have no control over it.

As of this post, no cure for cancer has been discovered. We know of some risk factors for certain cancers but, again, they have not been proven to be linearly causative. So a low carb doctor boasting that he has some cancer patients in remission is completely meaningless as any doctor can boast that.

5. "Certain bacteria” causes obesity.

No. What causes obesity is not a mystery. It is well known that obesity is caused by metabolic dysfunction through blood glucose dysregulation which ultimately deteriorates insulin function and leptin expression. This not only leads to overweight/obesity but eventually to diabetes. The accumulation of high body fat, caused by metabolic syndrome, is the result of a complex hormonal interplay exacerbated by certain lifestyle factors, of which there are many.

So, the debate as to what causes obesity has long been settled but for some odd reason, it appears to not have reached the masses. Very few people understand obesity, which is a shame considering that obesity is now at epidemic levels. You can not treat what you don’t understand. I believe it is this lack of understanding that has allowed obesity to spread, unabated, and made it easier for charlatans to sell you “magical cures”.

What hasn't been settled with obesity is its treatment. This is because of the complex hormonal interplay, which I mentioned above, which is extremely difficult to reverse. This is because obesity is a metabolic adaptation and not a real “disease” so there technically is nothing to "cure". Your body is doing exactly what it's suppose to do under the conditions it's been subjected to.

There are microbiome changes seen in the overweight/obese and this is mostly related to diet type and immune function. High body fat affects the immune system. But no, bacteria itself does not make you obese. To be obese you need poor functioning and abnormal insulin which affects leptin expression and in turn deteriorates proper metabolic function over time.

6. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) refuses to tell people that they can “reverse their diabetes”.

This is because, as of this writing, there is no “cure” for diabetes. The ADA has a lot of issues in its organization but quackery isn't one of them. The most the person with diabetes can hope for is remission but long term remission has still been difficult to acquire for most.

I am sure that you may have heard a low carb doctor say he can "reverse your diabetes" but he simply cannot. He can only lower your blood glucose but so can I. On this blog, low blood glucose is not reversal of diabetes. That is the mistake conventional medicine makes when they diagnose diabetes with simply high blood glucose. Their treatment, which is to lower your blood glucose, hasn't really made much of a difference has it? Of course not. That is because diabetes is not a disease of high blood glucose. This means diabetes reversal is not acquired through lower blood glucose.

We stay away from the blood glucose seesaw on this blog. Diabetes is a very complex metabolic dysfunction that involves multiple energy regulating systems in the body. It is extremely difficult to put into remission so avoiding getting diabetes, in the first place, should always be the first course of action. This is why you are never too healthy to follow a healthy lifestyle.

Six common beliefs addressed, Part 150

1. I love breakfast but I'm scared to eat it because I keep reading that breakfast is a "scam" on low carb pages. 

Oh dear. This question seems to always come up, every once in a while, like the living dead who refuse to stay in their grave. I don't know why it won't just stay dead. It's probably because low carb advocates recycle this one, every so often, and people who are new to these diets see it for the first time and then come to me with it. Hopefully, after this post - "God grant it lie still". 

Low carb advocates have a "thing" about breakfast because most breakfast foods are produced by companies like Kellogg’s, who they have deemed to be the devil incarnate. Don't fall for it. They just want Kellogg's revenue for themselves. 

There have been numerous studies done on different meal timings and eating early has consistently been shown to be anti obesogenic. In fact, the fattest people in the world are the ones who have the least hunger in the morning. This is why lack of morning hunger is usually a sign of active obesity. Contrary to popular belief, obese people are oftentimes the least hungry people over all so it is not surprising that they aren't hungry in the mornings. 

The exact mechanism and cause for this is not well understood, but circadian rhythms and hormone homeostasis are involved. It seems like the more body fat you acquire, the less hunger in the mornings. Insulin function/Dawn Phenomenon seems to be implicated in this, but again, it is not well understood precisely how. It seems like more energy is stored with later eating than earlier eating and this energy allotment appears to be different between the overweight/obese and the lean/healthy. So we won't make assumptions on the exact cause since there are no definitive answers. This is why I get a kick out of people adamantly advising on breakfast or not. 

The only thing we know for sure is that, regardless of cause, force feeding yourself in the morning is not going to magically make you thinner because your hormonal profile will remain the same. For this reason, on this blog, we encourage you to have breakfast if you are hungry in the mornings. This can be a very good sign. But if you aren't hungry in the mornings, then skip breakfast and have your first meal later. It doesn't pretty much matter. The only thing that matters is if you can regain and sustain proper blood glucose regulation, not if you can show off how late you can eat.

2. There are many ways of making your diet work. You can always try different hacks to get results. 

When a weight loss coach, counselor, advisor, whoever, has to come up with a "hack", then you know for certain that their diet, and everything else they are trying to sell, is a farce. So let me help out. There are no weight loss hacks. Actually I take that back. There is one. Stop drinking any liquids and take a laxative and you will be a few pounds lighter in a couple of days. Athletes do this all the time to make weight requirements. Teenage girls do this all the time to fit into their prom dresses. Just keep in mind that this is dangerous and absolutely not recommended nor advised on this blog. But technically, that is the only hack for weight loss known to work. 

All hacks are just as unhealthy and dumb as that one, but worse - They are ineffective. There are no hacks for treating overweight/obesity. None. Not even liposuction, much to my husband's dismay. True overweight/obesity treatments are based on long term lifestyle changes that require consistent adherence and application. Anyone that is trying to "sell" you a hack, is a quack. 

3. Carbohydrates are the preferred energy for the body. 

False. 

The body runs mostly on fatty acids. It is a misconception that carbs are the "preferred fuel" for the body. The origins of this misinformation is from the fact that the body makes its own glucose when it needs it for the specific cells that must use glucose for energy. People who learn this fact assume that because the body makes glucose then it must be because it prefers glucose. If not, then why would it go out of its way to make it itself? But it doesn't prefer it. It simply needs it. It must keep a steady and highly regulated amount of glucose in the blood stream in order to function properly. 

The only thing that prefers carbs is the tongue, not the body. And the only reason the tongue prefers carbs is because carbs have been sweetened and made into fun foods. Believe me, the tongue does not prefer plain boiled potatoes. It prefers Doritos or Debbie Snacks. So it's not the carbs per say, it's the junk that is preferred. 

4. If your loved one has cancer, you should make them eat "keto" in order for them to be cured. 

First, "keto" is not a cure for cancer. As of this post, there is no cure for cancer. 

Second, you can't force someone to follow a diet they don't want to. "Keto" and low carb diets in general, when followed correctly, are elimination protocols. The person who tells you they aren't is a chaffle eating liar. Elimination means the person has to be willing to give up the foods they are accustomed to. Sometimes the food items that have to be given up are staples of culture, tradition, religion, whatever. They have to be eliminated regardless, if the person wants to follow the diet properly and achieve results. This can be a difficult decision for anyone but especially for someone who is already having health issues. They might not want to be bogged down with an entirely new way of eating and having to give up their favorite foods, which might be the only thing they find stability in at this time in their life. For this reason, don't force people. People are allowed to follow whatever diet they want. 

"Keto" and low carb diets are only for people who are ready and committed to following them. The worse thing you can do is mix a Standard American Diet (SAD) full of crackers, breads, pastas and sweets with a low carb/"keto" diet. That is usually what occurs when the person is not committed to following the diet and is only following it to get someone off their back. 

5. You can still follow "keto" if you aren't a big meat eater and are also allergic to nuts and dairy. 

If you can't eat nuts and you can't eat dairy and you refuse to eat meat, then what else is left? Air? You just eliminated all of the foods that comprise a very low carb diet. You can absolutely salvage the diet without the nuts and diary but you can't salvage it without meat as that's the center of the diet itself. A situation like this, requires for you to find another diet all together. One that you can follow. I don't know why people like to put themselves into these predicaments. It's like me saying that I am allergic to all plant foods and find algae disgusting but I would like to follow a vegan diet. It's not happening. 

I hate to say this but this type of statement makes me doubt that the person making it is serious about resolving their health. It just seems like a person who wants to be a part of whatever fad is going on at the moment and follow the crowd mindlessly. A person who is serious about their health, wouldn't even bother following "keto" or low carb since they are aware of their limitations. Instead of asking for a nonexistent resolution, they would have been seriously looking for an alternative. 

6. Coffee is "good for you" and you should drink it with butter.  

Coffee and everything else on earth is only good for you until it turns bad. This is why we don't make claims that anything is definitively good or bad except for one: sugar. Sugar is always bad. We can say that coffee is not necessarily "good for you". It is just not been shown to cause any adverse health effects in the majority of people. 

Studies on the effects of coffee have had mixed results. We do know that black coffee is better than orange juice, but so is plain tea. So basically anything, including muddy rain water, is better than orange juice at this juncture. Coffee can be the same as orange juice if it is loaded with added sugar and/or fat, so we know that coffee is only as benign as what goes in it. 

Some people are exceptionally sensitive to the caffeine in coffee. In fact, I wouldn't advise caffeinated coffee to anyone who has metabolic syndrome/diabetes. You don't want caffeine interfering further with your blood glucose regulation. If you want to drink coffee, drink decaf and add no sweeteners to it of any kind. Limit the amount of cream you use by keeping to your daily fat macros. Do not make "Bulletproof Coffees" because they aren't bulletproof and they certainly aren't obesity proof.  

Some people prefer butter in their coffee to cream. To each his own. There is no requirement to use butter or cream or anything in your coffee. What shouldn't be in your coffee is sugar or artificial sweeteners of any kind. Also remember to not drink gallons of coffee a day. Coffee should be reserved for your eating window and should never be had during fasting, even if you only drink it black. 

The best way to stop the snacking habit is to simply not taste anything during your fasting time. Give the tongue a break. Remember it's connected to your brain. Please allow your brain to not sense anything coming in for some period of time. Limit your coffee to two cups a day and by cups, I mean literal, measured cups. Not the coffee cup you bought on eBay that is as tall as your forearm. A cup = 8 fluid ounces.

Six common beliefs addressed, Part 148

1. Is lupin flour a good "low carb" alternative to conventional flour?

Lupins are beans so this is a legume flour. The fancy name does not make that fact go away. 

Legumes are not low carb. 

 

Flour should not be a staple in your diet as it can't be used for anything other than processed foods and novelties. Baking is not a form of cooking that is recommended on legitimate protocols. The only thing that's "baked" is meat or vegetables. Flour is not needed for either. 

2. There is nothing wrong with pea protein. 

Yes there is. It's not animal based. 

Pea protein is considered "complete" because it has all nine amino acids but it's low in one - methionine, making it inferior to meat as you would still need to consume protein from other sources in order to make up for this deficit. This becomes yet another excuse to keep eating. Eat truly nutritious food, at meal times only, and not food that requires you to eat more in order to get nutrition. 

3. Metformin is not okay to use if you have insulin resistance. 

This is a question that you should ask your healthcare professional as Metformin is generally prescribed by a doctor. If your doctor prescribed you Metformin, then obviously it's because they feel it's "okay" to use. Usually Metformin is used for the control of diabetes, which is the end stage of insulin resistance. 

4. Grains cause cancer. 

Cancer is a very complex disease that is multifactorial. Certain things can put you at risk such as smoking, radiation or toxins. Certain viruses have been directly associated with the development of cancer. Grains have not. There is no linear association between grains and cancer. 

There is a direct association between the Standard American Diet (SAD) and cancer but the SAD diet is not solely composed of grains. It's composed of a lot of chemicals, refined energy and a macronutrient composition that adversely effects metabolism, leading to many pathologies that ultimately contribute to an increased cancer risk, including obesity itself. 

5. Is sour dough bread fine to eat on "keto"?

If it keeps you in ketosis, yes, but it is not okay for the treatment of obesity and metabolic dysfunction. 

6. Metabolic disease is a "disease of high body fat", so technically, a person can eat Snickers bars forever and remain healthy as long as they can keep their body fat low. - A Snickers Lover. 

Negative, dear Snickers Lover. The correct statement would be - "Metabolic syndrome is a "condition of poor blood glucose regulation", so technically, a person can eat Snickers bars forever and remain healthy as long as they can sustain their blood glucose homeostasis."

 

Metabolic "disease" can be described as a "disease of high body fat", but that's really downstream from the initial catalyst. Metabolic syndrome is primarily a condition of poor blood glucose regulation. This ultimately causes metabolism to acquire an adaptation where it stores and spares body fat beyond the body's fat threshold. Once this metabolic state is acquired, body fat itself causes blood glucose regulation to deteriorate further. So, high body fat is more of a "canary in the coalmine" for metabolic dysfunction but the root cause was already occurring. 

So, by this logic, the only thing you need to do to keep yourself from acquiring metabolic syndrome and becoming overweight/obese is to sustain your blood glucose regulation by avoiding large disparities between highs and lows.

Junk food, like Snickers bars, are benign in states of starvation (deficit). I want people to understand that "starvation" does not mean "not in excess". It means exactly as it reads: starvation - lack, deprivation, want. Only starvation will prevent the blood glucose abnormalities that end in the accumulation of body fat and ultimately result in diabetes over time. There is only one problem. Starvation itself also interferes in proper blood glucose regulation, by causing a prolonged period of time in hypoglycemia. So the only questions left, in order to keep these items in your diet, are:

• How much starvation is required? 
• How long can you starve for? 

No one knows. This is because blood glucose regulation varies between individuals. Some people can sustain theirs for long periods of time and others cannot. We know age is a big factor in this since a teenager can down some Snickers bars without a hitch while a middle aged person cannot. So it appears that insulin release/expression is involved in the impact blood glucose abnormalities have on metabolism. There are rare people who can sustain their blood glucose regulation, along side Snickers bars, for their whole lifetime. They have genetics that never cause them to develop insulin resistance, even in the face of higher than normal blood glucose which takes a few low dips. Their metabolism is simply resistant to adapting to blood glucose abnormalities.

 

So dear Snickers Lover, you can remain relatively "healthy" eating Snickers if you can sustain your blood glucose regulation but I wouldn't bank that you can. You can try and prolong the onset of metabolic syndrome by eating Snickers bars at starvation levels but you will still lose your blood glucose regulation over time from the starvation itself. So, the best thing you can do is eliminate the Snickers bars so you can remain healthy and not have to starve.

Six common beliefs addressed, Part 63

1. Will eating lots of fat stop hunger and cause weight loss?

First, weight loss does not occur from lack of hunger. At least, not the type of weight loss you are trying to achieve which is specifically weight loss from fat loss. That only occurs through the stabilization of blood glucose. 

"Hunger for fat" is a sign of metabolic disease. I want that to be completely understood and clear. Having to eat enormous quantities of fat, in order to reach satiety, is a sign that you are very metabolically sick and not better or getting better by any stretch of the imagination. People with healthy metabolisms do not ever experience this. They reach satiation with protein, not the energy macronutrients.

Metabolically dysfunctional people experience this same issue with carbohydrates. They have to eat an enormous amount of carbs in order to reach satiety, significantly disrupting their blood glucose and making them uber fat. When they switch to fat, the same thing occurs. This is a sign that leptin is not communicating fat stores, to the brain, and the body is constantly in starvation mode, since it doesn't see its own exceeded fat reserves.

This is active obesity. The body is demanding large amounts of energy, through hunger, which it obviously doesn't need, in order to continue building fat mass. Hunger for fat or hunger for carbs, means you are getting fatter. If the diet was truly reversing your obesity and healing your metabolism, this wouldn't be occurring. Stop feeding your fat mass with fat. You already did that before with carbs.  

2. Calories is the same as energy, so there is no need to differentiate between the two.

I know that this can be confusing, but it's a good way to begin thinking differently about food. The term "energy" helps take into account the different macronutrients and how they are partitioned and prioritized, by the body, since the body doesn’t have a linear “caloric” relationship with food.

Calories are a piss poor way to measure energy in an effective way, as far as metabolism goes, regardless of how practical it may be. This is because, ultimately, the body is primarily affected by the allocation of energy, not its measurement. The body partitions calories depending on the macronutrient they come from. This means that knowing the total calories, of a food item, tells you nothing about whether it is obesogenic or not. You can be on a very low calorie diet that’s still fattening. As an example, roughly speaking, 100 calories of dessert go primarily to your fat (m)ass, through the disruption of blood glucose, while 100 calories of steak goes primarily to your lean muscle mass because there is no blood glucose disruption.

3. The only thing that matters is 'absolute risk' not 'relative risk.'

"Risk" has to do with statistics and it refers to probabilities, not certainties. It’s a very complex subject and you shouldn’t get bogged down by it, as it will not help you lose a pound.

Pharmaceutical studies always use relative risk, rather than absolute risk, since they only want to compare between those that took the drug, being studied, and those that didn’t. This means that if statins reduce your relative heart disease risk by 50%, that’s only relative to those that didn’t take the pill. But, if your absolute risk for heart disease was only 2%, to begin with, then the statin only decreased your individual risk to 1%. That’s still relatively 50%, but not very impressive overall. This is why it’s often said that absolute risk is really all you should care about. The problem is who determines it?

Individual absolute risk is extremely difficult to determine, so even though it may be the only thing that truly matters, it’s unusable in practice. Though absolute risk can be calculated, in a group of people participating in a study, the results will only pertain to them, not you. Absolute risk may vary depending on the pool of people being used. Maybe another group of people, even though similar, might have a different absolute risk result. After all, there are people who smoke till old age, without any lung disease. Others eat birthday cake daily, without any diabetes. Others have all their family members die of heart attacks, but they never develop the disease themselves.

To eliminate all confounders, relative risk is commonly used, as it narrows things down to only two groups of people - those who took the drug and those who didn’t, eliminating all of the other individual unknowns. The media may distort the results, to get readers attention, but the actual studies have all the data disclosed and it’s not difficult to obtain them.

Having said all of that, since our purpose here is to help with obesity and metabolic disease, and not create statistical reports on research studies, all of this is irrelevant. Focus on tried and true biology, along with your results, and leave all these word play shenanigans alone.

4. Glucose is an electrolyte.

Glucose is not an electrolyte. It is usually added to electrolyte drinks, because it helps withhold electrolytes in the body better, due to its affect on insulin, but it is not needed.

5. You should separate sugar and glutamine, in meals, to prevent cancer.

Your own body makes glucose (sugar) and glutamine. Both of these are not essential nutrients, so they are not derived solely from diet. The body makes both abundantly. Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the body. Both glucose and glutamine are ancient nutrients that we evolved to use in multiple ways, so we make them ourselves. You can not separate them, in the human body, and separating them, in a meal, is ignorant and useless.

Instead of quackery, please learn real science.

6. You can not enjoy life or entertain yourself, without an occasional treat.

Some people are so dysfunctional, that they can't seem to live their lives happily without involving the mouth. I suggest you find an activity that is not dependent on the mouth. If you are bored and can't find entertainment, with life, do not take it out on your fat mass. Find something to do that doesn't require chewing and swallowing. There is just so much to do besides eating, that I would need a book to list it all.

Stop associating food with "party time". You don't need "treats". You are not a pet. Humans are way more complex than pets. That's why humans do not like to be kept by other humans, as pets, even with the promise of unlimited treats. The human brain usually does not find fulfillment in a life of treats, unless something is very wrong. You need food, not treats.

Eating a meal should be pleasant enough as is. It's just one of the many pleasurable things you can do in a day. Any day you aren't starving is a good day. You should never use food as a recreational drug.

Six common beliefs addressed, Part 24

1. Is Alzheimer's really caused by insulin resistance?

Alzheimer's is a very complex disease. It is comprised of many different pathologies, each of which contributes to its onset and progression. The exact cause of Alzheimer's is not known, though it seems to have some heritability. Because of this, Alzheimer's falls under the umbrella diagnosis of "dementia". Dementia is a syndrome, not a disease. There are many abnormalities in Alzheimer's and it is very difficult to discern which one came first. For the sake of simplicity, let's describe Alzheimer's as a progressive disorder that causes brain cells to degenerate and eventually die. 

One of the things that degenerating and dying cells do not do is use energy effectively. After all, they are dying. Healthy cells do not have this problem. Insulin nasal sprays have been shown to improve Alzheimer's/dementia symptoms but not stop the progression of the disease. Insulin facilitates glucose entry into cells so it improves the cells ability to metabolize glucose temporarily. This of course, can improve cell function, but the cell is still dying. This is what led for some people in the low carb community to make the claim that Alzheimer's is "insulin resistance of the brain". This is not true. The dying cells are simply exploiting the extra insulin and improve temporarily.   

2. Does cancer really feed off sugar? 

Cancer cells use glucose and glutamine for fuel. Both are created by your own body. The body creates all the glucose it needs so it does not have to be dosed exogenously. 

Glutamine is the most abundant free amino acid in the body. The body produces all the glutamine it needs, in the muscles, so it's not dependent on diet. As long as cancer has glutamine, it can continue "living" just fine. Depending on the type of cancer and what stage it’s in, it can also use fat for fuel.

As you can see, cancer is very complex. For this reason, I always advise to receive your cancer treatment from a cancer specialist, not from someone online, especially if they are promoting diet as the sole cause and curator of cancer.

3. As long as I am insulin sensitive, I won't get fat.

The obese are insulin sensitive, at the fat mass. The way you do not get fat is by maintaining proper blood glucose regulation, so that you never develop insulin resistance. 

4. The body cannot go into "starvation mode". It's not real.

Chronic caloric restriction and chronic extended fasting cause metabolic adaptations, that are harmful in the long term, through the development of adaptive energy conservation (starvation mode). When the body is put through these conditions adiponectin, an adipokine released by your fat cells, induces an anti-inflammatory effect that causes for fat cells to become more insulin sensitive. This appears to be a great thing, but it is actually going to make you fatter once nutrient/energy conditions change.

Inflammation reduces insulin sensitivity, in the cell, so that it stops up taking energy. Healthy individuals, with no metabolic disease, maintain a healthy level of inflammation at the adipocytes. It's a form of localized insulin resistance, that is beneficial and regulates weight. Leptin uses inflammation in order to signal the cells to stop up taking energy, so this energy can be burned instead.

If this anti inflammatory effect persists, in the long term, through the chronic stimulation of adiponectin, you are priming and honing your fat cells to store even more fat, once you begin eating normally. This is because the body is adapting and preparing itself to face "starvation", once it occurs again. This is why people who yo-yo diet tend to put weight back on, and then some, once they go off their diet. The dieting has actually helped make them fatter.

Don't be fooled, everyone will go off their diet. This is because you can't calorically restrict forever and you can't fast forever. You will have to eat normally again and when you do, the body will store even more fat than before.

This is why I don't promote "dieting" on this blog, nor extended fasting. I only advise a proper carbohydrate restricted diet, that can be followed for life, and a fasting protocol that is sustainable. This prevents the yo-yo affect that has dire, long term consequences.

5. How can fat weigh less than muscle?

We often say this to make things simpler for the person who is concerned about their scale weight, but there is always someone, out there, that will nitpick and try to put you to task, for this statement. So, the more technical way to describe it, is as follows:

A pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle, but because of their different densities, an inch of fat weighs less than an inch of muscle. This is why a fatter person might weight less than a leaner person. Even if two people have the same scale weight, one can still be fatter than the other. The one with more body fat, is unhealthier.

6. I use to eat fat ad libitum and never had to worry about it. Now I have stalled in weight loss.

When you improve blood glucose regulation, you will lose weight, even with a higher dietary fat intake, since you just eliminated carbohydrates from the diet, which no longer disrupts blood glucose or has to compete with fatty acid oxidation.

When glucose is present, fat burning slows down. Remove the glucose, fat burning ramps up and the body is able to burn both dietary and stored body fat. But, soon, as your weight decreases, you will stop burning body fat and the body burns dietary fat instead, causing a weight stall. If the dietary fat is excessive, you will not burn enough of it either and you will begin storing it. Now the weight stall becomes weight gain.

So, as weight begins to stabilize and insulin function continues improving, the macronutrient ratios you started with, must be changed, if you still have more weight to lose. You need to lower your fat intake and up your protein intake. This further lowers basal insulin and forces the body to acquire its fat fuel from your own body.

If you want to maintain your weight loss and stop losing, then and only then, can you up your dietary fat intake.