Is a very low carb diet healthy?

[LittleGreyCat]

Surely 20 carbs a day cannot be healthy is it ?

Thought experiment.

You are cast adrift in an open boat, with only fresh water.
Where do you get the glucose that your body needs?

 

[KennyA]

Surely 20 carbs a day cannot be healthy is it ?

Why is that an issue for you, and what do you mean by "healthy"? 20g/day certainly is for me according to my definition. I've not been so good in ten years. T2 in remission, six inches off my waist, loads of energy.

 

[zand]

Yes, it's healthy for me

 

[LittleGreyCat]

I wonder why you need extra salt , do you know the reason for that ?

Keto diets result in the extra excretion of salt.
So one is advised to top up a little.

 

[HSSS]

There has been a recent review of benefits versus risks of following a ketogenic diet with regard to chronic diseases, including diabetes. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8322232/#B35

There’s a discussion of this review here https://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/threads/new-study-not-good-results-for-keto.183378/#post-2426075. It’s not flattering.
Each individual study referenced will have its own merits and problems too.

 

[LittleGreyCat]

I was told (all be it 46 yrs ago) 200 gms carbs per day is what our bodies need

That is (I assume) based on the assumption that the body is using carbohydrates for energy, and so is the sum of the energy requirements, plus the additional metabolic requirements for glucose.

Glucose is needed for parts of the brain (because ketones cannot pass the blood/brain barrier) and for some organs (such as elements of the blood) which are too simple to be able to process ketones for energy.
The body can easily make this.

 

[EllieM]

In fact, long ago the method of treating type1 (before insulin) was to eat no carbs. This allowed you to stumble on for a few weeks if that and then that was it. It's also why when we are ill and unable to eat food we MUST still take our basal.

Actually, some newly diagnosed diabetics managed to stumble on for longer than that, up to a year for children or two for adults.
Diabetes Before and After (thediabetescouncil.com)
Though if you or I stopped our insulin I suspect we'd have days if we were lucky. (I think pumpers, who don't have basal on board, can go into DKA even faster.)
It's easy to forget what a revolutionary treatment insulin was. Effectively starving to death was a very unpleasant way to go, but it kept some people alive till the discovery of insulin.
And to go back to the original topic, for those T1 diabetics pre insulin, extreme low carb (and calorie) diets kept them alive longer than any other treatments available.

 

[Lamont D]

I have been ultra low carb, avoiding them because my condition means I am carb intolerant.
Since diagnosis, I became healthy, energy levels and life was a lot better, no symptoms, no hypos and a clear mind.
I was diagnosed in 2012/13 and have been in Keto ever since (except a couple of times!) If I had continued with the diet that I had been advised by my medical team, I wouldn't be here now! Carbs were killing me!

I had a cat scan at Easter, the doctors and specialists were very surprised that other than wear and tear, my physical health was clear and no problems.
I wish my brain could do something similar!

So, yes it is healthy (for me) type ones have it hard enough without having to micromanaging their diet.
Oh yeah I'm a pensioner and got my bus pass.

 

[Resurgam]

The only downside of a low carb diet is having my bus pass checked when there is a new driver on the route.

 

[LaoDan]

The only time I feel I need carbs is when I’m lifting weights 5x per week. It’s like my body can’t replace glycogen before my next workout. Over the course of the week I just get driven into the ground lol. It doesn’t take much, I recover at around 70g on training days.

otherwise I feel awesome, even at < 20g . I feel my current diet is pretty much spot on. Very healthy.

 

[millenium]

Well
a/ sugar is not the main fuel of our bodies once you are fat adapted and running on ketones

b/ the body produces the sugar it really needs (which is very little) through the process of gluconeogenesis where dietary protein is converted to blood sugar.

There are plenty of zero carbers (even more extreme than I am) thriving on their diets.

What is your BG reading when you are in ketosis?

 

[pixie1]

If you had zero carbs how would your body manufacture its blood sugar which after all is the main fuel of our bodies ?

People are now told carbs is the main fuel, once upon a time it was fats as main fuel, until told that fat was bad for people.

 

[jaywak]

I would say low carbs has got to be good for everybody , diabetic or not just look at the obesity problems we have at the moment . I sometimes look around in a restaurant and calculate in my head what people are eating I would say 200 carbs in one sitting is not out of the ordinary for some people , our bodies surely can't cope with that .

 

[Mbaker]

In response to your initial question, I would say yes and no. Humans have a habit of "gamifying" something good. So I would say a well formulated low carb or ketogenic diet (aka Eric Westman's page 4 as a start) is an exceptional starting point as it provides:

• Essential Fats
• Essential Proteins the are readily absorbed
• Minerals and Nutrients

The elephant in the room is so called "fun" foods (in all diatary patterns (frequency * amount). Again a well formulated diet can include healthier variants of some of the well known cakes, pizzas and the like, in my view on occasion (not everyday as "we" are trending to).

I think a low carb diet built on keto treats is a disaster waiting to happen. As with the low fat diet, industry will come in a produce products that are in that category. The key for me is learning how to cook again (err hmm, or having people around you who can). I think it is the "healthiest" way to use food as a fuel and have some fun with it, or at least make something not as bad as the original.

This means something like a bun-less smoky bacon and salad meal can be transformed into a dinning experience.

It's the sauce. I was previously very happy with this type of meal, then my wife created the sauce from the left over eggs yolks from make egg white protein bread...OMG, OMG restaurant level gourmet burger .

This morning as one part of my breakfast I had 2 Lidl Seabass Fillets (https://www.lidl.co.uk/p/fish-prevented-ocean-plastics/lighthouse-bay-sea-bass-fillets/p37116), lightly salted between 2 slices of egg protein bread, followed by a small bowl of 4 types of berries, 4 types of nuts, a sprinkling of coconut flakes, square of dark chocolate and 2 scoops of full fat yogurt - I have not done the calculations but I know this prioritises protein, has healthy fats, some carbs (including fibre) and lots of nutrients, whilst consisting mostly of whole foods.

If I had to choose between low carb being right for everyone or high carb, I would go for the former as the baseline, then customise to metabolic health levels (cgm use etc).

 

[JohnEGreen]

.

• Essential Fats

• Essential Proteins the are readily absorbed

• Minerals and Nutrients

These are all included in my grandsons diet he is virtually zero carbs except for the occasional carb day.

Though he is not diabetic

He does squats with 180 kilograms in the gym

So I would say he is pretty healthy.

 

[bulkbiker]

What is your BG reading when you are in ketosis?

Usually between 4.5 and 6.0 mmol/l when fasting it can go as low as 3.5 mmol/l
I'm in ketosis almost all the time.

 

[Mbaker]

.

These are all included in my grandsons diet he is virtually zero carbs except for the occasional carb day.

Though he is not diabetic

He does squats with 180 kilograms in the gym

So I would say he is pretty healthy.

I wish he lived near Colchester, would be a great weight training buddy.

 

[millenium]

Usually between 4.5 and 6.0 mmol/l when fasting it can go as low as 3.5 mmol/l
I'm in ketosis almost all the time.

That seems alright.

 

[millenium]

I would say low carbs has got to be good for everybody , diabetic or not just look at the obesity problems we have at the moment . I sometimes look around in a restaurant and calculate in my head what people are eating I would say 200 carbs in one sitting is not out of the ordinary for some people , our bodies surely can't cope with that .

The problem is when you take away 200g of carb from the daily intake you will need to replace at least 150g with fat or protein.

 

[bulkbiker]

The problem is when you take away 200g of carb from the daily intake you will need to replace at least 150g with fat or protein.

Both of which are far healthier than carbs so luckily there's no problem...