I am not following a ketogenic diet, I am eating a lot less carbs and have increased my fat intake. By this method I have got my b.g sorted and lost 10% body weight in 3 months. LCHF does not have to mean 80% fat.
I have no idea what percentage of the calories in my diet comes from fat and I have neither the time nor the inclination to work it all out. I very much doubt it would be 80%.
Dr Deakin's article was aimed at the general public not the diabetes forum. A large percentage of the readers have probably dismissed her as a crank (or Atkin's) because of her extreme statement.
We live in a country where many people are struggling to feed themselves and their families. Many people would not have the time, the understanding or the finances to follow this diet. Moreover, when you eliminate any major food group from your diet you have to know what you are doing to ensure nutrient intake, fibre intake, adequate digestion and electrolyte balance.
If everyone in the country ate an 80% fat diet we would have to increase the production of animal based products and when animal production goes up for the west, people in third world countries lose out.
The advice we have been given about carbs and fats in the past is wrong (and Dr Deakin will probably have known that for a long time). However, carbs are cheap and some foods such as bread, cereals and marg, which may be a staple for struggling families, are fortified. So there is a lot of work to do in the public health arena in order to ensure that people eat well and do not go hungry. I don't believe everyone, even diabetics, needs to follow a ketogenic diet, we just need to change the proportions and get more exercise.
Nancy - have you tested yourself to see if you are dietary ketosis? For all you know could be right in there. We all have different levels for entering and leaving ketosis, but certainly the fat burning (in this instance body fat) process works extremely efficiently in ketosis. Due to location and accessibility of supplies, I wasn't in a position to do this sort of analysis, or weigh myself and a few other things, for a few months post-diagnosis. However, when those facilities became available to me, I found I was in mild dietary ketosis, and had lost pretty much all the weight I needed to.
I don't consider that I do LCHF either. I have reduced my carbs, and when meal planning (at the moment, when I'm on my own), I tend to decide what I'll have, then sense check if it's enough to maintain my weight (which I found to be a challenge), then I might deicde to have some berries and cream, or a creamy sauce with my veg, or whatever. In essence, I tend to bulk up meals (if once planned, I feel I might still be hungry at the end of it) by adding more veg, and/or if I think I will be full enough, but there aren't enough calories to keep me stable, I'll up the fat a bit. With fat calories being 8 per gramm, as opposed to carb and protien at c4 calories per gramm, it's an easy way to make the balance.
I could go back through myfitnesspal and review my fat gramms, as it records them for me, when I record my food, I might be surprised what actual percentage I am consuming. I don't find the 80% of energy from fat an edifying thought, but nor do I find the prospect of weight gain or high bloods any more palatable. Whilst my overall bloods, including liver, kidney and lipids remain good, I'm not going to scare myself by getting too worked up about a number.
I'm not picking any kind of disagreement with you Nancy, but to say you "don't" or you "aren't" when you don't appear to have measure what you don't or aren't doesn't help your argument.
Edited by Moderator.