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Is a Keto diet harmful??

Guzzler said:
[...]My lightbulb moment in the beginning of my reading was learning one simple fact which is this, there is no such thing as an essential carbohydrate, there are however essential fats and essential proteins. This is where my understanding began.
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Same here. Carbohydrate, by itself, also has no nutritional value beyond supplying energy in the form of glucose. It cannot be used to build and repair tissues, which is probably why there’s no biological need for it :)
 
Mr_Pot said:
Essential, probably not, but beneficial for some reason, we don't know. Let's keep an open mind rather than swapping one assumption for another.
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There's no 'probable' about it. Beneficial? Debatable. Harmful at high levels? Definitely. Nice to eat? Oh, Yeah!
 
Guzzler said:
There's no 'probable' about it. Beneficial? Debatable. Harmful at high levels? Definitely. Nice to eat? Oh, Yeah!
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That arguement can eqully well be applied to fat - both arguements will be true for some peoples bodies and equally false for others
 
Mr_Pot said:
Are there any studies of people eating no carbohydrates for a long time period?
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There was Steffanson/Inuit but this, I think, was for one year. How long is long term?
 
Mr_Pot said:
Are there any studies of people eating no carbohydrates for a long time period?
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I’m not aware of any clinical trials, but given there is no dispute that the human body has no biological requirement for carbohydrate, I personally think it’s a stretch to consider that abstinence may be harmful. You can’t have too little of something you don’t need. The foods that contain carbohydrate are a different matter, because they may or may not contain other essential nutrients. Although nothing that one couldn’t get from another source if they are well informed and eating a well formulated ketogenic diet :)
 
Boo1979 said:
That arguement can eqully well be applied to fat - both arguements will be true for some peoples bodies and equally false for others
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There are always outliers. I did not say this wrt to every single person on the planet, I am not an epidemiologist.
 
Boo1979 said:
That arguement can eqully well be applied to fat - both arguements will be true for some peoples bodies and equally false for others
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Err...sorry...no. Dietary fat is absolutely essential for human life. You would die without it.
 
Summary of the current point being discussed;

Fat. Essential life support.
Protein. Essential life support.
Carbohydrate. None.

Sorry...I’m not trying be snarky, but the above points are undisputed biological facts. That said, I’m not suggesting that people shouldn’t consume carbohydrate. That’s a personal choice, but it is not a biological requirement :)
 
Guzzler said:
There was Steffanson/Inuit but this, I think, was for one year. How long is long term?
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A one person self documented study doesn't seem very scientific, especially as I found this when I looked him up:

Rudolph M. Anderson, a zoologist and member of two of Stefansson’s expeditions, wrote, “Stefansson is the outstanding humbug in the exploration world at the present time—a persistent, perennial, and congenital liar who for years has made his living by sheer mendacity and skill in handling words.”

So unless there are other studies, I think my statement that carbohydrates are probably not essential, is reasonable.
 
Mr_Pot said:
A one person self documented study doesn't seem very scientific, especially as I found this when I looked him up:

Rudolph M. Anderson, a zoologist and member of two of Stefansson’s expeditions, wrote, “Stefansson is the outstanding humbug in the exploration world at the present time—a persistent, perennial, and congenital liar who for years has made his living by sheer mendacity and skill in handling words.”

So unless there are other studies, I think my statement that carbohydrates are probably not essential, is reasonable.
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Is this the same fella, locked in a sanatorium with a diet of meat and fats, outrunning his guards and staying healthy throughout? The traditional Sami, Inuit and Masai diets (admittedly with carbs but at extremely low levels and seasonal)? Would this constitute long term?
 
There is no question that carb reduction is essential for most if not all T2 diabetics, and some T2s can go to very low carb levels - the picture is completely different for T1’s
There are claims that humans don't need any carbs at all but the body of medical and scientiric opinion fails to agree, at best they can be described as split
Large amounts of carbs and large amounts of fat are both very unhealthy IMO
 
Guzzler said:
Is this the same fella, locked in a sanatorium with a diet of meat and fats, outrunning his guards and staying healthy throughout? The traditional Sami, Inuit and Masai diets (admittedly with carbs but at extremely low levels and seasonal)? Would this -constitute long term?
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The innuit are frequently cited as evidence that a very high fat diet promotes good health. Recent epigenetic research that I poted a couple of weeks ago, shows that the innuit show major genetic differences in their ability to live off large intakes of Omega 3 fats that would most likely kill populations without that adaptation
 
I do not think anyone mentioned T1 in particular. What I would state categorically is that I am thriving on a LCHF/Keto diet as a T2 which pertains to the original comments made by a member who now seems to have left the thread/forum.
 
Boo1979 said:
The innuit are frequently cited as evidence that a very high fat diet promotes good health. Recent epigenetic research that I poted a couple of weeks ago, shows that the innuit show major genetic differences in their ability to live off large intakes of Omega 3 fats that would most likely kill populations without that adaptation
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Adaptation being the operative word. Have we in the modern world adapted to a diet so rich in in carbs esp highly refined carbs that we can be said to be thriving from it?
 
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