I said
universal glucose requirement. And I meant it. To be clear, I meant dietary requirement.
Quote:
Well, there are glycogen storage diseases and deficiencies in fat and ketone metabolism that can make glucose essential. The sort of universal glucose requirement that Paul Jaminet pushes doesn't seem to have much to support it though.
When somebody does better with a Perfect Health or other moderate carb approach vs. Atkins or something more ketogenic, it's hard to say that the carbohydrate is what made the difference. Even if the additional carbohydrate comes from something like white rice, there's a lot of nutrition coming along for the ride along with the carbohydrate. I guess a study with pure white sugar or starch might help prove if there's such a thing as a glucose deficiency (in a more common sense).
|
Like I said here, somebody adds rice, or potato, does better--they aren't eating pure carbohydrate. There's a lot of other stuff in there, that isn't a pure experiment, it doesn't establish that a person is doing better because of the starch or sugar rather than from any number of other nutrients that might have a benefit.
Or even if a person does do better, when carbohydrate is added in--why will some thrive on a ketogenic diet, and some not? Those other nutrients might come into play again, a person could lack the nutritional support that would allow them to thrive on a ketogenic ratio. This view might not have anything more to support it than the view that carbohydrate is an essential nutrient. But that's the point, more carefully controlled experiments are needed to be certain
why something works.
Going in, I did nothing to deny the anecdotal/clinical evidence that some people do better with more carbohydrate. I only denied that it was established that the carbohydrate itself was the determining factor. So, do I deny that people not doing well on a ketogenic diet should try something else, if it's worked for other people? Of course not. Very often we know what works before we know why it works. We should do what works.
The use of the ketogenic diet in epilepsy doesn't really suggest that dietary carbohydrate is a requirement. An infant's brain takes up 50 percent of resting metabolism, an adult's 20 percent. I'd expect glucose deficiency issues to show up there, before it showed up in an adult population. Nutrient deficiencies do show up sometimes, which isn't surprising--it is a very restricted diet, at that high a fat percentage, I do think you have to be more careful about where you're getting your vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients. There's also some stunted growth--but protein restriction itself would predict that.