Is the keto diet healthy? A cancer doctor explains why he's been on keto for 6 years

Researchers at MD Anderson are conducting both human and animal studies of the effects of diet, including the ketogenic diet, on cancer.

https://www.today.com/health/keto-d...ts-keto-t169638

Hi Demi,

I read that last night and intended to post it today.

Thanks for putting it up. Your re-posted articles always provide food for thought.

Bob

Yes, while more must be understood regarding keto, I'm taking a similar approach. So far, the most noticeable improvements for me are the biomarkers associated with heart and vascular health.

I am due for a checkup this January, which will mark a full year on my VLC, 90% animal foods regimen.

But to be honest, I don't care WHAT the labs will say, because I haven't felt better, been slimmer, or experiencing such a state of good health: in my entire life!

Yahoo!!!

Good news !!

I've been on keto longer than I've been visiting doctors. I avoided doctors until I got on medicare. My blood work has always been good, with the exception of slightly high cholesterol - but not high enough to be of concern.

So I have no before keto - after keto comparison but I'm doing good after.

Bob

Bob and I don't need to be convinced, nor anyone else who has seen their health improve.

I've posted elsewhere on the fallacy of some health markers. For instance, I honestly don't know or care what my cholesterol numbers look like. I don't think they've ever made the distinction between fluffy LDL and the "bad kind" and I don't want it tested unless they do so.

Why should I listen to anything based on Ancel Keys' theories when I know he jiggered his data in a most un-scientific way? And statins still don't show any decrease in all-cause mortality; the decrease in heart attacks is matched by an increase in cancer.

I had my cortisol tested twice, monitored my temperature for three months, and I was the only true scientist who could both interpret the data and do something about it. My GP was stumped by my normal results. Going in, we both thought since it acted like cortisol insufficiency it was.

I went to an endocrinologist, who was the most arrogant and mis-informed bag of wind I'd yet encountered in the profession. I exclaimed to my GP upon my disappointed return, "I could do what they do with a spreadsheet!" And he smiled sadly and said, "They're all like that."

I had to MAKE the endo do a test, which he did wrong, and then interpreted wrong! But that was the turning point, where I found out about Cortisol Resistance. At the time Dr. Jack Kruse was the only one in the whole world who knew about it, and what to do.

It was only one piece of the puzzle, but after that I just DID IT MYSELF. As I continue to do.

Had I not taken over my own medical care, it was a neck-and-neck race between which would break down first, my body or my mind. Had I broken down in any way, the medical profession would have "treated" me in a way that would, slowly and painfully, kill me.

Which is a heckuva motivation, let me tell ya.

Valid health- or biomarkers are different for those who have made the lifestyle change by following vlc or keto. I, too, no longer concern myself with blood lipid numbers, as I feel great with my lifestyle changes. My valid biomarkers are the differences I've experienced since committing to this low carb lifestyle. Gone are the following:
- High blood pressure
- GERD
- Sleep apnea
- Skin tags (just dried up and fell off after 6 months of strict low carb)
- Over 40lbs. of fat including visceral fat
- Needing to eat frequently to replenish glucose to avoid hypo periods; yet, testing for normal BG
- Unmanageable food cravings
- Periods of low energy and fatigue
- Prescriptions, currently zero and planning to stay that way

As stated, I no longer consider the results of a lipid panel as meaningful. To do so is chasing scientifically naive myths and supporting the drug industry. I keep it simple and never worry about things like calories or food portions, as keto takes care of all that and allows me to eat how much I want and then strongly signals me when I'm full. I know I'm on the right track based on personal health experiences, not some numbers from tests. It's what I no longer have and how I feel that are the strongest indicators of good health.

My experience too. I haven't had any blood work done for at least a decade except for testing my vitamin D which I do myself using an online home testing service. I've also done some home HbA1C tests. I got no help from doctors when trying to figure out what was wrong with me so I consulted Dr Google and lots of books. I also had testing done through Enterolab to help figure out what foods were causing all the havoc in my system. This too I could do from home, costly but worth it. I am happy to have used traditional medicine to treat my broken wrist this year but beyond that I am almost entirely a do it yourself person and it has worked.

Kudos to you! Like you, I am happy to consult doctors in their area of actual expertise. For a situation where they are not helpful, I prefer Dr. Google and Nurse Practioner Me.

Amen!

You are responsible for your health. You hire doctors to help you stay healthy but like auto mechanics, there are good doctors, average doctors, and bad doctors. Even the good ones are fooled by the barrage of propaganda fed them by the FDA, AMA, ACA and all those agencies that are supposed to help us, but have been infiltrated by those who only want to profit from you.

I read in Life Extension Magazine years ago that the actual number one cause of human death is medical mistakes - NOT the disease that those poor souls went to the doctor to cure.

I've known people who remember every statistic about a sports figure since he/she was in grade school or the plot of a sitcom/soap-opera/drama series on television since it's inception, or what all the Royals in England or the pop idols across the world had for lunch and who they had sex with but don't know what a pancreas is, where it is, or what it does.

The best source of checking what the pundits say that I've found is pubmed at the NIH https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/

Doctors and researchers publish papers and their peers review those papers, retest to see if they get the same results, and either verify or negate the original findings. It's the scientific method in action.

If you want to live a long, healthy life you have to do the research yourself. If you aren't responsible for your own health, even the best doctors can only do so much to help, and often it's just to comfort you while you pass away.

This is much more important that a sports score or who designed the starlet's dress on the red carpet. Your healthy life and 'expiration date' depend on it. It might take some time away from the 'chewing gum for your eyes' but it's life or death.

And even if you are a billionaire, if you don't have your health, you don't have anything

Bob

Exactly how I pulled myself from the brink of imminent death, Bob.

I didn't even have to be that smart. Between the fine brains on this board, like teaser, who is so good at tearing apart bad science, and the enlightened doctors who write blogs and articles, I am able to get a lead from the paper. Then I can hunt down an explanation I can understand



While true, I know some people just can't do it. I don't know why, but by nature or nurture, some people cannot work with concepts. Which is required for what you and I have done. It's also required for those who don't read scientific papers, but are willing to n = 1 for themselves to arrive at the same goal.

Then there are the folks who get on the board, complaining of lack of progress "and I follow all the rules!"

When we try to explain the rules need to be tweaked for individuals, they get upset and confused. They try new plans, and run into the same problems. Sometimes they find THE PLAN they can follow and get the results they want, but they don't seem capable of understanding that while xxx is allowed, it might not be working for them.

Binary thinking vs functional thinking. Binary only works for computers

That's how it seems to me too. Some people cannot see the big picture, the paradigm into which the rules are embedded, so if the rules don't work for them they throw out the whole approach rather than adjust it to fit their individual needs and circumstances. Someone said recently that they could not do paleo because you have to eat so many eggs and they can't eat eggs but of course you can eat a paleo diet, allowing only ancestral foods (or as close as possible in these modern times) and just omit the eggs. It's an example of not seeing the bigger picture and just focusing on the details.

I believe this dynamic is the greatest impediment for people trying to discover what works for them. Understanding that one size is not effective for all and pursuing self-discovery to individually optimize provides the light to guide one to the "end of the tunnel."