What kind of diet are you following?

[Dmitri]

It is really, really simple. We evolved over hundreds of thousands of years to eat and digest an array of foods. Those foods have been minimally processed and contained almost no sugar for 99.9999% of that (very long) time. We also moved a lot. So just eat and move like we were meant to; there is no need for any special diets -- unless you're trying to target/fix a specific health problem.
It is incredibly simple. Not easy, but very simple indeed.

[Peacedog]

Klonk,

That's pretty much my stance on the whole gluten thing as well. Sorry to hear about your surgery. Good luck with the new diet.

[Bob]

A worthwhile read:

How a Low-Carb Diet Might Help You Maintain a Healthy Weight Adults who cut carbohydrates from their diets and replaced them with fat sharply increased their metabolisms.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/14/well ... e=Homepage

[klonk]

Klonk,

That's pretty much my stance on the whole gluten thing as well. Sorry to hear about your surgery. Good luck with the new diet.

Thanks for your good wishes! I doubt I will stay with keto permanently, but I was showing signs of carb sensitivity (boom and bust energy levels). I've talked with another gut surgery veteran who experienced the same in the aftermath, and who also showed improvement after cutting way down on carbs.

Two data points are not proof of anything, and one thing happening after another is no proof of causality, but what I have seen does nothing to rule out the (widely suspected but unproven) role of the gut biota. Also, it does not rule out people developing carb sensitivity without gut disruption first, though perhaps they have to work harder to get there (more fries, sodas and so on).

[everything]

yeah, if it's about weight loss and fat loss, we have a large, large body of anecdotal data from bodybuilders on what can work. unfortunately we have no evidence (and probably negative evidence) that their kind of diet is good for general health. guessing the RSF crowd doesn't need to lose (much) weight. everyone can always improve on "health".

klonk, good luck. definitely more interested in probiotics now, and also, on another topic, this "alkaline" water claim that Ray Kurzweil talks about. http://www.healthalkaline.com/scientist ... questions/

[Peacedog]

everything,

The only thing I would add about bodybuilders is to be aware of the confounding factors involved in their longevity. These guys, particularly after the late 1950's, started using a lot of drugs. And modern IFBB card holders are on an incredible volume of drugs.

The pre-drug crowd did pretty well in terms of longevity. John Grimek, Steve Reeves, and Reg Park all lived into their late 70s and 80s, which for their demographic was pretty damned good.

As for the alkaline water business. I can see how very small changes to the pH in a person's blood could theoretically make a difference. That being said, the body regulates that within a very narrow band on its own. I'm not sold and real research needs to be done starting with animal models.

[everything]

The pre-drug crowd did pretty well in terms of longevity. John Grimek, Steve Reeves, and Reg Park all lived into their late 70s and 80s, which for their demographic was pretty damned good.

good points yeah. didn't know about those guys, either

[D_Glenn]

Klonk, on keto, at first there might be a lull in your practice but take note of how during standing (zz) and qigong that you have more energy. Daoists use a practice called ‘no grains’ to get into ketosis for when they wanted to do some more serious/ long consecutive hours of energy work/ cultivation.

[klonk]

Everything: Thanks! I think gut biome health and balance is a matter worth looking after. It appears to be an unindicted co-conspirator in several health problems.

D_Glenn: I had not heard of "no grains." There are a great many things I have not heard of, though. Makes sense they would have discovered that. So far, my energy state seems less bold but more tenacious, if that makes any sense.

Peacedog: The earliest use of the ketogenic diet I can find in Western medicine was treatment of diabetics before manufactured insulin was available. Stands to reason.

[windwalker]

some interesting studies done on fasting although not directly related to "diet"
does talk about some of the effects of different phases that one goes through with different
types of food intake and effects...

in some aspects it seems like fasting might be more healthier, effects lasting longer then diets.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APZCfmgzoS0

[Peacedog]

WW,

As a practical matter, I've only ever seen intermittent fasting (IF), low carb and keto work out as methods to control body mass over time. In terms of body composition keto seems to be best followed by low carb and IF in that order.

As for long term health benefits, if I were to guess low carb and IF are probably better.

The real issue anecdotally appears to be controlling carbohydrate intake while avoiding any micronutrient deficiencies.

Interestingly some research is showing that 72 hour quarterly fasts appear to have a similar effect upon blood work as maintaining a low carb diet long term.

[klonk]

It was never my plan to stay on the keto diet permanently, but as a tool in the toolbox, it has some useful aspects. It gives me a provable way to zero out my glycogen stores. It is also convenient for weight loss. I lose consistently while eating all the keto-friendly food I can stand.

I am not sure just what is the matter, and neither is my MD, but I have been having a problem with my energy falling to abysmally low levels after eating starchy foods. It took me a long time to figure out that starch played a role, since I felt fine after eating, but at some variable length of time, two to four hours after a meal, I would crash.

Prior to this I was getting more than half my calories from grain and roots, thinking that was healthy, and previously it worked fine. Likely most people will thrive on that. In the West, meals are most commonly rounded out with bread or noodles, or perhaps a potato, or in the East, rice or noodles, or perhaps a bit of bread. (How noodle making found its way from China to the West is the stuff of historical thrillers.)

To summate, most people are going to be fine with high carbs, they will perhaps be a little fat, but happy, but some people's systems rebel. Not sure why.

[D_Glenn]

I don’t know for how long you’ve been doing keto but after 4-8 weeks your body should become fat-adapted, and it will actually start replenishing and storing glycogen and burn primarily fat, lactate,... it will also preserve the proteins and not really use gluconeogenesis as a fuel source. Here’s a link that you might find helpful https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0026049515003340

.

[klonk]

I don’t know for how long you’ve been doing keto but after 4-8 weeks your body should become fat-adapted, and it will actually start replenishing and storing glycogen and burn primarily fat, lactate,... it will also preserve the proteins and not really use gluconeogenesis as a fuel source. Here’s a link that you might find helpful https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0026049515003340

.

I have been, piss test, fully ketogenic for one month. That is enough to say it is not for me. As above: I lose weight, I DO NOT WANT FOOD, my doctor thinks I am an idiot and I agree.

[everything]

what do you think of "carb cycling"?

low carb (not sure of high fat) during the week.

high or medium carb during the weekend.

sort of the same function as "cheat day": tell your body not to slow down its metabolic rate.