What do you think of Dr. Berg’s teachings on keto?


(German Ketonian) #1

I’m kind of torn. Some videos seems quite helpful, and I think he’s genuinely interested in helping people. I like his approach towards greens and salads (he recommends 10 cups of veggies a day), but I hate his supplement promotions. Seems a bit quackery… reminds me of Dr. Oz in these respects. Any thoughts on him? How do you judge him in terms of respectability in the scientific community?


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(Shayne) #2

I view Dr. Berg the same way I view Dr. Mercola. They each seem to be mostly motivated by wanting to help people and they both also need to make a living doing it.

I also have to take both of them with a grain of salt - some of the information I can get on board with and can implement into my life, but a lot of it seems like it might be “out there”.

So, I take what I can use and leave the rest behind.


(Brian) #3

He’s one voice in a choir. And I think he has a good bit of reasonably good stuff.

I don’t share his love for salads though I really do like my veggies. I have never bought any of his supplements and don’t plan to. And he has a few ideas that I have a hard time with. But in general, he seems to have some good basic stuff.

The doctors in Keto / low-carb land don’t always agree on everything. And I’m OK with that. I rather like hearing differing opinions and trying to find the context of their thoughts. Phinney vs Fung is one example mostly relating to fasting. There are a few others who might vary on their recommendations for appropriate protein intake.

I figure I won’t throw the baby out with the bath water, so to speak. Maybe “trust but verify”, at least as well as I can. Some of it is going to be an N=1, no way around that. So I listen and do my best. If something doesn’t work, I’ll see if I can figure out what may work and alter my course. I still listen to the occasional Dr. Berg video. Mostly, I don’t have as much time as I used to… I’m busy with other things!


(Allie) #4

I think he has good intentions but his way of doing things won’t work for everyone, certainly not for me.


#5

10 cups of veggies might work for some people, but it certainly doesn’t for me.


(Allie) #6

Yes same here. I physically couldn’t eat that many and when I tried increasing salads etc, I just didn’t feel as good… and eating took forever! I’m much happier on the quick zero carb meals, and fasting.


(Empress of the Unexpected) #7

I think ten cups of veggies in order to avoid fatty liver sounds ridiculous. That concept is going to scare a lot of people away from the Keto WOE.


(Robert C) #8

I think he’s pretty good most of the time. If he comes up near the top of a search list on YouTube - I’ll probably look at his versus most others. Of course, there are some more heavy hitters out there - especially when it comes to keto but, sometimes you’ll have to wade through a 50 minute general overview of keto to get to some nuggets at the the end (assuming it was recorded at some conference).

Dr. Berg keeps most of his stuff in a shorter time range and covers a specific topic and says “bye”.

For example, in YouTube he appears second on a list if I search for “keto” and “water”.
Video name is “5 Critical Ketosis Tips” and that exactly what he provides.
If you read a whole book on keto you’ll eventually get to sections covering most of all of what he mentions but - in his 4-minute video, you’ll get the same (if you are searching for why your keto flu is severe for example).


(Randy) #9

I’m thankful for Dr. Berg, as I learned much from him in my early days of going Keto. I have always had a filter that let me move past things I felt didn’t apply to me. I wish he backed up his claims with studies like Thomas DeLauer. But he has made hundreds of videos available for free, and I think he genuinely is trying to help people.

And his recipe videos with his wife are hilarious.


(Diane) #10

Amen!


(Bunny) #11

Dr. Berg as a fellow ketonaut has the advantage because he has real people as patients, to observe and see what works and what does not work!

I follow Dr. Berg’s directions to the letter and if I deviated from it in any way I would get no results. Kale shakes, wheat grass juice, un-fortified nutritional yeast and freshly ground chia seeds, apple cider vinegar & lemon juice water etc. everyday. That’s what he eats and what’s good for the goose is good for the gander?

I thought the salad thing was a little crazy too but there is much deeper reasons for the amount of organic leafy greens in the protocol that he does not really explain. The way potassium and other nutrients are processed by the body through this medium is a strong trip hammer to burning fat because you don’t have to guess and play mind games as to whether or not your getting enough vitamins, minerals, trace elements, potassium, sodium and magnesium etc and sitting their wondering why your dizzy, nauseous, feeling faint and not losing weight etc. The ability to absorb real vitamins and minerals from REAL unprocessed natural sources to balance out the gut flora biome ratio takes time and usually people give up before the magic can ever happen because they want immediate results?

The ability to follow direction is key!


(Diane) #12

His supplements are seriously over priced, IMO. There were a couple I was interested in, but with some research I found comparable (sometimes nearly identical) supplements for MUCH less on Amazon.


(Todd Allen) #13

I have a little more respect for Dr. Berg than Dr. Mercola. Both are good at gathering, interpreting and disseminating information ignored by mainstream medicine. Much of their info/advice is well supported with meaningful data and we each have different threshholds of evidence to find something actionable. Nutrtition gets little attention in institutional medicine and keto diets have little acceptance in institutional nutrition. Everyone promoting the health aspects of keto diets are outside the herd which is good, but when straying it should be with diligence.

I object when they promote products overstating weak evidence or hyping pseudoscience. Many people have limited finances and encouraging them to buy over priced things of dubious value does harm to people who cut back on their expenses and efforts for quality food and other essentials. And sometimes I think they are at risk of doing direct harm such as Dr. Berg’s anti vaccination commentary.


(Jay AM) #14

One of my problems with him is that people see doctor on his name but he’s not a medical doctor. His nutrition opinions are as good as mine, yours, or anyone else’s. It makes it look like his claims have more weight because of the Doctor part. Dr. Berg does not work with patients as a medical doctor. He’s a chiropractor. His professional credentials don’t add bearing to his stance on nutrition. While he does assist people with information and work with people’s real doctors, he isn’t licensed to diagnose or treat as a dietician or medical doctor.

He does provide good information. I tend to overlook things like “eat 10 cups of vegetables a day” and all the supplements. It’s a good way for him to make some extra income and he sometimes talks about alternatives to his supplements. But, one of my favorite keto docs is Dr. Adam Nally (an actual obesity and family medicine doctor) and his website has lots of sales stuff and he does keto courses for money. It makes him look more like he just is selling things but he provides great info so I just ignore the ads.


(Randy) #15

That just meant he never received the 6 hours of (totally wrong) nutrition “education” my doctor got. The advice that told me to lower fat, eat less, move more, and take a statin.

Dave Feldman and Ivor Cummins are engineers and have taught me more about health and nutrition than any doctors I’ve ever been to.

I agree with you in taking him with a grain of salt. But I do know that he’s helped me with his free content.


(karen) #16

Someone just posted a link to an interview he did about junk science with Ivor Cummins, who I think is absolutely awesome. That’s about all I know of Dr. Berg, he was on point and not promoting anything in this clip except a shout out to Cummins book, Eat Rich, Live Long. - thank you for the person who posted this, candy … candyland?


(German Ketonian) #17

I think there are two dimensions to this. On the one hand, I agree: Medical doctors should still have authority and be the reference for us, when it comes to health issues. Hell, I’ve got a PhD (or “Dr.”) and I wouldn’t dare to give definite advice. On the other hand, I think @KHAN is right: Our doctors mainly don’t get educated very well in terms of recognizing and understanding research, keeping up to date and being willing to revise their preconceived notions. The trouble is that health systems are a self-regulating system. They are functionally directed at running a routine (which is: treatment as the directives demand, e.g. alleviate symptoms), not adjusting according to recent knowledge. MDs are, thus, functionally required to adapt to the system’s logic and just “treat” you according to it.


(Karen) #18

I know I’ve said this before, but Dr. Berg reaches a lot of people. He may be many people’s first introduction to keto. You don’t need letters after your name to be intelligent, and I don’t mind someone promoting their products.

K


(German Ketonian) #19

Absolutely! I can be the most obtuse person on the planet and still keep the prefix (or suffix in the case of PhD)


(Allie) #20

I’m more likely to listen to my chiropractor than to the medical doctor I’m registered with but never see. My chiropractor takes more care and looks at my whole body / mind rather than just trying to give me pills I don’t want.

In the UK chiropractors aren’t given the title of Doctor.