After discovering this WOE coupled with the power of fasting, I am desperate for a way to integrate this into my life’s work. I am a registered nurse and IBCLC (international board certified lactation consultant) working in a pediatrician’s office now. Easily more than half of the patient interactions I have on a daily basis could be helped by this (keto) intervention.
I worry that my credibility isn’t well established yet because I haven’t had the chance to be healed yet. I’ve only just found this gem this week. Help, how can I help?
Looking for direction
michelle_crowe
(Michelle Crowe)
#1
PaulL
(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?)
#2
I know; I alternate between “How much can this fat person know about losing weight?” and “How much can this skinny person know about losing weight?” lol!
Perhaps the key might be to base all you can say on research that your patients could look up, if they wanted to. That way, your appearance might not matter so much. Also, once you can say that you’ve lost x number of pounds you’ll feel more comfortable speaking up.
While reading your post, I flashed on Dr. Robert Lustig’s video, “Sugar: The Bitter Truth,” which is available on YouTube. It’s probably more technical about the metabolic pathways by which fructose is metabolized than most of your patients will want to get into, but a simple idea from the video that you could pass on to parents is eliminating all soda and fruit juice from kids’ diets. Dr. Lustig says that at his USCF pediatric obesity clinic this one restriction makes an enormous difference.
On thing to bear in mind is the professional conduct guidelines promulgated by the licensing board in your jurisdiction. You need to know where the limits are, what you can safely advise, and how much professional trouble you can afford to get into. Not to bring you down, but just to mention two cases, well-known in the keto world:
Dr. Tim Noakes got into trouble with the South African authorities for advising a woman on Twitter to wean her baby onto a low-carb, high-fat diet. The court that heard his case eventually exonerated him and admitted that his advice was supported by the latest scientific research, but it cost him a lot of money to defend himself, and a number of international experts had to fly to S.A. to speak in his defense. (This was an important case, because Professor Noakes is himself a scientist with an international reputation.)
Dr. Gary Fettke, an Australian orthopedic surgeon, was silenced by his medical board for recommending his diabetic patients try a ketogenic diet for a while before going for surgery. That most of the patients who tried the diet reversed their symptoms and no longer needed surgery cut no ice with the board—they censured him for inappropriately curing patients of diabetes!
Things are changing, so who knows how much trouble you are likely to get into these days, but you need to know the risks. Nevertheless, I would encourage you to spread the word to your patients as much as you feel comfortable doing. In any case, good luck and keep ketoing on!
FatMan
(Richard Hanson)
#3
Hi Michelle,
Paul gave you lots of great resources, and I can give you a great example.
My doctor does both keto and fasting but he also did it to himself, n=1, before bringing it to his patients. He lost over 60 lb on keto to see how it works and then intentionally gained it all back so that he could do it again while incorporating fasting. This allows him to provide very practical advice based on personal experience, and not just clinical guidelines. It is also leading by example, leading from the front.
Your enthusiasm is wonderful and I can understand the desire to help others, it can be rather intense, but I am also quite confident that there will be a great many obese people to help 6 months from now, or 2 years from now. Build a strong, enduring foundation upon which your patients can find a firm footing to sustain their own life changes.
Keto for Life!
Warmest Regards,
Richard
I am now going to go watch ---- Dr. Robert Lustig’s video, “Sugar: The Bitter Truth" — there is always more to learn. 
kcfricke
(Karen Fricke)
#4
Just a reminder, unfortunately you have to watch you license. I’m also a nurse, I discourage processed crap and refined sugars, and teach that juice is not a fruit serving, the benefits of fruit were removed in processing, and natural sugar is still sugar. I stop short of recommending keto, but explain it if someone asks how I lost weight.
betsy.rome
(betsy.rome)
#6
So there’s a need for a support organization for health care professionals, to help with license issues, how to make recommendations to patients without being attacked and losing credentials, or even just staying in the safe zone while encouraging patient education. We need an IKA – International Ketogenic Association (vs the AMA, etc). Even a loosely knit advisory board would help. I suppose the problem would be, how to protect the advisors themselves.