Posting this in the Zero Carb/Carnivore category although it applies to all ketogenic diets…
Why Humans Don’t Need Dietary Carbohydrates to Thrive - March 25, 2019
Snap Shot:
When discussing carbohydrate restriction, two fallacious arguments related to the energy needs of the brain and the sustainability of a ketogenic diet are often levied against the use of a well-formulated ketogenic diet in practical therapeutic medicine:
- The human brain burns 600 kcal per day, and this translates to a 150 gram per day glucose requirement to meet its energy needs, and
- No one can follow a ketogenic diet long term.
In the peer-reviewed medical literature over the last 5 decades, these arguments against the safety and sustainability of nutritional ketosis have been proven false over and over again, most recently with the 2-year results of our Indiana University Health study (1).
We have addressed the necessary components of a well-formulated ketogenic diet that most people can follow for years if properly informed and supported. The specific topic that we want to address here is how both the brain and body can function as well—or even better—on a diet with little or no dietary carbohydrate compared to the typically promoted low fat, high carbohydrate ‘healthy diet.’
Published science has shown that ketones that are produced from either dietary fats or triglycerides stored in our adipose tissue reserves are an excellent fuel for the brain. Further, we now know that these ketones produced by the liver also have multiple beneficial effects on the heart, kidneys, and other organs that appear to translate into improved longevity (2, 3, 4). Additionally, new research has highlighted that skeletal muscles, even those of competitive athletes, are not solely dependent on high dietary carbohydrate intake for glycogen replenishment and performance (5).
However, up until 5 years ago, however, we struggled to understand the mechanism(s) of these additional beneficial effects. Now we know why this long-discounted physiology can play a dominant role in our health and well-being. In addition to the fact that ketones are a cleaner-burning fuel (i.e., producing fewer free-radicals) than glucose when used by the brain and other organs, the primary ketone beta-hydroxybutyrate can also function as a signal to activate genes that regulate our defenses against oxidative stress and inflammation (3). …More