We have been eating low-carb/high-good-fat for about 15 years. My wife is very healthy with very high cholesterol markers. She has zero plaque and no other evidence of heart issues. Doctors always want to put her on statins. She rightly refuses. In a recent podcast with Mark Hyman discussing how eating Oreos reduced his cholesterol markers, Nick Norwitz explained why cholesterol markers can be high for some people on these diets.
One thing readers of this blog have in common, I am betting, is the ability to read and process long tracts of information. As I was reading this, thinking of a particular relative who has expresssed curiosity about KETO, I then immediately thought "Problem: She doesn't read. I cannot get the information to her."
I think this is universal, the majority of adults and teens reading, say, works of fiction that grab attention and provide entertainment payoff, but nothing that requires focus, discernment, or questioning of authority figures. I don't suspect anything new here, just an observation on the human condition. If 40% of us are obese, and 70% overweight, to reverse the trend would require that they 1) ignore medical advice, and 2) ignore professional nutritionists. That's a sea change I doubt will happen soon.
I agree it's not only a problem with folks like your relative but doctors, too, as well as journalists, about whom I've written in this Substack. Ignoring the doctors and the professional nutritionists and trusting your own judgment, in effect, is exceedingly difficult. As I'm constantly being told by friends and well-meaning advisors, most people just want to know what to eat, or at least be told what to eat, whether it's ideal or not. That's never been my goal, although I did write The Case for Keto, hoping I could tell (or at least suggest to) people how they might be able to think about these issues.
If someone is curious about keto and has a short attention span and is unlikely to read something as in-depth and well-researched as Gary's writing, allow me to recommend the free online course I help create with Dr. Eric Westman. Having cited Eric's research in some of his books, I don't think Gary will have a problem with me promoting it, particularly considering it's free. Feel free to send this relative of yours, and anyone else, this link: https://adaptyourlifeacademy.com/start-keto-right/
i was perhaps hasty there in recommending the westman piece ... as i delved further in, he did nothing but tease, claiming it was all free, but then wanting a credit card number. buyer bewary.
"The biochemical details and various signaling pathways mediating the relationship between calorie restriction and lifespan have yet to be unambiguously identified."
Here a two clues as to what fasting and exercise do to extend (or at least not shorten) longevity.
"During fasting/refeeding cycles and increased levels of exercise, tissue PUFA concentrations have been shown to deplete rapidly in both humans and rats." https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5167222/
"The degree of fatty acid unsaturation of mitochondrial membrane lipids has been found to be one of those biochemical parameters that are most strongly correlated with longevity, when different species of mammals and birds are compared, with a low degree of fatty unsaturation being correlated with less lipid peroxidation and a longer normal life-span." https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2875212/
We have been eating low-carb/high-good-fat for about 15 years. My wife is very healthy with very high cholesterol markers. She has zero plaque and no other evidence of heart issues. Doctors always want to put her on statins. She rightly refuses. In a recent podcast with Mark Hyman discussing how eating Oreos reduced his cholesterol markers, Nick Norwitz explained why cholesterol markers can be high for some people on these diets.
One thing readers of this blog have in common, I am betting, is the ability to read and process long tracts of information. As I was reading this, thinking of a particular relative who has expresssed curiosity about KETO, I then immediately thought "Problem: She doesn't read. I cannot get the information to her."
I think this is universal, the majority of adults and teens reading, say, works of fiction that grab attention and provide entertainment payoff, but nothing that requires focus, discernment, or questioning of authority figures. I don't suspect anything new here, just an observation on the human condition. If 40% of us are obese, and 70% overweight, to reverse the trend would require that they 1) ignore medical advice, and 2) ignore professional nutritionists. That's a sea change I doubt will happen soon.
I agree it's not only a problem with folks like your relative but doctors, too, as well as journalists, about whom I've written in this Substack. Ignoring the doctors and the professional nutritionists and trusting your own judgment, in effect, is exceedingly difficult. As I'm constantly being told by friends and well-meaning advisors, most people just want to know what to eat, or at least be told what to eat, whether it's ideal or not. That's never been my goal, although I did write The Case for Keto, hoping I could tell (or at least suggest to) people how they might be able to think about these issues.
If someone is curious about keto and has a short attention span and is unlikely to read something as in-depth and well-researched as Gary's writing, allow me to recommend the free online course I help create with Dr. Eric Westman. Having cited Eric's research in some of his books, I don't think Gary will have a problem with me promoting it, particularly considering it's free. Feel free to send this relative of yours, and anyone else, this link: https://adaptyourlifeacademy.com/start-keto-right/
No problem at all and I'm a fan of the course.
That is a remarkable resource. Thank you!
i was perhaps hasty there in recommending the westman piece ... as i delved further in, he did nothing but tease, claiming it was all free, but then wanting a credit card number. buyer bewary.
"Sigh" is right!
"The biochemical details and various signaling pathways mediating the relationship between calorie restriction and lifespan have yet to be unambiguously identified."
Here a two clues as to what fasting and exercise do to extend (or at least not shorten) longevity.
"During fasting/refeeding cycles and increased levels of exercise, tissue PUFA concentrations have been shown to deplete rapidly in both humans and rats." https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5167222/
"The degree of fatty acid unsaturation of mitochondrial membrane lipids has been found to be one of those biochemical parameters that are most strongly correlated with longevity, when different species of mammals and birds are compared, with a low degree of fatty unsaturation being correlated with less lipid peroxidation and a longer normal life-span." https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2875212/