Ketogenic Diet

[Jitendra Hy-do-u-no-us?]

Hello mccoy

You mentioned a ketogenic diet in our forums private section; for members only. I also am starting a thread on it here. Since you seem very enthusiastic about it.

I still fast every week. But generally stick to the fruit juice fast. A vegan diet in Michigan would be very expensive unless you eat canned vegetables and fruits. I usually go for what is on sale. avocadoes were 88 cents today so I bought 3. Yogurt went to the same price. It seems mild on the stomach and breaks down food. I have cut back more on dairy products. However I am surprised you may not eat yogurt. It had lacto-bacilius cultures in it which help break down food. We have many dairy farms here so it is difficult to avoid that food; as the price for instance for a gallon of milk is a little over 2 dollars. Yogananda recommended dairy products and especially fresh vegetables and fruits cooked by the sun as he puts it.

I mentioned the ketogenic diet to the nurse and she said there are also studies that contradict this regimine. Haven't seen the doctor recently....will let u know. These are some side effects of a ketogenic diet you describe;

Potential side effects of the Classic Ketogenic Diet.

✔ Abnormally high levels of blood lipids after discontinuing the diet

✔ Decreased bone density

✔ Dehydration

✔ Growth retardation caused by protein deficiency

✔ Inflammation of the pancreas

✔ Kidney stones or gallstones

✔ More frequent infections due to a weakened immune system

✔ Nausea, vomiting, or constipation

✔ Protein deficiency, causing growth retardation

✔ Menstrual irregularities

✔ Vitamin and mineral deficiency

https://www.diet.com/g/ketogenic-diets

[kingfisher111]

I think those side effects would be more significant to people who continue on the Keto diet for longer than 3 months. 

The Ketogenic diet is the most scientifically well researched and proven way to lose a lot of weight fast, which is why it is used by the US military, NASA and lots of professional athletes.  However, it is not advised in all cases.  And, of course, if you are committed to be vegetarian or vegan, there are other options which may have similar or even better results (like a Raw Food Vegan diet, macrobiotic or fruitarian diet).

For me personally, I can't do a ketogenic diet (or an equally "extreme" vegetarian diet), because the transitional detox phase aggravates my foot injury, but I think for many people the Keto diet is a great option to try to lose a lot of weight quickly, and will produce many positive results (especially MORE ENERGY and weight loss).

Since this is a Spiritual website, I know many of the visitors and members here are vegetarian, so on that principle alone, of course, you would not want to violate your personal convictions for a diet.  For anyone interested in the Keto diet, I recommend to do some google searches and your own research, and I don't think anyone should stay on a strict Ketogenic diet for longer than 3 months.

[mccoy]

Kingfisher, it would not be impossible, although sure pretty restricting, to go over a vegetarian keto diet.
That's an extreme diet probably better left to extreme cases and I agree that it is not the best conceptual solution for a vegetarian.
Anyway, if Steve wants to try, I can help put up a daily schedule. I recently went thru a low-carb regime (non-ketogenic) myself and have ben researching nutrition for the latests months.
Of course not all the reports of ill effects of keto diets coming from medical sources, listed in the previous post,  are correct.
Some of them are downright ridiculous, such as the 'growth retardation because of protein deficiency'. It is well known that a keto diet tends to be hyper-proteic, not hypo. They confound maybe raw vegan with ketogenic.

Anyway, Steve, if you'd like to try we can build up a schedule. In the other thread I suggested you the Valter Longo scheme because it's based upon a vegan diet with pulses and cereals.

What you can eat on a keto-veg diet:

All pure fats you wish: EVOO, butter, vegetable oils
Lots of eggs
Lots of cheese (hard, without sugar)
Lots of tofu and unsweetened soy products.
Lots of olives, providing they contain no carbs in dressing (pls read the labels always).
One pound per day of tossed salad with whatever unsweetend dressing
Or
10 ounces per day of vegetables grown above the soil, like spinachs, broccoli, cabbage, kale, again, with lots of unsweetened dressing
You can eat moderate amounts of nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds): 2 ounces max
You can eat avocados, tomatoes (one pound per day max)
Tea, coffe, unsweetened or sweetened with a little stevia

What you can eat very sparingly:
milk and yogurt, because they contain carbs.
Some kind of nuts like cashews, because they contain carbs
Some vegetables grown below ground, because they contain more carbs
Berries, but no more than an ounce per day or twice a week
One tablespoon unsweetened soluble cocoa powder

What you cannot eat:
All fruit, fresh and dried
All cereals, bread, rice, potatoes
All simple sugars even if natural, that's a no-no
All sugars contained in processed food and dressings

A threshold posed to protein consumption is the gluconeogenesis threshold: too many proteins turn into glucose via hepatic metabolic paths. As a very approximate estimate, your threshold might be 80 grams of proteins per day.

That is: 10 eggs, or about 15 ounces of cheddar cheese, plus the proteins from vegetables and nuts.
This diet requires to eat lots and lots of fats, to reach satiety.
Also, a keto diet requires a larger amount of salt, that is important.

[Jitendra Hy-do-u-no-us?]

Thanks for all the information Art and mccoy. I intend on showing  or telling this to my doctor to see what he says.
I am a strict vegetarian. I do not eat anything killed including fish. Yet I like the fruit juice fast that Paramahansa Yogananda recommends. I usually by food that is loaded with minerals and vitamins. If it is on sale I always go for it. Many vegetables are prohibitive in price in the winter in Michigan.

The problem I see with not eating and cereal and bread is that I believe I need fiber for my digestive track which appears to be out of balance with very high amylase and lipase levels.

[guest88]

the keto diet is very popular at the moment where i work. we offer keto options and whole30 compliiant food. it is a pleasure working in the health food industry.