THIS vital issue is trending. The intense desire to have a healthy body and maximal longevity is a universal dream more sought for than ever before. Besides daily physical exercise (walking, moderate or brisk, as tolerated, at least 5 times a week, is recommended over the joint-busting jogging), various diets have been developed for better health, like Adkins, South Beach, Mediterranean, Vegetarian, Ducan, Pescatarian, Flexitarian, etc.
Many of the so-called “health or weight loss supplements” in the trillion-dollar food industry are fraudulent, not having evidence-based medical data to support their advertised hyped-up claims on the benefits and safety of the thousands or so advertised products.
More than 90 percent of those marketed supplements are basically “modern snake-oil remedies,” purely useless, a waste of money, and potentially dangerous down the road among chronic users. Liver and kidney complications have been reported as side-effects.
With good nutrition, we do not need any food supplements, not even vitamins. Caveat emptor (let the buyers beware), indeed!
The latest diet, which has skyrocketed in popularity because of several celebrities on it, is the ketogenic diet which includes Halle Berry, Alicia Vikander, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim Tebow, Kim and Kourtney Kardashian, Vanessa Hudgens, Lebron James, Megan Fox, Adriana Lima, Vinny Guadagnino, Katie Couric, and a host of others.
As a cardiac surgeon who is a health nut, I am fond of the ketogenic diet, altering it a bit for my personal preference for gluten and lectin-free meals, to help maintain a healthier microbiome and my general health. It is really my modified version of the Adkins/Mediterranean diets which I started in the mid-80s. The ketogenic diet leads to a more rapid weight loss than Adkins. Minimizing rice and other carbs dramatically helped.
Carbohydrates, especially rice, increase the risk for obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and other metabolic and cardiovascular illnesses. Soft drinks are actually toxic to the body in the long run.
What is ketogenic diet?
Ketogenic or Keto diet is a nutrition plan that severely minimizes carbohydrate intake (rice, bread, no soft drinks, sweets, sugars, starches, etc.). Keto diet includes 75 percent of the total daily calories from fat, 20 percent from protein, and reduced carbohydrate intake to 5 percent. After a few days on this diet, the body system enters ketosis, a metabolic state where the body starts burning fats efficiently instead of carbohydrates for fuel. Normally, the body burns and uses carbohydrates to a great degree for fuel to produce energy. The faster and more efficient weight-reducing fat-burning feature of the keto diet is the one attractive “side-effect” that captivates avid keto-dieters.
Effects on glucose metabolism
The keto diet induces ketone (beta-hydroxybutyrate) formation. If one eats very little carbohydrates, which leads to lower glucose (sugar) storage level in the system, the body taps into fat stores instead for production of energy, using the ketones as an alternative metabolic fuel, a process called ketosis. This assists in weight loss, blood sugar, triglyceride, and cholesterol control, and in preventing or reducing the risk for a host of illnesses including acne, diabetes, polycystic ovary, heart disease, stroke, epilepsy, Parkinson’s, dementia, and even cancer. Ketones in the liver also supply energy to the brain.
One side effect is termed “keto flu,” which includes irritability, headache, sense of hunger, mild sleep impairment, slight digestive discomfort, sometimes nausea, and tiredness, which is reported as temporary (for 2 weeks or so), while the system is adjusting and getting used to this diet. The severity varies among individuals. I have abstained from a lot of carbs for decades, but the craving for rice is still there, especially at restaurants or parties, having tapa, pork sinigang, adobo, callos, kaldereta, kare-kare, sisig, laing, etc. I limit rice to half a cup.
Which foods are included?
The keto diet allows the following: chicken, lean red meats (from grass-fed animal sources), seafood (not farm-raised, where antibiotics or other chemicals are used) like salmon, sardines, mackerel, shrimps, oysters, crabs, mussels, clam, squid, lobster, virgin olive oil, broccoli, avocado, onions, garlic, Brussel sprouts, cauliflower, zucchini, and other antioxidants (anti-inflammatory) foods that protect the body from the cell-damaging free radicals.
Which are the foods to avoid?
In the keto diet, any high carbohydrate (high glycemic index) foods are to be avoided, like rice, soft drinks of any variety (poisonous!), ice cream, smoothies, candy, sweets in general, French fries, wheat-based starches, bread, pasta, cereal, fruits (except moderate portions of all berries), processed foods in general, roots and tubers (potatoes, parsnips, sweet potatoes, carrots), legumes (beans, chick peas, lentils), corn and corn oil, high- fructose corn syrup, diet products, mayonnaise, sugar-free foods – basically eliminating carbohydrates and food additives.
Is ketosis the same as ketoacidosis?
No, ketosis results from fasting from carbohydrates, a controlled insulin regulated process that releases fatty acids, while ketoacidosis (seen among diabetics) is a dangerous state due to lack of insulin, causing the blood sugar to catapult to a life-threatening level. One good feature of the keto diet is in reducing cellular resistance to insulin (increasing sensitivity to insulin by 75 percent), thus allowing insulin to enter the cells more easily to aid (more efficiently) in glucose metabolism. Consult your physician first before changing your diet.
The main objective of this column is to educate and inspire people to live a healthier lifestyle, to prevent illnesses and disabilities and achieve a happier and more productive life. Any diagnosis, recommendation, or treatment in our article are general medical information and not intended to be applicable to or appropriate for anyone. This column is not a substitute for your physician, who knows your condition well and who is your best ally when it comes to your health.
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The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of Asian Journal, its management, editorial board and staff.
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Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus based in Northwest Indiana and Las Vegas, Nevada, is an international medical lecturer/author, Health Advocate, medical missionary, newspaper columnist, and chairman of the Filipino United Network-USA, a 501(c)3 humanitarian foundation in the United States. He is a recipient of the Indiana Sagamore of the Wabash Award in 1995, presented by then Indiana Governor, U.S. senator, and later a presidential candidate, Evan Bayh. Other Sagamore past awardees include President Harry S. Truman, President George HW Bush, pugilist Muhammad Ali, TV talk show host David Letterman, Astronaut Gus Grissom, educators, scientists, etc. (Wikipedia). Websites: FUN8888.com,
Today.SPSAtoday.com, and philipSchua.com; Email: [email protected].
