The 'ketogenic' diet - what is old is new again

By John W Jones, MD
6/2017

In the 1960's, while serving as Flight Surgeon at the SAC base, Mt Home, ID, we kept our pilots at 'flying weight' using what was laughingly known as 'the drinking man's diet'.  The pilots could drink straight booze and eat steak, but had to avoid potatoes and other high carb foods and drink upon pain of exceeding their optimal weight.  Overweight meant they could be grounded!

Dr Atkins was right!

At the time, Dr Atkins had not achieved his later notoriety - but the principles of low carbohydrate intake, which he researched & promoted, are as valid today as they were then.  The low carbohydrate dietary recommendations precede by YEARS the 'fat-is-bad-for-you' dogma.  In fact, this juicy bit of mis-information accounts for many of today's health problems.  Problems like Alzheimer's, Senile Dementia, Diabetes & weight control (you know about the obesity epidemic), Epilepsy and Heart Disease.  The metabolic consequence of a high-carb diet, are controlled poorly or not at all by pharmaceuticals.

A Quote from a BLOG on Atkins.com by Colette Heimowitz; "..a low-carb diet by any other name is still a low-carb diet."  In fact, when the body does not have carbohydrates to burn for energy, it burns fat.  It is that simple.  Ps - the end result is more ketones for performance.

So this morning i had a Facebook posting referencing 'News about Coconut Oil Saturated Fat' (BAD!) Saying you should replace it with 'healthier fats'.  I was reminded of this article from 2002 - "What if it has all been a big fat lie?".  I just HAVE to share it with you :).

Here is a rebuttal to the American Heart Association warning -> avoid saturated fats (and you may know that coconut oil is a saturated fat) - "The AHA’s recommendation clearly contradicts research that exists on not only coconut oil but saturated fats in general, which debunks the old lipid theory of heart disease that saturated fat and cholesterol cause heart disease." What I like are all the references with the article.

Various authors, including me, have written reams about the benefits of the low carb approach.  I affectionately call it the Low Carbohydrate Lifestyle modification (as compared with the typical Western Diet).  Others claim great success using the low glycemic index information.  The current catch-phrase is the 'ketogenic diet'.  These diets all have one thing in common - they encourage protein and fat-rich foods, and limit carbohydrate intake.  The key is to determine which foods are high in carbohydrates (and those which dramatically raise blood sugar and insulin levels) - and to AVOID them, or at least dramatically limit them.  The objective is to provide the body with lots of ketones rather than glucose.

I like to (laughingly) point out that carbs are the way ranchers fatten their cattle for market.

While there is a lot of information available about the sugar content of foods, especially processed and package foods, we tend to forget that carbohydrates in the body become glucose (... sugar by any other name).  While modern labeling of manufactured food requires a listing of the sugar content, most folks look at the calorie content and skip over the carbohydrate listing.  A healthy person should have an intake of about 40 grams of carbs per day.  If you want an easy way to check the nutritional value of a food, try this link: NutritionData

What is true is that when man became man he was a hunter-gatherer, not a farmer-reaper.  Carnivores and Omnivores (meat eaters and eat-anything-ers) have brains which function differently from the brains of herbivores.  To tell the truth, the human body - the brain in particular - much prefers ketones to work well.  Recently scientists have defined a type III Diabetes, a condition where the brain no longer can use glucose to produce insulin in the brain.  As you can imagine, this inability to use glucose causes all sorts of neurologic malfunctions.

We found this information in Wikipedia on Epilepsy and the Ketogenic diet.  It covers recent research to treat epileptic seizures.  Four diets are compared: The Typical American (or Western) diet, The Atkins diet, a Classic ketogenic diet 4:1, and the MCT (medium chain triglyceride) diet.  ps: triglycerides are also fatty acids.  pps: The MCT diet yields more ketones per unit of energy.

Note:  none of these diets take into account food allergies and intolerances.  All recommend vitamin and mineral supplementation.  I would add that long chain PREformed essential fatty acids are also required.  See my Basic Protocol.

Articles by John W Jones, MD

1.  Alzheimer's and Senile Dementia
2. CardioVascular Health
3. Coconut & Monolaurin Learn about Ultra Monolaurin- a rich source of ketones
4. Fats & Fatty Acids - Myths, Misconceptions and Facts

Nutritional Protocol Recommendations by John W Jones, MD

1. Pregnant and Nursing Mothers
2. Athletes, Sports and High Energy 
3. Herpes, Psoriasis, Candida
4. Infections
5. Low Carbohydrate Lifestyle
6. Neurological Conditions Protocol  ie. Schizophrenia, Epilepsy
7. Shingles
8. Upper Respiratory Infections
9. Urinary Tract Infections

Recipes for Health, Nutrition and Taste on my Website, jjConsulting.net

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.