When keto diets backfire and cause health problems

Hans

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Chronically doing a very low-carb diet can lead to problems. Obviously, not everyone suffers from them, but a relatively large percentage do. Here I talk about a few of the side effects of doing a very low carb diet.


If you have studies showing additional side effects or anything that I might have missed, please link them here as well so that we can make a great collection for others that are not so familiar with the sides of keto.
 
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Jon2547

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The link is asking for login information.
 

Jerkboy

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High fat diets is bad for me in general. Which is keto. I can eat lower carb and feel fine e.g. lean meat, salt with vegetables. High fat always lowers metabolism for me. It is much slower fuel than carbs.

Carb intake for me depends on activity.
 
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Hans

Hans

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High fat diets is bad for me in general. Which is keto. I can eat lower carb and feel fine e.g. lean meat, salt with vegetables. High fat always lowers metabolism for me. It is much slower fuel than carbs.

Carb intake for me depends on activity.
Is that all kinds of fat or only specific ones? What is lower carb for you in terms of grams (if you know)?
 

Kykeon

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i was experimenting with a keto diet when i was 23 and i got a medium sized patch of flaky skin on my scalp. i never had this before. probably a combination of keto dieting and nuking my thyroid with goitrogens. i took quite a long time and the problem didnt resolve itself until i took flowers of sulphur and NDT ( can not get anything else without prescription in germany)

I also spent a year in the gym with low carb and zero muscle gains, and threw temper tantrums quite a lot, i remember dust on the floor was enough to make me angry and despaired. WHY DOES THE DUST RETURN. :bigtears:


i found it very telling that the mechanism of how keto-diets work help with epileptic seizures is that the brain adapts towards higher ammonia levels, dom'd agostino says it somewhere. no bueno for me.
 
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Hans

Hans

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i was experimenting with a keto diet when i was 23 and i got a medium sized patch of flaky skin on my scalp. i never had this before. probably a combination of keto dieting and nuking my thyroid with goitrogens. i took quite a long time and the problem didnt resolve itself until i took flowers of sulphur and NDT ( can not get anything else without prescription in germany)

I also spent a year in the gym with low carb and zero muscle gains, and threw temper tantrums quite a lot, i remember dust on the floor was enough to make me angry and despaired. WHY DOES THE DUST RETURN. :bigtears:


i found it very telling that the mechanism of how keto-diets work help with epileptic seizures is that the brain adapts towards higher ammonia levels, dom'd agostino says it somewhere. no bueno for me.
Crazy man, high-stress hormones for sure. I experienced the same.
 

Jerkboy

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Is that all kinds of fat or only specific ones? What is lower carb for you in terms of grams (if you know)?

I have done 20-50 grams of carbs if I do not move in the day. Which yes will increase cortisol, adrenaline, etc. It is good if you are inactive in my opinion. You pretty much simulate as if you are going to the gym but without doing that.

Eventually I will fall back on some carb foods. Low carb will make you more on edge. It is pretty much the opposite of Ray Peat but I think both approaches have good and bad effects. Long term I would not do it. I think then it is bad.

If I eat too much carbohydrate my metabolic rate becomes slower. Especially if combined with fat.

From my exp. high fat diets lower thyroid and this can make some people feel good. Higher thyroid puts more pressure on the body which can cause problems to some.
 
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julcreutz

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Over the last year, I've dabbled on and off with higher-carb diets after having been on a zero-carb carnivore diet for over 2 years.
Luckily, I've finally fully made the switch. High carb (mix of fruit and starch), very low fat, no red meat. I've literally have not felt so great in a LONG, long while. Fat in any significant amounts makes me feel incredibly lethargic. Be it raw nuts or ruminant suet.
 

Lonewolfx

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Over the last year, I've dabbled on and off with higher-carb diets after having been on a zero-carb carnivore diet for over 2 years.
Luckily, I've finally fully made the switch. High carb (mix of fruit and starch), very low fat, no red meat. I've literally have not felt so great in a LONG, long while. Fat in any significant amounts makes me feel incredibly lethargic. Be it raw nuts or ruminant suet.
Sounds great. What do you do for protein?
 

SlowWalker

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I’ve personally always felt great on keto and carnivore with it resolving my psoriasis and giving me pretty solid and steady energy throughout the day and also allowing me to work out and still feel energised while fasting. I know this is not a popular opinion here but that’s just how it felt for me. I also never did keto for more then three months straight, usually a period of carb eating then back to keto.

I’m currently eating mostly fruit during the day and starches and fat at night and it feels more supportive and hydrating but I find I don’t quite get that constant energy I had on keto and carnivore.
 
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Hans

Hans

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I’ve personally always felt great on keto and carnivore with it resolving my psoriasis and giving me pretty solid and steady energy throughout the day and also allowing me to work out and still feel energised while fasting. I know this is not a popular opinion here but that’s just how it felt for me. I also never did keto for more then three months straight, usually a period of carb eating then back to keto.

I’m currently eating mostly fruit during the day and starches and fat at night and it feels more supportive and hydrating but I find I don’t quite get that constant energy I had on keto and carnivore.
Usually, people tend to get issues with long-term keto, so it seems that when you take breaks, you tolerate it fine. Do you still get that energizing effect from keto that you used to?
 
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I’ve personally always felt great on keto and carnivore with it resolving my psoriasis and giving me pretty solid and steady energy throughout the day and also allowing me to work out and still feel energised while fasting. I know this is not a popular opinion here but that’s just how it felt for me. I also never did keto for more then three months straight, usually a period of carb eating then back to keto.

I’m currently eating mostly fruit during the day and starches and fat at night and it feels more supportive and hydrating but I find I don’t quite get that constant energy I had on keto and carnivore.
The cortisol elevation from keto is what got rid of your psoriasis and gave you energy

It can be euphoric in the short-term and has immunosuppressive effects, which alleviates autoimmune conditions
 
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Hans

Hans

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The cortisol elevation from keto is what got rid of your psoriasis and gave you energy

It can be euphoric in the short-term and has immunosuppressive effects, which alleviates autoimmune conditions
Also the eliminations of immune-stimulating foods, usually grains, starches and A1 milk.
 

SlowWalker

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Usually, people tend to get issues with long-term keto, so it seems that when you take breaks, you tolerate it fine. Do you still get that energizing effect from keto that you used to?
Yeh I thought that may be what was allowing me to tolerate it fine.

After finding this community I haven’t tried keto again nor do I think I would in the future. I’m happy with how I feel even if it’s at the cost of some scalp psoriasis.
 

SlowWalker

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The cortisol elevation from keto is what got rid of your psoriasis and gave you energy

It can be euphoric in the short-term and has immunosuppressive effects, which alleviates autoimmune conditions
Well that makes sense, but if this is the case then carnivore must have had very strong immunosuppressive effects as it completely eliminated my psoriasis in less then a week like I’ve never experienced before.
 

julcreutz

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Sounds great. What do you do for protein?
I either do beans or white fish, but I've been feeling better without animal protein lately to be honest.
And I focus much, much less on protein after I've realized that my muscles look much bigger and I'm making superior gains on about 1/4th the protein I ate on carnivore. I guess I'm getting around 70-90g per day now? On carnivore, I'd sometimes get 400+.
 

Lonewolfx

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I either do beans or white fish, but I've been feeling better without animal protein lately to be honest.
And I focus much, much less on protein after I've realized that my muscles look much bigger and I'm making superior gains on about 1/4th the protein I ate on carnivore. I guess I'm getting around 70-90g per day now? On carnivore, I'd sometimes get 400+.
Thanks for the detailed answer!
 

AnoushF

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For me, as a 29 year old woman, keto/carnivore was the worst thing I ever did to my body and health. I had sever anxiety induced IBS, hair loss and adrenal exhaustion, and yet I felt much better and happier than when I started keto to alleviate my IBS. Over the course of 9 months on carnivore I lost my period (still hasn't come back in over 1.5 years) gained 18 lbs of fat (BF from 20% to 27%), lost 2 lbs of muscle, developed gallbladder issues, became foggy brained and borderline depressed.
My fasting blood glucose hovered between 100-120 in the morning, it was unbelievable.
I have been doing moderate-heavy weight lifting (eg. 220 lb deadlift, 450 lb leg press) for 3 years now, and keto made it absolute hell for me. The carnivore "community" just kept telling me to keep going, or implying that I was 'doing it wrong'. How do you incorrectly eat 0 carbohydrates?

I gave up in april 2020, and I have since then made incredible progress in my health. My digestion is great, eating 90% fruit for my carbs, 5% sucrose and 5% starch. Gym progress and recovery has been amazing!

Long story short, I MIGHT recommend keto to someone I really really despised. Otherwise, I have nothing good to say about it. :confused:
 

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