I came across this article today on Vox and felt compelled to share some thoughts. Please first check this article out if you haven’t already and then see below.
As I’ve stated in my blog before, my household adopted a ketogenic lifestyle earlier this year and had great success. Weight loss is an obvious indicator, as the results are visible to everyone. My wife and I lost a combined 100 lbs or so, with me losing the majority of it since I had a lot more to work with.
However, there are other markers that are not as readily visible. How you feel is a big one. Also, a ketogenic lifestyle can lead to improved insulin sensitivity, hormone regulation, can slow down cancer growth (SUGAR FEEDS CANCER), improves skin appearance and reduces inflammation in the body.
Inflammation is a major issue with high-sugar (carbohydrate) based diets. People who eat ketogenic report lower problems with common aches and pains, headaches, mental fog, diabetes and all the problems that come with that.
On a personal level, I can attest to everything written above. My strategy involves eating ketogenic 90 – 95% of the time (you gotta live a lil) and this means I employ zero-calorie sugar substitutes daily, with Splenda being my substitute of choice.
What I hate about the article I shared above is that they don’t address WHAT ELSE THE PERSON IS EATING! Just because you switch from Coke to Diet Coke doesn’t mean you also stopped all the other bad habits that lead to weight gain.
Even when a person thinks they are eating healthy (eating all those carbs / sugar currently associated with a “healthy” American diet), sugar is ravaging their bodies, causing cardiovascular damage, extreme weight gain and an overall drop in health.
USDA Food Guide Pyramid
Sugar is the problem, not sugar substitutes. In the absence of sugar or carbs, sugar substitutes are inert in the body; the body does not use them. Therefore, zero-calorie sugar substitutes are excreted at the same rates they are absorbed.
I know there are a lot of cancer and other scary maladies being attributed to sugar substitutes. It is understandable, given the nature of these highly processed products. However, all the “evidence” and “science” brought forth is either inconclusive (like the cited article) or more definitively, debunked.
Do I worry about the health dangers? Not anymore, as I’ve done the research and feel safe employing these products. Do your homework, and that means reading actual studies, not just letting a blog (mine included) persuade you one way or the other.
To drive the point home, here is an idea being floated as to why diet drinks may promote weight gain:
There’s the idea that the act of drinking diet soda might change people’s behaviors. Here’s how Stanford’s Christopher Gardner put it: “If you have a Diet Coke in the afternoon, and then it is dinnertime and you remember that you had a Diet Coke, you might reward yourself with a bowl of ice cream.”
Really? This is the SCIENCE the article title alludes to? To be fair, the article does point to other ideas including insulin resistance – but none have definitive answers. These are just hypothesis, guesses if you will.
Until SUGAR / CARBS are addressed, articles like this will continue to confuse, spread disinformation and people will not get healthier. My
recommendation for anyone looking to shed weight and gain health is to read the following book:
Keto-Adapted by Maria Emmerich
Although I already had bought into Keto, this helped to simplify the science in an effective manner.
In the past, I have eaten low-carb / high protein, but the book helped to also show how protein in high amounts leads to glucogenesis – the transformation of protein into glucose, which is transformed into store-able fat. That is why many fail on Atkins-style diets in the long run, me included. Keto (high fat / moderate protein / under 20g carbs) is the fix!
I’ve shared this with anyone who wonders how I lost so much weight so fast. I did it by eating tons of fat, eliminating sugar AND drinking diet beverages – DAILY! Funny how the article I shared does not even discuss people’s eating habits, yet blames weight gain on a zero calorie product.
Do yourself a favor and at the least, read the book.
To your health!
Joel
Further reading: EAT FAT, GET THIN: KETOGENIC DIET CAN BENEFIT HEALTH
