Beneficial Effects of a Six-Month Ketogenic Diet in Obese Patients

[Analog6]

Another very interesting article from the site metaguru posted one from. A vindication for us all. I'm going to print this out and keep it in my journal.

From The Omnivore at http://www.theomnivore.com/Beneficia...0Patients.html

Copyright Anthony Colpo,
November 30, 2004.
An ever-growing group of researchers are reporting clinical benefits from low-carbohydrate diets. Among these forward-thinking investigators are Professor Hussein Dashti and his team from Kuwait University, who recently tested the effects of a 24-week ketogenic diet in obese men and women with high blood glucose levels(Dashti HM, et al).

All 83 subjects in the study consumed 20-30 g of carbohydrate in the form of green vegetables and salad daily, and 80-100 g of protein in the form of meat, fish, fowl, eggs, shellfish and cheese. Twenty percent of fat calories were derived from saturates, the remainder from polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. Twelve weeks into the diet, an additional 20 g of carbohydrate were added to the subjects' daily menus, raising total carbohydrate intake to 40-50 g. The study participants were also supplied with a daily multivitamin/mineral capsule.

After twenty-four weeks, the subjects experienced significant weight loss and substantial reductions in blood glucose.

· At the start of the study, the mean weight of the subjects was 101 kg. At the eighth, 16th and 24th weeks, the average weight declined to 91 kg, 89 kg and 86 kg, respectively.

· The level of blood glucose significantly decreased at week 24, from an initial value of 7.26 mmol/L to 5.62 mmol/L.

· Blood triglycerides decreased significantly after 24 weeks of treatment, with a drop from the initial average level of 2.75 mmol/L to 1.09 mmol/L.

· Changes in the levels of urea and creatinine were not statistically significant, contradicting the widely-issued (and false) criticism that low-carbohydrate diets are somehow harmful to the kidneys.

· For those who care, the level of total cholesterol showed a significant decrease from week 1 to week 24. The level of HDL cholesterol significantly increased, whereas LDL cholesterol levels significantly decreased with treatment.

Professor Dashti and his colleagues point out that, until recently, ketosis was viewed with apprehension in the medical world; however, we now know that the ketogenic diet has been proven effective in the treatment of epilepsy and obesity. The ketogenic diet has recently shown promise in the treatment of infantile spasms, and has even been hypothesized as a possible mood stabilizer in bipolar illness(Kossoff EH, et al)(El-Mallakh RS, Paskitti ME).

Dashti and his co-workers are currently studying the role of ketogenic diets in anti-cancer therapy, noting that;

· refined carbohydrate consumption lowers antioxidant defenses in the body;

· refined carbohydrate consumption produces cancer in test animals and is associated with human cancers in epidemiological studies;

· tumors are rabid glucose absorbers;

· low-carbohydrate diets have been used with success in both animal and human cancer patients.

Over the years, low-carbohydrate diets have attracted a staggering amount of virulent derision from the low-fat mainstream. Unfortunately for these folks, reality is always the final arbiter, and the reality is that low-carbohydrate nutrition is quickly establishing itself as a valuable weapon against many common and not-so-common ailments.

References

Dashti HM, et al. Long-term effects of a ketogenic diet in obese patients. Exp Clin Cardiology, 2004; 9 (3): 200-205.

Kossoff EH, et al. Efficacy of the ketogenic diet for infantile spasms. Pediatrics, 2002;109:780-3.

El-Mallakh RS, Paskitti ME. The ketogenic diet may have mood-stabilizing properties. Medical Hypotheses, Dec. 2001; 57 (6): 724-6.

[changing]

Another great study confirms what is becoming so painfully clear to everyone but dogged low-fat crazies!

I LOVE THE OMNIVORE!

[ttdriver]

Thanks for posting that, Odille!

Isn't it amazing, that despite all the well-documented information available that SUGAR is the leading contributor to the rabid growth of cancer cells, there is NO push to get people to stop eating it!!!! THE SUGAR LOBBY WOULDN'T ALLOW THAT!! No sir, keep the people SICK and in need of medical care and "treatments" that don't cure!

GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.

Betty