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Fat-fueled brain: unnatural or advantageous?

blogs.scientificamerican.com

231–240 of 319 posts

Re: Fat-fueled brain: unnatural or advantageous?

#231
post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But adding calories in whatever form still means more calories in than not eating them. Edit: I get the point that it stops hunger, but my point still stands, and the parent posters still doesn't make a great deal of sense.

The point of putting butter in your coffee is to extend your natural faste. The faste that you enter every night during sleep. It is done in tandem with also skipping breakfast on keto. The reason you put butter in your coffee instead of a spoonful of say, sugar, is that fat takes a long time to digest and even a fairly small amount of it (a table spoon of butter in your coffee) takes a while to digest. During that t…

I've been reading about bulletproof coffee, and the more I read, the more unsure I am about it. I think the following article makes good points:

https://authoritynutrition.com/3-reasons-why-bulletproof-cof...

I guess it might seem specifically OK for people on Keto diets only, but still, it seems worrisome longterm.

Re: Fat-fueled brain: unnatural or advantageous?

#232
post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But adding calories in whatever form still means more calories in than not eating them. Edit: I get the point that it stops hunger, but my point still stands, and the parent posters still doesn't make a great deal of sense.

The point of putting butter in your coffee is to extend your natural faste. The faste that you enter every night during sleep. It is done in tandem with also skipping breakfast on keto. The reason you put butter in your coffee instead of a spoonful of say, sugar, is that fat takes a long time to digest and even a fairly small amount of it (a table spoon of butter in your coffee) takes a while to digest. During that t…

> Even if you're getting calories from your coffee it doesn't impact your weight loss because you're still eating less calories than your body needs to maintain the weight.

This is completely dependent on other factors. Weight loss is dependent on a hell of a lot of things in tandem. It is mathematically strictly better to say, drink only black coffee or sugar-free energy drinks in the morning. Caffeine is an appetite suppressant. The difference is that most people don't have the personal willpower to stick to the fasting without a few calories to help them along.

Weight loss in general is precisely mathematical in pacing and it will absolutely make you lose weight faster if you consume less calories.

Re: Fat-fueled brain: unnatural or advantageous?

#233
post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The 'assumption' about saturated fat is not careless. Increasing saturated fat intake increases total plasma and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22131700 I support any form of ethical research, but not the hasty imposition of its ostensible results onto the masses. At least not in the case of personal decision in regard to diet. As noted in the above link, ghee has been used for thousands of years. Health advantages have been attributed to it. There is controversy and that is fine. Let people make their own decisions. Certa…

People should make their own decisions.

Here are the USDA's macronutrients dietary reference intake guidelines, with notes on adverse effects of excessive consumption: https://fnic.nal.usda.gov/sites/fnic.nal.usda.gov/files/uplo...

Re: Fat-fueled brain: unnatural or advantageous?

#234
post #62

I've been doing Keto since Feb 25 2016. My primary goal when switching over was weight loss, which turned out to be easy. I'm 25, male and was experiencing growing health complications related to obesity. I've lost well over 60 lbs since making the switch despite the fact that I maintain a primarily sedentary lifestyle though I now work out weekly as well as take bi-daily walks. There are downsides though. It's not c…

I've been doing Intermittent Fasting [1] for about 2-3 months now. I didn't realize the electrolytes issue when the body switches into ketosis. One thing I LOVE about IF is that my cravings have naturally leaned me in these directions. 1) I've been drinking more Gatorade because I craved it. 2) I've added salt, mayo, cheese to my sandwiches to 'make it taste better' even though prior to this diet, I'd have a fairly b…

Nutella? Gatorade? I don't trust a word you said.

Re: Fat-fueled brain: unnatural or advantageous?

#235
post #62

I've been doing Keto since Feb 25 2016. My primary goal when switching over was weight loss, which turned out to be easy. I'm 25, male and was experiencing growing health complications related to obesity. I've lost well over 60 lbs since making the switch despite the fact that I maintain a primarily sedentary lifestyle though I now work out weekly as well as take bi-daily walks. There are downsides though. It's not c…

What is your daily carb limit?

Why sweet potatoes, they have more carbs than regular potatoes.

How do you achieve an adequate fiber intake?

Re: Fat-fueled brain: unnatural or advantageous?

#236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The point of putting butter in your coffee is to extend your natural faste. The faste that you enter every night during sleep. It is done in tandem with also skipping breakfast on keto. The reason you put butter in your coffee instead of a spoonful of say, sugar, is that fat takes a long time to digest and even a fairly small amount of it (a table spoon of butter in your coffee) takes a while to digest. During that t…

> Even if you're getting calories from your coffee it doesn't impact your weight loss because you're still eating less calories than your body needs to maintain the weight. This is completely dependent on other factors. Weight loss is dependent on a hell of a lot of things in tandem. It is mathematically strictly better to say, drink only black coffee or sugar-free energy drinks in the morning. Caffeine is an appetit…

> The difference is that most people don't have the personal willpower to stick to the fasting without a few calories to help them along.

You are ignoring an important factor: If you don't have enough calories the body will switch to starvation mode, you'll have low energy, be cold, etc.

The net result is that, unless you are actually starving (which is bad for you), you'll actually lose less weight that way!

Re: Fat-fueled brain: unnatural or advantageous?

#237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who says it's an addition of calories? For many people breakfast is just coffee with coconut oil and butter. It's not adding calories it's just consuming them at a different time. You're still going to be at a deficit at the end of the day.

For me it would be compared to just black coffee and no breakfast, so of course it would be additional calories if I force myself to drink coffee with butter in it.

I have said exactly that in the past. I was wrong! It turns out morning me doesn't have the willpower to truly stick to just coffee.

Re: Fat-fueled brain: unnatural or advantageous?

#238
post #62

I've been doing Keto since Feb 25 2016. My primary goal when switching over was weight loss, which turned out to be easy. I'm 25, male and was experiencing growing health complications related to obesity. I've lost well over 60 lbs since making the switch despite the fact that I maintain a primarily sedentary lifestyle though I now work out weekly as well as take bi-daily walks. There are downsides though. It's not c…

Has there been any more research into the long term health effects of Keto? I tried it years ago, but found it to be more of a pain than it's worth (I seem to have better luck with intense exercise 3x per week and avoiding sugar). And it seems like tons of meat and cheese is actually bad long term, in the sense it clogs your arteries or increases cancer risk. Atkins did not look like he was in good shape inside when…

Research? Sort of. Experience? Yes.

Owsley "The Bear" Stanley, the famous LSD manufacturer and Grateful Dead sound engineer, lived very healthily on an all-meat diet for over 50 years. (Note: he did have cancer, though likely due to HPV and years of secondhand cigarette smoke and firsthand marijuana smoke, and his diet probably helped him survive it, and he had a heart attack, but that was likely due to complications from his youth that became noticeable after putting on 30 pounds of muscle weightlifting in his 50s.) He posted all about it on a forum years ago. It's a very interesting read: http://activenocarber.myfreeforum.org/ftopic22-0-0-asc-.php

Traditional Inuit also eat an all-meat diet with lots of fat. See Weston Price's Nutrition and Physical Degeneration (http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks02/0200251h.html#ch5), as well as the writings of Vilhjalmur Stefansson (http://highsteaks.com/carnivores-creed/vilhjalmur-stefansson... ).

The Plains Indians, as well. See "Guts and Grease: The Diet of the Native Americans" (http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/guts-and-grease-th...) and this talk by Stephen Phinney, "The Aboriginal Argument" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayf4R-y_RYo). Phinney himself has been on a very low carb, ketogenic diet for, I believe, two decades.

Some argue the Inuit were not ketogenic (http://freetheanimal.com/2014/03/reiterate-elevated-ketone.h...), but they tend to overestimate how long glycogen remains in muscles after death, as well as mistaking a lack of elevated ketones as meaning they weren't ketogenic (it's actually because they just use ketone bodies more effectively, which is why urine tests for ketosis only work during keto-adaptation). Dr. Michael Eades had a good article on this: https://proteinpower.com/drmike/2014/04/18/beware-confirmati...

Anyway, there's a lot more out there, but that'll get you started. I tend to believe an all-meat, ketogenic diet is the natural human diet, and I've had great success on it for the past year.

Other sites of note: http://www.ketotic.org/ http://www.empiri.ca/ https://zerocarbzen.com/ (There used to be an interview on this one with a family that has eaten nothing but ribeyes for the past 18 years. The whole family had tremendous health, and it even helped the mother overcome lyme disease. I thought it was fake the first time I read it. They unfortunately had to take it down because they were getting angry mail from angry vegans.)

Re: Fat-fueled brain: unnatural or advantageous?

#239
post #191
post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're stuck in the mindset that fat makes you "fat". This is the whole point of ketosis, and a rethinking of wrong dietary guidelines that have persisted for decades. The butter in the coffee supplies fat for fuel / energy, suppresses appetite, and does not contribute to weight gain or more specifically an increase in adipose fat tissue. Simply cutting all calories is futile. Your body needs energy to sustain itself…

But adding calories in whatever form still means more calories in than not eating them. Edit: I get the point that it stops hunger, but my point still stands, and the parent posters still doesn't make a great deal of sense.

Yes, cutting all calories works best. Just don't eat anything at all.

Re: Fat-fueled brain: unnatural or advantageous?

#240

Actually, I've tried the ketogenic diet. It's great, however it does have negative side effects. That is the lack of fiber. This can lead to hemorrhoids. Which can be extremely painful. Everything was great, I burned a lot of baby fat, but it was painful in the toilet, there was bleeding involved. You need to supplement yourself with fiber if you want to try the ketogenic diet.

There's ample opportunity to get enough fiber on a ketogenic diet.

This seems more like a negative side effect of your version of the ketogenic diet, not a negative side effect of the ketogenic diet itself.

However, if you feel you were still taking in enough fiber, perhaps you weren't taking in enough water? Not drinking enough water while eating/supplementing high fiber will result in some constipation as well.

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