Keto thread

So I know a lot of us on here are on the keto diet. I thought maybe I'd start a thread where we could detail our experiences so far? I just started four days ago and have already noticed improvement in a few symptoms.

I started keto very early on during the acute stage of my illness (approx 4 weeks after infection), before I had a diagnosis. My reason for starting was after researching my symptoms (brain fog, insomnia, anxiety, depression, etc.) I kept reading about inflammation. So my next round of research - "how to reduce inflammation?" - kept pointing towards the role of carbohydrate (particulary those which have a high GI) induced spikes in blood sugar levels contributing to inflammation, particularly in people who are already experiencing high levels of inflammation.

I experimented by doing a 24hr fast and had my best day since getting sick. So then I started introducing a low-carb diet again and my symptoms did return, but they weren't as severe. I did intermittent fasting a few days per week, too. This was with acute untreated (and undiagnosed) Lyme. But the difference was being completely house bound before switching diets to then being able to take short walks to the local park, supermarket, etc. It felt like a game changer at the time - doctors were telling me I was fine and I knew I wasn't, and this was a repeatable technique that resulted in an improvement in my symptoms. I actually suspected a food allergy at this point due to only having the diet improvements to go by.

Once I tested positive for Lyme (approx 8 weeks after infection) I found a LLMD and he suggested that I stayed on the keto diet for the same reasons I already outlined.

I've not been strictly keto for the past month or so - I feel close to remission so wanted to test the waters again, so to speak, and have had no setbacks with adding healthy carbs back to my diet. But I am refocusing now on mould/MCAS/candida I'll switch back to keto for a while again I think.

For those looking to start it, beware the 'keto flu' during the first week or so. It's explained well here: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/keto-flu-symptoms#get-rid

I managed to avoid it (and twice in the past, too, when I was carb depleting before marathons) simply by:

a) drinking LOTS of water
b) taking lots of salts and electrolytes

I've gone full zero-carb carnivore and it was the best thing I've ever done. I went from being 50% after the Infusio clinic to nearly 90% (or more) on some days and getting stronger. It's not perfect, but I feel almost human again. Only 3 months in. Felt major results within the first week. Carbs and sugar feed the lyme bacteria and this includes fruit and vegetable sugars.

Thats awesome about the mold being treated with keto. I suspect my mold problems are bigger than I thought. I might get into fasting in the future if I feel like it. Right now I still have a lot of ties to food though I think. So far my body feels much "cleaner", almost like I've taken a shower but on the inside? lol. Maybe it's the toxins being removed. I hope I get rid of the rest of this toxic fat. Just a few more pounds to my original weight. I'm pretty thrilled to be losing on the same amount I was gaining on though.

I'm not keto but I'm back on a pretty strict low-carb candida diet. Felt a huge improvement -- bloating is gone and I feel better in many ways. It even alleviated pain I've been going to a chiropractor for, and a lymph node that was swollen for a year went down. I hate this diet but it seems to really help with inflammation.

Ketogenic being immuno suppressive.. well that’s interesting.

I’ve read something similar about ditching Gluten completely: it is not always recommended for non celiac people.

Makes me wonder if I should just eat « healthy » and not care aboit carbs and Gluten ...

saraeli said...
Has anyone made a diet work that's keto AND plant-based?

There's a fad diet for that idea, too.

https://drwillcole.com/ketotarian

It's endorsed by Dr. Perlmutter, "Dr." Axe, and Jimmy Moore...so, you know it's good.

On a distance(5..10 years) keto will make more harm than good(eventual relapse). First thing on keto is that carb tolerance is lost(too much inflammation), then proteins tolerance is lost too, people end up with awkward diet like keto vegatarian before their final relapse and death.

Post Edited (Dmitry) : 5/1/2019 6:30:17 AM (GMT-6)

Sandyfeet, those are great quotes! Can you share the name of the book?

Clearly from this thread there are a lot of differing opinions. But the proof is in the pudding for most people. Most of the people who hate on the diet have never tried it to even see if it helps their symptoms. All three of my lyme doctors have suggested the diet. And for my instance it makes sense. I am fighting the bacteria first of all, mold, candida, and parasites. It doesn't make sense to gorge on carbs because you're feeding them too. That's the main reason I am doing keto. Just for the purpose of not feeding the bad things. Are there cautions for keto? Absolutely. You shouldn't do it more than 3 months at a time. You should watch kidney functioning. And make sure you're getting enough protein to prevent muscle loss. Also, it's important to find the right amount of carbs for you. Some people feel better with 20 or 25 net carbs, but people like me do better with closer to 30. My own personal experience with keto this time around has been positive. I've been back on it for about a month. Other than maybe potatoes, I can't think of a carb-heavy food that I even miss. I never did well on grains anyways. Just do what feels the best for you.

It’s not a rule. Just a suggestion that some doctors like to go by, Alxander

Doc said it's a lot of toxins being released causing the muscle/joint pain and inability to exercise.

There is absolutely no reason for only doing it 3 months. That's ridiculous.

Kidney function does not worsen on keto. There are plenty of articles debunking this and none actually proving it. It's a myth.

Post Edited (jb1994) : 5/3/2019 8:04:36 PM (GMT-6)

It's a suggestion with no basis in fact.

edit: https://bigthink.com/surprising-science/how-long-should-i-stay-on-a-keto-diet?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1 this was literally the only thing I could find on this made-up fact. They cite a nutritionist who is confusing ketosis with ketoacidosis. Major fail. And a direct quote from the only "study" they cite:

"Despite what some expected, it took the volunteers on the high-fat diet 28 days to lose as much weight as those on the baseline diet lost in 15 days. (All volunteers were overweight; the mechanism for their weight loss was lower daily caloric intake.) To be fair, THERE WAS NO CONTROL GROUP (emphasis mine)"

Alright then that study was worthless. Second major fail.

Post Edited (jb1994) : 5/3/2019 9:46:00 PM (GMT-6)