What Is The Effect Of Hormone Therapy On Low-Carb Weight Loss?

I received an excellent e-mail recently from a reader who was interested in knowing what impact her hormone therapy would have on your low-carb weight loss. She was getting quite frustrated by the lack of success at losing the pounds and keeping them off despite being in ketosis from a very low-carb ketogenic (VLCK) diet.

Here's what she wrote:

Mr. Moore,

I read your book, which I really enjoyed, and I have a question:

I am eating fewer that 20 grams of carbs a day, turning the Ketostix dark purple, but am not losing at all. In fact, I keep regaining and losing the same two pounds. I am on Aygestin. Why do the hormones affect low-carb dieting so much?

I have looked online, and I can't find a specific answer. I know that you are very busy. If you have time to answer, it would be most appreciated. If not, I'll keep Googling. ;-)

As I noted in this recent blog post, the ketones that show up on the Ketostix may or may not give you the entire picture as it relates to what is happening in your body. Since she is obviously eating a low enough amount of carbohydrate in her diet (trusting that this information is accurate), I decided to contact my friend and expert in the Atkins diet having worked with Dr. Robert C. Atkins for three decades--Jackie Eberstein, R.N. She has dealt with virtually every circumstance over the years and offered this advice:

Hormones have numerous effects on the body that make weight loss more difficult. You also need to consider the reason why hormones were prescribed--many hormone imbalances by themselves make losing problematic. This can happen on any weight loss plan--not just low carb.

But remember that at least you're not gaining. You need to have more patience than in the past when losing because of the drug effect. Hormones can cause edema, insulin resistance and weight gain and even have negative effects on blood sugar. There can also be subtle thyroid effects.

It's a plus that you have ketones. Many women can't get into ketosis when their hormones are changing. One example is just before the menses; ketones can disappear and return in a few days without any change in diet.

Take measurements every 2 weeks rather than watch the scale. The up and down fluctuation is simply water balance changing each day. It is possible to lose fat (inch loss) while the scale is stuck. Do be sure to follow the plan carefully. When on hormones even slight deviations need to be avoided. Don't eat beyond satiety or skip meals.

Exercise is important because it decreases insulin resistance and over the long run is helpful. My personal experience is that I don't lose unless I exercise.

This is what comes to mind with the info given. Hope it helps.

Jacqueline Eberstein, R.N.
Controlled Carbohydrate Nutrition, LLC

So, if you are taking hormones and find yourself in a similar frustrating position with your weight loss routine, don't lose hope. Just keep doing what you're doing and measure your success in ways other than the scale. YOU CAN DO IT!!!

I'll be seeing Jackie Eberstein at an obesity conference taking place in Phoenix, Arizona in April. I hope to have the chance to sit down and interview her for my podcast show to talk about some of these kinds of issues. If there is anything you'd like for me to ask her for that interview, then please feel free to send your questions to me at livinlowcarbman@charter.net and I'll add them to my list. She's arguably the most knowledgeable Atkins diet expert in the world today.

Is Ketosis Necessary On A Low-Carb Diet? Let's Ask The Experts!

One of the most asked about aspects of livin' la vida low-carb has got to the issue of ketosis. There is so much misinformation about there about this very natural state that the body goes through when you are on a low-carb diet (primarily confusing it with a serious condition that diabetics must be careful of called ketoacidosis--NOT the same as ketosis). As such, there may be confusion that lingers out there among my readers who are just learning about this way of eating.

In this recent blog post where I provided some "quickie one-liner" responses to some e-mails, I made the following statement:

Being in ketosis is like being pregnant--you either are or you're not; regardless of what the Ketosticks show you, if you are eating less than 30g carbohydrates a day, then you ARE in ketosis.”

One of my readers named Charles Fred decided to respond to my statement which he disagreed with and it gets to the very heart of this issue about ketosis. Here's what he wrote:

Your statement reflects today’'s informed opinion, but my article in work, “Unified Physiology of the Metabolic Syndrome,” has given me an unusual perspective which for the sake of brevity I’'ll state dogmatically.

Ketosis need not and should not be part of low-carb eating. Low-carb diets should never be labeled as “ketogenic” diets. Ketosis appears to be an “Induction” phase of low-carb eating, but in fact it is a last ditch response to inadequate glucose. As such it is either temporary or avoidable.

Low-carb eating is the evolution-derived diet of humans (unlike other primates). Humans are carnivores, hunters, because human evolution happened pre-fire and pre-agriculture when very few carbs were edible. For carnivores, gluconeogenesis in the liver supplies all necessary glucose.

But if someone abruptly switches from high carbs to very low carbs, gluconeogenesis will be inadequate to supply enough glucose - causing weakness, dizziness and ketosis.

Well if gluconeogenesis is supposed to be adequate, why does it fail? When you eat carbs they are stored as glucose (glycogen) in your glucose fuel tank - your liver. When you manufacture glucose from protein via gluconeogenesis it is stored in that same fuel tank, intermingled with those dietary carbs.

Enzymes, including gluconeogenic enzymes, are expressed only as needed. If your glucose storage is kept full by dietary carbs, expression of gluconeogenic enzymes is reduced. Eventually your gluconeogenic machinery becomes atrophied, inadequate to supply 100% of your glucose requirements.

So, contrary to usual practice, the proper way of switching from high-carb to low-carb is to gradually reduce dietary carbs over the course of about a month, inciting gradual rebuilding of gluconeogenic machinery. Then all those “Induction” woes which convince many that low-carb is not for them are avoided - as is ketosis.

Did you get all that? You'll recall I've explained gluconeogenesis before and it's a beautiful metabolic process that allows your body to make its own carbs (glucose) for the body's needs from the protein you consume through the liver. So, therefore, there isn't a real need for dietary carbohydrate at all.

But Mr. Fred believes eating too few carbohydrates to the point that your body is in a state of ketosis is harmful to your body and that a more gradual progression to lower and lower levels of carbohydrate is needed to keep the body from going through the "shock" of what many describe as the Induction flu. As someone who has gone through this experience and appreciated the benefits of making that "sudden" change, I could not disagree with him more.

What do the low-carb experts have to say, though? I decided to pose this theory put forth by Mr. Fred to several of America's most respected low-carb diet authorities and have them respond:

JACQUELINE EBERSTEIN, RN

Not everyone who suddenly moves from a high-carb intake to Induction will get symptoms. Many make the transition very easily. My educated guess is that at least 50% make the transition easily. Others have only mild symptoms. A few have more severe symptoms that can be managed. I think the transition would be easier for more people if they read the book completely so they know what to expect and how to deal with symptoms.

After years in clinical practice I have only had a few patients that required a slow transition because of such severe symptoms. The Induction phase is important especially to those with a severe carb addiction. It is the fastest way to stabilize the blood sugar, control hunger and cravings and improve many diet related symptoms quickly. It is amazing how many people feel better once they are in ketosis by the 4th or 5th day.

Secondly, the mindset of the dieter is they want progress ASAP to stay motivated especially when having to give up some of their favorite foods. Induction provides that. By slowly lowering carbs many will give up too soon and miss the opportunity to find out how effective low-carb can be.

For people with severe health risks, rebalancing the body with a very low-carb intake can lead to rapid improvements in blood sugar, blood pressure, triglycerides and high insulin levels. Until insulin levels improve some of the other benefits of low-carb can't happen. I have seen many severely disordered insulin and blood sugar results that would take far too long to improve with even 60 or 70 grams of carbs.

Just as one diet does not fit all, one level of carb restriction does not fit all. We are all different. The level of carb intake needs to be the level that works for each person based on what we know about them. Dr. Atkins didn't always start in the Induction phase--some people didn't need it, yet many did and would not have been as successful without it.

Unfortunately, many are still stuck in the mindset that having ketones from fat burning is abnormal and undesirable. We know it is not. Dr. Veech, an NIH researcher, agrees that the negatives about dietary ketosis are misunderstood.

REGINA WILSHIRE

Humans are omnivores--able to survive as carnivore, but thrives as omnivore.

Gluconeogenesis isn't solely a metabolic process induced by carbohydrate restriction; it is a normal homeostatic process to maintain blood glucose, so even those consuming a high carbohydrate diet will utilize it as needed (usually when engaged in high levels of activity or during the period of sleep).

The idea that if you don't use it, you lose it, is an incomplete view--yes the enzymes will be made in lesser amounts if one doesn't rely on gluconeogenesis to fully supply glucose, but to claim "atrophy" sets in is a bit over the top.

Some people do find this approach to be a gentler way to restrict carbohydrate--slowly lowering their intake over a period of time; others do better just going "cold turkey" and reducing carbohydrate below 40g. Both reach the same endpoint--persistent state ketosis and utilization of gluconeogenesis. The idea that one will not induce ketosis (burning fat) doing the former is physiologically not possible--if your carbohydrate is below a particular threshold, you're going to make ketone bodies.

The result of reducing carbohydrate slowly isn't a lack of ketone bodies being produced, but less of them wasted, thus the less likelihood a person will register ketosis on Ketostix. Those who restrict carbohydrate below 40g initially make more ketone bodies than necessary, so they "spill" the excess in urine, saliva and sweat. But someone reducing carbohydrate slowly is also making ketones--just less likely to be spilling excess ketones.

With time the person who reduced carbohydrate below 40g and stays there will also begin to not see any measurable ketones on the Ketostix as they get more efficient at making ketones for energy. There is less wasted ketones, thus less to see on the sticks, as time passes. But, if one is keeping carbohydrate below 40g, they're burning fat for their primary energy source, which means they are making ketones whether they register on the sticks or not.

DR. ERIC WESTMAN

In most medical terminology, "osis" implies "the abnormal condition of"--like onychomycosis means "abnormal nail fungus," halitosis means "bad breath." Perhaps this is one reason why people unfamiliar with low carb approaches jump to the conclusion that "ketosis" is harmful. If you have no insulin in your body, as in Type 1 diabetes, a potentially life-threatening condition called diabetic "ketoacidosis" can occur. My Duke colleague Will Yancy published a paper looking at the pH in the blood of people on two diets (low-carb vs. low-fat) and did not find low blood pH ("acidosis"), but because the blood bicarbonate was lowered below the normal range we called it a "compensated metabolic acidosis." Another published study by Brehm showed the average level of blood ketones goes down over time.

In our clinic, some people always have ketones in the urine, others never do, other fluctuate back and forth. Dr. Atkins used the phrase "benign dietary ketosis" in his books. I have wondered if it would be better to say: "ketosis without acidosis" or "ketonuria" instead of "ketosis." "Ketonemia", which means "ketones in the blood"
"ketonuria", which means "ketones in the urine."

I don't agree with Charles Fred's point of view. You can see why there might be confusion. If you said "if you are eating less than 20g of carb per day then you are burning fat, or in the fat burning zone, or the 'ketone zone'--apologies to Barry Sears and the Zone Diet--rather than "in ketosis," then this might be technically more correct.

DR. JEFF VOLEK

This does not make a lot of sense to me. Ketone production and utilization and
ultimately blood and urine levels vary along a continuum. So to suggest it is an
absolute yes or no is not accurate. There is also a diurnal variation and many
other factors that influence their metabolism other than diet (e.g., exercise).
There is also a lot of individual variation in regards to the level of
carbohydrate restriction required to see significant accumulation of ketones. So
I don't see it as black and white.

Gluconeogenesis is more than adequate to supply obligatory glucose needs. How
else would you explain the aboriginal hunting and fishing cultures (e.g., Inuit
of the Arctic and First Nations groups in Canada) who survived for millennia
with little if any identifiable dietary carbohydrate intake? I guess I'm not quite understanding the point of it all.

DR. RICHARD FEINMAN

There is a continuum of ketosis. In fact, one of the features of ketone bodies is that, unlike other fuels, glucose and fatty acids, they can be present in plasma over a wide range of concentrations. What is true is that Ketostix measure ketonuria which may or may not give you an accurate view of plasma ketone bodies. If ketone bodies are used as fast as they are made, you may never see ketosis. Also, I personally think there may be more aspecs of normal ketone body metabolism than we know about now. There is the idea, for example that glial cells may supply ketones as fuel for neurons:

Guzman M, Blazquez C. Ketone body synthesis in the brain: possible neuroprotective effects. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids 2004;70(3):287-92.

Ketone bodies make an important contribution to brain energy production and biosynthetic processes when glucose becomes scarce. Although it is generally assumed that the liver supplies the brain with ketone bodies, recent evidence shows that cultured astrocytes are also ketogenic cells. These findings support the notion that ketone bodies produced by astrocytes may be used in situ as substrates for neuronal metabolism, and raise the possibility that astrocyte ketogenesis is a neuroprotective pathway.

This theory from Mr. Fred seems to assume that ketosis is somehow foreign or not part of normal metabolism. It is true that it may take some time to adapt to it but there is no reason to assume that it is inherently undesirable. Human evolution probably had a lot of starvation. The function of ketone bodies is to keep gluconeogenesis from having to supply all necessary glucose because it can be a drain on body protein.

I don't think gluconeogenesis fails. There is just some period of adaptation. If there is evidence for Mr. Fred's theory, then I would be interested. Practically, it may feel better to adapt to low-carb slowly--I think it depends on how much carbs you start out with--but the idea you can be on very low-carb and not be in ketosis has to be tested. I personally doubt it but I don't know.

Ketone body production is under the control of many factors: glucose, insulin, fatty acids, level of oxidative metabolism, etc. I think there is also a time factor. Many people eat one meal a day, are quite happy with it and they may be in ketosis at some point during the day. So, it may be useful for some people to get into low-carb slowly but I don't react well when somebody tells me didactically the proper way to eat. "Proper" usually means the way they do it.

CASSANDRA FORSYTHE

I don't agree with this man at all. Your body still produces ketones from all the extra dietary fat, and it gets better at doing that and using the ketones as time goes on. In our work at the University of Connecticut, with three months of following a weight loss ketogenic diet all subjects had a decline in urinary ketones over time even though they were eating the same foods and had the same caloric restriction.

What's happening is that the body is getting better at taking up the ketones--maybe ketone receptor unregulation. Also, they all still had ketones in their blood after three months and this was higher than baseline and much higher than those following a low-fat diet. Your body does not have enough metabolic machinery to produce enough of it's own glucose to support all organs (i.e. your heart).

Yes, it's true gluconeogenesis goes up, but most organs don't use it anyway. That's why blood glucose tends to drift up over time.

Now that the experts have weighed in on Charles Fred's hypothesis, why not share YOUR thoughts based on your own experience following a low-carb diet. Did you ease into livin' la vida low-carb and have excellent results doing it that way? Or did you do like most of us did, myself included, and go from a high-carb to a low-carb diet overnight? Did you see measurable results doing it that way despite having some temporary unpleasantness? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Special thanks to all the experts I quoted in this post for sharing their knowledge about this subject of ketosis. On behalf of me and my readers, THANKS SO MUCH! :)

Complicated French Study Explains How A Low-Carb Diet Can Prevent Seizures

I'll be the first to admit to you that sometimes the medical jargon that accompanies some of these low-carb studies that come out absolutely baffle the heck out of me. Sure, many of them are straightforward enough for me to get the gist of them so I can blog about what you need to know about them. But sometimes...

One such case of me looking at a study and going "HUH?" is this one out of France entitled "Ketogenic diet and astrocyte/neuron metabolic interactions." Okay, I know what a ketogenic diet is (one that is low enough in carbohydrates to induce ketosis) and neuron metabolic interactions sounds like something to do with the brain. I didn't have a clue what an astrocyte was until I looked it up on Wikipedia. Like I said, my knowledge of these things is limited to my own deductive reasoning and simple logic--neither of which helps with terminology I've never heard of.

The good news is I have LOTS of friends in high places of learning and experience who are much more adept at understanding the lingo enough to make it palatable to us common folk. So, for this one, I looked no further than the author of The Brain Trust Program himself, neurosurgeon Dr. Larry McCleary, for his assistance with translating what this study means. As expected, Dr. McCleary did not disappoint.

Let me warn you that this can be a bit difficult to follow despite the fact it is written in as simplistic language as possible. But Dr. McCleary even admitted to me that "the chemistry is a bit complicated." Even still, I think you'll enjoy reading his wrap-up about this French study from lead researcher Joseph Vamecq1 and his fellow researchers. I've included links to Wikipedia for terms you may not be familiar with.

Here's how Dr. McCleary summarized the study:

This is an article that talks about the interactions between astrocytes and neurons in the context of seizure control and prevention as modulated by conversion of the "normal" high-carb diet to a ketogenic (high fat, low-carb) diet. They focus on several metabolic shuttles between neurons and astrocytes as the sites of this dietary impact.

Normal high carb diet

The brain uses glucose as follows. Astrocytes take up glucose, metabolize it to lactate and then transfer it to neurons where it is further oxidized to acetyl CoA which enters the Krebs Cycle where it is further metabolized and NADH, CO2 and H2O are produced.

Ketogenic diet

On a ketogenic diet there are higher concentrations of fatty acids and ketone bodies in the bloodstream with lower levels of glucose. In addition, astrocytes have the ability to act like liver cells in the sense that they too can partially oxidize fatty acids into ketones. The ketones are then transferred to the neurons where they are burned as a source of fuel.

Hence on a ketogenic diet two things happen in neurons:

1. More ketones are burned.
2. Less glucose is burned.

This induces several specific changes. The first is that with the change from glucose (in the form of lactate) to ketones as the fuel source, more oxaloacetate is consumed. Oxaloacetate is a metabolic intermediary in the Krebs Cycle. When this happens more glutamate is produced in neurons which is subsequently consumed by its metabolism into the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA (gamma amino butyric acid).

Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter. The ratio of glutamate/GABA is important for seizure control. High ratios favor seizure production. Low ratios favor seizure inhibition.

The ketogenic diet produces lower levels of glutamate and higher levels of GABA. This lowers the ratio and acts to prevent seizures.

Globally speaking, the ketogenic diet, by limiting brain glycolysis (metabolism of glucose) and increasing its dependence on fat (ketone bodies), produces a beneficial change in the ratio of glutamate/GABA that favors less excitation and hence better seizure protection.

Is your head spinning as much as mine? Be glad this is the EASY version of the original study! A BIG "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog THANKS to Dr. Larry McCleary for explaining this study confirming low-carb diets are an excellent way to decrease or even eliminate the occurrence of seizures. There's no way I could have ever figured out what this study meant without you, Dr. McCleary! :)

You can e-mail Joseph Vamecq about his study (although I'm not sure he could explain his study any clearer than Dr. McCleary did) at vamecq@lille.inserm.fr.

Newly-Discovered Hormone Produced By High-Fat, Low-Carb Diet 'Breaks Down Fat'

Drs. Maratos-Flier and Kliewer found the hormone behind Atkins diet

We have seen some truly remarkable research come out in favor of the Atkins low-carb diet this year, most notably the Stanford JAMA study from March 2007 showing it as the superior diet for weight and health.

People who are livin' la vida low-carb already naturally accept the physiology behind this way of eating as an excellent way to burn stored fat through the use of ketosis and that those ketone bodies become our source of energy rather than carbohydrates. We've even had studies showing a low-carb diet burns twice as much stored fat as a low-fat diet.

But now we read in this MedPage Today column that two different researcher teams have stumbled upon what one of them describe as a "serendipitous" discovery of a hormone in their studies that actually works as the very mechanism behind why fat-burning is so functional on a low-carb diet.

The lead researcher on the first team, led by Dr. Eleftheria Maratos-Flier who serves as an investigator in the department of endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center as well as an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, saw something peculiar happen to mice over a 30-day period that she fed a high-fat, low-carb diet--their lipid profile remained constant and didn't go up!

This coincides with a study conducted by Dr. Jeff Volek and Dr. Stephen Phinney that found people who ate a diet higher in saturated fat did not have an elevated presence of saturated fat in their blood--as has been previously theorized. This is why fat consumed does not make you fat.

Dr. Maratos-Flier says this seemingly contradictory finding has to do with a hormone called FGF21, or fibroblast growth factor 21. It is found in the liver and is responsible for producing ketones when people consume a low-carb diet. These ketone bodies are then used to provide as much as 70 percent of the energy needs of someone eating this way.

This discovery did not go unnoticed by the researchers. Unfortunately, instead of promoting the Atkins diet as a means for lowering body fat, they instead turned to the possibilities this discovery could have on future pharmaceutical opportunities.

"We think these findings would increase the desirability of a drug that (might work through this mechanism) to increase fat oxidation in the liver," Dr. Maratos-Flier said.

WHAT IN THE WORLD?!?! Why try to make a pill that will replicate what the Atkins diet has already been shown to do a beautiful job of doing, Dr. Maratos-Flier? This is just more irresponsible extrapolations pulled from an excellent study showing a high-fat, low-carb diet is beneficial. Get your head out of the sand already!

She does acknowledge that this switch to fat-burning mode in the mice only happened when FGF21 was found in higher concentration--on either a low-carb diet or during starvation. Contrary to what the naysayers say, these two are NOT the same.

The lead researcher on the second team, Dr. Steven Kliewer who is a professor of molecular biology at the Dallas, TX-based University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, also found FGF21 breaks down stored fat in animals consuming a high-fat, low-carb diet as well as fasting.

"[A high-fat, low-carb diet] turned on a starvation response, even when the animals were feeding," Dr. Kliewer noticed. "They switched from using carbohydrates to fat stores as an energy supply."

Dr. Kliewer said this is a natural reaction in animals to a shortage of food which causes them to move less and sleep more in order to store up energy.

He was surprised that a single hormone could literally "flip the whole metabolic profile" and that it can actually serve as a balancing mechanism for consuming too many calories.

"What's really exciting is that mice with excess FGF21--even when they are fed--look like they are fasted," Dr. Kliewer found.

Somewhere up in heaven today, Dr. Atkins has got to be smiling from ear to ear. This exactly what he was talking about when he described his diet as giving people a "metabolic advantage." The fact that science is just now catching up to what the late great Dr. Robert C. Atkins was sharing decades ago proves he was a man long before his time.

Dr. Kliewer admitted that this fat-burning process "makes sense" when you stop and think about it.

"During fasting, the liver hormone communicates with adipose tissue to send fat to the liver," he said. "It turns on the metabolism of fat into ketone bodies--and at the same time, it sensitizes the animals to going into torpor to conserve energy."

He added that there is an "obvious possibility that FGF21 accounts for the proposed positive effect of the Atkins diet—including weight loss and an increase in [HDL] ‘good’ cholesterol."

While Dr. Kliewer states that FGF21 might explain why the Atkins diet works, Dr. Maratos-Flier brought up the ridiculous argument that this is only true in mice right now and it is unclear of the impact on humans.

Good grief, lady! Can't you even put out the notion that it is even POSSIBLE the same results could be true in humans as well? Sheeez! To her credit, Dr. Maratos-Flier is planning on study FGF21 levels in human subjects next over just a few days. How about long-term studies of weeks, months, and years, too, Dr. Maratos-Flier?

Both of these studies were funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as well as Takeda Pharmaceuticals, the Robert A. Welch Foundation, the Betty Van Andel Foundation, the Smith Family Foundation Pinnacle Program Project Award from the American Diabetes Association, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

The results of these studies were published in the June 2007 issue of the scientific journal Cell Metabolism. Check out the abstract for both studies by Dr. Maratos-Flier and Dr. Kliewer.

Describing this research as "the most exciting" study he has ever worked on, Dr. Kliewer wants to continue looking at the role of FGF21 in increasing lifespan.

"Starvation and restricted diet are linked to some fascinating physiology including longevity," he noted. "In the long term, I would like to investigate the role of FGF21 in aging, since caloric restriction has been linked to an extended life span in many species."

I don't know about the "caloric restriction" aspect of his research, but it certainly sounds fascinating to see a low-carb diet being observed in this manner. Who knows what the implications could be. We'll be watching, Dr. Kliewer!

You can e-mail each of the researchers about their studies by writing to them directly: Dr. Eleftheria Maratos-Flier at emaratos@bidmc.harvard.edu and Dr. Steven Kliewer at steven.kliewer@utsouthwestern.edu.

Study: Brain Cancer Tumors 'Significantly Smaller' On High-Fat, Low-Carb Diet

Dr. Thomas Seyfried says low-carb starves cancerous tumor cells

This Medical News Today story shares yet another positive health benefit to livin' la vida low-carb as a way to fight cancer cells that are causing life-threatening tumors which up until now has meant painful chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

But we've already seen a series of research studies provided over the past year confirming the low-carb treatment option for other areas of the body that cancer inflicts, including the pancreas, the esophagus, and the kidneys. This latest study confirms the use of a high-fat, low-carb diet on brain cancer, too!

Research supervisor Dr. Thomas Seyfried, professor of biology at Boston College, overlooked this study featuring a product called KetoCal. Looking at their web site, the nutritional label for each 100g serving of this powder drink product shows it contains 90 percent fat (72g), 15g protein, and just 3g carbohydrates. It is also heavily fortified with all the essential vitamins and minerals for a nutrient-dense diet.

Although this product has been primarily marketed to children with epilepsy, another health ailment that has been found to improve on a low-carb diet (with all these improvements in health just by switching to livin' la vida low-carb, why aren't we hearing more recommendations by our health leaders to have people switch to this way of eating, hmmm?), now Dr. Seyfried and his team of researchers wanted to test to see if KetoCal could improve the condition of people suffering from brain cancer.

While KetoCal was used in the study, they did not pay for this study except to donate the products that the mice involved in the study consumed. But the results of this study were not so much about any particular product as much as it was about the remarkable findings of how health improves dramatically on a high-fat, low-carb diet.

The researchers implanted into the brains of male laboratory mice two kinds of malignant tumors and then divided them into three distinctive dietary groups:

GROUP 1--Low-fat, high-carb mouse chow
GROUP 2--Unlimited amounts of the high-fat, low-carb KetoCal
GROUP 3--Restricted amounts of the high fat, low-carb KetoCal

What were the results of the study?

GROUP 1 and GROUP 2 did not see improvements in the brain cancer. However, GROUP 3 saw a 35-65 percent reduction in the growth of the brain tumors and extended their life survival rates longer than the control groups. Moreover, the overall health of the high-fat, low-carb GROUP 3 mice was enhanced compared with the low-fat, high-carb GROUP 1.

The results of this study were published in the February 21, 2007 issue of the scientific journal Nutrition & Metabolism.

Describing the high-fat, low-carb diet as a "novel alternative therapy for malignant brain cancer," Dr. Seyfried believes the results his team found should lend credence to finding a more natural, just as effective, and economical way to fight this devastating condition.

"While the tumors did not vanish in the mice who received the strict KetoCal diet, they got significantly smaller and the animals lived significantly longer. And compared to radiation, chemotherapy and surgery, KetoCal is a relatively inexpensive treatment option," he said.

Since brain cancer is a leading killer among the cancers in both adults and children, researchers have been looking for less invasive ways to provide long-term management that will reduce the size of tumors by using the knowledge we already have about what feeds the cells of this cancer.

What the high-fat, low-carb diet does is basically starve tumors from getting any glucose (sugar), something we have learned from other research actually feeds cancer cells. Yikes! So, despite the low-fat diet that GROUP 1 ate, it was the high-carb content that prevented their brain tumors from seeing improvements.

Interestingly, although opponents of livin' la vida low-carb have made a mockery of ketosis and the ketone bodies that are produced on a low-carb diet, the truth of the matter is tumor cells cannot effectively metabolize them and, thus, cannot grow. Do you think you're gonna hear that on the 6 o'clock news anytime soon?! Yeah right!

What's most revealing about this study is the fact that it shows a positive step in the right direction with health as a result of going on a low-carb diet. We always hear the naysayers talking about how unsafe and ineffective this "dangerous fad" diet is for people to go on. But clearly the evidence from the research that is coming out is showing just the opposite is true.

There will come a day sometime in the future when livin' la vida low-carb will be the preferred and quite possibly recommended dietary approach to treating obesity and disease in the United States of America. It won't happen soon, but I honestly believe that day is coming. I only hope to stick around on this Earth long enough to see it happen in my lifetime. It could happen in the next 50 years. Wait and see!

You can e-mail Dr. Thomas Seyfried about his outstanding research at thomas.seyfried.1@bc.edu.

2-27-07 UPDATE: I heard from Dr. Thomas Seyfried in an e-mail today regarding my blog post.

Dear Mr. Moore,

Thank you for your interest in our brain cancer research. While the impact of the calorically restricted diet on brain cancer is significant, there is still much we don't know on the molecular mechanisms of action. Providing this kind of information will eventually hasten the adaption of the diet for general clinical use.

It is also important to mention that the anti-tumor benefits of the diet are observed only when given in restricted amounts to lower total caloric intake. Our previous studies showed that we could get similar results using a calorically restricted high carbohydrate/low fat diet. The phenomenon basically involves a complex series of metabolic transitions following reductions glucose and elevations in ketones. Ketogenic diets simply provide somewhat more circulating ketone bodies than restricted high carb diets, which is healthy for normal brain cells.

Sincerely,

Professor Seyfried

Well, I certainly appreciate the correspondence Dr. Seyfried. I'd be interested in seeing the side-by-side comparison of a calorie-restricted low-carb diet with a calorie-restricted low-fat diet to see what the difference would be on cancer and other health markers. That would be a fascinating subject to study. THANKS again for your e-mail!

Can Low-Carb Get You Arrested For DUI?

It is quite possible to fail a breathalyzer test because of low-carb

You decided to start livin' la vida low-carb and you're losing an incredible amount of weight. Everything is going great for you when all of a sudden you are driving down the road one day and you see blue lights flashing at you in your rearview mirror. You pull off to the side of the road and the officer asks you to step out of your vehicle for a breathalyzer test. Despite the fact that you haven't drunk a single drop of alcohol whatsoever, lo and behold your blood alcohol content registers a whopping 0.09%--higher than the legal limit. You are handcuffed, hauled down to the local jail and treated like a criminal for driving under the influence.

WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?! I'M NOT DRUNK!

Don't laugh at this story because it is very serious and could happen to YOU if you are in the right set of circumstances. It seems the breathalyzer tests used by law enforcement officials can register a false reading based on elevated ketone levels in your body. As you know, people who are on the low-carb lifestyle, especially in the most ketogenic stages eating around 20-40g carbs daily, induce heavy ketosis in their body to begin burning all that stored fat that's inside of them. That's what makes low-carb work so spectacular!

But a recent experiment by a scientist friend of mine showed those excess ketones that come from livin' la vida low-carb can actually show up on the breathalyzer test in a negative way and create a false positive for the presence of alcohol.

Conducted over several weeks, the scientist first made sure his body was not in ketosis and tested his blood alcohol content. Predictably, it came back with a ZERO reading. Then he allowed his body to get into ketosis and ran a series of tests with the breathalyzer. He scored as high as a 0.04% blood alchol content, which is about half of what the legal limit is in most states.

Keep in mind that he consumed no alcoholic beverages, no cough syrup, no mouthwash, and had no residual starch/sugars fermenting in his mouth. This reading he obtained was based solely on the ketones his body was producing.

The conclusion of the scientist was that some people could yield even higher results that would push them at or above the legal limit for being drunk if they were administered a breathalyzer test by a police officer. In other words, without drinking a single drop of alcohol, it is very possible that someone who is livin' la vida low-carb could be arrested for DUI, convicted, have their driver's licensed suspended or revoked and quite possibly jailed all because of their low-carb diet.

Here's a scary thought: Can you imagine what the reading would be for those low-carbers who DO drink alcohol?! Yikeseroo! This might be a good reason to STOP drinking now, eh? :)

One way to possibly get around this problem with the breathalyzer test producing a false positive for alcohol in your system as a result of being in ketosis is to request a blood test instead of a breath test since ketones do not produce the same results on a blood test. It could save you the embarassment of being arrested for a crime you did not commit.

This may all sound so bizarre to you, but I highly recommend you take it seriously and protect yourself from being falsely accused of driving under the influence. I'm not drinking and driving, officer, I'm just livin' la vida low-carb! See if that one will hold up in court! :-O

9-26-06 UPDATE: Want more proof that this is true? Check out #27 on this legal web site. Or how about #3 on this legal web site? See, I wasn't joking!