The Natural Alternative Part 3 - The Bullshit Menace Awakens

Extreme Ketoquackery

As the below-the-line comments on Parts 1 and 2 clearly show, the ketogenic diet is certainly an emotive subject. Today I will also be talking about cancer, perhaps the most emotive subject of all, so I expect things to get pretty nasty after posting. My deep and lasting thanks are due to anyone who has been defending me below the line on the blog, in the comments section of the two Guardian pieces, and elsewhere in social media land...

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The Natural Alternative - Part 2 - Revenge of the Chef

... Last time out we talked about ketosis, a metabolic state that occurs during starvation (yeah, I fucking said it again - it happens during starvation), where our cells switch to an alternative, fat derived fuel in order to limit their dependence on glucose during times of shortage. We also discussed ketogenic diets, where very low carbohydrate protocols are used to induce a state of ketosis without the need for starvation, and the use of these diets in the treatment of drug resistant epilepsy. For new readers, I would seriously recommend reading Part 1 first, but in summary the ketogenic diet is a useful and sometimes miraculous treatment for specific conditions, but should not be considered a harmless natural alternative. It is not a safe diet, and it comes with many serious and well-studied side effects that need to be managed. Part 1 also briefly mentioned that ketogenic diets may have a potential role in the treatment of other conditions, something that we are going to discuss a little more today...

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The Natural Alternative? Part 1

...As interest grows, there are an increasing number of charlatans trying to highjack the [ketogenic]diet for financial gain, muddying its name and spreading the most brutal and dangerous forms of pseudoscience imaginable. These people range from poorly trained nutritional therapists giving out advice way beyond their station, through to narcissistic researchers, chasing results, willing to side-step the usual rules of evidence based practise...

Read full post: The Natural Alternative? Part 1