Entries by The Ketogenic Diet for Health

The Effect of Ketogenic Diets on Thyroid Hormones

The previous generation of myths about low carb diets were focused on organ systems. They warned of things like kidney dysfunction, and osteoporosis. As these myths became untenable, new myths have swiftly taken their place: myths, for example, about hormone systems, and gut bacteria.In previous posts, such as here, and here, we dispelled misinformation arising […]

The Ketogenic Diet’s Effect on Cortisol Metabolism

(Related post: Red Light, Green Light: responses to cortisol levels in keto vs. longevity research) One of the myths surrounding ketogenic diets comes from misunderstanding the role of cortisol — the “stress hormone”. In a previous post, we addressed one of the arguments behind this myth: the idea that to activate gluconeogenesis (to make glucose […]

Science Fiction

We humans are storytellers. When we want something to be memorable and meaningful, we make it into a story that can be interpreted causally. Our brains are just made that way [1], [2]. That may be why adding dramatic anecdotes to a book or article can make it more popular and persuasive than sticking solely […]

Babies thrive under a ketogenic metabolism

Some people, even some scientists who study ketogenic metabolism, have the idea that ketogenesis is somehow abnormal, or exceptional; an adaptation for emergencies only. We disagree. One reason we think a ketogenic metabolism is normal and desirable, is that human newborns are in ketosis. Despite the moderate sugar content of human breast milk, breastfeeding is […]

Similarities between germ-free mice and ketogenic humans

Tracing a chain of ideas Sometimes the assumptions that scientists start with about what is “good”, “healthy”, or “normal” can cause them to interpret results in a completely different way than someone starting with different assumptions would have. Then, the resulting conclusions become the assumptions in the next round of interpretation, leading to a chain […]

The Ketogenic Diet as a Treatment for Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic Syndrome (MetS) can be viewed as a set of symptoms of insulin resistance. Taken together, those symptoms signify a threat of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and other diseases that appear to be different manifestations of a common cause. That common cause is likely to be insulin resistance. This hypothesis is supported by evidence that […]