Discussions

I’m looking for a new family doctor , someone who is familiar with and supportive of the Ketogenic diet . I get nothing but snide remarks from my old one when I want to talk Keto . Any suggestions ?

My husband sees Dr.Fourie and he is supportive of his keto lifestyle.

Dr. T. Fourie is not accepting new patients

The reason the OP is having such trouble finding a doctor to support the Keto diet is because it would be unethical for any medical doctor to condone this diet. The safety of following this diet is suspect and not supported by research for general use. It is only recommended for people with epilepsy in helping to control seizures if it works at all. It is not a healthy way to lose weight.  
A Naturopathic so-called Doctor is not a medical doctor and can agree to whatever you want because they pretty much allow anything even if it is harmful for you. Alternative medicine makes big money off of fads and with deception.

The only way to eat healthy like you said is to cut back on or eliminate processed foods. I totally support that. Also eating a variety of foods from all food groups from dairy grains lean meats fish poultry legumes and pulses and the most important of all increasing fruit and vegetable intake.  
Diets generally restrict one or more food groups claiming they are bad for you. Or they follow strict eating patterns that do not help you eat healthy. It is well known that people who lose weight on diets regain that weight because either they were not able to sustain the diet over a long time or they did not change their former unhealthy eating habits which diets do not help you change  
 
But your source that you cite The Wheat Belly book explains your view. This book is a load of crappy misinformation written by a dr who should have known better. He just wanted to make money on his book. It is full of false information that is not supported by the research. The author cherry picked the research to make himself sound good.

http://www.weightymatters.ca/2013/02/diet-book-review-wheat-belly.html  
 
https://www.webmd.com/diet/a-z/wheat-belly-diet-review  
 
https://www.cbc.ca/news/wheat-belly-arguments-are-based-on-shaky-science-critics-say-1.2974214

We are lucky to live in a country such as Canada. Where one can be free to believe what we want.  
 
My only concern is your comment about keeping an open mind.  
Yes definitely it is important to keep an open mind. Along with an open mind comes the responsibility to be informed. Be wary of sources that manipulate the science to make money, who distort the truth about nutrition. It is important even more so today to make informed decisions, to question what you read on the internet, in books, in magazines and what well meaning friends tell you. A lot of alternative methods support themselves with testimonials which are worth nothing in the eyes of research. There are too many confounding factors that can affect the final results. Good sound randomized Controlled Research is the only way to get to the truth.  
 
Like you said, you have the freedom to read what you want and make your own decision. Make it a properly informed decision.  
 
Edited by Spades!!, 2018-11-10 19:24:02

I saved my husband’s life with Keto . As a type 2 diabetic he was getting no help from his doctors . Each year it was more medication , he got worse and worse . No doctor ever asked him what he was eating . I finally had enough , educated myself and started Keto at the beginning of this year . We eat nothing but fresh meat and vegetables , combined with healthy fats . He lost 25 pounds and his blood sugar is almost normal . We eat the same food our forefathers ate 50 000 years ago . It’s what humans are supposed to eat , not that packaged crap that is making us all fat and diabetic . Don’t tell me Keto is not for life .

Glad things worked out for your husband. Because I don’t know the details of what you went through or what was going on before and after you started the keto diet, I can’t comment on your situation.  
 
But I stand by what I say.  
 
Edited by Spades!!, 2018-11-10 21:26:40

I love keto and I will never look back. I have completely change my eating habits and have lost 65lbs. I feel amazing and I look better everyday. I'm obese and haven't thrown exercise into the mix quite yet, but I will be. My daily meals consist of mostly non process meats, vegetables and dairy. I eat berries here and there. In January my blood pressure was boarded line high, and my heart was racing for no reason. I have completely reversed both of these. You do you and I'll worry about me, but don't tell me it's unhealthy when I've seen the positive effects.

No apologies needed! Your post was not preachy. What I picked up from your post was the importance following a balanced diet and of self acceptance a point very valid to the discussion. Something our society does not do very well.

I’ve heard lots on weight lose with keto but does anyone know long term effects of the cardiovascular system? Im curious in this if someone has some facts or knows that it is safe. Thanks!

That in finding a keto friendly doctor you find one that is a GOOD doctor. There is at least one in this town that I would not trust with my life. Be careful.

main reason there is no documented proof (in my opinion) is that Keto is fairly new to the mainstream. My wife works in the healthcare field and they actually have a poster up talking about the benefits of Keto. I am a true believer in this lifestyle as I have lost 50lbs and am in the best shape since I was a teenager.  
I have tried eating "normal" to see if I can do it and nothing satisfies me more than eating keto now. I hardly ever crave sugars (and I was a sugar addict) and carbs are a thing of the past. Just last night I had taco chips (and that was a daily staple for me) and it did nothing for me other than to disappoint me. This is not just a weight loss program, this is a decision someone has to make to live by. If used as weight loss you will gain it all back very quickly. If not done properly and you are not following the keto "diet" properly you will gain a lot of weight and it will be very unhealthy.  
Few benefits for myself in the 6mths of being keto:  
Lost 50lbs - cardio is way up (mainly cause I don't carry 50 additional lbs) - joints are less sore (probably cause of the weight loss) - skin is much clearer - pains in my chest are non-existent - my food bill is half what it used to be!!!!!  
This is life for me now, I will not ever go back unless there is major health implications found from this. But as of now with all the positives I have seen in myself (and feel) I don't see how there can be anything greater than living the "normal" life of eating carbs and sugars. As for cardio vascular, it will be no different than eating any other way. If you are sedentary you will have no cardio, just because you typically lose weight (and lose it quick) does NOT mean you should not be working out on a regular basis.  
I too would love to know a name of a dr. that supports this as I am new to Brandon and need a dr!

BigDaddy 2 said "main reason there is no documented proof (in my opinion) is that Keto is fairly new to the mainstream. My wife works in the healthcare field and they actually have a poster up talking about the benefits of Keto. I am a true believer in this lifestyle as I have lost 50lbs and am in the best shape since I was a teenager.   I have tried eating "normal" to see if I can do it and nothing satisfies me more than eating keto now. I hardly ever crave sugars (and I was a sugar addict) and carbs are a thing of the past. Just last night I had taco chips (and that was a daily staple for me) and it did nothing for me other than to disappoint me. This is not just a weight loss program, this is a decision someone has to make to live by. If used as weight loss you will gain it all back very quickly. If not done properly and you are not following the keto "diet" properly you will gain a lot of weight and it will be very unhealthy.   Few benefits for myself in the 6mths of being keto:   Lost 50lbs - cardio is way up (mainly cause I don't carry 50 additional lbs) - joints are less sore (probably cause of the weight loss) - skin is much clearer - pains in my chest are non-existent - my food bill is half what it used to be!!!!!   This is life for me now, I will not ever go back unless there is major health implications found from this. But as of now with all the positives I have seen in myself (and feel) I don't see how there can be anything greater than living the "normal" life of eating carbs and sugars. As for cardio vascular, it will be no different than eating any other way. If you are sedentary you will have no cardio, just because you typically lose weight (and lose it quick) does NOT mean you should not be working out on a regular basis.   I too would love to know a name of a dr. that supports this as I am new to Brandon and need a dr! "

My lifestyle before this was a huge carb in take daily. Eating whatever I felt like and making excuses for myself. I had zero self control no matter how hard I tried. With this way of eating I have no problem with all the treats in the break room, I have zero desire to eat things with sugar or high carb count. When I eat something that I shouldn't it doesn't taste that great and I get zero satisfaction from it. Zero cravings whatsoever. Today is 7 months for me.

Spades!! said "The reason the OP is having such trouble finding a doctor to support the Keto diet is because it would be unethical for any medical doctor to condone this diet. The safety of following this diet is suspect and not supported by research for general use. It is only recommended for people with epilepsy in helping to control seizures if it works at all. It is not a healthy way to lose weight.   A Naturopathic so-called Doctor is not a medical doctor and can agree to whatever you want because they pretty much allow anything even if it is harmful for you. Alternative medicine makes big money off of fads and with deception. "

I have a hard time wrapping my head around the whole keto thing. A true ketogenic diet is a medically-prescribed diet, done under strict supervision, to treat epilepsy. Our daughter almost ended up on it when none of her medications worked. I was hesitant do to it because 1. it's extremely hard to sustain, 2. it can be extremely dangerous if not done correctly, and 3. it's considered a last stop before surgery for irrectable seizures. It should also be pointed out that it only works in pediatric patients, not adult ones.  
 
The gains people see from keto, I suspect, is the simple fact that they got the sugar out of their diet and are eating more fruits and veggie and good (i.e. not processed) animal products. There's no "magic" diet that will cure all our ills.  
 
Two excellent books I've recently read that shed a lot of light on food, the food industruy, the diet industry, and traditional diets are The Dorito Effect and 100 Million Years of Food. Both are available at the Brandon Public Library. Both gave me a lot of food for thought (pardon my pun) about the foods we eat and how they influence not only our bodies, but food choices we make. Both are also very balanced, not pro any one kind of diet but an analysis of our current food systems.  
 
To the OP: I see Dr. Tegg. He told me that the secret to weight loss in the patients he sees that are successful is to stop eating breads and to start walking. They eat other grains, sugar, etc, but those are the common factors to those who made healthy lifestyle changes.

Years ago I cut sugar from my diet for about 6mths and never once did I see any weight loss like I have this time. Problem is I was still eating carbs as a main staple, because we have been taught you need carbs for energy. Once in ketosis, my body is now using the fat stored and the fat I consume as my energy source.  
If truly doing Keto, you will actually be eating less veggies except for the high fiber ones (broccoli & Cauliflower) as most legumes and root veggies have higher carb/sugars. And fruits are even less as they are high in sugars. This will also depend on high strict you take the keto lifestyle. I personally went as low as possible, so zero sugars and basically no carbs.  
We have been so indoctrinated with low fat diets and medications it's not even funny. I'm not saying that Keto is for everyone, but the hardest thing about Keto is all the "experts" out there that claim to know what works and what doesn't. Anyone that says Keto is hard to maintain has not even tried it and are believing the "Ketonazis" out there. My Keto life consists of breakfast (frittata), lunch (salad wrapped homemade hamburger) and supper (meat and broccoli or salad).....don't see anything that's hard to maintain there.  
Trust me, I have been on low-carb high protein diets, low-fat high protein diets, taken almost every fat-burner supplement out there. Worked out 3hrs/day while trying different diets and Keto is the only one that has me where I am at, and there is no more work to maintain this lifestyle than prior, actually less and my grocery bill is cut in half! I live a very busy life, between work, gym and other commitments and I save so much on food and have the energy to work out at 530am for an hour, go for a quick run with the dog, go to work in a very physically demanding profession and go back to the gym for an hour before finishing the night off with a run/walk with the dog again.  
Like I said, it's not for everyone, but it has worked for me and continues to work for me.