I try to be a voice of
sensibility in the vast and overwhelming sea of information regarding low
carbohydrate and ketogenic ways of eating. It even says so at the top of my
homepage: “A source of sanity in the sea
of nutritional madness.” What I know compared to what there is left to
learn is like a thimble of water compared to the Pacific Ocean. There’s a lot
more—a lot more—I don’t know than what I do know, but I
try to share with you the small bits of knowledge I gain as I hang on for dear life
while traversing these tumultuous waters. I’ve done it about digestion,
cancer,
insulin,
fuel partitioning, and more. (My Alzheimer’s book has been completely rewritten
and updated for a March 2017 release as a print book from a big name publisher, so I’ll continue do it about Alzheimer’s, too.)
However, I am starting to
worry that, due to my penchant for ranting about things that bother me about
the low carb and ketogenic communities, I’m developing a reputation for being
an angry, hateful, vicious, and vindictive person. I assure you, I am neither
angry, nor hateful, nor vicious, nor vindictive. In fact, “in real life,” I am
quiet, shy, and, I’d like to think, gentle and kind.
Nevertheless, there’s no denying the fact that I do rant a lot. But what can I
say? The utter madness being masqueraded as fact in certain spaces provides no
shortage of material to rant about. Being
a gentle and kind person, I assume the spreading of misinformation occurs as a
result of plain ol’ ignorance, rather than deliberate malice and ill intent.
Whatever the intent, the end result is that misinformation is being spread, and because of it, people are experiencing
setbacks along their roads to better health, fat loss, better blood sugar
control, and more.
Why do I care? Well, like I
mentioned in my rant post about fasting,
as a nutritionist working with clients, I deal with the consequences of what happens when people follow
advice that is either straight-up false, or advice that is perfectly
appropriate for a certain context, but which is not applicable to their context.
It’s getting old, folks. I’m
tired of trying to respond politely to emails from people who are afraid to eat
two ounces of carrots in a serving of mixed vegetables, but who think it’s
completely normal to put five tablespoons of butter and coconut oil in a cup of
coffee. (Or better yet, to drink that 500-calorie coffee in the morning and say
they’re “fasting.”) I’m tired of trying to respond politely to emails from
grown adults who are restricting themselves to 45 grams of protein a day because they’re afraid that if they eat more than that, they’ll be at less than 80% fat and they’ll mess up their “keto ratios,” and also because the excess protein will be turned immediately into
glucose and cause a huge “spike” in their blood sugar. (No, it won’t. Really, it won’t. Seriously now, it won’t.) I’m tired of trying to respond politely to emails from people who
are disappointed and frustrated because they’re not losing weight or are maybe
even gaining weight, even though
they’re listening to their trusted experts online and are eating more fat – adding lots of extra butter
to things, eating fat bombs, and shunning anything that even hints at being lean or low in fat.
They’re as afraid of skinless chicken breasts as they are of 64-ounce troughs
of Mountain Dew. And I’m tired of trying to respond politely to emails from
people who, for whatever reasons—and there are many—are convinced that they
must, must be in ketosis at all
times. I swear, if I read or hear “I got kicked out of ketosis” one more time…
I am frustrated, and
good-hearted people out there trying to follow low carb or ketogenic diets are
frustrated, too.
In this spirit, I have a few
more rants planned (already written, in fact) about the problematic things I
see in the carbohydrate restriction community. But I don’t want to be a
one-trick pony. I don’t want to have a reputation as an angry person who only
ever posts electronic versions of hissy fits. Nevertheless, now that I’m more
active in a few Facebook groups, I am confronted with these problematic things
every day, and I feel compelled to address them. Since I don’t want to address
them over and over and over again, I
am going to post these few rants and then be done with them. (For now. Heaven
knows there will always be something else that gets a rise out of me, but I’ll
try to keep the ranting to a minimum once these next few posts are out of my
system.) And get them out of my system I must. I don’t have children. What I
have instead are ideas to write about, and they nag me, metaphorically pulling
on my pant leg, until I finally give them they attention they require and see
to their care and feeding.
I have three such posts in
the hopper. You will know them when you see them. One of them—the last one I’ll
post—is a candidate for a spot in my top three longest posts ever (alongside the one about my mother and the one about vitamin J). I thought about breaking it up into three or four
separate posts, but I’d rather just get it all out at once and be done with it. Plus,
that way, if I ever need to respond to someone on social media, or someone who
emails me directly, in regard to some of what that post includes, I can just
send them a link and it will all be centrally located.
As for what I’m going to
write about after that, I’ll continue with more Low Carb Cooking Class (LC3), and I have not forgotten about the series on the metabolic theory of cancer. I do plan to pick it up again, as
we have finally, finally gotten to
the point where we can talk about the ketogenic diet and have it make sense.
And I have been saying for ages now that I’d like to write something about
sodium, and how salt is not something to fear, but that’s going to take a while. Before that, I’m
going to post a couple of things that I see a need for, if questions on Twitter
and Facebook are any indication: a guide to dining out on a low carb or
ketogenic diet, and breakfast ideas for people who either don’t like bacon and
eggs, or who are “tired of them.” (Yes, apparently such a thing is possible,
though I have yet to witness this rare phenomenon in person.) I’m also
contemplating sharing my thoughts on “zero carb” diets, as well as my
growing suspicion that a plethora of modern chronic illnesses are driven not
just by hyperinsulinemia
and hyperglycemia, which are both, of course, huge issues, but by chronic nutrient insufficiency. The more I learn about the nuances of certain
biochemical processes and the modern food supply, the more I appreciate just
how robust the human body is, because frankly, I’m actually surprised there
aren’t even more very ill people in
our midst. That there aren’t is a testament to the ability of the human body to adapt and overcome and keep
on truckin’ even when all indicators suggest someone is about to keel over and
die at any moment.
That’s all. Just wanted to warn
you let you know what’s in store for the next few posts. After that, I’ll
get back to writing things that might be more helpful for people, and I’ll try
to keep my anger out of things. (Although I have to say, while I don’t want a
reputation for being angry, my sarcasm
and snark seem to go over pretty well, and I’m totally okay with being known
for that.) ;-)
Disclaimer:
Amy Berger, MS, CNS, NTP, is not a physician and Tuit Nutrition, LLC, is not a
medical practice. The information contained on this site is not intended to
diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition and is not to be used
as a substitute for the care and guidance of a physician. Links in this post
and all others may direct you to amazon.com, where I will receive a small
amount of the purchase price of any items you buy through my affiliate links.
