Be ketotic . . . but only sometime

Achieving ketosis by engaging in a very low-carbohydrate, high-fat lifestyle is an effective means of losing weight, breaking insulin and leptin resistance, reversing type 2 diabetes and fatty liver, reducing blood pressure, reversing the inflammation of visceral fat, and may even cause partial or total remission of selected cancers. So what’s the problem? The problem comes when people remain ketotic for extended periods. We know with confidence that long-term ketosis poses substantial risk for health complications because thousands of children have followed ketogenic diets over the years as a means of suppressing intractable grand mal seizures unresponsive to drugs and procedures, seizures that can lead to irreversible brain damage if not stopped. A ketogenic diet reduces seizures by approximately 55-85%. Because seizures are a chronic problem, these kids maintain ketosis for months to years. The health of these kids have been formally tracked. What happens to them beyond the reduction in seizures? A number of phenomena emerge: They have high likelihood of calcium oxalate and uric acid kidney stones–Likelihood is 10- to 100-fold greater than in kids not on the diet. Kidney stones are uncommon in childhood, yet these kids commonly have kidney stones. The risk in an adult on a prolonged ketogenic effort is therefore high, also. Kidney stones are not benign–they are painful and can occasionally result in kidney damage (increased creatinine, urinary tract infe...
Source: Wheat Belly Blog - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Undoctored Wheat Belly Lifestyle Source Type: blogs