6 Keto Diet Myths Debunked

I am going to address all those keto myths, but first, there is something that really has me puzzled:

 Why do so many people seemingly hate the Keto Diet?

One thing that has me baffled is, why are so many people firmly against the Ketogenic Diet. It’s obvious it works, it’s made thousands of people healthy.

Beginners of a keto diet have a difficult time because of all the negativity from family, friends, and co-workers. So why do so many people hate it? The science behind it is absolutely solid.

This is what science says about the Keto Diet:

Read this study on body composition and hormonal responses to a carbohydrate-restricted diet.

I think I have figured out what’s causing this Keto Diet hostility:

Cognitive Dissonance:

The theory was proposed by Social Psychologist Leon Festinger in 1957. According to the theory, individuals prefer for their ideas to be consistent with each other “consonant”. “Dissonance” is the mental distress individuals experience when their idea is in conflict with new information.

“Sometimes people hold a core belief that is very strong. When they are presented with evidence that works against that belief, the new evidence cannot be accepted. It would create a feeling that is extremely uncomfortable, called cognitive dissonance.

And because it is so important to protect the core belief, they will rationalize, ignore and even deny anything that doesn’t fit in with the core belief.”

–Frantz Fanon

The anti-Ketogenic Diet mentality is an example of someone displaying cognitive dissonance hostility. It goes against their core beliefs and actually gives some people mental distress.

Family members, friends, coworkers and other people that display hostility and negativity towards your improved eating habits are suffering from cognitive dissonance.

They just can’t open up their minds to a new way of thinking. The old, outdated dietary guidelines are so ingrained in their minds they can’t perceive another reality is possible.

Ignorance about the keto diet creates a lot of these myths.

If you have success with the Ketogenic Diet, and you will if you stick with it. You’re going to hear it. People will see that you look better and feel better and they will ask you how you did it. So you might as well be prepared to answer some questions from the skeptical.

Disclaimer: Any advice or recommendations I make are NOT for a type 1 diabetic. Type 1 diabetes is a serious medical condition and any diet program should under a doctor’s supervision. The type 1 diabetic’s pancreas does not produce any insulin and they need to inject it into their bloodstream to control blood sugar.

Like any diet, keto is not perfect, but it’s important to differentiate between the false myths associated with keto and the actual negatives of the ketogenic diet. Here is an informative article that outlines the legitimate cons of the keto diet.

Before starting a ketogenic diet it’s advisable to get a physical.

Get a full blood workup (lipid panel) and ask for a C-Peptide test in order to see if your pancreas is functioning and producing insulin. Also, get a C-Reactive protein test to check your inflammatory markers. The C-Peptide test can check you for high insulin levels and even predict that you might get type 2 diabetes in the future.

If you’re going to stick with the Ketogenic Diet you have to believe it is safe and effective. Here are the top false myths associated with the Ketogenic Diet.

Be Careful or you’ll get ketoacidosis.

This one is very prevalent. I even had a nurse at the VA warn me about this. It’s actually correctly called “diabetic ketoacidosis” and is a serious complication of diabetes that occurs when your body produces high levels of blood acids called ketones.

The condition develops when your body can’t produce enough insulin. Insulin normally plays a key role in lowering ketones. To oversimplify it for the sake of brevity, if your body still produces insulin you won’t get ketoacidosis because your body will excrete insulin when needed which will lower your ketone acid levels.

Ketoacidosis primarily exists only for type 1 diabetics. Many people lump all diabetics together, but they are not the same and at the opposite end of the spectrum.

You have to have some carbohydrates, so keto isn’t healthy.

This another keto diet myth that is not based on science.

First of all, out of the three macronutrients: (Protein, carbohydrates, fat), carbohydrates are the only one that is NOT a necessary nutrient. You would eventually die of malnutrition without fat and protein but would get along just fine without carbohydrates.

Here is a great article that explains why carbohydrates are not an essential nutrient.

Yes, you do need some glucose, but your liver, through a process called gluconeogenesis, can make glucose without carbohydrates. When carbohydrate intake is inadequate for total energy requirements, protein is broken down in the liver through gluconeogenesis and utilized as an energy source.

Traditional Eskimos have eaten a low carbohydrate diet and lived free of heart disease, cancer, and most other chronic diseases affecting modern western civilizations. Research published in the mid-1970s tried to explain this “Eskimo paradox” of living healthy with very few plant foods, on a high-fat, high-cholesterol, no-dietary-fiber diet.

Secondly, the ketogenic diet is not a “no carb” diet, it is a low carb diet and I will contend it’s really not that low carb, it’s just the standard American diet has become so “high carb” that the keto diet just seems extreme.

Don’t fall for the “dietary guidelines” scam.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that you eat between 225 and 325 grams of carbohydrates a day and the average American eats approximately 300-600 grams a day. Those numbers are absurdly high but unfortunately, have become thought of as normal.

In the United States, 1 in 3 people will have Type 2 diabetes by 2050 if current trends continue, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what the problem is.

Keto Myth: Fasting and Keto can suppress the immune system.

Quite the contrary actually, since you eat less harmful sugar the immune system doesn’t have to fight as much inflammation. In fact this article highlights the evidence that fasting and ketone utilization can be beneficial to the immune system.

If you don’t eat frequently throughout the day your metabolism will slow down.

Another false assumption. The Ketogenic diet is low carb, not a low-calorie diet. Counting calories are not that important.

When eating a Ketogenic diet, the body is using its fat stores for fuel, it maintains a speedy metabolism because there’s energy still being utilized—as opposed to slowing down when someone eats the traditional low-calorie diets by reducing their total calories.

Research has also shown that when we fast or eat a ketogenic diet, our metabolism speeds up and growth hormones are raised, which is good in maintaining lean muscle mass. Also, the massive drop in insulin helps prevent insulin resistance.

This study shows the hormone norepinephrine is raised due to a decline in serum glucose.

which is what keeps our metabolism high. The bottom line is the ketones will keep your metabolism humming along just fine and without as much insulin in your system, you’ll burn much more fat.

When we get Fat Adapted our metabolism does not slow down or become catabolic. So there you have it, the Ketogenic Diet and/or intermittent fasting does not slow down your metabolism.

Keto is just a new, fad diet and it’s too restrictive to stick with long term.

Is the Keto Diet sustainable?

Absolutely. This keto diet myth comes from so many people doing the Yo-Yo diet. Keto is really not as restrictive as what people think, you can still eat rich, delicious food that curbs hunger and keep you satisfied.

You can eat almost unlimited vegetables, meat, butter, cheese, olives, some nuts (walnuts, pecans, macadamia nuts), cheese, avocados, eggs, bacon, coconut oil, kefir, zucchini noodles, cauliflower rice.

Here is a growing list of amazingly healthy keto superfoods.

You can even bake with, almond flour, coconut flour, heavy cream, cream cheese, baking powder, blueberries, vanilla extract and use artificial sweeteners like xylitol or stevia.

Here is an interesting article that explores the factors that make any diet successful in the long term.

Sugar is poison to the body and Americans are eating way too much of it.

There are literally hundreds of recipes available on Google and plenty of keto diet Youtube videos. More importantly, you have to think of it not as a short term plan to lose some quick weight, but as a lifelong decision to change your eating habits to live a more healthful life.

We must understand that carbohydrates convert to sugar in our body, so the less sugar we put in our system, the more healthy you will be. We decide to “eat to live, not live to eat.”

The high-fat keto diet food will give you a heart attack.

This is a tough one. The “high cholesterol” lie has been so ingrained in our minds for so long that most doctors even incorrectly think that high cholesterol directly leads to heart disease.

A study published in the Lancet included 5,754 patients from Australia and New Zealand who had already had a heart attack.

The average cholesterol level of this group of people was around 220 mg/dl (5.7 mmol/l).

Data from the World Health Organization Global Infobase shows that around the same time, the average cholesterol level for the general population was also 220 mg/dl (5.7 mmol/l).

People who suffered a heart attack had the same average cholesterol level as the general population. Read this cholesterol lie if you don’t believe me.

A study published in the American Journal of Cardiology included 8,500 American men with existing heart disease. The average cholesterol level for this group of people was around 215 mg/dl (5.5 mmol/l).

Which again, according to the World Health Organization is around the same or even slightly lower than the average cholesterol level for the general population.

he truth is that Low-Density Lipoproteins (LDL) or so-called “bad cholesterol” isn’t really bad all by itself. Cholesterol is a complex substance and it only becomes harmful when it becomes glycosylated by excess glucose.

The problem develops when you add excess glucose into the equation.

In a high glucose/insulin environment the LDL becomes glycosylated and oxidized.

Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is a harmful type of cholesterol that is produced in your body when normal LDL cholesterol is damaged by glycosylation and chemical interactions with free radicals.

These and a related series of inflammatory responses can result in atherosclerosis, which is the hardening of the arteries.

Actually Blood pressure, C-Reactive Protein (inflammation) test, triglyceride levels, and especial A1C (average glucose) level tests are a much better barometer of health than focusing just on LDL alone.

There is good fat and bad fat, and good fat is perfectly healthy. As long as you don’t eat dirty Keto your cholesterol levels will be fine.

If your LDL does become high, do your own research and talk to your physician and it’s OK to get a second opinion. I like what Dr. Sarah Hallberg says about cholesterol.

Dr. Berg also has a good video on high cholesterol.

Keto Myth #6: Eating fat will make you fat

This dietary myth has permeated our society so thoroughly I have mostly given up correcting people on this one. I recommend everyone read Dr. Mark Hyman’s book titled. Eat Fat, Get Thin: Why the Fat We Eat Is the Key to Sustained Weight Loss and Vibrant Health.

Insulin is the storage hormone and signals the body to convert excess energy into stored fat. Fat does not raise blood sugar or insulin. This study on Science Direct shows a high-fat meal suppressed hunger, induced fullness, and slowed gastric emptying more than the high-carbohydrate meal.

Sugar and refined carbohydrates is what makes you fat.

The bottom line is we’ve had it all wrong. Here is another article to prove my point: Here’s The Science on Why Eating Fat Won’t Make You Fat.

Robert Bryant