Ketosis and Low Carb

[Guest guest]

I recently sent this post to the main group in

response to one by Warren in which he discusses the

body's production of ketones in response to low

carbohydrate intake. I should have sent a copy to this

list then but I neglected to do so. It is even more

relevant after the coverage in yesterday's New York

Times.

Warren,

>

> I cannot agree with you more about the positive

function of ketosis.

>

> I have a Ph.D. in nutrition, had two parents who

died from complications of

> diabetes in their mid sixties, and have been

fighting this battle for years

> with my traditional colleagues. Thank goodness there

is some data coming out

> to support this idea! I follow a CRON way of life

but it is VERY low in

> carbohydrate. That way I can keep my blood glucose

under 140 even after

> eating. When I eat " good " carbohydrates like whole

grain bread, coarse

> oatmeal, etc., I can go over 250. My father's doctor

who was a graduate of

> s Hopkins University told me in 1950 that I

would eventually get diabetes

> because of my genetics. He said that the best way to

hold it off was to stay

> " underweight " (Is that not CR?) I am retired now

and one of the older

> CRONies. I stay slim, eat lots of greens, nuts,

dairy, and meat but no pasta,

> bread, or potatoes. My current physician thinks my

numbers are great but he

> says that I am on a low starch not a low

carbohydrate plan. He might be right

> because I never go into ketosis. Even if I eat under

20 to 30 gms. of Carb, I

> never slough ketones. I do not lose weight either. I

once experimented and

> took my calories to 3000 (I am 5 ft. tall) and kept

my carbs below ten. I did

> not go into ketosis but did not gain even with that

high an intake of

> calories. I agree that insulin must be present in

order to gain and a very

> low carbohydrate diet lowers the amount of insulin

being produced. On the

> other hand, there must be a calorie deficit in order

to lose. I do not gain

> with 3000 calories, but I must go under 900 to lose.

1200 is maintenance for

> me.

>

> For me, staying healthy and avoiding the problems

that plagued my parents and

> their sibling in their sixties will be life

extending. I do not expect to

> live to be 120. If I make it into my eighties with

my eyesight and

> extremities in tact, I will feel that it worked for

me. I know that there are

> some listmates who feel that that is not life

extension. I feel that it is

> for someone who comes from a short-lived family

where no one makes it to 70.

> By the way, when my father died they did an autopsy,

and said that he had the

> organs of a ninety year old. He was 65. That

certainly gives credence to the

> idea that high glucose levels cause premature aging.

It is my belief that in

> healthy people, it is keeping these glucose levels

low through CRON that is

> one of the most important mechanisms of life

extension.

>

>

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