Very low carb diets

[Guest guest]

Hi!

One thing I've always wondered about are long term effects of a very low

carbohydrate, rich in meat and eggs diet. Although I find TREMENDOUS

symptomatic relief and improved energy mood etc. in following such a diet, I

have always hypothesised the following:

1) The longer you stay on such a diet, the harder it is to start eating

carbs again

I know one guy (Soundman for the grateful dead) who didn't eat anything that

wasn't animal flesh for 47 years!! After a while, he simply couldn't eat

anything else. Even low carb veggies like broccoli. His digestive system

couldn't handle it. Personally, I love vegetables and I would like, one day

to be able to eat more carbs, not less. I feel if I killed all my

infections, and healed my endocrine system (like Schwarzben Principle 2)

then this should be possible. I know somebody who did heal their metabolism

this way. You have to admit, we SHOULD be able to eat more carbs. A low carb

diet should not be mandatory for maintaining good blood sugar levels and a

good disposition. It is indicative of an impaired metabolism and the nature

of our infections that we are forced into this

2) Eating this way promotes insulin resistance.

Here many will disagree with me. After all, when you start low carbing, if

you had previously suffered from insulin problems, then your fasting insulin

should (and will) drop. But proteins and saturated fat DO elicit an insulin

response contrary to the opinion of some. A big steak can cause a decent

amount of insulin secretion. I read one study that suggested that chronic

consumption of a low carb diet with protein as a major macronutrient lead to

more consistently elevated levels of insulin. For example, after a carb

meal, your insulin should go up, then drop (though for many of us, this is

not true). But if you eat a big protein meal, it may stay elevated for

longer. I have also read anecdotal evidence or suggestions that as one's

body becomes more adapted to using fat as a fuel source, it becomes less

efficient at processing carbs. So if you do add carbs back in, you will

store them like crazy (as fat). This seems to be at least partly true as

Atkins dieters who fall of the wagon gain weight incredibly quickly.

3) Eating this way does not promote a healthy bowel ecology.

Meat changes the pH of you bowels. IT also rots in there (or at least, it

can). In any event, it is not something lactobilii and bifidum thrive on.

This is why I want to add more kimchi into my diet: to try create a more

hospitable environment for good bacteria to thrive. The Body Ecology diet it

also a low carb diet, but makes low carb vegetables a primary component of

the diet for this reason. Donna's goal is to ultimately restore a healthy

gut flora which I don't believe my all-meat diet can achieve. Dr. Young's

work (reclaim your inner terrain) actually forbids meat for its effect on

the bowel (congestion) and blood (red blood cells stick together and

pleomorphic organisms evolve). I am not convinced I agree entirely with all

Dr. Young has to say, but Donna Gates makes a good case.

So what is my point? Well, I want to know if anybody who has been doing this

for a long time has managed to add more carbohydrate into their diet? This

is my long term goal. It's one of the driving factors behind my high dose

kimchi experiment. I LOVE how good I feel if I avoid carbs - it has changed

my life-, but sometimes I think it's like a band-aid and as a long term

solution, if I want to be normal again, I need to try something else.

Just looking for thoughts on this

Thanks!

Dirk