Evidence-based maximum recommended ketosis duration

spot

I'll start a thread on this if I may.

There are stark warnings about not prolonging a ketosis phase for longer than (insert random number) weeks for fear of (unspecified calamity).

At the same time there are people bragging about having been in ketosis since starting (gym, diet, motherhood etc).

I have no idea whether to deliberately schedule ketosis breaks and if so, how often and for how long.

Anecdotal "I've ketosed for two years without a break and nothing's fallen off yet" don't really help. Is there actually any medical finding, or are all these web doctors just spouting personal opinion?

Susan_RD_101

@spot

Thanks for your comment! You bring up a pretty big conundrum in the nutritional science world. Anecdotal health information happens much more quickly than the scientific process.

Without even searching, I would safely guess that there hasn't been a study that has looked at long term effects of keto diets in adults (children are a different story). The reason for this is randomized controlled trials take a long time to carry out ( due to grant writing, ethics approval, recruitment, study design and implementation, analyzing stats, and publishing). Keto diets have only really gained in popularity in the last 12-18 months, which means that the majority of people haven't been in long-term ketosis.

However, if keto diets continue to be on trend, I think we will have an increasing number of papers discussing at least the short term outcomes and safety in 2018.

Kind regards,

spot

@Susan_RD_101

That's helpful Susan, thank you. There was an article just a few days ago about an instance of extreme long-term fasting described at http://pmj.bmj.com/content/49/569/203.short which shows it can be managed with adequate monitoring but it was for a 23 year old. All the gym thugs I've seen body-building on low carb are under thirty. I expect risks may increase when the subject is overweight pensioners like me. I'll anecdotally report back when I've finished weight-reducing - I've often been described as something of a trial.

spot

I said I'd come back and report.

I had 5 months in ketosis and dropped my BMI from 30 to 22. All my blood tests are now acceptable, in particular my HbA1c 76 mmol/L has reduced to 30. I'm calling a halt on the recommendation of my diabetes nurse.

Whether just calorie restriction would have had the same result I'm not sure, but it's made the 800 calorie target easier to stick with. I've definitely felt more mentally agile from very soon after starting - if anyone starts a proper trial I think they should include that.

Susan_RD_101

@spot

Thanks for the update!

Keep us posted with how things go during the maintenance stage.

Kind regards,

Eliisa

Hi @spot
Thanks so much for sharing your impressive results with us! I run our social media pages and was wondering if you might be open to sharing your story on our social platforms?
Congratulations again on improving your overall health!
Eliisa

spot

Hi @Eliisa, I was reading one of your January threads just yesterday.

I asked someone (so as to respond to this post today) what social media means. I'm told it involves having an account on at least one of Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or Instagram. I confess I have so far been extremely reluctant to go anywhere near any of them. I'm fairly certain that putting my head over that parapet will permanently flag my presence to dozens of people I've spent decades avoiding. The algorithms for "would you like to befriend X" achieve more than any seance ever did.

On the other hand, what I know now would have been very useful to have been told back in January when I had my T2 diagnosis. I could write a brief essay here if that might give you what you've asked for.

spot

(correction - your thread was in April, https://forums.cronometer.com/discussion/883/going-keto#latest but the last post in it referenced a January blog entry, that's where I'd confused the date)

Eliisa

Hi @spot

You're absolutely correct that having a social media account would mean having an account on one of the aforementioned platforms! I appreciate your response in regards to your reluctance to delve into the socials - it is a wild world out there! Cronometer is active on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook but you don't have to register for any of these platforms to take a peek at them (should you ever wish to).

If you have the time and the inclination to write about your journey and your personal findings throughout your 5 months in ketosis we would love to hear about it!

I did the keto diet for about a month but fell (rather spectacularly) off the train and headlong into a lot of carbohydrates. They welcomed me back with open arms and lots of sugar. This certainly helps me appreciate the willpower to remain in keto for 5 months and I truly applaud your efforts.

I look forward to further hearing about your experience!

All my best,
Eliisa