In this blog, Epsom & Worcester Park, Surrey based Naturopathic Nutritional Therapist and functional medicine test expert, Natalie @NatNutHC, discusses a low carbohydrate diet, and why strict Keto may not be recommended.

 

Why a low carbohydrate, high fibre, high fat diet is more beneficial to overall health outcomes compared to the Keto diet?

The traditional Keto diet can be extreme and does not focus the individuals attention on eating in a healthy manner.

The keto diet was originally created for use in epilepsy and its use has proven beneficial in this regard.  However, extremely low carbohydrate diets of no more than 10%, without healthy and balanced nutrient intake, and without a focus on quality fibre and quality fats can increase cortisol levels and inflammatory markers (Ebbeling et al. 2012), which over the longer term can lead to poor health outcomes.  In fact, a more moderate carbohydrate intake of around 34% benefits inflammatory markers (Bazzano et al. 2014), and a balance of approximately 30-35% carbohydrates with 40-45% fats appears to be the most beneficial ratio (Bazzano et al. 2014; Gardner et al. 2007; Gardner et al. 2018).

Instead of a keto diet, we at NatNutHC recommend a healthy low carbohydrate diet, with an abundance of fibre and healthy fats, an abundance of rainbow colours in your fruit and vegetable intake and moderate intake of quality organic meats with a focus on oily fish and poultry rather than red meat.  We have recommended this diet to numerous clients throughout London and the South of England especially those living in Surrey including Cobham, Weybridge, Woking, Hersham, Oxshott, Kingswood, Twickenham, Esher, Epsom, Worcester Park, Kingston, as well as Sussex and the A3, M23 corridor including Hickstead, Horsham, Crawley, Burgess Hill, Guildford, Godalming, Haywards Heath, Brighton and Hove, and along the South Coast of England.  Numerous beneficial results have been achieved including weight loss, balanced blood glucose levels, improved blood markers in our cancer and cardiovascular patients, well-managed perimenopause symptoms, improved mood, improved skin conditions including acne and rosacea, and reduced migraine severity and frequency.

Many people in the nutrition industry still use the term Keto, but very few are actually advising their clients to follow a strict keto diet, in reality they are advising their clients to follow a low carbohydrate diet, high fibre, high healthy fat diet.

We at NatNutHC wish the industry would stop using this misleading term Keto diet.

Why do we coach most of our clients towards following a low carbohydrate, high fibre, high healthy fat diet instead of Keto, because the evidence is clear, including:

• Improved insulin resistance (beneficial for those with type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and perimenopause)
• Increased high density lipoproteins (HDL) (our beneficial cholesterol, in layman’s terms HDL takes cholesterol from peripheral tissues and delivers it back to the liver for recycling/detoxification).
• Reduced triglycerides (important for cardiovascular health and important in perimenopause when women’s risk of cardiovascular disease increases)
• Reduced inflammatory markers
• Positive effects on weight loss and body mass index
• Improved glycaemic control (balanced blood glucose is important for cardiovascular health, skin conditions, diabetes, mood management, reduced cravings, and improved perimenopause symptoms)

 

Notice the use of the term healthy fats above, this is key, and being properly guided on what constitutes a healthy fat versus an unhealthy fat and how these fats can be used, and which fats should be heated or only ever used cold is important.  Certain fats when heated become damaged and can lead to increased all-cause mortality, as well as increased risk of cardiovascular disease, increased progression of atherosclerosis, increased risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack) and stroke.

In essence we should be staying away from cooking with vegetables oils and consuming margarines and instead focus more on cooking with saturated fats such as coconut oil, lard and ghee, and eating an abundance of nuts and seeds, but there is so much more to ensuring we only consume quality fats.  When the right type of fats are consumed, in the right ratios, compared to our carbohydrate intake we see reduced myocardial infarction and reduced cardiovascular disease.  Being aware of these risks in perimenopause and the menopause is key, because as our oestrogen levels drop, our risk of cardiovascular disease increases because oestrogen is cardio-protective.

Quality fibre is also key, if focus is given to a broad range of rainbow coloured fruits and vegetables, consuming sufficient levels of fibre is easy to achieve.  However, everyone is different and because fibre comes in different forms it’s important we get the right type of fibre for each individual need.  At NatNutHC we tailor each individual’s fibre intake to their specific need, and this will be subject to the details we find during a client health assessment, an individuals presenting symptoms and their laboratory test results.

Some individuals will require fibre to bulk the stool (your poo) and reduce diarrhoea, others will require fibre to soften and lubricate the stool, while others will simply require more fibre in order to benefit the gut microbiome composition, improve oestrogen clearance (and thus reduce oestrogen dominance as may be seen in breast cancers, perimenopause and other female health concerns such as fibroids, ovarian cancer, endometriosis), reduce blood glucose fluctuations to support diabetes and help manage mood disorders.  We use different types of fibres for different clients, and thus getting the right type for you is key.  However, one thing is for sure, most people in the United Kingdom and the developed world don’t consume enough fibre.

When we focus on rainbow fruits and vegetables, and thus as a result increase our fibre intake we also by default increase our overall nutrients including flavonoids, carotenoids and antioxidants.

Consuming good amounts of fibre and a multitude of different colour’s in our diet has numerous health benefits including:

• Increased vitamin and mineral intake
• Reduced inflammation
• Reduced depression
• Reduced hypertension (reduced blood pressure)
• Improved Immune system
• Improved vision
• Improved bone calcification
• Increased synthesis of short chain fatty acids, important for the gut microbiome
• Improved blood glucose management
• Improved insulin secretion
• Reduced risk of colorectal cancer
• Improved satiety and thus reduction of cravings and overeating
• Reduced risk of diverticular disease
• Improved cardiovascular markers including LDL and triglyceride levels
• Improved fat digestion and bile absorption
• Improved outcomes for total mortality
• Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease

 

We will leave you with our final note, remember not all carbohydrates are the same!

Complex carbohydrates such as brown rice and whole rolled oats for example will have many health benefits such as increased vitamin intake, increased fibre, and improved blood glucose management, but processed and refined carbohydrates that are high in chemical preservatives, artificial flavouring’s, citric acid, phosphoric acid, stabilisers, thickeners and xenoestrogens, (which mimic oestrogen and play havoc with hormone balance, especially important in perimenopause, and oestrogen dominant conditions such as endometriosis, breast and ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, perimenopause and mood disorders) are detrimental to health, and are associated with increased risk of total mortality, cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hyperparathyroidism, bone loss, vascular calcification, renal dysfunction and increased pro-inflammatory agents.

If you would like more information on the best diet for your particular needs, what type of fats or carbohydrates you should be eating, want help with your health concerns, or simply want to be proactive and take a preventative approach to your health risks get in touch today info@natnuthc.co.uk.

 

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