DCUK Quote of the month !

"My impression of this programme, like others, is that they had reached a conclusion before the experiment even begun.

As a low carber myself who has done a fair amount of layman reading on the topic, 3 things were glaringly obvious that should have been picked up to explain the perceived problems that the high fat twin faced:

1. What has already been referred to as the keto adaptation period. This, depending on the individual, can take between 4-6 weeks before the metabolic switch is made. As Phoenix mentioned, however, there is a need for carbohydrates, and a full glycogen tank, when undertaking high intensity training and exercise. Any form of prolonged relatively explosive exercise requires glycogen to fuel the muscles in order to sustain exercise for any longer than short bursts. Glycogen stores are not full on a low carb diet. However, I'm not convinced that the twins were doing what could be described as high intensity exercise, which would require a keto adapted athlete to tap into glycogen stores. My perception is that neither were very fit. I believe that if they were undertaking lower intensity endurance testing, and the high fat twin was keto adapted, then the results could and probably would have been very different. 

2. I doubt that the high fat twin supplemented with sodium. When you go on a low carbohydrate diet, the body excretes sodium. If you don't supplement with 5g of sodium a day, then the body will excrete potassium to balance the loss of sodium. This is not healthy. As a consequence, potassium leaches from the muscles and causes muscle breakdown and fatigue. Any one suffer from headaches or fatigue on a low carb diet? I know I have. But since I've started drinking a hot drink with sea salt a couple of times a day, my energy levels have improved and I no longer suffer from fatigue. I just don't tell my doc that I do this - high fat and high salt. I think he may have a heart attack! But I don't think I'm in danger of one.

3. Of course the high fat twin failed the glucose tolerance test. When you are on a high fat, no sugar diet, your insulin receptors are downgraded as the body opts to preserve what glucose there is for the brain. Interestingly ketone bodies are also preserved for the brain and other vital organs that can make of them when you are fully adapted. Muscles will instead opt to use fatty acids. What I'm really annoyed about is that they made the connection that the body became efficient at using insulin in the high sugar twin because of the consistency in what he was eating but failed to make the opposite connection with the other twin? What utter tosh! As others have stated, it takes three days for the body to up-regulate insulin receptors again following a low carb diet. A test for the amount of insulin produced in each twin as the test progressed would have been more interesting and a much better indicator of diabetes risk in the future. Edit: As would have been a full breakdown of cholesterol numbers - in particular triglycerides, which is a seemingly excellent indicator of visceral fat and future/current insulin resistance." 

Craig81 0n the flog re the Horizon BS.

Dr. Jay Wortman low carb expert, medical Doctor and type two diabetic was saying this a few years ago on the flog. They banned him and deleted most of his posts.

Some words from Dr. Jay Wortman on low carb and salt.

“When you cut the carbs your kidneys will release sodium. This is why people lose some water initially and why blood pressure also tends to get better on low-carb. If you are not careful to replace the lost sodium sufficiently by adding salt to your food, you will experience the effects of mild hypo-natremia. These are: headache, constipation, weakness, fatigue, low-blood pressure, othostatic hypotension and possibly leg cramps. If you get a blood test you may find that your potassium is low, too. Unfortunately, there is no reliable blood test for magnesium but it may also be low. Supplementing with salt should correct these problems. You don't need to take a potassium supplement, it will correct if you eat enough salt. Some people will have a persistent magnesium deficiency that will require supplements. This would be manifested by leg cramps and hyper-reflexia (something your doctor can check). To correct this you should take a slow-release Mg++ supplement daily. 

Many people make the mistake of restricting salt and drinking lots of water when on a low carb diet. This is virtually guaranteed to cause problems. When you look carefully at the studies that report equivocal results with a low-carb diet, this is invariably one of the reasons.”

Eddie