Very interesting
@bsw.
I was certainly aware of the use of ketogenic diets in the treatment of epilepsy, but had never come across it in the context of ME/CFS.
Can I ask, after starting the ketogenic diet, how long did it take before you noticed the first benefits kicking in? And how long until you got to the state where your energy was tripled?
I'd also be very interested to learn what changes you made to your meals in order to create a ketogenic diet. Was it simply a case of just cutting out carbohydrates like potatoes, rice, maize, wheat from your meals, and perhaps replacing them with more low-carbohydrate vegetables? Of course I know you need to cut out sugar too.
And what about the ketogenic requirement for keeping to moderate amounts of protein? Is there anything in particular you need to do for that?
Looking at my notes it took me about 2 weeks to properly adapt to keto, BUT I wasn't taking in enough electrolytes. If you find yourself after a few days exhausted on a keto diet it's probably electrolytes. I now drink homemade soup to manage my electrolyte needs and its been working out pretty well. I have however come down with a cold over the last few days that has thrown my data little off.
Before going on keto I ate a pretty restricted diet already, so the change wasn't really a problem. I seem to be pretty sensitive to chemicals and had already cut out grains, sugars, diary and alcohol from my diet. I therefore just had to cut out potatoes and other carbs from my diet to make the switch. I eat and ate mostly meat and vegetables, before and after. I have increased my soup (homemade, using bones) intake for electrolytes.
I really don't pay attention to macros and just eat when hungry, occasionally use muscle testing if I'm unsure. I think that (personally) the time and effort required to come up with a plan that actually works wouldn't be cost effective. At some point I will try and hash out a plan to make this more long term as there are some risks involved.
As for my energy levels, I'll have to go over my notes at some point, but as a university student I went from writing 1000ish words a day, 1-2 days a week to about 3000-4000, along with dedicated study over extended periods, 3-4 days a week. I have also had an on and off cold which effects my energy.
I have followed the diet you describe for a couple of years and while I did see a modest benefit initially, over time this disappeared. Eventually I realised that such a diet starves the gut microbiota and can't be recommended in the long term.
Yes, but there was
some benefit. Most people suffering from CFS have no idea what to do and from what I've seen the things they try to do usually have nebulous results. I'm saying it's a starting place, not the destination. If it gives CFS sufferers more options and more ability to make decisions on how to act, then I think that is fantastic.
Ketogenic diet makes me feel significantly worse in the short term. It felt like inadequate blood sugar levels. I don't know about the long term because I don't have the discipline to endure it long enough. Also ketosis causes a bad taste in the mouth.
Something about your body switching over to ketosis (the way the biology works, a 'dependence' on carbs, idk) causes the first week or so to be tough. You need electrolytes. I've found the best way is to drink homemade soup that uses bones. I tried supplementing and I felt like I was dying. My symptoms went away about 30 minutes after I drank some soup. If you tried keto and was supplementing proper then I have no idea, sorry.
It's not super simple if you don't have the energy to do the research, figure out what that means in terms of eating (I read the links they said nothing about what ketogenic meant in terms of food on the plate). And then you have to switch how you've eaten habitually for decades. That means changing shopping habits sourcing new food learning to prepare different meals. Some people rely on others to do food shopping and preparation and then there are other family members eating habits to consider.
I know it seems negative to say this but that is why it might be difficult for some.
This diet may be quite useful to those who don't struggle with surviving the day. For the many here that do struggle it actually is not quite so simple. But again for those who can it's great if you get benefits. I'd love to hear what foods are part of the diet.
And I love avocados. Eat them all the time when they are available.
I can understand. I am extremely lucky my parents support me and could not do this with them. I was also hasty in putting this together.
The diet is roughly 80% fat, 20% protein. Anything else goes. Provided you're eating around those numbers you'll be fine (energy wise). Day to day I mostly eat fried or baked meat, cooked in oil with eggs and occasionally throw in vegetables that absorb fat, along with steamed vegetables (which taste utterly delicious). Nuts and soup are my stacks and I use a lot of Coconut oil.
@Effi Hi i would love to learn more about what you are doing with food? if you have energy to share.. i log my food in my fitness pal.. but i am having a h ard time sticking to a specific food plan on my own.
I just don't eat carbs, don't eat stuff I don't make myself and generally try to get my macros / a nice variety of vegetables. I also have bone broth or soup daily, which is really helpful.
Great news! I had a similar experience when I adopted a ketogenic diet about 16 years ago. I started to get reduced brain fog and more energy almost immediately. However the first week of the diet was a bit rough (my theory is that the lower blood sugar levels caused a die-off of bad bacteria).
Prior to starting the diet, I was essentially bed-bound (only able to get up for showers and meals) but was able to return to work part-time on a very limited basis at first.
I can definitely relate to the before and after effects of the ketogenic diet. There were some days were I
completely forgot I had CFS for periods of the day.
You might be right about the bacteria die off, but I think its switching the main energy source that messes people up.
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Oh and another great thing about the ketogenic diet is that it makes fasting (which has all sorts of nice health benefits) so much easier. Probably because your body can use its fat stores far more effectively for energy.
Thanks for all the feedback!