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- What's going on Jigsaw Health Crew,
it's Thomas DeLauer,
and today I'm talking about the difference
between Ketosis and modified Atkins.
A lot of you had some really interesting questions
that you posted up in the comments section
underneath some of my keto videos.
So I figured it's perfect to really talk about
the true therapeutic ketogenic diet
versus what we commonly know as The Atkins Diet.
To have an understanding of what's good for your health,
not just cosmetic results.
So let's get right into the science.
You see, Ketosis wasn't just discovered
by some fitness guy that decided,
"Hey, if we cut out carbs out of the equation,
"everyone's going to get in shape
"and everyone's going to feel good and look amazing,
"and be full of vein, and everything like that."
No, it has to do with treatment.
It has to do with therapies.
In fact, it was way back when,
it was literally 500BC that Hippocrates
started writing about fasting
having a major effect on epilepsy.
People think that it's all this modern science thing.
No, it goes way back when.
People discovered that if they were abstaining from food,
all of these different illnesses
would magically start to go away.
But of course they didn't have modern technology
to really identify what was going on.
So it took until about 1921 when a particular doctor,
Dr Galen discovered that it was the ketones
that were the common denominator when it came
to treating illnesses.
So they started looking at things saying,
"Okay, if we have fasting and fasting is illiciting
"this amazing response,
"what is it exactly about fasting that is treating epilepsy?
"And treating some of these diseases?"
Well, it was ketones.
When you're fasting, you're in a ketogenic state.
What's so funny is that there are
so many different people out there that bag on
the ketogenic diet, they just love to bag on it.
They just say it's horrible
and that it's going to raise your cholesterol,
and it's going to do all of this,
but they're totally fine with fasting.
Well the interesting thing is that we're ultimately
going after the same thing when it comes down
to the positive effects.
All we're trying to do with ketosis
is get those ketone bodies up that would normally
occur when you're fasting.
So it wasn't until 1924 when the guy by the name
of Dr Wilder at the Mayo Clinic discovered
the true ketogenic diet.
Now when I say the true ketogenic diet,
I mean the ketogenic diet that has been used
to treat epilepsy and has been used to treat
different glucose impairment issues.
Where your body can't use glucose.
So really, it wasn't until 1924 that it was actually
put into a system and we were able to truly extract
all the data from 1921 and put it into an actual diet.
So where does this come into play
with what's happening today?
You see, today we're seeing all kinds of people
doing the keto diet.
And I'm someone that promotes it,
but what is really going on?
You see, the classic keto diet is like a 4:1 ratio
of fats to protein.
3:1 at the very most.
What is it today?
Well most people end up consuming a 1:1 or 2:1
if they're really doing a halfway decent job.
So all of the science, everything we know
about ketosis is looking at the 3:1 or 4:1.
But no one wants to do that today.
You see the Atkins diet,
or today it's called the modified Atkins diet,
is really more like that 2:1.
Is it effective?
Absolutely, it's still very effective
at helping your body restructure.
But are you getting the benefits of the ketone bodies?
Probably not.
What am I fan of?
I'm a fan of kind of splitting the difference.
I'm in the ballpark of 3:1.
I think we should have our fats high,
but it's not that exciting for people.
People are much more likely
to dive into a prime rib,
or dive into a rib eye steak,
than they are likely to dive into
a bowl of coconut oil.
And that's where the common divergence occurs.
People don't truly understand the difference
between the ketogenic diet, and modified Atkins.
But here's something that you should probably know.
If you're following more of a modern diet,
a modern style of ketosis,
there's a good chance you're consuming so much protein
that your body's going into gluconeogenesis
and kicking out of ketosis in the first place.
Even if it's not when you're measuring it
on the little keto sticks
or your breath meter, okay?
You're still probably coming out of ketosis
a lot more than you think.
So we need to start addressing the therapeutic issues
and what the ketogenic diet can do
if you're doing it right,
as far as therapy is concerned.
Now, don't get me wrong,
I still want to talk about the cosmetic thing,
because I still want to talk about body composition
and how that's gonna work,
but let's take a look at what's going on
when it comes down to a therapeutic side of things.
So ketosis is used for a lot of different things,
but when it comes down to the different energy states,
when the body can't produce the right kind of energy
that it needs from glucose.
Okay, we're talking about
a pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency.
Maybe you remember from biology class that pyruvate cycle,
or Krebs cycle,
where sugar goes in and it goes through the Krebs cycle
ultimately creates pyruvic acid
and ultimately creates energy.
Well some people have issues
where they don't create that.
So that's where ketosis comes in
as a great alternative fuel source.
It's literally a different fuel source
for the mitochondria to use.
Now we have to remember,
that ketosis is all about mitochondrial function.
We're trying to find a different way
that the mitochondria can still run on fuel without glucose.
Another one is going to be something like
Phosphofructokinase deficiency
which is in the same vein.
Your body cannot produce the right kind of sugars,
it cannot produce the right kind of energy from glucose,
so ketone bodies come into play.
But what about some of the more popular ones okay?
Things like neurodegenerative diseases
like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
How does that work?
Well, it still comes down to the mitochondria.
So I'm getting to a point here,
don't just think that I'm talking
just about the therapeutic side of things,
because I'm going to get to a point,
and it all has to do with that mitochondria.
In the case of Parkinson's disease,
it ends up being where the body doesn't have
the ability to transfer sugar
through the blood brain barrier properly
and it ends up getting misconstrued
through something known as Complex I.
This Complex I ends up making it so that
the mitochondria cannot function properly.
Therefore it's not sending the right signals,
therefore dopamine responses aren't working,
thus you have Parkinson's disease.
But when you have ketosis,
you have ketone bodies that can cross
the blood brain barrier,
and actually activate the mitochondria.
Giving new life to patients with Parkinson's disease
because they now have a back up energy source.
So some of the people that are going to be speculative
about the ketogenic diet are going to say to me right now,
"Okay, well this is great.
"It's great for people that are having issues.
"It's an alternative back up fuel source."
Well, I would argue this.
When has the mainstream ever totally led us
completely right on target?
Just because we discovered a different way of eating
with a different fuel source
doesn't mean that that's not the right or the wrong way.
If we have the ability to switch back and forth,
it seems like it's actually
a nice sparing way to work.
You're sparing the mitochondria.
You're not going to burn out the glucose side of things,
you're not going to burn out the fat side of things,
so maybe you go through phases of ketogenic therapy
where you actually treat your body
and give your mitochondria a break
by activating a different portion of it,
anyway, I digress.
But let's talk about cancer for one second too,
because cancer's a big one.
Ketosis and cancer is a hugely researched topic right now.
It all has to do with the fact that
cancer cells are very unique.
I've done a lot of personal research
into the world of cancer.
Those of you that know me well
know that I lost my father in February to cancer,
and I was investigating cancer research and ketosis
for a long time too.
In fact some of the doctors over at UC Davis
that I was speaking to when my dad was in treatment
were big advocates of using ketogenic therapies
as an adjunct to chemotherapy.
Not just as at therapy, but as an adjunct to.
It's going to help chemotherapy.
Now here's why.
Cancer cells are unlike other cells in the body,
we know that.
But they're very much unlike other cells
in terms of how they are receptive to glucose.
They have 10 times the amount
of insulin receptors on them.
What does that mean?
It means that when you consume carbohydrates
they are 10 times more likely to utilize
those carbohydrates than other cells in your body.
Which means that they are going to grow,
and they are going to thrive on sugars.
Well, they're also kind of funky,
simply because they don't have the ability
to metabolize fats very well.
Their mitochondria is damaged.
Remember, cancer cells are rogue cells,
they're not totally like normal cells.
They don't function like other cells in our body.
They don't have a nice system and a policy,
and a standard operating procedure to go through.
They go through their own little funky little mechanism
and their mitochondria is damaged.
It can't utilize fats.
So when you are giving your body a lot of fats
and not a lot of carbohydrates
they don't know how to utilize that
and they start to starve off.
But anyway, I'm starting to go too far down
the therapeutic line.
The point is this,
if you're looking to do a ketogenic diet,
I encourage you to investigate why you're doing it.
So then how does this all link back to the Atkins diet?
And how does this all link back to body composition
and the diet that's for you?
I'm not saying that either one is truly bad,
but I am stressing that you take a look
at how the ketogenic diet works in your body,
because that's the true thing that we're after
when we go on a keto diet.
The body composition changes are going to occur,
but if you're sticking in the modified Atkins approach
where you're consuming like 1:1 or 2:1,
you are more than likely going to experience
a lot more lethargy.
You're not going to feel as good,
and this simply has to do with the fact
that you're never truly using ketones as a source of fuel.
You're using them for periods of time
when it's useful for your body.
And then as soon as your body feels
like it still needs glucose it's either
going to convert those excess proteins into glucose
or you're not getting enough fats to actually
promote ketone bodies so you're going
to start breaking down your own muscle tissue.
There's a lot of flaws in the modified Atkins,
and I don't want you to think that the Atkins diet
is the true ketogenic diet.
There is a distinct difference.
Now again, I'll be the first to say
that most of the people out there
are probably doing some form of the modified Atkins
or some form Atkins in the first place.
It still works.
You're still going to see some changes
in your body composition because you are
dramatically reducing your insulin levels,
and that is definitely positive.
There's so many amazing things that are attributed
to lower insulin levels.
So I'm not saying it's bad,
but I am saying before you bag on the ketogenic diet,
understand the science,
understand the direct ratios,
understand some of the research that Dr. Dom D'agostino
has done and has put out there on the internet
and on podcasts and out there in the entire world
for us to read.
I'm a huge consumer of his content
and I think that he really has the right idea,
because at the end of the day,
we do have to make sure
that we are our own advocates for our health,
and if the ketogenic diet is going to be a way
that we can reduce inflammation and actually
have a neuroprotective effect on our body.
I feel like it's definitely good
for even the average person to cycle in and out
of ketosis for longer periods of time,
like three to six months.
Is it a lifestyle that you want to do forever?
That's going to totally be on you if you like the food.
At the end of the day,
I just want you to know the difference
between modified Atkins and the ketogenic diet.
And of course, don't forget fasting.
Because at the end of the day,
this is what it's all about.
We're fasting right, we're just trying to mimic fasting.
So there you have it Jigsaw Crew.
As always keep it locked in here at Jigsaw Health,
your epicenter for everything mineral related,
everything health related,
and your one stop shop for the best magnesium in the world.
So keep it locked in here.
I'll see you in the next video.