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Keto
Keto

Is the keto diet anti-inflammatory?

Depending on who you ask, you might find anti-inflammatory recommendations that encourage complete elimination of sugar and carbohydrates to decrease inflammation. This reasoning is often used as support for a keto diet ____. As is frequently the case, though, those recommendations are likely unnecessary extremes and everything is case-by-case. For one thing, you can probably achieve the anti-inflammatory benefits you’re looking for while still including well chosen, nutrient dense complex carbohydrates. Secondly, why over-restrict if we can still enjoy some tasty treats in moderation? That’s how we balance meeting health goals and living a life we love! So what does the research actually say about carbs and inflammation?

Multiple studies have linked consumption of concentrated sugar and simple carbohydrate consumption with increased levels of inflammation.1-2 A long time ago I talked in this post about what happens when we eat carbs and how we break them down into blood sugar to use as fuel. Those fuels are stuck in the blood until insulin comes around to let them in to our cells.  Research draws a strong link between chronic inflammation and insulin resistance.3 This is a vicious cycle because insulin resistance means that blood sugars get stuck in the blood without a way out, causing fat storage and inflammation.4 Stored fat then produces inflammatory factors which make insulin resistance worse! Not fair.

So what can we do about it? Well, we can aim to cut inflammation off at the pass by changing parts of our lifestyle and the foods we eat to combat inflammation and give our cells a helping hand with that blood sugar. With regard to carbohydrates, we can do a couple of things specifically:

  1. Focus on eating more complex carbohydrates than simple carbohydrates like sugar. What does that mean? Well, complex carbohydrates are long chains of sugars that take much longer to digest, break down, and enter our blood, thus making our blood sugar much more stable (and preventing inflammation from blood sugar spikes). Simple carbohydrates are individual sugars or tiny chains of sugars that break down very quickly and enter the blood rapidly, causing a sharp spike in blood sugar that is inflammatory. Complex carbohydrates like whole grains, beans, and vegetables are connected with lower levels of inflammation.5 Same goes for high-fiber carbohydrates like fruit.
  2. Avoid eating too much carbohydrate at once. Just like with diabetes, the key to preventing carbohydrate-induced inflammation is keeping the blood sugar from going too high. Eating controlled amounts of carbohydrate throughout the day can help keep your energy up and your inflammation down.

 

  1. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/94/2/479.short
  2. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/mi/2013/509502/abs/
  3. https://www.jci.org/articles/view/19451
  4. http://www.jbc.org/content/280/6/4617.short
  5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17391554
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Keto

A Dietitian Reviews the Keto Diet

Do I recommend keto to my clients?

 

You’d have to be living in a mole hole to not have heard of the ketogenic diet. Everyone knows someone who’s on it. What everyone wants to know is whether or not keto is safe and effective. Does the keto diet work for weight loss? Is it dangerous?  Is the keto diet nutritionally balanced? Is it easy to follow? There is SO much to say about keto so I’m going to make this post a quick overview. I’ll make more in-depth posts about these topics along the way (with a lot more references), so check back for more info!

 

What does the research say about the keto diet?

Research about the effectiveness of the keto diet (or similar low carb, high fat diets) for weight management is somewhat mixed. Most of the time, keto-like diets are successful at causing weight loss.1-2 Unfortunately, the research also indicates that the success of keeping that weight off long term (1 year or more) is low (and no better than with other types of diets).3-5

Research on keto’s effects on other health markers (cholesterol, blood glucose, insulin, inflammation, etc) is also mixed. Some studies show the keto diet improves cholesterol markers, others demonstrate that it makes them worse.1,6 Research on inflammation is once again, annoyingly, unclear and conflicting.6-7 For the most part, blood glucose and insulin levels do tend to improve1,6, likely because carbohydrates (and therefore the need for insulin) are largely a non-factor in a ketogenic diet.

With all of the conflicting information, it’s no wonder everyone is so confused about the keto diet. In a future post, I will go much more in-depth about what the research says and what conclusions we can pull from it.

 



 

Is the keto diet dangerous?

This answer is a little convoluted (you’re shocked, I know). Short-to-moderate length studies looking to evaluate the safety of the ketogenic diet have mostly unearthed no dangerous results (other than those mentioned above).1 However, few of those studies have looked at the long-term effects of the ketogenic diet (or similar very low carb diets) on metabolism.2,8 By far and away, my largest caution with the keto diet is its long-term effects on metabolism. This is also the main reason I do not recommend the keto diet for my clients and I am not following the keto diet during this feature.

Eating so few carbs mimics a “famine” situation, causing your body to rely more on its body fat stores than on blood glucose. So far, that sounds great, right? But your body expects this to be temporary (think caveman days – in Spring/Summer, the carbs will come back!). After a while, if carbohydrates don’t increase, your body resorts to a more sustainable long-term plan. Your body knows it can’t keep burning through the fat stores – it would rather slow down metabolism and try to preserve its fat stores as much as possible. This nearly always leads to fatigue, brain fog, feeling cold, and a weight loss plateau. Often at this point people become frustrated with the lack of results and begin to eat more carbohydrate. Your body is jazzed – “Spring/Summer is here! We survived! Boy, that was a long one. Next time, we will be even more prepared for Winter.” Translation: we will store more fat. These shifts are backed by documented hormonal changes in mice and humans,4,8-9   and are linked with the weight regain mentioned earlier.

The take-home message: In the long run, very low carb diets like keto teach your body how to store fat more effectively.

 

Is the keto diet nutritionally balanced?

The answer is a big it depends. I would venture to say that the average keto diet is not nutritionally balanced. I would follow that up by saying that it is possible to eat a nutritionally balanced keto diet, but it takes a lot of intention. Here are some of the nutritional weaknesses I see in keto diets:

  • Fiber – Fiber is a type of carbohydrate that composes the structure of certain plant-based foods. Since fiber doesn’t break down into blood glucose, it is not actually limited on the ketogenic diet and will not interfere with ketosis. At the same time, it comes in primarily carbohydrate foods, so the carb limitations often make it quite tricky to get enough fiber while avoiding other carbohydrates. It can be done with certain high-fiber foods such as nuts and seeds, avocados, and berries.
  • Vitamin C – While you can certainly get vitamin C from certain keto-friendly vegetables (hey, peppers!), a lot of the best vitamin C sources are fruits, which are very limited on a keto diet. You can definitely make a point to eat vitamin-C containing foods, but you have to make the point to do so.
  • Saturated fat – These are the types of fats that are primarily found in animal foods. Being a high-fat diet, unless someone is being very intentional in their food choices, a keto diet is typically quite high in saturated fats. While there are some debates around the appropriate recommendations for saturated fat,10 most keto-dieters I’ve talked with are eating WAY more than even some of the higher evidence-based recommendations. High saturated fat intakes are associated with high levels of cholesterol and increased occurrence of dementia.11-12 Keto dieters can buffer this impact by limiting intakes of high fat meats (sausage, bacon, ribs, hot dogs, etc) and dairy in favor of lean and grass-fed meats and reduced fat dairy. Focus on including a variety of plant-based fats like nuts, seeds, avocado, and olive oil.

 



 

Is the keto diet easy to follow?

This kind of depends (do you see a theme here? It seems nutrition rarely has a clear answer). Some people absolutely LOVE meat and veggies and aren’t so big on the carb-y stuff, and keto totally rocks their world. Others – most, if we’re honest – enjoy at least some carbohydrate foods (or the option to eat them without ruining ketosis) on a regular basis. With ketosis, it’s kind of an all-or-nothing thing. You either need to be in and mostly stay in ketosis or regularly meet your carbohydrate needs. Bouncing back and forth or riding the low-carb-but-not-quite-low-enough-for-ketosis train is generally not an enjoyable ride. Many clients complain about low energy, brain fog, fatigue, and weight fluctuations, particularly coming in and out of ketosis. Digestive disturbances come up frequently as well.

My average client finds keto to be a social and nutritional bummer, because it restricts a lot of foods – particularly delicious and commonly social foods. It can also be a challenge for some to consume enough fat to promote ketosis and meet caloric needs. I can’t even count how many clients and friends have followed keto for a few weeks or months, convinced it was going great, only to decide it was too restrictive and they weren’t enjoying their food quality of life or feeling their best. The same high dropout trend is commonly seen in studies about low-carbohydrate diets.3 When deciding about a diet, be sure to take the nutritional and safety factors into account as well as your personality, favorite foods, and family/friends.

 

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References

  1. Dashti, Hussein M et al. “Long-term effects of a ketogenic diet in obese patients.” Experimental and clinical cardiology vol. 9,3 (2004): 200-5.
  2. David S Ludwig, The Ketogenic Diet: Evidence for Optimism but High-Quality Research Needed, The Journal of Nutrition, nxz308, https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxz308
  3. Phelan, S., Wyatt, H., Nassery, S., DiBello, J., Fava, J.L., Hill, J.O. and Wing, R.R. (2007), Three‐Year Weight Change in Successful Weight Losers Who Lost Weight on a Low‐Carbohydrate Diet. Obesity, 15: 2470-2477. doi:10.1038/oby.2007.293
  4. Cardillo, S., Seshadri, P., Iqbal, N. The effects of a Low Carbohydrate vs. Low Fat Diet on adipocytikines in severely obese adults: a three-year-follow-up on a randomized control trial. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci vol. 10 (2006): 99-106.
  5. Foster, G., et al. A randomized trial of a low-carbohydrate diet for obesity. N Engl J Med (2003); 348:2082-2090
    DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa022207.
  6. Rosenbaum, M., et al. Glucose and lipid homeostasis and inflammation in humans following an isocaloric ketogenic diet. Obesity. 2019 Jun;27(6):971-981. doi: 10.1002/oby.22468. Epub 2019 May 8.
  7. Shen, Y., Kapfhamer, D., Minnella, A.M. et al. Bioenergetic state regulates innate inflammatory responses through the transcriptional co-repressor CtBP. Nat Commun 8, 624 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-00707-0
  8. Goldberg, E.L., Shchukina, I., Asher, J.L. et al. Ketogenesis activates metabolically protective γδ T cells in visceral adipose tissue. Nat Metab 2, 50–61 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42255-019-0160-6
  9. Cooper, E. The Metabolic Storm: The science of your metabolism and how its making you fat. Seattle Performance Medicine. 2015. 2nd edition.
  10. Enos, R., et al. Influence of dietary saturated fat content on adiposity, macrophage behavior, inflammation, and metabolism: composition matters.
  11. Enos, R., et al. Influence of  The Journal of Lipid Research. doi: 10.1194/jlr.M030700 (2013), 54, 152-163.
  12. Greenwood, C., Winocur, G., High-fat diets, insulin resistance and declining cognitive function. Neurobiology of Aging. Volume 26, Issue 1, Supplement (2005) 42-45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2005.08.017.
  13. Barnard, N. D., Bunner, A. E., Agarwal, U. Saturated and trans fats and dementia: a systematic review. Neurobiology of Aging. Volume 35, Supplement 2 (2014) S65-S73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2014.02.030.



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Keto

Keto Diet 101

What is the ketogenic diet?

It’s feature time again, folks, and it’s finally time to talk about the diet everyone is going on about – keto! The keto (aka ketogenic) diet has gained a lot of popularity in the last few years as a weight loss diet, and proponents tout that you can lose weight quickly without cravings.1 Interestingly enough, the ketogenic diet started as a therapeutic diet for children who suffer from epilepsy. The high fat content of the diet is linked with decreased occurrence of seizures in these kiddos.2

Keto curiosity is rampant! Questions about the keto diet top the list of FAQs from my weight loss clients. Even those who don’t directly ask about keto are often asking about how to limit their carbs to encourage weight loss. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be posting info about the keto diet – what it is, how it works, and the pros/cons of the diet. I won’t actually be following this one (we’ll talk about why throughout the feature), but we’ll be diving into the research and practicality as always!

 



 

What is the keto diet?

The keto diet is a high fat, moderate protein, low carbohydrate diet.2 The diet is designed to cease your body’s reliance on carbohydrates (broken down into glucose) for energy and instead shift to your body’s alternative fuel source – ketones. In the absence of glucose (aka blood sugar), your body begins to convert fat that you’ve eaten and stored body fat to ketones, which your brain can use for fuel! If you were privy to the Atkins kick, you may be noticing some similarities between the two. You’d be right! The keto diet is something of a reincarnated version of Atkins.

The keto diet includes plenty of vegetables and many high fat and protein foods such as:

  • beef and pork
  • poultry
  • fish
  • processed meats like bacon, sausage, etc.
  • cheese
  • avocado
  • nuts and seeds
  • butter and oils

To limit carbohydrates (usually to around 20-60 g per day), the diet restricts consumption of the following foods:

  • fruit
  • beans
  • certain vegetables such as corn, peas, carrots, and potatoes
  • bread and grains (pasta, rice, cereal)
  • milk and yogurt
  • sugar, honey, and syrups

Keeping the carbohydrate intake low keeps the body from coming out of ketosis, therefore promoting fat loss.

 



 

Stay tuned – we will talk more about the research behind keto and pros/cons of following the diet in future posts!

 

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1. https://www.ketocustomplan.com/articles/effective-way-to-lose-weight-for-good?gclid=Cj0KCQiAs67yBRC7ARIsAF49CdVbbQxjjPg12rojwtotjqps5FjOVRHPjVaDQGWeSIsQ_EA2HF2Y23IaAn7TEALw_wcB

2. https://www.eatright.org/health/weight-loss/fad-diets/what-is-the-ketogenic-diet

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Down Home Dietitian

Diet culture is determined to tell you that you have to be miserable to be healthy.

That couldn’t be more wrong.

Subscribe to learn how to go from a frustrated, restricted dieter to a happy, relaxed relationship with food and fitness. Healthy doesn’t have to be hard!

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beckiparsons.rd.ep

I am OVER confusing advice, disgusting diets, and boring exercise.
Healthy doesn't have to be hard!
➢ Registered Dietitian
➢ Exercise Physiologist

Functional Dietitian | Exercise Physiologist | Speaker
Trauma is a common root that needs special support Trauma is a common root that needs special support.

In the documentary, both Tracey and Joelle mentioned how abuse related to their journeys with obesity. Trauma can lead to weight struggles in several ways:

- dysregulated cortisol
- food cravings
- emotional/stress eating
- undeveloped coping behaviors
- psychological desire to gain weight or remain heavy for a feeling of safety from sexual abusers

When this is a piece of someone’s puzzle, it needs to be addressed to help them understand the neurochemistry that patterns their habits, and provide them with tools to address and change those patterns.

It’s a rare person who can dig their way out of food and weight struggles without addressing these root causes - it’s not common knowledge!

#weightloss #fitness #registereddietitian #dietitian #fatloss #biggestloser #fitfortv #netflix #netflixdocumentary #nutrition #nutritionists
Focusing primarily on speed of weight lost is almo Focusing primarily on speed of weight lost is almost never healthy.

Instead, find other indicators of progress:
👚 clothes fit
💪 visible muscle
🏃‍♀️ workout performance and recovery
💡 energy and mental clarity
💤 sleep quality
😊 skin clarity
☺️ mental health

All together, they will be able to give you a far more accurate picture of whether or not you are making strides with your health or not.

Being married to numbers on the scale is a direct path to discouragement when it inevitably fluctuates.

#weightloss #fitness #registereddietitian #fatloss #dietitian #loseweight #fitfortv #netflixdocumentary #bariatrics #biggestloser
Different people need different approaches. Some Different people need different approaches.

Some people LOVE to sweat hard and feel the burn.
Some people NEED to have fun working out or they won’t stick with it.
Some people THRIVE on repetition and routine that minimizes decision making.
Some people MUST have flexibility or they will feel hemmed in.

As a practitioner, you have to get to know your client well enough to make recommendations that are a good fit for them. I often joke with my clients that they are eating healthy changes and I am their matchmaker. It’s my job to get to know them well enough to introduce them to really good potential partners. We may not always get it right the first time (and hey, bad dates are always a bummer), but I learn how to tailor things to them even more through the process.

#registereddietitian #dietitian #weightloss #fitness #fitfortv #biggestloser #netflix #netflixdocumentary
Skinny does not equal healthy. Healthy does not eq Skinny does not equal healthy. Healthy does not equal skinny.

Your habits are FAR more closely-tied indicators to actual health outcomes (likelihood of getting sick or dying) than your weight.

Here’s one study on that: https://www.jabfm.org/content/jabfp/25/1/9.full.pdf
Here’s another: https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/370/bmj.m2031.full.pdf 

Now, typically if someone has a healthy lifestyle are they likely to lose weight? That depends on a lot of factors, but in many cases yes. That’s why we do find some connection between weight and health outcomes, but that’s confounded by a lot of factors.

Also, the method and rate of weight loss can impact just how healthy that weight loss is.

Here’s the article on how the contestants’ metabolisms were affected: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4989512/

#fitfortv #weightloss #biggestloser #jillianmichaels #bobharper #dietitian #fitness #healthynotskinny #netflixdocumentary
Thank you SO much to every single person who submi Thank you SO much to every single person who submitted a vote for me - I am so grateful for your support. ❤️

This means so much to me, and I am honored!

P.S. @evergreen_familychiro won Best Chiropractor too, so you can now see the best Chiro and best RD in one place! 😉
It’s not as simple as “eat less, move more.” It’s not as simple as “eat less, move more.” 

Heck, it’s not even as simple as weight loss = fat loss.

Anyone who has ever tried to lose more than 5 lbs knows that.

1. Your weight doesn’t tell you if you’ve gained or lost fat, it tells you the sum total mass of your skin, bones, organs, digestive goodies, muscle, fat, and water.

2. Hormones, stress, and fluid can fluctuate your weight much more prominently than fat loss or gain.

3. Your metabolism (the number of calories you burn) is not a fixed target. Your thyroid, adrenal system, eating patterns, movement patterns and more are constantly compensating, adjusting, and adapting. Just “eat less and move more” oversimplifies what can be a very complex concept. About half of my weight loss clients lose weight when we add calories, because of these adaptations.

4. Functional disruptions can freak your body out and make it resistant to fat loss. Gut dysbiosis/malabsorption, PCOS, and stressed-out adrenal systems are issues I see often. If you don’t address the functional root, you can deficit all you want and you may or may not see significant change.

So don’t bet everything on “eat less and move more.” It’s a good place to start for many, but if it isn’t working, dive deeper and find out why not. Want some support for your fat loss journey? DM me to get scheduled - it’s covered by most major health insurances!

#weightloss #dietitian #fitness #loseweight #bariatric #functionalnutrition
Lots of exciting things available in this partners Lots of exciting things available in this partnership! DM with questions or to get booked!

#chiropracticcare #nutritionandfitness #holisticwellness #weightlosssupport
Nutrition counseling is covered by most major insu Nutrition counseling is covered by most major insurances! DM me for an insurance verification or if you're ready to get scheduled!
Thank you so much for the nomination! You can vote Thank you so much for the nomination! You can vote daily through 5/9 by visiting votesouthsound.com and selecting Health & Beauty > Nutritionist/Dietitian > Becki Parsons Nutrition & Fitness. I am so grateful for your support!
So why wouldn't you start? Insurance coverage for So why wouldn't you start?

Insurance coverage for nutrition therapy is way better than you may even know. As a preventive health benefit, there are rarely even co-pays, and only occasionally limits on how many visits.

Get all the support you need, on the health insurance you already pay for! DM me to get started. ❤️

#nutritioncoaching #fatloss #weightloss #bariatrichealthcare #loseweight
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