Low-carb, high-fat diets such as the ketogenic, Atkins and Paleo diets have soared recently, buoyed by recent scientific research exculpating them as the cause of obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
But obesity experts like Rhode Island physician Irving T. Gilson want to know why the nutrition and medical communities have remained silent in the face of mounting research confirming the weight loss and health benefits of low-carb, high-fat diets.
"A continuing flow of clinical research studies have consistently confirmed the benefits of low-carbohydrate diets with respect to weight loss and cardiac risk factors, while negating the demonization of saturated fat," wrote Dr. Gilson in the Providence Journal.
"To describe the reaction of the nutrition and medical communities to the low-carbohydrate paradigm as cool would be a gross understatement. Where there should be at least meaningful dialogue, there is silence."
'Carb Restriction Is Silver Bullet For Metabolic Syndrome'
Gilson echoes the sentiments of other obesity experts who say low-carb, high-fat diets such as the ketogenic, Paleo, and Atkins diets are not only effective for weight loss, but for reversing type 2 diabetes, reducing heart disease risks, and preventing and managing metastatic cancer.
If you are obese, a low-carb diet can help you lose weight," said Dr. Gilson. "If you’re diabetic, it may reduce your reliance on expensive medication.
If you’re hypertensive, it can lower your blood pressure. If you are at risk for a coronary, it can raise your good cholesterol (HDL) and significantly lower your triglycerides. In short, it can reduce one’s risk of a heart attack or stroke. Bottom line: the demon is the sugar — not the fat!"
Deafening Silence from Medical Community
Dr. Jeff Volek, a professor at Ohio State University, shares Gilson's frustration at the deafening silence from the medical community on the efficacy of low-carb diets for promoting optimal health and weight loss.
Volek, a registered dietitian, told me low-carb diets like the ketogenic, Paleo and Atkins diets are effective for both elite endurance athletes and the average sedentary individual.
By drastically reducing carbs in our diet and replacing them with healthy, unprocessed fats, we can boost fat-burning, experience more stable blood sugar levels, and ward off degenerative conditions such as heart disease, obesity, dementia and diabetes.
"Carbohydrate restriction is the proverbial ‘silver bullet’ for managing insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes," said Dr. Volek, a registered dietitian who has followed the ketogenic diet for the past 20 years.
The medical profession continues to recommend a high-carb diet, which exacerbates the problem. It boggles the mind."
Scientist: Low-Carb Ketogenic Diet Is Better Than Chemo
Renowned cancer researcher Dr. Thomas Seyfried told me the LCHF ketogenic diet's effectiveness for producing weight loss is undisputed, but it also combats a variety of diseases, including obesity, epilepsy, diabetes, Alzheimer's, heart disease, and cancer.
"The ketogenic diet is a single metabolic approach to a multitude of different diseases," said Dr. Seyfried, who said the ketogenic diet beats chemotherapy for almost all cancers.
"The standard of care has been an abysmal failure for cancer. The ketogenic diet may one day replace the standard of care for most cancers."
Dr. Seyfried's decades of research suggest cancer is a metabolic — not a genetic — disease. And the best way to treat a metabolic disorder is through diet, not by pumping a patient full of toxic radiation, he said.
Seyfried is encouraged that mainstream media is slowly acknowledging that unprocessed saturated fats are not to blame for obesity, but said it could take years for low-carb diets to become a recommended protocol for disease prevention and management.