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Opinion
I recently viewed a webinar video replay: The Skinny on Obesity” with Dr. Lustig: http://www.uctv.tv/skinny-on-obesity
Robert H Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology explores the damage caused by sugary foods. He argues that fructose (too much) and fiber (not enough) appears to be corner stone’s of the obesity epidemic through their effects on insulin. Series: UCSF Mini Medical School for the Public [7/2009] [Health and Medicine] [Show ID: 16717]
Dr. Lustig is a very captivating and well-versed pediatrician, in this video he reveals that, according to his research and clinical observations, the major contributors to obesity today are not sedentary, gluttonous habits; neither is calorie restriction and exercises a cure.
Obesity is a consequence of modernized, enhanced, altered packaged food, that is launched at us everywhere we look, in every modern city in the world; peddling multi-sugars & diet sodas (Coke, Pepsi, Sprite, etc), low-fat and high carbohydrate “menu of the day” items for your “grab and go” lifestyle.
Paying no mind to the act of providing fuel/food for your miraculous self-healing body/mind, with a quality source of energy that prevents gene expression of degenerative diseases, and increases the body’s ability to become chemically and immune tolerant to living in this modern world, a requirement for optimal human performance (Figure 1).
Figure 1 Here are a few poignant power point slides of Dr. Lustig.
What choice does one have?
Fortunately, there are two things we can control that serve to enhance healthy protein duplication and preserve the vital internal environment needed to sustain a healthy functional body/mind; food as medicine and our thoughts, words, and actions towards self and others. The science of Epigenetics is at the forefront of this research manifesting itself daily.1–3
The choice in food, in my opinion, is a keto-adaptive lifestyle. Since introducing that way of life into my journey for health and wellness, all objective and subjective findings have manifested a better state and quality of life that is improving daily. I am also finding similar results in those patients I have recommended this path to. The literature attests to the beneficial effects nutritional ketosis has on: metabolic syndromes, insulin resistance, PCOS, Diabetes Type 2, Hypoglycemia, or any other disruption of insulin metabolism.4–6
When it comes to thoughts, words, and actions the importance of intimacy, touch, and community is also vital in providing healthy functional expression of the immune system and brain/nervous system. The frequency and vibration of each word and touch affects the expression of our genes. With a 1-2 punch from with dietary and cognitive lifestyle changes, the outcomes are up to each and every person as to whether inherited gene markers are expressed or not. In the end, the buck stops here with each and every one of us, and the choices we make daily.
The application of ketogenic diets is not an easy achievable task to counsel potential patients on, as it takes a herculean effort to adapt into, especially when there are health, lifestyle, degenerative progression, and the stress of modern life to contend with, at he same time a person is implementing a new, rigorous, and seemingly counter intuitive lifestyle change.7 Which requires utmost focus and self –responsibility.
A patent has now been developed, which was prompted by the US NAVY seeking a nutritional source of exogenous ketones for Navy Seals, at the University of Florida by http://usf.academia.edu/DominicDAgostino, in order to increase brain endurance for deep see diving, without the onset of seizure activity. The benefits of ketogenic diets are profound and are palliative to the most significant pandemic causes of degenerative diseases today:
- Anti-inflammatory properties8
- Protects the Pancreas by sparing the use of Insulin, preventing Diabetes, Hypoglycemia and Metabolic Syndrome5,6
- Are neuro-protective and neurotrophic, preventing brain and nervous system degeneration9–11
- Promotes increased oxygenation, which is protective to all cellular tissues12
- Improves ATP production at the mitochondrial level1,12
- Aids in the Repair of DNA by preventing cancer1,8,12
- Slows aging by promoting elongations of telomeres
- Increases Glutathione production vital for Liver, Brain and Gut protection1
- Cardio-protective by increasing HDL, reducing LDL, VLDL4
The ability to implement a ketogenic lifestyle has become 1000times easier since this exogenous ketone supplement product has arrived on the scene.13 It successfully induces nutritional ketosis within 20-40min of consuming it.
Once the brain and body receive the message to be in ketosis to provide cellular energy, the process of adaptation can then be undertaken one individual at a time, for a lifetime. The other piece, is utilizing genetic information from each patient to determine the best course of action on treatment and lifestyle changes, to set in motion the prevention of expressing the dreaded familial inheritance of our ancestors and their habits.
Genetic marker tests are now offered by various labs, when a physician can provide these objective findings to the general population walking into our offices daily, along with lifestyle and dietary coaching, then a real impact can be made on the outcomes for patient care and the prevention of all degenerative diseases. So the recipe for Obesity is to educate and implement the myriads of tools available to empower and assist each person, in order to doctor them towards a healthy quality of body/mind, for the rest of their lives. The life saving and economic impact of these practices is profound.
In my opinion, this is now the most viable way to develop strategies that lead to treatment protocols prescribed, making the biggest impact on the quality of their life for optimal health and wellness, on this planet today.
I believe that this lifestyle is the foundation for delivering a journey for optimal human performance instead of the current pandemics extant on this planet today, which looms larger daily. I invite my colleagues to perform due diligence on this subject and change old paradigms that no longer deliver health but rather an outdated “sick care” “this for that model”.
Contact me at drdebnovtep@gmail.com for more information on exogenous ketones, a Keto Adaptive Lifestyle, and ways to integrate genetic testing into your 21st century practice.
Acknowledgements
None.
Conflicts of interest
The author declares no conflict of interest.
References
- Zilbauer M, Zellos A, Heuschkel R, et al. Epigenetics in Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition – Current Trends and Future Perspectives. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2016;62(4):521–529.
- Tarry–Adkins JL, Ozanne SE. The impact of early nutrition on the ageing trajectory. Proc Nutr Soc. 2014;73(2):289–301.
- Zheng J, Xiao X, Zhang Q, et al. DNA methylation: the pivotal interaction between early–life nutrition and glucose metabolism in later life. Br J Nutr. 2014;112(11):1850–1857.
- Mavropoulos JC, Yancy WS, Hepburn J, et al. The effects of a low–carbohydrate, ketogenic diet on the polycystic ovary syndrome: a pilot study. Nutr Metab. 2005;2:35.
- Maiorana A, Manganozzi L, Barbetti F, et al. Ketogenic diet in a patient with congenital hyperinsulinism: a novel approach to prevent brain damage. Orphanet J Rare Dis. 2015;10(1):120.
- Aylward NM, Shah N, Sellers EA. The ketogenic diet for the treatment of myoclonic astatic epilepsy in a child with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Can J Diabetes. 2014;38(4):223–224.
- http://www.charliefoundation.org/explore–ketogenic–diet/explore–1/introducing–the–diet
- Youm YH, Nguyen KY, Grant RW, et al. The ketone metabolite β–hydroxybutyrate blocks NLRP3 inflammasome–mediated inflammatory disease. Nat Med. 2015;21(3):263–269.
- Dressler A, Trimmel–Schwahofer P, Reithofer E, et al. The ketogenic diet in infants––Advantages of early use. Epilepsy Res. 2015;116:53–58.
- Paoli A, Bianco A, Damiani E, et al. Ketogenic diet in neuromuscular and neurodegenerative diseases. Biomed Res Int. 2014;2014:474296.
- Prins ML, Matsumoto JH. The collective therapeutic potential of cerebral ketone metabolism in traumatic brain injury. J Lipid Res. 2014;55(12):2450–2457.
- Vidali S, Aminzadeh S, Lambert B, et al. Mitochondria: The ketogenic diet––A metabolism–based therapy. Int J Biochem Cell Biol. 2015;63:55–59.
- Zhao Z, Lange DJ, Voustianiouk A, et al. A ketogenic diet as a potential novel therapeutic intervention in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. BMC Neurosci. 2006;7:29.
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