Fad diets have been around for
years, from the Atkins diet to high protein diets to liquid diets to the
grapefruit diet. There are ways to
determine if a diet is going to be a fad or not. Ask yourself if the diet promises quick
weight loss, does it seem good to be true, does the diet help sell a company’s
product or lack scientific research? If
the answer is “yes” to any of the above, it’s most likely a fad. Issues with fad diets are poor long-term
weight control (which let’s face it, that is the primary reason to begin a
diet), increased risk of chronic diseases, and reduced athletic performance.
Now
to introduce another diet, I am about to give you some insight and research as
to why I feel it is not a fad
diet. The Ketogenic Diet (keto)
is a very low-carb, high-fat diet that shares many similarities with Atkins or
other low carb diets. It involves
drastically reducing your carb intake and replacing it with high but healthy
fats. The reduction in carbs puts your body into a metabolic state
called ketosis.
When ketosis
happens, your body becomes incredibly efficient in burning fat for energy. It
also turns fat into ketones in the liver, which can supply energy for
the brain. Ketogenic diets can cause
massive reductions in blood sugar and insulin levels. Therefore, if
you are diabetic, this diet is not for you; but this, along with the increased
ketones, has numerous health benefits.
The
keto diet was originally established and effective for epilepsy but has also been
found effective for individuals with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimers
and Parkinson. Studies in these neurodegenerative disorders have led to the idea that
the ketogenic diet may not only give symptomatic relief but could have
beneficial disease-modifying activity applicable to other brain/movement
disorders including Essential Tremors.
I have received both positive and negative feedback
from fellow ET patients across the world that have altered their diet to help
aid their tremor after being frustrated with their medication. I wanted share one individual’s story with
you! Her name Genevieve Robert! Unsteady hands run in
her family, like they do in most of ours. Her father has shaky hands and
she can now see that her children also have shaky hands as well. It has
worsened over time for Genevieve. She,
as most of us do, crossed off any precision work in her career path. “Nurse,
dentist, surgeon were automatically crossed off my list even if I was an A
student. The only discrimination I have ever felt was that my hand writing was terrible
and a lot of people have commented about it over the years. My grade 11
language arts teacher even gave me back exams a couple times for me to
transcribe more legibly. That was embarrassing.
I'd noticed over the years that sometimes my hands shook more and
sometimes my hands shook less, but never thought about why that would be.”
Recently she began
noticing her tremor spread. The first
one being her tongue would shake at night while brushing her teeth, then her legs
when she would cross them. After being referred to a neurologist, she was then diagnosed
with Essential Tremors. At that point Genevieve had had a CT scan, an MRI, a
bunch of blood work and a neurological assessment and everything was normal.
The neurologist basically told her that there was nothing seriously wrong and
that he could prescribe a drug, which she declined and decided to go see a
naturopath.
Naturopath: is a form of alternative medicine that employs an
array of pseudoscientific practices branded as “natural”, “noninvasive”, and as
promoting “self-healing”. The ideology and methods of naturopath are based on
vitalism and folk medicine, rather than evidence-based medicine
The naturopath she
sought out was also a certified Functional Medicine Physician. She suggested a ketogenic
diet. She told her the keto diet was a brain healing diet and that it is being
studied in the context of MS, ALS, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and the outcomes
are very promising. “I started the diet in September and within one month,
I could see that I had stopped getting worse. Every month since then, I can
tell that my health in general has been getting better and my tremors had gone
down noticeably as well.”
She remembers thinking
that it was so restrictive that someone would really need to be in a pretty bad
place (like she was) to feel the need to eat this way. She thought it would be
nice if some sort of supplement could help get to the same point as the diet.
She has since then found a supplement that does just that. “I am now a bit less
strict with my diet although once you discover the effects sugar and carbs have
on your neurological health, it is difficult to go back to eating like before.
I now avoid many things that I considered healthy before starting this way of
eating such as: whole grains, fruit, legumes and starchy vegetables. I now
combine a high fat, low carb diet with these supplements and get my best
results that way.”
So what does Genevieve
eat on the ketogenic diet? Mostly meat, nuts, eggs, cheese, vegetables and good
fats such as coconut oil, avocado, oily fish, grass fed butter and fats from
grass fed animals. She takes supplements as suggested by her naturopath. She has
also integrated the practice of intermittent fasting which is a fancy way of
saying that she gives her body a 14 hour break (at least) from food every day.
The most difficult thing about this diet was to unlearn everything she had ever
learned about nutrition. “This is the first time that changing my diet has
given me more energy, helped me sleep, improves my mood and makes me lose
weight all at the same time. The second most difficult thing was to say good
bye to my favorite foods (that all contained lots of carbs).”
“We recently
discovered what we think triggered a worsening of my tremors last year. We
found mold underneath the tiles in one of our bathrooms. It seems that I have a
mold allergy that made me react more than the rest of my family. I have
discussed this with quite a few people. My doctor tells me there is no link
between mold and tremors, but others have told me that it would make sense that
an environmental stressor such as mold would have an impact on my system by
worsening my tremors.”
Now did ketosis
through diet and supplements help lessen Genevieve’s tremors? Definitely! Did it
cure her tremors? Of course not. Would she recommend the keto diet to others? Yes!
It's a simple enough test. Try going keto for 3 months (with or without the
supplements). If it's going to help you,
you would know by then. If it doesn't help, try something else. Never hurts to
try!
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