First time in remission with ketogenic diet

I have certain food triggers for migraines but I'm wondering whether a ketogenic diet (as opposed to avoiding certain triggers) is helpful. Of course, going keto will remove certain triggers but will leave a lot of common ones in.

 

I think even low carb can yield benefits for some people. Why not give it a few weeks and see? If it works, you can go full keto. You're also less likely to get keto flu too.

 

In this article is says, "Other things can trigger migraine attacks for some people, like some foods, smells, stress, and things in the environment". These non aura migraines have a trigger for me, either gluten or something else.

I also experience aura migraines since age 12, my grandmother suffered with them, they're hereditary. Foods don't trigger these types of migraines. I get one around every 3 years.

 

Just wondering about the whole 'net carbs' (total carbs minus fibre) thing.

What is it about fibre that offsets carbs, in terms of the biochemistry? Why does fibre stop the body from using the remaining carbs for fuel?

 

Yeah, it makes it very hard to actually get into ketosis and stay there.

On the subject of symptoms returning after eating carbs again...

If you do keto for a while then start on the carbs again, you'll get an insulin spike and resulting trembling, nausea, dizziness, weakness, etc, which is very much an effect of quickly reintroducing refined carbs into your body. It's possible you'd also get your symptoms back, too, but it's hard to say how quickly that would take.

You'll quickly learn to avoid carb-heavy foods if, like me, you hate that insulin spike. Carbs simply don't taste as nice for me, either, while proper fats start to taste very succulent and nourishing so long as I'm following the diet. If I go back to a carb-heavy diet, however, I quickly start craving carbs again.

Blood sugar no doubt plays a part in my overall symptoms. I think metabolic syndrome is a commoner co-morbidity than most of us realise.

 

I thought that initially, but then I read someone saying that you could increase the amount of non-fibre carbs you ate by adding fibre.

Maybe they were just confused! I can't remember where I read that.

 

They were confused. You can't eat 100g of sugar and offset it by eating 80g of fibre. Fibre doesn't bind to or cancel sugar or starch.

In the above example, a food item with 100g sugar and 80g fibre would have 180g total carbs and would still have 100g net carbs. However you look at it, that's still five times the recommended amount for your diet.

'Net carbs' means that if a product has 100g of total carbs, of which 20g is fibre, 60g is starch and 20g is sugar, you'll consume 80g net carbs and 20g fibre. The fibre doesn't reduce the sugar or starch. Annoyingly, the UK food label will say 80g of carbs and 20g of fibre, while the US label will say 100g of carbs and 20g of fibre. 20g hasn't disappeared, but in the UK you don't need to do any maths. If you're not careful, you can easily eat that food and think it's only 60g of net carbs, when it's a third higher.

This makes sense once you realise. I used to look at things and think, 'How can this item have 5g of total carbs, and 14g fibre? Wouldn't that make it -9g of net carbs? How can that be possible?'

 

So are the net carbs on a UK packet the 'of which sugars' bit?

 

In USA the total carbs would be recorded as 22g. Ie they add the fibre to the carb count as well, whereas here in UK fibre is not added in the carb figure.

 

I'm looking at a packet of ToFoo tofu (made in the UK) and on the back it says:

Carbohydrate, 1.1g, of which sugars 0.7g and fibre 0.5g. So sugars + fibre is greater than total carbs.

I thought that was maybe a rounding error but on the Ocado website (UK grocery store) it gives info for bell peppers as:

Carbohydrate 5.8g, of which sugars 5.6g and fibre 1.1g.

So again, sugars + fibre is greater than total carbs.

Am I looking at this wrong?

 

Yes. As Trish and Keela and I have all said, the UK listing for 'carbohydrates' is sugar and starch only. It does not include fibre.

 

To put it another way, when logging bell peppers, log:

Net carbs: 5.8g
Fibre: 1.1g

Don't deduct the fibre from the carbs, because UK labels do that for you already.

 

Thanks! Sorry I didn't understand you both the first time. Sometimes things just dance around in my head (and often just dance straight out again).

 

That's okay.

It is confusing. UK labels just take the maths out of it for you.

 

I'm struggling a bit with calculating a protein target. If it's 1g protein for each kg body weight, I'd get 60g/day. If it's 1g protein for each kg lean weight, I'd get 40g. But most menu plans seem to have about 80g+.

What is everyone else on?