I had the absolute pleasure of being involved in the inaugural KetoFest Downunder hosted by the 2 Keto Dudes (Richard Morris and Carl Franklin) on Sept 15th & 16th. In addition to meeting some extraordinary people, it was also a chance to hear about the health challenges it has helped overcome and to celebrate this way of life.
In addition to being lots of fun and a chance to sample so great foods, KetoFest Downunder was also an excellent educational experience. Here are some of the key (although over-simplified) insights and facts I took away:
- By the time you are 2 years old you basically have all the fat cells that you are going to have for the rest of your life. When we gain body fat, our bodies don’t make more fat cells, the fat cells that we have just get larger. When you lose body fat your fat cells shrink (you don’t get rid of your fat cells).
- Our bodies release insulin in response to the foods that we eat. Carbohydrate (whether they are simple sugars or complex carbohydrates) cause the largest insulin release from the pancreas. Fats cause the smallest and shortest-lived insulin release. Proteins fall somewhere in the middle.
- The insulin that our pancreas makes causes our muscles, liver and fat cells to mop up glucose from our blood (which is the breakdown of carbohydrates eaten). But as we get older our muscles and liver may become a bit more resistant to the effects of insulin and our pancreas needs to produce more insulin for our muscles and liver to take up the same amount of glucose as before. Our fat cells don’t experience this problem so they will preferentially take up more glucose and get larger. The consequence off this is that we get fatter.
- The above explains why some people in their 30’s, 40’s and 50’s, who have maintained the same diet as they had in their teens and 20’s, end up gradually gaining body fat. Before they know it, they are 20 years older and 20kg overweight!
- A Low Carb High Fat or Ketogenic diet, which results in a much smaller interaction with insulin, is a good way to prevent the above and help people maintain their body weight and body fat as they age.
Finally, we at Low Carb Emporium TM were so pleased to be able to donate a number of prizes that were raffled off with all proceeds going towards low carb research conducted by the University of Sydney - truly a good cause worth supporting.
If you would like more info regarding the benefits of Keto and low carb diets presented by experts in the field, visit Low Carb Downunder and the Low Carb Doctors websites. And if you still haven’t checked out the 2 Keto Dudes, I highly encourage you to listen to their podcasts - fun, insightful and full of great recipes.
As always, keep well.