Keto Diet

[mrgwair567]

Would being on a Keto Diet be bad for AF. Your comments would be appreciated.

[Barny12]

See here:

healthunlocked.com/afassoci...

American Heart Association rates 10 diets for heart health

"Several dietary patterns, including the DASH-style eating plan (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), Mediterranean, pescatarian and vegetarian eating patterns, received top ratings for aligning with the Association’s dietary guidance.

A few eating patterns, including Paleo and ketogenic diets, contradict the Association’s guidance and did not rank as heart-healthy eating patterns."

Also:

youtu.be/SegvDyPmp6s(Not working as expected?)

[mrgwair567 in reply to Barny12]

Thank you. One diet to avoid then !

[Tellingfibs]

I have just read ‘The Afib Cure’ by Dr John Day. Quite a lot of the advice is diet-related and it seems to put forward the thinking that those rogues ‘white carbs’ are best avoided. Basically, the book advocates a healthy diet and lifestyle. I think it is aimed at the American population, who years ago took up ‘fat free’ and then found their problem to be sugar. A sensible diet is a good idea anyway, and reducing food with artificial ingredients and those fast acting white carbs that convert to sugar in the body is a positive step for anyone.

Annie.

[mrgwair567 in reply to Tellingfibs]

l agree ,

[CDreamer]

I’m not a fan of the Keto diet because I know I have difficulty clearing fat from my blood. I took the Zoe test programme and worked out from that which foods help and which don’t and I agree that white carbs should be limited.

I would add that fibre is the most valuable contribution to gut health especially green leafy vegetables, herbs and spices, fermented foods and limiting protein and fat.

Food is never going to cure everyone with AF but I think if you can get your gut health sorted you will find there will be fewer triggers for AF, least that was my experience.

The original Keto diet was desperate and caused all sorts of problems but I see that has now been amended to include veg & fruit.

Personally I like Doctor’s Kitchen because he developed it to treat his own AF, not saying I stick to it all the time but try to pull at least one recipe a day and learned a lot about using food as medicine.

thedoctorskitchen.com/

[mrgwair567 in reply to CDreamer]

Thanks for recommending Dr Rupys’ Cookbook , a change is needed in my diet as I’m finding it increasingly difficult to loose weight

[Barny12 in reply to CDreamer]

The Doctor's Kitchen books are great! Have just got his new one, Cooks, out of the library.

[mrgwair567 in reply to Barny12]

Just been looking at his 1 2 3 book on the website, looks very interesting.

[Barny12 in reply to mrgwair567]

Yeah, he's a fantastic cook.

Very interesting backstory too - he's one of the few people I've ever heard of who managed to cure his AF with food/lifestyle changes.

They're all great books - really flavoursome & healthy but that one (321) is probably our favourite so far for the simplicity of the recipes.

[mrgwair567 in reply to Barny12]

This appeals to me too! I like no fuss , simple cooking , and all in one pan ! Even better!

[dedeottie in reply to CDreamer]

I am just coming to the end of the initial 2 weeks Zoe . My glucose monitor comes off tomorrow. Wow! I have learned so much already. Feedback from the glucose monitor is already changing how I eat. Looking forward to getting results of muffin tests soon. It was reading a thread on here between yourself and someone else that made up my mind to register. I don’t need to lose weight but I was becoming aware that my diet was very restricted basically because I had lost interest in cooking/food and was eating more trash than I had ever before. Here’s hoping the results will give me the nudge Zi need to improve my diet according to how my body works. This is actually related to AF as I want to give my last and final ablation (last August) every chance to continue working. X

[Autumn_Leaves]

What is your rationale for wanting to do the keto diet? I ask this because whatever we do, we need to know our ‘why’.

I share the opinion expressed by others that a diet high in plant fibre benefits the gut microbiome. I’m also of the opinion that the gut microbiome plays an important role in our overall health although the science is still very new and we can’t categorically say what role it plays in the development of AF or any other illness.

The problem with the keto diet is its elimination of sources of plant fibre. We need variety from as many sources as possible. The recommendation from some of the researchers is that we should aim for a minimum of 30 different plant foods per week from across the entire spectrum of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. Many adherents of the keto diet eliminate some of these food groups in their entirety. In my opinion, I don’t think it’s a good idea. We need to add more in to our diets, not cut things out. Elimination diets deplete our gut microbes, and that’s been established by research.

Some people have done Zoe and found it helpful but it’s not for me. I have a low hbA1c and low cholesterol. I’m with Dr Nicola Guess (diabetes researcher) on this one. She is of the opinion that people with normal glucose tolerance do not need to micromanage their glucose levels, and she explains why in some detail. It’s also expensive and TBH having some meter attached to me 24/7 would drive me round the twist. But if people find it helpful and they can afford it, then by all means go ahead. You do you.

I would also agree that Dr Rupy’s recipes and books are great. He’s also an advocate of a plant based or “plant forward” diet.

My own personal opinion is that there are many ways to eat a healthy diet. It’s not a religion or doctrine. There are no “rules” anyone “should” follow. We all know what the unhealthy foods are and these shouldn’t be part of our diet most of the time. The occasional indulgence is OK in the context of an overall healthy diet.

[mrgwair567 in reply to Autumn_Leaves]

Thanks for your comments

[LaceyLady]

well, I’m a low carb high protein person for my T2 diabetes which means I just have one 25mg Empagliflozin tablet and no injection

[Autumn_Leaves in reply to LaceyLady]

Whatever works for you and gets results is the way to go.

[Sixtyslidogirl]

I am on the Zoe journey. I say journey because it took me a while to adjust and I am still adjusting to eating yet more plants. But in the first month I got my total cholesterol down from 6.6 to 5.9 so I am hoping another couple of months gets it into the normal range.

[mrgwair567 in reply to Sixtyslidogirl]

Hi Sixtydlidogirl,

This Zoe eating plan sounds interesting , good on you for sticking to it! Another one for me to ponder on. Thanks