Anyone here on a (past or present) keto diet?

[LearningAllICan]

We are about to embark on a keto diet and was wondering how many of you have tried successfully or unsuccessfully with this type of diet .... love to hear your feedback. Thank you !

[MBAnderson]

If you're going to ask PWP what they think is the best diet, to capture all the answers, get out a piece of paper number from 1 to a 100. There are scientists, doctors, nutritionists, HU researchers, and data which support every diet ever dreamed up and since knowing with absolute certainty which is best is above the paygrade for most of us, we're on our own when it comes to diet.

We tried to adhere to the keto diet for 18 months and finally admitted we couldn't comport with the strict carb limits and gave up about 6 months ago, although we still practice a very low-carb diet.

At the risk of being a heretic, I've come the have my doubts about the wisdom of being a permanent, rigid adherent to keto. Yes, I agree it is essential that our brain get all the fat it needs and that we keep our blood glucose low and from spiking, but I am concerned that the loss of weight and muscle mass could become an issue for me/PWP. I lost 50 pounds-25% of my body weight and went to a BMI of 19.2. Underweight PWP have poorer outcomes.

I've gone full circle on most things including diet and have come to feel, 'everything in moderation' works best for me.

While there is not a lot of agreement on what is best for us, there is a lot of agreement on what is worst for us.

[parkie13 in reply to MBAnderson]

Good answer.

[LearningAllICan in reply to MBAnderson]

yup, good answer -Thank you. I completely agree - 100s of diets, 100s of answers.... I too have come full circle but would like to give one last ditch effort to Keto before starting pharma drugs - I agree on everything in moderation and organic... I also agree a keto diet is a very hard diet to adhere to. It's for my husband. He has also lost weight - not sure why, could be the healthier organic diet we have been doing? or maybe the disease? We are really trying to avoid pharma drugs... Although - I know he will need them someday. We have been trying all else - HDT, Mannitol, Restore Gold - No Luck so far, sadly. This is my last effort before trying a pharma drug. We start today. Hoping for some positive changes.

Interesting to me though that you tried but it didn't help you.

[MBAnderson in reply to LearningAllICan]

I don't believe it did not help me. I believe the right diet is extremely helpful, it's just that we too often compare diet and supplements and lifestyle changes to pharmaceuticals which I feel is a bad comparison to be making. A lot of pharmaceuticals make themselves felt immediately, but I do not think the changes in nutrition and lifestyle produce such immediate and obvious results.

I believe nearly everything I do is beneficial, but we have to keep in mind, compared to what? How fast would we be progressing if we ate at McDonald's every day and laid on the couch?

I think a lot of PWP try a lot of things and when they don't see meaningful, observable results they assume it was of no benefit, while we may have no way of knowing if it is or is not a benefit.

If we take some supplements where there is irrefutable data that they reduce inflammation, we are entitled to believe they probably reduce inflammation (although by how much in each of us individually, there is no way to know,) but we do know that reducing inflammation is beneficial -- as compared with doing nothing.

[ruff1 in reply to LearningAllICan]

Not sure why you want to avoid medication ? At one time advice was to stay off medication as long as possible, that’s not do now . Medication will help you function better , feel better . My husband has been diagnosed fir 13 years without medication he would not be able to play golf 4 x a week , go to the gym 4 x a week and run 🏃‍♀️. He’s fitter now than he was when he was first diagnosed, yes he does have off times occasionally and we have to time meals around his medication but he lives life to the full and lives for today , quality of life is very important .

[susbl in reply to MBAnderson]

I have realized the same thing. Get to know your body, how you feel as you experiment with options. Everyone is different in some way: genetically and physical makeup.

[rebtar]

I also am an ex-Keto eater. I also lost a lot of weight and to gain it back had to include carbs. I since have been more concerned about the possible impact of Keto on gut health.

google.com/amp/s/www.medica...

This, as in almost everything related to diet, is a matter of debate. But it is hard to get enough fiber in a Keto diet (it’s actually not that easy to get enough fiber in any diet, but especially Keto) and it makes sense that it would affect microbiome diversity and gut health in general. So I’ve gone in the direction of Mediterranean, keeping carbs fairly low.

I also resisted taking Pharma meds for a long time, but about a year ago gave in and I’ve never looked back. I am better able to exercise, emotionally much better, more comfortable in my body on a low dose of C/L. I also tried everything you mention plus mucuna, with no perceivable positive result.

[MBAnderson in reply to rebtar]

Good point about the fiber. I forgot to mention that.

[pmmargo]

Intermittant fasting is interesting and seems to work well. You eat all your meals during an 8 hour period each day. It is also popular among my coworkers.

I wanted to lose a bit of weight.

(My neurologist favors the Mediterranean diet for the best PD health)

Best wishes! Paul

[MBAnderson]

Speaking of inflammation, as per Science Direct from yesterday.

"A punch in the gut – Intestinal inflammation links environmental factors to neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease."

sciencedirect.com/science/a...

[francis6]

i have been on keto diet for about 20 months. Lost about 3 stone (48 pounds) in weight, 4 inches off waist (now same as in my twenties), blood pressure came down to middle of normal range), swollen ankles and persistent fungal infection cleared up. I also experienced loosening of stiff muscles and improved gut health.

I follow it 80 - 90 % of the time and it is not that difficult, including eating enough fibre. Also do a bit of intermittent fasting.

I have not been tested for it but the cracker test (self-checked) suggests I do not process carbs very well and this may explain why the keto diet has been beneficial for me. Everyone has a different genetic make up and gut biome so will likely get different results.

[MBAnderson in reply to francis6]

Amazing how nutrition sometimes works better than some pharmaceuticals.

[2bats]

I did Keto Diet for 9 months before going on Carnivore Diet with eggs and avocado for 6 months, the last few weeks on OMAD (one meal a day) with a view to encouraging autophagy. I took 15 months off the Ropinirole and Sinemet but recently went back on a low dose of carbidopa/levodopa at my Neuro’s urging... I find no problem with no fibre - see youtu.be/xqUO4P9ADI0(Not working as expected?) Dr Paul Mason. My weight is stable at about 5kg less than when I was on the SAD diet and I’m gradually building muscle in the gym. Generally High Fat V Low Carb seems very good for me! Ribeye is perfect

Best regards, Phil 2bats

[JAS9]

Well, just to round out the diet choices posted here, let me put a good word in for the vegetarian and vegan diets. I switched from sad to a vegan+whole food+low oil+no refined sugar diet almost 3 years ago. My dx was 11 years ago.

I get loads and loads of fiber. I eat loads and loads of veggies and fruit that are high in anti-oxidants. To get my oils I eat ground flaxseed, nuts, and guacamole. In general, I've enjoyed more energy, better circulation, improved gut health.

To everyone, including those on keto: get plenty of dark green veggies; they're great for heart and artery health!

[RBan]

I tried keto but I lost too much weight which I didn’t have any extra to lose. But I definitely adopted some principles like including healthy fats for brain health every day. The Mediterranean diet is the best for anti-inflammatory diseases and that’s been the best for me.

[kaypeeoh]

In the past I tried the Atkins diet to lose weight. The theory was losing weight makes me a better runner plus burning ketones for energy means less reliance on carbs. But for me the side effect on top of weight loss was massive cramping of neck, arms, back and legs. Rapid weight loss depletes sodium. The kidneys need sodium to filter toxins from the blood.

Now I follow a type of intermittent fasting: In the morning I have meds on an empty stomach. That's Rytary, a statin, CoQ10, baby aspirin and duloxetine, all of which are best absorbed on empty stomach. Then have my first meal around 2PM . And have meds that work better with food. That's a beta-blocker, creatine, Diosmin, DIM and fish oil.

None of this has much to do with PD. In the past I was Dx'd with PD and started various medications. End result is 30# heavier. Now I'm trying daily treadmill workouts keeping an eye on calories burned; 1 hour on a treadmill means 300 calories burned. 2 hours means 600 cals burned. 3 hours means 900 cals burned.