Review: Conflicting and wrong data, repetitive statements, and no sources make this a poor choice if you want to learn about a ketogenic
Rating: 1 out of 5
Date: 07 6, 2014
Conflicting and wrong data, repetitive statements, and no sources make this a poor choice if you want to learn about a ketogenic diet or lifestyle.For example, the author states that keto prevents cancer, Alzheimer's and many other diseases, without offering or explaining why that may be true or listing scientific sources to back that statement. Very misleading for folks that may not do their own research.The author states only to use Splenda as a sugar substitute, when almost all experts and low carb food bloggers use Stevia, erythritol, xylitol, or a combination of those sweeteners. She also has a recipe that uses one cup of sugar (!!) and one that does use erythritol. Spenda is maltodextrin and sucrose, sucrose is sugar.One section at the beginning mentions dehydration as a risk because you "limit fluids". That is dangerously incorrect. There is no need to limit sugar-free fluids like water, tea, and coffee and, in fact, you should drink MORE water to counteract the fluid loss associated with a low carb diet. She then talks about drinking more fluids later on in the book, very inconsistent.The statements regarding diabetes and stating that ketoacidosis is a myth are dangerously wrong. Ketosis is the natural process where our bodies use fat stores for energy when glucose isn't available in the diet. It is what you do naturally when you're sleeping and what cultures like the Inuits do all their lives. Ketoacidosis on the other hand, is an out of control process where blood sugar gets too high and insulin production is too low. It only occurs in people with Type 1 diabetes and some people with unknown Type 2 diabetes. It is a medical emergency that if not treated, can result in coma and death.Other information that is wrong or misleading:- there is no need to fast or drastically cut fat to start the diet. Just stop eating carbs, in general, sugar, grains, and starchy veggies. Be sure to drink adequate water and a little extra salt. The salt is flushed from your body with the extra fluid.- 30-50 net carbs is too high for weight loss. It may work for maintenance, but almost all experts recommends net 20-30 to start. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber and sugar alcohols (natural sweeteners), which aren't absorbed by the body.- "If you east more protein than needed, your body will convert the remaining protein into sugar which is then turned into glucose which in turn becomes fat." This is misleading. Excess protein is converted to glucose by the liver and if that glucose is not needed immediately for energy, and your muscle (and liver) glycogen stores are full, it is then stored as fat. For more information on the biochemistry, read a known expert like Gary Taube's "Why We Get Fat".- Restates the vague disease claims at the end of the book- The section that says to eat 8g of carbs before and after exercise to maintain energy levels is wrong. Once you are keto-adapted, after a week or two, you have all the stored energy you need in the form of fat. Eating that many carbs will just take you out of ketosis and derail your weight loss.- Blueberries, onions, tomatoes, and sweet peppers are actually quite high in sugar and aren't usually recommended for weight loss in keto. They can be added back into your diet in small quantities when you are on maintenance.- At the beginning of the book, vegetable oil is listed as healthy, yet right before the recipe section, it's listed as something to be avoided, which is correct. It's like she had two different books and stuck them together.- Fried foods are not bad for you as long as you use a healthy oil such as coconut.- lists cocoa powder, raspberries, and blackberries as foods that are restricted which isn't true. Chocolate is naturally low carb and berries are the few fruits you can eat since they are high in fiber which reduces their carb impact.- lists other fruits and veggies as restricted or bad  but includes them in almost every recipe- lists soy beans and soy bean products as acceptable yet most low-carb experts agree that soy is inflammatory and NOT good for you- Lemon and lime are used sparingly since they are fairly high in sugar- lists several dressings which can actually be high carb, most commercial versions include sugar. Full fat dressings that are sugar-free are good- most commercial yogurts, including greek, are high in sugar since they're made with milk and usually have added sugarThere is some good information about the benefits of a ketogenic diet and some of the recipes are OK, but the poor organization of the material and the incorrect or misleading information rate a one star.Some good information about keto is at ketodietapp.com. Good bloggers for recipes are All Day I Dream About Food, Maria Mind Body Health, Cut The Wheat, Ditch The Sugar, I Breath... I'm Hungry, among others. A good tool is foodgawker, do a search for low carb and many of their recipes will be listed.