> The problems are in the longer term with elevated cholesterol...

From your link:

> These differences were not significant at 24 months.

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> and increasing insulin resistance.

I'm going to need to insist on sources on this.

Insulin resistance: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20427477

As for the cholesterol, the study I linked was probably not a very good example - sorry. Saturated fat does raise cholesterol however - so unless you are on a vegan low carb diet, you will see it rise. (IF you keep your weight steady, weight loss almost always lowers cholesterol)

Counter source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4264021/

Losing weight, especially fat does wonders for insulin sensitivity, though.

The low carb group lost 6.2 kg of fat. That is a lot. I do wonder what happens if you look at insulin sensitivity when weight and fat mass remains mostly neutral. I do not know if there are studies done on that (in humans). I will have a look around.

> Losing weight, especially fat does wonders for insulin sensitivity, though.

Agreed.

> The low carb group lost 6.2 kg of fat. That is a lot. I do wonder what happens if you look at insulin sensitivity when weight and fat mass remains mostly neutral. I do not know if there are studies done on that (in humans). I will have a look around.

Sure, but if it's purely weight dependant, then high fat isn't a factor. And if it's not, why did it increase sensitivity?

I'm not trying to say that fat is the one solution to everything, but I'm definitely saying it's not the one cause for everything. I can cite multiple studies showing the various detriments of carbs, and likewise the pitfalls of fat, but when the circumstances are key, then isn't that simply the answer?

Don't be afraid of butter and eggs, don't be afraid of rice and carrots. Eat everything in moderation. Maybe stay away from sugar and deep fried treats?

> The diet works for weight loss, that is undisputed

All I could find was this (although it doesn't seem like they were checking ketone levels) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/311279409_Visceral_...

Do you have a study that shows ketogenic diets are indeed better for weight loss than other diets?

I do not have one. But I also never said it was better (!).

I merely said that it works. People on a keto diet often say something along the lines of "Oh, keto is such a good diet. I lost 20 pounds with it". And I believe them. But that should not be the only measure of how good a diet is for you. Weight is important but not everything.

Ok, fair enough. I just figured that almost any very-low-carb diet would lead to a 15 or 20 pounds weight loss, due to the water loss. Due to the difficulty of the diet (for some), I just always have a hard time recommending it or bringing it up compared to a 'regular' low carb diet.

The water loss in the beginning is real, and accounts for most 1st month loss. After that comes the real progress. Some find the inital loss to be motivating, others feel the lull after is the opposite.

I thought that LDL-P had been determined to be a more reliable indicator of heart disease risk? Also hasn't heard of insulin resistance as an effect of ketogenic diets... What's the mechanism for that, do you know?