more carbs, less carbs for immune health - PaleoHacks.com

more carbs, less carbs for immune health

2012-07-10T21:47:06Z

so jaminet & others say some amount of carbs (glucose) is needed for immune health. we all know that active people need more carbs, and probably even plenty of fructose to stay healthy.

yes, ray peat makes plenty of sense when you try out his ideas, and practically they are not that far off from what kresser, jaminet, and some others think. (offal, shellfish, coconut oil, grass fed meats & broths, fat soluble vitamins, pro-anabolic/youth hormones anti-stress pro-thyroid pro-immune system)

(lustig doesn't count in my book because i can't take anti-sugar advice from an obese man)

jaminet also says that ketosis is useful for some problems, and that only by seeing how you feel during ketosis will give a level of diagnosis about what possible infections you may have.

my question is, if carbs help the immune system, and ketosis also seems to help the immune system in some cases, do we as a culture have a list of what kinds of health issues are helped by ketosis, and which are helped by more carbs?

is there a useful list of types of chronic infections somewhere? can we generate a useful list?

Answer by Walcott for more carbs, less carbs for immune health

2012-07-10T22:13:51Z

I'm actually very curious about this as well. Right now I'm doing the Keto diet, and have been generally low-carbing for the past year. I've also recently been diagnosed with Tinea Versicolor, a skin fungus. Apparently this fungus thrives on ketones for energy, which explains why low-carb dieters are sometimes afflicted with fungal issues. But it could also be because the immune system does prefer glucose rather than ketones, which could allow the fungus to overpower the immune system in keto/low-carb environment.

I've read that some people have had success with Tinea by consuming varying amounts of glucose or fructose. Of course this isn't an option for people like me who are low-carbing for weight-loss or diabetes prevention.

To answer your question, maybe it has something to do with keto-adaptation or fat-burning-adaptation? Perhaps once our bodies become adapted to the diet, our immune system does as well and learns to become more effective with fat rather than glucose. But whether or not it would be strong enough to defeat a ketone loving fungus? I hope it can be!