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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?

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I have never heard about the immune/carb paradox before, I do not have an answer for you but I am extremely interested to see what other people come up with – Team Oberg Jul 10 at 21:55
Some very interesting stuff here lucastafur.com/search/label/… – JayJay Jul 10 at 22:20
Lustig is not obese! – Chinaeskimo Jul 11 at 3:50
right, having 2 chins is totally not obese. – dsohei Jul 12 at 1:32

1 Answer

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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!

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 I recently did keto-paleo for 2 months and i got toe nail fungus back :O Now back to paleo with moderate carbs and my mood is so much better. – paleoguy11 Jul 10 at 23:48
do you actually think low carbing prevents diabetes? sorry man, youre mistaken. perhaps low carbing does help people lose lots of water weight and some minimal fat weight until the honeymoon is over, and then your thyroid down regulates and holds onto weight. – dsohei Jul 12 at 1:31
Not 100%, but it's a way to get around and treat type 2 diabetes by switching to fat for most of your energy rather than carbs. Can you show me more evidence to support your second assertion? So many people, including myself, have found success with low carbing for weight loss. – Walcott Jul 12 at 3:44
until what point? if someone is like, 50% bodyfat, then loweringa carbs will probably work well down to about maybe 25% bodyfat. something around there. but there are so many anectdotes about people who go very low carb, enough to be ketogenic, and do not lose any more weight, feel rubbish etc. i agree that low carb is probably necessary for very obese people. but ppl still need to retrain insulin sensitivity, not villify carbs forever. there are plenty of diabetics who smartly cured themselves using carbs. – dsohei Jul 12 at 23:49
Where is this data coming from? Just go on reddit.com/r/keto and you'll see plenty of cases where people have cut their body fat well below 20%. I'm going to continue low carbing for the rest of my life because I don't fancy overworking my pancreas until I have to start injecting myself with insulin. There are certainly anecdotes about people who do keto and fail to see results. We're all different. So far there is no cure for insulin sensitivity, but I think low-carb/keto is definitely a step in the right direction for those suffering from it. – Walcott Jul 13 at 15:06

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