Graves lecturer touts the benefits of a ketogenic diet
CHADRON – In the opening Graves Lecture of the semester Tuesday, Dr. Josh Ellis, Chadron State College assistant professor in Applied Sciences, shared the ketogenic diet he adopted a year ago in an effort to cure psoriasis without continuing to take prescription medication.
Ketogenics involves eating a high-fat, moderate-protein, low sugar, low carbohydrate diet. It did eliminate his psoriasis and when he told his dermatologist, she was not surprised.
“She said knew that would work instead of the prescription. I couldn’t believe she hadn’t told me there was a natural alternative,” Ellis said.
In the past, Ellis would have consumed about two gallons of milk per week but he has given it up due to the sugar content in milk and instead he eats approximately two dozen eggs a week.
He emphasized adults interested in weight loss should be guided by the glycemic index of the foods they eat. He said there is no need to worry about cholesterol levels in food because it does not translate to high serum cholesterol levels. Ellis, who eats steak, pork and fries broccoli in bacon grease as part of his ketogenic diet, said a rough glycemic scale would have broccoli as one of the best foods to eat and white bread as the worst.
The average U.S. citizen consumes 152 pounds of sugar, which appears in food labels under 56 different names, often in surprising places like canned spaghetti sauce.
“It’s even in jerky,” he said.
Scientists have proven that sugar lights up the human brain’s pleasure center in a way very similar to cocaine, making it difficult to change eating patterns.
He summarized the health threats of sugar originally published in “Pure, White and Deadly,” a 1972 book by John Yudkin.
Ellis said insulin resistance is at the core of many American health issues, including Type II diabetes. By 2050, one in three people will have the disease, Ellis said.
Pharmaceutical companies have a vested interest in the unhealthy state of the U.S. residents, according to Ellis. To make his point, he shared the following quote by South African professor, physician and author Dr. Tim Noakes: “If all diabetics adopted a low carbohydrate, high fat diet, it’s been estimated that six pharmaceutical companies would go out of business tomorrow.”
The next Graves Lecture, Oct. 13, will feature poetry readings by CSC English faculty member Dr. Steve Coughlin.
Category: Campus News, Graves Lecture Series