Dietitian’s Thoughts on What Netflix’s The Magic Pill Gets WRONG About the Keto Diet

Medical Disclaimer:
The content in this video is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

In this episode of Abbey’s Kitchen, Abbey is revisiting the documentary The Magic Pill she looked at last week and wants to talk about what they got wrong about the keto diet.

Let’s do this.

(0:48) #1 Early Humans Only Ate Meat and Fat
The film makes the claim that our ancestors ate a keto type diet but that is just not true. Based on archeological and anthropological data carbs were integral for the growth of the human brain over the last million years. From tubers and seeds to fruits and nuts, carbs have been around for a long time and many studies have found that starchy foods made us smarter by providing our brains with glucose.

(2:25) #2 Confusing Messages About Processed Foods
Here are some cringe worthy quotes. First of all, the majority of foods are processed and the doc does not take the time to make the distinction between processed and ultra processed foods. The doc demonizes several processed foods but encourages other processed foods like bacon and coconut oil. The doc definitely needs to refine the recommendations.

(4:28) #3 All Carbohydrates Are Bad
Again, the film makes carbs out to be the big bad enemy and there are several quotes the demonstrate this. The film does not distinguish between the different types of carbs and claims they are additive and lead to diabetes. The film misses the benefits of fibre and the role whole grains play in lowering your risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer.

(6:06) #4 Eat More Animal Foods Than Plant Based Foods
The doc wants to flip the food pyramid so that animal foods are eaten in higher amounts however it gets really confusing when they include a highly processed food like bacon at the base of the pyramid. Abbey is no vegan, but she is a huge supporter of plant based foods and there are a variety of studies that they are beneficial to our health.

(7:28) #5 Animal Foods Should Be the Primary Source of Protein
The film wants you to ditch legumes and other plant based proteins because they’re too high in carbs and instead get your protein fix from meat. However, Abbey makes it clear of the abundant cholesterol lowering benefits of plant based proteins. A high intake of red meat and processed meats may be linked to heart disease, however Abbey recommends eating these foods in moderation. Finding a balance is key.

(8:57) #6 Food as MAGIC PILL
Abbey is all about the food first philosophy, however thinks this doc may have taken it too far. The doc shares the story of people that have been able to ditch their medication because of the diet, however aside from diet there are a number of other factors that impact our health. Sometimes medication and other interventions are the only solution or an essential part of the solution. However just going off medication or therapy and taking on a diet can be dangerous and potentially life threatening.

Yes, the Magic Pill did get some things right abou the keto diet, but there’s still a lot of information and research that they omitted to support their case. We still need a lot more research to able to say with confidence that the keto diet is the magic pill. Abbey believes that the keto diet has its merits, especially in clinical settings, but it’s not without its risks and may not be good for everyone.

For more tips on staying healthy, recipes, dieting, and information fit for consumption by foodies everywhere stop by Abbey’s blog.

[katiepease]

What is not mentioned in the critique, as Abbey enjoys her slice of bread, is that a large portion of the people who are helped by keto are generally people who have eaten plenty of bread and other foods that have made them SICK. They (we) weigh too much, are bloated, have chronic inflammatory issues and illnesses and pain and are doing keto to save their (our) lives and restore some kind of quality of life. Most people who look like Abbey don't have to look at their doctor and be told that, if they don't radically change their way of eating, their current, miserable state of existence will not change but their number of meds will certainly increase. It's all about overcominng metabolic disorders and glucose spikes and being unable to satisfy hunger. I am perfectly willing to give up a slice of freaking bread to reverse what processed foods and sugar have done to my body. Maybe I'll eat bread again one day, but, for today, I choose not to. And today I feel a lot better than I did when I was eating bread.

[nima]

It is true that type 2 diabetes can be reversed with keto, presumably the patients who went off their meds were under medical supervision and approved to discontinue their medications by their physicians. I am a pharmacist and I have seen this happen in numerous cases with my patients. I don't see why that is never acknowledged, or somehow always slighted, it DOES work remarkably for diabetes, as well as PCOS. The rest of us can benefit from high vitamin/mineral/antioxidant starchy vegetables and sweet fruits though, but once you have the signs of insulin resistance, keto is the cure.

[daej]

I will say this, when you to keto correctly you're mainly eating: organic meats, bone broths, healthy oils, green veggies, berries, nuts and SOME dairy. When people go overboard and eat so much dairy and bacon and what not it's too much.

[Mary-fqsm]

The point that our ancestors ate carbs in the form of tubers, seeds, , nuts & fruit is valid. However, they were eaten only seasonally, ie. apples & nuts in autumn for a couple of months. Also they were eaten in very small quantities because they were foraged & prepared. Seriously, go forage a pound of nuts & then shell them, or go find & dig some edible starchy roots. That’s a lot of time & effort for the resulting amount of food! Hunting was much easier & more energy efficient.

[Mary-fqsm]

Ok, the dietary cholesterol = blood cholesterol trope was debunked years ago. Also, higher blood cholesterol levels are not linked with coronary heart disease. In fact, in older people higher cholesterol is heart protective. Look into the studies. As a dietician, you should keep up with your scientific reading,

[AMumsLife]

It certainly seems like there is no one diet for all. I did keto for 2 years, i was never sick lost 40 kilos and felt better then i ever have in my life, my mental health was the best its ever been and the pain i usually have from a back injury was pretty much gone. was put on a Mediterranean diet by my daughters dr for some tummy issues she was having ( she didnt eat keto she was a fussy eater) and in the last year we have been eating this way, ive had so much pain, and im forever getting sick.

carbs may not be the enemy for all, but the minuet i start eating bread and pasta, or sugar and junk my body goes back to aching and hurting.

[chiaragrondana]

Oil is post industrial? tell that to the ancient greek and romans

[leeful]

#1 - your liver will produce all the glucose you need. You won’t get blood sugar spikes at all.

2# - you’ve missed the point of WHAT processed foods are bad. Vegetable and seed oils don’t give up their oil without processes that involve heat and other chemicals that change the molecular structure. Oil, this change can be detrimental to how these oils act when they make up out cell membranes. Also omega 6 found mostly in vegetable oils cause inflammation.

3# - it’s not ALL carbs. It’s more than 30g a day that is fibrous, non starchy veg. A lot of people don’t realise they don’t tolerate wholegrain wheat. All in all an excess (and most don’t realise what is excess) of carbs leads to many problems.

#4 - You can totally have bacon that’s only been salted, not added nitrites. But without carbs you can definitely eat regular bacon with no carcinogenic effect, just not a brand that takes the piss with added manufactured chemicals.

#5 - well you have to in order to cut the carbs. Also if a caveman had a freezer, ya think they’d freeze a bunch of loaves of wholegrain bread which tastes like crap compared to meat? 😑 Again if you aren’t eating carbs you can process and burn the fat.

#6 -.Okay but aren’t great results from once single aspect (tasty food) a really good thing? Yes I agree I want to see more studies too.

That was my opinion as you had yours.

[pinkeysherbet]

Lol my favorite part of the argument that carbs were mostly eaten after the industrial revolution is how badly they know their history. How else do they explain the fact that in Medieval Europe people ate up to three pounds of what we consider whole-grain bread per day. Three pounds! Plus the English drank a lot of ale to stay hydrated because most water sources were contaminated and medieval ale was grain-based. Going back further: the Egyptians had wheat as the bulk of their diets, and Mediterranean people’s diets were up to a third cereal grains as well as fruit (which is carbs!). Many cultures across the world ate cereal crops and/or fruit and the ones who didn’t are a minority. And with whole-grain bread and cereals, you do eat the proteins from the grain as well, but they’re still mostly carbs. Hard laborers needed carbs because they needed that easy-access energy. Like five minutes of googling will tell you people have been eating carbs since day one. Bleached and heavily-processed carbs are new, but carb-heavy diets are very much not.

[ChrisDaniells]

I think you've somewhat missed the point, The Magic Pill is primarily speaking to people with chronic conditions be it an immune disorder, inflammatory issues, diabetes, obesity and for those that may occur due to things like Leaky gut - hence the reason they refer to avoiding inflammatory foods such as gluten, soy, legumes, specific carbs and fibres. I have an inflammatory condition myself and have benefited greatly from a Low carb keto diet

[trikta]

They literally define refined carbs and suggest natural carbs... wtf is her point?

[aubz]

They did not recommend bacon in this video one time. Yes, a lot of advertised Keto diets do but this documentary never did one time.

[mrapple]

Thank you for being one of the few competent people on YouTube that actually had the educational background to back up your claims and supports your argument with real peer-reviewed journal articles.

[chrisb]

Abby, a year ago I would have completely agreed, but cutting out grains has completely resolved my digestion issues. I eat way less fiber now too.

[rubygreta]

Forget about keto. The bottom line is eat as little junk carbohydrates as possible and you will be fine. Yeah, bacon and eggs for breakfast is much better for you than a no-fat bagel with low-fat cream cheese and no-fat orange juice.

And by the way, a healthy keto diet includes a ton of green vegetables. That's where you get your carbs, not pizza, pasta and white rice.

[Ram-Fighter]

My doctor told me to follow a pow carb and low sugar diet because I am pre diabetic :/ I mentioned Keto and he was ALL for it. He specified that I have to try my best to avoid fast foods and too much dairy. He mentioned to double my intake of green vegetables and to start moving.


So far so good!

[rickier]

Bacon does not have to be "ultra processed". You can buy pork belly and salt it the same way they did historically to preserve it and that gets you bacon. Bacon is technically the cut of meat. Prescuitto is salted and aged, but not called bacon because it's a different cut.

[jamesstirtondc]

This is the worst review of science based documentary ever. She misquoted much of the video with use of "all carbs" etc.

[anastaciazara]

Carbs. Preach it, sister. Carrots are not the same as candy. We have got to start distinguishing between highly refined/processed sugars and starches, naturally-occurring sugars and starches, slow-burning carbohydrates and fiber. This vilification of anything with "carbs" in it is going to kill us, literally.

[silasnew]

Fact check: In the documentary, they don't push for cheese, or any dairy products. 4:05