How much vegetables should you eat on low carb?

What can you do about skyrocketing cholesterol on low carb?

The answer to this and other questions – for example, do you need to eat a lot of vegetables on low carb? And what is the difference between a strict low carb and a ketogenic diet? – in this week’s Q&A with Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt:

How many servings of vegetables are recommended on LCHF?

Atkins recommends getting 12-15 g of carbs per day from vegetables. Is this necessary?

Kelly Jo

 
I think veggies are fine to eat and may be helpful perhaps in some ways. The NEED to eat a lot of it is probably exaggerated, but eating 12-15 grams of total carbs from veggies (including fiber) should be fine for just about anyone, no matter how insulin resistant.

To summarize: I do not believe it’s necessary to eat plenty of non-starchy vegetables. But it’s definitely OK and possibly even beneficial.

Best,
Andreas Eenfeldt

Guide: Low-Carb Vegetables
 

Whats the difference between strictly low-carb and ketogenic recipes?

I noticed some of the recipes on this site are labeled strict low carb and some keto, as well as moderate and liberal. Do I need to eat the strict low carb or keto or both for maximum fat loss?

Joan

 
Those are VERY similar and we’ll simplify them to the same category soon.

The only difference is that our keto recipes have a limit on protein, not just a limit on carbs. But just about all our recipes are somewhat moderate in protein anyway.

For all practical purposes you may use both strict and keto recipes for a very effective low-carb diet.

The moderate (more carbs) recipes are a bit less effective, and the liberal a lot less effective (although for some people it may still be good enough).

Best,
Andreas Eenfeldt

Skyrocketing cholesterol on LCHF for last two months

I am trying to lower my blood sugar and reduce diabetes. Just got my tests back and my total cholesterol has gone from 184 to 332! My LDL has gone from 96 to 240! HDL Cholesterol went from 67 to 69! My Triglycerides have gone from 107 to 113! My VLDL from 21 to 23. No good news.

Doctor wants me on statins right now and forget LCHF. My fasting blood sugar has gone from 92-108 mg/dl (5.1-6 mmol/L) to 130 mg/dl (7.2 mmol/L)!

Should I quit LCHF? Prior to LCHF I was on 10 mg of Lipitor. I stopped when I saw Statin Nation and Statin Nation 2.

Thanks Dr. Eenfeldt,
Sid

 
Going off Lipitor can result in a temporary bounce of cholesterol numbers, even with no dietary change.

Beyond that LCHF sometimes result in higher LDL, here are things that can be done about it:

How to handle elevated cholesterol on low carb

Regarding glucose, the numbers over an entire day should always go down on low carb, especially the numbers after eating. Fasting glucose can often be the highest numbers of the entire day on low carb, due to the dawn phenomenon.

Best,
Andreas Eenfeldt

More

Low Carb for Beginners

More Questions and Answers

Many more questions and answers:

Low-Carb Q&A