So the SO and I are currently on week 4 or so of a shift to Keto diet, pretty stringently holding to it to remain in Ketosis. Lots of meat, fats, non-starchy veggies, etc. Feeling superb, both physically and mentally. Gastrointestinal stress is gone, I don't get low blood sugar as easily as I used to (to the extent I actually get hungry before I get low now). Lost a moderate amount of weight, about a belt loop's worth, but that's less of a concern to me compared to how I feel.
I did this once before, a few years back, though I didn't know it was Keto at the time. Was following some co-workers who basically just went meat and leafy green's, no starches, carbs, of any kind. Lost an absolute ton of weight on that one (20lbs in 4 weeks, another 5 in the two weeks after).
So.. is there a reasonable argument as to why everyone shouldn't be eating this way? Should avacados not flow like water from the tap? Should corn be deemed illegal, in all forms? Someone check my privilege!
While I definitely see Keto as a positive solution for short term weight loss, there are a few reasons it should NOT be the standard diet for the average human being:
1. It's not an ideal way for the human body to operate. It's like running off a generator full time when there's plenty of clean power and reliability off the grid. There is a reason the human body will always, always, always resort to burning carbs before burning fat; it's easier, and it's cleaner. You can be in Ketosis for a year, and if you eat a week of carbs, you will come out of Ketosis every time. Ketosis raises blood acidity, and while there are some who operate in this just fine, for many it leads to a plethora of unwanted side-effects like loss of bone density, increased rate of kidney stones, and other unwanted side-effects that occur when your body is flushing sodium, calcium, magnesium, and potassium from the bloodstream at a rapid rate. It's not all roses and butterflies for most people long term.
2. Many of the foods required to sustain Ketosis (ie, meat) are very high in cholesterol and very low in other necessary vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and most importantly, fiber. Like it or not, increased rates of cardiovascular disease, renal failure, and cancers will result in a population long term. And like it or not, you will have to pay for that in your insurance rates.
3. For most people, the Keto diet is way too limiting. You joke about loving Avocados, and I do too, but you won't be saying that in a few months when you've eaten hundreds of them. It gets old.
4. And most importantly, and this should be a key factor into why Keto is not the best diet for human beings;
it is not environmentally sustainable for the human race to operate on a Keto diet. I'm only saying this as a comparison, not out of personal preference, but to sustain a single person on a Keto diet requires 30-40x the land needed to sustain a single person on a purely plant based diet. Add in the extra fossil fuel requirement necessary for Keto, and you have a diet that, if the entire human population had to go on tomorrow, would strip all remaining forest land, existing soil, and water reserves in a very, very short period of time. We are already doing this at a rapid rate, and that's without Keto, but Keto would only make it worse.
5. Final reason Keto is not ideal; beer. Nuff said.