> What, precisely, is unhealthy about it?

Well, you are right that the jury is still out about
wheather or not long-termed ketosis is unhealthy or
not.  However, here is good reason to avoid them
(taken from "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle" by Tom
Venuto):

"Whether or not ketogenic diets are unhealthy is
uncertain, but the real reason you
should avoid them is because ketosis is not a
requirement to burn fat. Only a calorie
deficit is necessary to burn fat. Ketogenic diets are
extremely strict and nutritionally
unbalanced. They are what you could call “extreme
measures.”

It’s simply not necessary to remove all your
carbohydrates or go into ketosis to
accelerate fat loss. A moderate reduction in
carbohydrates is often all it takes to help to
control blood sugar and insulin better. It’s really
just a matter of balancing carbohydrates
with protein instead of eating mostly carbohydrates
and small amounts of protein."

> That's true to some extent, but there are
> confounding variables.  How
> much you burn depends to some extent on *what* you
> eat, and not just how
> much.

I agree completely.

> That's true, and in order to burn stored body fat,
> your insulin levels
> must be low enough to permit it, because insulin
> inhibits the use of
> body fat as fuel.  If insulin levels are up, you
> won't burn body fat no
> matter how little you eat.  This is why studies show
> that on isocaloric
> diets, those lower in carbs result in (a) more
> weight loss, and (b) more
> fat loss.

Again, I never said anything against this.  I'm simply
arguing against the (I think obviously wrong)
advice to cut fruit and vegetables as a way to reduce
carbs in general.  You can eat lots of veggies and
even moderate amounts of fruit and still be eating
quite low carb.  The better way to cut carbs (the way
that is implicit in the paleo diet, by the way) is to
reduce or eliminate carbohydrates from grains.

So I don't know that we disagreeing about too much.
Essentially, I am arguing for a combination of
exercise and the paleo diet as a long-term and healthy
way to cut fat.  None of which should be too
controversial, at least on the list.

Hope that clarifies,
Lurisia

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