> She pointed me
> to a Q& A on Barry Sears' Zone Diet website that makes a ludicrous comment
> about ketosis.  Does anyone have any references I can use to dispute
this??

From The Anti-Aging Zone (Sears, 1999)
" Your liver has a very limited supply of stored glucose in the form of
glycogen ( a polymer of glucose) that can be used to replenish blood sugar
levels (the glycogen stored in muscles can't be used for this purpose).
This glucose reserve can be used up very rapidly within 12 to 24 hours.
Without adequate carbohydrate reserves in the liver, the body can't break
down fats effectively, leaving behind what are known as ketone bodies.  In a
pinch, the brain can use these as a poor man's glucose.  However, your body
will go to great lengths to get rid of these ketone bodies through increased
urination, and much of the actual weight loss on these high-protein diets is
only water loss.  When that happens, you also lose electrolytes, causing
hypotension (low blood pressure) and fatigue.

But your brain didn't fall off the turnip truck.  The body will start
breaking down muscle protein to make glucose.  This is known as
gluconeogenesis.  It's not very efficient, but if the brain requires
carbohydrates, it will get it somewhere.  In addition, without adequate
supplies of glucose, you will become irritable and mental cognition
decreases.  In addition, research has indicated that the longer you stay in
ketosis, the more your fat cells adapt so that they are transformed into
"fat magnets", becoming 10 times more active in accumulating fat.

A high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet drives insulin levels too low, thereby
causing hypotension, fatigue, irritability, lack of mental clarity, loss of
muscle mass, increased hunger, and rapid fat regain when carbohydrates are
reintroduced into the diet.  Not exactly a prescription for anti-aging.
This coupled with the increase in cardiovascular mortality because insulin
levels are too low, simply reinforces the need to maintain insulin within a
zone: not too high, not too low."
p 138 - 139

Rob