On Tue, 7 Jul 1998, Betty Guyer wrote:

> Hi Aaron and all,
>
> To be a ketogenic diet only requires the lowering of carb grams to point
> at which the body will begin to burn its own fat stores for energy.  This
> amt seems to be anywhere from 10 grams to 30, depending on the person.

As I understand it, ketosis is the *incomplete* burning of fat,
but the fat burned may or may not be body fat.  Fat is burned
completely only in the presence of sufficient carbs.  What is
sufficient would depend upon the demand.  The body can and does
burn its own fat stores for energy on non-ketogenic diets, as
long as there is a caloric deficit.  The same is true for
ketogenic diets.

The incompletely burned fat leaves ketones behind, which are then
used for energy, and some are lost through the breath, urine,
etc.  So in the end, most of the fat is completely burned.

> My understanding
> is that whenever you are burning fat for fuel, you will produce a certain
> amt of ketones.

I don't think this is the case.

> My own personal feeling is that when all is said and done,  the huge,
> big, villi an is gonna be the stuff  that man has made to poison himself,
> mainly in the last 100 years or so.  The carbs that God put on this earth
> naturally, fruit, nuts, vegetables, etc, are good for the majority of
> people.

I have to agree with this, although the widespread use of grains
to partially substitute for animal proteins goes back a lot
further than a century.

Todd Moody
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