Chris Kresser: “An 80-year-old Parkinson’s client came on a keto diet. [They] wake up three times to urinate at night and have yellow stools despite taking ox bile and Dr. Shade’s bitters. Do the cons of doing keto outweigh the pros?”
I’m not sure as a ___ [26:56] person, I don’t know if this client is getting benefits. For some of my patients, it’s an absolute game changer for Parkinson’s [disease]. I’ve had patients regain 80 percent of their function and completely arrest the progressive nature of the condition, whereas for other patients, it really doesn’t have as big of an impact. You really have to weigh the pros and cons in each case, and then there are also often modifications that can be done. In some cases, electrolyte balance is low; electrolyte intake is really just too low on a keto diet, so looking at something like LMNT (it’s written like an acronym), which is a combination of sodium, potassium, and magnesium, can be really helpful and that might actually affect the urination. For the yellow stools, there’s some other gut stuff going on there. A higher dose of turmeric [can] help with that, in some cases.
Same patient, different question from Chi, “[A patient has a] serum B12 of over 2,000 and HoloTC above 256, but other markers [of] MCV and MCH indicate late-stage B12 deficiency. Is this due to impaired B12 metabolism? What’s the best way forward?”
Interesting. So, he’s got no red blood cell indices and also high homocysteine. I would check folate levels, folate status, and intake because if he’s taking B12 and his serum B12 and HoloTC are high, then it may be folate deficiency that is causing this or even B6 deficiency because those markers, the MCV and homocysteine can be elevated in the context of not B12 but also B6 and folate deficiency and even riboflavin.
kresserinstitute.com
Justin chimed and said, “LMNT tastes amazing. Best electrolyte product I’ve used.” I agree 100 percent, especially when I’m doing [a] low-carb [diet], my body just craves it, so it’s a great tool to have in the arsenal.