My Keto Story: 30 Years of Low-Carb Without the Dogma

Post low-carb content and the carnivore crowd calls you a traitor. Post about fibre and someone decides you must be vegan. In this solo episode, Dr Cliff Harvey goes back to where his low-carb work started - a skinny teenager trying to make the First XV - and walks through 30 years of prescribing keto, the PhD research on how low you really need to go, and why he still refuses to pick a side in the diet wars. In this episode we cover: How a high school rugby ultimatum started Cliff's career in nutrition Why starting with carbohydrate targets left too little room for protein and fat, and where "carb-appropriate" came from Who tends to thrive on low-carb or keto (and why autoregulation of energy intake is usually the reason) Abstention vs moderation: why cutting a food group helps some people What Cliff's PhD trials found: 5%, 15% and 25% of energy from carbohydrate, and who got into ketosis Why percentage of energy may predict ketosis better than a fixed gram limit Keto flu: why energy intake mattered more than ketosis itself Observational studies, diet quality and the "keto is bad for you" claim Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:12 Why Cliff gets criticised from both sides 03:57 From bonsai to the First XV: how it started 07:48 What we were taught about macronutrients 11:00 The birth of carbohydrate-appropriate nutrition 13:52 Who thrives on low-carb and keto 16:37 Abstention vs moderation 18:36 Two Muay Thai fighters, two different diets 20:43 High-carb fuelling in 24-hour mountain bike racing 22:39 Back to AUT and into ketosis research 27:28 5%, 15% or 25%: how low do you need to go? 31:33 When someone can't get into ketosis 33:40 What really drives keto flu 34:55 Nickel allergy and the carnivore diet hypothesis 37:46 Low-carb athletes, mental health and keto 40:31 Is keto bad for you? Observational research and diet quality 42:42 Autoregulation and what matters most 44:55 Wrap-up and the HPI Practitioner's Roadmap About Dr Cliff Harvey Dr Cliff Harvey PhD is a registered clinical nutritionist, naturopath, researcher and founder of the Holistic Performance Institute. His PhD at AUT focused on ketosis, keto-induction and individual responses to carbohydrate restriction, and he is the author of The Carbohydrate Appropriate Diet. Find Cliff at https://cliffharvey.com . Links mentioned in this episode Harvey et al. (2019) Low-carbohydrate diets differing in carbohydrate restriction (PeerJ): https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.6273 Harvey et al. (2018) MCTs and time to nutritional ketosis (Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism): https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/2630565 Harvey et al. (2018) Supplements to induce ketosis: a narrative review (PeerJ): https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.4488 Harvey (2026) Low-nickel diet case report and narrative review (Journal of Metabolic Health): https://doi.org/10.4102/jmh.v9i1.127 Holistic Performance Institute Roadmap: https://www.holisticperformance.institute/pages/roadmap Podcast page: <a href="https://www.holisti