In Part 1, we planted the first ten pennants: weight loss, steady blood sugar, mental clarity, energy and more. These next ten are the perks nobody sees coming, and for us, some of them turned out to be the biggest of all. In this post, "we" and "us" mean Stephen and me, from my podcast, Lessons from the Ketoverse. We've both agreed to share these stories. They're our own experiences, not results anyone else can expect.
Perk 11: A gut that finally settled, in Stephen's case
Stephen lived with IBS for decades, the kind that shapes your whole life around bathroom access. On this way of eating, those symptoms have settled for him. That's one person's experience, not a promise for anyone else. Part of the answer was removing what irritated the gut; part was giving it genuine rest between meals; part was rebuilding with fermented foods, including yogurt we now make ourselves.
We shared a striking study in an earlier post worth repeating: constipation sufferers who removed fibre entirely improved the most, which turns the standard advice on its head. It was one small study, so if you're thinking of cutting fibre, talk to your doctor first. But here is the nuance that matters: healing is not forever elimination. After six to eight weeks of calm, one of us gradually reintroduced fibre, chia, flax, and now tolerates it beautifully. Heal first, then add back and observe. You are your own best experiment.
Perk 12: A tougher immune system, in our experience
Twenty years of one or two brutal sinus infections every winter, antibiotics every time, and a specialist's verdict that it would never change. Then, without planning it, three straight winters with none. The other of us used to lose a full week to every seasonal flu that his household shook off in three days; that has not happened in five years.
We cannot promise you the same, but one idea is that a body that is not fighting constant inflammation, and that goes longer between meals, has more left over for fighting real infections. Some people report fewer colds or infections after changing how they eat. I didn't find research strong enough to say a low carb diet does this, so I won't claim it.
Perk 13: Insulin sensitivity, and what the research shows
Insulin resistance means the body needs more insulin to move glucose out of the blood. A review of 23 randomized trials in adults with type 2 diabetes (Goldenberg 2021) measured insulin resistance in 6 of them. At six months, it was slightly lower on low carb diets, but the result could have been chance, and the authors rated that evidence very low certainty. There was even less data at 12 months.
One of us, who had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, recently had lab work that showed insulin sensitivity in the normal range. That is one person's result, not a prediction for anyone else, and one lab test can't say what caused it. Some people ask their doctor whether a fasting insulin test makes sense for them, alongside glucose and A1C.
Perk 14: Appetite that regulates itself
Everyone is talking about GLP-1, the fullness hormone behind the famous injections. Here is what fewer people know: protein-rich meals stimulate your own GLP-1 response naturally. Eat a proper steak and your body slows digestion, extracts nutrients deliberately and tells your brain, calmly and for hours, that everything is handled.
The result for both of us: hunger stopped running our day. We eat two meals most days because we choose to, not because hunger demands it, and snacking simply evaporated. Try the experiment yourself: one dinner anchored by steak and butter, no bread, and notice when you are next truly hungry. Then notice the bread basket: it often arrives first, and some people find it leaves them hungrier by dessert time.
Perk 15: Better blood pressure
Some people report lower blood pressure readings after changing how they eat. I didn't find research strong enough to claim that it happens for everyone. Both of us have had recent readings in the normal range. That's our experience, not a promise for you. If you take blood pressure medication, talk to your prescriber before you change how you eat. One practical tip: pharmacy and gym machines drift out of calibration, so confirm any surprising number at your doctor's office before you celebrate or panic.
Perk 16: Subtle anti-aging effects
We hear it regularly now: "you do not look your age." Some of that is simply carrying less weight than the average of our generation, but not all of it. In our experience, our skin looks healthier on this way of eating, and having the energy to get outside, walk and lift seems to help too. Our favourite version of this perk: it is not that the diet air-brushes you, it is that health is visible. Feed the body what it is built for, and it shows, at every age. (Beef tallow on the skin, an old European habit both our households have adopted, does not hurt either.)
Perk 17: Emotional steadiness
Beyond mood, there is a deeper change: self-regulation. When your blood sugar is not spiking and crashing, you are simply harder to knock off balance. One of us manages PTSD and can watch the correlation directly on a glucose monitor: spikes and irritability travel together, and steady lines bring a steadiness of temper that decades of willpower never quite achieved. There is also a quieter confidence that comes from watching your own results accumulate. For both of us, looking after our health stopped feeling like white-knuckling and started feeling like trusting our bodies again. That trust has spilled into the rest of our lives.
Perk 18: Joints that stopped complaining
Anything ending in "itis" is inflammation, and inflammation was the tax we paid on every flight of stairs. Three years in: a fifteen-year-old rotator cuff limitation restored to nearly full motion, everyday aches gone, and recent blood work showing inflammatory markers in the low normal range for someone once headed squarely toward metabolic syndrome. We spent years blaming age for what the pantry was doing. Quieter joints also mean more movement, and more movement compounds every other perk on this list.
Perk 19: Stronger teeth and gums
Nobody starts a diet for their teeth, and yet. Sugar and refined carbs feed the mouth bacteria that cause decay; with less of both, your dentist may notice the difference. Anecdotally from both of us, and only our experience: our teeth look whiter without whiteners, flossing no longer makes our gums bleed, and our breath is fresher without gum or mints. Oral health and gut health are also connected; digestion and your microbiome genuinely begin in the mouth. We have each made some personal choices about products like mouthwash along the way, and we would encourage you to do your own reading and talk to your dentist about what is right for you. The Canadian Dental Association names sugar as one of the main causes of dental problems, so cutting back is one way to help protect your teeth.
Perk 20: Your eyes are watching your blood sugar
Here is one that stops people: an optometrist can often spot uncontrolled blood sugar before you can, because the eye's tiny capillaries show damage first, and high glucose can literally change the shape of the lens. One of us lived it, walking into an eye exam with blurry vision and walking out with a blood sugar warning instead of a prescription, from a sharp optometrist who refused to prescribe glasses until the sugar was controlled, because the lens would change again once it was.
Years of steady blood sugar later: vision that has degraded far less than our peers', a reading prescription that moved in the wrong direction (the good wrong direction), and in one case, sunglasses that sit forgotten in a drawer. Get your eyes checked regularly; they are the one place a professional can watch your blood vessels work in real time.
Twenty pennants on the mountain
Look at the full list from both parts and notice the shape of it: not one of these perks came from willpower, expensive products or punishing routines. They came from one decision, made once and kept: feed the body what it is built for. Everything else followed, benefit compounding on benefit, the way interest does.
Want a guide for this part of the climb? The Lookout is twelve weeks of one to one low carb and keto coaching, online across Ontario. Or compare the three coaching programs side by side.
Missed the first ten? Listen to both full episodes on Lessons from the Ketoverse, available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. And when you are ready to start collecting these perks with a guide beside you, that is what I do at Ascent. You're the climber. I'm your coach.
This article shares personal experience and general education. It is not medical advice. Type 1 diabetes and autoimmune conditions require medical management; never start, stop or adjust any medication without your healthcare provider, and see your doctor promptly about unexplained symptoms.