fasting and keto diet benefits
The ketogenic diet is one of the most talked about and debated diet trends today. Interestingly, the science backs up its rapid growth in popularity, as a ketogenic diet has been shown to have numerous health benefits for its adherents. The diet can reduce the risk of heart disease, improve glycemic control in both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, help individuals struggling with obesity lower their BMI, and even improve or control symptoms of debilitating neurodegenerative conditions like Parkinson’s and epilepsy. There is even some evidence to suggest that a ketogenic diet can play a role in the treatment of cancer! If it is implemented properly, adopting a ketogenic diet can be a very powerful tool in the fight against a variety of chronic diseases.
If you’ve recently made the decision to transition to a ketogenic diet or are exploring the possibility of a change, chances are you might currently find yourself in a world of confusion. What is ketosis? What are ketones? Can I really eat all the fatty foods I want? How can this possibly be good for me?
While the ketogenic diet may sound “new,” it actually parallels the way many of our ancestors ate, before the advent of agriculture allowed for the domestication of staple crops like wheat and corn. Before the widespread emergence of these crops into the modern diet, which are high in carbohydrates and sugar (particularly in their most processed forms), our ancestors ate a wide variety of wild plants and animals and much less carbohydrate or sugar. This diet, naturally lower in carbohydrate, forced our ancestors’ bodies to burn fat for fuel as opposed to carbohydrates — the core goal of the ketogenic diet.
As a clinician, I have recommended the ketogenic diet both as a clinical intervention for patients suffering from a wide variety of ailments as well as a general suggestion for people looking to optimize their cognitive health. And while the diet is relatively easy to follow, there are a number of common misconceptions and lots of outright misinformation that one must be aware of. If you’re looking to incorporate a ketogenic diet into your lifestyle or just wanting to learn more, we’ve compiled a few tips for you here.
ketosis basics
The central aim of the ketogenic diet is to push the body into a state of ketosis, where metabolism shifts from burning carbohydrates as the primary energy source to fat, or “ketone bodies.” These ketones are a special type of fat that serve as cellular “superfuel.” In order to achieve ketosis, one must consume a diet high in healthy fats and dramatically lower in sugar and carbohydrates. This allows blood sugar to drop to the point that glucose is significantly less available to the body to burn as a source of fuel. In the absence of glucose, the body shifts its focus to ketones for energy production.
Ketosis not only burns fat—which supports weight loss and BMI reduction if in a calorie deficit—it also transitions the body’s energy source to what clearly turns out to be a better fuel. In fact, energy derived from burning fat is associated with a remarkable reduction in the amount of damaging free radicals in the body, in comparison to burning sugar.
focus on net carbs
Maintaining a state of ketosis is as simple as following the same dietary parameters that got the body into that state in the first place. If you limit carbohydrates and sugars in your diet, your body will opt to burn the healthy fats you consume for energy. However, when cutting carbs from your diet it is very important to focus on limiting netcarbs, which is simply the number of grams of total carbohydrates in a portion of food minus the grams of fiber. Constipation is a very common issue for new adherents to the ketogenic diet, and it is caused by foregoing fiber in an attempt to limit total carbohydrates. So to prevent constipation from derailing your ketogenic diet, simply make sure you consume adequate levels of fiber!
what about fasting?
One of the most powerful tools available to individuals on the ketogenic diet is fasting. Caloric restriction forces the body to burn through all of its available carbohydrates. Therefore fasting serves as an excellent kick start for getting the body into ketosis. Furthermore, periodic fasting while the body is in ketosis helps maintain that state because it keeps carbohydrate levels in the body negligible. Not to mention, fasting has been practiced by many cultures for thousands of years, and has numerous health benefits, generally, and is an incredibly powerful tool for improving brain health, specifically.
I recommend kicking off a ketogenic diet with a 24-48 hour fast, during which time you consume nothing but water—but make sure you drink plenty of it. Once your body is in ketosis and you shift to maintenance mode, I suggest fasting throughout the year, to continue to achieve your desired weight loss. While fasting can be challenging, especially in the beginning, if you stick with it you can reap huge benefits.
which fats are healthy?
One of the easiest traps to fall into when starting a ketogenic diet is the assumption that all fats are healthy. It is not uncommon to see new adherents loading up their plates with industrially harvested bacon, exclaiming, “I’m keto, so it’s healthy!” In reality, because ketosis repositions ketones as your primary fuel source, ensuring you consume healthy fats becomes even more important on the ketogenic diet.
A ketogenic diet should derive a majority of its calories from fat. However, the optimal macronutrient ratio will vary from person to person. Some will thrive on roughly 80% of calories from healthy fats and 20% from carbohydrates and protein. Others may do better in the range of 60 – 75% of calories from fat and slightly more protein. I encourage you to experiment to find what works best for you. To meet this goal, you must consume plentiful amounts of healthy plant and animal fats. Some good examples of healthy fats include:
Plant-based: Organic avocado, organic extra virgin olive and organic coconut oil, nuts—excluding peanuts, which are a legume, and seeds from chia, flax, hemp and pumpkin plants.
Animal-based: Organic grass-fed and finished beef, pasture-raised chicken, wild-caught fish, organic grass-fed butter, and full-fat live culture yogurt.
Supplements: MCT oil and fish oil, ensuring they are USDA-organic, hexane-free, and non-GMO. One important thing to note: MCT oil delivers beta-hydroxybutyric acid (BHB), which is the most important ketone body, and its benefits can be gained without fasting or even carbohydrate restriction. While the full benefits of a ketogenic diet will only be realized if you adhere to the diet in its entirety, incorporating MCT oil into your current diet and supplementation is a good way to benefit from ketone bodies on a smaller scale.
Ensuring that you consume adequate levels of healthy fats is vital to the success of any ketogenic diet. Avoiding bad fats, like industrially-farmed meat, hydrogenated oils, and processed vegetable oils, is just as important to ensure that you provide your body with a suitable source of energy in lieu of carbohydrates.
to meat or not to meat?
One of the central questions new adherents to the ketogenic diet must answer is whether or not they want to incorporate meat into their new diet. It is entirely possible to consume adequate levels of healthy fats whether you approach the diet as an omnivore or a vegetarian, so this decision is largely a personal one. However, if you choose to incorporate meat into your version of the ketogenic diet, it is crucial to ensure it is grass-fed, organic, and free of antibiotics. Furthermore, it is important to focus primarily on above-ground leafy vegetables, with meat serving as a side dish. An example of the perfect plate for a keto omnivore would be a sizeable portion of colorful, above-ground leafy vegetables covered with a healthy fat like olive oil, paired with a 3-5 oz serving of high-quality meat.
avoiding the “low-carb flu”
Arguably the most challenging period of transitioning to a ketogenic diet is the first few days as your body adjusts to the dramatic decrease in carbohydrate intake and your metabolism begins its shift to fat as its primary fuel source. It is not uncommon during this period to experience a lack of energy, irritability, ravenous hunger, and brain fog, symptoms commonly referred to as the “low-carb flu.” These uncomfortable symptoms arise because a ketogenic diet eliminates the spikes in blood sugar that follow carb-heavy meals, keeping insulin levels low (because it is no longer needed in response to said blood sugar spikes) and triggering the kidneys to excrete high levels of electrolytes—think sodium, potassium, and magnesium. Additionally, many people transition to a ketogenic diet from a standard, modern diet, which was likely rich in processed foods packed with sodium, so electrolyte levels drop simply because you aren’tgetting enough sodium to replace that which you previously took in from processed foods. In the end, if you do not replace these excreted and/or missing electrolytes in your new ketogenic diet, it can ultimately lead to a drop in blood pressure and bring about the symptoms of “low-carb flu.” We suggest increasing your sea salt intake, or purchasing our Ortho Minerals to help alleviate these symptoms.
Rest assured, not everyone experiences this side effect of the ketogenic diet and, if you do, it will abate on its own; furthermore, there are some simple preventative steps you can take to lower your likelihood of “catching” this flu. A s you adopt a ketogenic diet, make sure you replace electrolytes, eat enough fat to meet your total caloric needs, drink plenty of water, and exercise as you are able. It’s very important, however, to ensure that you aren’t relying on sugary sports drinks to replace electrolytes, as all that added sugar will prevent your metabolism from entering ketosis. Ultimately, electrolytes play a crucial role in our health and many do not consume them at adequate levels, so it is very important to monitor your intake of these nutrients regardless of whether or not you are an adherent of the ketogenic diet.
In the end, the “low-carb flu” should be viewed as a testament to the power of the ketogenic diet. After all, eliminating the pressure on your body to regulate the blood sugar spikes that follow “normal” meals is ultimately what leads to these symptoms!
The ketogenic diet is an incredibly powerful tool that can be wonderfully effective in treating a variety of health issues facing modern society. By allowing the body to burn fat for fuel, the ketogenic diet can not only lead to sustainable weight loss, but it actually pushes the body to use an alternative and potentially superior fuel source. If you are just starting a ketogenic diet, use the tips outlined above and stick with it; it can be a challenging transition, but there are many, many benefits of long-term adherence to this diet.
fasting facts
Fasting has been done since the dawn of humanity. Investigations into fasting found that it had a great many benefits.
The main hormone affected by fasting is insulin. There may be minor effects upon the thyroid. Sex hormones are little affected. Polycystic ovarian syndrome is part of the metabolic syndrome and does improve slightly. Cortisol does rise with fasting. It is part of the counter regulatory hormones. Fasting is a stress to the body. Exercise is also a stress to the body and the body responds by getting stronger.
Most people who fast have a lowering of blood sugar, but it most often stays within normal range. Blood sugar medications need to be monitored closely once implementing fasting, or blood sugar could go too low. When you don’t eat, your blood sugar comes down. Fasting will reduce the need for sugar. Your muscles will begin to burn fat. Your brain, which cannot burn fat, burns ketone bodies produced by your body. You need a small amount of glucose for the brain, but that can come from your body fat. If you don’t eat, your body breaks down glycogen and provides glucose.
Starvation mode and muscle loss are two of the many myths. As you fast, you will consume glycogen. When you eat, you fill your glycogen stores. These are chains of glucose. These stores will last from 24 to 36 hours. For a 24 hour fast, you generally have enough glucose in your liver. At some point in the 24 to 36 hours there is a window where you use protein to produce glucose. This is gluconeogenesis. We store energy as sugar and fat, so we burn sugar and fat. A portion uses protein, but protein burning is not increased. Studies show little change in muscle mass with fasting. Any time you lose weight, your lean mass is reduced. Fasting is 4 times better at preserving lean mass as compared to caloric restriction. Your body knows that you will have periods of starvation/fasting, so it has developed a mechanism so you do not lose all of your lean muscle.
Fasting increases human growth hormone and noradrenaline. These are counter regulatory hormones, which counter the effect of insulin. Noradrenaline gives you more energy and keeps your metabolic rate high. Human growth hormone makes it so when you start eating again, you will lay down lean mass.
As Noradrenaline rises, you get more energy and you don’t get the basal metabolic rate decrease that you get with caloric restriction. This is the key to weight loss. It can cause sleep disturbances because you are so full of energy. You can lose weight on nearly every diet for 6 months. After that, weight rises again. On diets you lose weight, but your basal metabolic rate goes down so you are burning fewer calories. Your weight plateaus and goes back up.
Calories have nothing to do with weight loss. Fasting is about the time spent not eating. Fasting is about changing your hormones. It has nothing to do with calories. Cutting calories will not impact the hormonal imbalance.
In Alzheimer’s disease, there are abnormal proteins in the brain. Fasting provides a mechanism for breaking down protein and getting rid of it. This process is autophagy. Theoretically you can prevent diseases like cancer. Your body will burn the excess proteins of flabby skin left over from weight loss. Skin is protein, so skin may alter with intermittent fasting. During the process of fasting, you get rid of old cells as part of renovation. Long fasts are not a good fit for someone who is lean and trying to build muscle.
Protein turns off autophagy. If your aim is autophagy, it is best not to use bone broth because it contains protein. In theory, you could eat pure fat and still achieve autophagy. With a classic water only fast, you may achieve autophagy in about 24 hours. Branch chain amino acids may negate autophagy as well.
An easy way to start is skipping breakfast and lunch, going from dinner to dinner. This allows you to have dinner with your family. You can do any duration you choose. Fit it into your lifestyle. For autophagy, you may need to go longer than 24 hours.
Bullet Proof Coffee/Fat Fasting: Many of the benefits of fasting come from reducing insulin. Pure fat has almost no insulin effect. By consuming all fat, you are receiving the benefits of fasting. It works for some people and not for others.
Intermittent fasting and ketogenic diet are along the same spectrum, close cousins. The ultra-low carb ketogenic diet lowers insulin. Low carb diet delivers 71% of the insulin lowering of fasting. Many diseases of hyperinsulinemia, obesity and type 2 diabetes, can be treated effectively with a ketogenic diet. Fasting is easy for those of us on a ketogenic or low carb diet because our bodies become well adapted to fat metabolism after the first 2 weeks. Ketones may suppressthe appetite.
We need to teach people about the therapeutic value of fasting. It has the potential to change the entire health system of the world. Most of what we do is treat diabetes, high blood pressure and all of the downstream issues. All of this can be taken care of for free. We need to spread the knowledge of how to do it.
Recommended Reading:
The Obesity Code by Jason Fung
In this highly readable and provocative book, Dr. Jason Fung sets out an original, robust theory of obesity that provides startling insights into proper nutrition. In addition to his five basic steps, a set of lifelong habits that will improve your health and control your insulin levels, Dr. Fung explains how to use intermittent fasting to break the cycle of insulin resistance and reach a healthy weight—for good.
Grain Brain by David Perlmutter
In Grain Brain, renowned neurologist David Perlmutter, MD, blows the lid off a finding that's been buried in medical literature for far too long: carbs are destroying your brain. Even so-called healthy carbs like whole grains can cause dementia, ADHD, anxiety, chronic headaches, depression, decreased libido, and much more.
References
highintensityhealth.com
www.drperlmutter.com
