Most of you may recall that we took a look at ketones and the ketogenic diet in two previous posts; “An Elaboration On The Benefits of Coconut Oil Usage”, January 15, 2016, and “Improve Your Mitochondrial Function For a More Energetic, Healthy and Longer Life”, February 11, 2015.
In the first post, we briefly went over KETONE BODIES and how the consumption of coconut oil, which is a medium-chain triglyceride, can stimulate the production of ketone bodies, which are the preferred fuel for your brain.
The picture above is a ketone body. In a person WITHOUT diabetes, ketone production is the body’s normal adaptation to starvation. The consumption of coconut oil does not necessitate a starving state to produce ketones. Normally, and WITHOUT the help of coconut oil, the liver produces ketones when glucose is in short supply. They are made in the liver from the breakdown of fats.
In the second post, we touched upon how a ketogenic diet can improve mitochondrial function. This is very important when we look at epilepsy and cancer, as we’ll elaborate upon below.
The ketogenic diet has actually been used for managing seizures in children for quite some time. A member of the team led by Dr. Thomas Seyfried , working on brain cancer and epilepsy in mice, suggested investigating whether or not a ketogenic diet might also be effective against tumors.
The logic behind this is as follows: Your normal cells have the metabolic flexibility to adapt from using glucose (sugar) to using ketone bodies for fuel. Cancer cells lack this ability so when you reduce carbs to only non-starchy vegetables, YOU EFFECTIVELY STARVE THE CANCER.
Remember your body produces glucose from carbs. As I keep saying, eating a slice of bread is exactly the same, metabolically, as eating a spoonful of sugar.
The mitochondria-the main power generators in your cells-are believed to be the central point in the origins of many cancers. Your mitochondria can be damaged not only by inherited mutations, but also by a wide variety of environmental factors and toxins.
As emphasized in the second post, intermittent fasting and a ketogenic diet PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE IN IMPROVING YOUR MITOCHONDRIAL FUNCTION, THUS PREVENTING OR MAYBE EVEN CURING CANCER.
Try them together, intermittent fasting and a ketogenic diet, for optimal results.
First a warning: IF YOU HAVE TYPE 1 OR TYPE 2 DIABETES OR KIDNEY PROBLEMS STAY AWAY FROM A KETOGENIC DIET. At least, consult your doctor.
A ketogenic diet calls for eliminating all but non-starchy vegetable carbohydrates, and replacing them with healthy fats (coconut oil, butter, macadamia nuts, cold pressed olive oil, etc.) and high-quality protein.
This is an example of the breakdown of what one should consume during a ketogenic diet. You can get a personal chart like the above by Googleing “Keto Macro Calculator”.
The percentages are the amount of calories you should get from each food source. The total calories you should get every day is given in the keto macro calculator.
My ratios, for example, are:
3 % carbs (80 kcal),
12 % protein (345 kcal), and
86 % fats (2506 kcal).
High quality protein and healthy fats are more or less understood, but how about carbs? Here is a short list.
We will also look at “Net Carbs”. Net carbs are your total dietary carbohydrates, minus the total fiber; here are some examples:
Raw Spinach, ½ cup, 0.1 net carbs
Bok choi, ½ cup, 0.2 net carbs
Lettuce, ½ cup, 0.2 net carbs
Broccoli, ½ cups, 0.8 net carbs
Cauliflower (steamed), ½ cup, 0.9 net carbs
Cabbage, ½ cup, 1.1 net carbs
Cauliflower (raw), ½ cup, 1.4 net carbs
Collard Greens, ½ cup, 2 net carbs
Kale (steamed), ½ cup, 2.1 net carbs
Green Beans (steamed), ½ cup, 2.9 net carbs
As can be seen, when you subtract the fiber, the caloric input is reduced, meaning that you can eat more.
The Keto Macros and all these details will interest some of you, but not all. If there are those of you interested in the “technical details” of a ketogenic diet, I will be more than happy to provide this in the next post. BUT YOU MUST LET ME KNOW IN YOUR COMMENTS.
You can adapt a ketogenic diet by eliminating all starchy vegetables, limiting the consumption of the “good carbs” (examples given above), eating about 1 gm. of protein per kg. of your weight (that would be about 74 gm. for me) and eat and drink as much good fats as possible.
I strongly urge you do go on a ketogenic diet and practice intermittent fasting simultaneously. Please look at my post on “Intermittent Fasting” (April 24, 2015) for different ways you can fast.
So, in a nut-shell, this type of diet, in which you restrict all but non-starchy vegetable carbs and replace them with low to moderate amounts of high-quality protein and high amounts of beneficial fats, is strongly recommended for everyone whether you have cancer or not. It’s a diet that will help optimize your weight and fight against all chronic degenerative disease. Eating this way will help you convert from a carb-burning mode to fat burning.
Oh, I probably forgot to mention the fact that a ketogenic diet will also help you loose unwanted body fat and look as slim as you’ve always dreamt of.
See you all next week. Don’t forget to COMMENT.
