Tag: vegan supplements

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Non-Diet Keto: How to Get into Ketosis without Food

Non-Diet Keto: How to Get into Ketosis without Food

Did you know that the keto diet is an artificial way to get into ketosis? Ketosis is most naturally induced by fasting – not by eating! Fast, you say? Yes! Fasting is a non-diet state of restriction in which food is given up altogether for short periods of time, historically done for spiritual reasons or to cleanse the body of impurities. During fasting, people report burning fat much quicker than any diet on the planet. How?

Because without any food intake, the digestive system takes a break and our ketone levels rise, allowing the body to focus on fat burning. (Medical Disclaimer: I am not suggesting you change your diet or stop eating; I am simply sharing information based on scientific studies on fasting. Do not attempt fasting or the keto diet without talking to your physician first.)

fasting-no-food-ketosis-autophagy

Fasting = no food.

Fasted Ketosis: People have reported entering ketosis in as little as 16 hours on a dry fast (no food or water) and within 72 hours on a water fast (no food just water). While there are benefits of being in ketosis from fasting, carb restriction is not the same; digestion is still in full force when eating. Eating anything at all may slow down the process and therefore reduce the benefits. Also, ketones from low carb diets can increase blood acidity, leading to poor athletic performance, coordination, and concentration (Skolnik 16).

The animal-based foods included in a ketogenic diet contain massive amounts of cholesterol, saturated fat, omega 6 fatty acids, and in some cases too much protein, which is known to cause health problems long-term such as fatty liver disease and insulin resistance (2).

Fasting Benefits: Fasting is so powerful that it has been shown to slow the growth of cancer tumors and improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy leading to long-term survival (3). People also report healing their bodies from various ailments during fasts. Fasting is something people use for other health benefits like wound healing and emotional healing, but this natural therapy is done through a process called autophagy. In simple terms, autophagy is a mechanism at the cellular level in which cells “clean” themselves to detoxify and achieve homeostasis.

Autophagy seemingly protects healthy cells while causing death of unwanted cells (4). Since toxins tend to be released during autophagy, it is quite common for beginners to feel unwell during this stage of fasting. (It may help to take Epsom salt baths and drink lots of water if you experience toxic build-up). While fasting, you can experience autophagy within the first 24 hours without even being in ketosis.

fasted-chemotherapy-treatment

Fasting enhances the effects of chemotherapy and extends cancer survival rates.

Why it’s Better: It is uncertain whether a ketogenic diet can induce autophagy since the digestive system is still in action, but autophagy is the reason fasting can be good for you! You can experience the benefits of autophagy by practicing intermittent fasting without eliminating carbohydrates from your diet. Eating carbs between fasts will not take away the benefits of autophagy but eating unhealthy food can disrupt healing.

If you want to get into ketosis while intermittent fasting, you can stick to low-carb foods during your eating window or fast for longer time periods. As described in the previous article, vegan keto is the healthiest type of keto diet due to its higher nutrient density and reduced risk of illness.

water-fast-detox-weight-loss

Water helps remove toxins from our bodies during a fasted state. It is very important to stay hydrated before, during, and after prolonged fasts.

Starvation

You might be wondering “Isn’t fasting the same thing as starving yourself?” Essentially, fasting is a form of starvation – but only temporarily as the body heals itself from ailments and utilizes fat for energy. Our bodies naturally go into ketosis, in order to have energy to find food when unable to eat. We naturally turn away food when we are sick because our bodies want to heal quicker. It seems like the keto diet is not a natural way of life, because you would be forcing yourself to avoid the very foods your body wants and needs – carbohydrates.

Ketosis

Ketosis should only take place for short periods of time WHEN you are sick or WHEN you have no access to food. Forcing your body into a prolonged state of ketosis (especially without ongoing autophagy) likely will have undesirable side effects. However, fasting on an intermittent schedule for health reasons is safer than carb avoidance through low carb dieting. Water fasting can be beneficial to our bodies if we want to experience ketogenic healing, allowing the water to flush out toxins (without putting new toxins in). Much of the weight loss experienced during ketosis can include water weight. This can be regained after a fast or when discontinuing a keto diet.

Discover if fasting is safe for you – on the next page:

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References:

  1. Heidi Skolnik and Andrea Chernus. “Nutrient Timing for Peak Performance.” Human Kinetics. Published 2010.
  2. Christophe Kosinski and Fracois R Jornayvaz. “Effects of Ketogenic Diets on Cardiovascular Risk Factors: Evidence from Animal and Human Studies.” MDPI Nutrients – Open Access Journal of Human Nutrition. Published May 19, 2017. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5452247/ Accessed on August 2, 2018.
  3. Lee, L. Raffaghello, S. Brandhorst, F.M. Safdie, G.Bianchi, A. Martin-Montalvo, V. Pistoia, M. Wei, S.Hwang, A. Merlino, et al. “Fasting cycles retard growth of tumors and sensitize a range of cancer cell types to chemotherapy”. Sci. Transl. Med., 4 (2012), p. 124ra127. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22323820. Accessed August 1 2018.
  4. Maryam Mehrpour, Audrey Esclatine, Isabelle Beau, and Patrice Codogno.“Autophagy in health and disease. 1. Regulation and significance of autophagy: an overview.” American Journal of Physiology – Cell Physiology. Published April 1, 2010.
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Is Vegan Keto the Best Ketogenic Diet?

Is Vegan Keto the Best Ketogenic Diet?

Vegan vs Keto debate: Are they compatible or too different?

Are plants superior to meat? As mentioned in my previous article, the ketogenic diet has some good, bad, and ugly qualities. Superfoods like kale are especially valuable to a typical ketogenic diet. Majority of superfoods are ingredients from plants, so why not eat a fully plant-based diet? For example, kelp contains more than 5X as much iodine than any fish of a sea animal (1), and brazil nuts contain more selenium than any meat of a land animal (2).

vegan-keto-tofu-leafy-greens

Does it fit my macros? Plant-based foods have a variety of macronutrient profiles, ranging from low carb to high carb and low fat to high fat. So, if you are concerned about the high intake of cholesterol but still want to get the benefits of a keto diet, you can follow a low-carb vegan keto diet which consists of soy, oils, vegan cheese, nuts, some veggies, and minimal fruit. Plant-based foods are entirely devoid of cholesterol, and usually low in saturated fats. The reason I highly recommend a cholesterol-free diet is because the tissues of our liver and small intestine produce cholesterol all on its own, with or without dietary cholesterol (Berardi 89). In fact, dietary fiber can lower blood cholesterol levels (Berardi 53), so by following a higher-fiber plant-based diet you can maintain a low cholesterol level.

So is vegan keto high fiber? Many vegetables recommended on the keto diet are high in fiber, however the bulk of a vegan keto diet is still somewhat lower in fiber due to its high fat content. Even though tofu and oil are derived from plants, they aren’t foods that should be consumed in excess.

Tofu has a small amount of fiber (4-5g per block) which is definitely more than the zero grams of fiber you get from meat, dairy, fish, and poultry (yep – animal products are completely void of fiber!). Processed cheeses like daiya and plant-based meats like the Beyond Burger are cholesterol-free which is a bonus but they do have less fiber than their whole food unprocessed counterparts. Oil – on the other hand – is another completely fiber-less food which can damage our endothelium, increase inflammation, and contribute to atherosclerosis (4). It is unlikely to achieve keto’s fat standards without having some oil. You can supplement with psyllium husk for fiber, but again, it is not recommended to replace food with supplements.

Will I be missing anything? If you do still want to go keto, you can download a free vegan keto shopping list here.  At first glance you may think I’m making false claims because there’s a lot of fruit and veggies on the keto shopping list. However, keep in mind that only 5-10% of your calories can come from these foods, and since majority of plant-based foods are high in carbohydrates, you will be stuck eating the same low-carb foods over and over and over again. Since many leafy vegetables are low-calorie, you can get away with having a higher amount of them, but sweet fruit and veggies are nearly untouchable. So again – your diet will be mostly tofu, processed dairy and meat alternatives, oils, nuts, and some green veggies – meaning you are at a similar risk of vitamin A and vitamin C deficiency as a meat-based keto diet. It is unlikely that you could maintain this much restriction for a lifetime but if you want to take the challenge – go for it, but plan carefully!

low-carb-vegan-food-ketogenic-diet

Do I need to track calories? Some sources will say that counting calories is not required on the keto diet, but if you don’t then you could easily overeat. On a keto diet (vegan or not), you would need to get used to eating smaller portions of food, because fats are more than twice as dense in calories as carbs or proteins and in many cases lack water content. So if you normally eat 2 cups of strawberries per 100 calories, now you will eat only ½ cup of tofu per 100 calories and less than 1 tablespoon of oil per 100 calories. The good news is, you can still eat a lot of green vegetables like 3 cups of broccoli or 20 cups of lettuce per 100 calories. If you can manage to pull off a monster salad like that, then you are the King of Keto! If you’re ready to take on this diet and all its’ restrictions, then ketosis may help you with fat loss – maybe. If you want a truly incredible experience, there is a better method of getting into ketosis without any diet at all – which I will cover in the next page.

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Resources:

  1. The World’s Healthiest Foods. The George Mateljan Foundation, Inc. “iodine.” http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=nutrient&dbid=69. Accessed July 20, 2018.
  2. Dr Axe. “Brazil Nuts: The Top Selenium Food that Fights Inflammation.” https://draxe.com/brazil-nuts/. Accessed July 20, 2018.
  3. Berardi, John et al. Precision Nutrition: The Essentials of Sport and Exercise Nutrition, Second Edition. Precision Nutrition, Inc., 2012.
  4. Oliveira, Rosane. “Why You Should Opt Out of Olive Oil.” UC Davis: Integrative Medicine. Published May 11 2016. https://ucdintegrativemedicine.com/2016/05/why-you-should-opt-out-of-olive-oil/#gs.0cf3OOk. Accessed July 19, 2018.

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What Supplements Should I Take to Lose Weight?

What Supplements Should I Take to Lose Weight?

I am a Certified Nutrition Coach in Tempe Arizona and I get this question all the time. In fact, I’ve had clients come to me saying that they specifically sought me out because every other Personal Trainer recommends supplements that they do not care to take, and tries to push product and meat-based diets on them. Luckily, as a Personal Trainer who runs my own business, I have chosen to NOT sell supplements for my own benefit. Instead, I promote good healthy products found at the grocery store that don’t make me a dime; the results sell themselves! Ask what supplements should I take to lose weight?

Simply put, supplements are not the (only) answer to your weight problems; 99% of the time, they are gimmicks and not necessary. And a lot of the time, nutrient-based supplements are taken without need. For example, drinking a protein shake when 35% of your calories already contain protein from food. If there is not a defined problem that yields a need for supplements, you probably should not be taking supplements. For example, if you have a known or suspected deficiency that cannot be treated with food, a supplement would be beneficial. If you are taking Garcinia Cambogia supplements because Dr Oz recommends it this week, you might be using supplements as a “diet pill”.

what-supplements-should-i-take-to-lose-weight
What supplements should I take to lose weight? Book an appointment to find out!

There are certainly times where adding supplements and foods to your diet can actually help trigger weight loss, but not usually. If you want to achieve long-term health where you don’t have to try a new supplement every month, it’s time you start working on your nutrition. Specifically, I recommend a whole foods plant-based diet, because you get all the nutrients you need from natural plant-based foods – not from pills. Of course, if you don’t have access to certain nutrients such as sufficient sunlight, you might need to supplement with a Vitamin D tablet daily. Check www.cronometer.com to log your food for a few days to see what nutrients you might be missing from your diet. If you can’t get enough omega 3 fatty acids, for example, you might want to try adding a whole food source of omega 3s (like chia seeds) or consider a daily omega 3 supplement.

For more information on how you could benefit from supplementing or choosing a whole foods plant based diet, get ahold of your Tempe Personal Trainer (Kelly Athletics) who can help you plan a proper diet. I offer online skype and in-studio Nutrition Coaching. Stop falling for the marketing schemes and get healthy with me!

 

If you’re still wondering “What Supplements Should I Take to Lose Weight?”, try Nutrition Coaching with Kelly Athletics to find out!

Written by Kelly Gibson on Aug 25, 2014

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