Keto Diet: Benefits and Warnings

Keto Diet

The Keto Diet is powerful. A Shutterstock Licensed Image.

Over the past few years, the keto diet, or ketogenic diet, has become one of the most popular forms of dieting and weight loss. While weight loss isn’t in the cards for every dieter, it’s often the primary motivator.

Because the diet requires a drastic reduction in carbohydrates, we might feel spacey, flaky, and lost for a few days, but only at the start. By its conclusion, many dieters report a loss of weight and see an overall improvement in their mental clarity and physical health.​

Getting on the keto diet might not make you a better person, but it will improve your relationship with bacon grease and cauliflower. It might also teach you about the addictive nature of carbs.

What Happens To Our Bodies During The Keto Diet?

As we starve our bodies of carbohydrates, our systems begin to get our energy from triglycerides in our stored fat. As our livers break down the fat and produce ketones (acids), our bodies enter the survival state known as ketosis. This is when our energy levels improve, and our weight tends to decrease.​
Let’s be careful though. When the body is synthesizing fat, it can also produce excess ketones, which can be poisonous to the body, resulting in ketoacidosis. Good times.​

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My body goes crazy for foods that are high in carbs. I especially love pasta, which means giving it up is painful. When we eat carbs, our bodies rush to produce glucose and insulin. After a plate or two of spaghetti, I tend to feel a little high. Lucky me!​

With carbs, glucose converts to bursts of energy, and then insulin processes it all in the blood and carries it throughout the body. For a while, carbs can feel wonderful.

When I completed my keto diet at 31 days, I had lost 15 pounds. During and after the diet, I experienced improvements in mental focus, memory, and energy.

Many people report losing lots of weight during their keto diet, while some don’t lose any weight at all. Luckily, weight isn’t the banner value of the diet.

What Is The Keto Diet?

The keto diet consists of a straightforward set of rules:

  • Remove carbs from your diet or drastically reduce your carb intake. This means no grains, rice, pasta, potatoes and their tubular friends, and no bread, flour, fruit, or sugar.
  • You can eat meat, eggs, vegetables, high-fat cream, butter, nuts, seeds, avocados, berries, stevia sweetener, and all the other fats (high-fat salad dressing, coconut oil, sesame oil, saturated fats, and bacon fat). Yes, bacon fat. Lots and lots of bacon fat.
  • Eat as much as you want from 11 am to 7 pm.
  • Do not eat from 7 pm to 11 am every day.
  • When planning your meals, include lots of fatty meats and oily proteins.
  • During each sitting, eat your vegetables first and then your proteins.

The nutritional breakdown of your meal plan might look something like this:

  • Fat: 70% of calories
  • Protein: 25% of calories
  • Carbs: 5% of calories

By forcing a fat-burn through the liver, your body goes into a state similar to fasting, known as ketosis. In some cases, this fast-paced fat-burn can be reinvigorating. In many cases, the weight you’ve been struggling to lose for the past five years will appear to fall off magically. Please be aware that this is not the case for everyone.​
Some people find the beginning of this diet to be very difficult. The spaciness and confusion that can result from excluding carbs from their diet can feel debilitating. If you struggle with letting go of carbs, pace yourself, and try to decrease your carb intake over time.

The Downside Of The Keto Diet

When you stop eating carbs, your body and mind begin to exhibit a type of withdrawal. While your system is scrambling to grab energy from fat, your mind, and body look for their sugar daddy – carbs.

While your body is transitioning to its new source of power, it might also produce flu-like symptoms, otherwise known as the Keto Flu, Carb Flu, or Sugar Flu. The resulting fatigue will cause you to feel like you’re running around steep mountain paths at very high altitudes. You might also feel sleepy and tend to whine like a 5-year old. It’s okay; mommy loves you.​
In the midst of your Keto Flu, your mind might wander, mostly because your brain will miss the energy bursts that the carbs were producing. You might feel confused and won’t have quality mental agility for a few days. This is all temporary. Eventually, your mind and body catch-up to the new system of fat-burning and all sorts of beautiful things take place.

During this diet, you might experience a change in bowel function, including constipation. This can be attributed to your newly-found low fiber intake. Without carbs, you’ll need to get fiber from vegetables and psyllium seed husks. Seriously, eat fiber-rich veggies and psyllium. This will make your trips to the bathroom much less painful and far more productive.

If you experience diarrhea during your diet, you might need to add probiotics to your meals, along with fermented foods like sauerkraut, pickles, kimchi, tempeh, and miso. While you’re at it, be prepared for a slower metabolism and stinky breath — just sayin.

The Benefits Of The Keto Diet

Most people love the ketogenic diet for the benefits outside of weight loss. Here’s a list of the most incredible takeaways:

  • Increased energy
  • Improved mental focus
  • Increased mental agility
  • Improved memory
  • Reduced cholesterol
  • Lowered blood pressure
  • Regulated hormones
  • Controlled epileptic seizures
  • Lower insulin at healthier levels
  • Increased sex drive
  • Reversed insulin resistance
  • Reduced feelings of stress
  • More frequent feelings of happiness
  • Reduced acne (Yup, the keto diet means fewer zits!)

Keto Diet Warnings And Conclusion​

If you’re on the keto diet and you experience frequent urination, extreme thirst, high blood sugar levels, and high levels of keynotes in the urine, please see a doctor or go to an emergency room. These are symptoms of DKA, otherwise known as Diabetic Ketoacidosis.
​Most common in type 1 diabetes, DKA is a serious condition, and it can make you violently ill. It might also kill you. Treatment involving fluid replacement has the highest rate of success.
To flush ketones out of your body naturally, drink extra water.​

Keep in mind that the keto diet was never meant to be a long-term strategy for health and weight loss. Some doctors are not careful when prescribing this diet. Your keto friends might also be unaware of the diet’s potential risks.​

If you’re frequently using the keto diet for weight loss or any of its other benefits, you run the risk of chronic disease, and potentially, premature death. Yes, it’s that serious.​

In all cases and with all diets, be extremely careful, especially when limiting your carbohydrate intake.
The most comprehensive health and diet plans include exercise. Consult a western or naturopathic doctor to learn more about your limits and health risks related to dieting.

For the vegetarians and vegans in the house, it’s entirely possible to maintain your plant-based diet and be a keto rock star. While consuming fat is a normal part of the keto process, your fat can be from coconut oil, nuts, and avocados.

While getting on the keto diet has some compelling benefits, it might also cause you to become addicted to bacon memes. The hidden fun of this diet is in the fat. With a little research and careful moderation, butter, pork fat, and coconut oil might become your new best friends. Go fat go!​ Enjoy your diet and be safe!

Intermittent Fasting: Benefits, Trends

Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent Fasting Benefits. A Shutterstock Licensed Image.

I began intermittent fasting when I was 15. At that time, I fasted because it cleared my mind and put me in a more meditative and prayerful state. Fasting might make you feel a little foggy or spacey, but for me, fasting helps me become more peaceful. Meanwhile, it does a great job of rebooting the system.

“All The Vitality And All The Energy I Have,
Come To Me Because My Body Is Purified By Fasting.”
~ Mohandas Gandhi

What Is Intermittent Fasting?

Intermittent fasting refers to eating plans and dietary protocols that cycle between periods of fasting (no food or some food) and periods of non-fasting. There are a variety of intermittent fasting diets, along with several types of intermittent diet meal plans.

The benefits of intermittent fasting include lowering insulin levels, reducing inflammation, improving brain health, and helping you feel more hopeful and prayerful. Intermittent fasting is showing promising results.
There is also the benefit of weight loss, one of the more popular reasons why people do intermittent fasts. While some intermittent fasts are helping a wide variety of healthy humans (and many mischiefs of lab rats) to burn fat and lose weight, intermittent fasts can have adverse effects, too. To be safe, ask your doctor or certified nutritionist for the go-ahead.​

The overall consensus about intermittent fasting is that it improves health and mental clarity, but it doesn’t consistently result in weight loss, or more weight loss compared to diets that restrict calorie and carb intake.
I’ve tried all types of intermittent fasting. Sometimes I lose weight and feel better, and sometimes I don’t experience anything beyond improved clarity and peacefulness.

Intermittent Fasting Diet

In general, intermittent fasting includes fasting one to two days per week, where during those days you eat either no food at all or 25% of your caloric intake. Most people who commit to intermittent fasts reduce caloric intake to 25% of their regular diets, either periodically or on alternating days. On reduced calorie days, men consume 500 to 600 calories, while women’s caloric intake is 400 to 500.​
On non-fasting days, the most successful intermittent fasters eat normally and never binge. Some of the more courageous fasters eat only during limited windows throughout each day and might reduce their carbs. For all fasts, it’s important to stay hydrated, which includes drinking water and non-caloric, non-alcoholic beverages like unsweetened coffee and tea.

You can learn more about a wide variety of intermittent fasts, along with their meal plans and suggested eating schedules here.

Metabolic expert Dr. Deborah Wexler, Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Diabetes Center said, “There is evidence to suggest that the circadian rhythm fasting approach, where meals are restricted to an 8-10 hour period of the daytime, is effective.”

There is substantial scientific evidence suggesting that circadian rhythm fasting, when combined with a healthy diet and lifestyle, can be a particularly useful approach to weight loss, especially for people at risk for heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Fast With No Binge

While the idea of fasting for a day and then binging on fat and sugar might sound appetizing, it’s terrible for the body. It’s important to note that when you choose to do an intermittent fast, make sure you are eating normally on the non-fasting days. Studies show that people who binge after fasting can cause their health more harm than good.

“If Thou Wouldst Preserve A Sound Body, Use Fasting And Walking; If A Healthful Soul, Fasting And Praying; Walking Exercises The Body, Praying Exercises The Soul, Fasting Cleanses Both.”
~ Francis Quarles

 

Spiritual Fasting

When the body is cleansed, the spirit is uplifted. The two go hand-in-hand. Fasting allows our souls to be less attached to our bodies and minds. It improves our vibration and helps us feel more connected to ourselves and others.

Almost every spiritual and religious tradition in the world mentions fasting as an essential activity for spiritual growth. It’s found 87 times in the Bible. Socrates and Plato fasted so they could purify their minds and spirits in pursuit of the truth.

Native Americans fast either in private or during public rituals. Indian fasts generally include abstinence from food and water, and they often enhance spiritual visions. In addition to a clearer state of mind and heart, fasts are also a way to rid the body and spirit of toxins accrued when interacting with society and the everyday world.

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Kundalini Yogis encourage regular fasting because it allows the spirit to traverse the chakras and connect with the eternal consciousness. This allows energy to flow through the body without hindrance. When done in conjunction with Kundalini yoga, intermittent fasting can also improve the immune system.

When doing vision quests in the wilderness and other rituals, I’ve found it vital to fast the majority of the time. The idea here is to put my spirit in a state of wakefulness so that I can connect with my spirit guides and be more in tune with my surroundings.

During my first vision quest, I was so in tune and connected, I was able to attract peaceful bears, mountain lions, wild turkeys, and other animals to my sleeping/ritual sites. I felt genuinely peaceful, which inspired the animals to feel the same.​
One early morning, I must have been profoundly awake and aware because a big black bear encouraged me to wrestle with him. He was so loving and playful. I attribute these amazing experiences partly to fasting.
Feeling bright and awake allows our spirits to connect to several dimensions and to vibrate at higher frequencies. This, in turn, improves our health and relationships.

Intermittent Fasting Benefits

If you’d like to lower your risk for disease, intermittent fasting can improve the health of your brain, lower risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and it can reduce the chance of obesity. Some studies show that intermittent fasting can reduce your risk of Type 2 Diabetes, while other studies show that your metabolic health can be put at risk, increasing the risk of diabetes.

Alternative medical doctors, who are trained in both eastern and western medicine might be able to understand your specific needs so they can prescribe the type of fast to give you the benefits you’re seeking, while also preventing you from hurting yourself.​

While intermittent fasting is not a cure-all, and the data is based mainly on scientific trials focused on mice, many agree that intermittent fasting does wonders.​

Many say it can:

  • Ease depression
  • Improve memory
  • Increase vitality
  • Reduce inflammation
  • Reduce your weight or slow weight gain
  • Reduce the growth speed of cancer
  • Protect your neurons
  • Remove damaged brain cells and generate new ones
  • Help reduce attachment to emotional and psychological luggage.
  • Improve your experience when praying and meditating

In general, even a little fasting here and there is shown to have positive effects. If you have gut issues or adrenal fatigue, proceed with caution.

Intermittent Fasting Science

One of the most remarkable benefits of intermittent fasting is that it has a positive effect on your mitochondrial networks, the fuel for your cells, by helping it remain fused. This undoubtedly improves energy, which can have positive effects on memory, longevity, and health challenges related to aging.
While intermittent fasting is trending, and many people are posting positive effects from their fasts, the research has mostly been conducted on mice.​

The hope is that intermittent fasting isn’t just a fad and that it has proven, lasting effects. Fasting research is on the rise. The hope is that more and more trials involving humans will be funded.

The Dangers Of Intermittent Fasting

Studies have shown that intermittent fasting if done incorrectly, can cause a person to have a net gain in weight. When you fast for a couple of days, and then binge on beer and pasta, chances are, you’ll do more harm than good.

Intermittent fasting may increase insulin levels, put pancreatic cells at risk, cause unnecessary fatigue, and add to your belly fat. A new study suggests that intermittent fasting, while often producing positive results, can harm metabolic health and cause Metabolic Syndrome.

​When we have poor metabolic health or Metabolic Syndrome, we are at risk for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. See your doctor to ensure that you have the proper levels of blood sugar, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein, and blood pressure.​
When you conclude your fast, your body might be oversensitive to the foods you eat. Be aware of your allergies and eat only whole, natural, unprocessed foods, at least for several days. Hydration is the key.
In all fasting, be careful about “starvation mode,” when your body starts to conserve energy by reducing the number of calories it burns. Starvation mode is something to avoid. It can cause your body to stop losing weight, and it will most often make you feel depressed, angry, lost, confused or worse. It might also have other negative effects.​

Just in case, notify a few friends before you fast. Texting a friend is quick and easy, “Hey, I’m fasting. If I die, you can have my toaster!”

How to Prepare for Coronavirus & COVID-19

Coronavirus
Our Health-Workers Are Amazing! A Shutterstock Licensed Image.

Whether it was engineered at a clandestine lab or it naturally emerged from interactions between animals and humans, the coronavirus will be with us for some time. While it might spread more akin to a drip-feed than surge, caution (not panic) is recommended, especially for those who are elderly or health-compromised.

The official name of the 2019 novel coronavirus is Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). The associated disease is known as COVID-19. Hundreds of scientists have confirmed that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin. As of this writing, there is no vaccine or cure for the coronavirus.

A Few Facts About COVID-19

There are many conspiracy theories about the coronavirus, most of which are based on irrational thinking, political propaganda, fear, and racism. These theories cover a broad range of ideas, from “Bill Gates is using his man-made disease to reduce world population and to gain profit” to “it was created by Democrats to bring down Donald Trump.” Spreading this type of misinformation during a health crisis can be extremely dangerous, not to mention a waste of time. It might even prevent the weak and infected from seeking the help they need to live.

If you’re lost in the insanity weeds and would like to return to a noble and defensible reality, consider these facts:

COVID-19 is a pneumonia of unknown cause, first reported in Wuhan, China,  on Dec 31, 2019, and is now reported to be in over 100 countries. Dozens of research scientists, labs, and companies have identified the genetic sequence of the coronavirus and are working on a vaccine.

Symptoms include fever, cough, difficulty breathing, muscle pain, and feeling unusually tired with an incubation period between two and 14 days. Some cases include vomiting and diarrhea. The more extreme cases result in severe pneumonia and renal (kidney) failure, which can lead to death.

The virus can live and thrive for up to a full day on your kitchen counter, door handles, and other objects. It (so far) cannot sustain itself in the air for long. This means that unless someone spits, coughs, or sneezes in your direction, you might not be at risk. To some, the verdict is still out on this idea.

The coronavirus is an intense and deadly flu, far more dangerous than viruses from recent history, and nothing like the common cold. While preliminary reports state that COVID-19 results in five to 20 deaths per 1000 (depending on the source), the common cold does not have a mortality rate. Even if the virus ranges from one to five deaths per 1000, it’s a pandemic, which means the disease could spread to millions of people within a relatively short period.

A few weeks ago, China’s CDC reported that 2.3% of confirmed cases died, but this number could be misleading, as not all cases are reported. To date, of people age 80 and over, 14.8% have died. The fatality rate for people in their 50s is 1.3%, 0.4% for folks in their 40s, and 0.2% in people aged 10 to 39. As more data is reported and analyzed throughout the world, we will likely see a shift in these numbers.

Children tend not to die from the disease, but the elderly, and those with medical conditions like heart, lung, or kidney disease, and those who are societally disenfranchised, are far more vulnerable than other segments.

University of Nebraska’s Dr. Kevin Lawler, who’s received a bit of flack for his leaked presentation to hospitals, estimates there will be over 4.8 million total hospitalizations from the coronavirus, 96 million US cases, 480,000 deaths, and a flu season that’s 10X more severe than usual. While it’s important to understand the varying levels of potential risk, only time will tell.

Comparable flu statistics: For this flu season, which began in the fall of 2019, there have been 34 million flu diagnoses, 350,000 hospitalizations, and 20,000 deaths. Given the current trend of COVID-19, we can expect the coronavirus to exceed the flu by a factor of at least 3. Some say, when compared to the flu, COVID-19 could net 10-20X the results.

While holy roller Jim Bakker promotes the unproven idea that the consumption of silver or praying to Jesus will eradicate the coronavirus, keep your eyes glued on the data and scientific facts. There is a wealth of information available on the CDC and WHO websites.

Protecting Your Health

At some point, COVID-19 might become a slight or moderate threat to you and your family. Keep in mind that only you know what is best in terms of precaution and preparedness. As such, some of these ideas could be helpful to you and those you love:

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  • If you’re sick, stay home for the week. If you’re feeling a little “under the weather,” consider staying home for at least one day to see if your symptoms are escalating.
  • Regularly wash your hands with soap for 20+ seconds.
  • Wipe your phone with a disinfectant wipe at least twice per day.
  • Regularly use alcohol-based hand sanitizers. You might consider researching how to make your own with aloe vera.
  • Keep a personal towel (that only you use) to dry your hands, or dry them with a paper towel or air dryer.
  • Do not directly touch or rub your eyes with your hands. Do not rub your lips, wipe your mouth with your hands, pick your teeth, or pick your nose. Keep your fingers away from your face.
  • Limit your time in crowded places. Consider canceling group events and parties.
  • Consider traveling by car or air, instead of by train. It’s best to prioritize your transportation modalities in this order: walk/bike, car, plane, then train.
  • It might be best to avoid carpools during this time.
  • Working from home during time is preferable. Consider replacing some of your regular business meetings with videoconferences.

Additionally:

  • For a time, consider refraining from using holy water and other sacred ritual items at churches, temples, ashrams, mosques, ceremonies, and religious events.
  • If you begin to display symptoms, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or paper towel so that you can protect others from also becoming sick. Consider wearing a mask.
  • If someone is coughing or sneezing, and you’re not clear on what’s happening for them, to be safe, leave the room.
  • Sleep at least 8 hours per night, exercise, eat healthy meals, meditate and pray.
  • Drink lots of fluids.
  • Thoroughly wash vegetables before cooking or consuming.
  • To give your health and immune system a boost, reduce your sugar intake.
  • Frequently wipe down surfaces with disinfectant wipes.
  • Avoid sharing personal items with others.
  • Consider taking immune system boosters like Elderberry, Spirulina, Wheatgrass, Barley grass, and other superfoods to improve your immune system and energy, and give yourself a fighting chance.
  • If you’re on any regular medication, try to source a few extra week’s supplies of prescriptions and antibiotics.
  • For a time, replace handshakes, hugs, and kisses with waving, saluting, bowing, applauding, nodding the head, and winking. In general, avoid close contact with others. The safest bet is to keep a distance of at least 3 feet during this time.
  • In crowded areas, consider temporarily wearing a simple N95 or N99 mask. For the sake of ensuring that hospitals have ample supply, refrain from hoarding masks.
  • Create a separate, protected space for potentially sick household members.
  • Keep apprised of your city’s plan to counteract the challenges surrounding the spread of disease and related emergencies.
  • Don’t obsess over risks and fears; instead, focus on preparedness, preventive care, loving yourself and others, and staying healthy.
  • To counterbalance potential drama and stress, find time to laugh, play, and pray with loved ones.

Prepping Your Home

When large populations become physically ill, there can be changes in local, state, and national operations. While it’s never helpful to panic, it can be advantageous to prepare (with limits). If some of these ideas are interesting to you, be thoughtful, methodical, and careful in your planning. While parts of this list might not be required at this time, if you live alone, a few of these ideas could save your life.

  • Store an additional 1-month supply of food, including lots of vegetables, dried or frozen meats, meat alternatives, canned goods, and pickled eggs. Consider canning and jarring your favorite vegetables so that you never run out of nutrient-rich food.
  • Consider storing 2 weeks’ worth of water, just in case something happens to your plumbing while you’re sick or in case there’s a temporary change in how local utility companies function.
  • In light of a possible power outage, have a collection of candles, flashlights, and batteries on hand.
  • Stock 1-2 months of nonprescription drugs and other healing supplies, including vitamins (especially vitamin C), soothing herbs and lotions, cotton swabs, rubbing/disinfectant alcohol, herbal pain relievers, essential oils, stomach remedies, and cold medicines.
  • Buy an advanced first aid kit.
  • Source your health records from hospitals, doctors, chiropractors, dentists, and other health professionals. If possible, keep them handy and in printable formats.
  • Have a backup plan for your video, streaming, and internet services. For example, you can have a Zoom account with a backup Skype account. Add a mobile hotspot to your phone line to remedy any temporary internet outages.

In all things, seek the best for yourself and your loved ones. Care for your friends and neighbors when you are able. While there are challenges ahead, this is a great time to pray, spend time alone, work on creative projects, start a home business, love-up your family, and curl up with a favorite book. As always, it’s best to refrain from fear and panic, while ever reaching toward peacefulness, forgiveness, and love.

From all the media hype and misinformation, and all the streams of helpful insights pouring into your social media feeds, you might simply choose to use the coronavirus as a provocation to improve one aspect of your life: your diet, your exercise regimen, your relationships, or your meditation and prayer practices. When we focus on happiness and personal improvement, we increase our vibrations and thereby improve our states of mind and health.

As humankind continues to massacre the earth and haunt its many creatures, we will see more challenges and viruses in the years ahead. Stay healthy, positive, and informed. Try to be prepared, while also loving, thriving, and living in the moment.

On a lighter note, you might enjoy this COVID-19 safety video from the Vietnam government, promoted by The World Health Organization.

For the latest and most accurate information, please visit the WHO and CDC websites. Always root for science – it’s our ally!

Wishing you health and happiness, always!