You know when you are super diligent to make sure everything is in working order and you double check everything? Well, I messed up and accidentally kept my commerce side in test. So, if you have tried to purchase a session with me, or paid for the group session and it failed, that was my fault.
I have fixed it now. My sincerest apologies for the inconvenience.
By request, I am holding group sessions at a deep discount. How deep?
What is included in these sessions? Learning about why and how to eat low carb, Keto, Keto-vore, and/or Carnivore. We will be there to support each other. While it is my job to be, as some would say, the Keto police, I am there to provide information and assistance to help you understand the ingredients and why they may or may not work. Everyone responds to different ingredients in a different way. Because of this, I will ask everyone in the group to be cognizant of others needs and abilities with this Way of Life (WOL).
Why the difference in price? The in person meetings, I will have the actual material and will be providing a sampling of food and need to cover my costs for that. Those that attend in person will have access to the recording afterwards, if they would like to review it in the future.
So let’s get this started! Our first meeting will be Saturday, May 14, 2022, at 12 noon (PT). We already have 3 people signed up through Facebook and a few more that are not on Facebook have expressed interest. At the first meeting, we’ll decide how often to meet and when/where.
Please note that due to county regulations, I am not allowed to cook at Thompson Hall. It is a reheat kitchen only. A couple of folks that are attending have offered up their homes for the cooking demonstrations and I will happily take them up on that, but also want to respect their privacy and their homes, so will limit those meetings.
Ok, Ladies and Gentleman. I am excited to be working with you, so LET’S GO!!!!!
It’s been a few weeks since I last blogged, so my apologies for that. I am hoping to fix that now that my schedule is starting to even out. I did want to make sure that I posted about this, however, as it is BIG NEWS. I first heard about it from Dr. Ken Berry and his YouTube channel. If you would like to see his video on it, you can click here. So, let’s start on going through the gist of this 38 page paper, shall we?
First, you can find the PDF article here: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/epdf/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001040
Starting with the abstract:
ABSTRACT: Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in patients with diabetes. Cardiovascular disease in diabetes is multifactorial, and control of the cardiovascular risk factors leads to substantial reductions in cardiovascular events. The 2015 American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association scientific statement, “Update on Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Adults With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Light of Recent Evidence,” highlighted the importance of modifying various risk factors responsible for cardiovascular disease in diabetes. At the time, there was limited evidence to suggest that glucose-lowering medications reduce the risk of cardiovascular events. At present, several large randomized controlled trials with newer antihyperglycemic agents have been completed, demonstrating cardiovascular safety and reduction in cardiovascular outcomes, including cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure. This AHA scientific statement update focuses on (1) the evidence and clinical utility of newer antihyperglycemic agents in improving glycemic control and reducing cardiovascular events in diabetes; (2) the impact of blood pressure control on cardiovascular events in diabetes; and (3) the role of newer lipid-lowering therapies in comprehensive cardiovascular risk management in adults with diabetes. This scientific statement addresses the continued importance of lifestyle interventions, pharmacological therapy, and surgical interventions to curb the epidemic of obesity and metabolic syndrome, important precursors of prediabetes, diabetes, and comorbid cardiovascular disease. Last, this scientific statement explores the critical importance of the social determinants of health and health equity in the continuum of care in diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/epdf/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001040
Ok, that’s a lot, so let me break it down for you. Obviously, there is a concern regarding the link between Type 2 Diabetes and Cardiovascular disease. The study looked at 3 things: the use of antihyperglycemic agents (aka prescriptions drugs for diabetes), Impact of blood pressure control on cardiovascular events, and the role of new lipid-lowering therapies. So the next question is, what were the findings?
First, let’s go over some indicators. We know that T2Ds have a higher blood sugar level, but what causes that? Surprise: it’s not just eating too much sugar. According to the article:
progression to T2D includes metabolic syndrome and prediabetes with glucose dysregulation attributable to liver, skeletal muscle, and adipocyte insulin resistance, along with proinflammatory cytokines
This means that to get to T2D, you suffer from metabolic syndrome, inability to manage glucose (aka sugar), which can be attributed to liver, skeletal muscle, and adipocyte (cells that store fat) insulin resistance, and proinflammatory cytokines, aka small proteins that are crucial in controlling the growth and activity of other immune system cells and blood cells.
According to the International Diabetes Federation, metabolic syndrome is defined as having 3 or more of the following:
At one point in time, I suffered 4 of these 5.
The article then moves in to Lifestyle Management.
In adults with T2D, greater adherence to an overall healthy lifestyle is associated with a substantially lower risk of incident CVD and CVD mortality (Table 1). The table is on page 4 of the study posted above. But what does that mean? In a nutshell, it advises that an overall healthy lifestyle will likely put you at a lower risk of CVD and CVD mortality.
What the study showed is through an intensive life management change (calorie goal of 1200 to 1800 kcal per day (with <30% from fat and >15% from protein)), the patients lost more weight then just calorie deficit and lowered their A1C faster. In addition,
intensive lifestyle intervention yielded improvements in other cardiovascular risk factors, sleep apnea, fitness, renal disease, peripheral neuropathy, and depressive symptoms.
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/epdf/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001040
There was not enough research on this study to confirm that it definitively will remove cardiovascular disease, but it is definitely in the right direction.
You know that I am a proponent of movement. This study found that
Increased physical activity and exercise have been shown to improve glycemic control, lipids, BP, insulin sensitivity, and inflammatory biomarkers in T2D
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/epdf/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001040
This indicates that physical exercise (minimum of 3 times a week) also helps to lessen cardiovascular disease.
Here is where it starts to get interesting. To quote the article (again):
The Mediterranean, Paleolithic, low-carbohydrate, high-protein, vegetarian, and nut-enriched diets have demonstrated benefits on glycemic control and weight loss in T2D, with the Mediterranean diet producing the greatest improvements in glycemic control and a 29% CVD reduction over 4.8 years.
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/epdf/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001040
Keto is low-carbohydrate, high-protein. Obviously, this statement does not limit to only Keto, but this is the first study from AHA that includes Keto, so that is quite exciting.
Very low–carbohydrate versus moderate carbohydrate diets yield a greater decrease in A1c, more weight loss and use of fewer diabetes medications in individuals with diabetes. For those who are unable to adhere to a calorie-restricted diet, a low-carbohydrate diet reduces A1c and triglycerides. Very low-carbohydrate diets were effective in reducing A1c over shorter time periods (<6 months) with less differences in interventions ≥12 months
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/epdf/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001040
The study showed that very low-carb decreases A1C more than a moderate carbohydrate, as well as more weight loss and less medications. It also showed to reduce triglycerides (which are well known for being higher on a diet of pasta and rice). Note that the very low-carb diet was more effective in reducing A1C over a shorter amount of time. THIS is very exciting.
So, this is the first study that the AHA has published where they are acknowledging the benefits of a Ketogenic way of life. Eating ‘Keto’ will reduce your A1C faster then the previous recommended diets and will improve overall health. So, let’s get started on your road to health with a Ketogenic, keto-vore, or carnivore way of life.
There is a lot of confusion on what Keto is and if it is healthy or a fad diet, or? I hope to clear up some of the confusion surrounding Keto.
From News Medical Life Sciences:
The ketogenic diet became popular as a therapy for epilepsy in the 1920s and 30s. It was developed to provide an alternative to non-mainstream fasting, which had demonstrated success as an epilepsy therapy. However, the diet was eventually largely abandoned due to the introduction of new anticonvulsant therapies. Although it emerged that most cases of epilepsy could be effectively controlled using these medications, they still failed to achieve epileptic control in around 20% to 30% of epileptics. For these individuals, and particularly children with epilepsy, the diet was re-introduced as a technique for managing the condition.
https://www.news-medical.net/health/History-of-the-Ketogenic-Diet.aspx
In summary, the ketogenic diet was created in the 1920s to help save those with epilepsy. So, this is not a fad diet, it’s a healthy way of eating for people with certain ailments. The benefits do not stop there though.
Many doctors are finding that the ketogenic diet has other benefits as well. From Healthline.com:
These are all benefits that I, personally, have seen occur, or know someone that has benefited in these ways.
So, what are the negatives? Personally, I have found none. But these three are the mmost common ones that people will say are negatives and why they can’t do it.
Other causes of DKA include:
What is Keto? Keto is when your body goes into ketosis. To get there, keep your carbs under 20g a day. For some people, they can go up to 30g of total carbs. 50g of carbs a day or less is considered low carb. That is the jist of it. Depending on where you are on your journey will depend on where your fat intake and protein intake levels are. If you want to lose more weight, eat less fat and higher protein. If you don’t want to lose weight, you add more fat and make it closer to 1 to 1 fat to protein.
I can help you with that, including a quick menu, exercises you can do, and overall support. Click on one of the options on my homepage, to set up some coaching time. There are currently, as of January 2022, 2 options that are based on Maria Emmerich’s ketogenic coaching program. Maria is one of the most well respected, most popular, and well loved health coaches in the world. She has over 30 books on the subject.
For many years, we’ve been told that we need to add more vegetables to our diet to be healthy. But is it really the right diet for you? Probably not, and today, I’ll give you one reason. I’ll cover more in the future.
The main reason is anti-nutrients. According to Science Direct: “Antinutrients are natural or synthetic compounds that interfere with the absorption of nutrients.”
Where do they come from? Vegetables. Some are worse than others, obviously.
One of the more dangerous anti-nutrients are oxalates. Oxalates are found in types of fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, and grains. From Sally K. Norton’s ‘When Healthy Isn’t: The Risks of a High-Oxalate foods‘, “Oxalates are tiny organic salts that form when oxalic acid is bound to mineral elements, such as potassium, magnesium, and calcium.” So, what does that mean?
These are small ‘salts’ or crystals that attach themselves to important nutrients that our body needs. They are creating small crystal shards By doing this, they prevent the body from absorbing these nutrients. Here is a chart that I pulled from Maria Emmerich’s blog that quickly show how much these anti-nutrients absorb zinc, preventing your body from absorbing them.
Sally Norton provides the following risks:
A high oxalate diet includes a diet consistently high in one or more high oxalate foods, including soy, spinach, Swiss chard, potatoes, nuts, seeds, wheat bran, beans, dried fruit, chocolate, and buckwheat.
Am I telling you that all vegetables are bad and you can’t ever have vegetables again? No, I’m not. Science is showing that for many, small amounts of vegetables are ok, within reason. Science has also shown that we are not meant to eat a lot of vegetables, at least not how they are grown today. We have one stomach and it is not capable of handling what is needed to digest plant matter/vegetables. With that, we can’t absorb those minerals, and what we do break down, grabs the nutrients we need and steals them from us.
How much can we eat? Depends on your body and how much it can handle. Growing up, I never did well with vegetables. When I was in my 20s, I attempted to become vegan and it started my health issues. I gained 60 lbs in 1 month and I am still recovering from that while in my 50s. Conversely, I know people that are vegan, and are doing well. From Maria Emmerich’s blog “The safe limit of oxalates for humans depends on a lot of factors. For most people 100mg a day or less is probably OK for most people. But some with digestive issues, suppressed immune system and other issues it can be even less. The lethal level, the level that will kill you, has a wide range of about 3.5 grams to 30 grams which is a very wide range.”
There are other factors that can lead to the intolerance of oxalates in your diet. One of them being Type 2 Diabetes. Others could be Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Lupus, and so on. Anything could lower your ability to handle oxalates, so please be aware of that.
Also consider that sugar and carbs will also affect how many oxalates your body can handle. I’ll go over the dangers of too much sugar and carbs in the near future.
Vegetables may causer more health concerns then we were originally told. Oxalates become small razor blades that cut through the inside of your body causing what they now know is Leaky Gut. Some people can handle more oxalates than others. This is why it is important to work with a Health Coach to help you navigate what will work best for you.
