**MOVING CONTENT to www.ketochat.com **
Setup a new site dedicated to ketosis and ketogenic diets as well as a discussion forum. Just trying to judge if there is any value to doing so and if it can become a useful source of information or not.
www.ketochat.com and www.ketochat.com/chat
Also, please note I am no expert. Not a doctor. Not a nutritionist. Just a very ordinary guy with a particular muscle disease (Glycogen Storage Disease Type 5, aka. McArdles Disease) that was creating a LOT of issues for me. The proper nutrition seems to have solved most of my problems and helps me manage the muscle disease quite well. I’ve lost 130 pds in a year and half, no more high blood pressure meds and no more high cholesterol and my muscles are functioning better than ever and at 40 I’m in the best shape of my life.
Pulling together various resources regarding ketosis / ketogenic diets for others who are looking for a place to start. This is partly due to the “Ketosis in McArdles” facebook group and that lots of good info is getting lost in the comments on various posts.
What is Ketosis?:
Ketosis is a natural state in which the body is burning fat for fuel. For someone with McArdles who is unable to tap into glycogen stores this has a great deal of potential as a muscle fuel source. For the normal person you can think about carbs vs. fat for fueling similarly to gas vs. wood. Carbs are a quick intense burning fuel, you can consume large quantities rapidly and burn them quickly through lots of energy expenditure. Fat is a much slower burning fuel that lasts for some time and you have a large fat store to tap into.
Your body also does a really good job of regulating itself at a nice steady pace while in ketosis. Since we are talking about fuel and wood let’s consider the analogy of say a camp fire. In ketosis your fueling that camp fire with burning logs. Nice slow burning logs that your able to watch and stoke on occasion and you have a nice supply of wood sitting near by to throw another log on as needed. Easy to stabilize the fire and keep it burning for long periods of time. Now lets fuel this fire with carbs and thus gasoline. Your throwing gas on the fire constantly. Its a quick burn, bursting constantly. Scrambling to get more gas, throwing it on the fire, huge flames and repeat. Exhausting! Not only is that what is going on with fueling your muscles but your also doing similar actions to your insulin response. Your body is constantly dealing with heightened blood sugar because your fueling through lots of carb intake. It’s a roller coaster ride for the insulin response and that’s a nasty thing.
Found this nice little write up describing this, “Ketosis also helps regulate your blood without complications. Involving complex carbs into your diet causes your body to heighten your blood sugar and as a result produce insulin. This stuff is nasty in large amounts; consider it to be your blood’s very own personal, fat-kicking police force. High blood sugar is interpreted as TOXIC by your body, so the insulin regulates your blood to cleanse it. Soon, though, your body starts struggling to keep up; when you take high amounts of carbs (sugar) and the insulin cant keep up….your body converts sugar to fat and insulin stores it in cells. Your body is capable of regulating your blood sugar on its own without help when you aren’t mainlining so much sucrose. Ketogenic diets avoid such problems!”
Q: But I have high cholesterol, I can’t possibly do this?!?
Cholesterol seems to be a huge worry by many when considering a ketogenic diet. Rightfully so based on the old information we’ve been fed for so many years regarding cholesterol. Lots of studies these days are showing that they simply didn’t get the problem right many years ago. They started to investigate the increases in heart attack deaths. They start cutting people open with the knowledge they died of a heart attack, so what caused the heart to stop? Well as they start digging they notice blocked arteries. What is this stuff blocking arteries? CHOLESTEROL!! Presto! Cholesterol blocked these arteries and thus cholesterol is bad and we need people to lower it.
Easy cause and effect right?
Wrong. That’s just what is easy to see. Could there be more to it? What if something was causing arteries to be inflamed, systemic inflammation? We know that cholesterol is absolutely vital for cellular function. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, even in large amounts. But if the arteries are inflamed and thus constricted, then you are at greater risk for cholesterol getting jammed up in there and thus blockages might occur. This inflammation would be much harder to see and determine then just the blockage itself. Guess what is a notorious for causing systemic inflammation in the body and the many autoimmune diseases/disorders? Grains and sugars, CARBS!
Now don’t get me wrong, DO NOT start consuming lots of great bacon and butter because fat is good if your not willing to cut out all the sugars and grains. You simply can’t have it both ways.
Q: What can I eat?:
BACON and BUTTER!
It’s true. First thing is keeping carbs very low. Less than 30g is ideal. You also want to increase your fat consumption generally. Most find a ratio of something like 70/20/10 (fat/protein/carbs). This is based on your overall total caloric intake for the day. You want your higher fats not just for fuel but for satiety. Fat is incredibly filling and will help curb all the desires for carbs generally if your keeping your fats high.
And yes if your doing ketosis for the sake of loosing weight you need to come to terms with the fact that you don’t actually get fat from fat. Fat will be passed by the body if your over doing it on fat. What isn’t burned will leave, it’s not stored. Carbs not burned will turn to sugars and then converted to fat and insulin will respond and cause it to be stored.
You also need to watch your protein intake, it’s easy to over do it with protein which can also kick you out of ketosis.
Ok.. so what can you eat? Meats, with all the added fat. Chicken with skin. Good fatty fishes (salmon & tuna). Butter, bacon and so on… Try to eat good quality meats, grass fed is your best choice but yes it’s expensive.
Also, if your struggling to maintain your fat/protein ratio I suggest adding more fat through others means such as: REAL butter (organic/grass-fed), coconut oil, avocado and guacamole, high quality pure olive oil (seriously research this, so much is polluted with vegetable oils), walnut oil, MCT oil.
I will cook almost everything these days (meats and veggies) with Kerry Gold Grassfed Butter. It adds fat to keep ratios up while trying to keep protein from being too much. Also lots of coconut oil on the side (yes I consume spoonfuls straight out of the jar) and olive oil on my spinach salad.
The only carbs I get really come through veggies, for me that’s namely (broccoli, cauliflower, squash, spinach, brussel sprouts).
Those are my go to veggies. Lots of spinach salad as well as creamed spinach. Broccoli and cauliflower cooked down with butter and seasoning. Spiralized zucchini and squash.
WATER… coffee and tea but without sugar. Add some heavy cream to that coffee or even butter! Google “bullet proof coffee” !
The Ultimate List of Keto Foods – Great Source: http://josepharcita.blogspot.com/2011/03/guide-to-ketosis.html
Green = The Absolute Best: No/Low Sugars, High Polyunsaturated Fats
Blue = Very Good: No/Low Sugars, High Saturated Fats
Orange = Good: No/Low Sugars, Low-Moderate Fats
Purple = Acceptable: Moderate Sugars/Glycemic, High Polyunsaturated Fats
Grey = Barely Acceptable: Moderate Sugars/Glycemic, High Saturated Fats
Red = Unacceptable (use sparingly): Moderate Sugars/Glycemic, Low-Moderate Fats
Cheeses
- American Cheese / blue: very good
- Blue Cheese / blue: very good
- Cheddar Cheese / blue: very good
- Cottage Cheese / blue: very good
- Cream Cheese / blue: very good
- Feta Cheese / blue: very good
- Gouda Cheese / blue: very good
- Mozzarella Cheese / blue: very good
- Provolone Cheese / blue: very good
- Ricotta Cheese / blue: very good
- Swiss Cheese / blue: very good
Dairy
- Almond Milk (unsweetened) / green: absolute best
- Coconut Cream / blue: very good
- Coconut Milk (unsweetened) / blue: very good
- Egg / orange: good
- Heavy Cream / blue: very good
- Ice Cream (unsweetened) / grey: barely acceptable
- Soy Milk (unsweetened) / orange: good
- Whipped Cream (unsweetened) / blue: very good
Dressings
- Balsamic Vinegar / red: unacceptable (use sparingly)
- Blue Cheese / green: absolute best
- Creamy Caesar / purple: acceptable
- Ranch / green: absolute best
Fats & Oils
- Almond Butter / green: absolute best
- Almond Oil / green: absolute best
- Butter / blue: very good
- Canola Oil / green: absolute best
- Cocoa Butter / blue: very good
- Coconut Oil / blue: very good
- Fish Oil (cod liver) / green: absolute best
- Flax Seed Oil / green: absolute best
- Grape Seed Oil / green: absolute best
- Hemp Seed Oil / green: absolute best
- Mayonnaise / green: absolute best
- Olive Oil / green: absolute best
- Peanut Butter / blue: very good
- Safflower Oil / green: absolute best
- Sesame Oil / green: absolute best
- Soybean Oil / green: absolute best
- Sunflower Oil / blue: very good
- Vegetable Oil / blue: very good
Fish
- Anchovies / orange: good
- Flounder / orange: good
- Herring / green: absolute best
- Salmon / green: absolute best
- Sardines / green: absolute best
- Sole / orange: good
- Trout / orange: good
- Tuna / orange: good
- Tuna (canned) / orange: good
Flours/Meals/Powders
- Acorn Flour / purple: acceptable
- Almond Flour / green: absolute best
- Almond Meal / green: absolute best
- Cocoa Powder (unsweetened) / grey: barely acceptable
- Flax Seed Meal / green: absolute best
- Protein Powder / orange: good
- Psyllium Husk / orange: good
- Sesame Seed Flour / purple: acceptable
- Splenda / orange: good
Fowl
- Chicken Breast / orange: good
- Chicken Legs / blue: very good
- Chicken Wings / blue: very good
- Duck / blue: very good
- Goose / blue: very good
- Quail / blue: very good
- Turkey, breast / orange: good
- Turkey, ground / blue: very good
- Turkey, bacon / blue: very good
Fruits, low sugar/glycemic
- Avocado / green: absolute best
- Blackberry / red: unacceptable (use sparingly)
- Cranberry / red: unacceptable (use sparingly)
- Lemon / orange: good
- Lime / orange: good
- Olive, black / purple: acceptable
- Raspberry / red: unacceptable (use sparingly)
- Rhubarb / red: unacceptable (use sparingly)
Fruits, moderate sugar/glycemic
- Apple / red: unacceptable (use sparingly)
- Strawberry / red: unacceptable (use sparingly)
- Watermelon / red: unacceptable (use sparingly)
Meats
- Beef, ground / blue: very good
- Beef, ribs / blue: very good
- Beef, sausage / blue: very good
- Beef, steak / blue: very good
- Lamb, chops / blue: very good
- Pepperoni, pork/beef / blue: very good
- Pork, bacon / blue: very good
- Pork, chops / blue: very good
- Pork, ham / blue: very good
- Pork, sausage / blue: very good
- Veal / orange: good
- Venison, steak / orange: good
Nuts/Legumes
- Almonds / green: absolute best
- Cashews / blue: very good
- Coconut / grey: barely acceptable
- Hazelnuts / green: absolute best
- Macadamias / blue: very good
- Peanuts / purple: acceptable
- Pecans / green: absolute best
- Pistachios / purple: acceptable
- Walnuts / green: absolute best
Seeds
- Chia Seeds / green: absolute best
- Flax Seeds / green: absolute best
- Hemp Seeds / green: absolute best
- Pumpkin Seeds / green: absolute best
- Safflower Seeds / green: absolute best
- Sesame Seeds / green: absolute best
- Sunflower Seeds / green: absolute best
Shell Fish
- Clams / orange: good
- Crabmeat / orange: good
- Lobster / orange: good
- Mussels / orange: good
- Oysters / orange: good
- Shrimp / orange: good
- Squid / orange: good
Vegetables, low sugar/glycemic
- Arugula / orange: good
- Asparagus / orange: good
- Bok Choy / orange: good
- Broccoli / orange: good
- Broccoli Rabe / orange: good
- Cabbage / orange: good
- Cauliflower / orange: good
- Celery / orange: good
- Chard / orange: good
- Chicory Greens / orange: good
- Cucumber / orange: good
- Eggplant / orange: good
- Endive / orange: good
- Fennel / orange: good
- Garlic / orange: good
- Green Bean / orange: good
- Jalapeno / orange: good
- Lettuce, Green Leaf / orange: good
- Lettuce, Romaine / orange: good
- Parsley / orange: good
- Radish / orange: good
- Spinach / orange: good
- Soy Bean / orange: good
- Zucchini / orange: good
Vegetables, moderate sugar/glycemic
- Artichoke / orange: good
- Brussel Sprouts / orange: good
- Carrots / red: unacceptable (use sparingly)
- Celeriac / red: unacceptable (use sparingly)
- Kale / orange: good
- Kohlrabi / orange: good
- Mushrooms / orange: good
- Okra / orange: good
- Onion / red: unacceptable (use sparingly)
- Pepper, sweet, green / orange: good
- Pepper, sweet, red / red: unacceptable (use sparingly)
- Pepper, hot, red / orange: good
- Pepper, sweet, yellow / orange: good
- Pumpkin / orange: good
- Snow Pea / orange: good
- Spaghetti Squash / orange: good
- Tomato / red: unacceptable (use sparingly)
- Turnips / red: unacceptable (use sparingly)
Q: Is the second wind in McArdles basically ketosis?:
Again I can’t say with any true science or certainty to back me up but I’m very tempted to say “yes” it is. But I really need to expand on that I think. I feel that the second wind is basically the muscles flipping the switch to burning fat. For those not aware of what we with McArdles are talking about regarding “second wind” is that we have this thing in common when it comes to physical exertion where we start to get sore and on the verge of potential cramps / contractures when we start out say biking, walking or running. When we start to feel this we have found that if we basically pause for a minute or two and start the activity again we are able to proceed without going through these pains again. I feel that our muscles are switching to fat for fuel or burning through some limited resource of fuel (which I don’t understand how since we can’t use glycogen) but it happens.
Now one of the benefits I’ve found with ketosis and what makes me think that second wind is the switch to fat for fuel, is that while I’m in ketosis I don’t have to go through the second wind process. I start out running or biking without ever encountering this initial soreness or fatigue and will not need to slow down or pause in the beginning. With ketosis it’s as though I’m in a permanent second wind.
There are so many other added benefits of ketosis however. I have more energy in general and I simply do not cramp or get sore from even some of the most basic things that I would have in my normal life. There was a time that I could get cramps from simply things like combing my hair or just brief walking or having to lift my laptop bag to go to work. Very minor trivial things could trigger contractures that were extremely painful and result in soreness for days.
I have been in a steady state of mild to high ketosis for 1.5 years now and in that time despite all my physical efforts now I have not once gotten a cramp or contracture.
Q: Why would you do this? Ketosis is bad according to my doctor!?!
Your probably hearing “ketosis” and thinking “ketoacidosis“. The later is quite bad but is only really relevant to a type 1 diabetic or a truly insulin dependent type 2 diabetic. This particular myth / worry has been propagated over and over again by misinformed Dr’s and others who only have part of the whole story. I liken this to when you were a child and you do that experiment with other kids to show how information is passed on by word of mouth down the line and how different the information is once it gets to the end, yeah… that’s basically what is going on with ketosis and ketoacidosis which explains why ketosis has such a negative connotation by many.
My friend Jimmy Moore recently published a great book titled “Keto Clarity” (yes I LOVE this book, and yes I may be slightly biased) and in it is a paragraph on this particular subject I would like to quote and share because I feel this topic is so important to understand and to help many get over the initial fears that are likely based on very poor information, even from your doctor in many cases. Once you understand this you may even be more open to discussing the differences with your Dr. and making sure your both on the same page.
“When diabetics do not get an adequate amount of insulin, their bodies respond as if they are starving. Their bodies think there’s no more glucose to be had, either from diet or glycogen stores, and they switch to burning fat instead and ramp up ketone production so it can be used as an alternative energy source. The problem is, these diabetics aren’t out of glucose — in fact, they have elevated levels of blood glucose. Insulin is the hormone that allows glucose into cells, and without it, the blood sugar has nowhere to go and accumulates in the bloodstream, even as the body can’t stop making ketones. Once levels of the blood ketone beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) approach 20 millimolars, a diabetic patient will get very sick and may fall into a coma. Ketoacidosis can even be life threatening. It’s an extremely serious thing and certainly should not be messed around with. But keep in mind this condition only applies to type 1 diabetics and, very rarely, truly insulin-dependent type 2 diabetics.
It would be impossible for this sequence of events to happen to non-diabetics. If you can produce even a small amount of insulin in your body, ketones naturally remain at safe levels.” – Jimmy Moore “Keto Clarity” pg 39-40
Q: What is nutritional ketosis, fat-adapted, keto-adapted?
There are lots of ways to say or describe this it seems. The basics however are that you are in a state of ketosis through nutrition / diet. You are following the correct ratios of high fat, medium protein and very low carb. You are inducing and maintaining ketosis naturally through eating correctly and nothing else. Once your in this state your body will be burning fat and generating ketones for energy.
The absolute best thing you can do is avoid ALL sugars, grains and starches. Seriously, you really need to. There is nothing you need from these “food” sources. Then you need to moderate your protein intake as too much protein can kick you out of ketosis. When you consume too much protein it gets converted into glucose. Read up on (Gluconeogenesis)
I can always tell when I’ve consumed too much protein (and yes it happens often, I battle this quite a bit sadly due to all my Triathlon training) as I will all of a sudden become very hungry throughout the evening and wanting to snack and crave things I wouldn’t normally have to deal with. If you are low carb and are trying to stay in ketosis and find yourself dealing with cravings and being very hungry then my bet is your not consuming enough fats which should lead to satiety and your likely eating too much protein. Figure out your ratio, take time and experiment and test your ketone levels and track your diet and if you real want to get this sorted out you will. There is a very bright light at the end of this tunnel, I assure you!
Q: Isn’t this the same thing as Atkins?
Yes and no. Move on.
No seriously.. the induction phase of Atkins is absolutely. But in general Atkins was more just low carb and didn’t particularly push the higher fats needed for ketosis.
I want to expand on this a little more though when I have more time…. Please hold
Q: How do I test? Urine or Blood? How often? Ahhhh NOOOOOOO what happened to my urine test?!?!?!
First thing to note is that obviously blood testing trumps urine testing. Blood test strips are fairly expensive, avg. about $3 US per test strip.
I need to expand on this topic… I have more to share and say but I need to dig up some info on it first to make sure I’m saying it correctly.
Ketostix – Basic testing for ketosis.
Precision Xtra Glucose/Ketone Test – Excellent choice for testing level of ketones in blood. Test strips are expensive though.
Precision Xtra Ketone Test Strip – Amazon, Qty of 10 for about $50. Quite expensive
Precision Xtra Ketone Test Strip – From a Canadian Pharmacy (I purchased via them, can’t beat the price!) If you find them cheaper then these guys PLEASE let me know!
Q: How do I determine the grams of Fat/Protein/Carbs I should be consuming to maintain nutritional ketosis?
There are no shortages of “Keto Calculators” to determine your macronutrients:
http://keto-calculator.ankerl.com/
http://ketodietapp.com/Blog/page/KetoDiet-Buddy
http://www.ruled.me/keto-calculator/
Q: How do I track the ratios of Fat/Protein/Carbs?
Use some of the web calculators to tweak and understand your ratios and then use tools such as:
- My Fitness Pal – A web based diary to log your food that even has a mobile app.
My Fitness Pal Tips
- MFP is even better with friends! Don’t be afraid to add fellow ketoers or family members.
- Set your goals. Go to Goals → Change Goals → Custom → Continue (60% Fat, 35% Protein 5% Carbs) and set your Fiber to 25g, just to keep it green in your totals.
- Settings → Diary Settings. Add Fiber to your tracking to watch your net carbs!
Tools:
Ketostix – Basic testing for ketosis.
Precision Xtra Glucose/Ketone Test – Excellent choice for testing level of ketones in blood. Test strips are expensive though.
Books:
Keto Clarity Jimmy Moore 978-1628600070
The New Atkins for a New You Westman, Phinney, Volek 978-0091935573
Wheat Belly William David 978-1609611545
Why We Get Fat Gary Taubes 978-0307272706
Good Calories, Bad Calories Gary Taubes 978-1400033461
The Paleo Diet Loren Cordain 978-0470913024
The Paleo Solution Robb Wolf 978-0982565841
The Primal Blueprint Mark Sisson 978-0982207703
The Ketogenic Diet Lyle McDonald 978-0967145600
Recipes:
- thelowcarbrecipes.com – One redditor’s excellent collection of meal recipes
- Recipe Index – Bodybuilding’s Index of Low Carb Recipes
Websites:
- My Fitness Pal Script – Surye’s script that tracks net carbs along with macro-nutrients
- LCHF Outline – Eenfeldt’s personal website and the outline about LCHF
- Keto FAQ – Bodybuilding.com’s Megathread on the Keto Lifestyle
- AreYouReadyToReddit’s Meal Plans – A Guide to plan your meals up to a week in advance.
- Importance of Water – Why drink so much? Why is it hard to keep on Keto?
- Wolfram Alpha – Simple database to look at food and convert measurements.
- Ruled.me – Ketosis info and recipes
- BJJCaveman.com – Another guy with a great site / blog on his tests with ketosis and what he has encountered (good and bad), I like what he has done.
Videos:
- Fat Head – A Documentary that debunks much of the conventional wisdom about health and examines the reality of Morgan Spurlock’s work Super Size Me
- Gary Taubes Lecture – Why We Get Fat and historical references to the truth
- Doctor’s Discussion of Keto – Andreas Eenfeldt, M.D. discusses the parameters of Ketogenic Diets
- Sugar: The Bitter Truth – Robert H. Lustig, M.D. discusses the issues and dangers with sugar
- Robb Wolf on Paleo – Robb Wolf answers community questions on the benefits of low-carb/paleo
- The Paleo Solution – Robb Wolf discusses ancestral nutrition and “Western” diseases
- Your Leaky Gut and Grain – Loren Cordain discusses auto-immunity and Western diet
- How Bad Science and Big Business Created the Obesity Epidemic – David Diamond explains how industrial influences have shaped our diet and health care infrastructure
- King Corn – A documentary following the effects of the corn industry on rural America and her inhabitants
- Dr. Mary Vernon Lecture – A video playlist of great information and resources.